Breaking Chains
#4 of Demi-Gods
In this chapter we introduce a couple of new characters, and expose the secrets of some others, but other than that it actually isn't really that exciting, more of a filler before the next chapter, which is shaping up to be pretty interesting. Oh, and if you've been wondering, you'll get to meet the other Success siblings within the next three or so chapters, I hope...
"Grey!"
The voice was soft, muffled as if it was heard through a wall of cotton wool. Epsilon looked at the flickering form beside him.
"Sister?"
"Big brother..." the voice echoed around the strange expanse, "She is like me..."
"What?" Epsilon stared at the shape as it lost form, then regained it. The thick chain clinked around Epsilon's neck.
"She cares for you..." The figure flickered, "As do I....But I cannot love you as she can... and you cannot love me as you can love her..."
"Sister, you're making no sense." Epsilon replied, trying to see the face of the flickering form, the chain clinking more, weighing heavily on his neck.
"Be with her, I will find another..." Gamma's voice echoed louder in his head, "But I will still love you... My big brother... Grey...Epsilon..."
"Grey!" his name echoed loudly in the empty space, filling his head to bursting point, making him fall to his knees, until...
He was gone, the figure of Gamma watched the broken chain link fall unnaturally slowly, clinking loudly in the empty space as it hit the ground.
"It has started."
Grey's eyes fluttered open. He looked around at the worried faces, his gaze falling on Samantha, whose cheeks were streaked with tears.
"Samantha..." he whispered, suddenly sitting up, wrapping his arms around her as he hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry...thank you so much...I...repay you somehow..."
"Woah! Stop for a minute!" Samantha ordered, pushing herself away from the boy, "You sound like you did before you...passed out."
"Sorry," Grey said, smiling feebly at her, "But I'm just happy, I guess."
"I thought you had your emotions sealed?" Sarah asked, "What happened?"
"Samantha happened."
The three girls stared at Grey, who stared back, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.
Dr. Lester stared at the girl in confusion. She was crying, sobbing heavily but had a wide smile on her face.
"Gamma, what's going on?" the woman asked, pulling her stethoscope from her bag.
"I am happy, and I am sad. Both for brother, for he is glad." The girl rhymed quietly, Dr. Lester's bag floating up into the air.
"Gamma, stop that." The doctor ordered, pushing the bag back onto the table as she turned to face the girl, "Now, lift your shirt."
Emilia watched her daughter and her friends fawn over Grey, who seemed to be more than happy to oblige them.
"And he's smiling? And laughing? And seems to have gained back rudimentary control of his emotions?" Her husband's voice echoed down the line, the sound of an airport announcement in the background, "This is incredible! He's over-riding the conditioning! I must talk to him as soon as I get back!"
"Well, he's not going anywhere soon, so don't rush yourself," His wife scolded, smiling as Grey chatted happily to the three girls, "Just come home safe."
"Of course I will, my love." His voice softened as he bid her farewell, "I'll see you in less than two days!"
Grey stared at his reflection in the mirror, running a hand along the scars on his chest, tracing a random pattern across them. Sighing, he stretched, feeling his back crack.
"Grey? You ready yet?" Samantha's voice filtered through the door as he pulled his shirt on, opening the door just as she was about to knock again.
"Ready," he said, looking down at her.
"Good, cause we have a lot to do today," Samantha grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the bathroom, dragging him bodily down stairs as she hurried through the house.
Grey managed to free his arm as Samantha began rushing from room to room, seemingly on her own mission as she gathered and moved objects. Grey sat down on the stairs, watching her as she hurried about the room.
"What are you doing?" He asked as she rushed past, grabbing her wrist and tugging her back.
"What am I doing? What are you doing?!" she scolded, "Get off your butt and help me!"
He pulled on her wrist again as she turned to rush off again, this time catching her off guard as she stepped, making her stumble and trip back. Samantha squeaked slightly as she fell, landing heavily in Grey's lap. She immediately tried to get up, but found herself pinned against him as he wrapped his arms gently around her, holding her softly but firmly. Squirming for a short time, she eventually gave up, leaning back against his chest as he continued to hold her.
"Now, what is it we're supposed to be doing?" Grey asked softly, loosening his grip on Samantha as she relaxed.
"Getting ready for school tomorrow," Samantha replied, closing her eyes as she pressed gently against Grey's chest, feeling surprisingly comfortable in his arms.
"All this fuss over school? Why?" Grey asked, smiling as Samantha rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm not even going, am I?"
"Uncle Roland said he organised a place for you in my class," Samantha explained, opening her eyes to watch him, "Not as a student, but as a bodyguard. Apparently half the world knows about the kidnapping attempt."
