by Alyssa Lynn
SEEING DOUBLE
The Perception Trilogy
Book 1
ALYSSA LYNN
Copyright © 2019 Alyssa Lynn
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781686022166
DEDICATION
Sending a huge “thank you” out to my mom for showing me how to achieve the impossible; and a dedication to my daughter to let her know that it’s possible to reach your dreams, no matter how high you set the bar.
Also a dedication to my dad. I know he’s up in Heaven watching me and shaking his head at all of the stupid things I do in my life. Well, Daddy. Here is something for you to be proud of for a change. Your little girl wrote a book.
CONTENTS
WARNING: This book contains adult content which includes graphic scenes and offensive language. The contents of this book may not be suitable for all readers.
Text design by Alyssa Lynn
Editing services provided by Alyssa Lynn
Cover design and photos by Alyssa Lynn
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to those that helped make this happen; Lila Grey and Mae Thomas for being there at all hours of the day and night to assist during writer’s block, description emergencies, and an all-around boot-to-the-butt when I wanted to stop writing. In addition to those three amazing writers; I want to send out a thank you to my baby brother for allowing me to borrow his face for the front cover of my book. Finally, a huge shout out to my mom’s best friend’s daughter (if you follow that), Katie, for taking the time to be an amazing beta reader.
And, of course, the appreciation I have for those who didn’t assist in any way with the writing, but purchased multiple copies and told the rest of the world that I was writing a book. You are the real VIPs!
Prologue
M arcus placed his safety glasses on his face and made his way around the grounds. The sound of running construction equipment filled the air as the crew worked diligently to meet their deadlines. With his clipboard in his hands, Marcus checked off the things that were completed on his to-do list. He shifted his gaze toward the lab equipment and made a mental note that they needed additional computer monitors for the control room.
“Did you check with the lab assistants to make sure they had everything on their lists?” Marcus asked his newly-hired research supervisor.
“Yes sir. We ended up needing extra syringes to inject nutrients during the beginning stages of creation. According to Brian, they should be here in a few days,” replied the supervisor.
Marcus made a note on his sheet and mumbled to himself, “Excellent.” A note was added to his notepad while he did a quick scan of his inventory at the delivery location. Pleased at the fact that things were finally coming together, he dropped his clipboard to his hip and looked at his working crew.
“Did you get all the blueprints?” he asked, looking at his crew members. “We have to get every little detail completed perfectly, down to the last goddamn outlet cover. Ya hear me?”
“Yes sir,” replied two of his workers in unison.
Marcus stood and stared at them for a moment before raising an eyebrow. “Is the building built yet? Do I have my medical staff hired? Are the sacks filled with new creations?”
“No sir,” they said, swallowing hard.
“Then why the fuck are you still in my line of sight?” Marcus asked, looking over the rim of his safety glasses. The men grabbed their hardhats and blueprints before they scurried away from their boss as quickly as their legs could carry them. Marcus stood in front of the foundation of his new organization. Staring from top to bottom and smiling to himself, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Hey boss,” said his partner, Marv. “Looks like things are moving along nicely.” He took a glance over at Marcus’ clipboard, but couldn’t see the documents under his hand. “What did you have in mind for the captivity room?”
Marcus lifted his clipboard and opened the folder to view his plans for the interior. “Large windows; I want everyone in the audience to feel like they have front-row seats. Surgical tables lining the walls; five, maybe six of them. We will need walls that are on the border of soundproof and a floor that cleans up easily. Storage closets along one side for tools and lab coats. I want sinks built into the counter next to the storage closets and I’ll even put additional money aside for a nice Van Gogh. Does this seem sufficient for you?”
Marv rubbed his chin and looked up at Marcus with a gleam in his eyes. “Oh, sir. That will do. That will definitely suffice.” Pausing for a moment, Marv decided to test his limits, “Do I get a say on which painting?”
“We will see what kind of mood I’m in,” he replied, as he licked his finger and thumbed through his hardcopy plans.
“So, boss,” he continued, looking around at the busy workers. “You sure know how to run an operation.”
“Well, when you’re born into a family with nothing and live your entire childhood with less than the bare minimum, you do whatever it takes later in life to make sure you never face that problem again.”
Standing there next to the most successful man he had ever laid eyes on, he couldn’t even begin to imagine Marcus with anything less than the entire world in the palm of his hand. Marcus always carried himself with his chin held high and his ego even higher. Everything in his world was always perfect; from his ironed suits, to the amount of jam-spread on his toast. Nobody screwed with Marcus Hummel.
The two of them stood, admiring their work-in-progress. “How far to the closest civilization?” Marv asked him.
“Approximately two miles, maybe three at best. I heard it will be an orphanage, but it won’t be up and running for at least two years. Should give us plenty of time to get set up and have plenty of stocked inventory, as well as checking to make sure our security is efficient,” Marcus replied.
