Chapter 41 – Startling Truths
The first thing that Fang was aware about when he woke up was the stinging pain in his head. It was like someone had drilled a nail into his forehead repeatedly, and was not succeeding in driving it into his brain. Another result of the pain was the horrible ringing in his ears, so loud and foreign that he could hardly hear his own thoughts. A metallic taste in his mouth made him want to throw up.
He wasn't aware of anything that had happened to him in a long time, making him wonder how long he had been out for. The last thing he remembered was being in the tree house, with Max next to him, and the two of them kissing. He actually kissed her! If it weren't such a glorious revelation, he might not have believed that it had actually happened. But the memory of her plump, cold limps against his own still lingered in his thoughts. Then the rest of the picture came into his mind, and he gritted his teeth to expel the awful accident.
Right in the middle of their kiss, they had been attacked by Erasers.
It seemed so ironic that a special moment had to have been ruined. He shouldn't have tried to push his feelings like that unto Max, especially since he had no idea how she felt about him. He wasn't sure if he believed in karma or not, but it seemed very likely based upon the result of his actions. God, how could he be so stupid? Of course he shouldn't have done it. Anything good in his life had been taken away, which is exactly why he shouldn't have kissed her. If he were even lucky enough to get her to like him, something bad would happen to her.
It was inevitable.
But worse than all of this was that he couldn't protect her when she needed him most. It didn't matter that he would probably never get to kiss Max again — no doubt she would never allow that to happen — but it bothered him to no end that he knew he might never see her again. For all he knew he was dead right now. Yet he hoped that she was still alive, able to escape the Erasers somehow. He hoped that she had returned home, because it wasn't right that he was the cause of her and her mother getting in a fight. He wasn't worth it.
He shut down the horrible feelings racing through him. If there was one thing he was good at, it was putting aside painful memories. He didn't want people to know what he was thinking or see his emotions, partially due to the strength it gave him but also as an instinctual defense. Feelings can be used against you at any moment. There is no need to give your opponent an advantage to break you.
The ringing in his head gave him some reason to believe that he wasn't dead. Sucking in a sharp breath, he pushed up into a sitting position. That was the first time he realized he was resting on a cot. The mattress was thin and uncomfortable, but at least it wasn't the floor. Wanting to examine the room, he jumped to his feet.
The action was impulsive, though, as he stumbled awkwardly. It was clear he hadn't been upright in a long time, and doing so now made him dizzy. Feeling like he was going to fall over, he used the wall as a support. His head was screaming in agony as the blood rushed away from it. As his breathing came in short gasps, he could see the condensation in the air. Goose bumps rose on his arms and he rubbed them briskly, only to realize that he wasn't in long sleeves.
That's when he noticed that his clothes were different from when he last remembered. He was now in a white t-shirt and shorts. He never recalled changing, so that could only mean one possibility. Someone had to have changed it for him.
Where was he?
Regaining some balance he saw that he was in a small, almost jail-like room. The floor was linoleum tiled and cool against his bare feet. He only had about ten feet in length and width to walk. A door stood across from him with a rectangular opening cut into its lower half. That too reminded him of a meal slot in a prison. The only light came from a flickering bulb overhead which wasn't exactly helping his headache.
Where was Max? Was she here too? He was tempted to whisper her name, but he didn't know if unwanted ears were listening. This place gave him the worst feeling, one of death and despair. He wouldn't be surprised to see an Eraser walking down the aisle at any moment.
He bent down and peered through the slot, hoping to see something or someone he could use. From that low down he couldn't make out much. All he saw was more linoleum flooring and a long path of white walls on either side. It didn't look like there were any other cells, but he couldn't be sure. When he tried sticking his arm through the slot to see if he could reach any kind of handle, it almost got stuck.
Right about now, he really wished that he had Max's power.
With a rush, the pain in his head suddenly flared. He scrambled over to the cot so that he could try to wait it out. Hopefully someone would come for him soon. He didn't like the feeling that his surroundings gave him. There was something off about this place.
