I took my Carbine and stepped forward as Lisa ran down the stairs and out into the hallway. Stone yelled an exclamatory as I began to fire – and be fired upon – the sentries above me. They were running down the stairs, only to come to a screeching halt and taking refuge on the landings above. Hadji took Lisa and led her behind me and around the corner. Some officers began leaning over and tried to shoot my friends as they descended. I got in the corner and began to spray some lead on them. Suddenly, the blasts from the muzzle became nothing but mere clicks as I ran out of ammo.
"GO JESSIE!" Stone screamed as he cocked his shotgun and took a blast above us. I began to scramble down the stairs as a body free-fell down the center of the stairwell. A loud thud erupted as it slammed into the bottom floor seconds later. Hadji and Lisa were waiting at one of the landings as Stone brought up the rear. The dogs were released and scrambled down the flights towards us. Stone took one shot and blew the head off one of the Doberman Pinchers. Its foaming partner took heed of Stone's unwavering ability to kill any living creature that posed a threat and retreated into the hallway above. I ran ahead with Lisa as Hadji and Stone covered us. After a couple of landings we hit rock bottom.
Stone was still involving himself in a firefight with the bad guys above.
"STONE!" I yelled.
He turned as a few shots ricocheted around him. He got the idea. Stone stumbled down the stairs behind Hadji as we made our way inside into the restricted laboratories. I slammed the door as Stone and Hadji slid a heavy metal cabinet in front of it.
"That should keep them busy for at least a little bit. I took the liberty of screwing up the lock to the storeroom that has their detonators for the explosives," said Hadji.
Stone pointed out, "Yeah, but it won't take long for them to find the biggest fucker in the pack to try and knock this door down. We've got to get moving."
I looked around the lobby we had entered. We were in a security checkpoint – however, there were no guards attending the station nearby. The metal desk had blood splattered all over it and over the walls. In front of us was a glass wall and door that led to a quad. Under normal circumstances, the guard on duty would have to release the locks on the automated entryway. From what I gathered, he had done so, and then got what was coming to him. I walked over and peered behind the desk. Behind it was another camouflaged soldier – the name "BELZER" was labeled on it. Belzer's entire neck was blown to shreds, possibly with an automatic weapon like mine. His eyes were wide; he was surprised when his killer appeared. In Belzer's stiff hands was another Carbine like mine. I walked around and relieved him of its magazine and a few extra clips. I turned back to the rest of the group and reloaded my weapon. Stone motioned for me to take point and press onward. I wearily shook my head and stepped through the doorway. I stayed close to the metallic wall as we approached the quad.
As we got closer, Jonny's scream echoed throughout the whole floor.
My Codec started to beep just as I ran up to the fountain in the center of the quad. Torn between the screams and crashing noises that came from all around, I frantically tried to press the receive button.
I screamed, "WHAT!"
Dr. Quest's voice came across the Codec, "JESSIE! YOU'VE GOT TO HELP JONNY! HE WENT AFTER DR. YAEGAR!"
"WHERE IS HE!"
"I… I don't know! The connection to the cameras down there has been destroyed. I don't have any visuals, just sound. You've got to find… oh God…"
Dr. Quest was cut off as gun shots were heard in the background on his side. I muttered "Shit" as Hadji pointed ahead behind the water fountain in front of us. Jonny was tossed into the shallow pool; the fountain was composed of a giant spray with the water running over steps down to the bottom. I ran around to the right as Hadji took the left, leaving Stone to protect Lisa. Jonny was reclined against the slippery steps, bloody and beaten. His hair and rest of his body was soaked with bloody water. Across from him on the quad were two guys in black suits. Their hair was neatly cropped, their ties and uniforms neatly pressed, and their expressions fiercely cold. Before I could assess the situation, the one closest to me ran and leaped off of the small wall that contained the water. He spun around in midair and kicked me in the face. I slid backwards on the smooth white floor. I heard Hadji's gun fire before his attacker got the better of him. Hadji screamed in pain as I heard something break inside of him. I looked over to see him take a fierce blow to the jaw and then to the stomach. Hadji fell over onto his side and remained still. Stone narrowed his eyebrows and put himself in front of Lisa. He whispered something to her and she nodded. Hadji's brutal assailant started to approach Stone slowly, as if he knew how this was going to pan out. Stone looked up into the towering gray-headed man that stood before him. Before anyone could blink the suit pushed Stone's shotgun aside and chopped my old partner in the throat. Stone gasped for air as he was then thrown into the fountain's barrier. As soon as the suit turned back to Lisa, he found a gun pointing in his face. Lisa squeezed the trigger about four times without stopping. She's done this before, I thought. My attacker – a black haired, younger man – immediately turned to see his partner fall to the ground. I took my chance and used my Carbine to trace his spine with some lead. His body fell face first and slammed into the floor with a loud thud. I managed to pull myself up and run over to my fallen comrades. Jonny was beaten pretty badly, but he was still hanging on to consciousness. He opened his eyes at the sight of me and smiled a little bit, "Son of a bitch…"
Thanks to the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was able to hoist him out of the cold fountain water and lay him on the ground. Jonny stared up at the ceiling as I tried to comfort him before moving on to the rest.
