Subject Seventeen: Wraith Among Shadows

We arrive at the evac point just in time. A plane is already there waiting for us; its engines are on so it can take off as soon as we board. As Seven pulls the car over we notice a commotion going on in the car in front of us. Nine kicks the door open and drags out a body.

“What the hell?” One says as we get out. It’s Seventeen. He seems to be unconscious, but a small river of blood is pouring out of his ears. Three helps Nine carry him and they quickly move towards the plane.

Ten and Five are calling for us to get inside. We rush over as fast as we can. I don’t need to be in this place any longer than I have to. I hope Nine did whatever the hell he wanted to do. Because I delayed us by a few minutes we got caught in a battle with the emergency response guards who – according to the schedule – we should have bypassed a minute earlier.

As soon as we’re all in the plane I turn my attention to Seventeen. Three and Nine have put him down on a chair and are discussing what to do.

“What happened to him?” I ask, walking up to get a better look.

I try to open his eyes, but when I force them open all I see is a deep jet-black colour which causes me to jump back.

“We don’t know,” Nine says. He crouches down beside Seventeen. “If Eleven was here then she could heal him, but she’s on a different mission.”

“I’ll try to get the Doctor on the line,” Three says, walking off.

I pull Nine aside when no-ones looking.

“Thanks to the stupid favour you asked of me we almost got killed, idiot!”

“Thanks,” Nine says, a wry smile decorating his face. “You bought me enough time to upload a virus to this.” He holds up a small device, presumably the one who had downloaded all the data to.

“A virus?! Are you crazy? What do you think the Doctor’s going to do to you when he finds out what you did?”

“Listen to me, you saw Four didn’t you?”

I go quiet. I remember his usual silly face speeding around. Four… He was supposed to be dead. None of this is making any sense anymore.

“Yes…”

“Then you should know the truth. Not everything around you is real. We’re planning a coup.”

The words ring in my head. A coup. What did he mean? There was no way we could disobey the Doctor. Not with these transmitters in us at the very least. And why the hell would he even want to? Forget treason and forget where his loyalties rest right now, what about everything the Doctor has done for us to get us where we are today?

“What the hell are you talking about? That’s not possible. You of all people know that best! You ungrateful son of a bitch! If you plan to do that then I'll take you out no with no hesitation, Nine.”

Nine is taken aback for a moment before quickly regaining his composure. He can feel the venom and spite in my voice and I watch his thoughtful gaze turn to the floor before he speaks.

“Haven’t you thought that it's strange? All this time we’ve been going on missions just to kill people or blow something up? This whole system is messed up.”

“That’s our jobs! We’re soldiers! That’s what we do! We obey orders! We chose this, didn’t we? You can't just back out now because of some silly notion in your head or some regret you must have deep inside you.”

“That’s just the thing, Two! We didn’t choose this life. Our memories have been messed with.”

I fall silent. What does he mean our memories have been messed with? I don’t think about it a lot, but I do remember what my life was like before. I remember my dad going off to war and dying for his country. I remember mum killing herself. I remember all the crap I went through living on the streets. I remember the Doctor finding me and offering me the chance to be something more. Oh sure I remember. More than he did.

“You’re wrong. I remember it very clearly. You’re a traitor. That’s what you are.”

“Oh really?” Nine says, folding his arms. “Let me guess. Daddy was a war hero who died. Mother couldn’t handle the stress and offed herself, and poor you were left to fend for yourself on the streets until the so-called Doctor offered you salvation?”

I shut my mouth. I hadn’t told him that. He doesn’t have telepathy like Fourteen so he shouldn’t know that.

“Two, we’ve been lied to. We’re nobodies. The Doctor has used thousands of kids like us in his experiments, just to create super-soldiers. This war we’re fighting? It’s not a war. It’s terrorism.”

“What? No… You’re lying. That’s not possible.”

“Stop deceiving yourself. You’ve seen the signs. Three wasn’t happy to see Four and Six now was she? She was supposed to have them killed for finding out. I helped stage their deaths so they could get away. Everything you know... Everything around you is a facade. We’re not saving the world. We’re destroying it.”

I sink to my knees. I know it’s not possible. It just isn’t. Maybe Nine is having a psychotic breakdown. It’s possible right? I mean wouldn’t you break down if you had an IQ of just over two-hundred? Yeah, that must be it. The Doctor would fix him. I’m sure of it.

