Judgement 8 (Subject Alpha #1) Read online

  “Please let me out.” My voice was quiet and choked.

  “Elina?” he continued, disregarding my appeal again, but this time with a softer tone. “Did they hurt you, Elina?”

  My struggle with the door handle became frantic as I tugged at it.

  “What are you scared of, little girl?”

  “Why are you hounding me?” I shouted as I yanked at the door, a small whimper clawing at my throat when I sensed the danger of him. “Let—me—out!”

  The lights flashed briefly before a trail of smoke plummeted from the keypad beside the door, a smell of burning copper scorching my nostrils as the door shot open in my hand, causing me to stumble backwards.

  “What the hell?” he growled.

  I was out before he even had chance to make it around his huge desk. I was running once again. I was tired of running. It felt like I’d been doing it constantly for the past two years.

  I followed the route Jonah had brought me up but cried out in frustration when the metal door refused to budge, another locked door preventing my escape. I turned, finding a long corridor, and shot down it when I heard his heavy footsteps behind me.

  Falling through a door at the end, I stumbled into a huge nightclub. Dancers and more drunken people got in my way when I bombed it straight across the middle of the room, my eyes hunting for an exit in the flash of multi-coloured strobe lights around the room. I swore at people, the deafening throb of some techno beat consuming my small voice, my mouth moving and no one hearing me, my pleas falling on deaf ears.

  A door with an exit sign above seemed like a hallucination and a smile finally graced my face. Just a little farther.

  The smile turned into a grin when the door gave under my push and the outside air cooled my hot skin, the thin blue hessian trousers providing little protection against the chill. “Yes!” I congratulated myself when I found myself in a different passageway to the one Jonah had taken me down.

  Freedom was so close. I scanned the alley, deciding my best bet was to head for the main road and lose myself in the mass of revellers. Gravel and broken glass cut into my feet, the pain almost unbearable but I knew bleeding wouldn’t be an issue; the thick texture of my blood made it virtually impossible for me to ever bleed out.

  A door on my right burst open. Jonah once again became a barricade when my body slammed into his. He scowled down at me and sighed. “Sorry, sugar.”

  I frowned at him then slumped to the floor when he punched me in the side of the head and everything went black.

  MY HEAD HURT. MY eyes were sore and gravelly. My body ached but for the first time in a long time my essence felt relaxed, calm. My blood flowed freely, my heart beat with regularity and my brain had lost the constant smog, like someone had wiped away the condensation from the window of my mind.

  I opened my eyes, blinking at the soft light that cast shadows across the room. I knew he was there; I could smell his unique scent.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked without moving from the bed someone had placed me in.

  I heard his body shift, moving towards me, and then the bed dipped at my back. I turned, shuffling around until I saw him staring at me. His expression was one of fury but his eyes were unreadable.

  “Drink.” He held out a bottle of water. I narrowed my eyes on the cap, and finding the little plastic seals still intact, I deemed it safe.

  I took it from him, shifting so I sat with my back against the headboard. The ribbed cap burnt the sore skin on my palm but the cool water was like nectar to my parched throat.

  “When was the last time you slept?”

  He was the most confusing person I had ever met. His questions were rather unusual and I knew if it was me in his situation, I would be asking different ones. Like who the fuck was I and what the hell was going on?

  “You need to sleep, give your body time to regenerate,” he went on, leaving the bed and taking a seat at his desk.

  I looked around the room, noticing we were back in his office. Then my eyes fell to my body and I groaned. I was dressed in a colossal black t-shirt that hung limply off my body, covering my knees and coming to rest at my shins.

  My jaw dropped and I stared at him. “You removed my clothes?”

  “Seen plenty of the female body, little girl. Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  “But . . . well . . . still.”

  He rolled his eyes and huffed. “When was the last time you slept, Elina?”

  “For fuck’s sake.”

  His lip curled and I nudged my bottom back when a faint but aggressive growl sounded across the room. “Answer the damn question.”

