Free The Seven by Sean Patrick Little

return to your rooms and we will pretend that this...incident was a mistake."
    "Military?" John's mind was racing. The plan had fallen apart. Cormair still controlled them. "What is the military doing here?"
    "Protecting you," said Cormair. "They are here to protect the interests of the investors who have financed your education."
    "Our education? More like your research," spat Andy. The veins in his arms seemed to be bulging. "We've been your pets, not students. We're tired of it, Doc. We're leaving tonight. And Posey is coming with us."
    "Again, that will be bad, Andrew. If you remove her from the hyper-womb, the sensation of the unpurified air on her flesh will cause her levels of pain that she has never experienced before. She will be in intense agony. The shock of it will most likely kill her."
    Holly stepped backward. "It's over, then. We're screwed."
    "He's bluffing," Andy puffed out his chest. He seemed to get bigger, thicker.
    "What if he's not?" shouted Holly. "What if Posey is in pain? What if that tank is helping her?"
    "Look at her, Holly! She's barely alive!"
    "That medicated coma is for her best interests," said Cormair. "Being submerged in the serum without a breathing apparatus is not something most people adjust to well."
    "How do we know you're telling the truth?" Andy said. "You've lied and told us half-truths all our lives! If you're lying, you know we're leaving tonight and your money dries up."
    "That wouldn't be a problem," said Cormair. "This research was never about the money."
    "It was about being God, wasn't it?" John's voice was low. "The next evolution in mankind...the powers, the abilities...you were playing God."
    "This research is bigger than God!" shouted Cormair. He was suddenly angry. He had never raised his voice in ten years. He had never looked angry or frustrated. His face had been an unreadable mask for a decade---and suddenly he was screaming. "This research was about the next step of human life! It was my life !"
    "Well, now it's about our lives , Doctor," John's said calmly. "We deserve to live our own lives now. A decade is more than enough time to make us your lab rats. It's time to let us go."
    "The work is not over yet," said Cormair. "I will not permit it to end!"
    "It's not your choice anymore."
    "John..." Kenny's voice was low and crackling with wheezes. "I have control of the tank. I can get Posey out." No one had noticed him crawling to the banks of hard-drives and servers along the wall. He was slumped back against the rack, his hand on one of the processors; a thin line of blood trickled from his left nostril from the stress and strain.
    "Get her out, then," said John. He backed away from Cormair and headed toward the tank.
    "No!" Cormair shouted. He reached into a drawer and produced a small handgun. "John! Back away from the tanks. Kenny, relinquish control of the computers. You are jeopardizing Posey's life!" He leveled the handgun at Kenny. "Now, Kenneth. I will wound you if I must."
    "You'd shoot your precious research?" Holly looked incredulous. "You're insane. You'd shoot one of us? How many billions of dollars would you waste?"
    "It doesn't matter," said Cormair. "Only the end results matter. My life's work matters! You are just a part of that! I must see this project through to completion. Shooting Kenneth in the leg or the arm---that won't kill him. It will stop him, though. Kenneth, you must not empty the tank."
    "Too late, Doc," Kenny smiled.
    Doctor Cormair whirled around and saw the level of fluid in the tank rapidly decreasing. As the fluids drained, Posey's body sunk to the floor of the tank. "No! You fool! You utter fool!" Cormair raised the gun at Kenny.
    The pen at Indigo's feet suddenly lifted up from the ground and flew through the air, piercing the doctor's forearm between the radius and the ulna causing him to drop the gun. It clattered to the ground loudly. Indigo smiled triumphantly. "Telekinesis, Doctor. I'm no failure."
    Cormair clutched at his