Chapter 29: So Close, yet so far
Jace walks up to the door and knocks on it. In response, the door creaks open just enough for everyone to comfortably walk in. They’re greeted with a long room. Both sides are completely made out of glass, perfect for observing the clouds…that they are currently above. There is a desk at the very back of the room. A man is sitting in it with his feet propped up. He motions for them to follow along the velvet carpet leading them to him.
???: “Greetings. I hear that you all requested my attention.”
Jace: “Yeah, tell me what you did to my father, asshole!”
???: “You will not speak to me like that if you wish to find the answers you seek.”
Jace: “Fine. What do you know about my father’s death?”
???: “Jace Knight, correct? Son of Jacob Knight?”
Jace: “The one and only.”
???: “Yes, the one and only son to a pathetic thief.”
Jace: “Excuse me?”
???: “You didn’t know? Was he too afraid to tell you? Did he lie by pretending Absorbium was his idea? There’s a reason why he made your arm, you know that, right?”
Jace: “N-No, I don’t.”
???: “He made it to get rid of the Absorbium. He thought turning the Absorbium into a super-charged prosthetic would save his ass from our wrath. Oh, how wrong he was.”
Jace: “Have you ever heard the saying ‘eye-for-an-eye’ before?”
???: “Yes. I know where this is going too. You honestly think you can kill me?”
Jace: “If I can’t, then the rest of us will ensure that you’ll die.”
???: “Is that so? What if I try…this?”
Suddenly, the other five drop to the ground as if they’ve passed out.
Jace: “What did you just do!?”
???: “I know you all went to Morning Glory. You all should have read the reports and experiments conducted.”
Jace: “The only one that remembers what they wrote is Mythril because you left him there to rot!”
???: “So? One casualty in comparison to hundreds of lives changed and enhanced? Sounds like a fair trade to me.”
Jace: “You really are evil…”
???: “Took you long enough. Allow me to explain: Your friends right now are currently under my mind control. I installed a microchip in each of their brain-stems. Trying to remove it directly would likely result in instant death. There is no hope for them.”
Jace: “You bastard!”
???: “Now arise, my subjects!”
The five pick themselves back up before standing firmly and authoritatively towards the mystery man. The white in their eyes is now gone. It’s only darkness.
Jace: “Snap out of it, guys!”
???: “Go and show Warrior’s Rest what the true meaning of suffering is!”
Jace: “I won’t let you!”
Jace sprints off towards the man, but Henry grabs his arm with his tail. He yanks Jace back before he shoots right back up.
???: “You remind me of a cockroach. Useless to life, but refuses to stay dead.”
Jace: “Shut the hell up!”
He tries to charge again, but Mythril grabs each of Jace’s arms with his Aura arms. All Jace can do is struggle and grunt.
Jace: “I’ll…kill…you…”
???: “Let him go. He’s mine to play with now.”
Jace: “I’m not your damn experiment!”
Within a flash, Jace is swept off his feet and held a few feet off the ground as the mystery man puts him in a rising chokehold. Jace struggles to breathe and attempts to swing his legs to be freed, but to no avail.
???: “I want each of you to find a part of the island and cause absolute mayhem. Got it?”
Everyone, but Jace: “Yes, Jack!”
Jack: “You weren’t supposed to be programmed to…nevermind. It’s not like it matters that you know my name, wanna know why?”
Jace: “W-Why?”
As the five head out of the room and towards the elevator, Jack takes Jace closer to the wall of glass.
Jack: “Because I don’t expect you to survive this. If you do, come face me when you have your so-called ‘friends’ back.”
Jack shouts as he uses all of his body weight to hurl Jace through the glass wall, sending him back down to the ground floor. He screams as he falls. Clouds rush through him in an instant. This would be certain death for anyone, but what about Jace?
