Chapter 04: Darkness

Despite my injured state, I made it to the eastern shore of the island in good time. An orange sun was slowly vanishing over the horizon as if sinking into the depths of the sea. Waves topped by white foam crashed against the rocky shore in pounding thunder, spraying water in all directions. One section of coastline didn't reflect the incoming waves; the breakers vanished on contact.

Looking over the edge, I watched a wave flow under the rocky outcropping where I stood. I'd learned from the island map there were caves on the western coast, but I didn't want to use any the defenders already knew about because they might search them. The underwater cavern I'd discovered wasn't on the map, so it was safer than any of the others.

Waiting for the next incoming wave to pass, I took a deep breath and jumped in. The saltwater burned like fire where it touched my injuries, but I growled away the pain and forced myself to keep swimming.

The submerged tunnel widened into a small cave. The angle of the passage was a gradual upward slope, causing the full force of the incoming waves to be reduced to nothing before reaching the cavern. The sound of the pounding surf was still audible, coming through the rock walls in a muted form. Sunlight illuminated the waters and cast rippling lines of reflections across the cavern ceiling.

As I climbed out of the water, I hunched instinctively as the ceiling was only an inch above my head, and the thought of hitting my skull against the rocks made me cautious. Looking behind a sizable boulder, I found a small depression the proper size to stretch out and still be hidden from anyone who came through the tunnel.

I was tired and sore, but I couldn't rest yet; my wounds needed tending, and I had to plan for the possibility of my resting spot being discovered. Although the caves listed on the island map didn't include the one I'd found, I didn't want to wake up with guns pointing in my face because I'd been too tired to take a few precautions.

Carefully removing my camouflage jacket and shirt, I winced in pain as the flexing muscles over my ribs aggravated my injury. I pulled out my knife and began cutting my shirt into appropriate lengths. I started with the longest strip I could manage, wrapping it around my arm and tying it off. Holding one end between my clenched teeth, I pulled with my good arm. Pain exploded in every direction through my right arm as the bandage cinched tight.

Folding a square of cloth into a thick pad, I braced for the agony before pressing it firmly against my ribs. The wound didn't fail to live up to my expectations, and it felt as if my whole side were collapsing in on itself. The saltwater lingering on the material didn't help any either. My pulse was pounding, and my breath came in quick gasps. Holding my left elbow against the pad, I used my right hand to string a line of my cut shirt around my torso, tying it off to hold the improvised bandage in place.

After I had finished binding my injuries, I took a moment to regain control of my breathing and to let my heart slow down. Sleep clawed at my mind, trying to drag me into its painless embrace, but I couldn't stop now. One more thing needed doing.

I removed the laces from my boots. Tying one end of each lace together in a firm knot, I threaded the long strand through the trigger guard on my sidearm. One end of the shoelace I secured in the crevice between two large stones, and the opposing end, I wrapped around a sturdy piece of coral. The entire length of shoelace was stretched tight below the waterline, but my gun was wedged against the rock floor with its barrel pointing to the ceiling. If anyone came sneaking into the cavern, their disruption of the water would prevent them from seeing the bootlaces before tripping over it and firing the gun in warning.

I slowly and painfully put my jacket back on over my bandages. It was still wet from my swim, but I needed the extra layer. Settling into the depression on the cave floor, I curled up in a ball, trying to conserve my body heat. The water on my skin and clothes was already leaching it away, and as night came, the temperature would drop. Outside the protected depths of the thick jungle, the cold ocean breeze would plummet the temperature further. If I couldn't keep warm, I might not survive the night.

***

The automatic rifle in my hands thundered, spewing fire and a stream of metal death from the barrel. A man staggered toward me while screaming; green acid layered him in a gelatinous covering that slowly melted away his flesh as he came closer. I suddenly found myself strapped to a metal table, my former comrade, Clayton, staring down at me.

"You're going to regret betraying us," he told me, his hand stabbing a syringe into my leg.

I jolted upright with a yell, and my voice reflected back from the cave walls. I didn't know if it had been a nightmare or resurfacing memories. In either case, the experience left me unsettled. The waves crashing against the rocky shore outside were drowned out by the thunder of my heartbeat. A cold sweat covered my skin and made me shiver.

From the silvery light coming through the water filled tunnel, I assumed it to be night. The cave was darker than when I'd gone to sleep. I held up my hand, but I could only make out a featureless black shape.

Reaching blindly into my pocket, I felt around until I found a lighter. Pulling it out, I flipped the cover open and thumbed the igniter. A golden flame appeared, but I was so startled, I accidentally dropped the lighter. It clinked against the floor but stayed lit. The reason for my surprise was because my hand had remained dark. Even now, it refused to be illuminated by the flame burning from the lighter.

I held up a hand before my eyes and discovered I could see through my hand as well as through the tinted lenses of a pair of sunglasses. I turned it one way and another, but I could still see whatever was on the other side.

This had to be the power I'd been given by the serum injections. I instantly understood what the military wanted with the serum and the test subjects. Nighttime operations would be spectacular for a commando who could pretend to be someone's shadow. I reached down to pick up the lighter for a closer examination, but my fingers passed clear through as if the lighter were made of mist. I tried again and again; no change. I couldn't touch the lighter or affect it in any way. I put my hand in the fire, feeling an intense warmth, but it didn't burn.

I stood up, looking down at myself in the glow provided by the small fire. My entire body had transformed into the same dark and transparent material as my hand. I decided to reach for something else.

