Chapter 13

Chapter 13

               There were no obstacles that day to run through. Instead the soldiers in the barracks, including Reginald and his pal, sat around listening to lectures from those above them about proper etiquette. Sloane had been caught sneaking back into the barracks. Since Rafe had refused to admit he knew where he was the whole barracks was being punished. There were passes to be handed out for those who needed to leave, there were privileges offered to all of them and simply running away was not an acceptable way to behave. It was a bigger torture than if Sloane had been running laps.

               “There has to be a way to get out of this,” Sloane said to Jacen, who sat next to him, arms crossed and looking bored.

               Jacen glanced around, never moving his head, just darting his eyes back and forth. He shook his head. They were stuck, at least until the lectures were over. Rafe was nowhere to be seen during all of this, which made Sloane believe he was doing something that was relevant.

               Sloane had not decided if he should be on Rafe’s side or not, but he knew he did not trust him. He had lied about too many things already. However, Sloane did not trust David. He did not like David before he was handed over to the government. There was always something off about him, but he never outwardly did anything cruel or intentionally bad, but he also never tried to truly be friendly.

               The lecture continued on, droning on about proper respect to the officers and the people around them. That because of the actions of one, Sloane, they were all going to be punished. They did not bother hiding the identity of the person who had broken out of the barracks. They wanted Sloane to be shamed for it. Sloane did not feel shame, though he knew he would probably feel wrath later, especially from a certain pair who already hated him.

               Eyes fell on him, drifted over him, some people openly glared. Sloane just leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He had more important things to worry about than the ego of some people who had willingly decided they wanted to be soldiers. He heard the money was good for them, but not as good as it was for someone like him. Of course he had also lost his first week of pay by sneaking out of the barracks. It was worth it.

               When the lecture finally ended, Sloane and Jacen immediately head out and away from the people. Sloane was going to be chased down and he needed to talk to Jacen in private. He had yet to tell Jacen everything that had happened while he was gone, all Jacen knew at this point was that Ellie had not returned with them, but that Ellie was found. There had been no more time to talk as Sloane had immediately been pulled into that lecture.

               “Where are we going?” Jacen asked.

               “I don’t know, we’ll find somewhere to talk in private,” Sloane said.

               “That will look suspicious and will likely get us followed by an officer,” Jacen pointed out.

               Crap, he was not wrong. Sloane halted and gave up for the time being, turning back to Jacen. He was right, people were following him, but in a meandering way. They were curious to see what he was going to do next, because thanks to him they were all being punished. Sloane did not exactly blame them, but he thought what he was doing was more important than what they were doing.

               That was when Rafe came to the rescue, sort of at least. “Come along, you two,” he said and beckoned them over to him. Without hesitation Jacen and Sloane followed him. Not because they trusted him, but because at least with a purpose the two of them became less of targets at that very moment. No, that was unfair, Jacen was a target only by association and not for any other reason. He did nothing wrong, as he had stayed behind. It might have been good he stayed behind, or it might have been wrong. Sloane had yet to decide.

               They headed towards the building where the doctors claimed resident, or at least claimed research. They always seemed to be there day or night, so Sloane would not have been surprised to learn they lived there. Rafe did not hesitate to enter the building.

               “I assume you already informed Jacen of what is going on,” Rafe said blandly.

               “No, I actually haven’t, but not for a lack of trying,” Sloane admitted.

               Rafe pushed further into the building and then stopped outside of the chamber where Jacen had originally been tested. The door was already sealed closed, but there was another door in the wall that Sloane had not noticed when Jacen had been tested. Was the door new or had it always been there but just invisible to them when they had originally come for the testing.

               “Great, you came!” Dr. Torrow clapped his hands together, rolling a chair away from a desk. He stood up and went and shook the hands of all three men. “We do not have a lot of time, I apologize, but if Dr. Meridion finds out that I am going to show you this, then he will tell the president, and I will admit I am not yet ready to be called out as a traitor.”

               “We can not be away long ourselves,” Rafe admitted. “I am supposed to be further disciplining Sloane for his escape.”

               “Well then we shall waste no time.” Dr. Torrow walked up to the control console and pressed a button. The door in the chamber that was built into the wall slid open. Darkness greeted them. Sloane looked at Rafe then Dr. Torrow, expecting a reaction, but their faces were filled with a patience that Sloane did not have. He looked at Jacen, who was glancing back at him. Jacen was even more clueless.

