Chapter 6
A/N: This story just took a dark nose dive into the pits of hell. If you think this is your standard story of the good guys and the bad guys, you are horribly mistaken. If you think this story is about a hero rescuing the damsel in distress etc; you are horribly mistaken. This story from now on might make you want to throw the phone/computer at the wall or scream in my face until your throat's raw. But nonetheless enjoy the story. R&R! Theme song: White coats by new model army.
The two boys were in deep discussion about star trek in Will's bedroom.
"If Spock is Vulcan then why did he save Kirk and the enterprise by dying in the reactor?" Will stated, glaring at Luke.
"Spock isn't fully Vulcan, he is only half Vulcan mixed with human so he can still feel emotions" Luke replied, eating another crisp from the bowl in front of them, the TV droning on about some obscure product.
"Ah yes, but he chooses to suppress his emotions and therefore, he takes after a pure Vulcan in that trait" Will replied, smirking.
Their debate was interrupted by Joyce calling them from the kitchen to come down. "Luke your brother is here" she shouted, going to open the door with her hands covered in cookie dough. Edward was let in; smiling as though everything was right in the world as his youngest brother came running down the small corridor like passage that connected the bedrooms to the rest of the house. He rounded the corner, Will close behind and greeted his Brother before thanking Joyce and throwing a goodbye look at will, before enveloping him in a bear hug.
"Bye will" he said, taking in the scent of the smaller boy whose head was resting on his chest.
"Bye Luke, I'll see you tomorrow at school right?" he asked hopeful.
"Yeah, I'll be at school don't worry" Luke squeezed him tighter before leaving with his brother, waving goodbye at will who was now blushing a deep shade of beetroot.
Joyce shot her son a knowing look, making the colour in his cheeks intensify further.
They drove towards home in silence for the most part, before Edward spoke up.
"You seem close to that Will" he said, giving Luke a side glance that promptly flushed.
"I don't know what you're trying to imply" Luke replies, his voice shaking slightly.
"I think you know exactly what I am implying" Ed quipped.
"Yes I am close to Will, but no we are not in a relationship" Luke sighed.
"Sounds like you want to be though" Edward observed.
"How would you know anyway?" Luke asked "I've hardly seen you since we came here"
"I'm your older brother, it's my job to know" Edward replied. "And to make your life a misery"
The two bantered back and forth, as though the facility didn't exist, as though the evil within both of them was nothing more than a fairy tale.
"What do you plan to do in the city?" Brenner asked Matthew as he drove him to the train station.
"There's a girl who's flown from the Falkland's I'm meeting" Matthew replied.
"Is this Emily?" Brenner asked, turning to look at his son.
"Yeah, how do you know that?" Matthew asked, astounded.
"You two used to play with each other when you were very little, before Luke was born. You two were inseparable" Brenner commented.
"Yeah, well before we left we had something going on" Matthew admitted, flushing a little.
"Good for you, she's a very nice girl" Brenner said, trying to be a good dad.
"Hey, I have something to show you. When I said I worked at a hospital, it's really more of a testing facility. Next year, when the time comes, you'll be able to start training to work with me if that's what you want." Brenner asked, keeping the true details of the facility a secret.
"Okay yeah, sounds good" Matthew asked.
"We can pay a short visit now if you'd like, I'll drive you to the city, and it'll be faster than the train" Brenner finished, looking at Matthew expectantly.
"Ok, Emily's flight isn't expected for another four hours so I gave some time" Matthew said with a shrug.
Brenner took the car down a gravel path and into the woodland, the trees a blur past the windows. Eventually they came to the grey building, small windows puncturing the concrete shell in sporadic intervals.
"Looks lovely" Matthew said sarcastically.
"It might not be the prettiest building in the world, but what happens inside is important for the country" Brenner said, pulling the car to park in a designated space.
The two walked through the swinging doors, Brenner nodding at the desk worker with Matthew in tow. The two walked down the familiar grey corridors and turned into his office.
"What I am about to tell you is an official state secret. The only reason why I am telling you this is because you have shown great aptitude in your schoolwork that you have been considered for a position here at the laboratory. Do you understand that under no circumstances can you tell any of this information to anyone outside of these walls" Brenner said, staring his son in the eye.
"Yes, I do" Matthew stated returning a cold and icy stare.
