The Labs (The GEOs Book 2)

by Ramona Finn

  “Tylia Coder,” an EF’s muffled voice spoke through his dark helmet. “We’re here to take you in.”

  Ben stepped forward, blocking me from the EF’s path. “Can’t you see she isn’t strong enough to go anywhere? What’s going on?” He blinked a little too much, and I was afraid it would give away his lie. I stumbled into Ben’s arms, making a great effort to appear as if walking was extremely difficult. Ben played his part well and supported me back into bed as the EFs watched in silence.

  “We had reports that Tylia Coder and Kev Farmer were in the studios without permission,” the EF reported. “Farmer has been caught and we’re interrogating him now.”

  I tried not to flinch. Poor Kev. I kicked myself for dragging him into my stupidity.

  “And that farmer said Tylia was with him?” Ben asked, tucking the sheets into the side of the mattress around me, then spreading it out so that it lay neatly flat. He couldn’t even look at the EF as he spoke.

  “Farmer insists he was alone,” the EF said. “But others report having seen a second perpetrator.”

  Ben turned and sat gingerly on the edge of my bed as I tried to feign confused interest in the conversation. “Well, I can attest to the fact that Tylia Coder was here this whole time. I was visiting with her, and she hasn’t left this room all day.”

  The EF looked back at his (or her, I really couldn’t tell) partner, and then back again at Ben and me. Clearly, there was confusion here. Then the EF coughed and apologized to Ben for intruding. I noted that the EF did not apologize to me.

  “You may leave now.” Ben’s tone made it clear this was not a request.

  The EFs obeyed, marching neatly out of my room. I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  “Thank you,” I said softly.

  Ben rose from my bed and planted himself at the edge of the chair beside me. He leaned forward onto his knees and folded his hands. For a long time, he studied his fingers and said nothing.

  “I can explain,” I finally said to break the terrible silence.

  Ben shook his head slowly. I had a feeling it was more in disapproval of me than in rejection of my offer to tell him what had happened.

  “You were trying to prove that the show isn’t real, that it’s scripted, and that therefore the search for the Cure is fake.” He didn’t even look up at me. He kept his focus on his hands.

  “How…?” How could he possibly have known that?

  Now he looked right at me. “Do you think you’re the first person to discover that we script the show? That we have a room full of writers who plan out the arc of each character’s journey?” He sighed. “Would you rather watch the show as it is, or watch feeds of us actually working? We can go for days without talking to another person when we’re so focused on what we’re doing. Most of the time, I’m at my computer trying to work out formulas and chemical equations. Others are studying the mice or testing blood samples. Do you think that would make good television? Would it entertain our people in the Geos and give them something to take their minds off of their mundane, daily grind?”

  Ben rubbed his face with both hands. He looked so tired.

  “You have to trust us, or at least trust me at some point, Ty.” He sounded so disappointed that my heart cracked a little. I hated that I was so confused, and potentially so mistaken. Against my will, my eyes filled up with tears and a stream slipped down one side of my face. I hated that my body reacted like this. How did Ben’s presence alone turn me into a ball of mush, every time?

  He rose and picked up a tissue, dabbing the side of my face. It was such a gentle, caring gesture that I just cried even more. I was a mess—a dumb, ridiculous mess. And it always happened in front of Ben. How could he even stand to be near such a weakling?

  “I’m sorry,” I stammered. There was nothing else I could say. It seemed as if Ben knew everything. What I had been through was no more unusual than what every new person who moved up to the Greens must have felt.

  Ben threw the tissue in the trash and cupped my face with his hands, forcing me to look him in the eye. I expected more disappointment, or maybe even anger, but what I saw was the opposite. His brown eyes were wide and full of emotion. “Not trusting me brought you dangerously close to being thrown out of the Labs. You might’ve been caught today, and then I wouldn’t have been able to save you. I don’t know what I would’ve done then.”

  “What’s going to happen to Kev?” I couldn’t bear it if Kev was hurt or, even worse, killed. “Please, you have to help him! None of it was his idea. He really is loyal to the Farrow family. I made him come with me.”