Grey leant back against the stairs, propping himself up as Samantha shifted slightly, getting more comfortable. He turned to look at her, getting startled when he saw her eyes open, amazed at just how green they were, filled with a look of absolute interest, like they wanted to see everything there was to see, to learn everything there was to learn.
Grey blinked in astonishment as he realised just how close Samantha was to him, her breath hot against his lips. Unconsciously, he opened his mouth slightly, still staring into her deep green eyes. A soft touch against his lips surprised him as her eyes slowly closed; his following suit as she sat up in his lap. Shifting slightly, Samantha pressed against him a little harder, wrapping her arms around his neck as they kissed.
Grey felt his hand begin to explore, catching them in the act, instead using them to push Samantha off. She blinked at him in surprise, staring at him with those inquisitive green eyes. He had to look away before he could speak; a furious blush on his cheeks.
"I...I'm sorry," He mumbled, "It's too much...too much right now..."
Samantha just smiled, pushing his hands away as she leant against his chest again, pulling his arms back around her as she pressed against him.
"Its fine," she whispered, "I understand."
"Gamma seems to be behaving erratically as of late, sir."
The man watched the female doctor with interest, seemingly oblivious to what she was saying.
"She's always talking about this older brother or hers, Epsilon," Dr Lester continued, scowling at the man as he stared at her, "I would like to know what it is that makes him so special, Sergeant."
"That's what I thought you'd want," he chuckled, "That's why I invited your brother. He'll be able to explain all this to you a whole lot better than I can."
"My...brother?" Dr. Lester stammered, getting out of her seat hastily, "That is fine, sir. I will pursue this matter at a later ..."
"Why the rush?" A familiar voice asked behind her as the door swished open quietly, "I'm right here, Rachel."
"Andrew..." Rachel Lester shivered at the sound of his voice, feeling her body tingle unnaturally.
Samantha stared up at her ceiling, thoughts buzzing about her head as she tried to relax. Closing her eyes, she saw Grey's face, looking away from her, bright red with embarrassment, his voice echoing in her head.
"It's too much...too much right now..."
Samantha rolled over, wrapping her pillow around her head as she tried to block out the words. Sniffing, she brought her hand up to her face, surprised to find it soaking wet, she had been crying without even realising it. Sitting up on her bed, she hugged her pillow as the tears poured out, pressing her face into the soft fabric as she sobbed.
It was her fault; she had forced herself on him at a time like this, when he had only just started to recover from that awful conditioning. Now he was probably going to be afraid of her. He'd keep his distance and act like nothing happened, try to be friendly to her, but inside he would be just as, if not more, mixed up than she was right now. She heard her door open and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was still almost an hour until her mom had said she'd be back, and Emily and Sarah had said they had family stuff. Hugging the pillow more tightly, Samantha pressed her face deeper into it as she felt him sit down on her bed.
A hand pressed softly against her shoulder, pulling her towards him, the pillow being tugged gently from her arms. She put out her arms as Grey pulled her towards him, holding herself back as he watched her silently.
"I...I'm sorry about before..." She sniffed, "I shouldn't have...have...ki..."
Samantha's voice cracked, leaving the half formed word hanging in the air she let her arms fall, tears running down her cheeks as Grey held her shoulders gently. She gasped when he pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her gently, hugging her tightly, as she sobbed into his shoulder.
"You know," his voice sounded so loud, so strong as he spoke to her, "I didn't dislike the kiss, you just...caught me by surprise..."
Samantha sobbed as he said this, throwing her arms around his neck as she continued to cry. She felt him stroke her hair gently, his one arms pushing her away slightly, his other hand slipping down to her chin, lifting her face to his. She stared at him, into those strangely intense brown eyes as he pressed his forehead against hers, a slight smile on his lips.
"I can't answer any questions right now," he whispered, "But I promise you I will soon."
Samantha blinked as he kissed her softly, his lips pressing against hers for what felt like an instant. She hiccupped, a blush raging across her face as she stared at him, before collapsing into his arms and crying even harder than before.
"As I'm sure you know, I was the one who raised Epsilon."
Dr. Lester stared at her brother as he talked, quickly becoming frustrated when he began explaining things she had read in the preliminary reports. Scowling at her brother, she remained silent, knowing that he would just continue talking about this useless information just to spite her.
"All of the children showed the expected results, increased strength, senses, intelligence, etcetera. And on top of that, the conditioning regarding the Rules was a complete success." The tall blonde haired scientist explained, "Except in the oldest of the five children."
"Epsilon," Dr. Lester said, nodding at the man as he pulled a manila folder from his satchel, spreading the contents on the desk.
