Disclaimer: I intend no copyright infringement nor do I wish to be hauled into court. So, let's all save each other a lot of trouble and time, and just pass this chapter off as the ramblings of an insane eighth grader hmm? Please?
Rating: Oh, let's name it a mild PG-13 this time around.
Summary: In this installment in the saga of Elf 17, things heat up as Elf 17 tries to give Jarod his memory back during a flight for freedom. But the question remains, will the person Jarod's become trust her, and will he even want to leave? [Keep an eye out, something might actually happen in this chapter ;)]
!!! Author's Note!!!: There is only one chapter after this one, but don't worry, there's more coming. Check my bio if you would like to see what I mean. Oh, and a warm welcome to whitefire. Glad you're enjoying the story!
Feedback: (Shadow Elf has come to the decision that in order to get past this rather demented but powerful mage, she will indeed have to fight him. Perhaps she'll be able to match wit against brawn)
[Shadow Elf raises her hands above her head dramatically] "I'd watch out if I were you mister, I've got, um, powers! Yeah! Powers beyond your mere mortal imagining." Oh shit. If this doesn't work I'm so screwed…
Maverick: [Merely raising an eyebrow] Really? You wouldn't mind a demonstration then correct? After all, if you're as powerful as you claim…
[All color drains from Shadow Elf's face but she gives a weak smile] "Uh, sure, yeah, okay." [Clears throat] "Hear me oh, goddess… uh, Hecta!" okay, you've never been that great at using your powers but try to call upon a sword or something. "I ask you for a um, sword! Appear in thy hand!"
(There is a poof of blue smoke above Shadow Elf's hand, as she uses her rather amateur powers.)
[Shadow Elf smiles as the smoke clears] "Hah! You better watch out Mr. Mage because I have a…[she stares dumbfounded at what's in her hand] "A sandwich?"
Maverick: [His jaw drops as he stares at the materialized PB&J sandwich in her hand] Oh now this is just sad…
Quote:
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters."
- Frank Lloyd Wright
***********************************ShadowElfBard***********************************
Reader's Ask, Writer Delivers
9:15 PM
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
SL-27 Holding Block 24
The second that the lights went out, Elf 17 leapt off of her bed and bolted to the door. Her eyes adjusted immediately to the pitch black around her and adrenaline began pumping through her body, urging her muscles to work with all of the power inside of them. Without meaning to, her transformation took over and as she threw open the door her spliced eyes could see all of the confused sweepers running around, bumping into each other in the darkness.
She couldn't help but smirk at them.
She turned away from their clumsiness and began to focus on her prey. No! A silent voice called out at her in protest. Not your prey! Not your prey! The animal inside of her tried to ignore the voice and keep hold, but slowly she was able to take control once more. My transformations are becoming more and more unstable, she noticed with a slight shudder as she was back in her own mindset.
She began scanning through the black void that had engulfed the sub-level, and then saw Jarod's door. She advanced cautiously, moving gracefully past sweepers who weren't able to see their own nose in the complete lack of light. Upon reaching the door she merely pushed it open, thanking whatever gods there may be that nearly everything from sub-level twenty-seven to sub-level twenty-one was completely controlled by computers.
As soon as she looked in she spotted him, sitting on his bed with a complete look of bafflement over his features. He wasn't scared or frightened at all, merely confused. She approached him silently, her bare feet providing her the padding she needed to remain unknown to him. When she was perhaps a foot away she purposely cracked her knuckles to grab his attention.
His face spun towards her direction, a bit of fear creeping into his eyes. "Who's there? What's going on?"
Elf 17 sighed. Here came the hard part. "Jarod, I'm right in front of you. My name is Elf 17."
"Huh? Who's Jarod?"
She could have kicked herself. Duh, you idiot! He doesn't remember his name! "Um, what's your name?"
"My name is CP 1, I belong to the Centre." He told her slowly, as if wondering whether or not it was a good idea to talk to her. Suddenly all of his questions seemed to pop out at once. "What's going on? Did Mr. Raines send you? Why aren't the lights working? Do I need to fix them?"
"Well you see…" Think fast…
He raised an eyebrow. "Is this a simulation?"
"Yes! Yes, this is a simulation." Elf 17 told him enthusiastically, thankful for the idea he gave her.
"What am I supposed to be simulating?"
"You are to…to simulate someone trying to get out of the Centre, while evading sweepers. Mr. Raines told me so."
"Oh." He went silent for a moment. "How old are you? You sound very young to be working for the Centre." He stared in the direction of her voice a little longer and then his eyes widened. "You're a pretender aren't you?"
She gave a little shrug, getting into the pretend she'd created for herself with ease. "Yeah. I'm going to be simulating with you."
"With me? I've never done a double simulation before."
"I haven't either. But I'm the only one who can see in the dark, and every sublevel up to twenty is going to be blacker than Raines' soul."
He blinked.
