“Emotionless?” Doc asked.
“Emotions are not allowed in the makeup of a soldier,” she recited the well-known words. “Emotions show weakness, and with weakness comes hesitation, and with hesitation comes death. Our job is not to die, but to be the bringers of a new world.
“Something went wrong with my programming, though. Although most of the sensations I feel are… rudimentary, I have always been able to feel emotion, unlike the others.”
“Like what?”
“Hatred and anger have been approved for survival and soldiering purposes. But, I also have felt the pleasure of doing a job well done, and sorrow or shock at things I have seen.”
“What’d your father think?”
“Nothing, because I masked them.”
“And he never suspected?”
“I would not be here if he had.” Ignoring shock on their faces, she continued, “You witnessed my ability to heal. You have seen how fast I can move. I have other talents, as well.”
Ellyssa stopped, unsure how to proceed. The time had come for her to reveal her deepest secret, and she feared their responses.
She looked down at her hands twisting in the folds of the blanket. “After years of research, my father found the genetic sequence for extrasensory skills. The oldest of us can know about people through the objects they have touched. One of my brothers is a phaser. He can blink in and out of existence. The other can form an energy shield. If you throw something at him, it will bounce off without harming him.”
Stopping, she gauged the reactions of her audience. Mathew’s face pulled into something she would consider horror. His rounded eyes and clenched jaw were hard to decipher. Jordan’s face read disbelief. She fought a mounting urge to place her hand under his whiskered chin and close his mouth. Rein’s expression, she didn’t understand. No mistaking his composed countenance. Arms folded, jowl set. His trademark stance. Closed to everything, and angry. Not quite the response she’d expected, after he had showed her kindness.
Ellyssa looked back to Jordan. She took in a deep breath and continued. “The youngest, my sister, can move things with her mind.”
She stopped again and chewed on her lower lip. How could she tell them about her talent without alienating herself from her newfound family?
Family? A strange concept, but one she realized she didn’t want to lose. Especially now, since she’d had a sample of true companionship.
Of course, not everyone considered her part of their community. But Jordan? Mathew? Rein?
“And you?” Rein probed.
She had to tell them. “I can read minds.”
Silence blanketed the room. She studied the minute flits of twitching mouths and eyebrows, and muscles working along jaw lines. She wanted to jump into their heads, but she refused. Trust was a two-way street.
Rein broke the silence. “Are you doing it now?” he whispered.
“No,” Ellyssa answered indignantly.
“What does it all mean?” asked Mathew.
“You’re a prototype?” said Jordan.
Nodding, she said, “Yes. We all are. After my encounter with Jeremy, I ran across the records when I was erasing mine from the mainframe. With our genes locatable, he can isolate the coding sequence.”
Realization dawned within the older man. The whites of his eyes grew more pronounced. “He can bring them together into one.”
“Yes. A super-human able to seek you all out and destroy every pocket of resistance—hidden or not. My father’s goal has always been to accomplish Hitler’s dream.”
Jordan slouched back in the chair. The rusted springs squeaked in protest. “Human genocide.”
“Precisely.”
Looking off, Mathew pulled at his chin, his eyebrows leveled in thought. After a moment, his gaze settled back on her. “If you could read minds, why didn’t you know about this sooner?”
“It was strictly prohibited for any of us to use our gifts against Father or any of his assistants. To do so never even occurred to me.” Ellyssa flicked her eyes at Rein’s scowling face. “I am sorry I did not inform you sooner. But…” What could she say? She waved her hand in defeat. “I did not know how. I did not know who to trust.”
Jordan stood with Mathew’s help. His knees cracked. “We understand. We were as much an enemy to you as you were to us.” He started to turn, but stopped. “What made you run?”
Staring off, Ellyssa chewed on her lip before replying, “As The Center’s children, we went through rigorous programming to eradicate all emotions except anger and self-preservation. When I saw my father’s plans, not only did my self-preservation kick in, but I experienced a feeling of…wrongness, if he were to succeed.”
“How strange for you,” said Mathew, his voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t imagine how that must have felt like.”
Jordan held up his hand. “Thank you for answering our questions.”
“She hasn’t answered an important one,” Rein said, his tone clipped and seething with fury. “When, exactly, were you going to tell us?” Jordan placed a hand on his arm, but he jerked away. “No. Don’t. You just don’t get it. This confirms everything.” His eyes narrowed and fell on her. “Who’d you lead here?” he demanded, reaching for her.
Ellyssa’s quick response had her on her feet on the other side of the cot. “I did not bring others.” Although her muscles tensed, ready to defend, her voice quivered in desperation. She was suddenly afraid to lose him. A feeling of impending loneliness surfaced. “I told you they would come for me.”
“Liar,” Rein roared. “You’ve endangered us all.” Red colored his cheeks, and his fists clenched and unclenched, as if he wished his fingers were curled around her neck. He pushed past the doctor.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Ellyssa peeked inside Rein’s head. Fury, betrayal, and confusion swirled in incomprehensible images.
Somehow, Rein knew. He flipped around, the tendons in his neck standing out. “Stay the hell out of my head.” He stormed out.
Mathew and Jordan turned toward her, her hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar. Beaten, she collapsed onto her cot.
Jordan stroked Ellyssa’s hair. It felt nice, and more tears formed in her eyes. An emotional betrayal. Her father was right; emotions weakened her. Ellyssa inhaled and closed down, her face becoming an empty canvas, a veneer to cover her true sentiments. Inside her chest, though, misery twisted and seethed and clawed.
Jordan wavered for a moment, then his hand fell to his side. He looked askance at the doctor, who cocked a brow. “Don’t worry, hon. I’ll talk to him.”
Lowering her head, Ellyssa nodded. After all, she had deceived them. Even without looking into their heads, she knew they believed that. She wished she’d said something sooner.
“I am sorry,” she muttered, her voice monotone, unfeeling.
“Tsk, tsk. We’ll have none of that.”
Ellyssa looked at Jordan, and surprisingly, a toothy grin, minus the top front teeth, flashed across his dark face, deepening his wrinkles. She couldn’t understand him at all.
“Rein is right. Whether I intended to or not, I have endangered you all.”
“We were never out of danger.” Jordan’s lids lowered, not in anger, but in slyness. “You know why he is so angry, don’t you?”
“Yes. He feels betrayed.”
Laughing, Jordan shook his head. His dreadlocks swung like pendulums. “For someone who is supposedly smarter than the rest of us, you really don’t know much about this world at all.”
Not really sure if he meant that as an insult, she stared at him. Her defenses fell and confusion tightened her mouth.
Humor glinted in the old man’s eyes. He laughed even harder as he walked from the room, his thin shoulders shaking all the way.
When they were alone, Mathew hopped over and sat next to her. “Rein’ll come around, don’t worry.”