Shifting his eyes over to his boss, Marv looked concerned. “I sure hope your hiring process for security is as thorough as your blueprints. You’re going to need all the security you can get.”
Marcus looked around the dirt acreage in front of him and nodded with a smile. “Don’t worry, Marv. We’re getting the best of the best.”
CHAPTER one
Year 2004
C hasing her best friend through the thick Kansas woods, Ava yelled, “Jett! Slow down!” He was always able to run a little faster than her, but never cut her any slack just because she was a girl. Ava hated when she was babied around the guys, and Jett knew it.
“Shut up, Ava! Your stupid yelling is going to get us caught!” Jett hollered over his shoulder, “If they hear us, we’ll be in serious trouble! Just run faster!”
Having finished their chores and escaping the orphanage for the day, the three-mile run to their favorite hiding spot was nothing for their fifteen-year-old bodies.
Sneaking through the last stretch of trees, they barreled into the stone circle that they built to indicate the entrance of their hideout. Ava gripped her knees with her hands as she hunched over to catch her breath. Jett handed her one of the granola bars that he stole from the kitchen before they snuck out the second-floor bathroom window that evening. They had found their escape route when they were both transferred to this orphanage two years ago when the last one closed down due to lack of funding.
Plopping down on her favorite rock, Ava bit into her granola bar and sighed. “What’s on the agenda for tonight? Are we g
oing monster hunting again?”
“Aren’t we getting a little old for monster hunting? We should be doing more grown-up things, like searching for aliens or trying to find dinosaur bones.”
“Yeah, Jett, because that’s way more grown-up than searching for monsters.”
“It is!” Jett yelled, as he picked up a stone and tossed it at her.
Ava ducked the small stone and about fell off of her rock as they both roared with laughter.
Getting away from the orphanage was the only thing they both had to look forward to. Ava had been an orphan since she was a baby and that lifestyle was all she knew. Jett landed in the system at five years old, when his mother got involved in drugs and overdosed after his father ran out. He was always telling Ava that it didn’t bother him, but his constant reassurance was proof enough that he was lying.
“Did you hear that?” Ava whispered as she stood on her rock and looked into the woods behind them.
Jett shook his head and ripped open another granola bar. “Nope. All I hear is the sound of sweet, sweet chocolate rolling around inside my mouth.” He stuffed another bite into his already full mouth, and opened wide, giving Ava a nice view of his chewed granola bar.
“You’re such a little nasty,” Ava said, scrunching her nose.
Rolling his eyes, Jett laughed and finally swallowed. “Nobody is even out here, Ava. Calm down. We’re here all the time and have never seen or heard anything. Get your panties out of a bunch and relax!”
“Don’t talk about my panties, you weirdo,” she said, giggling. “I’m telling you, I heard something!”
Jett put his snack down on the ground next to him and walked over to stand next to Ava. They stared into the trees waiting to hear sounds of an intruder. Putting her hands on her hips, she sighed and sat back down on her rock, “Probably just a stupid squirrel.”
“The squirrels are pretty vicious out here,” he teased. Ava glared at him and snuggled back into her seat while Jett redirected his attention to his chocolate-chip granola bar.
Jett and Ava both loved being outside and exploring in the woods. The sound of the chirping crickets filled the air and the smell of the July breeze danced under their noses. Nights like this were all they needed to let loose.
They spent the next hour leaning up against their rocks, talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up, and the first thing they would do once they both finally got out of the orphanage. With Ava wanting to be a surgeon and Jett wanting to be a pilot, they determined that they would be rich and stay best friends forever; even though Ava wanted to live in a big city and Jett wanted a cabin in the woods.
Ava walked over to the bag that Jett had packed and pulled the blanket out of the larger compartment. Spreading it out on the ground, they sprawled out next to each other and stared at the star-filled sky.
Reaching over, Ava grabbed Jett’s hand and whispered, “Remember when we were little kids and we used to pretend we were superheroes? Nobody could kill us because we had infinity number of wishes and could always bring each other back to life and keep fighting.”
“We had some fun adventures, but nothing beats the time we snuck upstairs and took all of the blankets and pillows to make that huge fort in the younger kids’ area since we were cooped up because of the crappy weather.”
Ava laughed. “How about the time you thought it would be funny to break into the headmaster’s office and rearrange her desk and blame it on aliens?”
“We were definitely some crazy kids, A. I’m just glad that we wound up together, and not split up like most of our friends.”
“I don’t think they would have separated us since you looked right at them and said you would kick and scream the whole way to the new place if I didn’t go with you.”
“I sure do have a way with words.” Jett said as he squeezed her hand and laughed.
Ava shifted her gaze from the tree-tops over to her best friend. Watching him as he looked at the stars was comforting. She felt safe next to him. Ava knew that if anything were to happen, Jett would save her no matter what.
