The End Came With a Kiss (19 page)

"So why switch them?"

"Because the second compound is genetically engineered to spread."

I feel as if I've been kicked in the gut. "Are you saying they both cause death?"

She looks exasperated. "Yes! You're searching for a cure that doesn't exist."

Everything begins to spin. How can this be? She has to be lying. She wants us to lose hope. She wants us to give up. I feel like I’m going to throw up.

"They may still change. Your wife may change." I detect concern in Ashlyn's voice.

"And be what?!" I scream. "A living corpse?!"

"You make it sound so grim. But where you see death, I see life. Our goal was not to kill the world, but to create a new world, free of sickness and disease. No more handicaps. No more mentally ill. No more death."

"That's not living," I say, gripping my waist.

"She'll be everything she was."

"But she won't have a heartbeat. She won't be warm."

"Are those things more important than ridding the world of its pain?"

"I would choose a short warm life over an eternity of cold dead flesh." My teeth grind. "You had no right to force this on us."

"We didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice."

"The secret was beginning to get out. It was only a matter of time before you would be hunting us like animals."

"You don't know that."

"You have no idea what I know."

"And I'm not sure I want to."

Her face puckers. "It’s worthless talking to you."

Harry’s voice comes out slow. "So there’s no cure? It’s just us and them?"

"Assuming she’s not lying to us," I say.

"Why would I lie to you?"

"Because you’re a liar."

"How am I a liar?"

"You lied about who you are, what you are."

"I never said I was human."

"All right," I snap. "This isn’t going anywhere. We need to get everything up into the lab before the sun starts to set. We’ll deal with this there."

I leave Harry to watch her while James and I retrieve two carts on which to load the food and supplies. When we return, Harry helps us load each cart shoulder high. Lastly, James and I grunt as we lift Katherine on top of the second cart and safely cradle her on each side with boxes.

The power Lau diverted to the lift provides power to the bay doors as well, so we open one halfway to get the supply carts in. Harry grabs the little girl and seals the truck while James escorts Ashlyn by the arm. As I’m about to push the carts across the bay and into the lift, Ashlyn stops us. "Who’s that?"

"He’s the only looper we found in here," I say, letting go of the cart.

"Why is he just laying there?"

I look over at the body. It’s no longer moving. "That’s weird. He was alive when we left him."

"He was alive?" she tugs on James’ grip, but he restrains her. "Please, let me see him."

I give James a nod, and he releases her.

She jogs across the bay and falls to her knees next to the still body of the thin looper. The man does not react to her presence. She slides his eyelids up, one at a time, examining them intently. "No. This is wrong. This is wrong!" she says, in a panic. Her bound hands search the man, peeling up his shirt and lifting his pant legs. Is she looking for damage? Is she hoping for some other reason for his demise?

"Look at him, Ash. He’s thin, even for a looper."

"He didn’t starve," she says with tears in her eyes. "They can’t starve to death. They can’t… " Her anguish seems real. Was she telling the truth? Was she holding onto hope that the loopers would turn into what she is? That they would make it through this comatose state?

Another more important question stabs at me.

Does it matter?

She’s the enemy. Whether she has a heart for the loopers is irrelevant. She was a willing conspirator in the genocide of the human race. Even if she believes the loopers will turn, she is still responsible for the innocent blood of millions. Because of her, my daughter is dead. How could she ever give excuse for that? "Get up," I say, my voice dripping with bitterness.

She continues to weep over the body.

"GET UP! We don't have time for this!"

James gives me a startled look and goes to retrieve her.

"Come on," he says gently. "We'll figure this out."

"They're not supposed to die," she sobs. "This isn't how it was supposed to happen. This isn't possible. We tested and tested. The new compound worked perfectly."

"James, please!" I say with irritation. "I know you have feelings for her, but she’s a mass murderer."

She grips her gut and groans. "IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS!"

"How was it supposed to be? What did you expect? Did you think everyone would just die and be happy about it? Even if my wife could speak to me, she'd still be a walking corpse!"

"We're not corpses! We're alive!"

"You're dead!" I scream. "You just don't know it yet!" With that I pull the dart gun from my waist, and fire.

Ashlyn and James both look at the dart sticking from the base of her neck, unable to process what just happened. Slowly, she sinks back into his arms.

James' countenance falls. "What are you doing?"

"Do you have anyone you know who died? I don't mean walking around dead. I mean someone you love who died because of this?"

He doesn't answer. He simply fumes.

"I lost my daughter to a looper stampede. She was trampled and then carried away to God only knows where because of her!" I say, stabbing a finger at Ashlyn. "So stop looking at me like I'm the bad guy and get your head screwed on right! She may not think so, but she is a mass murderer. And the only reason I don't put a shotgun load through her face is because she might have information on how to save us. Do either of you have a problem with that? If so, we can part ways right now!"

James closes his eyes, and his shoulders sink.

"Sorry about your little girl," says Harry, gently. "We did lose someone like that. James lost his sister. We know what it's like to lose someone. But that girl isn't evil. She's just confused. She thought she was fixing this world. And we can all agree this world needed fixin'. She just went about it wrong."

With a shaking hand I slide the dart gun back into my belt and take in a deep shuddering breath.

"And what case are we making for humanity if we choose revenge over forgiveness?" he says.

I feel my face tighten. "Forgiveness? Forgiveness for what? A mass murderer?"

