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~Sarah~
Gray speckled tiles. That was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. I rolled over with a groan. My mouth felt fuzzy, and the antiseptic white sheets scratched against my skin. I sat up slowly, cringing at the pounding in my ears. The room was remarkably white, a white sink and toilet in the corner. One white bed to my right, made with hospital corners. A single white metal chair in front of me. A white unmade bed to my left with a red figure sitting, propped against the wall. A figure that looked exactly like me.
“Oh good, you’re awake.” Cosima said.
The previous night suddenly came rushing back - being captured by the mysterious DYAD institute, riding in a vehicle with a bag over her head, the shot that made me feel impossibly sleepy.
“And feeling chipper.” I replied sarcastically, rubbing my throbbing temple.
“You’re lucky you woke up at all, what with that hit the guard gave you last night.” Cosima replied.
My hand flew to my cheek as I examined my reflection in the large window that I had overlooked in my first inspection. There was a bright blue-green blossoming below my eye and onto my cheek. Disregarding my injury, I examined the window. Chest high, and spanning the front wall of the room, the glass had metal set into it to prevent breaking. I watched as a lab-coat clad scientist scuttled past, stealing a furtive look in our direction.
“Are they...Observing us?” I asked, turning to look at Cosima.
“Making sure we don’t cause trouble more likely.” She replied, pointing at a small white camera in the top right corner of the room. “There is no mic, so they are probably not collecting data. But they still gave us a room front and center, so all the scientists could catch a glimpse of their experiment.” She said experiment like a dirty word.
“Look at this, Cosima criticizing a scientist.” I said.
“They obviously have taken no heed to ethics in this experiment. Plus, I have my own bone to pick with the DYAD institute.” Cosima replied, gnawing at her previously-long fingernails.
Two weeks earlier, Delphine had returned to the DYAD institute as an undercover agent. We haven’t heard from her since. Cosima is worried something has happened to her. I think Delphine just joined up again. No matter what she told Cosima, she still sold me out to DYAD and endangered Kira. Perhaps Cosima is blinded by something other than science, but wouldn’t trust her for a second. How can Cosima not see this?
“Why did you decide to trust her anyways?” I asked, shifting my weight and trying to ignore the throb of pain with which my head responded. Her hand dropped from her mouth.
“She had proof. She showed me that Dr. Leekie was lying. She offered to go and collect information from DYAD, putting herself in real danger if she was discovered.” Cosima replied.
“Probably just looking for a chance to crawl back to them…” I started.
“Sarah!" Cosima leaned forward and stared me down. "I trust her, and I care about her. That may not be enough for you, but is enough for me! So drop it!” Cosima said, falling back against the wall in a huff.
“Ok…” I replied, but Cosima didn’t seem too sure. I layed back down and rolled over so my back was facing Cosima. Hopefully I can sleep off this headache...
~Alison~
“Ahhhhh…” I sighed with relief as I settled into my chair in the craft room, glue, paper, scissors, and family pictures spread before me. With all of the ruckus lately, I hadn’t gotten around to updating the family scrap book. Leafing through pictures, I stopped at a photo of Gemma and Oscar with Ansley's family at at the skating rink, holding hands and smiling. I quickly turned the photo over and put it on the edge of the table. Just then, I heard the doorbell ring. My eyes shot to the closet, where I had locked the gun away after signing the contract with DYAD. I placed the stack of photos on the table, and walked up the stairs, eyeing the closet as I went.
Donnie was away at work, and the kids were spending the night at my mothers. The visitor is probably just one of Oscar or Gemma’s friends, around to see if they could play. Or perhaps some sort of solicitor, I really should post on the list serve that we need a neighborhood wide, non-solicitation sign. I opened the door to find two men on the other side. They were both nicely dressed, tall, and burly. The one to the right was dark-skinned with short cropped hair. The one to the left was a hair shorter, and had white blond hair and one white eye.
“Are you Alison Hendrix?” He asked.
“Yes” I replied, uneasiness growing in my gut. I took a step back, but they had already grabbed my hands. They pulled me forward, and stifled my scream by placing a thick black bag over my head. I loosed one of my hands and swung widely. I heard an “umph” as my hand made contact. They quickly regained controlled me, tied my hands and shoved me in a vehicle. I felt it start up, and roll down the road. I heard of of the men sigh and stretch.
