Dull electrical hums and whining noises provided a background in the room, no longer plaguing the mind of the occupant of the chamber.  She had the form of a 4 foot 10 inch tall young girl, approximately twelve years old; she sat with her thin arms folded across her chest and her long, dark hair lay draped loosely over her face.

She wore common garb; long, black-denim pants and a sleeveless navy blue shirt with the symbol of Canada embroidered over her heart.  Up to her elbows she wore dark purple, fingerless gloves with triangular holes exposing the backs of her hands.  Her skin was very light in complexion, and her face was still smooth with childish youth, and her body retained blocky features of prepubicency.

“Kaia, please report to the upper deck,” an intercom near the ceiling pealed with a strikingly clear woman’s voice.

The girl looked up and stood, sighing as her bright green eyes opened, “Finally, I get to do something again...” She moved gracefully to the door, opening the door and passing through.

She was in a hallway, walled on one side by a lightly colored wall and a glass panel on the other.  Doors ran along the wall, and the skyline of Ottawa ranged through the window.  Kaia walked in a quick stride to the elevator at the end of the hall, stepping inside and impatiently waiting for the door to close.

When they finally did, Kaia closed her eyes again, leaning against the wall.  An unbidden tear rolled down her cheek, and she brushed it away.  “I can’t do this...I’m not ready yet...Michael...”

The doors of the elevator opened, and she stepped into the command center of Secret Canadian Intelligence Collection and Espionage Agency (SCICEA).  The whitewashed room was filled with desks and transparent, high-tech mapping systems; the far end of the room, a man stood at the head of a conference table with three young teenagers.  He was reading papers while the teens gossiped over mundane events of late.

Upon her entrance, however, all human voices stopped.  She felt the eyes of many upon her, and she walked shamefully to the group, hiding her blushing cheeks, “I’m here, sir...”

“Kaia, I’ll need to talk to you in private in a few moments, but first, I will describe the mission,” the commander at the head of the room spoke in a deep, professional voice.  His flourished, dark blue uniform with polished medals and embroidered honors on the left side of his torso had his name—Kartar Sarat, Commander SCICEA—on it.

He took his small pointer from the table, “Your mission will be in the United States; near the city of Lincoln.  This scientist, Doctor Yomo (the picture on the screen was of a middle-aged man with a ghastly face framed with black hair.  He looked, overall, like a creepy old man) is one of the heads of the Lincoln South Micro Laboratories, and he wishes to defect to us and join Sakuya.  Your mission is to infiltrate ML without being detected, find and rescue the doctor, and return here without being identified.

He looked at them hardly; “He is already suspected of treasonous activities, therefore is not working unsupervised.  If you are found and linked to us, war will result; this must be avoided at all costs.

“Yes, sir,” the four chorused.

“This is your additional information; thank the IGC for this,” he placed a manila envelope on the table, and the eldest of the group took it, “Kaia, please come with me.”

She did as told, standing and following him into his office.  She had been in here before, and she was accustomed to the medals and uniforms on the wall, however, the desk mess was new.  She remained standing, waiting for the commander to speak.  After several seconds, he finally opened his mouth, “Are you ready to come back?”

“Yeah...but I don’t feel any better...” she sighed, closing her eyes and slumping her shoulders, trying to ignore her tears.

“I’m sending you with these three for your support; they’ll help you, and you’ll be fine.”

“I can’t...I’m...”

“You are not at fault for what happened to Michael.  It is regrettable, but you must get up and out.”

“Yes, sir...I’ll try...” she sighed, bowing respectfully.

“Good, go do a good job of it,” he smiled and opened the door, biding her to leave.

~
The boy of the group of three, a fourteen-year-old blonde boy with soft but firm blue eyes, examined a paper of schematics for the South ML building, listening to the murmurings of the others.  When he had finished, he said, “This place is riddled with cameras...” he stood up, and his baggy dark clothing slid strangely along is frail body.

“So...” the older girl examined the biography information of the target of the rescued.  She was taller than the others, and she was typical of a fifteen-year-old girl halfway through adolescence.  Her brown hair was cut short much more like a boy, but her face had a distinctive feminine quality, leaving no doubt to her gender.  She wore tight, black, full body clothing.

"We can do that!  We handle that all da time…we're really good at it!" the youngest of the three spoke in a high, young voice.  She was only a few months older than Kaia and about the same size; she had black, knee length hair braided into two ponytails.  She wore a white sleeveless shirt over a set of green fishnet sleeves and white pants.

