Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  Kaitlyn didn’t reply. To her it was normal, so she didn’t know the difference.

  It was nice to get outside. Summer was quickly turning into fall; the leaves were beginning to change colors, and the temperature was dropping. Kaitlyn knew they were somewhere in northern Virginia. She had analyzed the dirt and rocks, and compared it to the array of trees. It was mainly the pine trees, dogwoods, and red agate that gave away the location.

  Out of curiosity, she had once asked Quess if they were in Virginia, and the girl had confirmed it.

  Whenever she looked at anything, she analyzed it.

  She could look at Quess’s floral-print dress and was able to find out it was from American Eagle. Further, she then knew that American Eagle was a popular American store located in almost every mall. She didn’t know how she knew this, she just did. The clip in Quess’s hair was harder to narrow down because it was produced in several countries, and sold in many stores.

  Quess rambled on about her friends and Facebook, which jogged Kaitlyn’s memory about their last conversation.

  “Did you have any luck with the picture?” Kaitlyn asked nonchalantly, trying to hide her curiosity.

  “Not yet. It didn’t go quite as easily as I thought. You wouldn’t believe how many good looking blond guys there are out there that match your description. I got a lot of hits, but I need to narrow them down. I wish we knew more about your past. You don’t recall anything? If we knew where you were from, it would help a lot.”

  “Not really. I just remember the blinding light. And, of course, the blond haired guy that always shows up in my dreams. Sometimes I see flashes of scenes, but they don’t make any sense.” Kaitlyn paused. “You don’t think I’m from this area?” She had never given it much thought. It didn’t really matter to her where she was from. She couldn’t go back.

  “No. They wouldn’t have taken you from this area. Too many chances of being spotted by someone you know.” Quess sounded sure of herself.

  That made sense. They put far too much money into the project to risk someone recognizing Kaitlyn. Not that they really needed to worry about that since she was confined to the massive compound. Everything they needed was within the gates, which surrounded over one hundred acres. She still had no idea what they planned to do with her. Everyone kept saying she was almost ready, but for what?

  “You don’t have an accent, so it’s hard to say. Do you think they changed the way you talk?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised.” Kaitlyn had no idea how much they had altered her. Sometimes she wondered what she used to like to do. She must have had hobbies, a favorite food, a family …

  “I’ll poke around and see if I can find anything out,” Quess stated. “Maybe Nanny will spill some secrets. She’s always been a bit of a gossip.”

  Stopping suddenly, Kaitlyn pivoted on her toes to look at the girl. “Do you think she knows anything about who I was?”

  Quess flipped her copper braid over her shoulder. “Who knows? But if anyone does, I would say it was her. My grandparents have been married nearly fifty years. I think they tell each other everything.”

  Kaitlyn found that hard to believe, but didn’t want to dissuade Quess. She seemed to enjoy the mystery, and it gave her something to do. The girl had said many times how boring it was spending the summer with her grandparents. At least Quess was able to leave the compound to go shopping with her grandmother, which seemed to make her happy. Kaitlyn secretly wished she was able to join them on their outings, if for no other reason than to see if the human world reminded her of who she had been.

  “Why don’t you come over for dinner sometime?” Quess asked, her eyes lit with excitement.

  “You know I don’t have to eat.” Kaitlyn continued down the path, watching leaves float to the ground as they fell from the trees.

  “If you wanted to you could, right?”

  “Yes, I can eat enough to pass me off as human if needed.” The words made her flinch. The computer side of her thought of humans as inferior, for they lacked the brain she possessed. The human side of her, however, longed to know more.

  “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, you will come over for dinner, and we can grill Nanny on your past,” Quess said.

  A part of Kaitlyn was curious to find out more about her past, but another part didn’t want to know. What good would it do to find out she had family and friends who thought she was dead? It wasn’t like she could just stroll back into her old life and start over. No, that life was dead and buried. It should stay that way.

  Shouldn’t it?

  “Does your grandmother know about our talks?” she asked.

  “Kaitlyn, I can’t believe you would ask that. We pinky promised, remember?”