"I'm sure you'll have seen the videos and read the reports by now," He said to his sister as she leant over the images and medical documents scattered across the table, "But you've had no actual contact with him, so there are many things you can't know about him."
"Like what?" Dr. Lester asked, intrigued by her brother's cryptic words.
"Well, for example, his favourite colour is blue, then grey and green. He doesn't like to eat sweet things often, and is extremely imaginative, able to come up with stories that match, if not out do many of the bestselling authors of today." He answered, counting on his fingers, a habit she found extremely annoying, "He also hates mushrooms and tomatoes, but surprisingly loves cauliflower. H..."
"This is irrelevant," Dr. Lester suddenly stated, staring at her brother disapprovingly, "What has any of this have to do with me, the Rules, or more particularly, Gamma?"
"What does it have to do with them?" He asked, leaning back against the wall, staring intensely at the lab coat wearing woman that was his sister, "What's Gamma's favourite colour? Does she like sweet things? What are her least favourite foods?"
"All irrelevant, as I said, this has nothing to do with what I was ask..." She began, cut off when he answered his owned questions, surprising the scientist.
"Purple, no, she's like her brother, and jelly." He stated, staring at her with what may have been a look of disappointment, "These are relevant because you need to know who they are, not just what they are, to know them."
"Tell me what relevance this has to this discu..." she was cut off again as she shouted at her sibling, now growing increasingly annoyed by his constant side stepping.
"Epsilon can side step the rules because of his personality type, because of the way his mind works!" He shouted at her, suddenly jumping away from the wall and standing directly in front of her,
"Because he is imaginative and logical at the same time, he can see ways around the Rules, while you couldn't see your way out of a wet paper bag if you had a map and a big sign saying "Exit this way"!"
The man stared down at the surprised woman as he breathed heavily, quickly stepping back and gathering the contents of the folder back into it, before slipping it back into his bag. Remaining silent he walked to the door and waved his security card in front of the reader, stepping through the door as it slid silently open. As it was closing behind him, he glanced back and spoke.
"Woe betide the poor wretch that seeks your love, and may there never have to be one."
Dr. Rachel Lester stared after her brother in amazement, her heart aching slightly as his words echoed in her head. Shaking it, she turned back to the Sergeant and nodded politely, before leaving the room in silence.
Sergeant Darren Blackheart sat in his chair for a short time, a grin spread across his face as he contemplated what had just happened. Reaching beside him, he hit a key on one of the various touch pads on his desk, leaning back in his chair as an image of Gamma and Beta appeared on screen. Smiling even wider, he hit the play button on the clip, watching the two girls as they stripped and entered the showers, licking his lips as they began to wash.
"Yes, pretty little things," He cackled, "Make your pure little bodies nice and clean for your Master!"
"A visit?" Grey repeated, staring at Samantha's mom in surprise, "From who?"
"Her uncle Roland." The older woman said nervously, "You've, uh, met him already."
"You mean the man who shot me?" Grey asked blatantly, a hint of cynicism in his voice, "Why is he coming?"
"He's managed to secure a special treat for you, but I'll let him tell you about when he gets here. Oh! Which appears to be now," She replied, starting when the door bell rang, smiling nervously at the taller boy as she hurried past him, calling out to the door, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"
"Gamma,"
The girl looked up at her name, staring at the older woman as she set bag down on the table.
"What's your favourite colour?"
The young girl blinked in surprise, replying hesitantly, "Purple."
The doctor seemed to tense at the answer, surprising Gamma. She watched in fascination as the older female pulled a piece of paper from her bag, staring at it, then at Gamma, for a long time. Eventually, she handed the sheet to Gamma who stared at it in amazement, her face lighting up in a way Dr. Lester had only seen on footage of the younger girl.
"Brother," She murmured as she ran a hand over the colour photo of the strangely handsome boy, his face in a half smile as a girl with long, dark brown hair and brilliant green eyes hung on his arm, smiling happily as the two walked down the street together.
"It turns out the girl is Samantha Cartwel, the daughter of Bradley Cartwel and niece to our company's Director, Roland Cartwel." Dr. Lester said calmly, watching Gamma as she stared at the girl, "She's the child of one of the men who created you. And now she seems to have your brother in her grasp."
"He is happy," Gamma said, a wide smile across her face as she looked at Dr. Lester mischievously, unsettling the woman, "And anyway, I do not like boys."
The scientist stared at the sixteen year old in confusion, before shaking her head and blinking rapidly, a slight blush crossing her cheeks. Pulling her stethoscope from her bag, she stammered slightly, "L-lift your shirt."