Summer Wishes (Desire #1.5) Page 5

  “He was granted clemency,” Jocelyn said, clasping her hands together in a gesture of hope.

  “I guess being a future dad saved him.”

  “I don’t even want to consider what could have happened to him had he been sent to that field down there. It’s certain death.”

  “How is he going to be transported and where is he being transported to?” Matthew asked.

  “That’s precisely what I was wondering.” Again, that gnawing sense of wrong came to her. It was an odd place for a bus terminal, stranger yet for a train. “We’re on what…? The sixth floor? Who puts a terminal so far from the actual transportation vehicle?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they just have the ticket office way up here and we’ll have to go all the way back down to actually see Jacob leave.”

  “Leave it to Arcadian administrators to come up with that confusing and frustrating idea.” Jocelyn suddenly remembered when Jacob was first banished. No one had transported him out. He had to walk out of Arcadia on his own two feet. Why the special treatment now?

  An Enforcer, tall and wide with menacing eyes, glared at them as they crossed him in the hall.

  Matthew squeezed Jocelyn’s hand as he smiled amiably at the Enforcer. Jocelyn took Matthew’s cue and smiled politely at the brute.

  The Enforcer’s scowl softened into a brief and tight grin, but once Matthew and Jocelyn had passed him by, he halted with the loud stomp of his heels to the neatly tiled floor.

  “What are you guys looking for?”

  Jocelyn felt the hair at the back of her neck stiffen. Her heart caught in a vice of pain and fear.

  “Transportation,” Matthew said matter-of-factly. He sounded as if he roamed these halls on a regular basis.

  “At the end of the hall take a right then follow the red hall. Don’t take the blue hall; that’ll lead you to waste management.” He chuckled his way through a grimace. “Seen any of the ‘entertainment’?”

  “Uh, no,” Matthew said. “We just got here. Um, thanks for the directions.”

  Jocelyn smiled but remained silent, certain her voice would give away just how completely frazzled she was.

  After a quick nod, Matthew and Jocelyn proceeded toward the terminal.

  “That was close,” Jocelyn muttered as she allowed herself to breathe again.

  “Hey,” the brute called out. “What do you guys need with transportation anyway?” He’d turned around and was heading straight for them.

  “Stay cool,” Matthew ordered.

  “I’ve never seen you guys around before and…” He eyed them with suspicion.

  Jocelyn’s hand immediately dampened and she had to work hard to continue breathing.

  “Yeah, we don’t usually come around, especially so late.”

  “I see.”

  Jocelyn looked at his vacant eyes. Other than following orders, he probably could deduce little on his own.

  “And why the exception tonight?” His hand played with the gun belt at his waist.

  Matthew whipped a business card out and held it up to the Enforcer. “Mrs. Stone sent me. She’s rather busy lately and she hasn’t had time to come collect transportation reports. I’ve been giving her a hand, running errands and such and tonight… well, here I am.”

  Jocelyn had to stare at him in disbelief. When had he become such an efficient liar?

  The Enforcer turned his questioning gaze to Jocelyn.

  “My girlfriend thought I was brushing her off to go see another girl, so I brought her along to prove I had real work to do. I thought it would impress her too.”

  The oaf grinned and gave Jocelyn the once over, leaving her skin crawling to places it had never crawled before.

  “There’s one more transportation to tend to and the reports should be ready after that.” The Enforcer spun on his heel and left them.

  “Matthew,” Jocelyn whispered in amazement. “I can’t believe what you just did. I can’t believe you made it look so easy. You were so convincing, so natural, so calm.”

  He grinned and gave her waist a quick squeeze. “See how you need me around?”

  She smiled, happier than ever to have him on her side.

  The hall forked, as the Enforcer had said, and they took the red corridor. At the end of the hall, clearly indicated with a flashing sign was the transportation room. The huge glass doors showed a brilliant white room, almost blinding in its intensity.

  Men were fiddling around, moving like worker bees while women seemed intent over the analysis of a report. Much of the action centered around a table.

