Cruel Twists of Fate
2020
Lori looked down at her handiwork with a satisfied smile. Her new X5 patient was now hooked up to several monitoring devices. She was safe, for the moment anyway.
"Hey babe." RX greeted as he bounced into the room.
Lori looked up at her ward with a smile. The young teen was the only one in the world who could pull her from the depths of depression whenever her mind wandered to *him*.
He was the only ray of sunshine not blotted out by the clouds Manticore had so mercilessly placed into her life.
RX was thirteen. He'd been a problem child when he was younger. In fact, he owed his present position to Lori. She'd been trying to speak with a judge when she'd first seen him. He was lucky she'd been viewing the judge's trials that day, or he would have been in a detention center. She'd heard his case, and during the recess, persuaded the judge to assign him community service.
RX had no one. His parents had abandoned him shortly after the pulse, and he was lucky to still be alive. So, it only seemed natural that he should come live with her. The adoption had been legalized a little less than a year ago. Now, as she watched him, he reminded her of another foster child she'd lived known. Her mouth dried and she forced down the tears.
RX walked over to the bed. "So, this is her?" He questioned. "She's hot!"
Lori suppressed a laugh. "I hate to burst your prepubescent bubble but I think she's outta your league."
"I know, I know. A genetically altered killing machine." He looked at her again and grinned evilly. "But what a way to go!" He dodged a paper cup thrown at him by his foster parent.
"Is your presence here purely to annoy me, or do you have ulterior motives?"
"I found out who she is." He stated, his eyes drifting down to the hospital gown Lori had dressed the woman in.
Lori frowned, walking over to pull the sheet up past the woman's breasts. RX looked up with crimson cheeks and embarrassment plain on his face. It took great control to hold back laughter. "Don't keep me in suspense you little pervert, who she is?"
"Max Guevara, messenger for Jam Pony. You know, that delivery service. I can't find out that much about her. She's clean, a little *too* clean if you catch my meaning."
"What do expect, RX? She's an X5! Manticore isn't going to give up until either they're destroyed or the X5s are 'home.' She has to be *too* clean or she'd be back in the training program. I'm sure most of them would rather die than go back there..." Lori sighed, turning away. She'd gotten a little too personal. She was surprised to feel a hand gently placed on her shoulder. When she turned, she was even more surprised by the tender hug RX offered.
"Listen, Lori. I know you got a whole hell of a lot of hurt inside. Damn girl, if you won't tell *me* why this is so important to you, it must be bad. But...you're the closet thing to a family I got. I know I can't make any of it go away, but you ain't ever alone. All right?"
Lori stared into the boy's face. She knew he was only trying to help. But, somehow, it only reminded her of the pain she tried to bury. "Hey, buddy, you and me *are* family. Don't forget that. As for me and my mood swings, don't worry about it. I'm just *way* too emotional for my own good. We both know that."
RX laughed and nodded. "Got that right." He paused, still examining her face. "You look tired. Why don't you let me watch Sleeping Beauty while you go get some rest?"
Lori hesitated, glancing in Max's direction.
The boy sighed. "Will you trust me for once?! I'm not going to *do* anything. Give me some credit here, Lori. I'll just read or something. I can bring my laptop in. I won't touch her..." He crossed his heart with a finger.
Lori sighed. She had to admit, she was tired. "All right, but you better be telling me the truth. I have eyes everywhere young man. You know what happens when you misbehave."
RX grimaced. "Do I ever! Just me and the geriatrics wing of the hospital. Bedpans and diapers everywhere. It's enough to make Charles Manson behave."
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The road itself was darker than night was supposed to be. It seemed to summon the evils of the shadows around him as he slipped into the telephone booth. He shivered against an imaginary cold and forced his fingers to press the proper keys. The phone rang twice.
"Hello, Dr. Davis here." She sounded as if she was trying to mask her weariness. He couldn't help but smile. He could picture her trying to change as she answered the phone. No doubt she thought it was the hospital.
"Lori."
"Oh my God!"
She no longer sounded tired. Instead, he could hear a worry in her voice which made tears spring to his eyes. "The prodigal son, no?"
"What...Where are you?"
"They're on to me, Loren. I don't know how much longer I can run."
"Then come home for God's sake." Her voice shook with emotion. "You swore you'd come home. You promised me you wouldn't get yourself killed. Dammit! I'm not going to let you die. You can't! We don't have to stay in Seattle. We can leave. We can go anywhere you want. Just come home, please!"
He distinctly heard a sob. "I can't, not yet."
"But, if they catch you..." Her voice cracked.
"I'll deal with it. What's the worst they can do, kill me?" He laughed wryly.
"It's not funny. You don't know what they'll do to you. It could be..." Again her voice cracked.
"I love you, Lori. You have to know that. I love you more than anything in this world. You remember that Orpheus story you read me?"
"Yes." She answered softly.
"He went to Underworld to get his wife back, didn't he? Well, I'd be more than willing to do that for you. I'd go to Hell and back for one night with you Lori, you have to know that."
She sobbed again. "I love you, too. But, honey, Orpheus didn't get his wife back. He lost her." Lori paused, her throat clenching. There was no sound from the other end of the phone, only silence. The silence continued into eternity. His voice was no more.
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Lori awoke with a start. The bed, as well as her clothes, were soaked through with sweat. The dream! God, how she hated that dream. She rolled onto her side, curling her knees up into a fetal position. She hadn't let herself cry in a long time. She'd always convinced herself that he could still be alive. Now however, two years after the phone call, she knew it was all a vague fantasy. He was gone. Utterly, completely. But, she also knew she couldn't dwell on it any longer.
He would be so ashamed of her if he saw her now. She sighed wearily, pushing herself from the bed, she walked into the bathroom. The fluorescent lights made the room seem brighter. Slowly, she brought one hand up and pushed down the high neck of her shirt. Her fingers touched the scar, still deep and noticeable. A scar which ran halfway across her throat, and stopped millimeters from a major artery.
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His world was a cold, empty sea of blackness. He could not see; he could not move; and he wished he could not hear. If he strained against the eternal din of noise in his ears, he could hear the sound of monitoring equipment and the mumble of voices. However, he did not strain often. Even with the attempt, the recorded voice was constant. He knew what they were trying to do. He knew what they hoped to accomplish. He would not let them. Every time the words broke through his brain's defenses, he pictured her face. This renewed his strength and resolve to fight.
It had been *so* long. He'd resisted for such a long time. Nothing they did could break through the wall he'd built around himself. But, slowly, that wall was eroding with time. As each second passed, he knew any hope of escaping was more and more impossible.
"He's not responding to treatment correctly. It's been too long, they're losing patience."
"He'll come around. No one can resist the procedures forever, not even him. Give him time. When he's ready, he'll be our most powerful ally."
Despite his resolve to fight, the recording was beginning to have an effect. Soon he would be nothing more than what he was created for, death personified.