The other said, “At least she didn’t bite you like that British one last night.”
“Ha ha, that’s true.” He replied. Angry tears rolled down my cheeks. This wasn’t supposed to happen anymore!
~Felix~
“So what did you think of that club?” I asked as Colin used the side-view mirror to clean glitter out of his hair.
“It was very...lively.” He replied. I rolled the car out of the parking garage. I had borrowed it to take Colin on a tour of the local scene. We finally crashed in a club ten minutes from my flat. We were rudely awoken by management fifteen minutes ago.
“Of course you would say that. I give it five out of ten, that last guy was not very nice at all.” I said. “Sarah is going to be pissed I got back with the car so late.” Colin was quiet for a while.
“I am alive Colin, you can talk to me without sounding crazy.” I said.
“Sorry.” He replied. “I just can’t stop thinking about your sister.”
“Should I worried? Is there going to be some kind of sibling love triangle here?” I said.
“No.” He laughed and shoved my arm. “It’s just, how did she not know she had a twin? And how did her long lost twin happen to die in front of her? Also, I’m not supposed to tell you this, or even know it, but the police say they found another one.”
“Another what?” I said nervously, watching as we passed the blinking lights of downtown.
“Another twin! A triplet! They brought her into the morgue, really crushed up, a couple of months ago. Apparently the facial reconstruction was an exact match!” He said.
I sighed and looked at Colin. I really do like him. And I hate lying to him.
“Colin. I don’t want to lie to you, so I am going to tell you part of the truth. But you cannot ask questions. And you can tell no one.”
“Ok.” He said.
“Sarah and Beth, and whomever this mysterious new person is, are not twins.” I said.
“Not twins.” Colin repeated.
“Not twins!” I said.
“Hmmmm.” Colin said as he mulled the new information over.
I parked on the street next to my flat. Colin and I walked up the stairwell. My front door lay open, bent at a funny angle.
“Something’s not right.” I said as I walked passed Colin into the apartment. My things were strewn everywhere. Paintings on the floor. Broken wine glasses on the ground. Cosima’s laptop abandoned on the table.
“What happened?” Colin asked, staring at the destruction.
“They took them.” I said.
~Cosima~
How do we get out of here? The question bounced around my head as I took inventory of our situation. I’ve seen guards - with guns - walking down the hallway. The obviously want us alive, but how much? If we tried to escape, would they shoot? How valuable are we? How could we distract them in order to escape?
I sighed and watched Sarah’s chest rise and fall. She seemed so much less… confrontational in sleep. I understand why Sarah can’t get over Delphine’s betrayal, but she is risking her life for us. They would have found Kira anyways. Sarah needs to calm down.
Delphine. I drop my head into my hands. She is the one piece of the puzzle I can’t understand. If I’m honest, I still haven't completely forgiven her. But I can’t see why she would have had anything to gain from ousting Dr. Leekie - except my friendship. But why has she not contacted us? Does she work in this compound? Can she help us?
Suddenly, I feel the awful tickling in my throat. The pain is deep, and is feels as though I my body is somehow irreparably broken. I stand up and cough into the sink, staring with wide eyes as blood runs out of my mouth. This is more than usual. I wipe my mouth with some toilet paper, and for once in my life, try not to think of the million things I have learned can go wrong with one’s body. I run the sink, and turn. Sarah had sat up, and was looking at me with the same look she always gave me when this happened - the corners of her mouth turned down and eyebrows forming a scowl; sad and scared.
We both jumped as a metal scraping sound reverberated through the room. Two metal trays are slid under the door. Her look disappearing, Sarah walks over to examine them.
“Mmmmmm, cafeteria food. At least they don’t plan to starve us to death.” She said. “Hmmm… this ones for you.”
She walks over and hands me a light aluminum cafeteria tray. Beside the canned peas and below the mashed potatoes lies a note, and a pill in small plastic cup. I place the tray on my cot, and pick up the note, reading it aloud.
“Perhaps it is time to reconsider your allegiances. -Dr. Leekie.” I picked up the pill, half blue and half white, turning it over in my hand.
“What’s that?” Sarah asked.
“This is what the DYAD institute has on me.” I replied, knocking back the pill with a swig of orange juice that came with my meal.