  “It looks more like an operating room than a transportation unit.” Matthew halted his advance and glanced at Jocelyn. “You want me to go ahead and take a look?”

  “No,” she said with conviction. “I want to see Jacob. Whatever’s going on in that room, I want to see him.”

  With slow, steady paces they advanced. A worker moved away from the table, giving them a glimpse of a metal object lying atop it. Two tubular shafts were joined together with a spring, a hydraulic system giving it freedom of movement. One shaft ended with an odd looking claw or clamp while the other was bound to a larger encasement of smooth shining metal. Topped with a dome of smoky glass, it made for an enigma.

  “What in the world is that?”

  “Looks like they are building his transportation device.”

  One narrow column sprouted from the large encasement, its extremity a series of small rotating wheels.

  “I think Jacob may have gotten his story wrong. This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with transportation at all.”

  “Give it time,” Matthew said as they came to the glass.

  A sigh of triumph emanated from the gathering around the table and several workers backed away. Four workers took a hold of each side of the large encasement and put the object upright on the floor.

  The large wheels gave it mobility, and the large encasement served as the torso while the joined tubular shafts appeared to have the function of arms, with the claw acting as a hand.

  However, when they removed the glass dome, Jocelyn let out a scream of horror.

  All heads turned toward them as her shouts when on and on. Unable to contain herself, she shrieked helplessly. The sight of her brother, his head, his face, is more than she can bear.

  Gone was his body, gone was the skeletal man Jocelyn and Matthew had seen a moment before in the prisoner’s cells. The only thing that remained of Jacob’s body was his head, and they were staring straight out, glassy, almost frozen. And it was affixed to a hideous robotic machine, much like the kind that was shown in old black and white films that played in Main Street Theater. Like a jack-in-a-box, his head looked like it would pop out on a spring. It was ghastly, it was cruel, some kind of sick joke the Enforcers were playing on the prisoners. Transportation indeed!

  Jacob’s eyes were wide with disbelief and terror as he’d glanced down at a body that didn’t belong to him.

  “What have they done to him?” Jocelyn screamed frantically.

  “Get them,” a woman called out.

  “Come on.” Wasting no time, Matthew grabbed Jocelyn’s arm and yanked her out of her hysteria.

  They ran through the halls, the sound of hard soled shoes following behind. Jocelyn’s logical train of thought slowly made it back to the forefront, digesting what she’d seen of her brother and concocting a plan.

  The loud clip clop of heels behind them faded away. Two quick turns and their silent soft soles had brought them well out of sight of the monsters that had transported Jacob.

  “In here,” Jocelyn said. She pushed open the door marked custodial and they found themselves in a small cubicle filled with cleaning equipment and detergents.

  “You okay?”

  “Jacob…did you see what they did to him?” She couldn’t help tearing up. “Did you see what they did to him?” She repeated again, allowing herself a brief moment of weeping before collecting herself.

  “We can’t hi
de here very long, Jocelyn. Mrs. Stone’s little business card isn’t going to be enough to get us out of this one.”

  “I know, but we can’t leave Jacob behind.”

  “What? You want to go back there?”

  “Of course. We came here to get him, Matthew, regardless of the state he’s in. They may have turned his body into some cruel idea of a robot or automaton, but he’s still my brother.”

  “And how do you propose we get him?”

  Jocelyn looked around, searching for answers. They’d faked being an employee of Mrs. Stone’s. How about being an employee of the transportation department?

  “Here,” she said as she grabbed the large overalls from a hook over the bucket. “Put this on.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “You saw that Enforcer, Matthew. They’re all brawn and no brain. It doesn’t take much to convince them we belong here. Besides, you did such a great job of lying earlier, I’m sure you can be convincing as a janitor as well.”

  “And what about you?” He shoved one leg into the overalls and huffed as he shoved in the other. “Are you just going to sit here and wait?”

  A huge metal barrel was set on a buggy. “The guy probably uses that to clean out all the trash cans. You can push me around in that.”