"Your dad's in trouble," I said.
Jonny nodded, "I know. I managed to get in touch with him before Yaegar's bodyguards got to me."
I shook my head, "Jonny… how did you get down here anyway?"
Jonny looked over at Stone before looking back up at me.
I turned around and looked at Stone myself. He looked at me with a pleading glare.
"He's one of them, too, I suppose," I said.
Stone was silent. Lisa walked in front of him, and said, "We all are."
Surprised, I responded, "What?"
"We all are, Jessie. The entire Quest team is now apart of the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo. You always were… you just never knew it."
"And who the hell are you?"
"I'm a mole. I was here to help in your mission."
Suddenly Lisa's body jerked backwards as a gaping hole appeared in her collarbone. Her eyes widened with eerie shock as blood squirted out of her wound. Lisa fell to the ground as Stone tried to catch her. For a minute the world stopped, but not enough for me to leap backwards out of the way as another piece of lead flew by me at an extremely accelerated pace. It was so fast that I could see a vapor trail behind it.
There was more than one prototype.
Everyone began to scramble as I pointed my Carbine and took fire. Two figures were standing at an entryway to some sort of administrative area about fifty yards from us. As soon as bullets began to pelt the walls around them, they ran back inside. I slid on the floor and hopped up. Hadji and Jonny were taking cover on the other side of the fountain; Stone had dragged Lisa behind one of the towering marble columns that stood at each corner of the quad. I ran over to the far wall and began to advance to the corner closest to the entryway. Stone peered around from the column and offered cover fire; Hadji did the same from his fountain position. When I got up to the very edge of the opening, I slowly peered around into the office area. A receptionist desk was tipped over onto its side below a giant emblem of the research facility's logo.
I had found Dr. Yaegar's office.
The door to the right was ajar. I slowly crept around the corner and kept scanning the horizon. Inside the waiting room to Dr. Yaegar's office were a couple of plants and some very expensive looking waiting couches. A conference room was off to the left of the room something had exploded, bringing down the whole wall into its doorway. Knowing my luck, Dr. Yaegar would be holed up inside.
I swept the lobby area. The body of a young secretary was strewn to the side of her desk. She had been shot repeatedly in the head – half her face was missing. I stepped over her body and looked inside of Dr. Yaegar's office. Her back wall was individual glass panes that looked into the ocean depth; each one was about forty yards high to the ceiling. Dr. Yaegar's desk was an exquisite professionally furnished solid oak workspace. Its contents on top, however, told a different story. Papers were strewn everywhere. I could see drawers lying all over the ground with their contents everywhere. A couple of cans of gasoline were sitting nearby and the smell was extremely strong. These people were going to save me the trouble of having to destroy this place.
No sooner had I set one foot in the door when my Carbine was yanked from my hands and a giant fist punched me square in the face. I sailed backwards and tripped over the body of the slain secretary. I looked up as McGee and Carpenter stood over me, each one wielding what looked like an oversized AK-47. They were crafted with cold black steel; digital readouts were produced on an LCD screen on top of the weapon. A giant scope was also mounted on top of the weapon, ensuring that its user would make a surefire hit. The last thing I saw before I was knocked out was Carpenter's heavy steel-toed boot smash my face.
She was calling my name.
Dr. Yaegar was near. Very, very near.
I began to come to only to find that my entire body was strapped down with heavy nylon rope. Those bastards had tied me to the desk. The rope strangled my body and dug deep into my limbs. Blood was dried to the majority of my face. I finally managed to open my eyes to see her cold, piercing gaze. Almost mockingly, she stroked my face.
Dr. Yaegar asked, "How do you feel, my dear?"
I spit, "Fuck… you…"
She smacked me hard across the face.
"Insignificant little whore. Well, you'll pay for causing me all this trouble."
Dr. Yaegar began to walk around the desk and gaze into the ocean beside us.
