Chapter 3

A week went by, and it was filled with more tests than Danielle could have ever imagined. They tested her sensitivity to certain chemicals and lights, put her back in the tank to see how long they could wait before the could revive her, all sorts of horrible things. And it always turned out exactly the same, much to her and Jeremy’s grim satisfaction. He had been right. Their results were never any better or worse, and yet they still tried.

But one night, something happened. It started out as a normal, for the Project, evening. Danielle had been tossed back in her cell after a particularly brutal endurance test, which she passed with flying colors. There was a cut still on her forearm, and it was oozing bright, red blood. “Hey, Danielle, are you all right?” Jeremy asked.

She pulled herself into a sitting position and shrugged. “I’ll survive, I always do.”

Jeremy managed a small smile. “Yeah, I know you do. Your arm is still hurt.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. They had the machine with these huge spikes on it that I had to dodge. It caught me as I rolled under it.”

Jeremy slid off the metal desk chair onto the floor with her. “Let me see that,” he said and took her arm to inspect the wound.

That was when it happened. Something in Jeremy changed. Danielle was startled when she looked into his eyes, which flared with some sort of darkness. His eyes lingered on the blood, and before she knew it he had leaned down and lightly licked it off of her skin. When he pulled his head away, she saw that the cut was gone. “Jeremy?”

“I’m sorry, Danielle, I don’t know what got hold of me…”

“I do…Jeremy, don’t you see? This is what they’ve been giving us to drink! That metallic, iron smell it always gives off, that’s what it’s been reminding me of all this time. Blood,” Danielle said softly and she saw comprehension dawning in his eyes.

There had never been time to discover this before. Every cut, every injury had always been healed before there had been a chance to realize that that was what they truly wanted. The females no longer menstruated, so that couldn’t have tipped them off, either. And now here it was. They hungered for blood. They drank synthetic human blood.

Jeremy had a disgusted look on his face, but Danielle was curious. “Jeremy, can I…” she trailed off.

Jeremy just nodded. He picked up a paper clip and dug it into his skin, hissing in pain. The blood welled out of the small hole and ran into the palm of his hand. He offered his wrist to Danielle and she gingerly took it and licked at the blood experimentally. A small sigh escaped her lips and she sucked lightly at the hole, bringing more blood to the surface. “Danielle…”

Danielle lifted her eyes to Jeremy’s and he was shocked to see the same darkness that had appeared in his eyes just moments before. She slowly licked a little of the blood off her lips and smiled at him. “Jeremy…this is better…”

He nodded. “It is. I feel…stronger.”

They were both silent for a moment, reveling in this new feeling. The liquid they had been given to drink by the Project nourished them, nothing more. But blood, real blood, was different. It surged through their bodies like liquid electricity, giving them a heightened feeling of power and strength like nothing they had ever experienced before. It made them feel invincible, unstoppable, and almost godlike. And if this was how they felt with barely more than a drop of blood, how would they feel with even more of it? Jeremy turned to his roommate, his eyes blazing. “Now we have them,” he said.

Danielle realized what he was talking about and for the first time in a long time, hope flared in her heart. She leaned forward and lightly kissed Jeremy’s lips. It was only meant to be a simple, affectionate kiss, but Jeremy seemed to have other ideas. He gripped the nape of her neck roughly and deepened the simple peck, his tongue parting her lips and slipping inside her mouth. Her initial surprise turned into acceptance as she returned his kiss with equal passion, not at all sure where it was coming from or why he was doing it. Just as quickly he broke away from her, staring into her eyes with confusion and a little but of embarrassment. “Danielle, I’m sorry. I’m not sure where that came from. I haven’t kissed anyone like that in a very long time.”

Danielle smiled a bit. “I’ve never kissed anyone like that, *ever*. Maybe it was the blood.”

“Yet another interesting side effect,” he said. “We’ll have to do some of our own…experimenting with it.”

Danielle giggled a little, the first time she had done so since she had come to this place. “Maybe. I think we should first try to see what we could do with this strength. If it’s more than just a feeling, anyway,” she added.

