by Kate Tailor
Agatha said, “We’re going to be enrolling Raleigh in college in the spring.”
Dr. Arthur nodded to Agatha, and then spoke to Raleigh. “We want to have you here as soon as possible. Gabe says that you’re working on finding the Designed. Round them up, so it’s safe for you to come.”
Eight years of school and eight Designed on the lam, one of which would be Rho. Raleigh swallowed that thought. “What do you treat?”
Dr. Arthur held out her hands. “Everything. We get neuropathic pain cases, and we help the brain rewire how it processes that pain. We diagnose heart disease, hormone imbalance, and clotting disorders. Our most promising work is with cancer. We all hesitate to use the word cure, but, in most patients, we can work with the body so that it targets and eliminates those cells, including metastasis.”
“An end to cancer.” The giddiness rose up in Raleigh. She couldn’t wait to tell Dr. Moore. His patients put on brave faces, but there was fear and pain in them that had left Raleigh scarred. “What do the patients think?”
“We see the most desperate ones. We’re who people go to when they have no other options. Most of them think it’s New Age voodoo. Others think we’re miracle workers sent by God. Most of them are happy to be better. Speaking of which, I have to be going. Do the best you can in the field and come be one of my doctors as quickly as possible.” Dr. Arthur winked.
That was it. The crux of the whole thing. Grant and Able offered her everything she could ever want. Raleigh would no longer helplessly sense diseases in others. She would cure them. It was more than she dreamt it would be. All she had to do was forget about Rho. His beautiful face lingered in her memory. No. Forgetting him wasn’t an option. All she had to do was never see him again.
“I know you have patients, so we’ll let you go. Thanks for your time.” Agatha’s hand reached to end the call.
Dr. Arthur interjected before she could. “Let me know which doctors you want me to bring to the benefactors’ dinner next month.”
Agatha checked her phone. “Is it really next month? All right, I’ll let you know. That’s when the two of you can meet in person.” Agatha finished the call and clicked out of the app.
Raleigh stood up and said, “This changes everything.” This trumped what the Designed had against Grant and Able. Had they been horrible and created people to make their drug? Yes. There was no denying that they’d made mistakes along the way. The outcome though, the end, was justified by the means. Or for the moment it seemed that way, the thought of Tau’s and Mu’s fate gnawed at her.
“It is a game changer,” Agatha agreed.
She had no idea of the full effect it had on Raleigh. Not only did it make her call into question her faithfulness to the Designed, it brought about a personal aspiration she had ever since she started sensing disease.
“Come, I want to show you something.” Agatha stood and went over to a thin sliding door in the corner. She took a breath and steadied herself before opening it and stepping inside.
“What is this?” Raleigh glanced around.
“This is where I come whenever I’m feeling frustrated or in the mood to feel nostalgic.”
Thus far, the decor of all the buildings seemed to reflect Agatha’s style—minimalist with a focus on function. There were the occasional nods to the Southwest that were more of a tribute to their location than a design choice. This room didn’t have the standard scenery picture every few feet. Instead, it was hard to see the paint with all the photos crammed on the wall.
“Those are the original Receps,” Agatha said.
Young, vibrant faces squeezed into the frame of the nearest picture. They weren’t posing. It was as if they’d been rounded up for the camera at a moment’s notice. Watching Agatha cry over their loss two nights ago had been heartbreaking. This was chilling. Caked in mud and unapologetic about their ruffled hair, they seemed like an adventurous bunch.
Agatha didn’t say much. She allowed Raleigh to look at their faces and imagine what it might’ve been like to know them. Raleigh recognized Gabe and Collin even though they were younger with longer hair and wider smiles. They stood with their arms looped over each other’s shoulders, a football under Gabe’s arm.
“That’s Gabe.” Raleigh turned to Agatha.
“And his friend Collin. We believe he died. They never found his body, but a few of the Receps ran into the water and drowned when the Designed influenced their muscles to stop. Most of the bodies washed up, but his never did. Gabe spent months searching and never found him. They were close.”
How would Gabe react to finding out that Collin was alive and fighting against his cause?
Agatha directed her attention to the next wall. “And these are the scientists.”
With their white lab coats and concentrated expressions, similarities could be drawn to the current scientists. She could easily see these scientists working here. But the Receps seemed different. The current Receps were a more resolved, somber group.
“I brought you here, so you could see the people that we’re doing this for. We told you a couple of nights ago, but I wanted you to see them. That’s my dad there.”
The photo was of a blond man who resembled Agatha standing over a bassinet gazing down. At first, she wondered if the baby was Agatha and his face was that of a proud father, but a younger version of Agatha stood in the corner. Raleigh realized that one of the Designed was in the crib.
“He was so enamored of his creations.” Agatha sighed deeply.
“I still can’t believe he was able to make them.”
“He treated them like his own. Every parent wants the best for their child. They want them to be strong, smart, and beautiful. Those wishes turned into gifts that he gave them, gifts that they would use to murder him. It’s a sweet picture when you don’t know what happened. I’m sure he looked at me with much of the same adoration. They were family to us.”
