Meteorite Strike (15 page)

People who have the power.
It was Nestor's voice in her head.

What's happening to me?
Sarah asked him. She decided that she liked Nestor a whole lot more than his brother.

The virus
, he explained.
It seems to create a kind of link between anyone exposed to it. And much more besides.

At least for those not put into a coma by it
, Octavio interrupted.
The virus gives us powers. It's different for everyone. Let me show you…

Octavio tossed the cards in the air. He held out his hand and they hung suspended. The cards circled around, picking up speed as they went, controlled by the boy's telekinetic power. His ability reminded Sarah of Louise, although he clearly had greater control over it. The cards started to shoot out in various directions like tiny missiles. One of them grazed her cheek.

That's enough, Octavio! Stop showing off!

Nestor's hand shot out and the cards were thrown against the back wall by a powerful blast of air. The brothers faced each other for a second, eyes locked together in anger. The temperature in the room had dropped by ten degrees in as many seconds and Sarah sensed that it was Nestor's doing. There was a low rumble in the room – like a sound of thunder before a coming storm.

“What's the deal with you two?” Sarah asked out loud, stepping between them. “Did Colonel Moss give you all this stuff? Where are your parents?”

Nestor looked round at her. His face softened and immediately the atmosphere in the room returned to normal. The storm had passed, much to Sarah's relief.

“They didn't survive the Colombian meteorite,” he explained. “Colonel Moss must have told you about the virus outbreak in South America, right?”

Sarah nodded and he continued, “The colonel looks after us now. We travel around, looking for other survivors.”

“I thought HIDRA was supposed to be looking for a cure,” Sarah asked.

“Maybe at first,” Nestor explained. “But then Colonel Moss found out about our powers. The way we communicate with each other. How we can move things…”

Now he wants what we have,
Octavio finished. He swept his arm around the room.
This is what we get in return for…cooperation. If we didn't, Moss would have us in cages. Just like you and your brother.

Sarah shook her head. “We have to get out of here. All of us. You two, Robert. And there are more kids like us in this base. You must know better than me.”

Nestor nodded. He explained that there were six of them in total. At fourteen, Sarah and the Colombian twins were the oldest, while Louise was the youngest. All of them, apart from Nestor and Octavio, were survivors of the meteorite crash in the Australian desert. And all of them were starting to develop powers. Colonel Moss had been careful to keep them apart, separated from one another while his men observed how powerful they were actually becoming.

Sarah listened intently to what he had to say.

When he finished she said, “Look, we can make it out of here if we work together. That's what Colonel Moss and the soldiers are afraid of. Some of the scientists want to help us too!”

Octavio stood and looked towards the door.

I'm afraid it's too late for that,
he said solemnly.

Heavy footsteps approached from outside and Sarah's warning signal went off in her mind. She looked round and backed away as the figure of Colonel Moss appeared in the doorway.

“Stay away from me,” she ordered, concentrating on him.
Take out your gun and toss it on the floor, Colonel.

Colonel Moss smiled coldly and stepped into the room.

“That trick isn't going to work with me,” he replied. “I've had enough practice with Octavio to be able to shield my mind from your type. I was impressed to hear how you escaped from the water tank, among other things. Now you're going to show me what else you can do.”

Sarah looked at Nestor, who couldn't meet her gaze. She turned her attention back to Colonel Moss.

“And what if I refuse?”

Colonel Moss pulled out a chair from the computer desk and sat down.

“That would be a disappointing decision,” he replied, not taking his eyes from her. “Boys, why don't you give us some privacy?”

Nestor looked as if he was going to protest, but Octavio caught his arm and pulled him from the room. As they left, another figure appeared – Major Bright. He stepped inside, then closed and locked the door.

