ExperimentalA Story by Chris Doucette Struck with brain cancer at the age of 5, Briar Johnson has little hope to live. Desperate to keep his daughter alive, her father makes a decision that will change his and his daughter's life forever. Prologue The sounds of crying filled the air. With the birth of Briar Johnson, nine months of
sleepless nights and worry about what could be had very quickly been replaced
by sleepless nights and worry about what is. The moment William Johnson looked into the
emerald green eyes of his daughter, the stern, uncompromising, veteran sheriff’s
deputy found himself completely defenseless. William had found himself in the
very unique position of being unable to control his emotions and they paraded down
his cheek in a show that they had defeated him. Five years later William and Beatrice’s tears
flowed for a very different reason. Briar was five when her mother began to notice
the random eye movements and trouble that Briar had closing her eyes. The
difficulty swallowing came next, followed quickly by the random and severe pain
that would affect her arms and legs. Doctors, performing a series of tests on Briar,
determined that the tiny girl had developed Brain Stem Pontine Glioma. This rare
form of pediatric brain cancer had affected Briar severely, but doctors were
optimistic. Doctors told the Johnson’s that the initial
treatment for the tumors showed signs of being very successful and Briar would
show improvement. The cause for concern, however, wasn’t the initial treatment.
The reason for worry came with what happened after the first round. Pontine
Glioma, the doctors explained, often recurred after initial treatments and its
return was typically much more aggressive and frequently fatal. What had become the Johnson’s very reason for
life itself was now in very real danger of losing hers. Desperate, William and Beatrice turned to the
people that they felt could best help Briar….her aunt and uncle. Rebecca and
Aaron Henning were world renowned scientists who had been researching
developing treatments for cancer for years. Running their own tests on Briar they came to
the same conclusion and, to the utter heartbreak of the both families, had the
same prognosis for Briar. Undeterred, the Henning’s believed that the best hope
for Briar was the common treatment as it would provide them, and Briar, the
greatest amount of time. Under the supervision of the Henning’s, Briar
went through the initial chemotherapy and radiation and within about six weeks,
showed remarkable improvement. The pain in her legs and arms subsided, Briar
regained control of her facial movements and, for a brief time, Briar was Briar
again. While in the hospital Briar was often joined by
her cousin Reagan. Reagan and Briar had been inseparable from birth and
ridiculous (at least to the girls) hospital rules weren’t going to stop them
now. Reagan was a staple at the hospital where Briar received her treatments
and refused to ever give up hope on Briar. The day Briar went home, Reagan
walked alongside Briar’s wheelchair proudly. Ten months later the first tumor emerged. The aggressiveness of the tumors was
astounding. Within weeks Briar had regressed and her parents were forced to
watch their child suffer once again. The end of Briar’s life was nearing on the
night that Aaron approached William in the pediatric wing of Florida Hospital. The
dimly lit room helped to hide the various machines that clicked and whirred
about Briar. Standing over the bed where Briar’s small body
lay, Aaron explained “There’s a chance I could save her. It’s something that
we’ve been experimenting with. We’ve developed a serum we call Infinity. The
serum works…well, the cellular level testing we’ve done has shown hopeful
results. The cancer cells are contained and then replaced quickly by new
healthy cells. Once they’re contained, the serum helps the body to create new
white blood cells that then destroy the cancer cells. It has potential, but we
haven’t even tested it on animals yet. We have no idea how it could effect a
human. For all we know it might not even work. It could kill her even quicker.” Tears flowing from his eyes and his
heartbreaking, “Do it.” was William’s only response. One week later, and with Reagan by her side, Briar
Johnson walked out of Florida Hospital. EXPERIMENTAL Chris Doucette
One “That
dress is perfect!” Reagan exclaimed as Briar twirled in front of the body
length mirror. The pink ribbons dangled off her shoulder and danced in the air as
she spun. The 11th grade Prom was less than a month away and she had
finally found the perfect dress. A champagne colored, floor length Vera Wang
that was fitted on the top and billowed out into delicate cascades of material
that danced with her every movement. She thought she would never find it. After
all, Reagan had found her dress months ago. Reagan never had a problem
finding the perfect outfit for every situation. That was why she had finally
broke down and asked Reagan for her help. If there was anyone who could find
the right dress for prom it was Reagan. The
only problem now was convincing her dad to pay for it. Her dad was amazing, but
completely in the dark when it came to fashion matters. Paying $1,500 for a
dress was going to take a lot of extra schmoozing on her part. Maybe she would
do an extra good job trimming the bushes or bring up the fact that she never
got less than a B in school. EVER. The dress was perfect and this was the one
time she had really wanted to stand out. She would just have to stand her
ground. Briar noticed
the clock in the back corner of the store and realized that they were supposed
to be home in thirty minutes. “Crap,” she thought to herself, “It’s almost time
for dinner. Dad will freak if we’re not on time.” She took one last look in the
mirror, sighed, and began walking back to the dressing room to transform
herself back to normal Briar. Passing
by Reagan, she turned and asked in a quietly nervous tone, “This dress is
pretty amazing, right?” “It’s
perfect!” Reagan flatly stated and smiled. “You are so beautiful. It really
makes you look like a princess. A perfect dress for a perfect night.” As she
said this Reagan giggled. Briar
blushed knowing that Regan was referring to the fact that Connor Thomas had
finally asked her to prom. It had only taken him two years to work up the
courage. As she
walked into the dressing room, she said “Stop, you’re going to jinx it. I’m
still surprised he asked me to begin with.” “Well,
he is a boy and boys aren’t exactly the bravest things in the whole world.
