Subject Seventeen: Wraith Among Shadows
Chapter 26

I try to rush over to Fourteen’s body but stumble and I struggle to regain my balance. My ears have begun bleeding again. I can feel every single muscle in my body screaming out in pain, telling me to stop moving and give up. Even putting one foot in front of the other causes me to clench my teeth in an attempt to ignore the never-ending onslaught of agony flowing through my body. I used too much of my powers.

The teleport I made from the crash-landing site to this facility took away most of my energy already. I should have already collapsed minutes ago if not for the VERTIGO SIX. In fact, I think that taking a second shot of the serum only boosted my powers for a few more minutes and took more of a toll on my body than the first did. In other words, I’m practically killing myself by using my powers at this point.

“You two are going to have to pull it out of him,” I say.

“Are you crazy?” One says. “Heal him! If we pull it out he could die!”

“Oh,” Sky says. “Sure he can heal him with a bloody mountain bursting out of his chest! You idiot! This is your doing in the first place!”

Beads of sweat fall off of my face and hit the ground. My vision begins to blur as I move forward haltingly. It is almost as if I can feel the darkness closing in on me.

I think back to the fight with Sanders as I draw nearer to Fourteen. It was almost as if something was holding me back when I was firing lightning at him. Some sort of force inside my head, restricting me from attacking him. Sure enough, Sanders’ reflexes were abnormal, but he only had enough time to dodge because of that force delaying me. Could the borrachero still be wearing me down? Am I too loyal to Sanders and the Doctor? I’m sure that in my heart I completely trust Thirteen – as lazy as he is.

I fall to my knees in front of Fourteen as One and Sky grab hold of the huge shard in his chest. I nod at them as they look to me for a signal. As soon as I place my hands on Fourteen’s chest they begin to pull.

Fourteen’s body begins to convulse in agony and he begins screaming. I guess that means he is still alive. I try to hold him down but I can’t fight both the pain in my muscles and the tremendous strength of Fourteen’s built body as it pushes against me, trying desperately to stop whatever is causing it pain.

I muster all the energy I can and force it into Fourteen. I remember what it felt like to heal Nine and Sky back on the island. I force my energy using my will to replicate that exact feeling. For a second nothing happens, but soon enough I can feel the warmth building up in my fingertips and I push Fourteen back down with all the strength I have.

Sky and One pull out the shard completely and I send my healing energy coursing through Fourteen’s body. At first he continues to thrash about wildly, his body tense as his veins push against his skin. Then he begins to calm down and lays on the floor again with his body motionless. I shiver uncontrollably as the familiar cold fills me and emphasises the torment my body is going through. I fight back against the pain and watch as Fourteen’s chest begins to move again. He’s alive at least. There's no wound in sight now.

I fall back flat on my back and close my eyes. I can no longer move. I’ve completely exhausted myself. I can hear myself panting tediously and more blood beginning to pour out from my ears. Shuffling sounds come from my left; where Sky and One are. I sense the sounds getting closer and soon enough I feel someone’s arms pulling me up to my feet. Opening my eyes I see it's Sky.

“Thanks,” I say.

“No worries,” she replies with a small smile. “You’re clearly exhausted and we need to get you and Fourteen out of here. Aren’t we supposed to be heading to the hangar now?”

“No,” One says. “We need to get Fourteen over here awake – make sure he is alright. Then Thirteen said he should unlock the boy-wonder’s memories.”

“Do we even have time for that? And what if Nine hasn’t found the failsafe?”

Sky looks back at me, still supporting me with my hand drooped around her neck. Her face is full of worry.

“Don’t worry about that for now,” I say. “We just need to move out of this place. Sky, as soon as we reach the hangar go find Thirteen. I have this strange feeling about this Twelve person that I don’t like.”

“Weird,” One says. “I thought you would be the one to like him most of all.”

“And why is that?”

“Well… He’s weird, but he’s an interesting guy. I guess you will have to wait and see. Thirteen is the best at hand-to-hand combat. Ten is the best in a pure battle – ability wise. As for Twelve, he’s kind of a double-edged sword.”

“How so?”

“Like I said, wait and see.”

I sigh and try to support my own weight so I don’t put too much stress on Sky. She has my arm wrapped around her neck and her arm is around my waist, pulling me forward. I’m grateful for the assistance and make an effort to move by myself completely. This of course fails; my legs give away on the first step. Sky manages to catch me and we continue to move.