"Shut up, Bailey," the older girl sighed, "Now, we've got Kaia with us…"

"So, what?" Bailey stood up and moved around the table to get another piece of information. "She's not bad."

"You do know why she's been here for a month doing nothing," she looked darkly and the younger girl, "Right?"

"Yeah…" Bailey twiddled her thumbs nervously, looking away from the older girl's cold look, "But that wasn't her fault…was it?"

"Yes, it was…be careful how close you let yourself get."

"Adrienne, that's enough!" Bailey spoke louder, "She didn't do anything on purpose. Right, Austin?"

"Whatever you say," he mumbled over his paper.

"See?" she smiled with her backing.

"That doesn't change anything," Adrienne walked away, "She's a cute girl, but that doesn't change anything.  She's still too soft."  Adrienne stepped onto the elevator and disappeared behind the doors.

The door to the office opened, and Kaia walked in a trudge toward the table.  Upon reaching her destination, she sat down with her head in her arms, trying not to notice that she was the center of most attention.  The commander discouraged rubbernecking to the best of his ability, and Kaia felt slightly better as the seconds passed.

"Kaia?" Bailey sat beside her and put an arm on her shoulders, "What's wrong?"

"Bailey…do you trust me…at all?"

"Yeah," she stood up, "I know it was only an accident, and you didn't cause it."

Kaia sighed heavily, "Let's go…"

Bailey supported Kaia to her feet and stood beside her, taking her slowly but surely to the elevator.  Austin gathered the papers and put them back in the envelope, taking it with him and reaching the elevator before the other two.

“Hurry up...”

“We’re coming,” Bailey looked up with annoyance in her eyes.

~

Adrienne hurried through the long hallways of the building, moving steadily toward the vehicle hanger of the compound.  As she ran, her thoughts returned to Kaia and the accident... Hot tears of anger rolled from her eyes and dripped down her chin, but she was too deep in thought to feel them.  The bulletin board of the lowest level caught her eye, and she stopped to stare at it.

Michael’s picture was tacked there, where it had been since the accident.  More tears ran down her face as the memories of the last day he had lived played in her mind, and she punched the wall.  He had been her best friend...her only real friend...her twin brother.  Michael was also tall but thin, and he had blonde hair of short style.

“Adrienne...” the commander’s voice emitted from somewhere behind her, and she turn to see him behind her.

“Sir?”

“I know what you feel, but don’t blame Kaia...she didn’t do anything on purpose.”

“She still killed him!  She still took my Michael away!”

“If you are not ready to work with her in a considerate way, you may request a change of mission.”

“No...move her...”

"That I cannot do," he looked at her with a critical eye, "She must get back into the routine of life here, and I cannot take that away from her based on your wishes.  Understand?"

"Yes..." she sighed weakly, looking at her shoes in embarrassment, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he smiled, "You will depart from here in ten minutes."

~

Bailey and Kaia walked at a decent speed toward the vehicle hanger; Austin, annoyed at their slow speed, had run ahead to find Adrienne and the car.  As the two young girls talked, they discussed happenings of the month since Kaia had been gone.

"I want to come back and help...I really do...but I'm afraid I'll hurt you...and then I'll be worthless..."

"We'll be okay," Bailey comforted, putting a hand on Kaia's shoulder, "Don't worry...we're not helpless!"

"Thanks...that really helps," Kaia pulled an elastic ring from her pocket and examined it with anger in her eyes.  It was beautiful and golden, but it had a small dark marking on the inside, "I'm just now getting myself back together..."

They heard a male voice from further down interrupted their conversation, "Come on, girls!  You can gossip later!"

"We're coming, Austin!" Bailey returned in a heated call, "Be sensitive for once!"  She turned to Kaia, whose eye had sprouted a tear, "It's okay...you know how he is..."

"Yeah..." Kaia replied, and she sped up with Bailey toward the door.  As they approached, they could see Austin with his arms crossed and Adrienne with a set of keys suspended in her slender fingers.

"Finally, you two slowances," she led them into the hanger and to a light blue minivan of medium size, climbing into the driver's seat.  Austin sat beside her in the front, and the younger girls sat in the middle bucket seats.  With learned skills and practiced maneuvers of experienced drivers, she drove out of the hanger and onto the driveway.  The compound was composed of a cluster of buildings with a wall comparable only to a castle wall of old surrounding a large area of gardens and training fields.  The sky of Earth glowed like a blue-iced, confetti cake--somewhat covered in clouds and shining with manmade satellites.

