• Chapter Eleven •
Awkward Questions
After what happened with the Mnemosyne, Cael wanted to find some sort of normalcy. He asked Garver and Reena about the members of the Cipher and who all resided in the Drey. Cael wanted to know if there was any way he could view all of the current residents of the Drey. Garver presented him with a tablet with a database of the residents and their relevant information. Being able to take notes on them was more Cael's speed.
"I figured that we would need something like that so that we know who should and shouldn't be in the Drey," Garver explained as he sat across from Cael in the study, setting a familiar looking suitcase on the table. "Now we can cross-check with other sections of the Cipher if a member moves from one state to another. This database is part of a larger one."
Cael looked up from his writing to look over the suitcase. It was the same he had taken from his house after he had killed Clarice. "There's a lock on it. Did you get it open?"
Garver grinned, rubbing his hands together before opening the suitcase up. "Is grass green? Take a look." He turned the suitcase around, and Cael set aside the notepad, pen, and tablet that he was using. Inside of the suitcase, he found three empty placements where vials should be, and next to them were four more placements with full vials—it was the same liquid that Reena had shown him at the Ruins. Under that were three syringes filled with a clear liquid that Cael wasn't sure that he wanted to know about. And at the underside of the case was a scalpel, dagger, and an empty placement for a gun.
Cael took a deep breath as he ran his hand across the vials, and Garver interrupted his moment. "Do you think you could use those vials and turn the serum into a weapon for us? If you could, Treb and I could either re-purpose a gun with serum bullets or put together a gun that could shoot darts of it."
After pulling out a vial, Cael examined it. "I could try, but...I would need a test subject to make sure it works." He shifting in his seat uncomfortably, wondering if that would mean a slipping back into old ways that he didn't know he had, but for a different team. He was unsure that anyone would want to sign up for that, especially if they had history with the Syndicate via Pro-Oct. "And I would suggest the darts. If we wanted to injure them severely, I imagine a regular bullet to the head would work just as well."
Garver laughed. "A man kills his girlfriend and is suddenly hot and ready for a fatal blow." Cael returned the vial back to its place and closed the suitcase, a hard stare holding Garver hostage. Garver coughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Don't ever joke about that shit again. I did what I had to. It's over."
"I'm sorry, man. Wasn't thinking."
Cael nodded, tapping his knuckles on the suitcase and changing the subject. "I'll get on this as soon as I can. I just need to know where I'd be able to do the work. For right now..." He pulled his tablet and notepad towards him. "I need a favor. It's good that there is a database, but I'd like to talk personally with some of the successful test subjects and some of the Original Alusek. If the Mnemosyne doesn't help me remember everything, it would be good to know patterns. That way, I may be able to discern what I did in the first place so that I can reverse it somehow."
Garver nodded in understanding, leaning into the table and folding his hands together on the surface. "Got it. Do you have a list of people you'd like to speak to? I can let them know, no problem."
"I do." Cael flipped a page on his notepad, reading off his list. "The Original Alusek that I'd like to see are: Fieri, Saisil, Zsuli, and of course, Sabin. As for the test subjects, I'd like to see: Andrea, Imogen, Oscar, and...Reena." He passed the list over to Garver as a grin was spreading over the young man's face.
"You just want a reason to ask her personal questions."
"I just thought that it would make sense to ask her a couple questions since she's one of the first successes. That's all."
It was clear from the way Garver pursed his lips that he didn't believe Cael, but he decided to keep that to himself. "I take it that you want to start with her."
"No..." Cael ran a hand through his hair. "We can start with Andrea Varrano...and then Reena. Also, I noticed that a picture wasn't uploaded to Andrea's profile."
"Okay," Garver laughed, starting to stand up. "And I forgot to have him upload one. I'll get on that. Also, Andrea might be...a little jittery around you at first. Don't take it personal, he's mostly comfortable around Sabin, Treb, Clef, and the Phelps."
Cael nodded and kept this in mind. "Of course. I'll just have a few questions." Garver seemed to be contacting Andrea and about to leave when Cael stopped him. "Hey, Garver. Do you have any idea why...why I was the only one able to interact with anything in the Mnemosyne?"
Garver paused and turned around, shrugging with an apologetic look on his face. "I don't know, man, I'm sorry. I mean, it's some real Chosen One shit...even though I don't really believe in that stuff." He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "But...you know what I do believe in?"
"What?"
"I have a talent of making things that makes our lives easier. I do that. So, if you're able to do something...there's a reason for it."