He didn't know how much time had passed — whether minutes or hours — when he heard heals clicking in the distance. His head felt slightly better, but he was in no mood for a confrontation, especially with an Eraser. Forcing himself up, he slinked back to the meal slot and peered in the direction of the noise. He couldn't see a thing.
Then two smooth, white legs stopped right in front of him.
The deadbolts on the door clicked open from the other side. He scrambled to his feet and prepared himself to fight whoever was on the other side. There would be no mercy—
He was taken aback to see a tall, blond-haired woman gazing at him with an unreadable expression. She was dressed in a white lab coat and a black pencil skirt that hit just above her knees. For a moment he was frozen, not completely sure how to respond. Was she good or bad? Should he take her out now and ask questions later while he makes a break for it? He was about to strike when she smiled, a short quirk of her lips that gave him the impression that she was his superior.
Her words froze him.
"Aw, Marco Liridon, or should I say Subject 2075?" Her voice was low and confident. "It's been a long time."
His brows furrowed. "Who are you? How do you know me?"
His fists clenched tightly, preparing to lash out.
She took notice of his tenseness, despite that his motions were hardly perceptible to most eyes. Laughing knowingly, she motioned for someone outside the room. "I think he needs some restraining."
He tried to break out then, but his movement was too slow. Just as he meant to punch the woman two Erasers — one wolf and one rhino — sidestepped her and charged on him. His fist connected with the wolf's chest, but it didn't cause much damage. Its fuzzy hand grabbed his and pulled it back in an unnatural fashion. He gritted his teeth to keep from crying out.
The rhino guy lumbered behind Fang and tied his hands together with a rope that had been slung around its shoulder. The restraint was too tight; it cut off circulation to Fang's fingers.
"Good work, boys, now leave me alone with him," the woman laughed. With deranged grins, the two creatures exited the room.
A chill passed through Fang like he'd never felt before.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"Introductions aren't important right now, Marco. We can handle all of that later." She paused and took a few steps closer to him. When she looked down, she smiled again. "What is important is that you understand why you are here and why I have personally come to see you."
He didn't say anything. The look he was shooting her was murderous. He hated that she had to have him restrained just so that they could talk.
"If you must address me, you can call me the Director," she admitted after a moment.
"What are you the director of?"
His head flew back before he'd realized what had happened. She smacked him square across the face. He stared off in the distance while she continued to talk.
"No more questions. You just let me do the talking from now on." She began to pace the small space in the room, her arms crossed behind her back. "The reason why I'm here is to make you an offer."
He wanted to sneer back, what? An offer I can't refuse? But he didn't particularly feel like getting slapped again, especially when he was trying to find an escape.
She smiled as he didn't say anything. "You see, there really is no choice in this offer. You were made for this purpose. So consider this a lesson in what your future will be like.
"We are in a building that belongs to Itex, the greatest company as far as medical development and research goes across the country. It was here that we started the breakthrough advancements in genetic engineering, something that the government likes to keep under wraps. They don't see the value of enhancing human life like we do. In years of research, we finally came up with the design for the ultimate human being we could imagine. An angel child, one with wings."
His heartbeat stuttered, but he kept his face casually uncaring.
"We had the genetic makeup prepared for the ultimate specimen ever, but there were others within our system who didn't want us to go through with the plans. They were jealous that our branch had hatched this brilliant plan to create a being that would be the supreme model of human existence. Who has never dreamed of sailing the skies? But then our plan had a little wrench thrown in it when they stole our genetic blueprints. We feared that they would try to create our own angel child to use against us for evil, and scare the people away. We had to do something to protect ourselves.
"That's when we made you."
There was a long, painful pause in the small room. Fang felt as though all the air had been sucked out of that enclosed space; he could hardly breathe. What the Director was saying is absurd, and yet he can't help believing it to be true.