Adrienne drove to and through the gate to the outside and onto a two-lane road with large potholes and cracks providing a natural defense against any trespassers.  She navigated around them with ease and took them along the road to the major North American longitudinal highway, MT91.  This highway had seven lanes in each direction and raised ten feet off the ground; the freeway could be seen for a fair distance, but noises were vastly reduced by a combination of the replacement of fossil fuels and asphalt pavement.

Austin looked back the Kaia, who, with Bailey, had begun to play a card game.  With a brief thought, he looked back and whispered, "She's really cute, but..."

"She's a murderer," she replied," She killed my brother..."

Bailey looked up, "What are ya talking about?"

The two in the front ignored her, but Kaia answered, "They called me a murderer...and they're right..."

"No..." Bailey looked at the pair in the front, "You two're mean!  Kaia didn't want to...it wasn't her fault!"

"Bailey, calm down...I..."

"No!" she screamed, "You're gonna stop hurting Kaia and be nice!"

"I'll stop hurting her when Michael comes back," the statement was spoken in a horribly heartless tone, and Bailey felt as though frozen nails were being pushed into her body.  By this point, Kaia was crying like a small child, and soon, Bailey joined her, bawling in sadness.

The trip continued without more conversation.   Bailey and Kaia calmed down quickly, but tension between the younger and the older only grew in the silence.  By twilight, the lights of Lincoln appeared on the horizon, and personal feelings dampened as their mission approached.  Before the sun had fully disappeared, the building of Lincoln South ML office came into view.

Lincoln South ML worked on the premise of the US Government to develop genetic formulas and perfect them for human use.  Unknown to the public, however, the subjects were children created from gamete harvest of prison inmates and machine surrogate mothers.  The children were genetically altered to grow at an abnormal rate of speed to the age of five, usually within two months.  By the time they reached the physically age of five, they were tested for validity--most of which failed and died.  Valid children became subjects of testing.  The children were kept in cages and learned no human traits and behaved as such.  The ML specialized in the chemical testing phase, thus many children were locked inside.

Adrienne parked the minivan in an alley roughly 100 feet from the front gate, and the four climbed out.  Austin placed a small device from the envelope on the hood of the car and pressed a small button in the center, and a hologram of the commander appeared.

"Greetings.  Adrienne, Austin, Bailey, Kaia; you four are assigned to retrieve Doctor Yomo alive with all due speed.  At daybreak, the factory will be eliminated by an asteroid from space.

Bailey moaned, "What about the kids...?" Bailey asked, but she was cut off.

"The test subjects are not aware of their own existence, and they would grow old and die in less than a year if we rescued them.  They cannot be helped; do not waste your time on them," there was a pause, "I must emphasize the secrecy of this mission.  Do not be seen or recorded under any circumstances.  War will result in you are identified."

The object smoked and exploded, leaving the group to plan.  Bailey spoke first, "Can't we just cut the power and blow up the security room?"

Adrienne ignored her completely, thinking for a moment, "Bailey, what gadgets do you have with you?"

"All of them," Bailey opened the packed bag on her belt, and several cords and electrical objects sprang out.  She grabbed for them, tripping over her feet and falling heavily on the floor.

"Bailey, you are an idiot..." Austin sighed with gritted teeth.

"Sorry!" she sprang up, undaunted.

"Do you have anything that will jam the security cameras?"

"Yeah..." Bailey handed her a small white box, "I'll jam all video signals for as long as the code is scrambled, but most cameras can unscramble it in about a minute."

"Okay...what about a transception radio, "Sure, but I need to put it together," she dug through the unorganized bag and began to take some out, "What's your plan?"

"Austin and you will go in and take the security command room and disable the recorders on the cameras so I can get in."

Bailey handed a small walkie-talkie with a clip on the antenna, "What about Kaia?"

"Oh, yes..." her whisper was cruel, "She can go with you."  She grabbed something roughly from Kaia's belt and held it in her hand.  The electric energy weapon, as it was affectionately called by its user, buzzed as Adrienne armed it, aimed, fired, and missed by a large margin.

Kaia took it back, “What are you aiming at?"

Adrienne sneered, "At the camera..."

Kaia held the gun at arms length in one hand and pulled the trigger.  The pulse of energy stuck the camera, and a spark indicated the disabled status.