Guilt and loss weren’t the only things plaguing Agatha. There was also the betrayal. Agatha had wanted the best for the Designed, too, and they’d destroyed her life.
“That one’s my husband.” Agatha pointed to a picture further down the wall. It was of a nerdy man with large eyes and a crooked smile. His hand was in mid-wave. Raleigh wouldn’t have been surprised if it was Agatha who’d been on the other side of the lens, snapping the photo.
Agatha ran her thin, manicured fingers over the glass with the tenderness one uses to touch a cheek. “I saw his face so often that I never saw a need for pictures. Why look at something like this when you have the original? This is one of the very few that I took.”
“I’ve never lost anyone. It must be very painful.” In the hospital she’d seen family after family lose their loved ones, and they all had knots in their chests.
“It’s hard. But we’re committed to this never happening again. I wish we would’ve found someone like you first. If there were more people like you, we wouldn’t have made them. We have you now.” She rested her hand on Raleigh’s shoulder. “I know that you want to become a doctor, and you will be good at it, potentially the best we’ll ever have. However, I also need you to help right the wrong that was committed against these men. Will you help these souls find justice?”
In that moment, Raleigh understood the depth of the loss residing in Agatha. “I will try.”
After leaving Agatha with her pictures, Raleigh wasn’t sure she could be around the Receps. Guilt curdled in her stomach like milk in lemon tea. She’d gotten better at keeping the emotions from her face, but the Receps would sense her unease. She went back to her cottage and called her parents. Now that she was back in the states, she could use her cell phone without the camera, which was good because her mother had a way of seeing right through her. Luckily, Agatha didn’t know her so well.
Her mother picked up on the first ring. “Hello, Raleigh. How was the move in?”
“Good. It’s a great place, exactly like the brochure.”
“I’ve been keeping track of
your weather, and I hope you’re wearing your sunscreen.”
“I am. Usually I’m inside most of the day.”
“Is there something wrong?” Even without seeing her daughter she could read volumes in the tone of her voice.
Raleigh was sick of lies, but she couldn’t stop telling them. The truth, once lost, sunk deeper. “No. Grant and Able are great. I’m worried that I’m not going to live up to their expectations.”
“What sort of expectations do they have?”
“College, becoming a doctor.” That wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the thing that sat heavy on her.
“You’re a very resilient young lady. I was very surprised when you said you were going to college, but I shouldn’t have been. The ways you overcame your disease over the years is nothing short of remarkable. Each time you blacked out on your bike, I thought it would be the last time you rode it. All you did was put on more padding. That’s the type of person you are Raleigh, the kind who perseveres. Those are the kind of people who make it in the world. Am I saying you’re going to be a doctor? I don’t know, it’s too soon to tell. A lot of Patrick’s friends began on that path with him and quit. What I do know is that you will make something of your life. I have no doubt about that.”
“How do I know I’m doing the right thing?” Raleigh wanted to tell her about Rho, the Designed, Agatha’s dead family, and what she was being trained for. If her mother knew a word of it she’d be down in Arizona, instantly... right after she called the police.
“You’ve never been the type of person that struggles with these sorts of questions.”
“I guess I am now.”
“Well, don’t be. You have a good gut. Use it. Now, your sister Thalia, she tends to have horrible instincts, and your brother Ben is too much of a risk taker. But you, you’re cautious and considerate. You’ve got a great head on your shoulders.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Anytime, sweetie. Call back sometime when your sister is around. I don’t think she’s adjusting well to being the last kid left at home.”
“I’ll call.”
“Take care. Don’t forget to wear sunglasses. You don’t want to end up with cataracts.”
“Okay.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too, bye.” Raleigh hung up.
When she shut her eyes, she could see the pictures of the Receps that hung on Agatha’s wall—boys who were innocent and now dead. She could imagine Rho near death just as easily. Grant and Able were wrong about him being a monster. It all would’ve been so much easier if Grant and Able had been as malevolent as she assumed they were. She closed herself in for the day, she couldn’t risk any more emotional surprises.
20
RALEIGH SAT BOLT upright in bed, the hairs on her arms bristling as her mind jolted her out of sleep. Someone rapped on her window. Was something wrong? She sensed a young, fit man. From the underlying tension in his muscles, her bet was on him being a Recep.
She slid out of bed and opened the curtains. “Adam?”
“Do you want to go for a run?”
She was shocked to see him. Could he honestly want to run when they had a day of training ahead of them? She checked the clock. It was six a.m. Was this some kind of hazing ritual?
“Do you want to go for a run?” Adam asked again.
“A run?”
“Yes. It’s just like walking, except faster.”
Adam really wanted to go running, with her. “All right. I’ll meet you in front.” Raleigh threw on the gym clothes she wore yesterday. They stunk of sweat, but they were what she had. She yawned as she tied up her hair, slipped on her shoes, and went out the front door.
“All right, let’s go.” He pointed to a side road that wound behind the labs and out into the desert landscape.
Between breaths, she managed to speak. “Aren’t there snakes out here?” Gabe believed her when she told him she’d seen a snake, so it was a valid concern.
