Free Heartless by Leah Rhyne

I wasn’t alone, but wishing that I was.
    I remembered knowing something felt terribly wrong.
    And then I’d known only darkness.
    I’d known nothing more until waking up in the morgue on the side of the mountain.
     
     
    Design Doc 32-D
     
    Iteration 1
     
    We continue to perfect the formula for the fluid that allows us to sustain controlled life.
     
    Requirements include:
Conductive—subjects cannot remain animated without a consistent flow of electricity; however, wires may be threaded through key veins and arteries to aid in ebb and flow
Viscous—it must be thick enough to keep veins and arteries from collapsing in on themselves
Low freeze point—subjects must be able to endure the coldest of winters
High boil point—subjects may not shut down in warmer climes
     
    Substances under consideration:
Formaldehyde
Arsenic
Methanol
Alcohol
Barium sulfate

S tanding in the parking lot in the midday sun, I cried out as the darkness of memories flooded into my brain. Lucy jumped, spinning around to face me.
    “What happened? Are you all right?”
    I wasn’t.
    In a shaking voice I described what I remembered. The darkness, the banging, the other girls, the terror. Lucy listened, nodding, patting my arm when I faltered. My brain was racing but my body felt flat, and I wondered if I’d ever get used to living without physical reactions to emotional distress. I doubted it.
    That said, in my past life, the stress of something like, well, dying and coming back as a monster-girl would’ve caused a crippling migraine by that point. I was relieved to still be on my feet…sort of. In a weird, dead sort of way.
    “Well, that settles it,” Lucy said as soon as I stopped talking.
    “What does it settle?”
    She gestured around us. “We came to the right place. This is where your adventure started, so this is where we’ll start getting to the bottom of it. Do you remember how far you’d gotten before you were knocked out?”
    “My adventure?”
    “Yes. I’m silver-lining this for you. It’s an adventure. Adventures have happy endings.” She paused and looked away for a second. Then she turned back, her face once again set in a grim mask of calm. “So. Where were you knocked out?”
    “I was over there.” I pointed to the pine tree at the edge of the lot in the direction from where we’d just come.
    “Well, let’s go look around for some clues. I feel like Sherlock Holmes all of a sudden.”
    “Are you sure you’re up for it?” I asked. “You have to be freezing.”
    “Elementary, my dear Watson. I am, but that’s okay. We’re gonna find something good, fast. I know it.” She shivered. “I’m a little jealous that you can’t feel the cold, though, I have to admit.”
    I wrinkled my nose as best I could, which wasn’t great. It felt stiff and leathery when I tried to move it. “Want to trade?”
    “No. Come on, let’s go.”
    Lucy trotted and I trudged across the parking lot, following our own footsteps to make walking through the thick snow banks easier. When we reached the tree to which I’d pointed, we spread out and started looking around. “What exactly are we looking for, Miss Holmes?” I said to fill empty airtime.
    “Clues! Anything that might tell us about the bad guy.”
    “Like this?” I said. I noticed something small and black sticking up out of the snow, leaning against a rock. I bent at the waist and picked it up, eyeing it with suspicion. “My phone.”
    “No way!” Lucy ran to me. “That’s lucky. At least now you don’t need to buy a new one!”
    “Battery’s dead, or it’s completely shot.” I shook it, and then held it up to my ear. As if that would fix it.
    “Yes, but also now we know for sure you were here. It means your memory holds up!” She looked excited, but I didn’t see the big deal. I knew my memory was right, phone or no phone.
    We searched through the trees and snow for ten more minutes, until Lucy’s nose was so red I was afraid it was going to fall