Gemi lathered her hair and searched her memory. There had to be a way to remember without bits and pieces coming in out of order and whenever they pleased. Maybe she could to talk to Doctor Askel, he may know a way even if he couldn’t remember who he really was.
Mid rinse the world shifted on its access.
***
Gemi struggled against her restraints. Leads and IVs had already been put in place while she had been under the tranquilizer. She glanced frantically around the bed lined room, she was flanked on either side by Jaxton and Doctor Askel and on the other side was Sann all still out cold. They had gotten to everyone. Including a few she was surprised to see and a few she didn’t even know.
Jade wondered over and checked the wires that all but engulfed her body. She followed Gemi’s gaze and smiled down at her. “Well we couldn’t take just you four it will arouse suspicion. Besides Kai hates you so much it will be fun to watch her try to kill you over and over.”
“What? Why are you doing this?” Gemi asked, trying to pull herself free once again.
“They pay me well enough. Besides why should I care what happens out there?”
“Because you are screwing with people’s lives.”
“Please stop being so high and mighty. If we hadn’t taken you in you would be out bleating with the rest and blissfully unaware of anything else but your tiny little world.”
Jade moved from her side and to Doctor Askel, performing the same process she had on Gemi.
Movement from Jaxton’s bed brought her gaze to him. He had just come around and was trying his best to free himself as she had done. “What the hell is going on?” he asked her.
“I don’t know.”
“Are we ready to start?” Doctor Dagmar entered the room and stood in the center.
“Just about doctor.” Jade moved to the bed at the end and a man she didn’t recognize.
“Gemi, whatever happens remember that I love you.” Jaxton stretched his hand out towards hers, but the restraints kept him from moving very far.
Doctor Dagmar stepped to his side and guffawed. “If all goes well she won’t be remembering that.”
***
Gemi dropped to her knees gasping for air only partially aware of the water cascading on her back. Her nose had begun to bleed, falling to ground before being washed down the drain. Her muscles began to spasm making her movements jerky. Gemi crawled towards the shower door and reached a hand out.
The room went black as her brain was bombarded by memories.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Ok you can bring her, but we have to go now.”
A young looking Jaxton stood holding a girl’s hand. They were speaking in whispers in the darkness of a front porch. Gemi found that she was clutching the girl’s other hand, the feeling of fear pulsing through her whole body.
“Gemi, we’re going to go on a trip ok?” The girl bent down to eye level and pushed her hair out of her face.
“Mom and dad will be mad if we sneak out in the middle of the night. You were already grounded once.”
“It’s ok they know. Look they packed a bag for you.” The girl held up a bag for her to see and then threw it over her shoulder. “I know you’re scared. Just breathe. In four, our four.”
Gemi took one last look at her house before the girl, her sister, pulled her away and to the waiting car.
***
Gemi’s sister shrieked in pain as a man sewed up the hole he had carved in the back of her head.
“Isn’t there something you can give her?” Jaxton asked as he paced back and forth across the dirty floor of the living room his hands balling into fists at his side.
“I’m not wasting any of my good stuff on her. You’re lucky I didn’t kill her on the spot. What were you thinking bringing a chipped here?”
“I was planning on bringing her to the doctor, have it removed. She didn’t want to be a part of it anymore.”
“Like we have the funds for that.” Gemi’s sister passed out; her screams ceasing her lifeless body a sickly pale in the light. “Get the other one ready, we might as well get this over with.”
“No dad,” Jaxton placed himself between Gemi and his father.
“What did you say to me?” he turned, rage apparent on his features. He wiped his bloody hands on his pants and took a step towards Jaxton. “I said grab her.”
“No, not like this. She’s only fifteen, we need to do this right she is too young to just rip it out of her.”
Without another word his father struck him hard across the face sending Jaxton to the ground in front of Gemi. He brought a booted foot down hard on Jaxton’s back and followed with a swift kick to his stomach. Jaxton lay gasping for breath as his father’s gaze traveled to Gemi who still coward in the corner. “Come here you little shit.”
“Money…” Jaxton coughed out.” Adaline gave me money. It should be enough… enough to have Gemi’s chip removed.”
His father turned back towards him his features still enraged, but he was contemplating the news. “Well keep it locked up until the doctor can get down here.”
***
Gemi screamed. Jaxton brought a knife to the rope that suspended Adaline from the ceiling. He cradled her body, laying it gently on the ground. “No, no, no. Come on, please wake up!” He began compressions on her chest, but even in the dim light Gemi could tell that her sister’s skin had long turned gray and cold.
***
“Listen Hal, let me take the girl. I can bring her to the base. You don’t need another mouth to feed around here. I can take her sister as well, dispose of the body properly.”
“I’m going with them.” Jaxton hobbled out of the shadows and to Gemi’s side. He had a streak of dried blood smeared over his swollen lip and was favoring his right leg.
“Like hell you are.” Jaxton’s father shot him a glance that warned what would come if he didn’t shut up.