Especially when it comes to us girls. Besides, he should be nervous. You’re the
best thing that could ever happen to him.’ Briar
blushed slightly and for what seemed like the millionth time was reminded why Reagan
epitomized what a best friend should be. Briar
emerged from the dressing room wearing her standard jeans and ringer t-shirt,
smirked and said “You’re darn right I am. Let’s get home before we both end up
getting grounded and missing prom”
Two The sun was setting as Briar and Reagan walked
out of the Chevy Chase Pavilion. The crisp spring air, the Cherry Blossoms, the
late sunsets and warmer weather all made DC in the spring seem even more
remarkable. The Johnson’s had moved here when Briar was nine
years old. Briar’s dad had been a rising star in the CIA and had spent the majority
of his time in Washington. William Johnson had grown tired of traveling back
and forth to his Florida home and had finally ‘convinced their mom, Beatrice, to
move full time to the Capitol. At first, Briar hated it. In Florida, she had
had lots of outdoors space, she hardly ever had to wear long pants or even
shoes, and (most importantly to Briar) she had friends and family near her back
in Florida, foremost among them was Reagan. Leaving Florida, meant leaving
Reagan. Briar Johnson and Reagan Henning had always loved each other’s company and
had always been more like sisters than cousins and as it turned out moving
2,000 miles away didn’t change that. To try and ease the transition, Beatrice had
introduced Briar to all the wonderful sights and offerings that Washington D.C.
had toll offer. Many an afternoon was spent wandering the expanse of grassy
field known as The Mall. It was here that Briar had learned of the amazing
history of the United States and had explored the history of the world through
the vast Smithsonian Museums. Briar had found the amount of information
overwhelming and thrilling. With time, and a strong determination by her
mother, Briar had come to love D.C. Three years later, her mother had developed
Pancreatic Cancer. The cancer had proven to be too strong of an opponent for
her mother and after the passing of Beatrice Johnson, Briar had found a
sanctuary in the city. The same museums and historical landmarks that had,
before, offered an infinite amount of information and intrigue, now offered
Briar a refuge from the grief that had filled her heart. The loss of Beatrice
had shook Briar to her core. Two years later Reagan’s parents had been
murdered and Briar found herself in the unique position of being able to
understand the loss Reagan was feeling. Shortly after, Reagan came to live with
the Johnson family permanently. Briar hated the reasons why Reagan had come to
live with the Johnsons, but loved having her there. Briar introduced Reagan to
the same loves that her mother had shown her. The two girls, who had always
been close, now found that they needed each other more than they knew. Their
connection had transcended family. “We’ve really got to go or we’re going to miss
our train” Briar hated being late, a trait she had picked up from her father.
Reagan, on the other hand, had a more relaxed view on time and never felt the
need to rush. “Relax, we have plenty of time”, Reagan
responded as she calmly hit the close button on her cell phone. “I already text
Uncle Bill and told him that we were on our way. He’s making spaghetti tonight!
I love his spaghetti.” As the girls entered the subway station they
were greeted with the usual crowd of people returning from work or heading into
DC. It seemed that no matter what time of the day, there was always a crowd.
Figuring out the Metro system had been surprisingly easy and both Briar and
Reagan had become accustomed to traveling this way. As their train arrived, neither girl noticed
the two Metro Officers observing them. Finally arriving home, the girls walked through
the front door to the incredible smell of garlic, butter, fresh tomatoes and
pasta in the air. Spaghetti night had been a Monday night tradition in the
Johnson household as long as Briar could remember. After her mom had passed,
her dad had done everything he could to keep the household as normal as
possible and, as weird as it seemed, Spaghetti Night had brought a small amount
of comfort to both William and Briar. Reagan’s inclusion had only helped to
make it that much more special. “Hey, Dad!” Briar exclaimed walking over and
kissing her dad on the cheek. William Johnson, kitchen towel hanging over his
shoulder, was currently holding a pot the size of Texas full of boiling water
and noodles over the sink and was preparing to pour the concoction into the
colander waiting below. “Hey, girls!” William responded, “Dinner is
just about ready, grab some plates. How was your day?” Reagan walked over to the cupboard and grabbed
the dinner plates, “It was fine. Briar found a dress.” Briar whirled her head to look at Reagan,
scrunching her forehead and giving her a look that would stir ice into the
bravest warriors heart. Reagan, in her defense, returned Briar’s shot with a
sly smile and turned away. William stopped pouring the steaming water and
looked at Briar. “You did? Finally? That’s amazing, honey. Tell me about it.”
William had somehow made it through the last two months during which Briar’s
lack of a dress for prom had constituted a national emergency. Briar hesitated, she had not planned on
bringing up the finding of her prom dress this quickly and had not formulated
her plan of attack. Briar had known that her dad would not be happy to hear
about the price tag attached to finding her Holy Grail of dresses.
