Time Is on Her Side

Confusion and panic set in the moment the lights went down. As the disgruntled voices grew louder, a cacophony that muzzled everything else, Horatia ran towards the two captives, tears rushing down her eyes. In-between the diffused shadows, she saw Alex's head bent in what appeared to be an impossible angle, vitreous eyes facing the lab's ceiling. "Oh God, no!" she screamed. "Alex? Alex! Talk to me! Alex!!"

"Get her away from there!" Lazendorf growled.

Hurried footsteps marched her way as she pounded on her boyfriend's chest hoping to revive him. Next to him, pale as a ghost, was Celeste, also awash in sadness. "Horatia..." she muttered.

Two guards found a way to her, their eyes still adjusting to the forced blackness. One was dumb enough to activate the prod just before reaching her, the trembling light shining a feeble path but also giving away his position. The young hypnotist heard its cracking sound and lowered her head to avoid the blow, a fierce elbow bringing the pain to the man's crotch. The guard took a step backwards, inadvertently hitting his partner with the back of his head. Horatia rolled at his legs and they both collapsed like domino pieces but not before she took hold of one of their weapons.

"Not this time, fuckers!" she said, zapping them to unconsciousness.

"What the hell?" Mr. D said. "We need light in here ASAP. Why aren't the back-up generators up and running by now?"

"Who cares?" she thought, resuming her primary aim. More footsteps were coming her way, but she had the upper hand now. From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed D's silver chair and sidestepped the incoming security officers to prepare her assault. How resistant was that force field of his to a charged electric shock? She switched hands rapidly, the ensuing sparks creating a temporary diversion, and when everyone expected a dash from the right, she appeared from the left, the prod clashing against the energy barrier. The mesh of electricity radiated from the center of the bubble, a luminous bomb growing in size. Once it enveloped the entire field, it exploded sending the two opponents flying to opposite sides of the room. At this precise moment, the back-up power systems came to life, their flickers revealing the full extent of what had just transpired.

Mr. D's chair laid destroyed near the primary console, molten metal covering the floor. Its occupant remained unscathed even after being projected over twenty feet by the force of the blast. Lazendorf was already next to him, checking up on his vitals, while Lana knelt, perplexed, her memories torn to shreds. It was unlikely she would remember any of that unless instructed to do so. The lab technicians hadn't left their spots despite the commotion. As for the still conscious guards, they assumed their positions around Horatia, making sure she wouldn't attack anyone else. Unlike the Super Patriarchy's henchman, she had hit her head hard against one of the translucent shelves behind her, fresh blood pouring from her right ear. Her vision was diminished, a string of blurs in quick succession. Amidst the optical illusions dancing before her eyes, she saw Alex's legs twitch, hope renewed.

"He's alive," she cried. "Oh thank God, he's alive!"

"Not for long," D. remarked as he tried to do the one thing his crippled legs wouldn't allow him to. "Somebody tell me what happened and do it fast!"

"Not sure, Sir," the senior technician said.

"Did those old machines do this?"

The lab coat man tapped the console in front of him, eyes focused on the readings displayed. "I'm running a diagnostic as we speak and no, despite the odd coincidence, they had nothing to do with this."

"Then what? Were we attacked from the outside? Are we still being attacked right now?"

"That's impossible. We're too well shielded for that. No, whatever struck us came from the inside, some kind of localized electromagnetic pulse. I'm picking up some abnormal readings throughout the whole complex. Trying to pinpoint their exact location right now."

"Get a move on. And somebody get me another chair!"

"Right away, Sir," one of the guards stationed outside acknowledged. He didn't bother looking back because if he had, he would have seen something many people would love to forget.

Just like Horatia had predicted, Mr. D's true visage was ugly, grotesque even, a mass of dripping lumps and scars holding them together. It was more of a skin mask than an actual face, an acidic souvenir that not even the best reconstruction surgeries in the entire world could do anything about. What was there was the best money could buy, and the best was a breathing nightmare.

"I knew it," Horatia laughed, eyes still defocused yet more than capable of perceiving the horror before her. It wasn't enough to feel vindicated although it was a start. "No wonder you insist on hiding behind technology. I would as well if I were such an ugly son of a bitch, too!"

