Losing Eight Lives

Epilogue

Catherine turns away from the broken building. The Area 9L headquarters holds too many memories and horrors that civilians should not see. It's locked tight and surrounded by fake "Do Not Enter" police tape. She is to leave it to rot, and hope that no one will find it.

She gets in her car, and turns the key to start the engine. The feeling of being followed haunts her as she pulls out and starts driving to her interview.

All you have to do is tell our story, Phoebe's words spin in her head.

She takes a deep breath. "I will Phoebe," Catherine mutters to herself, "I will."

-=-=-=-

"Gone. All of them," Catherine studies her interviewer with a stern look. "Every single subject that Area 9L started with is gone." She had told him everything. Right from where Phoebe's world started falling apart, to the death of Area 9L itself.

"That's tragic," he responds. He looks down at the papers he holds. "Do you have more to say?"

She does. She has a whole speech planned. But it seems better to tell him from what she remembered, than to recite from a piece of paper. Catherine nods and folds the paper in her hands. "It was like the expiriment was a failure, and the director of it all was sitting in an enormous pile of dept that will never be paid off. She had a dream that humans could live multiple lives. A dream that was made reality, and then was destroyed by itself. Linda was so greedy for money, and was so powered by the new species of Nine Lives, that when it all fell apart right before her eyes, she became mentally ill and was sent to an insane asylum." She pauses. "Maybe she'll wake up one day and have a fake assumption that it was a dream. And maybe she'll get better.

"Carter was put through stimulations which allowed him to experiance near death situations, and Area 9L hoped for a difference in reaction between him and a normal human, since he was aware of his multiple lives. Little did Area 9L know, each stimulation that he was forced through was slowly killing him, until he had one life left. Then, the stimulations scared him to the point of having a nightmare that caused his death. Carter was found dead in his bed. Killed by a heart attack in his sleep the night that the rest of the Nine Lives escaped.

"Becka, Jace, Sean, Cam, Addison and Phoebe came to the conclusion that in order for Area 9L to be destroyed, they had to commit suicide so none of their . . . species was left to be tested on--which for a Nine Life was extremely hard." Catherine takes a moment, and bites her lip. "But they did it. Killed themselves nine times, just to make the world a better place with a better future. And let me tell you," she takes a moment to swallow and pull herself together, "It worked."

The air suddenly seems to stand still, until the interveiwer speaks up. "The Nine Lives wanted the next generation to be normal. Something that they had never experienced. And they were willing to do anything to make it happen." He places a soft hand on Catherine's thigh. "They will be remembered," he assures her.

She nods and watches him smile and stand. "It's been an honor, talking to you. Thank you for sharing your story."

Catherine stands with him and shakes the hand he offers. "Your welcome, but it wasn't my story. It was Phoebe's. And she wanted the world to know about it."

He nods, his smile still sincere. "Well I'm sure she would have really appreciated it."

I do.

Catherine jumps slightly at the new voice in her head. She blinks, but notices no one else seemed to hear it. Instead of looking like a freak on live television, she tries to pretend it wasn't there.

I did it Phoebe. Your story is going to be everywhere, Catherine sighs in satisfaction. I did it.

And out of nowhere the same voice returns.

Thank you, it replies.