“Ummm…well…it’s very simple. Kind of champagne colored. It’s floor length.”
Briar measured every word to ensure maximum effectiveness. “Very classy…” “She looks hot.” Reagan interrupted. William
Johnson slowly turned his head toward Briar “Reagan!” Briar felt the red rising in her
face. This was not going as planned and Reagan was not helping. “Well you do. About time you got out of those
jeans and t-shirt. That’s all you ever wear.” Turning to look at William,
Reagan raised her eyebrows and calmly stated, “Connor isn’t going to know what
hit him.” “Reagan, will you please shut up. Now, please!” Briar hissed through clenched teeth. William regained his composure and resumed
pouring the noodles into the strainer. “Well, I’m just glad you finally found a
dress. I know you were worried about it.” Pausing awkwardly, William looked at Reagan and
stammered “She doesn’t look too hot, does she?” “Dad!” “Well, sweetheart, I am still your dad. This
whole growing up thing isn’t exactly easy for me. I just want to know how much
threatening I’m going to have to do to Connor.” William looked Reagan’s way and
winked. “Dad!” Briar had lost control of the situation
and was in full panic mode. “Don’t worry, Uncle Bill, I’m sure Connor will
behave himself.” Reagan said with a sly smile. “He may be a dork, but Connor is a good guy.” William said “I’m just teasing you honey.
Finish telling me about your dress.” Placing the plates on the table, Reagan smiled
at Briar who had been left steaming. Briar could not believe this had gone so
wrong. Not knowing what else to do, Briar turned and took three cups out of the
cabinet and filled them with ice and sweet tea. As she took them to the table,
“Well, like I was saying, it’s floor length and very simple, but elegant. No rhinestones or sparkly gems. It…well…it’s
me, just dressed up. It’s perfect Dad.” William looked up to see his daughter’s face
and knew that she was something special. Briar had always been comfortable with
who she was and now was no different. Even in picking a prom dress, Briar had
gone the opposite way of so many others. Choosing simple and elegant over flash
and sparkle. “It’s a little expensive though.” Briar quietly
whispered as she turned to place them on the table. “Well it is a prom dress, what is it $200?” “Well, you’re kind of close. It’s really
beautiful, Dad, and it is the perfect dress. You know I looked everywhere and
haven’t been able to find one…” “How much, Briar?” “and this is a very important event and, you
know, I have never gotten below a B in school and…” “Briar. How much?” “I don’t have any problem doing extra things
around the house to help pay for…” “It’s fifteen hundred dollars.” Reagan finally
blurted. Briar stopped dead in her tracks and stared at
Reagan. “Why was Reagan so intent on sabotaging this?” was all she could think. “Fifteen hundred dollars? As in, one thousand,
five hundred dollars?” William asked. Snapping back to life, Briar looked at her dad
and said “Dad, this is the perfect dress. I don’t ask for anything and I want
this night to be special. I know it’s a lot and I will do whatever I have to do
to pay it back to you. Please let me get this dress.” William took one look at his daughter’s face
and knew that she would not be swayed. She was right. She didn’t ask for
anything, she had always done great in school. She had been through a lot in
her brief life. With one look, William knew that she deserved that dress. “If it means that much to you, then we’ll
figure out a way to make it happen...” William smiled at Briar. Briar’s heart swelled and she hugged her dad.
“Thank you, Dad!” “You’re welcome sweetheart. Now…let’s eat.”
Three Life in
high school usually involves young men and women bustling from one class to
another, forging friendships that may last a lifetime. Woodrow Wilson High
School was no different. Its healthy mix of cultures and backgrounds provided a
healthy environment for a young women to build a foundation and Reagan took
full advantage of it. Reagan (a member of virtually every club and participant
of every sport at Woodrow Wilson) spent her day gathered with friends and had
always enjoyed a large amount of popularity. Briar, while not as connected as
Reagan, maintained her own busy schedule, participating in the Robotics Club,
Photography Club and the debate club. No matter how busy the girls were,
however, during their lunch time they had always made a point to catch up with
each other. “So, what time will you be done today?” Briar
asked while taking a bite of her turkey sandwich. “Young Women’s Project at three-thirty and then
lacrosse until six. You?” Reagan responded crunching on her Sun Chips. “Just Photo Club, but Connor asked if we could
study for our Calc exam tomorrow, so I’ll just hang out here until you get
done. Besides, I wanted you to go with me to pick up my dress. It should be
ready today.” “Absolutely, wouldn’t miss it for the world.
I’ll meet you in the library as soon as practice is over. We might end early
because we have a game Thursday and Coach doesn’t usually like to run us too
hard before a game. You’re welcome, by the way for getting Uncle Bill to buy
that dress.” “You got him to buy the dress? How about you
almost ruined the whole thing. I cannot believe you just blurted out like that.
You have got to get that under control.” “Relax. You’re always so worried about
everything. It worked out, you got the dress and once Connor sees you, you will
be able to knock him over with a feather. You deserve it. You’ve worked your
tail off. Connor is a good guy and even though it took him forever, he really
like you. You two are cute together.” “I just feel like it’s soooo much money. It’s a
lot…” “There is no way that your dad would have
bought it if he didn’t feel like you deserve it. Just enjoy it.” With a sigh, Briar tucked the remaining bit of
sandwich into her mouth and said “Ok, I have to go, I’ll see you after school.
