CROSSING RIVER (B×B×B..) *COMPLETE*

Chapter 21- Tragedy

River jolted around and watched as Brandon dashed towards him and engulfed him in a big warm hug. “You are alright! Where were you? Here? I don’t understand what’s going on here. There’s a freaking boy mermaid downstairs and he was using a freaking tablet! Can you believe this shit! I think I’m really going crazy”, he spoke with his mouth plastered in River’s neck.

River’s eyes darted behind Brandon but he relaxed a bit realising that the boy had come alone, there wasn’t anyone. “Brandon what are you doing here? Why do you look so sick? What are they doing downstairs?”, he started questioning but the boy who had his arms around him, didn’t say anything. Brandon just embraced River, afraid that if he let loose the boy in his arms would disappear.

Olivia was busy with the last clone as she transferred it into the tank then she pushed the clone for the couple’s daughter along with their real daughter and came out of the chamber to see two boy joined at neck, torso and hips. “Brandon, I have to go and meet with my... Meet some people and do some important things. Can you please let go now?”, he coaxed but the boy wasn’t budging instead his hold just tightened.

River was thinking how to move his friend off of himself without hurting the boy but suddenly Brandon’s body twitched and dropped down. River got on his knees with Brandon’s falling body, in shock and panic then he noticed Olivia was holding a needle in her hand, “He didn’t seem like he was in his right mind”, she shrugged then threw the needle and steadied the tank with Siren clone in it.

“That was not necessary... I think”, Brandon mumbled and River watched as the boy on his lap finally closed his eyes. He pulled Brandon aside and placed him inside the clone chamber then with a sigh and one last guilty look, he ran with Olivia to the third floor.

The couple and Veronica had ran after Brandon who had suddenly dashed into the elevator as if he had found something important. When they stepped out of elevator, they saw bodies every where, not dead just unconscious. Three people reached to the clone chamber, Mrs Everett screamed when she found her son laying on the floor while her daughter was no where to be seen along with the clones and Olivia.

Veronica saw the needle sticking out from Axel’s neck and a similar puncture wound in Brandon’s neck. She raised the needle in her hand that was thrown aside, “Looks like your friend’s daughter did all this and took your daughter with her”, she pointed out then her eyes darted to the second elevator which had stopped on the third floor.

“She has someone’s help! How did she make that humming noise? She is in third floor, let’s go there”, she pointed towards the elevator and Mr Everett who was standing outside the clone chamber turned around and Mrs Everett also quickly came out of the chamber after noticing her son had only been sedated and that it wasn’t the voice that made him collapse.

When River and Olivia were about to come out of the elevator, they saw Wayde and Erina standing outside, “Hurry let us head downstairs, I can lock the place like before. I saw them going upstairs to the sixth floor where you guys were”, Erina spoke then got in and pressed the button.
Olivia was dumbstruck, this was her clone! It was talking and walking but how? Only then did she turn to River and other two people with wide eyes. When the boy had come to rescue her, she had just been so caught up in the moment to even notice that it was “River, the boy who should have tails”, and now she looked at other boy who was taller, muscular and very handsome who looked just like subject M!.

“I can explain later, we just don’t have time to catch up”, Erina said who herself was a little nervous. She looked at Olivia this morning who had been prim and proper but right now, she looked like she had gotten caught up in a terrible storm. Makeup all smudged, clothes were wrinkled and her hair looked like it had been pulled hardly by someone.

Olivia swallowed all the questions that were forming in her head as she closed her mouth and nodded with look of disbelief in her eyes. The door dinged and the cramped compartment with two tank, one body in a stretcher and four people slowly made their way out. River rushed out to the room above glass wall cubes and Wayde followed him while Erina helped Olivia with the bodies.

Erina stopped and opened up the box near the room then pressed some buttons, snapped some wires and pulled on some plugs. The lights flickered then dimmed, all the stair exit doors beeped and their lock system turned red. The elevator made groaning sound and stopped, Olivia looked at the clone who did all this and couldn’t help staring.

