Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

Morning comes all too quickly, and I know my day of rest is over. The lights flicker on, and I sigh as I turn over, knowing they’ll be coming for me soon. I quickly use the toilet, wash my face, and brush my teeth before tying my hair back, slipping on some trainers and socks as I wait on the bed. I place my hands on my knees like a good little girl, even as my heart fills with fear and determination.

As soon as the door opens and the guards step forward, I know today will be different. They have cuffs, so I hold out my hands, letting the guards chain them together before they silently drag me into the corridor. We don’t go to the labs, and I quickly work through the map forming in my head from my days here and the cameras to figure out where we’re going, but I draw a blank. I soon realise why when we head down two levels in an elevator and through a secure door.

I’ve never seen this section before.

Yay, this will be fun.

“Oh, spooky and dramatic with the long hallways and cameras. Would it kill you to put some art somewhere? Haven’t you ever heard of happy worker—” I grunt as an elbow meets my gut, making me double over, then I glare at the guard. “Touch me again and I’ll break your arm,” I hiss in warning.

I might have a plan, but that doesn’t mean I’ll take their pain.

With a sinister smile, he slams his arm into my gut again, only this time, I let him, and instead of doubling into the pain as the air whooshes from my lungs, I use it. I lunge for him and grab his arm, and even with my cuffed hands, I manage to slide behind him and slam his arm down over his shoulder. I hear the bones snap before he howls and drops to his knees, cradling his arm.

I hold up my bound hands as an alarm is triggered. The other guard points his weapon at me, glancing between me and the downed man who has tears falling down his mottled face. Through gritted teeth, he says, “You are fucking dead!” He surges to his feet, but more guards pour down the corridor with their guns pointed at me, blocking him.

I smile sweetly at all of them. “I warned him what would happen. Now, shall we continue on? We all know Dr. Davis doesn’t like to be late.”

For a moment, nobody moves, so I just smile with my hands up as the broken-armed guard is led away cursing. I’m the most dangerous person here, and they all suddenly realise it. Their eyes are sharp and wary, and their guns are held aloft, ready to be used.

They are truly understanding the depths of the experiments now and just what I’m capable of.

“Well?” I sigh like they bore me.

A guard slowly moves toward me, circling me and pointing his gun at the back of my head. “Walk,” he barks, and I do just that, surrounded by a platoon of guards.

That’s how we enter the giant room I am led to, with the guards blocking most of my view bar my father who turns and spots us with a frown. “Is that really necessary? Novaleen, you will behave, won’t you?” he questions.

“Of course I will.” I practically ooze sincerity.

“See? Put the guns down. You don’t need them.” When nobody moves, his face clouds in anger.

“Oh, you’ve done it now,” I whisper. I know that look.

“I said now, unless you want to be on the next garbage rotation!” he yells. All too quickly, the guns are pulled away and the guards step back, melting to the sides of the room. Their eyes remain on me, and they are ready to act, but they are following orders.

“Good boys,” I purr and hold my wrists up to my father. “Can we get these off now?”

“Yes, of course,” he replies like we are civilised people, and he moves over to grab the key as I look around our location today. It’s not a lab, that’s for sure, and as I see what’s in the room, I get a really bad feeling and all my cockiness evaporates.

There’s a giant mat covering most of the space, clearly for sparring and training. To the left is a gym with floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and to the right of the mat is an extreme obstacle course.

There is a man in the middle of the mat I don’t recognise. He has on army cargos and a black T-shirt, but his feet are bare as he does push-ups. He’s well-muscled with a buzzed head and intense black eyes. I watch how he moves, fast and hard, his body a well-oiled machine. That would give him away if his clothes didn’t.

He’s a soldier, not a guard, and he’s clearly fast and capable.

“Ah, I see you’ve noticed Sergeant Joel,” my father comments as he undoes my cuffs, and I flex my hands. “One of the successes of that batch. I believe you met or found some of the other unsuccessful members of his unit.”

I swallow hard as I eye him, thinking about Sam. This man knew Sam? When he leaps to his feet and rolls out his muscles, his eyes land on me. They are cold, dead, and cruel. This man is nothing like I am, and he’s embraced whatever they have done to him.

