Embers & Ice (Rouge) (17 page)

THIRTY

Dr.
Wolfe’s rubber gloves slapped over his wrists with a bloodcurdling
thwack.
Hunter
stared up at him, her eyes near-blinded by the light from the overhead beam,
and suddenly wished she was back in her solitary cell by herself, a steel
door’s width from this lunatic.

“Welcome
back, Miss Harrison,” he said cheerfully and picked up some gauze with metal
pliers. “I trust you had a pleasant stay in Solitary?”

She
always loathed his humorless small-talk, but found it better just to go along
with it.

“Actually,
I rather enjoyed the peace and quiet. And the solitude. I did miss the
excitement though. Am I mistaken, or did I detect a roar coming from downstairs
one night?”

“You’re
mistaken,” he said sharply and lifted the protective mask over his mouth and
nose. “It won’t be heard again, I can assure you that.”

A
chill ran through her spine, a feeling she did not welcome back.

“For
today, however, I’d like to show you some of the X-rays we took last week.”

He
reached behind the steel table she lay upon and pulled on a lever, allowing the
back of it to rise up like a reclining chair. Hunter – still strapped to the
table – had a clear view of the door. Dr. Wolfe’s bright screens on her left
showed a long succession of X-rays. Every single part of her body was on full
display, all ghostly and skeleton-looking. Everything appeared normal, to her
eyes anyway.

“Your
blood tests are normal, well to your standards. I’ve come across some unusual
toxins, however, which I have matched with Joshua’s DNA. I seem to find myself
with an interesting number of unknown substances. Tell me, Hunter, when did
Joshua get his hands on Feucotetanus?”

Hunter
clenched her jaw and refused to meet Dr. Wolfe’s oyster eyes.
So he knows
about the drug. So what? It’s only half the formula, and even then, the rock is
far more powerful than the drug alone.

Dr.
Wolfe watched her closely for a moment, but saw she would not crack. He grunted
something under his breath and continued.

“I
came across Feucotetanus many years ago. The Swedish people are very smart,
very well developed. In fact, most of the equipment we use was manufactured
there. I had a sample of Feucotetanus, once. Now I wish I made multiple copies,
because all the laboratories in Sweden were destroyed. Unfortunately the test
subject we were using our last batch on escaped this facility and went into
hiding. The drug was too much for his system and there was no way he would have
survived more than a few days before it reached his heart and consumed him.
Died of hallucinations, I assume. It’s a shame we never got to monitor his
progress.”

Hunter
was seriously tempted to spit on the man, purely because of his selfishness.
But then suddenly, she remembered something. Joshua had said that her mother
operated on a homeless man the night of the fire that killed her father. Was it
too much of a coincidence that this man, the man who passed the drug on to her
mother, who then gave Hunter her abilities that night when she was conceived,
was the same man who escaped this facility? Was she really so close to New
York?

Dr.
Wolfe didn’t seem to notice that her thoughts were somewhere else, and
continued talking. “This other… substance, I am unable to identify.”

Stick
that in your pipe and smoke it,
she thought smugly.

“But
what I do know is that whatever has infected your blood, it happened long ago.
Around the same time that it happened to Joshua, am I correct?”

Hunter
didn’t answer, staring at her rib cage on the X-ray board, imagining a hole
like the center of the earth burning within her, volcanic lava oozing out. That
was where the fire dwelled, the living fire that came from inside the stone.
Ravenadium.

“And
there’s something else I found.” Dr. Wolfe’s smile widened and crooked teeth
protruded from within. He was very much enjoying this show and tell. “I think
you already know, Hunter, that this substance – when combined with Feucotetanus
in the right chemical mix – is what gave you your powers. When I separated the
two, I found something fascinating. This other substance… it lives.”

Hunter
started sweating. Blood throbbed into her head, reminding her of how dehydrated
and hungry she was. It had been over twenty-four hours since she’d eaten. The
lack of food was confusing her thoughts, and in a moment of panic, the same
figure of fire appeared behind Dr. Wolfe, leering over his shoulder. Hunter
stared at her reflection in fright.

