Different Paths, Part 3

Thirteen got to the end of the recreation area to the nurse. She followed the woman down the hall nervously. Once again, all the worries came through her head, stronger than they had been before. What had Amy Seven wanted to say? It had seemed pretty urgent, maybe Thirteen should have stayed to find out what it was…

Relax, Amy, she told herself. In a few minutes this will all be over. Relax. It was obviously a hard thing to try to follow her own advice when the problem was that she was a sister to twelve murderers, but this whole thing would be over soon…soon… Amy 13 fought to keep her mind under control, and forced herself to start breathing again.

The nurse stopped in front of the door to Dr. Candler's office, a place that Amy Thirteen had been to many times. For all that she'd hated being so weak and hurt so much, the clone would have much preferred to be going to the office under those circumstances than the ones that took her there now.

"Dr. Candler?" asked Amy Thirteen as she walked into the waiting room. She knocked on the closed wooden door connecting the two rooms, surprised that it wasn't opened. "Hello?" Nobody answered the door. A feeling of dread crept into Number 13's stomach, and she fought to keep it down. "Hello? Dr. Candler?" she called again, opening the door and walking in. There was nobody there, and the clone fought the light feeling her head was getting, the one that meant intense worry.

Okay, one breath at a time, Thirteen told herself, trying to calm down. Her hands felt clammy and they were covered in sweat. The girl's throat suddenly felt dry, and she struggled to swallow. With the pit in her stomach getting larger, Amy looked around the room, trying to figure out where Candler could be. Her eyes fell onto the closet door.

Please no, she thought as she walked over to the door slowly. The girl licked her lips nervously, praying that she wouldn’t find what she thought she'd find there. She put her sweaty hand onto the doorknob and turned it slowly. Thirteen bit her lip and threw the door open quickly, hoping to get this over with. There can't be --

The thought cut off as Thirteen saw what had just fallen out of the closet. Oh my god, Amy 13's eyes closed and slowly opened again, hoping that this was all an illusion. The girl fought back a scream desperately, her throat feeling sore. A shaking hand reached out to feel the body, touching it briefly. It was so cold, and Amy shuddered at the feel of it. She quickly retracted the hand, shuddering.

The girl looked around, having no idea what to do now. What could she do? Stay here, pretending that nothing was wrong? That way, she would be blamed too…but the other clones would kill her if they found out that she'd told the doctors their plan! For the first time in her life, Thirteen was completely at a loss for what to do. She pushed the body back into the closet, closing it, so that she wouldn't have to see it. After that, the girl just stared at the door, backing up slowly as if she expected the corpse to wake up and attack her.

This can't be happening. This isn't happening. It can't be. Amy 13's thoughts were all jumbled around. How could this be true? It was like something out of a nightmare, only this was no dream. It was too real to be a dream.

Taking a deep breath, Number 13 walked out to the nurse, still having no idea what she was going to say. She barreled out of the room with a look of panic on her face that even the nurse couldn't ignore.

"What's wrong, dear?" she asked. "You didn't stay in there for very long."

"Th-the…the…" sputtered Thirteen, trying to form words and trying to figure out what to tell her. Should she tell the truth? Should she lie? Should she-- "Dr. Candler is dead!

"What?" exclaimed the nurse. "Impossible." She walked into the office and into the room. After that she came back out. "Just because she's not there, child, is no reason to worry like that. I'm sure that the doctor is just at the bathroom or something. Just wait a few minutes. Be patient, all right?"

"No, she's dead," sobbed Amy 13 more, having no idea what she was doing, what she should do, or even have any idea of her actions at all. "Follow me." The clone ran back into the office and pulled opened the closet door, not even seeing whether or not the nurse was behind her.

"Amy Thirteen, this is silly, you should know better than to get--" The nurse trailed off in shock as she walked through the door. Her eyes widened and she swiftly went over to the corpse, going to check the pulse.

"She's already dead, I checked," whispered Thirteen faintly, feeling utter exhaustion. The girl slumped again, not believing all that was happening. Just yesterday her world had been perfect! Had that been yesterday? The past hours of the clone's life felt more like years. Everything was turned upside down, and there was no way to make it okay again.

"Did you?" screeched the nurse angrily. "Are you responsible for this?"

"Of course I'm not!" wailed Thirteen, wringing her hands together in anger and terror. The mourning in her eyes was obvious even to the nurse. "I loved Dr. Candler!"

The nurse softened and felt bad, giving the girl a hug. "Stay here, okay? Just stay here, I'll get one of the other doctors."

Thirteen nodded, turning away from the corpse uncomfortably. She walked over to the examining table and sat on it in the direction facing the wall. The tears that had been held up the past few minutes all spilled over the edge of her eye, streaming silently down the face and hitting the floor with a soft pat each time. That sound only strengthened the tears and they came down even more quickly, like a small river making it's way down Thirteen's face as she waited for the nurse to get back with the doctors.

After a while--long enough for quite a puddle to form on the floor--the three remaining doctors came in. "Alright, Amy Thirteen, do you know what happened?" asked Morrison crossly, only slightly shaken by seeing the body on the floor.