“Yes,” is all I say.

“Good. He will be part of your testing today. You are always asking for more of a challenge, so I figured someone on your level would be more beneficial for your results. I’d like to see the difference between the outcomes of the experiments from adulthood to childhood.”

“How?” I ask, knowing the answer deep down.

“By testing you against each other, of course,” my father answers, turning away to grab his tablet as I eye Joel. He’s tall and built like a brick shit house, and he clearly likes what he’s being ordered to do.

I don’t know if they suspect it was me last night, or if they simply want to punish me, but I have no choice but to perform for them. I can’t endure another punishment so I need to be smart. I need to make them relax.

I need my father to think he’s won.

That means defeating Joel. A spark of excitement rolls through me. I’ve had to hold back for so long, even with my guys. I worried about what I would become if I let go, but with this sergeant, I won’t have to. He’s changed, like me and my guys. He can take it, and unlike my guys, I have no loyalty to him, and getting rough and winning is what I need to do to survive.

He moves closer, nodding at my father, but his eyes are all for me.

Like recognises like.

He sizes me up like I did to him, and there’s a gleam in his eye I don’t like as he surveys me. It’s hard to pinpoint, but when his eyes drop to my body, I almost shudder in revulsion.

“So, you’re the prodigal experiment?” he sneers. “You don’t look like much.” He has a thick Irish accent, and sure, he’s attractive, but that gleam? I watch him more carefully. “In fact, you look like a lost little girl. Is this really who you are pinning all your hopes on?” he asks my father, ignoring me.

“She has shown the best results under pressure and seems to have accessed more of her brain than any other, including you, even if she wastes it,” he tells Joel without even looking at me.

“Happy to waste it.” I salute my father, and Joel throws me a glare.

He grinds his teeth, but like a good soldier, he ignores me and focuses on my father. “Orders?”

“I want her fully tested. Push her to her limits.”

“I’m right here,” I mutter, but they both ignore me.

“And past them. Show me exactly what she is capable of, and I will make my decision about how this will proceed.” My father looks at me. “I am rooting for you. You were my hope for the future, for what we could become, but if you fail me again, I will allow Joel to put you down and proceed with his strand of research. Is that understood?”

I swallow hard. So far, my father’s need for me has kept me alive, but he’s telling me that if I fail today, it won’t. I need to push harder than I ever have because I know Joel will not let me do anything else. This will be a true test. I’m not a child anymore. I’m a full-grown adult with abilities others could only dream of.

I hate what my father has done to me, so I never explored the full depths of my abilities, and the darkness in my brain scares me, so I always shied away from discovering exactly what I am capable of. I only ever pushed as hard as he made me and never any further, truly scared of what he had done to me.

When I’m pushed, what if I’m not even human anymore?

I guess we are going to find out.

Joel nods and smirks at me. “Gladly. Start on the course, and we will compare times. Go,” he orders.

I hesitate, wanting to smash in his smug face in and ignore his orders, but I have no choice. My father is watching me right now, and I am at their mercy. I need to play nice and give into the side of me I fear to survive.

I remind myself I am doing this for my men as I turn to the obstacle course, Joel sharply on my heels. He is almost silent as he moves, but I can feel him behind me. I stop at the beginning of the course and eye it, my brain working a mile a minute to plan the best route for the fastest time.

“Begin when you’re ready,” Joel snaps. I bend my knees slightly, closing my eyes for a moment as I centre myself. I imagine his smug face if he wins and know I can’t let that happen.

He thinks I’m nothing, and my father is expecting me to fail.

I won’t just to prove them wrong.

When my eyes snap open, I give myself over to that force deep inside me. Strength surges through me, as does speed, purpose, and determination.

