Oceans of Red Volume One (3 page)

“If they aren’t, then why do exorcisms work?  Ho
w stupid can you be?  I’m really tired so can we get this over with?”

“Fine.  But before you start arguing, promise to hear me out first.  Okay?”

She nodded.

“I think we need to set off alone.  Just a few days should do it.”

Sighing, she stared at him, but remained silent.

“Think about it.  The side effects from the inoculation would level the playing field.  We go out, just the two of us.  First, you get infected, and I’ll give you the injection.  Then I get infected and you give it to me.  After that, we can go anywhere we want.  We can infiltrate any corporation to get to any leader.  We’ll be as strong as them, we’ll be able to control the link, and they will never see us coming.”

Still quiet, her face continued to show no emotion.

“Well?  What do you think?”

Although she answered softly, her anger was apparent.  “I think you’re an idiot.  What did you think I’d think?  What happens in the amount of time you’re under their control?  How much will they learn about the operation?  Have you thought about any of this at all?”

He smiled.  Raising his eyebrows in a Groucho Marks impression, he flicked at an invisible cigar.  “Frankly
, my dear, you seem unappreciative of the connotations of this endeavor.”  Seeing no smile appear on her face, he continued in his own voice.  “Really, Rem.  What do you take me for?  Of course, I’ve thought it through.  Hypnosis.  We wipe each other’s minds before we go in to the processing house.  Wait for the other to return outside, and wah-la, back to normal.”

She moved, stretching her legs out in front of her.  “What if we don’t go back outside?  We don’t even know what they do in there!  And what if hypnosis doesn’t work?  We can’t possibly k
now if the mind wipe will work after we’ve been infected.  Even those who have been decontaminated can’t always remember what happened while they were infected.  This is a stupid idea.”

H
e placed his hand on her shoulder.  “They’d never see this coming.  They’re used to people fighting back and then turning themselves in.  Many who are tired of being hungry and on the run give up every day.  They don’t know about the serum.  This could work.”

“I’ll think about it, but you swear you will not make one move without me.”

He nodded.

Shaking her head, she repeated, “Swear.”

He looked away for a moment before answering.  “I swear.”

“Good.  Let’s go find Shane.  You know sh
e’s probably worked herself into a meltdown waiting to hear about the mission last night.”

Smiling, he answered, “Yeah, little sisters are such a pain.”

Giving him a small shove that threw him off balance, she replied, “Shut up, Greg.”

***

Fifteen-year-old Shane paced her room, nervously watching the clock.  Six thirty in the morning, and still no sign of her brother and sister.  “They know I hate it when they don’t show up on time.  It’s been hours since they talked to Dad.  This time, I’m really going to give it to them.”  Exhausted, she dropped on the bed.  “Shane do this, Shane do that.  Go here, Shane. Get me one of those, Shane.  Everyone thinks I’m incapable of doing anything at all, but they sure want me doing everything that’s not remotely fun.  This time--”

She jolted
when a loud knock resounded on the door.  Rushing across the room, she jerked the door open.  “Where have you two been?  I haven’t even slept yet!”

Greg entered first. S
mirking, he stopped to peek in the mirror and pulled a comb out of his back pocket.  “Not my fault you’re a dingbat.  You should’ve gone to bed.”

“That’s enough,” Remy said
, following behind him.  Reaching out, she tousled Shane’s hair.

“Hey!  I’m not a kid anymore.  Quit talking like I’m some stupid teenager.”

Snickering, Remy shook her head and dropped on the bed.  “No, you’re not.  You’re a very smart teenager.”

“Well?”

“Well what?”  Greg asked, flashing Remy a conspiratorial look.

Shane
pursed her lips, sat on the edge of the bed beside her sister, and refused to look at either of them.

“Oh, that
well
.  It was completely routine, Shane. Nothing extraordinary happened,” Remy said.

Unmoved, Shane stared at the wall waiting for Greg to report.

Glancing at her face, he looked back at the mirror and continued combing his hair with a wide grin.

