Part 3: The Theorist

“We need to meet. Tonight. Usual time and place.”

Erving read the message on his screen with a look of annoyance. It wasn’t the first time Amina had messaged him from a dummy account, but he had told her to stop. Sending him direct messages and emails wasn't safe. He preferred to keep their recent conversations offline. “She never listens,” He grumbled to himself as he scratched at the stubble on his chin. “At least she was smart enough to be vague.” Exasperated, he turned away from his computer, accidentally knocking over a cup of half-eaten ramen. He let out a defeated sigh as he watched the last of his dinner drip onto the floor.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, as he scooped what he could back into the cup and then reached for a roll of paper towels. “It was still warm too…” As he dried up the soup he took a long look around his disheveled apartment. This was probably the most cleaning he had done in a while. There were empty cans everywhere, his bed was unmade, and the dirty clothes in his clothes basket threatened to avalanche.

He rubbed his eyes. “When was the last time I cleaned?” he thought to himself. “Was it last week or last month…?” He couldn’t even remember. At least, he couldn’t remember the last time he had cleaned up independent of some random meal mishap. Erving’s mind has been preoccupied for a long while now. His pursuit of the Collective had become all encompassing so things like picking up after himself had fallen to the wayside. His mind had tended to become hyper-fixated on random things, but in the last year it had only gotten worse. Ever since he lost his twin sister, things hadn’t been the same.

Erving and Melinda had always been close. She understood him on a level that no one else in his family ever did. She was far and away his parent’s favorite, but he wasn’t ever jealous. Erving knew he was kind of a screw up, but he was proud of her and everything she'd accomplished. She’d often call and talk to him about her job, usually at a level that Erving barely understood, but it didn’t matter.

Then one day… the calls stopped.

Melinda had been working at a clean energy lab in upstate New York as a technician under a young physicist. She had been excited to get the job, but she hadn’t been there a week before some test or something went wrong. A machine malfunctioned… or maybe it was user error. Either way, Melinda, the physicist she worked for, and ten other technicians lost their lives. Erving went through the motions at her funeral, but he knew the casket was empty. After the explosion the police and fire department confirmed what was left of the people that had been inside was unidentifiable. None of it ever sat right with Erving. Too much didn’t add up. Melinda talked to him all the time about work, but she never said it was dangerous. What could they have been working on that burned so hot there wouldn’t be any identifiable remains? After the accident, the property had been cleared in less than a week. Why the rush?

Erving had tried to get his family to dig deeper, to push the company that financed the lab to get more information, but they begged him to let it go. He couldn’t though. His mind was locked on it and he couldn’t just drop it. He willingly sacrificed whatever it took for more information. Even after his girlfriend left him. Even after his relationship with his parents soured. He didn't stop. He devoted his time off from work to delving into the dark corners of the internet. He had to find some evidence to prove his madness had merit. Once it was all done, he’d be able to rest and mend his own life. For now, justice was more important.

That’s how he met Amina. The reporter had been looking into the explosion as well and came to the same conclusion Erving had. It was a coverup. Initially, he wasn’t sure she had the same intentions he did. He assumed she was just a glory hound wanting to make a name for herself, but he realized pretty quickly that he was wrong. She wanted the truth almost as badly as he needed it.

“I should at least get this place looking like an actual human lives here,” he thought as he kicked a can at his feet. If Ami actually helped him solve this, maybe he'd have her over. They could order a pizza and watch some dumb movie. That's what normal friends do instead of trying to topple some shadow society. It would be a nice change of pace to say the least.

Erving picked up his discarded energy drinks cans and then pulled back the black-out curtains that kept his room in permanent darkness. They often made it difficult to know what time of day it was, so it wasn’t uncommon for Erving to lose track of time. Even so, he was surprised by how late it had gotten as the sun was already starting to set. He signed again as he slipped on his street clothes. He had to get going. After all, he would hate for Amina to think he was standing her up.

