Clumsily storing the guard in the corner, his joints aching, the boy quickly returned to the TV screen to watch in horror as guards pointed their guns at four teenagers back-to-back in a large room. His dark eyes were wide in terror as he watched Lutwidge step into the room. He knew what he had to do.
Gathering every bit of courage he had, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the most terrifying thing he might ever had done in his life. He closed his eyes and said a short prayer he'd heard once. From where? He couldn't remember. Uttering the last words of the prayer he took another breath.
"Brother?" A voice asked from behind him. Spinning around quickly, he saw her. A beautiful young girl steeped out of the forbidding shadows. Her dark innocent eyes contrasted immensely with her watery figure. She walked over to him carefully. "Brother." She smiled.
"Sister!" His eyes flashed with excitement as she approached. He suddenly realized that if he touched her, she'd be infected with his deadly disease. He turned away from her. "Sister, you can't touch me."
"Are you too good for me now?" She snapped cruelly. Little did the boy know that his sister had also been infected with the same disease and it was slowly driving her mad. The affects of the next stage were quickly moving through her body leaving only moments of competent thought left. Second by second, another thought, another emotion, disappeared leaving only anger in it's void.
"N-no." He said a little confused. He shook it off and raised his dark eyes to hers. "I'm infected with this…this disease! I'm…I'm not going to live." His voice caught in his throat as he painfully uttered the last words. He looked at her waiting for shook, fear, or surprise. Whatever her emotion, he was going to be there for her.
"Why don't you just get the cure?" She asked with a sassy tone in her voice. "They have to have it here somewhere. That's the whole reason my friends and I are here. Although the morons probably got caught." She tried to blow a piece of watery hair out of her crystal glass eyes. But, it just rippled and stayed where it was.
Shocked, the boy reeled back from his sister. How could she be so cruel? What words was she speaking? It didn't matter, they had such little time. He shook his head and asked:
"You're friends…they're sick because of me…aren't they?"
"Yep. You really screwed things up this time." She said nonchalantly looking around. "Do you know where the cure is? It'd help me a lot?" He stared at her blankly. Had she no feelings? He looked out of the corner of his eye to see the TV screen displaying a small image of Lutwidge yelling at the group of teens.
"Listen sister." He glared at her knowing he'd have to be strict.
"I have a name now!" She smiled excitedly still retaining some of her regular personality. "It's Marina! Isn't it the most beautiful name you've ever heard?!" She jumped to her feet, "We should give you a name! You could be…what did they say? Some name I heard a lot…oh right! You can be Bart II!"
"We haven't any time for this!" He yelled. His pain was increasing even more with his time growing near. In more agony he looked her in the eyes. "Y-you're friends. They're sick because of me. I'm not sure…but I can feel it." A pause filled the room. Marina was about to speak when her brother stopped her. "I'm going to die. I don't have a chance. I know it. I don't know why, but I'm sure as you are my sister that I won't live through this." He turned and walked over to the screen for a closer look. "For all my life, well at least as far back as I can remember, I haven't done anything of importance. I was born into this world, the only world I know," He touched the screen with the guards aiming their guns carefully, "in so much pain. All I've done is cause pain. Nothing but agony for you, your friends, and me." His hand dropped from the screen, "Now, I can finally do something to save us all. You. Your friends. You'll all be safe. But, for this to work I need you." He turned to her, his dark watery eyes filled with a sort of incomprehensible pain. Just turning around seemed to hurt him. "See that counsel there?"
"Yes." She said nearly emotionless.
"Good. I'm going to go in there. When I go in there I can short circuit the power system."
"What good will that do?!" Marina cried, "The back up generators will start!"
"Not this time." He shook his head; "Before I came here I did some tampering with that equipment."
"How?! You don't know anything about that sort of thing." Marina crossed her arms sternly convincing herself it was the worst idea she'd ever heard.
"Actually, I had some one else to do it for me. Whoever he was, he seemed to know who I was and what I have." He looked at his hand, "Whatever I got, the guy was terrified of it. So scared." He stared at his hand sadly.
"W-what do I do?"
"When I go through, the system will shut down and the security system will turn off. With no back up generators, the doors should be open. All the others will escape! Even your friends!" He exclaimed. His eyes flashed with a sort of excitement she'd never seen in her brother before. "But, you have to see this plan through. You have to make sure your friends can escape in the darkness and the other 'subjects'," He shuddered while saying the word, "have to escape!" Slowly everything Marina's brother was saying began to sink in.
"But…but you'll die!" She exclaimed panicked. He lowered his head. "The electric things going on in there will kill you!"
"I know."
"Then why?!" Marina was about half-mad and half upset.
"Don't you see? I'll finally do something right. Something that will help someone." A tear rolled down his blue cheek. Surprised he watched it splatter on the floor. He never knew he could do such a thing. Whatever it was. I guess I won't have time to find out. "Now, will you do this sister? Will you do this for me? Marina."
"Br-brother. Y-you're the only one I've ever known. Since I met you, I knew you'd always protect me. How…how can I let you die?" She looked at him. He stood so proud and tall like…like the guards that used to surround her cell. She missed him so much.
"Let me do this. Let me save you. All you have to do is promise you will help these people escape. Just to let them go." He begged her with his eyes.
"All right." Marina whispered looking away. She watched him turn back to the console and take a deep breath. "But, won't you die the instant you get in there?"
"I'll travel along the rubber wires until I get to the main control thing." He said not knowing what it was really called. "It's all over from there."
"Y-you don't have to go." Marina walked up a little, holding back the immense anger building within her. "I could go instead."
He just smiled and shook his head. "It wouldn't be right. Besides," He looked her straight in her glass crystal eyes on her cerulean face, "I'm already dead." Tears started to roll down her cheeks too and she turned away from him sobbing. Holding his breath a minute, he forced himself to move toward the main control console, his guillotine. He took one look back at her. "Good bye. Marina." He then moved closer and closer, trying to ignore the pain that froze him in place. Finally, he climbed in.
He dove in following what he felt was rubber. Sliding along the red rubber tube as fast as he could. He came closer to a large colorful thing. Its base was green with many colorful cylinders branching off it like small rainbow logs in a grassy meadow. You like to think about those things before you die. Silver oddly shaped gadgets encircled and twirled around the green meadow.
Everything and nothing was happening at once. Electrical impulses flew above his head and below his wire like a warning. He sped faster and faster. One million thoughts flying through his mind as if he were trying to think of all he'd ever done. They flowed through him like the fastest white water rapids. Thoughts of the guards, Lutwidge, the chemical, injections, that boy in the vents, torture, bars, and his sister.
Subject 7AHSDD entered the main control panel. The electricity leaped on him and seemed to eat him alive. Tearing his flesh and ripping him to shreds. It was so unbearable he couldn't even scream. As the electricity feasted, slowly destroying itself in the process, 7ASHDD remember who he was and where he came from. But, his mind slowly disappeared from him and anguish took over.