Looking back I see that One is carrying Fourteen on her back. It takes me a moment to realise that she has the strength to carry him so easily because of her enhanced body. I’m slowly beginning to forget things again. My head drops a little and I hold my hand up to support it. That ringing sound has come back to torment me.

“You sure you’re alright?” Sky asks?

“Fine,” I say through clenched teeth. “We need to move or we’ll delay the next stage of Thirteen’s plan.”

We continue treading forward and exit the training room. The corridor we travel down is bare and stinks of some strange gas. A peculiar coldness fills the air. The walls are riddled with bullet holes and every now and then we pass by a few bodies. Sky stops to switch guns get some ammo off of the dead bodies now that her Logistic is empty.. The dead men are clearly soldiers of this facility. All of them have enormous gaping holes in their chest where their heart should be. Blood is splattered across the ground around them.

“Who did this?” I ask.

“This is Fifteen’s work,” One says. “She probably ripped out their hearts. She’s really merciless. You might not want to get in her way.”

“Never intended to,” I say.

I turn my eyes away from the gruesome scene as we walk forward. We’re making slow progress but I know if we don’t pick up the pace we won’t make it in time.

“Let’s change our plans,” Sky says. “Let’s head down to the lower level. I’m worried that Fifteen and Thirteen may not be able to deal with Twelve.”

“If Thirteen says leave it to him then don’t help,” One replies.

“No,” I say. “It’s better to head down there. Our only objective now is to head to the hangar. What if something goes wrong and they get in trouble down there while we’re just sitting around waiting? Considering all the unknowns surrounding this Twelve person, I’d rather not risk the security of Thirteen.”

One sighs and shakes her head. Then she gives a small shrug and begins to walk forward. She moves ahead of me and Sky with Fourteen bobbing up and down on her back. We continue forward for about ten more minutes, passing a multitude of bodies on the way; all whose hearts have been torn from their chests. Soon enough we reach the door to Block C where we can access the hangar.

“Do we even know how to access the lower level?” One says. “It seems to me this entire plan has several flaws.”

“It’s only because we had to enact it so suddenly,” Sky replies. “If we had more time Thirteen and Nine would be able to account for all the different variables.”

“Can’t I just bust our way through to the floor below?”

“Not with Fourteen and Seventeen injured.”

“So what exactly do you expect us to do then? It isn’t as if we have nearly enough time to find a way to the lower level if you’re really that concerned about Thirteen and Fifteen.”

“I can astral project,” I say.

Sky and One turn to look at me as if I’ve gone mad. I can see the confusion on their faces. I’m not surprised; after all even I’m not completely clear on what astral projecting means.

“Astral project?” they both say in unison.

“Yeah. I’m not sure what it is but it’s like I can send my spirit or soul out of my body for some time and wander about.”

“Since when can you do that?” Sky asks warily.

“Well I’ve only done it once. That’s how I found that guy,” I say while pointing to Fourteen. “Don’t you remember? I’m pretty sure Thirteen explained it to you.”

“Two,” One says. “I really don’t think we have time to question it right now. If he claims he can do that then we can move straight to the hangar while he does that spooky crap. Let’s go.”

Sky nods and hauls me up.

“Alright,” Sky says. “Do what you can then, Seventeen.”

I close my eyes and try to concentrate on summoning all my energy. The familiar warmth courses through my body. I gently urge it to take a form; like it did last time. Thinking back to the last time I projected I remember the abnormal feeling and series of images I saw when I left my body. I need to remember how that felt.

I steady my breathing and take slow breaths. Next I block out all the sound around me. Sky’s and One’s footsteps fade into the background as I begin to feel myself fade away. My energy feels lighter now and I’m suddenly pulled away from my body by some unknown force. Before my eyes flash series of images similar to the ones I saw last time. Gatherings of stars and different suns all revolving around each other. Shooting stars and meteors, white planets and bursting suns of all different colours and magnitudes. I try to take in all the images flooding through my vision and I’m taken aback by the sheer wonder of what I’m seeing and don’t have enough time to take everything in completely before I see an image of the Earth.

I’m surprised by what I see. The energy surrounding the Earth is dark and murky. I can sense rage and bitterness seeping up towards me from the planet. An eerie feeling creeps its way towards me, causing me to feel wary. Without knowing why I instinctively know that energy is dangerous and that I need to find out what that is.

I will myself to head towards the centre of that strange feeling. Slowly but surely I begin to get closer to the Earth. The speed I’m moving forward at gradually increases and soon enough I’m travelling so fast that everything else is at a blur. I let myself be pulled towards my destination; wherever that may be.

