Transform Me (A "Shatter Me" Trilogy Fanfiction)

TWENTY-FIVE: THE GENERAL

25: The General

Once the meeting is adjourned, people start shuffling out of the library until only a few of us remain: Juliette, Warner, Kenji, Devin, and myself.  The five of us head to the lab together, and once we’re there, I slip away for a few minutes to change into a loose lab gown before returning to one of the ward rooms where the rest of them are waiting.

             Sliding onto one of the hard, flat beds, I relax and focus on the traces of General Apolinario Rizal’s DNA embedded in my body.  Then I slowly begin to shapeshift.  The minute the process is complete, I open my eyes.  The reactions from Juliette and her two friends range from astonishment to fascination.

             Stretching my arms out before me, I see nothing but taut muscles beneath brown skin.

             “Are you ready?”  Devin, who is already standing by my head, inquires.

             I nod once before closing my eyes again.  Then I feel Devin’s cool fingers light against my temples.  What follows is a strange and uncomfortable experience.   

Devin has the ability to read minds, and this gift amplifies with physical contact.  When she touches someone, she is able to see into that person’s entire past, present, and future plans as well.  I’ve done this a couple of times before, in different bodies aside from my own.  It’s slightly disturbing since it feels like my brain twitches in the process. 

            This lasts for about ten minutes.  After that, I feel Devin’s hands slip away, and all that’s left is a tingling sensation in my cranium. 

            “Well?  What did you find?”  Kenji is the first to speak.

            I open my eyes and look at Devin.  She looks distressed.

            “It’s true that this General Rizal person is the usual messenger of the Supreme Commander, but all conversations are done through yet another messenger, who in turn receives the instructions through electronic transactions.”

            “Did you manage to see the IP address used?  Maybe Gupta can trace the location at least.”  I offer hopefully.

            “I’m sorry, sweet pea.”  Devin shakes her head sadly.  “I couldn’t find anything.”

“There goes our only chance.”  Shaking her head, Juliette utters miserably.  “We’ve come to a dead end.”

            “Maybe we could try another general.”  I force myself to be optimistic.  What other choice do we have?  “Out of the fifty-five, I was able to absorb the DNAs of thirty-eight during that meeting.  We’ll go through all thirty-eight of them.  It’s highly possible that at least one of them knows the real identity of the Supreme Commander.”

             “We could give it a try,” Devin allows, but her face expresses nothing but worry.  “But I don’t think that would be a good idea.  The process may be too much for you and may do irreparable damage to your own brain.”

             “Then don’t go through with it.”  Juliette cuts in determinedly.  “We can’t risk anything bad happening to Hiroko.”

             “I appreciate everyone’s concern, but we don’t have any other options.”  I reason.  “This could very well be our only hope to find out who the real Supreme Commander is.”

             “There must be other alternatives.”  Kenji insists.  “This is too dangerous, Violet.”

             “The brain is one of the most sensitive organs in the body.  Devin is right when she says this procedure could tragically impair your mind.”  Warner adds.  “In this case, the end would not justify the means.  What if none of those thirty-eight generals have any knowledge about the Supreme Commander’s true identity?  This is highly plausible.  When my father was Supreme Commander, I was the only sector leader who knew –  for obvious reasons.  Other than me, only his personal body guards were privy to that level of intel.”