Erina had given her cells and asked her to make the clone to look like her, so after mixing it with Siren and River’s sample, there was some resemblance. “This was my end game, Olivia. This is who I am, This is me”, Erina said as she heaved a sigh after locking the doors.
“You really are Erina? Is it really you? How? I... How do all of you have legs?? I thought it was not possible yet. They haven’t made any solutions for that, I just.. this is too much to wrap my head around”, she relaxed then tensed as she spoke.

“Come I will show you”, Erina said and pushed the body and tank inside the room. River was sitting beside the tank with relived and exhausted expression while Wayde remained stoic and Riley had his upper body out with tablet in his hands.

“Let’s do this quickly, Riley might have to come out for this. River had a quiet handful night, I’m afraid he couldn’t perform the ritual in this state”, Erina said as she hoisted and placed the couple’s daughter’s body on the ground then took out the clone and looked at Olivia. The lady raised her eyebrow as she was being looked at as if Erina was asking her for something then she realised with a embarrassed smile and took out the needle that River had asked her to prepare.

Erina smirked then took the serum and plunged it in the clones shoulder which made it shake terribly. Olivia’s eyes widened, she thought the needle was for the other body but she could only place her hands on her hurting heart. This was her hard work who was being killed right in front of her but seeing the one killing it was also her hard work, she zipped her mouth and just watched.

River had stood up to help Riley out of the tank but Wayde was quicker than him. The siren forcefully lifted Riley and not so gently dropped him on the floor. River looked at him with opened mouth and Riley just slapped the guy’s leg with his tail which made the man hiss in pain and drop to his knees.

“If you guys are done with that, we are kind of on the clock here”, Erina said as she placed her hands on the comatose body while Riley dragged himself to the middle and firmly held the hands of two bodies then Wayde who wasn’t very keen on helping human stood there with arms crossed, “Lander, not Meras. Not helping”, he said nonchalantly.

Olivia had her eyes wide, questioning herself if she had really heard the siren speak English then she registered what he said which made her narrow her eyes in panic. “Wayde, please. This is for the family who is waiting for their daughter to wake up. You really don’t want to crush their hope, do you?”, River asked then when the guy just looked at him with no change in his expression, he walked to the clone.

“I will do it myself”, he said but was stopped by Wayde who narrowed his eyes at him, “Not right, her state is lander fault not Meras. We can kill her”, he explained what he meant. River realized the meaning and looked at Erina who seems to have registered it too, “Shit! I didn’t think of that! Her soul is definitely not in same vibrations as us since she has been like this for years and also, I believe she became like this by getting in a car accident. We have to try though, there’s no time”, she said.

Wayde sighed then crouched down and placed his hands on the heart of the clone after watching Erina’s hands position. All of them watched Erina who took a deep breathe and gave a nod then hummed, Riley followed and so did Wayde. River stood by Olivia and took her to the corner then whispered into her ear, describing what was happening.

Olivia couldn’t believe it but her proof was right in front of her humming, making very soothing and scary melody. Three people stood in front of the screen in Erina’s office and watched what was happening downstairs. They all looked doubtful and weary, “Make the elevator work right now! This is stupid! I can’t believe she thinks singing can bring our daughter back! That man just said something about it not working on her because she is lander? What does that mean?”, Mr Everett asked perplexed.

Veronica quickly pressed all the buttons she could to open the staircase doors while Mrs Everett kept her eyes on the clone who was supposed to wake up. She could only hope, that was all she could do. Her body jolted when the humming stopped and all three people removed their hands and sat flat on the ground looking exhausted.

Three people had their eyes focused on the clone when Olivia asked, “River said it took you an hour to wake up? Do you remember what happened, did you feel anything?”, now seven pairs of eyes looked at Erina, “I... I don’t remember anything other than closing my eyes on my previous body and waking up in the new one with pain in my heart. It took me a while to get used to the body too”, she answered.
“What do you think will happen in her case? Have you ever heard of such rituals being performed in humans?”, River asked as he helped Riley go back inside the tank. Erina shook her head.