Recently, she had been noticing the strange feelings she had when they spent time together. Like yesterday, when they were playing outside and she got the urge to run her fingers through his wavy brown hair. And those times when he looked at her with his dreamy brown eyes that gave her butterflies in her stomach.
She was starting to wonder why she had never looked at him as anything more than a friend before and considered the fact that he would never be attracted to her with her mousey, brown hair and dull green eyes. Sighing heavily, she looked back up at the stars and squeezed Jett’s hand even tighter. She was happy that she had him by her side, regardless of the relationship between them.
BOOM
Jumping to their feet, Jett looked over at Ava with wide eyes and said, “I definitely heard that!”
They both took off running, but when Ava was making her way down the path; she quickly realized Jett wasn’t with her. When she looked back over her shoulder, she noticed Jett was running toward the noise while she was headed to safety.
“Jett!” She yelled after him. When he didn’t respond, she cursed his name under her breath and changed direction.
As she ran, she noticed the bright yellow NO TRESPASSING signs posted all over the trees. She slowed her pace to a jog in case anyone was hiding and watching to catch trespassers. Shifting her gaze from tree to tree, she made sure she was aware of every movement and noise happening around her. She finally noticed the top of Jett’s head and rolled her eyes as she made her way over to him.
Jett was squatted down next to a fence that surrounded a large factory. Cranes and backhoes were parked along the outside walls and the entire lot was swarming with men in blue blazers. Though it was dark, the industrial-size lights were so bright that you almost needed sunglasses. The whole first floor appeared to be lined with garage doors, but they were all closed and the windows were all tinted, making it impossible to see inside. The huge metal building had to be at least fifteen stories high.
Ava squatted next to Jett and put her hand on his shoulder. “What the hell is this place?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want you getting too close to it. Stay here and I’ll do a lap around. I want to see if I can get inside the fence.”
He went to stand up, but Ava grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down to the ground. “Are you crazy? Do you really think that seems like a sensible thing to do? Look around, Jett. Do you see kids running and playing, or any signs welcoming you inside? No, because we shouldn’t be here!”
At that moment, one of the large garage doors opened, revealing a bunch of illuminated computer equipment. Ava could see the want for adventure in Jett’s eyes.
“I have to see what’s in there,” he said as he got to his feet. “Stay here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“You’re like a damn bug to a bug zapper,” she muttered as he shuffled down the fence line away from her.
Ava knew that she couldn’t change his mind, so she stayed where she was as he snuck around the edge of the lot. The only sense of relief she felt was knowing he was as quiet as a mouse when he ran. She knew he hadn’t been spotted when she realized that nobody was currently looking toward the fence or pointing out an intruder. Holding her breath, she started praying that he would make it back without being caught.
After what felt like an eternity, Ava heard footsteps coming closer. Jett sat down next to her and she started spewing questions at him. “What did you see? How far does it go? Were there people everywhere? Can you see inside?”
“Shut up,” Jett whispered, as he covered her mouth with his hand. “The people in blue blazers seem to be all over this place. It’s like a damn beehive. I couldn’t see inside the building because they have it locked down pretty good. It’s big though. Very big!”
Ava started to think of Jett’s wild side and began to panic. “You can’t go inside, Jett. You’ll get yourself in serious trouble, a
nd you don’t even know who these people are! What if it’s some kind of government agency, and they shoot first and ask questions later?”
“Well, then I guess I’ll die doing something exciting.”
Ava punched his arm playfully and they both chuckled. “Shut up, you. It’s already super late and we need to get back to our hiding spot, grab our stuff, and get home.” She pulled him to his feet and they headed back to their hideout. Within minutes they returned to their favorite wooded location and Ava felt the relief washing over her.
“You can’t go back there without me.” Ava said, as she plopped down on her rock. “You’ll do something stupid and I won’t be able to get to you.”
“Sure you will. Just use those superhero moves we invented as kids.”
“I’m being serious, Jett. You need to promise me that you won’t go back there without me. We probably shouldn’t even tell people about this place or they’ll know we were trespassing. This doesn’t seem like the kind of place that will accept a simple ‘I’m sorry’.”
“I won’t go back there without you, but I don’t see what your deal is. It’s just a big metal building surrounded by people in matching jackets. I mean, yeah it’s kinda creepy, but it’s not like they’re going to shoot laser beams at me or probe me like the aliens do when they abduct their victims.”
Ava jumped down off of her rock and wiggled her fingers in the air. “Maybe they’ll probe you AND shoot laser beams at you.” She laughed, but Jett didn’t seem to find it very amusing. “Let’s go,” she said, slinging the backpack onto her shoulder.
“You annoy me sometimes,” Jett said, as they jogged away from the glow of the unknown building and headed back to the orphanage.
~
