Authors: Heather Sunseri
I gagged. I coughed. Water spewed
from my mouth. I threw up. A voice I recognized but couldn’t quite place said
in a soothing tone, “That’s it. Get it out.”
I sucked in a long, labored breath.
The back of my throat burned like I’d swallowed thumbtacks.
Why was I wet?
I coughed again and continued to fight
for air.
The ground around me was hard. I
shivered in the breeze. Finally, I opened my eyes to the face of Seth
Whitmeyer.
My body tensed. I looked side to
side for Jack. How did I get here? Why was I outside?
“Sarah, can you hear me?”
I stared at Seth. My eyes must have
been huge. “Please don’t hurt me,” I whispered.
“Hurt you?” He pulled the sweater
over his head and laid it over my chest close to my neck. “I’m not here to hurt
you, Sarah. But why on earth did you dive into that pool?”
Why did he insist on calling me by
my real name? I turned my head toward the pool. Confused, I looked to the
opposite side at the lounge chairs. “Someone was here. A man. With a cigarette.”
“No one else is here.” I moved to
sit up. Seth supported my back. “Let’s get you inside and into some warm
clothes.”
As Seth helped me toward the back
door, I glanced over my shoulder toward the chairs again. Jack really hadn’t
told me much about Seth yet. Other than Seth had taught him things about our
fathers’ research. Still I feared him. Seeing him now, I realized we looked
similar. Did my DNA make me his sister? “Why are you here? I thought the farm
was secure.”
“It is secure. I’ve been here all
night. In the guest house mainly.”
I stopped and pulled away from him,
barely able to stand on my own two feet. “Where’s Jack?”
“He wasn’t feeling well. He’s
sleeping off the earlier medical treatment he provided your shoulder.”
My heart sunk. So it didn’t work.
Healing me made him sick.
“Inside, Lexi.” He gestured toward
the door. “You and I have a lot to talk about. But first… warm clothes.”
~~~~
Shouting erupted from the direction
of the kitchen as I descended the stairs. A hot shower and some warm clothes
felt nice, but I still shivered from the sound of the Smoking Man telling me to
take a swim.
Was Smoking Man inside my head? How
did he convince me to do jump in that pool?
“Why haven’t you told her?” Seth
sounded irate.
“I told her a lot, Seth. It was
overwhelming for her.”
“Bullshit, Jack. She shares the
same blood, the same heart, and practically the same mind as my sister. She can
handle the truth. You should have taken her directly to The Program. I’d have
met you there.”
Silence. The Program? Why would I
go there? What had Jack not told me? Was he no longer sick? He was ill for days
after mending my broken arm.
We’re in the kitchen, Lexi.
Eavesdropping is not very lady-like.
Crap! Would I ever be able to keep
him out of my head?
I passed in front of the living
room windows as I stepped lightly toward the kitchen. The sun was just
beginning to rise over a distant hill behind the farm.
I pushed open the swinging door and
faced the harsh lights of the kitchen, the electricity having recovered from
the storms. Anita busied herself by the sink. Jack leaned up against the island
holding a coffee mug.
“You okay?” I asked Jack as calmly
as I could before I addressed my confusion regarding Seth Whitmeyer.
He nodded.
It wasn’t as bad this
time.
Seth sat at the kitchen table by
the windows. Completely relaxed, he poured cream into a mug, picked up a spoon,
and stirred. He looked at home, like he’d sat in that very spot a thousand
times.
He did not look like a man who had
just saved a teen-aged girl from the bottom of a swimming pool.
Why is Seth Whitmeyer here?
He pushed off the island and
stepped toward me.
“Want some tea or coffee, sweetie?”
Anita asked from behind him.
“I would love some tea. Thank you.”
My eyes fixed on Jack’s. He ignored my unspoken question.
“How are you feeling?” Jack brushed
his fingers against my hairline and down my temple with his free hand.
Answer me
.
Jack smiled.
You first.
I’m fine. Why is Seth Whitmeyer
here? He pulled me out of a freaking pool, Jack.