I’ll be in the library. Remember, we have the birthday dinner for Dad’s agency
chief tonight. We have to leave on time! Love you.” Reagan blew Briar a kiss and responded “Love
you, too. Don’t study too hard with Connor.” Reagan winked at Briar. Briar rolled her eyes, gathered her stuff and
began walking towards her chemistry class. Having Reagan around had been the
best possible thing that could have ever happened to Briar, but Reagan was such
a different person than Briar. The loss of Reagans parents had undoubtedly been
hard, but in the aftermath, Reagan had come out of it with an appreciation for
life and a desire to try anything and everything that life had to offer. Reagan
was determined to live life to its fullest. In the aftermath of losing her mom, Briar had
emerged feeling responsible for her father and making sure that she succeeded
in a way that her mother would have wanted her to. College was right around the
corner and she didn’t know how Connor fit into those plans. While Reagan might
have been able to just go with the wind, Briar just couldn’t do that.
After school Connor was waiting in the library
when Briar Arrived. Connor looked up from his algebra book as Briar heaved her
back pack onto the table with a sigh. “Long day?” Connor asked. “No, just that I want to look beautiful for
prom and be perfect for you and that the one dress costs about as much as a
kidney. That I have a ton of school work and college and…everything” is what
Briar wanted to scream. Instead, she responded, “It will be ok, just tired.” “We don’t have to study if you need to talk. I
was looking over this stuff and I think I’ve got it. X minus Y equals Z. Yep, I
got it.” Connor grinned. “No, you need to get this done.” “I promise…I got this, What’s up?” Looking into Connor’s eyes, Briar was
transported back into her brief history. Connor wasn’t like a lot of other boys his age.
He always seemed to genuinely care about Briar and was very sharp when it came
to picking up on other people’s feelings. He had been that way since they had
first met in the Fourth grade when Briar had moved to D.C. Briar had been
really shy (as many Fourth grade girls are), and Connor had been a really big goof ball. She had a crush on him from the first moment
she saw him. Something about his brownish unkempt hair and his toothy grin
fascinated Briar. Connor’s first words to Briar were “You’re
different than everyone else. I like that.” It had made Briar smile then and it had made
her smile every time she had thought of it since. After that, their friendship quickly blossomed.
Connor had grown up in D.C. and was familiar with the city. He would add
tidbits of information to the tours her Mom had given her. “The underside of
D.C.” he called it. The two had been friends for almost three years
before she found out that Connor had had cancer when he was a child. “I don’t even really remember any of it. I was
only two. My mom had noticed a lump on my belly. She had it checked out and the
doctors had given me a poor prognosis for surviving, but I’m still here, so I
guess they don’t know everything.” Connor’s confession had left her speechless and
his simple acceptance of it left tears in her eyes. One year later, Connor had
been the one to hold her and let her cry when her own mother had passed from
cancer. That night, Connor had never said a word. He simply sat with Briar and
held his arm around her until Reagan had arrived. Briar couldn’t imagine how she could have made
it so far without the two of them. Snapping back to the present, Briar kissed
Connor on the cheek, pulled out her math notebook and sat down. “We have work
to do.”
Some time had passed as Briar and Connor
brushed up on all of the expected items that would be on their upcoming end of
the year Algebra test. So much so that Briar had completely lost track of what
time it was, when Reagan came rushing in. “Briar! Where have you been? I’ve been looking
all over for you. We have got to go. We’re going to be late and you know if I’m
saying we’re going to be late we are going to be really late. Hey Connor.” “I’ve been here the whole time, where I told
you I would be. What time is it?” Briar glanced at her watch. “Crap! We really
are going to be late.” Rushing to gather up her belongings while glancing at
Connor, she said, “Sorry, I have to rush off. Thanks for studying, you’re going
to do great! I’ll talk to you later tonight.” Briar again, kissed him on the
cheek and rushed off. As Briar rushed off toward the exit of the
library, Reagan stood by smiling and said “You two really do make a really cute
couple.” She then leaned toward Connor and whispered “You better make sure your
socks are pulled up on prom night, buster because…” “REAGAN! NOW!” Briar yelled across the library,
raising the heads of everyone in the library. Reagan turned and walked away, winking at the
still dumbstruck Connor sitting at the table.
Four Picking up their pace the two girls hurriedly
walked down Fort Dr and hooked a right onto Albemarle Street to the Tenleytown
Station. Crossing the street, Briar noticed that traffic was surprisingly light
for this time of the afternoon. Maybe catching the train wouldn’t be such a
hassle. Reaching the Metro station and hopping onto the
escalators towards the stairs and turnstiles, Briar found that she had been
correct. The usually bustling depot was surprisingly empty. A few random
homeless men sat near the stairs, their palettes already set up for the night. Both
girls hurriedly swiped their Metro cards and walked toward towards their gate. With the lack of crowds making their walk
through the depot much easier, the girls had made their train in plenty of time
and with time to spare. Waiting for their train, the girls talked about school,
Connor, prom and about nothing at all. As they talked, two Metro Officers walked up to
them. Both officers looked like they had been stuck in the subway for years. Their
ancient appearance was startling and caught the girls by surprise. A faint smell of body odor wafted into the air
and, for the briefest of instances, Briar instinctively wrinkled her nose in
response to the scent. The officers pale skin seemed to have actually resisted
any attempts at adding any color and gave the appearance of having been
bleached out many times. The older of the two had buttery, yellow teeth that stood
in stark contrast to his pasty skin. The younger officer, was taller and seemed
to have a permanently creepy grin across his face. “Ms.
