by CS Patra
"Okay, so they aren't kidnapping people to do this." Jackie said. "I suppose that asking people if they want to do it makes them a little better. Still, I can't help but feel like they are shady. Those pictures and the suicides are proving that they aren't so clean and perfect. There's a reason all these people keep saying everything is a lie. They want us to know something."
“What do you mean that we’re not real?” Misty asked. “We’re standing here, aren’t we?”
“Technically, yes, we are standing here. We feel real because we’ve been made to feel that way. They know about us.” Ren said. “They recognized me and Crystal even though they said nothing. They’ve known about us for a while and expected us to catch onto them.”
“Do you think they’ll come after us now?” Jackie asked. “Since they know about us, it won’t be hard for them to track us down.”
“I feel like if they wanted to do that, they would have done it sooner.” Pam said. “Okay, so there is one person whose DNA is tied to all of us. Do we know who that is?”
“No. According to some of the papers I read, it must have come from a chimera.” Ren said.
“A chimera? As in the mythological creature?” Misty asked.
“He means a genetic chimera.” Nikhil explained. “It’s basically one person who was made from cells from different zygotes. Usually, it leads to a person having male and female organs or maybe two different blood types. It’s possible that the person that we were created from had both X and Y chromosomes. A lot of times, it’s because the chimera has absorbed a twin that was in utero with them. Thus, they have the two sets of chromosomes. That would explain why some of us are born male and some of us are born female.”
“I’m amazed you were able to get out of there without anyone finding you.” Doug said. “What if you had been caught? What would you have done?”
“God only knows.” Ren sighed. “It was pretty heart pounding to say the least. I guess I would have no choice but to ask them. I would have to confront them. I don’t want to think about what they would have done to me though.”
"All right, let's try to focus on what happened in the birthing center." Nikhil said. "We got the pictures. Is there anything else they asked for?"
"They want to test us next time." Ren explained. "They want a sperm sample, which is going to be difficult, and a blood test."
"I can get you that sperm sample. Don't worry." Nikhil said. "As for a blood test, you can do one of those easily. I have a friend that's a phlebotomist. She can easily draw your blood for you. I'll set up a time for that."
"Do we really need to get them done?" Crystal asked. "Technically, we are not having a baby."
"Maybe not, but I think we should all have our blood tested." Nikhil went on. "There could be a clue to what we really are in our blood."
"Well, aside from the fact that it was a live birth, it didn't look like anything out of the ordinary." Ren said. "It's a very big facility though and I'm curious as to what the hell these things are." He showed them the pictures on his phone and watched as they recoiled in horror. "Yeah, I did the same thing too when I saw them."
"What the hell are they?" Jackie asked.
"Beats me, but they are labeled as mergers. I'm guessing this is what happened when two or more people fused together." Ren said. "If that's case, I'm afraid of fusing with one of you guys."
"Yeah, but why would babies fuse?" Ash asked. "They are babies. They can't make the decision to fuse whenever they want."
"Of course they can't." Nikhil said. "These people experimented on these children to see if they could fuse. Once they did, they couldn't take them apart. The result was... well, look at it. They don’t really survive for long. Some are lucky to last a day."
"That is just disturbing." Pam shook her head. "Please tell me they didn't kill those children."
"I want to say they didn't kill them but..." Ren shrugged. "Let's be real, if they're still alive, they will never be the same again."
"So this place isn't as perfect as it looks." Misty realized. "They are shady and they probably screwed with a lot of children. I wonder how these parents are going to feel if they see what's really happening behind the scenes."
"They will never show that to the parents." Crystal said. “They just want to keep things as clean as possible. They will show you all the happy families, but not the terrible things that can happen. It makes me wonder if my parents were told about the possibility of things going wrong.”
Everyone went silent at that point. Nikhil had done the most research out of all of them, but he also didn’t confront his family. He didn’t know how he could bring this up. Both of his parents had moved back to India and they were trying to plan a wedding for him. Nikhil had already told them that he wasn’t ready for it, but they were working to get him a perfect mate.
It was difficult to talk to them now. Anytime they brought up marriage, they wanted to know why Nikhil didn't like any of the girls they picked. They were desperate for grandchildren now and though their son wouldn't settle until he was married.
"We are not getting much younger." His mother pointed out. "You will need someone to take care of you when you get older. That is why you need to get married. Otherwise, you will be lonely for the rest of your life."
Nikhil wanted to argue that he was fine with taking care of himself. He didn't need to get married and he certainly wasn't lonely. He had plenty of friends outside of work to hang with and there was also Victor Alvarez. If anyone could take care of him, Victor could. Victor had that bad boy appeal that made Nikhil crumble to the ground. He gave him a feeling that no one else could give. That was why Nikhil was thrilled when he learned that Victor was also bisexual. They hooked up right away and things were beautiful for them.
