"Where?"
Stepping back, away from his touch, Naomi gestured for him to come inside and sit down. She needed a breath after Tomak's award-winning outburst and she was not about to indulge him with the answer to his query until he calmed down.
When he was finally seated at the kitchen table, Naomi placed a glass of cold water in front of him as well as her phone that was currently open to a map. Sitting opposite him she gestured that he drink, but as she expected, he ignored the drink and went straight for the phone.
"Southern Ohio," his masked face glanced up from the screen. "That's where I think she is."
"How did you get this?"
Leaning on her elbows she blew out a sigh, "When I went to visit that old family friend at the police station, I had to pretend I was job shadowing him and in doing so," she entwined her fingers, resting her hands on the table, "he showed me how they worked the cameras on the highways and how easily they can run a plate." It had been eye opening and kind of scary how fast they could find people if they really wanted to.
"Long story short, I waited until he was using the restroom before I did some of my own searching. I found those vans we were looking for," she added hopefully. "Guess they did have license plates at one point, they just removed them before entering the logging area." And it turned out all three of the vans had government issued plates. It suddenly made a lot of sense as to why they wanted that hidden from the cameras, they didn't want to have to bother with local police poking around and asking questions. It would have just turned into something political. And their company or whoever they worked for would have gotten caught in the middle of it.
"I only had time to run one of the plates," she informed regretfully, recalling the footsteps outside the door as she scrambled to enter the numbers into the system, barely managing to collect everything she needed in time. As joyous as that moment had been, her heart had been pounding when she quickly took down the page before her friend had entered the office. "It rang up with this address from southern Ohio," she placed a piece of paper with her handwriting on the table in front of him, sliding it over to his side where his clawed fingers examined it.
"How far is it?" Tomak finally asked, the lenses of his mask glimmering briefly as the kitchen light bounced off it from an angle.
Naomi shrugged, "How fast is your ship?"
The way he stiffened and looked at her made her frown, "You do have a ship, right?" How else had he gotten here?
Being reminded of the events, Tomak let out a savage growl, "In simplest terms, it was destroyed."
Naomi's eyes widened, suddenly understanding. "Wait, so you're stranded here?" she breathed, immediately regretting her words when she saw him inhale sharply.
Attempting to change the subject, she ran her hand over her face, turning away in thought, "Well... if we were to drive, it might be sixteen hours, maybe more if traffic is particularly bad."
But before she let Tomak get ahead of himself, she silently asked for the phone back. Zooming in on the designated place, she plopped it back down in front of him again, pointing insistently at the changing geography.
"The only issue is, my maps aren't showing a building structure in this region, just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of acres," she pinched her fingers on the screen, zooming out of the overall image, "of dense forest. I was trying to make sense of it when you made your grand entrance," she added dryly, turning her face up to him.
Seemingly ignoring her remark, the big guy was silent as he stared at the map in front of him, deep in thought.
Naomi watched him carefully, trying to see what he was thinking. "I mean, I can get you there," that wasn't the issue. "There's no guarantee the facility is even in that area. We could be wasting valuable time."
He stood abruptly then, almost knocking the chair behind him. He moved to the living room where he had room to pace.
She dropped her gaze from his anxious movements to her enclosed fist, which she leaned against with a sigh. "I just don't want to disappoint you, Tomak, in case there's nothing there."
He stopped, turning to look at her. "I am willing to take that risk. If it is close enough, I may be able to pick up her trail again," he spoke gruffly.
Naomi perked up. "Her trail?" she tilted her head curiously. "So you weren't following a trail left by the vans? You were somehow tracking her?" she frowned, her eyes boring into him for answers.
The floorboard beneath him creaked as he pivoted to his weapon that he discarded on the couch when he entered. He reached down to pick it up, his hands moving over its craftsmanship with familiarity as he spoke from over his shoulder. "Wherever Rae goes, she leaves behind a faint trail of an electric current. My mask can detect it."
"Wait– hold up!" Naomi lifted both her hands, her brows scrunching up as she struggled to process what he just said. "You're tellin' me that your mask allows you to see energy from people like we're a car with a freakin' oil drip?"
She watched him turn to face her, his masked face not giving her anything in regards to emotion. She couldn't tell if he was angry, annoyed, or tickled pink, but she highly doubted the latter as she uncomfortably endured his long stare.
Placing his collapsed spear somewhere on his back, he tilted his head curiously and asked, "What is oil?" as if that was the most pressing concern out of everything she had just said.
She wafted her hands as she stood from her seat, waving off his question, "Forget what I said, you can track her?" she reiterated.
"Yes," he growled.
After boldly looking into the lenses of the large alien's mask, Naomi felt his conviction, his confidence. She already knew his answer before she even asked. Looking down at her phone, she picked it up, tightening her fingers around the casing. "So we gonna do this then?"
There was no answer at first, until she looked up from her phone. She swallowed deeply. Seeing the mass in Tomak's shoulders broaden, his chin tucked in a rather menacing way to his chest, and the overbearing posture was doing something psychologically to her. It was like her more primitive instincts were telling her that she was in imminent danger of being caught in the claws of a vicious predator.
Then he spoke and she had to blink to snap out of her reverie. "The moment we step outside you surrender your right to choose."
Naomi's eyes shot wide open. Her mouth immediately dropped open to object, but he cut her off with a snarl, even taking a step towards her. It shut her up and what he said next clarified his intent.
"Every decision will be mine, every action will be done by my hand. You will escort me and that is it. When we arrive, you will stay behind."
"But–"
"When we arrive, you will stay behind!" he lifted a clawed finger. He wasn't taking no for an answer.
"But if we do find this place, you'll need a diversion. I could help with–"
"No," he growled, "I cannot protect Rae and you. If it comes down to it, I would choose my mate's safety over yours."
That silenced her. And as much as she hated to admit it, she knew it was true.
Lowering his tone, he fisted his hands. "That is why when we leave, you will surrender your right to choose until Rae is safe."
Naomi had so many things she wanted to say. I'm not useless. I can protect myself. But it was all pointless, he was a massive being that could probably contend with a whole army. What could she possibly do that he couldn't? She was a means for him to get to Rae and that was it. Rae didn't need her to be the hero, she needed Tomak. "Yeah, okay."
He didn't appear to believe her tone to be genuine enough. "Say it," he took another step.
It stung her pride, but she met his masked face with a heavy exhale. "The second we leave this house I surrender my right to choose."
"Better," he shifted, turning for the door.
She snorted, hopefully out of range of his hearing. Rae you've got your hands full with this one, her eyes followed the muscled profile exiting the house. He sure was a handful, and bossy.
She sure hoped her friend was okay, because she wasn't so sure she wanted to witness the hell this alien man was about to raise.
An hour had passed, or at least that's what it felt like. Rae had slid her back down the wall and had been sitting there unmoving since her draining one-on-one with Price.
She didn't have a good feeling about this at all. The one trustworthy thing about Price, were his words. They were never empty.
She thought about everything she had said, her anger foolishly getting the better of her. What was Damon's purpose in all this anyway? Surely she didn't think he would be left unscathed. He could have just been a means to an end for Price, a way to find answers. It sickened her and she had the sudden urge to punch the wall.
Before she knew it, she had company.
Her eyes slid mistrustfully to the woman that had been standing there this morning. Amanda.
"What do you want?" She didn't bother to stand, let alone meet the woman's gaze.
"To apologize," her voice came over the sound system in her cell and she scoffed.
"Apologize," she looked at her fully then.
"The bonds were just to make sure you didn't try to escape. Price felt it necessary to coerce the truth from you, but I never had intentions for it to be used that way. I would have rather we talked."
"And what would talking have earned you?" her eyes hardened. "I wouldn't just hand over the serum to you."
The woman lowered her eyes to her tablet, earning a glare from Rae. But before she realized what was going on, the lights in her cell flickered momentarily. "They can't hear us now," Amanda looked at her again. "I don't care about the serum. All I want to know is how it worked. How it saved you."
