Subject Seventeen: Wraith Among Shadows
Chapter 14

I’m the last one to exit the jet. Sanders and the Doctor are already waiting for us in the hangar. I know something is wrong the moment I look around. Almost all the soldiers have mobilised into different squadrons and are in formation, simply awaiting instructions. All are armed with assault rifles and are dressed in full combat gear.

A couple of soldiers are holding Seventeen down while the Doctor sedates him. Then he’s dragged off with the Doctor following close behind. There’s no way they know he has some of his memories back, do they? Otherwise, what was all that about?

Throughout our debriefing my mind is only focused on thoughts of Nine's theory and Seventeen being dragged away. I can't focus on any one thing at the moment. The most pressing matter right now is whether the Doctor knows if Seventeen has his memories back. I have the urge to rush in there and save him but I don’t even know what I will be saving him from. I think back to the base when he kissed me out of the blue and I can already feel the heat on the tip of my ears. Maybe I have fallen for him like Nine said. If that is true then that’s dangerous for me. Feelings complicate things. Feelings put lives in danger on the field and during assignments. I've never had to deal with something like this before but I need to replace a way to deal with this - quickly.

The events of the past week have gone by so fast that I haven’t had enough time to process it. Something keeps nagging at the back of my mind. Some forgotten memory. Every now and then I get these flashes, images running through my mind that dissipate just as quickly as they pop up. This time a series of child-like faces stream through my mind but I'm only able to single out one; a boy with jet black hair, blue eyes and the devil's sweet smile.

I hold my hand up to my head in an attempt to recollect myself. Ah, what was that? I can feel it so close, yet so far away. A feeling of something being lost... forgotten. I shake my head, trying to lose the thought. Perhaps every memory I know of is all a lie... It's like trying to hold on to your humanity as others slowly, forcibly convince you that you're nothing more than an object... a subject to be bent to their will. Taking away everything you hold dear; all your precious memories, leaving you to rot in the dark. And in that darkness... you've never truly been alone.

I slap myself hard on the cheek, trying to tear my mind away from such dark thoughts. Now isn't the right time to let myself get swallowed by my doubts.

We need Fourteen back as soon as possible. At this point he's the only one who can replace the truth. In fact, something about his disappearance is suspicious. Apparently he's been on a mission for the past three months. That shouldn’t be possible. His abilities make him a priority member of our team. The Doctor wouldn’t risk him being away on such risky missions for long periods of time. Just when you begin to replace the answers to one question another one pops up. Great.

Then a thought hits me. It makes sense that with Fourteen's powers he would naturally be able to unlock his memories if they had been messed with, right? Not only that, but he can read the mind of Sanders and the Doctor. Is that why he disappeared? Why would the Doctor give him such powers when he knew it would pose a massive security risk? As for Fourteen, if we replace him and manage to get him and Thirteen on our side we may be able to uncover the whole truth.

I pick up my pace as I head to the training room. I haven’t seen Seventeen since he was dragged away yesterday. Nine, Five and I have a lot of work to do if we want to replace out what’s really going on.

When the door opens Three comes flying into me. I sidestep to the right as she crashes into the wall. If Three’s been hit back then she must be training with Ten. Looking through the door I see Ten throwing a small ball of fire up and down in his hand and keeping a smug grin on his face. We need him too. His strength is undeniable. In terms of raw firepower and stamina he's a priceless asset - not counting Seventeen’s latent potential.

Three gets back up and charges back towards Ten. Averting my gaze as I walk inside I see Nine sitting against the wall at the far end of the oval training room. Everyone else is training in hand to hand combat, trying to keep use of their powers to a minimum. It's not my favourite type of training, but we are soldiers after all. While we all have great combat prowess in the most basic of martial arts under our belt, Sanders prefers that we all develop a style of fighting that's unique to us all because he believes it gives us a better advantage. I do agree when it comes to Thirteen but for the rest of us there's not really any point to this in my opinion.