Jeremy nodded. “Agreed,” he said and got up and went over to the chair that was bolted down in front of the desk. It was very heavy and in the past he had tried and was unsuccessful in ripping it from the floor. He gripped the seat and lifted with all his might and just as if it had been nothing at all it came away from the floor with a loud screech.

“Oh my god,” Danielle whispered.

Jeremy smiled at her and threw it across the room with such force that it hit into their bunks and they too fell with a crunch. “Jeremy, what are you doing?” she asked, worry and fear coming into her voice.

“Just getting rid of a little repressed anger is all,” he answered and went over to the sink and ripped it, too, away from the wall and floor.

“No! Jeremy, stop it, please! They’re going to come! I can’t do this without you!” Danielle screamed, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Jeremy stopped and looked at her, but it was too late. The thundering sound of feet pounding down the hallway reached their ears and Jeremy smiled a sad smile. “I won’t be gone for long, sweetie,” he said.

The door swung open and a legion of guards, followed by Dr. Bering, poured into the small cell. “All right, 1482, I think you’ve done enough damage for tonight. Let’s go.”

Jeremy didn’t struggle as two of the men grabbed him by the arms and led him away. Dr. Bering slammed the door closed and as the footsteps receded Danielle sat heavily on the floor, trying to decide what to do next.

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“Why do you always have to cause trouble, 1482?” Dr. Bering asked, as two of his attendants strapped Jeremy into a chair in a blank, white room. Then they left and Dr. Bering and Jeremy were left alone.

“Because it’s way too much fun,” Jeremy sneered. “Besides, Richard, I think I might be the only one who knows just what buttons to push. Why don’t you drop the doctor/patient act and let’s talk man to man…or colleague to colleague.”

Dr. Bering’s eyes flashed angrily and he slammed his hands on the armrests of the chair Jeremy was sitting into, leaning in close to him “Let’s get this straight, 1482, the minute you agreed to be a guinea pig in this little project you were no longer my colleague. I don’t care how smart you are, or how valuable you might be. I would burn you up in a millisecond if I could.”

“Now, now doctor…that’s no way to treat our star subject, is it?” the man in the black suit said.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Blake. I am sure that you have been told what 1482 has done?” Dr Bering asked nervously.

“I have. And I’m curious to know why,” Mr. Blake answered.

“The usual, Blake. Taking my aggression out on poor, unsuspecting furniture,” Jeremy said.

“He did things that he just shouldn’t be able to do, sir. He’s not that strong,” Dr. Bering said.

“That’s where you’re wrong, doc. I’ve discovered something I think you and your goons have been trying to keep a secret since the beginning,” Jeremy said.

“There’s nothing we know that you don’t know, son. You’ve been with us since the very start of it all,” Mr. Blake said in a kind voice. He seemed to be realizing that something was happening far beyond his control.

“I just don’t believe that anymore, Andrew. Especially not since now that I can do this,” Jeremy growled and ripped out of his restraints as if they were made out of thin construction paper.

Dr. Bering made a frantic rush to the door but Jeremy grabbed him by the collar with lightening fast speed and flung him against the wall. The doctor collapsed onto the floor, barely breathing.

Mr. Blake watched all of his in a stunned but slightly amused silence. “Hmm…I guess Dr. Bering was a poor sport, eh Jeremy?”

Jeremy turned to his former boss, hatred and anger blazing in his eyes. “He was just stupid. What about you, Mr. Blake? Do you want to tell me the truth now?”

“There is no ‘truth,’ young man. The project will continue so long as the powers-that-be see fit.”

“What about the blood? When did you know?” Jeremy demanded, prowling in circles around Mr. Blake, who seemed not the least bit frightened.

“When didn’t we? You might have been among the first, but you know that you certainly weren’t the first. We knew with her. It was a shame she had to be put down, though.”

“Put down?” Jeremy asked, the words chilling him to the bone.

“Put down. She realized what you and that little girl did. We burned her, just like we’re going to burn 2702,” Mr. Blake answered, and smiled.

“Why not me, why not destroy me too?” Jeremy asked, knowing that he had to save Danielle before it was too late.

“You are too important to us. The first was just a random girl. You are quite different. You are the fourth, but one of our most promising scientists and mathematicians. You can serve the project as more than just a lab rat.”

