All That Remains

06. Elias

The Risen don't scream.

But, how could that be possible? He had heard them. He'd lost count of the nights he stayed awake, listening to the sounds of pain that wafted through the warehouse. He'd spent far too many hours blocking Eden's ears and singing to her so she wouldn't have to endure it.

Unless...

"No." He shook his head furiously as though he could rid himself of Jae's revelation. "You're wrong. They do, I've heard them."

"Elias, you saw the ones outside." Her face had finally softened. She was no longer looking at him with that hard glare of hers. Instead, her oddly coloured eyes were filled with pity. "They're basically robots with their settings stuck on 'kill'. They aren't capable of feeling pain."

"But, if they don't then that means-," he stopped abruptly, the implication hitting him with all the subtlety of a twenty-tonne lorry going full speed. The sympathy on Jaelynn's face reinforced how serious this was.

His knees buckled from under him and he fell to the tiled floor as though he could no longer stand under the heavy weight of the truth. Pain shot up his legs but he ignored it as he brought his shaking hands up to his face. He choked back a sob, unable to believe how stupid he had been.

Everything started sliding into place. He had always wondered how Lorenzo managed to catch The Risen as they were so much stronger than humans. It also explained why the experiments were done at night, so that no one else would see.

People.

Lorenzo and Delta were removing the chips from people. They were killing them, all in the name of experimentation. All those nights when he lay awake listening to the screams; he was hearing someone being tortured to death.

Did his father know?

He hoped not. He couldn't bear the thought of his father being involved in something like this. But Emmanuel was essentially Lorenzo's right-hand man; it was entirely possible that he was aware of what was happening. And what about everyone else? Was Elias the only one blind enough to believe Lorenzo's lies?

Lorenzo had always made him uncomfortable, and now Elias knew why. It had nothing to do with his greasy hair or sinister grin. Lorenzo was a killer, worse than the Risen. The Risen were controlled by the technology that lived in their brains. Lorenzo didn't have the chip to use as an excuse. He was a monster.

"No," he whispered into his hands.

"I'm sorry." Jaelynn awkwardly patted his back. He could tell it had been a long time since she had to comfort someone. He looked up. Her eyes were darting around the kitchen as though she was determined not to meet his gaze.

He didn't bother to respond, shaking off her touch and climbing back to his feet. He angrily wiped his tear stained cheeks with the back of his hand and cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the betrayal he felt.

He had shown her, once again, that he was weak and he hated himself for it.

"I'm fine," he muttered. But his actions contradicted his words. His hands curled into fists and he began to tremble with rage, loathing Lorenzo with every fibre of his being. "I just can't believe they would do this. How do they even know who has chips and who doesn't?"

"They probably don't," she answered quietly, her words shattering the last of his resolve.

"Damn it!" He turned to face the wall, slamming his fist as hard as he could against the ugly beige paint. The action sent a sharp pain pulsing through his knuckles and he drew his hand back quickly, cradling it against his chest. His eyes squeezed shut as though he could block out the ache currently throbbing through his fingers. "Ouch."