Something Good

[Toaster]

What the hell are you doing? The question ricocheted around Percival’s mind like a golf ball in a barrel. And now the young woman before him asked the same question. Instead of answering, he grabbed her hand again and led her down the intersecting corridors of Chesapeake. She protested, demanding he let her go and explain what was going on, but he held her tightly and increased his pace. She had to jog to keep up.

“I’ve been doing this for five years,” Percival finally said as they paused at a crossway. He leaned around the corner, checking to see if any guards or doctors were nearby. The coast was clear. He turned to face Cara. She was breathing hard from the exertion of running after him, her body too exhausted and malnourished to maintain the effort.

“For five years, I’ve been finding people like you – people deemed genetically valuable,” Percival grimaced as he spoke the phrase. It had always felt dehumanizing to him. “Five years I’ve spent kidnapping kids and bringing them to this hellhole for doctors to experiment on. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it was justified, that we were trying to save humanity.”

He turned his head, unable to look at the young woman before him in shame.

“But I don’t believe it anymore. I can’t. No matter what the goals, what’s being done to you and the others here is wrong. I don’t want to do evil anymore. I want to do something good.”

He glanced at her again, waiting for a reply. Cara was looking him straight in the eyes, her brows furrowed – yet there was no more anger in her expression.

“What about the others?” She finally inquired, but her tone revealed that she already knew the answer.

“There’s no way I can take all of you,” Percival replied. The images of the other young adults, locked away in their glass cages, suffering from abuse and malnourishment, flashed before his eyes. He clenched his teeth. “You’re in the best shape,” he went on. “Your chances are the best.”

He reached his hand out for Cara and waited for her to take it. For a moment, she hesitated. Then she clasped hers in his and followed him once more down the corridors.

Together, they hurried on down the deserted hallways, stopping occasionally to let Cara catch her breath and listen for pursuers. So far, no one seemed to have noticed that the young woman had not been taken to a lab as scheduled. They approached an elevator to the upper decks, but, just as Percival reached out to press the call button, the doors slid open. Within stood two guards.

“You think she’s run off?” One was saying.

“Where would she go?” The other replied. As they stepped out of the lift, they noticed the agent and the girl standing before them.

“Sir-,” the first started, then locked eyes with Cara. For a moment, it seemed like time stood still. The four of them were frozen in place, staring at each other in surprise. Then they erupted into motion.

With one hand, Percival gave Cara a hard shove to the side, sending her crashing into the wall. With the other, he drew a pistol out of his jacket. The first guard dropped to his knees, unholstering his sidearm as he went and aiming it at the agent. The other drew his own on Cara. There was a cacophony of deafening blasts as the guns went off.

The guards collapsed to the deck, blood pooling around them. Percival spun around to find Cara unharmed, the wall beside her displaying a fresh pair of bullet holes. Her eyes were wide with fear.

“Come on,” Percival spoke softly and reached out for her. Taking his hand, the young woman stepped over the two bodies and into the elevator. Percival stepped in after her, pressed the button for the hangar deck, and slumped hard against the wall.

“Hey!” Cara cried and jumped to his side. She tore open his jacket and revealed two spots of red on the shirt beneath, rapidly expanding like blooming rose petals. The agent gave her a weak smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” he said through clenched teeth. Outside the elevator shaft, alarms went off, alerting the section of the station of the subject’s escape.

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Olivia Sable