“I think you’ve lost your grip on reality, Blake. You’re missing just one little detail.”

Mr. Blake smirked. “And what’s that, Jeremy?”

“You’re not going to make it out of here alive,” he answered and before Mr. Blake could react Jeremy was behind him and snapped his neck like a twig.

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Danielle knew that something was wrong. Even though it was quiet outside there was something stirring. There was a tension in the air and it was making her scared. She hoped that Jeremy was all right. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and tensed up, waiting for something bad to happen. The door was wrenched open and there was Jeremy. He smiled slightly, the relief on his face totally clear.

“Jeremy? What going on?” Danielle asked when the shock wore off.

“We have to go. Now,” he answered.

“Go? Um, how are we going to do that?” she asked and watched as he threw a bunch of clothing onto a sheet and tied the end together to make a sack.

“With this,” Jeremy said and produced an access card from his pocket.

“What is that?”

“Mr. Blake’s ID card,” he answered and pushed the sack into her arms.

“The man in the black suit? How did you get that?” Danielle asked nervously. Something was obviously very wrong here. It wasn’t like Mr. Blake would just give Jeremy the card.

“Would you stop asking so many questions? We’ve gotta go, now!” Jeremy exclaimed and grabbed her arm to pull her out of the room.

“But, Jenna! I can’t leave her!” Danielle pleaded.

Jeremy sighed. “Okay, you’ve got ten seconds,” he finally said, taking the clothes from her and giving her the card.

Danielle smiled and took off in a run down the hallway and Jeremy watched her disappear. Hopefully she would be back before the ten seconds was up. He didn’t know whether or not the alarms had been set off yet, but he guessed that if they were, he and the girls had less than three minutes to make their escape. He wondered what would happen to the project now. He didn’t think it would be shut down but he knew there would be changes. He felt sort of bad that they wouldn’t be able to save all of the people here but his only priority now was to get Danielle out. Heroism would just have to come later.

When he saw Danielle and Jenna appear from around the corner he gave them a fleeting smile. “What the hell is going on? And you moved even faster than me, Danielle!” Jenna exclaimed.

“We’ll explain later,” Jeremy said. “Right now, we have to get out of here.”

The three ran down the hall, and they’d almost reached the door when they were confronted by three burly orderlies. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” one of them asked.

“Leaving,” Jeremy answered, and with a snarl he punched the man out.

The other three burly goons moved to capture Jeremy, Danielle, and Jenna, but they were no match for strength, speed, and reflex their charges. With the guards down, Jeremy simply stepped over them and swiped Mr. Blake’s card. Then they were free.

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“Three of the subjects have escaped? How did this happen?” Mr. Monroe, Head of Special Projects asked. He got up from his chair and walked around his richly carved, antique mahogany desk to stand in front the person he was questioning.

“Only four guards were sent to neutralize them,” Ms Erin answered calmly. Others might be intimidated by the perfectly preserved medieval tapestries and weapons, but she was fairly used to them (spending some time on the velvet couch…with Mr. Monroe) and was not.

“And who gave that order?” Mr. Monroe asked, even though he knew that she had done it.

“I did.”

“And may I ask why?”

“Because nothing would have been able to stop those creatures anyway. Two of them had tasted natural blood. As you know, that only serves to heighten their power. One of them, the male, was also quite important to Mr. Blake, and is still important to the project.”

“Why?” asked Mr. Monroe, realizing that something had been kept from him. His black eyes darkened slightly at the thought.

“He had helped to invent the process. We had also hoped that he would help us perfect it. It seemed that he was going to…until she came,” Ms Erin answered, a frown appearing on her face.

“She?”

“Danielle Johnson, number 2702. His roommate.”

“Did he develop feelings for her?”

“I don’t know, he just stopped cooperating.”

“Colleen, what do you think we should do now?” Mr. Monroe asked, satisfied at this point with Ms Erin’s answers.

“Let them go. But track them. I believe this is a good opportunity to see just exactly what our creations are capable of,” Ms Erin answered and smiled at the look of approval on Mr. Monroe’s face.

“I knew I chose you for a reason…darling,” Mr. Monroe said as he caressed her face.