Chapter 13

Mallory clapped her hands together in delight, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Great," she said, rubbing her hands together, which seemed like a slightly antagonistic thing to do in lieu of escaping.

Joseph's hand was on Zane's shoulder, squeezing slightly. Zane saw the knowing look on Daisy's face and couldn't help but smile at her. She raised an eyebrow. He felt blood rush to his cheeks but did not move to remove Joseph's gentle hand from his shoulder.

Marcus and Mallory were grinning stupidly, oblivious to the fact that everybody was looking at them, expecting to hear the plan of theirs.

Daisy jarred them. "We can't help you unless you tell us the goddamn plan!" she yelled, startling Mallory so much she took a step backward. And it was not easy to startle Mallory.

Zane recalled the image from Daisy's wallet. Did it weigh her down as much as the syringe did him? Did she keep it as a reminder of what she couldn't get back? She seemed to be able to forget that it was there, to get past it, but the syringe felt like a constant struggle. He always knew it was there, and he could never convince himself it meant simply nothing.

Mallory's nose piercing flashed in the dim light. She stuck her tongue out at Daisy and turned to head across the room. "Follow me," she ordered. Marcus trailed just behind her. Zane noticed that a pair of nunchucks were swinging from Mallory's belt, and Marcus's double katanas were strapped to his back in an x formation. Upon further examination, he saw three hunting knives of differing lengths strapped to Daisy's thigh, all on her right side where she could easily grab them. He cocked his head quizzically but said nothing. He stood up and followed Mallory and Marcus, Joseph and Daisy on his tail.

Mallory had stopped in front of a wooden weapon rack. She stood poised in front of it, and her hand hovered above her waist, dangerously close to the nunchucks lying there. She seemed to be balancing on her tiptoes, ready for the slightest altercation in the environment.

"Wait, are we doing this now?" Zane asked haltingly, not wanting to discourage any escape attempts. They appeared to be woefully unprepared on everything but the weapons front. They had no idea how long it would take to break out of the building. What about food or water? What about clothes?

But if these people were willing to take the emotional barrage he felt when he thought of escaping, he would gladly let them. They had no such qualms. Zane knew that, even now, when the time was ripe, he could never bring himself to aid in escape. Whatever Mallory and Marcus's plan was, he was sure it didn't include him. Mallory had sensed his reluctance and would not place him in such a position. For that, he was grateful.

"Well, duh," came the response from Daisy. She rolled her eyes.

Zane scoffed. "And how are you planning to survive outside without food, water, or clothing?" he demanded. Blank gazes met his statement, but Joseph nodded along.

"He's right. If we make it out, we'll be stuck in New Vancouver."

"So, we go to your place," Marcus said halfheartedly.

"You guys have to think this through," Zane said. "Joseph and I know New Vancouver. As soon as Wawrzynski can't find us, he'll send out a warrant and every single nook and cranny in the city will be searched. We need supplies to hide on the outskirts where they won't bother to check too thoroughly."

Mallory placed her hands on her hips, staring him down. "Then what do you suggest?"

Zane began counting on his fingers. "First of all, water. Every drop is regulated out there, every millilitre accounted for. Second, food. It's not guarded as harshly, but it would be extremely difficult to walk into a grocery store dressed in non-traditional clothes. We'd surely get spotted and identified. Third, clothing. It's wintertime right now, so the temperature inside New Vancouver has dropped, and if we manage to get outside the city, I anticipate it will be far colder."

Joseph voiced his agreement, and Mallory sighed in defeat. "Wawrzynski will notice us collecting supplies. In case you forgot, there's cameras out there." She flashed a winning smile, assured she had made a point he could not counteract.

Zane considered this for a moment before replying. "Then we hear your plan, prepare anything we can from in here," he responded. Mallory's smile flipped upside down. "Right before we execute it, we gather everything we need. Hopefully it'll take Wawrzynski a while to realize what we're doing and formulate something to keep us here." He didn't mention the fact that Wawrzynski had no reservations about using Daisy's sister to coerce them into staying, to threaten her life until Daisy could bear it no more.

But he anticipated Daisy wouldn't be easy to break.

"Alright. Now let me explain my idea,"

"We're really doing this right now?"

