Red Fox (19 page)

Jacob doesn’t want to sleep with us, but he does care about our safety.

It’s almost touching that he cares enough to put aside his relationship to keep us safe.
Almost touching
. Aside from slightly touching, it’s very, very disturbing. I don’t think I could share Whil with anyone. Even if it meant Clara being alive instead of dead. It seems so wrong. It
is
so wrong!

Then I look down at Isobelle’s wide, innocent face and I doubt myself. I think of how frightened she must be despite her calm, steady façade. How scared she must be of Felix breaking into our room or finding her alone as she heads to the bathroom at night. She must be constantly petrified of attack—more so than I am. If it meant her being safe, would I share Whil with her? I have to remind myself,
Whil isn’t yours
, before I speak.

“Well, Isobelle maybe,” I tell Madison firmly. “Not me. No matter what happens or how much I am threatened by Warden, I won’t ever do it by choice.”

“I-I don’t wanna either,” Isobelle says shrilly, clutching at the hem of her shirt until her knuckles go white. “Madison, I don’t wanna do that!”

Both Madison and I move to hug the little girl between us. I feel Madison’s soft skin beneath my hand as we wrap our arms around Isobelle, and I know she doesn’t want to offend us or hurt us. She just wants to protect us. A flood of sentimentality strikes me as her green eyes meet mine. She is my friend. And so is Jacob. Both are willing to put so much on the line for my sake.

“You don’t have to Isobelle, but I just wanted you both to know the option is there. You don’t have to have Felix hunting you all of the time,” Madison says.

I don’t plan on sticking around long enough for Felix to catch me off my guard.

But as more days tick by, my escape plans are virtually non-existent and my hopes dim.

19.
 

              Two days after Madison’s startling offer, the guards gather up all of the women in Facility One, including me, and herd us from common room. The three men watch us be led away, obviously just as clueless as we are. None of us put up a fight. We know we are much too precious to Warden for the guards to do anything bad to us, and since the men were left in Facility One, our departure mustn’t be about reproducing with them.

We are taken to a very excited looking Warden. She is dressed in her usual white, although now she wears shorts instead of pants, exposing her very slim, very tanned long legs. I hope she doesn’t strut about like this in front of Whil. I pinch the skin on my arm.

Forget about Whil!

“Ladies,” Warden says as we approach. She stands in front of a steel door and flings her arms wide. “This is it.”

We walk forward slowly, confused and anxious as to what hides behind the steel door. Though I had tried to memorise the route to this point from the Facility One entrance, after the first five turns I had lost my way. I saw multiple doors in the compound, some more formidable than others, some with windows looking into plain hospital rooms where the guards must sleep, for there were boxes of ammunition, guns and multiple maroon jumpsuits strewn over these rooms, and some rooms that were altogether empty.

The door we have come to stop at, however, is much like the one the branding man works behind. Not only I, but also every other woman comes to a grinding halt several metres from the door, faces falling with horror. Isobelle’s fear consumes her and she lunges in the other direction to escape, but a guard blocks her path so she just latches onto my arm, eyes wide. Madison hisses between her clenched, pearly white teeth.

Obviously, everyone remembers the ruthless branding man, and none have a desire to be reacquainted with him. Heart racing and thoughts muddled with fear, I sniff the air but find no stink of burning flesh. I brush my fingers over the B scar on my arm distractedly and trace its outline, telling myself this isn’t the same room.

Warden sees our stricken faces and smiles. I can tell she tries to make the smile warm and comforting, but the sinister demon behind the mask is too easily spotted. Her teeth seem pointed and her pale blue eyes glint with wickedness.

“Don’t fear,” she says. “This isn’t the branding room. This, my girls, is the AI room.”

Oh, Gods.

“I see some of you know what AI means,” she says, shooting a wicked look at me in particular. Then she looks at Isobelle’s clueless face. “AI stands for artificial insemination. I warned all of you that if we didn’t get results within a couple of weeks, we had other methods of impregnation. Most of you have done your jobs well. Others have neglected it altogether and are still set in your ways. Just let me remind you that once upon a time, humans bred just like animals. They didn’t think about love or chivalry. They thought only about reproducing their own kind. We have given you a chance to mate naturally but some of you haven’t even attempted it. So come in and I’ll show you what awaits those of you who are not complying with orders.”

