Chapter 5 - Sorrow:
Author's Note:
Yeah, it's been awhile, I know. But I'm back and ready to go. So, last chapter had very little bearing on the plot as a whole, except for establishing that Rexy died (and that T5721 is coming for Saber). So… here we go, I guess.
You're still bad at this.
I know… you don't make it much better though.
Wow, okay, wow. All I'm saying is that I should've been there for the Special chapter.
You were busy, if you remember.
I'm never that busy, my friend. All I'm saying is that people want a bit more than "here we go, I guess."
Fine, do you have anything to say about this chapter? You read my notes.
Yeah, they're a lot of help. From what I can tell, now that Mary has caught up in time, we aren't going to be seeing anymore from the past?
Uh… probably. Unless I make a split-second decision and change my mind, no more pieces that take place solely in the past…
You don't sound confident at all. So, I guess I can assume that now she's caught up in time, we're going to start seeing the pieces come together? Her and T5721 arriving at Jurassic World, soon?
Yeah, way to spoil it.
I spoiled nothing, you've already said that they're converging on Jurassic World. I'm just reaffirming it.
Right… in any case, that's enough out of you for today. Let's begin, shall we? Please, enjoy!
XXX
The drive to Cal-tech was long and arduous, but thankfully free of murder. She stopped for nothing, not food, not drink, not even sleep. The car had just enough gas to get her to the university, but no farther. Stepping out of the car was like stepping through a portal in time. It brought memories roaring back to life in her mind.
Her eyes shut as she took in a deep breath, allowing the memories to run rampant. Finally… a clear picture. She could remember moving to California, both her and her sister choosing this university, and the first time she stepped foot on campus. The entire experience was… surreal.
Her eyes popped open again as she breathed out slowly. She was here for answers, not for memories. She had grown to accept that she had these… abilities. But she couldn't even begin to understand what they were, where they came from, or even what to call them. If anyone would be able to help her, it would be Marie. But first… she had to find her.
She took her first hesitant steps onto the campus grounds, determination written across her face. It had been years since she had been here, apparently, but the mental map of the university was still ingrained within her mind. She would have no trouble finding what she was searching for… probably.
The incident happened in the psychology building, and although she remembered where that particular building was, she had only been inside a few times. Marie's specialty was psychology, she had been in that building tons of time. But, despite that, she walked towards the building in question, knowing that she may be wandering around the building suspiciously for quite some time.
And she was hesitant to ask for help as well. The multitudes of people walking past her caused a spike in anxiety. She licked her lips to calm herself, if she got too nervous, she could lash out. She didn't want to kill more people.
She entered the building without anyone giving her a second glance. No one seemed to notice the girl, either that or they just didn't care. She paused in the entryway, admiring the beauty and size of the building. Paintings and pictures lined the walls, which stretched two stories off the ground. A large, winding staircase sat in the center of the room, leading students up to the higher-level classes. There was also a staircase that led down underground.
She shut her eyes and tried to remember where the lab Marie worked at was located. Was it above ground? Below ground? On the ground? She couldn't… remember. She concentrated, clenching her hands into fists, on the day her sister brought her into the building. She tried to walk through the building in her mind… but found the picture blurry and full of static.
"Uh… are you all right, miss?" a voice brought her out of her attempt to remember, causing her eyes to snap open. She turned her head to see a tall Indian student staring at her, hand outstretched as if to touch her.
"Yeah… I'm… just… trying to remember where I was supposed to go," she sighed. There was something odd about this student, something that set him apart from all the others… and from anyone else she had ever met. But she couldn't quite place what was different…
He perked up, "Oh, I can help with that. What are you looking for?" He flashed her an award-winning smile, but it did not help put her mind at ease.
"I was, uh, just trying to find a lab… I couldn't quite remember where it was," she said slowly. She wasn't sure how to explain the situation. She knew, from her encounter with Major Waters, that both Dr. Freeman and Marie had left Cal-tech mere days apart after whatever had happened to her. She was unsure if anyone here would actually remember the accident…
"Do you remember what they are researching?" the student asked. And yet another concern. The military had no idea what they were researching… how would this student know?
She swallowed slowly and shook her head, "Uh… no… I don't remember." The smile fell from the student's face and was replaced with a deep frown. Maybe he wouldn't be able to help her… there was a good chance that she would have to walk all over the building to find what she was looking for.
But how would she know when she found it? Would she just know? Or would she stumble past it and never realize it? The student seemed to take note of her dilemma. "You're not a student here," he said simply. It was not a question, just a statement of fact.