After a short bus ride, just as the last of the sun’s light faded, Erving made it to the park. Even from a distance he could make out the unmistakable silhouette of his reporter ally on her usual bench. Even from far away he could tell something was wrong. Her leg fidgeted as her gaze shifted around nervously. She was clearly agitated over something, either that or very heavily caffeinated.

“Hey, you alright?” Erving asked as he sat down beside the reporter. “Did my lead turn up anything?”

Amina, with a worried expression, shook her head, “You have no idea, man.” A somber look replaced her unease as she continued, “You were right about the fire being a coverup. Those people that died… it wasn’t the fire that killed them.”

Erving, nodded as he pulled out his vape pen, “I knew something seemed off about it. These people try to cover their tracks, but anyone with a half a brain can see ‘em anyway. Did you actually find some sort of hard evidence this time?”

“Oh yea, I did,” Amina said as she brought out her phone and started flipping through the bloody scenes she’d photographed. As Erving looked over he couldn’t mask his horror.

“Holy shit…” he said as he lowered his vape pen. “It looks like whatever animal they were training in there must’ve gotten pretty pissed off.”

Nervously, Amina described what she had pieced together, “Uh… yea. They weren’t doing behavior experiments… They were experimenting on people. Surgically.”

Erving's face contorted in disgust, “Surgery…?”

“Uh-huh. Real Dr. Frankenstein sort of stuff,” Amina continued as she slid her phone back into her pocket. She then retrieved the flash drive and passed it to Erving. “Here. I made copies of their data. Here’s a copy for you too. I was only able to get into some old video journals. I was hoping you could maybe break into the files I couldn’t.”

“If you couldn’t get into the data how do you know what all they did?” Erving asked as he took the drive. “Did they actually record themselves chopping people up? We're gonna need a smoking gun for something this big and if there’s video evidence you probably don’t even need anything else.”

Amina looked down, a serious expression spread across her face, “…they mostly just talked about what they were doing in the journals, but I... I have a witness. Someone from the lab. She’s back at my house.”

“She’s what?!” Erving said, shocked but still trying to keep his volume to an angry whisper, “You found someone alive and you brought them to your home?! Are you insane!?” The reporter looked away as he continued to berate her, “Turn her over to the cops and break the story, Ami! You’re harboring a criminal! You’ve put us both in danger!”

“She’s not one of the scientists. She’s one of the victims,” Amina retorts, angrily.

The words left Erving reeling, “A victim…? Alive…? You mean these people were alive when they were…?”

Amina nodded, “Yea, the logs said most of the participants died, but she… she… fought back and escaped. She was still hiding in the woods near the lab when I broke in. I only brought her back with me to keep her safe.”

“How do you know she’s actually a victim?” Erving asked, unconvinced. “What if she’s lying?”

“Trust me,” Amina said, her eyes wide, “There’s no question she’s the real deal.”

Erving still had his doubts. Although he knew Amina wouldn’t lie to him, the idea that someone had been able to fight their way out of a Collective lab left him more than a little skeptical. He’s lived on the fringe for a while, but he’s not off the deep end yet.

“Victim or not,” Erving said in an annoyed tone, “if the Collective knows she’s alive they’re going to search for her to put her down. You’re going to get yourself killed over this and if they find you, they’ll eventually find me. Thanks a lot for putting me right in their crosshairs.”

“I couldn’t just leave her,” Amina said, sadly, “if you saw her… what they did to her…”

“You’re a reporter, Ami,” Erving said resolutely. “Whatever they did to this woman, you have no idea how to help her. You need to get her out of your house. Drive around to confuse her and drop her off at a hospital. Then just hope she doesn’t remember how to get back to your place. When the Collective finds her, and they probably will, they’ll get the information out of her. Did you at least not tell her your real name?”

Amina looked away without responding and Erving just shook his head.

