The Fledge Effect (12 page)

That is all in the past,
now
, though.
Marcel watched as Nick sped off in his
car. Emily came walking out, with her arms
folded across her chest. Based on the downward
face she expressed, he felt it would not be wise
to question what happened.
She opened the driver’s side door.
“Scooch. I want to drive. I know the way to my
home of New Haven better than most. If I pulled
in, less eyes would probably be on us.”
Home
,
the word alone gave her butterflies.
Marcel looked back at Maddie, confused. Maddie said, “She means, not a lot of
newcomers are really welcome there. The entire
town is paranoid.”
“Is she joking?” he directed towards
Emily.
Emily shook her head. “Nope. No she is
not.”
•••
All she wanted to do for a few hours was prop
her feet up. Back in Amherst, Brinks rattled her
keys, unlocking the door to her office. Using the
light from the main floor, she hung her purse up
on the coat rack. She reached to snap the light
on.
“Don’t!” a man’s voice commanded.
She instantly recognized it. “Boss? You
didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“And you weren’t supposed to be done
with your
job
yet,” he countered. “Where is
Agent Carlson?”
“He is at a stake-out, waiting for Doctor
Johnston to return home.”
“So, what you are saying,” his guttural
voice made her throat feel dry. He continued,
despite her silent plea for him to shut up, “Is
that your work is not done?”
“Yes, sir, Boss.”
“Damn right, I’m Boss. Now what did I
order you to do, for today?”
She clenched her hands behind her
back, pressing on the lower spine. She knew she
failed.
“Do you lack the intestinal fortitude to
follow through on orders, or are you just stupid?” he said.
Tears came to her mind, but she fought
them off. She knew this was wrong, but her life
debt to him needs to be served. “When will I be
done with
your
orders?”
He chuckled. “When you save my life…
Which, I highly doubt would
ever
come to be.”
“This is not the only thing I had to fix.
You let Fledges get loose, which I had to round
up,” he said, with a more serious tone. “Now,
this? I should slap you, right here. But I won’t.”
“Thank you, Boss.” Of course, she imagined the next time if he ever does decide to hit
her again. She planned to pivot into an arm
swing straight to his face, dropping him to the
ground so her foot could reach the bridge of his
nose.
“Sir, if I may, how did you round up
those Fledges so easily?”
“Little girl, you are foolish to ask so
many questions. Some things are best left to the
imagination… Or are they?” He thought to himself,
when you’ve been a vampire hunter for as
long as I was, you’d be able to comprehend my
turmoil.
“I’m just not understanding something.
Fledges are kind of like vampires, no?”
“Well, maybe you are not as stupid as I
thought. But, to answer you, yes, they are. Just
a more evolved group.”
“So, you just happened to come across
this formula out of nowhere?”
“I obtained it from the blood of a vampire. It was the only way to manipulate it into
the magnitude it is now.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Where on Earth would you have found a
real
vampire?”
“Don’t be naïve. You know of
one
.”
“You,” she said, short of breath. Meant
more to be a question, but the statement came
out as the answer.
He grunted in response. “Leave and do
your damn job! Just remember one thing; there
are secrets within this world your mind has yet
to gain the capacity to fathom.”
He wasn’t wrong, in her case. Learning
what he is, at least what she thinks he is, threw
her off. Now, she’s worried that this life debt
was intended to last
forever
.

Sitting in the driveway, while gaping
deep into the garage door, became a greater distraction from facing her Mother, Trudy. Emily
stared blankly at the white steel, unmoving. Almost frozen place.

She turned her gaze up to her old bedroom window. Fond of the earlier memories,
but saddened by the night she will always remember. She made the biggest decision, mistake, in her life. At sixteen, she decided to run
away so her Mother would never learn the real
reason she ran off. Too much guilt racked inside
her heart to tell the truth. She just had always
hoped her Mother would see her as some troubled teen at the time.
The real truth would rip
her heart out
, Emily feared. The only other person she told her true reason to was Maddie.

•••
Eighteen years ago, something unexpected had
turned up. Emily’s body had missed a vital
week. The one week that ensures she would
have never had the displeasure of knowing what
it’s like to hold a pregnancy test.

When it had shown a positive result,
she was scared but happy, worried and excited
all at once. Thoughts raced through her mind,
what would my mom think? Or, worse, what
would Nick do if he found out?
Earlier that day
he had been excited to announce his early acceptance into a prestigious college. She had refused to tell him, resulting in her fleeing moment of choice. She had left a note to Maddie,
directing her to keep shut of the instance.

Her intentions were to continue with
her life as a single mother. But, living on her
own, with only minimum wage to barely cover
her expenses, she knew what she had to do.