"This can't be right," the technician said as new results kept popping on the screen. "The energy differential... this... this is impossible," he mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Lazendorf queried. "Have you found the source of the anomalous energy yet?"

"Yes, I... I think I did, but these readings are off the charts. This amount of energy can't have emanated from there!"

"Emanated from where, damn it!" Mr. D. howled.

"The artifact, Sir. According to the scanners, the energy pulse that took down the lights came from the artifact that appeared in the premises last week."

"Impossible!"

"That's what I'm saying but the numbers don't lie. There's still a faint energy signature all around its protective case. It almost seems like it's building up for another charge, somehow."

"How can this be?"

"I don't know what to tell you. That object still defies all explanations, even more so now."

"It seemed to have reacted to her earlier," Lazendorf noted, pointing at Horatia.

Mr. D's distorted gaze fell on him. "What? And you didn't think that was worth mentioning until now?"

"In my defense, I wasn't in full control of my actions when it happened and it only now came back to me, but I'm almost certain the patterns on the bracelet shifted when she touched the case."

"Oh?" The technician's furry eyebrows twitched. "If that's the case, it warrants an investigation."

"What do you know about that artifact, Horatia?" Mr. D asked. "How did it respond to you and why?"

"I don't have the foggiest of what you're talking about, Elephant Man," she retorted. "I never saw that thing before coming here."

"You're lying! Tell me everything you know and I may still let your loved ones live."

"I know nothing and even if I did, we're way past that 'negotiation' stage, aren't we? Even after I said I would surrender, you tried to kill them. You 're as untrustworthy as everyone else in this sick regime and I've had enough!"

"I decide when enough is enough and not you," he thundered. "You're still a prisoner and unlike the conventions of yore, prisoners here have no rights. Gun!" He motioned the nearest guard.

"Sir, before you do anything rash..." the technician interceded. "We should look into this."

"I will not kill her, idiot, just finish what you started."

D. held the pistol up high and fired.

"NO!" Horatia shrieked when Lana's brains burst from her forehead as if they were pudding. The young girl's lifeless body fell to the floor, "You monster!"

"The correct designation you're looking for is 'superior gender', Horatia. I committed no crime. She was just a servant and all servants are expendable. There are many more women out there to domesticate and control. Every single one of them will be our property and so will you once this is over. Now then, who do I kill next? Your sweet submissive toy or your mother?"

"Kill me!"

"Sir, I must insist..." the technician babbled again.

"Oh, shut up, too!" D. gnarled, firing his way. The shot grazed the man's left temple, leaving a trail of blood on warm skin before hitting the farthest wall. "Useless! All of you!"

"Sir, you're out of control," Lazendorf said. "Let's take a moment to..."

"If you tell me I need to breathe, I swear you're next!"

"You leave me no choice then," the Professor replied, unexpected fist hitting his superior.

"Why, you... this is..." he mumbled.

"... a necessary evil before things get even more out of hand..." Lazendorf hit him again, knuckles bouncing off the tumorous profile. D's jaw slackened, red gums flapping. He passed out right away.

"Did you finally grow a spine?" Horatia provoked him.

"I'm not doing this for you. It's obvious the shock got to him. His erratic behavior was a menace to us all."

"Why didn't you think of that before he shot Lana?"

"I didn't think he would do it. You forget this is the first time we meet face to face? I didn't even know he was..." He looked away from his deformed face. "But why the fuck am I justifying myself to you, anyway?"

"Because you miss being my pet..." the hypnotist retorted, trying to get the advantage again. If she could somehow slip a suggestion to reawaken past triggers then, perhaps...

"Stop right there."

Three more men arrived at the entrance of the lab, one of them carrying a replacement chair. A drone flew above them, scanning the area. As expected, the leftovers of the strange blast left no one indifferent.

"There was an accident," Lazendorf said before anyone asked. He pointed at the fainted Mr. D. "Make sure he gets the proper medical care and we will need a cleaning crew in here, too."

"Sir, this is highly irregular," the head of the guards replied. "We must make a full report and..."

