“I’m not allowed to speak about that.” She looks away from me, turning her back to me and facing Ethan again as she goes back to writing on his chart.
“It’s not exactly about the experiments, but someone he told me about. He said someone had the ability to enter their past dreams?”
She faces me again, and this time she looks curious instead of suspicious. “What about it?”
“I wanted to know exactly how that worked. They entered their past dreams and did what? What purpose could that possibly serve?”
“Is this about your own dreams? Are you able to do this?”
“No, but it got me curious.”
“Oh, well, as far as I know, the subject was able to enter their past dreams and communicate with themself in those dreams.”
“Communicate?” Talk to their past self just as future Drew said Joel had been able to communicate to his past self and tell him to kill me?
“Yes, in extreme cases they were able to force themself into doing things they didn’t want to do. An example being that they were mildly allergic to nuts, so they told themself to eat some when they woke up. They did, and had an allergic reaction.”
“How far into the past were they able to go?”
“Only a few days.”
“Can I speak to them? Are they here?”
“I’m sorry, but that isn’t possible.” She gazes around us and then she begins to lean closer to me. “The subject passed away due to the medication they were given.”
“They’re dead?” I gasp.
“Yes.”
“Is that going to happen to Ethan?” I ask, fearing her answer.
I see sadness and maybe even anger in her eyes. It’s hard to tell since she looks away and stares at Ethan. “The medicine he’s on is better, however what he did put a tremendous amount of stress on his body; stress our bodies are unable to withstand. If he keeps doing this, he’ll considerably shorten his lifespan. Already he isn’t expected to live more than twenty years.”
“What?” I gasp in shock, jumping up from my seat as if it has given me an electric shock.
“Listen to me.” She quickly moves around the bed to me, grabbing my arms and squeezing me hard. “I need you to focus on what I’m saying to you. I don’t agree with what is being done here. My brother…” tears pool her eyes, “he was one of these soldiers who was experimented on. His went wrong and he died. I came here for answers. I came here to expose the truth. I need your help.”
I swallow down my shock, torn between being terrified about what exactly is happening here and relieved to have someone else on our side, someone who is a doctor.
“I can remove your tracking device, the others, too. I can help you escape here, and I have documents that relate to the experiments done, but they’re careful to put a lot of things in code. I need to get into Stan’s office. I need the files in there.”
“You want me to help you break into Stan’s office?”
“It’s the only way to end this properly, to put a stop to it.”
Just then, footsteps sound in the hallway and we both tense up hearing them.
“Just think about it and get back to me,” she hisses and then quickly rushes out the door, leaving me frozen in shock and fear.
“Zoe?” Frank calls out my name and I whirl around quickly, seeing him eyeing me strangely from where he stands in the doorway.
I quickly wipe at my eyes, feeling them moist as I sit down by Ethan, hoping to give myself time to compose myself.
“What do you want?” I ask him, staring at Ethan’s prone body.
“I heard Mac is doing better. That’s good news.” He stands on the opposite side of Ethan, his body facing me.
“He could’ve died. They did experiments on him and because of it he could have died,” I hiss at him, not worried about revealing that fact to Frank.
“From what I hear his ability is the only reason you’re here right now.”
“But our abilities are the only reason we were put in that situation. Without my abilities, I would be back home in Boston with my best friend still alive.”
Frank frowns at me. “Listen, Zoe, you need to let go of this anger. I understand you hate me. I know you hate this situation, but you can’t change it. You need to learn to accept it. You’ll feel a lot better once you do.”
“I’m twenty-two, Frank. I’ve had a pretty normal and quiet life. Sure you died and Dad left us, but I survived that. However, in the past year, I’ve seen my best friend murdered in front of me, had to break in and escape numerous facilities, been on the run, fallen in love, witnessed more murders and had my death faked. I’m sorry if I’m finding it a little difficult to accept this and move on,” I end sarcastically, my voice rising in anger.
“You’re right; you should take however much time you need,” he relents.
I shake my head at him, emotions bubbling inside of me. An entire lifetime wouldn’t be enough time to deal with any of this.
“Are there any more experiments going on?” I demand, unsure if I’ll be able to tell if he’s lying to me.
“No, but there will be.”
“They’re going to keep doing this? Doctor Pratt told me Ethan’s life has been shortened because of these experiments. That he’ll be lucky to have twenty more years if he survives this place. Less if he keeps having these episodes. Why are they still running these?”
“They believe they’ve solved the problem that was causing them. They hope the new experiments will have no side-effects.”
“Hope?” I growl. They’re going on hope?
“There have been many studies run to get to this point and they believe they’ve figured out the final problem.”
“How come I don’t get nose bleeds? Have our lives been shortened from the experiments run on us?” I ask him, recalling Charlie’s words that I did get a bad nose bleed after my future dream, the one when I watched Charlie die. I saw possibly seventy years into the future, and when I saw a burning building, I had symptoms of smoke inhalation. Is that what my dreams could be? A sort of time travel?
