Sleepers Part 1

Sleepers Episode V

Chapter 5

                Later that night Amy was getting tucked into bed.  Mr. Talbot had read from a slim children’s book as he sat beside her.  Mrs. Talbot leaned against the doorway watching the little girl.

                Amy didn’t look at Mr. Talbot.  She didn’t smile or giggle.  She seldom ever did.  Instead she lay snugly underneath her blankets hidden away except for her small blonde head.  Her blue eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling.  Mrs. Talbot doubted Amy heard him at all.  She felt bad for him, really.  He had been so enamored with his little girl from the first moment he held her in his arms.  He would have done anything for Amy.  It was unfortunate the little girl didn’t have the same attachment to him.

                Finished with the story he placed a loving kiss upon Amy’s forehead.  Wishing her sweet dreams.  He left the room flicking the overhead light off behind him.  Mrs. Talbot watched through the open space as Mr. Talbot partially closed the door.  He wanted Amy to be able to see by the help of the weak glow cast by the nightlight.  Turning her head, she stared at his back as he left the room.  Mrs. Talbot shivered as their eyes met.  Amy usually unsettled her but since they had come back from meeting Dr. Green and Levi there was a change.  She couldn’t put her finger on it really.  Something was different and not in a good way.  Mrs. Talbot was beginning to fear for her and her husband’s well-being.  Perhaps taking Amy to see a psychologist hadn’t been the right thing to do.  The doctor hadn’t even began treating Amy yet and already she seemed to be worse.

                When Mr. Talbot had forbidden Amy from associating with Levi again at dinner.  A chill had fallen over the room after that.  Mrs. Talbot had understood why he wanted his daughter to stay away from the child.  As unnerving as she found Amy to be Levi had just given her the creeps.  If they wanted to see a change in Amy then Levi needed to be kept away from her.  Not that he had caused the problem to start with.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Talbot worried they were already too late.

                Mrs. Talbot stayed silent as Mr. Talbot excitedly talked about his hopes for Amy’s treatment.  He didn’t seem to notice his wife’s morose atmosphere as he prattled on unconcerned about the future.  A little while later Mrs. Talbot quietly lay beside her husband in the dark listening to his steady breathing.  Closing her eyes, she willed her worries away for tomorrow as sleep blanketed her in a calmness she hadn’t felt all day.

                The doors to the lab swooshed open as the same hulk of a man that collected the sample 426 entered.  Instead of the ill fitted scrubs he had on last time he now wore a dark suit and tie.  It complemented what he really did much better than the costume had.

                Turning her eyes away from him the tech led the man over to the far wall.  Pulling open the door she slid the cold metal tray out into view.  Her fingers gently toyed with the soft golden curls splayed in a halo around 426’s tiny head.  Faintly she brushed her fingers against the smooth skin of her chubby cheek that was colder than it ought to be.

                Pulling her hand back she stepped away allowing the man some room to maneuver.  His large meaty hands picked up the miniature form belying the gentleness of his stature.  Cradling the package against him his overly muscular frame dwarfed the child diminishing her size even further.

                He had collected her once when she was nothing more than a primordial substance in a tube.  Several years later he was there to collect her once again as a fragile angelic looking child.  As he stared down at her he couldn’t reconcile the two forms as one in his mind.  The tube of goo had seemed far more menacing to him then the creature that appeared to be sleeping peacefully that he held.  He knew that she wasn’t and that this husk was only a prop.  This wasn’t the first case he had assisted in and it wouldn’t be the last.  His heart cracked a fraction for her even knowing the monster she would have become just as the other was destined to be.  Turning to the door he strode away from the lab and the beast that made her.  He felt slightly like the hero saving the damsel even if that was far from the truth.

