Perception

by Lee Strauss

  “If you’re lucky.”

  She played with her food. “Actually, Jackson knew I wasn’t swimming. He’ll know something went wrong.”

  I dug in, responding with a half full mouth. “If you weren’t going to swim, then why the swimsuit?”

  She didn’t answer. She took a bite and moaned a little. “This is really good.”

  “Thanks. Eat up. You’ll need your energy.”

  “For what?”

  “A road trip.”

  Her expression went flat. Why did I say that?

  “Don’t bother trying to get away. You don’t have a chip or a ComRing and you’ll get lost in the forest. I know this is scary for you right now, Zoe, but trust me. You’re better off with me than them.”

  She took a sip of her coffee. It was still hot. Steaming. She tossed it in my face and dashed for the door.

  Chapter 38

  Springing back from the burning heat, I lifted my t-shirt and wiped the coffee off my face. I looked for Zoe, but she was already out the back door, leaving it swinging wide.

  “Zoe!” I sprinted after her.

  There was no way she could’ve gotten far. I scanned the grounds, but except for the wind blowing the higher branches of the trees, nothing moved.

  She was out of sight.

  “Zoe? There’s nowhere to run. You’ll just get lost. You don’t want to run into a wild animal.”

  I searched behind the car. “I promise I won’t hurt you. Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

  I stepped as quietly as possible to the wood pile. Nothing. This whole scenario made me feel sick. Like I was a criminal.

  Which technically I was, but not the evil kind Zoe currently thought that I was.

  A twig snapped.

  Behind the tree with the dartboard, a shadow moved.

  “Zoe?”

  She sprung from her hiding place, through the woods, dodging branches and brush like a frightened doe. I sprinted after her.

  In her dress and sandals, she was no match for me. I grabbed her arm, jerking her back.

  “Let me go!” she flailed wildly, kicking and swinging her free fist.

  I grabbed it before it made contact with my face. She squirmed, her breaths quick, her eyes wide, but I held her wrists tightly.

  “Zoe, it’s okay.”

  Her eyes locked with mine—hers full of fear and loathing, mine full of sympathy and regret. I hadn’t thought it all the way through when I’d decided to take her. I’d thought if I just got her away from her family and Jackson and the pills, she would remember me. I’d made a mistake, but it was too late to turn back now.

  She grew still, a lone tear trailing down her cheek. I pulled her into an embrace. What I really wanted to do was kiss her hard on the lips. Instead I rested my chin on her head. She stiffened in my arms.

  “Don’t fight me, and I promise you, if in a week’s time you still want to go home, I won’t stop you. I’ll take you back myself.”

  I could feel her breath slow, matching mine, in and out in tandem.

  “Okay,” she said weakly.

  I held her hand until we exited the bush, then she pulled hers away.

  “We just need to pack some supplies,” I said. I couldn’t trust her to let her out of my sight. “Come in, okay?”

  I motioned for her to go back inside and I followed her. Bits of leaf and twig were caught in her hair, and I reached to pull them out. She stopped as I did it but didn’t turn her head or thank me.

  I felt a sudden urgency to leave. We’d been here too long, and even an idiot like Grant would find out about our family cabin eventually. I’d broken our deal, and I had no doubt that he was sniffing out our trail.

  I handed a bag to Zoe. “Here are some clothes. My...” I didn’t know how this whole scene was going to pan out and didn’t want to incriminate Skye. “My friend is about the same size as you. She gave me some of her clothes. You’ll find a toothbrush, too.”

  Zoe took the bag and went into the bathroom to change. I heard the shower turn on and while she was occupied, I filled a box with all the food that remained in the kitchen along with a can opener, a few dishes, pots, utensils and coffee.

  I scooped up my own clothes and stuffed them into a bag. In the bedroom, a packed-up tent and a couple sleeping bags rested against the wall. I collected them and took them outside, stuffing everything into the undersized trunk of the car.

  When I went back inside, the shower was quiet. I removed my backpack from the broom closet and set it on the table with a soft clunk. I lifted out both guns and sat them on the table. Earlier, I’d purchased the appropriate bullets and I loaded each gun, one at a time.

  I saw movement from my peripheral vision.

  Zoe stood, wide jawed, staring at the gun in my hand.

  “In case there’s trouble,” I said, stuffing both weapons back into the backpack.

  She wore a pair of jeans that fit amazingly well, and a loose grey t-shirt. Her wet hair fell over her shoulders, making dark, damp spots.

  “Your friend had an unopened pack of underwear? That was convenient.”

  I felt a red blush creep up my neck and looked away. “Yeah, I guess it was.” I swung the pack over my shoulder. “You ready to go?”

  “Looks like I travel light.”

  I took her by the elbow and led her out to the car.

  ***

  We were on Route Five, going north. The highway was lined with windmills and eco “trees.” Recharging stations popped up every twenty miles. My hands were stiff on the wheel, my backpack on the floor under my legs. I glanced at Zoe who stared zombie like out the window. She picked at her fingernails.

  “Are you thirsty?” I said. “There’s water in the back seat.”