Adrienne held the radio to her hear, listening for voices through the static.  After a moment, she heard what she wanted:

"Patrol 8, this is CC.  We've just lost a camera in the northern sector--number 951-AAS--please investigate."

"We're on it."

"Bailey," Adrienne whispered, "Can you set up a hand-held radio jammer?"

"Is that a serious question?" Bailey giggled, "I've been doing that for year!"

"Shh...there's a patrol coming,” she growled, "Do it."

They watched as a group of five men examined the camera; Adrienne heard their response, "It’s only a shorted wire...False alarm...we'll fix it in the morning."

"Gotcha, thanks."

Bailey handed her a small object the size and shape of a ballpoint pen, "Press the button to jam; oh!  Here," she handed each of them a small earpiece, "These aren't affected by the jammer, so we can talk on these."

"Good," Adrienne watched as the patrol disappeared, "Change of plans.  I will stay here and activate the jammers.  You three find and secure the control room."

"Let me do the jamming," Austin said, speaking with a hidden fear.

Adrienne paused, "Fine, push the buttons when I say go."

"Okay, Austin took the jammers and smiled.

"On three, go," Adrienne counted down, yelling the third number and taking off.  The three of them took a running start, and at ten feet from the wall, they planted their hands on the ground and catapulted themselves in somersault motion over the barbed wire fence and landed like cats on the other side.  Quickly rising to their feet, they ran toward the door; Kaia shot and destroyed the lock with ease, allowing Adrienne to pull it open and lead them inside.

Through the building, they moved with great speed, moving south and slightly down.  The halls resembled those of a common hospital, however, open doors allowed the smell and sound of the test subjects.  They caught glimpses of the children in their cages, and each time, Kaia and Bailey felt a tug on their hearts.  The children were locked in groups of ten in small cages; they were dirty, covered in sweat and body waste, and none of them were clothed in any way.  Most were silent, but those who spoke screamed in mindless babble; some slept, others fought.

"Those poor kids..." Bailey whispered, but Adrienne scowled.  Austin's voice in her ear reminded her of the urgency, "Fifteen seconds."

Finally, through three more doors, up four more hallways, and down four steps, the security room door appeared at the end of the hallway.  Kaia and Adrienne opened the door within two seconds, and the older girl darted inside.  With her fists only, she silently felled the two guards in the security room.

"We've got the control room," she said into the radio, "Come, Austin."

"Alright..."

"Bailey, stop the recording of the cameras; then, find the doctor," Adrienne grabbed her arm and thrust her toward the control panel.

"Okay..." Bailey massaged her arm sorely before finding her job.  With three swift hand motions, she disabled the recording capabilities and began the search for the doctor.  She looked at the camera monitor, switching cameras every half-second, taking in every detail of every picture.  After a few seconds, she replied, “He’s in the northeast lab, room 2023.”

Austin emerged from the doorway, and he stood in the background, trying not to be noticed.

“Where is that?” Adrienne looked at the monitor.

“It’s about a half mile from here,” she answered, looking distractedly at the screen.

“Bailey, where are the patrols,” Adrienne waited for an answer, but none came, “Bailey?”

Bailey stared at the screen, “What on Earth is that...Why...?”

“What’s wrong?” Kaia looked at the monitor and was also unable to remove her eyes, “No...”

A girl approximately eight years wandered through the halls, draped in a hospital gown with long blonde hair trailing behind.  They could see the IV lines dragging on the floor behind her.

“Is that a test subject?”

“No...test subjects cannot even walk...she’s from the outside,” Kaia whispered, watching her walk in an abnormal fashion, “We have to get her out.”

“No, she’s not part of our mission; she must be left,” Austin chimed in, but the other three ignored him.

Adrienne stood firm against him, “She was not foreseen in the mission plan, and thus she is a civilian. We are obligated to protect all civilians by law.  Bailey, can you bring up a map of this compound?”

“Actually,” Bailey began to type again, moving her hands at unmeasured speeds, “I can use the camera systems to map out anything moving in the building.  It’ll take a second, but...”

“Do it, girl; Kaia...” there was a pain in Adrienne’s voice, but her prejudice was gone...or at least hidden, “You...you need to be ready to fight if the patrols show up.”

“I am...don’t worry...I’m just scared...”

“Don’t whine, baby...” Adrienne watched Bailey’s hands move.  She looked to Austin, “Are you comfortable with finding that little girl?”

Austin growled, “Sure...I’ll go get her.”

“Thank you,” she returned to Bailey’s side.

