Unleashed (16 page)

TWENTY

Rats. As big as dogs with foaming saliva, dripping from razor sharp teeth. This was what Claire was dreaming about when a loud pounding woke her up. She sat up, gasping for air.

There it was again. Someone at the front door, knocking like the house was on fire. She glanced at the clock, 8:30 a.m., and blinked. It took her a moment to register what she'd just read. 8:30 a.m.! She was late for school! Claire threw off the covers and pulled on a pair of jeans from off the floor.

"Claire," a familiar voice shouted from behind her front door.

"I'm coming," she said to no one. Before she rushed to answer the door, she punched her faulty alarm clock.

"Where's the fire?" Claire asked when she opened the door. She was about to smile, but couldn't when she saw Smith’s face. "What's wrong?" He was staring at her as if she had a stake coming out of her chest.

Smith placed his hand on the door jam as if to steady him. His face was pale, and his legs looked like they were about to give out beneath him. "I'm so glad you're here," he said.

"Where else would I be?"

"Where everyone else is, at school."

"Well I would be if my stupid alarm would've gone off."

Smith looked past her into the living room. "Where's your mom?"

Claire stuck her head out the door and looked toward the garage. Her mom's van was parked out front. "She had to work last night, so I'm sure she's crashed. You want me to get her?"

"No. I’ll talk to her later today. It's you I want to see."

"Smith!” a voice called out from around the side of her home. “You're going to want to see this!"

"Who's that?" Claire asked and stepped onto the porch. The sun shined bright, but the air was surprisingly cold. She shivered.

"Doug," Smith said, walking down the stairs.

Claire followed him. "What's your deputy doing snooping around my house?" If she puffed hard enough, she could see her breath.

Smith didn't answer. Instead he walked to the back of her house and spoke quietly to Doug.

"What's going on, Smith?" She came up behind him and froze. On her bedroom window was a bloody handprint. She stumbled back.

Smith took hold of her hand before she fell. "It's okay. Everything’s going to be fine."

She jerked away from him. "What the hell is going on?"

"Maybe you should tell me," he said, suddenly becoming just as defensive.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

His expression softened and he took a deep breath. "What do you know about Gary Lewis?"

A knot formed in Claire’s throat. She tried to swallow it but couldn’t.

Smith continued, "He's a man in his forties. Lived over on Clover Street in the trailer park. He worked as a security guard at Bodian Dynamics. Do you know him?"

She nodded but said, “No.”

“Which is it, Claire? Do you know Gary Lewis or not?”

This time she said, "Sort of."

"How?"

She looked at the smeared handprint, her eyes blurring a bit, then turned around searching the woods behind them. They seemed to be alone. She looked back at Smith. "I fought with him at the festival last night. Is that his handprint?"

"What did you fight about?"

The morning light held the maroon-colored flakes of blood pressed to her window. It reminded her of her first day of kindergarten. She had made a handprint with red paint as a gift to her father. She later destroyed it.  

"Claire?"

She bit the inside of her lip, wondering how much to say. She was hoping to speak with him in private about Gary, but something serious had obviously happened and it had to do with her. Better tell him everything. Besides, Smith had helped her once before.

She took a deep breath. "A while ago I had to go to Bodian for my life experience class. Gary was working the front desk, acting all sorts of creepy.” She shivered, remembering how his eyes had slid over her. “Anyway, when I finally had a moment to myself, I overheard two scientists talking about a missing drug. They didn’t know I was listening, but when I was discovered, I ran. One of the scientists told Gary to go after me and find out how much I knew."

The pale in Smith’s face was replaced with red, but he remained quiet.

“I hid behind some parked cars and while Gary searched for me, he threatened to hurt my friends if I told anyone. I kept my mouth shut, but Gary’s sort of been following me ever since. I thought he was mostly harmless until last night.”

“What exactly happened?”

Claire wrapped her arms around her chest, her hand pressing lightly over the bruise on her upper arm. She was glad she decided to put on a long sleeve shirt. “Let’s just say it was a very good thing that Logan and Ethan showed up when they did.”

