Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “It’s just a saying. He wants to have your skills, no matter what the cost.”

  “The cost is too high,” Kaitlyn said sadly. She had often wondered if she were the only one Harrington had created. “Are there any others like me?” Kaitlyn asked. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, the computer within checking over everything for potential threats as they walked.

  Quess shook her head. “Not that I know of. I think you’re the only one. All of the other experiments I’ve seen have only been with machines. Not humans.”

  Kaitlyn had thought that was the case, but hearing it said out loud only made her loneliness that much deeper.

  “I haven’t been sleeping well.” She wasn’t sure why she told Quess, but it had been on her mind. Anything out of the norm always caught her attention.

  Quess looked up, her eyes wide. “Have you had that dream again?”

  Kaitlyn gazed across the green courtyard. The sun was setting in the distance, turning the sky a dozen different shades of red. “Every night that I can recall,” she murmured.

  “I wonder who the guy is. He must be important if you keep dreaming about him.”

  “I have no idea. Perhaps someone from my old life.” A life she could not recall.

  “Maybe we can find him,” Quess said excitedly.

  Kaitlyn laughed. Her friend was so young and human. “I don’t think that is likely, Quess.”

  “You can describe him to me, and I can make a sketch. Then we can run a search. I bet he has a Facebook account.”

  Kaitlyn had no idea what a Facebook account was, but she did know she could describe the stranger’s face, right down to the small scar on his chin. Shaggy, dirty blond hair, emerald green eyes, an infectious smile.

  “If he even exists, he thinks I’m dead. Besides, they would see,” Kaitlyn told her firmly, refusing to allow even the smallest bit of hope to emerge from her human side. “They see everything, Quess.”

  “Not everything,” she cooed, skipping a few steps. “There are a few hidden spots that the cameras don’t reach.”

  Kaitlyn stared down at the beautiful young girl. “And how do you know that?”

  “I’ve been watching the gardeners.”

  “The gardeners? What do they have to do with anything?”

  “Well, they always take their breaks at the same spot. Behind one of the large oak trees.”

  “So?” Without prompting, Kaitlyn’s machine kicked in, offering an alternative explanation. Sometimes she hated that thing inside of her, kicking out logical commands so that Kaitlyn hadn’t a clue if the thought was even her own. “Maybe they just like to be in the shade.”

  “Kaitlyn, come on. You’re the one that told me to look at the little details. How many trees are on this property? Countless, and yet all three gardeners rest in the same place. I’ve even seen one napping.”

  Kaitlyn grinned at her astute friend. “You’re going to make a great spy someday.”

  “Maybe, or an artist. I haven’t made up my mind,” the fourteen-year-old girl said matter-of-factly.

  “Where is this tree, and do you have paper and pencil on you?”

  Quess walked backwards, smiling proudly as she pulled a small notebook from the back pocket of her jeans. “An artist always has something to write on. Follow me.”

  Chapter Three

  Outside, the rain poured on a dreary early morning. It had taken everything in him just to get out of bed and come to work. He wanted to blame his foul mood on the weather, but he knew that wasn’t it.

  “Lower extremities fully functional.” Lucas checked off the box. He pressed harder than he meant to, and his pen ripped across the paper, tearing a hole in the document. Sighing, he smoothed the ragged edges down.

  Get a grip, he chided himself.

  Looking up from his clipboard, Lucas snuck another glance at Kaitlyn. God, she was beautiful. Just one look, and he felt weak in the knees. Tapping his pen on the page, he willed his mind to get back on task. “Heart rate sixty.” He jotted down the number.

  She’s a piece of machinery, no different from half of the computers that fill this room. His thoughts made him feel sick to his stomach. What was wrong with him? He tossed the clipboard onto the desk.

