Super Bad (Completed 2013)

‡ Chapter 14 ‡

“Yes?” he asked.

“Has the subject reached the end of its training?” a man questioned.

“It has not reached the end of its training, but it is getting—” 

“You have disappointed us, Levi,” another feminine voice stated. 

I sensed his face harden.  “You don’t understand.  This has taken longer than we anticipated.  If you could give us a few more days—”

“No more days,” the male voice boomed again.  Their voices carried a solid force that froze you in place.  I heard a gulp of worry slid down Levi’s throat.  

“The first test will start,” a female icily announced. 

“She isn’t ready!” Levi burst.  I flinched.  His voice shook the room, each echo slowly piecing its way to my comprehension.  They were talking about me.  I was ‘it’.  I was ‘she’.  They called me it.  Was I some monster?

“I suggest you lower yourself, Levi before we vote you out of position,” a man said. 

That fastened his mouth quite fast.  I could tell thousands of foul words were playing in his head and if it weren’t for this democratic system, he’d be letting them splurge.  It however boiled me to believe I was considered an ‘it’. 

A soothing voice said, “We don’t have much time, Levi.  You still have to understand that.”

“I do understand!” he snapped. 

“They are catching onto us!  There are moles in this facility.  How else do you think the whip man got in here and left without a trace?  We need people we trust.”  Then the speaker tilted their head, staring straight at me.  My toes curled.  The lights were against their back, face consumed by blackness—not that it mattered since these people were frightening enough.  “And we need to know if the subject, Project09 is trustworthy.” 

“I am trustworthy!” I shot.  Levi broke his stern gaze and gunned a threatening glare.  Confidence was pumping through my blood.  I continued, “And I prefer not to be called ‘it’ since ‘it’ has a name.”  He placed a hand on my arm, but I flicked him off. 

I wasn’t sure what the Council was going to do and tried not to be frightened by that.  And so one of them finally said, “Levi.  Control the subject before we have to.” 

Something sharp cut into my heart, seizing my lungs.  Commanding to grasp control—alright, but not even saying that to my face and demanding Levi to order me around—was an insult. 

I advanced a furious step.  “Excuse—”

He placed an arm over my chest.  “I apologize for having the subject act this way.  I promise it won’t happen again.” 

“Good,” one spoke. 

“If not we will vote on ending OperationX.”