Project Lightning, page 26
I shake my head. “No. I mean, the modifications reverse the MRM.”
“What do you mean? This machine is supposed to rid the body of their memories and replace them. Well it's supposed to.”
My eyes widen. “What do you mean?”
“Your mom,” he growls, “made it seem like your results were because of your brain not being receptive of the new memories. But your mother fucked up. She made it so the memory replacement isn't active.”
“So fix it yourself!” I yell.
He comes close to my face. His voice low as his rotting breath feathers my skin. I have to breathe through my nose to keep from gagging. The vomit is welling in my stomach with each passing moment. “I would if I could, babygirl. But your mother was smart. She made the processes impossible to replicate.” He backs up and fires up the program. “So if you don't have the information I need. There is no reason to keep you remembering.” He glares over at my father. “Say goodbye to your memories, babygirl.” I look wildly around at my father.
“No!” my father yells as Colonel Barnum flips the switch and everything goes blank.
Chapter 44
I wake from a slumped position to chaos. Two men are fighting fiercely. One of the men is dressed in a uniform. The other draped in chains. I duck my head as the chains whip over my head ripping the helmet from my head.
The chain wraps around the other man's neck. I hear a loud crack as the man pulls back on the chains. His body sags as the chains thunk on the floor. The body falls limply to the floor. His neck pulled at an unnatural angle. I gasp as the man in chains searches through the dead man's jacket.
I pull myself as close to the chair as the bonds allow. My heart racing and sweat rolling down my body. I close my eyes as I hear the chains fall to the floor.
“Brinna.” the man says as I shake my head. “Brinna. Open your eyes sweetheart.”
I slowly peek out of one eye and I am met with a soft green eye. His hand cradles my cheek and I flinch. He grimaces slightly and slowly moves his hand away.
I feel the bonds release on my hands. I pick them up and rub them. The man looks at me sadly as he moves around the space. Walking behind me, he grabs a helmet off the floor. I peek around and see him shaking his head. He meets my eyes and whispers, “I'm so sorry babygirl.”
A loud noise sounds in the hall and the man's head whips in that direction. He runs over to the dead man and grabs the man's gun from his belt. My heart is beating fiercely in my chest. I pull myself into a small ball in the chair. I have no idea what is going on. I just watched a man kill another man.
The door bangs open and several men and a couple women pour into the room. Each has a rifle but one is carrying a helmet similar to the one that I saw on the floor.
“Drop your weapon!” the new man orders the first one. The first man looks from one person to another. Each has a weapon trained on this man. His eyes meet mine briefly before he sighs and drops the gun to the floor.
The leader looks to the man on the right. “Secure him.” The man nods as he rushes over and secures the man's hands behind his back.
“Caleb!” one of the women says to the leader. “Get over here!” Caleb walks over to behind the table and looks at the dead man. “Colonel Barnum.”
“Shit.” Caleb says as he looks around and his eyes finally land on mine. I close my eyes tight as I try to pull myself into a tighter ball. They look familiar but I can't recall where I have seen them before. “Brinna!” he exclaims as he rushes over to me. My heart beats wildly as he places his hands on my face. He tries to press his lips into mine. I move my head around and kick him in the stomach. “What the fuck!” he exclaims as he pulls back. “Brinna, it's me, Caleb.”
“She doesn't remember you.” the prisoner says as he shakes his head.
“What do you mean?” Caleb says as he whips around to the prisoner. “What the fuck did you do to her?” He picks the man up by his collar.
“I didn't do anything!” the man yells. “It was Captain or well Colonel Barnum!” Caleb's brows furrow as he inspects this man. When they meet eyes, Caleb gasps.
“Who are you?” he releases the man to the ground.
The man stands tall as he says, “Sergeant Marcus St. Pope.”
One of the women gasps. Caleb swallows hard. “So you're her....” He nods softly as he looks down at his feet. Caleb motions to another man. “Release him.”
“Are you sure, Caleb?” the man questions.
“I'm sure, Sozanski.” Caleb replies as the man releases Marcus's bonds.