  Matthew eyed her with uncertainty.

  “Look at the size of this thing,” she said as she walked to the barrel and ran her hand along the rim. “There’s room in here for Jacob.”

  “Okay, we’ll try it your way, but the moment anyone even looks at us funny, we run, you got that?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Jocelyn worked her way into the barrel while Matthew grabbed an old soiled rag and ran it across his face, camouflaging the youthfulness of his face. With a cap on and the old rag shoved in his pocket, they were good to go.

  Out in the hall they were met with silence. Jocelyn stared at the ceiling as Matthew pushed her back to the laboratory where Jacob was.

  “The room is empty, Jocelyn,” Matthew whispered. “Jacob’s not there anymore.”

  Jocelyn stood and gazed at the empty room. “They couldn’t have brought him far, not so quickly.” Her sweeping gaze took in every corner of the room. “Look,” she said slowly, pointing to a series of drawers at the far end of the room.

  “Terminated,” Matthew read.

  “Wheel me in there,” Jocelyn ordered.

  Matthew pushed her up to the glass doors which eased open as they passed before the sensor. The smell inside the laboratory completely contradicted that of the smell they’d endured below. Clean, antiseptic, sterile.

  Certain they were well inside the laboratory, Jocelyn climbed out of the barrel and headed for the wall of drawers. With her fingers on the handle, she hesitated. It was too much like the morgue, and the thought of her brother lying on a cold metal slab weakened her.

  “You gonna look or what?” Matthew said.

  “Yeah,” she said softly. “Yeah.”

  The drawer slid out easily under the light pressure of her fingers. Jacob’s hair, brows, ears brought a sense of relief... his nose, lips, the gaunt cheeks and the once proud chin. It was almost enough to make her forget all she had seen that night, but as she pulled the drawer out further, she was cruelly reminded of the fate Jacob had met.

  His neck disappeared into the metal encasement. Was he still in there somewhere? Did his heart still beat or was he kept alive by the machine he’d become?

  His eyes flew open with one sharp and sudden movement. Startled, Jocelyn jumped back.

  “Jacob,” she said softly. Returning to his side she put her hand to his brow. It was oddly cool, his skin hard and dry. “We’re going to get you out of here.”

  Though wide open, his eyes were void of life. His lids occasionally closed over his eyes in an automatic and robotic fashion, but always pulled back to reveal a vacant gaze. But he was still alive.

  Chapter 8

  “Help me get him off this slab,” Jocelyn said.

  Matthew came around to stand next to her and grabbed Jacob’s upper torso while Jocelyn took hold of his lower extremities.

  “On three.” Jocelyn steadied her grip. “One, two, three.” With all her might, she pulled at Jacob, her effort mirrored in the tension she saw in Matthew’s grip. Jacob didn’t budge.

  “He weighs a ton.” Matthew wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

  Jacob scanned Jocelyn’s face, a hint of recognition flashing in his pupils, a hint of understanding.

  “You’ll have to help us, Jacob.” She put her hand to his shoulder, the cold metal instantly reminding her how little of her brother actually remained. Her gaze dipped to her fingers against the hard steel and she quickly moved them up to touch the warmth of his cheek. “Can you push yourself up and sit?”

  The heavy metal of his torso grated and clattered as he moved. His motions were awkward at first, his arms not quite following the orders his brain gave. When he finally sat up, Matthew and Jocelyn grabbed his torso and twisted him around. The long appendage that served as his legs dangled over the edge of the slab.

  “Come down,” Jocelyn ordered.

  “In a move that came more easily to him than the last, Jacob pushed his heavy weight off the slab and landed on the hard tile with a loud clang. After wobbling precariously a moment, he found his balance and steadied himself.

  “Okay,” Matthew said. “Now comes the tricky part. How do we get him in the barrel?”

  Jocelyn looked at Jacob, confident in his capacity to understand and obey. Though the effect of this new transformation left him distant, he seemed to quickly adapt to his new limbs and their function.

  “Get in the barrel,” she said.