Brenner handed him a brown folder, pictures and reports jutting out of it here and there. Matthew opened the binder, eyes still staring at Brenner, and he began to read. The first file was all about the terms of secrecy etc and Matthew quickly flipped over to the next one. Trailing down the page, his face blanched as the paper recounted the horrific experiments performed at the lab. He continued to read, hands visibly beginning to shake, and his face growing paler with each passing word.
"Y... You experiment on children?" Matthew asked, visibly shaking all over.
"Yes, their brains are more malleable than adults so we have to start early" Brenner replied simply. "You have to understand, these children are very special to us, they have powers that no other human has control over. If we are to stop the communist threat we must use these powers to our advantage. If we don't have a first line of defence; red soldiers will be crawling over our streets within days. You of all people should now the cost of having no defence" The last line was a low blow for Brenner, winding Matthew.
"I understand, can I see the subjects?" Matthew asked, trying desperately to hide the fury and deceit in his eyes.
"That's the spirit, of course you can. Hopefully you'll be working with them soon" Brenner said, taking the bait hook line and sinker.
Brenner opened the door for Matthew as he slipped out the door and into the corridor. They turned right, their shoes echoing on the white tiled floor. They came to an armed guard as Brenner showed his name tag and escorted Matthew through the checkpoint. Matthew was taking note about what weapons the guards had and where he could search for cover, trying to move his head as little as possible, as to avoid bringing attention to himself.
Eventually they came down to the holding cells, the row upon row of steel doors taking Matthew's breath away.
"There's so many" he eventually said.
"Yes, each one has a number and that's what we call them by, it's tattooed on their forearm" Brenner said, looking down the hallway.
Brenner walked towards one of the cells, sliding a steel viewpoint to the side, revealing a small hunched over girl lying in the foetal position on a plain wire frame bed.
Matthew acted with lightening speed. Seeing his opportunity as Brenner peered into the cell, he slammed his head against the steel door, making his legs crumple with the force. To make sure, he kneeled above Brenner and slammed his fists into his head, the back of which was thudding against the concrete floor. After thirty seconds of this, Matthew got up exhausted. A pool of blood of seeping out from the unconscious Brenner, staining his white coat a vivid crimson. Matthew took his keys and opened the door, the scared girl hunched with her knees to her chest, eyeing Matthew with a fear that killed him. Dragging Brenner's body out of sight he entered the cell, the girl still looking at the pool of blood streaked across the floor.
"Hey, I'm Matthew" He introduced himself. "I'm a good guy, not a scientist" he reinforced, seeing the girls petrified expression. "I'm rescuing you" The girl softened her expression, looking as fragile as a century old glass vase. He took the girls hand, coaxing her forward and out of the cell. They moved quickly, briefly stopping at a small cloakroom to pick up a lab coat, perfect disguise for the lab. Never letting go of the girl's hand, he realised how cold she was, the shivering of her tiny body confirming his suspicions. They rounded a corner, spotting the guards at the door Matthew swore to himself.
He turned to face the girl and bundled her into a door passage way, covering her with his lab coat.
"Help! Help!" He shouted "Dr Brenner has been attacked!" the guards turned to look at him, recognising him from before and ran down the hallway. "The cells" was all he shouted, faking exhaustion. The guards fortunately sprinted away, as Matthew watched them cautiously before talking the girl's hand once again and exiting through the doorway. He reached his father's office, ushering the girl into the warm room. He immediately reached out and rubbed her arms, trying desperately to warm her up, all while the girl stared at him with a mixture of relief and fear, still cautious of the men in the lab coats. He pulled out a drawer, retrieving a jumper from it and pulling it over the girl's hospital gown. He checked her forearm for the tattoo, 014. Remembering what his father had told him before being battered, Matthew smiled at this memory, he started to talk to the girl.
"Hello fourteen, my name is Matthew. Are you warm now?" the girl nodded silently.
He pulled out another draw, revealing a chocolate bar; he unwrapped it and gave it to the girl who looked at it suspiciously. Taking it off of her, he took one of the blocks and put it into his mouth; demonstrating to the girl what to do. She repeated and her face lit up in delight, downing the rest of the bar in half a second.
"Woah, calm down there, you'll make yourself sick" he said. The girl looked up at him, her eyes wide with terror. By the time he realised it wasn't him that she was looking at, it was too late. A sickening crack reverberated in the room as Matthew's vision went black and his legs crumpled, slumping onto the floor.