She grit her teeth, getting up to stand. "Why would I believe a lying snake like you?"
She almost looked hurt. "I've never lied to you!"
"No but you sure like keeping people in the dark," Rae answered snidely.
Amanda took a quick breath, peering behind her briefly before lowering her voice. "You're not the only one that worries about what Price is doing here. The only reason I took this position was because I had to."
"Yeah right." Wasn't that what they all said?
"Believe me," she pressed, her voice hitching in an admitting sigh. "Our stories are not so different."
Rae stared searchingly in the woman's eyes, looking for any evidence for deceit as she slowly began to tell her tale.
"My son is sick. He was diagnosed with cancer at the age of two. And recently it's progressed at a rapid pace." Her eyes filled with tears as she confessed, "They don't think he'll see his sixth birthday, and I'm trying to fix that. Don't you see?" She looked at her, "I'm trying to save my son, just like your father was trying to save his daughter."
Rae shook her head discouragingly. "Is this the life you want to give your son?" her arms extended to her cell. "Look at me! What makes you think the fate of your son will be any different if Price found out?"
"I'm not trying to recreate your abilities, I just want the healing properties."
Walking towards the see-through wall, she laughed dryly, "And my father didn't? Do you think my father wanted me to be like this?! Look at my outcome very closely, because what happened to me and my Dad will just be repeated."
"What would you suggest I do then?" Rae could see the tears forming in her eyes. "Just let my son die?"
She went quiet. And Amanda shook her head in disbelief.
"That's not an option for me. I–" she sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve, "I need your help. Please," she implored Rae.
Suddenly overwhelmed by Amanda's desperate gaze, she turned away, returning to the wall she had grown accustomed to sitting against. It was a difficult position this mother was in, Rae admitted that, but there was nothing she could do. She wasn't going to give them anything, she couldn't.
Looking up at her from her place she gave her a sorry expression. "I'm sorry about your son," she sat back down. "Really, I am. I hope a cure can be made for him, but not with the serum. I can't risk the chance of there being another me."
Rae saw her wipe at her tear-stained face one more time before the wall turned white again, enclosing her once more. She shut her eyes at the finality of her actions, her heart pounding in regret.
That poor boy. She could imagine his life very well. Bedridden and bored. He was probably surrounded by doctors and nurses who were working as a team to solve the issue, unlike herself. Her father didn't trust doctors, he took it upon himself to find answers.
There was a shuffle in the cell behind her and then she heard Damon. "Poor lady."
It surprised her. "How much of that did you hear?"
He was quiet before admitting, "All of it."
"Do you think what I said was wrong?" she asked, turning her face to the wall.
"No," he trailed off, then added, "I mean, I get why you didn't."
Rae nodded. Her thoughts went back to what she saw earlier when she had peered into his cell in passing. "Why didn't you tell me they hurt you?"
"I didn't want to worry you."
She snorted, turning her body towards his voice, "What worries me more is not knowing."
"It wasn't a big deal," he yawned before chuckling softly. "I kind of earned it."
"How?" she frowned, listening carefully.
"I resisted," he sounded almost proud, "punched a guy square in the mouth too, then," he paused, "I got the same treatment in return. A lady was nice enough to clean me up though, for the most part."
"Was it Amanda?" she asked.
"No, I think her name tag said Lilith," he paused thoughtfully. "She looked young, like our age, blonde hair."
She hadn't seen this one yet, but she made a mental note to keep an eye out for her.
"Do you think any of them can be trusted?"
His question was unexpected and yet not. Rae was familiar with the desperate feeling of wanting to trust someone, but in past experience it didn't always work in her favor. She quickly learned how alone she was then and even now.
She breathed deeply, stretching her legs to better lean against the wall. "I understand Amanda to a degree. The reasons behind her actions may be good, but that doesn't make her actions acceptable. But I wouldn't trust any of them and you shouldn't either."
"Well, at least I have you to trust," she could faintly hear his soft chuckle and it pulled a much needed smile out of her.
But it was bittersweet, her hands clasping guiltily as her conscience plagued her. "I'm not the most trustworthy person. And I'm sorry for hiding certain truths about myself from you."
"It's okay. You didn't know me all that well."
"No, but it's my fault your here. I should have–"
"Rae, don't do that to yourself," he chided. "None of this is your fault."
"If I hadn't agreed to go on those dates, you would be home safe," she spoke truthfully.
"Yeah," he agreed, "but then I wouldn't have gotten to spend time with you, a very beautiful and intelligent woman."
Rae closed her tear-filled eyes with a shaky sigh. She chewed on her lip, unable to tell him the truth at this moment. "Don't forget delusional," she added humorously, recalling his words from before.
She smiled hearing him laugh at that. "Yeah, well, I take it back."
She rose her brow in astonishment, turning her head toward the wall, "You're just saying that to make me feel better."
He chuckled, "No. Your team won that night, so who am I to judge who you cheer for?"
She sniffed, wiping her nose, already feeling a lot better. Damon seemed to have that effect. "So my team finally beat some sense into you, huh?" she giggled hearing him fake groan.
"Is that what hit me?" he joked.
"Too soon?"
"Nahh," he dismissed it. "But don't let your win go straight to your head. We'll get you next time."
She smirked, "Mhm, keep telling yourself that."
"I will."
They both laughed, the sound of their amusement filling their cells. It almost took away the pain of being trapped there. Until Rae detected a new sound. It was a sort of groan, but one that was familiar.
Her eyes shot wide and she shot to her feet, pushing away from the wall. Something had changed, vents were now opened on all sides of her cell. That could only mean one thing.
Before she had time to say anything, a visible white gas began spewing out of the vents.
"Rae?!" she heard Damon's panicked voice. The gas must have been entering his cell as well.
"Hold your breath!" she cried, taking a large breath herself. Running to the nearest wall, she tried bashing it in to close off the vents, only to receive harsh burns on her knuckles from the barrier. She grit her teeth and hissed, examining her knuckles. Had they upped the voltage?
In near hysterics with her lack of oxygen, she let her hand turn very hot before trying to melt the vent closed, but it was no use, the shield was preventing her from penetrating.
She heard a gasp come from Damon's cell and she knew he had run out of air. "Rae!" he coughed, "Rae..." his voice drifted followed by a thud. He was out and she was nearly there herself.
Letting herself fall on her side, she pretended to be unconscious, hoping they would enter quickly for her to react. But all hope for that faded along with her vision as her burning lungs demanded she breathe.
Her hands tightened as she fought every second of it, before she let in her first breath.
Sitting in their favorite coffee shop, Admiral Mike Harrigan, waited for his friend's return after excusing himself to take an urgent phone call. This was the exact reason why he silenced his cell. There were too many distractions involved with his work and he needed a break from it. Bill did too, which was why he had contacted him to meet here.
Out of pure curiosity, Mike looked down at his phone, amused at finding he already had seven missed calls, several texts, and three voicemails. His brow furrowed at seeing his granddaughter's name highlighted as one of the contacts that left a voicemail. It had been a little bit since Naomi and himself had talked.
In fact, the last time he saw her it was at her father's funeral. She had made it clear to him then that she did not want to speak to him, almost blaming him for not being there for her father. It weighed down greatly on his heart knowing he had approved his son's choice to take on that mission. He should have sent someone else. Anyone else. Thankfully his daughter-in-law did not feel the same as his granddaughter had, but with how little time he had spent with them, he didn't blame her if she changed her mind.
So to see Naomi trying to reach out to him was unusual and it gave him hope.
Hearing Bill approach he lowered his phone, tucking it back in his pocket.
Sitting with a grunt, his friend sighed deeply.
"Everything alright?" he asked.
Bill quickly averted his eyes, stuffing his phone in his jacket. "Fine," he gruffed.
This intrigued Mike. His friend only averted his eyes when he was doing something he shouldn't. He knew it well. They had both gotten in their fair share of trouble when they were younger.