Erving stood up and said, “Goddamn it, Ami. I thought you were smarter than this. I’ll get what I can out of your drive, then we’re done.” He then stormed off before Amina could respond. In his mind, he cursed himself for being so stupid. He should have known to not reach out to someone else. He had thought Amina understood the depth of danger they were both in, but she clearly had no idea. Now both of their lives were at risk. That lab had been burned to the ground to hide the secrets that were now tucked away in his pocket. Taking the files was a calculated risk that needed to be done, but bringing back some random person and trying to hide them? That's overcomplicating an already complicated situation.

Erving sadly shook his head as if to dispel the thought. He knew it wasn’t solely Amina’s fault. His whole family had told him to let this go because they were worried he’d put himself in a situation just like this. Instead he had let himself become too obsessed and in turn spread his obsession to Amina. It had been his idea for her to check out the ruined lab, after all. In the end, whatever happened to them both would be his fault.

“You can’t bail on me now!” Amina said urgently, grasping his arm and snapping him out of his thoughts. He hadn’t even heard her run up behind him.

“The Hell I can’t,” he said as he wrenched his arm away from her. “I want to stop the Collective as much as you do, probably more, but I’m not looking to die over it.”

“You need to come back to my house…” Amina snapped, “maybe if you see what they did to her you'll understand…”

“Oh no,” Erving said, raising his hands as if to guard himself from further involvement, “You’re not gonna Sarah McLaughlin me with some sad eyed little puppy you’ve got back at your place. Besides, the whole point of having a meet up is so we don’t know where the other person lives if someone tries to shake us down for information.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t looked me up,” Amina fired back. “I’m sure you already know where I live. At very least, you know where I work so if someone does put your ass to the fire you already have all the information they would need to find me!”

Erving stood silent. He couldn’t deny what the reporter said. He probably knew more about her than most people. He had to be sure he could trust her so he’d scoured the dark web for information on her before he even approached her. Someone using him to get to her wasn’t what was holding him back. It was the possibility that perhaps she was right. The possibility that seeing this woman Ami rescued might spur him deeper than he already was. He went to make his counter argument, but as he opened his mouth he could tell by the expression on Amina’s face it would be a waste of energy.

Amina put her hands on her hips, a clear indication she was going to back down, “What? Got another dumbass excuse? You need to see this! Even if those files don’t nail it home for you how bad we need you, seeing her will!”

“Alright, alright, stop yelling,” Erving said, finally relenting. “Lead the way, I guess.”

While the two make their way out of the park, back at Amina’s home Four was nervously exploring the space alone. She shuffled from room to room, aimless. Amina said she needed to run an errand, but it had felt like such a long time since she left. In the recesses of Four’s mind she had been concocting her own narrative.

“Maybe I made her angry?” Four thought to herself. “Is that why she left?”

Scenario after scenario played through her head. Perhaps Amina had abandoned her because Four had scratched her, or maybe the reporter was simply tired of looking at her monstrous body? To the poor chimera, the number of reasons to abandon her were too many to count. Whatever the reason, Four lamented the idea that the reporter might not return and that she would be alone again. All of the negative thoughts made Four whimper and panic as she unconsciously grasped at her borrowed t-shirt. Her claws, sharp and unyielding, tore easily through the cotton fabric and before she even realized it, the garment was in shreds.

“No… no…!” Four shrieked. “Ah...mina’s shirt… It’s ruined!”

Her stress level was further raised when she heard the rattle of the doorknob and the creak of the front door opening. Amina had returned and would soon know the fate of the destroyed garment. The very idea that the reporter would be angry or disappointed made Four panic even more. She quickly looked around for some way to hide her shame. Thinking quickly she leapt into Amina’s bedroom and covered herself in a blanket. She could hide under the cover, she thought, she could hide until she could dispose of the shirt and Amina would never have to know.

As the reporter entered her home she softly called to Four and Erving, curiously, followed behind. From Ami’s description, he thought that he would be meeting an adult, but the way she was acting it seemed more like she was trying to coax out a child. He’d only ever known the reporter to be hot-headed and determined, so this side of her was something new to him entirely.