                The lab tech watched him disappear back through the door heaving a sigh of relief.  She slid the now empty tray back inside sealing it in before letting her hand slip from the latch.  Rushing over to her station she made her final report.  Her only regret in leaving the place was that she had ever become involved with the project in the first place.  They had plenty of well-trained soldiers and operatives at their disposal.  Why they ever needed to design the perfect killers in the first place was a mystery.

                Logging out of her computer she placed her badge in the drawer.  Gathering up her things she headed out.  She needed to seem as if everything was normal to the cameras.  It would do her no good to raise any red flags early on.  She had plans to set into motion and important things to get done.  She wouldn’t accomplish any of it if she were dead.

                Settling behind the wheel of her car she drove out of the underground parking nodding in acknowledgement of the guard as she left.  Her fingers tapped impatiently on the wheel as she maneuvered.  Glancing in the review mirror to make sure she wasn’t followed she smirked.  By the time her employers realized her intentions she would be long gone.  With everything she had set into motion they’d never find her.  How could they when they would be looking for the wrong thing.

                Amy twisted the knob of the front door open allowing her to exit the house.  She had taken a single step outside when the sound of cars opening drew her attention to the road.

                Parked along the street in front of her house were a blacked-out sedan and van.  Dr. Green and Levi had exited the car while two big men dressed in black had left the van.  Dr. Green walked calmly up the sidewalk carrying a tote in her hand.  Levi skipped along beside her grinning from ear to ear.  Amy watched the pair of them approach her as the two strangers retrieved things from the depths of their vehicle.

                Dr. Green came to a stop a couple of feet from her, but Levi rushed in enveloping Amy in a hug she didn’t return.  He hadn’t been cautious when touching her causing blood to smear his clothing and hands.  Dr. Green set the bag down opening the zipper.  Amy looked on intriguingly as Levi released his hold.  Everything was new to her he knew so he hadn’t been hurt by her lack of welcome.  He gave the two of them room as Dr. Green went to work cleaning up Amy the best that she could.  They didn’t want a trail of evidence left after all.  Amy watched silently as Dr. Green took the knife away laying it to the side before wiping the sticky dark liquid from her hands and bare feet.  Slipping a pair of shoes on her and wrapping a blanket around her small frame Dr. Green finally deemed Amy ready.

                The two men came up the steps just as Dr. Green retrieved the bag and the knife.  She walked over to the men addressing them both.

                “Make sure this is left with the Talbots after you stage 426.”

                One of the men reached out taking the scarlet blade into his gloved hand.  Amy glanced at the second man strangely as she noticed the girl he was holding.  It was a curious thing to see herself laying asleep.  Amy knew this was who Dr. Green had called 426 just as she knew the child was too still to be living.  Levi bumped into her shoulder gaining her attention before he winked at her.  Dr. Green came back over to the children holding a box of matches out to Levi.  Excitement lit up his eyes as he reverently took possession of them.

                “Wait until they tell you that you can play Levi.  They’ll bring you home when you’re done here.”

                Levi nodded his head vigorously causing his mop of hair to flip with abandon.  A seriousness fell over his young face as he followed the others inside.  Dr. Green prodded Amy’s back to move her down the steps towards the car.

                “Come along dear.  We’ll leave them to their work.”  As much as Amy longed to follow Levi she obediently allowed herself to be led away.

                “Yes Dr. Green.”  She answered politely as she was ushered into the waiting vehicle.  The old woman smiled kindly at her as she brushed a stray curl from Amy’s face.

                “Call me Aggie dear.  That’s what friends do.”  Amy nodded in response giving a small smile in return.

                As Dr. Green closed the door Amy settled into her seat.  Now behind the wheel Dr. Green pulled out onto the quiet street driving the two of them off into the late night.  Amy closed her eyes her smile widening as she replayed the events over in her head.  Levi was going to love hearing all about it.

                Miles away from where Amy and Dr. Green were another little girl with golden curly hair slept peacefully in the back of a car.  Music played gently out of the speakers as the tires hummed a steady rhythm over the pavement.

                                                                                The End

To Be Continued......