Pulling a key card from her pocket, she swipes it through a device in the steel door handle and the door beeps, a light flashes green and the door unlocks itself. Warden pushes it open and the first thing I notice is the smell. It smells exactly like a hospital smothered in disinfectant and chemicals. The scent makes my head whirl and my hair stand on end.

The room is long and narrow and a few sea-green beds divided by drawn back curtains are lined against the far wall. On the left hand side, there is a freezer with a hefty metal padlock on the front of it. To the right, some clean plastic aprons hang on a hook with accompanying facemasks and gloves sitting in boxes on a metal bench below.

I gaze around, my skin creeping with goose bumps. The tiled floor feels cold on my feet but the room sends an entirely new chill up my spine. I look at Isobelle, but she clearly doesn’t know how to react to the room. She glances about with childish curiosity.

“Of course, we won’t be performing any procedures today,” Warden tells us as we huddle together in the entrance, not daring to take a step further. “But I thought we would show you how things work around here. Either all of you start trying to conceive within a fortnight, or we will do AI.”

She goes over to the fridge, unlocks it using a key from her pocket and opens it. Multiple syringes are hanging through racks in the fridge door. Test vials sit on the freezer shelves, each full with a frozen, murky white substance. All are labelled with names that I can’t see clearly. Inside the fridge are also bottles of drugs, and a variety of bizarre looking tools: rubber hoses, large needleless syringes, weird rubber caps. The sight of the equipment doesn’t frighten me like I assumed it might, but it makes me nauseous and my stomach flip-flops with disgust.

Oh, yes, our Biocentric government is
oh so natural
and they view everything as equals. Except for human women, who can be locked up in cages to become vessels in which to grow feral children. I try to make sense of it: try to understand how they can view this operation as something worthwhile and righteous. It seems such a waste of time and effort to me. Not to mention exploiting women in such a way is repulsive.

As we watch, Warden pulls out one of the test beakers from the fridge and I see the name ‘FELIX’ written on it. Warden smiles. “I’m guessing none of you want this inside your bodies?”

A few women mutter angrily, but I feel uncontainable fury well inside me. Gritting my teeth and bawling my hands, I feel my hate for Warden eating my insides like an acid. “You’re sick,” the words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them, and a look of pure venom distorts Warden’s already sour features. I stare back at her with an equally poisonous glare, hoping she knows how much I detest her and the Bs compound.

“You can call me sick all you want, Walker. But the fact is, we can leave you in that facility for as long as we desire and both you and I know what will happen eventually. Felix only wants you because you were so quick to push him away. So would you prefer to get on with your job, or be forced to do your job by him? Because I’m starting to think that leaving you in there for Felix to take by force would be a good punishment. AI would be much too kind for a stubborn creature like you.”

I scowl and shrug my shoulders. “You want us to be feral? Perhaps you should get used to me being stubborn, since that’s a trait of the wild creatures you want to create.”

Warden scoffs and I feel tension string between us, so fierce and strong it could be a trip wire. Even if she weren’t in charge of this awful program, I would despise her.

“You’ll get what’s coming, Walker,” she says with a hiss. “Mark my words. Felix is our prime male and you, horrible as you are, you are our best female. It’s only right you should reproduce together. Now, back to the facility. I just hope you all realise what has to be done if our demands aren’t met.”

We all bustle out of the room, desperate to get away. Warden closes herself inside. As the guards begin escorting us back to Facility One, I wonder what sort of twisted experiments she performs behind that door. The guards seem quite grim, and they don’t shove us around as much as usual as we walk back towards the facility. I wonder if they, like Seiger, also have doubts about this compound and its purpose. I think of Seiger and wonder where he is these days. Is he in charge of Facility Two? Or is he no longer in the compound at all? All of the times I spent with Seiger seem like a dream compared to the nightmare I live now.

But things can only get worse. Warden is obviously very displeased with my reluctant behaviour and although the thought of AI makes me feel sick to my stomach, the thought of being taken by Felix is far, far worse.

