Firebomb (The Jewel Project #2)

19.1|| Undercover

Sam stared at the bookcase. It was filled with files, not books, and instead of just picking one up, he preferred to stare and wonder what they held. Because if he didn't play this imagination game, his mind would wander to other things. Like Tom being captured and taken heaven knew where. Or Ron actually being related to them and their parents never mentioning him.

What the hell was wrong with his family? How many more criminal skeletons did their closet hold? Was Snitch Gravel some vengeful long lost cousin, too? It was getting ridiculous.

Sam focused on the files again. Why were they here? Deciding that just staring wasn't working anymore, he picked one out of the many and opened it randomly. Pictures of dead children. Groovy.

Sam threw the file on the floor and picked another one. This time, when he opened it, there was a medical report. Dead adults this time. He tossed it on the floor over the other and picked one from a lower shelf. Plans of the compound. This was much more interesting.

He sat down cross-legged and analyzed the sketches inside. They were outdated and showed how the labs had been modified over thirty years. They had been used for nuclear experiments until about twenty years ago when they'd turned them into what looked like a medical facility. All the pictures of dead people suddenly made sense. But what were they doing, hidden in the woods? What were they trying to develop?

Hating to have to do this, Sam picked up one of the desecrated files and looked past the pictures, to the medical records. There was a mention of a serum, side effects, subjects going insane, but nothing to indicate what this serum was for.

"What's up, kid?" Kyle asked sitting next to Sam.

Sam jumped and dropped the file. The others had been so quiet, he'd even forgotten they were there. Come to think about it, they were all getting some much needed sleep. He should sleep too, but he couldn't. Not without a plan and for that he needed information about Tom.

"Just filling up my time. Trying not to think about how screwed up our family is," he mumbled, closing the file. "It's interesting, you know. Von Crooken restarted the experiments, and I've always thought it was about the nuclear experiments Herrison mentioned. But what if it's about this?" He passed the file to Kyle who opened it and started reading something at random. "It's really freaky, all those dead people. I'm wondering what they were trying to make."

"Me," Kyle said unexpectedly.

Sam did a double take. "What?" He was not expecting an answer. Maybe some farfetched theory.

"They were trying to make me," Kyle repeated and put the file down for Sam to see. It was another report, but not a medical one. "These tests. They're testing their strength, resistance, healing speed. Most of them don't make it."

Sam stared at Kyle so hard, he thought he'd start seeing his insides soon. They'd never talked about this. For most part, Kyle hadn't known why he was so strong, healed so fast, was so... different. And now, out of the blue, he seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"Wait, these files are dated before you were born."

"Others are not." Kyle nodded towards the second file which had a year on its front. Two years after Kyle was born.

"So..." Sam licked his lips. He was suddenly strangely thirsty. "Do you think you're a survivor of this... this drug trial?"

Kyle hesitated for a few moments. "Not exactly. I was never here, so I can't have been part of the trial."

For a wild moment, Sam wondered if that was true. Maybe Kyle was there, but he just couldn't remember it because he was a baby. Could his parents have done that to him? The obvious answer was no. Just like they hadn't given up Tom and Jimmy willingly, this could also be some sort of mistake.