She shook her head. "I used to be… I'm looking for something, but I can't quite remember what it was," she admitted. She was still unsure how much she wanted to tell this guy. Trust no one, right?
The student narrowed his eyes at her. "I think I know what you seek," he sighed. Her eyes widened in surprise, how could he know? The moment the thought crossed her mind, she could feel a crawling sensation spread throughout her body and mind. She panicked, thinking that she was having another headache and yet another vision. But that was not the case.
Static Purple Static
That's what's wrong, she thought to herself. There was something off about the student for sure… he was glowing. A vague, purple tint surrounded his form, hardly visible, but it was there. And then, just like that, it was gone.
"I see… you have it too, don't you?" the student asked.
"Have what? I… don't understand," Mary said, licking her lips slowly. She was so confused… did the student know of her abilities? Has it too… did he have the same abilities?
"ESP," the student answered simply. He seemed remarkably calm despite it all.
Her eyes widened, is that what it's called? "Y-yes? Maybe? I'm… not sure," she managed to stutter out.
"Extrasensory perception, yeah… I think you do have it too," he mumbled to himself. He was quiet as he thought for a moment, clearly pondering what to do. He had met others with ESP before… but she was different somehow. She didn't seem to be aware of what she was. He looked up at her and said, "I felt you the moment you stepped on campus… you are much stronger than I am… how are you not aware of your power?"
"You… f-felt me?" she asked softly, ignoring his real question. Not ignoring, more like she didn't know the answer.
He shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Yeah, Espers, as we're called, are highly attuned to the people around them… and especially to other Espers. Usually you can tell the strength of an Esper by how far away they can be felt," he explained.
"Oh…" she said softly. "I guess… is that a good thing? That you could f-feel me across campus?"
"Well it depends…" he started, "On the one hand, you're stronger than any Esper I've come across… on the other, you don't seem to have any control…" She blanched at his declaration of her lack of control. He was right… it was because she had no control that she killed people. It was because she couldn't control her apparently enormous strength that she will continue to kill people.
"Uh… you don't look, or feel, I should say, so good," he pointed out, that purple glow returning.
She took a few steps away from him, her eyes going wide. Panic coursed through her again when she felt the crawling feeling return… she was afraid she was going to lash out at him. But the crawling sensation disappeared, and with it, the purple glow. "Y-you… you're reading m-my m-mind," she said softly.
He nodded slowly, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. "Yes… I am. Please… calm down, you… you're suffocating me," his voice was strained, as if someone was strangling him. Her eyes widened and she took a few more steps back, but it didn't seem to help much.
He started gasping for air, putting his hands around his throat as if someone was grabbing him there. Several people in the building clutched their heads as intense headaches started to set in. Many experienced ringing in their ears from the power Mary was putting off. "I… I can't… I can't stop!" she all but shouted.
He inhaled harshly, just barely able to breath, and managed to choke out, "Concentrate on one thought! One… image… a person… a place… anything!" She nodded and concentrated on his advice. Marie… her sister.
A clear picture of her sister floated through her mind, and she latched onto it, focusing every ounce of her brainpower on just thinking about her. She lost herself in that picture, so much so that she didn't notice the fear and panic leave her body, nor did she notice how her power vanished. The student dropped to the ground, gasping for air, and taking deep breaths. "Hey… snap out of it," he said, pushing himself up off the ground and walking towards her.
She blinked a few times as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Well… it looks like your problem is that your lack of understanding about your abilities causes them to react randomly when you're panicked," he sighed. "At least I think that's what's happening… your alpha waves expanded outwards quite a bit there…"
"My… what?" she asked. She understood the first part, though she wasn't sure if blaming it on a lack of understanding was fair. But she had no idea what he was talking about with "alpha waves."
"Uh… let's walk and talk," he said, pointing towards the staircase. "People are starting to give us strange looks…" He started walking towards the central staircase, with her following closely behind him. They took the staircase leading to the basement level. Besides the lack of windows, the basement looked the same as the ground floor.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"The lab room you're looking for… it's down here," he responded, leading her further into the building.
"Oh," was her quiet response. He was helping her, he was what she was… why didn't she trust him again?
"Alpha waves are a type of brainwave responsible for some eighty percent of psychic powers," he explained as they made their way through the lower level of the psychology building. "They work in different ways depending on the Esper."
"Oh… is that what that purple glow is?" she asked.
"Yeah," was his response as he came to a stop in front of a steel door at the very end of the hallway they had been walking down. Her eyes widened when she saw the state of the door. There was a window, but it had been boarded up. There were multiple warnings on the door, several warning her that what was behind the door was dangerous, a biohazard warning, and even a warning claiming legal action if they entered the room. "Here it is."