“Done!” Bailey sat back and sighed, showing her work to the others.  The screen showed the compound’s floor plan with a blue dot in the northeast lab, a yellow dot in the south, four green dots in the center, and many grouped but dispersed red dots all around the building.

“Nicely done...Bailey, make sure Austin and I are in the clear at all times...can you put this map on the PDA’s?”

“I’ll try, but the radios are still jammed.  It may not work.”

“Try anyway,” Adrienne and Austin looked at the map, noted their destinations and all contrary points in the routes to them, and disappeared.  Adrienne said over the radio a few moments later, ”Austin, if you have not found and rescued the girl before we call abort, do not argue and follow orders.  Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Austin said, irritated.

Adrienne sighed heavily.

Bailey and Kaia were left in the security command center, watching the dots of their comrades move.  Bailey worked on the PDA transmissions, managing to create the desired effect without much difficulty.  After a while, Kaia sat on the floor with her back against Bailey’s chair, “Why is that kid even here...something’s not right...”

“Maybe Spiky Pillow’s information was wrong...but if these kids are aware of their lives and captivity, this place and everyone involved deserves to burn...” Bailey looked down at her, “...and, they will...”

Ten minutes passed, and the two searchers moved closer to their destinations; Bailey and Kaia were silent in the control room.  Bailey was consumed in the monitoring of the other two, but Kaia was idle, sorting her feelings in silence.  She felt something in her heart...something dark...something she could not understand, but something strong enough to draw her to her feet.

“Kaia?” Bailey looked over toward her, but she was too preoccupied to answer, “Kaia?  Kaia!”

~

Adrienne proceeded in a vigilant manner to the northeast labs avoiding all others in the building.  The door to the lab was not guard, strangely enough, but all other laboratory doors were manned by four men.  She knocked softly on the door, waiting for the answer.  When it came, she cringed at his face.

“You’re here...” he smirked, pulling her in gently.

“Yes...but you are not yet safe...” she trailed off at the sight of his lab.  There were chemical vials on the desk, and stacks upon stacks of photographs, videotapes, and drawings filled every corner and cubby hole of the room.  There was a cot under the desk and a gurney in the center of the room; on the gurney lay a young girl, covered in medical instruments and sensors.  Her stillness emphasized the fact: she drew no breath.  Adrienne looked at him, disgusted, “What...what...”

“She survived not the tests and now lies dead.  She has lain here for days,” he looked at the child fondly, but he was drawn away by Adrienne.

“What kind of a perverted pedophile necrophiliac are you?” she grabbed a folded sheet from the shelf under the gurney and draped it over the body.

He smiled, “You should in life have seen her...before her death, she cried and screamed in such pain...her eyes called for death...her face showed the pain of many things...”

“You...” Adrienne gagged a little, but she regained her composure.

“To me, their screams are the most beautiful of music...as their test run, their faces are painted in ways greater than the artists of old...their eyes extenuate despair and horror...torture and death...”

Adrienne had a brief flash to her past...the sight of her father...and his tortures of her.  With a scream of rage, she grabbed a bar from under the bed and swung at him, yelling into the radio, “It’s a ruse!”

He ducked, grabbing her arm, “Now, you are helpless...alone.”

She tried to pull away, but his hands only slid to her shoulders.  She felt his fingers moving in places she did not want them, and she performed a swift spin and drop, pulling away from him, “I will not allow you do anything to hurt me or my friends.”

“You are a little late...you have no choice,” he took her face in his hand, despite her attempts to escape, “You are mine.”  With that, he made a face of glee, pulling her face to his.

A gunshot rang out from the doorway, and the doctor recoiled, stumbling over his cot on the floor, “She is not alone.  Adrienne, get out of here.”

“No, I won’t...I won’t leave you here alone with him...I will remain, Kaia.”

Kaia stepped into view, holding a projectile weapon in her hand, centered on him unwaveringly, “Go take Austin and Bailey out of here; I’ll take care of him, and that girl...291.”

“But...”

“I don’t want you hurt...” Kaia’s eyes burned with a fire unseen before by anyone, “Take them out.”

“You mean not this kid, do you?” Doctor Yomo held Bailey by the back of her neck; her body hung limp and still.
At that moment, the young girl from the screen dragged Austin by his heel in another door, “He is come.”  He nodded to the young girl, “Remain, 291.”

The child stood still.

“Look at Bailey,” Adrienne whispered through the radio, indicating the syringe still sticking in the shoulder of the girl, “She’s been poisoned...we’ve got to stop him...or them...”