She pursued in getting her GED right
before she had birthed a healthy baby girl. Violet would have been her name. But, the choice
was not hers. Child services had no intentions
on allowing a seventeen-year-old girl to raise a
child on her own. Despite her loss, she aimed for
college, to prove herself a worthy parent. But, it
was too late. Her baby girl had already been
placed for adoption.

She went to college anyways, meeting
Nick. She still had not told him, even though
they had gotten back together.

Yet, the struggle inside her had shown
on her face. When Nick brought up having kids
that was when their problems had risen. After
fifteen years of marriage, he finally had had
enough. The fights were no longer worth staying
married.

•••
To this day, she regrets not being up front with
him. She is, however, grateful that she had another chance with him. It’s just too painful for
her tell him. She could just imagine the pain he
would feel. It would be the same pain, if not similar, to how she felt the day she was told she
wouldn’t be a mother.
What was I supposed to
do? Well, it’s probably best I forget this, and
move on. No one has to know. Maybe Maddie
forgot, like I should…

Tears swelled up in her eyes, threatening their existence on her cheeks. A knock came
upon her window.

Maddie stood there, smiling through
the window. “Come on, we came in time for
lunch!” The excitement in her voice signaled
Mom made her special Chicken Casserole. But,
Maddie sensed something was wrong. “Are you
okay?”

The concern in her sisters’ voice made
her smile. She got out of the car, slamming the
door shut. “Uh, yeah. You know. It’s just been
awhile and all,” Emily said, sarcastically giggling while hiding the fact that she was wiping
away a shed tear.

“Okay…” Maddie attempted a singsong
voice, trying to assure her sister that she did
care, and did not forget what she had went
through after leaving home. Maddie smiled,
rubbing Emily’s shoulder, before racing off to
the house.

Emily approached the porch, sensing a
migraine making its way. She shrugged it off
when her Mother opened the screen door. Emily
shyly said, “Hi… Mom.” She stood with her arms
awkwardly behind her back, attempting to
stand her back straight.

Her Mother ran out, quickly embracing
her AWOL daughter. “Oh, Emily! I missed you
so much!”