"Bill," he looked at him seriously, "how long have we known each other? I know something's eating you up. So what is it? Is it Carol?"
"No, no," he waved it off. "It was one of my men, nothing important."
"You let your unit call your personal phone?"
"Only on occasion," he allowed, taking a sip from his coffee.
"So there is something wrong."
Bill looked at him hard then. "Let's not talk about work."
Mike met his gaze and relented. "Fine. Then tell me how your great-grandson is doing. Has he said his first word yet?"
Bill's expression softened, "Yes, he is just beginning to say 'Dada.'"
Mike smiled, "And how does Lauren feel about that?"
Bill laughed then. "Well she took it well. She's really working on 'Mama' now, so I'm sure it won't be long."
Just as Mike was asking how old the little guy was, Bill's phone went off again.
Eyes hardening once more, Bill took out his phone and looked at the number, an annoyed huff working its way out of his mouth.
"Do you need to take that?"
"No," Bill was quick to decline the call.
Mike watched him carefully, before leaning on the table. "There's something you're not telling me, Bill. I know I outrank you, but that should not affect our friendship. We've known each other too long for that."
His mug landed a little too hard on the table as he stared at him. "Then tell me about Price."
Mike was quiet, his jaw clenching as he tried to read his old friend's expression. "Now who's the one that doesn't want to talk about work?"
Unphased, Bill sat straighter, "Is it because the girl means something to you? Is that it?"
Mike's demeanor changed instantly, her voice lowering to a dangerous depth. "How do you know about the girl?"
Bill held his gaze strong, the stubborn streak he was known for standing out like a reflector in the sun and very quickly Mike was able to assess the seriousness of the situation. His friend only confirmed this. "I may have done some digging."
"And how far did you dig?"
"As far as I had to," he answered stiffly.
Mike breathed a sigh, shaking his head. "You don't understand the delicacy of this operation, Colonel."
"Then don't speak as an Admiral, but as a friend."
Mike looked around, before leaning in to lower his voice, "I could have my titles stripped for sharing such classified information, is that what you want?"
"So this girl means nothing to you then," he tested the waters, watching as anger flashed through his old friend's eyes.
Grinding his teeth, he stared at Bill in fierce contradiction. "My son died saving her life," he growled lowly. "You better damn believe she means something to me."
Bill leaned forward then, mindful of his voice. "Then in honor of your son, tell me what's going on."
Mike sat back, with a weary expression, his face carrying the load he felt caving in on his shoulders. Could he really trust his friend with this burden? Would he even believe him?
After another long moment of consideration, he gestured to the door with a tilt of his head. "Let's go for a walk."
Taking the coffee to go, they took a walk down to the city square. The few pigeons that were there quickly flocked away as they approached the center fountain. Circling it's circumference, Mike waited before finally speaking.
"You remember the events in Gunnison, Colorado?"
"Of course, the nuclear accident."
"You see, that's exactly what the pentagon wants people to think. Those who were given clearance to the reports were ordered even under extreme prejudice to remain quiet. If the truth got out to the public there would have been mass hysteria."
"Then what is the truth?" he pressed.
Mike breathed deeply, gazing into his old friend's eyes. Seeing his conviction, he briefly checked his surroundings as if to ensure secrecy before continuing, "The military was ordered to initiate a missile strike in the epicenter of that city to eradicate an... infestation."
"Infestation? Of what?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know. But it was after that incident that the government called for action. They realized that they lacked the military strength to defeat an... other worldly being, so they created a top secret division to solve this. After several failures with the Weyland Corporation, they hired Director Price and his team to take over. And what has followed is nothing short of sickening."
"The girl," Bill grunted, putting the pieces together. "Price was looking for her when he arrived on site at the ski resort. Is what he said true though? Is she dangerous?" he took another swig of his coffee.
"Did you ever hear of her years prior to that incident?" he asked.
Bill shook his head.
"Then there's your answer. Someone irresponsible with the power she has would have abused it by now."
"Well, you didn't see the forest she disintegrated," he shook his head, the images of it likely filling his head.
"My intel tells me she wasn't alone."
Bill's eyes rose to his indignantly. "Are you really defending her, Mike?"
"There was only one other place that endured a very similar fate, like that in Vermont, and this was in the jungles of Central America back in 1987. Do you remember hearing about this?"
"That was a long time ago." He thought about it for a moment, "Weren't they pulling out a Vietnam war veteran or something?"
"Major Alan Shaefer," he nodded, "call sign, Dutch. The jungle had been vaporized, burnt to a crisp. Not unlike what you saw," he added.
"What are you getting at, Mike?"
He shook his head at his friend's impatience. Turning on him he spoke in a lowered tone, "Dutch reported a close encounter with an enemy of the fourth kind."
"Here we go with the aliens again," Bill sighed in exasperation. "I can't believe you've fallen for that conspiracy too."
Mike chuckled, maintaining their pace. "I was like you once Bill," he looked at him, "viewing those people on tv as raving lunatics for even trying to prove alien's existence. But all that changed very quickly," his voice tapered off. He was very quiet when he admitted, "You should have seen 'em, Bill. It was like nothing you've ever seen."
Bill slowed instantly. Mike had an awed expression on his face, reminiscent. "Are you telling' me you saw an alien?"
"No," Mike chuckled, "I saw maybe ten aliens and they were all standing as close to me as you are now. But I never told anyone because I knew no one would believe me. They would put me on discharge under the assumption I was mental, or worse, put me in a psychiatric ward." He didn't want to think of all he would have lost had he even uttered such ludicrousy. Press would have ran with it too, turning the whole investigation into something laughable. If that had happened, the military would have never signed him on again. And the lives that had been lost would not have received the honorary burial they did.
Bill's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Are you sure you didn't hallucinate or hit your head real hard on the job?"
Looking into the disbelieving eyes of his old friend, he sighed, "No, I couldn't refuse what I saw even if I wanted to." His eyes softened at the memory of it all. "It killed some of my closest co-workers. First Danny, then Jerry..." he rubbed his hand over his face. "I can't write that off as nothing when I know what happened."
"So what part does the girl play in all this?"
Pausing, Mike was quiet as he considered his answer. Moving to a nearby bench, he gestured for the Colonel to sit down with him. Once comfortable, he gave him his answer. "Price thinks she is the answer to our problems. The antidote to future infestations."
"And you don't think she is?" he asked next, eyeing him carefully.
"I don't care. After the torture she endured in Price's labs, I know this isn't the way. I will not stand for it any longer."
A frown contorted Bill's face, absorbing this information. "Well that explains why Price described her as a missing asset, but that doesn't explain your personal stand in it," he added pointedly.
Mike chanced a small smile, his friend ever perceptive as usual. "My son cared for her and after what happened I would be a fool to not show the same concern and waste his sacrifice. I've shared my piece, now what are you not telling me?" he turned it back around with an expectant look. "You clearly have intel coming in, now where are you getting it from? What's your source?"
Chewing on his tongue, Bill was slow to admit it, but he proceeded to explain his plan, all the way to actually inserting one of his men into the equation in an undercover op.
Mike tried very hard not to burst in anger at the confession, knowing how fragile Bill's temper could be. Resting his head in his hands, he sighed, "Do you have any idea how many laws you've just broken?" He felt tired and dizzy at the conjunction of it all.
"I've said it before. I'm not afraid of the consequences, and this may work to your benefit," he added.
"Oh yeah," Mike scoffed, "How's that?"
"I received word the other day that Price's labs were bustling a little more than usual. And just a little while ago I was given an update that something was brought into the facility under heavy guards."
"What?" Mike stared at him, eyes wide and on alert. "And this was recent?"
"Yes, Mike. Were you listening to anything I said?" He watched as he stood up suddenly, tugging out his phone.
"No, it can't be," he looked at the time Naomi had called him. It had been early this morning. It couldn't be a coincidence, right?
"Mike?" Bill was at his side.
