Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she stumbled back, losing her footing. Had they caused her to malfunction remotely? Closing her eyes, she tried to steady herself, to wait for the dizziness to pass.

  Instead, like a tidal wave, her memories came crashing back.

  It was too much. She wanted to grab the sides of her head and scream, but as images flashed through her mind and emotions spun her around, she breathed deeply and pulled herself back up the slope. She had to keep moving.

  Memories of a young girl streamed through her mind. A young, dark-haired girl stood outside in a raincoat and yellow boots, waiting for the bus. She turned and smiled at a woman with dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes. It hit Kaitlyn that the woman was probably her mother, and the girl Kaitlyn herself. The next flash was her, slightly older, sitting cross-legged under a Christmas tree. A tall, slim man with curly blond hair and grey eyes handed her a wrapped box. The girl squealed when she opened up the box, finding ice skates, and threw her arms around the man. “Daddy!”

  Daddy. The man was her father. He was wearing a red sweater with a snowman on it. His jaw was chiseled, and his eyes were the same color as her own.

  Keep moving. The influx of memories weakened her. She wanted to drop to the ground, curl into a ball, and wait for it to stop, but her pursuers could be gaining on her. Lucas had given her a chance, and she wasn’t going to let him down.

  She seemed happy as a child. She laughed and smiled a lot. Athletic; she raced horses, played soccer, practiced karate, surfed, and later, rock climbed.

  Kaitlyn ran faster in the shadows of the trees, pushing herself. Keep moving.

  And then she was a teenager. School and parties. Boyfriends, dances, and kisses. She gasped when she saw Evan for the first time. His blond hair was shorter, but his green eyes sparkled just like in her dreams. They walked arm in arm through a park, so natural and happy together. He turned and kissed her. Kaitlyn couldn’t help but wonder if his kisses made her feel the way Lucas’s had.

  She almost tripped over a large root when the next image flashed in front of her vision. Okay, so she definitely wasn’t a virgin. One mystery solved, as Quess would say. Just seeing the images of her and Evan naked and entwined together on a twin bed made her temperature start to climb, but her sensors quickly regulated her body.

  More memories crashed through, like watching home movies. Kaitlyn’s breath caught in her throat when the memories started to dim and she was walking by herself. She finally understood the meaning of the hairs standing up on the back of one’s neck. Tensing, she came to an abrupt stop.

  She was about to see something really bad, she could feel it. It was as if she were back in her old body and feeling what she had felt at the time.

  In her mind, she watched herself cross Washington Blvd, the main street of her town. She’d done it a thousand times over her lifetime. She paused at the center line, waiting for a truck to pass. Mr. Freeman from the bakery smiled and waved from the driver’s seat. She hurried across the street and turned down Lance Drive, a shortcut that would get her home faster. It was a moonless night, and the streetlights gave off an eerie glow. That’s when she heard it: a woman screaming, begging for someone to stop.

  In her memory, Kaitlyn froze momentarily, but then jumped to action. Whipping out a cell phone, she dialed nine-one-one and in a hushed voice told the operator a woman was being attacked. She gave the street, and clicked off the line. Kaitlyn ran up the hill in the direction of the screams, which had softened into muffled whimpers.

  She spun around, searching. It took her a few moments to realize the sounds were coming from behind a large dumpster. Kaitlyn gasped when she saw a man on top of a woman, her clothes ripped and face bloody. The man was too intent on the woman to notice Kaitlyn approaching.

  She glanced around, searching for something to use as a weapon. A metal pole was sticking out of the dumpster, so she pulled it out, trying to be quiet. Kaitlyn grasped the pole like a baseball bat and swung as hard as she could at the man’s back.

  “What the hell?” he screamed as he slumped forward, grabbing his back.

  “Help me,” the woman begged, mascara running down her cheeks. “Please.”

  “Get off her, asshole.” Kaitlyn’s hands shook as she held the metal weapon.

