The hot sun of Africa poured down on her. She watched from the boat. Unable to set foot on the land that became his resting place. Stuart went to retrieve the research.
He had returned to her after so long. And now he was gone again. She need to understand why this happened. He was a genius. He would not fall so easily. As she studied the notes, the look of utter disbelief on her face. He had to have known. Why did he not correct it? Such a simple mistake had led to his defeat. The weakness to heat. There was no way he would overlook such a flaw. So why? Did he leave it intentionally? It had to be the only explanation. He had been so proud of his creation. Rule the new world as a god with Uroboros.
"But that was never what you wanted. Was it, Albert?"
She knows what the world doesn't. What they never will. It's there in the name. Ouroboros. The snake devouring its own tail. Consuming itself. He knew that power that consumes itself had no purpose. He would never make such a thing. This was never about power.
It is a story she has read many times. A curious device. An old relic from times past. One that has no place in the new world. One that is slowly breaking down because it is no longer cared for. The last remaining one, to know how it works, or how to fix it. But they cannot fix it. There is no need for it any more. Times are changing. All they can do is care for what is left of it. Uphold the old laws and fight change. Until the day it inevitably breaks and takes them along with it.
"You realized it, didn't you Albert? And yet you did not take me with you. Am I really that unworthy? I would have been glad to die."
The painting gives no answer.
"I will prove my worth. Just wait. I will surpass you."
She never cared for Spencer's approval. She never respected the old man. He was not her Commandant. The one she truly wanted to be recognized by was now gone. She knew that his legacy could not be saved. Not truly. But she would not abandon it. She will wait. She will push back. Once they meet again she can look him the eyes and say that she succeed. That she fought. The she was loyal till the end.
She focuses on the research. Perfecting his legacy. Her own experiments abandoned. Fulfill his dream and drown the world in the blackness. Meet him in hell and say, look I brought you the world. All hopes of her own salvation abandoned. T-phobos yielded no quality results since it began developing. She has grown bored with the torture and the screams. The violence doesn't excite her anymore. Nothing does.
She lays in bed unwilling to move. The same bed they shared that night. Stuart tries to give her reports on the experiments. She doesn't care. The people who worshiped her. Those that are still alive. The monsters that have broken out around the island. It doesn't matter. Her body is growing weak. She knows she will not finish her work. She feels defeated. Useless. Just a giant insect. All hope of surpassing him gone.
"I wanted to give you world." she cries "yet, I am unable to do even this much. I really am unworthy."
And then the man from Terrasave contacts her. There is a hope. A chance that it will work. Her long abandoned idea. But if it does, then she could do it. Fulfil his dream. Surpass him. A long shot of an idea but it is her only hope.
She observes them. Wishes they would hurry up. She gives them directions. Interferes when they try to escape. Pushes them to see who breaks and who doesn't. She wants it to be over as fast as possible. One by one they fail. Stuart already has the perfect one picked for her. The others are not necessary anymore. But they are so close now. She needs to wait for the girl. And then it will be over.
Her plan is a long shot. Untested. Uncertain. No guaranties. She hears the elevator rise up. Soon they will be here. Soon it will all be over. She can escape. Be reborn. Continue her plan. Fulfil his dream. But what if it fails? What if the machine falls apart? What if she disappears into nothing? Not even able to see him for one last time. The thoughts plaque her.
Footsteps echo on the metal stairs.
"We meet at last"
She turns. Faces them. Smiles.
"You came all this way, just to say goodbye? Oh, I'm touched"
She looks at them. The two women who managed to make it this far. Perhaps one of them would have been a better candidate. But it's too late now.
"It's already done. I've conquered fear and earned the right to become a god."
The right to become god was never hers. Never his. Never anyone's.
"Come out from behind that glass, so I can choke a god" the girl retorts.
Before it would have made her laugh. But she can't lose her focus. As she paces. Preparing. It won't hurt much. She knows. To live hurts more. And yet she is taking her time with it. Hesitating.
"All that remains is one final test. One last threshold to cross."
She speaks her determination. The doubts in her mind make noise. So she speaks. Focuses on her own words. To silence them out.
"Is she even listening to us?" the red-haired girl remarks
But Alex doesn't care. She is focused on what she must do. Nothing else matters. She faces them one last time. Her audience. They know not how it works. They cannot appreciate what is about to happen in its fullest. It matters not. She looks down at the book. Find the page. The familiar word give her comfort.
"My brother's escape was death. And soon it will be mine as well"
She closes the book. Drops it. Moves closer to the two girls behind the bulletproof glass.
" I will share in his fate. And then I will surpass him" she takes out her pistol.
The girls look shocked. Afraid for their own lives. How foolish. They will die soon enough, but not the way they think. The self-destruct mechanism will be activated once she is gone.
"What are you trying to do?"
She answers truthfully.
"Escape"
She puts the gun to her temple. Pulls the trigger. Falls.
Six months later a new her will awaken inside the little girl.