Embers & Ice

Chapter Thirty-Four

"You sick son of a bitch!”

Had the fire not been trapped inside her, Hunter was sure she would have torched Dr. Wolfe to a crisp and happily danced over his ashes. But all she could do was charge at him and be satisfied with the momentary panic in his eyes as he backed up into the corner of the surgery room where he’d been cowering after the demonstration, ducking away from Hunter’s raised fist.

Two Men in White grabbed each of her arms and pinned them hard behind her. One of them was Steel. She was angry enough not to be afraid of him, nor did she notice the pain as he stretched her arms almost out of their sockets. Hunter shrugged hair out of her face and growled at the old man who straightened his coat and reformed that trademark wicked smile of his.

“How could you do that to Benji, huh?” she hissed, wrenching her arms from their grip only to be pulled back harder. “What was the purpose of your little death game?”

Dr. Wolfe undid the cuffs of his coat and started rolling up his sleeves. “The purpose, Miss Harrison, was and always is for research. As I said in the announcement, the subject was tested to his limits. And as you saw in the demonstration, he exceeded any test we’ve ever subjected him to. Benjamin did an outstanding job, and because of his efforts, this company has gathered more scientific minds committed to our operations. Those scientists from The Advanced Genetics Institution were largely impressed.”

“So it’s about recruiting new staff then, because you’re so lacking at the moment.” She glared at the two Men in White, but as always, they remained completely obtuse.

“As a matter of fact, we are presently in dire need of staff, Miss Harrison, but it isn’t your business to know why. Now I have a lot of work to do in preparing for tomorrows demonstration, if you wouldn’t mind-”

“You’re having another demonstration tomorrow?” Suddenly she didn’t feel so brave and relaxed her clenched fists.

Dr. Wolfe switched on a computer monitor and picked up the mouse. “Yes, that was what I meant when I said that Benji was the first test subject. The scientists want to see more of what you can do.”

“More of… of us?” Okay… I might just be sick again. Hunter didn’t want to appear weak in front of the man – if he was even human and not the spawn of the devil – so she lured rage from deep inside her and yanked her right hand from the grip of the other guard. He fumbled with her, but not before Hunter was able to twist around and knee him in the groin. The man gasped out a puff of air and bent over. Hunter started scratching at Steel’s face, but he snatched her other wrist and brought it around across her chest. She now had one arm behind her and one bent around her front. Steel breathed heavily on her neck and Hunter felt sicker still.

Dr. Wolfe stepped forward, his expression deadly, his eyes as black as his soul. “Might I remind you,” he sneered, “that this is not vacation camp. This is an institution of science, Miss Harrison, and I will do everything in my power to better our knowledge of the limits of mutants like yourself, whether it’s testing Benji, or you, or any of the other subjects here. It’s not only my job, but it’s my life. My passion. It’s who I am.”

Hunter wanted to insult him, hell – she was even tempted to lean forward and bite his crooked nose off if she wasn’t so afraid of being poisoned or acquiring some sort of disease, but she refrained herself. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was trying to provoke her. To make her miserable. And so far, he was succeeding.

Dr. Wolfe nodded slowly and straightened up. “I’m not going to lock you in Solitary if that’s what you’re worried about. Circumstances are different now. Things have been somewhat… tranquil around here these past couple of weeks. In fact, it’s been rather like vacation camp, if you ask me. But those days are over. Ends have been met-” Hunter swallowed at the tone he implied, making her fear for Alfie and his absence, “-and I’m very pleased to inform you that, as of today… you and the others will experience exactly what it feels like to be a beautiful freak of nature, on a whole new level.”