Johnson, Ms. Henning, we need you to come with us.” The yellow toothed officer
slowly put his hand on Briar’s shoulder and began directing her towards the far
end of the gate, while the other officer did the same to Reagan. Everything
about the officers gave Briar and Reagan chills. Nothing about the two archaic
officers seemed correct, but both girls had been around law enforcement enough
to have respect for a badge and so they turned and followed the instructions
given.
Five “Officer 47 to Alpha, we got them. Officer 29
and I are heading back now.” Officer 47 spoke into the radio attached to his
shoulder. “What did we do?” Briar nervously asked. “We
were just standing there? Where are we going?” Briar could feel her heart rate
increasing with each step. This was crazy. “Shut up, you’ve done enough.” was the only
response Officer 47 gave as he tightened his grip on Briar’s shoulder. Briar stole a glance at Reagan being escorted
by Officer 29 and could clearly see that Reagan was panicked. Neither girl had
ever been in trouble before and had no idea what they had done to earn this
current escort. “Dad is going to kill us.” was the only thought in Briar’s head
and it kept repeating like a mantra. “Surely this was some simple
misunderstanding and the officers would soon realize their mistake.” She
thought. The door marked “Metro Transit Police
Department” at the far end of the tunnel couldn’t have been less inconspicuous.
Briar and Regan had passed this door hundreds of times while passing through
the station and never given it a second thought. Now, however, as they
approached, the door loomed ominously. The uneasiness that the girls had been feeling
now completely washed over them. This wasn’t right. Briar and Regan had done
nothing. As the lights in the room began to slowly kindle,
Briar could see that the room was completely empty. A heavy staleness hung in
the air and a thick layer of dust covered the walls. The room was decidedly
colder than the rest of the station and the grayness of the room was
overwhelmingly depressive. A single chair sitting in the corner looked as if it
hadn’t been moved since the subway had first been built. The room was
completely empty other than the chair and was definitely not a Police Station. The apprehension that had turned to anxiety had
completely turned to panic and it flooded over both Briar and Reagan. Reagan found the courage to speak and shrugged
the hand of the officer off her shoulder. “What’s going on here? You can’t just
take us away. Who are you?” Officer 47’s crooked smile was in full beam. Roughly
he grabbed Reagan’s shoulder and thrust Reagan into the room at the same time
that Officer 29 was roughly pushing Briar into the room. Briar stole a glance
at Reagan and saw the same realization dawning on her cousin’s face.
Six Officer 29 launched himself at the girls. This
seemingly ancient man gracefully flew through the air. Before either girl could
react, he was upon them. Flying feet first toward
them at full speed, the entire weight of
his force
only being realized as the impact was made. Reagan was the first to feel the impact, the
bottom of this geriatric nightmare’s shoe
making full impact with the side of her face. Her head snapped the opposite way
as Officer 29’s foot found its mark. A split second later his other foot found
its target squarely on Briar’s chin, snapping her head back. The impact of the
kicks sent both girls flying violently through the air. Through the tumbling caused by this nursing
home reject, Briar saw that Reagan’s fate had been similar to hers. In the
split second before Briar’s head found the concrete, she saw Reagan’s limp body
flip through the air and squarely hit the wall, spine first. Briar landed with
a sickening thud as her head hit the cold concrete. What was already a dimly
lit room was rapidly becoming darker. Briar struggled to lift her head and fight her
way back from the darkness. Everything was blurry and spinning. She felt waves
of nausea running through her. Turning her head she saw the two men rapidly
closing in from Officer 29’s sneak attack. With an incredible effort, Briar struggled to bring herself to her hand
and knees, every movement causing another wave of nausea. “What the hell is going on?” was the only
thought Briar had running through her mind. She cut her eyes toward Reagan who
seemed to be moving, but was not doing much better than Briar. In the split
second that she had taken her eyes off the men, they had closed in on the
girls. The officers had split up, each one readying their attack for the girls. Officer 47 reached Briar
first and his combat boot covered foot found
its mark squarely on her ribs. The wind from Briar’s lungs rushed out in a
whoosh and the terror that flooded her mind drowned her in fear. The impact of the kick lifted Briar off the
ground and in the same motion Officer 47 grabbed the back of Briar’s head
spinning her backwards. Catching a
fistful of hair, he pulled back, spinning Briar’s
body so that her chest and stomach were wide open for the man’s elbow, which
drove her into the ground, leaving Briar a puddled heap of a human. While Officer 47 had busied himself with Briar,
Officer 29 had focused his attack on Reagan. Getting a running start, he slid
across the concrete, aiming his
boots directly at Reagan’s unprotected head. Regan
had had only a split second to react to this assault. It had not been enough time. Officer 29’s boot firmly found its mark, violently
spinning Reagan across the floor. Reagan slid to a stop just feet away from
Briar’s body. Reagan’s hand lifelessly fell to the ground. Whatever fight she
had for these men was rapidly fading. Through the tears flooding her eyes, she
could see that Briar was faring no better. Briar’s eyes had been flittering wildly,
looking for any indication that Reagan was still alive. Finally, her eyes
landed on Reagan. Through the throbbing in her head, she could hear Reagan's
shallow, gurgled
breathing next to her. Entering the
subway had seemed like a lifetime ago. How had this happened? From the corner of her vision she saw movement
but could not immediately make out what it was. Taking forever for her eyes to
focus, her eyes eventually showed her that it was Officer 47 moving towards the
two girls. “No big deal. Mission accomplished. Told you
this wouldn’t be hard.” Officer 29 announced as he walked toward the two girls
lying motionless on the floor. The entirety of Briar’s body had exploded into
pain and her brain flashed a lifetime of memories, one by one, visible clearly
in the back of her consciousness. “Shut up. Finish this up and let’s get the hell
out of here.” Officer 47 replied as he turned to walk toward the door. Officer 29 moved toward Briar, lifted his leg,
and brought the full weight of his boot down on Briar’s head.
