by CS Patra
"Do you suspect you were adopted?"
"Possibly. This is a lot to think about," he murmured. "If either one of my parents were alive now, I could ask them. That's the reason I asked you that question. I don't think I know who I am anymore. I'm trying to find some answers and I think this place knows it."
Susan stared at the website. "The Bradley Institute."
"Have you heard of them?"
"No, but I do know one my co-workers got pregnant recently. She and her husband were trying IVF for months, but gave up when it wasn't working. I thought they were going to try adoption, but I guess their treatment worked. They didn't tell me about it though. All I know is that they went to a place called The Bradley Institute."
"Can you do me a favor and ask her how the pregnancy happened?" Doug asked. "Tell her that one of our daughters is trying to get pregnant and is struggling so they're considering IVF."
"But neither of our daughters is trying to get pregnant."
"I know that, Susan, but she won't. We need to pretend here. We need to find out just who made her pregnant because chances are they will know where I come from," he explained. "Just ask her who helped her out. We know they were infertile. They told us that. How does one go from being infertile to fertile so fast?"
Susan nodded. "All right, I'll ask. What are you going to do in the meantime?"
"I'm going to let all of this simmer in my mind for now." Doug said, grabbing the copy of Fahrenheit 451 from the dresser. "I bought this book tonight from a second-hand store. It was only a dollar, but it's still in great condition. I've always wanted to own it."
"I know. That's one of your favorite books of all time." Susan said. "I think you've read it at least eighty times now."
"Well, reading it eighty-one times won't hurt anyone." Doug shut down his computer and went over to bed. "Tonight was just a strange night. I need something to relax with and this is the best cure. Granted, it is a book about a dystopian world, but it's something I know. Maybe I'll just read a few chapters and try to sleep after that."
"You do what you need to do, Doug. I'm going to bed though. Good night." Susan rolled over on her side and turned off the light by her nightstand. "Don't worry. I'll ask my coworker how she was able to get pregnant."
"Thank you." Doug settled down and began to flip through the first couple of pages of the book. He wanted to concentrate on it, but there was so much that he was thinking about now. He couldn't focus on Ray Bradbury's incredible story right now.
That was when he felt something in the middle of the book. He squeezed it to figure out what it was. Then he went to the middle and found an envelope in it. He opened it up to find a note and a key. There were numbers written on the note, which he soon realized was the number to a bank vault.
"Susan?" he spoke up.
"What is it?"
"Did you put this in my book?" He held up the envelope.
Susan rolled over to take a look at it. "I haven't touched your book at all, Doug. How could I put something in it when you haven't let it go?"
"Well, someone put this in here." Doug looked down at the key and saw that it was very similar to the vault key he had for his bank. "Box 905. Does that sound familiar to you?"
"I thought our box was 900?"
"It is. Who do you think box 905 belongs to?"
"Beats me, Doug. I can't really think about this right now. I'd like to get some sleep if that's okay with you." she murmured. "Good night, dear. Try to get some sleep."
It was so easy for Susan to say this, but Doug's curiosity was at its peak. He had a vault key for a vault that was close by. It didn't seem right to check that vault's contents, but he thought about why this book had it. Did someone know he was going to buy this? If so, how were they able to put the key without anyone noticing? In any case, he wanted to see what was really in this box. He would have to go to the bank and find out.
What am I getting myself into? He wondered. There is no way I can be involved in something like this. I'm much older than the rest of these people. Would science have gone that far in my day? I guess I won't really know until I find out.
Susan seemed quite nonchalant about this, but he was thinking about their children. They were all between the ages of 24 and 29. His son and daughter-in-law had blessed the family with two grandchildren. Everyone was happy, active, and healthy. Things were moving smooth so far and he didn't want to believe that anything could come between them. He didn't want to believe that this new mystery would change everything that he had ever known.
At the same time, he did believe some of this. He believed that there was something different about him, but he always brushed it aside. Things always seemed too perfect in his family. He remembered that he had been asked to put together a family tree and was shocked to see that he didn't look very much like some of his relatives. He was always the one who seemed to stand out in the family, but everyone assured him that he was part of them. He had never been adopted. The hospital never gave them the wrong baby. He belonged to the Ruskin family and not everyone did look like each other. He just got all the recessive genes. There were people like that and it was not uncommon. He ultimately gave up trying to find the truth.
He believed that for the longest time. After all, genetics was a strange thing. Science had come a very long way and changed as the years went by. Maybe it was time for him to dig a little deeper into his life and see just who he truly was.
As of now, he had no idea who he was supposed to be anymore.