The door seemed to be bolted shut and several wooden planks were set across the door, further implying that it should never be opened. "T-this… is what I'm looking for?" she asked nervously. She wasn't sure if she wanted to open the door.
"Yeah… I only got a brief glimpse of your mind, most of what was in there was locked up tight… but one thing shone through. Bring me back to where it began," he explained. "You aren't a natural Esper, are you?"
"I-I-I guess not…"
"No one is sure what type of experiment took place behind this door… they told us that it killed everyone involved. I see that that isn't true," he shook his head, looking at her. "The experiment was attempting to create Espers… wasn't it?"
She gulped audibly, "Are you going to tell anyone?"
He shook his head. "No one would believe me. There are rumors, of course," he said. "They said lots of people died, ones that weren't even in this room. And people were… effected by the experiment, even though they weren't even near this room… strange things. Even six years later, the rumors are going strong."
"Awakening of psychic powers in beings with high latent ESP rating," she whispered. His eyes widened as he looked at her. "That was the title of the experiment… headed by a man named Dr. Freeman. I… I was the test subject."
"… Wow, really? We were told that everyone involved with the experiment had died… that's the one thing everyone agrees on," the student said. "And the experiment was a success too… an artificial Esper."
"I… I guess so. Uh…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I… I don't think I am the only success. Others survived too."
"And you're looking for them, right?" he asked, to which she only nodded in response. "Why?"
"My… my sister is one of them. I think that she can… help with my… current predicament," she sighed.
"Your lack of control, I presume," the student said. Again, he only received a nod in response. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Well… I can't really help you get in there. It's locked up pretty tight. And I don't know what you expect to find anyways."
"I don't know either," she all but whispered, reaching out for the door handle. "But I have to try, at the very least."
"I… it's labeled biohazard for a reason, you know," he said as she touched the door handle. "People who go in there die from an overload in alpha waves. The door is lined with lead, so the waves can't reach us out here…" but it was too late, she had touched the door handle.
Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated. Then she screamed.
The light was blinding in the small lab room. Well, small was an understatement. Crowded and cluttered might be a better one. Many, many different machines and equipment dotted the room, and in the center was a large operating table. One that I was being strapped into to. I grunted as the straps were secured.
I could see the reassuring face of my sister looking down at me as I lay on that operating table. "It'll be fine, Dr. Freeman is a professional," she said over and over again. I believed her, though I could still feel the nervousness welling up within me. They had only told me what they were trying to do… not how they were going to be doing it.
The kind face of my sister disappeared and was replaced with the impassive stare of Dr. Freeman. It wasn't like I didn't trust him. There was something… about him that demanded trust. Demanded that I do as he said. I didn't know what it was, and a part of me demanded that I didn't question it. When my sister came to me asking me to take part in an experiment, I was hesitant… but the moment Dr. Freeman entered the room to try and convince me, I had changed my mind.
"This should only take a moment… we'll be able to tell if it worked immediately after the process is complete," he said to me. I nodded to the best of my ability. I trusted him. I closed my eyes as did he and felt him lay a cold palm on my head.
Then came that flash of purple…
And everything went black…
"Hey, hey!" the student shouted, shaking her. He had realized that he didn't know her name, nor her his, but he had to do something. She blinked a few times as she came to, only to see that she was in the middle of the lab room.
She looked around to see that all the lab equipment had been shoved to one side of the room, including the operating table… even though it had been bolted to the ground. She was standing in the center of the room, where the table had once stood. "What… what happened?" she asked, clutching her head.
"You ripped the door off its hinges, like some sort of superman," he said, still in disbelief. He pointed over to the discarded door, lying against one of the walls of the room. "How did you do that?"
She shook her head, "I… don't remember doing that. I have no idea… how I managed to do that."
"Well, something happened to you, you were completely unresponsive," he explained, "I was shaking you for a good minute before you finally came to. What happened to you?"
"I had some sort of… vision," she admitted.
"A vision, huh?" he sighed. "Well… I don't know why this was a biohazard in the first place. I don't sense… anything here. If it really was contaminated, then it's been cleaned since then."
"I… I didn't see what I wanted to see," she admitted. She saw nothing of importance. Or, rather, she saw something she already knew. Nothing that would hint at where Marie might be now… or how she came into contact with Edward King. She only had one lead left.
"What's your next move?" the student asked quietly. This girl… was very interesting. Fascinating, even. And he wasn't sure why he was even asking… but…
"I have somewhere else that I can look… but I really don't want to go, and it's really far away…" she sighed. "And I don't think I could afford it, even if I wanted to go."