Seven “Damn waste.” William Johnson stated in a
deflated tone. A single tear slowly rolling down his cheek. “I can’t believe they’re
gone.” Aaron and Rebecca Henning had been respected
parts of their small college community. Local scientists who had stayed in
their community and brought their talents with them. Their ground breaking study in genetics had
the potential to solve the cancer riddle. The Henning’s had been able to single
out the gene that caused the deadly transformations and had even been able to
repair the damage that the cancer had done to their subjects cells. Their work
had the potential to be the silver bullet needed to stop what had appeared to
be an unstoppable monster. The Henning’s had been a mere month away from
starting testing with human subjects. Now, both of Reagan’s parents had been found
dead. Murdered by, what appeared to be, a break in attempt gone wrong. Five years after leaving Florida, William Johnson
and his daughter had returned upon the news that William’s sister, Rebecca, and
her husband, Aaron had been murdered. Aaron and Rebecca Henning’s body’s had
been found the day before by their daughter. The police were investigating the
murders as a break in that had gone wrong. The front door’s glass had been
shattered and the inside of the house had been pillaged. The police chief had
told William they were investigating but had no leads. “All we know right now is that Reagan found
them when she got home from school. Noticed the door was broken in. and ran over
to the neighbor’s house. Neighbor called 911. We’ve been here ever since.”
Chief Thompson reported. “There looks like there might be some jewelry missing,
laptop and computer is gone. We’ve got detectives checking local pawn shops. We’re
checking every angle, but so far we’ve got nothing. The whole town is in high
alert, this kind of stuff doesn’t happen here.” “They had no enemies, they had helped so many
people. Who would do this to them?” William wondered. “They were good people.
My family owes them everything” “I’m sorry, Bill. Look, we’re working on it day
and night. We’ll find whoever did this. Go take care of Reagan and get yourself
some rest. We’ll be here for a while. If anything develops, I’ll contact you. ”
Briar and Reagan sat next to each other in the
upstairs bedroom at their grandmother’s house. Reagan and Briar had had a
bedroom there for as long as they could remember. The house was the same house
that Briar’s dad and Rebecca’s mom had grown up in and after their grandmother
passed away, Rebecca and William had kept the house and it had always been a home
of sorts to Briar and Reagan. Nothing had been said between the two girls
since William and Briar’s arrival late last night. Reagan didn’t feel like
talking and Briar didn’t push her. Their time had been spent mostly in silence,
with the two girls sitting on the floor. There was nothing Briar could do to
make this better. She knew that. However, that didn’t mean that Reagan had to
be alone. Reagan had been there for Briar and she was determined to do the same
for Reagan. Seven years earlier, Aaron and Rebecca had
supervised Briar’s treatment and had made sure she had the best doctor’s
available, but the person most responsible for getting Briar through the ordeal
had been Reagan. When Briar’s own trials had begun, Reagan had informed her
parents that she would not be leaving Briar’s side and she didn’t. Through
every chemo treatment, blood transfusion and sleepless night, Reagan had been by
her cousin’s side. Reagan’s laugh and determination had been a leaning post for
Briar and the day that the doctor told Briar that there were no traces of the
cancer left in her body, Reagan had been standing proudly by Briar’s side.
Reagan had taken a small measure of responsibility and a huge amount of pride
in Briar’s success. Now Reagan found herself in a horrible
nightmare. Reagan’s life had been changed for the worse and she would never be
the same. There wouldn’t be a miraculous recovery or a happy ending. Reagan
would live with what she saw for the rest of her life. Briar silently vowed to
stand by Reagan for however long it took. With no other family to care for her, Reagan
would come live with the Johnson’s now. Briar wish she felt better about it. “What am I going to do, Briar? I’m alone now”
The words came out in a hushed tone. Briar’s heart broke at hearing Reagan’s
voice. Before she could stop them, tears began streaming from Briar’s eyes. How
do you answer a question like that? She reached across the bed and hugged
Reagan, not knowing what else to do. “I don’t know,” Briar somehow managed to get
out, “I don’t know. I do know that you’re not alone though. I’ll never leave
you alone.” The words hung in the air as Reagan began
silently weeping into Briar’s shoulder.