"This was a very costly facility. It took about three years to build and become fully functional. It's not as big as my facility in Europe, but I enjoy the solitude right under the peoples' noses."
"Where is my family?" I asked.
The good doctor turned and smiled, saying, "I've let them go."
I looked at her, "You're shitting me."
Dr. Yaegar shook her head, "No. I've sent them back to the city, except for one…"
I turned my head to see Jonny's limp body sprawled across the floor a few feet away. I gasped.
"I decided that two lovers shouldn't die separately."
I started scream and shout, "YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU CUM SLURPING RIMJOB WHORE!"
McGee stepped beside Dr. Yaegar, and said to her, "We're ready to leave, Dr. Yaegar."
She nodded and said to me, "See you in Hell, sweetie."
With that, Dr. Yaegar left with her escort. McGee followed her out the door. First, he stopped and took the lit cigarette out of his mouth. My eyes widened as I remembered that the desk – and subsequently, now me – was soaked in gasoline. McGee tossed his smoke into a stream of fuel leading away from the door to the desk. Immediately, a wall of fire sprung up and began to quickly approach the desk. I fought and wrestled with my bounds, yelling Jonny's name or for anyone nearby that gave a damn for assistance. Jonny began to stir a little bit, but not fast enough to realize that the fire was about to leap onto the table with me. I began to cry uncontrollably as I fought and squirmed to the best of my abilities, which didn't amount to much in terms of escaping. Jonny began to crawl towards me, I could hear him. He began to fumble with the ropes.
In despair, he called out to me, "They're… too tight… I can't do it…"
I started to wail as the fire crept up the table and warm up my shoes.
Dr. Quest's voice echoed throughout the hallway, "What the hell!"
Dr. Quest leapt through the walls of fire and began to swat at the flames with his lab coat. He managed douse the ones creeping up the desk but it was still coming. He shoved his body into the desk and moved it farther away from the open flames and closer to the window. Jonny staggered onto his feet and held his head.
Dr. Quest turned to him, asking, "Are you all right son?"
Jonny tried to keep his balance and nodded.
"Come on, we've got to get her off of there."
The two yanked and pulled the bounds until they were able to undo the tight knots in the rope. Once my bounds were loosened, I immediately scrambled out of them and off the desk. My entire back and legs were soaked with gasoline. Jonny grabbed my hand as Dr. Quest led us around and away from the blaze that started to creep up the walls. As we ran back to the quad, I asked, "Where is everyone!"
Dr. Quest yelled back, "Dr. Yaegar said they were on land! She lied! I took care of them, though!"
"What, they didn't find you?"
"No! I'm an expert when it comes to hide-and-go-seek!"
"Where are they now!"
"They really are back on land now! We've got to get back and get to a hospital!"
"Shit…!"
Back into the quad we ran. Flames were everywhere, crawling up the walls and onto the ceiling. Explosions rocked in the hallways leading to the other laboratories. Ahead of us were two soldiers wearing flamethrowers. We all slid to a halt so not to be spotted. Silently, Dr. Quest handed me a giant revolver.
"It's a Magnum. Stone gave it to me," he said quietly.
I grasped the grip of Stone's massive gun. It was the same one he used on the motorcycle back in Nags Head. I gulped and pulled the hammer back as I took aim at one of the fuel tanks. One grunt was in front of the other, so I decided to aim for him first.
The hammer struck the bullet just as he was turning to check on his partner. Through the gas mask I could see his eyes widen as his tank exploded. The soldier behind him fell backwards as his comrade was engulfed in flames. He began to dance around wildly as his fire resistant uniform began to melt onto him. The other turned as I fired a bullet into his head. He stumbled and fell forward, landing with a loud clank of the equipment he bore onto the hard floor. We ran forward past the corpses of Dr. Yaegar's cleanup crew.
"They've disabled the sprinkler system," Dr. Quest said as we began to run up the stairs. "Originally, she was going to blow the place up with SENTEX and C4. Unfortunately for her, Hadji destroyed all the charges and hid all the plastic. As you could probably tell, she's going to torch the place. I heard they were going to use a submarine to blow this place out of the water. The La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo is keeping a close eye on her right now. Jessie, we have to get those prototypes."
"I know, Dr. Quest," I said.
"Don't look now," Jonny yelled.
