Hunter twisted the lock, swung the door open, and paused. The room was pitch black outside of the small glowing rectangle coming from a chair in the center of the room. “Thad, get Ella out of here.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Hunter.”
Hunter reached into the darkness and flicked on the light to reveal a man in a finely trimmed suit. He was sitting in the center of the room. To his left, laying on the couch, was an older man, his breathing shallow, a dark stain spreading on his shirt.
“Who are you, and how do you know my name?”
The unknown man stood. “Research.”
Ella pushed past Hunter. “Jake?”
Jake raised his arms as Ella ran to him. “Ella.”
The two hugged for a moment before Ella’s attention turned to Jake’s father. She knelt beside
Chris, her fingers trembling as she touched his cold hand. “What happened?”
“Stanton.” Chris’s voice was a raspy whisper.
Ella’s teary eyes looked from Chris to Jake. “Is he…”
“He’ll be okay.” Jake’s voice held a strained note.
Hunter and Thad stepped forward. “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry.” Jake stuck out a hand. “My name is Jake.”
Hunter slapped Jake’s hand away.
“You work for that Stanton guy?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Hunter clinched his bionic fist. “And you helped do all those horrific experiments on Ella?”
Jake’s eyes began to mist. “I never did any of the experiments myself.” He remembered the girl with the trembling hands, her eyes wide with terror, as he slipped her an extra ration, a small act of defiance. The same girl, a little older. Slipping her a sedative to quiet the nightmares that kept her awake night after night. "I tried to protect as many as I could.”
“Not good enough. I should kill you myself.”
Ella slipped between Hunter and Jake. “Hunter, no.”
“Why shouldn’t I crush his skull here and now?”
“They’re the ones that helped me escape from the lab.” Ella turned to Jake. “How did you find me?”
“I’ve known where you were the entire time.”
“What about my family?”
“Your dad.” Jake shook his head. “I did all I could for him.”
“Mom?”
“She’s strong.”
“Michael?”
“Stanton has him in the cloning program. I saw him in the pod, myself.”
Ella remembered Michael’s laughter, his goofy grin, the way he always had her back. A wave of grief washed over her, making her breath catch.
“They’re replicating his neural patterns, trying to create soldiers with his… unique abilities.”
“That would explain why those guards all sounded like him.” Ella wiped a tear from her eyes.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Thad crossed his arms. “Excuse me. It’s been nice watching you all catch up, but how do we know you’re not buying time while an entire clone army is surrounding this building?”
“Because I need your help.”
“Our help?” Hunter’s jaws clinched. “With what?”
“My father. I need you to protect him.”
“Why should we?” Thad growled.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Jake glanced at his father before turning to Ella. “When Stanton finds out what I did, he’ll torture him in front of me out of spite. And then kill me.”
“What can I do?”
“Promise you’ll take care of my dad.”
Ella nodded. “Where are you going?”
“Back in.”
“What?”
“I don’t have a choice. I need to stop him.”
Hunter shook his head. “Why didn’t you do something before?”
“I should have. There’s no excuse. But now things have progressed beyond the point of no return. If someone doesn't stop Stanton now, everything is over. He’ll control it all.”
Thad's eyes widened. “All, as in the city?”
“All, as in what’s left of the world.”
“What?” Hunter gritted his teeth.
“I’ve seen it. He’s cracked the Caladrius code.”
Thad’s head cocked to one side. “What in the hell is a Caladrius?”
Jake sighed. “It’s an ancient bird that had the power to choose if someone lived or died. Its feathers shimmered with an otherworldly light, and its eyes held ancient wisdom.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Doctor Stanton believed that under extreme…stimuli, certain people could manifest powers.”
“Stimuli?”
Hunter looked at Thad. “He means torture.”
“Correct.” Jake ran a trembling hand through his hair. “A person with powers is called a Caladrius.”
“Why?”
“The person who controls the Caladrius…”
“Controls who lives and dies.”
Jake nodded.
“And?”
“Stanton has cracked it. He's found the way to amplify and control the latent Caladrius abilities within people, twisting their very essence to his will. He can turn them into living weapons.”
Ella covered her mouth in shock. “That’s impossible.” A faint, warm sensation spread through her, a subtle thrumming in her veins.
“Ella.” Hunter laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not impossible. You are a Caladrius.”
“Hunter is right.” Jake turned to Ella. “His own son was his first success. If he finds out you’re showing signs, he’ll stop at nothing to get you back. And if that happens, it’s game over for everyone.”
“No way. We won’t let that happen.”
Jake sighed, walked towards the door, and glanced at Ella one last time. “I’m counting on that.”
He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
“We have to do something.” Ella ran to Hunter. “We can’t let him go back in there on his own.”
“We don’t have a choice. And besides, it could be a trap to get you back.”
“It’s not. Hunter, please. Stanton will kill him.”
Hunter puffed out a long sigh and turned to Thad. “Help me out here?”
“Don’t look at me.” Thad shrugged. “I did have ‘take down a maniacal doctor and save the world’ on my this world has gone to shit bingo card.”
“Of course you did.” Hunter laughed.
Thad shrugged. “Go big or go home, right?”
“And you did promise you’d get my family out of that place.”
“You did promise.”
Hunter grunted. “Alright, fine. But we do this my way.”
Ella stood at attention and gave Hunter a salute. “Yes, sir.”
“Ella, stop that guy before he gets too far. I don’t trust him, but what do I know?”
Ella slung her arms around Hunter and ran to the door. “Thank you!”
Hunter shook his head. “The two of you have spent way too much time together.”
“And whose fault is that?” Thad said. “Now, what’s our plan, boss?”
“I’ll come up with something, but…”
“Let me guess, I won’t like it.”
“Do you ever?”
“No, no, I do not.”
“One way or the other, we have to end this.”
“Agreed.”
“Alright then. Let’s get to work.”