Nine stands as he sees me walking towards him. Neither of us talk as we begin practicing together. As usual Nine’s combat skills are excellent. Transitioning smoothly from a leg sweep, he grabs my arm and flings me over his shoulder without breaking a sweat. I shrink into a ball and roll to safety to lessen the impact. Rising back to my feet I wipe away the sweat on my forehead.

“We have a problem,” I whisper to him.

“Which is?”

“Actually, we have two.”

Nine raises his eyebrows at me as he grabs my foot in mid-air and swings me around before hastily releasing me, sending me flying into the ground. I pick myself off the ground and glare at him. Can’t we have a normal conversation without him giving me a beating?

“So?” he asks.

“The first is Seventeen. I think they’re going to drug him and he’ll lose his memories again. And I’m worried about his health; it seems every time he uses his powers he suffers from some side effect, like his ears bleeding. It’s not a good sign.”

“That’s natural,” Nine replies.

This little comment earns him a questioning look from me. Clearly he knows why.

“During the attack on the military base I told him from now on he should stick to hand to hand combat and stop focusing on his powers.”

“Why?”

“We may all have had our DNA changed, but our bodies can’t keep up with the change. It can’t fully adapt. Our powers will eventually kill us all. Seventeen has it the worst.”

“And why is that?”

“He has the power to alter and recreate every possible natural phenomenon. If he had enough power fed to him, if he was hooked up to a nuclear reactor he could probably recreate the big bang. What do you think that does to his body? I guarantee you that he has some sort of brain tumour which grows every time he uses his powers. He’s only got a few years to live if he keeps using it constantly. If he doesn’t use it, then maybe ten years. Give or take.”

I gasp and the shock causes me to pause which gives Nine an opportune moment to sweep my legs, resulting with me on my back lying flat on the floor.

“What?!” I gasp, struggling to my feet again.

“That’s not the worst of it. The Doctor needs to keep wiping his memories. If he does remember something – anything that may be of great importance or emotional value to him – and regains his memories then he can completely lose control and wipe us all out at any moment.”

“He wouldn’t do that!” I say, my voice rising.

“Keep your voice down.” Nine says, his eyes swivelling around.

“Sorry. But why would he do that?”

“His memories returning completely would destabilise the effects of the borrachero I should have realised this before Five tried to restore them; a miscalculation on my part. Anyways, this means that his emotions could come flooding back in relentless waves. Imagine a dam with a crack in its structure. Eventually it'll give out and all burst out uncontrollably. If he can’t control his emotions his powers could go out of control. And you do not want that. Given the fact that he's still not used to his powers, the worst that could happen is him causing a mini supernova and lighting this entire place up. But let's say he's given another six months to get used to his powers and he decides to supernova? That's your apocalypse right there.”

“How’s that possible? Even he’s not that powerful, especially considering the side-effects of his powers.”

“Think. If he can control every single natural force, he could cause world-changing events. He could call tsunamis or hurricanes, cause floods or break the hold of gravity. He can supernova, create black holes and give dying stars new life. He's basically a freaking god. Imagine a god that loses control - like an Asura; pure chaos. If that happens, how much damage do you think that would cause?”

“Crap. He can supernova?!”

“Yeah. Now do you see why I’m not asking Five to try unlock any more of his memories? Five doesn’t have complete control over all the memories that return. The wrong memories returning could be catastrophic. We got lucky the first time. I don't intend to take any more risks moving forward. What’s the second thing you wanted to ask?”

“Oh yeah. Fourteen.”

Nine pauses and gives me a strange look. Maybe he had the same thought I did. He lets out a deep breath and shakes his head.

“What about him?”

“There’s no way Sanders would leave someone as valuable as him on a mission by himself for so long. Something’s wrong.”

“I know. Which is why we need to replace him and also get Thirteen on our side. Although I doubt Thirteen cares about any of this. He’s too carefree.”

