“I don’t trust him,” says Kade, in a low measured tone as we sip coffee in the chill-out area.
Both Kelly and Troy are still sleeping whilst Kade and I talk, “I think he’s genuine, but you’re right to be cautious,” I say. Kade isn’t buying it, “But here’s the thing, when Loopy Logan was here, he said how they’d been searching for the perfect guy for you…” I cut in, “That was my father doing his best to make me feel uncomfortable – and, they wouldn’t want me to know how much my escape had upset their ‘experiment.’ They glossed over my escape, like it was a mere irritation, now I know the truth – I destroyed years, decades even, of The Surgeon’s research and experimental work. I’m actually quite proud of that,” I say.
Kade smiles wide, “Yeah, way to go Tan, that’s the right attitude – I’m real proud of you, too,” he says. He ruffles his hair and sighs real loud, “You know, I have to say, this isn’t easy for me – like I get that you’re a guy, a real nice guy – a guy I get on real good with.” He looks down, then directly at me, “A guy who looks like the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen – surreal,” he smiles and nods his head.
Shoot – I can feel my face start to redden so I try and talk over it, “It’s real warm in here.” Kade cuts in, I note the smirk on his face and really start to burn up, “It’s so not warm in here – are you blushing?” he asks.
I drop my head, “No, of course not…”
He jumps next to me on the couch and drops his head to meet mine, “You so are – I made you blush – that’s so damn cute,” he says with his widest smile.
I stand up and get a fit of the giggles – what the fuck! I’m acting like a cheerleader with a crush – I need to man up. This is serious.
I manage to stifle my giggle, “Look Kade, I need to talk to you about the way I’ve been feeling lately,” I say.
“Orrr, why the serious face, I like the giggly blushing one a whole let better…”
….“Seriously Kade, I think I’m…”
…Kelly bounds into the chill-out area – “I DID IT! OMG – I can talk – lal,lal,lal – you hear that? I’ve got my voice back. You have no idea how frustrating it is not being able to talk – it’s like total torture not being able to communicate naturally.” She pauses and looks at the monitors, “I feel for those guys, I really do.”
“How’d you break the band?” Asks Kade.
“With great difficulty, but let’s not go there,” she says dismissively.
Kade seems suddenly pissed, “No, we will go there! I know you probably tried to choke yourself – that could have so gone wrong. You need to involve us in things like this, Kelly.” He looks at both of us, “We three need to look out for each other – and we need to keep a tight eye on Troy,” he says.
Kelly sighs as she hits the couch, “Trust me, you don’t need to tell me to keep an eye on him – he’s seriously gorgeous,” she says, making a swooning gesture.
Kade stands up, “I’m serious here. We have to be constantly vigilant and watch Troy for any suspicious signs. I’m pretty sure he’s valid, but something on my shoulder’s telling me to not fully trust him.”
Kelly rolls her eyes, “Hmm, would that something on your shoulder be the green eyed monster?” She asks.
Kade looks confused, “What do you mean?”
“Your jealous of Troy,” she says.
Kade looks hurt, “Hey, come on Kel, you know jealousy isn’t something I waste time on – you know me better than that,” he says.
Kelly jumps up, “Well, there’s a first time for everything. Anyways, I’m gonna go take a shower and I make no apologies for singing at the top of my voice.”
……
Kade ruffles his hair, “I’m so not jealous; I just find it real hard to believe that he was bred to be your husband, it takes arrange marriages to a whole new level…”
…We both swivel when we hear Troy’s dulcet tones, “I know, it’s preposterous, isn’t it?” He says, entering the chill-out area, looking unfeasibly good for someone who has just woken up.
Kade stands up, a little flustered, “Oh, good morning Troy, did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did, thank you.”
“Would you like some coffee?” Asks Kade, while heading toward the kitchen.
“I would rather tea, iced if you have it?” he asks, rubbing his throat, “I fear I may be getting a slight cold, my throat hurts a little,” he says, with a kind of apologetic smile.
……
Troy breaks an awkward silence while we sip our drinks, “I understand completely that I will have to work hard to earn your trust. All my life I've been unfortunate enough to witness the horrors that take place in the name of science at the overseas facility. I lived in a never ending cycle of paranoia and fear, never knowing who or what to trust.”
Kade begins to soften, “Ok, I hear you buddy.”
Troy looks confused, “You hear buddy – I hear nothing,” he says, listening intently.
We smile, “Buddy is an American term, it means ‘friend’ – I hear what you’re saying, friend,” explains Kade.
Troy displays a perfect smile, “I have a lot to learn in this new world,” he says, looking around in wide, blue-eyed wonder.
……
Kelly bounces into the chill-out area, full of energy and loving the sound of her voice, “Hi Troy, I can now welcome you into our home properly.” She points to his bandaged hand, “How’s that feeling?” She asks.