Shane exhaled louder this time and crossed her arms over her chest while her foot tapped out a rhythm on the bed frame.

Unable to stop himself, he let out a laugh.  “You’re just too impatient, Tiny.”

“Impatient?  I’ve been waiting most of the night!”

Turning to look at her, he leaned against the dresser.  “Why don’t you just come to the debriefing with dad?  It would save a lot of time.”

Her head cocked to the side and the light tapping became loud thumps.

“Okay, okay, simmer down.  Nothin
g unusual with me either.”

Blue eyes darting between the two, she asked, “And you didn’t have trouble with the new adrenaline shots?  They worked all right?”

The older siblings shook their heads.  “Everything was fine.  No worries,” Remy answered.

Shane allowed her body to fall back in a perfect parallel to her sister and
stared at the ceiling.  “Good, I was worried.  You know Father Christman said there could be side effects.  He wasn’t sure how your hearts would handle it.”

Remy grabbed her sister’s hand and gave it a squeeze. 
“Everything was fine.  My heart didn’t skip one beat.”

“It’s not the skipping that worries me.  I’m more concerned with the stopping.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Greg paced the room.  “The only real issue with the new Dren is the letdown after it wears off.  It’s difficult to stay on your feet after.  I want to talk to Christman about that.  If a fight lasts longer than we anticipate, we could be in trouble.”

Shane sat up
.  “That’s the kind of thing I need to know.  Did you have trouble coming home?  Was your thinking clouded?”

Greg’s head moved from side to side.  “No.  It was fine.  I’d let you know if there was trouble.  You coats need to figure out how to make it last longer.  Think you can handle that?”

Nodding, Shane’s hand covered her chin.  Her eyes glazed over as she became lost in thought.

Re
my repositioned a pillow and laid back on the bed.  Now that her sister was in genius mode it would be a while before she could leave.  While both she and Greg had over average intelligence, they were more brawn than brains.  Shane was a whole different animal.  At ten, she’d graduated from high school and started taking college level courses.  Now fifteen, she worked closely with the scientists and lab technicians they had acquired.  Her specialty was biochemistry.  If it had anything to do with the body or drugs, Shane was on top of it.  Under the direction of Father Christman, who at one time had been a world-renowned biophysicist, she had excelled in the field.  That wasn’t her only feat though, she had mastered several languages, was proficient in computer sciences, and a complete genius with any type of math.  For Shane, everything was based on logic.

“Earth to Shane.  I’m
tired.  I’m hitting the sack,” Greg said.

Still thinking, she lifted her arm and without looking at him, dismissed him with a flick of her hand.

He chuckled, glanced at Remy, and quietly left the room.

Remy curled in a ball on her side.  She knew better than to leave her sister alone with her thoughts.  If she even attempted it, by the time she reached her own room, Shane would have thought of something, and called to tell her all about it.  The soft sounds of her sister whispering to herself began to lull her to sleep.

***

Remy shot out of bed saturated with sweat.  H
er eyes focused quickly in the dark room.  The blanket that had been covering her lay in a heap on the floor.  Panting, she returned to bed without it.  Tears threatened, but she held them at bay.  She closed her eyes and the red eyes that had awakened her came back into focus.  The face surrounding those alien eyes had been her mother’s.  The voice she’d heard had been hers as well.  “
Come to me, Remy.  Come join us.  The Master will give you everything you ever wanted.  We can truly be a family now
,” it whispered.  And the entire time, the red eyes pulsated and glowed. 

Against her will, her mind brought back the m
emories of that horrible day, playing through each one with perfect clarity.  Three years ago, they still lived in the house she’d grown up in.  They still had school, homework, chores, and dinner.  In that order.  Things were normal.  All three of the children looked like their mother in varying ways.  All three had her glossy raven hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.  Greg had their father’s broad shoulders, heavily muscled body, and height.  But the girls, like their mother, were both small in stature.  None of them could look at each other without seeing Miranda Martin. 