Chapter 10 – Misty
Misty ended up calling Annie at ten that night to pick her up. Annie was worried, frantically looking for her sister in the arena. She was also angry that Misty had disappeared for a long time. Misty told her that it wasn't her fault, someone had pulled her out of the mess and brought into a friend's house. At the moment, she didn't really want to go into details on Project 99. She had a lot to think about.
Annie wasn't the only person who was angry. Her parents had been waiting all night for the girls to return. They demanded to know why it took so long to be at the mall when it closed down at 9. Annie took some of the blame for that, saying that she took Misty to get frozen yogurt on the other side of town. The line at the store was long and by the time they got out, it was almost ten. Her parents bought that, but they were still upset that the girls had come back after curfew. Misty was grounded for the next three days as a result. She could only go to school and her lessons. Nothing else was allowed.
That probably works in my favor. Misty thought, trying to get some sleep. I have a lot to think about. I can use this time to do some research.
They had taken her phone privileges except for at school so those were the only times she could call anyone else. She could also use the school library to do any research she needed. Still, this grounding was not really the worst thing that could happen to her. She was far more curious about Project 99. She wasn't sure if she completely believed everything, but a lot of it did make sense. She always had the feeling she was different from other children. She grew up in a loving environment, but that didn't take the feeling away. Something was not right about her and tonight just proved all her suspicions to be correct.
Seeing that person burn himself in front of her was going to haunt her dreams. The woman in the video was also going to haunt her. All this time, she thought that her family was trustworthy and now they were hiding things from her. She wasn't a normal person. She wasn't even sure if her parents or sisters were her biological relatives. She didn't know anything anymore.
She skipped out on her piano and violin practice this evening because she couldn't get into the music right now. She was struggling with homework as well. Normally, she would have it all done before morning, but she had only done her math homework now. She had to read three chapters of Great Expectations, but she couldn't do it. She was already not a big fan of Charles Dickens and she didn't want to struggle with the book today. She would just read it
in the morning and be prepared for the quiz. Not that she cared if she bombed it. The teacher would drop the lowest grade anyway.
Next, she tried to focus on her biology homework. They were studying about cells right now and all that went on inside of a cell. She had a quiz on Friday where she would have to label all the parts of the cell. So far, all she could recognize was mitochondria. Everything else was just meshing together. Now she was thinking of her own cells and DNA. Just how much of it did she really share with her family? Did she have another family out there? If so, how could she find them?
She wanted to call someone, but her phone was gone for now. During the hours she was allowed to use the computer, she sent a big email to everyone and asked if they could meet after her punishment was over. Because she wasn't old enough to drive on her own yet, she would have to have someone pick her up or drop her off. She didn't want to miss out on anything.
As she was on the computer, she began to look at some of the links regarding Project 99. Many of them were of obituaries of people who had died young. A couple of them had committed suicide, but a lot had also died due to some kind of health complication. Some had respiratory problems and had suffered from asthma before.
"Misty?" It was Annie. She had forgotten all about her sister at this point. She didn't even know if Annie was her sister now.
"Misty, are you okay?" Annie asked. "You haven't said a word since you came back."
Misty shook her head. "I'm not okay. A man set himself on fire right in front of the whole audience. That’s kind of the reason I got lost in all that mess. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to find you sooner. Between that and getting my period, I was totally messed up."
Annie nearly dropped to the ground when she heard that. "Oh my God, what did you do? What did anyone do? I missed that moment because I went to the bathroom, but I knew something had gone down. By the time I went to our seats, you were gone."
"I... I wanted to help, but everyone was pushing me away from the scene. They just wanted me to leave and I ended up at my friend’s house somehow." Misty shook her head. “It’s all blur to me, Annie. Everything happened so fast and I had no time to react. I should have called you and it was completely my fault for not coming home in time. I dragged you into this mess.”
"You couldn't have helped in that, Misty. He wanted to commit suicide for a reason." Annie assured her. “You didn’t drag me into anything, okay? I’m glad I went. If I had let you go alone, we would have both been in big trouble. We would have been grounded for life.”
"What reason would he kill himself though?" Misty asked. "He just yelled that everything was a lie and lit himself on fire. Everyone was freaking out at the same time. I was feeling so sick because of my period and I had a headache. I got knocked around a few times because people were all trying to run out."
"What did you do then?"
"Someone led me out of the darkness. I don't know who it was or why they helped me, but they did." Misty murmured. "My whole life is a lie, Annie. Every last bit of it is a lie."
"What do you mean?"
"How much do you remember about my birth?" she asked. "Did Mom and Dad tell you how I was ever made?"
