Inhuman (OLD VERSION; UNFINISHED - SEE NEW BOOK)

Chapter 7 - Jay

I knock twice, then three times, pause, then knock once more. Looking left and right, the entire alley way is deserted as was most of this area of the city. It was once the centre for care that was abandoned when the newer hospitals were finished. Since then it had fallen into disrepair, a home for the ones who didn't think much of the government, but didn't care to stand up to it either.

I hear the slide of a deadbolt and the rusted door starts to swing forward. A dim light inside shows the outline of a man, heavily muscled and over six foot with dirty blonde hair falling to his shoulders. His eyes look me over, searching for anything that could make me a risk.

"She's expecting me" I say letting the impatience seep through my voice. He pauses to look me over once more and after a moment, steps back, beckoning me in with a nod of his head. Glancing one last time down the alley, I walk through the door which closes behind me.

The smell of damp furnishings washes over me and I recoil. The lights are dim but they illuminate the peeling paint on the walls and holes in the concrete. Papers litter the wooden floor which rises and falls, warped from years of rain and neglect. Several rooms branch off showing glimpses of the rusted frames of beds and remains of mattresses and sheets. It was here the people who had entered the final stages of the virus were once housed to live out the rest of their days, it was where people came to die.

Light streams in from a room up ahead and I maneuver around the loose floorboards and rubbish towards it. My eyes sting as they adjust to the natural light that filters in from a window, a stark contrast to the dim glow of the lights in the hall that flicker orange more than yellow.

Sitting in one of two chairs with her legs crossed, she swirls a glass filled with amber liquid and ice. Like most of the people who work in positions of power she wears grey, a neutral colour. The sleeveless dress follows her form to just above knees showing off her lean frame and leaving little to the imagination. Her hair is shorter than the last time we met, now cropped to above her shoulders. She looks up to meet my gaze, the green in her eyes startling against the dark brown of her skin. Her lips spread into a smile and a gentle laugh escapes her raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

"When I heard that a member of the resistance was seeking my help on such a suicide mission, I just knew it had to be you Jay" she says drawing out the last few words, her voice calm and smooth like a warm blade through butter.

"And how did you know that it just had to be me, Avery?" I tease just as warmly, moving to sit in the chair opposite her. I knew Avery well and had done so for years. Despite being a year younger, she had one of the sharpest minds I'd ever known. She also had power that others wanted, and she enjoyed dangling it before them like bait on a hook.

"Do you really want me to answer truthfully, Jay?"

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you" I respond and she lets out small laugh. She pauses for a moment, her eyes latching on to mine with a fierce intensity.

"Because only an idiot would try to steal one of the most watched play things out from under the nose of our government, and who else is willing to play cat and mouse with his own life more that you?" This time I'm the one that laughs because she has me.

"You're right"

"Obviously"

"But this time it's different"

"That's what you said the last time we worked together" she cuts in sharply "and look what happened there." Silence follows as we stare at one another, her words falling on me like a pile of bricks. Her face doesn't betray her , but I know mine does and I look away. Anger rips through me because I know she is right. The last time we tried to save someone, the government had found their way there first.

Over the past forty years, a resistance had grown both in and out of the cities, a free people who had fought back when they had discovered the truth about our government who called themselves The government. It was our resistance that had discovered it was our so called leaders who were responsible for the continuation of the virus.

Any time a cure had been close, people had been murdered and the resistance had been blamed. It had effectively turned the cities against us who thought we were against finding a cure when in fact it was the people they looked to as leaders. To fight back, we had planted people in key positions to try and beat the government at their own game. It was how we had found many new supporters, how we had found Sarah, and the reason why she was dead.

"Last time we took too long and were sloppy with our plans" I say, deciding the truth was more likely to work with Avery rather than a plea. "We trusted people who betrayed us, people who let the government know about our plans. It won't be like that this time"

"I support what you're doing Jay" she offers, her face showing a momentary glimpse of sympathy. "I just need to know what makes you so certain that this time, the people putting their lives on the line are making a worthwhile risk."

"I understand" I say knowing full well that the last attempt made saw two of our own people killed as well as Sarah.

"Do you?" she says sternly and half amused, leaning forward in her chair as though talking down to a child.

"Yes, I do" I say almost spitting the words at her. "They're becoming messy, making mistakes and taking out people left, right and centre. It means we're getting close, it means we're making them uncomfortable. If ever there was a time for us to make our move, it's now, and getting this person to safety is the biggest blow we can deliver. We need this". I feel my chest rise and fall. I'd been speaking so fast I hadn't even considered taking a breath. She glares at me and I flinch, but I refuse to drop her gaze. Her eyes bore into mine as though drilling deeper for secrets.

"I'll get you the support you need" she says finally, a blend of annoyance and curiosity coating her voice "if you can tell me what makes this one person worth risking a dozen other lives?"

"She-"

"And" she says cutting me off "if I do this for you, know it isn't for free. I expect something in return"

"Name it"

"Oh I don't know what it is yet" she says teasing "but I expect you to honour our arrangement whenever I call upon you for it".

Her eyes focus on my own, piercing, as though forcing me to process the full extent of her words. A woman in her position had access to an unlimited number of things and I tried to think of what she could get from me that she couldn't get herself. The most significant thing I had was passage to and from the city, something she could only access through the resistance on the outside. If thats what she wanted it could be arranged, but it seemed too simple. No, knowing Avery, what she wanted would be extensive, something she couldn't access as easy, something that would be strenuous and costly.  An image of Beth flashes through my mind from the first day I saw her, innocent in a game she didn't know was being played. If it was my life in exchange for hers, then I could live with that knowledge, or die for it I guess.

"I agree to your terms" I say, showing no sign of the concern brewing within me or offering knowledge of the extent of my promise. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle as she leans back in her chair somehow looking more in power than she had just moments before, a smile threatening at the corners of her lips.

"So tell me Jay" she says through contained delight, eyes shining with a new intensity, "what do you need?"