Adam’s eyes widened. “I’ve never thought about it. But I’ve been out here before and never had a problem. A lot of guys run this trail, and no one’s ever said they saw a snake. We’ll keep our eyes open.”
That was good enough for Raleigh. Adam had a strong heart and toned thighs. He could run much faster than her, but he held back. Raleigh’s face flushed, her legs protested, and her heartbeat echoed in her ears. They’d been running for ten minutes. She knew because she’d checked her watch eight times.
“You’ll get used to it.” When he spoke, his breath didn’t come out scratchy with exhaustion.
“Why are we doing this?”
“Because you’re the weakest. There’s no shame being in the ninety-sixth percentile.”
“But there is.” Raleigh slowed, unable to talk and run at that pace. “You have to sit at a separate table and people like Dustin call you ninety-sixth instead of your name. But you’re right. There shouldn’t be any shame in it, but why do you think I’m in the ninety-sixth?”
“That’s just what we figured. Otherwise you would’ve told us.”
“Okay, so you guys just made an assumption. Is that why they hate me?”
Adam shook out his shoulders delaying answering her right away. “There isn’t much Lucidin to go around. There’s talk that we might have to scale back soon.”
“But you have two captured Designed, right? That’s what Agatha said.”
“Their Lucidin goes mostly to the medicine side of things. The guys don’t want you here because another Recep means another person to dose. When I came, it was because the last guy broke his leg, so I got what he used to. There was a time when Receps dosed daily. It hasn’t been that way for a while. In the field you get more, but you have to make it that far first. So, we wondered why you’re here.”
“Can we stop for a moment?”
Adam slowed to a walk. It was hard for Raleigh to come up with lies on the spot, and even harder when it was super-early, and she’d been running.
“The sky is gorgeous.” She’d meant it as a distraction, but it was true. A pink and orange sunrise playfully picked apart the blue horizon.
“Do you know why you’re along?”
“Same reason as you. I’m here to train.”
“You’re a girl.”
“I have been for a while.”
“You don’t think that’s weird?”
“Did you bring me on this run to interrogate me?” Exhausted, she didn’t hide her agitation well.
“No. I brought you because you’re going to have to train harder than the rest of us if you want to keep up. You’re not starting with a strong foundation.”
“Why do you care?”
“Second-newest guy looks out for the newest. I know how it is to fall in the ninety-seventh. It isn’t much better than being in the ninety-sixth.”
There it was.
Those at the top were arrogant assholes like Dustin, and the less able stuck together. Raleigh didn’t know if the olive branch would extend beyond this, but it felt good to have a friend.
They ran for another half hour. Adam insisted that it would get easier. As they reached the complex, the sun happily started its trek across the sky, and the Arizona landscape prepared for its scorching embrace.
They made their way straight to the gym. There was no point in showering to get the ruddy dirt off their calves when they were just going to get dirtier. It was true that she would have to do additional work to keep up, but that didn’t mean her muscles would comply. She ignored her discomfort as they joined the guys in the training room.
Testosterone and competitiveness thumped through the Receps, but only Raleigh could hear that anthem. They looked militant, like Gabe, but she felt the tumultuous need to win tugging at their veins. Today’s training excited them.
“What are we doing?” Raleigh asked Adam.
“One-on-one challenges.”
Gabe clapped his hands. “As you know, we’re sending a team out in a month. Some of you will be read
y, others won’t. This is one of the many ways you can stand out.” Gabe motioned to a large circle in the middle of the floor. “Your goal is to incapacitate your opponent. Dustin, Carlos, you’re up first.”
Raleigh raised her hand. “With influencing?”
Gabe shook his head. “Without it. It’s safe to say the Designed will be able to break your barricade. Thus, it will be a game of brute strength.”
Raleigh scrunched her nose. “But they’ll win, won’t they? I mean, they’re big right?”
Dustin flexed his muscles. “We’re big, too.”
Raleigh rolled her eyes. Maybe big wasn’t the right word. Strong was. Despite being drained nearly to death, Rho’s muscles still had a strength none of these guys possessed. They wouldn’t have been able to beat him even if it was four against one. “There will never be a fistfight because if it’s hand-to-hand they’ll influence and win,” Raleigh whispered under her breath.
“We have an inhibitor,” Adam told her quietly. “It keeps them from sensing and influencing. Didn’t you learn about it in the labs?”
An inhibitor would rob the Designed of their advantage. The skin along her back prickled. “That’s how you’re holding the two imprisoned ones?”
“Yeah. How did you think?”
Raleigh didn’t want to say anything that would reveal what she knew about Rho—or his imprisonment. She tried to undo the knot that was forming in her stomach. “Does the inhibitor stop their barricade?”
“No. That’s why we’ll have to fight them hand-to-hand.”
Gabe’s whistle sliced through their conversation. Adam turned his attention to Dustin and Carlos. They circled each other, waiting for the moment to strike. Carlos managed a few good hits, but Dustin took him down with a well-placed swipe to the legs. Gloating, Dustin stood over his opponent chest puffed up like a bird.