He’s
growing closer
, she sighed, shaking her head down at Hunter.
He
tortured Joshua into revealing the secret, and all you’re doing is sitting
there.

Hunter
swallowed hard.
He won’t find it.

What
if Dr. Wolfe gets lucky? What if he stumbles upon the location, or even finds
the samples hidden in Joshua’s lab? Would he try to re-create our powers? Would
he use our blood samples to make more of us?

“It’s
a marvelous thing, Hunter,” said Dr. Wolfe. “And I
will
find out what
this substance is. By any means, I
will
find it.”

Hunter
gazed in fear at her shadow self, hoping she had something encouraging to say,
or at least a way to distract her as Dr. Wolfe started attaching electrode
patches to her chest.

Protect
our secret,
said the fire, and the figure of Hunter melted
away into the shadows, leaving her and Dr. Wolfe alone.

Hunter
forced herself to the fitness room after a late lunch, because it was the only
way she remained strong and not weakened from Dr. Wolfe’s surgery. Even if she
felt faint, even if her body screamed at her to go straight to her cell and
sleep, she wouldn’t. She allowed herself to cringe and walk slowly, but that
was it.

Mosi,
Marcus Will and Chantal were in the fitness room when Hunter entered, working
on their combat skills under Mosi’s tuition. She heard Marcus hiss at the sight
of her bruised arms from Dr. Wolfe’s machine, and the burning rage in Will’s
eyes hit her like headlights from across the room. She stalked to the bench
press and slowly lowered herself.

“You
look like someone painted you with purple leopard spots.” Marcus poked one of
the bruises on her right arm and she gasped and slapped him hard on the
shoulder.

“Ow!
You asshole, that hurt!”

“Jeez,
I’m sorry. What the hell happened to you?”

“Don’t
ask,” she grumbled. “When did you both get out?”

“Only
this morning,” said Marcus.

“Dr.
Wolfe was merciful and didn’t call me in for surgery,” said Will with grit in
his tone.

“Lucky
you.”

“Guess
you’re not up for a tussle then Hunter?” Marcus raised his eyebrows and nodded
to the mat. “Mosi was just teaching me some new moves. I wish we had something
more interesting to fight with though. Like targets or knives.”

“Hey
guys,” called Zac from the door. He came in to join them, followed by Sammy and
Fearne. Sammy’s smile widened at the sight of Hunter and he sprinted up to her.

“Hunter!”
he exclaimed and threw his arms around her middle. She groaned and hugged him
back as best she could. “Oo, sorry, are you hurt?”

“Just
a little sore,” she replied. Marcus and Mosi went back to their training.
Chantal joined them, mimicking their moves and nodding along with Mosi’s
instructions. “Has Alfie come back yet?”

Will,
Fearne and Sammy shook their heads. “There’s been no sign of him,” said Will.
“Something tells me it won’t be anytime soon.”

“Alfie
doesn’t deserve whatever treatment Dr. Wolfe is giving him,” said Hunter. “I
know exactly what it’s like to not have control over my powers. It takes time
to grow in strength and perseverance.”

“Maybe
they’ll make him a bracelet soon,” said Sammy. “Maybe-”

The
room was suddenly silent. The fight had stopped. Hunter peered around Sammy and
her heart thudded at the sight of two Men in White in the doorway, staring at
their group with menacing stares and rigid posture.

Jamison
and Steel.

Hunter
had never been formally introduced to Steel the way she had with Jamison, but
she had passed him many times in the halls. The two guards were the most
powerful, and Dr. Wolfe let them have free reign within the Institution,
handing out punishment where they saw fit. Though she shared no connection with
the buff army man whose entire upper body pulsed with veins and chest hair,
Chantal knew him all too well.

