Axiom Theory: Book Four of the Shadow Series (6 page)

PROJECT GHOST

SUBJECT: PG15

DONOR: TEST DAVIS

A chill went through her as she came to the realization that the “ghost” portion was referring to a Shadow. Part of her wanted to giggle at the irony, but the thought that the humans may know what they were was sobering.

The two of them quickly decided that they would leave and plan a third visit. This visit would be different from their original plan in that they would take the child. They knew that if this child had any portion of Test Davis’s DNA,
that the chances of him having his power was there. Should he gain a Shadow’s powers, and they were able to mold him as a Reaper, their dominance could once again return.

Taking the child was as easy as breathing for them. They simply phased, walked in, phased back i
nto the human world, disabled any surveillance in the room, and promptly destroyed anything and everything that could contain any information on Test. From there, Ashley took the child into her arms, phased to the spirit world, and rushed out of the building. Having taken so many lives in this manner, she knew exactly how much time she had before the infant died in her arms and, in less than a minute, she and Casper were miles away, getting into a car they’d stolen from a factory parking lot.

They’d chosen th
e name Destin to call the boy. She felt that it was their destiny to have him. They also found it somewhat comical that, since he was a clone of Test, they could call him “Dest” (though they rarely did) for short.

Of course
, Destin was a burden. Ashley loathed the changing of diapers, the waking up in the middle of the night, the screaming and crying. Casper was of no help. He refused to do anything more than grocery shop. She’d found herself hating Destin; the only reason for continuing was their hope for power.

The boy
grew at an incredible rate, and this presented challenges all of their own. A box of diapers would be too small by the time the second box was even used up. Though they didn’t know the exact reason for his growth, it wasn’t a stretch to assume that if the government could clone a person, there were probably a great number of things that they could do that the general public wouldn’t know about. It didn’t matter. In fact, they viewed it as a bonus. Increased growth rate could translate into a faster maturation of the boy’s powers.

****

The sound of Casper shouting in the living room snapped her back to the present. As she put away the last can of beans into the cupboard, she was anxious to go to Destin and talk to him about the coming of his abilities. She didn’t know if he’d used them yet, or if he’d even noticed anything different for that matter. She assumed that he hadn’t because he would surely have bounded into the living room and proudly displayed his new found ability.

Destin had spent his short life watching the two of them use their powers, and when he began to speak (from babble to sentences in less than two weeks) one of the first things he asked was why he couldn’t do the things that
they
could. She’d told him that his time would come. She would later realize that it was in that moment that she’d realized Destin’s presence was fate. Her only wish was that the sparkle in his eyes when he asked about his powers wasn’t so innocent. It made her sick to her stomach.

Regardless, now
that the moment had arrived, the time for shaping the child had begun. Destin’s future, as well as hers, was rapidly becoming the present.

As she walked into the living room, she stared down to Casper who remained in the recliner
with eyes closed and seemingly oblivious to the world.

“What were you shouting about?” she asked.

He didn’t answer so she kicked the footrest.

Without so much as a flinch, he opened his right eye. “What?”

“A second ago,” she replied. “What were you shouting about?”

Casper closed his eye and rubbed his face. “It was nothing. The kid kept bugging me to play with him and I just told him to
go play in his room.”

Ashley folded her arms across her chest. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to
occupy him now and then, especially now that he’s getting his powers,” she snapped with disgust. Without a reply from her brother, she turned away and walked across the living room towards Destin’s room. “You know,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “You’d better be careful. Before too long he might be able to kick your ass.”

“Whatever,” Casper replied. “Please.”

As Ashley entered the hallway, she felt a swell of energy come from the end of the hall and stopped mid-step. The waves continued to grow until the television behind her began to vibrate on the stand. With a panicked look, she turned back to Casper who’d sprung from the chair. Before she could open her mouth to speak, the horrific screaming of a child came from the room at the end of the hall.

The
small living room of Test’s home might as well have been a cardboard box with all of the people crammed into it. The dim yellow walls were darkened by the brown carpet under foot which made the room feel even smaller than it already was. The small wood stove that occupied the only corner of the room that the couch and chair left open looked like a toy more than a functional unit. On the far end of the couch was an old end table that had been painted white. It stood on four rickety legs that wobbled whenever someone sat down next to it. Resting atop of it was a lamp with a tan shade with an orange southwestern geometric pattern adorning its edges.

Test sat in his usual spot on the couch
next to the lamp with Prim on the other end. Iku sat in the chair across from them while Cliff and Alyssa stood in front of the wood stove.

A heavy silence weighed the
room as everyone looked around; no one seemed to want to initiate the conversation. Behind the chair in which Iku sat was a small window that was covered with curtains so sheer that they might as well not even be there. Through them, Prim and Test watched as Lauren passed by ten or so feet outside.

Never one to mince words, Cliff had grown tired of the silence.

“So, what exactly is it that we’re supposed to be afraid of?” he asked gruffly. “I realize that we’ve always been worried that the twins would cause trouble again at some point, but so what if they have a kid? Now, I’ll admit that it’s strange that the kid’s growin’ rate is different, but…” The old man paused and searched for the words. He shook his head while scratching his cheek as he continued. “I guess I just don’t understand the situation.”

Prim glanced to Iku
whose eyes were locked on him, obviously waiting to follow Prim’s lead.

“Lauren was right,” said Prim. “We haven’t told you everything.”

Her nerves causing her to react opposite of what the seriousness of the situation would dictate, Alyssa’s voice chimed in like a bright sounding bell as she asked, “She
is
pregnant, isn’t she?” She immediately threw her hand over her mouth as everyone in the room glared at her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, covering her mouth with one hand and holding out the other. “Go ahead,” she said to Prim.