I put out a hand to steady myself against the wall while leaning over to pick up a rock. I almost lost my balance as the wall yielded to the pressure of my hand and absorbed it to the wrist. Standing upright, I pulled back, drawing my hand out of the stone wall.

Curious about the strange occurrence, I touched the wall again. The rough stone felt spongy under my fingers, and with marginal effort, I pushed into the wall up to my elbow. It didn't hurt to have my arm buried in solid rock; only a mild amount of pressure exerted itself on me. I withdrew my arm and flexed my fingers. Everything still worked.

I knew it was risky, but I wanted to find out how far my abilities went. Stepping forward, I walked into and through the stone. The rock closed in around me, giving the feeling of being compressed under a large pile of blankets.

The underground world was semitransparent to my eyes. I could look through the darkened shading of the island and see the ocean waves incoming at eye level and smashing against the clear rocks of the coastline. Trees extended their roots down in a spider web of branching tendrils. I reached out to one, but my hand passed through the root as it had done with everything else I'd tried tonight. The root didn't seem harmed by my hand floating ghostlike through its structure.

I suddenly realized I hadn't taken a breath since entering the wall. I tried to inhale, but my lungs didn't function. Waiting a moment before heading back into the cave, I tested my limits. The customary pulling sensation usually present in my lungs when needing to draw breath didn't come. For minutes I waited, but nothing changed. Satisfied I wouldn't suffocate, I began walking. It took effort moving through the rock and soil of the island, similar to traversing a course through a mountain of gelatin.

I stayed close to the surface as I walked, thinking it might be very bad if the effects were only temporary. If I became solid again, it might kill me instantly. As if triggered by my line of thought, I suddenly rematerialized. The rock imprisoned me, holding me immobile. In solid form, I needed to breathe, but the stone and earth held me like the crushing coils of an anaconda.

Panic made me want to thrash and try to break free before I suffocated, but I knew reckless fear would get me killed before my current situation. I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax. The moment I did so, the pressure around me lifted, reducing back to the smothering blanket sensation I had experienced before. I realized I could change from solid to ghost at will, but I knew it would take practice to trigger it on command. I didn't care about what was required. This was a spectacular advantage, and it would give me the edge I needed to get off the island alive.

Returning to my cavern sanctuary, I walked out of the wall and sat cross-legged in front of the burning lighter. I focused on my hand in an attempt to become solid again, but nothing happened. My efforts proved useless for more than twenty minutes before my hand shifted ever so slightly. Elation filled me, but I forced it down and continued concentrating. The power would be useless if I couldn't control the exact time, duration, and totality of the change.

My focus narrowed to my hand, and it turned solid while the rest of me remained wrapped in shadow. I reached down to pick up the lighter, but my hand slipped back into being ghostly, my fingers passing through it. I sighed and began again.

Two hours passed before I could maintain my focus long enough to pick the lighter off the floor. My concentration lapsed momentarily, but the lighter in my grasp turned ethereal along with my hand. The flame still shone as brightly as before, and it let me understand I could turn things ghost with me.

A flip of my wrist snapped the lighter's cover closed, shutting off the fire and conserving what remained of the diminished fuel supply.

Deciding I didn't need full control of my powers to do a little scouting, I collected my gun from the water trap I'd built. The weapon went shadow the instant I relaxed my focus with it in my hand.

I departed through a wall, walking at an even and measured speed toward the military base. Sliding through the soil as easy as an earthworm, I wasn't slowed down by rough and overgrown terrain as I would've been on the surface.

Although the subterranean complex didn't reach the edges of the island, it was massive enough for me to approach its perimeter in very little time. To me, it resembled an ant colony; individual chambers were connected by hallways and tunnels while elevator shafts stretched between levels, but just like the earth around me, I could see through concrete and steel with equal ease, watching the people moving within.

I stood near the eastern wall of the base, observing the activity. People can sometimes sense when they're being watched, and I wondered if any of those inside could perceive my gaze upon them. While looking the place over, I noticed an entire section that had not been represented on the original map. Set below the bulk of the station, it consisted of narrow corridors and small rooms no larger than a closet.

Angling my walking path downward, I took a stroll toward the lowest level. I found people held inside the small rooms, and heavily armed guards patrolled outside their doors. It was a prison. As I took a closer look at those confined in the cells, I recognized them from the medical research files. They were the test subjects who'd been given the enhancement serum like me.

I wanted to let them loose, but I couldn't risk it at this point. Their files hadn't said anything about their pasts, and they could be criminals for all I knew. Releasing them might cause more problems if they turned on me, and even if they were innocent victims, if they weren't in control of the abilities granted by the serum, they'd be a threat to me as well as themselves. I decided to come back for them later.

Half climbing, half swimming, I ascended upward to the main facility once more. As I arrived, I noticed flashing red lights and a heightened activity level among the soldiers. They were all running in the same direction, so I followed on the outside. Even through the walls of the base, I could hear the muffled sound of their pounding boots and shouted orders.

The running soldiers came down different passages to gather near the front entrance. A woman was being brought in by Clayton. She hung limp over his shoulder, and he carried her unconscious form with all the care one might give to a sack of flour. I couldn't see much from my angle, but when Clayton turned a corner, I caught a glimpse of her flawless white hair; it hung down and obscured her face from view.

"Subject Nine," Clayton declared, handing the girl over to four of his subordinates.