ORDERS for Squad 5B
MISSION: Rescue
LOCATION: Northern side of Building 438, Lab 27.
COMMANDER'S NOTES: Experiment #94 is to be left untouched. Good luck gentlemen.
Kayta woke to the sound of a door creaking open. Carefully, she peered out into the dark—the fluorescent lights had long since gone off to signal the end of a day—and spotted that, indeed, the door was slowly opening. Knowing she had to be one of the few who had noticed as she had both a margay's acute sense of hearing and night eyes, she whispered into the dark, "Wake up! Lika, someone's here."
A humanoid shape could be seen entering, then another and another. From the sounds, it seemed more waited outside, though they did not enter. Guards, perhaps? Kayta watched the group go from one cage to the next. They were opening the doors with what seemed like lock picks and letting out stumbling, sleepy-eyed freaks like herself. A bird-girl, a turtle-boy, even some poor kid sprinkled with many-colored fish's scales.
She could hear the whispers in the room. They traveled from cage to cage, quieting as one of the lock-pickers raised a finger to his lips, but then rising in volume again. "It's them, they've come!" "Really?" "Maybe it's a trick." "No, it can't be…" "We're free!" The last phrase was whispered over and over. They let it roll over their tongues and hang in the air, savoring the taste of it. Freedom.
"Kate, Kate!" Lilika could hardly contain her excitement it seemed, from her bouncing and jumping and ecstatic voice. "I told you so! I told you we would be freed. I knew it!" Despite her words, her whisper was relieved.
Kayta was enthusiastic too. She leant against her cage door, trying to peer through the thin bars to catch glimpses of the freedom bringers. "Lilika, imagine, we'll sleep under the moon tonight. Maybe we'll see a sunrise in the morning—have you heard about those? One of the boys in our old lab talked about when they got him into testing real early in the morning and he saw one. Said it was like liquid gold, and red and yellow too, all fiery and bright and beautiful." Despite her refusal to hope, Kayta was easily caught up in the excitement of being freed.
They were on Lilika's cage now, hurrying to pick the lock. Kayta heard a muttered curse, like when an experiment bit one of the scientists, then the door swung open. Lilika was eased out and set on her feet. "There you go," one murmured, his voice soft. Lilika was nearly tearing up with joy. "Thank you!" she whispered.
They turned to Kayta's cage, but then they hesitated. One stumbled loudly. Almost as though that was a signal, a whistle rang out: two short ones, then a long one. They turned swiftly, "Time to go. C'mon, girl, this way."
Lilika shook her head. "No! Not until Kayta's freed too." She tugged her hand out of his grasp. He grabbed her around the waist and dragged her with him.
"We have to go," he explained as Lilika struggled and protested. "That means someone's coming. I'm sorry." The figure looked over his shoulder at the only experiment-filled cage which remained. Kayta caught a glimpse of dark eyes. "I truly am."
A cry burst from Kayta. "Take me too! Come back!" Then, in a whisper, "Lilika, don't leave." But the door shut with a thud, leaving her in darkness. Curling into a ball, Kayta cried for the unfairness of it. That she was the one left alone, when freedom had been at her fingertips. She cried for a long time, tears soaking into her shirt and leaving wet trails down her cheeks.
Finally, the tears stopped and her sobs abated. She wiped her face roughly with the back of her hand, furious at herself for crying. In the morning, when the scientists came in to stare, agape, at the empty cages, Experiment #94's face was dry and her eyes were as hard as agates. One thought continued to run through her mind: That's what you get for hoping.