Leaning forward in his chair, Iku began to speak but was quickly cut off by Prim.

“One minute, Iku,” he said cautiously with his right hand extended to the former Reaper. Prim turned to Test and took a deep breath. “How have you been doing?” he asked.

Test’s neck craned and his face twisted in confusion. “Fine,” he replied.

Prim glanced to Alyssa and Cliff to see what their reaction to his question was. Alyssa’s eyes looked blank and nervous, while the old man’s eyes were locked upon Test, anxiously awaiting the reply.

“Test,” said Prim, “What Iku is about to tell you will be upsetting. It is more important now than we ever realized before that you remain in control of yourself.” Test’s eyes glassed over and Prim had his doubts as to whether he should continue. “So, I’ll ask you again. How have you been doing?”

With a flip of his hand, Test replied defensively. “I’ve been fine. Ask either of them,” he said, motioning to Alyssa and Cliff.

Cliff nodded his head and replied with a stoic face. “It’s true. Not that he don’t have the demons comin’
at him now and again, but he hasn’t had an outburst for a good long while.”

Prim studied the old man’s face for a minute and then, clasping his hands, turned to Iku and nodded.

With a sharp inhale and exhale, Iku spoke. “The last time I saw the boy, he looked like someone I knew, but I just couldn’t place it at the time. It took me a week or so to realize what I now know to be true.” Iku glanced to Prim who once again nodded his approval. “Test, when you were captured, the scientists took tissue samples from you, didn’t they?”

Test replied softly. “Yes.”

With only the faintest of hesitation, Iku let the words flow before his mind could have a chance to second guess. “From the DNA that they took from you, they have created this boy.”

The air suddenly seemed to be sucked from Test’s lungs. He found it hard to breath
e and his heart rate began to increase. Just as a glow of energy had begun to show through his shirt, he felt Alyssa’s touch on his scalp.

“Stay calm. Hear him out,” she whispered as she bent down and kissed his forehead.

Test took several deep breaths, but it was Alyssa’s touch that soothed him. Still, he found it hard to catch his breath. Trying to focus his thoughts, he closed his eyes and rubbed his face with both hands. “Okay,” he said, his voice muffled beneath his palms. “Does he have powers yet?”

Relieved that Test was showing a growth in his ability to compose himself, Prim replied. “Surprisingly
—no.”

Dropping his hands to his lap, Test looked back and forth between Prim and Iku. “How is that possible if he’s a clone? Doesn’t that mean he’s identical to me?”

“We don’t have all of the answers,” replied Iku. “It is obvious by the growth rate of the child that they have introduced something different into the boy’s genetic code. Perhaps that is what is slowing the appearance of his powers?”

“Maybe the boy will never get them?”
interjected Cliff.

Iku looked to the old man and lowered his head. “You are correct. That is a possibility. But what if his powers are just delayed and he is to become just as powerful as Test?” Iku looked at each face in the room. None of them said a word. “Having been raised by the twins,” he continued, “the possibility for disastrous things to happen is high.” Again Iku looked at each face.

After several moments of silent reflection, Alyssa asked in a tentative voice, “So what do we do now?”

Standing from the couch, Test thrust his thumbs into his short pockets. In a confident and determined voice, he replied. “We get answers.”

The sound of a child screaming would normally have been satisfying to hear; however the sound of this particular scream sent shivers down Ashley’s spine. Her heart rate exploded, as did the swell of energy from within; streaking flashes of red light illuminated the dark hallway as she reached Destin’s bedroom door.

T
urning the knob, she felt the vibrations suddenly stop. She opened the door to find Destin on the floor, curled up on his side in a fetal position while holding his chest. Lying on the floor in front of him was a pool of liquefied plastic that had already begun to harden. She could tell that it was the remains of his favorite monster truck toy just by the color.

While he lay on the floor moaning and whimpering, still holding his chest, she knelt beside him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Through a series of huffed breaths, he replied in a pained and panicked voice. “Something’s wrong with me.” He gripped his t-shirt in his fist and rubbed his chest in a circular motion several times. “I don’t know what happened.”

With little comfort in her voice, Ashley took the boy by the shoulders and sat him down on his behind. “This is what we’ve been waiting for, Destin,” she said. “You’re powers are coming.”

With a tear rolling down his cheek, he looked up to her while loosening the grip on his shirt. “It hurts,” he replied.

Though Ashley didn’t remember any pain accompanying the onset of her own powers, it had been so long ago that she thought it possible she just forgot. “It won’t last,” she replied confidently.

She watched as Destin looked down to the now hardened pool of plastic that once was his favorite toy. “
Do you know what happened?” he asked.

Ashley thought for a moment. She’d been anticipating this conversation for months, but now that it had arrived she couldn’t focus her mind on the proper response. Instead of speaking, she thought she’d just show him.

Reaching out her right hand to the closed closet door on the other side of the room, she stoked the fire inside and opened the door to the closet. There, on the closet floor, rested a pile of toys. On top of the pile was a dump truck that she had stolen for Destin the week before. Taking the truck into her grasp, it floated effortlessly across the room and came to rest on the floor in front of her. With her fingers spread wide, she held her palm over the truck and allowed the energy within her to swell. From beneath her black tank-top, the bright red glow of energy beamed and sent bolts of red down the lengths of her arms. An electric blue glow had begun to emanate from her palms and she watched as the truck began to dance beneath it. With a quick glance to Destin, whose eyes had grown wide and fearful, she looked back to the truck and pushed a powerful surge of energy from her torso, causing the room to erupt into a white hot flash of light.