Cured (37 page)

Finally we reached a dead end. Dom tapped the
wall in the usual five-tap pattern, but no keypad appeared.
Instead, a section of the wall opened to reveal a green screen. A
mechanical voice started up, “Type your password.”

A keyboard
appeared on the wall and Dom passed me the torch to hold as he
shielded the screen with his other hand to key in a code. I leant
over Dom’s shoulder in an attempt to gain his code. I squinted at
the keyboard as he typed. I only saw him press the “T” key, when he
looked over his shoulder. Catching me snooping he frowned at me and
covered the entire panel with his body to type his
answer.

He then had
to swipe a security tag, which he wore on a necklace, and hold his
thumb to the screen to be scanned. Finally the wall began to roll
open. I ducked down spying under the door, eager to see what was
behind the wall. Instead of the usual rock floor to the cave, the
room was covered in stark white tiles. The walls, too, were a
bright white. I had to blink my eyes to adjust to the glare.
Fluorescent bulbs usually lit the cave, but there were never enough
to brighten the space completely. This room, however, was so bright
that I was temporarily blinded. I squinted into the whiteness and
made out a single black reclining chair. I looked around the room.
Nothing. The chair was the only piece of furniture in the place.
The door was now fully open. Dom gestured into the room, waiting
for me to enter. I shook my head and stumbled backwards. I wasn’t
sure what that chair was used for, but I didn’t trust it. I didn’t
trust Dom either. I took a further step back and bumped into my
Segway. I climbed onto the platform.

“
Don’t,
” Dom ordered.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“They're still on their way. Don’t worry.
They will be here soon.”

I pressed the start button on my Segway and
it jumped to life, but I stayed still. “What is this room?”

“
The
euthanasia room,
” Dom said.

“What is euthanasia?”

“Just a necessary measure we always take on
our guests.”

“
All guests?”
I asked, remembering Jett’s words from our first conversation. He
had mentioned that the last guests to the compound had been killed.
I looked at the chair again. It had two sets of straps that looked
like the seatbelts worn in HoverCars. Why would a chair in an
immobile room need straps? I answered my own question. Only if the
person in the chair were being held there against his or her
will.

At that, I
turned the handles of my Segway as far as they would go. Then I
twisted the accelerator and the entire machine swung around. I
straightened the handles, keeping the accelerator in full boar, and
sped down the long passage.

“
I wouldn’t
do that!” Dom yelled after me. I looked over my shoulder at him. He
was pointing a black object at me. I recognized it as a gun
although I had never seen one in real life before. I had the torch
with me but decided it was better to be in darkness. I figured that
if Dom couldn’t see me, the probability of a bullet hitting me was
lessened. I jumped from the moving Segway and let it crash into the
cave wall. It would be easier to be invisible without the noise of
the Segway giving me away. Dom fired a shot. I screamed. I was
blind in the blackness, but he couldn’t see me either. I kept
running, arms flailing in front of me. My muscles were tensed as I
anticipated the bullet, but it never came.

“
Avery?”
s
houted a familiar, youthful
voice.

Jett must have come after us. I didn’t want
to shout to him. It would give away my position. Dom must have
started his Segway because I heard the familiar hum behind me. My
muscles screamed from sprinting.

Another shot went off and I ducked
instinctively. This time the bullet was close. It whizzed over my
right shoulder and I flinched. I swore under my breath. Jett was
coming in this direction. I had to warn him.

“
JETT. GET.
OUT!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, although my voice was
breathy and came out in gasps.

“AVERY?!”

“JETT GO!”

He was close
now.
I could hear his pounding footsteps
and heaving breath.

Dom’s gun went off again and I hugged my body
against the tunnel wall. I heard the bullet pass my ear and then a
boyish yelp.

“Jett?” My voice was barely a whisper.

I heard a low moan. The footsteps had fallen
silent. Instead there was a rasping breath and a guttural groaning
sound. Suddenly not caring about Dom or the gun, I peeled myself
off the wall and ran, flat out towards Jett. I could no longer feel
my lungs or my legs. The breathing noise was close now, but so was
Dom’s Segway. I managed to make out a crouched figure in the
darkness and slowed to a stop.