How much of a monster is that woman? Amy wondered as she turned around to face them. The doctors' expressions softened slightly when they saw the sadness, the mourning, on the clone's face, saw the tears still streaming down as she hiccuped for air.

"Take a moment to catch your breath, Thirteen, but we really need to know," said Dr. Yin. The clone nodded, trying to stop crying at least enough to speak coherently.

"It was the other Amys." Number Thirteen barely recognized her own voice, it was so scratchy right now, so hoarse. "They wanted power, so they killed the doctors in their way."

"How do you know that?" asked Morrison sharply. "Did you know about it?"

"Only today," Amy 13's tears began anew, with even more strength than before. "I didn't have time to warn anybody, they just came up with the plan while we were are the recreation area. I…I didn't stay and listen to the entire plan, since the thought of them killing the doctors sickened me and I didn't think that they'd move so quickly." She looked up worried at the doctors' faces. "What?" she asked even more shakily, seeing the expressions on their faces.

"Nothing, Amy," said Kelley hastily, "Don't worry, we believe you. We'll do something about it. I'll bring you back there until we do something, alright?"

"Please don't tell them that I told you?" Thirteen's eyes were pleading. "They'll kill me if they know that I gave away their plan." She didn't see the quick glance between Dr. Morrison and Dr. Yin when she said that; she was focused on Kelley.

"Don't worry, I won't," said Kelley, trying not to let her guilt show.

"But they'll know that you know when you come and them," Amy pointed out, choking a little. "The ones still in testing? And also, when I'm back early, they'll know…"

"We'll take care of it, don't worry. Come on, I'll walk you back." Dr. Kelley put a comforting arm around Amy Thirteen's shoulder, and the clone allowed herself to be guided out of the room, wiping away her tears and attempting to try to make her eyes less red and puffy. She nodded, trying to believe the doctor. She walked into the room shakily, her eyes still red and puffy. She went to the corner of the room, trying to avoid being noticed.

"You told them, didn't you?" Spinning around, Thirteen saw an Amy standing there. Her eyes were too puffy, her vision too blurred, for her to be able to see the necklace that told which number the other clone had.

"I didn't mean to," Thirteen swallowed, "but I was so panicked when I saw the doctor there, that I didn't know what I was doing…I think that maybe I still don't. I had no idea what to expect. Oh, I don't even know why I'm saying this." The girl banged her head against the wall, feeling more confused than she ever had before.

The other clone nodded. "You told them that it was us?"

"I just said that, didn't I?" raged Thirteen. The other clone ignored her, musing to herself.

"But, you weren't in a state of mind where you could decide what you wanted to do. So, you did betray us and yet at the same time you didn't." The girl cocked her head, deep in thought. "The problem is, are they going to kill us? No, they couldn't, they need us for the experiment…"

Thirteen tuned the girl out, getting a feeling of dread as she looked up at the blank wall. That was a viewing screen, she knew it. The doctors were probably watching them right now, waiting. What are they going to do? she wondered, her eyes darting around. They're going to kill the others… Even though she knew that they deserved it, she still felt a pang of regret, looking past this Amy to the rest of them, who were talking amongst themselves.

*********

In fact, Thirteen was right on all counts. It was a viewing screen, and the doctors were right on the other side of it. They were discussing what to do about the Amys, and they had reached the obvious solution: they must be eliminated. The murderers couldn't be allowed to live.

"You know that we have to, Dr. Morrison," said Dr. Kelley quietly. Yin wasn't there, he was preparing the gas that was to be released into the room.

Dr. Morrison nodded, sadly. "I wanted to work with the clones so much," she murmured, looking through the one-way glass into the recreation room.

"We can't let them live, Grace. You saw how ruthless they were; they killed four doctors, the doctors that created them. They'd do anything for power, and they'll kill us if we ever appear to be a hindrance to their success, if we ever threaten their chance for power." Dr. Kelley looked over the Amys too, with regret in her eyes. "We can't risk our own lives."

Grace nodded. "I know. I know. I just wish we could have done something differently, so that we didn't have to do this…" She sighed, looking out over the Amys for the last time while they were alive. The girls were talking with each other, with serious expressions on their faces, although sometimes their conversation was interrupted by laughter. Only one of them wasn't with the rest. "What about Amy Thirteen?" she asked.

"What about her?" asked Kelley, looking over at the clone.

"She didn't kill anybody, and I don't think that she would. Couldn't we keep her alive, for study?" The doctor's voice was wistful as she looked over at the lone Amy, standing away from the rest with tears streaming down her face.

"No, we have to kill them all. Sooner or later Thirteen would try something, you know that she would. Besides, we couldn't just save one of them, and kill the rest. Somebody would find out about it and we could get in trouble for not disposing of all the clones." Dr. Kelley's voice was regretful, but it was also firm.

"Dr. Kelley? Dr. Morrison?" Yin's voice came into the office, a few seconds before the doctor himself appeared. "It's ready." They all knew what he meant.

Grace Morrison nodded, casting one last glance at the Amys before she flipped the switch. The toxic gas was released into the air of the tightly sealed recreation room with a hiss. The clones looked over at the vents and saw the slight color of the toxin as it was flowing out of the ventilation system.

