Jenny Plague-Bringer: (Jenny Pox #4) (36 page)

“Please hurry.” Dr. Wichtmann’s voice sounded over the intercom.

“Hurry?  What do you expect me to do?” Juliana asked.

“You know what we expect you do,” Wichtmann replied.

“You want me to infect him?”

“Death is preferred.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Do not fear, Juliana.” Kranzler’s deeper voice spoke now. “This man is a convicted
criminal.  He will die whether you are the instrument or not.”

“He is?” Juliana looked at the suffering man. “What was his crime?”

“Treason.”

Juliana had been hoping to hear he was a raper of women and a murderer of children.
“What kind of treason?”

“I cannot disclose that.  Rest assured, he is the lowest sort of mongrel, barely a
man at all,” Kranzler said.

“We are on a schedule,” Wichtmann’s voice added.

Juliana shook her head, backing away. “I can’t.”

“You can,” Kranzler said. “We are in a war, Juliana, of civilization against barbarians. 
In a war, you must kill.”

“I’m not at war with anyone,” Juliana said. “And I’m not German, so if you guys are
planning a war, that’s your problem.  You have to get this man a doctor right now!”

“You do not give orders in my lab!” Wichtmann snapped. “Apply the touch.”

“No!” Juliana folded her arms and walked to the door. “Let me go.  Let me go
home
.  I want to return to America, right now.  I’m not staying here and doing this.”

There was a muffled conversation, as though someone had covered the microphone, and
then Dr. Wichtmann spoke in a resigned voice: “Testing is concluded for today.  You
may return to your quarters.”

“I don’t want to return to my quarters, I want to get Sebastian and leave this place. 
And that’s all I’m going to do.”

“Juliana, please relax yourself,” Kranzler said. “We cannot make transportation arrangements
immediately.  If you still wish to leave in the morning, we will happily put both
of you on a train.”

Juliana took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but the bleeding, screaming man
wasn’t going to allow that.  His face and voice would echo in her mind for the rest
of her life.

“Fine.  Thank you,” Juliana said. “We’ll be happy to take a train in the morning. 
Now, please, somebody help this person!”

“The medical staff will enter when you leave,” Dr. Wichtmann said. “No one wishes
to be exposed to your condition.”

“I’m going, I’m going, just send them down.” Juliana stepped out through the door,
past a couple of armed S.S. guards, and hurried along the corridor toward the dormitory. 
The guards trailed her at a distance until she reached her hall.

She spent the rest of her afternoon sitting on her bed, knees to her chin, and shaking.

Eventually, Mia came home from her own testing, and she hurried over when she saw
the horrified look on Juliana’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Mia asked, taking one of Juliana’s gloved hands. “What happened? 
Tell me.”

“They wanted me to kill somebody,” Juliana whispered.

“Are you serious?”

“He was strapped to a table.  Everyone acted like it was no big deal, like I wasn’t
even supposed to care about killing some helpless person.”

“Why would they think that?”

“Because I’m a monster.” Juliana laid her head on her knees. “Just a monster who can’t
touch anyone.  Death in a white dress.” Juliana pulled her hand away from Mia’s. “You
shouldn’t touch me.”

“You’re not a monster.” Mia rubbed her arm through her sleeve. “You’re the only sane
person here.  I’m so glad you came, Juliana.  I felt like I was losing my mind.”

“I’m not glad,” Juliana said. “I mean, I’m glad I met you, but this place is just...scary. 
I told them I wanted to leave.  They said they’d put us on a train in the morning.”

“Oh, no!” Mia’s face broke down, and she covered it with both hands. “You’re going
to leave?  You’re leaving me here?”

“You can come with us.  To America, if you like.”

“I can’t!” Mia was already crying. “Juliana, my father sold me to them.  They’ll go
back and punish my family if I leave.”

Juliana’s shoulders sagged.  She didn’t know what to do now, and she wondered how
the people running the base would react. 

She found out a few hours later, when Alise stopped by their room just before dinner,
while Juliana and Mia were quietly reading.

