Page 1 of Sloth
Prologue
Walkingdown a dark hallway of the Syndicate’s base of operations, Despair was a world away. While her father chatted with a scientist about the progress of their latest project, she found it hard to maintain focus. Memories tugged at the shadows of her mind.
The sound of giggling children swam through her head. The phantom smell of daisies wafted by.
“All is not lost, Julius.” The British scientist stopped outside a lab door barely containing the vicious growls of animals. “We may not be able to stop our human clones expiring so soon after birth, but we may have found another solution.”
“I’m listening, Barry.” Julius’s hands clasped together.
“You may remember the sin serum we made.”
“The one that turned Doppenger into a raving beast before killing him. That one you mean?”
Barry tugged at his lab coat collar. “Yes, that one.”
“Have you managed to control its effects?”
“Not on humans.” Barry opened the door and led them inside. “We’re still waiting on blood samples from the rest of the Deadly Seven group.”
“Eight,” Despair blurted.
“I’m sorry?” Barry frowned. Her father also looked down at her.
Tall, feared and sophisticated, he was a man not many interrupted. But Despair wasn’t one of the many. She was one of eight. The first.
“Eight,” Despair repeated. “There are eight of us.”
“Right.”
Julius pursed his lips. “Please continue, Mr. Pinkerton. A little louder so you can be heard over the din of animals.”
“Right.” Barry pointed at the wall of cages filled with frothing beasts resembling dogs. “It’s the animals we’ve managed to control. To a point.”
Julius’s lip curled. “Animals?”
“Animals injected with the sin-sensing serum, yes.”
“These mindless beasts can track down sin?”
“Yes.”
“And then what?”
“Their instincts force them to eliminate the sin. We might not need to trigger the Deadly Seven after all.”
“Are the animals ready for the field?”
“Not quite. We still can’t keep them from distinguishing the worst of the sinners from those who can be redeemed.”
“We don’t care anymore. We just want the sinners gone. All of them.”
“But....” Barry gaped. “What about the children? They don’t know any better.”
“This is the area where Gloria and I disagreed. She believed evil is a learned behavior.” Julius crouched and peered intently at the beast closest, unworried about the snapping jaws behind the metal grate. A deathly calm stole over him. He cocked his head and studied the animal. Breaking under the scrutiny, the beast broke eye contact with Julius and cowered, whining. “I believe the rot starts in the seed,” Julius murmured, gaze never wavering. “It cannot be unlearned. It is why I stand before you today, and Gloria does not.” He stood and continued, “If they’re not evil, they have nothing to worry about. Are you saying your beasts can’t tell the difference between good and evil, Barry? Are you telling me you haven’t done your job?”
“No. I mean. I have. But...” His protests failed to gather weight.
An itch at Despair’s palm buzzed with a ghostly echo her brother’s blood.Brothers. Sisters.She had seven of them. They’d named her Daisy. They’d thought she was dead.