"Uh, forget that reference. Let's just simulate hmm? Before Mr. Raines or Mr. Lyle gets mad?"
He immediately jumped up and prepared to follow her.
She smiled once more and then began walking out, when she realized he wasn't following. She turned back around. "Aren't you coming?"
"I can't see you."
She slapped her forehead, god she was being stupid today. "Okay don't move. Now you're going to feel something touch your pants but it's only me okay? Just stay still."
She could smell the fear and nervousness coming off of him as she knelt on the ground beside him and reached for his pant legs. What was he so worried about… then it hit her. She jumped up and moved back from him. "Whoa! No, no! I'm not doing that! I'm just ripping off some of the fabric from your pant legs!"
He calmed noticeably.
She knelt back down beside him. "Men." She muttered as she ripped off a good strip. She then grabbed CP 1's arm, and tied an end of the fabric to his wrist.
She stood up and grabbed a hold of the loose end, pulling on it once or twice to make sure her knot held.
"All right CP 1, I pull and you follow. Easy enough to understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let's get going."
She headed out the door of his cell, tugging on the fabric to get him to move faster, hoping fervently that this "simulation" didn't backfire on her.
CP 1 didn't complain as she jogged faster, his mind already deeply involved in the sim, and so the two just moved through the darkness in silence, running like the hounds of hell were nipping at their heels. Which, if you thought about it, was an extremely accurate comparison.
Time Undeterminable
The Centre
Lyle's Personal Office
Lyle was seated comfortably at his large and rather expensive desk, enjoying the soft padding of his tall and exquisite chair, while he worked on some evaluations on his brand new computer. Suddenly, the computer screen turned black.
"Wha--hey!" He yelled at he computer, before smacking it and trying to turn it back on. He eventually gave up and angrily stormed over to his intercom.
He pressed the button. "Ming? My computer just shut down, is something going on?"
Ming was his secretary, a twenty-nine year old Chinese woman who was just as confused as he was at the moment. "I'm not sure sir. My computer has gone off as well--" There was suddenly the sound of a phone ringing in the background.
"One moment Mr. Lyle." Ming said, before turning away from the intercom to answer the call.
Lyle tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for her to come back. When she did, she sounded very worried.
"Mr. Lyle? That was the director! He says that there has been a Centre-wide computer failure, and that he needs you to come down to his office straight away!"
Lyle blanched as he thought of the implications. He didn't even say goodbye as he disconnected his intercom conversation, he just turned and left, nearly sprinting out the door and down the hall.
As soon as he'd gone, an air vent door was pushed open, and a mildly nervous Angelo crept out. He looked around the office once or twice, as if checking to see if anyone was watching him, and then scurried over to Lyle's desk.
He opened one drawer after another, muttering about 'Elf' and 'the key'. He stopped as he reached the third drawer down on the left side of the desk, and a little grin came to his face. He reached his hand in, and there was a flash of silver and black before he tucked away what he'd taken into his shirt. He then closed the drawer and jumped back into the air vent, going to travel wherever he needed to go to carry out his mission, whatever it may be.
Time Undeterminable
The Centre
SL-20
Elf 17 and CP 1 had been moving upward for seven floors now, their presence masked by darkness, which caused all of the sweepers on those levels who would have been problems to become as insignificant and harmless as ants. They'd scurry around, hurrying wherever they went, but they weren't large enough to cause any real damage.
But once they'd reached sub-level twenty, it had all changed.
The sub-levels weren't all mysterious. Floors one through ten were your basic supply closets and storage areas, nothing really big in any way. Eleven though seventeen were legitimate projects, that if checked out by FBI or CIA or any other government intelligence and law enforcement teams would check out as normal, regular, run-of-the-mill science experiments. Eighteen through twenty however, were the Pretender project areas. Sim labs, physical training gyms, computer labs, offices of various semi-higher-ups of the Centre, were all on those floors. None of that would really have been a problem, had it not been for the fact that the lights up here were run by good old-fashioned switches and electricity.
Which meant that shutting down the computer functions would still leave the lights on.
Which meant that every sweeper on the floor would easily see them.
Which meant that if they weren't careful, they'd be thrown back into their cells before they even reached floor nineteen.
CP 1, still simulating, pointed out this problem to her before they'd reached the level. She'd known about it also, and had been running possible evasions of capture though her head, but because CP 1 had already been in pretender mode, he'd already had a solution in mind.
"Ma'm?" he asked her quietly. They were paused at the door that led out to sub-level twenty-one, Elf 17 standing in front of him.
She turned at his voice and then gave him a sad smile, which she knew he couldn't see in the dark. "Jar- CP 1," she corrected herself, "please don't call me ma'm. There's enough of an age difference between us for you to be my father. Just call me Elf 17."
"All right then, Elf 17 it is." A bit of his old "Jarod bravado" was shining through. CP 1 felt the change, and found he rather enjoyed it. "The next level we are attempting to escape through will be lit up. I take it you know this?"