“How are you two today?” Alise asked. “Anything exciting happen?”

They both shook their heads. 

“You look so cute today,” Alise told Mia. “New make-up?  Or did you change your hair?”

“Same old everything,” Mia told her. 

“Well, you look beautiful.  Listen, I need to speak with Juliana in private for a
minute.  Want to go on to the dining room, and we’ll see you there?”

“I suppose I could...” Mia rose slowly from her bed, but she looked uncertain. “Are
you going to be all right, Juliana?”

“I’m fine,” Juliana nodded her head, though she didn’t feel fine at all.  She felt
repulsive and evil. “See you at dinner.”

Mia trudged out of the room, clearly not wanting to leave Juliana alone with Alise. 
Alise closed the door behind her, then turned her gray eyes on Juliana, who still
sat on the bed.

“Let’s talk, Juliana.” Alise sauntered towards her, then pulled out the chair from
Juliana’s writing desk and sat just a few feet away. “You can be honest with me. 
Are you unhappy here?”

“They wanted me to kill someone today.”

“Oh, he was only a common criminal,” Alise said. “You have to understand, Juliana,
that with your touch being so...medical, they have to test the effects on people. 
Why not criminals?  It’s not like we’ll ever run out of them, unfortunately, and the
Reich has already sentenced them to death.  So their death should at least have value,
shouldn’t it?  Add something to the knowledge of humanity?  Like how your power works.
That’s worth the life of a man already sentenced to die, isn’t it?”

“I’m not going to kill anyone for them.  You can tell them I said that when you report
back.”

“Juliana, I’m here because I’m worried about you.”

“I doubt that,” Juliana said.

Alise glanced at the door, as if concerned someone might be spying on them.  Then
she leaned closer and whispered, “I want to show you something.  About me and my power. 
But you must promise to keep it secret.  Will you?”

“If you want.” Juliana shrugged.

“This might seem strange, but be calm and watch.” Alise took in a deep, slow breath,
filling her lungs all the way, her gray eyes fixed on Juliana’s face.  When she exhaled,
she breathed out a cloud of what looked like tiny, pink, fluffy flower petals. Juliana
flinched as they landed all over her face, neck, and arms...but then she felt much,
much better.

The delicate little petals melted into her skin like sugar cubes in hot tea.  A few
of the pink flakes drifted into Juliana’s gaping mouth and landed on her tongue. 
They reminded her of cotton candy from the fair, and every sweet thing she’d ever
tasted.

Juliana sighed and relaxed.  The world had a beautiful golden glow now, radiating
from Alise, the girl she loved with all her heart, even if she hadn’t realized it
until just now. 

“You’re so sweet to come see me,” Juliana said. “You’re so...perfect.”

“I know.  Are you happy now?”

“I am happy when you’re near me.”

“And you trust me, don’t you?  You know that anything I ask you to do is for the good?”

“Of course.” Juliana beamed.  At that moment, she would have jumped off a cliff in
the desert if she knew it would make Alise happy.  Her heart had never felt so alive
and so vulnerable. “You’re a good friend, Alise.  I want us to stay friends.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Alise look puzzled.

“Weren’t you mad at me when you got here?  You were mad about...something.” Juliana
couldn’t remember.  All she could think about was Alise, beautiful, fascinating Alise.
“Let me think...”

“I know what it was.  You said some silly thing earlier, to Dr. Wichtmann.  You said
you wanted to quit the research, leave the base, and go back to America.  That’s not
true, is it?” Alise looked as if she were about to tear up and start crying, just
like Mia had. “Oh, no, I can’t lose a friend like you.  Promise me you’ll never leave
me, Juliana.”

“I wouldn’t leave you.” Juliana’s heart ached sweetly, just knowing that Alise felt
the same way about her. “I couldn’t leave you, Alise.  I...I think I might love you.”

