Chapter Three

"Let me the fuck out of here! Open the fucking door, you stupid sons of bitches! Let me out or I'm going to rip your throats out with my teeth! I'll fucking bathe in your blood!"

My screams were making my ears ring, but I couldn't give a flying fuck. I didn't even give a shit that my knuckles were bleeding from beating the door. I just needed this door open and my ass to be wherever Thirteen was.

Once the realization hit me, my panic attack turned into full on rage mode. I felt like I was trapped in a cage, and really, that's where I was. My bedroom was a cage. The door was locked, there were no windows, no bars, nothing for me to use to escape. My fury raged on, ignored.

It didn't matter how much I screamed, I realized in agony as I stumbled back and sat on the edge of the bed. They weren't going to open the door for me. This was why they had wanted me distracted today. So they could get Thirteen and get out as fast as they could before I realized what was happening. I felt like a goddamn idiot for not realizing it right away. Of course they would take Thirteen away once they figured out I was breaking into the Oasis wing to see him.

But why did it fucking matter? Why did it matter that we were together? Why was it so wrong to want to be around my brother? Fuck, it didn't even matter that we shared the same genetic makeup. I needed to be around him. I needed to protect him. There was something special about Thirteen. He was a rare breath of fresh air in a world that was absolute fucking shit. He was... innocence and kindness and caring.

He was... my only family.

Horror sank into my very bones at the thought of him being so far away from me. It was a combination of agony and panic. Tears stung my eyes as my breath left me in a panicked gasp as I launched myself off the bed again and went for the door.

"Let me out! You can't do this! He needs me! Let me out! Get me out of this fucking room!" I shouted, banging my fists into the door. Blood hit the door as my knuckles split open. I wanted to scream more, but my throat was growing hoarse after an hour and my body was starting to lag again.

"Let me out!" I tried again, but my voice cracked and died on me. I coughed and stumbled back again. I looked around the room, hoping to find something, anything of use, until I spun in a full circle and faced the door and an idea occurred to me. I narrowed my eyes, then went to the door one last time, slamming my fist into it.

"Let me...!" I stopped and choked before hitting the floor a second later. I curled up into a fetal position, drawing my arms up to my chest. I sucked in a shuddering breath, letting myself hyperventilate a little so I was shaking and dizzy. The sensation was horrible, but I let it play out. It didn't take long for someone to come to the door. I could hear the clinking of locks falling before the door opened and a guardian entered, wearing a long black coat and sunglasses, even though we were indoors.

He looked peeved as he knelt down with a curse, grabbing my shoulder and flinging me around onto my back. I smirked and swung my fist right up into the guy's throat, making him choke and gag, falling forward. I grabbed his head as quickly as I could and smashed it into the floor repeatedly until there was nothing left, but mush. I quickly dragged him further into the room and stripped off his clothes, trading with him and snatching his keycard off its little bungey badge. I heaved him up into the bed and laid him there on his stomach with the blanket pulled over his head. It wouldn't do much, but it'd be enough to throw them off a little.

My heart was racing. There was panic behind what I was doing. Because what I was doing was punishable. What I was doing was against the very reason I was created. I was created as a weapon for the Mother. I was not allowed to have a mind of my own. I wasn't allowed to break the rules.

But at this point, I'd made my bed and it was time to lay in it.

I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it, shrugging in the jacket to adjust it more comfortably as I fixed the sunglasses over my eyes. The clothes were a bit on the baggy side, but not too badly to be noticeable. I slicked my hair back, reaching back to pull the hood of the jacket up over my head. I looked up and down the corridor, pausing as I watched a camera pointed down the hallway in my direction. I inclined my head to it, feeling the corner of my lip pull up in a tight smile before I turned and went down the hallway.

I had no idea where the exit was, I thought grimly as I walked with my hands stuffed into the pockets of the jacket. I passed a trio of other guardians, who all nodded in my direction. I nodded back and kept going, though, slowing as I heard them speaking in gruff voices.

"Sounds like that kid finally shut his fucking mouth," one of the guardians grunted, "I was about ready to kick his ass myself."

"What's his deal anyway?" Another one snorted.

"Apparently they moved a kid in the Oasis wing to the Atlantis chapter. Somehow, the little snot was sneaking over and meeting up with him this whole time."

"Why's he so riled up about that?"

"Who fucking knows? Doesn't matter. We just have to keep him contained until the Mother arrives to deal with him."

"The Mother is coming? Here? Personally?"

"The kid should be fucking honored."

Honored my ass. I wasn't going to stick around and wait for the Mother to show up to torture me, or worse, rewire me. I hadn't heard of it happening before, but I'd heard of it being used as a threat and I was not going to let them make me lose Thirteen. Like fucking hell.