There is ground beneath my feet once again and when I look up I find myself back in the corridor where Sky and one are. This time however, I am not in my body. I watch as Sky and One carry me and Fourteen off. My entire body feels lighter; almost as if I had never been in a fight at all. Maybe this is because I’m not actually in my physical body.

I look around me, searching the Xerxes for Thirteen’s energy. My eyes traverse the unusual connections and skim over the different trails of energy until I find one that is an aberrant dark shade of white. It's like the other energy I noticed earlier when I found Fourteen. The dark one that i really wanted to stay away from. This one is constantly shifting and moving but is completely stable. It gives off a reliable but cautious vibe.

I begin to follow the trail of energy. It takes me back through to Block B and past the training room. I pass by all the dead bodies again but this time I don’t react. The common room and living quarters I also pass by until I reach Block D. I easily pass through the door.

The inside of Block D isn’t anything like the rest of the facility; or at least any part that I know of. It is against the rules to enter Block A, D, E or F and I think perhaps now I know why. Unlike the other blocks this block is not a bare corridor that turns and leads to various specialised rooms. Inside Block D is a spacious office-type setting, at least ninety by sixty yards wide. The floor is matted with a soft dark but well-toned orange. The entirety of the area is filled with leather chairs and sofas next to huge thick oak study desks. On the desks are various notes and sketches and also what appear to be blueprints for some sort of design for a weapon. I work my way over to the desk to get a closer look. On the blue-print it reads: PHASE SIX – BLACK CROW in capital letters. I study below the print and realise that this is not just any sort of weapon. It is the blueprints for a human. Or rather, a human weapon. One of us enhanced; a Shadow.

My eyes skim over the diagrams and something inside me begins to stir. To the side on the second page on the blueprint is something which says: X-25G7 CORE NANO. I feel as if I’ve heard this somewhere before. Continuing to look through the blueprints I eventually come to realise that these designs are not for me. Well, at least four of them are not. The one that seems to be based off of me says L.PARKER in the bottom left corner. I recognise it because of a sketch of my face in the top right corner. The other four sketches seem to be based off of four anonymous people. They do not have anything written in the bottom left corner or a sketch in the top right corner. Instead they are all marked “CROW 2” to CROW 5” in dark red letters. The same “X-25G7” is written on all of them. It seems as if they all have the same powers as me. So there are in fact more of us it seems.

I tear my attention away from the designs when I hear a door behind me open. The Doctor hurries through accompanied by two Chinese military officers who appear to be of high ranks. I can see the sweat on his brow and fear in his shaking hands.

“We have a situation I’m afraid,” he says. “I’m sorry, sir. I will have to ask you to leave immediately. Our instructions are to dispose of the Shadow Squad and this facility anyhow, but before that we need to either capture or – if need be, although I don’t wish to – dispose of Seventeen also. We must also quickly move the Crows to a different location. It would be ideal if we could take back Seventeen; the first Crow, but it seems as if we are running out of time and will not have a chance to do so. As of now we need to release the Forgotten and we can’t have you here where you will be in danger.”

“We understand,” one of the military officer says. “You have done good work already, Noah. By the end of today New York will be completely put to ruins and we will already have the upper hand in the war just as it begins. Keep up the good work.”

With that the two military officers turn to exit through a door I hadn’t noticed before. I turn my attention back to the Doctor – or Noah as I know him now – and watch him carefully. He is indeed shaking. His hands are fidgeting with a little black and silver striped pen as he paces around the desk with the blueprints nonstop. He runs his hands through his hair repeatedly before he nods as if he has finally made up his mind to do something. Eventually he stops pacing and turns in the direction of the same door the other two men exited through.

I watch him walk away through the door and turn my attention towards the rest of the room. There is another door tucked away in the corner of the room that no-one seems to have passed through. I head towards it and slip right through the door. I find myself in a dimly lit stairwell with pale stone stairs spiralling downwards. Thirteen’s energy trail is stronger here and I know that I’m getting closer.

I follow the stairs downwards while trying to make sense of the blueprints. What does ‘Crow’ mean? I have a feeling that it is something important and extremely dangerous. If so then I need to do something about it, although I have no idea what I should be doing about it.

If I'm supposed to be the first Crow, then am I just a prototype? Do they intend to create four others like me and continue with their plans? We can't let that happen. I won't let that happen.

My thoughts are interrupted by a loud bang coming from further down the stairwell. I pick up my pace and begin to sprint down the stairs. A few seconds later I start to hear gunshots and yelling. Something is clearly going on.

