ext_83926 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
savannahjan.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
jam_pony_fic2008-01-31 03:52 pm
savannahjan.livejournal.com) wrote in jam_pony_fic2008-01-31 03:52 pm
Entry tags:
Unhappily Ever After
Title: Unhappily Ever After
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
savannahjan
Rating: PG at most
Pairing: gen
Spoilers: Last three episodes of Season 1.
Warnings: word count: 4,000
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, just invite them over to play every once in awhile.
Summary: Tinga’s last days.
Day 10
Tinga woke up feeling stiff and disoriented. She felt the remains of a bruise under her eye, already disappearing because of her speedy healing ability. As the fog began to lift, she realized her hands were cuffed behind her. Her head pounded as she sat up too quickly.
Looking about the room, Tinga’s stomach turned as she recognized a Manticore solitary confinement unit. Or something very close to it.
Memories came flooding over her. Running to Cananda with Zack. Her face on a milk carton. Her son sick at Lydecker’s hand. Trading her life for his. And Brin’s fist flying at her face. The weight of what she’d lost collapsed on her and she fell back onto the bed, black curtains closing over her eyes.
X5-656 regained consciousness momentarily today. Tomorrow she will be taken in for surgery. It is necessary to harvest her eggs before continuing with any other research. Somehow the combination of DNA used to create X5-656 has enabled her to pass her genetic gifts to her offspring. This is of special interest to the Committee. Delivering these eggs to them will keep them preoccupied while I perform research of a more personal nature. Deck’s kids may be what I’ve been looking for all this time.
Day 9
Something had changed. Tinga opened her eyes, squinting at the light. She wondered how long she had been unconscious. Her stomach felt unfamiliar to her. Her fingers gingerly traced their way down.
Tinga gasped. And began to sob. Stitches held her together over her ovaries.
“Damn you!” she shouted through tears. She immediately began to compose herself. She took deep breaths demanding control over her body. “Can’t let them break me. I’m Tinga. Case and Charlie are out there waiting for me,” she chanted silently as her pulse slowed.
She sat up, wincing at the pain over her ovaries, but continued to a standing position and began moving around the room, looking for weaknesses. She didn’t know how much time she had left to escape. She had to get out now before the reindoctrinated her. Tinga tensed. A hissing sound filled the room above her. With quick realization, she moved back to the bed, feeling consciousness slipping away. “Case,” she whispered.
Only hours after surgery, X5-656 was up and moving about her cell. I underestimated her healing ability and had to sedate her by filling the room with gas. If she is healing this well, I should take the opportunity to speak with her before continuing with testing. I’m very interested in her other siblings. The Committee has already begun research on her ovum at the Nevada facility. In under a year, we are hoping to have replicated the results which occurred in her natural offspring. It will be interesting to see if she is the key to what I’ve been looking for.
Day 8
Tinga awoke, and immediately realized her hands had been bound behind her. And, while she could stand, her feet were still shackled to the cot. “Damn,” she cursed herself for her lack of control in staying conscious. If she kept passing out, she’d never escape. She heard someone approaching her room. The door opened and Tinga watched a woman with short blonde hair step gracefully into the room. No glimmer of recognition passed through Tinga’s mind. In fact, she felt confusion that she wasn’t staring Donald Lydecker in the eye.
“Good morning, X5-656. Sleep well?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Just another one of your biggest fans. Lydecker spoke very highly of you and also, your son.”
“Case!” Tinga struggled to get to the woman.
“Ah, yes. Case. He has been quite the interesting study. Lydecker proved himself much more clever than I gave him credit for when he was able to capture you as well as your son,” the woman spoke coldly.
“If you hurt him-“
“Hurt him? X5-656, we have every intention of taking care of him just as we took care of you and your brothers and sisters.” She smiled, but Tinga felt a chill.
“I will not let him become a part of Manticore.”
The woman laughed. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.” She leaned against the wall opposite of Tinga. “Though, I’d be willing to deal. Afterall, now that we have your eggs, we can create as many Cases as we’d like. I think I could find it in myself to free your son for something of more value.”
Tinga felt her skin prickling. “Like what?” she spat.
“Information on your brothers and sisters. Seeing what special ability your DNA has provided you, we are very interested in what has developed in the others you escaped with that night.”
“You must be joking. I would never turn on my brothers and sisters!”
“Even to save your own son?” The woman’s eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “Apparently that maternal instinct is missing in the X5 series.” She moved toward the door. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have some preparations to make. Tomorrow starts a very busy week for the both of us.”
Tinga felt tears burning her eyes. “Wait,” she breathed.
The woman paused.
“Please. I just want him to be safe.”
“Tell me what I need to know. Where are your brothers and sisters?”