"Oh," the student said. He thought hard for a minute or two as Mary just stood there in silence, hoping for another vision of some sort. Eventually, he let out a loud sigh and said, "My name is Aziz."
"Oh… I'm Mary," she said in response, accepting the handshake when he offered it.
"Look… I'm really bored here. My… abilities make it so that I don't even really need to study, or go to class, I can just take the information from the professor's minds. I…" he trailed off. "I wanna help you find your sister. Plus, not to mention the fact that I have some experience with containing psychic power… and you're very dangerous. I can keep you from exploding… I think."
"Oh," she said softly. "I… I think that might be for the best. I don't want to hurt anyone else. Can you really keep me from killing people around me?"
"Yeah, I think so," he gave her a reassuring smile. Very similar to the one Marie had given her all those years ago. "So… where to? I might be able to spare a bit, to get us to wherever you need to go."
She took a deep breath and said, "To Jurassic World."
XXX
"And that's the situation," General Waters explained, arms folded in front of him. He had refused to sit, once again believing that this conversation wouldn't take long. He was flanked by two soldiers, each carried rifles slung around their shoulder.
"I cannot allow that," Masrani responded nearly immediately. They were in his office. He was sitting at his desk, Claire was at his side, though she was standing. She wasn't paying any attention whatsoever. She was lost in thought, still torn over the death of Rexy. The only animal she had always respected on the island.
"You don't have a choice. You will hand over the asset known as I-04," the General commanded.
"This island isn't under your jurisdiction, General," Masrani growled in response. Isla Nublar wasn't technically a United States territory, it was an independently owned island. Which meant the military couldn't just come and take what they wanted.
"You understand that we have grounds to enact sanctions against Jurassic World, correct?" the General threatened.
"What grounds?"
"The events of last year's… King Incident has been brushed to the side due to the fact that no patrons had died, however, Edward King is a wanted terrorist, suspected of stealing classified material and assets. If it were to be discovered that you harbored this known criminal, or had dealings with him, we would have grounds to close Jurassic World, arrest you, and take control of all your assets," the General explained.
"Why now? Why not do this from the start?" Masrani complained. It didn't make any sense, King disappeared a year ago, the incident was a year ago.
"Certain complications have arisen that make this a priority. I'm sorry, Mr. Masrani… but you need to hand over the asset I-04," the General said.
"What complications?"
"That's classified," was the immediate response.
Finally, Claire spoke up, "What are you going to do with the asset? Why do you need it?" Although she had spaced out there for a moment, she remembered why they were here.
"That's also classified, I'm afraid," the General sighed.
"We have a right to know what you're going to do with our animals," Claire hissed in response. The military still had no authority here! They were just threatening to shut down Jurassic World. She and Masrani at least had the right to know.
The General ground his teeth together, but eventually gave in. "We have reason to believe I-04 is in danger. We are taking it to the states to put it into protective custody," he explained.
"Danger?!" Masrani yelped. "What danger?"
"It's a matter of national security, I cannot tell you exactly what is threatening your assets. But I-04 is indeed in danger and would be much safer under military control," he said. "Please hand over I-04, so that we may place it in protective custody."
"No," Masrani said bluntly. "The asset is plenty safe here. If you're so worried about our animals, then we'll increase security at the paddock."
"The asset is not safe here!" the General resisted the urge to bang his hand on Masrani's desk. "No matter how much security you put around I-04… it will not protect it."
"If you're so certain that the asset is in trouble, how confident can you be that you can protect I-04?" Claire asked.
"We will be placing I-04 in a secure, top secret location, only known by those working there and myself. It will be guarded twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It will be well taken care of, until we can be assured that it is no longer in danger," the General explained.
Masrani growled to himself. He still didn't know what the danger was. He didn't understand why the military was just now worried about the asset. What did they find in its blood? he wondered briefly, before turning back to the General and saying, "I disagree. The asset's mother will be more than capable defending its hatchling. Good luck taking it from her."
The General let out a tired sigh, "Very well, Mr. Masrani, you have left me no choice. I do not have the authority to take the asset by force, but I will be changing that fact. Until such time, I will be sending more troops here to assist your Asset Containment Unit in securing the asset."
He walked out, the two soldiers that had followed him in, followed him out. Masrani took a deep breath in frustration, they could do nothing to prevent the General in taking I-04. "Go find Dr. Bell… try and figure out why he wants the asset… I will make preparations to increase security at the Indominus paddock," Masrani sighed.
XXX
Owen let out a loud yawn and leaned back in his chair. He just wasn't sure what to think. One moment, everything seemed fine. The next… not so much. He had gotten the news that Rexy had passed away last night, and it was hitting him hard. It was hitting all of them hard, not just him.
