ACT III SCENE III
EUROPA
SHE KNEW THAT IT WAS A DREAM, with residual memories underneath the surface of her consciousness bleeding out into the scene. Kane was teaching them history, which was a mandatory and hopelessly boring subject. Cassandra's eyelids drooped heavily, head nodding twice in the last three minutes. Newt sat beside her, glancing to the side with a large yawn. Guess she wasn't the only one who was not thoroughly enraptured by Kane's thrilling lecture.
Resuming her previous perch with her cheek leaning against the back of her hand, she let her eyes roam about the room. They met with the amused gaze of the boy opposite her on the left side of the room. He had a smirk on his face as he watched her resist the allure of sleep.
Cassandra knew it wasn't real because they were all in their late teens, not the prepubescent children they had been when they were taking the class. Minho tilted his head downwards slightly, his expression holding a mischievous spark wrapped in a shroud of mystery, like a Van Gogh painting that swirled with the wonders of the universe. Cassandra bit her lip as she stared back at him, longing and enticement mixed together like an euphoric drug that made her pupils dilate with intoxication.
The next thirty minutes before Kane released them were excruciating, her mind already wandering to places that were too intimate to even whisper aloud. Her body moved towards the door swiftly, throwing a quick goodbye to Newt over her shoulder who was lazily shuffling his notes into his folder. Cassandra made her way back to her dorm, her fingers only just turning the knob against the door when she was roughly pushed inside.
The door closed behind her back with a sharp snap, his lips crashing against hers with almost ruthless zeal. He tasted like the first fall of snow, crisp and fresh against her skin, chilling her to the bone with exhilaration. Minho ran his fingers through her hair, tangling and pulling on the roots as he kissed her. Reckless abandon filled their bones, leaving only the aftermath of pleasure in its wake.
He laid her against the sterile white sheets, intertwining his fingers through hers above her head as he traced his lips against her neck. She felt their breaths mingling, like they were both particles of the same pair with a single inseparable shared state. Her mind felt like it was falling into a deep abyss, a shrill scream resonating from somewhere deep inside her subconscious.
"Cassie, wake up! Please wake up!"
Her breaths came out deep and ragged, adrenaline flowing through her veins like a corrosive peel. The soft caresses against her skin turned rough, angry, nails burrowing deep to draw blood. She could feel her lungs collapsing under their own weight; an obstruction in her chest desperately clawing it's way out.
"CASSIE, WAKE UP! CASSIE!"
Cassandra drew in a sharp breath, eyes flying open to complete darkness and beads of sweat trickling down into her eyes. She blinked hard twice before looking around, stretching her arm out in front of her and finding only cool metal inches above her head. And her sides. She was confined all around in some kind of box.
No... she felt her breaths hitch again as she balled her fists against the lid. It was a morgue. "HELP! LET ME OUT!" she screamed. "LET ME OUT!"
Tears started to prick her eyes, sobs ravaging her chest as she choked on her words. Cassandra beat her fists against the smooth metallic surface, its echoes reverberating all around her. Claustrophobia and fear of being buried alive closed in on her like rabid wolves ready to pick apart at her insecurity. They couldn't just leave her there, she was still alive. She screamed in desperation, she could even taste its bitter notes on her tongue. Darkness had always crippled her with its irrationality, unknown demons lurking in its obscurities. But the worst thing was the silence.
Inside the box, she could hear everything all at once—her muscles contracting, her lungs expanding, the churning of her stomach, her bones creaking, eyelids flapping. She could even hear the minuscule charge of her receptors firing, blood rushing in and out of her heart. It was driving her insane, and she screamed to drown the sounds out. She screamed until her throat was sore, and she passed out from exhaustion. Only to wake up and scream again.
Hours passed, maybe even days, she had no idea. Her connection with Minho had been severed so there was nothing she could do but to wait. Then after another eternity, she heard a metallic click. It grew louder, several more clicks and whirring joining it, and a sliver of light appeared through a crack on her left. Cassandra jolted upwards immediately, straining against the heavy lid to push it open. She took in a big gulp of cool fresh air, taking comfort in the bright white light that now surrounded her. Hastily, she clambered over the edge and fell heavily on the freezing tiled floor. Her body shivered at the contact and the frigid temperature surrounding her. She hugged herself tightly and looked around in bewilderment.
The room was different than the padded cell she had woken up in before. The walls here were grey with a bluish tint and all around her were panels of glass. Instead of a bed in the middle of the room, the metal box she had fallen out of took up its place. To the right, on the other side of the glass barrier was another identical room. Her heart started beating erratically in her chest, hands trembling with nauseous realization.
It was the room they had locked her and Helenus in.
