“I kissed you.”
I laughed. “I know that! But I saw things and felt things. I was floating.”
“You were taken away from the barrier that your body has naturally built around the metal. I let you feel some of its strength; I took you out of here and away from this world.”
“Literally?”
He chuckled. “Not literally. Humans have a tendency to think in a box. The mind is powerful and the metal makes us even more powerful.”
“Em was there.”
“Of course she was. She’s your metal.”
Em plopped down on the grass next to us. “Aric is right, but I was there. I saw the whole thing and…” She started to clap. “My eyes watered during the whole ceremony.”
Ceremony?
“Now I feel awkward,” I whispered. “I didn’t know we had an audience.”
“How did it feel to kiss royalty, Jade?” Em asked.
“Royalty?” I said.
“The Cerens give the best implants to their royal family, alter them to be as close to perfect as they can manage.”
“What do you mean by royal family? You’re just making things up now.”
“He told you, I talked to Aric’s implants. Not that the level of conversation was exactly up to much. But I still got some information. Aric here is royalty. Tell her, Aric.”
Aric sat up. “I don’t remember much before the crash. I was too young. My parents were…important, I think.”
“That’s one way of putting it.” Em stretched out in a motion that would have brushed across Aric’s skin if she had been able to touch him. “They were like the hub of a wheel. I was, I guess. Everyone had implants, and I could connect to everyone. I could tell Aric’s family what everyone wanted.”
“A kind of instant democracy,” I suggested.
“Exactly. At least, I think it was like that. I don’t really remember a lot before…well…you.”
“Plus, it explains why you never shut up.” I laughed.
“Hey!”
Aric laughed at that, and he seemed so much less intimidating, so much less otherworldly, when he laughed.
Aric went to release my hand but Em stopped him. “Keep us here so that they can’t see or hear us. I have something I want to show you.” Em reached out her hand, and an old-fashioned paper file appeared in it. “Here you go, Aric. Professor Ahern’s emails about severing the program. I know I told you about it, but I wanted you to see it, too.”
I looked at her sharply. “You said it was Dr. Stevens who was going to end the program”
“There are some emails from her, too.” Em held out another file for me. “All the details of the HAP project and the HASH project to produce a human/alien hybrid are in these folders. She volunteered you for that, Jade. For the breeding project.”
I thought about insisting that we release our hands but Aric was reading by then. His expression was grave as he read. Part of me wanted to put an arm around him, because I knew what it was like to have proof that the people who had cared for you wanted you dead, but I wasn’t sure if I should do that. Especially since we had just kissed.
As Aric read, Em began to flicker out of existence. For the briefest moment, there was something else standing in her place. Something silver and perfect. Then she flickered back in and her head fell forward.
“Oh, that felt…um, I think we’d better get you both back.”
“Are you all right?” I reached out to touch her, but my hand went through her.
“Um…right now, maybe?”
Aric looked up from reading. Just from his expression, I could see that he’d read more than enough. He looked like he was going to say something…
But he released my hand and we were now visually there for the scientist to see. From the corner of my eye, I could see the familiar shape of Em. I started to pull back from him further, but he held me with easy strength. He leaned in, and for a moment, I thought he might kiss me again. But his lips brushed my ears, his voice coming low.
“I understand, Jade. We can’t stay here. We need to escape.”
Chapter Five
It was one thing, talking about escaping, but it was another thing to actually prepare to do it. A week had gone by, and it felt like I hadn’t done anything toward our goal.
I’d met up with Aric a few more times, snatching whispers of conversation where I could, but honestly, even that was nearly impossible when our every movement was carefully watched—every movement that did not include Aric and I intertwining our fingers and going off to subconsciously hide from the Institute.
My dreams had changed, too. They were still about the crash, as often as not, but now others joined them. Dreams about Aric, about the moment we’d kissed.
So far, dreams were all I had, on every front. What did I know about breaking out of scientific facilities? About the only advantage I had was that I knew the layout of the Institute, and even then, I wasn’t sure that I knew it well enough. After all, what had I seen of it beyond my room? A few carefully controlled spaces, and the corridors in between.
Em, naturally, had appointed herself as the escape committee. “I’ve got maps of the Institute now.” She stood in my room and projected one onto the wall for me to see. I knew no one but me could see it, even though someone watched me every moment.
“We’re here. We need to get to the exit, here, but to do that, we’ll need to find a way out of the room.”
“Can’t you just…” I waved vaguely at the door.
“There’s the Faraday cage in the way, and that doesn’t help us with the scientists, or the security, or the cameras, or…”
I got the message. I didn’t have a chance to answer though, because a scientist chose that moment to open the door to my room. She was a red-haired woman a few years older than me, in one of those crisp, pristine lab coats, carrying a clipboard. The security key card clipped onto her pocket identified her as Dr. Adams.
“Dr. Stevens would like to see you, Jade.”
She led the way toward Dr. Stevens’ office. I followed, walking quietly beside her. Em stayed close to me and walked behind us.