He awoke, his head thudding and pulsating with a deep pressure. The splitting headache that followed made him groan involuntarily in pain. He raised his head, opened his eyes before immediately shutting them, the bright light blinding him. After several seconds, he eased open his eyes once more to see a bloodied Brenner nursing a broken nose and what seemed like several other broken things.
"Matthew, Matthew, Matthew" he said, shaking his head in pity. "You always were the compassionate one"
"At least I'm not the sick bastard" Matthew quipped, despite still being dazed and barely conscious.
"I'm disappointed in you, I thought you would see the bigger picture" Brenner said, his voice cold and commanding.
"Just kill me, get it over with. I'll be waiting to drag you to hell down with me" Matthew smiled, looking forward to the prospect.
"No, you're my son. I would never do that to you" Brenner said, seemingly repulsed at the thought.
"Unfortunately" Matthew quipped.
"Either way, this is what you have done" Brenner flicked a switch, turning off a two way mirror, revealing 14 pinned down in a steel chair, electrodes attached to her head, blue eyes darting around the room in panic.
"You really are fucked up" Matthew said. "No wonder Mum cheated on you" Matthew grinned at Brenner's momentary discomfort. Two could play at this game.
"How is that relevant?" Brenner half shouted at his son.
"Oh it's entirely relevant, particularly because it was a black ma..." he was cut off by another smack across the face from someone standing behind him. Matthew laughed yet again, enjoying poking at Brenner's raw spots.
"I know let's talk about Catherine shall we? My sister that you forced my mum to abort when she was nearly full term. That is a very interesting conversation" The guards around him looked at Brenner, the exact response that Matthew sought to elicit. "Or even better, the girl you had killed because you accidentally got her pregnant. How old was she? Fourteen, Fifteen?" Another smack stopped his tirade as Matthew burst out laughing maniacally. If he was going to die here, he wouldn't do it without having some fun first.
Brenner looked at his son, the blackness in his eyes a now intense midnight.
"Your little stunt before has forced us to do something very bad indeed Matthew, just be aware that you caused this" Brenner said no more, turning towards the microphone. "Begin" he said coldly.
A technician wheeled in a table with knives, scalpels and blades of different natures. He stood by 14 to attention before Brenner nodded to him.
"Today, gentlemen, we are going to perform a live vivisection of this patient who tried to escape" The technician announced and for the first time, Matthew noticed the ten other scientists in the cramped room.
The technician took out the blade and cut deep into 14's skin, the ear piercing scream made Matthew writhe uncontrollably. He tried to leap up out of his seat at Brenner, but the thick leather straps prevented him from moving.
The screams lasted hours upon hours, or so it seemed. The little girl now lay strewn with blood as her organs were taken out with a methodical coldness. Brenner just watched, intrigued at the performance. The blades kept on moving, held by the adept hands of the technician, clearly practiced in the procedure. The high pitched screams of the girl eventually giving way to an animalistic gargle, nearly drowned out by the crackle of the speakers, the girls writhing and struggling also died down, until she was hanging limp within the constraints, now crimson with blood. The technician took her pulse, confirming his suspicions. He nodded to Brenner who gave the order to wheel the bloodied corpse of the girl away. When it was over, Matthew threw up the contents of his stomach that kept on coming and coming. When his throat was raw and only bile was coming up, he was wheeled out of the room; him too hanging limp within the constraints of the chair.
"What are we going to do with Matthew?" Edward asked his father in the office.
"Let him return to normal, there's no point in trying to persuade him further, he's too weak for our work. I think he has received our message and won't try anything further" Brenner finished, drumming his fingers against the wooden desk.
"Matthew isn't like that, he's too passionate. If we let him go he will only try and make our lives difficult, he will not keep quiet" Edward finished, sending Brenner into deep thought.
"So what do you suggest?" Brenner asked his eldest.
"I have a plan, but you won't like it. Leave it with me" Edward finished, leaving the office.
Matthew was being walked out of the office by two armed guards, eyes wide and unseeing, skin white with shock. The guards took him half way across the car park, Edward came up behind them. With a silent nod, he ordered the guards to release Matthew who stopped in walking.
"Hey, Matt?" Edward said.
Matthew turned around, recognising the familiar voice, only to see the barrel of a gun pointing at his face.
The shot echoed throughout the forest.
A/N: Damn. A vivisection is basically a dissection but you're alive. It's the cruellest scientific thing I can think of. Sorry for not posting an update yesterday, I was revising for my exams and didnt have time to write. R&R!