  Ben’s jaw tightened at my confession. “I’ll do what I can, but breaking into the studio, and causing a lockdown which delayed the broadcast, is a serious offence. Father wants every episode to be broadcast live. He thinks it makes up for the fact that it’s scripted. It gives us, who aren’t real actors, a chance to be as genuine as possible. Imagine all our people in the Geos waiting for a new episode and not getting one.”

  I could practically hear Viv swearing at the Union Hall after a long day’s work. She looked forward to her moment of escape, as she called it—watching the show. Even my parents had occasionally stopped by to watch with everyone else. Before Mom had gotten sick.

  “Ben, where are my parents? Why haven’t they come to see me?”

  The corner of his lips curled. “Now that’s what you should be worrying about. Not the show or the writers.” He perched himself at the edge of my bed and took my hand in his. The warmth from his touch traveled up to my face. “Your parents are well. They’re still down in the Geos…”

  I opened my mouth to protest. They were supposed to have been moved up to the Labs immediately after I’d won the Acceptance. Anticipating my outburst, Ben put one finger on my lips. All this physical contact was messing with my mind, and for a second I forgot what we were talking about.

  “They’re still in the Geos,” he repeated, more firmly this time, “because it’s too dangerous to fly them up here—remember what just happened to us? You wouldn’t want them to experience that, would you?”

  I shook my head. Of course, he was right.

  “Can I talk to them, at least?”

  “As soon as this lockdown nonsense is over, I will personally arrange a call with them. They must be eager to hear from you, as much as you are dying to talk to them.”

  A huge weight lifted off of me as he spoke. Something about Ben, and the way he looked out for me, told me that he was different from his father. R.L. Farrow might have plans that didn’t benefit the people, and perhaps other members of the family did, too—but that wasn’t Ben. He was on my side. He really cared.

  “Thank you, Ben,” I said, smiling. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

  A strange look passed over Ben’s face, but it was gone before I could decipher it. His gaze locked onto mine.

  “You know, Ty,” he said softly, “ever since that moment when I first met you, I knew you were special. I felt strangely drawn to you in a way that’s never happened to me before.” He looked down at our linked hands and his face flushed with color. I could just make out that he was smiling.

  A lump sprang into my throat. I could feel that this was an important moment for us. Something was about to change. I thought I should say something, but my mind went completely blank. Only my body was reacting to all of it in a whole new way. It was as if I were floating on top of gentle waves, and they were spreading warmth inside me from head to toe.

  Then, he leaned in. His face was so close to mine. Every organ in my body shivered, and the tips of my fingers and toes tingled. I could feel the heat from his body radiate out to me. He smelled sweet and clean, like the trees that grew straight into the sky in the Above. His eyelashes brushed over my skin, and I shivered.

  “Is it okay if I kiss you?” he whispered.

  Skylar Two had been my first kiss, and so much more. When we’d been together, it had felt special, as if it had meant
something cosmic, bigger than the two of us. It was a betrayal of my people in the Geos to lie with a Rej, but it had also showed me the possibility of a greater future. A shiver went through me as the memory of us being together surfaced.

  One of Ben’s eyebrows arched up as he watched me, waiting for an answer. I suppressed the memory of Skylar Two. It was all so confusing, and my body wasn’t helping. It felt as if all that mattered was that I was here, in the Greens with Ben. He had just saved my life, and I hated to admit it, but he was very nice to look at. Skylar Two was far away, and I might never see him again. He might even have tried to kill me in the transport explosion. Maybe I meant nothing more to him than a fleeting affair.

  All these thoughts flashed through my mind in the blink of an eye. Then Ben moved in a bit more. His lips were so close to mine, and I inhaled the essence of him, warm and clean, and safe. Another shiver ran through me.

  I swallowed to clear my throat. “Y—y—yes,” I squeaked.

