Mutations:
~ Chapter Forty Four ~
"Now is not the time, Ripper."
"No. There never is a time for me, is there?"
The man didn't look like the psychotic, evil genius, everyone made him out to be. I expected him to be old; dressed in tweed, and proper haired, maybe even a mustache.
Ripper was everything except from the mental image I had of him. He was young, or younger than I had imagined he would be.
Ripper was tall with a lean figure and wavy dark hair, it shaped his face and brushed against his sharp jawline at the front but was short at the back. He didn't look like a maniac. The man who created us looked like he had all the knowledge of this world hidden behind his dark eyes.
"We're running out of time." Emma's tone was hoarse with nerves and her face was pinched with frustration. She didn't know what to say, or what to do, "We have to leave, now."
Zero's gaze flickered towards the slim blonde for a fraction of a second before it landed back on me, intent clear as day in her eyes, but I didn't know what she had planned. Whatever it was, it had to be something of Ripper's creation.
"I can help you." Ripper offered smoothly, resting a hand on Zero's shoulder. The girl immediately loosened her stance, and even relaxed a little, "I helped create the security details for this bunker, I could help you out right now. Or, I can leave myself, and seal you in here."
He already sounded like a devil who wanted to make a deal.
The threat tasted bitter in the air, hanging heavy over everyone's heads. No one wanted to accept his help but there was no choice, Eric didn't trust him, and any other day I would fall in line with his perception, but things had changed; I couldn't stay here any longer than I must.
It was the blood.
Under my nails, soaked into the fabric of my clothes, matted in my hair...it's stench covered every inch of me. The metallic tang made my stomach turn; I could still taste it in my mouth, dripping from my chin. No, staying here wasn't an option for me. And not for Five either, I could see it on his face.
Questions; all of them bad, void of any relieving answers. The same as me.
"How do we get out?" Two was the one who spoke, he knew it was the question we all wanted to ask. The only thing that stopped Five, Three and I was our handlers scorn but he was free of that now. He ignored Eric's cold stare and stepped forward, "Show us the way. Now."
Ripper blinked in amazement, and a smile crossed over his features. Not a nice smile; too curious, he reminded me too much of a cunning fox for me to feel at ease, "Subject Number Two." Was all he said, not a greeting but more of an observation, "Follow us."
"How did he know who you are?" I hissed to Two, who clamped on hand down on my shoulder. Eric gritted his teeth but didn't look at all surprised, "He created you, your DNA sequence. Ripper knows you better than you do." He muttered striding ahead of us, instead of objecting.
"You want us to go with him?" Five demanded incredulously, Ander leaned heavily against him and let out a small scoff, "You think we have another option, kid? Ripper knows he's got us by the ball- throats.." He complained bitterly, a darkness eating away at his usual flamboyant composure.
Zero walked behind Ripper, who walked through the dim corridors as if he owned them. Maybe he did, once upon a time. She kept her sharp-eyed gaze on me, only taking it away every now and then to glance at her surroundings; it made me wonder if Zero had ever been out her cage for this long before.
I could see that she was hyper-aware of almost everything. Like her eyes were incapable of staying on one thing before they switched over landing on something new, and the complete opposite direction.
"You've progressed marvelously." I heard Ripper drawl from ahead, "All of you; a somewhat grand success. I can't fathom why they would ever want to try and replicate you."
"Be quiet, Ripper." Eric barked without pause, "You came here for Subject Zero; you got her."
Ripper's gaze slid past Zero's white head and towards me, "Perhaps not all I came for." He proposed cocking his head a little, "Breath taking. You look just like her."
"He must be talking to you." Five observed confidently, narrowing his gaze at Ripper, "Because I do not look like a she."
Eric paced forward until he was side by side with Ripper, his face the perfect mask of annoyance, "Don't talk to them." He growled in a low voice, even Three's brows rose at the warning in his tone.
"Alright, calm down, old friend." Ripper mused like they were decade old siblings having a silly fight, "So, tell me; what is your plan? Once you make it out of here. Have you got somewhere to take them, somewhere safe?"
I watched as Hayden exchanged a tense glance with Eric and frowned at the sight of it. Two gave us concerned look but replaced his focus on the conversation I'm sure that Eric didn't want us to hear.
"None of your business, Rip." Emma muttered lowly, keeping her eyes sharp on every turn we made, "Just because we don't have your brains, or awards, doesn't mean we're useless."
The noise Ripper made at the back of his throat suggested that he disagreed, "Yes, it does. But, luckily for you heathens; I have a plan, in fact, I came here with a plan." He turned to Eric, and a silent message seemed to pass between them that made my handler inhale sharply, "And you know how I feel about my plans."
"I know they always have consequences." Eric accused with an agitated shake of his head, "And they never help the big picture. Always just yourself. So tell me, why should we trust you, Ripper?"