I reach the bottom of the stairwell and come to a set of grey doors marked with the letter ‘E’. I don’t stop to look at anything else around me and rush straight through it. My body goes right through the door, leading me into a brightly lit oval room, similar to the training room but coloured grey and at least three times the size.

When I whip my head around I see Fifteen punching a man in the face, sending him flying to the floor. Thirteen is twenty feet in front of her with a small pistol. He is firing off shots left, right and centre at different soldiers who are running towards them or taking aim. All of his bullets hit their mark; right in the forehead. I’m surprised by his incredible accuracy.

“Can we release him now?” Fifteen asks in a sing-song voice.

“Why not?” Thirteen says. “That’s what we came here to do after all. Also, we have an unwanted guest. I’m pretty sure I told you not to come here, Seventeen.”

Thirteen turns his gaze to exactly where I am and for a while I forget that he can see the Xerxes too, meaning he can probably sense my energy. I don’t understand what the big deal is. I’m just checking in on them.

Thirteen and Fifteen walk over to what appears to be part of the wall but I can clearly see that it isn’t. I can feel a dark and eerie energy seeping from it and I instantly recognise it as the one I had sensed when I had started astral projecting earlier. Thirteen picks up a Logistic from one of the dead soldiers and aims it at the wall. Without any warning he starts firing at the section of the wall the dark energy is coming from. The bullets pierce right through and I immediately see that this part of the wall is made of some sort of metal. The metal glows bright green as the bullets pierce through it and Thirteen rolls to the side as some sort of green energy blast erupts from the metal in his direction. Thirteen doesn’t hesitate to get back up and continue shooting. This repeats itself continuously for about two minutes before the metal finally begins to fade back to grey.

It must be some sort of defence mechanism to defend against all sorts of attacks. Obviously this must be some sort of cell for Twelve. Thirteen throws away the Logistic and cracks his knuckles before calling out to whoever is behind the now ruined metal wall.

“Get your ass out of there already!”

I notice Fifteen take a few steps backward, sweat begin to appear on her brow. Is she scared of something? I hear footsteps sound slowly, coming from behind the metal wall. Next I hear what seems to be a boy chuckling underneath his breath. The energy I had noticed before is growing stronger and stronger by the second. It begins to make the hairs on my neck stand on edge even though I thought I had prepared myself for anything.

Half a minute later I finally see a foot step through the broken metal wall. The foot is covered in dirt. My gaze immediately rises up to see the face of the person they refer to as Twelve. Out of the shadows comes forward a person with a lightly bearded face but with a well defined jaw. His face is perfectly symmetrical and his eyes are a dark brown. His hair is bushy and sticks up all over the place. I take notice of his broad shoulders and enormous chest. His muscles are practically pushing against the dust covered black shirt he is wearing and his torso is well built. I skim over the cargo pants and his bare feet and guess that he is about six foot one.

The dark energy I was sensing before is definitely coming from him. The strength of his energy overwhelms me as he emerges. He begins to laugh a little as he cracks his neck and shrugs his shoulders repeatedly.

A group of soldiers – at least forty or so – suddenly emerge from a door to the side of the room. Before Fifteen has time to react they are already aiming their guns towards Thirteen and Twelve. I try to fling them aside with telekinesis but I remember I cannot do that while astral projecting. My eyes snap to Fifteen, willing her to do something. She starts running towards them but I already know she won’t make it in time. I feel my heart sink a little. They are going to die here just because I was too weak to make it down here in my real body.

Then something I don’t know how to react to occurs. Twelve raises his arm in the direction of the soldiers without looking at them. He then slowly opens his fist before rapidly closing it again. The soldiers all drop to their knees and begin screaming. It looks as if their bodies are being crushed by a giant invisible hand as their eyes begin to bulge and their bodies slowly cave inwards. I find my mouth dropping open in surprise as all the soldiers slowly fall towards the ground motionless, one after the other.

“So?” Twelve says. I can still hear the quiet but demonic and shrill laugh coming from under his breath.

“Wow.” Thirteen says while shaking his head. “You didn’t have to be so merciless. Also, Twelve, what do you mean by so?”

Silence fills the enormous room, broken by the sound of Fifteen’s footsteps as she walks towards Thirteen and Twelve. She is sweating even more furiously now and I think I even see her shaking a little bit. Twelve raises his head slowly while keeping his eyes fixed on Thirteen before he finally talks again.

“So… who do you want dead now?”

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