  He exhaled, and the warmth of his breath enveloped me. His lips brushed mine. A zing went through my body and I had to force myself to stay still. I closed my eyes. Ben Farrow was about to kiss me. Me! A nobody coder from the Geos. Viv would be out of her mind with jealousy.

  My heart thumped so loudly that I didn’t hear the door swish open. Ben shot straight up, and I was left in a freezing gust of loneliness.

  “Father…” Ben’s voice was breathless. He was in shock. “I had no idea…I didn’t…” He couldn’t finish.

  As Ben gaped, I forced myself to gather my senses. My gaze shot to the doorway. There in the threshold of my room stood the leader of our world—R.L. Farrow. He took up the entire doorway in his white suit, white shoes, and dark hair. His thick eyebrows shadowed the dark eyes that were narrowed as he took in the scene before him.

  He was scowling.

  Chapter Ten

  “Father, I…I…had no idea you were coming,” Ben sputtered as R.L. Farrow stepped into my room.

  I pushed myself up onto my elbows and tried to say something. “Er…hello, sir…Dr. Farrow…sir.” I sounded like a complete idiot.

  R.L. raised his hands and a grin broke out over his face. This was the face I recognized—the one we saw on television every night in Union Hall, the one that reassured the population that things were going on as planned.

  The smile I was learning to distrust.

  “It is I who must apologize,” he said, emphasizing the ‘s’ sounds. “It looks like I came at exactly the wrong moment.” His grin took a mischievous turn. His dark eyes crinkled at the edges.

  I wanted to hide. I slid back down and nearly buried myself under the covers in my bed. He had seen Ben almost kiss me. Holy Virus! What must he think? His favorite son cavorting with a nobody Geos girl—who, sure, had won the Acceptance, but still. Ben was an Elite. I was nothing. Surely, R.L. was mocking me with his smile. I swallowed and waited for the tide to turn, and for his proper reaction to descend upon me. I braced for the torrent of his rage.

  What was that old saying? Out of the frying pan and into the fire? That was the story of my life. How did I keep getting myself into these situations? What an idiot I was to even think that Ben and I had a chance to be something more than co-habitants of the Greens. Co-workers, at best.

  Just because I now lived in the Greens didn’t mean I really belonged. I was still a Geos coder, lower than the lowest worker up here in the Labs. We coders were so low that we lived and worked in the deepest belly of the Geos. Only the farmers were lower than us. So, how could I have imagined that something would happen between me and the favored son of our leader?

  “Father, forgive me,” Ben said. “If I had known that you were coming here…”

  R.L. looked over at Ben. His eyes widened. “If you had known I was coming, you wouldn’t have tried to kiss this young woman?” He laughed. It was a light sounding laugh, not an evil “you’re doomed” kind of laugh. I had no idea what to make of it.

  R.L. put his hand on his son’s shoulder. Ben grimaced, his face flushing with color. Smiling at me, R.L. pushed a pad into Ben’s hands and pointed to the screen. For a moment, Ben looked confused, and then he looked down at the pad. I watched Ben’s expression go from one of deep confusion to surprise, and finally relief. He looked at his father with questions in his eyes.

  “Are these results confirmed?” he asked.

  “They are,” R.L. said. “I had them run several times over to make sure they were accurate.”

  The two men began to talk in technical terms that I couldn’t really understand—something about antibodies, genes, and plasma. Their conversation became so animated that it was almost as if they’d forgotten I was even in the room. Then, R.L. lowered his voice and whispered something to Ben, which made him blush. Finally, they turned back to me. Ben looked embarrassed, but R.L. looked pleased.

  “Well, my dear,” R.L. said, placing himself by my bedside. “You certainly are a surprising young lady.” His tone was so genial that I didn’t quite know how to react. I swallowed, trying to hide the fact that I was shivering. “Relax, child. You have nothing to fear from me. I bring good news.”

  He sat on the side of my bed and clapped once, looking up at the ceiling with a pleased sigh. “It’s been a long journey, and I think we’ve finally found what we’ve been looking for.” He laughed. “To think you were right there, under our noses the entire time! Providence certainly has brought you to us.”