I let all my worries and thoughts flee until there is only action.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I push off the floor and leap at the first piece of equipment. A rope hangs down to help me climb the wall but I ignore it, leaping up and grabbing the lip of the vertical wooden block. I hang there for a second, easily six feet in the air, and then I haul myself up and roll over, flipping to land with one knee down on the ground, then I’m moving again. There’s a rope strung between two poles, and I quickly ascend the ladder to it and drop forward. I use my hands to pull me across it, with one knee pressed against it while the other hangs. When I reach the other side and descend, I race across a small sprint section to a cargo net suspended twenty feet in the air. Pushing off, I grab the ropes and climb diagonally, since I noticed they are shorter distances for my shorter legs, and it makes the ascent quicker. I can feel them all watching, but I ignore them as I reach the platform at the top and race across it. The platform ends, and there are twenty-foot poles dotted at random intervals to a bridge on the other side. I leap across them and race down the slope back to the ground.

The next piece has four poles in staggered heights before each other. I duck under the first, climb atop the second, and hop to clear the other two. After all, he never mentioned rules; he just said to get through it the quickest.

Before me are monkey bars and I jump, grabbing onto the first and swinging easily to the second. With my legs locked together, I keep up the momentum, moving so fast I barely see the bar before I move onto the next, and then I drop to the ground at the other side.

There’s a tire with a line at the end. It’s huge and easily weighs six hundred and fifty kilograms. I crouch and flip it, grunting at the weight, but then, just to be an ass, I pick it up and with gritted teeth, I carry it to the end, knowing even most army people would struggle to do so. The next obstacle is a round sprint track, and I push myself to run faster, and then, without stopping, I drop to my knees, crawl through the tunnel, and pop to my feet on the other side before I sprint back to the first wall I started at. I race up it and drop down on the other side, sliding to a stop beside Joel who has a watch in his hand.

Smirking at him, I fight back the need to bend over and pant, but then I realise I don’t actually need to. It didn’t even wind me. What the fuck?

“Well?” my father calls, and there’s a smugness in his voice that tells me he knows the answer.

“Twenty seconds faster than me,” he reluctantly admits, and my father’s laughter fills the air.

“It’s not over yet,” Joel snaps, dropping the watch. “Weights next.”

* * *

Joel forces me to lift the weights he does, watching my form carefully. Next, he has me run on the treadmill next to him. When he ups the speed, so do I, always doing one better. After that, I’m forced through cardio until he finally calls it quits. I sip the water I’m given and watch him talk with my dad before nodding and heading back my way.

“Last test of the day,” he mutters, glaring at me. He’s clearly angry that not only can I keep up, but I can beat him.

“Sure, what is it? Want me to lift you until you cry? Or maybe beat your ass on the course again?”

“No. This time, I’ll be beating your ass.” I narrow my gaze, and he grins. “It’s time to test your combat skills.”

Great, he literally meant kick my ass. For a moment, Nico’s face is on top of Joel’s, smiling at me and urging me to fight him before it’s gone. Nico is nothing like Joel. Joel wants to hurt me. This might be a sparring session, but it will be no-holds-barred. He will break bones and rip me apart if he can. It’s in his eyes and the tension in his muscles.

Dropping my water to the floor, I kick off my shoes and step onto the mat. I shake out my arms before taking up my stance. I’m heavily trained in mixed martial arts, but I can already tell from the way this man moves that he knows exactly what I do and maybe more, which means I need to play dirty, and I will do just that.

I have to win.

He circles me, and I watch him carefully for signs of his moments, but unlike most, he gives nothing away. His arm just suddenly swings and his fist catches me in the chin. My head whips to the side from the strength of his punch, which is so much stronger than I have ever felt. I almost go down. My chin instantly aches, and my whole mouth locks up as he smirks.

“You’re weak and sloppy. You care too much about being normal to fully give in. You will never win.” He launches at me, holding nothing back. I have to fight just to stay on my feet, blocking his fists and feet. One connects with my ribs, and I feel the healing bones crack again. A fist hits my shoulder, and it goes numb as I stumble back under his assault. My heels almost catch on the edge of the mat because he’s pushed me back that much.

I hear my father sigh. It’s one sound filled with resignation and disappointment, but coupled with the glee in Joel’s eyes, it ignites something within me. Something clicks, and I duck his next swing, leaping at him. I wrap my legs around his neck and flip us both, getting back to my feet and circling him as he stands and watches me.

The predator just became the prey.

He’s right. I do hold back because I am so worried about what is inside of me. I am scared of myself, not my father, but I can’t hold back, not if I want to survive this.

