Joan Ascends

Chapter 12: Don't let them shut you out

Joseph's face is covered in mottled, purple bruises. His gums are bleeding. He's in a cell, huddled on a cot in the fetal position. His body begins convulsing, and he throws up blood.

Voices are yelling, and someone calls for an ambulance. Officer Ben rushes into the cell, grabs Joseph's shoulders, and says something to him that I can't make out. No ambulance will help Joseph now. He's dead.

Go now, before this comes to pass. You need to hear what he has to say.

I come to, gasping, on the floor of the Bunker. The urgency of the vision is still pumping through me, and I grab the keys to the motorcycle and race out of the Lab.

Speeding through downtown traffic, my mind races. Joseph is suffering from H2IV. It's easy to recognize the signs that I experience myself every day. Did he come into contact with an Evolved? Or is this Strand?

I skid to a stop in front of the station, and Officer Ben is at the front door, waiting for me.

"Kid's in rough shape," he says, not even pausing for a greeting. "I think he'll need a hospital before we can arrest him."

"Call an ambulance; don't wait. Trust me," I tell him. "And get me to his cell now."

Officer Ben knows me well enough not to question the urgency in my voice. He calls for an ambulance while rushing me to a holding cell toward the back of the station.

Curled on a cot, exactly as he was in my vision, is Joseph. His eyes meet mine, and I can't tell if he recognizes me or not.

"Listen, you asshole, you don't deserve this, but I'm giving it to you anyway. Shut up and take it," I tell him, pulling a vial of the H2IV antidote out of my pocket.

Joseph tries to reach for it, but his fingers are too clumsy. Instead, I pour it down his throat and watch him swallow.

"How'd you get this?" Joseph rasps.

"None of your fucking business. Tell me what you know."

"Been in Strand's labs since Crew died," he says, and his voice cracks. "They did stuff to me. Horrible stuff."

His face spasms as if he's remembering something awful. It's hard not to feel sympathy. Joseph is a monster, but something tells me he's had to pay for his sins, with interest.

"How did you get out? I know they didn't let you go."

"They got some kind of Throwback genius back there that they're holding hostage. Don't know how she did it but she was able to get me through four layers of security and out a back exit. She was with me almost till the end. Then they hit her with a doozy of a headache and she collapsed."

"And you just left her there," I say, not hiding my disgust. Joseph must be talking about Lozen. Lexi said she was a master at escaping.

"I had to get out! I couldn't take any more! Couldn't even kill myself! Anyway, that girl still had her chip, so there was no way for her to escape. But Crew disconnected mine months ago, so once I got far enough away, they couldn't kill me or track me."

Joseph starts coughing, spitting blood onto his pillow.

"What did they want with you?"

His eyes meet mine. "I'm gonna die without more of that antidote."

"Which is what you deserve."

"Maybe. But if you keep me alive, I can tell you everything I found in there. And there's something else. Something I can do that helped me escape."

His eyes drift over to the officer guarding his cell. The man suddenly starts turning in circles, and then hops from foot to foot. My gaze goes from the man to Joseph and back again as a horrible realization hits me. Joseph is controlling this man's movements.

Joseph's head falls back on his pillow, and he's barely conscious. He sees the look on my face and grins. His teeth are bloody from tiny tears in his gums.

"Don't wet your pants. It takes so much of my energy that I can barely walk, and I can only control one person at a time. It's practically useless."

I can think of about a thousand ways that's not true, but I don't voice any of them. "This dose should last you a couple days. I'll come back and let you know what we've decided to do with you. And if you use your power again, for any reason, I will let you die."

Joseph doesn't answer. The paramedics rush in with a stretcher, and I move out of the way. Joseph will survive today, thanks to me. If only I was sure that I made the right choice.

~ ~ ~

Office Ben and I settle into his office and I give him an update on Joseph, as well as some highlights about what we're working on at the Chrysalis. Naturally, I leave out the parts that involve some gray areas when it comes to the law, such as hacking into Strand's systems and gathering a stash of weapons in case we have to defend ourselves from a physical attack. Officer Ben and I might be friendly, but he's still Evolved, and a cop.

"I've got officers I trust doing regular patrols by the Chrysalis. We'll be close if anyone tries to bother you," he promises.

"There's one other thing you should know. That guy you brought in today, Joseph Macks, has H2IV."

Officer Ben heaves a sigh. "Then he's a dead man."

"Not exactly. Lexi has an antidote that staves off the virus, but it has to be taken every few days. I have a stash of the antidote, but not enough to last for long, especially with both of us taking it."

"Both of you...Joan, no," he says, and his face drains of color. "Does Governor Woods know?"

"You can tell her; it's not exactly a secret. My friends are sure that we'll be able to replicate Lexi's antidote, but I have my doubts. I want you to promise me that you'll help my friends after I'm gone."

"You don't have to ask that. It's what I would do anyway."

"It might be harder than you think. You're Evolved, and their trust only goes so far. But we need Evolved allies like you and E if we want to achieve real change. I want to know that you'll take the initiative to get involved, and don't let them shut you out."

Officer Ben's eyes are a little glassy when he replies. "Joan, you saved my life. I know you don't consider that a debt that I need to repay, but knowing you has changed me for the better in many ways. And you have my word that your friends will have allies in law enforcement whenever they need it."

"Thank you. I'll be back in a couple of days with more antidote for Joseph. Will he still be here?"

"Probably for a few more weeks, until he goes to trial."

"Make sure you keep at least two officers guarding him at all times. This virus has a weird effect on some of us. In Joseph's case, it gives him the ability to control a person, and I don't know the limits of his power."

Officer Ben's eyes go round with shock. "The guards shouldn't be armed, in that case. Joseph could have one shoot the other."

That scenario never crossed my mind, and it makes me want to puke. The only thing stopping Joseph from causing serious harm is my threat that I won't give him more of the antidote. Which makes me like Lexi, blackmailing someone by holding their life in my hands.

Maybe Joseph deserves to suffer, but having so much in common with Lexi still settles like lead in my stomach.