               They looked back at the empty doorway. The darkness seemed to move. Heart rate picking up, Sloane took an involuntary step back. The man who emerged from the blackness appeared normal, though he was walking slower than a typical person walking through a door, as if the man was questioning every step he took. He moved into the doorway and further into the chamber. He was a blond man who was about ten years Sloane’s senior, if he had to guess, though if he was gifted there would be no telling how old the man was. Around the man’s neck was a black collar with a red light that was slowly blinking at the side.

               “Shock collar,” Dr. Torrow said. “It’s the only way to control them sometimes.”

               “Them?” Sloane asked.

               “This is one of the experiments,” Rafe said. “Created just last night, with your and Jacen’s blood. Why do you think they needed so many vials?”

               Sloane turned back to the man and was at a loss of questions he should possibly ask to understand what was in front of him. No one offered him any further explanation. A button was hit and the door closed behind the man, locking him into the chamber. The man barely reacted, but his head did turn, noting that the door had closed behind him.

               “He’s fresh,” Dr. Torrow explained and left it completely at that. Like that honestly explained anything at all. If it meant that it had just been done to him, Sloane could figure that out, but what was wrong with the man? This man was acting as if he had never walked before and this was an entirely new experience to him. “It twists the mind, but we are hoping that this man will be compatible with what we dosed him with.”

               Sloane wanted to wring the doctor’s neck, because he was not quite answering any of the questions he had, he was only leaving gaping holes behind. He kept his hands to himself, though, and watched the victim who was in the chamber, walking up to the glass.

               Dr. Torrow pressed the microphone button and said, “Hoka, please stand up straight.”

               Hoka, presumably the man’s name, tried to straighten his spine. He did poorly, but he was straighter than he was a few moments before. He seemed to still be trying, but Dr. Torrow was already moving on. “How are you feeling today?” Dr. Torrow asked.

               “F…fi…fi…” the man’s lips trembled, trying to relieve himself of the words that just did not want to come to him. “Fi-“

               Dr. Torrow smiled sadly. “It might be too soon, Rafe.”

               Rafe sighed and nodded but said, “We have to try, because we don’t have a lot of time. I think I have even less time.”

               Dr. Torrow depressed the microphone button and said, “Hoka, snap your fingers.”

               Hoka looked up, achingly slow, his eyes meeting the doctor’s eyes, then slowly, so slowly, looking down at the fingers on his right hand. His hand slowly raised to about his chest and he examined the hand, learning it for the first time, so it seemed. He took his middle finger and thumb and tried to slide them together in a snap. He could not make his fingers go fast enough for a snap. He only managed a rubbing sensation that did very little.

               “I’ll be honest,” Sloane said, “if you are trying to show me why the experiments are wrong, I’m already- what the fuck.”

               Hoka was on fire, screaming as he burned himself from the snap he managed. Dr. Torrow, faster than anyone expected, threw the door open of the chamber and Rafe held out a hand, palm outstretched, except it didn’t work. Hoka’s fires only continued to grow. Dr. Torrow slammed his fist down and shut the door, locking Hoka in the chamber, and another button was pressed. The wooshing sound was familiar, the same sound when Jacen lost all oxygen in the chamber with him. The oxygen was being removed in hopes of killing the flames.

               Hoka screamed until there was no oxygen left, and then finally, blissfully, he passed out, and the fires went out with him. Then everything was a rush. Dr. Torrow pressed buttons, the door opened, he was rushing in to check the man, the monster, and check the wounds. He had syringes full of a blue serum he was stabbing through crispy skin into his veins. The man was thoroughly cooked, but still breathing.

               Jacen even with his olive skin, seemed pale watching the entire thing. He had done damage before with his fire, of course he had, but never anything so devastating, and never having hurt himself more than minor burns from the blankets he had set on fire. His own fire never hurt him, but when he set something on fire it was no longer his fire.

               “It’s not his fire,” Jacen whispered.

               “What?” Sloane asked of his friend.

               Jacen walked to the chamber door and said, “You used my blood for this?” Dr. Torrow did not look at the young man, just nodded. “I am never burned by my fire, but I can be burned by fire. “I am not burned by my own fire. He’s using my fire.”

