Subject Seventeen: Wraith Among Shadows
Chapter 21

I watch Sky’s curly brown hair bounce up and down as she walks. Her hand has tightened around mine and is pulling me along. I wonder what she’s up to. She never explained that kiss she gave me earlier either. Are we just not going to discuss it? She drags me all the way back to the living quarters. When we get there, she doesn’t go to my room or hers. Instead she marches straight for the door marked with the number five.

She opens it silently and peeks her head inside. I hear a small shriek from a girl and swearing coming from the voice of a boy. I poke my head inside to see what all the commotion is about. Inside I see Seven and Five sitting on either side of his bed. The sheets are crumpled and both their faces are red. Five sits there topless and looks pissed off. I don’t understand what’s going on.

Sky suddenly bursts into laughter. She doubles over laughing over a joke I clearly haven’t been let in on.

“Sorry to burst your bubble guys,” she says while still laughing. “But I need you, Five.”

Five glares at Sky. It’s almost as if his eyes are about to shoot out lasers and vaporise us. He does this for a little while before finally standing up and running his hands through his unruly blonde hair.

“What do you want?” he says.

“Come with me to Nine’s room. There’s something I want to try out.”

With that Sky leaves and pulls me along. This time we head for Nine’s room. I can’t help but feel that whatever she is up to is going to land us in trouble. Sky opens Nine’s door and peeks inside. I can see that the light is still on so he must be awake. Not long after opening the door, Sky pulls me inside.

Nine is at his desk, a pen in one hand and some sheets of paper in the other. He seems to be in the middle of something. He looks up as we enter but doesn’t say a word. It’s almost as if he knew we would show up. Instead he sets down his work and pen on his desk and turns his chair around to face us.

“What’s this all about then?” he says.

Five strides into the room with Seven trailing behind him. He looks furious. I wonder why. He sends an icy look in Sky’s direction as he jumps on Nine’s bed.

“You better have a good explanation for dragging me out here, Two,” Five says. Even I can hear the danger in his voice. He doesn’t exactly seem too happy about being disturbed.

“Don’t worry,” Sky says. “It’s worth it.”

“Well Thirteen already told me you were going to show up,” Nine says.

“That guy is always three steps ahead of us,” Sky says. She turns to face me as she shuts Nine’s door. “I know how risky this is. And I know this is a big ask, but Five needs to try again to forcibly restore Seventeen’s memories.”

“Are you crazy?!” Five whispers in a hushed tone. “Are you trying to get us caught? Or get him killed as a matter of fact?”

“Five…” Nine says while holding up his hand. “Wait. Let’s hear her out.”

“Nine, you can’t be serious. The last time we did it you said we had a thirty percent success rate. Luck was on our side. Don’t think we’ll be so lucky this time around. Even if we are what will happen if we get caught?”

“I’m sure Thirteen would have said something if that was the case. Isn’t it about time to release the real Seventeen?”

Five runs both his hands through his hair repeatedly. It’s almost as if he’s running mad. He stands up and begins pacing the room up and down. Seven takes his hand in hers and whispers something to him which seems to calm him down. Lowering his head, he opens and closes his fists by his side. Eventually he turns back to look at us.

“Fine,” he says. “But only if you give me a good reason. I’m not going to risk getting killed for your nonsense, Two.”

“Well,” Sky says. “I’ve realised something. Seventeen is the only one out of all of us they can’t control. He’s a beast in his own right. So why not take off his shackles?”

“What do you mean?”

“I think that he’s been subconsciously fighting the effects of the borrachero. That means that they can’t control him. It’s why he’s been hooked up on it so long. The one mistake they made was releasing him to us so early. If we make him normal again; if we restore his true personality, then we’d have an advantage in the upcoming fight.”

“We don’t need to restore his memory for that. He already listens to Thirteen. What more do we need?”

“Certainty. If we’re sure he is truly on our side then our plan will go better than ever. If not he could turn on us at any point.”

Five bows his head down and sighs. It seems like he’s considering his options. Nine nods his head up and down for a few seconds before rising.

“I see,” Nine says. “I’ll be perfectly honest with you, Two. I can see where you’re coming from, but I doubt restoring his memory will really help us at this point.”