  My teeth were vibrating but I conceded as I placed the bottle on the nightstand and rose from the bed, checking the room for my clothes. “I don’t know, a while ago.”

  He scoffed. “Did they teach you nothing?”

  I ignored his strange statement and prowled the room for my clothes. I felt him watching me with humour. My blood started to shift again. Taking a deep breath and blowing it out, I turned to him. “If I could just have my clothes back.”

  His cool glare never wavered as he stared at me with a bored expression. Fuck it.

  He didn’t speak or move as I made my way to the door. I’d just rile myself up enough to blow the lock again and this time I’d be more vigilant about my surroundings. I came up short though when I realised a large padlock bolted the door. I stared at it, my mouth drying, before spinning around to him.

  A small, smug smile held his lips, the steel of his eyes glinting with amusement. His smile was more shocking than the secured door.

  “Not this time.”

  My hands shook when an explosion of scorching heat shot through my temple. This was bad. I tried to control it, fought with the rage to calm myself but it was no good. My blood boiled in my veins, the toxins in it hardening my arteries and locking down my organs one by one in preparation.

  However, everything evaporated instantly when Reid slammed his wide palm on a button on his desk and the room plunged into darkness, every single piece of electrical equipment shutting off. My breath caught. What the fuck?

  “I said . . .” His voice rumbled from across the room. “ . . . not—this—time.”

  “I don’t understand.” I was amazed I’d managed to get the question past the restriction in my throat.

  “Are we safe now?”

  “Yes,” I whispered into the darkness.

  The lights came back on and I stumbled backwards when he appeared in front of me. I frowned, confused at the failure of my synthetically enhanced senses. He glared down at me. I was surprised there wasn’t steam rushing from his ears. “You slept for four days. Locked this place down. So no more running.”

  I had been asleep for four days? I gawped at him. I couldn’t understand why he was so interested in me. Why, if I brought trouble to his club, wasn’t he kicking me out at the first opportunity?

  My knees gave way when he asked his next question. “How long have Judgement been looking for you?”

  His hands snatched around my waist when my body went down, catching me and holding me upright. He rolled his eyes again. It was getting annoying now and I only just managed to hold back a sigh of exasperation.

  My mouth opened and closed numerous times until I snapped it shut and pulled myself together. Something occurred to me and I shot my hand out before he could stop me and yanked up his t-shirt, my eyes widening on the small symbol just above his right hipbone.

  “Holy—Fuck!”

  Another growl resonated from him but he sucked on his lips and carried me over to the sofa, dropping me rather roughly onto it.

  His eyes narrowed, his glare full of anger. “Shouldn’t have done that, little girl.”

  “Now you’ll have to kill me, huh?” I wasn’t sure if my voice had been loud enough for him to hear but when his hand gripped my throat, the dig of his fingers restricting my airway, I knew he’d definitely heard me. Of course he’d heard me. He was one of the eigh
t.

  He stared at me, reading me. My brain hummed when I felt his penetration but I shook my head, fighting him off. “Don’t!”

  He carried on, his mind furiously trying to link with mine. “STOP IT!” My scream caused him to blink, severing the connection. “I won’t allow you in there!”

  He smirked that fucking damn smug grin again. “Frightened what I’ll find?”

  I didn’t answer him. Slipping out from under him, I made my way back to the door, lifting the padlock in my hand and getting a feel for it, figuring out if it was breakable. “Now you know what I am, you need to let me go. You know they’re coming for me.”

  Silence greeted me and I turned, expecting him to be glaring but he’d disappeared. Searching for him, I stared at his damn fine backside when I found him bent into a large cupboard.

  I licked my lips, shivering at the feeling that flowed through my veins. It confused me. After two years of pain and fire, the tingle in my blood wasn’t exactly unwelcome.

  “Stop staring at my arse and get dressed.” His deep voice echoed from the depths of the closet.