"I'll handle the bureaucracy in due time. We have more pressing matters at the moment. We have identified the cause of the sudden blackout and we must make sure it doesn't happen again, do you understand? Now leave us."

"As you wish," the guard agreed, despite doing it under protest. With subtle gestures, he coordinated the efforts of those under his command and they all vanished into the depths of the complex. Only seven people remained inside: Professor Lazendorf, Alex and Celeste, the primary technician, two guards, and Horatia herself.

"We need to check the artifact's condition right away," Lazendorf noted. "Horatia, you're coming with us."

"The hell I am! Not until you order them to tend to Alex and my mother, too."

"God damn it! Why do you insist on defying us at every turn? D. may have pulled the trigger in a fit of rage but you're the reason Lana is dead, can't you see that?"

Horatia's natural magnetic gaze lit up with uncontained rage. "Don't you dare! You used her to get to me. You use everyone and discard them when they're no longer useful. I defy you because you're not even worth half of what you claim and it seems now you need me. More than ever, you need me. Whatever that thing is, it's scaring you to death, and that's a good thing. I like it when you're scared because scared people make mistakes."

"I'm not scared."

"But he is," she pointed at the technician. "Or am I wrong?"

"I... well..." the man muttered, pearls of sweat on his forehead. "Something capable of emitting such raw power is definitely cause for concern. We're running on reserve power at the moment and it will take a while before all systems are back online. If we get hit by another energy discharge before that happens..."

"... then this whole complex is as good as fried," she led him on.

"That's definitely a possibility, yes."

"Now think about it, Professor..." Horatia gloated. "If indeed that thing reacted to me earlier, and I somehow may be the key for you to understand what it is and what it does, imagine what the higher ranks will think of you if you let their precious Center get wrecked because you're not willing to be more cooperative towards me. I'm not asking for much. Tend to my family. Get them out of here safe and sound and then we'll take care of business. You have my word."

"I'm not sure the word of a skilled hypnotist is any good."

"It's as good as the one of a scheming teacher, don't you agree?"

"Sir, whatever you decide, you better decide quickly..." the lab coat man noted. "Those energy readings are getting stronger. I don't know why we couldn't pick them up earlier but now they're undeniable. We need to go... now!"

"Okay, Horatia, you win this round. You have my word your family gets to live another day if you help us sort this out right now." He gave a signal to the drone hovering outside the main entrance. "Medical team, stat. Get these two safely to our off-site facilities."

The flying sentry buzzed and took off, its orders to be carried out to perfection.

"The events are in motion. Let's go, Horatia."

The hypnotist got up, her normal vision returning. The guards tried to restrain her motions, but she dodged them to touch Alex and her mother one last time. He was barely breathing and his right arm laid covered by horrible burns. Celeste fared a little better for she hadn't been the subject of the strongest discharges yet she wasn't as young as she used to be, and the torture device could still trigger unforeseen ill effects. Horatia kissed her right cheek and backed away, her resolve strengthened by yet another ordeal. The medical team was already rushing to get them when she left the lab with the other men.

It was weird going back to that room and look at the uncanny object once more. So much had happened in so little time it felt like another life, another universe parallel to her own, one where everything bad destined to happen, would happen no matter what. As she stared at the strange fusion of a pocket watch and bracelet, its runic inscriptions glowing with power, Lana's lifeless expression haunted her. She didn't believe in ghosts and yet hers would always be around, the best friend she had failed to protect, the first person to die because of her.

Yes, because of her. As horrible as it was to admit, Lazendorf had a point. While natural and a core part of who she was, her defiance had been the catalyst for most of her miseries. Her beliefs were strong, and she felt compelled to live by them but the fabric of reality hang on a delicate balance between submission and control. Had she been more careful, less brash, they probably would have still come after her, but the consequences wouldn't have been so severe.

She thought of Lana's parents, too. Though they had sold their daughter to the Super Patriarchy, surely they didn't expect her to die such a horrible death right after being converted. What would the bastards tell them? Would they even know what had just happened or would they carry on their lives as if they never had a daughter to begin with? Her mother was still fertile, she could bear another child, perhaps a boy to indoctrinate this time around, or another girl to learn pathetic oaths of allegiance to a festering cesspool masquerading as government. Both scenarios were plausible and horrible. What kind of world allowed them to be?