At the doorway to our facility, Madison leans over and says quietly, “Ready to take me up on my offer?”

Not quite
. But I don’t know how much longer I can hold Felix off. It’s only a matter of time before he runs out of patience.

I’ll have to make a decision. Jacob by choice or Felix by force?

20.

It’s been only three days since Warden’s tour through the AI lab, and the lingering thought of that clinical room makes all of the women jittery. We feel as though we have no other option now, no other way to assert ourselves. Several of the women, who had been reluctant before the tour, willingly went with Lance on the very same night they’d seen the AI lab.

Only me and two other eligible girls remain strong and stubborn.

It’s lunch time, and I’m sitting with several of the other Bs on the lounge, picking at a bowl of tropical fruit and reading a book on natural selection. Those around me read, play board games, and chit-chat casually. Isobelle hangs over the back of the couch, experimenting with my hair to see how she can style it. I allow it only to occupy her and keep her quiet.

One of the younger women seated beside me, named Alex, gets up and heads to the bathroom. I watch cautiously as Felix’s eyes follow her and my heart constricts when he stands up and follows. Peeking over the rim of my book, I see Alex is watching him at the corner of her eye.

Felix, looking as rat-like and sinister as ever, takes her by the arm and tows her to a stop, before murmuring something to her. The entire room has fallen silent as we all watch the situation unfold.

Alex shakes her head firmly. “No,” she says and tugs her arm away.

A sneer curls the corner of Felix’s lip. This time, he grabs Alex’s arm more roughly, and while I see her wince with pain, I’m totally unprepared for her reaction.

In an instant, she whirls around and slams her foot into his groin. The breath seems to leave Felix in a gush. He doubles over, eyes bulging, and mouth gaping wide. I give a quiet snicker, but then jump to my feet excitedly as Alex continues her attack.

Instead of retreating to safety, Alex seems suddenly consumed with hatred. Her hands fist into his dark greasy hair, and she tears at it mercilessly, face contorted with rage.

“Don’t you ever touch me!” Alex screams at him, in a voice that is demonic with venom. “You hear me, you coward!”

He reaches a hand up to push her away, and she sinks her teeth into it. Blood instantly flows. Felix wails out in pain and yanks his arm away, entirely caught off guard by mild Alex’s violent behaviour.

It is a moment of triumph for every girl in the facility who feels like Felix hunts her. Every female gets to her feet, bawling out encouragement to Alex. Unaware of us and focused only on the threatening man before her, Alex continues to claw at Felix, raking bloody marks over his face, his arms, anywhere her long fingernails can reach.

“Go, Alex!” one of the other women, who is close friends with Alex, screams out.

I’m sure the girl is winning the battle. Felix surely won’t go near her again. But as I watch, I see Alex’s energy and ferocity diminishing, and Felix senses it. He jerks away once and his long arms wrap around her entire body, constricting her. The situation turns so quickly, and we watch in mute horror as he begins towing the screaming girl towards his bedroom. She flails violently, writhing helplessly in his iron grip, and in that moment the smouldering coals within me blaze into a raging inferno.

I leap over the couch and race at Felix. Lips peeled over my teeth, eyes dark with wrath, I fly towards his legs and sweep them out from beneath him. He crashes hard to the tiled floor, Alex dragged down with him, but quickly disentangles himself and gets up. Humiliation flashes in his black eyes and I feel a genuine thrill of fear, knowing that this man is just as likely to kill me as he is to rape me.

I brace myself as Felix lunges, but then two solid figures are between him and me. Lance and Jacob shove the man back and then wrestle him to the floor again. Felix grunts and yells out in fury, but he is no match for both men, especially not Jacob who was trained in the military.

Seeing Felix on the ground and in that vulnerable position seems to ignite something within the other women too. They flock towards the man, hissing and shrieking like animals on the hunt. They not only wanting to protect Alex and me, but also want to show Felix that they are not his playthings. As they begin laying into him with kicks and punches, I stand back, transfixed and filled with a sudden rush of emotion that I can’t place.