"There was a problem in your design, though. While we were able to create your body to be suitable for flying, we couldn't replicate wings properly. We spent your infant years trying to develop the perfect wings that would compliment your body, but when we heard no news of another angel child, we put the development on hold. Until we felt threatened, we decided to place you in a home so you can grow up normally," she spat the word out. "We needed you to be accustomed to other humans, so we sent you to live with one of our doctors."
His blood ran cold when she'd spoken the words. The pain that washed over him was far worse than anything physical she could unleash on him. His mother was one of them.
For once, his carefully composed mask cracked.
She laughed bitterly. "Not at all like you expected, is it? I do feel sorry for you, that you had to endure such a horrible accident, but it never marred our plans for you, even when you managed to escape us all that time through the foster care system…"
Everything made sense. He always knew that there was something wrong with the families he had been placed with, and looking back he should have seen the similarities between all of them. Doctors, veterinarians, geneticists, pharmacists… they had all worked for Itex. They wanted to ensure that he was being watched until they needed him. The realizations made him feel a hatred he had never felt before blossom within his chest.
"Why'd you go through all the trouble of retrieving me?" he nearly shouted. It didn't matter if she slapped him again. He wanted answers.
"Honestly, we didn't start tracking you until you slipped away from our watchful eye. It was around the same time that we picked up activity from our rivals. When you moved in with your new family a few months ago, we worked feverishly to finish the design for your wings. And after several attempts to bring you back, we finally succeeded now."
He met her sharp gaze levelly, feeling his composure regain itself. "So, if you're on the good side, why didn't you ask if I wanted to join you from the start? Why didn't you brainwash me into following you?"
Of course she'd smacked him again, but he hardly felt its sting. He felt triumphant for seeing through her pretense. "We are on the good side. The only reason we captured you was so that you wouldn't resist when we tried to reason with you. You've been exposed to far too much of the real world to see our logic behind what we do. Now, it is your time to be the ultimate child we'd meant for you to be. We want you to fulfill your destiny."
He raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't the original design be the ultimate? I thought I was version two."
She sniffed. "We doubt that one ever got started. And it doesn't matter… you are what we want."
Fang got a sudden feeling like they weren't alone anymore, but he didn't let his intuition show. Instead he decided to play the devil's advocate. "So let's just say that I want to be this ultimate being. What's in it for me? Why would I suddenly decide to let you put wings on my back?"
"We already tried," she said reluctantly. "The power went out while we were prepping you. Our surgeons are on tight schedules and had to be flown in from across the country to perform the operation. They were on time until the storm came in and delayed their exit. They stopped your anesthesia drip and brought you back to a room. We decided to let our team rest and hold it off until tomorrow."
Anesthesia. That would explain why he'd been so tired before.
He couldn't believe that they'd tried to implant them without his permission.
"And after that occurs…?"
She grinned, exposing perfectly straight, blindingly white teeth. "Then we can continue in our quest to gain recognition within our field. If we can prove to the world that genetic engineering is the future, than you can be the father of a new generation."
He pretended to take her words seriously. After a moment, he decided to tell the Director exactly what he thought of her plan. "What the fuck? What kind of deranged person wants to experiment on innocent people just to gain power?"
Her expression changed from excited to murderous in an instant. She glared murderously at him and bent so low that he could smell her minty breath. "You have no choice in the matter. By tomorrow you'll be on our side whether you like it or not!"
He was tempted to say something caustically, like "use a tic tac", but another voice broke through their heated argument.
"There's one problem with your little scheme that you didn't consider."
His heart skipped a beat before racing rapidly in recognition. The Director whirled to face the intruder with a shocked expression.
"Who the hell are you?" she barked.
Max took one step toward her. "I'm the original design."
Slightly longer chapter than last time. Sorry for the wait but I've been busy with Nanowrimo (I reached 50,000 words, but I'm not even close to being done with my story). While I try to finish that, I want to get started with my Fanfics again. I really want this one done by Christmas. And if you forget something you can ask because I forget a lot of what I've already written, too. Check out the important new poll!!!
--biteoutoflife--