After that, Dr. Morrison couldn't take it anymore, and she blanked the screen so that she wouldn't have to see her Amys, her creations, dying. The room was soundproof, so the doctor was spared hearing their dying groans, the screams…

********

…the Amys, though, they didn't have any escape from what was going on. Thirteen looked quickly at the gas, and closed her eyes, falling to the floor. The tears in her eyes were overflowing as she buried her head in the ground. Not to try to escape the gas…just because she felt so awful, she didn't know what else to do. Oh, why did this all have to happen? Why were they killing her? The others, yes, but she was warned them! She'd told them the truth!

I was just too damn trusting, she thought to herself drearily as the toxic poison started to take effect. I thought that they'd save me, they wouldn't do anything to me. With a last sigh, the girl realized something else as the sounds of the dying clones all around her were growing fainter and fainter; whether it was because the others were less able to make sound, or because Thirteen was more detached from it, can not be said. It's Dr. Morrison and Dr. Kelley killing me. Just like I knew. But this is because I am perfect, not because I'm not. Even in her last moments, Thirteen recognized the irony of that.

I was a fool, she realized as she brought in her last gasping breath. For all I was perfect, I as naïve. I thought they'd save me, just like I'd thought that Jaleski and the others would have saved me while I was still imperfect. For all I was advanced, I still made the same exact mistakes.

With those last dreary thoughts, the body of the clone slumped, never again to think another thought.

A few hours later, when the doctors were sure that all of the toxin was gone, the workers came in to clear out the bodies. The remaining clone specialists would have nothing to do with the dead bodies, except to examine them one last time quickly.

The three remaining doctors walked into the room where the Amys were piled, looking regretfully at the corpses. Looking down the row, Dr. Kelley gasped suddenly.

"Count them!" she exclaimed. "There are only twelve clones here!" Her voice bordered on the edge of panic; where was the last Amy?

Glancing down at the clones, Dr. Yin saw that Kelley was right. He looked slowly at them, reading off their necklaces. "Eight…Twelve…" he read off, "Thirteen, One, Three, Seven…" One by one, until there were no left. "Well, you're right. We're missing one of them. Number Nine isn't here." He turned around quickly and walked down the hall.

"Where are you going?" asked Kelley, almost hysterical. She followed him, taking quick steps to try and keep up with him. They walked into the viewing station of the recreation area. Yin flipped on the viewer quickly and surveyed the area.

"They didn't forget to take out one of the clones," Dr. Yin noted nervously, leaning against the wall for support. "One of them wasn't killed, and is still out there somewhere. We didn't kill them all."

The nervous look on Kelley's face turned to one of complete terror.

**********

Nine smirked, looking out of the window of the taxi that she was in. As soon as Thirteen had left, she'd quickly slipped out as well, knowing exactly what was about to happen. She'd known all along, in fact, back months ago when the Amys were still talking of the power as idle conversation. Well, maybe they hadn't been serious about it back then, but Nine was different, she always had been. Not different like Thirteen was…no, Amy 9 was even more focused, even more ruthless than the rest.

She'd set up everything perfectly, step by step. She knew that when they killed those doctors, then the surviving ones would find a way to kill the Amys.

She also made sure that she knew how to escape, and where to find money, lots of it, enough to escape and go somewhere else.

That's the difference, Nine mused. They wanted power, but they were willing to share it. But why would I divide power among twelve other people when I could have it all to myself?

Amy, Number Nine, smiled as she looked out of the window. She wasn't Number Nine anymore; she was the only clone, the only one who was superior to the rest of the human race. She was better than everybody, and someday she'd rule the world. It might take a little bit longer, away from Project Crescent, but soon, very soon, she'd take control of the world, the entire world. And she wouldn't share it with anybody.

"We're here, miss," said the driver. Amy nodded, and stepped out of the car. "Uh, miss? Money, please?" he asked as she turned to go.

"Of course," the girl nodded, with a sinister smile on her face. This man would recognize her, she knew, when the doctors tried to find her. He'd be able to describe her, and tell them where she was.

Amy looked around, but they were alone in the parking lot. It was late at night; most places like this were deserted. The clone quickly took the knife out of her boot and threw it at him. Her aim was, of course, perfect, and went through his ear in the same place that Seven had stabbed Candler. The man's head tilted to the side, the knife's handle protruding from the side. Amy pulled the knife out again and wiped it on the driver's shirt.

She then opened the door of the car and put the man's foot onto the pedal, thrusting the knife through so that it would stay down. She jumped back with inhuman speed, and watched as the car swerved around, hitting the wall at a fast speed and crashed, completely totaling the car.

There. Nobody will suspect murder…and I'm free. She left the parking garage, walking out to the airport. They were connected, so she didn't have to worry about going outside and being seen; she couldn't stay here anymore, since the doctors would send people to search for her when they found out that someone was missing. She had to get away from here, far away. The farthest away that she could.

"Hello," she said, smiling over the desk. "May I have one ticket to Los Angeles, California?"