Tinga stiffened. She knew she couldn’t trust this woman. She worked with Lydecker. She was as big a liar as he was. Nothing she said was true. Certainly not any promises she was making while Tinga sat, shackled. Tinga looked the woman directly in the eye. “Go to hell, you bitch.”
The woman smiled. “I’m very interested to see the results from our research together. I will see you in the morning, X5-656.” And she was gone.
Tinga sat on the bed, forcing the tears to remain behind her eyes. She focused on the ropes tying her arms, and began planning her escape. Case needed her more than ever.
X5-656 was as tight-lipped as I expected. I was almost tempted to allow X5-734 a visit to see if that would weaken her at all. They all seem to have such a connection with one another. Obviously, Lydecker neglected to teach them that familial relations were a weakness soldiers could not afford. The chamber has been set up and the silo site is ready for the experiment to begin. I find myself hoping a little too freely that she carries the answer and that my desperate search for these mutants will come to an end. Oh what would Deck say if he knew his precious X5-656 was in my possession?
Day 7
The soldiers held a gun to her at all times, and the cuffs on her hands and feet were extremely heavy, making her use her strength simply to walk the path they were prodding her along. Some time in the night, her clothes had been removed, and she felt exposed in the skimpy black leather strap wrapped around her chest and tight undergarments. As they led her out of the light of day into the silo she’d watched getting closer in the SUV, she saw the woman standing just inside.
“Good morning, X5-656. Welcome to your home for the next week or so. Feel free to look around,” she indicated the inside of the silo Tinga had just entered.
Tinga looked around seeing no entrance but the one she had just entered. She looked high above her, feeling a slight breeze. She knew if she could somehow climb to the catwalk that she’d be able to escape, but she had no gear to help her in her climb. The walls were completely smooth. There was a glass chamber in the middle of the silo, connected to all sorts of tubes and wires, with some type of command desk sitting beneath it. A man in a white lab coat sat watching Tinga.
“What is this place?”
“Just a private little place for me to get to know you a little better.” She nodded toward the soldiers.
They pushed Tinga down the steps and she had to concentrate not to trip over her feet. She felt panic rising in her chest as they moved her toward the chamber. She bit her lip as they strapped her into a harness.
The woman approached, holding a needle. “Just a little prick.”
Tinga struggled.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be losing consciousness today. I need you fully aware of what’s going on around you. This is just to slow down those accelerated motor skills of yours so we can get you into the chamber.” She stabbed the needle into Tinga’s arm.
Tinga felt her body relaxing despite her efforts to keep control. She felt the soldiers relax their stance and watched them remove the cuffs, seemingly unworried about an attack from the subdued X5. “What are you going to do?” she asked slurred.
“Just running some tests. You should be quite used to that from your previous stay at Manticore. Surely Colonel Lydecker poked and prodded you on a regular basis?”
Tinga recoiled mentally, but her body remained limp. The man in the lab coat had come to her now and was attaching tubes to various parts of her body
“She’s ready,” he said as he nodded.
“First, draw 10 vials of blood. We need all the back-up we can get. We don’t know how long she will last, and I need to be sure research can continue in the event that we lose her too early,” the woman ordered.
“Yes, Dr. Renfro.”
Tinga stored the name away for later. She’d never encountered this woman before, and knowing she had her son somewhere made her want to learn as much as she could, hoping it would lead to a weakness she could exploit. She felt the needle puncturing her arm and watched as her blood left her body in little tubes, she, helpless to stop it. After the last vial was filled, she felt her body being lifted slowly. She watched Renfro’s smug smile spreading as she dropped into the chamber she now realized was filled with warm liquid more viscous than water.
“And so it begins,” Renfro said just before Tinga’s ears dropped into the liquid.
Through the liquid and glass, the world was slightly distorted, but she could see the man at the control panel hitting buttons. She felt the tubes attached to her begin sucking, or pumping, or injecting, or…Tinga had no idea what was happening. But she knew that eventually the injection would wear off and she’d feel what was happening more completely. And she wasn’t sure if she was ready for what was to come.
Renfro stepped to the glass, putting a hand to it and smiling.
Testing on X5-656 began today. Sent a vial of blood to the lab for a full assay. Something to keep with me in the event of failure. X5s have proven incredibly resilient, but I’m not sure how long this will last. I feel better already knowing the testing has begun. We should have answers shortly. And then? Then I will have that which I have been working for so very long.
Day 6
The injection had worn off, but having command of her faculties while submerged did not seem to allow for much of a physical advantage. Tinga stared through the glass, not seeing the woman, Renfro. She was alone with the man and 4 guards that she was able to see. Moving around was awkward as the tubes pulled at her with each movement. She felt something pumping through her. Or being taken out of her. She was unable to determine just what was happening. Every ten minutes, an air tube would drop into the liquid, allowing her a breath of air just before her last one expired.