When Felix can no longer defend himself and will have learnt a lesson he’ll never forget, Jacob and Lance throw him through his bedroom doorway and slam the door. They grin as the women all applaud madly, victorious in more ways than one.

I pinpoint why I feel so much emotion. Witnessing the fight has made me realise that no one, besides Felix, agrees with the Biocentric’s plans for us. No one wants to be contained and forced to mate with people they do not love. Until now, my fellow Bs haven’t displayed any aggressive behaviour at all, but like me they all hide their hostility until it’s needed the most. Clearly we all have a deep sense of what is morally right and wrong. My fellow B members are not as different to me as I originally thought. We are all caged animals who seek freedom and wish to protect our own kind.

A few guards gather in the common room to quieten us, and one approaches Alex, seemingly to check if she is injured in any way. I watch on, knowing the guard won’t harm her—for he is one of Seiger’s—and the guard gently touches her on the arm. Alex, still in a state of crazed panic, shrieks and shoves him away from her. He staggers backwards into the corner of the room, and as he balances himself his foot collides with an air vent in the wall. A metallic ringing sounds, accompanied by a loud rattle, and every one of my senses hone in on the noise. My mind whirs.

The women continue to chatter excitedly. Jacob grins from ear to ear,  and Lance fist-pumps the air and whoops like his former favourite soccer team just won a match.

As they celebrate their victory, a plan begins to develop in my mind.

~

It’s dinner time and everyone is sitting at the kitchen counter eating spaghetti bolognaise and salad. Lance is telling yet another ridiculous joke that the table of Bs are guffawing at. While I laugh with them, my eyes scan the common room, searching for a blind point in the security cameras’ line of sight. Isobelle and my room is directly beside the kitchen, but the lack of furniture in the common room makes it near impossible to sneak through unseen if the monitor man, Senior, is watching the security footage. I can use the kitchen counter to sneak across to the other side of the room, where the lounge chairs are slightly closer and offer cover. From there, I will just have to hope that the darkness will shroud me and the monitor man will not be paying attention to that particular screen.

My eyes land on my desired escape point; the large air vent bolted to the wall in the corner of the room. I don’t know where the vent goes but I figure, eventually, it must lead to the world outside the Bs compound. I had never even noticed the vent until two days ago when the riot had occurred between Alex and Felix.

Since then, I’ve felt at ease with my fellow Bs—like I can connect with them on an emotional level. That thought makes my escape plan even harder to carry out, for I cannot take them with me. I have to escape alone to ensure the plan will work, and then come back for them with reinforcements. It would be impossible to smuggle out nearly twenty people.

I shake my head, assuring myself that leaving them behind is the only way I can make a safe, sure getaway. I’ve been thinking about my escape plan ever since that fight, sure that the air vent is the only plausible way of getting out. This is my last chance to run the plan through my head and see the route in daylight.

My time is running short. It’s been three days since Warden’s tour through the AI lab and she comes to visit the facility daily, just to remind us that we have a task to do. Each time her cold, icy gaze lands on me, I’m reminded that I have a very limited period of time left. So it’s time to get out of this place, for I have no intention of ever sleeping with Jacob, or ending up strapped to a table in the AI lab. Freedom is my only goal.

I feel like I am slowly rotting from the inside. I’m losing myself as my freedom ebbs away. Since I am eating and sleeping well lately, I have endless energy that I cannot use. The compound is big enough to run in but I don’t want to stretch my legs here like a poor caged animal pacing its enclosure. I do my daily exercises to keep fit, but all I want is my freedom back.

My hatred of the government, my loathing for Warden, even my new spite towards Whil, all strengthen me somehow. As horrible as the constant anger feels, it reminds me why I must keep fighting for liberty, and I am fortified and empowered by this negative, all-consuming energy.

When dinner is finished, the usual chatter begins, and Alex moves away from the other end of the table with her roommate, Cameron, and both of them stop to say goodnight to me. I see admiration in both of their expressions. Ever since the fight, the two have been friendlier than usual and sometimes spend time with me in the courtyard, doing our exercise routines.