With that thought in mind, I crept through the corridors, avoiding the cameras, but not obviously so. I'd glide by one or two, just so it didn't look awkward, but otherwise avoided them as I sought out some kind of exit. Unfortunately, all I was getting was a shit ton of corridors with signs like canteen, Oasis, locker rooms. Shit wasn't helpful in the least. Wasn't there a code about fire exits or some shit?

I continued down the corridor, slowing for a moment as I heard voices discussing training practice and realized soldiers were making their way back to the barracks. I kept my head down and stalked by the group as they laughed and joked.

I rounded the corner and almost tripped over my own feet when I saw Micah coming down the hallway like a typical freight train. He started to zoom right by me, and I thought I'd get away with this shit, but the son of a bitch was smart and slowed down until he stopped.

"You there," he ordered. I stiffened for a second and started to turn, only for a kid to come running by me to catch up with him. I breathed out a silent sigh of relief as Micah grabbed the kid and gave him a shake and scolded him for being slow as fuck.

I kept going until I reached the entrance to the Oasis wing. It wasn't totally uncommon for guardians to pass between the wings if it was part of official business, so hopefully the cameras didn't find this suspicious.

I entered and made my way around the massive courtyard. It took all of my willpower not to stop and look inside where Thirteen and I had spent hours talking and practicing magic. I swallowed thickly.

I had no doubt Thirteen was probably safe where he was. They wouldn't risk harming him. He was still young, still impressionable. They would probably give him a nice spacious room at the new location, plenty of attention, and his own personal guardian.

But it didn't matter. Just because it was a nice prison didn't make it any less of a prison. And once he reached a certain age, they would start treating him differently. He'd be forced to attend strict training sessions, probably one-on-one, which meant if he fucked up or refused to fight someone, he would be punished severely.

And I'd be damned if I let that shit go down.

I managed to find the guardian lounge after a lot of poking around. The lounge was pretty massive with computers lined up on one side, work stations in cubicles, and the other side was more of a relaxing spot with thick plush armchairs, a television, and a small kitchenette. There were already a few guardians lounging around, a few looking up with a frown of curiosity when I entered, but I paid them no mind, both to avoid suspicion and because I spotted the guardian I was looking for.

Guardian Rae was sitting in an armchair, one leg folded over the other, a file laying open in his lap as he turned the pages, appearing to be almost annoyed with whatever he was reading.

Time to make his fucking day.

I approached him and he glanced up past his glasses, narrowing those beady eyes.

"You need to come with me," I said in a low voice. Rae scowled for a moment, appearing confused, and I wasn't going to stick around to arouse further suspicion, so I grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet, making him curse and protest. Out the corner of my eye, I spotted a guardian going for their walkie set, so I hurried Rae out into the hallway in a spot to avoid cameras.

"What is the meaning of this," Rae demanded, "I have done nothing--"

"Shut your fucking mouth and listen to me carefully" I said, making Rae's eyes widen in realization, "I need you to guide me to an exit and I need you to do it fast, or I'm going to rip your eyeballs out and stuff 'em down your goddamn throat, do you understand me?" Rae's eyes flared and he bared his fangs.

"You can't threaten me. You're nothing, but a--" I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him up against the wall, his feet dangling above the floor. He choked and clawed at me, his fangs still extended and a small drop of something dripping off one of them.

He was a vampire, I remembered Thirteen mentioning. I couldn't remember the type, but it didn't matter. Those fangs had to stay away from me, and if I didn't keep a good grip on this asshole, he'd get away quick. Vampires, no matter the distinction, were agile and quick. He'd slip me fast and attack me with a bite, or magic.

Biting I could maybe handle defending against, but if he had the chance to whip out his magic, I'd be done for.

"I'm giving you one last chance before I kill you and grab someone else," I warned, squeezing my hand on his throat, making him choke and his eyes bulge, "I need an exit. I don't care where it goes, as long as it is out of the compound and clear of people. If you can do that, nod. Otherwise, I'm going to squeeze the life out of you." Rae choked and gagged a bit longer, clearly thinking he could fight me, but he quickly learned why I was so damn dangerous close up. His lips were turning purple, his eyes practically bugging out of his head before he finally gave me a single nod and I let him hit the floor in a choking, coughing crumple.

I stepped back, but not too far so I could still grab him if I needed to. He glared up at me as he struggled to catch his breath. It took him a good minute to finally get to his feet, shaking a little.

"You arrogant little brat," he sneered, "You think they won't find this whole thing suspicious?"

"No, I'm a hundred percent sure one of your friends just called for reinforcements, which is why you better get your ass going or I'm going to pin everything on you," I said, making his eyes widen, "The only reason I was able to get into Oasis is because of you. The only reason I was able to see Thirteen was because of you. It was easy getting in here, but getting to see Thirteen? You let me in to see him. You made sure I could see him." Rae gritted his teeth together and glared at me for a moment longer before he snapped his head to the side to look away from me, adjusting his glasses.