“The pain is receding, thank you for attending to me,” he coughs and reaches for his throat, “my throat hurts more to tell you the truth.”
“Ahhh, a sore throats bad, but it’s a good excuse for ice-cream,” says Kelly, heading toward the refrigerator.
As the conversation flows, I think we’re all beginning to relax more. I’m beginning to feel that Troy really is legitimate and not a Surgeon spy. He talks with such openness and shares so much about his wretched life that I find myself wanting him to experience the joys that come with freedom.
Troy deserves some happiness in his life.
……
While Kelly and Troy continue to flirt (they’re not really flirting, more like genuinely enjoying each others company, it’s actually real nice to observe,) Kade and I swap knowing glances that say – he’s ‘genuine.’
I can so see a connection, a mutual attraction between Troy and Kelly. In fact, I can feel the electricity sparking between them – lol.
……
Watching Kelly and Troy connect and converse I feel suddenly empowered. Our escape, plus the breaking of the vocal bands are small triumphs over The Surgeon and her sick science. Kelly said that ‘to win a war, we have to start one’ and I believe these triumphs are the genesis of a war that we can win.
……
The four of us are bonding over cola and conversation; we all agree that Troy’s accent is really nice to listen to, “You sound so royal,” says Kelly, full of newfound affection.
……
We’re all distracted by a sudden intrusion on the monitors: REQUEST FOR ACCESS flashes repeatedly across the screen.
“The Surgeon or her people want to communicate with us. There’s no cause for concern, we’re in control,” Kade explains to a visibly worried Troy.
……
We all sit together on the couch as Kade presses the remote to allow access.
I always flinch when I see her – The Surgeon looms large on all the monitors. Troy instinctively stands and lowers his head like a passive subject bowing before his queen, “It’s OK Troy, she can’t see us, only hear us, so don’t talk,” says Kelly, guiding him back onto the couch with a gentle hand.
She’s sitting at a desk and dressed in a white shirt and a fitted black jacket; her hair is tied back and her face is immaculately made up. She looks just like those sun-shiny anchors that greet you warmly on TV shows like Good Morning America.
She smiles and begins: “I thank you warmly for allowing me this time to speak with you. As you will see, the Love Rush is almost complete. This means that we are getting ever closer to the momentous occasion that will be The Wedding of our Daughter Brigitte to her betrothed Charles. Accordingly, I would like to call your attention to a number of preparatory events that you should be aware of. Firstly, a delegation under the leadership of Professor Merton will be arriving on site tomorrow to inspect and continue to prepare the site for our many guests.”
During a brief pause, Kade asks, “Is this Wedding one of your sick experiments?”
She dismisses his question with a smile and continues: “Secondly, I would like to say a very big HELLO to Troy,” she says with a happy hand wave.
NO! Please don’t say we’ve been DUPED – again.
I can’t look at Troy; I just keep repeating the word ‘NO’ over and over in my head.
Her pause is long enough to bring us out in a sweat. I don’t want to look at her, so I lower my head as she continues: “I should commend you for your escape, I confess, we didn’t notice the loss of your GPS signal. What we did notice with a great deal of excitement was the breaking of your vocal chord band; followed just hours later by Kelly’s. Both of these events caused the alarm systems in our I.D.L (Infectious Disease Laboratory) to sound loudly,” again she pauses to let us absorb her words.
Kade doesn’t wait, “What are you saying?” He asks, impatiently.
I steal a look at her, she’s beaming with pride – this isn’t good.
She continues: “My Infectious Disease Laboratory works on the development of new viruses to create highly contagious and deadly diseases,” she laughs, “you will be surprised who pays good money for them. Anyway, I digress. My team implanted one such virus within the microscopic confines of the vocal chord bands. Breaking the bands releases this virus into the bloodstream, infecting the individual with a highly aggressive disease. All of the workers that you see on the screens will have their bands broken tomorrow, to enable us to study and monitor the progression of this new disease. According to our schedule, they will all die, in excruciating pain, the day after The Wedding.”
She gives us another smiling pause before continuing: “Troy and Kelly, although your deaths will be ugly and you will suffer greatly, you should be very honored and proud – you will be the very first human beings to die of this new disease.”
Her voice rises an octave as she continues: “Kade, you should also be proud for being the person who has released this virus into the human race. Also, Tanya and Kade, in effect you are now part of my research team. As such you will have the privilege of being the first people to monitor the devastating affects this new disease will have – I’m happy to have you both working for me.”
Kade stands up, “You’re FUCKING SICK!” He shouts.
She smiles, “No, I’m not sick – Troy and Kelly are. It’s such a shame they won’t make The Wedding.”