She would recognize the glass prison anywhere, and it sent another chill running up her spine. Looking around, there was a low table arranged next to the wall with a tablet resting on it and plugged into a socket. It was obviously waiting for her.
Sighing in frustration, Cassandra dragged her way towards the device and picked it up gingerly. It was touchscreen, and she surprised herself by knowing how to use it. She supposed it was just one of those things like mechanical memory. The screensaver of the WICKED logo faded to black before the home screen appeared. There were only two files showing on it- a word document and a video file. She chose to read the document first.
WICKED MEMORANDUM – PROJECT SILENCE
Elite candidates have been selected from the possible sample, all of them possessing higher IQ and a propensity for curiosity. They are ideal in that they will be able to provide us with empirical data relating to the project and their interactions with each other's partners.
GROUP A: THOMAS AND TERESA
GROUP B: ARIS AND RACHEL
GROUP C: HELENUS AND CASSANDRA
UPDATE 1012.34.5
HELENUS HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH SUBJECT A7 FOLLOWING HIS TERMINATION AS A VIABLE SUBJECT.
Cassandra frowned, vaguely remembering what had happened to Helenus that led to his termination. It made her uncomfortable to think about it, somehow feeling that it related to her in some way. Had Rachel been right all this time? Was she the cause of Helenus' death? She reached up to flick across the screen and viewed the next page.
WICKED MEMORANDUM – PROJECT CERBERUS
Data from case studies on Subjects C1 and C2 have found that the virus takes root in the prefrontal cortex, particularly the region for emotional attachment. Stimulation in this area would yield interesting results in virus pathway.
ATTACHMENT VARIABLE: MINHO AND CASSANDRA
BETRAYAL VARIABLE: THOMAS AND TERESA
GRIEF VARIABLE: ARIS AND RACHEL
She knew there had been a connection in the Trials they all went through during their time in the Scorch. The brief reports on the projects weren't sufficient enough to make much sense of their designs. It seemed that WICKED had been trying to find a way to map the virus' pathway. She dimly recalled Rat Man mentioning a blueprint; this must be what he was referring to. It started to make a little more sense to her, but she still couldn't shake away the fervent anger in her chest.
WICKED MEMORANDUM – PROJECT GENESIS
Log 213:
We have discovered a most extraordinary finding in one of the children that was brought into the facility. The virus has not spread across the Killzone like everyone else, healthy tissue has been diagnosed as clear from infection. It is remarkable; we now have a starting point for us to build a blueprint, and retrace the virus' pathway as it spreads across the Killzone. Preventive measures can first be taken before we find a full cure.
Log 214:
Another half-Immune was found today- a boy this time. He seems to have weak health, something to do with a genetic heart defect. Hoping that this will not affect results. C1 has started to show peculiar symptoms, possibly a result of increased neural activity caused by the virus crowding only one region of the Killzone. Will require close scrutiny of irregular behavior.
The reports stopped there and Cassandra guessed that was the extent of what WICKED wanted her to know. She went back to the home screen and selected the video clips next. The first one showed a preview of the Homestead back in the Glade. The Keepers seemed to be having a meeting and Alby was standing in front of them.
"We can't trust her," he said.
"We know nothin' about her," Newt tried to reason. "Maybe the Creators sent her to help us. She remembers things, that ought to count for somethin'."
"I agree with Newt," Clint spoke up from the back row. "We've been here for more than a year and nothing's changed until now."
The rest of the boys started talking to each other until Alby sighed loudly. "I say we should put her in the Slammer and observe her for a while."
"What the shuck?" Gally crossed his arms. "She didn't even do anything other than tell us our names and pass out."
"She's not supposed to know our names," Alby snapped back. "She could be dangerous."
Minho snorted from the side. "Yeah, she's so dangerous."
They started arguing amongst themselves about her, trying to decide whether she was their saviour or destroyer. Winston and a few others had agreed with Alby's suggestion to throw her in the Slammer but Newt kept protesting vehemently. Suddenly, the door opened with a curt snap and everyone stopped to look at the newcomer.
"No one is going to do anything to the girl," Nick said, walking forwards to address the Council. He looked incredibly pale with large dark circles under his eyes. Cassandra remembered that he had recently gotten stung when she first arrived in the Maze. The boy must have still been recuperating.
"Nick," Alby looked at him in surprise. "You should be resting, man."
"This is too important," he said with a thin voice, taking a seat in front of everyone. "I went through the Changing and I think I know who she is- vaguely."
"You do?" Frypan asked doubtfully.
"She used to be one of us," he looked around at them. "That much I know. We can trust her."
"What if things are different now?" Winston asked.
"I'm willing to take the risk," Nick answered. "Minho… I want you to talk to her."
