Numbers

I didn’t remember the patch of woods by the house being so…beautiful. From the moment I walked into it I felt as if I had been transported into a different world. A world that didn’t have bodies that woke up after they died, a world where people just weren’t tortured for no apparent reason, and a world where the only noises that met my ears were the birds in the trees and the wind through the leaves. I found a peace of mind there, if only for a short time. I wondered through the trees and around in circles for what seemed like hours.

The cold air of twilight brushed my newly exposed neck and sent goose bumps down my arms. I started to wish for a coat, I started to wish for Paul’s comforting arms around me, and I started to wish that nine of this had ever happened. It wasn’t a new thought. It was one that I had had many times before I got to know each of the bodies back at the house. But this time it sent a shock wave through my system as I pondered the consequences of not waking them up. If I hadn’t obeyed Julianne would it have really made a difference? She would have just hired someone else to do the job I had refused; she would have gone to any length to make sure her plan came to fruition.

If I hadn’t made the injections, if I hadn’t gone into those blindingly white rooms, I would have never known any of them. If Number 53 hadn’t been my break through then Paul wouldn’t have been the first of the bodies to be successful, it would have been another number. It would have been someone else with a different past and a different interest. Maybe if the numbers had been different then I wouldn’t have been wanted. Maybe if it hadn’t been this exact group of people and these exact times I probably wouldn’t have been deemed important. Maybe these circumstances needed to be met; maybe it had to be this certain group of people, maybe if it had been anyone else these inhumane experiments would have continued to go on. Maybe it had to be us.

It wasn’t a very redeeming thought. To think that I had to create something so vile, that I had to disturb people’s sleep only to take away their chance at life again, and that I had to go back to that same terrifying place for the greater good. My mind kept on repeating history lessons from years past, Hitler on a stage with his arm raised shouting for the greater good of the human race. But what we were doing this time was actually for good, wasn’t it? Julianne had to be stopped, didn’t she? I had been so sure what felt like a few hours ago, I had been so ready to run up to Julianne and give her a piece of her own medicine but why did I start to doubt now? Was it just because of Paul? Or was I over thinking everything again? Why would my mind now decide that everything had to be rethought now? What was so important about this moment? Everything was falling apart about my ears, Paul was accusing me of things I didn’t do, James was driving down to help us (I hoped), and here I was doubting everything that we were working for. I had to get my head on straight, but the images hadn’t stopped coming before my eyes since Paul had stormed away from me.

I tried to clear my head, I tried to think of something else, anything else, but the nameless man always came to my mind’s eye. It wasn’t a good day to be my brain apparently. The only thing that was keeping me going was the fact that James was coming. James was going to help; James was going to fix everything. Okay that was a lie, James was going to make everything worst but for the sake of the moment I was prepared to lie to myself. I felt, rather than noticed, the sun going down. I felt the shade of the trees grow longer and the air grow colder and colder. When I allowed myself to snap out of it I noticed the near darkness that surrounded me.

I looked around the part of the patch of woods were I stood. No one was around and James was going to arrive in a few hours, unless he drove like the maniac I knew him to be and he was here already. If that was the case he would be worried and mad as hell, I was going to have to take the chance. I turned on my heel and went back to the house at a quick walk. I tried not to think of anything but what I could say to Paul, nothing seemed right. I could only explain what I had been doing, but even that seemed hopeless. At best it would seem like I had been withholding information from the rest of the group, which in a way I guess I was but that had not been my intention.

I came through the door, still not really knowing what I was going to say when I confronted Paul. I heard sighs of relief and exclamations about the time when I past the living room where many of them were seated but I ignored them to run up the stairs. Their talking turned to murmurs of worry when they saw I wasn’t stopping, instead I walked determinedly to the room Paul and I shared. The door was standing ajar; from where I was standing I could see Paul sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. I froze in the hallway just looking in at him, all my planning, all of the things I was thinking of saying to him vanished from my mind. I took a tentative step into the room, I heard the floor board creak under my weight announcing my entrance better than I ever could.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Drew,” he snarled from his position on the floor, “I’ve said all I have to say.”

“It’s not Drew.”

Paul looked up so fast I thought he was going to get whiplash, he was always doing that. His eyes were wide and rimed with red as he regarded me standing by the door, he involuntarily scooted away from me, and then he froze waiting for me to make the next move. I took a deep breath and crossed to sit across from him. I leaned against the wall and managed to look everywhere in that room but at him. We sat like that for a while, each of us waiting for the other to say something first. I watched the world darken out the window ever so slowly as the minutes ticked by. I wasn’t certain how long it took for someone to say something but finally I shook my head, “It wasn’t what you thought,” I started.

“I know,” Paul murmured, “I over reacted.”

“But-“

“No, wait,” he interrupted me, holding me with his eyes, “I shouldn’t have said all of those things…I shouldn’t have said any of it where people could hear. It was for you to tell not for me to yell out. I’m sorry this ever happened,” he got up and inched his way to the door, no longer meeting my eyes as he moved, “I’m going to sleep in Luke’s room.”