  The guy ignored her and kept slamming himself into the defenseless woman as if having Kaitlyn watching turned him on even more.

  “Get off her!” She drew back again and smashed him on the head.

  That caught his attention. He jerked up, stumbling away from the prone woman. “Bitch.” Blood trickled down the side of his face. He pulled his jeans up, but left himself hanging out.

  Kaitlyn spared a look at the woman; she was frozen in fear.

  The man turned and faced Kaitlyn, completely exposing himself and yelling, “You want some of this?”

  Kaitlyn refused to look down. She swung, but the man blocked it and grabbed the pole from her. Kaitlyn took off in a sprint, but he was faster.

  He tackled her to the ground and pushed his pants down. His naked body pressed to hers while her face was shoved into the pavement. “You like it hard? I’ll give you pain.”

  He roughly rolled her around and climbed on top of her.

  “No!” Kaitlyn screamed, shoving a hand in his face.

  He grabbed her arms and pinned her down with one hand, and punched her in the face with the other. “Not so tough now, are you?”

  He paused, hearing sirens wail outside of the alley.

  “I called the cops, jackass,” Kaitlyn spat.

  He jumped to his feet, pulled up his jeans, and kicked her several times in the side. Searing pain shot through Kaitlyn, sending black spots across her vision. When he jerked her to her feet, she lashed out, scratching his face.

  The man howled, “You stupid bitch!”

  He shoved her hard, throwing her to the ground. Her head slammed against the sidewalk. Everything started to fade, and the last thing she saw was a bright white light.

  The next thing in Kaitlyn’s memories were of her eyes fluttering open and seeing Lucas’s exhausted eyes staring at her by her hospital bed.

  So that was how she had died.

  “She’s awake!” he yelled.

  Nurses and doctors. Then several flashes of Lucas reading to her, helping her walk, and brushing her hair. He really was with her the whole time …

  Kaitlyn shook her head as the memories came to an end, and she could hear movement. She didn’t know how long she’d been stopped, but at least she was hidden in the shadows.

  Shaken to the core by the return of her memories, she shook her head, trying to regain momentum. She needed to keep moving or they would close in on her soon.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lucas looked up from his computer, as if he had been concentrating on something important, when Harrington stormed into the room. The man’s face was dark red, a vein pulsed on his forehead, and he had balled his hands into fists. The door slammed behind him. “How the hell did this happen?”

  “It was always a risk,” Lucas said evenly, carefully composing his face into a calm expression. “Why else would we have armed guards, and keep her under lock and key if we didn’t see this as a possibility? You give someone that much technology …” Lucas leaned back in his chair and frowned, rubbing his temples. “She must have felt threatened. She is programmed to react to threats. We should be glad she ran instead of killing everyone in the room.”

  That silenced Harrington. He shoved his hands in his pockets and gazed out the window, his eyes distant, lost in his own thoughts. “Dammit!” he burst out. “We need to get her back. Why isn’t her GPS working? What the hell is the use of all this technology if it’s not even going to work? You realize it would be the end for all of us if the media got ahold of this story, right?”

  “With the extensive nondisclosure forms you made us sign, we were well aware of that potential when we took the job.” Lucas leaned forward and tapped
on the keyboard. “I’m not sure what’s going on. Look at this … the signal shows her still in her room.”

  Harrington came around the desk and stared at the screen over his shoulder. “Could she be back?”

  Lucas didn’t answer.

  “Do you think she was smart enough to reprogram the system to throw us off? Could she have had access to the programs?”

  Pushing his seat back, Lucas stood up. “You know, I bet that is exactly what happened. I never thought of that. She certainly has enough knowledge stored in her database.”

  “We made her too well,” Harrington mused bitterly.

  “It could just be a glitch. As you know, computers are not fail proof.” Or maybe I helped her escape, Lucas thought wryly.

  Ever since he had sounded the alarm, Lucas had been a nervous wreck. In order to keep suspicion away from him, he had to be the one to notify the guards about her escape. After seeing her off into the night, he sounded the alarm.