"Yes."
"Right then. It hasn't been that long since the floors have lost computer access and control. So, the sweepers on this floor will most likely not have any orders yet." He paused, analyzing in silence. "We have two obvious choices presented. One is-"
"We rush in and use brute force to get through and the other is to stay out of sight."
"Precisely. I think that perhaps brute force would not work well, seeing as that is what the sweepers have been taught to handle. So hiding, evading, where will we be able to do that best?"
She went quiet, mentally following his logic to see where it would lead. She smiled when she reached the destination he'd come up with. "The air vents."
"Yes. And we can follow them all the way out to-"
"No, we can't. The farthest we can travel using them is level ten. The Centre sees the air vents as an obvious escape route. Ours will have to be unpredictable and ever-changing."
"Point made." He agreed. "May I remove the fabric from my wrist though? It's rather irritating."
"Go right ahead."
He did so and then rubbed his wrist, feeling nothing but his own smooth skin. "Thank you. I-I have a thing about being locked onto something."
Elf 17 touched the metal collar around her neck lightly. She knew exactly what he meant. "Are you prepared to enter?"
"Yes. Let us continue the simulation."
She flinched at the mention, but of course, because they were in the dark, he didn't notice.
Time Undeterminable
The Centre
Mr. Parker's office
Lyle entered the room in a hurry, eager to find out what was going on. Inside, Mr. Parker sat fuming at his desk, Raines stood angrily on his left, Bridgett was sitting suggestively on his desk at the right, and an annoyed Ms. Parker with her frightened technician stood in the back corner of the room.
"Lyle, glad you could join us." Ms. Parker said sarcastically, not meaning a word of it.
"Hello sis." Lyle responded just as falsely, noticing how her technician avoided his gaze.
"Now that everyone's here, let's just get down to the point, " Mr. Parker said, folding his hands. "There has been a Centre-wide computer failure. We have all of our technicians on the problem," then Mr. Parker saw Broots, who was knocking his knees together with nervousness. "Well, almost all of them."
Ms. Parker rolled her eyes upward. "I told you, I was in a meeting with him. One that I need to finish once we get past all of this crap. He's not going anywhere."
Raines glared at Broots, and Broots met his gaze briefly before closing his eyes and pretending that he was standing in a deep dark hole where no one could reach him. While he was at it, he pictured that Ms. Parker was with him too. Raines had turned away from him so nobody noticed the small smile that crept onto his face.
"Dad," Lyle said, trying to get his fathers attention. "What are we dong about the computer failure? What sweepers have been sent down? For all we know everybody we have locked down in the sublevels could be loose right now."
Mr. Parker opened his mouth to answer his son but was interrupted when Raines' two-way radio beeped. Raines clicked it open and raised it to his mouth and ear.
"What is it?" He rasped. (…) "Who's escaped?" (…) Raines eyes narrowed. "What?" he didn't yell but made his tone low and deadly. (…) "Well then get on it! Now!" He clicked the radio off and regarded Mr. Parker grimly. "Jarod is out. As is Elf 17."
Everyone's eyes widened with the exception of Broots and Bridgett. Bridgett had just raised an eyebrow and Broots still had his eyes closed.
Raines continued. "The sweepers have received flashlights from storage and just discovered the disappearances. The three other projects we have down in SL-27 didn't move when the lights went out and are already sedated by the doctors down there and have been moved to a lockable location."
"Jarod's gone?!" Ms. Parker yelled furiously, putting on an act. "Oh now this is just great. What do you want to bet that 'Wonder Boy' is already half way across the state line."
Lyle and Raines exchanged looks.
"Actually Ms. Parker, he is almost definitely still in the building." Raines said, hiding his hatred for the woman because he was in the chairman's presence. "It seems that Elf 17 decided to escape and is dragging Jarod along with her, but there are some…failsafe devices that have been planted to keep both of them within the Centre boundaries."
Ms. Parker crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Oh really? What, did you plant a homing device on one of them?"
Lyle and Raines once again looked at each other.
"Oh you have to be kidding me." Ms. Parker sneered at them, though inside she was wondering how this would affect Jarod and Elf 17's escape. "That's your failsafe device? I think one of them would notice if they were carrying a damn tracking device."
"The tracking device will work. It will activate the moment that the one wearing it leaves the Centre." Raines told her. "As it had not gone off, I can only presume that they have not yet left."
"Presume all you want you walking corpse, but if Jarod's gone it's on your shiny head." Ms. Parker snarled at him.
"Please Angel, we don't time for this." Mr. Parker admonished. "Let's just help the sweeper teams in whatever way we can and put the two back where they belong hmm?"
Bridgett leaned against Mr. Parker seductively and he put an arm around her. Bridget looked at Ms. Parker, still sucking on a red lollipop. "Yes hon, listen to your daddy. He knows what's right." She looked up at the chairman and winked. "Don't you love?"