  The large wheels at the base of his legs turned and swiveled and brought him to the barrel. Extending his hydraulic arms out, he clamped down on the edge of the barrel and swung the trunk of his body inside.

  Jocelyn smiled, pleased with the simplicity of his actions. Even in this condition her brother showed his capacity to do anything, master everything.

  “You have to scoot down so no one can see you.”

  Once again, understanding flashed in his eyes. In an instant he disappeared into the barrel. Jocelyn grabbed the garbage bag from a nearby bin, tied it up and tossed it over Jacob. “Ready to go,” she told Matthew.

  They wheeled him out into the flaring light of the hall. An acute beep echoed in the silence.

  “What was that?” Matthew asked.

  Jocelyn peered inside the barrel. A red light flashed on and off at Jacob’s abdomen. “I don’t know. It’s like he’s just been activated.”

  Matthew hurried to push the buggy to the elevator. The doors slip apart the moment he pressed the button and Jocelyn let her breath seep out at finding it empty. Once inside, Jacob beeped again.

  “I don’t like it,” Matthew said.

  “I know,” Jocelyn said as she looked up at the numbers that lit up on their way down.

  The elevator ride down seemed indeterminably long and Jocelyn resisted the urge to press repeatedly on the button indicating the main floor.

  “Finally,” she hissed as the doors parted.

  Their exit caused another beep to sound.

  “Damn it. What in the world does that mean?”

  Jocelyn shook her head. “Every time we cross a threshold….” They were so close to getting out, to getting away. She hated to think something could stop them now. She didn’t want to consider the possibilities of everything going wrong, not now, not when they were on the verge of succeeding.

  To their left a buzz of activity sounded.

  “We’ll have to go this way,” Matthew instructed.

  Jocelyn hurried to elude the group of workers.

  “Stay calm,” Matthew reminded her. “We belong here. So long as you act as if we belong here, they won’t suspect you.”

  She slowed the legs that were itching to run and glanced back at the crew of workers. They seemed oblivious
to the passing of the janitorial crew. Consumed by their coffees, doughnuts and talk of the gory evening, they didn’t even look up at the pair.

  The doors to freedom parted and the fresh night air blew over Jocelyn’s skin, the smell of success wafting to her nostrils.

  Jacob beeped again as they passed through the doors, but this time it had taken on a more urgent pitch.

  “Now we have to move fast.” Matthew headed down the pathway.

  “Hold on. It’ll be easier if we let him wheel himself down instead of having to push him.” She removed the garbage bags. “Jacob, please stand,” she ordered.

  With minimal effort, he stood, flipped himself out of the barrel and stood at her side, waiting for the next order.

  The buzz of activity inside became a flurry of urgency. Jocelyn dared a glance back and saw a group of Enforcers, their eyes frantic and angry, running towards them down the hall.

  “Come on.” Matthew took Jocelyn’s hand and ran from the glow of light.

  “Come on, Jacob,” Jocelyn called out.

  Jacob rolled easily past them, his speed impressive, but the beeping sound became persistent as did the flashing of the red light on his chest.

  “Jacob, stop.”

  “What are you doing?” Matthew asked as he stopped beside her.

  Jacob halted.

  “It’ll be faster if we can ride on him. Look at the platform above the wheels.” She pulled Matthew to Jacob and got up on the platform, struggling for a moment to find her balance.

  “Hold me,” she ordered Jacob.

  He wrapped his hydraulic arm around her, his power underestimated as he squeezed too tight.

  “Loosen up.”

  Jacob maintained a firm but less painful grip on her torso.

  “Come on, Matthew.”

  After a moment of hesitation, Matthew got on board.

  “Go!”

  The sliding doors behind them slipped open and the anger of the Enforcers pieced the night as they shouted their outrage.

  Jacob rolled away, taking on a speed that had Jocelyn holding on for her life.

  His beeping accelerated and intensified. As his wheels sped to the end of the pathway, Jocelyn saw the curb approach. She had to stop him before they all toppled over.