  “I’m fine.”

  My plan was just to talk to her, to tell her what really happened, over and over again, if necessary, until her memory clicked in.

  Hoping beyond hope it would click in.

  “You asked me to help you find out what happened to Liam. We knew where his body was found, in the eastern sector, so you and I went there.”

  Zoe raised her eyebrows and considered me. “I went there?”

  “Yes, you were quite stubborn about it, actually. And we found the lab where the experiment took place.”

  “What was there?”

  I described the lab. “We searched around in the dark, with just the light of our ComRings. They’d left in a hurry, forgetting to turn the computers off. Mitchell Redding came while we were there. We hid together in a closet so he wouldn’t find us.”

  Her chin dropped, and I thought that maybe I’d said too much.

  “Are you okay?”I asked.

  She stared back at me with an odd look on her face. “I had a dream that was like that.”

  My heart jumped. “You did? That means your subconscious is trying to remember!”

  “In my dream I was hiding in a small, dark place.”

  “The closet, yes!”

  “You had your arms around me.”

  I smirked. “It was a small closet.”

  “But then he found us.”

  “Actually, we thought he’d left, but he was still there when we got out of the closet.”

  “Did he have a gun?”

  I nodded. “But you distracted him, and I wrestled him down. You picked the gun up off the floor. You pointed it to stop the fight. Then I knocked him out.”

  “I had the gun? I don’t remember that.”

  “You actually looked kind of hot, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

  She eyed me like she couldn’t tell if I was serious or not. “Well, you should see me at the firing range. I’m a pretty good shot.” She flicked her hand to the pack by my door. “So you took the gun?”

  “Not then. I stuffed it in a drawer. I went back for it later.”

  “Why?”

  “I had no choice.” I told her about our attempted break and enter into the Maverick office.

&n
bsp; “I don’t believe it.”

  “It’s true. Your grandfather was listed as one of the directors. It’s the thing that got you thinking he was involved somehow.”

  “Grandpa V? He wouldn’t...”

  “Oh yes, he would. We broke into to his house, also your idea, to see if we could find anything else. You thought he’d gone back to D.C., but he was there waiting for us.”

  “What happened?”

  “He confessed to financing the experiment and having Mitchell knocked off–”

  “Mitchell’s dead?”

  I nodded. “His two thugs showed up then. The Senator had every intention of getting rid of me in the same way, so I had to run. I had to leave you, Zoe, I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m okay.”

  I sighed. “No, you’re not. The last thing I heard your grandfather say is that they could fix you. They fixed you, Zoe. They erased your memory. Everything that happened during that time is gone for you.”

  She stared out the passenger window. I worried I was giving her too much too fast, but I didn’t have the luxury of time. Grant would be after us, and I had to convince her of the truth. I need her working with me and not against me.

  “Our grandfathers were once friends,” I said.

  “Who’s your grandfather?”

  “Dr. Matthew Brody.”

  She shrugged.

  “He worked with your grandfather to develop the life extension gene manipulation procedure.”

  Zoe twisted slightly to face me. “Why isn’t he famous, then, like my grandpa?”

  “Matthew Brody didn’t want to release the procedure to the public. He and William Vanderveen argued extensively about it. It destroyed their friendship.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would your grandfather work to develop something if he was against using it?”

  I tapped my fingers on the wheel. “Do you know who Robert Oppenheimer is?”

  “He directed the Manhattan Project.”

  “Yes, the secret project from World War Two that gave us the atomic bomb. He said, ‘When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after having had your technical success.’ It was like that. Grandpa was excited about the science but had ethical objections to actually performing it on humanity.”

  Zoe went back to picking her nails. “Even if he hadn’t been involved, the science would’ve occurred eventually. He couldn’t have prevented us from becoming GAPs.”

  “Perhaps.” I signaled to enter a recharging station. “Do you need to use the facilities?”

  Zoe nodded. Before she could exit the car, I picked up my backpack and patted it. “Please don’t talk to anyone. I’m sorry, but I’m watching you.”

  I made sure the restroom was empty before allowing her to go in. I quickly made my own pit stop, counting on being faster than her, and managed to be waiting when she came out.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “A little.”

  We picked out food for the road and I paid in cash, ignoring the clerk’s look of surprise. I walked Zoe back to the car, and then had the attendant swap out batteries.

  In fifteen minutes we were back on the road.

  We ate in silence, and I wondered what I should tell her next.

  “You and I, we’re friends. You like me.”

  Zoe pursed her lips together in a way that made me tingle. “Might I ask,” she said, “how friendly?”

  I laughed. “Maybe later.”

  She reached for the media center and turned on the music. Apparently she had tired of talking. That was fine with me.

  After a couple of hours I spotted the motel I'd mapped out earlier. It had grown dark, and the red, neon arrow flashed to beckon us in.

  I signaled and took the exit off the highway.

  She sat up straight. “What are you doing?”

  “It’s a motel. We’re staying here for the night.”