“No, I have never heard of such things. For us this is done as a curse, trapping the criminals soul in something they would suffer in. So, no one ever did things that would be led to such punishment and there isn’t many things known about it. I mean seriously our kinds only focuses on survival, they don’t do research, experiment or study things. Not since we are being pushed further deep into the ocean as humans are improving and searching deep. I’m afraid our future doesn’t seem too bright, literally”, she said sarcastically.

Veronica’s eyes were burning with astonishment. She looked at the twenty something years old Erina who should have been forty. She was strong, young and a Siren who could somehow turn into human. All of them had turned human then her eyes landed on the last clone of the siren in the tank. Her eyes moved to the side as she watched the couple who were focused in hopes of their daughter waking up.

‘I could do anything I want! I will be immortal! I know all the research, if I made them transfer my conscience into that body, I could go back to Russia and start my own facility, my own Sirens! I could kill who ever I liked and if they cornered me, I could jump into another body or swim deep into the ocean, whenever and however I want’, Veronica thought.

She was holding a real gun which she was itching to use on Olivia since she thought Erina had died and Veronica could have taken over the facility but now the woman was alive and just to honour Erina's help and kindness towards her, she decided to just ask them to put her in that body and let her live her life. A sinister smile formed on her lips.

Underground floor....

Five people sat and waited for the ritual to work then they turned to Erina, “As soon as she wakes up, let us all jump through that hole and into the sea, we can take you to the shore, Olivia and you can take that clone and fly away in the chopper. Those people will definitely open the door anytime soon and take their daughter with them”, she explained the plan.

No one had the chance to reply as they watched in panic when Veronica came through the door, “Surprised to see me still awake? Don’t even try again, it would just be embarrassing. I like what you have done to your whole body Erina. Look, I have been in this shit as much as you have, so all I’m asking is to have what you have. That body and me, do the thing and we can all go on our own ways”, she said calmly with a gun pointed at the group.

“Where are the Everetts? Why did you come alone? We know they are awake too. What are they planning?”, Erina asked as she moved towards Olivia and the clone. Veronica ignored the question and didn’t even try to fake her accent anymore, “Ah River, you found your wish and it is only fair if I got my wish fulfilled. Don’t you agree?”, she asked.

“We don’t even know if that will work. You can die without finding out the answer yourself, do you really want that?”, River asked as he was slightly pushed back by Wayde and he felt Riley held his shoulders from behind. “We can just see if this girl wakes up and we will have the answer. Very simple, unless you don’t want to help me, is that it? You think I don’t deserve being one of you?”, her voice was getting louder as she started getting angry.

Wayde wasn’t having all this chit chat, he marched forward to punch the woman. Veronica turned the gun out and pointed at Wayde, River quickly grabbed the boy and pulled him back with terrified expression. “Don’t come near me, you beast or you will die”, she threatened and looked like she had lost her mind.

“They abandoned me with a disfigured leg back in Russia, you fixed it and helped me that is why I am asking and not forcing but if you all want to use force, I will be obliged to do so myself. Erina, don’t you think that I deserve to have a real second chance in life? I could just go away and never bother or tell anyone about you as it would harm me too but in this state, I will have nothing to lose. I will help the government find more of you and do whatever I want to”, she tried convincing them.

“I tried injecting myself with the new serum but nothing changed, I don’t carry the gene to transform but now you have showed me a better way and you think I won’t fight for it?”, she looked mental as she spoke.

The clone slightly moved on the floor and every one’s eyes watched the movement, Veronica was the most elated out of every one there. “That fucking psychotic bitch killed my parents! River get away from her!”, boomed a heart broken and panicked filled voice through the speakers and everyone felt shiver run down their spine.

Veronica lifted her eyes and looked at River with a smile, “They deserved it for having everything but still being greedy and rude”, she said with a smug. The lady pointed the gun at River then moved it towards the clone who had just opened her eyes and she had only taken few deep breath when it got stuck in her throat as a loud bang resonated in the room and the brain matter exploded from the clone and spread all over River, Wayde and Riley.