“Let me find her first,” Amina said, raising her hand for him to stay behind. “I want to ease her into this. I don’t know how she’ll act when she sees someone else here.”

Erving put his hands up and shrugged. “Whatever you say,” he said and then backed up to the doorway as Amina continued her search.

“Four?” Amina said calmly as she walked toward her bedroom, “Are you in here?”

The chimera sat up on the bed, tearful, covered in a blanket so that only her face could barely be seen. “Ah…mina… don't be mad… I… I’m sorry. It was… an accident.”

Erving could only just see Amina as she slowly walked over to the obscured woman, but he could hear most of the conversation. “It's ok. I promise I won’t be mad about some accident.” Amina said. “What is it, huh? I'm sure it can't be that bad.”

Four looked down, sniffling, “It is… I ripped your… pretty shirt. I didn’t… mean to. I… got scared…”

“It’s ok, really. It’s not a big deal,” Amina said with a smile, “It’s an old shirt anyway."

Erving slowly walked forward with concern and as he witnessed the exchange between Amina and the woman. The woman under the blanket continued to whimper until she noticed him. Once she did, her expression changed drastically from subdued sadness to an intimidating fury. She leaned forward, her eyes shadowed as she let out a hiss.

“Easy! Easy!” Amina said, as she tried to calm Four down. She then turned back to Erving, “I told you to wait, dumbass! Are you trying to get your head ripped off?!” The statement left Erving dumbfounded. There was no way that small woman on the bed could hurt him, he was sure of it. She looked sickly and just a few moments ago she’d been crying uncontrollably over a ripped t-shirt.

“I think I’ll probably be fine,” he said assuredly, “I don’t think your little friend there is going to hurt me.”

In response Four lets out a low growl. “Hurt you…? I could hurt you. I could. If you’re here… to hurt us… I will… hurt you!” she said, her voice dripping with venom. She slowly began rising from the bed hunched beneath her blanket armor.

“Nope! No! You need to stay there, Four. I'm serious,” Amina said as she focused on the chimera again. “Erving’s a friend, ok? He’s the one who sent me to your lab. He’s here to help.”

“Hey, Ami,” Erving said, sure that he had seen enough. “Can we talk for a minute?” Amina made a final motion for Four to stay and then stepped away. Erving leaned in toward the reporter and quietly said, “Dude, that girl's got major problems. PTSD or some shit. You can’t keep her here. She needs, like, professional help.” He then looked back again to see Four, still snarling and hissing by the bed. “Just look at her,” he says concerned, “she’s like a cornered animal.”

“ANIMAL?!” Four screeched as she tossed her blanket away. “I'LL SHOW YOU… AN ANIMAL!”

Erving could only stare speechless as the chimera rose to her full height. Her misshapen form stomped across the room and she raised a clawed hand to strike him down for his careless words. Amina acted quickly and put herself between her friends.

“STOP! He didn’t mean it like that! Just relax!” Amina said as she put up her hands.

Erving just continued to stare speechless as Amina tried to talk Four down. This is what Amina had meant when she said she knew that Four was a victim, that the evidence was undeniable. Everything he thought… No… everything he knew about the Collective… it was all true. It had to be. What they did… what they were willing to do… Four was living proof.

Erving looked down, ashamed. He knew the Collective had hurt more people than just Melinda, but he tried to not think about everyone else. Up to this point, every other victim had been names and pictures on a screen. They weren't people, not to him. If Amina found them justice, then great, but he wasn't seeking vengeance for anyone but his sister. Erving had been scared that if he cared, he might get even more carried away. As he closed his eyes he knew his fear was becoming realized in real time. The cruelty… the death… it just had to stop, no matter what else it cost him.

“I’m sorry,” Erving finally said, quietly, taking both Amina and Four by surprise. He walked forward, cautiously. “I wasn't trying to be a dick, but I shouldn’t have said that,” he admitted. He then asked Four, “Why did they do this to you?”