I stood up and caught his arm before he could disappear down the hall like he did only hours before, “Am I allowed to speak now,” I asked sarcastically.

I heard Paul’s breath catch as he turned back to me with a sheepish look on his face. He paled somewhat under my questioning gaze but he didn’t make a move to say anything, he just stood there and waited for, I assume, a shouting accusation. I leaned forward and grabbed his shirt to pull him closer to me; I forced his head down and met his lips with mine. At first he tried to pull away, I just held on to him tighter until he finally relaxed.

I slowly pulled away after a few moments; Paul looked down at me uncertain of what to do. This time I didn’t hesitate, “I should have been clearer. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, but please don’t overreact for the second time in one day. I called a friend from college,” I started gently, “My friend was recruited by the FBI, yes he is a guy and yes I did have a fling or two with him in the past. But that is not why I called him in the first place. I got him to come down and at least hear us out.”

I watched Paul’s features pale with my explanation, he tried to pull out of my grasp but I held him tight. “Don’t over react, please. It was a miss understanding, let’s get past it.”

“He’s coming here,” Paul croaked.

“Yes,” I replied stepping closer to him so my chin almost brushed his chest as I looked up at him, “He’s coming here and I’m going to try to convince him to help. That is all that is happening, Paul, nothing else.”

There was a pause as he digested what I had just told him, but then he finally cracked a smile, “I really am an ass,” he murmured.

I shrugged, “Maybe,” but then I smiled, going on tiptoes to kiss his lips once again. This time he didn’t tense, he didn’t try to pull away, this time he held me. He held me tight just like the first time, he didn’t force his way into my mouth, and he seemed content with whatever I gave him. I drew back slightly, and smiled, “Close the door,” I murmured as I playfully bit his ear.

“You don’t have to do this,” Paul whispered, but I could feel his loving kisses on my neck, I could feel his want against my leg, and I could hardly contain myself as it was.

“Close the door,” I repeated, this time he quickly obeyed.

I was vaguely aware of making our way to the bed, I was vaguely aware of climbing on top of him. I remember kissing, and groaning, and wanting. I remember his touch as he found the bottom of my shirt, I remember his desire growing as I straddled him, and I remember his hands working to undress me. I was vaguely aware of my own hands, I felt them grabbing onto clothing, I felt them unbuttoning, and I felt them shoving. But then I felt him caressing.

Suddenly everything disappeared from my mind but him. He was all I wanted, he was all I needed right then. Our stupid fight was distant, it was meaningless, and it held nothing to the desire we had now. He pulled back at the last second, “You don’t have to do this,” he repeated, but his voice was once again dripping with want.

I smiled at him, and then forced myself upon him. He grunted in surprise but it soon turned into a groan as I rubbed my hand softly along his inner thigh. He grabbed me and flipped so that he was on top. He held me close and I let him. I let him do whatever he desired.

I kept no track of time. I didn’t know how long we were up there, nor did I really care. Sometime later, once we had gathered up our clothes and put them on we walked down the stairs. There was a conversation echoing through the hallway from down the stairs. I slowed my pace but Paul pulled me forward. We entered the living room, but no one stared as we settled into the floor by the coffee table. If anything they probably forced themselves to look away.

“We’ve decided to leave tomorrow,” the officer murmured.

I paused, what could they possibly mean? Where would we go? Where could we go? “What,” I heard myself say.

Even Paul tensed beside me. He slowly took my hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. The officer took a breath, “We decided to strike the institute tomorrow.”

Silence. Many thoughts flew through my head all at once and along with them came many questions. What are we going to do? Had they come up with a plan? Why did they decide they needed to act so soon? Hadn’t they been the one’s that had only drawn these conclusions a day ago? What was our plan in the first place?

I opened and closed my mouth many times but nothing came out. My thoughts flew at a million miles an hour and apparently it was plain in my face. “Don’t worry your pretty little head,” Luke smiled at me from across the coffee table, “We have a plan. Oh! And that guy is here. You should’ve warned me how hot he was…I almost passed out from the temperature.”

I raised an eye brow at him, “where is he?”

“Right here,” came a voice from the hallway leading to the kitchen.

My heart stopped. I turned around slowly and there he was. James with all of his valor, in his fancy new suit and a slick hair cut that hadn’t been there a few years ago. He smiled his cocky smile, he smiled like he everything that passed through your head. I loved and hated that smile, just like I missed and loathed him. Right at that moment I had missed him and his way of make everyone be at ease. “Hey there Ollie,” he smirked from the doorway, “I see you are doing fine.”

I blushed but couldn’t help the smile that grew on my face, “Hi James, you haven’t changed a bit.”

He made a hurt gesture, “Why on earth would I change?”

I shrugged, “I had always hoped you might realize that gun on your hip meant you weren’t playing laser tag.”

“Hey! I still beat you!”

“Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that,” I murmured and turned back to the others, “So you decided to go tomorrow because of this guy?”