~Alison~
After some time, I felt the vehicle begin to slow. It made a series of turns, and came to a slow stop. I heard the drivers get out, and the trunk open. Four hands lifted me, placing me standing up on the ground. I heard a deep voice say,
“We need confirmation. Especially in light of… recent events.”
“Okay.” Another man replied, a bit nervously. He seemed somehow familiar. I heard crunching of gravel at the two men approached. Suddenly, the bag was removed. I blinked at the sudden afternoon sun. In front of me lay a large building with metal gray siding. The two men stood before me, one of medium height with short black hair, and one that was…
“Donnie!” I exclaimed, my jaw dropping. He was here! Working for them! I knew it! In a fit of rage I lunged toward him, punching him in the nose - hard enough that I heard a definite crack. The two guards quickly grabbed me again, pulling me away from him. Donnie doubled over holding his nose.
“Is it her?” The man asked.
“Oh most definitely.” Donnie replied thickly.
“Get her samples.” The man said as he turned to walk inside. I thought I saw a small smile on his face. I felt a sharp prick on my palm as they took a blood sample. Donnie stood, holding his nose, as they dragged me toward the building behind me.
“How could you!” I screamed. “What about our kids! Our family! How could you!” Donnie made no gesture of recognition, only stared as the door to the building closed.
I paused in my struggles as the guards turned me to face the hallway. It was long and brightly lit with fluorescent lights. We passed labs with scientists working in them; looking down microscopes or pipetting out ominous-looking fluids. When the guards pulled me by, they would all stop their work and stare. I even heard a beaker drop and smash on the ground as I passed. I hid my face from their prying eyes as tears ran down my cheeks. I was led to a room with a wide window and a thick door. They opened the door and shoved me in. I fell to my knees, and felt the door slam behind me. I looked up to see my shocked face reflected back, twice.
Standing, I said, “Oh hello. I didn’t realize there was a clone club meeting today, I would have brought something to share.”
~Felix~
“Clones?” Colin repeated.
“You have a funny way of repeating the things I've said. Yes, clones.” I replied.
“I suppose that would explain quite a lot.” Colin said as he picked up the painting of Cosima and leaned it against an easel. “ And so now, the DYAD institute has them?”
“That’s what I think.” I replied.
“Well what are we going to do?” Colin said. I sighed.
“Colin, this has nothing to do with you. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” I replied. I paced the room and ran my hands through my hair. Colin turned away from the paintings.
“Of course it has to do with me.” He paused and walked toward Cosima’s laptop. “Do you know where the DYAD institute is?” He asked.
“I’ve no idea.” I replied, releasing my hands from my hair.
“Well I might.” He said. “If there was a death related to the DYAD institute, I can look them up in the morgue database.”
“You have a morgue database?” I said.
“You have to keep track of all those body parts somehow.” he replied. He sat and began typing at Cosima’s laptop furiously. “I think we ought to go on a recognizance mission.”
~Sarah~
I found myself looking up at the gray speckled ceiling yet again, trying to make figures out of the patterns. There a tree. There a sheep. Just like Helena used to call us. Now we are sheep in a pen.
Since the injection had worn off, there was no way I was going to be able to sleep. They had turned the lights in our cell off, and the occasional passing scientist caused shadows to dance through the room. Cosima turned in her cot, she must not be sleeping either. Allison's loud snores echoed through the room, she had finally fallen asleep after telling us about Donnie. Another trader. How many more could betray us? Who was left?
Suddenly, a quiet but piercing sound broke my thoughts. It grew louder- coming closer. I sat up. Cosima did the same.
“Do you hear that?” I asked.
“Yeah.” she said groggily, retrieving her glasses from beside her cot.
“I wonder wha…” I began, when the sound became suddenly overwhelming. I felt Alison wake with a start beside me. It was quite obviously a scream, high-pitched and animalistic. I heard a door slam shut, and the scream came closer. It seemed familiar somehow. Finally, the screaming person was led past our cell. The guards were obviously struggling with the captive. I wonder why they didn't just give her an injection, like they did to me. Her face is obscured by a black bag. Half way past our cell, the captive gives a great lurch, and the bag falls off. A mass of curly blond hair appears. She turns her face towards me and looks me in the eye, and pauses in her struggle. The guards quickly regain control, and drag the struggling girl down the hallway. Cosima turns towards me.