“Lexi, come sit.” Seth kicked out a
chair from the table for me.
I walked cautiously toward Seth.
Placed my hands on the table in front of him, my fingers spread wide. “When we
first met, you told me Jack wasn’t who he said he was. What did you mean?”
One side of Seth’s mouth quirked
into a crooked smile. “Exactly that. Do you remember what you knew about him
then?”
I tilted my head to the side. “I
guess.”
“Does what I said then mesh with
what he told you yesterday?”
I squinted my eyes. “But you meant
to scare me.”
“Did it? Scare you, that is?” He
raised both eyebrows. “Not like your recent early-morning swim, I’m sure.”
Anita approached the table. “Here’s
your tea, sweetie.” She smiled. I had yet to figure out Anita’s role, other
than to take care of the DeWeeses. And of Jack.
I walked around the table and sat
in a chair across from Seth, rather than the one directly beside him. Very
mature.
Jack sat beside me. He reached
across and took my hand in his. “What were you doing out by the pool?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I… don’t
remember.”
Sleepwalking, I guess?
You practically drowned.
“Is this the first time this has
happened?” Seth asked, looking from me to Jack. “The sleepwalking?”
Jack shook his head. “No.” He gave
my hand a squeeze. “It happened a couple of times before, that I know of.”
Am I supposed to trust this
yahoo?
“Yes.”
You can trust him.
Mostly.
“What?” Seth asked, confused by our
mostly silent exchange.
Unable to sit still, I pulled my
hand away from Jack’s. “Look, Seth. I see that Jack trusts you. But—”
“You don’t.”
“No. I don’t.” I crossed my arms. “Why
would I? My father was blown up in a car, and next thing I know you corner me
in my grandmother’s nursing home room and threaten me.”
“He did what?”
“I didn’t threaten her.” He exhaled
dramatically. “This isn’t child’s play. We have work to do, and we’re getting
nowhere rehashing old news.”
“Lexi, Seth would like for us both
to go straight to The Program from here.”
“What do you mean? The Program is
an actual place? I thought you attended The Program through some online portal.”
“I do but it’s also a place. Near University
of Kentucky’s campus. A secured facility that is run by Seth.”
I squeezed my eyes closed.
The
Program is Seth’s way of furthering your homeschooling?
Yes.
“I’m not going to The Program. I
never had any intention of applying to The Program. You know that.”
“What? Why not?” Seth asked. “Did
your dad know this?”
“No. Never got the chance to tell
him.”
“You know he would not approve,
right?”
“Do I know that?” Who was this guy?
“Dad never even mentioned you to me. Or your sister for that matter.” I practically
spit out the word sister. “So, for argument’s sake, we’ll just assume that I no
longer know or care what my dad would think of my intentions.” Dad had often threatened
to move me at the slightest hint of trouble in the past.
“You were meant for The Program,
Lexi. You’d be safe there. Friday night and this morning prove that you and
Jack are not safe. We can protect you inside The Program.”
Stop saying you can keep me safe
.
“What do you mean I was meant for The Program?”
Jack ran his hands through his
hair.
“You and Jack were genetically
engineered for a specific purpose eighteen years ago. If the wrong people were
to find either of you, I’m afraid they would destroy you. Or worse, use you for
their own purpose.”
“Destroy. You mean kill?”
He nodded. Jack’s face paled.
“What about you? You think we
should hide inside The Program?” I asked Jack, knowing I had no intention of
getting anywhere near a secure facility run by Seth Whitmeyer. When he didn’t
respond, I asked, “What do your parents say? John is my guardian, after all.”
Seth’s lips curved into a smirk. “You’re
so much like her.”
“I assume by
her
you mean
your sister? Where is Sandra?” A shudder moved through me at the thought of facing
the woman who’d cloned me. The woman whose DNA I possessed.
“She is nothing like her,” Jack
whispered. He suddenly stood and faced me. “Yes, unfortunately, I think we
should be at The Program. My parents will agree.”
“What about Wellington? We can’t just
leave. The Dean will have everyone from the local police to Homeland Security looking
for us.” I was being a bit dramatic.