"Yes. Shut up and listen," she spat, strolling around the weapon rack, gazing curiously at the bottom of it. Zane noticed a faint line indented into the floor where the rack must have risen from. It made sense because the wooden weapons had not been there the first day they found this room, but they had miraculously come into existence the next day. The faint line indicated that the racks had ascended from the ground, rising up into the room.

"You're not thinking-" he began, but Mallory cut him off.

"Yes. I'm thinking we find a way under these racks. There has to be a tunnel large enough to fit them through below this room." She rapped upon the ground, and there was a faint echo from below as if she were snapping her fingers in a long steel corridor. A smile spread across her face.

Joseph's eyebrows drew together curiously. "What if it's just a vertical tunnel?" He crossed his arms over his chest, fixing her with a stern look of interrogation. She was unfazed, probably because Daisy was masking a grin and Marcus was distracted by a stain on his shirt. When combined with them, Joseph was not very terrifying.

Mallory poked the wooden rack which did not budge. "Perhaps it is," she said thoughtfully. "That's just a risk we'll have to take." Her dark curly hair had gotten longer and frazzled from continuous sparring with Marcus. It stuck out at odd ends but she still managed to look hardcore and intense, her dark brown eyes alight with curiosity and eagerness. The tip of her tongue protruded from her lips, a sign of her intense concentration.

Zane studied the sturdy racks and the steel floor beneath them. How did Mallory hope to get through the thick metal? And even if they managed to find a tunnel underneath, who knew where it would lead? There were so many uncertainties to her plan, but she was so desperate. She had been there for over six months. Zane couldn't imagine how Marcus felt, being trapped for over a year. And none of that compared to Daisy and her six year run of being a human lab rat. Zane and Joseph had only been recruited just over two weeks ago. They had no idea how desperate the others were to get out of there.

He knew if he were to surpass the queens on his personal chessboard, he had to trust them. "Okay," he said. "Tell us how we're going to do it, and when, and it's gonna happen."

She gave him a look of gratitude, and her eyes shone. Her smooth olive brown skin pleased his eyes. "Thanks," she said softly, nowhere near her usual loud voice.

Marcus was still engrossed in the dark spot on his otherwise light shirt. It took a few moments of Daisy snapping in front of his face to get him back to reality. "What'd I miss?"

Mallory muttered a selection of curses under her breath. When her mumbling became coherent and vehement, Zane stopped it before it could escalate into an insult match. "How long do you need to prepare everything?" He cracked his fingers, relishing the burst of pain that resulted. He felt he deserved it.

"A couple hours," she said, cooling down. Her focus turned from Marcus to Zane. "But I'll need Joseph's help." Zane glanced out of the corner of his eye at Joseph. The boy's eyes had taken on a hard sheen, something Zane had never seen before. He was determined to succeed and take back his life. If only Zane could find the desire to follow that path.

"You got it," Joseph said, heading to stand beside her. They began to talk in hushed whispers, gesturing vaguely with their hands and toward the other racks.

Daisy, Marcus, and Zane were left standing awkwardly alone, hands hanging down at their sides. Zane could see Marcus's fingers twitch, and the boy's green eyes seemed to fade into the background, focusing on a random point beyond Daisy. He took a halting step forward, as if deciding whether or not to walk away. "Mallory-" he spluttered, but never finished his thought. His broad shoulders slumped and his mouth dropped open. His feet rocked back and forth. His arms seemed to weigh him down, threatening to crumple his body to the ground.

"What's wrong with him?" Zane asked Daisy.

She gazed over, and her eyes widened. "Shit!" she said, jostling him by the arms, trying to shake him out of stupor. He threatened to topple backward. "No!" she yelled, slapping him across the face. His eyes did not focus and he teetered.

"What's going on?" Zane asked hurriedly, terrified of what was happening to Marcus. He tried to rush forward to help her, but she waved him off, straightening Marcus's body and puffing out his chest. When she had assured herself he would not fall, she turned around, her eyes boring into Zane's.

"Stuff," she said vaguely, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. She swept her hair from her face and averted her eyes, whistling softly.

"You're a horrible liar," he spat through gritted teeth.

She pouted. "They all say that."

"Daisy, what is happening to Marcus?" he asked, enunciating every word slowly and clearly, making sure she got the hint.

She sighed very articulately and gazed disdainfully back at Marcus. "He didn't want us to tell you, but I guess there's no need keeping it from you now."

"You think?"