  He had to hide a smile. For Kaitlyn, getting off the compound would have only taken minutes.

  Hopefully he had done enough to keep him in the clear.

  According to the initial reports, she’d managed to evade the security team so far. At one point, they were on her trail, but lost her. Not even for a second did he doubt her ability to evade capture. He was more worried what would happen once she tried to blend in with civilians.

  Harrington paced the room. The burly man looked like he was about to blow a fuse. “I am supposed to renegotiate the terms of the hand off with the Secretary of Defense. Tomorrow. How in the hell am I going to explain we’ve lost the package?”

  Lucas knew Harrington would find a way. He always did.

  “You could call and tell them you have to push back the negotiations due to a conflicting schedule,” Lucas suggested.

  Harrington swiveled and stared at Lucas like he’d lost his mind. “Son, we are talking about the United States Government. They wait for no one.”

  “Well, then tell them you are having second thoughts and need more time. This is, after all, a huge commitment for IFICS.”

  The usually calm and collected Harrington growled with frustration, and angrily swiped the pen holder across the desk. It clattered to the ground, pens rolling across the white tile floor. “It looks like I don’t have a choice.”

  Lucas ignored the outburst and went back to his computer. Without another word, Harrington left the room. Of course, he didn’t bother to pick up his mess.

  By now, Lucas thought, Kate had access to her memories. He wondered how she handled seeing the traumatic experience that landed her in the hands of IFICS. If only they had more time together before she left, he could have helped her through it.

  She was all alone.

  God, he wished he could be there for her. No one should have to remember what she went through. He should have told her the police caught the bastard thanks to the DNA they had pulled from under Kaitlyn’s nails. If he ever saw her again, he would make sure she knew she saved other women from being attacked. Not that it would give back the life she lost that night. However, her old life was over; she wouldn’t have lived on like she had without Lucas and IFICS.

  Professor Adams burst through the door, his hangdog face exhausted. He crossed the room, his loafers silent on the tiles, and settled at the desk across from Lucas. Leaning forward on his elbows, he caught Lucas’s eye. “Do you know something about her escape?”

  Lucas’s hand stopped mid-air before he hit the next keystroke. “I can’t believe you just asked me that.”

  The professor sighed and threw his hands up in the air. “I’ve gone over it a thousand times, Lucas. There is no way she could have gotten out without help.” His face hardened and his eyes narrowed at Lucas. “I talked to the guards, and they said you’ve been spending time with her after work.”

  “Of course I didn’t help her,” Lucas said angrily, his heart pounding. “I think you know how important this job is to me. I’ve given everything to this company.” He was surprised at how easily the lies rolled off his tongue.

  Professor Adams pushed his glasses back up his nose, shaking his head sadly. “I’ve seen the way you look at her, Lucas. She seems to have gotten to Quess, too. If you know anything that can help us get her back, you need to tell me. It’s not safe out there for her. She needs to be in a controlled environment.”

  “It’s not exactly safe in here for her, either!” Lucas couldn’t stop the words from coming, and once they were out, he gritted his teeth.

  “What are you saying, Lucas?”

  Lucas’s gaze automatically flicked to the security camera in the corner of the ceiling, pointed directly at him. “Look, okay. Yes, she got to me,” Lucas said, “and yes, I liked her. But I didn’t help her escape. If I knew where she was, I would tell you. I honestly have no idea. She could be anywhere. After all, she is programmed to be evasive and avoid capture.” It was mostly the truth, though Lucas would have said anything to protect her.

  The professor waited a beat and remarked, “We could shut her down.”

  Lucas’s heart slammed against his chest. Adams wouldn’t seriously do that. He couldn’t. “If we shut her down, she’ll die.”

