Beyond the Iris

The Things We Do

I jumped back, startled by her sudden appearance. Even though I couldn’t see her, I knew it’s her by her smell: the faint scent of oranges over an overpowering smell of vanilla. I also knew it was her because she grabbed my throat in her hand as soon as she saw me.

    The Irises jumped into action, circling my mother in a loose ring. None of them attacked, though, because they were unsure about who this woman was, and why she was choking me.  

    “So,” my mother drawled, her slight Southern accent coming out, like it always did when she was beyond angry, “The little she-demon came back. How lovely.” I gasped as my mother tightened her grip. 

    “You caused quite a scuffle with our crew. Luckily, Hunters are immune to your abilities. Otherwise, I’d have another dead soldier on my hands,” my mother continued, gripping my throat tighter with each heartbeat. 

    Trying to draw in breath, I said, “Let me go. I know why you made me. I will never be your soldier.” My mother laughed, a sharp sound like a slap with a metal chair. “Oh, how naive you are, Karlee. You have no idea how much of a soldier you already are. You killed nearly twenty men earlier today. Single-handedly, with just a few kitchen knives. Imagine what you could do with actual weapons,” my mother said, mockingness and triumph in her words. 

    I tried to break her hold on my neck, but her hands were iron, and mine were soft clay, the blood drained out of them. All of my body was dedicated to getting air, though it seemed like that possibility was getting slimmer and slimmer.

    Trevor stepped forward, anger hardening his words to knife blades. “Let her go, or your head will be on the ground,” he said. In his hand, he held a pocket knife. My mother smiled at him, her gray eyes cold and her blond curls never moving.

    “Trevor, Trevor, Trevor. You’ve got such a useless power, don’t you? Walking in dreams. Ha! How pitiful. But you’re an excellent fighter, aren’t you? Your father told me that he tried to train you. Didn’t work, did it? Not until you had need to use it, of course,” my mother said to him.

    My boyfriend flinched, stepping back. My mother smiled at him once more, then turned back to me. 

    “You won’t escape again, Karlee. Project Bluestar has been my life’s work for the past three decades. Your father has been working on another project for most of his life, but his experiments haven’t worked nearly as well as mine. You are the first breed, a new breed of warriors, spies, assassins, and soldiers. 

“Fifty of you are scheduled to be created. Right now, thirty-two have been born, including the nine here. And you, Karlee, will lead all of them. With help from me and your father, of course. As well as Sionic Corporation. We made you, and now we control you.”

I smiled against my mother’s words, my throat constricting under her grip. Her smile faltered, shock etched into her eyes. I smiled even wider, and said, “Little do you know, Mother, that I do not simply see through others’ eyes. I hear their thoughts, feel their emotions, and can break their minds. If you let me go, I’ll let you leave with your sanity.” 

If I thought my mother would be shocked, I was wrong. My mother smiled, tightened her grip, and said, “That’s what I’m planning on.” I must’ve gone unconscious for a few minutes, because when I came to, I was inside.

I knew I was in a lab, because I could smell the disinfectant. I knew I was strapped to a table, because I could feel my wrists and ankles tied. I knew I was in danger, because my father was standing by my head.

I also knew that everyone had gotten away. I knew in my bones that they were across the country, probably back at Trevor’s house. I hoped that they wouldn’t try to rescue me. I knew from experience how much firepower this simple-looking compound packed. I had held one of the guns in my hands when I was six, and had almost shot my father. I wished the bullet had hit him square in the head.