  Kaitlyn smiled at the memory. For some reason, a pinky promise was very important to Quess. Kaitlyn had thought it was very strange at the time, but a feeling of warmth had come over her after the exchange.

  “I remember.”

  “How am I going to be a spy if I can’t even keep a simple promise? You can trust me, Kaitlyn. I know I’m just a kid, but my word means something.”

  “I like you, Quess. You are the only person to treat me like more than a robot. If it weren’t for your warning to keep my memories to myself, who knows what else they would have done to me. For that, you have my loyalty.”

  Quess smiled. “And you have mine. I’m sorry they did this to you, but I’m glad they saved your life. This summer would have really sucked without you around.”

  They continued their walk around the compound. After the sun faded completely, they said their good-byes, and Kaitlyn returned to the white walls of her room.

  Aware of how alone she was without Quess, Kaitlyn settled into bed for another dream-filled night.

  Chapter Five

  Lucas would rather be going anywhere else tonight, but he hadn’t been able to say no. Professor Adams insisted, and when that man got something in his head there was no changing it. He was like a bulldog with a bone.

  Lucas held up two shirts: a light blue oxford and a white oxford. He eyed them warily, lifting first one then the other up to the light. He wished he had someone to help him make these decisions. His cat, Domino, rubbed against his leg. “What do you think, Domino? Blue or white?” The cat purred.

  “A lot of help you are.”

  He could compute equations in his mind, but couldn’t decide what to wear. Ridiculous.

  Picking out a shirt shouldn’t be this difficult, he told himself. Hanging the white shirt back on the rack, he shrugged into the blue. He always wore white to work, so blue was the logical decision. He briefly thought of expanding his wardrobe, but since signing on with IFICS his social life had taken a back seat.

  Fumbling with the buttons, he wondered, What could be so important that Adams couldn’t talk to him tomorrow during work? Didn’t they see enough of each other as it was?

  He hoped there weren’t more big changes in store for Kaitlyn. Every time they did an upgrade, she became less and less human. They were robbing her of her life experiences—memories of old ones, and the pleasure in new ones—they were piece by piece removing her soul. Soon, all she would have left was the technology and not the person … if there was even anything left. After the first operation, she still smiled at him, still let out a half-amused breath when he tripped over the power cords. After the second upgrade, she stopped laughing. By the fifth, she stopped smiling entirely. Guilt washed over Lucas, and as hard as he tried to push it away, a permanent, low level of uneasiness stayed with him.

  It was an hour’s drive to the compound, which was ridiculous since it hadn’t even been an hour and a half since he’d left work. Yet here he was, headed back in the same direction. On the bright side, IFICS reimbursed him for mileage and gas.

  The job really was a dream come true, and IFICS did a lot for Lucas. Great pay, generous benefits, and work he loved. Seriously, what more could he ask for?

  If only his conscience hadn’t started to b
other him. Without knowing why he was doing it, Lucas had begun planning escape routes for Kaitlyn. He shook his head at the thought, gripping the steering wheel tighter and turning his knuckles white. He must be losing his mind.

  Every time he saw her, he wanted to whisk her away from the life she was headed toward. Hell, the life she was living. Who was he kidding? Knowing he was practically the mastermind behind morphing her into a cyborg, guilt wrenched his body. If it weren’t for his coding, they wouldn’t have been able to get as far as they had.

  He felt repulsed by himself; for what he had done, and for the fact that he was so drawn to her in her half human form.

  It didn’t help that she was gorgeous: those long legs, dark hair, athletic body, and incredible mind. It was the last one that made his heart trip up. God, she was so intelligent. The amount of information stored in her beautiful brain was mind-boggling. It was like she was a living, walking encyclopedia. In his eyes, she was perfection … at least until they kept stripping away who she had been little by little. Now she was an empty shell of what she had been.

  Lucas shook his head. He definitely had issues.