“Not if my father signs the necessary
forms,” Jack answered.
“You can’t be serious.”
I’m not
going into The Program
.
“I’m dead serious.” Jack stuffed
his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “You jumped into a freezing pool.
That wouldn’t happen inside the Program.”
We have to figure out who’s inside
your head, and you need to learn how to shut them out.
But Jack, it would mean learning
from and agreeing with what these scientists did to create us. It would mean
giving up control.
Learning from, yes. We need to
know what we were created to do. We—you and I—can choose what we do with that
knowledge.
“Why wouldn’t we be safe at Wellington?”
I stepped closer to Jack and tugged on one of his arms. As I did, I
concentrated on building a barrier around my thoughts. This conversation was
not going my way, and if I had to run from them both, I would. “You can teach
me.”
“No.” Seth’s voice shot up an
octave. “You’re both coming to The Program. That’s final. Now, go pack your
things.”
I backed away from both of them
with a mental shield in place.
What are you thinking?
Jack’s
thoughts were panicked.
It was working, but I didn’t know
how to block him and direct a thought at him at the same time. I had so much to
learn, and for the first time in my life I had someone who could teach me. But
at what cost?
Then something occurred to me. I
wondered how much Seth knew about me. Had Jack explained my ability or my nose
bleeds to Seth?
I reached down and grabbed my teacup
sitting on a napkin. While trying to keep Jack blocked, I thought,
What
about the journals, Seth? Shouldn’t Jack and I make one last attempt to find
them? Especially knowing what I know now?
This would tell me if Seth knew
about my ability to plant “original” thoughts inside his head.
“I’ll go pack my things.” I walked
slowly toward the island on the other side of the kitchen and set my cup down.
A trickle of blood formed at the opening of my nose. I blotted it with the
napkin.
From behind me, Seth said, “You
know, maybe you and Lexi should make one last attempt to find Peter’s journals.”
I stilled.
Turn around
, Jack thought.
You left me no choice
. I turned
and tried to hide the fear I was sure haunted my eyes now.
You have any idea what someone
like Seth might do if he discovered you could alter his mind?
“How do you know I’m even looking
for Dad’s journals?” I asked Seth, ignoring Jack.
“Oh, Lexi. You have proven to be
quite resourceful. Don’t play games with me. Your father came back to Kentucky
to get his journals, and I think you know exactly where they are.” He took a
sip of his coffee. It amazed me how relaxed he stayed. “As a matter of fact, I
think you know way more about all of this than you’ve let on.”
I wiped my nose again. “What makes
you think I know anything? I didn’t know anything about some stupid journals
before Dad came to town.”
“But you knew about the clonings.”
I gasped. “God, no.” I glared at
Jack and back at Seth. “This might be some big game to the two of you…” How
could anyone even suggest that I knew I was a monster before yesterday? “This is
my life you’re so eager to play with. Everyone has always been so crazy quick
to map out my life’s plan for me. And before yesterday, I had no idea how far some
people had gone to do it.”
Anita reentered the room. She was
always so quiet. Seth and Jack both remained silent. Anita and Jack traded a
worried glance. I made a mental note to ask Jack later what that was all about.
“Are we done here?”
Seth threw his hands up. “Do you
think you can find the journals? Do you have any idea where they might be at
this point?”
I had no idea where my father hid
those journals. I wasn’t about to let Seth know that though. They were in the
car with Dad for all I knew. “Sure, I have a few more ideas.”
“Fine, then. Both of you, return to
Wellington, but keep your eyes open.”
“And Jack,” Seth continued, “I don’t
have to tell you how dangerous it is to let her out of your sight for very
long.”
I blew through the door to my dorm
room early that afternoon, like an EF4 tornado. I marched in with my bag,
knocking a book off my desk, but leaving the stack of papers beside it
untouched.
The nerve of those two thinking
they could force me into some top-secret program for the study of Edward Scissorhands-like
medical atrocities. I grew up surrounded by Dad’s strange notion that he could
cure all the diseases of the world with his crazy experimental research.