Fear settled in my stomach like a brick. "What do you mean, create me?"
"Why, Sam, you are the most remarkable of all genetic experiments. You have our father's DNA, but you were lab-made. They used all the best bits of science they could find, I must say. They gave you power, health, longevity, beauty and brains. You are Father's perfect creation."
I could feel all the blood in my body rush to my feet. My face tingled with shock. "Are you saying that I'm... a test tube baby? And you're my brother?"
"Oh, that is just the beginning. You see, the woman in whom I had been implanted, my mother...." He spit the words at her as if they were poison. "She was in love with someone else. After she had given birth to me, she went on to get pregnant, without permission, with one of the doctors who worked in the labs. Drake, you were that baby. She snuck you out when you were an infant, and you disappeared into foster care. Father killed her, of course, but he could never find you—not until a few months ago. Admittedly, that was a clever plan of hers, to lose you in the bureaucracy. Do you have any idea how impossible it is to track anyone there? A real headache, I'll tell you."
What? Had I somehow slipped into a Twilight Zone episode? "You're insane. Truly, one-hundred-percent crazy."
The Seeker smiled and shrugged. "Perhaps, but it does not change the fact that I am telling you the truth. And do not worry about your relationship and your baby. There is absolutely no blood relation between the two of you. We made sure of that before breeding you together. Was that not a brilliant pairing? It was my idea. Father was quite pleased... until you two escaped. Now, that was not very sporting, after all we had done for you. But all's well that ends well. Here we are now, right where we were meant to be. Sam, you carry the most powerful human being to ever walk this Earth, right there in your belly. Mary, mother of Jesus, should have been so lucky."
Nightmarish memories that weren't memories flashed through my mind. Bile rose in my throat, and I ran to a corner to vomit out the limited contents of my stomach. If I never threw up another day in my life, it would be too soon.
A cold hand rested on my arm. I looked up, expecting to see Drake, and looked into eyes so pale they might not have had any pigment at all. The Seeker stared into me, and I felt him probing at my mind.
"This is a family business, Sam, and you and Drake are family. Granted, your boyfriend is more like the redheaded stepchild, but still, he has his uses. Together, there is nothing we could not do. You know only a tiny portion of what you are capable of. I can teach you, guide you, give you everything you need to fully utilize your gifts. We can be gods among men, Sam. We will rule the world."
He grabbed me, and his eyes blazed with a holy fervor. But something felt off about him, besides the whole being crazy thing. Something was draining his energy and power. Through his touch I could sense a poison crawling through him, eating him.
Crimson drops fell onto his robe. Blood.
"Your nose, it's bleeding, and... what's wrong with your eyes?"
A pink tint lined the corners of his eyes, as though he'd applied pink eyeliner. He pulled away from me and backed out of the room. "I must go. Think on what I have said. We shall talk again."
My powers crashed back into me, and I linked with Drake. 'We have to get out of here, now. I know the Seeker's weakness. He's dying.'
Chapter 52 – Lucy
With all eyes on her, Lucy had to act fast. She pulled Mr. Black to her. "Call off the guards, or I'll blow your head off."
In the last few days, Lucy had become more violent than ever before in her life. Necessity dictated her actions. Still, after years of assignments targeting some of the worst creeps imaginable, she'd never had to fight, disarm, or threaten so many people. What had her world come to?
The sphere in her backpack pulsed, and she felt Mr. Black reach for the Seeker. "Call him and I pull the trigger. You don't have to be a human lie detector to know I'm telling the truth, do you?"
"I know you're a scared girl who's trying to play grown-up, and you've never killed anyone in your life. You're not about to start now."
Lucy cocked the gun, relishing the power of it in her hand. Then she aimed and fired.
The bullet sank into the cement just an inch from Mr. Black's left foot. He bellowed like a lion and jumped away from the sound.
Mr. Black nodded to the guards. "Get away. Do as she says, you assholes."
Lucy thought about what to say to these kids who'd been drugged and manipulated for years. "Do you remember what life here used to be like? The idyllic peace we enjoyed before this invasion?"
Many heads nodded.
"It was all a lie. Even now, there's a drug coursing through your veins designed to make you, to make all of us, complacent and docile. They would have you believe we need them to keep us safe, but our lives mean nothing to them. Like you, my best friend was promised a life of college and friends, but what she ended up with was a forced pregnancy. When she escaped, they hired guns to trail her. What does your future hold if you stay here?