Without being drugged, she had been awake the entire time in the chamber, but that had proven rather unenlightening as she realized she still had no idea what they were doing to her or how she was going to escape. Sometime after watching the man nod off, she had decided to wait it out. Surely, after whatever experiment she was apart of, they would transport her back to Manticore. That would be when she’d strike. Case couldn’t wait much longer.
X5-656 performed well today. I wonder if she realizes just what we are doing to her. It is a shame I can’t ask her. The Chem. Lab completed development of the agent, and so, we will inject her with it tomorrow. This engineered bio-agent, coupled with Tinga’s genetic make-up should have the desired effect, I am just not sure how long it will take to see the result. She is so young, I’m not sure how dramatic the change will be. But, I don’t need much before I’ll know for sure if she is the one. Just a slight change. Something to show her DNA was the missing ingredient.
Day 5
Tinga had to remind herself to keep her mind sharp. She felt mentally exhausted as she focused on remembering every detail of her incarceration within the chamber and holding her breath. Lydecker has always been a stickler for mental discipline during his sadistic tests, but each time she came closer and closer to drowning, her mind began to wander.
She could see Charlie, sitting on the edge of a couch across the room. He held his drink casually, and she could see it was almost full. She smiled to remember that he wasn’t much of a drinker. When she’d caught his eye, his conversation with the people next to him had stuttered a bit as he tried to excuse himself. Moments later, they’d found themselves sitting on the porch underneath the cloudy sky, talking for hours. They talked like they’d known each other forever. She felt her senses relaxing. She’d relaxed so completely, she felt a summarized confession of her Manticore experience spill forth with no warning. When she finally regained control of her loose lips, Charlie’s face was dark.
Tinga was afraid.
She laughed it away as a joke, feeling heavy, even now in this chamber. He hadn’t been ready then. She found herself wondering where he was now. Perhaps down in Arizona with his sister. No. He would still be in Portland, hoping to recover his wife and child. Unless Lydecker had killed him when taking Case. She wanted to cry, but couldn’t.
Earlier, Renfro had injected something into one of the tubes connected to her. She’d felt warmth throughout her body. And she tingled from the inside out. Renfro had watched, unable to take her eyes from Tinga’s.
“When will this end?” she thought.
Introduced agent into X5-656. The look in her eyes as she felt it coursing through her drove me mad with curiosity. What must it feel like? Does she realize what may be occurring? Does she FEEL it lifting her? So many questions. If she survives, Psych-Op will be key in her debriefing.
Day 4
Tinga struggled to keep her faculties. She found herself wondering if she was slowly melting to become one with the liquid. She focused. Somehow while she felt herself slipping away, she also felt acutely aware of her body changing. It reminded of her of how her body had changed while she carried Case within her.
“Case,” she thought.
In her mind, she held him close, smelling his hair with its aroma so unique to little boys. She saw him laughing as he hung from the monkey bars. He had always loved them. At first, she had been afraid to let him, but when she recognized his special abilities, so much like her own, she had let him do as he pleased. She could feel his arms around her and hear his voice whisper, “I love you,” just before brushing his lips softly against hers in a kiss. He was so smart; his teachers recognized him as gifted almost immediately.
She shook the memories away. His gifts, those gifts bestowed him through her DNA were the cause of his suffering now as Manticore fashioned him as one of their own. She felt a sob in her chest and had to command it to remain for fear she’d choke on the fluid surrounding her.
Renfro was visiting more often now, though Tinga had a hard time determining the passage of time as she became more and more incoherent. She wondered how long she’d been here. How much longer she’d be here. Renfro stared at her, never offering answers, never attempting to communicate. Just stared. Tinga hoped the hatred she felt showed clear through her gaze.
X5-656 is doing better than I imagined. We are seeing a clear change in her appearance. If she is still alive tomorrow, I may have to prematurely inject myself with the combination of the engineered agent and her DNA. Surely it would benefit me regardless of what happens to her in the end. At the rate she is producing the finished product, there will be more than enough to begin marketing immediately. And once we’ve discovered the specific ingredient in her DNA that allows this transformation, we can search through the Manticore database for those with similar make-ups. My literal fountain of youth.
Day 3
Tinga realized she had no idea how long she’d been submerged. There was no indication of day or night. She could have been here a couple of days, or even a couple of weeks. She only knew that she was slowly slipping away. She had bursts of inexplicable energy, but they were followed by a strong desire to pass out. Fear of drowning is all that kept her mostly conscious. And thoughts of Charlie. And Case.
