Bella Forrest - The Gender Lie

T he steady beep of the equipment monitoring Viggos vitals had become a soothing and constant reminder that he was still alive. I shifted in the chair that had become my second home and stared at his unconscious face, both here and miles away at the same time.

When I had first sat by his bed, the beeps of the machine had felt like a metronome, counting down the minutes until he died. Every missed beat or change in rhythm would cause my heart to leap into my throatout of both fear for the worst and hope for the best. By now, I was numb to it. I knew that there would be no change, no miraculous recovery, until we got the laser that was needed to seal the tear in his heart.

The tear that he had put there while protecting me from the twin princesses of Matrus. He had used adrenaline patches to try to buy me time to escape and in doing so, his heart had given out. He would have died, if not for the intervention of a group whom Id since learned called themselves the Liberatorsrun by Desmond Bertrand, former spy of Matrus.

When I first met Desmond, I didnt know whether to trust her or not. She seemed honest and allowed me to stay, promising to help me with Viggo and Tim if I would consider joining her side in a war against Matrus. But then again, her son had seemed honest, and he had tried to kill me.

Still, Desmonds offer was tempting. Matrus hadnt done me any favors in the last eight years, and after all I had been through, I was in no rush to returnespecially since I was being blamed for Queen Rina and Mr. Jenks deaths.

My eyes glazed over as I stared at Viggos chest, and my thoughts wandered to my brother. So much had changed in him during the years hed been used as a guinea pig with the other lost boys of Matrus, as my homeland had tried to turn them into a better breed of human. Enhanced speed, strength, endurance, intelligenceall tested here in this hidden facility within The Green.

When Tim fought with Marina, he had held his own with her for several minutes because of his enhancement. It was why I had assumed he possessed the same enhancement as hers: Strength. But after looking at a file pilfered from Mr. Jenks lab, I learned differently. It was Tims reflexes that had been enhanced, making him able to react faster than a normal person.

All the enhancements came with a price, however. I had discovered that Tims was tactile sensitivityeverything that touched him hurt him in some way. Even his clothes caused discomfort. He was also dealing with years of isolation and trauma due to the so-called stress tests that Mr. Jenks had designed to test the boys limitations and weaknesses.

It was lucky for Mr. Jenks that Lee cut his throat. If he were still alive, I wouldve done a lot worse to him.

And to Queen Rina, considering she allowed her unborn children to be among the first experiments.

As my mind returned once again to our narrow survival of the twins attack, I frowned, thinking of Ms. Dale. Desmond kept her locked in one of the cells that had been empty, and I hadnt seen her since that day. I had asked about her more than twice, but Desmond had warned me that Ms. Dale was their enemy. I had tried to argue on my old teachers behalf, but my words fell on deaf ears, and I needed to be cautious when it came to Desmond. She had the power to keep me off the mission to procure Viggos cure, so I had resigned myself to keeping my mouth shut and my ears open.

Although, given what I had learned about the Liberators, they all seemed reasonable. They were people, just like Viggo and me, who had found out their government was lying to them. The majority of them were from Matrus, but there were a few here and theremostly womenfrom Patrus.

All were disillusioned like me, but I had been a pawn in this game for far too longwhich was why I didnt want to join Desmonds rebel faction. I didnt believe that there was any way to win a war with Matrus, let alone start one, so I had kept my mouth shut and fended off her requests to make me a full member. Id told her that at the moment, I was only concerned about Viggo, and making him well.

But, if I was truly honest with myself, I was starting to like Desmond.

She was brusque, but fair. Her orders were rarely ever refused, but when they were, she opened her door to whomever had problems with them, and heard them out. Sometimes she even changed her mind when a good argument was presented. It didnt happen often, but I had seen it once with Owenthe young man whod tried to kidnap me in The Greenand it impressed me.

Tearing myself away from my thoughts, I refocused my eyes on Viggo. I had come here to tell him that I was leaving.

Reaching out a hand, I smoothed a lock of hair from his face. I still didnt feel ready to say goodbyeeven if it was to depart on the mission to procure the object that could heal him.

As much as I was excited, I felt nervous for several reasonsthe first and foremost of which was leaving Viggo and my brother behind for any amount of time. I was entrusting their well-being to otherssomething I wasnt remotely comfortable with. My imagination kept running amok, visualizing worst-case scenarios that could take place in my absence.

It took every ounce of self-control I possessed to push my worries aside and remind myself that what I was doing, I was doing for Viggo. I had waited too long for this mission, and I couldnt falter now. Not with his life on the line.

Desmond had located a warehouse in Patrus that had exactly the type of laser we were looking for, and if we did things right, Patrus wouldnt even know it was missing. So, I was going into Patrus, where I was wanted as a terrorist. I was just glad I wasnt going alone.

Desmond had made good on her promise. For two weeks, I had trained side by side with a small team of Liberators. Owen was serving as the de facto leader of our group. When he had grabbed me in The Green, I had thought him some man-snake creature, but in reality, I had been reacting to the suit he wore. A suit that allowed him to move undetected. It was one of the most advanced forms of camouflage I had ever seenand they had trained me to use one.

Owen was clearly Desmonds second-in-command, which was interesting, due to his Matrian status and his young agehe was barely older than me. It had taken me a while, but Id come to realize that I actually liked Owenhe could be annoying at times, too jovial, but he had a good sense of leadership.

Besides Owen and myself, there were three others joining us.

Amberwho was a bit younger than me, with curly orange-red hair that she cut artfully by shaving the sides of her head while keeping a thick curly mop on top. She was outgoing and upbeat, but I had learned that she had originally escaped from Patrus, where her father had sold her to a wealthy man to pay off his debts.

Then there was Solomon. When I had first met him, he had been incredibly intimidatingtaller and broader than Viggo, roped with muscles that seemed ready to burst. Everything about him seemed dark, from the duskiness of his skin and the deep inky black of his hair and beard, to his intense black eyes. He gave off a dangerous vibe and I had kept my distance until I had heard him laugh a rich, joyful soundafter which Id realized he was a kind and considerate individual. He had gone out of his way to bring Tim little gifts like softer clothes that wouldnt irritate his skin, and pilfered cookies his mother Meera (who was a cook for the Liberators) had made. Solomons own little brother was a failed test subject and a captive of the facility.