Sky’s face flushes red with embarrassment. She takes a few seconds to cool down before she speaks.

“Think about it. Without his memories there is a chance he could turn on us at any moment. Thirteen and you know that better than anyone. Better safe than sorry. Second, there’s something I need to replace out for myself.”

“Which is?”

“Who I am.”

This leaves everyone quiet. I look around the room and study each individual. Seven has remained quiet the entire time. Five looks like he's trying to pull out his hair and Nine looks deep in thought.

“What about you, Barrett?” I say.

What comes next I don’t expect. Nine flings me against the ceiling with his telekinesis and holds me there. His face shows that he is clearly angry and won’t hesitate to take me down. A memory passes through my mind. I was in this exact room when Nine threatened to kill me and I didn’t doubt him. When did that happen?

“Let me be clear,” Nine says in a hushed tone. His tone carries a warning, as if to tell me to be careful if I want to live. “I’m going to ask you once. And only once. Be very cautious with your answer.”

I nod repeatedly. Nine does not look like someone to cross right now. He doesn’t release me however. He makes sure I stay pinned to the ceiling.

“How do you know that name?”

“It’s what the Director calls you,” I reply. “I heard it in a vision.”

Nine releases me, breaking my fall with his power so I don’t make any noise as I drop.

“Call me by my name again and you die. Understand?”

I nod. Clearly he doesn’t like to be called by his name. I wonder why he’s so uptight about it. When I get backup to my feet I see Sky, Seven and Five all laughing as if they are having a fit.

“Your name is Barrett?” Five says, doubling over. He begins hitting his lap with the palm of his hand and rocking backwards and forwards. I see tears welling up in his eyes.

Nine covers his face with his palm and shakes his head. It hits me now that this is why he doesn’t want people to know his real name. Because they’ll laugh at him. I however, don’t see the humour in the name Barrett.

“Enough!” Nine says.

The room falls silent once again and Five straightens up. I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear as I stretch.

“So,” I say. “How does this work?”

“Don’t you remember the last time you were in here?” Sky asks. “Not yesterday, the time before that.”

“No. I don’t.”

Sky looks at Five. It feels as if they’re exchanging messages without even speaking. Five lets out a groan as he rises and directs me towards the same spot he was just sitting moments before.

Five looks back at Nine and Sky. He doesn’t move. I begin to feel a slight chill creep its way up from my spine. I take a deep breath. Am I sure this is the right thing to do? I could be betraying the Doctor. But something has felt off for a long time. It’s all just too confusing and I know that I need to get to the truth.

“Nine,” Five says. “This is on you and Two. If he ends up dying then you better deny any involvement from me because you know you’re going to die.”

Nine nods and Sky walks over to sit next to me. Seven squeezes into the corner as Sky comes in between. Looking at Sky, I notice the energy around her is disturbed. Almost as if she’s in a frenzy. Is she excited about something? She takes my hand in hers and looks at me. I replace myself captivated by the purity of her brown eyes. I’ve definitely seen them before. But where from? I think back to how she just kissed me before. Are we in some sort of relationship? That can't be right when I consider how she was a little rude to me after this morning's training. Right? It's like she doesn't even know what she wants.

It’s only now as Sky is holding my hand that I realise how incredibly light her hand is. It is almost as if she’s weightless. I feel as if I should be shocked right now, but I can’t help but feel nothing. Why exactly she feels so light is a problem that needs to be answered later.

“Okay,” I say. “Let’s do this.”

Five places his right hand on my head and closes his eyes. I close mine as well. Silence fills the room. I let myself relax as Five does his work. At first I feel nothing but a slight tingling. I’m expecting something to happen but instead all I hear is a chair being flung aside and someone groaning as they hit the floor.

I fling my eyes open and see Thirteen standing over Five who is holding his stomach and groaning. What just happened?

“Are you guys idiots?” Thirteen says.

“What?” Sky replies. “We’re just trying to help him.”

“Not like this. Fourteen is the only one who can help him. And what happens if you fools get caught?”

“There are too many risks of leaving it too late,” Nine says. “How are we supposed to be certain that he won’t be drugged again after the next mission?”

“Because the end of the next mission is precisely when we break Fourteen out.”