Although Saber seemed impassive to the entire ordeal, Owen suspected that she was just pretending not to care. All she had said was that she had witnessed Rexy's death, but gave no other details beyond the fact that Rexy had passed in peace. Rexy's death saw an increase in attendance at her shows, probably because she was the closest thing to Rexy.
"Hey… are you all right?" Sam's voice cut through his train of thought. He glanced across from the table to see her staring at him with a raised eyebrow. They had decided to catch lunch together, and the food had just arrived. And he had not noticed.
"I'm fine," he said, checking to make sure everything they ordered was all there. It was.
"If it makes you feel any better, Rexy's successor will be hatching tonight… you're free to come by and watch, if you want," she said, taking a sip of her drink.
"I might just take you up on that," he responded. She managed a small chuckle, despite the depressing implications. The duo lapsed into silence after that remark, quietly eating their lunch.
Owen had finished his lunch by the time Sam spoke up once again. "How are things between you and Blue?" she asked. He winced involuntarily, it was one thing that Rexy had died. It was another when Blue refused to even show her face. "That bad, huh?"
It was bad… very bad. "I… I can't find her. She just vanished," Owen grumbled. He was still torn about what to do with the Raptor… but he had to do something. And he could do nothing until he found her. Today had just been an extremely unlucky day.
Sam rolled her eyes in response, "Yeah, that sounds about right. I wouldn't want to talk to you either after what you did."
Owen gave her an incredulous look, "Why are you taking her side?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I'm not an idiot!" she growled. "You already admitted that you fucked up, you should be taking her side too. Maybe if you had an ounce of brain cells, you'd have realized that in the first place."
"Okay, I take offense to that," Owen sighed, "And yeah, maybe you are more Raptor than I am… but that doesn't mean you should just abandon me! Saber's already done that… she refuses to help find her."
"Well… what do you want me to do about it?"
Owen thought for a moment, before saying, "You could at least help look for her… maybe help talk some sense into her."
"No, Owen, there will be no talking sense into her. She's a Raptor, not a person," Sam sighed. "You only have two options… and I would suggest deciding which one now before you go out and find her… save yourself the trouble, I would think."
"I'm not going to have sex with Blue!" Owen growled. At that moment, he was thankful the restaurant was nearly empty. The few odd looks he received he could easily ignore. Sam paid the other patrons equally less mind, as she continued to glare at Owen.
"Then don't bother looking for her," Sam sighed. "If you aren't going to give her what she wants, then she's not going to just forgive you."
He put his head in his hands and resisted the urge to bang his head against the table. "I… just don't know what to do," he groaned.
"I told you. You have two options, find Blue and give her what she wants, reconcile with her, and live happily ever after. Or don't. Simple as that," she waved his concerns off as if they were nothing.
"How are you okay with this?" he asked, removing his head from his hands. "Isn't there… something between us?"
She snorted, "Is there?" He gave her a confused look, clearly not knowing the answer to her question. She sighed in response, "Owen… do you really think I'm worried about competition from a Raptor?"
"Oh."
She rolled her eyes again. "To be honest… I understand what's going through Blue's mind right now. Must be the season… something's definitely messing with my head lately," she admitted.
One of his eyebrows arched as he asked, "Really?"
She grinned at him, "Oh yes… I can feel it now. The liquid fire rushing through my veins. It's… so distracting."
He couldn't help but chuckle, "Does that mean you would bed me if given the chance?"
Her grin quickly turned feral. "I might just take you up on that," she said, her voice taking on some of her Raptor qualities. He gulped in surprise, he hadn't expected that answer. She let out a hissing chuckle, silencing him before he could make a comment on her response.
Better to find something else to talk about, he groaned inwardly. This usually didn't happen to him. He was the one to fluster others, not be flustered himself. Maybe this has something to do with the whole Blue ordeal, he mumbled to himself. He perked up when he realized that he had forgotten to ask her something. "Hey… why did you need Saber's hatchlings' blood?"
She growled quietly, but leaned back in her chair with a sigh, almost disappointed that he didn't bite at her suggestion. Was she being serious? he wondered, but didn't have time to do much more, as she answered him with, "Masrani ordered a blood sample be taken."
"Oh… why would Masrani want a blood sample be taken? Haven't you taken plenty of blood samples?" he asked, now intrigued. There was something she wasn't telling him.
She didn't respond immediately. Eventually, she decided that it wasn't worth keeping it a secret from Owen. "Fine. The military ordered Masrani, who in turn ordered me to take a blood sample," she admitted.