I looked up to see three heavily armed, well-dressed bodyguards descending the stairs. Dr. Quest slammed into a locked door and knocked it of its hinges. We hurried inside into the third floor. Much to my delight, there were more office environments and more guys with flamethrowers practicing a scorched earth policy. However, behind them were guards armed with automatic weapons. Rows of cubicles lined up and down the aisles. Black smoke was making its way up the walls and plowing into the ceiling. I ducked low with everyone else.
"Split up," Dr. Quest said.
I crawled on my hands and knees into a nearby office cube. Jonny and Dr. Quest did likewise on the opposite side of the aisle. The crackling of flames, collapsing of the floor, and squawking of various radios filled the air along with the poisonous carbon monoxide. The guys in suits strode by, each one donning gas masks. I prayed they wouldn't stop and take a peek into each of the work areas. But they jogged on; Dr. Quest peered out from his hiding spot to see what their task at hand was. Immediately he ducked back inside as the group plus all the flamethrowers and soldiers proceeded out the exit. Dr. Quest once again stuck his head out and made sure the coast was clear. He waved for me to come over. I scooted across the hallway.
Dr. Quest pointed out towards the far end of the area, saying, "We have to get to the dispatch area. There's a ladder leading to the floor above us – the loading bay floor – it has a tunnel in there leading back to the surface."
"Okay, let's go," I replied.
I jumped out and swept around us to make sure we weren't in anyone's sights. We all stayed low and made our way under the black smoke as it filled out lungs and vision. The heat was getting intense. Lots of cubicles, isolated conference rooms, and finally a hallway came into view. As we passed one of the conference rooms, Jonny remarked, "Oh… shit…"I turned to see what turned his stomach. I nearly vomited.
Inside one of the conference rooms were bodies. They ranged from researchers to office staff to maintenance. They were being burned along with the rest of the facility. Apparently, Dr. Yaegar wanted to cover her ass to the fullest extent.
Dr. Quest yelled, "We've got to keep moving!"
I agreed.
We pressed onward and out into the smooth, pale colored hallway. I set one foot out over the threshold when a slew of bullets began to hit the walls and molding around me. I jumped back and peered around the corner of the doorway. A guard and a flamethrower were running down the hall towards us. I put half my body out and took a shot at the first immediate threat: my shooter. His shoulder jerked back as he fell backwards into the one wielding the flamethrower. The two fell to the floor. Jonny and Dr. Quest ran by and dragged me with them as we scrambled down the corridor. I could hear the whoosh of flames as the entire hallway behind us was set ablaze. As they chased us through the fires, we came upon the dispatch control room. I slammed the heavy metal door shut while Dr. Quest and Jonny pushed a couple of desks in front of it.
The dispatch room was a spacious room; monitors showed cameras stationed at every nook and cranny in the whole facility. A couple of bodies were strewn over the consoles; blood was smeared almost everywhere and dripped quietly from the panels. The lights were kept at a low dim to reduce reflections on the monitors. I walked over and examined one of the screens. It showed a long underwater tunnel leading back to the mainland.
Dr. Quest took notice, and said, "That's our escape route."
I looked back at him, "We're gonna walk?"
"No. They have a couple of vehicles at our disposal in the garage."
"Let's go! They're starting to grenade the door!" Jonny shouted.
Dr. Quest led us across the dispatcher's floor to the opposite side. A ladder leading up into the ceiling beckoned us. Since I had the gun, I went first. Behind us, the loud explosions of fragmentation grenades rocked the whole floor. The door leading back to the hallway budged a little bit. My stomach began to turn inside out as I slowly lifted the hatch to the garage annexed to the loading bay.
The heavy iron hatch slowly moved upward as I pushed every ounce of upper body strength I had into it. Finally, it lifted up and fell over onto the cement floor. I pulled myself out of the hole off the ladder and looked around. We were situated in a giant parking garage like those seen in office complexes. On a far wall a gaping hole showed the loading bay that Stone and I had infiltrated in the beginning. Water was heard rushing at a very fast pace and at a very hard rate. The bay itself looked heavily damaged from explosions; there was no telling how much longer the facility would maintain its support. In the distance near the entrance of the parking bay, stood a small heavily armed team; I quietly motioned for Jonny and Dr. Quest to make their way up the ladder. The two slipped up onto the polished cement floor. We took cover behind some white logo-branded SUVs nearby.
Jonny turned to me and asked, "How much ammunition do you have?"
I looked into the chamber, saying, "Not much; I think maybe… three shots?"
"We're going to have to think of something," Dr. Quest said. "I don't think they're going to let us sneak out of here quietly."
Jonny began to slide upwards.
I grabbed his arm and yelled in a hushed voice, "Jonny! What the hell are you doing?"
