RATING CHANGE! I've decided to make this a rated M story mainly because this series will have more adult themes later. I was going to try to keep it PG-13, but who am I kidding...I love writing spicier romances! So, for consistency reasons, I will make everything rated M for safety and the sensitive nature described at the end of this chapter. There is still nothing too spicy in this story, but I'm setting the rating now so that younger readers don't get too far into this series and get surprised. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Chapter Eleven: Project Hive
It was the start of the new month and my new schedule, and I was pleased to see that Dick decided not to change it regardless of our little conflict over the weekend. I was even more pleased that I did not have to see him for those combat classes. A part of me was a little nervous about seeing him at the training field since I do not believe I had completely recovered from the 'events' with him on Halloween. But when I looked at the details of where my new combat classes would take place, they were not even on the field with the others. They would be held at the main weight room where the Elites normally train.
The students were never usually allowed to train there since the Elites would have it booked most of the time for whatever purpose they were using it, so I was a little hesitant when I approached the weight room with my new training uniform. I was half expecting it to be some prank since the Elites disliked me being at the school so much. Why would I suddenly be welcomed into one of their sacred rooms?
I was so relieved when I entered the room and saw Gar, Rachel, and Karen in matching training uniforms. If this was a prank, at least I did not have to suffer through it alone.
"Kory!" Gar cheered at my entrance, "We were all wondering if you made the cut!"
"What do you mean?" I asked since I had no idea what he meant by cut.
"It means you four somehow impressed Dick enough for him to allow you to begin training with me," Victor announced as he entered the room. "Ya'll should be honored because I don't often agree to train underclassmen like yourself."
"Honored?" Karen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Please don't act like you are better than us. Do I need to re-demonstrate how I whooped your ass last weekend to begin today's lesson?"
Victor let out a fake laugh, "No honey is allowed in the training room."
"I don't remember reading that on the gym's rules poster." Karen quipped.
"So this is Dick's idea?" I inquired immediately, cutting into their banter. "Why would he suddenly want to train us when we were previously not even able to step one foot in the training field?"
"Like I said when I came in, you all happened to impress him with how well you all worked together, and he thought it was time to start having you train together with more private lessons," Victor replied.
"For what purpose?" I asked. "Forgive me, but I am still finding it difficult to believe that Dick is having a 'change of heart' with letting us train for combat. I understand that I may be speaking for Rachel, Gar, and myself, but I thought the first years were not allowed to fight. Is there a specific reason why we must train with you?"
I was pressing for more clues without trying to make myself sound obvious. None of the other Elites were going to give me any insights into their plans, but Victor seemed to be the most approachable and easiest to talk to. If I were to get any information, it would be from him. I just needed to build that trust first.
"I don't question the boss man's orders," Victor shrugged, "I'm just doing what I'm told. Now, shall we begin your training? Or would you like to inquire more about our leader's motives?"
I would like to know more about Dick's motives, but judging by the mischievous glint in Victor's one human eye, he was catching on to what I was trying to do. Therefore, my tactic was in vain yet again. I was sure Dick had instructed him not to tell me anything. I hate to admit it, but these Elites were smart and always seemed to be one step ahead of me.
I looked away from him. Fearing that he was reading my thoughts with his laser eye if I stared at it too long. "Commence with the training," I said with a wave of my hand. Trying not to show my disappointment
"Thank you," Victor continued. Today, I would like to see what each of you can do, including any special abilities or powers you may have."
From the corner of my eye, I could see Rachel's hands wringing nervously after Victor said this. I looked over at her and gave her an encouraging smile. I did not see what she was so nervous about. We were all in good company. Yes, that was including Victor as well. Gar, on the other side of me, had the opposite response. He was bouncing up and down on his heels with giddy anticipation.
"Can I go first?" Gar called out, waving his hand excitedly over his head.
"Ladies first, grass stain," Victor silenced him.
Gar whined, crossed his arms over his chest, and muttered, "I see how it is."
"Can I go first?" Karen asked. "I've been working on some new toys I want to show off."
"Bee," Victor emphasized the word, "My guest."
"God, you're lame," Karen said as her wings flipped up from behind her back, and she floated in the air.