I sunk to my knees and touched Jett’s
shoulder gently.

“
Jett, its
me. I’m here.”

He let out a tiny whimper and I touched a
hand to his forehead.

“Where did it hit you?”

Jett let go
of his knees that he had been squeezing tight to his chest. He
unfurled his body and pressed a hand to his ribcage. I lay my own
hand over his smaller, clammy fingers. My breath caught as I felt
the warn wetness of Jett’s shirt. I moved my fingers lightly over
his body and felt the wound. The bullet hole was large, having
pierced the left side of his chest. I let out my breath slowly, not
wanting to panic him. I sat on the ground, legs crossed. Then I
swivelled until Jett’s head lay in my lap. I stroked his hair,
which was wet with perspiration. Silent tears streamed down my
cheeks and I was shaking uncontrollably.

“It… It is going… to be okay.” Jett said in a
strangled sob.

“
I am meant
to be the one to say that,” I managed to whisper, before pressing a
firm kiss to the top of Jett’s blonde head. I heard his little
chuckle, much quieter and shallower than usual. I tried to record
the sound in my mind. Imprinting it into my memory so I could
listen to it whenever I wanted. The laughter stopped and Jett’s
head drooped a little on my lap. He had gone completely limp, his
arm falling to the concrete with a slapping sound.

“Jett?” I said.

No reply.

“Jett it is going to be okay.”

Silence.

“
JETT!” I
screamed, my voice echoing off the cave walls. 
I hadn’t noticed
the buzzing of Dom’s Segway had fallen silent. A rough hand clamped
onto my shoulder, squeezing tightly. He wrenched me up so that I
was standing, causing Jett’s head to drop onto the concrete. I
screamed again, this time in anger. I spun around and began wildly
flaying my arms in the dark, wanting to hurt. To kill. My hands
found Dom’s face and I clawed at him. My fingernail caught his eye.
He let out a yell and released my shoulder. Instead of running I
dropped back onto my knees. Picking up Jett’s head and holding him
again, sobbing irrepressibly. Big gasping sobs.

“
Shut up,”
c
ame Dom’s rasp.

“YOU!” I barely recognized my voice. It was
scratchy and raw, “YOU DID THIS!”

Dom didn’t say anything.

In the silence I heard the pounding of
footsteps in the distance.

“Avery?” a yell sounded down the tunnel. It
was a male voice that I didn’t recognize. I didn’t shout back. I
couldn’t. I stroked Jett’s hair. Wiped his wet face.

“
Avery?”
t
he same voice shouted.

I ignored it again, but heard Dom load his
gun.

“Avery?” this time the voice was female, high
pitched and girly. Not Ellina. I briefly wondered who it could be,
but my concentration was on Jett, I couldn’t form any words.

The sound of the gun going off was deafening.
The weapon was barely a meter from my ear, and I heard the bullet
fly past me. My ears rung, and my vision blurred. There was a
screaming noise underneath the ringing and I stopped stroking
Jett’s hair to look up, in the direction of the sound.

Then there
was deep voice shouting. I couldn’t make out the words, but the
voice was angry, maybe hysterical. A beam of light appeared a
little way away. It was being swung around rapidly. I reached for
my own flashlight and shone it towards the light rays. There was a
rushing of feet and then running legs brushed past me and there was
a loud cracking sound. The sound of a heavy punch. Then another.
And another. The punching didn’t stop. I slowly lowered Jett’s head
to the cave floor and climbed to my feet, turning my torch to
illuminate the area around me. I found a large figure attacking
Dom, whose legs had buckled beneath him lifelessly. The attacker
was holding a limp Dom up as he continued to punch him square in
the face. I reached for the attackers shoulder and he spun towards
me, his eyes wild. It was Axil.

I stumbled backwards as he reached for me.
Dom’s body fell to the floor.

“
You’re
okay,” h
e said disbelievingly.

I didn’t feel okay.

“
Jett,
” I whispered.