Eight Death was a friend to Officer 47. Between him
and Officer 29, they had accelerated the life span of more people than he could
even remember. He was a death bringer and there were not many people alive that
would be able to tell you the pair even existed. The duo had become so good at what they did,
that they had often become bored with the ease with which they were able to
conquer their targets. The gruesome torture that they had imparted on many
unfortunate enough to find themselves assigned to the pair had given them a
sick sense of joy and relief of boredom from their everyday. After tiring of
their prey, they would finally extinguish their light. This time was different though. Neither could remember
ever having targets this young and in the bottom of their soul, buried
underneath the irrational wildness and the cracked reality the slightest twinge
of decency had drove both men to end this assignment quickly and move on. Why
Murko had sent them to take are of these two teenage girls, Officer 47 didn’t
now. He wasn’t paid to know. He was paid to do as he was told and he was told
that death had needed to visit these two. Officer 29’s foot dropped with a viciousness
that would quickly end the uneven struggle. Briar had seen the boot coming. Defenselessly
laying in a crumpled heap, battered by the viciousness of the attack, she had
watched the tread of Officer 29’s boot speeding toward her face. She had closed
her eyes in an attempt to brace for the coming impact and Briar’s last thought
had been “I love you Dad.” Then there was a luminosity that quickly rose
in its intensity. A brilliant white
light that dammed behind her eyes and then released like a flood. Briar could
feel the light spread through her body and as it flowed through her, the pain
left her body and was replaced by a warmth that she had never felt before.
Every cell of her body seemed to release the agony, that just moments before,
had seen inescapable. In an instant the pain was gone. The spreading light and warmth finally released
in a brilliant, fierce explosion that left Briar replenished. “So this is what
death is like…” was her next thought. Briar felt the force of the light
escaping through every pore of her body and the peacefulness that followed
Briar was comforting. Her thoughts were interrupted by an anguished, sorrowful
scream. “What the heck is that?” Twenty-five feet away Officer 29 crashed
against the concrete wall enclosing the room with a sickening thud as a rush of
air left his lungs. Then the light faded and as the brilliance
swiftly diminished, Briar was slapped with the reality that she wasn’t experiencing
death. The cold of the concrete floor stung her face and Briar could feel the
firmness of the floor as she pushed herself up right and slowly raised her head
to see Officer 29 across the room laying in a motionless heap. Officer 47 stood
with his arms up in a defensive position struggling to comprehend what had just
happened. He looked at Briar befuddled and Briar returned his look with an
equal amount of confusion “What was that?” Briar’s bewildered thoughts
came out of her mouth with no chance for her to stop them. Groggily, Briar
brought herself up to her hands and knees. “Reagan!
Where’s Reagan?” Briar turned her head to see Reagan also bringing herself
up to a crouching position. Tears began to brim in Briar’s eyes. Reagan had
somehow survived the attack and was already collecting herself. For her part, Briar had rarely felt better,
which had served to only confuse her even more. She remembered the fight and
the blows that she had sustained. The viciousness with which these two men had
attacked her and Reagan just moments earlier. She remembered the taste of blood
filling her mouth and nose, the nauseating, snapping sounds her ribs had made
as Officer 47 had systematically destroyed her. Briar clearly remembered the
gush of blood that made breathing difficult. But it was all gone now. The gurgling sound her
lungs had been making, the scratches on her face, the stabbing pain that had
filled her chest. All of it, gone. The sensation had left Briar shell shocked and
she began to gingerly lift herself off the floor and raise herself to her feet.
Across the floor, his mind furiously trying to
decipher what had just happened, Officer 47’s mind raced to decide on a course
of action. He had delivered death to much more durable opponents with much less
severe attacks. These girls shouldn’t be breathing, much less slowly rising to
their feet. Officer 47 didn’t know what had happened, but
he did know that the two girls weren’t dead and death had been what the
assignment had called for. Finally making a decision Officer 47 rushed at
Briar, who appeared to be the more dangerous threat. Bringing the full bulk of
his muscular form quickly up to full speed, he unsheathed the Mark II blade he
carried at his side in the same motion. This needed to end. They had already been here
too long. Quickly covering the distance between himself and Briar, Officer 47
raised his hand slightly to deliver a death blow to Briar, the blade sliding
towards her. Officer 47’s heartbeat slowed to a soft thump in his ears as he
felt the end of this match coming. Briar felt helpless as she saw the menacing man
making his way towards her. Seeing the wildness in his eyes and knowing the
attack was imminent, Briar raised her hands in a futile attempt to deflect the
attack. Mere inches now separated the knife from Briar,
when Officer 47 suddenly and wildly changed his course. The abruptness of
Officer 47’s direction change caused the bulky man to wildly rock and wobble
unsteadily until the rocking finally took the man off of his feet. Sliding
across the floor like a felled rhino, Officer 47 quickly gathered himself back
up and spun to face the girls. Turning he found his target still on her knees,
hands still up preparing for his knife. Scanning the scene in front of him he
immediately noticed there was only one girl where there had previously been
two. A swift kick from Reagan to Officer 47’s wrist
dislodged the knife from his hand and caused the long combat blade to slide
across the floor. Looking up to identify this assailant, Officer 47 immediately
recognized the target. Reagan did not want to give her opponent a chance
to recover and immediately and fiercely swung her leg at the man’s face. Her
foot landing squarely on Officer 47’s chin, sending the man sprawling away from
her. Quickly gathering himself up, Officer 47
launched a counter attack on Reagan, swinging his large fist wildly at her.