“You have to realize that I only want what's best for everyone, Sarah,” Colonel Moss said, trying to sound reasonable. “Octavio understands that cooperating with me makes sense. I think that he and Nestor are very happy here. Goodness knows what would have happened to them on the outside world. Branded as freaks, maybe. Or made to perform by ruthless people only interested in making money from their talents. You can trust me, Sarah…”

He reached out to touch her hand, but Sarah flinched away.

“I know what you did to Daniel,” she said, unable to disguise the hatred in her voice. “I heard your conversation.”

Colonel Moss winced. Anger flashed in his eyes and Sarah moved away from him on the edge of the bed.

“Eavesdroppers hear no good,” Major Bright said softly from the door, as he traced a finger down the scar on his cheek.

“That really is too bad,” Colonel Moss said with a nod. “I would have preferred to do this nicely. But I guess it's too late for that now.
Major.”

Bright advanced swiftly, extracting something from his pocket as he did so. He placed a restraining hand on Sarah's shoulder and jabbed something into her exposed arm before she could react. She saw him depress the plunger of a syringe.

“What was that?” she asked, rubbing her arm as Major Bright stepped away. A wave of fear spread through her.
Had they just killed her?

“Please, don't be alarmed,” Colonel Moss said, raising his hand. “We've just given you something that will make you a little more cooperative.”

Sarah's vision swam momentarily and she had to struggle to keep her focus on Moss. A strange warmth spread up her arm from where the needle had entered. She knew she was in trouble, but was having difficulty remembering what it was. Her hand slipped off the edge of the bed and she giggled as she tried to right herself.

“I'm not going to help either of you,” she replied with great effort, her voice sounding thick and slurred. “You're murderers…”

Colonel Moss smiled at her and leaned forward in his chair. His face suddenly seemed to fill the whole room. When he spoke his voice echoed through her head. There was no escape from it.

“You
will
help us, Sarah,” he ordered. “Firstly, you're going to tell us what you discussed with Dr. Andersen. Then, you're going to show us all your special powers.”

Sarah frowned at the colonel. Doing exactly what he wanted suddenly seemed like the best idea in the world. In fact, she couldn't remember why she'd ever tried to keep secrets from him in the first place.

“Okay,” she whispered. Her voice sounded as if it were coming from the end of a very long tunnel.

Colonel Moss sat back in his chair and made his fingers into a steeple before him.

“Now, tell me about Rachel Andersen…”

22

“We're going to have to keep you on a tighter leash from now on I'm afraid, Sarah,” Colonel Moss said with sadness in his voice. “We can't have children running around in the dome wherever they want. They might get hurt.”

He stood next to the mirror in her room while a woman Sarah hadn't seen before pulled the bedclothes around her. She tried to remember how she'd got back from Nestor and Octavio's room, but found her memory a blur.

“What happened?” she asked weakly. When she tried to move her arms she found them restrained. She looked down at the bed and saw thick, plastic straps holding her in place.

“Don't be alarmed,” Colonel Moss said, walking closer to the bed. “They're just until I know I can trust you again. With good behaviour, you'll have all your old privileges back in no time. Just keep on helping out with Louise and you'll find me very generous. She and the others are going to need you more than ever now. I'm afraid we're going to step up the Superhuman project. Dr. Andersen isn't going to be holding us back any more.”

“Rachel?” Sarah managed. Her eyelids felt so heavy. She barely registered as someone else flew into the room through the open door.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Colonel Moss said with a humourless laugh.

Rachel kneeled next to the bed and placed a hand on Sarah's forehead.

“What have you done to her? Has she been drugged? Colonel, this is the limit. My people simply won't stand for…”

Moss sighed and walked to the door. “I'll be waiting for you outside, Dr. Andersen. You have one minute before I send my men in here after you. Try not to upset the patient, eh?”

With that, he disappeared. Rachel looked back at Sarah and ran her hands over the restraints. She began to pull at one of the buckles to release it…

“I can't let you do that,” the nurse said from the door. “Colonel's orders.”

Rachel stared at the woman with anger in her eyes, but left the strap in place. She leaned closer to Sarah so she could whisper.