So far, Nikhil couldn't tell Victor or his family about what happened. He had pieces of this puzzle and he could give those pieces to the other people in Project 99. However, he didn't have enough to put the picture together. Victor suspected something was up, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"Are you hiding something from me?" he asked. "Is it your family?"
"My family is fine." Nikhil said. "It's me. I'm worried about my health."
"Your health? What's wrong? Did you go see a doctor about it?"
"I did and they said I was fine, but I sense something wrong." Ashish murmured. "I don't think I'm terminally ill or anything like that. I just think something is off. I might have to see a specialist about it. Maybe I need my blood drawn. I have been working late nights and I keep forgetting to eat. It's been making me weak."
"Oh, no." Victor murmured, putting his arms around Nikhil's waist. "I keep telling you to eat even if you're not hungry. I know your work means a lot to you, but you mean the world to me."
Nikhil sighed and practically melted into Victor's arms. He could feel his biceps tighten. "I swear that once my big project is over, I will go back to normal. I will try to keep a regular schedule. I will do it for you."
"Do it for yourself." Victor corrected him. "Do it because you need to be healthy. I want you to be healthy and happy for as long as possible."
Right now, Nikhil had a text from his mother asking him to call when he had a chance. They were in India right now, he would have to wait until late at night. That was the best time that they could talk to each other. He didn't know how he was ever going to tell them about Victor. As far as he was concerned, he had found the perfect partner for life. He didn't need to keep looking. He certainly didn't want to be tied to down to a poor girl if he didn't love her. He didn't want to give anyone a loveless marriage. No one deserved that.
"What is it?" Doug asked. "Did Project 99 find out about us?"
"No, we're safe from Project 99 for now. It's my family." Nikhil explained. "They are curious about when I plan to get married. I just haven't been thrilled with the girls that they've introduced me to. Besides, I already have someone that I want to be with.
&nb
sp; "What's her name?" Pam asked.
"Victor."
“Oh!” Ren's eyes widened at that. "Oh, I can see why you don't like any of the prospective brides that are coming your way. How long have you and Victor known each other?"
"For a few months now." Nikhil admitted. "He's not the kind of man that my parents would be thrilled about. I mean, aside from the part that he is a man, he's not exactly from a well-educated family, doesn't have a college degree, and he works as a mechanic. He's the kind of the guy that rides a motorcycle, smokes like a chimney, dresses from head to toe in leather, and makes the girls fall at their feet."
"Sounds pretty damn hot to me." Crystal said. "Have you tried telling your parents that you are in love with a man?"
"No. They don’t even know I'm bisexual to begin with." Nikhil explained. "They've seen me date girls before and they assume that I'm straight. Victor's been the first real relationship that I've had though. I don't know what he saw in me, but... I'm glad he did notice me. Of course, as I got to know him, I got to like him for more than his outer appearance. He's kind and warm and a lot smarter than people take him for. I know they would never approve of him though."
"Well, does he love you?" Pam asked.
"Yeah, he does and I love him back. I know that should be all that matters, but no one else will see it that way. If I ever get the courage to tell them about Victor, I will have to change him. It will only be for a few days though. Then he can go back to his grungy, hot self." Nikhil yanked his collar. Just thinking about Victor and the way he smelled like oil and bourbon turned him on. It had been a few days since the two of them had time to spend with each other. "Anyway, let's go back to the matter at hand. We know there are failed experiments in the Bradley Institute."
"There are failed experiments in Genexis as well." Crystal added. "They were mentioning that in the lecture I was at. They claimed that the first few tests weren't successful, but they perfected everything as time went by."
"That's nothing new. Experiments like this usually aren't successful on first try." Ash said. "Still, I wouldn't be surprised if Genexis has more failed experiments than successes."
"I don't doubt that at all either." Nikhil said. His phone began to go off again and he looked down at who was calling. It was Victor. "Can you guys excuse me for a minute? My boyfriend wants to talk to me."
He made his way into his bedroom and answered the phone. "Hey, there."
"Hey, Sunshine. I haven't heard your voice in ages."
"I know and I'm sorry." Nikhil sighed. "I've just been dealing with so much crap lately. Work is piling on and my family is pressuring me on the other end."
"You still haven't come out to them, have you?"
"It's not easy to come out to Indian parents. They're still trying to find the perfect bride for me. I don't want to be stuck in a loveless marriage with a girl. It wouldn't be fair to any of us. That's why I'm trying to prolong this as much as possible."