  He drove the rest of the way lost in his thoughts, and before he knew it, he saw familiar the sign: Private Property Trespassers Will Be Shot. The sign was not a joke. Lucas looked up and saw the silhouette of an armed guard patrolling the grounds. Well-trained guards stood on alert throughout the property, most of them ex-Special Forces and armed with the kind of weaponry that was probably illegal in seven countries. It was a constant reminder of the importance of the project.

  Dr. Harrington spared no expense. As a billionaire, he could pretty much do whatever the hell he wanted, which was how IFICS was formed. It wasn’t even an acronym; IFICS didn’t mean anything. Harrington’s dry sense of humor had thought it would be funny to name his company IFICS: Sci-fi backwards. Lucas smiled to himself. It was clever, he had to give him that.

  Harrington had always been obsessed with the future and advances in technology, not to mention his own desire to live forever. His company was on the cutting edge of science as far as anti-aging, and he had made tremendous gains in the field. IFICS was known for its nanobots, used to dramatically slow the process of aging. Harrington was sixty-three and barely looked forty, a modern miracle.

  However, Kaitlyn was the real dream. The secret project. Now that she was turning out to be a success, Harrington had started to get greedy. The eccentric man had begun to believe that cyborgs—like Kaitlyn—were the way of the future. He believed that in fifty years it would be normal; she would be normal, and so would thousands of other cyborgs living out their lives amongst the human populace. Lucas didn’t quite believe that, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

  He hadn’t seen the man in quite some time. Recently, Professor Adams had informed him Harrington was off in the rainforest hunting exotic wild animals or something equally as crazy. The man had a death wish, but fate always seemed to shine on his side. Some people were just lucky that way. A man with a death wish that wanted to live forever. Makes total sense, Lucas thought wryly.

  Of course, Harrington would have to return soon before the government bid on Kaitlyn. Lucas knew there was no chance he would miss his vision becoming a reality.

  Rolling his Jeep to a stop at the guard gate, he nodded to Sam, who had a high-powered rifle slung over his shoulder.

  “What are you doing back?”

  “I know, right? Adams called me back in. I’d just gotten home,” Lucas answered. He handed his pass to the burly guard, whose arms were as big as Lucas’s neck.

  Sam grunted and handed Lucas his ID. Nodding in thanks, he put his Jeep in drive and crept through the gated entry. Night had already fallen and a full moon hung high in the sky, giving the compound an eerie glow.

  Who would have thought that at only twenty he would have such a highly classified job? Certainly not his father, who hadn’t stayed around to see how Lucas turned out.

  Pushing the negative thoughts aside, Lucas drove toward the back of the compound. He pulled into a parking spot and jumped out. Professor Adams’s stone cottage stood off in the distance with a wisp of smoke billowing from the chimney, looking for all the world like an idyllic cottage in the countryside. Very out of place, but Harrington wanted Adams to live on the compound in case any issues arose. The cottage had been Mrs. Adams’s idea. She said if she was going to be stuck on the godforsaken compound, she might as well get her dream house, so Harrington had built it to her specifications. Harrington definitely took care of his own, he had to give him that.

  Lucas trudged forward across the well-manicured lawn and rang the doorbell. He just wanted the night to be over with.

  Mrs. Adams opened the door with a friendly smile, her white hair falling in loose curls around her face. It was obvious the woman had been a looker in her day, but time had taken a toll, deeply lining her oval face and high cheekbones. Her bright blue eyes, however, still sparkled with youthfulness.

  The Adams’s didn’t believe in the anti-aging treatments that IFICS had invented, but they were okay with turning a girl into half a human. People rarely made sense.

  “Come in, Lucas. So glad you could join us.” She stepped aside and allowed him to pass into the cottage. He could smell fresh baked bread cooking; the aroma was mouthwatering.

  “You look as lovely as ever, Mrs. Adams.”

  “Oh, you. Keep ’em coming. You know I’m a sucker for compliments.” She gave him an impish grin that took years off her face.

  A stone fireplace sat to the right, lit with flames. Knickknacks covered the worn wooden shelves that lined both sides. From the look of the shelves, the mantle, and end tables, Mrs. Adams collected angels and porcelain bears. A worn leather couch and two rocking chairs filled the small room. He smiled at the sight of the brightly colored rug in front of the fireplace, which reminded him of one his mother had made by hand many years ago. His mother’s didn’t turn out quite as nice, but at least she tried. His mom always tried.