The technician's pleas interrupted her daydreams as he stared at a red screen tablet.

"Okay, Horatia, please tell us what you did last time."

"I did nothing special," she recalled. "I looked at it and touched the case. It was cold. Ice cold."

"Cold? Every recorded reading shows that the temperature has remained stable at 88°f."

"It was definitely hot when I touched it before," Lazendorf remarked.

"Interesting. I'm looking at the logs right now and can't find any fluctuations. Can you please do what you did before to see if the readings change?"

"I guess." The hypnotist cocked her head, the patterns on the bracelet revolving around themselves for a fraction of a second. "There, did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Those symbols became something else just now."

"I didn't see a thing," the technician said. "Sir, did you?"

"Not this time," Lazendorf leaned against the case. The energy pulsing inside raised the hairs of his arms and legs.

Horatia looked at it from another angle, trying to commit any discrepancy to memory. At the second time around, nothing changed.

"That's weird, I know what I saw."

"Light refraction, perhaps?" the technician suggested.

"Perhaps but it felt like something else," Horatia reached for the corners of the case, touched the edge. It was smooth, yet wintry, no warmth to be seen. "It's cold again."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"You're right, it doesn't. What are you?" she asked to herself, inquisitive eyes studying every nook and cranny. Then she looked at Lazendorf. "I remember you said it simply appeared here, right?"

"According to the security feed, yes." Lazendorf replied.

"I would like to see those images."

"And how's that going to help?"

"I don't know yet. I would just like to see them. Can you arrange that?"

"Assuming the back-up power is running at the Archives, I think so. Let me check."

As he made a call to another section of the complex, Horatia pulled a chair and sat, looking at the artifact. At eye level, the patterns whirled once more, but she kept this information to herself. The technician continued to study the energy readings that now increased at a slow, but steady pace. Whether it was the residual charge building up on its own or a direct consequence of her presence in the room was something he couldn't determine for real. He could however, use this data to predict the next outburst.

"If these numbers are right, we have about twenty minutes before this thing unleashes another wave."

"How long will it take to get it out of here if needed be?" Horatia asked.

"Ten minutes, give or take. We can try sending it deeper underground through the tunnels in the lower floor, but I can't predict the extent of the blast radius if it happens. We can still end up being hit by it depending on how fast it propagates."

"So we have ten minutes before this thing blows up, huh?"

"Please don't say that!"

"What? Blow up? Are you afraid of a little explosion?"

"You're not?"

"Considering I've just been involved in one, nothing scares me anymore."

"You're quite the strange woman."

"Strange because I'm dominant?" she winked.

"That too," he admitted.

"I bet you like it," she insisted. Though Lazendorf was close by, he wasn't paying attention to them anymore, barking orders at an unknown voice on the other side of the line.

"I don't think this is an appro..."

"Shh," she interrupted him. "The symbols moved again."

"Again, I didn't see a thing."

"You weren't looking," she admonished him. "Come closer."

"I better not. You're trying to trick me," he said.

"No, I'm trying to sort this out just like you are. I don't know what's causing these reactions anymore than you do but if we examine it together, perhaps we can understand what's going on. It's not like I can put you in a trance just by having you stare into my eyes..." she grinned.

"That's reassuring," he gulped.

"Of course, if you'd rather do that than looking at the object itself, if you prefer to have your attention become absorbed by my words and their reflections in your mind, then that's your prerogative. You don't become submissive just by staring at the eyes of a dominant, hypnotic woman. No, you can't be enslaved just by hearing me say these words while you keep staring into my eyes. You might accept a suggestion or two if you were entranced already, unable to look away, but even then you would have to feel inclined in the first place to do so of your own accord, to allow your will to be captured, engulfed, contained... not everyone can respond to such an idea, not everyone finds it arousing to feel their thoughts slipping, their priorities changing, their needs evolving... needing to keep looking, needing to keep hearing, needing to need these needs all the time. When does a need become a craving? When does a craving become an addiction? Or are they all the same thing, under the guise of different words?