Mr. Parker smiled warmly at his newly wed. "That I do sweetheart."
Ms. Parkers eye twitched and she unconsciously began reaching for her gun, either to shoot the blond or herself. Raines looked sick at the disgusting display, and Lyle just tilted his head thoughtfully as he thought of how his father would react if he knew that his son had slept with his current wife twice in the week before the two's wedding. Broots was still living within his self-created pretend. God how Jarod must love this…he thought as his 'dream Parker' told him how strong and brave and attractive he was.
Mr. Parker then turned away from Bridgett and cleared his throat, realizing how much attention they were receiving. "Now then, you angel, can go finish you meeting with uh, with um," he looked at the technician. "What was your name again?"
Broots glazed eyes snapped back into focus. "Huh? Oh it's uh, Broots sir."
Mr. Parker nodded. "Ah of course.'' Even as he said this Broots realized that he was going to forget his name again within the next two minutes. "So angel, you can go finish your meeting with Broods," Broots rolled his eyes upward, "and Raines and Lyle will work as hard as they can to bring the others back in right?" he gave the two a meaningful look and they both nodded simultaneously.
"As long as I can leave." Ms. Parker growled. She grabbed Broots' shirt collar, as he was trying to get back to his fantasy daydream, and stalked out.
Time Undeterminable
The Centre
SL-11
Elf 17 held back a sneeze as she rounded yet another corner in the dusty air vents. CP 1 was behind her, though she'd insisted that he go first, and he traveled through the gray metallic tunnels as though he'd been born to it.
"How are you doing back there?" she asked him, not able to look behind her because of the confined space.
"I'm doing fine." He paused. "Elf 17?"
"Yes?"
"I know I'm not supposed to break sim but, at what point are we to stop the simulation? When do we go back to our cells?"
Elf 17, for all her pretending skills and genius, could not stop her breath from catching in her throat.
CP1 stayed quiet, awaiting her answer.
"We are to continue the simulation all of the way through." She told him, hating herself for having to lie to him, but knowing it was for his own good.
"All the way through?" CP 1 asked in disbelief. "But Mr. Raines and Mr. Lyle have hardly let me leave my cell for lunch, much less go outside of the Centre."
"Apparently you've earned their trust." Elf 17 said back nonchalantly.
CP 1 went quiet and they continued on, though Elf 17 was beginning to wonder whether or not he'd bought her explanation.
When they'd reached the next sub-level, sub-level 10, they became aware of sounds resembling mass hysteria outside of the vents. They peeked out through some metallic slits and saw that large numbers of sweepers were running down to the lower sub-levels, while others remained on this floor, looking around, communicating with two-way radios or just running around in a panic. The one thing that they all had in common was the firearm at their side, and the tranquilizer gun in their hands.
CP 1 scanned the area, and then noticed the same thing that Elf 17 had. There was an area being ignored completely, and in that area were three different doors that no doubt led into three different rooms. Should they have to, it would be no trouble to go in and hide in one of the three rooms until things outside had died down.
The one thing that Elf 17 had considered that was different from CP 1's thoughts however, was that it would be a perfect place to brig the old Jarod back privately. She had a feeling that his presence would greatly aid the escape, and practically secure their success. The problem was though, that it would take time and it would require his cooperation. She then glanced over at him and his intense gaze as he watched the sweepers, oblivious to how real this escape "simulation" actually was.
Perhaps it's time. She thought to herself. He'd just run back to his cell once he found out about my lie should I wait until we're out of the Centre. Maybe if I bring him back inside, it'll work out.
She made her decision. "CP 1? Theoretically should we choose to hide in one of those three unguarded and decidedly empty rooms, which would you choose? I believe that one of the two on the left side of the hall would work, but can't make up my mind on which one in particular."
He lightly pursed his lips. "Well, I se your reason for picking the ones on the left and agree with it. I think that the first door would be best, given its location and lack of windows."
She nodded, agreeing with him. "All right then, let's prepare to get over."
He looked at her questioningly. "We're going over?"
"Yes. There isn't a problem with that is there?"
"No, the decision just took me by surprise is all." He jerked his head in the direction of one of the air vent openings. "Let's get to it."
She moved to the side as best she could to let him past her and watched silently as he crawled off. "Yes," she whispered, "let's."
She then moved off to follow him.
Time Undeterminable
The Centre
Mr. Lyle's Office
Lyle burst into his office, ignoring the questioning yell he received from his secretary, as he slammed shut his door. He didn't mean to be rude, but didn't have time to be polite with Elf 17 and Jarod running loose.
He ran his gloved hand through his hair and straightened his tie, preparing to look calm and cool once he left his office. He tried to slow down his rapidly beating heart and just quietly walked over to his desk.