“So what happened?” one of the women asks as she comes around the table.
Marcus sits down on a table. “Colonel Barnum captured her and brought her here. I was in a cell but they brought me out to see her. Colonel Barnum thought she had information from Cassie's experiment. See, Cassie was smart. She secured her release by building the MRM but she didn't make it fully functional.”
“What do you mean?” the woman asks.
“Calm down Kayla.” Caleb says quickly, “Let the man talk.” Kayla nods and he continues. I listen intently peeking at each of the people in the room.
“So Cassie made the machine work to erase memories but not replace them.” Marcus shakes his head and chuckles lightly. “By the time, Barnum realized the machine didn't work properly, Cassie and Camden were long gone.”
“He released them?” Caleb asks and seems shocked.
Marcus nods. “Cassie was smart. She bartered with him for our lives. She was to make the machine work and she could leave with Camden.”
“Why didn't Barnum kill you?” Caleb asks.
“He kept hoping that if he could find Cassie, he would use me to coerce her back here.” He chuckles lightly. “Obviously, he never found her.” He smiles wryly. “But back to what happened. Barnum thought Brinna had my wife's notes on how to make the replacement work.”
“The journal.” Caleb whispers.
“That's right.” Marcus says, “How did you know about it?”
“Brinna and I were....well...I am in love with her. We were in a relationship.”
“Until you were an idiot.” one of the women says. I sit there shocked by everything being said. It all sounds like a great story but I am not sure where I fit in.
“What does she mean?” Marcus asks, suddenly angry.
Caleb's eyes fall to the floor. “I made a mistake. She wanted to continue her mother's work and I wanted to protect her. I couldn't watch her die.” He shakes his head and meets Marcus's eyes. “I was selfish. But I never stopped loving her. Not for one minute.”
Marcus nods slowly and pats Caleb's shoulder. Caleb smiles grimly. “Anyway, Cassie puts her plans for a way to reverse the effects of the MRM in that journal. But Barnum thought Cassie's journal had all her notes for the machine. Cassie told me that she had given the notes to Brinna. At first I was happy about that. However, Barnum captured her and forced us to use Brinna as Cassie's first “subject”.” He shakes his head. “It killed Cassie to take Brinna's memories. But she didn't want to lose everyone.” He meets my eyes and I notice something familiar in their depths.
“So what happened here?” Kayla asks.
“Barnum captured her and was going to coerce her to fix the machine. When he threatened me, I pulled the chains out of the wall and started fighting the soldiers. But he put the machine on Brinna's head so I surrendered. I couldn't risk her losing her memories twice.”
“That doesn't explain why she can't remember me.” Caleb says. His body is tight. He looked like one of those greek gods. All bronze and muscular.
Marcus lets out an exasperated sound. “I'm getting there,” he says. “When she revealed to Barnum that she couldn't fix his machine. He figured that she didn't need her memories any longer. So he flipped the switch. When she came to, I was fighting him and I managed to wrap a chain around his throat.” He swallows loudly.
“So you killed him.” Caleb says softly. Marcus nods.
“But it is too late.” Marcus says pointing to me. “She has already lost everything. I have lost her again.”
I strain my mind to figure out what is going on. Is he talking about me? Is that why I can't remember anything? “Me.” I rasp. “Who are you?”
Marcus's eyes mist over as he approaches me. “I'm your Daddy, babygirl. I love you so much Brinna. I'm so sorry.”
“You are my Daddy?” he nods softly, “Who am I?”
A gasp in the background. I look up and see the woman named Kayla. Tears are flooding her eyes.
Caleb turns to Kayla. “Did you guys finish the prototype?”
“Well yeah.” Kayla says as she brings the helmet forward. “But it is untested. Brinna was planning on testing it on herself before. She was hoping it would work properly. I don't know if it will work with this level of memory loss.”
“If this is based on Cassie's design,” Marcus says, “It should work on any level of memory loss.”
Caleb looks at him. “Well we don't really have a choice. If nothing happens, nothing will have changed. But we need to try.” He looks deep in my eyes and I feel like I am sinking into his soul.