Everyone heads to their rooms to sleep, and Isobelle and I follow their lead. No one cleans dishes or washes up here, the grey clothed people do all domestic chores for us, as well as deliver clean clothes daily. The facility is so luxurious and wasteful. I can’t believe a government that promotes naturalism and green energy created this entire establishment just to contain and breed some feral humans.

Once safely inside our room, Isobelle locks the door out of habit, climbs into her bed and tells me goodnight. I feel a sting in my chest as I look at her snuggle down into the blankets. But I can’t take her with me. She’ll just slow me down and if I take her, I have to take Madison and Jacob. And by that point, all of the Bs might as well come. Taking my friends isn’t an option just yet. If I am going to escape today, it’s going to be alone. My time won’t even be wasted on Whil. He continues to ignore me day in and day out, so I feel less pity about leaving him behind.

I feel most guilty for leaving Isobelle, even just for a day or two longer until I can burn this blasted facility to the ground and set Bell and the others free. Isobelle wasn’t exaggerating when she’d said Warden favoured her over the other Bs. Warden positively loves the girl, and though Isobelle doesn’t return the feeling, that doesn’t seem to bother the master of the facility.

Warden buys Isobelle pretty clothes and brings her tasty, forbidden food like lollies. I wish I knew why the blonde superintendent is so obsessed with the younger girl. In the end, I simply decide it is because Isobelle is so young and Warden feels sorry for her—though I find it difficult to believe that Warden would feel such human emotions.

I’m sure Warden’s isolated leniency and patience will protect Isobelle until I return. Bell will just have to wait for me.

I am selfish to leave alone.

But I will be selfish and free.

Being confined has made everyone mad. I find myself teetering on the edge of violence, wanting to attack a guard, a grey servant, or Felix. I always want to scream at the heavens in hopeless anguish, and more and more often, I find myself pacing a fence or circling a willow tree in a psychotic state—unsure how I got there in the first place. Our small, pristine facility with its half-acre of fenced yard has made me stir-crazy. I can recall clearly every inch of flooring, every speck on every wall, every feature on every person.

I’ve reached the end of my tether, and I know if I do not escape soon, I will fall into an inescapable abyss of my mind caused by fear of being trapped forever.

When Isobelle is fast asleep and making her usual, adorable snoring noises, I quietly get out of my bed. I give her pretty young face a quick look, telling myself I will definitely return for her, and then slip out of the room.

The common room is completely dark and nothing stirs in the dim. I briefly make sure no one is lying on the couch, because sometimes Lance stays up reading late into the night and he falls asleep with his nose crammed in a book. He acts like an idiot, like the class clown of our facility, but I know beneath that smokescreen he is a deep thinking, highly intelligent individual.

I duck behind the kitchen counter, glancing at the security camera in the top corner of the room. The red light on it blinks rapidly as I crawl behind the counter, and then lie flat on my stomach and push myself towards the lounge chairs. I mentally pray that Senior isn’t watching the security footage when I slide on my belly over to the vent. The tiled floor is cold but slippery and I reach the wall within seconds and breathe deeply, my heart thundering so hard it might burst from my chest. No alarm sounds but I really haven’t done anything worrying yet.

This will be the test.

I crouch in front of the vent, squinting for the screws that hold it firmly to the wall. I spot the tiny things in the dim and give the vent a hopeful tug, but the screws hold it tight.

I reach for the top button of my jeans and rip it off with a yank, knowing the metal edge of the button fits perfectly into the screw top because I discretely tested it yesterday afternoon. Fumbling about, I press the edge of the button into the rivet in the first screw and try to turn it. The thing won’t budge and my fingers prickle with pain as I put more force into it.

I grit my teeth, straining my fingers awkwardly until I can see them turn white at the knuckles. The button jerks out of place with a ping and I curse quietly and try again. This time, when my fingers feel like they are about to snap from the effort, the screw turns with a squeal. Heart thumping, I twist the first screw out of its socket and start on the next. I undo three, leaving my fingers stiff and sore, and then swing the vent grill upwards, hinged on the remaining screw. Inside the airshaft is dark and gloomy, and to my dismay, every surface is aluminium. I know it will be extremely noisy to clamber through, but it’s the only chance I’ve got.