At a loss for words, he slowly looked up from his phone. "If what you've said is true, I want you to return to base and wait for my call. I might have need of you if my suspicions are correct."
Understanding lit within his eyes, "You think they got the girl?"
"I have to prepare myself for all possibilities," Mike responded somberly, neither confirming nor denying it.
"So what's your plan?"
Tugging his phone out, Mike dialed the contact's number, pressing it to his ear. "I need to make a call. From there," he looked at him, "if this is what I think it is," he shook his cell for emphasis, "I'll leave it up to you. Once you're in, it's done, there's no going back."
Bill knew he was throwing him a lifeline, providing him a way to back out with his hands clean, but it was pointless, he wasn't one to back down from a fight. If anything, after what he just heard, he would be damned if he didn't help. "You're not the only one that wants to see Price behind bars."
Mike smiled, appreciating his loyalty. "Then for now, my orders are that you return to base, be prepared to have the troops ready by dawn. You'll know for sure by eighteen hundred if this is a false alarm or not."
"Mmmph," she groaned. Her head was pounding. How many times did she have to wake up like this?
Lifting her head, she hazily noticed that they bound her arms, covering her hands with a thick metal. She wasn't sure how long she had been in this position for, but the tingling sensation in her hands was already telling her that her blood was draining from her arms.
"Ugh," a nearby voice made her head swivel in the direction of the sound. Her whole world spun at the sudden movement and she was forced to squeeze her eyes shut to make it stop.
"Rae?" the voice grunted.
She opened her eyes, staring directly to her right. "Damon?" He was bound similarly, his arms up near either side of his head, the table he was strapped against was upright, but it appeared to be able to lie flat if the controls on the side meant anything.
"Where are we?"
"I'm not sure," she looked around, though she had a sneaking feeling this was the room she had first awoken in, a sort of interrogation room. Though with Damon here too, she had a sinking feeling that this may be worse than what it was before.
"As comforting as it was to hear your voice before, I'm so relieved to actually see you." His voice conveyed how reassured he was and it pulled at her heart.
Rae turned her head toward him, a faint smile ghosting her lips. "It's good to see you too."
"How touching."
Her smile vanished at the sound of the familiar chuckle over the speakers.
Price's face was the first to be seen as he entered the room with two other guards flanking him. "I'm glad to see you're both finally awake." Though he was speaking to both of them he looked at her directly as he said it.
Rae met his eyes opposingly. Whatever he had planned, she was prepared to fight every step of the way. Before she could make a snippy reply, Damon beat her to it.
"Who are you?"
Turning with a sly grin, Price directed his gaze to her friend. "My name is David Price, I'm the Director here in this fine facility."
"Where is here?" Damon further prodded, having some bite in his tone.
Price's pointed features sharpened as he laughed, "I like him," he addressed her with a hidden glint in his eyes. "However," he turned back to Damon, "since you have already asked a question, I think it only fair if I ask my own."
Rae clenched her fists as she scowled openly at him.
"What is your relationship with Rae?" his gaze turned serious, his eyes piercing and unrelenting.
Instantly Rae looked to Damon, warning him with her eyes not to say anything.
Price seemed to notice the exchange and the corner of his mouth quirked. "I see," he circled behind them. "Well seeing as you don't want to answer my question directly, I will ask another one," he stepped back into her range of sight, his hands clasped behind his back. "What did your father do to create the serum?"
Rae felt Damon's eyes on her. But despite the added pressure she tightened her jaw and ticked her chin up.
Reading the resolve in her eyes, Price exhaled, "Very well, I suppose pain is the only revealer of secrets here."
Rae didn't get a chance to brace herself before the table lit her up, the electrocution stronger than what it had been before. She whimpered and clenched her teeth, desperately trying to hide her pain from Damon, but it wasn't enough. When he upped the voltage she screamed.
"Stop it! Leave her alone!" Damon began to lurch against the table.
The electricity retreated back into the machine beneath her, but her head was too fuzzy and her body too tired to notice. She slumped against the braces.
"It doesn't have to be this way," Price spoke in a lower, more persuasive tone. "Tell me what your father did and all of this goes away."
Despite the beating her body took, she looked at the director with a fierce resolution. "I'll... never talk," she managed between breaths.
"Oh I don't know about that," the man smiled knowingly. "Something tells me you will," his gaze flicked to one of the guards, and as if they had previously discussed it, the guard handed over his handgun without a word.
This was new. Rae watched as he turned the safety off and pointed the weapon directly at her. And immediately her blood went cold. It was always pain he inflicted to get what he wanted, but now he was threatening her life? What was he doing?
"Shall we try again?"
Rae breathed deeply, focusing on Price's face more so than the gun. "Go ahead then," she taunted. She wasn't sure where her confidence was coming from, but she pointed to the gun with her eyes. "Shoot me."
Price's smile was gone and the longer he held the gun to her, the more she realized the truth. He was bluffing.
"You can't pull the trigger, can you?" Ignoring her pounding heart and shot nerves, she stared hard into his cold eyes, a determination she did not recognize lighting within her belly. "You can't do anything without me."
Slowly, in small increments, a smile stretched across his face. "You are so right." Before her brain registered it, he turned his arm and pulled the trigger.
The shot rang so loud, Rae jolted as if she had been hit.
Damon's cry of pain made her heart clench. Trembling, she slowly turned her head toward her friend, fearful of what she was going to see. And when her eyes caught sight of him, blood began to drain from her face.
He was whimpering, his face turned against his shoulder as blood dripped steadily from his leg down to the floor below him.
"That was a warning," Price's voice snapped her attention worriedly back to him. "Now tell me what he did," he aimed the gun higher.
"I-I-I can't..."
Price didn't even hesitate and shot a second time. Rae squeezed her eyes shut at hearing Damon cry out her name in a plea.
"Oops," Price's voice rose in an almost accidental tone, but he was far from sorry.
Seeing exactly where he shot him, Rae jolted in her bonds. "NO!"
The stain of blood was growing larger in Damon's white tank. He was shot directly in the stomach. She wanted to launch herself at Price. She yelled, fighting with everything she had to break herself free from the table.
"Enough!" He electrified the table, shooting fiery pain directly through her bonds. It stopped her struggles.
With no choice, Rae hung limply from the cuffs, directing all the hate she had toward the director.
"The only way to save your friend now is if he receives the serum." He circled behind her, "So what will it be?"
Rae couldn't tear her eyes off Damon, who wasn't looking good at all, his breaths shallow and hitched. Why did he already look pale?
"Tick-tock tick-tock," Price taunted, circling around to her front. "The longer you take, the closer to death he gets. Did you hear that Damon?" He addressed her friend, "Your life is in Rae's hands now."
She began to cry, her vision of Damon blurring as she watched his short, pained breaths. Why did they have to take Damon with her? He had done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve this. He was innocent. All he did was go on a few dates with what he thought was a normal girl. It was her fault he was here, and that just about broke her.
Hanging her head in shame, she inhaled shakily, recalling the USB drives.
"He dissolved it," her voice broke and Price forced her to speak up. "All I know is my father completely dissolved it."
"There has to be more to it," Price narrowed his gaze.
"That's all he said, I don't know anything else. He just dissolved it."
Pinning her with his eyes he intoned, his suspicion running high. For a brief moment she wondered if he wouldn't accept her answer. Then he leaned forward, his face inches from hers. "This better work, for his sake as well as yours."
Stepping out, he shot her an icy glare, serving as a warning, before the door slid shut.
Rae broke out in a sob, her head hanging in deep-seated regret.
She was so conflicted. There had been no right answer. It was either giving Price a weapon or letting Damon die, but she had no guarantee that Price would even use it to save him. I'm such an idiot.
Turning her tear-stained face to her friend, she shook her head in sorrow. "I'm so sorry Damon. I'm so sorry," she struggled in her bonds. "Please hold on," she begged, "help is coming, I promise."