• • • • • •
Cael spent ten minutes writing in silence in the study before he heard the doors of the study open. One of the Phelps Twins entered with a man in tow. It took Cael a moment to recognized him as Treble with the birthmark on his jaw. The man with him shocked Cael, and Cael suspected it was Andrea. Andrea was perhaps two or three inches shorter than Treb with dark hair, a double chin, and a slim, athletic build. Cael noticed that there were gills on both sides of his neck. He had read Andrea's profile, so he was made aware that the DNA used on him was from a fish race called the Haral. Still, seeing the gills was surprising.
Treb smiled at Cael as the two of them approached, and Cael stood up. "Hey, Treb. I take it this is Andrea Varrano?" Andrea's body language dripped caution, his body turned slightly toward Treb as he stood behind him. Cael also noted that Andrea was squeezing Treb's wrist.
"Hey, Cael. And yes, th--," Treb began, but Andrea interrupted.
"Yes, I'm Andrea." Cael nodded and smiled to his, offering a hand for Andrea to shake. At first, he didn't look as if he'd take the handshake, but he finally released Treb long enough to shake Cael's hand.
Treb touched the small of Andrea's back and led them to sit down. Cael followed suit, and while he had a question in the back of his mind, he didn't think it was appropriate to ask.
"I won't keep you long. I'm just going to ask a few questions. If you feel too uncomfortable to answer, then I can move on. It's no problem." Andrea nodded, and Cael pulled up his profile again on the tablet. "So, I read here that you had emphysema. What stage were you in at the time that consent was given to run tests on you?"
Andrea looked to Treb, who gave him an encouraging nod. So, Andrea took this time to speak. "I was in stage 3. I needed to go into the emergency room one day because of it. It had gotten especially bad. After it was handled, my parents were approached by the doctor, who was a Syndicate Rep. They signed the consent form."
Hearing this made Cael think of Reena and her story. He coughed as if that would cover his discomfort, shifting in his seat. "And the DNA used on you was from a fish race. The Haral? Was this DNA intentionally chosen for you, given your emphysema."
Andrea nodded. "At least I think so. It would be ironic, I guess." And he looked down for a moment, laughing humorlessly. Treb remained quiet, but it was clear that he was there for emotional support, making certain that he was in physical contact with Andrea at all times. "I had a hard time breathing. And now I can breathe underwater."
"And how was that first time that it was realized you were a successful test subject?"
"Torture." It was the first time that Andrea looked at Cael without reserve. He was resolute in that one word. "Whatever they did to me...I started to feel this burning over my neck." His hand rose to touch the gills on the left side of his neck. "And I felt a burning in my chest. I was writhing..."
Cael could see Andrea squeeze Treb's arm, and Treb wrapped an arm around him. "You don't have to keep going..." Treb assured him, but Andrea shook his head.
"I can do this." Andrea straightened himself, and Cael cleared his throat again. "It was painful. And being in that bright, white room...I felt like I would go insane."
Cael nodded and wrote a few things down before he moved on. "There were tests that occurred after that right? Like tests on your breathing?"
"Yes. There were two: one to see how long I could go without oxygen on land and how long I could breathe underwater. The test on land...it was scary. More frightening than the second. I was put into a room. I don't know how, but they started sucking oxygen out of the room. I lasted for an hour. I was monitored, so they got me out, but...it felt like I was dying again for the little time it took them to get me."
Cael couldn't help but shake his head as he wrote everything down. I had a hand in all of this shit. "Um," he swallowed, "and what about the second?"
"In the water, I felt more calm. I lasted 6 hours before I had to surface."
"Are there any other changes that occurred besides your gills?"
"Yes, I have, uh, scales. Fish scales along my spine. When I'm in the water, webbing gradually grows between my fingers and toes. When I'm dry, the webbing recedes. And I met the Haral. They have this telepathic link with each other...I can hear them. In my head."
"Okay...okay good. I just have one more question: how did you escape and become a part of the Cipher."
Andrea shifted in his seat and leaned forward a little. "After I was completely cleared as successful, I was...sold. To a family—the Whitaker family. They kept me as a servant and entertainment. I was with them for three years, and then I overheard that they would exchange me to another family. I took that as my chance. It took me a long time to work up the courage and the know-how to escape. I drugged Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker after I took the kids to school. Not to kill them...but to buy me time. Treble found me a week later."
After finishing his writing, Cael looked up with a shaky smile. "I think that will be all I need for now. Thank you so much for being so open with me."
Andrea shared his smile and both he and Treb started to get up. "You're welcome."
"Also...Andrea, I just want apologize. I can't imagine what you been through, but I'm sorry that this program—this program I had a hand in—caused you so much pain and distress."