“Once upon a time, in a castle very, very far away, there lived a Princess and all her many brothers and sisters,” she tried to tell herself her son’s favorite story to keep herself awake. “The king of the castle was very mean to the Princess and her brothers and sisters. Princess Tinga worked with them to escape the bad king. And when they all escaped, they went out into the world. Princess Tinga found her Prince and they were married. They even had a son. But, one day, the evil king returned and captured the Princess, taking her to the castle far, far away. She stayed locked away, waiting for when she could escape. Her greatest wish was to return to her family. There were all she could think about. Even when she thought she was dieing.”
Tinga shook her head the best she could in the liquid. Dieing. She’d actually “said” it. That made it real. As she reflected on her body, she realized that her heart rate was constantly up and down. Surely, this was not normal. And the breathing tube came down more often now, as if she was losing her ability to hold her breath. She almost hadn’t noticed. And she felt so tired.
Renfro’s smile was not as smug now as she gazed into the glass. Tinga noticed tense lines creasing the woman’s forehead. Tinga felt satisfaction knowing that whatever it was Renfro was after, it didn’t appear that it was going flawlessly.
Such a sudden turn for the worst. X5-656’s vitals have suffered a severe decrease. She is fading fast, though this shouldn’t be wholly surprising: the X series seems to do everything fast from healing to deteriorating. With that in mind, I took a vial of what we are calling the finished product. I have given myself a single injection in the thigh. Reckless, but I have never been one to err on the side of caution. If X5-656 felt the effects for a few days, I speculate it will last at least a week for me, if not longer. Immediately, I felt no change. But within the hour, I felt my face relaxing. And looking in the mirror, I’ve seen the lines fading. It is working. For now. I am not confident that X5-656 will survive the experiment. She must not be the one we are looking for. Deck is actively searching for another one of his children, even questioned X5-734 extensively. I’ll have Sandoval keep a close eye; perhaps we can intercept this X5 and begin the tests again.
Day 2
She wasn’t sure when it had finally happened, but Tinga suddenly realized that she wasn’t going to escape Manticore this time. Depression threatened to drown her more quickly than the fluid she was suspended in. She had failed her son. He would become a part of Manticore, and it was all because of her. It was her fault. And she would have to die knowing Lydecker would become Case’s father now. Charlie would never see him again, if he was even alive. She had lost everything, and it could never be regained.
She resigned herself to death when the breathing tube was no longer taken from her. She could no longer hold her breath, and the man in the white coat knew it. He must be reading her vital signs and seeing concretely what Tinga was feeling inside. Whatever experiment she had been apart of, it was going to end soon because her body was giving out.
Renfro stared at her in disgust as if Tinga had let her down. Tinga had no energy for defiance, but only thought about those she was leaving behind. In her head, she pleaded with Max and Zack to forget about her. Face to face with this woman worse than Lydecker in her way made Tinga desperate to protect her brother and sister. But she knew they couldn’t hear her. And that they would probably come and become prisoners themselves. Or worse.
Tinga felt tired. She stared at Renfro who appeared to be speaking, though she knew Tinga couldn’t hear. She had a smirk on her face that Tinga wanted to slap off, but was to weak to even make a show of. Renfro looked triumphant. This only stabbed the dagger in deeper as Tinga felt her eyelids closing, Renfro’s smiling face being the last thing she saw.
I don’t believe X5-656 will regain consciousness. I have ordered Thompson to remain at the silo monitoring her vitals, or in the event of her inevitable death, her rate of deterioration. Seeing her this morning was quite a shock. Her veins were deep purple, and easily seen from any distance. Like her skin had become translucent. I found myself concerned that I would look like this after injecting myself, but after a glance in the mirror, I feel as youthful as I did shortly after the treatment. I know it won’t last this time. But perhaps the next batch will be more successful.
In a moment of personal satisfaction, I told X5-656 that we did not have her son at Manticore. That he had escaped. She, of course couldn’t hear me. She will die believing her son has become a Manticore soldier. She should be honored. Many of her offspring will become her Manticore legacy as we use her ovum to further the program.
Obviously, her DNA is not the final ingredient, but I revel knowing how close I came. Tomorrow Sandoval will be neutralizing Lydecker, and I will take over the search for X5-452. Perhaps she is his special child. The one I need.
Day 1
X5-656 is dead. Thompson made the call earlier this afternoon hours before he was killed. He reported that despite the shutting down of her system, that there were still chemical reactions occurring. I ordered him to continue observation.
Sandoval is dead. Lydecker double-crossed him. He remains a thorn in my side. I came close to terminating him this evening when he stormed the silo, but he escaped capture. I can see where his X5s get it from. According to reporting soldiers, X5-452 and X5-599 were on a mission to save X5-656. 599 was injured, but escaped. 452 was in custody, holding the lifeless body of her sister until Lydecker arrived on the scene. She is now missing, along with the traitor. This only solidifies how important she could be to me.
Luckily, despite the loss of Thompson, I was able to retrieve the research and will be able to continue experimenting.