At first, I did not understand why she passed that insult to Victor, but as soon as she began demonstrating her new toys, it was clear what inspired her chosen abilities. I felt silly for not realizing it sooner. Her powers resembled those of bumblebees on Earth.
She zipped back and forth across the air while holding what looked like two handles shaped like the letter 'B' wrapped around her hands. From those handles, she shot out yellow streaks of electricity at each of the training dummies in the gym. With each hit on the dummy, those electric bolts left black burnt marks where the impact was, leaving each area smoking from the attack.
Once she was done 'showing off,' Karen landed proudly on the floor and gave a little bow in front of Gar and me as we both cheered and clapped for her. Rachel clapped as well, but I believe it was more of the social pressure since she did not look as enthused as we were.
"Nice shootin', Tex," Victor saluted her as she approached him. "You made those weapons yourself?"
"Yep," Karen said with pride as she raised her weapons to admire her work. "I call them stingers, for that's essentially what they do. These electric bolts are supposed to give off a stinging sensation to anyone on the receiving end of these bad boys. Do you want to see if that sensation is true, Sparky?" She asked Victor, boldly raising one of her stringers to his face.
Victor laughed nervously and pushed her weapon out of his face. "I'll take your word for it. Who's next?" He asked quickly.
"Me! Me!" Gar called out again, jumping even higher to capture Victor's attention.
"Fine," Victor groaned, "Go ahead, grass stain. Otherwise, you won't shut up until you get your turn."
"Geez," Gar rolled his eyes, "Why are you so nice to the girls but not me? That's a little sexist, dude."
"Just go, Gar." Victor sighed impatiently.
Gar's demonstration was equally as impressive as Karen's. He performed all sorts of transformations of different animals to showcase what he could do to the different training dummies. His showcase of talent left each training dummy on the floor in the gym, as he cleverly knocked over each one with a different animal. His final transformation of a bull nearly knocked over Victor.
"Oops!" Gar said after changing back to his human form. "I thought you were one of the dummies. It's hard to tell sometimes." Though, I do not think it was an accident.
"Yeah, yeah," Victor droned, "Those were some very clever transformations of yours. You're a skilled changeling. Nice work! Now, stand up all the dummies and return them where they belong."
Gar looked taken aback, "Seriously?" He said before dragging his feet to the nearest training dummy. I swore I heard him say, "This is bullshit," under his breath.
Just as Gar was about to pick up the first dummy, the fake human figure was instantly engulfed in what appeared to be black energy. Then, within that black energy, the dummy had stood itself back up, and the same thing happened to the other dummies on the floor. Within seconds, Gar's task was done for him.
Gar looked behind him to see that Rachel's arms were still held up, and the same black energy encircled her hands. "Thanks, Rae," Gar said, smiling. "You're the best."
She nodded at him in acknowledgment and then said to Victor. "That was my demonstration of powers. Can I be done now?"
"Is that really all that you can do?" Victor questioned her. His arms crossed his chest as if he expected more from her.
With her classic bored expression, Rachel rose a few feet from the air, floated in the same spot for a few seconds, and then touched back down to the floor again.
"There," Rachel said, "That's all I can do."
"I don't believe that," Victor said, looking at her suspiciously. But I'll let that slide for now. So that leaves you now, Kory," he said, turning to me.
"Oh," I started. "My abilities may not be as exciting as the others, but I am stronger than I appear to be, and I was trained to fight by the Warlords of Okaara, who are feared throughout the Vega system."
"That sounds pretty badass," Gar noted.
"I guess?" I said, not sure what he meant by that.
"Okay, Goldie," Victor said, "Let's see a demonstration of that strength. Pretend these dummies are mortal enemies on your home planet, and give it all you've got."
I could have thought about the Gordanians who were currently holding my planet captive, but instead, my thoughts strayed back to Dick. He seemed to be the most relevant enemy of mine. Mainly an enemy of wits and intellect instead of a physical one.
I gave the first dummy closest to me a fierce kick at the center of the chest with all my strength. The dummy went flying across the gym to hit the opposite wall. The object impacted against the wall so hard that it left an indent in the wall itself.
"Whoa!" Victor exclaimed, sounding surprised yet amused. "Easy there, killer!"