“It’s not a bad idea,” the doctor offered.
“Listen Doc, I’m being generous here, and now you’re telling me you want to take my flesh and blood too?”
“We have units solely dedicated to those who don’t believe in chipping. He can help your cause.”
“Ugh, fine take him. He has always been a pain in my ass anyways.”
***
Jaxton circled around the car and grabbed Gemi’s hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
Men in fatigues exited the building and walked towards them. They grabbed Gemi and pulled her away from Jaxton, ripping her hand from his.
“Let her go!” Jaxton got in a shot in to one of their faces before the butt of a gun was slammed into his stomach leaving him gasping for air as they drug her away screaming and into the building.
***
“I’m sorry about all of that.” A woman with fiery hair entered the room and laid a chart down on the side table. “They are a little overly cautious with outsiders. My name is Jade; I’m the resident doctor here. Now just so you know we will need to keep you in here until we can remove the chip. It is a process, but in the meantime we will teleconference teachers in and bring you anything else you may need.”
***
Gemi cried in the middle of the room, never in her life had she felt so overwhelmingly sad. Her sister was gone. She would never see her parents or her house again. She was loosing track of how long she had been there.
***
“How are we doing this morning? You have been stable for quite a few weeks. What do you say we get you out of this room?” Jade lead the way out of the hospital room and into the hall.
They entered an elevator and rode it up a few floors. “We are going to the cafeteria, a lot of the residence will be there. I just didn’t want you to be shocked, I know it’s been quite a while since you have been around other people.”
“A year. It’s been a year.” Gemi walked passed her and into the packed room, refusing to let her intimidate her.
She had grown steely i
n her time there. At first she cried a lot and then the anger came. But after all that passed she found a strength she didn’t know she possessed. A room full of people was nothing compared to what she had seen already.
The room buzzed with chatter, a few faces turning towards her as she entered. Throwing her head up in the air she walked to the line of people waiting to be served. From there she surveyed the room again. Everyone was dressed in the same brown camo pants and matching khaki shirt. There were women and men of all ages although the younger ones all seemed to migrate to the same tables.
From across the room a pair of gray eyes stared at her. They followed every movement she made refusing to break contact. She had asked for him several times when she was locked up, each time they refused until she finally stopped asking.
Gemi stepped out of line and a few paces towards him. He rose from his table and closed the distance between them in a few large steps. Before she could say a word he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to his chest lifting her feet off the ground. He had grown a lot.
“Are you ok?” he asked as he put her back down.
“I’m fine.”
“I tried to find you. I asked every day, but they refused to let me see you while they were weaning you off the chip. They said it might upset you too much. Are they letting you out now?”
“I guess if I can pass whatever test this is.”
***
“Happy birthday!” Sann threw a pillow at her face and set a small cupcake with a single lit candle down on her bedside table. “I made it myself.” He beamed at her.
“And how did you get access to the kitchen?” Gemi asked.
“My unbearable charm.”
Jaxton leaned against the closed bedroom door and smiled at her.
Sann glanced between the two of them. “Gross, should I leave or something?”
“What? No, don’t be stupid.” Gemi could feel the heat spreading across her face. Gemi had spent as much time as possible with Jaxton. He made her feel closer to home and her sister. But lately she realized she was starting to feel other things for him and knew there was no way he would reciprocate. Not after her sister…
“Anyways,” she grabbed the cupcake and placed it in her lap. “What should I wish for?”
“I don’t even want to know.” Sann fell back on her bed with his hands behind his head and Gemi shot him a dirty look.
“Well your eighteen now, what division are you hoping to enter?” Jaxton asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Chipping.” Gemi blew out the candle.
“Ugh, you would.” Sann rolled his eyes at the ceiling.
***
“Congratulations to the new head operator of the DBMA Chip Maintenance and Programming Division!” Sann raised a glass of champagne in the air.
“Don’t forget youngest, at the ripe age of twenty one!” Jaxton added and brought Gemi’s hand to his mouth where he placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand.
“Where did you even find this?” Gemi asked as she took a huge gulp of the champagne.
“On one of our survey expeditions to a nearby town.”
***
“I now pronounce you husband and wife! Now please, kiss your bride!” The preacher closed his bible and smiled warmly at them.
Jaxton grabbed Gemi into his arms and dipped her low planting a long hard kiss on her mouth. She came back up giggling and gasping for air.
“Don’t forget dead. They will murder you when they find out. You know marriage and procreating are against the law when you are in the military.” Sann added sourly even though he wore a gigantic smile on his face.
“What’s done is done.” Doctor Askel said clapping Jaxton on his back. “It’s not like we all haven’t broken a rule or two am I right?”
***
“I have half a mind to expel both of you!” Doctor Dagmar yelled from behind his desk. Jaxton and Gemi sat in chairs on the other side of his desk, trying their best to look mournful. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t?”