Raines had told him what to fetch, though he needn't have bothered. Lyle had been planning on grabbing it anyhow, and intended to use it once he caught up with one of the particular escapees.
He reached down and began pulling open the third drawer on the left side of his desk. A smirk grew on his face just picturing a scene in his mind. Cornering the pretender, watching the trembling and smelling the fear as he pulled out the…
His jaw dropped so low it threatened to unhinge and fall off.
It was gone! Oh God it was gone!
He frantically rummaged through the drawer, and upon finding nothing began to go through the other drawers as well. His calm facade forgotten, he threw papers left and right, pulled out the drawers and dumped their contents on the ground.
In the end he shook with rage, his desks items littering his once clean floor, and his eyes burned with unbridled anger and a hint of insanity. But it was gone, and he wouldn't find it in time.
And up in the air vents of the Centre, Angelo crawled on.
Time Undeterminable
The Centre
SL-10---Computer Storage Room
"Get in here quick!" Elf 17 hissed, after getting the door open. Cp 1 ran out from behind the corner and rushed in, barely making it inside before Elf 17 slammed and locked the door.
The room they were in was clearly a storage area of computers. There were boxes on shelves, old and molding with faint marker on the sides that years ago named what was stored. There was a workbench with piled monitors, a metal organizer with clear containers that showed computer bits and scraps, motherboards, and hard drives. There was a camera in the corner, but Elf 17 thought that even if the computer functions were to go back on the camera would still remain lifeless.
CP 1 looked didn't look around as Elf 17 did, and hardly noticed at all where he was. Something more important was preoccupying his thoughts.
"This isn't a simulation is it?" he whispered quietly.
Elf 17 turned and met his gaze slowly and calmly, knowing that she had to tell him the truth. "No. This is very, very real. When did you first know?"
"About two levels down. The sweepers were too good at acting, and you were too calm. Had you really been simulating, you would have been nervous or agitated, just as your subject would have been. "
Elf 17 gave a small smile. "And that's why you're the master pretender." No matter what Raines or Lyle says.
"Who are you?" he asked her.
"I have no more of an answer to that question than you do concerning yourself."
"Then why am I here with you? Why did you bring me?"
She closed her eyes and let out a calming breath. "You are here CP 1, because you are not what Raines and Lyle have been trying to teach you to be." She opened her eyes. "Your name is Jarod. You have been at the Centre since you were a boy, but a few years ago you escaped, and you lived out your life as normally as you could and used your genius and gifts to help others while evading the Centre's pursuit team. About a week or so ago, I was sent out to hunt you down and bring your in. I caught up with you, and had been planning to let you go, but Lyle and the Centre got the best of us." She clenched her teeth angrily. "We were caught, and upon arrival at the Centre you were injected with a newly created chemical named CW-A-41. It's a colorless and odorless chemical that creates amnesia by tricking the brain into thinking that the memories you have stored are harmful, causing the brain to create a mental block to do what it believes is necessary to protect itself."
CP 1's eyes widened, and he fought against images from the dreams he'd been having. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that everything you've come to believe in the past few days has been a carefully constructed lie with no other purpose but to blind you from the truth so that you will remain he Centre's obedient lapdog."
He backed away from her, denying all that he'd been told. It couldn't be true, it wasn't true. The Centre was his home, his family. His only family. They cared for him, he served only them, it wasn't true… and yet he kept seeing it. Locked in a cage, drowning in a chemical lake, staring into the faces of Lyle and Raines as he fell. Maybe it was true. But why would they do that to him? Why would they be so mean? Tears began to fall and he didn't try to stop them. The little boy that Jarod had turned back into since his manufactured amnesia was just too weak to handle the pain he was feeling.
Elf 17 was torn up inside watching all of the emotions he bore so clearly. She known that it would be rough for him, known that it would be hard, but she couldn't help feeling so sorry for him. She also couldn't help feeling that it was all her fault. She should never have met him. She should have never tried to meet with him, to ask about her origins, to bring him down top the cabin just because she wanted to find out what her past was. It was her searching that had caused this; it was because of her that this innocent man was going through so much inner turmoil.
Well, it was too late now. She had to fix this, and she had to fix it now. She'd pay him back with her sacrifice, maybe that would be enough to make up for all she'd caused. "CP 1? I can only imagine how horrible you must feel right now, like someone has taken a knife to your heart and is plunging it deeper and deeper, but you must listen to me now."
Tears still slid down his cheeks, but he raised his head to listen, if nothing else.
"I have an antidote to the chemical with me right now, but you have to be asleep to take it, and you have to work with the medicine or else your memory will be lost forever."
He was a little confused, but nodded slowly to show he understood so far.
"CP 1, a person who has had their memory taken away as brutally as you did, would have to have a great control over their mind for them to be able to order it to work with the antidote, and to lower its defenses. You have this control, I know you do, but to order your mind to do so you'll also have to want to have your memory back. If you don't want it back, it won't work. Do you understand?"
