We pushed deeper into the manor, looking for any signs of Organ’s presence. Each room we passed through was utterly quiet. Lounge chairs sat expectantly while the ornate picture frames held visions of people and places I didn’t know. We padded softly over richly thick carpets, the dirt that fell from our boots disappeared into the deep purples and reds of the patterned textiles. The walls were so well insulated that it was easy to forget that a battle raged on outside.
Unless it was over.
Aside from the occasional blood stain, we didn’t run into any more traps. The stains were easy to avoid, the bright crimson standing out against browns and golds and greens, but that just added to the impression that something was wrong. The feeling that there was a joke being played that we weren’t in on.
For the moment, we refrained from breaking through doors that were locked. It made sense that we shouldn’t draw attention if we were undetected, but I wondered if anyone here truly believed that we were. Especially after the gunshots that one soldier had let loose.
The operatives leading the way, we entered another hallway, sweeping through with guns held at the ready. The soldiers had discovered after that incident by the stairs that their trigger fingers were working normally again. Had the Shaping been temporary? The other possibility was that whatever Witch had committed the act now felt it was unnecessary, or even worse, they wanted us to have access to weapons.
The soft whisper of Kay’s butterflies seemed to amplify in the silence, echoing in a way that shouldn’t be possible for such a quiet sound.
I jolted in alarm as I realized that there was a door to my right that was cracked open just a sliver. The soldiers had walked right past it. Through the sliver was a pitch black room.
The whispering of butterflies grew louder as I stared at that gap. Had I seen something move inside? Had I ever so briefly heard the rasp of something sliding along the carpet, masked by our footsteps?
I moved closer. The room could be gargantuan and I wouldn’t know. As I stuck my head into the gap, my eyes began to adjust to the dark. Amorphous shapes became clearer. A bed. A closet. Nothing more.
A voice whispered into my ear, so close I felt the breath. A rasping voice, strained, as if it was choking on the words.
“One of them is faking.”
I jerked backwards and kicked the door. It swung out and banged against the wall.
Everyone turned back to look at me.
“Nick?” Kay asked.
I stared at the room, heart beating fast. Now that the light from the hallway could reach into the room, I could see that there was no one there, no corner where someone could have hidden.
“I-” My throat was dry. “You guys missed this room. I was just checking.”
Conrad frowned at me and then people began to move ahead.
Taking one last look at the empty bedroom, I clenched my shaking hands to my sides and I followed. Were the hallucinations getting worse?
I was jumpy. Scared like I’d been so many times before. Yet somehow the lack of a visible threat made it so much worse. I couldn’t act, couldn’t relieve that tension. I wanted to scream.
Nell pulsed concern for me and I pulsed back assurance. I was glad she was okay. But I needed her to focus on her own problems.
Deep breaths.
I closed my eyes and breathed in, holding it for a long moment before letting it out. Okay. Nothing was wrong. As long as I focused on what was real, we could work this out.
So I turned my attention to what I knew were real. The teammates I was with. Soldiers that I’d never had much of a connection with, but with the time spent in proximity to them back at the base had led to me recognizing a few small idiosyncrasies about each of them.
Socorro was easy to spot with her bandaged foot. She’d found me on the roof one night, enjoying one of the last warm winds we were going to have before winter. She had showed me a few constellations that were her favourite. She had this gruff way of speaking that I wondered if it was a survival behaviour from working in a male dominated field.
Magnus had an old gaming console in his room on the base. I’d often see a crowd of H.E.S.P. staff gathered around his room, playing in tournaments he would host and always win.
Wilson always managed to bring up his wife in any conversation. He’d been reprimanded a few times for speaking to her on the phone while on missions.
Each was incredibly competent. Even pushed to this extreme, for the most part, they handled pressure well. I could trust them to make good calls, even if I was struggling. Reminding myself of that fact made me breathe a little easier.
Isipho was at the back of the group with me and I could see him dragging his feet and wobbling like he was walking on uneven ground.
“Hey,” I said, coming up beside him.
He was breathing heavily, sweat shining on his brow. His multi-coloured eyes spun around like a kaleidoscope and I couldn’t tell if he was even looking at me.
“Lean on me for a bit, catch your breath,” I said.
Isipho obliged and as he did I felt the tremors running through his body. He was in rough shape.
“You are?” he uttered the words slowly.
“Nick. The Wolf assigned to the team.”
“Right.” He was quiet for a minute as we walked through a room containing a grand piano.
The soldiers at the front made sure everyone saw the blood stains to avoid along our path.
Isipho leaned in closer. “Tell me, Nick. How many Shapers were assigned to our squad?”
I gave him a concerned look. This was basic stuff he should remember. He might have developed a fever or by the looks of the dried blood on his head, it might be head trauma.
“Six. You, me, Kay, Fir, Capiz, and Host. Plus Fir’s three Wolves.”
“Six…” he muttered. “And how many did we lose?”
“Fir and Host.”
He took that in.
“I keep counting more than four.”
My heartbeat quickened. “Are you sure? Someone invisible?”
He frowned and his eyelids fluttered. “No. Not anyone I don’t recognize or I would have said something. It’s… I’ll admit I am having some trouble seeing. Give me a little time to recover and I’m sure it will become clear.”
I nodded and jogged up to the front.
The two soldiers, Galen and Wilson, opened a door and checked inside. It appeared to be a theatre, with a projector screen and comfy seating. Their flashlights slowly traced the walls, checking for any movement. The theatre was devoid of life like everything else.
“Can we stop for a bit?” I asked softly. “Isipho needs to rest.”