Reagan dropped her body down dodging the attack and immediately sprung back up
delivering another kick, this time to the back of the man’s head, causing
Officer 47 to flail head first into the wall. Sluggishly Officer 47 stood up. “I was going to
kill you quickly, you little b***h. Now…now I’m going to make you feel every
bit of your death.” Officer 47’s deliberate steps toward Reagan displayed how
predator like Officer 47 really was. Reagan launched herself at the man jumping to
give her punch an extra impact. Officer 47 easily deflected Reagan’s punch and
grabbed the girl by her arm and brought her into his mighty grip and squeezed. “AARRGGHH”
was the only sound Reagan could muster as Officer 47 constricted his arms like
a python around her body slowly driving the breath out her. With each miniature
breath Reagan took, Officer 47 would ratchet his arms tighter, leaving less and
less room in her lungs. Watching in horror, Briar saw Reagan slowly
being crushed by the man’s massive arms. The wild range of feelings in her
mind, made it difficult to think. Briar began to slowly walk towards the two
combatants. As she slowly and steadily walked to wards the two, she felt her
anger building. The light that had appeared and disappeared just as quickly,
began to return. Briar’s steps quickened as her anger built.
“Who the hell were these guys? Why would they attack us? Why are they trying to
kill us?” With each thought Briar’s anger built up, her body felt like a dam
holding back a raging river. “No!” Briar
yelled in a blind rage. The emotions all culminating in a single word. Finally
releasing the rage, the energy surged from Briar in a flood towards her
attacker. The air around Briar stretched and expanded, appearing to bend
swirling around her clenched fists and gathering into an increasingly dense
mass. The air, collapsing into a thick state, began to ignite, glowing a bright
white and swirling faster and faster. Finally exploding Briar’s arm launched from her
side, sending the mass across the space and squarely into the back of their
attacker. The impact immediately caused him to release his grip and stagger
sideways. Having been dropped, oxygen flooded into Regan’s lungs as she gasped
for air and crawled away from Officer 47. Turning to face this new threat, Officer 47 saw
Briar standing with a tear streaked face, arms still raised towards him. Officer 47 took one step toward Briar and
raised himself up to his full height before collapsing to his knees and falling
like a great tree in the forest. The impact of his body sending up a cloud of
dust as he hit the concrete. Realizing the threat had passed, Briar looked
at her hands with a sense of fear. “How did I do that?” she thought, then for
the millionth time that evening she asked herself “What is going on?” Briar
lowered her hands, slowly at first, then quickly as she saw Reagan sitting
against the wall and recovering. Quickly running over to Reagan, Briar threw her
arms around her and squeezed a flood of tears being released by both girls. “Reagan, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” Slowly beginning to push her way up, Regan,
trying to muster up some sort of sarcasm, replied “Never been better.” Surveying the scene, Reagan grabbed Briar’s
hand and began to lead her out the door. “We need to go.” Pulling her arm away from Reagan, Briar held
her ground. “Did you see what happened? I launched…” searching for words that
would describe what had just happened, Briar finally settled on, “…something
from my hands. Not to mention that I don’t have any injuries. Those guys beat
the crap out of us, but I feel fine. They attacked you and you got back up and
fought that guy. Which, by the way, when did you learn to fight?” With each
word she spoke, Briar escalated toward a nervous breakdown. The full weight of
the last few minutes beginning to settle heavily. “What happened to my hands, who are these guys,
why aren’t we hurt…what happened here?”
The words escaped Briar in one breath as her hands shook with adrenaline. “Briar, I know there are a lot of questions
here, but we need to get out of here.” Reagan walked over to her backpack and
pulled out her cell phone. Hitting a single button she held the phone to her
ear and said, “We have a situation. We’re heading home.” With that she clicked
the button again and placed the phone in her back pocket. Briar’s face displayed the range of emotions
that were inundating her. “A situation? We have a situation? That’s what you
call this? Who was that?” “Briar we have to go. It’s not safe here.
Honey, I know you’re scared and have a lot of questions and I have a lot to
tell you, but we need to leave. Now.” Reagan held her hand out and waited for Briar
to take it. Briar’s head was spinning. So much had just
happened, so much that she couldn’t even begin to process it yet. Even with
everything that had happened she knew that Reagan was someone she could trust.
She took her hand and smiled through tears creeping out of her eyes. Reagan accepted her hand and squeezed it, tears
forming in her eyes as well. Reagan opened the door to the Metro station to
find it still empty. Reagan took a second to look around, then pulled Briar
through the door and up the escalator to the street above. © 2014 Chris DoucetteAuthor's Note
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1 Review  Last Updated on August 18, 2014 Author
Chris DoucettePlant City, FLAboutHusband, father and author. Oh yeah, I'm also quite the homemaker. more..Writing
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