That confirms it. Sanders and the Doctor have done something to Fourteen. We need to replace out what that is and where they’ve left him. I still can’t quite get used to this feeling of being betrayed. Even now I’m hoping that everything we suspect is a lie and that I can trust Three and the Doctor again.

“One more thing,” I say.

“Which is?”

“Surely the Doctor, Three or Sanders would have noticed the difference in our behaviour or our suspicions by now. I mean, we haven't exactly done a bang up job of being secretive. But we’re still in the clear. How come?”

“I don’t know Thirteen’s agenda but he does still have his uses,” Nine says just as his palm thrusts into my shoulder and sends me hurtling backwards a few metres. Oh how tempted I am to fry him.

Nine and I continue sparring for the next twenty minutes or so before we finally finish and decide to switch partners. I rub my bruises and skulk away from him as I look for someone else to spar with. Three seems to just be letting us do free training today. She and Ten are still going at each other and everyone that isn’t Nine and Sixteen has crowded around them to watch.

“My money’s on the hot-head,” One shouts, making sure Three hears her.

“Same,” Five says.

“Are you kidding?” Seven says. “Ten’s clearly using his powers a bit. No-one can beat Three at hand to hand combat except Thirteen.”

“There’s a first for everything,” I say. This earns me a look from Seven and a pat on the back from Eleven.

I watch Ten and Three dance around each other back and forth, each trading blows at surprisingly high speeds and then suddenly falling back to circle each other before attacking again. It continues like this for some time. Eventually my mind wanders off as I look around the room. I examine the pure white walls all around us and soon it begins to blind me. Looking up I see that there is a small and barely visible crack in the corner. What appears to be a yellow liquid is dripping ever so slowly from it. That needs to be fixed.

My attention turns back to the sparring match between Three and Ten. It seems I turned back just in time to see Ten’s head violently swing to the right as Three’s fist finally connects. At the same time Three gets knocked down by Ten’s extended foot. They both fly apart. Three seems to be sweating furiously. Ten, on the other hand, is standing straight with a smile on his face, as if he had never been hit. It takes me a while to understand what’s going on.

“Bastard,” Three says. “I thought I said no using powers to harm opponents in combat training?”

“And I’m not using it to harm you, now am I?” Ten replies.

Ten is absorbing the heat energy from Three’s muscles and from the friction made when she moves to both weaken her attacks and strengthen him. When the hell did he learn to do that?

Three wipes her forehead with the back of her hand and turns her back to Ten.

“Glad to see you can play with words now, Ten,” she says. With that she walks off. I watch her as she leaves and can’t help but feel as if she wasn’t quite here today during training.

“Let’s go shower,” Seven says. She takes my hand in hers and pulls me along. I let myself be dragged off as One follows. Not long after a small Rottweiler runs after us, its tongue out and tail wagging. Clearly Sixteen wants to join us. I'm tempted to kick the dog she's morphed into but hold back. Why am I so quick to resort to violence? I mean, I know some people deserve it but I think that's something I need to work on.

As soon as we enter the locker room Seven jumps on me from behind. I manage to stay on my feet as she takes a free ride on my back.

“What are you doing?” I ask, scowling.

“Tell me the truth,” she says. A sinking feeling appears in the pit of my stomach. She’s found out about mine and Nine’s suspicions. If she reports in it’s all over for us. My clench my fists and prepare to fry her in the worst case scenario. But Five is on our side so shouldn’t she be too? Oh crap. God help us if she isn’t.

“What do you mean?”

“Seventeen.”

My fists slowly unclench themselves and I push her off me. I observe her closely as I begin to strip so I can get into the shower.

“Like I said, what do you mean?”

“Sixteen saw you guys back at the military base. She was watching Ten’s back from the sky in case he needed it and she said she saw you and Seventeen kissing.”

I slip and fall, hitting my head on the floor as a result. I ignore the pain and turn my face away from Seven because I can feel my face burning.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Nothing happened at the base.”