X5-734 has been deployed to retrieve 452 and terminate Lydecker. I’m very anxious to meet 452. Very anxious, indeed.
Author:
savannahjanRating: PG at most
Pairing: gen
Spoilers: Last three episodes of Season 1.
Warnings: word count: 4,000
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, just invite them over to play every once in awhile.
Summary: Tinga’s last days.
Day 10
Tinga woke up feeling stiff and disoriented. She felt the remains of a bruise under her eye, already disappearing because of her speedy healing ability. As the fog began to lift, she realized her hands were cuffed behind her. Her head pounded as she sat up too quickly.
Looking about the room, Tinga’s stomach turned as she recognized a Manticore solitary confinement unit. Or something very close to it.
Memories came flooding over her. Running to Cananda with Zack. Her face on a milk carton. Her son sick at Lydecker’s hand. Trading her life for his. And Brin’s fist flying at her face. The weight of what she’d lost collapsed on her and she fell back onto the bed, black curtains closing over her eyes.
X5-656 regained consciousness momentarily today. Tomorrow she will be taken in for surgery. It is necessary to harvest her eggs before continuing with any other research. Somehow the combination of DNA used to create X5-656 has enabled her to pass her genetic gifts to her offspring. This is of special interest to the Committee. Delivering these eggs to them will keep them preoccupied while I perform research of a more personal nature. Deck’s kids may be what I’ve been looking for all this time.
Day 9
Something had changed. Tinga opened her eyes, squinting at the light. She wondered how long she had been unconscious. Her stomach felt unfamiliar to her. Her fingers gingerly traced their way down.
Tinga gasped. And began to sob. Stitches held her together over her ovaries.
“Damn you!” she shouted through tears. She immediately began to compose herself. She took deep breaths demanding control over her body. “Can’t let them break me. I’m Tinga. Case and Charlie are out there waiting for me,” she chanted silently as her pulse slowed.
She sat up, wincing at the pain over her ovaries, but continued to a standing position and began moving around the room, looking for weaknesses. She didn’t know how much time she had left to escape. She had to get out now before the reindoctrinated her. Tinga tensed. A hissing sound filled the room above her. With quick realization, she moved back to the bed, feeling consciousness slipping away. “Case,” she whispered.
Only hours after surgery, X5-656 was up and moving about her cell. I underestimated her healing ability and had to sedate her by filling the room with gas. If she is healing this well, I should take the opportunity to speak with her before continuing with testing. I’m very interested in her other siblings. The Committee has already begun research on her ovum at the Nevada facility. In under a year, we are hoping to have replicated the results which occurred in her natural offspring. It will be interesting to see if she is the key to what I’ve been looking for.
Day 8
Tinga awoke, and immediately realized her hands had been bound behind her. And, while she could stand, her feet were still shackled to the cot. “Damn,” she cursed herself for her lack of control in staying conscious. If she kept passing out, she’d never escape. She heard someone approaching her room. The door opened and Tinga watched a woman with short blonde hair step gracefully into the room. No glimmer of recognition passed through Tinga’s mind. In fact, she felt confusion that she wasn’t staring Donald Lydecker in the eye.
“Good morning, X5-656. Sleep well?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Just another one of your biggest fans. Lydecker spoke very highly of you and also, your son.”
“Case!” Tinga struggled to get to the woman.
“Ah, yes. Case. He has been quite the interesting study. Lydecker proved himself much more clever than I gave him credit for when he was able to capture you as well as your son,” the woman spoke coldly.
“If you hurt him-“
“Hurt him? X5-656, we have every intention of taking care of him just as we took care of you and your brothers and sisters.” She smiled, but Tinga felt a chill.
“I will not let him become a part of Manticore.”
The woman laughed. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.” She leaned against the wall opposite of Tinga. “Though, I’d be willing to deal. Afterall, now that we have your eggs, we can create as many Cases as we’d like. I think I could find it in myself to free your son for something of more value.”
Tinga felt her skin prickling. “Like what?” she spat.
“Information on your brothers and sisters. Seeing what special ability your DNA has provided you, we are very interested in what has developed in the others you escaped with that night.”
“You must be joking. I would never turn on my brothers and sisters!”
“Even to save your own son?” The woman’s eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “Apparently that maternal instinct is missing in the X5 series.” She moved toward the door. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have some preparations to make. Tomorrow starts a very busy week for the both of us.”
Tinga felt tears burning her eyes. “Wait,” she breathed.
The woman paused.
“Please. I just want him to be safe.”
“Tell me what I need to know. Where are your brothers and sisters?”
Tinga stiffened. She knew she couldn’t trust this woman. She worked with Lydecker. She was as big a liar as he was. Nothing she said was true. Certainly not any promises she was making while Tinga sat, shackled. Tinga looked the woman directly in the eye. “Go to hell, you bitch.”