His short breaths worried her, but he managed a small, "Okay," before going silent again, his concentration clearly on enduring the pain he was in.
She smiled gratefully, her eyes roving down his blood-stained shirt. "You are so strong, Damon. Stronger than I could ever hope to be. Please stay with me, please."
Several long minutes passed, Damon's state becoming more and more worrisome.
The door opened again and Rae felt her body stiffen thinking Price had returned only to see a woman she had not seen before. With a quick press of a button, Damon's table was lowered into a flat position, and his bonds were quickly undone.
"Get away from him!" Rae fought to free herself, her energy pooling uselessly to her hands that had nothing to reach.
"Easy," the woman laid a hand on Damon's shoulder, trying to ease him before helping him to remove his shirt. Then using scissors that she had pulled out from her lab jacket, she used them to cut one side of his shirt down the center, twisting it to form a long and twisted rag.
Rae struggled to understand what she was doing until she watched her wrap it around Damon's injured leg, tying it tightly to cut off the blood flow. Damon yelled out in pain, his leg shaking helplessly as more blood dribbled down his shin.
"Hold on," she ran out of the room for a second before coming right back in with a matching white towel. She wrapped it around his abdomen next and tied a thick knot right where the wound was. She took hold of Damon's hands and had them put pressure on the knot. "Hold it just like that," she instructed.
"Just let me out," Rae pulled at her restricting bonds, "I can heal him!"
The woman walked away as if she didn't hear her.
"No! Let me heal him!" she yelled. "Let me heal him!" the closing of the door shut her out.
Mike felt uncomfortable calling Naomi back. It had been four years since they last spoke. He didn't even know how to begin!
She had made it abundantly clear that she didn't want anything to do with him after her father's funeral, and he could understand why. She blamed him for his death and she had every right to. He was his commanding officer, he could have ordered him to stay and sent someone else to take care of the escalating mission.
But his son had been insistent, not that Naomi would believe that, but she wasn't aware of the severity of the situation. Nor how it had involved Rae's freedom. Her father did though, and he had been willing to go back in there and finish the job even at the cost of his own life.
By the sound of the message Naomi left, something had happened, something serious. He hoped it had nothing to do with her mother, but after his talk with Bill, he had a hunch. He just hoped he was wrong.
Just when he thought he would need to leave a message on her voicemail, he heard her pick up, but there was no hello or nothing to follow. He wondered if their line was connected. "Hello? Naomi, are you there?"
"Hold it up to my mouth," he heard her voice in the background.
Then there was rustling.
"It doesn't have to be that close," her voice boomed in his ear, causing him to pull the phone away with a grimace.
"Naomi?" he frowned, "Who is that with you?"
"Just a friend," she quickly replied.
"I got your message, so tell me, what's going on?"
He heard her shakily sigh, "My best friend was kidnapped the other day and I didn't know who to call."
His heart dropped into his gut. "Did you call the police?!"
"Don't you think I would have done that if I could?!" she snapped. "If cops were involved, they threatened to come after me next."
Mike cursed, turning around he rubbed his brow, taking a moment to think. "Which friend is this?" he asked, hoping it wasn't who he thought.
"I think you know who," her accusation caught him off-guard.
"I– Where are you?" He picked up on the sound of a turn signal, "Are you driving?" It explained why someone had to hold the phone for her.
She was quiet.
"Naomi, please tell me you're not going after her."
"How did you know my friend was a girl?" she suddenly asked, putting him on the spot again.
"Naomi, I'm being serious."
"So am I!" her anger stunned him. "When were you going to tell me you had something to do with Rae?"
As much as she tried to sound strong, he heard the desperation in her voice.
"Mom was the one that came forward and confessed that you enrolled Rae into my school, that it had been your wish that we'd become friends," she sniffed. "Like always, I had to hear the truth by other means."
Mike sighed heavily. He had hoped her mother would have kept that a secret. He had told her to relieve her of her fears concerning Naomi's mental health after her father's passing. And being that they were similar in age, suffering loss on both sides, he had figured it would be worth his time inserting Rae into the equation. Despite what Naomi thought, he never truly stayed out of her life, he just couldn't bear to face her with all that he knew. "Naomi, you know there are cases I can't share with you, things that are classified."
"Don't talk to me like I'm a child," she snapped, "I understand your line of work. I just wanted to let you know that Rae is in trouble. So I thought you'd just like to know since you were involved somehow in the past. But I know you're too stubborn to admit anything."
"Naomi, wait," he sensed her desire to hang up, but he really hoped she wouldn't. Not hearing the line click, he knew she was waiting for a response. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for a lot of things," he sighed. "Yes, I admit I played a small part in Rae's release–"
"A small part," her voice conveyed her disbelief.
"Yes," he held firm. "Your father played a bigger part than I did, than any of us did," his declaration forced him to close his eyes and wait. The other end went quiet and he hoped he hadn't taken it too far.
"Dad was part of it?" she eventually asked, and then her voice trailed off as if she was putting the pieces together.
"Yes."
She was slow to respond. "He got her out of there, didn't he?" she asked again in confirmation.
"Yes he did."
The truth hurt much more than she expected. She was hesitant, slowly putting the pieces together. "Was that how he died?"
Mike shifted, moving to take a seat. He nodded, lowering his head. "What was said at the funeral was true, your father did die a hero. Rae's existence is proof of that." Although he couldn't see Naomi's face, he could feel her tears.
"Why didn't she tell me?" she sniffed, holding back.
"Can you blame her? She was afraid, Naomi. Afraid to lose her friendship with you."
This was exactly why Mike found it too difficult to be open with Naomi. He knew she would harbor feelings of untrust, in many ways she was too much like her father. He feared this would affect her relationship with her friend. "She had no control over what your father did, Naomi," he continued. "But Rae wouldn't be alive without him."
"I know."
"Listen to me, I want you to turn around. Go back home. I'll take it from here."
Her voice was devoid of all emotion, "I can't do that."
"Naomi, wait–!" the phone went silent. He pulled the phone away, staring at the screen in disbelief. Quickly dialing her number he waited impatiently for her to pick up again, but the sound of her voicemail met his ears.
"Hi, this is you-know-who, but in case you are my long lost grandchild looking for financial support please press the 'get a life' button located at the bottom of your handset, and if you are the real deal I guess you can leave a message, but I probably won't get back to you any time soon."
Mike hung up, shaking his head. The corner of his mouth twitched upward at his granddaughter's voicemail. She sure could be creative. But despite his mild amusement, his worry was still very much there. He didn't want her getting involved. She had no idea the dangers Price posed.
"Stubborn girl," he pocketed his phone.
It didn't matter. He had everything he needed to know, every reason to rain fire down on him.
At this point it mattered not the evidence of his past experiments, Price was going to be caught red-handed in the present. Nothing was going to stop him from revealing his cards to his superiors, and he had just the ploy to bring it all together.
He only hoped the relief would be in time.
Lilith burst through the lab doors, meeting the gaze of several other lab techs. "Well?! Is it ready yet?" she rushed over to them, gazing down at the serum. It lacked the glow it once had, now dull and not at all viscous like it had been.
"What's the state of the kid?"
"That's why I ran," she took a breath. "He needs the serum now. We can't afford to wait any longer. They moved both of them back to their separate cells, so this is probably the most opportune time to administer."
"Well, there aren't really any red blood cells to examine from the creature anymore," a woman spoke up from behind one of the tables, her eyes still focused, peering at the slide through a microscope. "Super-heating the blood has hardly left anything to look at. It's all been thoroughly dissolved, but whether this works or not, I couldn't tell you."
"So, are we really skipping to human trials?" someone asked, she was pretty sure his name was Thomas, but she was still learning everyone's names.
Lilith nodded uneasily in answer to his question.
"What does Amanda think of all this?" he directed the question to her.
She shrugged, Amanda hadn't taken the news very well when she was informed. "She thinks it's too soon. She thinks the Director is charging ahead blindly."