Kaia looked at her golden bracelet, which now glowed black, “No...they’re both demons.”

“Demons?”

“Demons,” Kaia looked fierce and angry.

Bailey’s skin was beginning to pale, and Adrienne grew frantic, “Either way, we’ve got to save her.

“Try as you will,” he smiled, emitting a surreal aura, “I am more than you, humans.”

“I may be human, but I am more than I seem to be,” she pulled her bracelet into view, “Turn yourself in and I won’t hurt you.”

“Like you hurt me...” he threw Bailey to the floor, and Adrienne ran to her.  Bailey looked up through clouded eyes, her body shivered in weakness, “Ah...ah...Adrienne...help...”

“Hold still,” Adrienne pulled Bailey’s shirt loose to expose the injection site, ignoring the cries of her friend.  Adrienne held an herb in her pocket, ground it, and applying it to Bailey’s wound.  The resulting moans indicated the effects of the antivenom.

Kaia pulled an ornate pistol--a silver weapon with an expertly-fashioned amber handle, “I will not allow you two demons to live.”

“Ah...I thought your incident with that last time scared you out of it...I was incorrect in my assumption,” he smirked.

“How...how do you know about that?”

Adrienne’s ears caught Doctor Yomo’s comment, “How do you know about my brother?”

“You, his sister, know not...?”

In an attempt to learn the hidden information, Kaia aimed the gun at 291, who had not moved since entering, “How do you know?”

The demon’s eyes briefly flashed fully white, “He died because I put him in the path of fire; I killed him.”

Adrienne screamed, “You!”

Bailey vomited weakly, but she was able to sit up, “What...?  What’d I do?”

Adrienne sprinted across the room with hands clenched into fists, “You killed him!?”

“No...” Kaia moaned, and she watched in horror; Yomo blocked the punch Adrienne and punched her in her shoulder.  The crack of the bones was clearly audible, and Kaia screamed, “You will be put to death!  I will do it if they cannot!”

Adrienne was now bleeding from a puncture wound on her shoulder, but she staggered upright, “You killed my brother...!”

291 now moved, landing catlike in the center if the room between the other demon and the girls.  She spoke, not in the voice of a child, however, a woman of full age, “You will not touch my father.”

Kaia did not blink, but her aim moved slightly, “You cannot survive; go back to the pits from which you came.”

“You are too cliché,” she began to move, but Kaia’s gun dispatched its payload faster.  The bullet hit the demon in her small chest, ripping into and completely blending all organs inside her ribcage.  She flew backwards and landed on the floor, lifeless and bleeding.

“Adrienne, I need help.  I have to use the weapon on him, but I can’t do it alone; I need your help.  Can you get the two here?”

“I’ll try...” Adrienne moved weakly toward Bailey.

“Young miss Kaia, do you think not you can hurt me?  You’re power is useless,” the doctor laughed, ignoring the death of his daughter.

Bailey took Adrienne’s hand and struggled the stand, steadying herself on the desk nearby, “I’m a’kay...”

“Good...go help her...” Adrienne moved toward Austin.

“I will eliminate you,” Kaia pulled the trigger, but Yomo sidestepped calmly.

“I may not have made myself clear,” he pointed his finger at Adrienne, and she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her temples.  Immediately, she collapsed and screamed, rolling in pain.

Bailey ran to her, ignoring her own pain, “Adrienne?  Adrienne!”

“Ahh...” she moaned, and darkness came into her eyes.  She lay still, and the warmth of human life was replaced with the cold darkness of evil.  Yomo laughed silently.

“She’s going to make a great demon, don’t you think...” his sentence was not finished.  Kaia had shot again, and this time, he grabbed his wrist, howling in pain and anger.

Adrienne slowly came back to wakefulness, and Bailey wrapped her arms around her.  Adrienne winced at the pain she felt, “It’s okay, Bailey...it’s okay...”

Kaia looked back, “Hurry, Bailey; wake up Austin, and help me.”

“Okay!” Bailey wobbled, but she moved as best she could toward him.

Doctor Yomo’s blood--thick and black--dripped down his arm, “You have chosen to die by torture.” Despite the cruel inflection, Kaia stood firm.

Bailey shook Austin gently, then roughly, “Austin!  Wake up!”  she then slapped him across the face, “C’mon ya loser!”