After
the way she reacted to Hunter’s attack in the bathroom, she knew on some level
that Chantal had been through the exact same thing. Zac eventually caved and
told her that it was Steel, and no one was there to stop him.

“Well
well,” said Steel as he strolled into the room, crossing his arms under his
pecks. Jamison’s sticky gaze didn’t leave Hunter’s as he closed the door and
locked it tight. “What have we here? A little fight club, eh?”

No
one said a word.

“Come
on,” said Steel cheerfully. “Please continue, we’re just here to observe.”

“Maybe
even instruct a little,” Jamison added. His voice made Hunter’s skin crawl.

“We’re
not doing anything,” said Chantal. Hunter noticed how completely stiff and
guarded her exterior had become. Her eyes were blazing blue hate at the both of
them.

“Miss
Leférve,” said Steel. The name seemed to roll off his tongue and Chantal shrank
back. “We’re not stupid, okay? And we’re not going to tell Wolfe. We’re just…
interested in what goes on in here all the time. So please-” He cocked his head
at Mosi and Marcus. “Continue.”

He
and Jamison stood against the wall. Nervously, Mosi and Marcus shifted their
feet and prepared for a fight. Hunter thanked God she wasn’t in their position,
nor Sammy or Fearne or even Will. She ran her hands over the material of her
jumpsuit and watched the fight.

Mosi’s
face never gave anything away – no strain, no stress, no fear. He made swift
movements and neat, harmless punches. Marcus, however, was much sloppier after
the pressure of their guests. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes,
and his movements were jerky and hesitant. Hunter drew blood from biting her
lip so much. Instinctively, she moved a step closer to Will, only to find him
nearer than he had been moments ago.

Halfway
through the fight, Steel waved for them to cease.

“Stop,
please, this fight is so predictable.”

Marcus
and Mosi broke apart, heaving as Steel stepped onto the mat.

“You
need more competition,” he said to Mosi. “But I can see that the only person
who would have any chance of defeating
you
would be myself or my
colleague.” Jamison snorted in agreement. “So let’s see someone else take a
turn, eh?”

Mosi
stepped back, his arms clenched so tightly that the veins protruded from his
black skin. Nervous butterflies took flight in Hunter’s stomach as she looked
around the room, following Jamison’s gaze. Who would he choose?

“You,”
he pointed a stubby finger a Sammy, whose face paled in shock. “Your turn,
Sparkles.”

Sammy
sucked in a breath and stumbled backwards against Hunter.

“No.”
Hunter gripped the boy’s shoulders tightly. “He can’t fight Marcus, how is that
any more fair? In fact, how is any of this fair?”

Steel
frowned in mock confusion. “I’m sorry, isn’t this what you were doing
before
we came in?”

Hunter
didn’t answer. If she told him they were training to fight the Men in White
when it came time for their escape, she’d be in a far more trouble than she had
been a few days ago. Dr. Wolfe couldn’t know of their plans.

“It
was just for fitness purposes,” she murmured. “This is different. Making Sammy
fight Marcus is ridiculous and pointless.”

“I
think you’re missing the fun part,” said Steel. “
We
get to watch.”

“Don’t
you get enough of that in the Orb?” asked Chantal.

“Not
nearly,” he sneered. Chantal shrank back again.

“Alright
Steel,” said Jamison as he pushed himself away from the wall. “I think that’s
enough.”

Steel
turned to him, his eyes glinting with malicious anger. “
What
?”

“Miss
Harrison is right. There’s no fun in watching a scrawny little kid fight this
punk.”

Marcus
pretended not to hear that.

“Oh
isn’t there?” Steel sneered.

“No,”
he said, “what’s
fair
is watching a fight where the weaker wants to win
far more desperately than the stronger opponent. Where there is true
determination in each player. No fear, just anger. Just a thirst for a fight.”
His eyes swept the room and found Hunter’s. She knew he was talking about her.
Everyone knew. “Am I right, Harrison?”