*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 2

Seeing Double

 

                "So...all I'm good for is what Father wants me to do?  When will I be able to be ME?  I obey well enough, and the chance to go outside is going to be wonderful, but why do I feel like I'm being used?.."  The fact is that he WAS being used.  He was sure of that.  Most of the people at his home viewed him, almost cruelly, as a neccessary evil.  The only one who ever seemed to care for him was his father, and Griffin was beginning to have second thoughts about that, too.  He was tired of his routine, had been tired of it for a very long time, but it was all he had, all he knew.  Upset, he threw all of his strength into the next punch.  He was hitting a punching bag, practicing his martial arts...when he hit the bag, it not only broke from its chain, but also tore right where he'd hit it.  He watched as the sand poured out of the gaping hole, "Is this all I'm here for?  Hitting things so hard they break?"  This wasn't the first bag he'd broken.  He was almost used to doing that now.  He moved on to his next bag until it, too, broke away, this time with a sharp and powerful kick.  It all seemed so pointless..."I'm worthless.  All I have is my training.  What else is there?.."  He growled and angrily practiced one of the many deadly techniques he'd learned on a third bag.  This one didn't break off the chain, but tore in half, dumping the contents all over.  Griffin looked at the mess of sand, whispering, "I want to know WHY I'm here..."  As much as he hated it, the sand held no answer.  Griffin waited a moment, then sighed, picking it up with his chip.  He repaired each bag, as he had been taught to do, and continued training.

                Why did it all seem so pointless?  His chip began vibrating again, but this time Griffin was able to ignore it.

 

                "Sir?  He's deteriorating."

                Beremin sighed and scratched the back of his head.  Of course.  This one had been so promising..."Is there anything we can do?"

                "He'll last until the next day.  Perhaps a change in his activities will help..."

                "Good.  See to it that the night vision is completed while he sleeps tonight.  This one has lived so far; let's do all we can to keep him here."

                "Yessir."

 

                Don grabbed his head.  His chip!  Why did it hurt so much?!!!  It vibrated so hard...Don stumbled forward, looking for something to hold on to.  He...his chip..."Augh!!"  He screamed and started running.  He had to escape the pain...it couldn't be this bad!  Not again!  The last time he'd experienced it like this had been when those humans had him!  He didn't WANT to remember the pain!  Had to get away...He ran forward, not caring how many times he tripped as he fled the pain.  At times, when the pain wasn't so great, he felt the bushes and shrubs he ran through.  But that was only when the pain in his head wasn't so high that it blocked everything else out.  After a while, the pain began to subside.  Poseidon slowed down a little.  He soon stopped, realizing that he had just gotten lost...there was a weight on his back...huh?  The backpack!  He tore the top open, "Johnny!  Are you guys okay?!"

                Johnny groaned and sat up, "What HAPPENED?!  We've had to lay low for more than a half hour!  What were you running from?"

                Don grew sad and slowly took the backpack off.  Maiky was, of course, crying.  Don held the bag open, "I'm really sorry about that..."

                "It's okay Don.  What got you so scared?"

                Don sighed, "An old memory..."  He drew his knees up and huddled where he sat.  The sun was setting.  To keep himself warm, Don had to risk starting a fire.  He wasn't worried that James wouldn't look for him, he was worried that a human would see the fire and find him.  David and Christina he could handle, but a complete stranger was too much.  He worried that things unknown to him would jump out, like the humans had when he was first off the island.

                Johnny waited until Don had gathered some wood, "Can I help?"

                Don looked about gloomily, "I guess..."  A small flame would be okay...he hoped.

                Johnny smiled and blew on the mound of wood.  The flame looked too small at first, but soon the entire pile had caught fire, heating everyone there nicely.

 

                Griffin looked at his father, then back at the sleeping chamber, "Are you sure?"

                His father smiled, a very rare sight to see, "Don't worry.  You won't feel a thing.  By the time you wake up tomorrow, you'll be allowed to start training outside."

                Griffin shook his head, smiling, "I can't believe it...it's too good to be true!"

                His father nodded, then motioned to the chamber.  Griffin obediently climbed in, managing to get himself all the way in before the cold ooze sent him to sleep.  As his mind slowly numbed to a near stop, he felt a small twinge as two tiny metal claws took a gentle hold of his eyelids and opened them.  He saw a red beam enter his eye just as his mind shut off.

 

                Beremin monitered the entire process.  Amazingly, nothing went wrong.  When they were finished, people congratulated each other, grateful in the knowledge that they were, yet again, accomplishing the impossible.  Beremin smiled when the other people came up to him all happy, but that was it.  He was not a pleasent man.  He stared at Griffin, calculating just how much longer it would be until Griffin started getting ideas of his own.  It was impossible to get a creature this strong and have it remain obedient.  Sooner or later the specimen would want things his way, and when that day came, they needed to be ready.  It would be a crucial moment.  If they subdued him, they would have made a complete success, if not, they would have created a magnificent monster.

                "SIR!!!!"

                Beremin was brought out of his musings with that single shout.  He glanced at the man responsible, "What is it?"

                "Sir, the radar picked up trespassers!  Should I send out the drones?"

                Beremin smiled, "No...let them stay.  If all goes well, Griffin can have his first trial run in the early morning."

                "Sir?.."

                "Trust me.  I want to find out what Griffin is capable of doing, and I want to know as soon as possible."

                "Very well, Sir..."

 

                There had been no moon out that night, otherwise David would have had to go out to search for Poseidon.  He didn't know whether or not his two guests had better eyesight than he did, but without a moon to give SOME light, objects relatively near would be impossible to tell.  Sometimes there were strange noises not too far from where they lived...

