Embers & Ice

Chapter Four

The elevator could not have been slower, but Joshua was in no hurry to get back to his apartment. With his arms full of groceries and the irritating jazz music in his ears, Joshua was regretting giving up his luxurious suite to move into room fifty-seven and the lab. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford the apartment upstairs. It just felt so empty without Hunter living in it. There were too many touchy memories.

Besides, living in the trashy room outside his lab – where the furniture still smelled like damp carpet – was the best way to keep an eye on Eli and… the teacher.

Joshua held his breath as he entered room fifty-seven against the pungent smell of age. It had been over two months since Prom, and still the apartment didn’t feel like home. It was, after all, only a front for the lab that lay hidden behind it, just in case the Agents followed him home. No one would think to lift the picture frame on the mantelpiece of the fireplace where the hidden lever was that unlocked the secret coded door revealing his sound-proof, impenetrable laboratory. No one except Hunter.

Still, it was strange to be living in this room, especially when it was so uncomfortably homey. Joshua hated anything comfortable. If it wasn’t stiff, it was cold or modern or disgustingly expensive. That was how he liked it.

Joshua dumped his groceries on the vinyl kitchen bench, gazed at the small apartment and sighed.

God. I’m living in Paul McCartney’s bedroom.

In spite of the smell, Joshua lingered in the apartment for as long as possible, unpacking the groceries and making dinner for two. Yes, for two. Joshua plated up a salad and cold chicken for himself and microwaved a quiche – because he hated using an oven – and stood behind the kitchen bench, trying to force himself to open the lab. Truth was, he didn’t want to face her. Not after yesterday.

Joshua took his time preparing for the cryonics process, and after combining his old research with the new formula from the stone, it took another few weeks for Jennifer Smart to unfreeze. Joshua didn’t expect it to take so long, nor did he expect to actually succeed. He spent countless hours researching, re-researching and then doing so again until he was sure it would work. Even then, he didn’t know for certain.

It was messy at first. As with any revival from cryonics, very advanced bioengineering and molecular nanotechnology was needed. Fortunately, Joshua saved well and had very good connections. Not to mention he could be very persuasive at times.

The worst part of the revival was repairing Jennifer’s tissues. After the fire in the school, her skin was littered with burns, burns that made it that much more difficult to heal the tissue beneath the skin as well as on the surface. He worked very hard to balance the temperature and help her cells regenerate. It would have been easier if the technology was available, but – like always – Joshua was ahead of time.

Jennifer soon awoke. The moment her breathing became normal again and her words formed actual sentences, the screaming started. Some cursing and gibberish that Joshua neither knew nor cared to know was involved. Joshua deflected her attempt to punch him with a flick of his wrist and a spray of ice that froze her arm stiff, but that only made her scream louder. He hadn’t been able to get a single word in to explain why he had frozen her in her hospital bed. She wouldn’t allow it.

Since he couldn’t get a word in, he also couldn’t ask her if she felt any different. He feared she had lost some part of herself, and he didn’t know her personally, so he couldn’t determine whether anything had changed. So far, she wasn’t speaking in Spanish or behaving like a gorilla, so that satisfied him well enough.

He hoped that by bringing her dinner and approaching the situation guardedly, she might actually calm down and listen.

He was very wrong.