Wilson glanced my way, looking concerned. Galen nodded and went over to Conrad.
“Fine,” Conrad said brusquely. “A short break. Socorro, give me your opinion on the layout of the manor. There is far more to the east that we haven’t explored.”
The soldiers spread out and checked their equipment. Kay and Capiz came over to me and Isipho.
Kay offered her water bottle to him and he took it gratefully.
“I thought Organ was supposed to be cruelly experimenting on people,” Capiz said, staring at the blank projector screen. “Where are the test subjects?”
“It’s possible that this was just a command center,” I said. “There have been plenty of other operations H.E.S.P. has uncovered that had test subjects. Although I get the feeling that we’ve yet to uncover the worst of it.”
“How’s your head?” Kay asked Isipho.
Isipho didn’t respond. I realized that he was holding very still and even his pupils were not drifting around his eyes very much.
I turned and looked in the direction he was facing.
A soldier, Wilson, was pacing along the rows of seats. Against the far wall, Conrad and Socorro were talking. Jason was sitting down and another soldier was bandaging up the exposed back of his torn uniform, tying knots to secure it in place and hide the parasite that still wriggled beneath.
Then, as I watched, Wilson stopped pacing, took off his helmet, and turned to Conrad and Socorro.
“Hey.”
Conrad and Socorro didn’t hear him.
“Hey. Isn’t this close enough? Are we not gonna to do something?” his voice tremored as he spoke.
Conrad looked up.
Wilson clenched the grip of his gun, shaking.
“I need orders. Tell me what needs to be done and I’ll do it.”
“Are you talking to me, soldier?” Conrad asked, straightening up and giving his customary piercing gaze. “You should know your orders already.”
Sweat dripped from Wilson’s chin. “Surely it’s time? If we get any closer…”
“What are you blathering about? Pull it together.”
“Won’t you give me some sign?” Wilson’s voice pitched up. “Am I meant to stop this alone?”
I started to move towards him. Something isn’t right.
Wilson’s mouth quivered and then he smiled. “Fine. I get it. You need to see initiative.”
His gun raised up and he pivoted to aim at me. A fire burned in his eyes. “Organ’s will be done.”
There were people behind me.
I flung my arm out. Grow. Branches burst from my fingers, expanding in a cone.
A spray of gunfire ripped through. Something hammered into my temple, jerking my head to the side. Another impact felt like it originated inside of me, tugging at my guts.
The branches fell apart and I sank to my knees, clutching my stomach.
Not good.
I forced myself to raise my head.
Conrad was trying to wrestle the gun away from him. People were shouting. The gun went off again, plumes of bright light flaring from the muzzle. Wilson’s eyes were wild and spit flew from his mouth.
A soldier got behind him and wrapped his arms around Wilson’s neck. Slowly, jerkily, Wilson’s energy faded, until his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped down.
My ears were ringing. Conrad was giving orders. Somehow I could still hear Kay’s butterflies flapping their hundreds of wings. It sounded like light rain on a still pond. Some rain would feel nice right about now.
A hand touched my back.
“Hold on,” I gasped. I leaned away from them and took a hand away from my stomach. Blood stained my palm and I flinched, half expecting spikes to emerge from it, but none did.
Fiery pain burned in my gut and a different fire burned at my skin, making my hairs stand up.
I could make this work.
Conrad and the others had the situation under control. But I needed to heal. Organ could be coming.
That singular goal made it easier to push away all the strange signals my body was sending me and focus on standing up.
“Nick, you’re hit,” Kay said, her pitch rising.
I waved her off and then stumbled, catching myself on the wall. My blood streaked across the dark paint.
“I’ll be okay,” I mumbled. “Just need a plant or…” I stopped.
A man was standing in the theatre doorway.
There were cuts covering his face, traveling down his neck which bent at nearly a ninety degree angle, making his shoulders slouch and his wispy hair hang towards the floor. The cuts looked a few days old, but they were infected, the skin puckered and inflamed. His clothes, a collared shirt and khaki pants, were so crusty and soiled that the wrinkles held their shape. He took a step towards me, mouth hanging open.
“Woah, hey,” I said, raising my hand.
“Who the fuck are you!?” Capiz cried out.
“Chase,” the man muttered, eyes shining in awe. “He made me.”
No no no no.
“Stay back!” I spat.
The man stepped forward, his bare feet sliding on the carpet.
“You get it, don’t you? He put something in here.” He jabbed at his chest. “Just for you.”
He lunged at me.
I fell back, shielding myself with my arms.
The moment he touched me, he started to melt. It was like the fire on my skin had just found gasoline. It erupted, blinding me with hunger.
In horror, I watched his hands slowly assimilate, fingernails first, then nailbeds to knuckles.
Stop.
I couldn’t. The fire wouldn’t relent. The off switch was broken. I had lost all control.
The man watched with glee as his arms assimilated into my body and he was dragged closer.
I saw the madness in his eyes.
“It’s all yours,” he whispered.
The other soldiers had noticed now. Their eyes widened as they saw the man diminish in seconds. I met Kay’s eyes, pleading silently.
I’m not doing this.
She looked on in shock.
“Hold on!” Conrad shouted. “We need to question him.”
The man’s bent neck shriveled into me and I just shook and shook and shook.
The bullet popped free from my stomach and rolled down the aisles. It was over. A minute from when the first touch had occurred. I stared at my hands, too stunned to form a coherent thought.
I felt hollow.
Looking up, I realized all the soldiers were staring at me in silence, no doubt questioning why I had just done that.
I didn’t have an answer.