My eyes widened at the damage I caused. "Did I give it too much?"
"A bit," Victor laughed, "You'll just have to rein in that powerhouse energy a bit. We don't need any more property damage from only training. Bruce would have my ass."
"My apologies," I pardoned, but I was not feeling much regret. Seeing the disbelief of my strength on an Elite's face was most enjoyable.
The rest of the lesson was spent practicing some basic fighting skills. The exercises were quite boring, but I did not complain. I was grateful for the opportunity to practice fighting again, and I did not want to lose this chance again. After all, I was a warrior princess, and being unable to express that had been torturous.
Every training lesson after that had the same level of difficulty. All of them were painfully easy for me, and it seemed like Victor was expecting something different from me with each lesson. Though I was mastering everything he was teaching us without any issue, he seemed almost dissatisfied with the perfect results I was giving him.
However, I was quite pleased with my accomplishments in my training. It was certainly a refreshing change of pace from the monotonous and boring classes I had to attend every day. What I was not satisfied with was that it had been almost a month since I discovered what happened in the cave, and I was not getting any closer to finding any more clues about what was happening in the town.
I never got to revisit the cave, for I was getting busy with homework, studying for the mid-term exams, and my training classes. Also, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to have happened as we entered the month of December, except that it was getting colder and more colorful decorations were being put up throughout the town in anticipation of the holiday known as Christmas. Everything seemed quiet and normal for the time being. I should have found peace within that, but something deep within me still refused to rest and act like nothing was happening. I was still somehow involved with the town's mystery, and that knowledge alone kept me feeling restless.
Those thoughts kept me bedridden one afternoon while I stared at the ceiling, trying to rack through my brain what I could be missing. Or what would be my next move to find the next piece to the puzzle. I did not want to spend any more time only thinking about things. The longer I waited to act, the more people could be getting hurt in the town and the more dangerous it could be for the students here.
Images of the horrible sight I witnessed in the cave kept replaying in my head. It was a human, but it was being transformed into something different. Into some monster. My thoughts then returned to the conversation I overheard while Joseph was bullied. Right before he was attacked, or expelled...or whatever story you wanted to believe.
They mentioned something about being turned, and the girl bully said about a zombie. During the Halloween season, I watched a television show with Gar and Rachel that was centered around the concept of zombies. I remembered how gruesome the creatures were. Corpses were coming back to life, feasting on living flesh. I shuttered as I remembered one of the more gory scenes as I watched a human getting ripped apart by a horde of zombies. Incomprehensible human sounds, rotten nails tearing skin open, teeth gnashing, jaws snapping.
Jaws snapping.
Another memory was unlocked in my mind. The strange man who was almost run over by the car I was being transported in to be taken to the school. His jaws were snapping similar to the zombies on the show. When I asked what was wrong with him, Miss Petrov said that he was to be transported to a more specialized institution for his illness from the only clinic that the town had. But that must not have happened since I saw that same man had been turned into a spider creature a week later.
Turned. Transformed. The word 'turned' was often used at the school and town. Could the clinic be where people were getting sent to be transformed into monsters? Was that man trying to escape the clinic?
I shot up from my bed at the realization. "The clinic!" I voiced out loud to no one in particular. Rachel was still at her last class for the day, so I was alone, and my combat training class was canceled today due to Victor having to do something for his father back at Gotham. Therefore, I had no other plans for the rest of the afternoon. This would be the perfect time to investigate the town's medical clinic.
I quickly pulled on my coat and grabbed my backpack. I did not bother to change out of my school uniform, for it would be part of the genius plan I was formulating. I had left the girls' dormitory to make my way to the transportation sign-out sheet quickly. Staying mindful of who I walked by while keeping an eye out for Dick or any of the other Elites. Thankfully, I had not seen or heard much of him over the past month. Perhaps since I was training with Victor, he had not felt the need to check in on me as much. I thanked X'hal for that immensely.
Within thirty minutes of leaving the dormitories, I was dropped off at the town. I noted on the sign-out sheet that I was going to the coffee shop to study, but I turned to go toward the clinic after the shuttle bus was out of sight.