  There were days he wished he had never crossed paths with the mastermind behind this project. His conscience had been bothering him more and more lately. The closer Kaitlyn got to completion, the more he questioned the morality of the project. Sure, it was astounding the way the human body could adapt to the merging of electronics, but still—the poor girl never gave her consent for this. When donating her body after death to science … well, more than likely, she would have thought she’d be dead. That fact alone told a lot about her personality. Not many seventeen year olds would even consider donating their body to science, but that was the type of person she is … or was.

  “Kaitlyn, we need to go outside today,” Lucas stated into the stillness of the lab, his voice barely audible above the steady thrum of rain on the windows, “to make sure none of your hardware shorts in the rain with the new protective shields. We want to make sure they seal properly.” For some reason, Harrington insisted they change the clear covers for teal. It wasn’t like she was going to color code her outfits to the mechanics.

  “Okay.” She didn’t bother to look his way, she rarely did. Of course she didn’t—they had taken anything human about her and destroyed it.

  He grabbed his keys off the edge of his desk.

  Lucas was probably going to need a psychiatrist after this job. How had he even gotten himself into this madness? He knew exactly how … the eccentric billionaire, Dr. Harrington, who shared Lucas’s obsession with electronics and science. His thesis on genetic mutation had caught the attention of Harrington. Cornell happened to be Harrington’s Alma Mater, and as one of the largest contributors, he got tipped off to promising students that could be a match for IFICS.

  Unlimited funds and cutting edge science. Lucas couldn’t turn down an offer that had seemed so much like a dream come true. Just the thought had sent a shiver through him. He didn’t even think twice about accepting.

  However, Lucas never dreamt that the job would entail taking a human’s life away from her, and making her into some kind of combat robot. If he were honest with himself, given the chance, he would accept again in a heartbeat. He hated himself for it.

  “The track or obstacle course?” Kaitlyn asked, her voice monotone. It wasn’t that she cared one way or another, he knew. She was scanning her hardware, preparing for what her body would need. That was how she was wired: know the challenge, meet it, succeed.

  For a brief moment, their eyes met. Lucas had never heard her with emotion in her voice. How would she sound if she could feel happiness? Sadness? He would never know.

  Turning abruptly, Lucas gave her his back, but not an answer. He closed his eyes, and grabbed the discarded clipboard laying on the desk.

  Why was he drawn to her? Every time he was near her, she sent him into a tailspin. He hadn’t expected something meant to be a cutting edge science experiment to affect him. After all of their time together, it should’ve worn off. He shouldn’t still think of her as human. What did that say about him? Nothing good he was sure.

  The guilt had not left him since she arrived. If anything, it had increased. She was a person, a human. A beautiful, living, helpless girl chosen to become Dr. Harrington’s lab rat and have every ounce of her humanity erased. He wished he had known her before they altered her personality.

  How many nights had he lost sleep searching through her old social media sites and reading the newspaper clippings? He had longed to know everything about the girl whose life they were going to alter in the name of science. It tore him apart seeing the person she once was come to life on his computer screen. She had been kind and adventurous, and there were hundreds of pictures of her with her friends. In her pictures, she looked much like she did now, with long dark hair that spilled over strong shoulders. However,
there was a big difference … she smiled, and it radiated real, true happiness. It was contagious, her eyes bright and intelligent, and he smiled at the thought of the image of her giving the thumbs-up before she dove from a plane. The same friends mourned her enough that they continued to keep a memorial page for her on Facebook. They still posted about the fun times they’d had.

  They missed her because she was more than a body donated to science. And Lucas read every post.

  The way she lost her life was tragic, but it was yet another example of the personality they took from her. She lost her life trying to save another.

  Pull yourself together, Lucas warned himself. There was work to be done. He had to find a way to keep professionally detached. Yeah right.

  Leave it to him to fall for the one girl who wouldn’t—and couldn’t—give him the time of day.

  Enough already. Lucas shook his head. He was wasting time with his daydreams.

  Standing up, he reached over the back of his chair and grabbed his jacket. The rain was really coming down. He would dose up on Vitamin C when he got home, just to be safe. He couldn’t afford to get sick, not when they were so close to completion.