"Price is only concerned with the double D, deadlines and dollar signs," the microbiologist piped up.
Lilith couldn't help but smile at that. It was unfortunately very true though. Their boss was concerned with the profit and the outcome of the project, never really taking into consideration the journey to get to that end goal. And his patience has been growing thinner recently. Ever since the girl got here, everything had sped up.
Carefully picking up the vial, the microbiologist inspected it briefly through the glass before handing it to Lilith, "Take it. Dilute the serum with saline solution and administer in small doses," she instructed. "His body might accept it better that way."
Nodding, Lilith took the vial and hurried back to where one of their nurses was waiting. She watched carefully as the nurse filled an IV bag with the serum and saline, it made it a light green color as it swirled in the solution.
She then connected it to a rack and an IV unit, which would dispense the contents in Damon's blood at a regulated pace. Rolling it over to her, Lilith followed the nurse into Damon's cell, replacing the nurses that were leaving, their gloved hands covered in blood.
Lilith eyed them as they passed. They should have removed the bullet, which meant that he could heal properly. That is, if this serum worked.
It was pass or fail. Damon was either going to live or he would die. There was no second chance. He needed intervention now.
Letting the nurses do their job, she watched as they placed the IV, securing it on the inside of his left elbow.
She hoped it was in time, he didn't look good at all, his normal skin color looking a little pale.
Adding to her worries, she heard a commotion on the other side of the wall. It was coming from the girl's cell. Exiting to check on her, she watched with widening eyes as she vigorously pounded her fists into the barriered wall, each hit sending sparks fluttering around her. Knowing she was having little to no effect on the shield, she slapped her glowing hand against the wall, hissing as it burned her palm.
Swallowing down her nerves, Lilith tapped the controls revealing herself as the wall turned transparent.
Instantly noticing her, Rae marched forward with a grueling expression. "Where is he?! What are you doing to him?!"
Struck by her anger, Lilith blinked rapidly before timidly answering. "Damon is back in his cell," she assured. "We are giving him his first dose of the improved serum, so we hope to see improvements within the hour. But we will be monitoring his vitals just to be safe."
"How do I know you're not lying?" she eyed her distrustfully.
She could understand why, and thus didn't judge. Stepping forward, she made the wall between the two cells go transparent as well.
Shocked, Rae turned to her right, staring at Damon who was lying on a cot, his arm crossed over his wound, and the IV dripping steadily into his bloodstream.
"Damon," she heard her breathe in relief as she turned to face him.
It moved Lilith to see this girl show such dedication and concern for someone else when she could have very well been consumed with her own worries. "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked, watching as Rae moved to hover near where Damon slept.
"No," was her simple response.
"Well, I'm sure he wouldn't want you hurting yourself for his sake. Do you need anything for your hand?" She had especially noticed how Rae was holding her left hand, her thumb absently tracing the burn she had received.
She didn't think she would answer, her eyes focused on the boy, but her jaw ticked tight before she turned her head, looking at her with dark eyes. "I don't need anything from you people."
Nodding, Lilith backed off. "Well, if you change your mind, I will be around. I have to lower the visibility level," she pointed to the wall between her and Damon. "But at least now you know he's close by."
Deactivating the walls' transparency, Lilith returned to the labs where they were continuing to make more of the serum.
Two hours had passed, the team continuously checking on Damon. His wounds were healing, faster than anything they had ever seen, but whether he carried powers similar to Rae, they had yet to find out. There seemed to be no side effects other than a slight low-grade fever, which was to be expected given his state of stress.
By the time four hours had passed, Damon was up and about, moving as if nothing had happened.
The team was elated, already celebrating the progress.
Several decided it would be wise to take a blood sample to see the evolution of Damon's cells in comparison to Rae's. If they were to present this unprecedented discovery, they needed proof.
But instead of validation for their hard work, they ended up finding something concerning when comparing the two.
With Amanda out, a group was personally selected to give Price the news.
Entering his office timidly, Lilith was amongst the small group. Much to her ire, she was in front, a place she had been forced to be in when they had been chosen. But all of them froze in place as soon as they realized all too late that they had walked in on one of the Director's more important virtual meetings.
Being in the front, Price gave her a sharp look from the side, making her insides clench uncomfortably. It rooted her in place, her eyes instantly falling to her clipboard as the meeting before them quickly wrapped up.
"We're pulling the plug, David," one of his board members stated gratingly, "and unless the government renews your contract there is nothing more we can do. I'm sorry, you're on your own."
The sound of the members exiting the meeting rang loudly in her ears. And Lilith was forced to finally look up in the eyes of her boss. "I'm sorry, sir," she quickly apologized on behalf of the team. "We didn't realize you were in a meeting."
"What is it?" his voice was taut with emotion, and it daunted her.
"Blood results have come in, sir," she admitted quietly.
"Tell me you have good news," his hands laced together.
She almost didn't respond immediately and one of her work mates nudged her insistently from behind.
"I-I'm afraid not sir," she breathed shakily only to see Price's face tighten in anger. Now she understood why she had been the one volunteered to deliver the news. No one else dared to deliver the bad news to their short-tempered boss, so they figured to dump it on the new girl.
Quick to explain herself, she dropped her eyes to her clipboard, reeling her focus on the words stated in the lab's newest report. "Damon's red blood cells have accepted the serum. It seems to have given him enhanced healing."
A fellow lab technician jumped in to add, "Which is more progress than we have ever achieved." But Price's gaze was riveted on her.
She agreed with her fellow workmate, "That is true, however, on closer inspection of his cells, in comparison to Rae's, although they are more resilient than before, they do not appear to possess the processes required to transfer energy from one cell to the next like Rae's does. I don't quite know what to make of her cells." She had looked them over, but it was beyond her understanding. She lacked that expertise.
That was when their microbiologist spoke up somewhere behind her. "Inside of each of her cells appear to be these uniquely shaped organelles that Damon does not have, but the reason she has these extra organelles is beyond us. We don't even recognize their structure, what they're for, or how they even got there to begin with."
"Is that not the reason we are experimenting with the serum?" He stood from his seat, his movements slow and purposeful as he stared imposingly at their little group. "To understand how her cells changed? To mimic what was created?"
"Yes," the microbiologist amended, "but these organelles can't just be added to a cell. It's like organs in the body. You're either born with them or you aren't. You can't create an organ with a series of reactions."
"So what you're saying is," Price leaned forward, hunching his shoulders as he rested his hands flat on his desk, "it's not just the creature's blood that's in play here."
The woman nodded her head, "It also depends on the host."
Her last statement struck him.
In a fit of rage, he swiped the papers right off his desk, his eyes wild with anger. He turned his back on them, staring at the wall. "Why?!" he suddenly demanded, making Lilith jump as he pivoted to face them once again. "What makes her so special?!"
No one spoke up, and Lilith bit her lip nervously before saying, "We don't know. It could be an anomaly from her congenital disease, a mutation, but we can't be sure. With a little bit more time we could-"
"We don't have time!" he snapped. "Our time here is numbered. We had months, then weeks, now we are down to days. Do you want to end up like Weyland?" he stared at them accusingly. "Working in a basement?!"
"No sir," they all replied.
"Then show me progress!"
"If I may sir," someone piped up from the back. "What if we were to give them evidence of progress?" Everyone turned and looked at the man, his eyes widening at the sudden attention he had. Nonetheless, he continued, "We don't have time to replicate what the girl can do, but if we state that she is a volunteer and put her under a series of tests and send those results out, that could give us support and buy us more time to perfect the serum and find a more suitable host."
"A series of tests," he mused. It was a plausible solution to prolong their work and it might be exactly what his superiors need to see. "Or perhaps the test." He abruptly turned to one of his assistants, "Prep cell two for a breach. And where's Amanda?"
"She's left for the day," Lilith replied.
"Excellent, we will begin phase two now."