The woman smiled. “I’m very interested to see the results from our research together. I will see you in the morning, X5-656.” And she was gone.
Tinga sat on the bed, forcing the tears to remain behind her eyes. She focused on the ropes tying her arms, and began planning her escape. Case needed her more than ever.
X5-656 was as tight-lipped as I expected. I was almost tempted to allow X5-734 a visit to see if that would weaken her at all. They all seem to have such a connection with one another. Obviously, Lydecker neglected to teach them that familial relations were a weakness soldiers could not afford. The chamber has been set up and the silo site is ready for the experiment to begin. I find myself hoping a little too freely that she carries the answer and that my desperate search for these mutants will come to an end. Oh what would Deck say if he knew his precious X5-656 was in my possession?
Day 7
The soldiers held a gun to her at all times, and the cuffs on her hands and feet were extremely heavy, making her use her strength simply to walk the path they were prodding her along. Some time in the night, her clothes had been removed, and she felt exposed in the skimpy black leather strap wrapped around her chest and tight undergarments. As they led her out of the light of day into the silo she’d watched getting closer in the SUV, she saw the woman standing just inside.
“Good morning, X5-656. Welcome to your home for the next week or so. Feel free to look around,” she indicated the inside of the silo Tinga had just entered.
Tinga looked around seeing no entrance but the one she had just entered. She looked high above her, feeling a slight breeze. She knew if she could somehow climb to the catwalk that she’d be able to escape, but she had no gear to help her in her climb. The walls were completely smooth. There was a glass chamber in the middle of the silo, connected to all sorts of tubes and wires, with some type of command desk sitting beneath it. A man in a white lab coat sat watching Tinga.
“What is this place?”
“Just a private little place for me to get to know you a little better.” She nodded toward the soldiers.
They pushed Tinga down the steps and she had to concentrate not to trip over her feet. She felt panic rising in her chest as they moved her toward the chamber. She bit her lip as they strapped her into a harness.
The woman approached, holding a needle. “Just a little prick.”
Tinga struggled.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be losing consciousness today. I need you fully aware of what’s going on around you. This is just to slow down those accelerated motor skills of yours so we can get you into the chamber.” She stabbed the needle into Tinga’s arm.
Tinga felt her body relaxing despite her efforts to keep control. She felt the soldiers relax their stance and watched them remove the cuffs, seemingly unworried about an attack from the subdued X5. “What are you going to do?” she asked slurred.
“Just running some tests. You should be quite used to that from your previous stay at Manticore. Surely Colonel Lydecker poked and prodded you on a regular basis?”
Tinga recoiled mentally, but her body remained limp. The man in the lab coat had come to her now and was attaching tubes to various parts of her body
“She’s ready,” he said as he nodded.
“First, draw 10 vials of blood. We need all the back-up we can get. We don’t know how long she will last, and I need to be sure research can continue in the event that we lose her too early,” the woman ordered.
“Yes, Dr. Renfro.”
Tinga stored the name away for later. She’d never encountered this woman before, and knowing she had her son somewhere made her want to learn as much as she could, hoping it would lead to a weakness she could exploit. She felt the needle puncturing her arm and watched as her blood left her body in little tubes, she, helpless to stop it. After the last vial was filled, she felt her body being lifted slowly. She watched Renfro’s smug smile spreading as she dropped into the chamber she now realized was filled with warm liquid more viscous than water.
“And so it begins,” Renfro said just before Tinga’s ears dropped into the liquid.
Through the liquid and glass, the world was slightly distorted, but she could see the man at the control panel hitting buttons. She felt the tubes attached to her begin sucking, or pumping, or injecting, or…Tinga had no idea what was happening. But she knew that eventually the injection would wear off and she’d feel what was happening more completely. And she wasn’t sure if she was ready for what was to come.
Renfro stepped to the glass, putting a hand to it and smiling.
Testing on X5-656 began today. Sent a vial of blood to the lab for a full assay. Something to keep with me in the event of failure. X5s have proven incredibly resilient, but I’m not sure how long this will last. I feel better already knowing the testing has begun. We should have answers shortly. And then? Then I will have that which I have been working for so very long.
Day 6
The injection had worn off, but having command of her faculties while submerged did not seem to allow for much of a physical advantage. Tinga stared through the glass, not seeing the woman, Renfro. She was alone with the man and 4 guards that she was able to see. Moving around was awkward as the tubes pulled at her with each movement. She felt something pumping through her. Or being taken out of her. She was unable to determine just what was happening. Every ten minutes, an air tube would drop into the liquid, allowing her a breath of air just before her last one expired.
