The Seven by Sean Patrick Little
Authors: Sean Patrick Little
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, adventure, Genetic engineering, Conspiracies, Superheroes, Teenagers, Mutation (Biology), Human Experimentation in Medicine
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jabbed the nearest security guard in the neck. His eyes closed and he fell over almost immediately. Andy stepped out of the tank and took two steps that shook the room. He reached out and grabbed the two-way radio that the other soldier was fumbling. Andy squeezed his oversized hand around it and crushed it. He extended a finger and poked the soldier in the head. The man's eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the ground in a heap.
"How do you feel?" Sebbins asked. She started pulling dull blue surgical gowns out of a drawer and tying them together to make some makeshift clothes for someone Andy's size.
Andy was sputtering and coughing up serum. "I feel okay," he grunted. His voice was thick and hoarse. It was a stark contrast to the mellifluous tenor voice he had before the change. "Let's get out of here."
Dr. Sebbins started draping him with the gowns. "I don't know that we're going to be able to hide you. I think we have to make a break for the hidden corridor in the lab."
"Soldiers won't be there?"
Sebbins frowned. "I don't know. Stay behind me and I'll go check." She opened the door to the auxiliary lab and glanced down the hall. A guard in gray camouflage holding a Kalashnikov rifle was pacing the intersection of the main corridor and the hall to Cormair's living quarters just outside the door to the lab.
"Everything all right, Doctor?" he called.
"Everything is fine. I could use a hand, though." The soldier slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked down the hall, moving quickly. Before he could turn the corner into the lab, Sebbins had injected him with a sedative in the upper shoulder. He had just enough time to see Andy, comprehend what was happened, and start to draw his weapon before he passed out. Andy took the end of the rifle in his hands and bent the end like it was rubber.
"I'm strong," said Andy.
"Very much so," said Dr. Sebbins. "You were engineered to be a human tank."
"Are we going to escape?"
"We're going to try."
"How strong am I?"
"I don't know. I couldn't tell you. You might be able to bench-press a Greyhound bus. Follow me."
Sebbins moved quickly and quietly down the hall, each step with the light touch and grace of a trained dancer. In contrast, Andy took earth-shaking, thundering steps behind her. Each time his foot fell, she could feel the vibration through the floor. Sebbins knew that Cormair had compensated for his mass by giving him a squat, powerful, unbreakable skeleton, but Sebbins worried about the boy's joints. How could his knees continue to hold up?
"Doc?"
"What, Andy?"
"I think we're going to have a problem."
"What's that?"
"I saw the escape door when they opened it earlier."
"And?"
"I'm not going to fit."
The door had been made to fit a normal human being. The tunnel behind it was not much larger than the door. Andy's body, wider and thicker than any human, would never make it to the end of the tunnel. Sebbins began cursing silently and searching her mind for an alternative escape route.
"The only other way is the front door, isn't it?" said Andy. "This lab is below ground. There are no fire escapes. We can't jump out any windows."
"Andy, how fast do you think you can run?"
"Doc, have you looked at me? 'Run' just ain't in my vocabulary anymore. 'Stagger' maybe. How about 'Galumph?' 'Trudge?' 'Lumber?'"
"Will you be able to lumber, then?"
"Not very fast. I was never very fast. I'm probably ridiculously slow now."
"Did I ever tell you I ran track in high school?"
"Nope."
"State Champ in the four hundred meters. Let's go through the front door."
"It's probably going to be difficult. If there are soldiers here, they will probably want to stop us. I don't think I can hide behind a tree."
"Walk while we talk. I'll tell you what I know about your abilities. You are exceptionally powerful. Your musculature has been artificially enhanced making you incredibly strong. Your muscles are so tightly corded that they can stop bullets Your bones are unbreakable.
"How do you feel?" Sebbins asked. She started pulling dull blue surgical gowns out of a drawer and tying them together to make some makeshift clothes for someone Andy's size.
Andy was sputtering and coughing up serum. "I feel okay," he grunted. His voice was thick and hoarse. It was a stark contrast to the mellifluous tenor voice he had before the change. "Let's get out of here."
Dr. Sebbins started draping him with the gowns. "I don't know that we're going to be able to hide you. I think we have to make a break for the hidden corridor in the lab."
"Soldiers won't be there?"
Sebbins frowned. "I don't know. Stay behind me and I'll go check." She opened the door to the auxiliary lab and glanced down the hall. A guard in gray camouflage holding a Kalashnikov rifle was pacing the intersection of the main corridor and the hall to Cormair's living quarters just outside the door to the lab.
"Everything all right, Doctor?" he called.
"Everything is fine. I could use a hand, though." The soldier slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked down the hall, moving quickly. Before he could turn the corner into the lab, Sebbins had injected him with a sedative in the upper shoulder. He had just enough time to see Andy, comprehend what was happened, and start to draw his weapon before he passed out. Andy took the end of the rifle in his hands and bent the end like it was rubber.
"I'm strong," said Andy.
"Very much so," said Dr. Sebbins. "You were engineered to be a human tank."
"Are we going to escape?"
"We're going to try."
"How strong am I?"
"I don't know. I couldn't tell you. You might be able to bench-press a Greyhound bus. Follow me."
Sebbins moved quickly and quietly down the hall, each step with the light touch and grace of a trained dancer. In contrast, Andy took earth-shaking, thundering steps behind her. Each time his foot fell, she could feel the vibration through the floor. Sebbins knew that Cormair had compensated for his mass by giving him a squat, powerful, unbreakable skeleton, but Sebbins worried about the boy's joints. How could his knees continue to hold up?
"Doc?"
"What, Andy?"
"I think we're going to have a problem."
"What's that?"
"I saw the escape door when they opened it earlier."
"And?"
"I'm not going to fit."
The door had been made to fit a normal human being. The tunnel behind it was not much larger than the door. Andy's body, wider and thicker than any human, would never make it to the end of the tunnel. Sebbins began cursing silently and searching her mind for an alternative escape route.
"The only other way is the front door, isn't it?" said Andy. "This lab is below ground. There are no fire escapes. We can't jump out any windows."
"Andy, how fast do you think you can run?"
"Doc, have you looked at me? 'Run' just ain't in my vocabulary anymore. 'Stagger' maybe. How about 'Galumph?' 'Trudge?' 'Lumber?'"
"Will you be able to lumber, then?"
"Not very fast. I was never very fast. I'm probably ridiculously slow now."
"Did I ever tell you I ran track in high school?"
"Nope."
"State Champ in the four hundred meters. Let's go through the front door."
"It's probably going to be difficult. If there are soldiers here, they will probably want to stop us. I don't think I can hide behind a tree."
"Walk while we talk. I'll tell you what I know about your abilities. You are exceptionally powerful. Your musculature has been artificially enhanced making you incredibly strong. Your muscles are so tightly corded that they can stop bullets Your bones are unbreakable.