Seeing Double (The Perception Trilogy Book 1)

by Alyssa Lynn

  ~

  Once Kaycie had been freed from the grasp of the evil maid costume, she jumped in the shower to scrub the oily butter off of her skin. Apologizing to Jett for the awkward first impression, Ethan and Kaycie went out to the stores and local restaurants to pick up a hearty meal for the group, and give Ava a chance to speak to Jett alone.

  “What is all of this?” Jett asked Ava, pointing to the bed that was covered in documents and maps.

  Ava walked over and stood next to him. Her eyes shifted from his face down at the years and years of work she had put into finding out what happened to him. “That’s the research I’ve been doing. Almost ten years of trying to figure out what was inside of the building that took you away from me. Everything it took to get me to where I’m standing at this very moment.”

  Jett looked over at her. “Why did you spend so much time and effort on finding out what was inside that building?”

  “I really don’t even know how to talk to you right now, Jett. You’ve been in there for so long that they must have wiped your memory or something.” Plopping down on the bed, she squeezed her eyes shut and went silent for a minute.

  Slowly sitting down on the bed next to her, he stared at the wall across the room. So confused at the events that happened over the last few hours, he wasn’t sure how to get an explanation without offending her. Taking his time, he talked in a soft voice, hoping it wouldn’t send her over the edge.

  “I don’t understand why you keep calling me ‘Jett’.” Her face went blank and she didn’t answer, so he decided to continue, “Also, why was it so important to you that I was found?” He heard her take a deep breath in and he felt his spine straighten as his muscles tightened from nerves.

  Ava stood up while the rage exploded in her voice. “What the fuck do you mean? You’re telling me that after I watched them drag you in there and spent all of that time trying to figure out how to get to you back, you’re going to sit here and tell me that you don’t understand why I would do it? Have you seriously lost your fucking mind?” Grabbing her own hair and yanking down, she let out a groan. Unable to control her emotions, the tears began to fill the corners of her eyes. “I was terrified, Jett. Not only did I lose my best friend that day, but I didn’t understand who it was that took you. I had no idea what was going to happen to you or what I was supposed to do. Without a clue in the world as to what was on the other side of those garage doors, I watched you kick and scream as they carried you inside against your will.” She walked across the room and grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose. “I was alone. I had nobody by my side and nobody that I could talk to. You made it clear that nobody was to know where you were and nobody was to know that we had found that place. Like an idiot, I obeyed you.” She wiped her nose and looked at him. “Nora just discarded your file like you never existed and told the police you ran away.”

  He glanced up at her, unsure of how to respond.

  “Now you can’t even say as much as a simple thank you.” Ava let her arms drop by her sides as she sniffled. A lump grew in her throat as she thought back to the moment when the police had knocked on the orphanage door.

  Nora answered and tensed at the sight of the uniforms standing on the front porch. She welcomed them in to the lobby and they asked for the documents that she had on file for Jett. Handing them over to the authorities, Nora asked if there was any word on him. The officers stated that it had been two years since he was last seen, and that it normally takes seven years to legally declare someone dead. In this instance, since he had nowhere to run or any family to get in contact with, they had met the special criteria and they were taking the legal action to obtain his records for processing.

  Ava hated that day. It was like receiving the confirmation that everything she saw was true; and her best friend really was gone forever. Swallowing hard, she brought her eyes up to meet Jett’s. “I lay there in my bed, every night for two years, waiting for you to come home to me and you never did. I stood next to an empty casket at your funeral and cried for you. I never STOPPED crying for you! The pictures of us as kids sat on the front table at the service for everyone to see. Reminding me that I would never see you again!” Shaking her head, she let the tears fall, but never took her eyes off of him. “Now here you sit in front of me with nothing to say.”

  There he was, plain as day; watching her pour her heart out to him for what she had gone through since he was taken from her, and he was hardly blinking in response.

  “I can see that this is a tough time for you. Ava, right?” Not moving or saying a word, she stood there and stared at him. “I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for this. We just need to figure out where the lines got crossed. Maybe you went in looking for someone and came in contact with me instead; someone who resembles me, possibly.”

  She scanned his face for signs of amusement, but found none. His expression confirmed that he truly was unsure of what she was telling him. She tilted her head and squinted her eyes at him as she wiped her nose with her tissue.

  “You mean you really don’t believe that you are who I’m saying you are?”

  “It’s not a matter of believing you, Ava. I know for a fact that I’m not.”

  “Oh my God, you have amnesia,” she said, covering her mouth.

  “I do not have amnesia. There is nothing wrong with my mind or my memory.”

  Trying to think quickly, she remembered her research documents. Walking over to her suitcase, she pulled out the file that contained old pictures from when they were younger. The most recent picture she had was a month before the incident. She removed it from the file, walked Jett over to the mirror, and handed him the photo.

  Grabbing the picture, he stared at it intently. The little girl that sat on top of the rock looked just like Ava. Seeing the happiness in her eyes made him smile. When he shifted to the little boy, he gripped both sides of the photo while his mind started racing. Eyes as deep and brown as his own stared back at him. Looking at a replica of himself at a young age, he glanced into the mirror and studied his own face.

