Liberation (Remnants of Men)

Chapter 11: At Daggers Drawn

    

   Everyone brought out their first aid kit and began to empty their methylated spirits into the bottles. Runner tore a piece of white cloth and soaked it in the inflammable liquid. He forced it into the mouth of the bottle and held it in place with a bottle stopper.

“This is a bad idea,” Legion grunted. “We should forget about them and continue. They made their choice when they decided to stray away.”

Runner gazed at her, “We must look after each other to survive or else we would all die here.” He took his gaze down and noticed the red light on his wristband flashing, “They are monitoring us through these bands on our wrist. They expect us to fail and die worthlessly, but we should prove them wrong.”

Slim Jim gathered all the Molotov cocktails they had made and brought it to Runner, making five in all. It was enough for what was planned. The boy turned to leave but Runner held fast to the edge of his fabric.

“I need to talk to you, in private,” he said.

Slim Jim lent Runner his right arm and helped him to his feet. “What is it?” he asked as they walked to one dark corner of the shelter.

Runner looked around to make sure, Legion, Big Edd, and Dope, were busy making the preparations. He didn’t know if he could trust Jimmy with the warning Olivia had passed to him, but the boy hasn’t proved to be untrustworthy.

“You once told me that your parents owned Nexus Pharmaceuticals.”

Slim Jim nodded in a yes.

“And you mentioned that you discovered something sinister about their testing, what was it?” Runner asked.

Slim Jim glanced at him and remained silent for a moment. Runner understood why the boy felt reluctant to spill his secret. They might have built a quick friendship, but trust was something that was hard to give or receive. There was only one way to free Slim Jim’s tongue.

Runner sank his hand in his pocket and brought out Olivia’s letter. “Take a look at this,” he showed it to Slim Jim.

The boy read it quickly and was indifferent. He did not seem surprised and handed the letter back to Runner.

“What is it?” Runner put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

Slim Jim slide with his back against the wall until his buttocks hit the ground. A sudden gloom came over him, as if the world was about to end, but the world has ended once before and there was nothing worse that hasn’t already being done.

“Runner,” he said, “We are all going to die.”

Runner squatted beside him, “you’ve got to tell me what you know.”

He gazed at Runner with the corner of his eyes and then spoke, “Two years ago, while taking a tour of my parents company, I stumbled into a testing facility and what I saw, Runner…what I saw…”

“What did you see?” Runner seemed eager.

“They were men but they…they looked more like…animals. It was like their mind was taken from them. I was so captivated in the moment that I forgot I was inside the facility and then one of them came at me. He was pale, eyes red with rage, but too healthy to be a sickly man.”

Runner observed that Jimmy’s hand was trembling and he held it still to calm him down. “I realise that this is a bad memory, but I need to know, so please continue.”

Slim Jim rubbed his palms together and clasped them over his mouth as If he was cold. “The man caught my neck and tried to strangle me. He was so strong like nothing I have ever seen. Thick red veins grew on his face, mostly around his eyes and then I grabbed a scalpel from a table and drove it into his neck. Even while struggling with death, he caught my ankle, so determined to tear me apart until guards in hazmat suits came in and incinerated him.”