  “We’re going to the obstacle course,” he finally answered.

  When he turned back around to face her, he found she hadn’t moved. Not even an inch. Her unflinching, impassive face just stared at him as he shrugged into his jacket. What had they done?

  He longed to see something human from her, but all he got was that familiar blank stare. He wasn’t sure why he hoped he’d one day see something different. It wasn’t like she could think for herself, or even feel. Not after all they had done to her. He missed the days before the upgrades. Early on, he’d wondered if she would be able to keep part of her personality, but it was soon obvious they had stripped any remaining spark out entirely.

  They drove in silence deep into the woods. He longed to talk to her, but he had no idea what to say. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky filled with grey clouds. Lucas thought the whole thing was a horrible idea, but they needed to know if the elements would affect the project. They had already done a shower test, and she’d come through that fine, but they needed to see if the wind and rain would affect her abilities. If she shorted out, it would be a potential nightmare on a contract job. He zipped up his jacket and jumped out of the Jeep, rushing around to open Kaitlyn’s door, but she had already exited the vehicle.

  He hoped she didn’t short circuit and get hurt. He felt a sudden urge to turn around and tell Professor Adams he wanted nothing to do with this craziness anymore. Unfortunately, doing so would mean leaving her to the Professor and Dr. Harrington. He couldn’t do that. He felt this overwhelming need to protect her, which was ironic since he had played a huge part in turning her into a cyborg.

  Frustrated, he ran his hands through his wet hair and glanced over at Kaitlyn. He watched for any sign that the weather was affecting her mechanics. She stood still and ready, wearing nothing more than miniscule running shorts and a tank top. Sexy as hell.

  She didn’t appear bothered by the cold; all systems must have been working, her body adapting and regulating her temperature as needed. Lucas, on the other hand, was wet and freezing, and longed to put his arms around her to force warmth—or maybe humanity?—into her.

  In that outfit, it was obvious that large sections of her body no longer contained skin. Patches of transparent teal plastic displayed the parts of her body where humanity and technology merged. They could have designed her body to look more normal, at least to the naked eye, but Harrington had wanted it to be obvious she wasn’t human. Lucas thought it was pure arrogance.

  Thankfully, her face was untouched, and the sections were strategically placed so they could be covered up if needed. Pulling the stopwatch out of his jacket pocket, Lucas hit the start button. “Go,” he yelled.

  She took off like a rocket. She had run this course so many times that she could probably do it in her sleep. Regardless, he never tired of watching her.

  Lucas stared, mesmerized, as she catapulted over the log walls and shimmied down the rope obstacle. His heart caught in his throat when she jumped from one log to the next, and she lost her footing in the rain, spiraling down toward the ground. At the last second, she lunged forward with inhuman agility and grace to grab a rope that swayed in the wind. It should have been a nearly impossible feat, but somehow she managed, and all without breaking a sweat.

  She truly was a magnificent creation. Lucas felt his heart swell, partly with pride that he helped build her, but mostly with admiration.

  A cold chill ran down his spine, and he was quickly as troubled as the stormy skies when he caught himself thinking of her as a thing he made, rather than a young woman that once was human.

  Twenty minutes later, Kaitlyn barreled toward him in a full sprint, her feet sliding in the mud as she came to a stop. He clicked the stop button, and wiped the rain off the screen. A slow smile spread across his face. The recent upgrades had decreased her time by a full two minutes.

  “Are you okay?” Lucas asked. “Did you feel anything short out?”

  She stared back at him with her vacant, haunted stare. “I’m fine.”

  “Let’s get you back inside so you can get dry. Then you’ll need to get a physical to make sure everything is running smoothly.”

  For a split second, he thought he saw something in her eyes. Some emotion. Boredom maybe? Irritation? He was really losing it. Kaitlyn couldn’t feel boredom, or anything else for that matter.

  Shivering, he turned back toward the Jeep, trailed by the obedient robot. He opened the passenger door, and she slid into the seat. He wanted to wrap his jacket around her shoulders, but the thought was absurd. Her body was equipped to handle changes in temperature.