"Yes. I-I understand." His chocolate colored eyes looked into hers, and she shivered involuntarily at the raw emotion she saw mirrored in them.
"So you want your memory back?" She whispered, not able to raise her voice at all.
This time instead of sadness, she saw an angry and almost fierce determination. "Yes." His voice didn't tremble and his jaw was set. He wanted the truth, he wanted it so badly that he was willing to put aside all doubts and faithfully follow her to wherever she may lead, be it damnation or salvation.
She hoped she didn't disappoint him.
She pulled out the vial and the needle she'd put in her pockets. CP 1 flinched at the sight of the needle, but stayed still and stiff, determined not to be frightened off. She also pulled out a sleeping pill that she'd found hidden in her food one day. She'd decided to hold onto it, should it come in handy. She believed that today it would serve her purpose nicely.
She handed him the pill, but stopped him before he immediately popped it into his mouth. "The pill is extremely fast acting, and will put you to sleep in no less than four minutes. I want you to close your eyes right after you swallow it, and get you mind as free and loose and unprotected as you can possibly make it."
He nodded and then put it in and swallowed, sitting down on the floor against the wall, closing his eyes as she'd directed him to.
Elf 17 watched him, making sure he was following her directions, and then stuck the needle tip inside of the vial, carefully and slowly filling it. When she'd filled it to the correct measurement, she squirted out a bit of the extra, and then placed the vial on the floor and moved over to CP 1.
"CP 1, no, don't open your eyes, just listen to me. I am going to inject the antidote now, and I'm going to insert it into your blood stream through your throat. This will hurt a little, but I need your to stay still okay?" she asked, talking to him sweetly as one might speak to a toddler.
She received a timid nod.
"Okay then." She let out a sigh, and then placed the needlepoint on his throat, where she would be inserting it. She saw CP 1 clench his eyes tighter, and then stuck the needle in.
CP 1 bit his lip, desperately trying to hold onto his concentration as he felt the needle go in. the sleeping pill was beginning to take effect, and though he was slowly slipping away, he still felt the pain. But he ignored it, focusing on freeing his mind and bringing down barriers…freeing his mind…and bringing down barriers… freeing his mind…freeing…
Elf 17 pulled out the needle about five seconds before CP 1 toppled over onto the floor asleep. She gazed at him fondly, knowing that the true work, and the real battle, was about to be fought. A forty percent chance of recovery wasn't good odds, but if anyone could use them to their advantage, it would be Jarod.
Time Undeterminable
The Centre
Air Ducts Above Sub-level 9
Angelo moved on with a one-minded focus, traveling through the ducts without stopping or truly seeing what was around him. He tracked where the two pretenders had gone by the feelings they had left behind. It was visible to him. He could normally see people's auroras, could feel their feelings, could sometimes make them feel emotions, and he was able to see the leftover feelings in the ducts as it hung in the air like thick smoke.
He had finally reached sub-level ten when he was assaulted by waves of intense emotion. He clutched at his head, the fear, the anxiety, the need to protect, the anger…they were all washing over him, threatening to drown him.
He forced himself to calm down, and gritted his teeth as he traveled closer and closer to the strong emotions. They were all so conflicting, and so powerful. He could also sense battle, and knew that Jarod was fighting to remember.
He stopped at one of the air vent's exits, and then slowly crawled out. There had been sweepers in this hall a few minutes ago. He could feel the residual fear. They were gone now though, and that let him scurry over to the storage room door unhindered. He rapped once, and then twice, and then stayed silent.
He could feel Elf 17's rising panic as she neared the door, and then the relief as she smelled him on the other side. The door was flung open and Angelo crept inside, first aware of CP 1 lying against the wall, asleep, but hardly resting.
Elf 17 smiled at him, though he could tell that she was worried as to why he'd tracked her down. "Angelo, what are you doing here? You know that Jarod and I are trying to leave."
"Elf was in trouble. Needed key, or wouldn't be free."
She gave him a look of pure bafflement. "What? I don't underst…"
Suddenly Angelo's eyes widened in pain and terror. He shrieked and put his hands on the side of his head, moving back and forth and keeping his eyes tightly closed.
Elf 17, panicked by his strange movements, turned to see CP 1 convulsing on the floor. She rushed over to him, and held him comfortingly but securely, as his own body seemed to fight against him. She'd read about this in the information that had been given to her about the chemical. His mind was confused and was fighting against the antidote. It was battling an ally, but was too drugged to know it.
She turned her head from CP 1 momentarily and caught a glimpse of Angelo as he stopped moving and became still, hugging his knees as he lay on the ground, breathing in and out and in and out.
She looked back at CP 1 as he fought himself, seeing the rapid eye movement behind his eyelids that let her know that he was also deeply involved in a dream.