Without being drugged, she had been awake the entire time in the chamber, but that had proven rather unenlightening as she realized she still had no idea what they were doing to her or how she was going to escape. Sometime after watching the man nod off, she had decided to wait it out. Surely, after whatever experiment she was apart of, they would transport her back to Manticore. That would be when she’d strike. Case couldn’t wait much longer.
X5-656 performed well today. I wonder if she realizes just what we are doing to her. It is a shame I can’t ask her. The Chem. Lab completed development of the agent, and so, we will inject her with it tomorrow. This engineered bio-agent, coupled with Tinga’s genetic make-up should have the desired effect, I am just not sure how long it will take to see the result. She is so young, I’m not sure how dramatic the change will be. But, I don’t need much before I’ll know for sure if she is the one. Just a slight change. Something to show her DNA was the missing ingredient.
Day 5
Tinga had to remind herself to keep her mind sharp. She felt mentally exhausted as she focused on remembering every detail of her incarceration within the chamber and holding her breath. Lydecker has always been a stickler for mental discipline during his sadistic tests, but each time she came closer and closer to drowning, her mind began to wander.
She could see Charlie, sitting on the edge of a couch across the room. He held his drink casually, and she could see it was almost full. She smiled to remember that he wasn’t much of a drinker. When she’d caught his eye, his conversation with the people next to him had stuttered a bit as he tried to excuse himself. Moments later, they’d found themselves sitting on the porch underneath the cloudy sky, talking for hours. They talked like they’d known each other forever. She felt her senses relaxing. She’d relaxed so completely, she felt a summarized confession of her Manticore experience spill forth with no warning. When she finally regained control of her loose lips, Charlie’s face was dark.
Tinga was afraid.
She laughed it away as a joke, feeling heavy, even now in this chamber. He hadn’t been ready then. She found herself wondering where he was now. Perhaps down in Arizona with his sister. No. He would still be in Portland, hoping to recover his wife and child. Unless Lydecker had killed him when taking Case. She wanted to cry, but couldn’t.
Earlier, Renfro had injected something into one of the tubes connected to her. She’d felt warmth throughout her body. And she tingled from the inside out. Renfro had watched, unable to take her eyes from Tinga’s.
“When will this end?” she thought.
Introduced agent into X5-656. The look in her eyes as she felt it coursing through her drove me mad with curiosity. What must it feel like? Does she realize what may be occurring? Does she FEEL it lifting her? So many questions. If she survives, Psych-Op will be key in her debriefing.
Day 4
Tinga struggled to keep her faculties. She found herself wondering if she was slowly melting to become one with the liquid. She focused. Somehow while she felt herself slipping away, she also felt acutely aware of her body changing. It reminded of her of how her body had changed while she carried Case within her.
“Case,” she thought.
In her mind, she held him close, smelling his hair with its aroma so unique to little boys. She saw him laughing as he hung from the monkey bars. He had always loved them. At first, she had been afraid to let him, but when she recognized his special abilities, so much like her own, she had let him do as he pleased. She could feel his arms around her and hear his voice whisper, “I love you,” just before brushing his lips softly against hers in a kiss. He was so smart; his teachers recognized him as gifted almost immediately.
She shook the memories away. His gifts, those gifts bestowed him through her DNA were the cause of his suffering now as Manticore fashioned him as one of their own. She felt a sob in her chest and had to command it to remain for fear she’d choke on the fluid surrounding her.
Renfro was visiting more often now, though Tinga had a hard time determining the passage of time as she became more and more incoherent. She wondered how long she’d been here. How much longer she’d be here. Renfro stared at her, never offering answers, never attempting to communicate. Just stared. Tinga hoped the hatred she felt showed clear through her gaze.
X5-656 is doing better than I imagined. We are seeing a clear change in her appearance. If she is still alive tomorrow, I may have to prematurely inject myself with the combination of the engineered agent and her DNA. Surely it would benefit me regardless of what happens to her in the end. At the rate she is producing the finished product, there will be more than enough to begin marketing immediately. And once we’ve discovered the specific ingredient in her DNA that allows this transformation, we can search through the Manticore database for those with similar make-ups. My literal fountain of youth.
Day 3
Tinga realized she had no idea how long she’d been submerged. There was no indication of day or night. She could have been here a couple of days, or even a couple of weeks. She only knew that she was slowly slipping away. She had bursts of inexplicable energy, but they were followed by a strong desire to pass out. Fear of drowning is all that kept her mostly conscious. And thoughts of Charlie. And Case.
“Once upon a time, in a castle very, very far away, there lived a Princess and all her many brothers and sisters,” she tried to tell herself her son’s favorite story to keep herself awake. “The king of the castle was very mean to the Princess and her brothers and sisters. Princess Tinga worked with them to escape the bad king. And when they all escaped, they went out into the world. Princess Tinga found her Prince and they were married. They even had a son. But, one day, the evil king returned and captured the Princess, taking her to the castle far, far away. She stayed locked away, waiting for when she could escape. Her greatest wish was to return to her family. There were all she could think about. Even when she thought she was dieing.”