I have to let go.

Cocking my head, I smile slowly. “My turn,” is all I say.

This time, I drive him back. I attack him with more speed than I’ve ever used before. Each movement is clean and so fast, he can’t anticipate it. Years of training and honing skills flow back to me until he has to dance back out of my reach. His chest heaves slightly, while I’m not even sweating or panting. After all, brute strength isn’t everything.

I’m faster than him, I realise, when I duck under his punch and come up behind him, kicking out his knees. He stumbles forward, but he flips back and over me, wrapping his arm around my throat. His muscles bulge as he squeezes, almost breaking my neck. Most people would struggle, so he’s expecting that, and when I relax and go limp, he loosens his hold enough for me to slam my elbow back into him. I hear something break, and then I drop completely. He wasn’t expecting that, and I’m free. I slam my hand up, right into his nose, and it explodes as he groans and steps back.

Ignoring the blood and busted nose, he comes for me again, but this time, his movements are wild with aggression. It makes him unpredictable and as fast as I am, so a few of them catch me. We both fight without holding back, each of us landing hits. Blood splashes across our skin, and bruises and broken bones make us cry out in pain.

His fist catches me in the face again, but the force of it knocks me down and he’s on me in an instant. I narrow my gaze on him as his hands wrap around my throat.

“Why?” I ask him, voicing what I’ve been curious about this whole time, even as I wrap my legs around him and buck, trying to dislodge him. “Why are you helping him despite what he did to your unit?”

“Do you know how many soldiers die on duty, or even after? He can help stop that by making us harder, stronger, and faster. Why wouldn’t I want to protect my people by doing that? We can be better.”

“He will sell it to every army, and then you’ll still be in the same predicament,” I snarl as I thrash.

“I do this for my people. Why do you still fight, lost little girl?”

I meet his eyes as my nostrils flare and my lips curl in disgust. “For my people.” I smash my head into his and roll out from under him, leaping to my feet and then kicking my foot into his balls. “And you will lose.”

He falls forward with a cry, cupping his balls, and I smash my elbow into his head. He hits the mats hard, knocked out.

Panting, I look over at my father, feeling my split lip pour blood. One of my eyes is swollen, and one ankle aches.

He smiles at me, and I hate the spark of pride I feel at that. “Take Joel to the infirmary,” my father calls, then he picks something up and heads my way. “I knew you could do it. I was always betting on you. We just have a few more things to test and then you can rest, okay?” he says kindly, but I grind my teeth. He gestures for me to turn and I do.

A blindfold wraps around my head, blocking my sight. Blowing out a long breath, I loosen my stance, my arms hanging at my sides as I wait for instruction.

“Please show us your senses so we may test each. You will face multiple opponents,” my father says, and I hear him move away.

I hear more movement as guards come towards me, and I wait as they spread out, and then it’s silent.

Finally, there’s a squeak, a scent, and I move quickly. I am fast, but so are they.

There has to be at least three of them. One knocks my leg out, but I jump back up and slam my own into something hard. There’s a grunt, then arms wrap around me from behind. I kick and smash into another body coming from the front. They fall back, and holding onto the arms around me, I push off and up, rolling to my feet.

I lose myself in the fight. I can’t see, and the darkness seems to unlock something inside me.

It’s as if that darkness was always waiting to come out. I hear more than I ever have. I hear the air whooshing in and out of their lungs, the beating of their hearts, and I can almost smell their fear as I attack.

I lose myself in the rhythm. There are at least eight of them now, and I know as soon as I knock one out or hurt them too badly, they are dragged away and replaced by another. There are no words, just actions. I don’t know how long I fight for, but after what feels like hours and I start to slow, a punch lands that I wouldn’t have let make contact before.

My body is tiring. I’m still healing, and it’s taking its toll.

Another punch slips through, then another, until I’m finally kicked down. Suddenly, several booted feet slam into my body. I drag my knees to my chest as they slam into me over and over. I groan, managing to crawl from them and get back to my feet, but then something hard hits the back of my head.

The last thing I see as the blindfold slips away is my father turning away in disappointment.