Perfection

“What do they know?”

The doctor felt the last of his patience dwindling away. “There was some sort of altercation.”

Leland leaned back in the computer chair, resting his arms behind his head. His fingers disappeared into his thick locks. “Renegades?”

The doctor nodded.

“Maybe she got away.”

“Detective Petersen does not think so.” Thoughtful, George’s brow knitted together as he pulled Aalexis’ file over to him.

He opened the folder to the blank-face stare of his youngest. What was going on with them? First, one escaped and now another was growing defiant. He needed to finish his work before anything else went wrong.

“I have something to show you.” Leland’s voice broke into George’s thoughts.

Still holding Aalexis’ file, the doctor stalked to Leland’s computer. “This had better be good.”

“It’s even better than good.” The young man scrolled through the file menu of recent tapings until Subject 67-Ahron was highlighted. He double-clicked and hit the play button, then slowed the frames down.

Ahron stood at one end of a bulletproof chamber, his platinum hair glowing iridescent under the overhead lights. Thirteen meters away, an AR-15 rested on a tripod, bolted into the floor and targeted on his chest. The bolt slid back and ejected a shell casing when the rifle fired. While a small wisp of smoke dissipated in the air, the speaker boomed. The boy completely disappeared as the bullet passed through and drilled a hole in the target behind him. Ahron returned, solid, unharmed.

With his cursor, Leland moved a slide bar down, sectioning each second into tenths. “Count from the moment he disappears until he reappears.”

As the frames ticked by, George counted. “Seventeen.”

“Yes, three-tenths longer than before. Now, watch this.” He went back to the previous screen and clicked on Xaver’s file. Same setup as Ahron’s, Xaver also stood at one end of the chamber, his young face appearing bored. Again, an echo of the rifle boomed from the speakers, right after smoke appeared. The bullet fell to the ground a meter away from Xaver.

Leland spun around and faced his mentor. “I’ve been measuring every test. The time increases, even if it is minutely. You were right.”

Pride lifted George’s spirits, a smile pulling the corners of his mouth. His cause was not lost; his prodigies’ powers were growing. He would get Ellyssa back. He just needed to exert patience and not forget his self-control. His plans would come to fruition, a perfect creation born.

The smile on his face grew.

He could only imagine the manic expression his assistant must be witnessing. Blinking, he turned away and concentrated on his composure. If he was to be the bringer of greatness, he had to keep his sentiments in check.

“Their powers are growing,” George said, managing to keep his voice level. “Tomorrow, I want you to start new instructions. I want Ahron to stay invisible longer. Xaver needs to extend his energy shield to protect others.”

“What? Who would we use as guinea pigs?”

Emotions under control, George leveled his eyes on Leland’s. “There are imperfects at your disposal.”

“I-I can’t do that.”

“Of course you can.” George clapped the assistant on the shoulder. “The outcome is worth the sacrifice.” He paused for a moment as he tossed Aalexis’file on Leland’s desk. “The test results show no indication of any type of breakdown in emotional responses.”

“Maybe pubertal changes,” Leland suggested, his voice distant.

“I tested for the possibility.” George paced back to his desk. “Nothing, but there is one thing.”

“What?”

“Aalexis is a very powerful, intelligent teenager. Superior to all others The Center has created thus far. And she knows it. I would say it was more of a God complex incomparable to all the others. She feels we are wasting her time and her talent on batteries of tests. She feels she has already proven herself.” He shrugged. “The tests are useless on her.”

Leland’s eyebrows thrust upward. “Great. A thirteen-year-old narcissist.”

A hint of a smile played across Dr. Hirch’s lips. “Yes.”

“It could lead to dangerous consequences.”

The doctor shook his head. “Not at all. She is obedient to me. We just need to find something to challenge her. Something beyond her current capabilities.”

“Like what?”

“So far, everything she has done has been in a controlled environment without extraneous variables. We need to see how well she manipulates matter while under pressure.”

15

The monitor lit up, illuminating the small workspace at the desk. A blinking command told the user to enter a password. After checking over her shoulder, Ellyssa slipped the flash drive she used for lessons into the USB port and entered a sequence of symbols. In less than a minute, the command hardcoded into the system and opened a backdoor. A list of files popped onto the screen.

She scrolled through the list until she found Dr. Hirch’s file. She clicked “open” and another list of subject numbers, from fifteen to seventy-six, came into view.

Seventy-six? There was a seventy-six?

Ellyssa clicked on a random file and a colored photo of a female baby downloaded onto the screen. The face of what should have been a cherub was completely deformed. One eye drooped below the other, and the mouth and nose slanted strangely to the side. Two stubs stuck out from the side of the ribcage, resembling unformed nubs on a fetus. Its tiny feet were twisted inward. The baby had been terminated a couple of weeks ago.

Ellyssa clicked back to the subject numbers and scrolled to number twenty. A black and white photo of a female dressed in a hospital gown appeared. Her eyes were widened in horror and a silent scream was forever plastered on the digital face.

Frowning, Ellyssa wondered what had happened to her. She double-clicked the file next to the picture and read about a young female known as Subject 20, Ida. The emotional breakdown after she had lit test subjects on fire with nothing more than a thought. Ordinary citizens had been used for testing. The subject couldn’t handle the guilt.

Guilt…the word floated in Ellyssa’s head as she followed the link offered at the side, and read Dr. Hirch’s notes. According to the doctor, Ida was less than a savory soldier. She was weak and ineffective. Her IQ was average. Her ability to start fires was on a hit-and-miss basis. She’d been terminated.

Guilt?

“Hey?”

The doctor’s voice hovered along the edges of Ellyssa’s daydream. She flipped around to Doc’s wide smile. Her lips twitched in response.

“I brought you some lunch.” He held a red tray.

“Thank you, Doc. I am hungry.” She crossed her legs and positioned the tray on the crook of her knees. A slice of bread, a blob of peanut butter, and a small glass of milk.

“Please, call me Mathew. It’d be nice to have someone refer to me by my real name.” He looked apologetic at the food. “I know it’s not much.”

The scent of garlic clung to her caregiver’s clothes. He smelled wonderful. She thought about talking to the doctor about his lunch so she could steal the image, but that would be intrusive. And, for some unforeseen reason,