"The military?" Owen's eyes widened. "What would they want with the hatchlings' blood? Wouldn't Saber be more valuable?"
"Who knows. I was ordered to take a blood sample, and I did, my job is done for all I care," she sighed, cracking her neck.
Owen licked his lips slowly before saying, "Is there something in their blood that might warrant military intervention?"
"There are a lot of things in their blood, Owen," she snorted. "But they won't find anything unless they know specifically what they're looking for."
Owen leaned in closer, "So there is something that would warrant military intervention. Should I be concerned?"
Sam leaned in as well. "Only if they find it," she hissed.
"Find what?" Owen asked.
She lifted her head and looked around, checking to make sure no one could hear them. "You know how there's human DNA in the Indominus?" she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Do you know who's it is?"
"It's… it's Dr. Wu's, right?" Owen asked.
She nodded in confirmation. "Dr. Wu's DNA is in Saber… and two of her hatchlings."
He reared back in surprise. "Only two? Which one doesn't have his DNA? Whose DNA is it?" he asked, quite a bit louder than before.
"Shh!" she hissed, "This is classified, okay? Just between you and me… not even Masrani knows." He nodded in response, understanding the gravity of the situation. There was an unknown DNA signature in one of the hatchlings… and the military might be after it. "I don't know whose DNA it is… but it's in Free."
XXX
Ila rubbed her eyes tiredly as she watched the soldier work. Three days had passed since they had arrived at the compound and she had not left the red-eyed soldier's side. The other soldiers had scattered, only showing up every once in a while to see if the red-eyed soldier needed help. He never did.
The soldier was… an anomaly to say the least. He didn't sleep… he didn't eat… he didn't rest. The man in the black suit had come by several times with food for her, but the red-eyed soldier never asked for anything. Never once even looked at her food. It was as if he was some sort of robot, constantly working, never tiring.
And he was building something. She wasn't sure what it was, as he refused to explain. But he had taken her into the lab building of the former InGen compound and neither had left since. He had… removed the steel counters from their foundations and arranged them so they formed some sort of altar at the end of the room, away from any doors or windows.
Her job wasn't to help him. Her job wasn't even to prevent the animals from coming close to the compound. She wasn't sure what use she was to the red-eyed soldier. The soldier had ignored her each time she tried asking. She wasn't entirely sure what he was doing to begin with. He showed up on this island, her island, took her captive, made a base out of an InGen compound, and… then builds something? It didn't make any sense to her.
She watched him carefully, now suddenly interested in exactly what he was doing. She briefly wondered if she pestered him enough if he would finally tell her what he was building. But she quietly observed him, deciding to save the questions for if she couldn't ascertain what he was constructing.
She watched him tear large sheets of metal into strips, before weaving those strips together. She watched him for some time, her eyelids starting to droop by the time he had finished constructing what seemed to be a steel, chain-linked fence. She blinked rapidly, confused, when he lifted the fence. It was massive.
Had she spaced out? She glanced at the clock and realized that she had indeed spaced out. She had stood there, staring at him, for nearly five hours. The steel fence was nearly as long as the room was wide. A good ten meters long, at least, she figured. She watched as he bent the fence in on itself, connecting the two ends so that it formed some sort of cage.
He lifted the cage up into the air and set it down around four steel poles that he had driven into the ground with his monstrous strength. On the first day, he had found a variety of steel rods that he had sharpened into metal stakes. Four of those rods were placed in the ground with the cage wrapped around it… she wasn't sure what had happened to the other ten.
He nodded to himself, his mock cage complete, and set to work doing something else. She couldn't contain herself anymore… she had to know. "What's the cage for?" she asked. She gulped when he paused in his step, but didn't turn to face her.
"My prize," he responded, vaguely as always.
"What prize?" she pressed onwards. She had already opened her mouth, she might as well keep talking. It would at least prevent her from falling asleep.
"You'll soon find out."
She crinkled her nose at that response. Deflection after deflection, he would never just tell her. Or anyone else, for that matter. He started moving again, walking over to the pile of clutter against one of the walls, and digging through it. As she watched him sift through the pile of randomness against the wall, she saw the tattoo on the back of his neck on full display for her.
He had taken off his military jacket a few hours after he had started working. Whether he actually felt hot and it bothered him, or if it simply slowed him down, she could not tell why he removed it. The jacket covered the back of his neck, as well as his arms where the rest of the tattoos were located, without it on, she could see them. She licked her lips slowly as she considered asking another question, wondering if he'd give her a real answer.