  “I don’t understand. Where did you get this?”

  “This is us, ten years ago. Sitting at our hideout a few miles from the orphanage. It was the night we blindfolded Lenny and took him with us to get his mind off of his skinned knee from when he fell. You snuck the camera out of Nora’s office and we took so many Polaroids that we couldn’t fit them all in our bag and had to make two trips to get them all back.”

  Jett turned toward Ava, revealing his pale face and disturbed expression. Ava became concerned and put her arms up in case he fainted.

  Gripping his elbow, she led him away from the mirror and sat him down on the bed, giving him a minute to breathe. She stood in front of him before fanning out the rest of the photos from the file and sitting down next to him. “You don’t remember any of this, do you?”

  Jett shook his head and swallowed hard. “The only life I know is the one I had inside that building. From the time I was hatched until today. But now I’m seeing all of this and wondering what really happened.”

  Feeling sorry for him now, Ava placed a hand on his leg. Her mind replayed what Jett had just said and she looked down at her feet and scrunched her eyebrows. “Wait a minute. Rewind.” Getting up from the side of the bed, she put her hands on her hips and looked down at him. “You said the word ‘hatched’. Let’s discuss that for a minutes, shall we?”

  Jett sat on the edge of the bed and his eyes kept shifting from side to side, like he was solving an intense math problem. He looked up and stared into her eyes, “Ava, I think I understand what has happened.”

  She let her hand fall from her hip and looked up at the ceiling. Waving her hands in a circular motion, she said, “Do you need a written invitation to continue?”

  A look of confusion consumed Jett’s face, but he shook it off. “Ava,” Jett said, standing up and grabbing her hands. “I’m not this ‘Jett’ that you keep referring to me as. I’m guessing Jett is the little
boy in these photos.”

  “Yes, Jett. You’re the little boy in these photos,” she said, rubbing her temples.

  “Ava, listen to me.”

  She noticed the look in his eyes; almost sympathetic, “I’m listening.”

  “I don’t want to upset you when I say this.”

  “Please just tell me what is going on.”

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her down on the bench at the foot of the bed. Squatting down, he placed his hands on her knees. How could he possibly tell her the truth? If this is how she was acting just at him not accepting that he is who she said he is, how in the world would she act when he explained himself?

  He shook his head and tried his best to keep a low voice as he began explaining. “Your friend Jett is gone, Ava.”

  “How can you say that to me? You’re standing right here!”

  He held up his hand and kept her from exploding at him again. “Ava. Please,” he said, now understanding why she was acting the way she had over the last few hours. She was filled with frustration and he realized why she became irate with him. Anyone would have acted the way she had if they were in her shoes; best friend coming back from the dead and not showing any signs of gratitude when she risked her life to rescue him.

  Looking at his feet, he stood himself up straight and squeezed his eyes shut. After a few seconds, he opened them to see her staring at him, waiting for the rest of his explanation. His heart felt heavy as he continued, now with an attempt at a formal introduction.

  “My name is Demo Twelve-Fifteen. I believe I am the clone of your friend Jett.”

  CHAPTER five

  T he sound of screaming alarms rang in Marcus’ ears as he tried to gain composure. Standing in front of his desk with his arms crossed, he had to formulate a plan and it had to be done quick. Nobody had ever breached the premises and gotten away with it. Not until today.

  “I want all guards in position. Nobody leaves their post until I give the order,” Marcus growled at his crew members. “Make sure nobody gets inside and, more importantly, make sure nobody else gets out.” Two of his men scampered off to do as their boss directed while one of his men, Jeremy, stayed behind for additional instruction.

  “Sir, was anything damaged or stolen?” Jeremy asked.

  “Nothing was damaged, but we lost some important documentation,” replied Marcus, standing from his desk chair. “Come with me; we need to make our rounds and spread the word that it’s all hands on deck until we have everything back where it belongs; our clone included.”

  They made their way out of the office and down the corridor to the elevator. Stepping inside, Jeremy looked at Marcus with a confused expression, “Which floor are we going to?”

  “Listen kid, I know you’re new, but I really need you on your feet right now. Shit has officially hit the fan,” Marcus said and pressed the button for the top floor. “We are going to start at the top and work our way down. Basically do a sweep as we go along. Top two floors are research; below that are two floors of skills development. Then, the next three floors are residence halls. If you haven’t figured out what the two bottom floors and the basement are for, then you need to reevaluate your learning abilities and possibly pick a different career path.” Marcus noticed Jeremy was frantically taking notes in his notepad, and grinned. “You don’t need to take note of the last part of that lesson,” he said with a wink.

  Jeremy frowned as he followed Marcus off of the elevator into the research hallway. Like the other floors, the hall was lined with windows that peered into each area. Large white rooms were filled with people walking around in white lab coats, which Jeremy thought was pretty stereotypical. Along the top of each room was a walkway that bordered the center area containing dozens of computers and large white tables. One of the tables had two lab workers on either side touching the center of it. Jeremy couldn’t see anything happening until they got close enough to view the reflection in the safety glasses they were wearing. Seeing bright blue screens with tables and charts that reacted each time the worker came in contact with the table.