“She’s one of us.” Cosima said. “She looks a bit like your description of…”
“Helena.” I replied. “Yeah, it was definitely Helena.”
~Cosima~
“But you killed Helena.” I said. “How can she be here? Are you sure?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“I shot her, yeah. And yes, I am sure.” Sarah replied. I swung my legs from under the covers and sat on the bed sideways, my head resting in my hands. After a moment, I looked up at Sarah again.
“Sarah, you told me earlier about Kira’s miraculous recovery.” I began, waving my hands along with my words.
“Yeah, her lizard genes or whatever.” Sarah replied sarcastically.
“Yes.” I said, taking her skepticism in stride. “I thought that it may be the result of some sort of genetic modification that you passed down to her. But if Helena is your twin, than she would have the same modifications you have. Just because you shot her, doesn’t mean you killed her, right? Did you check?”
“I was kind of distracted at the moment.” Sarah replied bitterly.
“Guys” Allison started. She had sat up in her bed, eyes red, hands held carefully in her lap. “Guys, we have to get out of here.”
I pursed my lips. Allison was right. We were sitting ducks here. Who knew what plans DYAD had for us? Suddenly, an idea began to form in my head.
“Quick! Allison, while the guards are distracted, stuff your bed so it looks like you are asleep. Sarah, you get in bed.” I stuffed my cot, and glanced up at the security camera in the corner, hoping that the guards really would be distracted by Helena.
“Allison, over here!” I said ushering into a corner away from view of the camera. “Shit, we need something sharp.”
“Here.” Allison said as she pulled a knife out of her Ugg boot.
“Geez Alison.” Sarah said. “Do you have a gun in their too?” She asked mockingly. Allison gave her a look.
“Allison, quick, give the knife to Sarah. Come on!” Allison hurriedly handed Sarah the knife. “Now Sarah, pretend you are asleep.” I said as Alison squeezed into the corner of the room away from the camera with me. After a moment of silence, Allison asked,
“Now, what are we doing?”
“Once the guards are paying attention again, Sarah will get up and pretend to stab one of us. This will cause the guards to come and open the door. Then, we hit them with that chair and escape.” I said, pointing at the metal chair in front of me.
“Brilliant! Frame me for murder, and make the DYAD institute mad at us when we knock out one of their guards.” Sarah said indignantly, muffled by the covers under which she was lying.
“Do you have a better plan?” I asked. She was quiet. After a few minutes, I told Sarah, “Ok, now’s the time.” She pulled back the covers, holding the knife in plain view of the camera. She walked towards my cot, and held the knife in her hand above it. She glanced at me, and I nodded my head. She stabbed down, blocking the view of the cot with her body. After a few moments, I heard feet slapping down the hallway. I looked at Allison.
“Are you ready?” I asked Allison quietly. Her eyes hardened as she picked up the chair.
“I’ve been ready for a while now.” She said as she hoisted the chair. Suddenly, the door burst open. There stood a tall guard with short bleach blond hair, and that was all I took in before Allison brought him down with the hard back of the chair. Behind him stood a scientist in a white lab coat. He took one look at Allison, holding the chair high and with a wild look in her eye, and sprinted down the hallway. Allison dropped the chair and beckoned to us saying,
“Come on!” We raced down the hallway away from where the scientist had run. Alison lead the way, saying things such as, “I think they brought me this way.”
I lagged behind her and Sarah, my lungs seemingly not being able to draw in enough air. That was new. How interesting. We raced past laboratories filled with equipment, oh so familiar to me. Just think of all the kinds of research going on here! We turned down a long hallway, and I heard feet slapping behind me, and a voice yelling “halt!” I glanced in one of the laboratories to my right, and stopped dead in my tracks.
There it was. My medicine. I saw the blue and white pills laid out in plastic cups, ready to be given out to prisoners. Behind that, boxes labeled with numbers. One box, labeled 324B21. I heard Sarah calling out behind me,
“Cosima, come on!” The footsteps were getting closer as well. I looked back at Sarah, and shoved through the doors into the laboratory.