"What does T5721 mean?" she asked softly, giving in to the curiosity once again. A vague answer was better than just not asking, right? And T5721 was the only thing he was called by. He gave no name, neither first nor last, and the other soldiers only referred to him as such. She wanted to know what it meant.
He paused again. "It's my serial number," he explained, going back to the clutter again, still not turning to look at her.
"For what?" she asked innocently, waltzing over to his cage to inspect his handiwork. He had done a good job, there were no gaps, nor breaks in the fence. Shrugging to herself, she sat down, back against the wall, right next to the cage.
"The experiment…" he trailed off, pausing again. She raised her eyebrow… although vague, it was an actual answer. So he was a part of some experiment… she thought to herself.
"What experiment?" she asked, testing her luck. He had never actually lashed out at her, though she doubted he needed to. His very touch had… done something to her. And she knew that he would do it again, if provoked. But she wanted to test her limits… for all she knew… she would be stuck with him for the rest of her life.
"Irrelevant," he growled, going back to digging in the mess against the wall, opposite of the cage. "The experiment is over and I escaped. That's all there is to it." He pulled something out of the clutter and set it down next to him.
Her eyes widened when she recognized the black box, it was a battery. And a big one too. "Do you have a name other than T5721?" she asked carefully, noticing that her last question had gotten a rise out of him, she needed to be cautious.
"No," he responded, pulling another black battery out of the pile.
"Why not?"
"Because…" he trailed off, adding another battery to the pile. He turned to glance at her with those blood-red eyes, causing her to swallow in apprehension. He wasn't glaring at her… just staring, as if wondering why she cared. "I cannot remember what my real name was."
"Oh," she said quietly as he pulled out yet another battery. Now with four batteries, he pulled free some cables and picked up the batteries, easily balancing the load in his arms as he walked over to the cage.
He sat down in front of the cage, careful to give her space, and began wiring the batteries together. She watched him work with a raised eyebrow, but figured, because he was being generous at the moment, she should keep asking questions. "How old are you?" she asked, leaning forward slightly.
He was much younger than all the other soldiers, the youngest seemed to be in his thirties, the oldest seemed to be in his sixties. He barely looked twenty. And he said he had been a part of some experiment, and that he had escaped. "I don't remember," he said, connecting three of the four batteries together.
"How can you not remember how old you are?" she asked incredulously. His name, she could understand… but his age? How does someone forget that?
"I was in cryogenic slumber for an unknown amount of time," he admitted slowly, once again pausing in his work, just before connecting the last battery in the series. "I don't know how long I was out."
She looked down at her feet, suddenly unsure of herself. She didn't quite understand why he was being so open suddenly, nor why she felt the sudden urge to keep asking questions. "When you say escape… you mean…"
A small, feral grin rose on his face as he finished connecting the last battery. "I was awoken a year ago, when your father broke into the compound I was being kept at. They thought I would fight him off. They were… sorely mistaken," he chuckled.
"Is that why those soldiers are scared of you?" she asked. "I looked in their minds… they don't follow you out of respect, or because you are a commanding officer… they're afraid."
"And they should be," he snarled, connecting the batteries to the metal of the cage. "I can feel it, they think they can betray me when I receive my prize… they will find out the hard way that I cannot be killed… not by them."
"You… you killed their comrades. Their friends," she accused, trying hard not to tremble. Whether from fear or from anger, she couldn't tell. And she couldn't let him know either.
"Necessary losses, my dear Miss King," he grinned.
"Don't you feel some empathy? How can you just kill hundreds of people like that?" she asked, clenching her fist. He was giving her answers, so she would keep asking questions. Even if she didn't like the answers, the better she understood this… psychopath, the easier she'll be able to run from him.
"I lost the ability to feel empathy when they took my soul," he growled. "You… understand now, don't you, Miss King? What it feels like to be soulless. When I… touched you… you felt that void, did you not? You felt lost to the world, hollowed out, and completely alone. That's how I live… that's what I am."
She felt a shiver go through her spine as she remembered what it was like to be touched by him. That's… how he feels all the time? she wondered to herself. "Then… I… I don't understand," she admitted.
He growled something inaudible before scooting closer to her, still careful not to touch her. "That's because you don't know what it's like to have your soul forcibly removed from your body… not just suppressed, as my touch does to you. You don't know what it's like to be torn asunder… to have your soul ripped from your mind and shattered into a million pieces!"
"No… I don't know what that's like," Ila admitted. "But that… that doesn't justify killing those people. Nor the ones you're going to kill… to get whatever your prize is!" She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall, hoping he wouldn't lash out at her.