“I'm going to get you out of this,” she said. “Colonel Moss has gone too far. I won't let him hurt you again.”

Sarah felt a wetness running down her cheeks. She realized that she must be crying.

“Daniel…” she managed to say before she passed out once more.

Rachel exploded from the building in pursuit of Colonel Moss. Halfway to his office, she was intercepted by two soldiers – Special Forces. They grabbed her arms, but she pulled away violently.

“Take your hands off me, I'm the chief scientist,” she retorted, rounding on the nearest one. The soldier looked at her impassively.

“Just come with us, Dr. Andersen,” the other ordered. “The colonel's orders.”

Rachel shook her head and continued in the direction she'd been going anyway. On the threshold of Moss's office she stopped to stare at one of the other buildings. Soldiers were carrying out caskets containing the sleepers and loading them into trucks.

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

“Major Bright's orders,” the soldier answered. “The patients are being shipped out. Local services are going to take care of them now.”

“And what about finding our cure?” Rachel demanded, but realized from the professionally blank look on the soldier's face that she was talking to the wrong person.

Inside the office, Colonel Moss was waiting for her. His second-in-command hung around in the corner like a bad smell.

“What are you playing at?” she demanded. “I'm calling Paris. General Wellman will want to know what's going on here.”

She reached for the phone on his desk, but Moss slammed his hand down on the receiver before she could pick it up.

“The general is more concerned about keeping the virus out of Europe than talking to you,” he snapped. “In fact, he's placed HIDRA under full military control. That means your people report directly to me henceforth. The base is in lockdown: no one calls in or out, all network use is suspended until the crisis is over. General's orders.”

“I don't believe you.”

Colonel Moss rose from his chair. “I persuaded General Wellman that HIDRA's main interest should be the remarkable powers of these children rather than finding a cure for the disease. The local emergency services and army can take care of the coma victims. From now on we focus on harnessing the children's power. He's very excited about the generation of superhuman soldiers we're going to create. Even if we have to take those children apart piece by piece, we're going to find out their secret. And replicate it.”

Rachel shook her head. “
Take them apart?
We're facing a global epidemic! General Wellman knows that the cure is our best weapon against the virus…”

Colonel Moss leaned across the desk and looked her hard in the eyes. “Are you calling me a liar, Dr. Andersen? I've had men shot for less.”

Rachel stepped away from the table. “You're crazy, Colonel. I mean, you've lost it.”

She backed into Major Bright, who had moved to block her retreat. A classic pincer movement. Moss flashed an ice-cold smile.

Rachel shook her head. “My people will—”

“Do exactly as they're told,” Moss snapped, expression ice-cold. “In fact, they're already working on a sample of Sarah Williams' blood. You're going to isolate the part of the virus that gives her those powers and inject it into one of my men.”

Rachel laughed in disbelief. “What kind of fool would agree to be infected with the virus? Not even your Special Forces would follow you so blindly.”

Moss gestured towards Bright. “But we already have our first volunteer. So go and make sure everything is ready for the procedure. It would be best for both you and your scientists, believe me.”

Rachel turned and shook her head. “You're both mad.”

Bright smiled and caught her arm.

“You're going to turn me into Superman, Dr. Andersen,” he said softly. “And it had better work.”

23

“Are you going to give us any more trouble today, Sarah?” Mandy's voice cooed from the mirror.

Sarah stared at the ceiling and clenched her fists. She had to bite her lip to stop from screaming.

“Well?” Mandy persisted. “Louise is expecting you.”

Sarah let out a long, slow breath. “No.”

The soldier in the doorway advanced and unbuckled the restraints holding her to the bed. Sarah rubbed some circulation back into her arms.

“How long do I have to be strapped down like that?” she asked.

“Until Colonel Moss knows he can trust you,” Mandy answered. “You see, Sarah, things are much nicer when you cooperate.”