“I missed you too, Mom,” Emily said,
squeezing her tighter.
Trudy’s face dropped from a serene
smile to a severe scowl. “What were you thinking when you left?”
She placed her hand over her heart, tilting her head forwards. She gasped for air. “No
letter, no postcard, not
even
a phone call to let
me know…,” her voice trailed off into sobs, and
before continuing, her face turned beet red, and
her jaw wobbled, “… to know if you were even
still alive?”
“I’m here now,” Emily contested.
“Yes, but where were you all those times
I stood out here waiting for you to return
home?”
Emily sighed into her shoulder. “I had
to take care of something.” She knew a direct lie
couldn’t help her now. “I’m sorry.”
“Save it, and don’t speak to me unless
you have the truth to say to me,” Trudy demanded.
Emily peaked over at Maddie, who
looked like a deer caught in headlights, and
glanced down at her feet. Maddie tried to step
away.
Trudy intervened within her attempted
escape. “Stop, right there!” Maddie turned back
to her Mother. “Why do I get the feeling that I
am the only one here not getting the full story?”
Maddie coughed. “Technically, neither
is Nick.”
Emily shushed her, “
Maddie Lynn Taylor, shut up!
”
With her full name announced, Maddie
knew now that she had said too much at that
moment.
Trudy scrunched her nose, as if trying
to remember who that was. The familiarity of
the name rang a bell but it did not ding. She
looked up in the corner of her eye. “Who? That
little boy you used to rendezvous with all over
the town?”
“He’s not
little
anymore,” Emily, corrected.
“I don’t care. Now, spill it,” Trudy commanded.
“Okay…”
•••
The sound of Brinks’ heels tapped against the
cement, with each step echoing against the brick
lined walls. With each step, she attempted to
dodge the spots of grit and grime, but failed to
avoid it all. She grimaced in disgust. “Dammit.”
Chains clinked inside barred prisons as
captured Fledges ran towards her. The
shackles, welded to the back wall of their prisons, seized their efforts. As she made her way
through the dank space, she came to a descending flight of stairs. Below is a metal room originally designed to be used as a bomb shelter; reinforced with three-quarter ton steal, and alloy.
Inside, she felt invincible once the door locked
up tight behind her.
She turned away from the steel door,
and got startled by whom she saw. Beside the
occupied table, stood her first partner that
helped initiate the Project Fledge, a six-foottall, auburn haired, appealing man. He never
failed to weaken her knees making them wobble
in place.
Straightening her back, she grinned at
him. “Agent Myers. How was the trip?”
“As expected,” he grunted.
“I wasn’t expecting you back for a year.”
“Hmmm.”
Despite standing in a sixty-degree climate, his modulated tone warmed on the inside
of her chest. A place where many would claim
was consistent with nothing more than shear,
bitter ice.
After realizing her gaze sat lower than
need be on him, she swept her eyes to the floor
then up to his. They glowed like Emeralds, slowing her every breath. “Good,” she said, not
knowing what else to say.
She sidled up to the table. The metal
slab chilled against her pressed fingertips.
“How is my little
trophy
doing?” she cooed,
brushing back the bangs of the little girl. She
jumped at the lingering coolness of Brinks’
hand.
The young girls’ pale face shook. “No…
P-please. No more. Please!” she sobbed.
“She’s feisty, this one. She has just received her last dose of Experiment Z,” Myers
said.
“Yes,” Agent Brinks said, sighing in relief. “She survived the shot. That means she will
be one of our best fighters.”
“Yes. Yes, she will.”
The girl let out a shrill from the back of
her throat. “You’re not going to get away with
this! My Dad will find me, and kill you guys!”
Brinks leaned inches from her face.
“Heh,” she scoffed, continuing, “You’re a stupid
little girl. Your
Daddy
thinks you are dead. I
doubt anyone will be looking for you.
Katie
.”
Katie flinched, wanting to chew her
freckled face to pieces. But she noticed something out of the ordinary about Brinks. “Your
scent…”
“Yes,” she said, raising her face from
Katie. She smiled, pulling her lips back to an enlarged smile. Her eyebrows raised. “I know. I’m
different
.”
“No. No! Let me out of here!” Katie
struggled with her restraints. She twisted her
fists, tugging against the strapped leather.
“Soon,
Trophy
. Heh.”
Myers guided Brinks out of the room. “I
think it’s time to let her have some rec time outside with the other Fledges that survived the Experiment Z shot.”
“Agreed. Time to test how resilient she
is to the sun.”
Myers whistled between two fingers.
“Here, now.”
Like a pair of dogs, two guards rushed
down. He directed those orders. “Katie can have
time outside. Keep her close, as she is still under
observation.”
“Yes, sir. Oh, but sir? A couple of
Fledges perished out on the field.”
“Did you dispose of them?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then.”
After the guards went in to obtain Katie,
Brinks and Myers exited the building. Despite
its inward appearance, on the outside it looked
like a normal facility. The lack of upkeep compared to the new roof and siding, made Brinks
irate. However, she visits only once a week, so it
only dwelled on her while visiting.
The watched as Katie ran against the
fenced wire. It was too tall to climb, and ran a
mile long.
Katie calculated that by the time she
would reach the top, the guards holding guns
would already have shot her down.
Brinks knew a few laps of running back
and forth would wear her down.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Fledges
joined by her side. The race enticed
them. Almost entertaining them in
their grim demises.
Camera clicks caught the attention of
Myers. The man guarding the entrance kept taking pictures of himself with his phone on the far
end of a black, metal stick.
Without hesitation, Myers raised his
gun towards the guard. BANG! BANG! Two bullets fired at him. One at his phone, the other in
his shoulder. He screamed, making the Fledges
run ramped in circles trying to locate the area
his scent was coming from.
Brinks burrowed her eyes into him.
“Really?”
He kept his eyes narrowed, dead ahead.
“I hate selfie sticks, and the douchebags holding
them.
Pretentious bastards
.”
“Yet, you wonder why no one likes you.”
He corrected her. “I don’t wonder, I just
don’t care,” he grunted.
“Well, I need you to check on my group
of Hybrid-Creating Scientists. They call themselves
‘The Renegades’
. Oh, and they like to
wear ski masks,” she made a skewed face, “so—
”
“Fix it? I will, don’t worry,” he finished
for her.
“Thank you. Just promise me something?”
“I promise nothing. But, please, go on.”
“Try not to shoot anyone.” Brinks refused to let anything happen to, what she thinks
of them as, her top scientists. They never waver
on the rules, and always follow commands. The
dirt she has dug up them helps in their obedience. She chuckles, knowing they have no way
out.
Just as long as he doesn’t kill them.
“Humph. We will see,” he said, walking
off. He shook his head, mumbling under his
breath, “
Yes, we will definitely see.
”
“I’ll text you details about them,” she
yelled.
He waved, without looking back, and
got into his car.
The injured guard waited for him to
drive off. “How can you tolerate such a dickhead?”
She kept her gaze on Myers’ tail end
that raced down the road. “Actually, that is him
being nice to me.”
The guard muffled a laugh. “Oh, okay.”
“Besides, I’m the one you have to worry
about.”
Her smoky voice mesmerized the guard
as she wiggled her way towards him. She bent
down by his side, gingerly sweeping over his
newly acquired wound. She dug her finger in it,
and sniffed the blood. Her eyes glowed bright
blue, resembling LED effects. She revealed her
razor teeth, sinking them into his warm, throbbing neck.