"Whatever. We need to hurry," he growled, then quickly headed for an intersection of hallways. I followed close behind, grabbing his elbow and making him shoot me a dirty look.

"I'm sticking close in case I need to break your limbs," I replied. Rae grimaced, then looked away as he continued to lead me down the hallway. I frowned as I followed close at his side, my hand hovering over his back.

"Why did you let me in to see Thirteen?" I asked. Rae shot me a look, then glared down the corridor.

"Momentary lapse of judgment."

"For five years?" I demanded. Rae rolled his eyes, turning down a hallway, then pausing to grab me and haul me to the side. I almost punched him for it until I realized he was pulling me off to the side to avoid a group of guardians that went sprinting toward the lounge. I frowned, looking at Rae, who pushed away from me and adjusted his glasses and coat before looking at me.

"I was eight when my brother was taken away from me," Rae replied coldly, making me frown, "Maybe I was projecting onto the two of you. Maybe I was briefly insane, or maybe he was... here, somehow, in some way, telling me to help you. Either way, I did it. And fucking shit, it was a mistake."

"And why did they ship him to Atlantis?" I demanded. Rae's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know," he admitted grimly, "When I asked, I was told it was classified. Classified meaning only the Mother has access to this information. And personally, I think it's incredibly dangerous and possibly has to do with the fact that your genetic carriers are there." I frowned.

"What'd you mean?" I asked.

"I'm just taking a stab in the dark," Rae answered, "But I think the Mother wants to get a hold of the genetic carriers used to make you and Thirteen."

"Why? What do they have to do with anything?"

"We only have enough genetic material to create so many artificials," he explained, "Maybe she wants to obtain more genetic material, considering Thirteen is her most successful result, and you the poorest." I winced inwardly at that. I wouldn't say I was the poorest, but fuck, that kind of hurt. Not that it was surprising, considering they'd been beating that same thing into my head since I could remember.

Despite sharing genetic carriers, Thirteen was the most successful artificial the Mother had created. He was created as a baby and was growing just like a normal kid, physically anyway. Mentally, he was smart. So incredibly smart. Above average, honestly. He was strong too, knew how to do even the most complicated of magical spells and tricks at his young age.

Meanwhile, I couldn't do jack shit. I could barely heal myself. When I was younger, they'd poked and prodded me and spent hours testing me to figure out what had gone wrong, and if they'd come up with something, which I doubted, they never said anything to me.

"But it's stupid and dangerous," Rae continued, making me look at him, "You've never met your genetic carriers, but they are very deadly people when scorned." I looked at him warily.

"What'd you mean?" I asked. I didn't know much about our carriers. It was a rule not to know too much about our carriers, otherwise, we'd start to think of them as our parents, and that was a betrayal of the Mother and a betrayal of the Mother was death.

"Your genetic carriers," Rae paused, as if he were seeing something from the past and shuddered before he looked at me, "One in particular is absolutely terrifying. He's destroyed entire armies just on his own. He drank the blood of his enemies, bathed in it. He unseated the Atlantean King. He not only fulfilled an ancient prophecy, but he is touched by the Source itself." I stiffened at that.

The Source? That was the creator of all things. The Source came before anything else in the universe. In fact, the universe itself came from the Source. It was an omni-being with no corporeal form, totally objective.

"He's Source-born?" I asked. That was the first I'd heard of it.

"Not quite," Rae muttered, "But he might as well be. He and his mate, your other genetic carrier, are both touched by the Source, from what I've heard. His mate is a whole other ballgame. They stick together like glue and rule over Atlantis together. Why do you think the realm is so powerful now? Why other realms are dying to make treaties with them? To be against Atlantis is to be against the Source, and to be against the Source is death."

His words unsettled me.

"So... You think Thirteen being there has to do with them? They wouldn't pin him against them, would they?" I asked. Rae slowed down in front of a set of double doors, then turned to face me.

"I don't like you," he stated, making me scowl and his expression became stern, "But I liked Thirteen. He reminded me of... Anyway, if you're going after Thirteen, you need to keep him away from them. Because if the Mother does plan to pit Thirteen against the King, he will die. He will suffer untold agony. Never, ever, fight your genetic carriers, Seven. If you see them, fucking run. Don't stick around." His words sent a chill through me and I stiffened, wanting to ask why he thought they would hurt us, what they would do to us, but he didn't give me a chance.

One second, we were standing together, and the next second, Rae put his arms around me and suddenly we were no longer in the compound. Suddenly, things went black, then spiraled into tunnel vision, nausea swirling in my stomach. The temperature went from temperate to hot and humid. The air suddenly felt thicker and I sucked in a deep breath, trying to get air into my lungs. The smell of antiseptic and metal quickly faded and was replaced with... smells I couldn't describe. Just, sweet smells, so many different sweet smells. My ears started to ring and my mouth went dry.

And then I was surrounded by darkness.