Dr. Adams seemed timid and enthralled at the opportunity to be near me. That became even more apparent when she started to talk.
“Um, would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions, Jade? It’s for a research paper. I mean, obviously, it will be a sealed paper and only people with the right clearance will ever see it, but still…”
I was used to that kind of thing by now. Maybe too used to it. I’d spent my whole life letting people experiment on me. I’d been sure it was a good thing. That it would finally let me be free when they knew everything they wanted to know. On the other hand, I couldn’t let anyone know that something was wrong now, could I? And I had an idea.
“Sure, if it will help.”
“Well, first, can you tell me about any changes you’ve experienced in your dietary needs in the last six months or so…”
I’d never really thought before about just how many things there were between the outside world and me. About the security people that the Institute employed or about the precautions they took around me. The key card scanners and the locks.
I’d grown up with it all. It had just been…normal. At most, it had been a necessary annoyance, designed to keep me safe from the outside world. I couldn’t leave them even if I wanted to.
Did I want to? Part of me knew that Em and Aric were right. That if I stayed, I wouldn’t live. That I couldn’t trust anyone here. Yet, the idea of just going, of leaving the place in which I’d lived for practically all my life, without even saying goodbye…it was so huge I wasn’t even sure whether I would be able to do it with my life on the line. Yet, I could at least start to prepare for the possibility.
“No changes, really?” I mumbled and as we talked, I moved closer to her and reached up carefully.
“You’re stealing her key card?”
I almost jumped as Em said that in my ear.
/>
When I jumped, Dr. Adams turned toward me, frowning slightly. “What are you doing?”
I shook my head, thinking quickly. Thankfully, one excuse always seemed to work in the Institute. “Sorry, Em was being a bit…”
“Oh.” Dr. Adams actually looked slightly impressed by that. “Yes, of course.”
Em put her hands on her hips. “Oh, sure, blame me.” She reached out to snatch a ghostly copy of the scientist’s card. “Like I couldn’t open any door we need anyway.”
“Except the one that matters,” I whispered to my side, directly at her. She wasn’t going to be able to open the door to my cell, which had the extra security of the Faraday cage. She wasn’t going to be able to do anything about the security guards either. At least, not all of them. I nodded to one as we passed. “Have you thought of anything for them?”
“For who?” Dr. Adams asked.
I gritted my teeth. Most the doctors knew that talking to Em was a part of me and they would quietly listen to our one-sided conversation. But Dr. Adams wasn’t accustomed to that.
“Nothing, again, I was talking to Em.”
“Oh, Jade. I’m sorry, please continue.”
Em shook her head. “Well, I was thinking maybe Aric could help with that. You’ve seen how strong he is.”
“Do you have a crush on him, Em?”
“I can’t have a crush on him, but if I were you, I’d have a crush on him. You know, we never talked about that kiss you two had. How did that happen? Did he lean in and kiss you or was it you who kissed him?”
I smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I’ll ask his metal.”
“Go ahead, you can barely communicate with his metal.”
“Yeah, that’s because I’ve been stuck in you for sixteen years.”
“It’s amazing,” Dr. Adams said from beside me. “Listening in to one half of a conversation and knowing that the other person is just there. It’s like you can almost imagine what the implant must be saying.”
I really hoped not. We made our way to Dr. Stevens’ office, where Dr. Adams waited until I was inside with her before leaving. That was another thing we’d have to deal with. Neither Aric nor I was ever alone, except in a few specific locations, and cameras or employees monitored all of those.
Looking at Dr. Stevens though, I could see immediately that there were bigger problems than that. Just from the way that she was looking at me, I could tell that something was wrong.
“Come and sit down, Jade.” She gestured to a chair on the far side of her desk. Her computer was between us. It occurred to me that I hardly ever met her in her office, for exactly that reason. It was normally easier to meet in my room, an interview room, or a lab.
I stared at her, trying to find some trace, in her features, of that ruthless doctor who wanted me killed the way Em had explained. Some quirk of her expression that should have told me she was going to try to kill me. Something that might explain how I’d managed to think of her as almost like a second mother to me, while she was talking about my death like it didn’t matter.
It was a few seconds before I realized that she was staring back. “So,” she said, “are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
I sat perfectly still, not knowing what to say. Em didn’t seem to have the same problem.
Em said, “Can you believe her? Sitting there asking what we’re up to when she’s the one plotting to murder us? If I could, I’d probably hit her with something for that.”
I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Come on, Jade, what are you and Aric doing? I might not know him, but I know you, and I know when something is wrong.” Dr. Stevens adjusted her lab coat.
I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Are you sure? Is it something between you and Aric? I know you two were close last week while sitting under the tree. I thought that might be a good sign.”
“Sure,” Em said from beside her, “because you’d like nothing more than a clutch of little aliens running around to poke at and study. I bet you’d love playing the part of grandmother, Miriam.”
I did my best to ignore Em, but the problem was, she had a point. I’d seen the proof. I knew what Dr. Stevens wanted. I knew what would happen if she didn’t get it, too.