  Chapter 39

  Zoe eyed the two twin beds in the tiny motel room and let out a breath. Even so, she was trembling. If she thought I would force her to do anything, then she really didn’t remember me.

  “You can have that one,” I said, motioning to the bed closest to the bathroom. I pushed against the second one until it pressed against the door.

  She wrinkled her nose and for good reason. The room smelled moldy and dusty. The faded carpet was dotted with stains, and the light fixture above her head twitched. She disappeared into the bathroom, and let out a shriek.

  I rushed to the door, imagining a dead body in the bathtub. “Are you all right?”

  Zoe opened it and blushed sheepishly. “Just a spider.”

  She took another Tylenol and then prepared the toothbrush I’d bought for her.

  “Do you mind?”

  I left her and settled in on the second bed, my back against the door, backpack at my side. I flicked the TV on and then wished I hadn’t. A news story played and an image of Zoe’s face appeared on the screen. I muted it when she climbed into her bed.

  “They’re looking for me,” she said.

  The next image was one of me—a person of interest.

  “They suspect you’re with me, but they have no proof,” I said. “That’s good.”

  “How do you know they have no proof?”

  “If they did, I wouldn’t simply be a person of interest. Plus, the Coast Guard wouldn’t be searching for your body.”

  I turned the TV off.

  “My mom and dad will be very worried,” she said.

  “You always used to call them Alison and Paul.”

  “I did? Why would I do that?”

  “You didn’t to their faces, but you did to me. I don’t think you had a very good relationship with them.”

  “Oh.”

  I turned out the lights.

  “What are you doing?” she said in a tight voice. “I know self-defense.”

  I let out a frustrated sigh. “Have I ever been anything less than a gentleman?”

  My eyes adjusted to the dark and I watched her, fully clothed with shoes still on, slip between the covers.

  “I just don’t get why you’re doing this,” she said. “If your story about me is true, why don’t you just leave me to my delusions and move on?”

  “Because I fell in love with you.”

  There was a long silence before she asked, “Did I fall in love with you?”

  “I think so.”

  Chapter 40

  Zoe was dreaming. Her eyes moved rapidly under her lids, and by the way she groaned, I couldn’t tell if it was a bad dream or a good one.

  I nudged her shoulder. “Zoe?”

  Her eyes cracked open.

  “Wake up. We have to get an early start.”

  She clasped a hand over her mouth.

  “Zoe, are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Her eyes had a strange glaze to them, like she didn’t know if she was awake or dreaming.

  “Were you having a bad dream?”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t bad,” she said, hoarsely.

  “We need to get going.”

  “Okay. I’ll get ready.”

  I heard the toilet flush and then the water run in the sink.

  I offered her a breakfast bar when she got out.

  “Picked these up yesterday.”

  “I just brushed my teeth,” she said but took it anyway.

  I moved the bed to its original position away from the door then led her out of the motel room. I guided her with my hand on the small of her back, a familiar gesture of intimacy for us, but she wouldn’t remember that. I expected her to jerk away, but she didn’t.

  I opened the passenger door for her and she got in. I slid into the driver’s seat, but before I could turn the car on, she leaned over and pulled my head to hers and kissed me.

  I was too stunned to respond at first. Her mouth moved in a soft, gentle motion that caused my blood to rush and my lips suddenly
knew what to do. I took her head with both hands and kissed her deeply.

  She pulled back and looked me in the eyes. To say I was confused about what was going on would be an understatement. I swallowed hard as she slid back into her seat and put on the seat belt.

  “So, where are we going?” she said with a smile.

  I pulled at the collar of my t-shirt and laughed. “I’ll go anywhere with you, baby.”

  I started the car and drove onto the highway, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, a grin plastered firmly on my face.

  “Okay,” I said. “What was that about?”

  “It was a test.”

  “A test?”

  “I dreamed about you this morning.”

  That’s what she was dreaming about? “A make out dream?”

  “I think my dreams are unlocking my memories.”

  “So you believe me now?”

  She touched her bottom lip with her finger. “Your kiss kind of convinced me.”

  I scratched my head, smirking. “Whatever works.”

  “Did we really make out in a church?”

  “You dreamed about the church?”

  “The church?”

  “My dad’s church. It’s mine now. The one you were staring at when I ran into you in the square.”

  “You didn’t answer my question. Did we really make out in a church?”

  “Does it matter that it was in a church? God invented kissing and all the rest that goes with it, you know. Haven’t you read the Song of Solomon?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve read a lot of books, but never that one.” She grinned. “Maybe I should?”

  “Most definitely.”

  The forest thickened, and after a few hours, I signaled off of the main road. The sunlight through the trees cast a mystical glow. The trees opened up to a meadow and a small lake that sparkled like diamonds.

  “It’s beautiful,” Zoe said. “I’ve never actually been anywhere that wasn’t a GAP city.”

  “There’s still some natural beauty left on the earth. We’re headed for a fishing camp down this road.”

  “We’re going fishing?”

  “Well, we’re camping. We could go fishing if you want to.”

  We hit a gravel road and passed a sign that said Two Miles and then another set of worn signs.