“Because there isn’t another person in this facility who knows they system like I do. After Gabella died, there would be no one to teach it.” Gemi said sitting back and crossing her arms across her chest.
“I suppose you’re right. Maybe then we should get you an apprentice, one who can take over the next time you pull a stunt like this.”
***
“I ran the test twice. There must be a glitch in the system.” Jaxton and Gemi sat at the old desks they had found in the hidden room they had discovered years before when they were young and rambunctious and had now taken it as their own personal hideout. “At face value it shows the chip levels at the standard range of thirty-three to forty-seven percent. But when I ran the diagnostic it popped with numbers much higher and into the seventies. Look,” Gemi handed him the printout she had made, “They are in the background hidden in some coding.”
“What does this mean?” Jaxton asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s not good.”
***
“Doctor Askel ran it twice. I’m definitely pregnant.” Gemi laid her head on Jaxton’s lap.
“We need to get out of here. You need to stop this research you have been doing. We can leave and go live with the anti-chippers.”
“They would find us just like they did the others. Besides, this is too important. We need to stop them.”
“This is important too,” Jaxton placed a hand on her stomach.
***
“They’re coming for us,” Sann burst into their room his face frantic. “We have to go now!”
“All the research, I need to go get it!” Gemi jumped out of bed and threw her pants on.
“There isn’t time!” Sann yelled back at her, she could hear the panic alarms going off throughout the building.
Gemi grabbed Jaxton’s face in her hands, “We have nothing without it.”
“We’ll get it, meet you at the rendezvous point next to town.” Jaxton said as he moved away to toss clothes into a bag.
“Jesus, fine.” Sann ran out of the room without another word.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Gemi opened her eyes to the blank white walls of the hospital room like she had done numerous times in the last few days. She was getting sick of seeing them. Her head swam and she had no recollection of how she got from the shower to the bed or how she had gotten dressed.
She propped herself up on an elbow and was surprised to see Jaxton asleep in a chair by the bed. He had his head leaned against the wall and must have been mid dream as a deep crease appeared between his eyes as his mouth moved without words.
A wave of relief washed over her as she stared at him. Although she knew how much danger they all were still in, it was freeing to remember most of who she was, even if those around her still couldn’t. They were all safe as long as they knew nothing, but it wouldn’t be long before Dagmar caught on to what she now knew.
There was no other option. She would finish what they started tonight.
Jaxton stirred in his chair, whatever nightmare he was having waking him up. He leaned forward breathing hard and visibly shaking. He sat still for a few minutes, his head bent forward in his hands before sitting back up and looking in Gemi’s direction. His face was shocked to see she was awake, sitting up and staring at him.
“You’re… you’re awake.” he said straightening himself up.
“So are you I see. How long have you been here?”
“The whole time. I was the one who found you. I couldn’t get you to break out of whatever was happening so I got Jade. She gave you something that stopped the shaking. How long has this been going on?”
“Since I woke up off and on.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His jaw tightened, his posture becoming defensive as he moved to the edge of the chair.
“Because it’s not important.”
“Yes, it is!” Jaxton brought his hand down hard on the arm of the chair making Gemi
jump.
“Knock it off!” Gemi snapped under her breath. “Listen when I have them I have memories of my real life. I don’t want anyone to know, especially Jade and Doctor Twisted.” She didn’t understand why she was telling him, there was no way to tell if she could trust this Jaxton, but her heart desperately wanted to even if her brain didn’t agree.
“Doctor what? What is going on with you?”
“What were you dreaming about?” Gemi asked changing the subject.
“Nothing.” He broke eye contact with her, fixating on some imaginary area of the floor.
“You’ve always been a bad liar.” Gemi flung her legs of the bed, the ground freezing on her bare feet. His hands gripped her shoulders and pushed her firmly back into the bed.
“What do you think you are doing?” he asked.
“Getting up.” Gemi pushed one of his hands off of her, but he maneuvered it to her legs and lifted them back into the bed.
“I don’t think so. Not after the scene earlier. Your ass is staying in bed.”
“Speaking of asses, you like what you saw?” Gemi raised an eyebrow at him coyly.
“Stop.”
“I swear you used to have a sense of humor.”
Her jab had its effect and he let her go and shifted to the edge of the bed where he sat down.
“I think the dreams I have been having are memories. I’m not sure if they are memories of my real life or one of the hundred they gave me.” He picked at the blanket in an attempt to remove some imaginary imperfection.
“What have you been dreaming?” Gemi sat forward tucking her legs underneath her to sit as close to him as possible without touching.
Silence stretched out between them for an uncomfortably long time.
“Well let’s just say that my last dream gave the scene in the farm house a run for its money.” He lifted hooded gray eyes to hers. He seemed to be hiding something, something painful.
“Typical of a guy to remember sex first.”
“Well, it was our wedding night. You made us wait which was easy for you never having had sex and all, but torture for me. I mean look at you.”
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