~Sarah~
“Dammit Cosima!” I said as she burst through the laboratory door. I paused for a moment, maybe she would come out. But the guards had already reached the door to the laboratory.
“Sarah, we have to go!” Allison demanded behind me. I turned and ran with her. Cosima would have to fend for herself, it’s no help if we’re all caught.
We ran through several hallways, Allison leading the way. They got increasingly darker as we went.
“Are you sure this is the way they brought you in?” I asked her quietly. We seemed to have lost the guards.
“No!” She replied forcefully. Allison rounded the corner ahead of us. “Shit!” she said, and pushed me back behind the corner. “There is a guard walking this way.” She whispered.
“Here take your knife.” I handed it to her and pulled a fire extinguisher off the wall a few feet away from me. “Watch out.” I said, stepping in front of her. As the guard rounded the corner, I hit him on the head with the canister. I heard an audible crack as his body hit the floor. I placed the fire extinguisher on the ground and grimaced as I searched his body for a gun.
“Here is his taser.” Allison said, picking it up from the ground where he dropped it. I found his gun in his holster, and took that as well.
“I guess they aren't looking to kill us. Yet.” I said.
We continued down the hallway. After several more turns we came to a door with a red glowing exit sign above.
“I suppose this is it.” I said, and looked at Allison. She nodded. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Deafening alarms began blaring.
~Cosima~
I had just tucked the box inside my coat when the doors to the laboratory burst open. Three guards filled in, guns raised. Shit.
“Put your hands up!” The one to the left demanded. I raised my hands. Just then the door to the laboratory opened again, and a gun wielding scientist walked in. Delphine.
My jaw dropped. She pointed the gun at me and spoke to the other guards,
“Go get the others! I have this one!”
“We shouldn’t, you don’t know what she will do.” The one in the middle replied.
“They are getting away! Do I need to remind you who is in charge here! Go!” He glanced back at me and lowered his gun. He motioned to the other two guards, and they followed him out. As the door closed, I managed to say,
“Delphine.” And started toward her. She glanced quickly, almost undetectably, into the corner of the room where a security camera lay.
“Don’t move!” She shouted, the gun trembling slightly in her hand. I stopped and looked at her. She looked scared. And determined. She stepped toward me, gun still pointed at my head, right between my eyes. She stopped two feet away from me and looked at the counter to my left, where the boxes of medicine lay.
“Give me the box that you took.” She said fiercely, waving the gun at me. I fumbled in my coat and handed her the box. She took it and placed it in her lab coat pocket. She grabbed my coat and lead me out of the laboratory, pointing the gun at me all the while.
She lead me down a series of twisting hallways, passing no one on the way. Eventually she pulled me into a small out-of-the-way alcove. Pausing to see if we had been followed, she lowered the gun and pulled me into an embrace. Shocked, I hugged her back. In my ear she whispered,
“Oh god, I am so sorry ma cherie, I am so sorry.” Before I allowed myself to be grateful to see Delphine, I had to ask. Still embracing, I said,
“Where have you been? I haven't heard anything from you since you came here.”
“I am so sorry.” She replied, pulling back to look at my face. “They have been watching me like dogs. They suspect we are conspiring.” As she spoke, she placed the box of medicine and the gun in my hands. The gun felt awkward and foreign. I quickly tucked both away in my coat. “Of course, they are right. I didn’t know they were going to take you until it was already too late. I am so sorry. If they see anything suspicious on the tapes, who knows what they will do. I just don’t…” I interrupted her speech by pressing my lips to hers. She kissed me back, holding me tight against her. After a few moments, I pressed my forehead against hers.
“I was so worried about you” I said.
“And me you.” She replied. After a moment, she took a step back, seeming to remember where she was. “But right now, you have to go.” She said. I bit my lip and nodded. “Take a right down this hallway, then a left at the next and you will reach an exit. Type in 23965 before you open the door, or the alarm will sound. 23965.” She paused. She seemed reluctant to say what came next. “ And Cosima. You have to hit me.”
“What?” I asked, unsure what she meant.
“It needs to look like there was a struggle so they don’t suspect anything.” She replied. They must be really watching her if Delphine had to go to such lengths to avoid detection. What would happen to her if they figured her out? What was this place?
“Delphine, come with me.” I begged.
“I can’t.” She replied. “That medicine will not last you long, I have to do more research.”