"They explained that to me when I was eleven years old." Annie said. "I assume you came out the way you should come out. I wasn't in the birthing room when it happened. Mom and Dad just told me they were expecting you. You came like you should have come. They mentioned nothing about needing any help."
"Well, I think they did something before I was born." Misty said. "I think they hid a lot from us. I don't really know who I am anymore. I want to find out the truth. I want to know who my birth parents really are."
"What makes you think that you have other parents?"
"I learned some things tonight. I learned things no one else has told me. I'm not mad at you, Annie. I can understand if you don't know anything. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept all of you in the dark too."
"So you're mad at Mom and Dad for something." Annie realized. "Who told you that they may not be your real parents?"
"Have you ever heard of a place called the Bradley Institute or a thing called Project 99?"
"I never heard of a Project 99. I know Bradley Institute exists. As far as I can tell, it's a birthing center. People who can't give birth normally go there to get a second chance." Annie explained. "I saw commercials for it on TV."
"Mom and Dad never brought this up with you?"
"No. I never heard of any of this until now." Annie shook her head. "Do you think they went to the Bradley Institute and that's how they had you?"
"It's entirely possible." Misty nodded. "I don't know why unless you were also created at that institute too." Then she had a new idea. "Can you bring my baby album over here? I know Mom and Dad saved the hospital bracelets in that album."
"Yeah, maybe we can find what you're looking for in there." Annie agreed. "Hang on, Misty. Whatever you do, don't blow up at Mom and Dad for anything. Not until we know exactly what's going on."
"Right." Misty agreed. "I had no intention of confronting them tonight. I need more information first. I'll do a little research here."
As Annie went to find the book, Misty began to look up more information on Bradley Institute. As it turned out, it wasn't just a birthing center. There was another section of the area known as Genexis. This place was where people went to find a cure for their diseases. A lot of cancer patients had come to Genexis in order for someone to help them out. Chemotherapy and surgery hadn't done enough so Genexis was the next step. A few years later, most of their patients were now cancer free.
Misty clicked on the link to Genexis and began to read some of the stories. Most people had a positive review for them. The few negative reviews that she saw had to do with how dirty the area was or how rude some of the staff were to the customers. However, everyone that went in came back with the results that they wanted. Patients who were terminally ill were now in remission for years to come. They didn't explain how they did this, but it was a miracle.
"Genexis, huh?" Misty murmured, writing the name down. She needed to make a trip down to the Bradley Institute one day. "Things are weirder."
"I found your book!" Annie exclaimed, bringing the baby album in. "And here are the hospital bracelets. None of them mention Bradley Institute on them though."
Misty looked at each one and saw something on one of them. "Genexis."
"What?"
"This is a section of Bradley Institute." Misty explained. "They don't handle births though. They cure people of illness... at least that's what they claim they do." She read the label on her hospital bracelet again. "Yes, it says Genexis. I have a feeling I need to get inside that institute somehow and figure out who Genexis is."
"You should ask Mom and Dad_"
"No." Misty cut her off. "I'm not asking them anything. I don't want to scare them. This is something I need to figure out on my own. Annie, you have to promise me that you won't tell them a thing. Not until I have more answers."
"Misty..."
“Promise me, Annie!”
"Okay, okay!" Annie held up her hands in defeat. "I promise I won't tell a soul. I swear my life on it. Just promise me that you are going to be careful as well. Promise me you will not do anything stupid. Will you at least let me escort you into the Bradley Institute?"
"Relax. I'm not going in there alone." Misty said. "I've got a couple of people I can call."
“They’re not going to let teenagers wander into the institute like that.”
“I’m not calling any teenagers. I need my cell phone though.”
“You’re not allowed to use it outside of school and your lessons.”
“It doesn’t matter. I need it.” she said. “Find it and bring it to me. There are so many calls I have to make.”
“Okay, okay.” Annie said. “You still haven’t told me who your friend is.”
“When I’m ready, I will.” Misty promised, pr
inting out some of the pages. If her parents found out, she would just tell them that this was for school. This was too important to ignore now. It was confusing, but she was curious about the whole thing. She wanted to know every bit behind this place.
Let’s hope I don’t end up getting myself into more trouble than I already am in. She thought as she dialed the numbers.
She had a lot to talk about now.
Chapter 11 – Jackie
Jackie got a little time to talk with the others. She was able to find out some information about them. Ash had asthma and was prone to attacks from time to time. He had it under control now, but he noted that many people born around the same time he was had asthma or respiratory problems. It must have been a problem that happened during that year.