"Just give me a second," he said.
I watched as he peered into the SUV. He came back down, saying, "The keys are in the ignition."
"How convenient," I said.
"There must be another mole," Dr. Quest said. "That or these guys are incredibly stupid."
"Awfully big guns to be considered an idiot," Jonny replied.
Dr. Quest's eyes were suddenly caught on something. Jonny and I took notice and turned around to see what was up.
"Holy shit," I gasped.
Sitting in the shadows was my Pontiac Trans Am. Next to it was a Harley Davidson Road King Classic like the one Stone blew up after the chase at the beach.
"We've lucked out," Dr. Quest said.
Jonny grabbed my arm, "Jess, you go on ahead…"
I took his hand and looked into Jonny's pale, tired blue eyes.
"I can't, Jonny. You and your dad need to go first."
He smiled weakly, "If you insist."
I kissed him gently.
"Let us proceed," Dr. Quest said.
I said, "I'll cover you the best I can."
Dr. Quest and Jonny peered around to make sure the sentries nearby were still oblivious to the fact that they were not alone. As luck would have it, they were now starting to move up the tunnel.
"I just hope the keys are in the ignition," Jonny pondered.
They stayed in the shadows and made their way to my car. Dr. Quest slowly opened the driver-side door; Jonny did likewise on his door. The two climbed in and quietly shut the doors. I, too, stuck to the shadows and made my way over to the motorcycle. Jonny turned around and gave me a thumbs up through the rear windshield. I climbed onto the motorcycle and breathed a sigh of relief as the key was snuggly fit into the ignition. A loud explosion rocked the entire complex as the monotone computerized voice came over the PA system: "Warning, facility stability compromised. Self-destruct sequence initiated. Please proceed to the nearest emergency exit in an orderly fashion. This is not a drill."
Dr. Quest cranked up my Trans Am as I cranked up the Harley Davidson. Dr. Quest threw the transmission into drive and stepped on the gas. I put the bike in gear, turned on the headlight, and went full throttle. The group of guards at the front took immediate notice to all the action going on; unfortunately for them, my Trans Am plowed through about three of them. I followed close behind on my motorcycle. Bullets began to ricochet and bounce off the concrete tunnel around us. Both engines echoed off the walls and made hearing extremely difficult. I prayed to God that there wouldn't be any roadblocks ahead or anything that involved shooting. Explosion after explosion echoed behind us over the already loud ambient noise of the engines going at their maximum. The walls and road shook violently as the entire structure that we left behind began to collapse. If we didn't get out of this tunnel and back onto dry land fast, we would either be crushed by the collapsing debris or drown.
In any case, time was running out.
I couldn't tell how far underwater we were – deep enough for anybody – but for the longest time it felt that we were going forward and not upward. The tunnel was sealed all around so I couldn't see the ocean or any other surroundings around me. Finally the roadway began to slowly slope upwards. However, just as we got on a steady incline to head back to shore, the lights inside the tunnel went out. Immediately we switched on our respective headlights but maintained our speed of pretty fucking fast. In the near distance, the light from the evening dusk seemed inviting. Behind us, on the other hand, n gigantic fireball was heading our way, and fast.
I screamed, "HOLY SHIT!"
Dr. Quest took notice of the gigantic napalm quickly approaching also. The V6 engine revved up faster as he began to push the car to the maximum. I tried my best to keep up. In the blink of an eye, right before my eyes to be exact, the Pontiac Trans Am launched itself out of the tunnel and landed hard onto the level road in front of it. Dr. Quest swerved the car sideways and brought it to a halt. I pulled up on the handlebars to pop a wheelie; in the air, I figured, I would have a better chance of directing my landing. As I launched myself off the tunnel road, the area between my left shoulder and collar bone burned like hell as my body was knocked from the saddle of the motorcycle. I looked up into the purple sky as the stars began to make their appearance; the napalm whooshed out of the tunnel but was quickly doused when the entire roadway under it collapsed back into the ocean. My body sailed for what felt like an eternity, although, as anyone could imagine, it was only a matter of seconds. I slammed hard into the sand of the beach, flipping and rolling uncontrollably until I slid to a halt into the grass upon the upper shore. I could hear Jonny's screaming as Dr. Yaegar stood over me, a look of deep displeasure in her face. In her hands was a rail gun. In my wound, pain throbbed like a sixteen year-old adolescent pumped up on Viagra.
My grip on consciousness was once again compromised.
I blacked out to Jonny screaming my name.