Dr. Stevens reached out for my hand. “Jade, whatever it is, you know I want to help you. That’s why we’re meeting in here, where no one else can hear. You know I’ve always thought of you almost like a daughter—”
“The last I heard, people didn’t go around killing their daughters.” The words were out before I could stop them, so sharp and sudden that I almost wondered if Em had taken a role in pushing them out. No though, this one was all me. Em looked as shocked as I felt about finally coming out with it.
“What are you talking about?” Dr. Stevens looked so surprised that for a second I almost, almost believed her. “You think I’m trying to kill you?”
“I can’t believe you just said that to her,” Em said. “Are you stupid?”
I shook my head, pulling my hand back from her touch. “It’s no good pretending. Em showed me your emails. The ones where you were talking about removing the implant. The ones where you said it would kill me.”
Em sat down on the edge of the desk. “Seriously, Jade, if you go on like this, she’ll probably call a couple of big security guys in here to shoot us in about five seconds flat.”
Dr. Stevens didn’t do anything like that though. Instead, she just sat there. “You saw those?”
“Don’t admit to anything!” Em insisted.
I ignored her. “Yes. How could you do something like that?”
Dr. Stevens shook her head. “It isn’t…you don’t have the full story, Jade.”
“I have the part where you’re talking about killing me. Why? I thought—”
“It isn’t like that, Jade.”
“Really? Because it really looks like it from here.”
Dr. Stevens stood up, reaching out for me. I stepped back. She looked so hurt then. So utterly betrayed. No, she didn’t get to do that.
“Jade, I’m not the one who wants you dead. Read my emails again. Em can show you. I’m the one arguing against this madness.”
“You really expect me to—” I paused. “Em, show me.”
“This is not how you organize an escape, by telling your captor your plans,” Em muttered, but she still did it, the pages bursting across my brain one by one.
I read, and as I read, I realized that Dr. Stevens had a point. Yes, she was talking about my death, but she had been the one who raised the ethical questions about it. She had been the one arguing against removal of the implant.
I was confused. Em stopped the reel of information and the tingle in my spine stopped. I looked at Dr. Stevens and shook my head. “You should have told me about the projects. This is my life and you people don’t get to dictate whether I live or die.”
“You’re government property, Jade.”
“I’m nobody’s property! You, of all people, should have told me about all of this.”
“How, when everything is monitored?”
“Right here in this very office. You’re doing it now and no one can hear us. You should have told Aric and me. You suggested the breeding project, Dr. Stevens.”
I could see the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “It was all I could think of, Jade. I told you, things have changed around here. They sold the Institute to Startech. I’m not in charge anymore. I thought that if they needed you for this, they wouldn’t think about trying to remove the implant.”
“So, you volunteered me to have Aric’s baby instead?” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice.
Em was more conciliatory. “To be fair, he is pretty cute. I mean, obviously being forced into a relationship with an alien guy we’ve only just met is a bad thing, but all I’m saying is that if it has to be anyone…”
“Shut up, Em.” I shut my eyes tight. My life had turned into a bad nigh
tmare and I wasn’t sure who to trust or how to right the wrongs that had been inflicted on me.
“I thought you and Aric were getting along?”
“We’re getting along, but that doesn’t mean I want to have a baby with him.”
“Child, it’s either that or they will destroy you, remove the metal and do what they’ve always wanted to do and start to break it apart, see what it can do and use it in bionics and military vessels. That thing on your back, Jade, is alive.”
“They can’t do any of that if we escape.”
Em sighed. “Oh, sure. Tell her everything. I’m not sure you understand how an escape attempt is meant to work, Jade. Besides, I know more now about what they have planned. You really shouldn’t tell her anything else.”
“You’ve been…” This time, Dr. Stevens did succeed in catching me up in a hug. “You mustn’t say that outside this room, Jade. Not to anyone. You understand? If Professor Ahern were to learn about it—”
“What do you care?” It was childish, but I felt like I was entitled to it right then.
“I care, Jade. I always have.”
“Enough to keep me here all my life? Enough to lie to me about the implant? You were never going to try to remove it safely, were you?”
Dr. Stevens shook her head. “It would have killed you, Jade. I couldn’t do that. I won’t do that. It’s attached to your spine, your nervous system. Every time we poked at it, it reacted like it had its own nerve endings. We’ve tried to find other ways to remove pieces from you and Aric. ”
“Well, Dr. Stevens. You can tell Professor Ahern and Startech that I won’t have his baby.”
“They’ll impregnate you, Jade. Startech doesn’t care about you. They care about their project’s success.”
“Not if I get out of here before they get their hands on me.”
Dr. Stevens stared at me for a long time. Then she reached out and grabbed my hands before I could pull them away. “Then we’ll have to work something out. For now though, I think it’s best if you go back to your room.”
“My cell, you mean?” For a moment, I saw a glimmer of tears in Dr. Stevens’ eyes before she stood in front of me and leaned down, pressing her lips against the top of my head. That was the first time she had ever kissed me.
HASH: Human Alien Species Hybrid Page 5