The men and women in the room went silent aside from the whispers. There was a lot of concern regarding phase two. Everyone knew of Weyland Corporations' failures in regards to testing their assets without regards to safety. Price's company had claimed to have resolved that issue, but it still left the workers shaken on the possibilities of what could happen if proper measures weren't taken.
Exiting the lab, Price's newest assistant followed closely behind him. "Sir," she hurried to keep with his pace, "if I may, why are we doing this without Amanda's knowledge?"
"You're the intern working under her, correct?"
She nodded.
"Then you must already see it," he surmised. "She is growing soft for our asset and I can't have her holding back if we want this company and this project to continue."
The woman nodded stiffly, casting her eyes back to her clipboard.
"Oh, and have security lower the energy field on the left wall."
She frowned, not understanding. "But why, sir? What would that accomplish?"
Price folded his arms, with an interested smile. "I want to see her break through it."
Lilith blinked in astonishment, "And what incentive would she have to do that?"
He looked at her with a knowing smile, "I believe merging cells two and three should be enough encouragement for her."
Her eyes widened a fraction, "But sir–"
"Don't question my motives," his foul mood getting the better of him. "Unless you want to merge them manually," he threatened darkly, "I suggest you give security my orders."
She swallowed, "Yes, sir."
"I can't believe it worked," Rae leaned her head against the wall, listening to Damon as he rambled on. "I'm telling you Rae," he spoke excitedly, "it's like a switch was turned on. I felt like I was dying before, and now I've never felt more alive."
Rae bowed her head. She didn't trust herself to speak right now. She was more than relieved that he was alright, but now she dreaded to think of what she had given Price.
Hearing her lack of enthusiasm, he calmed down some. "They took a vial of my blood before they left," he went on. "Does this mean I'm going to be like you? Have powers and everything?"
"I don't know," she laced her fingers, resting her chin on the tops of her knuckles. It scared her to think along those lines.
"I know that's supposed to be a bad thing, but," he paused, "I mean, who wouldn't want to be like a superhero?" he admitted gently, and it went right through her heart.
"It's not a blessing Damon, it's a curse," she spoke miserably.
"Come on," he chided, "don't think like that. How could it possibly be a–?"
"The sacrifices make it a curse," she cut him off bluntly. "You can't pursue anything that would put you in the spotlight. You have to keep secrets from your family, your friends. Your own government will hunt you down with the intention to dissect you. And you will never find love because in the end, even if they accepted you, you know you're just putting them in danger too."
He went quiet at her admission. And hot tears flowed down her cheeks at speaking her innermost demons.
"When you texted me wanting to talk," he began, his hesitation making her turn her face toward his voice. "You were going to stop seeing me, weren't you?"
Rae pressed her lips firmly together, unable to say anything. But her silence spoke louder to him than her words.
"You were afraid to hurt me," he thought he understood and it made her cry. "You know you never could, right?"
"Damon–" but he hushed her.
"You could never hurt me," he spoke firmer.
"Look around you!" she was suddenly up on her feet. "Look where we are! I already have hurt you. Just knowing me has hurt you."
"I thought we went over this," she heard him get up. "This isn't because of you. You didn't orchestrate this, they did."
But I'm the reason, she wiped at her eyes. It didn't matter what he told her, she would always blame herself.
"You know," his tone softened, "there is nothing they could do to me that would change how I feel about you."
Her eyes closed shut. "Damon–"
"I'm serious. And you said you would never find love because of your powers, but if what they did to me is legit, we're the same. We would be in the same boat."
She knew what he was implying and it clawed at her heart. She had to tell him the truth. "Damon–" but her response was cut off when the lights in her cell went out, engulfing her in darkness. Stiffening she froze in place, waiting for something to come next.
Then yellow emergency lights flashed on.
"What the–" she got to her feet and stared at the ceiling. Was there a power outage? In all the years she had been here, this only happened once. When she had been rescued.
It can't be, she suddenly thought, her eyes widening. The only people that knew she was taken were Naomi and... "Tomak."
The lights flickered off again, before promptly flashing on. This continued.
Strangely, even though she felt hopeful she also felt chilled, her heart was pounding. She felt like something bad was going to happen and she wasn't entirely sure why.
"Rae? Is your cell doing this too?" Damon's unsure voice brought a pang of fear to her heart.
"Yes," she answered.
There was suddenly a muffled mechanical whir emitting from his cell and Rae turned in Damon's direction slowly.
"The hell?" she heard him mutter.
"Damon, what's going on?"
"I don't know," she heard his footsteps as he moved. "Shit," he voice suddenly got tight.
"What! What is it?" she called.
There was a sound on the other side and it made Damon panic more. "Oh shit!"
"Damon?!"
"Rae!" she heard him bang against the wall between them. He was trying to get out.
"Damon?! Damon what's going on?!" she pressed herself close to the wall.
"Something's coming through!" he screamed, the banging increasing tenfold.
Her mind went straight back to the pitch black cell she had seen earlier. She hadn't got a good enough view of what had been in there, but she had seen movement. And it had given her a bad feeling.
Without even thinking about it she felt along the wall, feeling the energy behind it, only to her surprise there was none.
She frowned. She couldn't feel the shield barrier anymore.
Not wasting another second, she let her energy drain into her hands that promptly began to glow. "Hold on Damon," she grit her teeth as she slowly began to melt a hole in the wall.
She heard an eerie shriek that chilled her blood followed by Damon's scared voice.
This was too slow.
"Rae!" he cried out.
"I'm coming!" she suddenly turned to the wall behind her. Running to it, she placed her hands against it and felt the energy. This wall still had the shield barrier. Connecting her hands with the cold flat surface, she closed her eyes to absorb as much of the power as she could before breaking away.
Running back to the damaged wall, she could feel her body buzzing with energy. Fisting her hands she punched the wall repeatedly, feeling its integrity giving out. And despite how tired she had been before and how her raw hand killed her, her adrenaline pushed her to fight harder.
Damon's pained cry was the last thing she heard before she crashed into his cell.
Lying on her front, she immediately noticed the floor. It was wet, and the air was muggy and thick with a scent that instantly triggered her flight or fight response.
Clumsily, Rae hurried to push herself onto her knees, her eyes darting about the room. Breath left her at the sight of Damon just a few feet away, lying on his side. She had the impulse to go to him, to help him, but her gut was telling her something very different.
Something was off, wrong.
And to make it worse, the lights were off in Damon's cell. She only got glimpses of the space as light from her cell flashed on and off behind her.
A throaty groan echoing in the darkened cell made her flinch, her eyes snapping back toward her friend. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Rae ignored her reservations and crawled on her hands and knees toward him, her pants getting soaked with the water.
Why was there water? There hadn't been before. Her eyes flickered to the opposite wall, seeing how it was slightly ajar.
"Damon?" she whispered desperately, reaching for him. Grabbing his shoulder she rolled him onto his back, a horrified gasp leaving her as she stared aghast at the gaping wound that penetrated through his chest.
Tears filled her eyes, as her heart pounded in undescribable fear. "Damon..." she whimpered. Pulling his body into her arms, she cradled his head, in complete denial. "You're okay. You're okay," her hand slid over the side of his face soothingly, desperate to get a response.
To her relief, his eyes weakly fluttered open. "Rae," he breathed.
"Shhh," she hushed him, placing her hand against his open wound, flinching as he hissed in pain. "I can heal you, just hold still."
He gasped then, and it was the exact sound she imagined someone would make when they were about to die. "Damon, stay with me," she urged.
Shaking in her hold as if he was freezing cold, Damon looked at her with scared bloodshot eyes. "Rae," he gasped for air again.
She leaned close, trying to distinguish his words.
He inhaled slowly and blinked slower. He was struggling, his lips quivered as he tried to speak. Grabbing her arm shakily, he managed to rasp, "It's... still in here."
Fear had never taken such a firm hold on her heart, a sense of dread icing her veins and making her limbs go cold.
As if sensing the presence that had always been there, she slowly tilted her head back and all she saw was a large black serpent like figure, but by then it was too late.