"Doesn't it? I've died a thousand deaths over the course of years," T5721 hissed. "And now I feel nothing… for my soul is gone." Her eyes widened when she realized what he was talking about… what his prize was. "All I want is my soul back… is that too much to ask, Miss King?"
She stared into his red eyes, unable to tear herself away. Was this fear? Or understanding? She was unable to bring herself to answer him, she had not a voice to speak with. Is that too much to ask? Is it enough to justify his actions? Should he be allowed to take his soul back? She licked her lips and opened her mouth to finally respond, but she never got the chance.
"Ila! I brought you… a… sandwich…" the man in the black suit walked into the room to see the red-eyed soldier cornering Ila against the wall. He was threateningly close to her and his mouth was pulled back to show a grin full of sharpened teeth.
But the moment James walked into the room, the soldier looked away from Ila, giving her enough time to slip away from him, and rush over to the man in the black suit. Was he going to kill her? he wondered to himself as Ila took the sandwich from him and bit down into it vigorously. "Thanks," she mumbled as she continued eating.
T5721 didn't address him, sending him only a single, blazing glare, before turning to what seemed to be a cage near the back of the room. He watched with a raised eyebrow as the soldier reached out slowly, and touched the steel cage. To James' surprise, the soldier jerked hard, practically launching himself away from the cage and landing on the floor, seemingly knocked out.
Ila turned to see T5721 land on his back, concern suddenly rising in her features. But she beat that concern down… she was his prisoner, she shouldn't be concerned for him. Is he dead? James wondered, only briefly, as the soldier quickly righted himself. T5721 cracked his neck and turned to the duo, expression once again blank. James' eyes narrowed as he saw the batteries that had been wired to the cage.
"Come," the soldier ordered as he walked passed the duo. Ila finished her sandwich and reluctantly followed him, James close behind her. For the first time in three days, she exited the lab building. They made their way towards the main building in the complex, entering to find the soldiers already waiting for him.
They saluted him, though reluctantly, as he passed, but he paid them no mind. Ila figured that it was just ingrained within their minds to salute as their commanding officer passed them by. Even if they didn't consider him in charge of them. James nodded to the soldiers, to which they nodded back, before they dropped their salute.
The red-eyed soldier made his way to one of the many computers in the main building, sitting down in front of it, before pulling up an internet browser. Ila stood behind him, trying to figure out what he was doing. The soldiers and James strode into the room and gathered around the computer to watch T5721 do whatever he was doing.
A few minutes passed as the soldier clicked through a webpage and typed a few things in. Ila looked over at a nearby printer as paper started to be fed through the machine. The soldier stood, still silent, and walked over to the printer as two pieces of paper made their way through the machine. "What did you do?" she asked.
"My friends…" the soldier started, taking hold of the first sheet of paper and passing it to Ila. "Tomorrow, we make our way towards our prize."
The soldiers nodded solemnly, none of them looked particularly excited, not even T5721. "What's the plan, then?" one of the soldiers asked as he took the other sheet of paper and handed it to Ila as well.
"The ten of you, plus Ila's bodyguard, will make your way, undercover, to the most northern part of the island, where you will land and wait for further instruction. Ila and I will be landing on the island as paying patrons to scout the area," he explained.
Ila cocked an eyebrow and looked at the two pieces of paper he had handed her. Sure enough, they were Jurassic World tickets. Her eyes widened, however, as she read her name. Ila Knight, she thought to herself… so he's using an alias for me. Now curious as to what name he had chosen for himself, he looked at his paper.
Tristram Knight
She was deaf to the other soldiers as they continued to ask questions, most of which Tristram ignored. She wracked her brain as she tried to figure out if he had lied to her, or if this was just some random name. If it was the former, it raised the question of why, especially if he knew that she would find out in this fashion. If it was the latter, then she had to ask why he chose that name. She knew what it meant.
"The paddock we are hunting doesn't have working cameras, I need to assess it personally to decide how we are to attack," T5721 explained, finally silencing the questions. "Now…" he grinned, revealing his sharpened teeth, "To Jurassic World."
It meant sorrow.
XXX
Well, there ya go. Fair warning… I have never been to Cal-tech… so I made up what it looked like. Sorry to anyone who goes there, and happens to have been in the PSYCH building, and knows it (probably) doesn't look as I described it.
But, besides that, interesting chapter, eh? So, both Mary and T5721 are converging on Jurassic World, just as I said they would. And we learn that the military wants I-04… is it really just to protect the asset? And we learn there's something off about Free… I wonder whose DNA is in him… well, hopefully this chapter has lined up enough pieces for you all to start guessing at what's going to happen. In any case, next chapter may very well be when the shit hits the fan… stay tuned until then!