Kayla nods and approaches me with the helmet and I pull myself back in the chair. My legs curl up. Marcus approaches again and holds my hand. “Brinna. This nice woman is going to try to help you remember. Will you let her help?”
I look up at the helmet and then back to Marcus. His soft eyes pleading with me to agree. I nod a little. So I have the heavy helmet placed on my head. Marcus straps the machine on my head as Kayla goes over to the bank of computers. I want to struggle. I want to be free. But I see the green eyes of my “Daddy” boring into me and if he is telling the truth this will help me remember. Plugging a unit into it, she boots up a program. “How quickly should we know if this works?” Caleb asks.
“It should be instantaneous.” Kayla replies as she types something into a keyboard. “Okay. The program is ready and the processes look complete. Are we ready?”
Marcus back away slowly and nods. Caleb nods. Kayla flips a small switch on the computer panel and everything goes black once more.
Chapter 45
“Sweetheart.” Caleb's voice croons. “Wake up.”
I blink my eyes open and am met with Caleb's amazing hazel eyes. “Caleb.” I say as I throw my arms around his neck. His arms wind around my body tightly.
“You remember me?” he asks softly. The tension in his body melted.
I smile. “Yes.” I whisper and he holds me tighter. His body shakes as he lets his tears fall. After several moments, Caleb lifts the helmet off my head and I shiver when I see it. My foggy mind can't remember how he got there. “How did you get here?”
“You don't remember?” Caleb asks, concerned as he looks over at Kayla. Her brilliant blue eyes scattered with tears.
“It doesn't matter, Caleb.” I say as I put my hand on his arm. He looks at me and I say, “I'm just glad you're here.” He smiles brightly and leans down kissing me sweetly on the lips. We quickly get lost in the kiss. His lips gliding against mine. He tastes like coffee and Caleb.
“Ahem.” a familiar voice clears behind Caleb and he chuckles lightly.
“Probably should share you with your daddy.” he whispers.
My daddy. He is alive. Caleb steps aside and I get up. I run over and throw myself into his arms. “Daddy.” I whisper as tears stream down my face. He sags slightly with my weight but his arms still hold me like they used to.
“Brinna, babygirl.” Daddy says as he folds me into him. “Step back, let me look at you.” I smile as I stand back. “God, babygirl, you are so beautiful.” My smile grows brighter as I look over my father's haggard appearance.
“I thought I would never see you again.” I say as tears stream down my face. “I thought...” My mind races to the different ways I had finally said goodbye to them. I had accepted their death. Now.
“Shhh, babygirl.” Daddy says, “It's okay. I'm here and I am not going anywhere.”
“Where's Mama?” I ask quickly. “Is she?”
“Your Mama is safe. Some friends of ours from Demeter are hiding her and Camden.” Daddy says. I gasp and grip his arm. I want to see them right now.
“How do you know?” I ask.
Daddy smiles and his eyes crinkling in the corners. Despite years of captivity, his body is strong and lithe. “One of the guards is related to our friends. He didn't agree with Barnum on keeping me hostage but he couldn’t speak against it. Told me about how your mama, Camden, and you were doing. Basically he kept me sane all these years.”
“You had someone watch me?” I ask. I feel a little uneasy about this. Some random stranger was watching me. But I guess it was all he had.
“Yeah...” he says with a shrug., “But it was just to make sure you were being taken care of. You know...”
I smile knowing that my daddy was keeping an eye on me. He hugs me again and I melt into him. His arms stroke up and down my back as he whispers in my ear about how much he loves me and missed me.
We all jump back as the door is thrown open and soldiers pour in. We all raise our hands in surrender as they fill in the room. “Clear.”
Major Halley strides in the room purposefully. “Lower your weapons.” The soldiers all lower their weapons and we lower our hands. She walks over to Barnum's corpse and kicks it lightly. I internally smile as I think that maybe this won't be bad.
My father approaches her, “Evie?”