With inhuman speed it was upon her, razor sharp teeth clamping down on her shoulder, scraping against her clavicle and ripping a blood curdling scream from her throat.
She swung her good arm, unsuccessful in dislodging its vicious hold before it spun quickly and with ease, throwing her into the opposite wall.
Rae landed on her side with a cry, her clothes soaked as water sloshed from the impact.
The water was deeper here, making it difficult to find purchase for her to get up.
There was a scream, not human, and suddenly Rae felt like a little girl again.
Breathing rapid and sharp, she limply pushed herself up, staring ahead of her. In doing so, her pulse spiked and all air left her lungs as she got an unfiltered view of it. Every hair on the back of her neck stood erect at the horrific sight.
It was the monster every child would envision coming out of their closet. The nightmare of nightmares, only this was far too real to be a dream. Rae felt frozen with fear as she stared at it, trying and failing to find its eyes.
She wanted to scream for Tomak, but there was no one to help, no one to come save her. She had been wrong about the lights, she had to fight this one on her own.
The dark figure was lowered onto all fours now, its elongated head lifting in her direction. Its thick lips peeled open into a disturbing sneer, revealing its unnaturally white daggered teeth. Hissing, it stood up slowly on its long skinny hind legs, making her see just how big it was.
It was taller than Tomak she realized, and here she was still on her knees. But despite knowing what she was doing was practically suicide, she was too paralyzed to be able to do anything more than stare at the source of her newest fear.
It was a ghastly sight to behold.
For not really having a face, Rae didn't think she had seen anything look at her with such violence, such hate.
The tail easily caught her attention. Unlike the body, it was not poised and focused, but seemed to have a mind of its own as it whipped back and forth showcasing its barbed stinger-like end. Everything about its design screamed death and destruction and it made her shudder. Its body was slender, and she wasn't sure if she saw its ribs from a lack of food or if that was some sort of exoskeleton. Somehow, despite its frail-like body it moved with an aggression that rivaled Tomak.
Her gut churned as she looked beyond the beast to Damon.
He was dying, the blood around his body gleaming bright as the lights flickered on and off. Terrified and in pain, he was looking to her for help.
It was then that it clicked. She was to Damon what Tomak was to her. Hope, comfort, light.
Light, she thought. Her hands fisted until the skin around her knuckles were white.
You are the perfect specimen to be able to answer such a threat, Price's voice echoed in her head. Strangely, that was everything she needed to hear; the spark that jump-started her courage.
Breathing shallowly and gritting her teeth, she extended her hand directly towards the alien, palm out. Trembling, she tried to summon the energy inside of her, but she could already feel that her levels were depleted and her hands were burnt from her extended use of her power. Still she tried, the glow of energy visibly traveling up her forearm to the palm of her hand.
Sensing her hostility, the beast let out a deafening shriek and launched itself at her.
With a frightened scream Rae threw herself out of the way, her shoulder weeping at an astonishingly fast rate.
Landing dangerously close, its monstrous hands missed her feet by mere inches, its claws scraping harshly against the tiled floors as it rose on all fours.
Shrinking away on her butt, she lifted her hand and let the energy go.
The orange blast hit the creature in its side, its squeal filling her ears. And before she could even register the movement it was on the other side of the cell, far away from her.
Maybe it was sensitive to extreme heat!
Ignoring the trembling in her legs, Rae scrambled to her feet and pressed a hand to the wall closest to her. It didn't matter if her hands felt like they were on fire, she ignored her pain and focused on drawing more energy.
Seemingly recovered from her hit, the monster hissed, its thudding feet matching her pulse as it barrelled towards her.
Rae instantly lifted her other glowing hand, releasing some of her pent up energy in a desperate attempt to ward it off. It burned as it left her, but it did little to stop it. Avoiding her offensive attack altogether, it leapt to the ceiling, crawling on all fours as if it wasn't even an inconvenience. The speed at which it moved was unfathomable. She was scared that if she so much as blinked, it would be upon her.
She needed to move. Wet tiles made that near impossible though, its slippery surface almost sending her to her knees as she rushed to escape. Lifting her trembling arm as she ran, she fired a series of shots, hoping it would scare it off, but that thing scuttled after her like a starved lion chasing after its first meal in weeks.
"Go away!" she cried desperately.
Coming to another wall, she spun around and screamed as it crashed into her, its black ebony claws digging deep into her arm as it pinned her to the wall. It pulled its head back then, looking at her with a mixture of rage and glee as its drooling mouth dropped wide open.
Rae barely saw its inner mouth before she thrust her glowing hand against its chest, unloading everything she had in her.
Screeching like a banshee, its long tail whipping back and forth as it tried to break free, but the grip she had on its arm was crushing.
Surprised she hadn't burnt a hole right through it yet, Rae grit her teeth, sweat dripping down her forehead as her muscles spasmed and her hands shook. She willed herself to maintain her concentration and increase the heat, the alien only shrieking louder.
"BURN!" she screamed, as she felt herself come to her end.
The violent release of energy was like nothing she had ever experienced. Blinding pain seared through her as the energy blast shot the monster across the room, shattering its exoskeleton.
Rae sank to her knees, her eyes blinking closed as she landed on her front, the cool water beneath her was like a soothing balm to her body.
The sound of sizzling pulled at the recesses of her mind, telling her to get up. She hissed as her blackened hands touched the tiles beneath her. Using her elbows, she forced herself up to carefully inspect her palms. They were bloodied and charred, third degree burns if not worse.
Lifting her head she looked in the direction of the sizzling, her eyes landing on the heap of splattered alien guts.
Still unable to calm her labored breathing, she pushed herself to get up and go investigate what was left of the creature. She wanted to make sure it was really dead.
Tiptoeing towards it, she wrinkled her nose at the stench. If death had a smell, this was it.
And as she got closer she gagged at the smell of rotten eggs and sulfur. How could something smell so bad and still be alive? It had to be dead.
And upon closer inspection it was. The intestines and yellow organs were spilled out and sinking into the floor, seemingly burning a hole. This was what caused that sputtering she heard.
So not only had this thing been extremely deadly to contend with when alive, but its insides, even when dead posed a hazard.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Rae turned tiredly casting her eyes on Damon.
Her eyelids shot wide open. "Damon!"
Ignoring her own wounds, she quickly ran to his side. Brushing away his sweat soaked hair, she lightly rested a hand over the deep penetrating wounds in his chest. "Damon?" she whimpered. "Damon, can you hear me? Can you wake up please?"
But there was no response.
His face was drained of the healthy complexion it once had and the beautiful blue eyes that had looked at her with life were now distant and blank as she turned his face to look at her.
"Damon," she shook him, tears beginning to form.
"Damon?" she whispered, unwilling to accept the truth. He wasn't gone. He couldn't be.
"Damon!" she cried, burying her face in his neck. Her worst fear was realized.
Price had done it again. He tore her heart into a million pieces.
Sobbing, she clung to him, crying as hard as had when she lost her father. She was alone, frightened, and abandoned all over again.
She had failed him. When Damon needed her the most, she couldn't protect him! She couldn't protect anyone.
All her emotions came bursting forth so hard it hurt.
Abruptly standing to her feet, Rae cried out in a fit of anger and anguish, she clenched her fists and took out her pain on the cell walls, ignoring its electrical shocks. Then as quickly as her emotions came, they vanished.
Collapsing to her knees, her body shook in defeat. Her tear ducts were dry, yet she managed to squeeze out those last painful tears as she mourned.
Then darkness overtook her once more, maybe it was from blood loss or the lack of adrenaline. Whatever the case, she accepted it with open arms.
Maybe if she was lucky, she wouldn't wake back up.
Author's Note
I know this wasn't the ending you were expecting for this chapter, (or maybe it was lol), but it needed to be done to further Rae's character development. As for next chapter, you will just have to wait and see how everything turns out. Thanks for the comments! I appreciate all you readers and your thoughts!