  I cringed and snapped my eyes away when he stepped back and flung some clothes at me. I caught some soft grey bottoms, a black t-shirt and a white pair of feminine lacy white shorts. They weren’t my clothes. I ignored the thought that they’d once belonged to someone who hadn’t had the opportunity to put them back on.

  I wasn’t overjoyed at wearing someone else’s underwear, and reading me once again, Reid barked at me, causing me to jolt. “They’re clean. Maybe not new, but clean.”

  I nodded, unable to say anything intelligent. He stalked across the room and flung open a door. “Bathroom.”

  I nodded again. He rolled his eyes at my stupidity, releasing a huff. “Dress.” He reminded me of a fucking caveman that refused to learn any more English.

  I manoeuvred past him, sliding my body against his. I gasped. He gasped. The lights dimmed when a shot of static crackled between us, pulling the material of our t-shirts together with a snap. His stunned eyes found mine.

  “Dress!”

  I nodded, more furiously this time, and hurried into the bathroom, slamming the door shut and grinding my teeth together at the lack of lock.

  THE HUGE POWER SHOWER was so luxurious after the cold brick chambers in the Judgement dorms that I stayed under the hot stream for a long time, savouring the beat of the water jets and giggling childishly at the foamy lather of his masculine shower gel.

  I’d hissed at the sting in the back of my neck when I’d washed my hair, and feeling at the nape, I’d felt the small stitch; verification that Reid had removed my chip. The relief of knowing I was no longer tracked was immense, and I’d sunk to the floor and cried happy tears about my freedom, very much grateful to Reid for that simple thought.

  When I was sure my skin was about to peel itself away from my body, I turned off the shower and stepped out into the steam-filled bathroom. I frowned at the mirror, the condensation revealing a long number; a phone number. I blinked, capturing it in my memory banks then wiped at the glass, slowly exposing my flushed face.

  My eyes wore dark circles, the once pretty hazel glint that had been my best feature years ago was still missing. Cheekbones that had once been high and sculptured were sunken, and my lips cracked and sore. My pale skin was blemished, threaded veins running along the surface of my skin giving me more of an exhausted appearance than I’d ever known.

  I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what I had become, or rather what they had finally managed to create. His face suddenly burst into my mind, his playful smile beaming at me as he ran his fingertip down my nose before he placed a tender kiss on the tip. He wouldn’t recognise me now. I wasn’t his beautiful girl anymore. I was an apparition of the girl he fell in love with. I knew he had moved on and was happy with someone else, someone who had taken his broken heart and mended it. A girl who had slipped into his heart during their combined search for his missing fiancé and her best friend. Nevertheless, I was happy they had found each other in the nightmare that had become our lives.

  Drying off and shutting down my thoughts, I mechanically dressed then walked into the office.

  “Oh, hi.”

  Jonah turned to me and beamed widely, a mass of crinkles bursting across the skin around his eyes. His smile was both daunting and heart-warming. He had deeply tanned skin, his bulky arms covered with various multi-coloured rune tattoos. His smile was full of sparkling white teeth and his wide unique golden eyes glinted with mischief. I liked him instantly—now he wasn’t transporting me around the place, or hitting me over the head.

  “I’m sorry about what I did.” The sincerity in his voice exposed his truth. “Are you feeling better, sugar?”

  I nodded, remaining in place by the bathroom, unsure what to do.

  He waved his hand, inviting me to a small smoked-glass table I hadn’t noticed before. I made my way towards him, my sense of smell picking up hints of chicken, garlic, herbs and potato. My stomach rumbled loudly causing Jonah to belt out a deep laugh.

  “Soup,” he said, stating the obvious. “Sit, eat. You need some meat on those skinny bones.”

  I couldn’t look away from him as I slid into the chair and he took the one opposite me. He pushed a plate with some bread rolls towards me, still smiling at my rather rude gawp at him. He smiled wider when I picked up the spoon and dipped it into the bowl, my eyes closing as I groaned in pleasure at the delicious flavour.