I had been to the town enough already to know where everything was. Cold Springs was not a very large town, so it did not take me long to familiarize myself with everything there. Knowing how everything was laid out, I avoided the coffee shop so that Xavier would not notice me walking by if he was working that night. I had to remain focused on my mission, and I knew if he saw me, he would instantly try to stop me so that he could talk to me. Though I did enjoy talking to him, I did not have the time to mingle. He was also getting more and more persistent in wanting to take me out on the dates I owed him every time I saw him.
Once I reached the clinic's entrance, I took a deep breath to focus my thoughts on the task. I had a plan. I just hoped that it worked.
Upon entering the building, I heard the sleighbells jingling as I opened and closed the door. The atmosphere was quite cheery, considering that this was supposed to be where the ill and injured would go. The waiting lobby was decorated from ceiling to floor with Christmas decorations, and festive music played from the room's speakers to match the season.
A kind-looking woman behind the lobby's counter slid open a window to greet me. "Well, hello, young lady! Aren't you a student from the academy up the road?"
"Yes," I replied in my sweetest manner, "And I was wondering if you would be able to assist me. I am working on a research paper on a career I would be interested in. The medical field has always fascinated me, so I was wondering if I could get a glimpse of what a medical professional does. It is all for real-world research purposes, of course."
The woman continued smiling at me for a long moment without saying a word. Her face appeared frozen, which was very unsettling. I then remembered that the woman at the library had a very similar expression. Already, I sensed something was not right.
"Well, aren't you adorable?" the woman finally said, causing me to jump at how long it took her to respond. Of course, we can help you with your research paper! One of our medical assistants is taking the evening shift today and would be the perfect person to pair you with to learn!"
"Oh, thank you so much!" I said. I could hear the shock in my voice. Not from believing how easily my plan was working, but more of how artificial this woman sounded.
"Jacob!" the woman said into a microphone on her desk. "Would you please come to the lobby?"
Once she was done speaking, the woman continued to smile at me and said nothing. I smiled back, but I still felt awkward in the scenario. Did she not have other work to do besides stare at me?
I looked around the waiting lobby, hoping that there was someone else I could start a conversation with to break this uncomfortable silence, but I was the only one there. If she had not said there was another person there, I would have believed we might have been the only two people in the building.
Finally, a young man entered the lobby. "You wanted to see me, Melissa?"
"Yes," the woman said, snapping her eyes from me to look at who I assumed to be Jacob. Would you be so kind as to show this lovely young lady some of our day-to-day duties here? She is here for a research assignment and is interested in the medical field."
"Oh, um," The young man stammered and began turning red the moment he laid eyes on me. "Uh...yeah, I supposed I could. Um, what's your name, Miss?"
"Suzie," I lied with the first name I could think of. I did not want to use my real name in case this would be reported back to the school.
"Erm...okay, Suzie," Jacob continued to stammer. "You can follow me."
Perfect. A boy who was nervous around me. This might be easier than I thought.
I followed Jacob down a hallway with opened rooms on each side, but all seemed vacant of patients. I was unsure if I should have been suspicious of this or if it was a coincidence that everyone in the town was healthy. But there was one room that caught my eye as I passed it. It happened to be the perfect timing as someone left the room, and as the door closed, I could glimpse what was inside. The room was dark, but I could still see the body that was covered by a white sheet just as the door closed.
In there. I had to get in there. But the door leading into that room had a locked pad on it, and the only way to gain access was by a badge from one of the employees here. I glanced back to Jacob and noticed his badge swinging back and forth from his hip. It would have to be his.
I unbuttoned my coat as we entered a room with a single computer and two chairs. Jacob continued to look extremely nervous as he motioned me to sit down at one of the chairs. I obliged as he took the one next to me.
"Er...so what I do here is simple, I..." He began, but I interrupted him. I had no time to waste.
"Hey," I said, using the casual Earthly greeting, and then I placed my hand lightly on his arm. "Are you thirsty?"
"Wh-what?" He stuttered.
I may have been on this planet for a few months, but in that short time, I discovered I had a certain way with the males here if they were nervous enough. They could easily be convinced to do what I wanted them to with a simple touch on the arm and a smooth string of sweet words. The goal was to get them to think I was attracted to them, even though I was not. It was like my other superpower here.