Gab looked at me skeptically, “He’s your friend, we were just making him feel at home until-I mean, we were just talking and happened to mention something about meteors and an institute run by the government.”

“Smooth,” Cynthia murmured as she turned the page of one of the fashion magazines that had littered the floor the night before.

I turned back to James, “you’re the one that said they should leave this soon? You of all people should know what going in without a plan could amount to! You’re a freaking FBI agent now James! Haven’t they taught you to think with your head yet?”

“Would you just trust me for once in your life,” James snapped, eyeing Paul who still held my hand, “Don’t you think I know what I’m doing?”

“Where have I heard that before?”

“Olivia,” Paul said gently putting a comforting hand on my shoulder, “I think we should trust him.”

I paused and slowly turned around. Paul wasn’t looking at me but he was returning the searching gaze the James was still giving him. “What,” I asked in more of a squeak than anything else.

“What do you know,” Paul asked James in an eerily cheerful tone.

I felt a shiver crawl up my spin when the familiar question came to Paul’s lips. He squeezed the hand that was on my shoulder reassuringly and gently turned me back to face James. James, on the other hand, had folded his arms across his chest and had a hard glare on Paul. I was in the middle of a stare down and felt like I was back in High School, I bit my tongue against the reference and waited.

James sighed, “My superior filled me in.”

Silence, again. “Filled you in on what,” I felt the blood drain from my face as I waited for the worst.

“Filled me in on this,” he quickly walked forward and threw a file folder down on the coffee table. For a second I wondered where the hell he had pulled that out of but I shook my head and reached for the papers.

I filed through them furiously but not one of the pages was fully legible. More than one had the entire page blacked out with a black sharpie. My hands shook as I looked from page to page, from mystery to mystery. I shook my head, “This doesn’t make any sense!”

James scoffed, “Well it could,” he chuckled, “If you had all the facts. Hell, I didn’t have all the fact until I was spotted reading the file.”

“What facts,” I growled throwing down the pages from the file and glaring up at him, “stop being an agent and start being a human for a second.”

“Before I wasn’t an agent and now I’m too much of one for you?” James grinned down at me, “You really should make up your mind.”

I glared harder, “Right,” he said clearing him throat, “Agent Richards, my superior, told me about an astronomer who had supposedly discovered bits of DNA on meteorites a few years ago. This same astronomer proposed an idea to the government, this scientist wanted to test these theories on human subjects. She proposed starting with dead bodies and then slowly working her way up to live victims,” James shrugged, “It was given to the Supreme Court after much argument and was ruled out as an inhumane experiment. Needless to say this same scientist disappeared not long after the ruling.”

He paused. “That sonofabitch,” Luke breathed.

“Let me guess,” Cynthia snapped, “Her name happened to be Julianne?”

James shrugged, “It’s the name mentioned in the file, so it’s as good a guess as any.”

“Then explain to me how she got work in a secret government institute,” Rose snapped, “You would think you guys would do a better job at screening those people.”

James sighed, “for all I know it’s the same person. Apparently the CIA has been watching that place for some time…not that they have told us anything about it,” he growled the last bit, then cleared his throat and continued, “the point is we can have a unit there tomorrow to back you up.”

“Back us up in what?” I snapped, “We don’t have a plan yet!”

Gab cleared his throat, “Um…actually that’s not entirely accurate.”

“Oh honey,” Luke groaned, “This is no time to quote a bad 90’s movie.”

Gab rolled his eyes, “Only you, Luke. What I mean, Olivia, is that we came up with something…well we wanted to run it by you but then James came and one thing led to another and…I guess you can connect the dots. But we thought of something and James seemed to think it was a good enough plan.”

I raised an eye brow, glancing a James for a second before asking, “What is it?”

Cynthia bit her lip and looked sheepishly down at her hands, “Well…”

Luke jumped up, “I should go see what I can throw together for tomorrow. And you,” he pointed to James, “We’re going to need a car that’s not stolen, we can’t go back to the scene of the crime in the same car we left it with. That’d be like shining a beacon on us,” James paused but finally nodded, “Good! Now you,” Luke pointed to Cynthia, “are going to come with me. I just have to figure out what I’m going to do with you tomorrow.”

Cynthia opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. She finally gave up after Luke had her climbing the stairs before she could murmur a single word. The officer rolled his eyes, “Because that wasn’t obvious,” he murmured.

Gab shrugged, “Not everyone is an officer like you, Drew. Lighten up a little.”

“Someone has to tell me what is going on before I explode,” I growled, rubbing my temples in annoyance.

James rolled his eyes, “Okay. Fine. This is what they told me.”

James told me the whole plan. Or at least I hoped that was the whole plan. In the middle of it I realized why they all had been reluctant to tell me. It was the craziest plan I had ever heard, but it was so insane that it just might work. I think that was what scared me the most. That the fact that this insane idea could be the source of our freedom. I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying any remarks and listened intently to all they had to say.