Austin remained unconscious, leaving her to smack him again, “Austin; if you’re not gonna get up, you’re gonna die!”  After more stillness on his part, she cried, “He’s not gonna get up!”

“Come to me, then...” Kaia knelt and began to pull something out of the pocket at the bottom of pant leg.  At this point, Yomo ran forward, pushing Kaia off balance and stealing a gun from her.

Time slowed to a crawl, and Bailey was left to watch with no actions to help.  Yomo pointed the gun at Bailey and fired, and she felt a hopeless feeling of failure and impending doom.  She felt a tear in her eye, but proudly facing death she stood.  She heard another gunshot--Kaia disarming Yomo--but it did little to stop the bullet as it approached, and her short life flashed before her eyes.  In a second, everything changed; the bullet was intercepted in the lower abdomen of Adrienne as she jumped in front of the younger girl.  Adrienne landed heavily, trying not to feel the wound as she tried to stand.

“You idiot!” Bailey screamed, stabilizing her as she tried to stand again, “Why’d ya do that?!”

“You are too...precious to...die...especially now...” Adrienne managed, “Help me to Kaia...we’ll help her...”

“Hold on,” Bailey returned to Austin and poked him hard in the stomach, “Austin!”

This, despite earlier failures, succeeded, “Bailey...cut it out...”

“Then wake up an’ help!” she screamed, making his ears ring.

“Shh...I’m coming...” he rubbed his ears, “Is Kaia ready?”

“You’ve no idea...” Bailey sighed, leading him to Adrienne.  The three managed to get to Kaia, who slipped the object from her pant leg--another golden wristband--on her wrist.  The handle of the gun began to glow.

“I see I’ve finally got you ready,”   Yomo smiled,”I’ll just let you kill yourself with that thing.”

“If I must die to rid the world of you, demon, I will,” she braced her feet and aimed.  “I cannot do this alone...”

Adrienne reached forward and grabbed her hands, steadying them, “I will stay with you until it is over.”

Bailey stood on her other side, and Austin behind, “We are here for you.”

“You cannot control a demon weapon,” he laughed, “You will die.”

Bailey heard a slight hesitation, “Kaia, do it!  He’ll die!”

“Okay,” Kaia took a deep breath, “Hold tight.”  She pulled on the trigger and immediately felt the kickback.  It seemed to drain her strength out of her, but the support of her friends kept her in her place as she weakened.

The writhing screams came indicating the pain in Doctor Yomo, “You fool!” I cannot end!  No!”

Bailey’s eyes widened at what see saw; a bright stream of golden light from the gun blasted into his chest.  At first, he stood firm, but now he was wavering.

“You... cannot live...die...spawn of evil,” she panted, and she fell unconscious into their arms.

The demon erupted in white flames, and the body of 291 and the pool of her black blood vanished with a horrible scream, his human body morphed into his demon truth, a foggy black shadow.  As flames enveloped him, his screams became more high pitched, almost electronic.

The gun clattered from Kaia’s limp hands and her weight fell on the three.

Bailey looked back at the demon, but no trace of him remained, not even the air he breathed.  She then looked to Kaia, who looked peaceful and calm; Bailey touched her face, “Kaia?”

She proceeded to roughly shake the younger girl, “Kaia, wake up!  You can’t die on us! Ya gotta live!  Kaia!”

Kaia’s limp form flopped loosely; she made no response.  Bailey screamed, “Wake Up!”

Adrienne felt Kaia’s neck flinching at the coldness, “She’s got no pulse...”

Bailey cried, “No...!”

Ignoring the pain in her shoulder and stomach, she laid the girl down and began CPR.  Bailey watched, chewing nonchalantly on her fingertips.  Cycle after cycle passed, but Kaia did not move.

Bailey now had tears in her eyes; she laid her cheek on Kaia’s, “Please... wake up...”  As Bailey cried, Kaia’s heart began to beat again, and she warmed up, back to life.  She opened her eyes slowly, “Bailey?”

“Shut up!” Bailey swung at the air behind her, “Wake up, Kaia!”

“I’m awake...”

Bailey gasped, looking into Kaia’s eyes, “You’re alive!  You’re okay!”

“Yeah...” the two girls hugged each other, crying.

“You sound weak,” Adrienne whispered.  

“Yeah... that gun is very taxing...”

“We have to get out of here; they’re going to destroy this place,” Adrienne whispered, “Let’s go...”

With willpower born of desperation, she pulled herself to her feet.  The others stood, Kaia and bailey wobbling a little, but the remained upright.