“So you don’t deny kissing him?” Seven says. I can feel her smirk growing bigger and bigger with each passing moment. I’m going to kill Sixteen with my own hands. That little rat needs to keep her nose out of other people's business.

“I said no!”

“Why not,” Seven continues. “He’s a cute guy. If I didn’t have Five I would snatch him up in an instant.”

My face can’t go any more red. This is as good as it gets. I know she’s right but I don’t want to admit that I like the guy. It’s not exactly as if the Doctor forbids relationships. After all he lets off Seven and Five, but I know that they can be a big risk on missions. Such is the reason they are often never together on missions. Even with all that I don’t want to accept Seventeen. Some part of me says that if I do I lose all face and my dignity. As if everything I've worked to build, my entire image, it'll all come crumbling down if I let him in.

What’s even more irritating is the fact that he keeps calling me Sky. It feels so natural, but at the same time it feels unnerving. It bothers me. It’s not my name anymore. In fact, has it ever even been my name? I can't even trust my own memories anymore so how can I hope to trust his?

“Leave the lovebirds alone, Seven,” One says. She walks past us and enters one of the showers. I hastily follow suit. The last thing I need is for them to start teasing me.

I let the hot water fall on me and I feel the water washing off all the sweat. I close my eyes and lift my head. I just wish this moment could last forever. A moment of peace and bliss. That’s all I want.

My eyes fling open when I feel a small tug in my chest. I place one hand on the shower door to steady myself. It feels as if someone is poking my heart. It hurts. I make it my mission to not scream and attract unnecessary attention. The pain grows slowly in intensity, eventually bringing me to my knees. Gasping, I release the breath I was holding and struggle to breathe. I’m dying. Oh my god I’m having a heart attack. I’m going to die here all alone. I don’t want that.

My chest tightens even further as if someone is screwing a nail into my heart and doesn't give a damn. My vision starts to fade a bit as all the colour around me fades to grey. This isn't how I want to go out. God damnit! I still have too much to do. I don't want to go! I'm scared... It doesn't end like this, right?

All of a sudden I can breathe again and the pain subsides. The hot water pounds against my skin as I take raspy little breaths in quick succession and shakily try to get to my feet. A few minutes pass as I stand there, leaning against the shower door and just process what just happened. I'm still trying to come to terms with it. I could have just died.

I turn the shower off and rush out. The rest of the girls are still showering. Thank God for that. I quickly gather my things and rush out the locker room, making a beeline for my quarters. I need to be alone right now and I sure as hell could use a rest. We have the rest of the day off. I intend to make full use of that time to recover.

After entering my quarters I notice my hair is still wet. I leave it like that. Sitting down at my desk I take a moment to think. Maybe the name Sky isn’t so bad after all. It seems as if Seventeen knows who I really am. If that’s the case then I should ask him some questions. How convenient that he’s no-where to be found now that I need him.

I put my hands on my chest and close my eyes. I take deep breaths, making sure to take each one slowly. I don’t notice how much time has passed. I’m enjoying this brief moment of peace.

I open my eyes. It takes a short while to get used to the darkness. I must have fallen asleep. I’m still at my desk. I stand up and push the chair aside. Walking to the other side of the room, I keep my hand stretched forward in front of me to search for the light switch. I replace it straight away and flip it.

The burst of light blinds me, causing me to raise my arms as a shield. Soon I’m able to lower my arms. What time is it? I look up at the clock on the wall opposite my bed. It’s half five in the morning. I slept for more than nine hours. Half an hour left till we all have to get up.

I sit on my bed and think to myself. I need to use all my free time to figure this out. The fact is that we need Thirteen, Fourteen and Ten on our side. Those three are a must. Eight and Three can’t be trusted. That much I know. The question now is where do we replace Fourteen?