 

                The first thing he always felt when waking was heat, usually centered around his chest, or, on more urgent occasions, a warm blast that enclosed his entire body.  That was the case this time.  Griffin rose, his emergency training already making him head for the nearest door.  His father was waiting for him, "Good morning, Griffin."

                "Father?  What is it?  What's happened?"

                His father put a hand on him, "Calm yourself.  There is no trouble...except for the trespassers."

                "Trespassers?  What do you mean?"

                His father smiled...strange, he'd been doing that a lot recently, "Well, when we sent you to sleep, an alarm sounded throughout the facilities...someone had invaded our land.  Normally, this wouldn't be a problem.  But our drones were all malfunctioning.  At first, we thought this merely a coincidence, but soon found to our horror that every other defense had been breached or deactivated.  We erected only the closest ones surrounding our home in time, but the intruders responsible are still out there wandering about.  I had them wake you quickly to ask if you would like to exterminate these people yourself."

                "Father?"

                "It's still dark out.  You would be given the chance to go outside...the enemy doesn't even know you exist."

                Outside?..Griffin noticed a window...saw the slowly receding darkness that was OUTSIDE, "I'll go."

                His father nodded and stepped aside.

 

                Poseidon woke in a cold sweat.  He'd fallen asleep, and been having nightmares about that place again...he checked on Johnny, who, along with his family, was still sleeping soundly inside their warm backpack.  He didn't want to wake them, but he would have to if they were going to start moving.  Don started to stand up, but his legs buckled out from underneath him, making him fall back to the ground.  When he checked himself over, there didn't seem to be anything wrong, just cuts that had scabbed over during the night.  Cuts he had gotten from running, frightened, through who knew how much vegetation.

                He let his miniature friends have some more time to rest, and tried to go back to sleep.  It was hard though.  Because of the nightmares, he couldn't stop thinking about that place, about how he'd been treated, what they'd done to him...if he closed his eyes, he could easily remember the first few sounds of footsteps from that night, when they'd captured him.

                Suddenly, he DID hear footsteps!  David or Christina?..no, the footsteps were too heavy to be either of them.  James then?.."J--James?"  He called out, quietly.

 

                Griffin slid through the brush and shrubbery without making more sound than a mouse might.  He'd heard the footsteps, thought they were the intruders...but that had been before the timid call.  Someone ELSE was around here, and they sounded hurt.  The heavy footsteps were moving faster now.  The other person must have heard the soft cry for help as well..."Extremely acute hearing...as good as mine...I'll have to watch out."  Griffin quietly searched until he found a clearing, then waited.  Whoever was in there was sitting underneath the shadow of some trees, so it was hard to make out what they looked like, how well they were built.  What should he do now?  If he waited, he could catch both intruders by surprise, if he revealed himself, he could grab this weakened one and hold him like a hostage, forcing whoever was coming to his aid to obey whatever orders Griffin gave out.  If he waited and surprised both of them, he could have a chance to study them, discover their weaknesses, but two on one, no matter how well Griffin was built, would be harder than simply grabbing this first one and forcing both to come back with him.  The problem with the second choice, though, was that he risked the chance of there being only ONE other person.  If he had miscalculated, there could be two, or three coming for this wounded person.  If there were more, they would most likely charge him.  Taking a great risk, Grffin pounced on the wounded person and had him by the throat before two seconds had lapsed.

                That's when he got a good look at his captive, "What the hell?.."  He said, shocked.  He lost his grip and fell backward.  The other was too weak it seemed to even stand, and fell as well.

 

                Don, after hitting the ground, turned around to see who had tried to strangle him.  He gasped, amazed, "I--that's...he..."  He opened his mouth to ask a question, finding to his surprise that whoever this guy was had done so as well.  They spoke simultaniously, saying the same words...with the same voice, "Who ARE you?"  Don had to lean back a little.  And as he did so he noticed the build this one had...impressive.  Don wished HE could look like that.

 

                Griffin had been able to voice only that ONE question before he found himself speechless.  His mouth opened and closed, but nothing else ever came out...until finally, "Are--are you...me?"

                This stranger who resmbled what he himself had looked like before the intense training seemed to be having some difficulty answering.  He said something though, "I...I thought..."

                Griffin stopped him, "Are you hurt?  You've got cuts all over."  He wasn't able to say what he was thinking, "There are others like me?  Where?  How can this be?  I was grown at my home...are there other places like mine that make me?"  If that was true, then whichever place was doing this one certainly hadn't been paying much attention to his physical fitness!

                This incredible doppelganger truly looked like him, at least basically.  He didn't have as much muscle, but  facial expressions, speech, and probably even personality were the same.  One small difference caught Griffin's eye.  The area where the micro chip should have been looked small, like the chip had been in there much longer than Griffin's..."What...what do they call you?"

                The other sat up, dazed.  After a moment to clear his head, he said, "Poseidon..."  The poor guy looked as confused as Griffin felt.

                "I'm Griffin...here.  Let me help...I can make you feel a little better."  He placed his hands on Poseidon's shoulders and concentrated, letting his chip's healing process take over.  Surprisingly, there was a lot of poison in the blood.  Griffin, after a moment, let go, "There...that should help so--"

                "Don!  Hey!  Doooooonnnn!!!!!!  Where are you?!"

                Griffin jerked when he heard the voice.  He scrambled up and ran away, realizing how foolish he'd been by letting his guard down.  Father had said these people were intruders, enemies that needed to be taken care of.  Griffin couldn't do that now...he had seen himself...

                ...and liked it.