“Damn.” Halley says, “Marcus?” My father nods and they embrace. Caleb puts his arms around me. I snuggle into his chest. “You've been here the whole time?” Daddy nods and Halley lowers her head to her chest. “Fuck” she whispers.
“Didn't you know?” Daddy asks.
Halley shakes her head. “I believed him.” she spits out as she points to Barnum's body. “He told me you died in an accident. So many things and I just followed him like a little lost puppy.” She puts her hands on her head. Her shoulders stoop.
Daddy pats her shoulder. “It's okay, Evie.” Halley smiles.
“Daddy?” I say as I step forward.
Halley smiles. “Father and daughter reunited at last.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Daddy says as he puts his arm around my shoulders. “Hoping you can grant my baby girl and her man leave so we can go find her mother and brother.”
“Of course.” Halley says. “I guess this means I am the commanding officer of this base.”
I salute her and the rest of the soldiers salute. She stands there with a look of awe on her face when my father salutes her as well. She salutes us all back and I know good things are coming.
Caleb's hand links with mine and I step back into his embrace. Daddy narrows his eyes. “Hurt her again and I will hurt you.”
“Of course, sir.” Caleb says as he winks at me, “I look forward to it.”
Chapter 46
Two days later, we are walking out to the bus in civilian clothes. Caleb hands our bags to the driver and we turn around. Kayla and Piper stand there waiting.
“You sure you have everything you need?” Kayla asks.
We shipped the machine to my uncle yesterday. We spent the past few days tracking down the recruits that didn't make it this year. All of them were okay and could remember their experience. It turns out Barnum was targeting me and the people close to me.
Major Halley had taken over the base and made sweeping changes. The military aspect is still there, of course, but the threat of death has been taken off the table. The base is still top secret and will still train elite soldiers but they will live their lives as normal as possible.
My father was offered a job as a strength instructor and hopefully my mother will accept her position as a medical technology instructor. We won't know for sure until we find her.
Caleb and I had tried to find Juliet but struggled because her family wouldn't give us her whereabouts. My heart sank when I heard she was missing.
Late last night, after lights out, Major Halley came into my room. Well I should say, our room. Caleb and I moved in together in a separate coed dorm. We talked about how we were moving fast. But after what we had been through, Caleb said he wasn't leaving me alone ever again. Major Halley reported that Project Lightning had found Juliet. She was working in a bar north of Fenway Park.
Caleb and I, with my father, planned to go there tonight. Hopefully we can talk her into coming with us. If not, we would figure it out. But our first stop was my uncle and aunt's house. Daddy hasn't seen his brother in ten years.
My father fidgets the entire ride to Boston. His hands constantly moving belaying his nerves at seeing his brother.
I place my hand on his and he grips it tightly. “It's going to be okay, Daddy.” His eyes crinkle as he smiles at me. I can feel his leg shake and I just sigh.
“Must seem weird that I am nervous.” Daddy says as he squeezes my hand.
“Not at all, sir.” Caleb says as he gazes out the windows of the bus at the
Daddy shakes his head back and forth. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Marcus.”
“Probably a million more, si...I mean Marcus.” Daddy slaps Caleb’s back with a loud thump and I hear Caleb cough lightly.
I laugh loudly as the bus slows into Tremont Station. I look out the window and see Uncle Greg, Aunt Myrna and Maddy standing there waiting. When Uncle Greg had heard about my ordeal, he threatened to call the government. I'm still not sure if he won't when he hears about his brother's captivity.
I step off the bus and Aunt Myrna holds her arms out to me. I walk into them and Uncle Greg joins in. They both let go of their tears as they hold me. “I'm okay.” I say. “I'm alive.”
“But you could have been...” Uncle Greg rasps as his shoulders shake. We stand there for a good five minutes. Maddy gets in the middle and we all laugh as she holds on to my waist tightly.
A voice clears in the background and Uncle Greg looks up. His body stiffens as he turns toward the sound. I step back and am pulled into a hug by Caleb. My head goes to his chest as I watch the brothers meet up after all these years.