“
Cecelia
too,
” he replied.

I stepped
into his arms and he held me. I rested my head on his chest and
wept. His tears dripped onto the crown of my head rhythmically.
Finally he stopped crying. My eyes dried too. He released me from
the embrace and I stepped away from him, still holding his
hand.

Then a
spot
light fell on Axil’s face. I looked
down to Dom, who remained lifeless and limp on the ground. My own
flashlight was still clasped in my other hand. I turned around in
search of the light source. Axil crouched into an attacking
position.

“Axil? Avery?”

Theo’s voice
was anxious, as though he were afraid of what he might find. I
released Axil’s grip immediately and sprinted in Theo’s direction,
barreling into him at full force. He barely noticed, his body
easily rebalancing from the hit. He hugged me tight to him, lifting
my feet from the ground. He dropped his flashlight onto the floor
and it rolled, clattering into the cave wall. Theo found my face
with his and pressed his lips to mine, hard. He lowered my feet to
the ground as we kissed. I held myself to him tightly, needing his
embrace. We stayed that way for a long time. Finally Axil cleared
his throat and Theo pulled away from me. 


“
What
happe
ned?” he asked quietly, cupping my
face with his calloused palms.

“
Jett,
” I said

“
And
Cecilia.” Axil’s voice was so soft it was barely
audible.

“
I saw her
body on the way in. I’m sorry, man,” said Theo.

Axil let out a sob and Theo walked over to
him, clapping him on the shoulder and pulling him into a brief hug.
He stepped back and looked down at. He was still motionless.

“Dead?” Theo asked.

Axil shook his head.

“
Kill
him,
” I whispered and both boys looked at
me. Both my tone and expression were neutral. I was serious. I
wanted that man dead.

“Avery…” said Theo.

I didn’t
reply. I wasn’t sorry for my words. Theo took my hand, and squeezed
it understandingly.

“Axil, how are you here?” Theo asked.

“We were sent.”

“By who?”

Axil pointed at me.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Your father.”

I frowned.

“After our speeches he came to me and Cec-“
he stopped talking.

“Keep going.” Theo ordered.

“He came to us and asked where you were. He
told us to find you no matter what. He said that if we found you,
and if we got you back to him safely he said we could have his
title, his house, his job…”

“Does he know where you came to find us?”
Theo asked.

Axil shook
his head. Theo swallowed, hard. All hope that there was a search
team looking for us was dashed. No one knew where we
were.

“Hopefully the others find help then.” Theo
said

“The others?” I asked.

“I sent Felix and Ellina to get out of the
compound and find help after Jett came and told us what was
happening.”

Upon hearing Jett’s name I tensed. I felt
heavy. My eyes and throat stung. Theo rubbed my back soothingly,
but I felt nothing.

Theo turned
to Axil, “Go back out the way you came, get the first person you
see and ask them to come take Dom’s body. He is going to need some
medical attention and then we can interrogate him. Hopefully we can
get some answers about what is going on.”

Axil
retrieved the dropped flashlight and started off down the tunnel. I
crouched down to Jett’s body and grabbed my flashlight from the
ground, shining it on the young boy’s face. It was tinged grey. His
eyes were still their usual blue, but unrecognizable without their
token sparkle. Theo crouched next to me, placing a finger lightly
on each eyelid, he closed Jett’s eyes. We stood back up and Theo
wrapped me in another hug. He turned to me, his lips meeting mine
again. I leant my body on his brad chest, pressing up against him,
needing his support. He backed up until he stood against the wall
of the tunnel. His kiss was gentle, but I needed more. I returned
the kiss angrily, wildly, and he quickly caught on, his gentle lips
becoming rough against mine.

Suddenly there was a tug on my leg and I was
dragged from Theo. A gunshot sounded and Theo fell to the floor of
the cave. I screamed, but no sound escaped my raw throat. Theo was
grasping his leg in pain. Blood soaked hands grabbed my arms and
held them still. Dom had managed to stand up. He twisted my arms
behind my back. His face was saturated with blood. His nose bent at
a strange angle and his left eye was already swollen shut.