Nine gives Thirteen a puzzled look. Clearly he hasn’t been informed.

“I thought the plan was to do that in two days.”

“Yeah, well the future just changed. All you need to know now is that you need to listen to my instructions.”

Thirteen points at me and motions for me to follow him. I look down at Five who is still rolling around on the floor in pain. So much for trying to help me. Before I exit the room I look back at Sky. She looks flustered and embarrassed but she gives me the most dazzling smile I've ever seen and I can tell it's her way of apologising.

I follow Thirteen and leave the room without looking back. I may have just let my only chance of getting to the truth slip through my fingers. Thirteen leads me away from the living quarters and doesn’t stop walking once. It would appear that he has a destination in mind already.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“When you saw Nine die, where was it?”

“In a room behind the armoury. Why?”

Thirteen glances at me but doesn’t stop walking. He takes a moment to consider what I just said as he turns the corner.

“Was the room filled with weapons?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Do you remember all the weapons you saw there? I’m looking for something in particular. A sort of metallic sphere.”

I think back to the vision I had had. I remember seeing rows of weapons and one object catching my eye in particular. If I remember correctly it had said it was a suction grenade. Whatever that is.

“There was something like that which caught my eye. I think the name plate called it a suction grenade. Do we need it for something?”

“Yes. That’s the weapon they intend to use to take down Fifteen. We need to get our hands on it and we need to do that now.”

What on earth is Thirteen on about? It takes me a moment to remember who Fifteen is. An image of a blonde girl with one eye flashes across my mind. At least I remember this.

“Thirteen, if everything you guys are saying is true, then how can you be sure you can trust me?”

Thirteen turns around to look at me now. I come to a stop also. We stay silent, none of us talking for a moment. Thirteen is the centre of the entire operation apparently. And he’s the only one I feel as if I can trust other than Sky even though I still have my doubts. But first I need to know why he’s able to trust me.

“Firstly,” Thirteen says. “Your powers. With what you can do it would be stupid not to have you on our side. I know that isn’t what you asked, but I’ll get to that soon. This entire parade that Sanders and the Doctor has created is flawed. They give us too much freedom in this place because they believe they can control us with their little drug. The only one who’s shown any sign on resistance against it is you. They don’t seem to have noticed that. You sometimes feel conflicted don’t you? As if something is wrong, as if all the feelings you have towards the Doctor aren’t real.”

“That’s true.”

“This is why I can trust you. It may be because your connection to the Xerxes is strong. That connection adds an entirely different factor to this mechanic. Yet the one thing that is for sure is the fact that you are not a brainless puppet. I took a big risk when I got you involved in my plans but I trust that deep down inside you the real you is still there. I trust that you can feel that something about your entire reality is wrong. Right now, apart from me you can’t trust anyone else can you? Not even yourself.”

I haven’t thought about it this way. He’s right. I don’t even recognise myself. It's like everything I do is a dream. This strange feeling that I get whenever I look around me… The doubt in my mind that arises whenever I look at the Doctor or Three; who I’m supposed to have known my entire life. Thirteen is right. The entire reality I am in doesn’t feel real. I know that there must have been a time when I wasn’t in this place. I can feel it.

Thirteen turns around and begins walking again. I hurry to catch up with him. Now I’m beginning to truly understand. Everything that I know is a lie. Sanders. Three. The Doctor. Even who I am now isn’t the real me.

“So what are we going to do with the weapon once we get it?” I ask. “Won’t they notice it’s missing?”

“Oh they will. That’s the whole point. Thanks to the stupid stunt your little friends just tried to pull the entire future has shifted again.”

“So what does that mean for me?”

“It means that you are now our single greatest asset. The war has already started whether we bring down the Great Wall or not.”

“In that case shouldn’t we bring this place down now?”

“I would love to. Believe me. But until we can replace that failsafe Fourteen won’t be with us.”

We finally arrive in front of the armoury. Thirteen pushes the door open and we enter inside. As the door closes behind me the lights automatically switch on. I can taste something metallic in the air. Thirteen heads straight for the door on the other side of the room. His hand twists the door knob but it doesn’t budge. He tries again and gets the same result. Just when I think he’s going to give up he takes a step back and kicks the door open with brute strength. Strength that no normal eighteen year old boy should have. Damn.