  “But she wouldn’t be a danger to anyone. If news of a cyborg came out, and that she—a lethal, tactical machine—was loose in the general population, that would be it. We would all be done. Sent to jail. I’m too old for prison. Don’t for a second think that we wouldn’t be the fall guys for this debacle. The Department of Defense would point at us and cover their asses.”

  “We knew the risk when we accepted the job,” Lucas stated through clenched teeth. “If we shut her down, then who knows who would find her with the GPS off-line? And I don’t think Harrington would approve of his hundreds of millions of dollars and technology being thrown away like that.”

  Adams glanced around the lab. As the heating unit clicked on, he stood and came to sit in a chair nearer to Lucas. In a low voice, he said, “You could convince Harrington. He trusts your judgment. If you told him it was the best course of action, he would listen.”

  “Forget it. Just give the security team time. I’m sure they can bring her back in.”

  Adams laughed bitterly. “We both know there is not a chance in hell they can capture her.”

  Truer words had never been spoken. They would know since they were the ones who made her.

  “I’ll speak to Harrington myself.” Adams dropped his head. He looked older than usual, weary, as if the life was being sucked out of him with every passing second Kaitlyn was gone.

  “I wouldn’t bother. Harrington is well aware of the options. It will just piss him off. Let him make up his own mind.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Adams said. “Perhaps I should just take off. Lord knows I’ve got enough money saved after all of my years here. I’m too old for prison. I have my wife and Quess to think about.”

  “Don’t do anything rash,” Lucas told him. “Just give it time to unfold. If it looks like the authorities are going to come after us, then you can act. Get your affairs in order, but hold steady for now.”

  “Such a smart young lad you are, Lucas. I’ll just stay the course for now. However, the first sign of things going south …”

  “I don’t blame you.” Lucas stood up and walked over to the coffee pot to refill his mug. He was tired and knew sleep would not come any time soon.

  Keep running, Kate, and don’t look back.

  “Where would she go? We should be able to figure it out. After all, we programmed her,” Adams said thoughtfully. “Perhaps we can outthink her and lead a team to her.”

  Lucas took a sip of his coffee and tried to come up with a response. Maybe he could throw them off her trail, but he really had no idea where she would go. Adams wasn’t aware she had feelings and now had access to her old memories. Would she return to her old home? Lucas didn’t think so. At least not right away.

  “I have no idea where she would go. It c
ould be a huge city that she could meld into, or find a cave in the middle of the woods. I’m afraid none of us can think like Kaitlyn even if we did program her. Her software is so advanced our minds couldn’t begin to keep up.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Adams grumbled under his breath. “I just wish we could find a way to fix this disaster, before it comes back to haunt us.”

  Taking another sip of his coffee, Lucas remained silent.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The sun was starting to rise. Kaitlyn had managed to evade capture on two different occasions. For now, she was in the clear.

  Her internal clock informed her she was only twenty-three minutes from civilization if she kept the same pace. The thought brought a sense of relief, along with a pang of fear, and she anxiously tugged her sleeves down to her wrists. Even though the clothes covered her irregularities, she still felt self-conscious. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to pull off being human. What if people could tell just by looking at her that she wasn’t normal?

  She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of strange new world lay ahead. Would she ever be able to find her place in it?

  Once she got into town, she had no idea where she was going, and for the first time, she started to doubt the plan that had been set in motion. Life perpetually on the run didn’t sound much better than her previous existence. After a scan of the area to confirm there were no threats nearby, just the normal scurrying of animals, Kaitlyn dropped to the ground and rummaged through the bag. What exactly had Lucas packed away for her?

  He had been planning her escape for a while, it seemed. A driver’s license, passport, and a lot of cash. Kaitlyn studied the driver’s license: Sarah Granger. So she was supposed to start over with a new name. Sarah. She played the name over in her mind, and decided she didn’t like it at all. The ID had an address in Colorado. Maybe that’s where she should go.

  As she pulled out a navy baseball cap and glasses, she was impressed. Frank had drilled in her head that it was the little details that mattered the most. The props would help her blend in, become invisible.