  “Excuse me?” I asked.

  He was very confusing. Skylar Two and the Rejs had painted R.L. Farrow as this monstrous man who destroyed everyone around him. They told stories of his dreadful deeds and how he treated people like lab rats instead of humans. To them, he was a greedy, ambitious, power-hungry man who would stop at nothing to get his own way. I’d imagined him to be a cruel man, one who didn’t have the time to be polite to anyone around him. Yet, here he was sitting by my bedside, acting as if I was someone…someone he liked. Goosebumps covered every inch of my skin. Was there something about me that made me worthy of his good opinion?

  I shouldn’t think like that. This man was so powerful. He could change his mind in a breath, and I’d be dead. I couldn’t let my guard down. I had to be careful.

  And yet, that twinkle in his eyes as he watched me made me feel like I was a part of his family now. My head throbbed with the confusion. I needed to tread with care.

  I pushed myself higher up against the back of my bed.

  “Careful now,” R.L. said. He adjusted the pillows behind me, propping me up comfortably. Being so near the leader of our world made me so uncomfortable, but I couldn’t refuse his help. “You’ve been in bed for a long while. You’re still weak. We don’t want you to over-exert yourself too soon.”

  Surely, he knew the truth—that I’d been out and running around this building with Kev. Yet, he acted like he knew nothing. Like he cared for my health.

  Oh skies, this was too much. I didn’t know which way was up.

  Skylar Two’s words flooded my mind. R.L. Farrow was evil and couldn’t be trusted. He used people. He would stomp on all of us if he thought it would move his agenda forward.

  “Now, I wanted to let you know that I will be transporting your parents up here shortly,” he said, patting the mattress beside my legs. “I’m sending my private transport to retrieve them. And when your mother arrives, she will be seen to by my own physician. She will receive the best care possible. I hope that will relieve some of your stress and worry. What do you say to that?”

  I was too shocked to say anything at first.

  “Th—thank you, sir,” I sputtered. Why was he being so nice to me? “I don’t deserve all this attention, but I am grateful that you’re taking care of my mother.”

  “You deserve everything you’re getting,” he said. My suspicious mind heard several possible interpretations of that line, but I kicked myself internally.

  He was taking care of my mother. This was not the man I’d heard about. He was actuall
y nice.

  R.L. looked back at Ben and gestured for him to come closer. “I’ll leave Ben to explain the technicalities, but I also wanted to let you know what our scientists have found. You have a natural immunity to the Virus, which is how you survived the Acceptance. Your genetics…you are quite a rare specimen.” He smiled broadly at the use of that word. Normally, I would’ve felt reduced to a lab sample, but somehow when he said it, it made me feel special. “I believe you could be the future, that your genetic make-up could be the answer to all of our prayers.” He looked at Ben, and then back to me. “You and Ben, together, could bring about a new generation…one which is stronger and more resilient.”

  “Together?” I asked, looking at father and son. “You mean Ben and I have similar immunities?”

  R.L. laughed again. This was a good day for him. He shook his head and spoke to me as if he was explaining things to a child. “You and Ben are a perfect match. Together, you can create offspring that will lead the way in our research, toward the future we’ve been working for.”

  It took me several seconds to understand what he was trying to say. Ben and me. Together. Offspring.

  Oh!

  I could feel the heat rise into my face. He meant Ben and me together. As in a match.

  My mouth dropped open as I stared at R.L. He looked amused. Ben, I saw out of the corner of my eye, looked as if he’d like to crawl under the nearest couch.

  R.L. clapped his hands again and stood up. He seemed extremely pleased with himself. “Look, I’ll leave Ben to do the explaining here. But your work here is done, for now,” he said, looking around at my room. He wrinkled his nose as if disapproving of the smell of the space. “I’ve informed the medics to move you out of this wing and into your own apartment. It’ll be much nicer than this room, I assure you. From now on, you will be treated with the utmost respect.” He leaned in close and lowered his voice into a playful tone. “If anyone mistreats you, they will answer directly to me.”