“No, you appear to have had none of the problems that have plagued our recent studies. Ideally, keeping these experiments going through the use of pregnant women is the best way for success. However, the downside is the time it takes to get you all ready. We want something that does not take so long.”
“So there won’t be any further pregnant women tested on?”
Frank pauses and I growl at him.
“They realized there is a flaw with how they treated you all. Originally, it was deemed best you stay with your families. Perhaps recruiting you all would have worked fine, but because of the attacks on you all, mistakes were made. We managed to scare you and make us the enemy. Instead of your loyalty, we have your hostility.”
“What does that mean?”
“If you were raised to be soldiers, then you wouldn’t fight us. This would be all you knew.”
“So on top of doing more experiments on soldiers, you’re also going to steal babies that you’ve tested on and raise them to become assassins? How can you not see how wrong that is?” I yell at him.
“I know it sounds harsh, but you need to look at the bigger picture.”
“No, I don’t think I do. I think you need to look at yourself. How can you be such a monster; work for this horrible organization and not question a thing? What you’re doing is evil. It’s sick. You have to stop this.”
“Zoe…” Frank shakes his head, but I see doubt crossing his face. “I’m not this awful person you’re making me out to be. P.A.G.E. isn’t either.”
“Why did you have to fake your own death? Why was that the test that I needed to prove my ability?” I ask him, fearing that every memory I have of Frank is wrong. Even through this whole thing, I’ve had hope that Frank isn’t as evil as Stan; that he isn’t a monster. What if he is? What if the man Mom stills loves today, the man that helped raise me, is truly evil? What does that make me?
; “I don’t know. It’s not my place to question orders.”
“You were my father; it was completely your place to question your orders. I mean, why not give me a dog and then run it over or something? Why did I have to lose you?” I push this.
Frank’s face softens, but I still see something else. I’m not sure if it’s doubt, or maybe merely hesitation.
“Okay, how about this, if Stan had told you to kill me, would you have?” I stand up, needing to be closer to his eye level to read what is hidden behind them.
“What? That isn’t even an appropriate question. He would never have asked me—”
“Just answer it, Frank.” He stays silent, so I try a different question. “Okay, just say I had Will’s ability. I heal quickly. Would you have beaten me like his uncle did to him to see how fast I heal?”
He shakes his head, no longer able to make eye contact with me.
“Answer me. Or is your silence an answer? So you would have hit me? Slapped me? Broken my bones?”
“No, I never would have laid a hand on you. I could never have done that.” The conviction in his voice assures me he speaks the truth.
“So, you do know how to disobey orders then, just not when it comes to leaving us. I guess that means that it wasn’t really that hard a choice for you to make.”
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about that day. I remember the last words I spoke to your mom. I remember the pink parka you wore as I dropped you off at school. I remember you asked me not to leave you alone. I knew that you knew I was leaving, and I promised you I would see you after school. It broke my heart to make that promise because I already knew I was going to break it.”
I feel a tear fall down my face hearing his words. I can recall that day clearly, too. I still remember that promise.
“You gave me a hug, told me to go learn something and then you promised you would see me later,” I whisper.
“Yes. Then I watched you get out of the car. You ran over to Dana, and you both rushed inside. I sat in that parking lot for two hours before I was able to move.”
“You have a conscience, so why still work for P.A.G.E.? Why are you so loyal to them?”
“Because they’re not the enemy. We’re all expected to make sacrifices here. It’s about growing up and accepting your responsibilities in this world.”
“I think none of you are accepting your responsibility here. If you were, you could never condone any of this.”
Frank sighs at me. I know he’s getting frustrated with me.
“Fine, how long are you expected to stay in this place? When do you get to retire? What do you get to go home to at the end of this?”
“This isn’t a job you retire from.” He winces at me, but still continues to speak. “You generally don’t survive long enough to retire.”
“So what? You’re here until you’re killed? Is that what my sentence is for? I’m here until I’m dead?”
“Yes, I’m sorry, Zoe. I never wanted this for you.”
“Why only me? I’m no different from Rose, Charlie, Will or Blake. They all have families and lives that didn’t include killing. Those babies that you’ll steal should have lives, too; they should have free will. You’re not simply taking away my life, you’re taking theirs, too. How is that okay with you?”
“It’s not okay with me. I just understand what needs to be done.”
“It doesn’t need to be done, though. There is a line and you are crossing it. You’re just too afraid to fight this. You’re too afraid to stand up for what is right, and because you’re a coward, I’m now here. Your actions have helped to destroy a lot of lives, American lives that you should be protecting. Soldiers who are willing to give their lives for their country are dying on operating tables from inhumane experiments. If this is what we do, then I don’t think I want to protect a country that condones this.”
“You don’t understand; this is helping to protect people. We have done missions that have saved many lives. Just because they don’t make it to the news, the public doesn’t believe it happened.”
“Do you know why we risked our lives on our last mission? Do you know why we killed all those guards? Killed that man?”