Before that day, she had been the family rock.  Anything that needed handled, she handled.  Bills, shopping, cleaning, skinned knees, and broken hearts were all in her realm of expertise.  Not that she had much choice; their father was in the military.  The few times he did make it home, he didn’t have much to say.  Everything he did was classified.  He wasn’t home that day either.

Remy had entered the kitchen, enticed by the smell of freshly baked cookies.  Usually her mother greeted her with a smile and a hug; this time, she didn’t turn around.  Keeping her back to Remy, she told her to grab some milk and sit at the table.  Worried, Remy did as she was asked.  The cold shoulder treatment only came when one of them was in trouble, and Remy wracked her brain trying to figure out what she’d done.  Miranda kept her head down as she turned and placed a large plate of cookies on the table.  “I want to talk to you about something important, dear.  Something we need to keep between just me and you.  You understand don’t you?”

“Yes,” Remy answered.

Miranda sat in a chair at the table, head down and still not meeting her daughter’s gaze.

“What’s wrong, Mom.  Why won’t you look
at me?  Did I do something?”

Shaking her head, she answered, “No
, dear.  Nothing like that.  It’s something more important than right or wrong.  It’s life changing.  You know what’s going on out in the world right now, right?  The so-called red eye disease and all?”

Why isn’t she looking at me?  What’s wrong with her? 
Remy thought as she answered, “Yes.”

“Well honey, the media isn’t telling the truth about it.  It’s not a disease; it’s something magnificent and wonderful.  It’s a new beginning to a whole new world.  A world where people work together.  A world where daddies don’t have to go off and play war, they can stay home with their families.  Those that have it don’t fight and argue.  They don’t even have to talk to each other.  They can
use their minds.  It’s a wonderful and exciting thing.  When everyone joins up, the fighting and dying will end.  Everyone will be happy.  No more tears, no starvation, no sickness, and most importantly, no dying.  We’ll never die.”

She’d never heard her mother
speak like this before. Something was definitely wrong. Terror set in as she waited for her mother to continue.  Squeezing her eyes shut, hot tears trickled down her cheeks.

“I feel your fear, baby.  I feel it and understand.  But you don’t have to be afraid.  I’m still your mother.  I love you, and I just want you to be happy.”

Remy’s hand slid up to wipe her wet cheeks.  Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to look at her mother.  As her eyes locked on the glowing red eyes, she heard a whisper in her brain, “
Come to me, Remy.  Come join us.  The Master will give you everything you ever wanted.  We can truly be a family now
.”

Her chair fell back with a loud crash as it hit the floor.  Gasping for air, her hands went out in front of her.  “Mom?  Mom!  Stop it Mom!  Don’t--don’t--”

She felt the red eyes bore into her mind, digging, pulling, and probing.  Trying to look away, wanting to shove her out, she could do nothing but stand in pure terror.

“It’s okay.  Just relax and
let me in.  I can help you.  They are already here waiting for entry.  You just have to open to me and then we’ll all be together and happy.”

“No!  It’s not okay.  You’re not my mother!  What did you do with her?”

Miranda rose, and moving around the table, she grasped Remy’s arms in a cold iron grip.  Upon physical contact, Remy felt the darkness inside her mother.  It seemed to seep from Miranda’s pores, trying to infiltrate her skin.  Adrenaline kicked in and she shoved hard, pushing away from her. 

A wicked smile played on her mother’s lips.  “Well if it has to be the hard way, then that’s what we’ll do.”  Lunging, Miranda tried to regain her hold over her daughter.

Remy spun on her heels and rushed to the living room, her mother right behind her.  Turning left, she bounded up the stairs to her father’s office.  Barely having time to shut and lock the door, she rummaged through the desk drawers.  The door held as her mother threw her frail body against it, screaming, “Open this door!  Don’t you run from me when I’m speaking, you ungrateful, hideous child.  How dare you treat me this way?  You’re too stupid to understand what’s going on!”