Andrea looked as if he were thinking about his next words, the wheels turning in his eyes. "As much as I would like to change what happened, I wouldn't be alive because of that program. I guess that why it sucks so much...it kept me alive and hurt me at the same time. And, I wouldn't have met Treble." At this information, Treb gave Andrea a small smile and took the shorter man's hand to squeeze it.
Cael's curiosity got the best of him as he asked, "How long have you two been together?"
Treb took this time to answer himself. "A year."
"Wow...that's beautiful." It almost made Cael's heart ache. He had that...or at least he thought he had that. But he guessed all of it with Clarice was a lie.
"Treble helped me through a lot. Everyone a part of the Cipher faces danger. Exposure. It's nice knowing someone's by your side."
• • • • • •
"I owe you an apology."
Reena paused at the door of the study, her brows furrowing. Cael had messaged Reena, telling her that he wanted to speak with her in the study. It always seemed that she was out and about, carrying out some errand, so it took some time for her to respond. It gave Cael time to think about the things that Andrea had told him, and he was trying to come to terms with the things that he had to answer for.
"Apology for what?" Reena asked as she fully entered the room and approached the table that Cael was sitting at.
"For everything. For...lashing out at you last night, for having been a part of this sick operation, for you not having seen your parents."
Reena looked away as she slowly sat down. She crossed her arms over the table and nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Thank you. I wouldn't be here without it though. I wouldn't have met you."
"Andrea told me something like that too. But it's like what you and Garver were saying: what good is all of that when you're still held hostage, just in a different way?" It took him a moment to realize her last words, and he tilted his head in question. "And what do you mean you wouldn't have met me? What...good...could have come from me when I was the one hurting you?"
Reena shook her head. "You didn't hurt me, Dominick. Cael...whatever. Look, from the time I spent with you, you did seem to care. That doesn't save you from consequences. You did some pretty asinine things, but you cared. That's why you were conflicted even then."
He took a moment to let this sink in. "Okay...okay, um...I have some questions for you. It'll be quick." Cael flipped to a new page in his notepad to write things down.
"Shoot."
"So, I know how things led to you getting involved. But how was your test run."
"I remember being injected with things, but I couldn't tell you what. When I was in the white room, the smoke came in, and...I started to feel my body temperature rising. It was painful. I thought I going to burst into flames and die, like that other man you saw..."
"...But you didn't." And Cael felt satisfied by this fact, his voice sounding as if it were trying to reassure them both.
"...But I didn't. Melted that door through, but I was knocked out by guards."
"Can you tell me about any tests that occurred in the aftermath?"
"They tested my ability to heal and my ability to summon fire on command. I could heal myself, and they found that I could heal others with my tears."
Cael silently wrote down these observations before continuing. "And can you? Summon fire on command?"
Reena lifted her right hand and balled it up into a fist. Suddenly, small flames started to lick up her wrist until they engulfed her whole hand, burning the end of her black, long-sleeved shirt. Cael's eyes widened slightly, and she shook her fist out, dismissing the fire. "Impervious to flame. I can also heat my skin without fire."
Cael cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the surprise as he pushed on. "Andrea told me that he had scales on his back because of his change. Did anything like that happen to you?"
"For some reason, I grow and moult red feathers along my spine during the summer, but other than that, no. It's a weird feeling."
Cael furrowed his brow, curious as to why that was the case. He asked no further about it, however, resolving to just write down what she said. "Your, um, menstruation cycle. Was there any change in that?"
It was Reena's turn to look surprised, and in fact, her eyes said she looked almost mortified. "What?"
He looked up from his notes with hesitation. "Uh...your cycle? Did it shift from regular to irregular, or..."
"I know what you meant."
"Then, what's the--oh." Cael realized it may have been a strange question to ask, though he was just trying to get the facts. "Look, I paid money to be able to talk to college students about biology and the human body. I think I can handle some talk about a natural process." And he gave her a reassuring smile, wanting her to continue.
"Uh...yeah. I was irregular...before the change. My cycle readjusted after the change. I've been regular ever since."
"Good, good," Cael said, writing it down. "Now...just one more question for now. This doesn't really have weight on my research, but I wanted to know: were you sold to a family?"
Reena gave a tentative nod. "The Syndicate preferred to keep the first successes to themselves. I belonged to Dr. Bryson Fletcher and his family."
"How did you get away?"
"...I didn't. Not really." This alarmed Cael, and he leaned into the table as Reena was standing up.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Reena ignored his question entirely, swinging her leg over the table bench and walking away. "You're not going to answer?"
"Your hand-to-hand combat training will start tomorrow morning," she called over her shoulder. In the afternoon, you'll meet the River again. During the night, you will be free. Garver or Clef will wake you early in the morning."
And then, she left.