No Time To Bleed

We scooted our way down the hall, I slightly ahead of everyone else.

Alex checked his watch from behind me. “We’re got 8 minutes until show time. He’s going to be heading to that speech soon unless he’s postponed it until later. We did create one hell of a distraction.”

The silence was so annoying now that it was ringing my ears. My mind suddenly felt tired now that all the craziness had faded. My face continued to throb and pulsate from all the newly attained cuts.

I took the note absently from my pocket and handed it to Alex. “Here. Take this.”

Ales grabbed the paper, looking it over. “Okay. Cece said the power was at the end of the hall.” He began to walk, but none of us moved.

“Hello? No one coming?”

We all looked pretty badly torn up. Everything inside me was aching.

“Jasmine and I have to look around for my sister. Cece said there were other halls in here.” Kyle stressed.

Alex’s mouth fell open, eyes looking to Kyle to Cece and then me. “So, we’re splitting up?”

I stood near Kyle as I spoke.. “Only for now. We’ve gotta try and find our information now without wasting anytime.”

“But, what if one of those fucking doors leads to a room full of guards?!” He snapped. “What’ll happen then? You’re just going to go and get yourself killed?”

Clarissa rolled her eyes. “Alex calm down. We all know you care about the girl, but it won’t do any good all of us staying glued together right now. I’m sure the boy wants to find some stuff about his sister as well.”

Alex glared to her and finally seemed to be battling it all in his mind. Then, his eyes cut to me as angry and pissed off as ever.

“You better not get yourself hurt or else…”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever Alexie. I can handle myself.”

Then, he leaned forward and planted the softest kiss against my forehead as Ryant moved over to my side as well. Alex’s lips turned into a smile as he whispered the words only for me to hear.

“You’ll make up for this later.”

My face started to turn at the obvious flirtatious demeanor of his words as him and Clarissa walked away.

“He sure does like you.” Kyle smirked, arms crossed.

I smiled as I spoke to Ryant. “Still have that card you said can get us into any doors?”

Ryant pulled out the card with pride and the decision of direction was left up to Kyle.

“Let’s go right.” He said.

We followed the first right branching hall and stepped to the upward incline towards the gray metal door. I slashed the card through the electronic lock and pulled the handle open.

The door eased its open, revealing a significantly dim room with all sorts of television screens. Many of them were simply blinking, some showed live video of the mobs of people being escorted around the airport. Then there were the shelves of video tapes in cabinets all along the walls.

“Wow. I hope this all of this isn't a secret porn stash.” Ryant remarked.

Kyle laughed, nudging him the arm as we all walked in. “God, this is creepy. I wonder what all of this is for. There’s even a half eaten bagel here.”

He went forward, examining the control panel where the plate was with the non finished food.

“This room gives me the creeps.” I said.

Our clothes still dripped with the water from the sprinklers. One camera showed the massive flames overtaking a wall as the water doused the orange madness.

“God, Cece did one hell of a job. She was right about their being jet fuel around to use.”

I ran my fingers over the video tapes in the cabinet drawers. Some of them were ridden with dust, others were completely new and clean.

“What’s this one? It says Level B Testing.” Kyle plucked out a tape and put it into one of the players. A screen near the left side of the control panel turned to life.

The room was white and clean. A single chair rested in the middle of the floor. The woman strapped to the white seat had stringing black hair that obscured her face. Her figure was wiry and thin with cracking bones.

A voice from off screen spoke first. “What’s your name?”

The woman stared ahead. “Why do you need to know my name? I’ve already told you.”

“We told you, we need to verify that your memory is still intact.”

“Well I remember everything you’ve done and I’m getting out of here. I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t care if this for some new medicine.”

A round of laughter went around the people out of the camera’s view.

“Why the hell are you laughing?! I want these straps off of me!”

“Do you know why we had a specific call for people of low weights, people suffering eating disorders?”

The woman’s glare became deeper. “What are you talking about?”

