Book: The First - Part: One - Chapter: 2 - Installment: ii

The wet mouth piece shot at her.

Sylvette let all exterior action slow as she focused on the airborne piece of rubber.  To all others in the room it would, as usual, look as if her reflexes were beyond those that any normal human-being had.  While in a sense, that was what was happening, it was also very much not what was happening. A normal person’s reactions happen without a thought. Instinct. Sylvette’s talent came from the ability to allow all action beyond her to retard while she acted at what was, for her, a considered pace. Hyper-time.

She reached forward carefully between droplets of spittle and pulled the mouthpiece out of the air. Then she stepped aside and let the spray pass her by.

Fucking fool. She thought, as she slipped back into the normal time-stream.

She stepped toward him as the technician withdrew the syringe. She grabbed the recruit’s lower jaw as his body began shaking. She tried to pull his mouth open to force the mouthpiece in. The shaking made it difficult, the strength with which his mouth was clasped tight made it nearly impossible.

Half a minute ago she could have overpowered him without a second thought. In a few minutes more she’d be able to overpower him again, once the serum ran its course. But while he was in its throes, he was bound by a violent and unpredictable strength well beyond her own, yet born from the same place.

Without warning, his mouth snapped open and closed again in a flash before she had a chance to adjust her perceptions. When the teeth came back down, they came back down on either side of his tongue, nearly cleaving it in two as it lashed out between them, like a snake. He didn’t even appear to notice as his eyes rolled back into his head. His teeth sawed back and forth. Once, twice, and through the tongue which fell to his lap before rolling off onto the floor. Blood foamed through his teeth and dripped past his chin.

“We’re losing this one!” Sig, the medic in charge of the woman’s transformation, called.

Sylvette looked over to the woman. Her veins were practically bursting through the skin, but even more telling was the dark-purple, almost black, spreading down the length of them like some sort of spectral spider-web.

Best for this one if that’s how he goes too. She thought as she looked back to him.

There weren’t any signs yet, one way or another, but the violence of his shaking did not look to be in his favour. May go ‘N-positive.’ She thought as she stepped around to the third recruit – the second male.

Simon. That’s what his name was. She had thought that he had potential. Just one of her talents. The ones she was most attracted to were usually the best prospects.

“His shakes are subsiding. The serum’s nearly fully distributed.” Said the medic in charge.

“I was first, you may recall.”

“Sorry Ma’am.”

Surviving the body’s initial subjection to the serum was beyond anyone’s control. Some bodies could, some couldn’t. This was the part that they couldn’t train them for.  Assimilating the serum was pure willpower. They had told them that much, but there wasn’t any technique beyond the exertion of each recruit’s intestinal fortitude.

“Fight it, Simon. We need you.”

Sylvette looked to the other two recruits. The woman’s body was desiccating at an accelerated pace. Sheldon’s tremors had subsided, he was down to the act of will.  Biting off his tongue would be a severely distracting handicap.

Back to Simon. His eyes opened.

“I want you. Come on Simon.”

He cocked his head as much as was possible in his restraints.

Excellent sign. He understood me.

“We’ve got an N-positive here!” Shouted the medic in charge of the recruit Sheldon.

The overhead intercom crackled with a familiar French accented voice.

“Clear out.”

“This one’s going to make it!” Sylvette.

“I said clear out.”

The technicians and medics headed directly for the door.

Damn it. Why did he have to come and watch this transformation?

Sylvette let all action retard. Before he could get away from her, she grabbed Geoffrey’s wrist firmly and then fell out of hyper-time to normal so she could communicate effectively with the ordinary human.

“Hey!” Geoffrey was startled.

“We’re following this one through.”

“Sylvette!” From the intercom.

“Damn you, Papa. This one’s going to make it.”

“And the other is N-positive.” Crackled the intercom.

“I can handle him.”

“Not for the first few minutes.”

“Just long enough to get this one out too.”

“He’s not finished!”

“He’s going to make it, Papa.”

“And you don’t have a seal ready.”

“Have one ready when we come through the door!”

“Jesus.” Geoffrey speaking up as he put her intentions together.

“Shut-up. Keep monitoring him.”

And she slipped into hyper-time.  Throwing Simon’s restraints aside.

Back to normal time for a moment, “Focus on yourself Simon. Keep fighting it.”

The sound of oak beams snapping as Sheldon’s N-positive reaction peaked.

“Open the door!” She hollered before slipping back into hyper-time.

She pulled Simon over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. As she stood erect she saw Sheldon, or rather what had been Sheldon, stand. He spun around and fixed his fiery eyes upon the three remaining people in the room.

He’s found his way into hyper-time too.  She thought, surprised at the bad luck that allowed him to discover that ability so immediately.

She didn’t stop to watch. She turned, grabbed Geoffrey’s wrist and ran for the opening door.

In only a few steps she felt Geoffrey’s arm pull taut as she overbalanced him. In her haste she hadn’t thought that he wouldn’t be able to keep up – even over such a short distance. She dragged him with all her might as the door in front of her loomed open as she got to it.

One last sudden burst of energy and she was through the door and closing it. Geoffrey was still only part way through the door and scrambling in slow motion to clear the jamb.

In all of one moment his eyes opened in terror as he was pulled back through the door in one fast movement, scrambling for his life. And then the door was shut and the lock clicking into place.

Sylvette fell back into normal time and lowered Simon to the floor.

“Hold on Simon! You’re almost there.”

She looked up into the face of the medic. He held a pair of tongs in one hand, holding onto a glowing metal insignia. With the other he carried a blow torch with which he was keeping the insignia heated to a yellowy-red glow. He looked at her with accusing eyes and shook his head disgustedly.

“Hold him still.”

She laid Simon on his back and pressed her weight down on him.

“It’s going to be alright Simon. This is going to hurt. But it’ll keep you…”

The glowing metal insignia pressed into the side of Simon’s neck. Sylvette smelled the pungent aroma of burning flesh as Simon cried out and thrashed beneath her.

“Hold him! I can’t get it fixed!”

Sylvette jammed her elbow into Simon’s Adam’s apple. He gave out a choking sound and fell limp.

The medic pressed the metal hard against Simon’s neck – low, towards the collar – until the skin boiled around it, fusing it to his body. He released the tongs from the insignia and backed away.

Sylvette lifted herself from Simon and sat back, breathing heavily.

Simon lay still a few moments, then coughed harshly and sucked in a few choking breaths before relaxing into a more natural breathing pattern.

His eyes opened and he looked about himself, confused. Wincing, he raised his hand to his neck – to the still warm metal insignia. He touched it and looked at Sylvette. Into her eyes and then down her cheek to her neck, to the silver insignia embedded in the flesh of her collar.

Chapter 3