The Runner looked up at him with a hard look. "What?"
"She seems to remember you more than the rest of us," the leader said. "Get her to open up, find out if she knows anything else."
Minho sighed loudly in exasperation. "Fine."
"There's also another thing, but we'll talk about that after she wakes up," he stood from his seat, and then headed towards the door. "She's the key, guys. I know it."
The clip ended and Cassandra frowned as she stared at the screen. She had always known that the Council talked about her behind her back; there was always a lot more going on than she was privy about back in the Glade. Now that more of her memories had returned, she had a newfound appreciation for Nick that she regretted not having a lot earlier. It wasn't like she had any control over it, but it was rough knowing that he had tried so hard to look out for her and ended up dying because of it.
She swiped her finger across the screen and went on to the next clip, which was a lot shorter. The Keepers were standing around outside by the Deadheads, all of them staring off into the distance. The camera swerved briefly and she saw that they were watching Minho returning from the Maze and heading straight for the Homestead.
"What's with the secret Gathering?" Newt asked.
"I'm worried about something," Nick replied. "Minho doesn't really seem himself, does he?"
"What're you talkin' about?" the blonde frowned. "Looks completely fine to me."
"He keeps seeing the girl," Winston pointed out. "I noticed that too."
"Maybe he has a crush on her," Frypan snickered.
"I just want to make sure," Nick told them. "That neither of them are under any kind of influence from the Creators. We should separate them, see how that goes."
"What?" Newt exclaimed. "That's buggin' ridiculous!"
"Think about it, Newt," he said. "Minho doesn't just skip mapping for anything. He knows his priorities. This doesn't seem right, I have a bad feeling."
"Is it because of your visions?"
There was a brief pause before Nick finally answered. "Yeah…"
Newt brought a hand to his face and rubbed it wearily. "I don't like it but… okay. How long are we supposed to keep 'em apart though?"
"As long as it takes."
With a hard nod, Newt left without another word. The rest of the Keepers followed after him but Nick remained where he was. The beetle blade inched closer towards him, zooming down to his face. The clip went on for another long minute in silence and Cassandra thought that maybe it was a glitch. She was about to swipe the screen when Nick suddenly stirred.
"I just want them to be safe. I owe them so much."
The video ended and she went on to the next one quickly. She paused with a sudden thought as her finger hovered above the play button. Were these videos salvaged from the beetle blade she had killed back in the Glade? She had almost forgotten that she had brought the chip out of the Maze with her. Maybe WICKED had taken it when they had to stitch her leg up in the Scorch. Deciding that it would probably be of no use, she went on to the next clip.
It was dark for several seconds beforethere was a loud rustling. Light penetrated through the blackness of the screen and the beetle blade emerged from under a bush in the Deadheads. The first thing she saw was a boy hunched on the ground with his hand outstretched over a grave, palm flat against the wooden cross embedded in the dirt. He looked up and she saw that it was Nick, tears streaming down his face.
"I'm so sorry, Stephen. I thought I could fix things, but I can't. They won't let me tell the others what I know but I can tell you. Dead men tell no tales, right?"
He took a deep shuddering breath and Cassandra unconsciously leaned forwards. Stephen? She recalled the time when she had to clean the graves in the Deadheads with the Baggers in her first week. There had been a sprig of fresh wild flowers lying on the grave. Nick must have been really close to the boy.
"I saw so many things during the Changing. The world ending, Cranks, a virus, my… my brother… I found out what happened to him. I have to get him back; they have him trapped in there. Cassandra and Minho, I knew them too. They saved me. I have to help them all, help us."
He sniffled and let out another heavy sigh. "I wish you were still here. I miss you."
There was the sound of a twig snapping from nearby and Nick sat up straight, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt. Then she heard her own voice calling out to him.
"Nick?"
The video ended and Cassandra sat there, numbly staring at the tablet. She didn't know what to make of the new information fed to her but sadness squeezed her heart tightly in its grip. A moment later, the door to her room opened and she whirled around to look at who was visiting her now. If it was Rat Man, she was going to throw this thing at his shuck face.
But it wasn't Janson who entered the room. Cassandra gasped and stumbled backwards towards the box. She felt her body started to tremble as she remembered all the memories she had of the blonde woman in front of her. It was like staring at a ghost, she was the last person that Cassandra had expected to see ever again. Then perfectly lined red lips smiled back at her deceitfully.
Dr Clark.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
check out the new story titled "mnemosyne" (previously tempest) where i'll be adding extra scenes from this story. the chapter titled "always" are additional memories that i didn't add into this chapter because of fever code spoilers. so if you've read the book, feel free to check it out! xx