“He was a murderer, Zoe. He was willing to sell stolen secrets about our military to the highest bidder. He needed to be stopped. Those guards were protecting a murderer.”
“Wrong. He was willing to sell ‘how to’ guides to Stan on breaking into the biggest banks in the world, but Stan decided it would be cheaper to steal it instead. I saw what was on those USB devices. There was nothing to do with America on there. Stan wanted a big pay check and that was it.”
“You’re mistaken,Zoe—”
“No, you’re mistaken. Open your eyes and see what is right in front of you!” I yell at him, my anger at the boiling point now.
“What is going on in here?” Harold storms into the room. He glares at me, ignoring Frank’s presence. “If you can’t keep your voice down, I will have to ask you to leave.”
“Sorry,” I say quietly, not ready to leave Ethan alone just yet.
He gives me one last, careful look before he walks out, leaving the door open.
“I’ll leave you alone. I think we both need to calm down,” Frank says. I don’t bother answering him, though. I take hold of Ethan’s hand and watch his chest rise and fall slowly, not acknowledging Frank when he says goodbye to me.
“You sure know how to put a show on,” Ethan wheezes out, scaring me to death in the process.
“You’re awake!” I quickly get up, rushing to the door and calling for Harold to come back.
He ushers me out of the room while he looks over Ethan. I watch from the side window, relief gripping me at knowing he’s finally awake.
Unfortunately, my relief is short lived when I think about everything I’ve found out the past few days. This is bigger than just nine people with abilities. This is massive, and it’s only going to get worse. We need to put a stop to this, and soon, before more damage is done to people’s lives.
Chapter 23 – THE BELIEF
June 3rd
I speak to both Will and Blake over the next few days. We all know something needs to be done, but there isn’t any way for us to get to Rose and Charlie in time. Not without Martha or Stan alerting whoever is most likely keeping an eye on them. I don’t even know if they have their tracking devices in their arms, although I know I would have wanted mine gone as soon as I got away from this place.
Right now, our best bet is to somehow prevent Stan or Martha from getting any word out until we can leak something to the press, which also means managing to break into Stan’s office. We all know where it is, but we also know it requires a code to unlock it. The only way around the code would be to break the door down, which will give away that we’re in there.
It’s a mess and I really wish Rose were here with me. She would know what to do, even if it was crazy. Unfortunately, my only idea, which is definitely crazy, is to ask Frank for help. He might know Stan’s code, and if not, he might know where to get it from.
I haven’t spoken to Frank since our fight in the hospital. I’ve seen him around a couple times, but he’s looked distracted. I can’t say I really want to speak to him again, but if I need to ask him about Stan, then I might not have a choice.
Ethan sits down next to me, grabbing an apple from the middle of the table. We’ve just finished dinner and most people stay in the dining area to talk before bed. Some crazy people like to go for a run before bed. We’re down to our lowest numbers here. Only ten of us.
“I just saw Frank chatting to Ocean. Do you know what that’s about?” he asks me.
“No.” I shrug, leaning back on my chair so I can watch Frank hand something to Ocean down the hallway.
“Are you going to talk to him about, you know what?” Ethan whispers.
Ethan has overheard most of my conversation with Frank that was yelled over
him in his hospital room. It hasn’t been enough to turn him, but it’s enough to make him question things. It also helps that Doctor Pratt got on board. She spoke to Ethan a lot and, while I haven’t asked, I definitely walked in on something this morning. There weren’t any missing clothing or anything, but the way they jumped apart and then avoided looking at each other, it was almost comical.
“He looks busy,” I say, seeing him moving quickly away from Ocean, still looking distracted.
“Do you want to wait for there to be another mission? You can’t put it off forever.”
“I know. It’s just that I don’t think I can trust him. If we ask him, then he might let Stan know what we’re planning. Rose and Charlie will be back in P.A.G.E.’s clutches or dead before we can even consider getting out of this place. We just need to be careful.”
“Frank would know that saying something like that to Stan would put you in danger. Even if he doesn’t want to help us, he’ll just try to dissuade you, not report you.”
I know Ethan is right. I’m mostly trying to avoid having to talk to him. Lately, we’ve been unable to speak without fighting. I’m getting sick of fighting so much.
“Fine, let’s just get it over with.” I stand up, grabbing Ethan’s arm.
“Me? You want me to come with you?” He rushes to get his legs standing so he can catch himself before I drag him onto the floor.
“We might not fight if you’re around.”
“I doubt it. In fact, I’ll probably just start the fight by him asking me what the hell I’m doing entertaining your idea.”
“He likes you, you’ll be fine.”
“He does?”
“Well, yeah, he wanted me to get as far away from Charlie as I could. For some reason he hasn’t had a problem with me being around you.”
“Probably because I’ve already saved your life.” Ethan sounds smug.
“Charlie saved my life.”
“Was Frank around at the time?”
“No.”
“Well, there you go. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a father like me. Maybe I should ask him for his permission to marry you.”
Taken By Choice (Taken Trilogy Book 3) Page 28