J. Spelbring: Perfection

“We have to go.”

She wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled him to his feet. As soon as his legs locked under him, bright light swept the room. Ellyssa’s pupils contracted painfully.

“Ellyssa, my daughter,” her father said in German, “I have waited long for your return.”

Ellyssa should’ve felt surprise since she’d felt no other presence, but she didn’t. She turned and blinked several times in rapid succession. Three silhouettes wavered in the corner behind the door. She squinted, trying to focus. Details emerged from the blond hair to the porcelain-like faces.

Her father had aged. His skin was not as smooth as before; worry lines etched his forehead, and his hair looked more grey. He smiled, as he had throughout her childhood. The smile that never reached his eyes.

Next to Dr. Hirch, standing with their hands behind their backs like good little soldiers, were Aalexis and Xaver. Both as she remembered, beautiful and expressionless and deadly, just like her.

Ellyssa helped Rein back to the ground. He looked up at her, his eyes apologetic. The black and purple marring his face shadowed his cheeks, making his injuries look much worse under the light than she’d first thought. Fury enveloped her.

“I will get you out of here,” she mouthed. Ellyssa brushed her lips quickly against his before she straightened. Squaring her shoulders, she faced her creator.

Dr. Hirch’s eyes rounded at her display of affection.

“ Der Vater ,” Ellyssa stated, her voice as deadpan as her face.

The blue of his eyes sparked with anger. “I am glad you have returned.”

“Not by choice.”

“Yes, I know. Your adventure has clouded your judgment. Something we will have to remedy.”

“I am fine as I am now.”

Dr. Hirch strolled closer, the hated smile plastered onto his face. “You disappoint me. You showed the most promise of them all. Your gift is exceptional. Of all my creations, none could read minds. To be able to seek people out before opening a door. To know how many were present. Truly a worthwhile addition.”

“Apparently, I am flawed.”

He shook his head. “Not flawed. Confused, is all. Nothing that cannot be fixed. As you are aware, your brothers’ and sister’s gifts have evolved, as I am sure yours has. Xaver simply pulled his shield around us, blocking our thoughts from you.”

Although shocked at the news, Ellyssa’s expression showed nothing. “I see.”

“It is time for you to return home.”

“I think not.”

Displeasure narrowed his lids into thin slits. For a moment, she thought he was going to lose control. Although they were infrequent, bursts of emotion sometimes plagued the doctor, like when he’d slapped her when she was a child. After a moment of indiscretion, he pulled himself together.

“After all I have done for you. I created you, made you a superior being,” he said calmly.

“You made me into an unfeeling killing machine. Amonster.” Ellyssa looked at her sister and brother. “He never told any of us his true plans. The extermination of humanity. Not just impurities, but all humans.” Her eyes moved to her brother. “Then the extermination of us—his so-called children. To be replaced with soldiers far superior even to us.”

She faced her father. “There is no room for us in your perfect world.” Despite Ellyssa’s outward demeanor, her voice seethed with loathing.

“Enough,” her father said, calmly. “You will come with us now.”

“I do not think so.”

“Xaver is not the only one who has honed his talent.” He indicated Aalexis with a nod. “Aalexis.”

Aalexis stepped forward. “ Der Vater .”

“Would you care to demonstrate?

“Of course.”

Aalexis’ smooth forehead bunched and, an instant later, Rein squealed. He fell to his side and writhed on the ground.

Ellyssa’s feet remained anchored to the ground as she watched him, his face contorted in misery, and his arms wrapped around his midsection.

Scared for Rein, angry at her helplessness, Ellyssa bolted toward her little sister with every intention of ripping her apart. Aalexis was no match for her. But before she reached her, she slammed into Xaver’s barrier. She placed her hands on the invisible surface and pushed.

Rein screamed again, a tormenting cry. She couldn’t bear to watch him suffer. Ellyssa turned away. “How?” she asked her father.

“One’s body and brain are nothing more than matter. Just a little manipulation of the thermal nociceptors,” replied the doctor.

Rein whimpered, and her heart tore from her chest. All Ellyssa wanted was to run to his side and ease his pain. She couldn’t. She had to keep her emotions in check; she had to stay focused.

Straightening her back, she faced her father. “Stop it,” she said coolly.

The doctor nodded toward Aalexis, and her sister’s forehead smoothed. Rein stopped writhing, but soft sobs shook his shoulders. He stayed curled in a tight ball, hugging himself.

Ellyssa stared at her creator. The hatred he had always allowed flowered into a seething revulsion toward him. The strength of the sensation became a separate entity, taking its own shape within her.

She had to get Rein out, even if that meant she couldn’t go with him. It almost seemed justifiable—the creature being destroyed with the creator in a fiery hell. “Let him go, and I will stay.”

“How touching, but I am afraid that is impossible. You know as well as I do the dangers Renegades pose. Tainting the genetic pool. Devastating.”

“If you let him go, I will inform you where the camps are,” she said, her voice monotone. Her revealing the location of the Renegades was inconsequential, since none of them would be going anywhere.

Dr. Hirch’s grin widened. “Are you lying? How interesting. I hope I can erase the damage they have done to you.” Rubbing his hands together, he faced the door. “Besides, I do not need you. I had another source.”

Micah appeared, dragging Leland behind him. Her older brother gave Ellyssa an impassive glance before dropping the Renegades’ inside man at Dr. Hirch’s feet. Leland’s skull thudded against the linoleum, then rolled to the side, his dead eyes looking up at Ellyssa. Bits of bone showed through his smashed eye socket.

“Did you really think I would just let Leland leave, knowing all he knew?” he gloated. “Apparently, he did.” He shook his head, as if disappointed in his former assistant. “It is almost a shame. He was one of the best at his job. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be trusted. Not by me, nor by the Renegades. His devotion was not as strong as that of the others. Maybe due to the fact that he had seen firsthand what Aalexis is capable of.”

The doctor stared at the dead man for a moment before returning his attention to Ellyssa. “Your Renegade friends here in Chicago are all dead.”

Ellyssa carefully hid her horror. Had Leland betrayed Woody, too?

“Soon in Missouri, too,” Ellyssa’s creator finished.

Ellyssa studied him, trying to read his actions, but to no avail. The doctor was a great liar. He’d been dishonest with them all for years and years. With her gift rendered useless because of Xaver, she had no way of telling what was the truth and what was a lie.

Her father moved away from Xaver and stepped closer to Rein, who remained a crumpled in a ball. The doctor gazed at him, confidence rolling off him. She raised her hand and pushed, but nothing blocked her. Xaver’s shield was down.

Her father was opening them all up to her, apparently not seeing her as a threat with Aalexis, Micah, and Xaver at his side. Or maybe he assumed she’d not use her gift on him.

He had thought wrong.

While the doctor busied himself with his prideful thoughts, Ellyssa slipped into his mind. The action almost felt wrong, after the years of training she’d endured. She expected him to know, as if he could feel her crawl around inside his head. She plucked from him the information she sought.