She felt so helpless; she didn't know what to do. She held him and she rocked back and forth, tears of utter pain and fading hope cascading like miniature waterfalls down her dust-covered cheeks.
"Don't fight it Jarod," she whispered to him, and moved some of his hair back from his sweating forehead. "Please don't fight it."
She thought she saw his convulsions getting weaker so she continued on.
"Jarod, you can't give up on me. You've never given up before, why start now? You still have so much to do, your time isn't up and you aren't going to spend the rest of your years in the Centre, not if I have anything to say about it." She smiled, though it was an odd contradiction to the tears that were still falling. "Jarod, you still have a name. It's yours, and no one can take that away from you. You have an identity, you have a past, you have a family. Don't let them rip it from your hands again, don't let them steal away all you've come to know and love. You don't deserve that."
CP 1 began regulating his breathing once more, and he was hardly even squirming in her grip. She was close, she had to keep talking.
"Jarod I never thought that there would be more to my life than sims and cells. You allowed me to find my past; you helped me come to a decision I'd been too afraid to make. I need you Jarod, Sydney needs you, Broots needs you, and Ms. Parker won't live without you. If you're not going to remember for yourself, do it for me. Do it for them. Do it for all of the wronged and hurt people out there that require your aid. Just don't, don't give up."
She listened fro a few minutes, scanning his face, and then she shut her eyes, unable to look any longer.
"El-Elf 17?" someone moaned.
She looked down, and met wide and open eyes. She could barely suppress the cry of joy that wanted so badly to escape her mouth when she realized that they weren't CP 1's eyes, they were Jarod's.
The old Jarod was back.
She hugged him, and she didn't let go. She sobbed into his gray shirt, and nuzzled up against him, relishing the moment.
Jarod was confused, as well he should be, but he sensed Elf 17's need to be held and comforted, so he just wrapped his arms around her, letting her tears soak his shirt. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing in a computer storage room and out of his cell, but judging by Elf 17's joy, that wasn't the biggest accomplishment at the moment.
When she felt ready to let go she moved back from him and stood up, giving him a smile before she went and checked on Angelo. He was doing all right, he was a little shaken, and probably hadn't been prepared for the onslaught of emotions that had emanated from Jarod, but other than some shivering, he was doing fine.
Elf 17 gave him an encouraging pat on the back and then walked back over to Jarod and helped him up from the ground.
"Are you okay Jarod?" she asked him, genuinely worried. "Do you remember what's gone on?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's coming back slowly, and in bits and pieces, but I'm remembering." He thought of a way to verify this. "Well, see, like right now I'm remembering the talk we had in the air vents, when you'd come for me in the dark, certain simulations that Raines and Lyle had me perform, when Sydney and the others had come to visit me and…" his eyes suddenly bulged out and a grin almost too large for his face appeared on his lips. His eyes sparkled with almost maniacal glee, and he gently touched his forehead. "Wow…" he murmured softly. "She does like me…"
Elf 17 arched an eyebrow, and Jarod's cheeks flushed red.
"Uh, I'll explain later." He looked around the room and saw Angelo, who had just gotten up off of the ground. "Hi Angelo!"
Angelo gave a large and goofy grin. "H-Hi Jarod."
Elf 17 tapped Jarod on the shoulder and he spun around to face her.
"Jarod, we're on sub-level ten. The computer functions are all shut down, so nearly every door in the Centre is accessible." She tried to hide the sadness in her eyes as she smiled at him. "It's time to be free."
"All right let's go!" he turned and headed to the door, but stopped once he heard that he was the only one running. He looked back and saw Elf 17, her head hanging and her shoulders loose. "What is it?" he asked quietly.
"Jarod…I'm not going."
"What do you mean you're not going? Surely you don't want to be here?"
"No, of course not! What sane person does? But I have to. If I don't, it's possible that Broots and Ms. Parker, and Dr. Green will be found out. If I stay behind I can fully take the blame, and try to keep the Centre off of your back as long as possible."
He gave a deadpan expression. "So that's it. You're planning on sacrificing yourself to the Centre and you expect me to just turn around and leave you behind." He smirked. "I thought you knew me better than that."
"Don't be so stubborn!" she raged, and it came out as a mixture of a yell and choked off sob. "Jarod, even if I went with you, we'd be found." She pointed angrily at the collar around her neck. "Do you see this?! Lyle put this on me a few days ago. It has a tracking device installed. The second I step past Centre boundaries, I show up as a red dot on a map."
"Then we'll find a way to disable it or destroy it! Elf 17, you just gave me back my life, I'm not going to let you give up your own just to ensure my freedom. Whatever the chances are we'll take them, but we'll take them together."
She growled at him, unmoved by his speech. "ARRGHH! Why must you be so difficult?!"
He shrugged off her outburst with a wink. "It's just one of my many positive traits."