"I am craving one of those pumpkin-spiced lattes from that coffee shop down the street, and I thought before we began, we should be thoroughly energized to remain focused," I cooed at him.
Jacob was almost sweating. Perfect. Right where I needed him.
"Would you be so kind as to get me one of those, and you can get whatever you wish?" I asked and leaned forward enough so that he could get a view of my already defined cleavage from my opened coat, all while pushing some Earth currency in his sweaty palm. "It would be my treat."
"Yeah!" Jacob jumped from his seat, nearly knocking the chair over. "Sure thing! I'll be right back!" And then he sprinted out of the room.
When he left, I held up his badge to examine it and told myself, "That was too easy."
I waited about a minute to ensure Jacob had left before leaving the room and going back toward that locked room. I found it odd that there was such limited staff at the clinic and that there seemed to be no patients at all, but it turned out to be in my favor, as I could sneak around the hallways without causing any suspicion.
Once I reached the locked door, I looked around to ensure no one else was around before taking Jacob's badge and pressing it against the pad. I heard the door latch unlock before I could push it open.
I quickly moved into the darkened room and did my best to close the door without making a sound to alert anyone nearby. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness and found the covered body that caught my attention.
I hesitantly approached it, for I knew what lay underneath that sheet was a corpse. It would be morbid to think that I was drawn to death and curious to see what was underneath, but with everything that I have witnessed over the last couple of months of being in this town, I felt like I had no choice but to be curious. Any clue or insight I could find at this point would bring me closer to stopping people from getting hurt.
After pacing around the table for a few minutes and questioning whether I was truly about to do what I was about to do, I gently pulled the sheet down just enough to reveal the head. After taking one look, I immediately regretted my actions. I covered my mouth to stifle my gasp and turned away from what I saw. Taking a few deep breaths to regain my composure, I forced myself to look at the corpse properly.
Half of what was once a man's face seemed to have been gone. It was a grisly sight of a skull blended with mangled flesh. Half his teeth were still intact, but everything else that would have identified this man was unrecognizable.
Unable to look at this man any longer, I covered his head back up and carefully rearranged the sheet to make it look like it had not been moved. My eyes traveled toward the end of the table and found a note attached to the end of the body's foot. Moving to get a better look at the tag, it read:
Name: Hank Higgins
Age: 41
Date of Death: 11/23/23
Cause of Death: Suicide
Hank…why did that name sound so familiar?
And then it came back to me. Hank. The man who ran into the coffee shop the first time I was there and warned everyone that all the drinks were poisoned. The same man who was in hysterics in the men's bathroom at the harvest festival. He had…killed himself?
I was in complete shock. Why would he do that? What could have caused him so much pain to want to take his own life? Or was it pain? Could it have been fear? At the festival, he said that 'he was next.' Was it that he was so afraid of what was coming after him that he wanted to end everything before that happened? What kind of terrible monster was out there that would make a man choose death over facing it?
Or was he the next to turn? Was he supposed to be the next one to be transformed into a monster? My head was swimming with all these new questions, but still no evidence of who could be behind it all. That was until I noticed the one computer in the room was still on and a lonely audio file was still opened on the screen from the last person who used it. Could the audio be related? I was not sure, but I was going to find out.
Without a second thought, I clicked on the play button, my heart racing for what I was about to discover. From the computer speakers, I heard a voice, but this voice sounded so strange—like nothing I had ever heard before. It sounded robotic, not human at all.
"It has come to my attention the collector has failed to turn in another test subject. This is the second one that has escaped the system under the collector's watch. The collector has also failed to provide more information on the weapon's progress. The weapon secured is essential for the project's success. Once the weapon is ready we can remove the obstacles at the academy so that the plan may proceed there. If the collector cannot fulfill their duties, you must do whatever needs to be done to ensure that Project Hive is successful."
The collector? The weapon? Project Hive? What in X'hal's name was going on here?
A/N
This was a shorter chapter, I know. And I'm sorry, there was no Dick and Kory interaction, but I had to get this chapter out to set the stage for the s**t that is about to go down. I'm reeeeally excited to write the next chapter since it's the scene I have been anticipating to write since I came up with the idea of this story. It will be a long one and may take me some time to write, but trust me... it will be worth it.