“You think we haven’t read up on your physical file?” The man taunted. “Reported purging, self image therapy, and your parental issues. For a girl of only 24, you’ve seen quite a bit.”

“Get me out of here. Get me out now.” Her voice turned dangerous.

“Do you know that certain serums can implant nutrient cells into people? Do you know the benefits that could bring to third world countries of today? The glories?”

She remained silent.

“Well, regardless, you gave consent when you signed that contract. You should have brought a lawyer.”

“You never put that in the ad!!”

A guard came forward slowly as the woman began to scream obscenities. A large syringe went down to her arm and flooded a clear liquid into her veins. It wasn’t even another moment before the woman started thrashing, spitting, and her limbs tore against the straps that held her down.

“I can’t watch anymore of this.” Ryant said. “It’s disgusting.”

Kyle seemed slightly transfixed with the video. “Why?”

“It’s what this company does to people. Turns them into monsters. It kills them from the inside out.”

I wondered what things he’d seen or been through since he’d been trapped here.

“Alright, well we still need to keep watching because we need to find out what this company is up to, so…” Kyle plucked out another video and put it in. Ryant rolled her eyes and stood off to the side as I went through more drawers.

Kyle began to giggle hysterically as the tape he’d chosen was a montage of embarrassing things.

“Oh God, look at her! She fell! Ryant, look at this!”

Ryant didn’t seem so amused.

Then, my finger froze on a tape.

“Kyle?” My voice shook.

He kept on laughing.

“Kyle, this tape has your sister’s name on it.”

His laughter stopped dead in its tracks. I watched the amusement leave his face.

“You shouldn’t watch that.” Ryant said, a grimace on his face.

Kyle stormed over and took the tape, not even waiting before it went into the VHS player. We all stood before the screen as the tape rewinded and then Kyle pressed play.

She was thrown into a room, average Southwestern Airport hotel room. Her face was etched in horror as she crawled on the floor.

The man stepped up behind her, digging his hands into her hair as he slammed her head into a dresser. She let out a choking sob as the man laughed.

“Didn’t like this more than the last time, do you?!”

Antoinette’s sobs weren’t even intelligible words, just measured breaths. His boot kicked into her ribs three rough times as she went reeling over gagging.

“Stop! Just stop!” She screamed.

He leaned over. “YOU WANT ME TO STOP! I’LL NEVER STOP!”

He brought a lamp’s head down and slammed it into her head. She went out dead and the camera flickered one good time.

Then, he loosened his belt and forced her stomach first to the bed.

“I’m going to enjoy this.”

Tears slid down my cheeks as my finger pressed into the stop button. Kyle’s lips by now were trembling and his forehead was burned n regret.

Silence filled the room.

“Do you think she’s still alive?” Ryant asked.

Kyle did a long inhale, breathing in all the snot and tears that had escaped him during the short video.

“She’s dead.” He began to wipe the tears from his eyes and I was beginning to get scared. Everyone knew how quiet rage was. It started slow and silent, and then exploded in unpredictable was. “You were right, Jasmine. Absolutely right.”

Ryant stood by awkwardly near Kyle, eyes cast down to the ground. “I’m sorry about your sister. I’d go to the ends of the Earth for my brother.”

Kyle shook his head, tears coming back again. “I was just a bad brother. She hated me and I didn’t even see it. I was too arrogant.”

Kyle stormed to the back of the room. Ryant followed loyally, causing a whispered conversation between the two.

I went back to the cabinet, mind absently looking for more tapes. Antoinette was dead, absolutely dead and in the worst of ways. She’s been tortured, beaten, and raped by Lexicon guards. But, even with that unspeakable horror, there was something else missing from the mystery that was Lexicon.

My fingers reached another video.

Red Black Operational Session, it said.

I slipped the video into the screen and swallowed uneasily. My stomach began to do flips once I saw who was on the screen.