Four looked to the ground as she wrapped her arms around herself. She began to shift her weight back and forth between her elongated avian legs, rocking herself gently. The chimera’s words finally came with long pauses, as if the words themselves had to fight to escape her lips. “I… don’t know why… they made me… this way…” she said, “but Ah… mina says… I am…still a person. Even... like this… I’m… not an animal...”

Erving shook his head. He couldn’t imagine what the poor woman had been through. He saw the result, but the steps in between had to have been horrific. “I get it now, Ami,” he said, “I’m in. All the way.”

The chimera scoffed and frowned as Amina shot her a grin, “Aw c’mon, Four. Just give him a chance. I trust him.”

“Four, huh?” Erving said, trying to make small talk and put the chimera at ease. “That's… uh… a unique name.” Four just silently turned away, unwilling to engage in conversation. Amina finally chimed in herself.

“It’s not her real name,” Amina said. “It’s just what I’ve been calling her. Whatever they did to her really messed with her head and she can’t remember what her real name is.”

“Oh.. so you’ve got some kind of amnesia?” Erving said, concerned. He then fished the flash drive out of his pocket and showed it to Four. “If those bastards took good notes then there’s probably something on the drive Ami gave me that we can use to jog your memory,” he said. “I'll get to work on this as soon as I get home. We’ll figure it out, ok?”

Four’s eyes open wide with hope. “You mean… you can… help me remember… who I am?” she asked.

“I’m no psychologist,” Erving said with a smile, “but if there’s anything here, I’ll dig it out. We can go from there. Ami’s right, ok? You can trust me.”

Erving’s earnest concern made Four start to tear up again. The kindness of another person she’d only just met tore at the walls she had spent years building around herself. As her emotions swelled within her, Erving just watched feeling unnerved. All he saw was the chimera standing and stared at him in unblinking silence. Her arms twitched and her fingers bent and fidgeted, as if she was waiting for something, but he had no idea what.

“Uh… is she ok, Ami?” Erving nervously asked as Four stepped past the reporter. “She's not about to tear my arms off or something is she?”

Amina just shook her head and with a small grin she mimed a hugging embrace. Erving took the hint and slowly raised his own arms as Four fell into him. Her body was cold and tense as she squeezed him tight. He couldn’t help but feel protective of the chimera as he held her. Though she stood almost a head taller than him, she just felt so small in his arms. So afraid.

“Is this how Melinda felt… before she...?” he thought.

He hugged Four close, a cathartic moment for them both as the Collective had taken so much from them. Deep down, they understood each other's shared, yet unique, pain. After a few moments, Four finally pulled away and uttered a “Thank you” so quiet it was almost inaudible. Erving nodded and then motioned for Amina to follow him as he headed to the door.

“No more direct messages. You got that? I’m serious,” he said sternly. “I’ll pick up some burner phones and drop one off in the morning. You need me, you call me on that, emergencies only though. If you don’t already use a VPN, you better start.”

“Pfft, I’m not a rookie, you know? I wouldn't have messaged you if it wasn't important.” Amina said indignantly.

Erving turned back to look at her, more dire than she had ever seen. “I get it, but no more reckless bullshit, Ami. We’re not just in the deep end anymore. We’re in the middle of the fucking Atlantic. The Collective has to know by now that Four’s still alive. They burned those other people, but there’s no way they confused one of those bodies for hers. I don't know how she hid without them finding her before you did, but with her alive they know there’s a tangible way they could be exposed.”

The somber theorist then opened the front door and left Amina with one final thought.

“The real monsters don’t want to be brought out of the shadows," he said. "They’ll put us and everyone we care about in the ground if it means they get to stay there.”

His own words sent a shiver down his spine as he walked out into the night. Every person he passed, every footstep he heard behind him sent him further into trepidation. The price for Erving's obsession with stopping the Collective had just gotten higher, but it was still a price he was willing to pay.