  “I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no, I’m not like you or Reid. I’m just an employee, or rather a friend of Reid’s, and hopefully yours soon,” he explained when I continued to shovel the food in, breaking bits of bread off and dipping them into my soup eagerly. I hadn’t realised how hungry I was until the food was presented.

  His voice dipped and my eyes snapped back up to his when he continued. “But my sister was.”

  “Was?” My skin prickled when he licked his lips and the happy glint in his eyes disappeared, but he nodded.

  “She . . . Marissa, something went wrong with her coding. We tried to save her but . . . she died. That’s how I met Reid.”

  Placing my spoon in my bowl, I leaned across the table and rested my hand over his. “I’m so sorry.”

  He nodded. I’d been one of the lucky ones, if you could call my body accepting everything they forced into it lucky.

  “There were many . . . well,” I winced not knowing how to voice what he maybe didn’t want to hear. “I lost friends.”

  His eyes softened. He slipped his hand out from under mine and placed it on top, squeezing lightly. “How long have you been in there?”

  “Two years.” I took a sip of the water he’d placed in front of me.

  His eyes widened. “Wow. Two years.”

  “What’s Reid’s story?” I asked, steering the conversation away from me.

  “That’s Reid’s story, not mine, but I can tell you it’s not pleasant. Lost a few folks of his own.”

  I swallowed down the pain of guilt. I knew I shouldn’t feel responsible yet in a way, I was, very much so.

  “My story is not up for discussion!”

  I stiffened when his gruff voice barked across the room. I didn’t turn but Jonah rose from his chair and nodded firmly at Reid then smiled back at me. “See you later, sugar.”

  I gave him a wide, genuine smile. “Thank you, Jonah.” He knew I was referring to his honesty and gave me a soft nod and a quick wink before leaving the room.

  When I finally turned, Reid stared at me with a weird look on his face, almost as if he was studying me, his gaze trying to pierce through the density of my skull so he could study my mind. He didn’t release me from his gaze, his eyes finding mine and locking on for several moments. The light grey of his irises darkened until they resembled granite; flecks of silver shimmering with the light in the room.

  “You have a pretty smile,” he stated brusquely.

  Righty ho.

  “Uhh, thank
you?” I replied, sounding like I was asking him a question.

  “Lights up your eyes, burns out the sorrow.”

  I swallowed, trying to shift the lump of chicken that had lodged in my throat. I didn’t know what to say so I waited for him to decide where he was going with his strange conversation.

  When he didn’t say any more and the atmosphere grew uncomfortable, I reached round behind my neck and indicated the small wound. “Thank you for removing my chip.”

  He nodded. “Needed to come out. Sorry if it’s painful.”

  “No. It’s fine.”

  The air grew stagnant again before he walked towards me, stopping beside me and peering down into my bowl. “Finish up, we have to make a start.”

  “A start?”

  His eyes slowly lifted to mine. “You need to learn to control your ability.” He spat out the word ‘ability’ and I felt every bit of his hatred. I too saw it as a hindrance, an affliction none of us had wanted.

  “Why?”

  “Why? Because you’re shit hot at blowing things up.”

  “No. Why are you helping me?”

  He blinked then turned away from me. “It’s what I do.”

  I didn’t understand and I had a feeling he wouldn’t explain. “But I’ve tried to control it. I’ve never . . .”

  “Judgement are stupid fucks. No idea. They build robots, weapons, and they have no idea how to control them.”

  I flinched at the word ‘control’ and ‘weapon,’ in fact his whole sentence made me tense. I was an object again. His referral to me as being nothing but a tool created for a specific purpose hurt. But then again, I should have been used to it. For twenty one years prior to the day my body and mind became Janice’s asset, I’d known my ‘construction’ had only been for that reason.

  He recognised my need for information, for reasoning why he was doing this. “You can ask questions while we train.” He turned abruptly and walked towards one of the locked doors. I stared after him, trying to ignore the way his back muscles glided under his shirt when he moved. He turned back to me when he detected I hadn’t moved. “Now, little girl. We don’t have time for your dawdling.”