Smith’s face was really red now. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I was going to tell you about it today, but I didn’t want to do it where Gary would see. His threat seriously freaked me out! Speaking of which, whatever you decide to do with him, please don’t tell him I said anything. And Bodian, too. They’re just as scary.”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure what to do about Bodian. I’ll look into your claim of a missing drug, subtly though. Bodian’s known for cleaning up their messes. As for Gary, he won’t be a problem anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

Smith looked back at her window. She followed his gaze.

"Did you see Gage last night?" he asked.

This startled her. "No. Why? Is he in town? What's going on?" Dealing with Gary was one thing, but knowing Gage could be lurking around really scared her.

Smith closed his eyes as if forcing himself not to look at the bloodied print. For a moment, she thought he might never open them. "Over the weekend someone broke into Gary’s home. His girlfriend found him this morning."

She swallowed. "Dead?"

"Yes. He had been severely beaten. Tortured is more like it. It’s the worst crime scene I’ve ever seen."

"And you think Gage did it?"

"The marks we found matched the ones we found at the high school and at the gas station."

Claire remembered him using the word “marks” before. "What do you mean "marks"? Like fingerprints?"

A dark shadow crossed his face. "I don't know. Maybe."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"There were prints."

"Well?"

"They weren't normal."

"But doesn't everyone have different fingerprints?"

"Of course,” Smith said. “But the pattern of these weren't right. We haven't seen anything like it. At first, we thought the tech had messed up, but then we found the same prints at the gas station, and now at Gary’s. I don't know what to make of it."

Claire couldn't help it. She had to look at the window again. The deputy, Doug, was pressing a thin plastic sheet over the print. "And what about those?"

Smith shook his head. "We'll know in a couple of hours. My guess is it will match the other crime scenes."

"So, what are you thinking? Gage tortured Gary and then came back here. Why?"

Smith looked at her, his jaw moving as if it didn’t fit right. "I'm worried about you, Claire. I don't want you going anywhere by yourself. In fact, I don't want you going anywhere but school and home, and I'm posting a permanent officer outside."

Despite the fact that her stomach was churning, she put her hands up. "Not going to happen. Our band is going to Seattle soon. We have to practice."

"I think your life is the priority here."

Claire shook her head. "Since when have you ever known me to lay down quietly?" He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him. "I'm going to continue doing what I always do, but I promise I'll be careful. And I'll try to make sure I'm never alone."

He tried to speak again.

"And," she said, "I'll check in with you regularly. That's the best I can do." She wouldn’t let any man assert his control over her ever again. Not that Smith was trying to do that. He was trying to protect her, and she realized this. But Gage was trying to control her. Through fear.

Smith looked to the forest beyond. "Clearly I can't make you do something you don't want to, no matter how foolish. I'll talk to your mom about it later and see if she can talk some sense into you."

Claire shrugged. Agree to disagree.

Smith turned away from her and headed back to the front of the house. "You're late for school. Finish getting ready and I'll take you."

She relaxed, always grateful for Smith. "Deal."

Thirty minutes later, Smith parked his police car in front of the school.

"This is so embarrassing," she said. “Couldn’t you have at least dropped me off around the side?”

He smiled. "You want me to turn on the siren?"

"Very funny." She opened the door.

Smith leaned toward her. "I want you to be careful. You understand?"

She nodded. "Thanks. For everything." Claire closed the door and waved goodbye. Although she didn’t say it, his concern for her meant a lot. She imagined it was how a father would react. A normal father, that is.

TWENTY-ONE

The lunch bell rang, and just when Claire stepped into the hallway, Logan grabbed her. "Why did Smith drop you off this morning?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"I saw you from the window."

She groaned. "So everyone probably thinks I got arrested or something."

"Who cares what they think. What happened?"

Claire studied him. His worried eyes. His kind expression. It was then that she realized she couldn’t do this on her own anymore; she needed to turn to the people she loved most, like she had with Smith. The more people that know, the better, but it needs to be done carefully and in private. Just in case Bodian had someone else watching her now. "I need to talk to you. And Ethan. Where is he?"

Logan looked annoyed. "I don't know."