“But you can’t risk...” I started.
“I’m not only doing it for you.” She paused and pointed her face down, but her eyes held mine, her long lashes making shadows across her face. “I feel like I have been a part of something horrendous. I have to fix it.” God, she was so brave. But I am not.
“I...I can’t hit you Delphine.” I said.
“Cosima, you must!” She said, grabbing my hands. Sirens began sounding faintly from somewhere far away. “Just...just think of how mad you were when I betrayed you.”
“No.” I said. “ I’m doing this to protect you.” I caressed Delphine’s cheek softly, and swallowed my fear. “Are you ready?” I asked. She stepped ever so slightly into the hallway, just in the view of the cameras.
“Yes.” She said.
“See you later.” I said. I pulled back my hand and hit Delphine on the cheek. Hard. She sprawled on the floor, overplaying it for the camera. Three weeks ago I would have enjoyed the groan Delphine admitted, but right now it made made me feel sick to my stomach.
“Go!” She whispered with urgency.
I sprinted down the right side of the hallway, and then took a left. Before me was a door, with a keypad adjacent to it. A red exit sign glowed overhead. I punched in the code. 23965. A metallic click, and I rushed through the doors.
~Alison~
“Shite!” Sarah said as we burst through the doors. The night was disrupted by a flashing light that cast eerie red shadows across the landscape. To the left and in front of us lay dense woods, dipping off at a steep angle. To right lay the DYAD building. Three back-lit figures ran toward us. Sarah grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the woods. I heard a gunshot and saw a dent form in the concrete beneath me. We closed the space to the woods and dived in. I followed Sarah as she navigated the steep forest hillside. Pine branches whipped back, scratching my face, but the gunshots reverberated behind us, quickening our pace.
We reached the bottom of the hill. Before us lay a clearing, a few small wooden buildings lit up on the far side. We heard the guards crashing through the brush behind us. Sarah tugged my arm and motioned me to follow her. We worked our way along the outside of the field until we were only 100 feet from the strange buildings. Sarah tugged me toward them.
“Why are we going towards those sketchy huts?” I exclaimed.
“Because they won’t expect us to go there.” She replied. We cowered in the shadow of a hut, avoiding the light emanating from within. I watched as the guard’s flashlights spread out through the forest. They made no moves toward the buildings.
“Well now what?” I asked, turning towards Sarah. She was busy examining the cage-like wiring of the hut behind us. She turned.
“Wait for them to go away?” She said, shrugging. The lights filtered deeper into the forest. Sarah began examining the cage again. It was the size of a small cabin, but it had a metal roof and one side was enclosed with wire instead of wood. Sarah stepped forward and laid her hand on the metal wire.
There was a sudden growling, and a dog jumped forward, plunging towards Sarah, only to be held back by the wire. Or maybe it was a wolf. It was very large. There was something else strange about it as well…
Sarah stumbled back, falling flat on the ground. To her credit, she only mumbled “shite” under her breath, trying to avoid detection from the guards. The wolf on the other hand, snarled and howled loudly. Sarah pulled me towards the woods again, away from the flashlights - and towards the DYAD institute.
~Cosima~
I stepped outside and took account of my situation. The siren from earlier was still blaring from somewhere on the other side of the building. I had stepped into some sort of courtyard; buildings stood on three sides of me. Picnic tables lay scattered around. Perhaps this is where the scientists enjoyed their lunch and discussed their clone experiments. The only path seemed to be towards the siren. I crouched by the side of the building and walked toward to noise.
The building curved after a couple hundred yards. Before me lay a steep wooded hill, to my left the siren blared. Despite this, the place seemed deserted. I dashed to tree line and slowly navigated the steep hillside. I spied flashlights in the distance to the left and vered right. I carefully extracted the gun from my coat, holding it awkwardly in my hand, just in case. I came to the bottom of the hill. I heard a wolf howl from nearby.
“Are we that far from town?” I wondered to myself. I turned and walked away from the howling sound. Suddenly, a voice spoke out from the dark.
“Stop.” I whirled around to face my pursuer, but could make out nothing in the dark night. I backed up slowly.