               “You are though,” Dr. Torrow said pointedly. “You burned in the chamber when there was no oxygen.”

               “You cut me off from the flames,” Jacen said. “It was no longer my fire once I stopped breathing. Breathing is what gives my fire my life.” Jacen stepped back several feet and ignited himself without hesitation. Once again he was naked in front of everyone, why did he always do that, but he was fully aflame, including the parts that had been burned before. He doused his own flames and stood there, naked, but no worse for wear otherwise. His clothes had burned away cleanly, and since the flames had never left his body, they continued to be his flames.

               Jacen walked over to a piece of paper and set it on fire, dropping it to the tiled floor beneath them. It was separated from him completely. He reached down and touched the paper only for a moment. The flame was doused, but when his fingers came away from the burned paper they were blistering from the flame.

               Dr. Torrow, despite trying to save the man laying unconscious on the floor, with syringes in his body having yet to be pulled free, stopped everything he was doing and looked at Jacen. “And this is why I always want to do more experiments before this happens.”

               Dr. Torrow finished with the syringes, pulling them from Hoka, who slowly started to heal. It took time, more time than they believed they had. Sloane could feel the panic coming off of Rafe, even if the man’s face had not changed. Sloane had not missed that Rafe could not stop Hoka’s powers earlier, but with things going so quickly it was something they could not focus on.

               “Hoka, I need you to get up,” Dr. Torrow said.

               Hoka’s eyes slowly opened, the healing still going through him. He had to be in a tremendous amount of pain, but he, perhaps luckily, was too slow to truly react to it.

               “Hoka, I need you to start another fire,” Dr. Torrow told him.

               Hoka began to moan in protest. Dr. Torrow grabbed his healing shoulder and shook him. “Hoka, I need you to do this.”

               Hoka closed his eyes. Was he going to do something? It took several long minutes, but then there was fire. This time the first was only in his hands, which was good. Sloane was not sure the man would survive more than that. Hoka was wincing in pain, he did not know how to control the flames at all.

               Jacen knew what to do. He reached out and wrapped his hands around Hoka. It was his flame. Jacen showed no signs of pain, but was able to douse the flames on Hoka’s hands without preamble. Hoka seemed grateful before closing his eyes once more.

               “He’s going to be considered a failure,” Dr. Torrow informed Rafe.

               “I know,” Rafe said, standing. “I have to get them back to their barracks. I’ll be back later this evening.” Rafe ushered Sloane and Jacen towards the door. Jacen and Sloane both tried to protest, but Rafe gave a hard shake of his head. “No. Dr. Meridion will be back soon and he will not be pleased if he knows you two saw this.”

               “They are doing the experiments here?” Sloane asked. “Right here?”

               “Not all of them,” Rafe whispered, escorting them out the door and into the setting evening sun. “Bastian is getting desperate and they are getting sloppy because of it. Hoka was a soldier who had questioned orders too many times. One of the men suggested he disappear, and so he did.”

               “He’s going to be killed?” Jacen asked.

               “Likely,” Rafe stated.

               “Can you stop it?” Sloane asked. “He can’t die just because he’s been experimented on, or worse, just because he was an unruly person. I would hate to die because… I had a full day lecture of leaving the barracks.”

               “You got a full day lecture because you are gifted,” Rafe said. “For once, be grateful for your gift. We can’t keep talking about this, you need to go back to your barracks. But I wanted you to know, and see, why there is a rebellion in the caverns.”

               “But you are going to let him die.” Sloane wrapped his hand around Rafe’s arm, holding him in place before he could leave. Rafe did not fighting him off. “You are going to let them kill him as a failure, or let him die because of what they have done to him.”

               “Yes,” Rafe admitted. “I know that’s horrible, but yes. If I give away what I am doing then I will be hunted as well.”

               “What are you doing?” Sloane asked. “There’s a rebellion in the caves, but what are you doing to stop all of this?”

               “More than I can tell you right now,” Rafe said. “You have to trust me, like I trusted you enough to show you that. You have Dr. Torrow’s and my lives in your hands now that you know that. Now go.” Rafe pulled away from Sloane, simply shrugging him off, before walking away.

               “What happened in that cave?” Jacen asked.

               “Come on, we have to find somewhere private to talk.”