  “Dinner is almost ready,” Mrs. Adams said sweetly. “I made roast. I hope that’s okay with you. You’re not vegetarian, are you? If so, I can whip something up.”

  “Roast is fine. Thank you, it smells amazing.” He’d had no idea he was coming for dinner; he had thought it was just a last minute meeting with the professor. The sound of his stomach rumbling reminded him he hadn’t eaten since lunch, so a home cooked dinner was a welcome surprise.

  “Take off your jacket and join the rest of us in the sitting room.”

  Lucas shrugged out of his jacket and wondered who ‘the rest of us’ were. He hoped he wasn’t being ambushed with some crazy upgrade by the professor. They were too close to make drastic changes now.

  Mrs. Adams took his jacket and walked away to hang it in a nearby closet.

  “Follow me.” Smiling, she led him down a narrow hallway lined with black and white photographs.

  He almost stumbled over his own feet when he saw Kaitlyn sitting on a floral loveseat next to the Adams’s granddaughter.

  What is Kaitlyn doing here?

  Kaitlyn looked up and caught his gaze. Suddenly, he felt like a lovesick teenager. His heart raced, and his mouth felt dry and refused to cooperate; he needed to say something, but nothing would come out. She literally took his breath away.

  She sat at the edge of the loveseat holding a glass of water. The white dress she was wearing was entirely too revealing. Her long legs were pressed together and tilted to the side. He could see the coding scroll through her calves, and he had to force himself to look away. He searched the room until his eyes settled on a painting in the corner. It was black, red, and white, and he had no idea what it was supposed to depict. It looked like a bunch of paint splatters to him, but something told him it was worth a fortune.

  “Lucas, I’m so glad you could join us tonight,” Professor Adams said, offering a hand. “My wife has been dying to have you as a dinner guest for some time.”

  “A dinner gues
t?” Lucas sputtered, shaking his superior’s hand. “I thought you had to see me about work.”

  The elder man tutted. “My dear boy. Sometimes work needs to be set aside, and we just need to enjoy one another’s company.”

  Lucas felt like he was being set up, but he had no idea why. What could Adam’s possibly want with him?

  Chapter Six

  What is he doing here? Tearing her eyes away from Lucas, she glanced at Quess.

  Kaitlyn stared blankly at the girl, but Quess just smiled innocently back. Kaitlyn had a feeling Quess had known all along. She really was good at keeping secrets.

  She should have told her that Lucas was coming for dinner … not that it would have made a difference. She was interested in seeing him outside of the clinical environment.

  Taking a deep breath, Kaitlyn composed herself. She could do this. After all, it was just dinner. Lucas had no idea of her hidden desire to rip his clothes off and trail her lips up the length of his body. She felt heat rush to her face, but her system quickly regulated it.

  He looked even more attractive than usual tonight. The light blue button-up matched his eyes—making them stand out even more—and was unbuttoned at the top, revealing a white T-shirt underneath. His khaki pants hung loosely at his hips and stretched over his muscular thighs. Kaitlyn absently wondered when he had time to work out, since he seemed to always be at the lab.

  Lucas shifted from one foot to the other, a sign that he was uncomfortable. He seemed just as shocked to see her as she was to see him. He shoved his hands in his pockets, but quickly pulled them out, as if he was unsure what to do with his hands.

  His gaze settled on her as he said, “Kaitlyn, it’s nice to see you here. I didn’t know you visited the Adams’s home.”

  His rich, deep voice sent a strange feeling down her spine. It was almost as if a chill were in the air, even though the fireplace ensured the room was a warm seventy-eight degrees, according to Kaitlyn’s internal thermometer.

  The sensations Lucas caused within her were confusing, and she was unable to process the meaning. When she scanned her mind, it came up blank. Yet again, proof that computers don’t know everything, she thought, slightly annoyed.