“I love you, too, Juliana.” Alise stood and winked. “Let’s go have dinner.  I’m glad
we could talk things over.  I’ll walk you to your lab tests in the morning, if you
like.”

“I’d like it very much.” Juliana beamed at her as they left her room, toward the small
dining room where the test subjects had been segregated ever since Juliana’s arrival.

It had never been easy for Juliana to make friends, so she couldn’t believe her luck,
having a friend like Alise who lived just down the hall.

An electronically amplified voice woke Seth from his sleep: “The general is here to
see you.”

“Huh?” Seth sat up, his hair sticking out in clumps.  He tried to get his bearings. 
He was on a very small, uncomfortable bed in a concrete room like a prison cell. 
He faced a steel door where a young man in a black uniform looked at him through a
thick pane of glass. “Where the hell am I?  Is this Alabama?” Seth asked.

“You are in a classified research facility.” A hard, gruff voice took over.  The young
man in the window moved aside and was replaced by a man in his late forties or early
fifties, with bright green eyes and close-cropped red hair, going gray. “You and Jennifer
Morton have been taken into custody because of the mass death in Fallen Oak.”

Oh, shit, that again
, Seth thought. “So...Alabama, then?” he asked.

“You are very far from home, Seth.  My name is Lieutenant General Ward Kilpatrick,
U.S. Department of Defense.  We’re very concerned about the threat to national security
represented by you and Jenny...especially Jenny.”

“Jenny’s not a threat to anybody,” Seth said.

“How can you say that, after witnessing the slaughter in Fallen Oak?” Ward asked. 
His voice crackled from the ceiling, slightly delayed from the movement of his lips.

“Those people were trying to kill her.  And me.  So my sympathy is kind of limited,”
Seth said.

“Were they not people you knew personally?  Teenagers and teachers from your school? 
Your church pastor?  Your mayor?”

“I did know them,” Seth said. “A lot of them were assholes.”

“But did they deserve to die?”

Seth shrugged. “Once you say it’s okay to murder somebody, aren’t you kind of saying
that it’s okay for somebody to murder you?  I mean, fair’s fair.”

“You have no remorse?”

“I wish it hadn’t happened, but I’ve had plenty of time to get over it.” Seth smiled. 
He realized that he was something...
more
than he’d been before.  He remembered scores of past lives, and he was now the sum
of thousands of years of experience and knowledge.  He was no longer just Seth Barrett
from Fallen Oak, he was the healer, veteran of many human lives.

And he knew all about the man who stood before him.

“Where’s Jenny?” Seth asked. “I need to see her.”

“I’m afraid she’s in isolation at the moment,” Ward said.

“You have to take me to her.” Seth walked toward the window, looking Ward in the eye.
“Right now.”

“You are not in charge here, Seth.  Seeing Jenny is a privilege you’ll have to earn.”

“Earn how?  By obeying you?  Being your pet dog?”

“I’m giving you the chance to redeem yourself by serving your country, Seth.  I’m
only going to offer it once.”

“I’m not going to work for you, General Kranzler.  I’m not going to kill for you.”

Ward’s eyes widened at the name. “What did you call me?”

“I called you General Kilpatrick,” Seth said. “That’s your name this time around,
isn’t it, Kranzler?”

“You said it again.” Ward’s voice was a low growl. “Why?  Where did you get that name?”

“Do yourself a favor, Kranzler, or Ward Kilpatrick, or whatever you think your name
is,” Seth said. “Let me and Jenny go now.  You’ll wish you had, I promise.  And I
do keep my promises, lifetime after lifetime.  All of them.”

“You’re in no position to threaten me!” Ward snapped.

“Maybe you’re the one who doesn’t understand your position, Kranzler.” Seth stepped
even closer, looking hard into the man’s eyes. “Because it looks to me like you’re
the one who’s trapped.  Like Alexander.  The same life, again and again.”

“Who is Alexander?”

“He’s dead, so it doesn’t matter.  I killed him.  It was a long time coming...but,
like I said, I keep my promises.” Seth grinned at Ward through the thick window.