Three men were on color toned video at a table. One vigorously typed at a laptop before him, the other two were seated comfortably.

One of the men were Brett Wiggins, he wore a dark and extremely tailored suit with a violet colored shirt and black tie.

The other man shared a striking resemblance and seemed a few years younger. He had slick black hair tucked behind his ears and wore just a business shirt from what could be seen above the table. He wore thin glasses and scribbled away at a notepad before him.

“Alright, so this meeting is established. We have very important matters to discuss, Micheal.” Brett said, combing his hands together.

His brother smiled back at him. “Yes, we do. Our colleagues have devised this plan quite specifically. We needed a way to handle things in case the virus was able to be transferred. The doctors did say it would progress, but someone didn’t listen.”

Brett sneered back. “Well, that isn’t a problem anymore is it?”

Micheal took a sip of his water. “Keeping that alcoholism under control, I hope? Dear father can’t pay for anymore facilities for you to return to.”

“I’m fine if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Haven’t passed on your addictions to your son either I hope. He’s been quite the chatty one about your condition.” Micheal seemed one to love to antagonize his brother.

“Rodney knows what type of man I am. He’s accepted that. I’ve taught him well.”

Micheal shook his head. “Incorrect. What you’ve taught him to do is hate you. Do you hear the way he speaks of you when you’re not around? As if you’re something he should scrape off the bottom of his shoe? It’s only a matter of time until-“

“Until what? I thought we were here to discuss business. Not your opinion on my parenting.” Brett snapped, irritation moving to the surface.

Micheal sighed. “Well, alright. What location do you wish for?”

“How about my branch? It’s run its course. Red Black would safely facilitate things there. It’d tie a nice bow on things.”

Micheal sipped more of his water. The keyboard of the laptop was clicking away in the background.

“Why your location? What do you plan to do after?”

“There are other branches of finance I can follow through with: stocks, corporations, and holds in the government.”

Micheal’s eyebrows rose. “You mean you nabbed that lobbyist for the senator in New Jersey?”

Brett nodded. “It was very well done. Sarah did a wonderful job.”

A long, mournful silence went over them. Two brothers, two different lives.

“You ever considered this family business, what it’s done to us, Brett?”

Brett just simply stared at his brother. “Thinking of those things only bring negativity.”

But, Micheal smiled. “Don’t you remember our summer in the woods, that tire swing we always used to go on-“

“The one with the red rope. Yes, I remember.” A smile almost crossed Brett’s face. “But, those days are over now. We’re men now. We have responsibilities.”

The grin lost Micheal’s face and the man seemed sad now. “Then, I’ve made my decision.”

“What decision?”

“After next week when the final term passes, I'm resigning my name from the company. I’m leaving.”

Brett’s expression froze in place and the keyboard still typed away.

“You’re leaving?”

“That way you can have all the power you want and I can handle other things in my own life. Find my own way.”

“W-well, what about my son, your nephew? How will you-“

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that?” Micheal rose. “I wanted to see if he would consider coming with me, to live with me.”

The long silence came again and when it ended, Brett’s voice came back cold.

“You’re not taking my son from me.”

Micheal exhaled, seeming at peace. “Alright, it was worth a try. Just throw the idea at him just in case.”

Micheal stood up from the table, grabbing his briefcase and walked out of the camera’s view.

“And Brett?” Micheal said
.
“Yes, Micheal.” Brett returned ominously.

“Make sure you have a plausible explanation as to why you blew up an entire airport full of civilians. The media will be crawling over it otherwise.”

The man at the laptop exchanged a few words before transferring data onto a flash drive.

“Here’s all the information you’ll need. Be careful with it.”

Brett accepted the flash drive and stuck into the breast pocket of his shirt.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep this with me all the time. No worries.”

The door closed and the tape ended there.

Banging came to the door of their room and shouting emerged from outside.

“We’ve gotta get out here! The guards are coming through the door right now!” It was Cece's voice

Looks like her group had found us afterall.