"Shut up, Sandman," she said. Marcus's eyes were still glazed over. "Whenever he felt it coming before, he managed to leave the room before it hit."

"Before what hit?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips in the universal I'm waiting gesture.

"His bends. That's what Wawrzynski calls them anyway."

"Why?"

Daisy pursed her lips tightly as if trying to send a message to herself to stop talking. Her eyes lifted to the ceiling and her blue hair fell across her forehead, concealing her light irises. "Wawrzynski says it's because his consciousness bends, disappears for a few minutes."

"Again, why?"

"You will not let this go, will you?" she spat exasperatedly. Her hands were stuffed in her pockets, her shoulders slumped almost as much as Marcus's. When Zane shook his head, she scoffed. She glanced at Mallory, but sthe other girl was still deep in conversation with Joseph.

"Fine," she said. "When Marcus first got here, Wawrzynski was still experimenting with gene technology. His first tests targeted the brain." She paused to let this information sink in. Zane winced. He pictured Marcus lying on an operation table, anesthesia running into his arm. Despite himself, he pictured drills and needles positioned above the boy's head, and he shivered, goosebumps spreading across his skin.

Daisy continued. "The technology was faulty and affected Marcus's subconsciousness. Wawryznki took away everything that made Marcus, Marcus. It took him months to remember who he was before, and he's still not sure. That's why he always wears the over-the-top cowboy git-up. He says it helps him remember who he was back in Melbourne and it keeps the bends away for longer."

Zane bit his lip. "How many has he had since I've been here?" he asked.

"This is the third. The other two, he managed to get out of the room before it hit." Zane vaguely recalled an instance in which Marcus had abruptly dissected himself from a conversation and ducked into his room without a word to anybody.

"Why didn't he tell us?" he said, referring to himself and Joseph. "Why did he hide it?"

"He was embarrassed," Daisy said simply. "He didn't want people knowing his mind had been tampered with and altered."

"That's terrible,"

"I know. But don't tell him I said anything. He might get a little cheesed off at me."

"Alright," Zane said, smiling softly, letting Daisy know she could trust him.

An ear-shattering bang derailed Zane's train of thought and caused him to whip his head around toward the noise. Daisy squeaked slightly, and Marcus was jolted from his stupor. He staggered several steps backward before regaining his feet. A dazed look had come upon his face and his cheeks reddened. He seemed glad that the attention was fixed on someone else.

Mallory was standing next to Joseph, her hands clapped over her ears. She was smiling vividly, and the expression scrawled across her face was almost maniacal. Her lips were moving and Zane knew in a far-off way that she was cursing.

Joseph himself was hammering down on the base of the rack with his fist. He was faced away from Zane, but Zane couldn't mistake the metallic sheen of his skin, the reflectiveness that mirrored that of the floors. His body was entirely steel, the same durability as the floor, and he was pounding his fist against the floor, viciously trying to break through.

"Fight fire with fire, huh?" Daisy screamed above the resonating sound. She too had her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the noise.

Zane watched as the metal of the floor bowed under the impact of Joseph's fists. A widening gap could be seen along the base of the rack, and only darkness lay beneath it. Zane felt his insides crawl with thoughts of what may be lying in wait in the utter and complete blackness below.

He felt energized and terrified at the same time. He was excited at the prospect of leaving this building, this prison behind. But he knew he would emerge into New Vancouver, the place where all his shortcomings and reservations originated from. He knew he may very well see people he knew, and he had no doubt that if there was a warrant out for his arrest, they would not hesitate to turn him in.

Joseph ceased his pounding and reached down to peel back to steel, grunting from the effort. Zane squinted as the light was thrown around the room from Joseph's metallic skin. What was curious was that his clothes had also ceased being cotton or polyester and had as well taken on a stiff and solid steel frame. Wrinkles upon his clothes were frozen. His hair had become a simple sheet of pure metal, with no discernible strands.

With some effort on Joseph's part, Zane watched in apprehension as the steel peeled back and the light shone into a cavern below. The base of the tunnel was not too far below the floor, and it appeared to be a cylindrical chamber, leading off in both directions into blackness. Joseph widened the gap large enough to fit a person through, and when he turned around, the smile upon his steel face was unnerving and freakish, but rubbed off upon Zane nonetheless.

With a broad gesture, Joseph indicated the tunnel.

"Shall we?"