She pulled on his arm. "Let's find him. I need your opinions. And Kate’s." A female's opinion could come in handy.

Ten minutes later, Claire led them all into the auditorium. She walked up the stairs and onto the stage, ignoring Kate’s questions about where she was taking them. At the back of the stage, in the corner, she parted a black curtain and opened a door that led to a large closet where the drama classes kept all their props. She scooted all the way in, stopping next to a giant cardboard tree.

“This is weird,” Logan said as he picked up a black cauldron. She remembered it from last year’s play, Macbeth. “What are we doing here, Claire?”

“Would you close the door?” she asked Ethan.

He did as she asked, then maneuvered his way through boxes and stage props to stand next to her. “What’s this about, Claire? Are you okay?" She saw his eyes flicker to her upper arms, which were covered.

"I'm fine, but something happened last night."

"What?" Kate asked. She was the only one in the group who looked excited. Kate probably thought she was about to tell her that an agent had called to sign their band.

"Before I tell you,” Claire said. “I need to go back several weeks. To when I had to get that career form signed from Bodian Dynamics, remember?"

Kate picked up a nearby doll. “Yeah, the counselor doesn’t know you at all, if she thinks that’s where you’ll work. Only sell-outs work there.” She looked up at Logan and Ethan, her eyes wide. “Except for your dads, of course.”

“Of course,” Logan said and shook his head.

Before Claire continued, she glanced around to make sure they were alone and not being listened to somehow. The cramped prop room could barely hold them, let alone some secret Bodian spy, if there even was such a thing. Her shoulders relaxed and she smiled to herself for acting so paranoid. There’s no way Bodian could’ve known she was going to take them into a closet she’d only been in once before.

“Talk to us, Claire,” Ethan said.

She took a deep breath. "That day I went to Bodian, Gary was there, and he was acting really strange, saying weird things and, well, just being himself." Ethan took hold of her hand. "Anyway, I convinced him to let me go down the hall to the vending machines." She looked around at them, meeting their gaze.

"Well? What happened?" Kate asked.

"Before I tell you, I have to swear you all to secrecy. You can't tell anyone unless we all agree. Understand?"

"Just tell us,” Logan said.

"Promise?"

Eventually, they nodded.

Claire proceeded slowly, telling them exactly what she’d told Smith. As the words escaped her lips, she felt herself grow stronger and less afraid.

When she got to the part about the missing vials, Kate asked, “What was in them?" She was leaning so far forward Claire thought she might tip over.

"I don't know exactly, but they were talking about what the formula did to monkeys and how it changed them."

Logan drew his eyebrows together. "Changed them into what?"

"The woman said they were monsters who stalked and tortured one another. And she was worried that if a human ingested the liquid then they too could be transformed into..."

"What?" all three said at the same time.

Claire sighed. "I don't know. That's when I accidentally bumped into the vending machine. They heard me, and the guy scientist chased me out with Gary into the parking lot. I was hiding behind a car when I heard the scientist tell Gary to catch me and find out how much I heard. You should've seen how scared the scientist was. It was like I'd heard them plotting World War Three or something."

"But you got away," Kate said.

"Yeah. I ran, but ever since then Gary’s been following me."

"So that's what last night was about," Ethan said.

"But why did Smith drop you off this morning?" Logan asked. He looked tense, the cords in his neck stretched tight, and it made her shiver. She wasn’t used to seeing him so stressed.

Claire glanced away. "Remember Gage?"

"Of course," Ethan said, his voice hard. "What about him?"

She inhaled deeply. On her exhale she said, "Last night he killed Gary. Not just killed, but tortured and maimed. Smith said it was the worst crime scene he had ever seen."

"How do they know it was Gage? Did they catch him?" Kate asked.

Claire shook her head. "They have his prints,” she said, but cringed at the word, remembering what Smith had really said. “And it matched the prints from the other girl’s death at the school’s swimming pool and at the gas station that was robbed."

"So if they have his prints, why don't they just go arrest him?" Kate said.

"It's not that simple," Logan explained as he spun the cauldron in his hands. "Gage would already have to have a criminal record. If he's never done anything wrong, they won’t know who to look for."