She was just about to tackle him to the ground in frustration when she was tapped on the shoulder. Angelo was standing beside her, holding out a clenched fist. She looked at him quietly as he took her hand and placed his fist atop it. When he removed his own hand and stepped back, she looked at her open palm and saw that it was holding the controlling device to her collar.
She was speechless, but apparently Angelo received his thanks from her emotions, because he then turned and left the room, not saying a word.
She carefully pressed the release button on the device and a control panel popped out. There were tons of glittering buttons, but she had seen the one that Lyle had pushed. That memory would be forever engraved in her mind. She pushed the button, and then reached up, and tore off the collar, and let it and the controlling device fall to the floor.
She rubbed her neck softly, and she didn't even look aware of her movements as she stared into off into space.
Jarod reached over and laid a hand on her shoulder, and she looked with confusion into his eyes, his beautiful and understanding eyes.
"Let's go." He whispered to her.
She couldn't help but smile as she nodded her agreement.
Ten Minutes Later
Actual Time Unknown
The Centre
Level One, Back Exit
Jarod and Elf ran. They ran with a speed fueled only by their overpowering determination, but the fuel worked well enough.
Jarod had gotten them to this point by secret passages and routes that Elf 17 had never even thought of. Then again, she hadn't had an original blue print of the Centre stored on a disc. Jarod had. And he'd memorized it.
Elf 17 was also beginning to feel that the sweepers were nothing but brawn. She could think of a dozen obvious places that would have put the sweepers in a positive strategic position should they have chosen to guard them. But, predictably, they were left unwatched. She couldn't complain though, after all if they had been there she and Jarod would never have come as far as they did, and wouldn't be seeing the door they were now looking at.
Elf 17 grinned and looked up eagerly at Jarod. He just smiled and gave a dramatic sweep of his hand. "Go right ahead."
She took in a deep breath, and reached for the door's handle.
"Freeze!"
Both pretenders spun to face the voice, looking like kids who'd gotten their hands stuck in the cookie jar.
Willie stood solemnly, only two yards away, a loaded gun out in front of him with its point trained on Jarod.
Elf 17 quietly groaned from her position back at the door. "Oh no…"
"Put your hands out where I can see them Jarod!" He barked. "I've waited a long time to repay you for the pain you've caused me, and I think I'll be able to do it now." His face became contorted with fury. "You had me look like an idiot and a fool when you escaped the first time, and when you were caught you brought Elf 17 down with you. She doesn't deserve this life Jarod! She's just a girl! But when they caught you, they caught her, so now any chance she could have had at a future is gone. I'm not going to let you be free while she stays locked in the sub-levels."
Jarod was confused. "But Willie I didn't--"
"Shut up!"
Elf 17 sighed and stepped out from the shadows she hadn't realized she'd been standing in.
Willie jumped nearly two feet in the air. "Holy shi-" he caught himself. "Elf 17?! What are you doing out here?!"
Elf 17 folded her arms crossly. "I was about to ask you the same thing. I'm escaping. With Jarod."
"But I thought…never mind." He shook his head. "Elf 17, I can let you go, hell, I want you to go, but I have to bring Jarod back."
"Sorry, I can't let you do that Willie. If he remains here they'll take everything from him. We're going together."
He squinted. "What? You want to save he man who brought you back here in the first place?"
"You've got it mixed up Willie. I caused Jarod to be captured. Not the other way around."
"But-"
"Let it go Willie." She implored him. "For me, for the friendship you gave to a lonely girl in the darkness of the sublevels, let it go."
"But what about Raines? I can't return and just tell him that I let you walk right past me! What am I going to do about that?"
She thought silently for a moment. Then it clicked. "I know! I could knock you unconscious!"
He looked hopeful. "Really? You think?"
"Tchh. Of course I do! Are you kidding? It's easy."
He gave a childish grin. "Okay!" he closed his eyes and dropped his gun on the floor. "Ready!"
Elf 17 walked up and silently analyzed where the best place to aim for would be to make it as quick and painless as possible. When she'd found the spot she smiled.
"Goodbye Willie, and thanks." Then she jumped up and sent a kick directly to his head, knocking him off of his feet and effectively rendering him unconscious.
Jarod gave her a measuring look. "You two have an extremely weird friendship, you know that?"
"This from the man who's hunted by his childhood sweetheart." She scoffed as she set Willie up against the wall so he'd be at least slightly comfortable.
He laughed. "Yeah, I suppose you have a point."
"I have more than just a point, I have a story plot." She dusted off her hands and then gestured to the door. "Shall we?"
They both grinned in delight, relief, and newfound hope as they stepped out of the door and ran into the frostbitten air of the chilly autumn night, finally free.
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I offer my sincerest apologies for taking a few days to post this, but I didn't want to split it into more than one chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll be posting my next, (and last) chapter soon. Talk to you later!
PS:
PLEASE GIVE ME FEEDBACK! Long, detailed, and with a good amount of help or advice please! Though plain old compliments are also approved. =