First I need to look at exactly everything that I know. Four, Six and Fifteen are alive. Three tried to kill Four and Six, or at least that’s what happened according to Nine. Nine said they found out that we’re not really soldiers. So how did they replace out? And if Three failed to dispose of Four and Six then Fifteen must have gotten in her way. So the question now is what they’re up to. They know the truth, or at least I would like to think so - in which case they must be planning something. There’s no way at all that their appearances at both of our last two missions is a coincidence.

Nine told me he’s planning a coup. Not even he could pull something like that off by himself. Is he working with Fifteen? My mind wanders back to the talk I had with him on the journey back to headquarters from the research center. He had uploaded some information to a drive hadn’t he? Seeing how none of us have access to any computers or operating systems there’s nothing he could have done with that. He also managed to get all of the information at the research center onto a separate drive. How did he do that? He wouldn't have enough time to complete the mission, upload a virus to Sanders' drive and steal all the information from a massive server within the limited time frame he had to complete his mission. Nine definitely has a lot of secrets that I'm not privy to. As for the information he stole, he’s not foolish enough to hold on to it, so who did he give it to?

Maybe Nine is working with Fifteen and hasn’t told me. It would certainly clarify a lot of things and let the pieces be lined up neatly. If so, then Nine would obviously have a plan and a contingency if that doesn't work out. There’s no way that Fifteen, Four and Six can put a stop to Sanders and the Doctor single-handedly. Clearly Nine iss planning something big. Even I’m smart enough to see that.

I sigh and lay flat on my bed. Which side is Thirteen on? The Doctor and Sanders must know that he probably knows everything that’s going on. So why haven’t they taken him out of the equation? Is it because they still need him or because they simply can’t since he knows every move they make as he can see the future? Whose side is he even on? He acts as if he doesn’t care about anything and as such makes it hard to understand his true intentions. There’s no point trying to sway him over to our side. He’ll make the choice of his own volition. I just hope it's the right one. I would hate to fight him; his fighting style is creepy. Anyways, this leaves Ten and Fourteen.

For someone who has such valuable abilities, Fourteen won’t be disposed of. No. They still need him. Fourteen’s mental strength can’t be affected by the borrachero, meaning they need to replace some other way to discreetly control him without impeding his abilities. It’s unlikely that he would be on a mission for so long considering his value. The best way to deal with him would be to put him in an induced but controllable coma. If I was Sanders, what would I do to control him when I need him? Drugging him won't work and we've all had torture and interrogation training; I look forward to seeing Seventeen go through it. Threaten him maybe? But with what? Threatening to take his life is an empty threat; Fourteen knows they won’t kill him; there would be no point in threatening him in the first place if they did.

If Nine’s theory is true and our memories have been fiddled with and we have in fact been kidnapped, then we all have lives that we led before coming here. With Fourteen’s powers he could easily have unlocked his memories. Maybe they would threaten someone dear to him?

I scratch my head and try to rack my brains. All this thinking is unlike me, but the fact is that I need to get to the truth. Everything I’ve discovered in the past week is too much for me to take in. Baltec, Temere, terrorism, fake memories… It’s ridiculous.

Hang on. If they need Fourteen, and he isn’t on a mission, then he must be somewhere here in headquarters. We can replace him and release him. Doing that would mean certain death by Three’s hand, so Nine and I would need to escape at the same time. I know Five is on our side and Seven would follow him anywhere – or I hope so at least. The question now is who can we trust enough to help us? One is too much of a liability. Sixteen also. We should focus on swaying the most useful members of the team to our side. Can we convince Eleven to join us?

However Ten is a problem. He’s too unpredictable. I can probably convince Seventeen once he gets released back to us. I can’t help but smile. Everything is finally starting to come together. Nine will have to make the plans, but I’m sure this can work. We’re going to break out of this place and put an end to Sanders plans.

I get to my feet as the hand on the clock finally hits six. I’m going to tell Nine I’m in. This time he has to tell me everything he knows and stop withholding information. We’re in this together or not at all.