“You’re glitching,” I say. “The Doctor will fix you, don’t worry.”

“Two!” Nine says grabbing my arm. “Listen to me. I’ll show you the truth tomorrow, I promise. Don’t do anything rash till then. Promise me?”

I stare into his dull green eyes. He doesn’t look crazy but I know he must be. It’s the only explanation. Yet something about his words makes me want to try and trust him. To try and believe in him.

“Fine. I’ll give you till tomorrow.”

I pull my arm free from his grip and walk away. 'Seventeen needs me,' I think. I don’t know why I’m thinking it, but I increase my pace until I’m by his side again. Now that Nine has made me doubt everyone I know, I suddenly feel drawn to him. Some decent person I am. He’s still unconscious. I place my head on his hand and wish for him to get better. I take a mental note to never do this if he's conscious. I don’t know why, but right now he’s the only one I care about. Not Nine or even Three. Just him.

He’s like a raven, or a crow. So dark, but so beautiful. I look at his face. He looks so calm and gentle, even though I know exactly what he’s capable of.

I sit down in the seat next to him and close my eyes. I hate to admit it, but what if Nine is right? I think back to the research center. It didn’t seem like we were in Russia. It wouldn’t be that warm there this time of year. Also, it took around six hours to get there, not three. Something doesn’t add up.

I think back to the guards; they were both talking in English, not Russian. Maybe Nine was right. I don’t think we hit a Russian research center. But wherever we did hit we made a major mess of. I think back to all the missions I’ve gone on. We hit China once, a short mission to help in the war between them and the U.S. We hit Berlin didn’t we? And Finland? But I have no proof of any of them except China. I gasp.

No. It can’t be. If Nine is saying what I think he’s saying, then we really just are terrorists. In fact, there may not even be a war going on. But with what we did today, there just might be one. Is that the whole purpose of us? To be weapons of destruction? To start fires no one can tame? For what purpose do I have these powers? To save the world? Or to save myself? Maybe it's the exact opposite; to destroy it...

I open my eyes. If Nine really is right… If he is then it would mean that we aren’t heroes. No. It would mean we’re villains. Not soldiers, but tools. Pawns to be used as Sanders and the Doctor sees fit. I’ve always found it strange how we never once heard the Doctor’s real name. We always just call him ‘the Doctor.’

I ponder over every mission I’ve ever gone on. It all begins to seem even more and more suspicious. If Nine is telling me all of this then Five must already know. If Five’s in on it, who else is? Eight is supposed to be on the front lines, but if there is no war where is she? I have to find out. I have to get to the bottom of this.

Three walks back into the cabin. I watch her warily. She’s Sanders’ daughter after all. Of course she’d be in on it. It also explains why she was so angry to see Four and Six.

“So, what did the Doctor say?” I ask.

“He’s fine,” Three replies. It’s just the stress his body is facing from using his new abilities. It hasn’t adapted properly yet. Give him a few hours rest and he should be good.”

“I hope so.”

I really do. There’s nothing I can do for him now, so I simply stay by his side. I don’t know how long I’m there, but it seems like forever. What feels like an hour is only ten minutes.

Sometimes Seventeen twists and turns, groaning as if he’s having a bad dream. I don’t know why, but now that I’ve started to doubt Three, I’m starting to attach myself to this dark boy. Maybe Nine isn’t the one breaking down. Maybe it’s me. I feel like there are very few people left I can trust right now.

So who can I trust? I need to carefully think about everyone around me. One is a maybe. Three is out of the question. Four and Six have gone rogue, but Five might be good. If I can trust Five I can trust Seven too. I have complete faith in Eight, so when she gets back I’ll definitely tell her everything – assuming she tells me the truth. Ten is the last person I want to trust with a secret. If Nine’s theory is true then we need Eleven on our side; she’s the only healer we have. The rest are questionable. As for Seventeen, well, he’s had his memories wiped and forcibly uploaded with a fake ones. Not to mention his personality has been tweaked by the Doctor. But his power could come in handy. Maybe there's a way to restore his memories and find out what he knows?

I sigh. Someone is going to get hurt. I just hope it isn’t me.