Darkness surrounded me like a motionless void.
In it, I could hear Stone's voice once more.
This time, it was scratchy, weak. I called out to him, this time my voice actually working. Something grasped my hand, but I couldn't see anything except the darkness inside. He kept telling me on how strong I was, and how I was ready for solo missions. I shook my head in disbelief: the mission was over? I kept telling myself I was hallucinating.
Time passed in mere silence.
Eventually, however, I could hear the gentle beep of an EKG monitor. Feeling came back to the rest of my body… it was cushioned on a hospital bed. As my numb arms came back alive, the feeling of intravenous needles pierced right below my elbow on my underarm. I slowly opened my eyes to see the end of my hospital bed. Jonny was slumped over my legs. I moaned a little bit; Jonny stirred and looked up. Through the pain of my vision, I could see stitches on his face and forehead, not to mention his black eye.
"Thank God you're alive, Jess," Jonny said.
He stood upright from the chair he had pulled up next to my bed. He leaned down and gently kissed me on my cracked, dry lips. I reached over and took my guardian's hand.
I looked up into his tired blue eyes and asked, "Where am I? Where is everybody?"
Jonny rubbed his eyes, saying, "You're in Cleveland Regional Medical Center in Shelby, North Carolina. Stone had you airlifted here because it's safer. Dad and Race are downstairs."
"What about Stone? And Hadji? And what happened to Dr. Yaegar?"
On that note, Stone entered the doorway, and said, "We're right here, Jessie."
Hadji followed closely behind Stone as the two approached the other side of my bed.
"Jonny completed your mission for you," Hadji said.
I looked at Jonny, "What happened?"
"After I saw her shoot you with the rail gun, I went berserk. I… I killed her with my own two hands."
"He strangled her to death while he beat the living shit out of her," Stone said firmly.
I started to cry, "Jonny… I don't want to do this anymore…"
Jonny firmly grasped my hand.
"I'm sorry, Jessie," Stone said. "We don't do it by choice."
"Why? Why do I have to do this! I was perfectly happy with the life I had!"
Daddy and Dr. Quest came into the room after that. I looked at Daddy and screamed, "You did this to me! YOU AND MOM DID THIS TO ME! YOU MADE ME INTO A GODDAMN SCIENCE PROJECT!"
The EKG meter began to beep faster as my blood pressure began to soar.
Daddy put up his hands, "Calm down, Ponchita…"
"CALM DOWN! YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN! FUCK YOU! YOU GO TO HELL YOU GODDAMN WAR MONGERER! I NEVER HAD A LIFE THANKS TO YOU AND MOM! FUCK YOU BOTH WITH THE BIGGEST GODDAMN TEN FOOT POLE!"
"Jessie! You have to calm down," affirmed Hadji.
"He's right, sweetie," said Stone.
I looked up at the ceiling and screamed, "FUCK YOU ALL! LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"
Stone turned to the others and nodded. Slowly, everyone except Jonny took their leave. Daddy kept his face pointed to the floor; Hadji and Stone kept their grim expressions forward. Jonny lowered the bed rail and sat beside me. He comforted me as I loudly wept. I never had a say-so in what I was to become; given the choice, I probably would've opted for a normal teenage life. I could've gone to college, gotten my degree in chemistry or biology, or even computer science, and go be successful somewhere. I didn't want to spend my days chasing down bad guys – compared to stumbling upon them in my younger days – but I guessed that what I wanted was out of the question. But, as the minutes passed, it began to sink in that no matter how hard I could try to change who I was meant to be, I could never deny my true self. That is why Stone kept haunting my dreams, or at least that's why my mind generated him based on what he told me long ago. Jonny kissed my forehead as I stopped crying.
"Are you okay now?" he asked.
I looked up, "I… I don't know… why me?"
"The real question is: why not you? Look, Jessie, Stone said you opened up a fifty-five gallon drum of whoop ass and let loose. You took a searing piece of lead to the shoulder that made you bleed almost half to death and lose your entire arm, but you're still alive to tell about it. You've got the natural instincts and genetic advantage of a soldier. You were called upon not because you were part of an experiment, but because you're capable of filling the position."
"I don't know if I can…"
Jonny retorted, "Bullshit, Jess, you know and I know you can. Besides, just because you're now a part of TRAIN and the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo, that doesn't mean you can't be with us… or me."
"And what if I can't?"
"Don't say that, Jessie. Just have faith."
"I'll try."
Jonny hugged me.
"I love you," I said.
Jonny said softly, "I love you, too."