"Forgiveness for a misguided little girl who’s made mistakes. None of us is perfect."

I stare at her, cradled caringly in James' arms. Could I ever forgive her for this? For taking from me the two lives I held most precious? "I don't know if I can do that," I say quietly.

"If she comes around, if she chooses to reject what she has been taught, what then? Is there no humanity left in you to forgive her?"

"I don't have to forgive her. I just have to get information from her."

"Well, when she wakes, I'd choose my words carefully. That little girl just realized that everything she knows could be wrong. The crushing weight of what she's done will be on her shoulders."

Good
, I think to myself, but I don't say it aloud. I want her to feel the weight of what she's done. I want her to feel the anguish she has caused me.

"You're right," Harry continues, "What she took part in is horrible, but it’s her guilt to bear. The blood is on her hands. But if you, with your words, make her feel like she can't come back from this—when the cure comes—she may choose to remain dead instead of choosing life. Then the guilt will be yours. Her blood will be on your hands."

I turn a cold look. "How can I get blood on my hands? She doesn't have any."

20

The silence in the hangar bay is stifling as we push the carts onto the lift. Harry holds the little girl, and James carries Ashlyn in and sets her leaning against the back wall. Slowly the lift rises, and the digital readout above the doors counts off the floors. Not a word is spoken. Not a glance is given. We are not in agreement on how to treat Ashlyn, but I have learned something from this conflict: Harry and James are men of compassion and forgiveness, which means they are men of conscience. I had already concluded that they could be trusted, but now I am confident that it is safe to bring them into the lab. The only issue I can foresee arising is their protecting Ashlyn if I want to hurt her. But I have no desire to harm her. I only want her to feel bad for what she's done. I want her to understand the depth of her crime.

I look up at the flashing numbers and break the silence. "Even after all she's done, I wouldn't hurt her."

Harry's deep voice fills the space. "That's why we're still here, boss."

The doors creep open, and I lift my shotgun. The light from the freight elevator does a good job of illuminating the spacious loading room, but I turn my headlamp on anyway. "Stay here a minute while I look around."

I leave them on the lift with their guns pointed out at the dim room and creep out and scan the walls and ceiling. There is a hollow, distant sound of looper activity, but nothing inside the loading room.

I jog over and look out a porthole of the double doors that lead down a long shiny corridor to the office spaces. The noise is louder in this spot, but the corridor is clear. It sounds like the loopers are going crazy on our floor. That’s going to make things problematic. We have a good hundred feet to push the carts. I jog back and start pulling one of the carts out. Harry immediately starts helping with the other one.

"The loopers are going nuts on our floor again. I don't know if it is the hunger or if something else is stirring them up, but we need to find a way to distract them."

"Should we take two trips? Bring your wife and Luci and Ashlyn first?"

I start to agree with that plan, but freeze and toss a look up at him. "Luci?"

"I figure she needs a name, and since she can't tell us, I gave her one."

James comes around the side of the cart. There’s a somber look on his face, but his voice reveals his agreement with his father's choice. "Luci was my sister's name."

Harry stoops and picks the little girl up with his big hands. She looks at him with a blank expression. "I wanted her to know that she is safe and that there is nothing that can separate her from us. She's family now. So I gave her a family name."

"Luci. It's a beautiful name, and well chosen. It will do nicely till she is ready to tell us the beautiful name her mom gave her."

Harry shines a bright smile, and Luci regards it with interest. This makes Harry smile all the more.

"Okay. Now to get the ladies into the lab." I rustle the radio out of my pocket and turn it on. "Lau? You there?"

The radio comes to life. "I thought you were dead!" Tshhhhhhh.

"What’s the situation in the offices?"

"About thirty minutes ago they started getting crazy for no reason. I've been watching them run around the floor in one long circuit. There are a lot of new loopers in there. People I don't recognize from the company."

"Is there a break in the circuit?"

"You mean a hole?" Tshhhhhh.

"Yeah."

"Yes. They’re bunched up pretty good. They pass by the lab doors every four minutes or so."

"What direction are they going?"

"Clockwise."

"Great! So we won't be able to run in their wake."

"No, but you'll have a pretty big window."

"All right. I'll call you before we make a run for it. You better have those doors open."

"Is it just you and Ashlyn?"

I look at the small group assembled. This’ll kill Lau. But we don't have a choice. We need to seal up the lab. The loopers are going to eventually set their eyes on it, and when they do, they won't be stopped by the doors that are there now. We'll have to build something stronger.

"Lau," I say, depressing the button.

"Yes?" Tshhhhhh.

"I'm bringing those two men in with me, but I promise you they’re good guys, and they’ll give you your space."

There is a long uncomfortable silence.

I press the button again. "When we get there, I want those doors open. Are you with me Lau?"

Still silence.

"Lau!"

"Yes," is all he says.

I drop the radio to my side and look up at Harry. "That actually went better than I thought it would."

The cart wiggles, and Harry's hand recoils from resting on a box. It wiggles again and there is a groan. It's Katherine. She’s waking up already.

James steadies the teetering cart. "I think your wife is waking up."

I set my shotgun lengthwise across the back of the cart and pull the dart gun from my belt, ejecting what I think is the last dart and poking it into Katherine's neck with my pinched fingers. After a few jerks and spasms she drifts off again.