Specimen(69)

Her face tightens as if she’s fighting to keep words inside her. She presses her lips together tightly as she squeezes my hand.

“It’s not what you think.” Riley runs her thumb over the inside of my arm.

Now that I understand exactly what she’s doing—technologically placating me—the fear I feel changes to anger. I pull my hand away from her, immediately longing for the contact with her skin.

“I don’t want this!” I raise my voice, but I can’t move against her.

“Hush!” She glances at a blinking camera in the corner of the room. “I’m going to get the scanner set up. Once it’s in place, we’ll talk.”

“Talk?”

“I’m not going to perform the scan, Sten. I’m not going to take your memories away, I swear. I just want to talk to you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“There’s no audio monitoring in this room,” Riley says. “Just lie down and relax.”

Confused, but forced into action by her command, I get on the table and lie on my back. Riley starts to maneuver the scanner over my head and leans close to me. She speaks softly.

“The first Project Mindstorm trials used prisoners,” she tells me. “I wasn’t a part of it at that time. The original trials were dismal failures, and some believed it was because of the use of violent criminals. Their brain chemistry was different from other people’s. They didn’t react well to the treatments.”

“What happened to them?”

“They were completely uncontrollable,” Riley says. “They all had to be…voided.”

“Killed.”

“Yes.”

Is that why she’s brought me here? Am I to be destroyed?

“Are you going to kill me now?”

“God, Sten! No! Just let me finish.”

I interpret her words as a command and stay silent while she finishes setting up the equipment around my head. When she’s done, she leans in close and lays her hand on the side of my head.

“I found it,” Riley says quietly.

“Found what?”

“The loyalty oath,” she says. “I found a document that had been signed by Galen Braggs. That type of sworn statement was reserved for those caught up in the early takeover of farming communities.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you aren’t who they told me you are.” Her eyes darken as she clenches her jaw.

“Was I a prisoner?”

“When I found the oath, I went digging a little deeper. Galen Braggs was convicted of murdering two Mills soldiers. There’s no photo associated with the file, but his description matches yours. It says his sentence—your sentence—was execution. I found the death records, and the date matches the date you were brought to this facility.”

I narrow my eyes as I try to make sense of her words. If what she is saying is true, how could she not have known about it before? Who exactly did they tell her I was? Her words are a little too convenient.

I trust you, I trust you not.

“You said you chose me. You said you saw me and picked me as your specimen.”

“I did.”

“Are you trying to convince me you didn’t know where I came from?”

“I only knew what I was told.”

“You never checked it out? You knew prisoners were used before, and they all ended up dead. Now you want me to believe you thought a bunch of people would just volunteer to have this done to them? Is that what you are telling me?”

“It’s the truth, Sten.”

“My name,” I say through gritted teeth, “is Galen.”

“Do you really think I can just start calling you that here? Do you think they’ll let you live if they figure out you have all your memories? McCall wants you destroyed already. She thinks you got Pike killed. This is the final piece of information she needs to make that a reality!”

“I can’t hide it forever.” I blink a few times as I stare at her. “Can I?”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” Riley shakes her head. “Not long term. Someone will eventually figure it out.”

“You’ll have to tell them,” I say. “If you don’t, you’ll be implicated.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Aren’t you?” I cock my head to the side and raise an eyebrow. I don’t see another course of action that won’t end up costing her career.

“No!” She wraps her fingers around my hand. “I won’t do that to you!”

I close my eyes and let all the possible outcomes buzz around in my head. There isn’t a definitive solution, and I don’t understand Riley’s motivations.