Demitria Lunetta - In the End

“When you escaped,” Kay tells me, “Dr. Reynolds told New Hope you were dead. It was a big deal, the director’s daughter dying. There was a funeral and everything.”

“It was macabre,” my mother intones. “I knew you’d escaped, but I had to sit there and play the grieving mother, act as if my daughter . . . you were dead.”

“But, if we show people you’re alive,” Kay says, “they’ll know Dr. Reynolds has lied. They might be more willing to listen to what else he’s kept from them.”

“Fine,” I say. “I’m in. Just tell me what I have to do.”

At first I think my mother’s just going slap down the idea. But she doesn’t. “They could well choose to keep Dr. Reynolds in power, to find a vaccine,” she says quietly.

“But at least they’d have a choice,” I tell her. “And what makes you so sure that they’d value a vaccine above anything else? It’s become an obsession among the researchers, and maybe Dr. Reynolds sees it as an end that will justify his methods, as the ultimate vindication, but what would the citizens of New Hope think? Sure, it would be reassuring, but would they truly be willing to sacrifice children to get it? If it were a cure, maybe . . . but you told me a long time ago that a cure was impossible, that the Floraes would never become people again.

“So isn’t there already an alternative?” I continue. “You have the emitters to keep away the Floraes. You have other technology that can keep us safe, that can help humans reclaim the world.”

Dr. Samuels nods his agreement. “A vaccine is not the only thing that can save humanity. It would only solve one problem. Let the citizens of New Hope decide what sacrifices they’re willing to make.”

My mother shakes her head. “What would you have me do? Make an announcement on the evening news? Show that Amy is still alive and then expose all of Dr. Reynolds’s secrets?”

“Exactly,” Kay says. “You’d have the support of at least half of the Guardians.”

“It would be pointless. Dr. Reynolds would be able to distance himself from any research I’ve done. It would discredit me and make him look even more attractive to the people of New Hope.” She sighs, closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, her face has changed, her jaw set.

“The only way it would work would be to release everything at once. We have to get his lab notes, as well. He’d have documentation of all the experiments. Then I could share everything at one time, send out a data burst to every computer in New Hope. I could have it coincide with an announcement on the news, so even if Dr. Reynolds shuts us down, he won’t be able to stop the information from spreading.”

“You would do that?” Kay asks. “You could still be blamed for everything.”

She nods, then looks at me as she says, “I am to blame. I was responsible for the bacteria. It’s about time I was made accountable. If everyone knows, even if I’m punished, Adam would be safe. Most people wouldn’t want to hurt an innocent child.”

“Maybe they’ll understand,” I tell her. “New Hope still needs a leader.”

“I’ll remain director, if they’ll have me.” Her eyes flick to Kay. “But we still need Dr. Reynolds’s lab notes.”

“I’ll get them,” I say. “I’ve already been in his office.”

“Amy, you didn’t!” She’s horrified. “What were you thinking? No. If he finds you, he won’t send you back to the Ward. He’ll kill you.”

“I won’t wait around for him to find me,” I snap. “People have to start putting themselves at risk.” I refuse to be ruled by fear. And I can see my mother is about to refuse to as well.

“His notes aren’t in his office anyway,” Dr. Samuels says. “They’re in the lab, in a safe. You need Level One Clearance and his personal combination. I think . . . I think I can help get the notes.”

My mother shakes her head. “It’s too risky.”

“What would I lose if I were caught?” Dr. Samuels asks, his voice heavy. “My wife is long dead. So are my children. I have nothing. I’ve already broken protocol several times. I’ll go. If I’m caught, you will be safe to figure something else out.”

“I’m going with him.” I turn to him. “I’m not going to let you risk your life alone. You’ll need protection.”

“Absolutely not,” my mother says, which almost makes me laugh. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t know why you think you can still tell me what to do,” I say, more harshly than I intend to. Her face tightens. The pain is still fresh from Baby’s rejection of me, so I know how she feels. “I’ll be fine,” I say, more kindly. “I can take care of myself.”

“I’ll go too,” Kay offers. “It’s time to bring that bastard down.”

“There’s a problem,” Dr. Samuel tells us. “I don’t know the combination to Dr. Reynolds’s safe . . . and I know of only one other person who might.”

My mother nods. “Richard.”

Rice. We were trying to keep him out of danger, but there’s no way now. We need him. If Dr. Reynolds is out of the way, Baby will be safe.

“Call him,” I tell my mother.

She puts her hand to her ear. “Richard, will you please meet me in conference room 1B? I have some data I need to share with you.” She listens. “Okay, see you in five.” She drops her hand. “He’s on his way.”

“Good.” Finally all the pieces are falling into place. I’m actually doing something.

My mother moves to me, puts an arm around my shoulders, and I let her. The anger I felt toward her has deflated. I know she was in a horrible situation. At least now she’s trying to make it right.

When Rice steps through the door, he looks from me to my mother and back again. “I should have known you’d be up to something,” he says with a slight smile. He takes off his glasses and cleans them, then puts them back on. His blue eyes shine at me through them.

“Well?” he asks. “How can I help?”

Kay and I trail Rice down the hall. My hands are sweating inside the fabric of my synth-suit, even as its quick-drying fabric seeps the moisture away. I’m rubbing them together nervously when Kay tilts her head toward me, and even though her face is covered, I can tell she is giving me a look. I drop my hands to my sides and do my best to walk with confidence and look like a badass member of the Elite Eight.

It wasn’t hard to convince Rice to join us in our campaign to overthrow Dr. Reynolds. After hearing our plan, he agreed without hesitation. Still, I can tell by the pinched expression on his face when he glances back at me in the hall that he’s unhappy we waited so long to include him.

It was harder to convince Dr. Samuels that he was no longer necessary. Rice had the Level One Clearance we required, as well as the combination to Dr. Reynolds’s safe. Eventually he relented when Kay flat-out told him that he would slow us down. Blunt, but effective. Meanwhile, my mother is back at her office, organizing information, trying to decide the best way to present it all to the people of New Hope.

Rice gets us into the general lab area with no problem. No one questions Rice as we move through, as everyone knows he’s the assistant director and Dr. Reynolds’s pet. I’m beginning to think things will all fall our way when a familiar voice from the far side of the floor calls, “Richard . . . why are those Guardians in here?”

We freeze. Heads turn to us all across the lab as an older woman with blonde-gray hair pulled tightly in a bun moves quickly toward us. My stomach turns. It’s Dr. Thorpe, my doctor from the Ward. Though she didn’t agree with his diagnosis of my psychosis and Dr. Reynolds’s heavy-handed use of sedatives and experimental treatments, that didn’t stop her from helping Dr. Reynolds torture me.