“Stop!” He said again. “I have a gun!” I froze, unsure how I could escape from this situation. I barely heard the crunching of leaves before a face appeared in the moonlight directly in front of me. I let out a yelp and jumped. The boy had white blond hair and one white eye. He stepped closer, gun pointed at my chest.
“Where you going miracle?” he asked, reaching out to touch my face. I shied away from him as he stroked my cheek.
“Genetically identical” He said, waltzing around me. “Quite the thing to boast. See, they could only modify me phenologically.” He said pointing to his eye, which reflected the moon's light like a cats. “But it has it’s advantages in the dark.” He had finished his circle, and paused to lean towards me again. I was keenly aware of the gun still pointed at me. “Now where are your sisters?” He asked, taking a strand of my hair in his hand. “You are all so pretty, I would like to see you together.”
“I don’t know.” I replied, teeth chattering from fear.
“Oh come on.” He said “I know your scientist friend helped you all to escape.” He said friend with heavy implications. “You really are prettier than the rest though.” He said stepping impossibly closer, pressing himself against me. I felt the gun press against my neck. “It would be a shame if someone gave up your girlfriend's little secret.” He whispered.
I felt rage bubbling up inside me, replacing my fear. Fight or flight instinct. There was a sudden crashing in the forest behind me. The boy stepped away and pointed the gun at some unknown foe behind me. I didn’t waste a second as I kicked his feet out from under him. He fell flat on his back, the gun skittering out of his hand. He started to get up, but I raised my gun and pulled the trigger, hitting him right between the eyes. He lay still as blood flowed from his head, reflecting the moonlight, just like his eye. I dropped the gun, shocked at what I had just done. I took a step back and stumbled, but someone caught me before I hit the ground.
~Sarah~
Panting, Alison says,
“Oh! I know what was off about that wolf.”
“What?” I say, as my mind was preoccupied with not getting shot.
“The wolf. It had three eyes. Two normal ones, and one above those.”
“Hmmm.” I said vaguely. Just more evidence that we have to get the fuck out of here. We work our way around the edge of the woods, ering to the side without flashlights. After several hundred yards I hear commotion in front of me. I tugged Alison to a stop.
“I know your scientist friend helped you all to escape.” I heard. Against the moonlight I saw two figures standing close together. One was obviously distressed. I dashed forward. Cosima. Before I knew it, a boy was on the ground, a bullet through his head. Bang. Cosima looked down at the gun in her hands, looking shocked. I rushed forward to catch her.
“We have to go Cosima.” I said as I helped her to her feet. I held Cosima’s hand as the three of us rushed away from the quickly approaching flashlights. Cosima seemed to recover as we ducked and ran from the guards. There was a sudden bright light ahead,and the rumbling of an engine. I ran towards it as the others followed. The car looked familiar. It was my car! I raced up the last hill onto the road and flagged the car down. I let out a strangled laugh of relief to see Felix behind the wheel. And Colin in the passenger's seat. I wonder what Felix has told him?
I throw open the back seat and Cosima, Alison, and I pile in.
“Book it” I tell Felix. Gravel crunches under the tires as we peel out. Felix flies over the country road, hands gripped tight to the wheel. Colin places a reassuring hand on Felix’s shoulder, but Felix barely notices. Once we have traveled for fifteen minutes away from the compound with no pursuit, everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
~Alison~
“What the fuck happened to you!?” Felix exclaimed once we hit the highway. Sarah explained the circumstances of our imprisonment as Felix’s friend -Colin someone said- looked on with wide eyes. Not keen on reliving the experience, I turned to Cosima. She didn’t look so well. Normally Cosima would have jumped at the chance to explain the intricacies of the DYAD institute, but instead she stared ahead, a blank look in her eyes.
“You okay Cosima?” I asked. She shook herself of her stupor and looked at me.
“Yeah, it’s just I can’t believe...I...well…” she seemed at a loss for words.
“Killed someone?” I offered. “Yeah, it can have that effect on you.” Cosima looked at me questioningly, but for once did not inquire further. “You just have to go on with life.” I offered. “I have found that there is no use in dwelling in the past.” Cosima bobbed her head, and began to chew on her fingernails again.
“So Helena’s alive?!” Felix exclaimed, breaking my conversation with Cosima.
“Yup.” Sarah paused and looked around the car tensely. “And...I think we need to break her out of the institute.”