  “It’s like a computer without a screen! That’s incredible! Are all of the rooms this high-tech?” Jeremy asked in amazement.

  “Yes, now keep up,” Marcus replied from a few yards down the hall. Jeremy jogged up to his side, but didn’t take his eyes off of the fancy equipment rooms. Walking up to the guard at the end of the hall, Marcus began barking orders. “You! We need additional guards at all entrances, including multiple within the labs. Be sure all research is under close supervision and nobody gets in or out of these rooms. Understood?”

  The guard raised his hand to his head in a salute to his boss before he talked into the radio on his belt. Jeremy followed Marcus and was in awe at how well everyone listened to him when he spoke; almost as if he was running some kind of military camp. As they made their way back to the elevator, Jeremy looked over his shoulder as the guard walked into the research room and started giving instructions to the lab workers.

  The next floor took a toll on Jeremy’s stomach. Large egg-shaped sacks were filled with liquid and what looked like humans. Each one was surrounded by people in plastic suits and face masks. Staying close to Marcus, he listened as the same orders were passed to the guards at either end of the room. Being careful not to trip over the multiple hoses that extended from each wall, they walked from guard to guard before returning to the elevator. The elevator doors closed as they descended to the next floor below them.

  “Doing okay?” Marcus asked Jeremy, who was looking a little pale.

  Swallowing hard, Jeremy nodded, “Yes. I’m fine.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, you won’t be introduced to the harsher parts of the building.”

  “Harsher than what I just saw?” Jeremy wondered out loud. “That room we were just in; what was that?”

  Marcus chuckled to himself, “That was where our creations are developed. You can learn more about that when the company isn’t in shock from a catastrophic event.”

  Jeremy looked up at Marcus who hadn’t taken his eyes off of the elevator doors. Confused and uncomfortable, Jeremy wasn’t sure he wanted to ask any further questions. He clutched his stomach and he tried to pull himself together as they spread the word throughout the facility.

  When they got back to Marcus’ office, he looked at Jeremy and gave him his final task. “I need you to make your way down to the file room near the entrance and retrieve the file on Demo Twelve-Fifteen. All contents will need to be brought back to my office. I’ll give you additional instruction when you return.” Jeremy hurried out of Marcus’ office and made his way down the hall.

  Marcus took a moment to breathe and looked around the room at the pictures on the walls of the family members he no longer talked with. His employees viewed him as a family man with a successful company and he didn’t want them thinking any different. In reality, Marcus hadn’t spoken to a member of his family in over four years, but when his employees asked about them, he made up a story about his dad’s fishing boat and his mom’s craft store.

  The last time he went to see his parents, him and his father got into a screaming match over the way Marcus was living his life. His father didn’t like that he was so money driven and hated that Marcus rarely made an attempt to stop by. Yelling at his father, he made it clear how embarrassed he was at their living situation. Telling them that residing in a trailer was no way to live and that they should be ashamed of themselves; which he regretted immediately after leaving. After that day, Marcus was asked to never return to their home.

  Every time he looked at the photos on his walls, he remembered the fight and the words he had spoken to his parents. Wishing he could take it all back, he knew that words were like bullets and once they left were released, there was no undoing it. He often sulked in his office surrounded by the printed paper faces that stood in place of his family.

  Down the hall, Jeremy barreled into the filing room and raced toward one of th
e cabinets. Pulling the latch on the drawer, he opened it and fingered through the files that were in alphabetical order. “Demo, Demo, Demo,” he whispered as he made this way through the letters. Coming up on the D’s, he pulled the file and turned to leave. Unable to control his curiosity, he opened the file. Pages and pages of information filled the file. As he continued through the documents, his stomach turned when he saw the picture of the little boy. Skin gray, eyes wide open, lips blue. Just lying next to a table on the floor, in the middle of the room. He slammed the file shut and began down the hall.

  Jeremy walked through the double doors to the office and placed the documents in front of Marcus who looked pleased with what he had accomplished. Confused at Marcus’ next move, Jeremy stood silent as Marcus waved toward the door. Two of the three men surrounded Jeremy and looped their arms under his as they dragged him away from the desk.

  Marcus stood and placed his hands behind his back, “Thank you for the work you’ve done for us, Jeremy. We will forever be grateful.”

  “What is happening?” Jeremy asked, as the men continued to pull him toward the double doors.

  “Your work here is done,” Marcus said, raising his hands in the air as he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Jeremy, but in order to be successful here, you need to fit into one of the molds. It didn’t appear that you would fit into the mold that requires you seeing the inner workings of our establishment, so I greased the gears in my mind and came up with an alternate plan. I came to the conclusion that you may fit into a different one; maybe one that requires a lot less brain power.” Smearing an evil grin on his face, Marcus let his hands fall to his side as they removed Jeremy from his office.

  Jeremy’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. “No! Please, don’t do this!” Wiggling in the grasp of the two men, he tried to free himself. Kicking and screaming, he flailed his arms, but it didn’t even phase them. “Please,” he begged, “Please just let me go! Don’t turn me into one of those things! I have a family; a wife and a brand new baby! Let me go home to them! I won’t say a word about what happens here! Please!”