Those are days I dread thinking about. Naomi put those memories out of my mind. Zakar is forcing me to relive them.
“We are what they did to us. We always will be,” Zakar hisses.
One by one, the memories flash through my eyes.
There was my birth. I don’t remember everything. Just bits and pieces. I floated in a large tank, sustained by the nutrients floating through a plastic umbilical cord.
I remember my body growing. A great pain consumed me. I roared and screamed, and tried to pull out my tubes, but the scientists remained calm. They took notes. They gave me sedatives to keep me docile when they needed, and they gave me other drugs to induce rage.
It took me three years to grow to my full size. It takes humans an average of eighteen.
As soon as they pulled me from my tank, I knew the humans were weaker than me.
I thought of a plan to escape Discovery Base, but they moved us to a second facility.
Suddenly, I could move freely. They let me stay in the small observance room.
I waited. I watched. And I learned their habits.
There were others, but I don’t remember them anymore. I can’t recall the sounds of their voices. I can barely remember their expressions or reactions. They are like ghosts to me now.
When they made Zakar, the perfect alien specimen, it was all over for everyone. He was the one weapon they thought they could count on.
He was pure carnage.
It took them a month to harness him in. He resisted most of their drugs. And when given any amount of pain, he took it in stride. All of the abuse just made him stronger.
When they tested on us, I avoided him at all costs. I wouldn’t even look him in the eyes.
The truth was I used to hate everyone. Humans. Aliens. Every damn thing that lived was an enemy, as far as I was concerned.
Eventually, the pain from their treatments weakened me. It was evident I wasn’t like Zakar. I could only withstand so much.
Once that was out in the open, Zakar knew he could take advantage of me. He used my weaknesses to persuade me to team up with him. He was going to get us out of there.
Of course, I had to follow him. But I shouldn’t have trusted him.
Now, I need to find a way to beat him.
I run through the long corridor, lights flashing around my face and body, throwing me off balance. I grab the railing and suck in a large breath. I have to keep moving.
I can’t stop thinking about Naomi. She could be in danger, and I can’t do a fucking thing about it.
It’s tearing me apart.
“I don’t give a damn about the doctor,” I yell.
I can hear his footsteps following mine from below. “They are all the same, programmed to lie for their own good. Programmed to enslave.”
I jump up to a third level, ignoring his words as much I can. “Where have you put the fuel barrels?” I ask.
His laughter reverberates throughout the ship.
“What have you done, Zakar? Tell me,” I say.
I turn left into a second, smaller corridor. I bend and crawl inside. At the end of the tunnel is the escape hatch.
“I dumped the barrels into the ocean,” he says.