I stand there, simply dumbstruck at the amount of courage he has to kick down the door. This must mean from this point on there’s no turning back.

“What are you waiting for?” he says.

I rush forward and enter into the room. It looks exactly as it did in the vision I had earlier. Rows and rows of shelves stocked up with all sorts of weapons. I walk in between the shelves while trying to remember where exactly the weapon is.

“Why do we need it now?” I ask. “If we take it now and get discovered we won’t be able to carry out your plan after the mission.”

“There is no mission anymore. After we returned from the last mission, can you remember what you saw?”

“You know I can’t remember, Thirteen.”

“I know. When we returned Sanders had mobilised four squadrons of armed soldiers. What do you think he did that for?”

“Maybe he sent them to attack somewhere.”

“And where do you think that somewhere was?”

“I’m guessing it had to be somewhere that posed a risk to his plans.”

“Exactly. If two superpowers are on the verge of war and you want to push them towards bloodshed, the best thing to do is remove all other variables which could stop that. What is the one other power in the world right now that could intervene and end the war before it starts? The one country that has become a superpower in the last three decades with its sudden boost in technology?”

“You know that I don’t know that either.”

“Sanders’ troops went to attack a Mongolian military camp. By giving them a reason to fight he knows that they will ally with China and Russia. They want to start a war they can win. And now three of the greatest powers in the world will be united.”

“So what does that have to do with this?” I ask, pointing at the suction grenade that I’ve finally found.

“My point is that we don’t need to bring down the Great Wall to start the war. It’s going to start tomorrow. So I’m going to stop this supposed mission of ours. We need this weapon in our hands so when Nine contacts Fifteen and the other two they won’t be taken down.”

“Wait, you mean we’re going to bring down this facility tomorrow?”

“Correct.”

“What about replaceing that failsafe?”

“If we don’t replace it then we just have to dispose of the ones who control it.”

“So you mean…?”

“Yes. We take out the Doctor and the Director,” Thirteen says. He turns around to face me as he picks up the suction grenade. “This suction grenade is specially made to be used against Fifteen. Do you know what her ability is?”

I shake my head as Thirteen examines the small sphere. He slowly spins it around in his hands. Clearly he doesn’t seem afraid that he might set it off.

“She’s intangible.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that she can phase through anything. Solid, liquid or gas. No matter what you try and use on her she’ll pass right through it.”

“Then how is this grenade able to stop her?”

“This suction grenade literally does exactly what its name says it does. It sucks up everything around it. Atoms, matter, air. Anything in the vicinity it sucks up before dispersing it in an explosion. This is one of two ways to take her down.”

“What’s the other?”

“No-one knew how before Ten did it. Apparently he burned away all the oxygen in the room and she nearly suffocated to death.”

I rub my eyes as Thirteen pockets the weapon in his white hoody. He waves his hand for me to follow him as he leaves the room. The door remains broken on the ground as we step over it. Thirteen doesn’t seem too worried about it being discovered.

“So what are you going to use it for?” I ask.

“Three,” Thirteen replies. “Her ability is a nuisance. Set this off and she won’t dare to teleport. Her power is simply the ability to break down all the matter around her and instantly make it reappear somewhere else. She won’t be foolish enough to use it while this goes off. It’s the only way to deal with her without killing her.”

“So why can’t we kill her anyway?”

“Don’t you remember what I told you about dream visions?”

“I see. We can’t kill Three or Sanders yet. What happens if I try to change that future?”

“If you try to change that future then the timeline will try to balance itself out. It's the process of equivalent exchange. For example, if you try to save one life another life will be taken. Since we don’t know whose life might be taken it’s unwise to try and change it.”

I consider everything Thirteen tells me. No matter what he says I have to change that future. I can’t let Sky be put in that situation. I don’t know why but I have this foolish idea that I have to protect her. As if I owe her that much.

“In that case we’re not going on our next mission then?” I ask.

“No,” Thirteen says. He turns around to face me and grins. “No we’re not. As soon as dawn comes we’re taking this entire facility off the map. The war has already started. It’s about time we got a move on too.”