Tinga shook her head the best she could in the liquid. Dieing. She’d actually “said” it. That made it real. As she reflected on her body, she realized that her heart rate was constantly up and down. Surely, this was not normal. And the breathing tube came down more often now, as if she was losing her ability to hold her breath. She almost hadn’t noticed. And she felt so tired.
Renfro’s smile was not as smug now as she gazed into the glass. Tinga noticed tense lines creasing the woman’s forehead. Tinga felt satisfaction knowing that whatever it was Renfro was after, it didn’t appear that it was going flawlessly.
Such a sudden turn for the worst. X5-656’s vitals have suffered a severe decrease. She is fading fast, though this shouldn’t be wholly surprising: the X series seems to do everything fast from healing to deteriorating. With that in mind, I took a vial of what we are calling the finished product. I have given myself a single injection in the thigh. Reckless, but I have never been one to err on the side of caution. If X5-656 felt the effects for a few days, I speculate it will last at least a week for me, if not longer. Immediately, I felt no change. But within the hour, I felt my face relaxing. And looking in the mirror, I’ve seen the lines fading. It is working. For now. I am not confident that X5-656 will survive the experiment. She must not be the one we are looking for. Deck is actively searching for another one of his children, even questioned X5-734 extensively. I’ll have Sandoval keep a close eye; perhaps we can intercept this X5 and begin the tests again.
Day 2
She wasn’t sure when it had finally happened, but Tinga suddenly realized that she wasn’t going to escape Manticore this time. Depression threatened to drown her more quickly than the fluid she was suspended in. She had failed her son. He would become a part of Manticore, and it was all because of her. It was her fault. And she would have to die knowing Lydecker would become Case’s father now. Charlie would never see him again, if he was even alive. She had lost everything, and it could never be regained.
She resigned herself to death when the breathing tube was no longer taken from her. She could no longer hold her breath, and the man in the white coat knew it. He must be reading her vital signs and seeing concretely what Tinga was feeling inside. Whatever experiment she had been apart of, it was going to end soon because her body was giving out.
Renfro stared at her in disgust as if Tinga had let her down. Tinga had no energy for defiance, but only thought about those she was leaving behind. In her head, she pleaded with Max and Zack to forget about her. Face to face with this woman worse than Lydecker in her way made Tinga desperate to protect her brother and sister. But she knew they couldn’t hear her. And that they would probably come and become prisoners themselves. Or worse.
Tinga felt tired. She stared at Renfro who appeared to be speaking, though she knew Tinga couldn’t hear. She had a smirk on her face that Tinga wanted to slap off, but was to weak to even make a show of. Renfro looked triumphant. This only stabbed the dagger in deeper as Tinga felt her eyelids closing, Renfro’s smiling face being the last thing she saw.
I don’t believe X5-656 will regain consciousness. I have ordered Thompson to remain at the silo monitoring her vitals, or in the event of her inevitable death, her rate of deterioration. Seeing her this morning was quite a shock. Her veins were deep purple, and easily seen from any distance. Like her skin had become translucent. I found myself concerned that I would look like this after injecting myself, but after a glance in the mirror, I feel as youthful as I did shortly after the treatment. I know it won’t last this time. But perhaps the next batch will be more successful.
In a moment of personal satisfaction, I told X5-656 that we did not have her son at Manticore. That he had escaped. She, of course couldn’t hear me. She will die believing her son has become a Manticore soldier. She should be honored. Many of her offspring will become her Manticore legacy as we use her ovum to further the program.
Obviously, her DNA is not the final ingredient, but I revel knowing how close I came. Tomorrow Sandoval will be neutralizing Lydecker, and I will take over the search for X5-452. Perhaps she is his special child. The one I need.
Day 1
X5-656 is dead. Thompson made the call earlier this afternoon hours before he was killed. He reported that despite the shutting down of her system, that there were still chemical reactions occurring. I ordered him to continue observation.
Sandoval is dead. Lydecker double-crossed him. He remains a thorn in my side. I came close to terminating him this evening when he stormed the silo, but he escaped capture. I can see where his X5s get it from. According to reporting soldiers, X5-452 and X5-599 were on a mission to save X5-656. 599 was injured, but escaped. 452 was in custody, holding the lifeless body of her sister until Lydecker arrived on the scene. She is now missing, along with the traitor. This only solidifies how important she could be to me.
Luckily, despite the loss of Thompson, I was able to retrieve the research and will be able to continue experimenting.
X5-734 has been deployed to retrieve 452 and terminate Lydecker. I’m very anxious to meet 452. Very anxious, indeed.