"Don't prolong it forever. I need you." Victor whispered. "Can you come down to the shop one day? We don't have to do anything. I'll make you some coffee and we can talk."
"I plan to come down. I just don't know when. My life has taken a turn towards the strange and weird. Parts of it make sense and parts of it still confuse me. Maybe I do need some time off to recharge and just relax a little bit."
"That's what I'm saying. Come over here. If you don't want to come to shop, we can go somewhere else. I'll take you out to dinner tomorrow night, how about that? I got paid this week so I can afford to take you somewhere fancy."
"That would be nice." Nikhil murmured. "I don't want to go to an Indian restaurant though. I still have leftovers from the place we went to last time. Take me to an Italian place. I haven't had pasta in a long time. I'm dying for some linguine in clam sauce."
"Italian, it is. I'll make us a reservation for tomorrow at seven. Sound good?"
"Yeah." Nikhil was anxious to get back to the group. "Hey, Victor, I've got company over. Can I call you back later tonight?"
"Sure. I'll be up all night waiting for you."
"Thanks. Have a good night. Remember I love you."
"Love you right back."
Nikhil hung up and thought about Victor. Things would be so easy if he could just tell someone and not have them judge him. Sure, there were the other members of Project 99, but they weren't the biological family he had. They weren't the ones who were trying to get married off to some random girl. They weren't as concerned with his wedding and potential future with a woman. They were here because they were all part of someone's experiment.
“Are you going to ask your parents about what happened?” Crystal wanted to know once he came back.
“It’s a little difficult to talk to them now. They live on the other side of the country and they’ve retired and settled in. All they want now is my marriage, then they’ll be happy. I’m not ready to talk to them about this. Whatever I have to find out, I’ll have to do on my own.” Nikhil murmured. “Anyway, we are a little closer to figuring stuff out. I just wish I knew who is trying to bring us together.”
“You haven’t found that girl yet, have you?” Jackie asked.
“No. She could be just about any girl out there.” Nikhil sighed. “I can’t just walk up to anyone and ask them if they know about Project 99. It’s just hard to know who we can trust and who we can’t. Right now, you guys are the only people I can trust. You are in the same boat that I’m in. Yes, I know a little more about this than anyone else, but I don’t know everything.”
“You should still confront your parents about this.”
“It’s so much easier said than done. As soon as I start talking to them, I end up getting a ton of talk about marriage.” He leaned back in his chair. “One of these days, I will get around to asking them for the truth. I just don’t know when.”
They kept talking amongst themselves, but Nikhil was thinking of his parents. He had to get the truth out of them. He had to know what he really was. He had to talk to them long enough to know why they did this. What were they trying to do? What did they truly want?
He had to find out everything.
Chapter 17 – Misty
Misty believed everything that was being told in these meetings. So far, she was able to attend every single one of them thanks to Annie. Her sister had a driver's license and she could take Misty wherever she wanted. It also helped to have Annie on her side. She was the only person that knew about Misty's secret notes and the Bradley Institute. Of course, Misty couldn't tell her everything until she figured out what Project 99 really was.
"You should ask Mom and Dad about your birth." Annie pointed out as she was driving Misty to her piano lessons. "Maybe they might try to hide the truth, but you have a right to know."
"I don't want to bombard them with everything right now." Misty said. "I want to find out some answers on my own. I saw some pretty disturbing pictures from the Bradley Institute. Evidently, not all babies are born perfect. If they are, they test them out."
"Test them out in what way?"
"I'm not sure. Apparently, they tried to combine the babies to make one person. The experiments didn't go so well." Misty murmured. "I know it sounds weird and it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's true. I saw the pictures with my own eyes."
"Oh, I believe you." Annie promised. "I'm just having the hard time believing someone could mess with science like that."
"I think they did more than mess with science." Misty murmured. "What I don't get is why Mom and Dad would go to the Bradley Institute. They had the four of you just fine."
"I don't know about that either. I think we are going to have to get our evidence together before we ask them anything." Annie pulled up to the driveway. "Here you go. I'll see you after an hour, okay?"
Misty took her books and got off. She waved goodbye to Annie as she pulled out of the driveway and went off. Just as she was about to enter her piano teacher's house
, she found herself being blocked off by a girl who was also there. She had been standing there for some time and Misty hadn't noticed her until now. "Oh, I'm sorry. I..."
"Misty Zeng?" The girl interrupted her. Misty stopped talking at that moment and realized who this was. "Thank you for coming here today. I thought you wouldn’t make it."
"It's you!" Misty gasped. "You are the girl that everyone keeps talking about!"
The girl nodded. "I don't want to scare you..."
"I'm already scared! What do you want?"