The Elements Trilogy: The Secondaries

Chapter 57: Metal

Peggy Shay let loose a string of profanities as she desperately tried to open the door leading into the clone wing. After several failed attempts at using her keycard, she raised her shotgun and blasted the lock apart. The doors still didn't budge.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She yanked violently on the handles before turning around to face Evie and myself. "Why won't this door open?"

"Troy must have put the building on lockdown like he said he would. No one is getting in or out of this building, so I guess that means all doors into the main science labs are closed as well." Evie shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"Fuck." Peggy hissed under her breath.

"Two things," I interjected, raising my hand like I was back in high school. "One, while swearing in English is cool and all, I like Spanish a bit more because you have a bit more flexibility with your word choice. You can literally say 'Me cago en tus muertos cabron hijo de puta!', which roughly translates to 'I shit on your dead ancestors, you male goat son of a whore!' and it still sounds cool as hell."

Evie snickered behind me. She didn't know much Spanish, but she had made me teach her all of the curse words and profanities in Spanish, simply so she could swear in class and not be punished.

"And two," I continued, pocketing my pistol. "You don't need keycards to open doors when you can simply do this." I walked up to the door, grabbed both handles, and began pulling with all my strength. Several seconds later, the locked steel doors started groaning and bending under my grip. With one final tug, they popped off their hinges and fell to the floor with a loud clang.

Evie was unsurprised at this, but Peggy's eyes were wide open when I turned around to allow her through the doors.

She stared at me, jaw slightly open, eyes disbelieving.

"What?" I asked, getting slightly uncomfortable.

"I mean, I knew you guys were strong, I just..." She shook her head. "I guess demon blood will do that to you."

"Yeah, I guess so." I said quietly, as Peggy slid by me and through the doors to the cloning lab.

"Hey, Peggy! Wait up!" Evie jolted to attention and scrambled past me in an attempt to catch up to Peggy.

"Yes, dear?" Peggy turned around as Evie slowed to a halt in front of her.

"I uh, I just wanted to say that, uh. He looked like you. Jamie, that is. He had your eyes. And your height. God, that guy was short." Evie chuckled. "He was Skylar's height, Evalynn and I towered over him. And he was funny, at times. When he was with Skylar. He was happy with her for those few months. But I saw him when she wasn't around. He was sad when he thought she couldn't see.

"I think he wanted a proper family. I heard him say once that he missed his team at The Forces, and that they were like his family. But when he could no longer see them, he wanted a real family. A mother. He hated working for The Forces, not only because he had to kill, but because he couldn't know you. He wanted a mom. He thought he didn't know you. But to see you, all he had to do was look in the mirror. I wish he had known that."

Peggy's eyes were bright with tears, and I smacked Evie gently for making her cry.

"Way to go, Scorch!" I mumbled under my breath.

Evie scowled sideways at me, before looking back to Peggy. "I'm sorry. Should I not have said anything?"

"No, no! I am so glad you did. Thank you, it means a lot." Peggy brushed a tear away before it could roll down her cheek, and shouldered her shotgun. "Well then. Are we ready to go deactivate the clones?" She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.