Three stepped to my side, his hand lighting wrapping around my wrist and I took the hint. I knew that Three was protective of me but by now I knew better than to question it, so I just let Three stand beside me and glower at nothing.
"Tell me what happened." I asked him, quiet enough for just him to hear. Three wouldn't sugarcoat it like Two would try to, or anyone else. We were power walking through the corridors, and all I could see was, blood and bodies, "Did I do all this?"
Three threw me an incredulous glance, "You're not that impressive." He muttered bluntly, I hated how he said things sometimes. Was that supposed to make me feel insulted, or relieved? I believed that it was the latter, "You, and Five killed a handful. They mostly killed each other."
"Then where is everyone?" I demanded knowing that they couldn't all be dead or unconscious. This base was brimming with bodies and people just don't disappear, "I don't know. A lot happened." Three admitted, his voice was getting stronger and I could feel through the bond that he was healing quickly.
"You're taking us to the basement. We were going that way anyway." Hayden stated as the door to the stairwell was yanked open, "We don't need your help."
Ripper ignored Hayden like she was a voice in the wind, "The door in the basement is complicated, too much for even you, Emma." He drawled trotting down the stairs and he grinned, "I'll get us out because, shock and marvel, I copied myself a key card that no one can override."
I hated how cold it was, and how dark it was. It felt like it took forever for us to reach the bottom but when we did, Three was almost carrying me because of how quickly we were moving; from walking to running within a split second because everyone was so eager to get out.
And yet, Ripper didn't loo frazzled at all.
"I have conditions, you know." The creator himself suddenly announced, "That is, if you want me to open that door."
The door in question was huge with a mounted steel arch and a series of deadlocks on it. In the center of the intricate lock system was a card slot with, it was only once everyone noticed it that Ripper produced a silver card from his pocket and wiggled it a little.
"I want to see my creations." Ripper stated, losing his playful demeanor for a second, "I want access to my Splices. I am the only one that can help them, the only one capable of fully understanding them because I designed them."
Eric done it so quickly that I could have sworn that he never even glanced at me in the first place before he stripped his gun from his holster, and aimed it at Ripper's head but just as quickly, Zero kicked it away. She moved like a blur.
One minute, Eric was standing in front of Ripper but the next; she had Eric pined against the wall with a ferocious growl.
"Six!" Two shouted but I couldn't stop myself. I was shoving Zero away from Eric without even having to think about it, she stumbled backwards more in shock that anything, "No!" I snapped at her, putting all my anger into one growl that vibrated through my entire body.
I inhaled sharply as I tried to catch my breath but instead I caught something else. The scent hung thick in the air and it was so unusual that I wanted to drown myself in it. It was familiar, like nothing else I had ever smelled before; close, warm...comforting.
"It's you." I stated turning to Ripper, who watched me through curious eyes. The smell was wrapped around him, embedded in his skin, and drawing me to him, "What is that?"
Everything I've smelled is like someone, or something but Ripper had a different scent. It was him. Not like a usual scent that identifies someone to me; but something inside that drew me to him.
"I used my own DNA to complete your biological sequence." Ripper shrugged which made any words halt on my tongue. I expected a half-hidden answer, something that would make me work for the answer, "Which is why you're needed so much; you're more valuable than all your pack."
So... we shared similar DNA. Some of it was the same. Did that make us pack members?
"Because they knew he would come for you." Three murmured in my ear and he cleared his throat, "There might be more key indications to our chemistry because...he's part of you."
Ripper only raised his brows with a slight smirk, "The analyst I always wanted." He commented before tapping Zero on the shoulder and she loyally slipped back behind him, like a dog, "I need you all as much as you need me. Now, do you still want me to open that door, or shall we just all stare at its beauty?"
"I know you, Ripper." Eric's tone was eerily calm, the dangerous calm like before the storm hit, "I didn't trust you then, and I don't trust you now."
My lips parted in amazement as the door made a low whirring noise before a series of snaps of metal, and the door parted from its seal. The fresh air slipped across my tongue almost instantly, like a new candy that I was suddenly addicted to.
'Move.' Two's command was followed almost immediately as we moved forward through the narrow door that led into an arched passage way made completely from moist stone. The air felt suffocating in here, like it was all condensed, 'Five, go ahead. Three, keep alert, and Six, smell for bodies.'
Ander yelled out when Five was suddenly gone, and Emma hissed when Three slipped away from her and in front of me, so he now stood behind Two. It was so narrow that we could only walk in single file; so, we had to prioritize our enhanced abilities. But we also had to protect our alpha.
And that was Two; for the time being.
It didn't take long for Five to return, he was barley breathless and smelled like crisp fresh air. Autumn. I could smell the damp earth on the bottom of his bare feet; I imagined that it was soft, cool, and indescribably invigorating to touch.
"It's not far." Five was wide eyed, as if he had seen the sun for the first time, "It's not far at all."
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