  They were back at the laboratory within minutes. Once inside, his eyes lingered on her long legs as the nurse wiped them dry. Kaitlyn’s hair was plastered to her face, yet she still looked gorgeous. Her grey eyes caught his for a second. He wondered what she was thinking, but quickly reminded himself that she wasn’t programmed to have idle thoughts.

  The computer beeped, saving him from an emotion that felt too much like regret. Lucas pulled his gaze from hers as he turned to the computer and logged onto her server. Everything was running smoothly. The waterproof coating was more than sufficient to protect her delicate robotics. His boss, Harrington, would be pleased.

  In only one week, they would be presenting Kaitlyn to government officials. Lucas was still surprised that Dr. Harrington was willing to part with his prized possession. Apparently, notoriety was worth more to him. If the government agreed to take on the project, then Harrington would start on a new, more advanced human. His crazy dream was that someday humans would willingly be subjects, and they would make a super-race. He claimed the only way to do that was to get the government on their side, even if it meant handing over their prototype.

  The thought of never seeing Kaitlyn again filled Lucas with despair. Harrington had promised him he would be able to track her project, but inside, Lucas knew better. Once the government was involved, Harrington, Lucas, and the entire unit would be shut out. Their robot girl would disappear into the secretive world of military research and development, and he would never see her again.

  Chapter Four

  “Quess, what do you know about Lucas?” Kaitlyn twisted a golden maple leaf in her hand as she walked next to her friend in the fading sunlight. Pine needles crunched under foot, like a soft, spongy blanket on the grass muffling their steps.

  Quess’s face lit up. “Lucas? He’s cute, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he is physically appealing,” Kaitlyn responded, her machinery already whirring to verify her answer. “His face is very symmetrical and pleasing to the eye. However, that’s not what I mean. Do you know anything about him as a person?”

  Her young friend stooped to pick a taraxacum, or the plant commonly known as a dandelion, from the ground. “From what I gather, he’s
some sort of boy genius. He finished his Master’s degree when he was seventeen. He’s completely dedicated to his work. I don’t think he has much of a life outside of IFICS. I know my grandparents have invited him over to dinner, but he always refuses.” Quess paused thoughtfully, twirling the brilliant yellow weed between two fingers. “He doesn’t seem very social, and I’m pretty sure he’s single. Maybe he’s just shy.”

  Well, Kaitlyn thought, at least it wasn’t just her that he acted aloof around. Lucas was anti-social in general. That knowledge was somewhat comforting. Kaitlyn wasn’t about to admit she fantasized about Lucas on a regular basis. She couldn’t stare at his lips for too long, because she imagined them trailing down her body, and spent too long pondering what that might feel like.

  No, she definitely couldn’t tell Quess that.

  “Why do you ask? Do you have a crush on him?” Quess grinned.

  “A crush?” Kaitlyn asked, confused. Sometimes she wondered if she and Quess spoke the same language. Kaitlyn was programed to understand and speak seven languages, but she didn’t know what her friend was talking about.

  “You know … Do you think he’s hot?” Quess bit her lip, searching for the words. “Does he rock your world and make butterflies dance in your stomach?”

  “I don’t know what that means.” Kaitlyn tucked a stray strand of her long hair behind her ear. “I just wanted to know more about him. He’s so young to be working here with your grandfather.”

  “I told you, he’s a brainiac. Dr. Harrington plucked him from some Ivy League school. I know Gramps is impressed with him. He says ‘the young man has a brilliant mind’.” Quess held her hands up, bent down her two first fingers, and said, “Air quote.”

  The move emphasized the fact that Kaitlyn couldn’t understand half of the things Quess said, but she enjoyed the girl’s company all the same.

  “Did you know that dandelions are edible, and in French the name means lion’s tooth?”

  “Nope, didn’t know that.” Quess smiled. “It must be strange to have random facts always running through your mind.”