“We’ve until daybreak... don’t ...don’t worry.”  Kaia sighed, breathing heavily, “It’s not...not so hard.”

You three are in bad shape...let’s hurry,” Austin led them out of the lab.  Slowly, they made their way through the building, avoiding the patrols and supporting each other.  After a silent, two hour journey, the door to the outside came into view.  Kaia smiled in her fatigue, murmuring weakly.

“Let’s hurry,” Adrienne took charge again, leading them across the empty fields of the compound.  As they reached the fence, she sighed, “Austin, open this.”

The boy pulled a small device from inside his baggy clothes and used it to stretch a hole in the fence.  The four climbed through and limped back into the alley where the van still sat.

“I can’t go on anymore...I’ve got to rest,” Adrienne collapsed into the side of the car, but Austin helped her in quickly.

Kaia’s faltering strength finally failed her, and she fell to the ground.  Bailey was exhausted, and tears of her fear, depression, and sickness rolled freely unbeknownst to her.  However, her pain did not stop her from kneeling beside Kaia, “Don’t give up yet...we’re almost there...”

“I can’t...I’ve used all I have...”

Bailey screamed, feeling her own consciousness slipping away, “Help get her into the car!”

Austin grabbed Bailey’s arm and almost threw her into the car, “Shut up...”

“Fine...help Kaia, though!”

He sighed in anger, but he knelt and moved Kaia into the car, “Okay?”

“Thanks...” Kaia moaned before falling asleep.  Bailey strapped herself and Kaia into the seats before laying back.  Her body ached from the sudden stillness.

Austin climbed into the driver’s seat and drove north

~

As Austin pulled into the parking garage under their base, the girls slowly awoke from their rest.  Adrienne had tended to her injuries as best she could, but she needed medical attention.  Now, however, the three girls were able to move on their own.

No words were spoken on the way up in the elevator; but, when the door opened on the commander’s floor, the silence was broken.  The floor bustled with activity, but much of it stopped at their appearance.

The commander strode to them, “Report, please.”

Adrienne sighed, “Doctor Yomo and his daughter were demons working for the US Government; they were a plant to kill us.”

“You three look terrible.”

“We were almost killed!” Bailey moaned.

“Okay...Adrienne, by my observation, you did your duty exceptionally well; however, I see your wounds.  I apologize for putting you in the danger Yomo posed, but Kaia saved you.  Doctor Reta, please take her to the hospital floor; do please take care of her.  Do not feel guilty at taking time off--you’ve earned it.”

“Thank you, sir,” she allowed the doctors to lay her on a gurney and rolled her away.

“Austin, your efforts, however, are not to my liking.  You did not attempt to help in several situations, and your handling of their three in their vulnerability is not to standard.”

“But sir, I...”

“You did little to help during the mission, also.”

“Sir, I”

And despite this, you attempt to justify.  You are removed from active duty and will return to training.  You are dismissed.”

Austin stormed away, holding his temper in check.

“Bailey, you are to be commended; you went far above the normal call of duty.  You are improving in your awareness, but you are also injured.  Tomorrow, you will be presented with a medal of honor, but now, go to the hospital floor.”

“Sir, do I hafta?  Adrienne already healed me,” Bailey whined, but she had a smile on her face.

“You do, Bailey,” He looked to her, also smiling, “That doesn’t mean you’ll be in bed the whole time.”

“Okay, thank you, sir,” Bailey bowed slightly and returned to the elevator, tripping on her shoes.  Kaia sighed with a smile on her face.

“You, Kaia...” he sighed, “...I am sorry we thought Michael’s death was by your action.  You were never to blame, and I am sorry for everything you’ve had to go through.  Furthermore, your selflessness in the vanquishing of the demons proves to me that you are ready to return.  You will replace Austin.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You will also receive a medal tomorrow.  Go to your quarters and get some rest...you’re going to need it.”

“Yes, sir,” she turned to, walked to, and stood in the elevator, pressing the buttons for her floor.  When the door opened, she walked in a catatonic state to her room and opened the door.  She took off her shoes and gloves, collapsing into her bed.  She did not even bother to crawl under the blankets.

As she drifted to sleep, she remembered Bailey’s face right after she had been revived...she had been too tired to realize why Bailey was crying.  The bereavement and fear in her eyes stuck Kaia with a sudden feeling...a warm feeling of comfort.  With new reassurance of her importance to others, she fell into a dreamless, restful sleep.