"But it's not just that," Claire said. "There's something wrong with Gage's prints."

Logan stopped the cauldron’s motion. "What do you mean?"

"Smith said they weren't normal. They were unlike any fingerprints he'd ever come across. It’s almost like they weren’t human."

Kate scrunched her face and snickered. "So Gage is some sort of animal? This is getting too weird."

"I'm just telling you what I know."

Logan seemed to be thinking, and Ethan just looked mad.

"Well, what do you guys think?" Claire asked.

Kate folded her arms. "I think the police got the prints wrong. And I think Gage is a psycho on drugs.”

"I think it's pretty obvious," Ethan said. They all looked at him. "Gage, or whatever his real name is, stole the formula from Bodian and has been taking it. It's messed up his DNA and turned him into some kind of a monster."

Kate laughed. When none of them joined her, she said, "You can't be serious?"

Claire looked at her. "I am very serious because I've come face to face with him. There is something abnormal, almost supernatural, about Gage." She leaned back into a painted Styrofoam rock, her legs weakened just from talking about Gage, but in doing so she nearly knocked over a mirror. Ethan caught it just before it hit the floor, and she looked up at him, grateful. The last thing she needed was more bad luck.

"So what," Kate said, "you're going to go to the police and tell them some scientifically created, super-mutant is responsible for the crimes?"

Logan shook his head. "She can't do that. No one would believe her."

"You think?" Kate said.

“I told Smith what happened,” Claire said. “He might come to the same conclusion we did.”

"Remember three years ago?” Logan said, interrupting her. “The lab assistant who blew the whistle on some Bodian project that she claimed was illegal?"

When no one answered, he continued, "I remember because my dad had to fill out a report and he was really stressed out about it.
Really
stressed out. Like he was afraid he'd lose his job if he said the wrong thing."

"So what happened?" Claire asked.

"Nothing. They fired the lab tech for supposed drug abuse, and then accused her of stealing from them. They pretty much ruined her life."

Kate shrugged. "How do you know she really wasn't a druggie?"

"I overheard my dad telling my mom that they'd set her up. 'Nobody goes against Bodian and survives', he'd said. I've never forgotten it."

Claire sunk even further into the rock. "What do we do?" Her voice was small, but not as small as she felt. She looked up and saw Ethan staring at her.

"I say we find out the truth. Hard evidence," Ethan said.

"And how do we do that?" Kate asked, still looking skeptical.

Logan spoke first. "Easy. Both our dads work at Bodian. My dad's a lab tech and he's always leaving his security badge around. We could break in."

"They have a crazy security system," Claire said, remembering when she was last there. “But think about this, guys. Do you really think your dad’s could be part of something like this?”

Logan and Ethan were quiet. Logan’s focus was on the black cauldron, but Ethan was looking at Logan.

Ethan nodded. “Possibly. My dad isn’t going to be on anyone’s hero list, and he gets paid a lot of money to be one of the managers out there. I’d like to say he would be against a drug that would do something so horrible, but I don’t know for sure.”

Logan’s head lifted. “And my dad’s always afraid of losing his job. He might stay quiet about something like this, but then again there are a lot of labs at Bodian. He might not know anything about it.”

“What if we did sneak into Bodian and got on one of their computers?” Ethan asked. “Maybe we can find some documents about the testing they are doing.”

Logan smiled slowly. “I’ve got a better and a much safer idea.”

“What’s that?” Kate asked.

“What if Ethan and I cloned our fathers’ phones and searched their emails, contact list, and files,” Logan said, his voice excited. “My dad uses his for work all of the time.”

Claire thought about this, having only heard of it on television. “But how would that work?”

“You have to be within thirty feet of the person, and they have to have their Bluetooth on, which most people do. We also need a software emulator. And I know just where to get it.”

“Could anyone catch you doing this?” Claire asked, wanting to make sure they wouldn’t get caught. She didn’t want any one getting in trouble for her.

“They won’t even know it happened,” Logan said.

“Then let’s do it right away,” Claire said, looking around their small circle. “We have to stop Gage before anyone else gets hurt.”