The Pretenders

by Rebecca Hanover

  “And love? And compassion?” Theodora says quietly. “And self-esteem and resourcefulness?”

  “He gave us plenty of that,” Levi quips. “We’re nothing if not resourceful, because we’ve had to be. But the rest. Theodora’s right. You raised us via your twisted template, to be your warriors. Your soldiers—not your children.”

  “An opportunity most people would kill for. You have every possible future at your fingertips. Top colleges. The best careers. You are the true legacies at Darkwood. You are the better versions of your originals. If only you’d see it the way I do.”

  “But we don’t!” Maude argues. “Don’t you understand, old man? We don’t care about accomplishments and fame and money, and we certainly don’t approve of your sick scheme to replace all these families, to get the ultimate revenge. Because that’s what this is, isn’t it? Revenge, plain and simple.”

  Gravelle begins pulling a holographic keyboard out of thin air, and within seconds, he’s typing commands into it.

  “Pru almost died because Tessa felt the need to take revenge on her,” Theodora says, all the while watching Gravelle. My pulse pounds, reacting to his cold silence. I can only imagine what he’s doing with those commands. It can’t be good. “I’ve done your bidding my entire life. You can torture me or terminate me, I don’t care. This is where it ends. I won’t do it anymore.”

  Gravelle keys in a final command, then turns to Theodora, surveying her. “This rebellion of yours causes me a lot of suffering, Thea. You may not acknowledge it, but I have loved you for the past seventeen years as though you were my own. And now, you’ve given me no choice. That was the activation command I keyed in, for the stealth virus. It will momentarily begin invading your cells, and I’m afraid there’s no antidote. I’m distraught that things had to come to this, but if I were to let you get away with this reckless display, I’d be sending a dangerous message to the others. I’m sorry, Theodora.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Theodora says. “I bet you wanted to build this virus into our DNA, but you never found out how. You would have needed your brother’s help. And from what I can tell, Albert Seymour was never on board with any of this. He’s a scientist with a moral compass. Which is a lot more than I can say about you.”

  “Believe what you want.” Gravelle shrugs.

  “I will. And I’m calling your bluff,” Theodora continues. “Look at me. I’m completely fine.” Theodora addresses all of us, and she has a point; she does look fine. She hasn’t fallen to the ground like Ransom did that day in the dining hall, seizing. Still, I worry she’s taken this too far. Gravelle meant what he said. I have no doubt he would do it; he doesn’t love us. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word.

  “Enjoy the feeds, and the snacks,” Gravelle barks. “I’ll return shortly.” He walks out, conferring with his guards, who have brought out plates of food. We don’t even touch the snacks. Eventually, we’ll get hungry enough, and we’ll have no choice. But for now, we huddle around Theodora. Is she feeling okay? Is she too hot? Too cold? Feverish?

  “I’m fine,” she insists. But none of us are convinced. We have no idea what we’re dealing with. The virus could hit her immediately or in several hours. And either way, it’s a grim thought. We’re all too aware of the guards at the door, watching us. Maude, Jago, and the others begin a rapid-fire conversation in Portuguese, the language they speak to each other when they don’t want anyone else to understand them. It’s a smart move now, since the guards likely don’t speak it.

  “We have to find them,” I tell Levi and Pru, hearing the desperation in my own voice. “Ollie, my dad, and the others. Then get to the boats and leave.” It’s simple, really. And also more complex than anything we’ve undertaken. Where are they? How will we release them when we’re captives ourselves?

  Everyone starts talking over each other, but I let their voices wash over me, not listening to any one of their conversations. It all becomes noise, and I get lost in my thoughts of Ollie. Where is he? That’s when I’m hit with an idea.

  It’s a tiny shred of hope in what feels like a hopeless situation. I turn and go, walking to the wall with wide windows at the top and staring out at the hint of blue I can see from where I stand.

  I couldn’t read Gravelle’s mind, but he is the exception, isn’t he? And I’ve read Ollie’s thoughts before, back at Darkwood. More than once. I know it’s a long shot because he could be anywhere on this compound. I’ll have to concentrate as hard as I can on reaching his mind, without having him near me. There’s no guarantee it will work, but I pray that it might.

  Ollie, I think. If you’re here, somewhere on this island. It’s me. Emma. I miss you like peanut butter misses banana, on that sandwich you shared with me back in third grade, when you took a chance and sat next to the new girl at lunch.

  Nothing. I let out a breath, trying to get into that meditative state my father’s psychologist used to lecture me about. Come on, Ollie! If you’re alive… I suck in a breath that nearly chokes me but force myself to push through the pain. Let me in. I need to help you. This is your only shot, unless you’ve discovered time travel and have sent yourself back to third grade. Then maybe you’re on to something.

  I pause.

  Another simulation. When is this gonna end? I don’t wanna see that twisted version of my childhood again.

  I gasp. What was that? A thought. It was definitely a thought. Another one comes. And then another, flooding my brain in a stream of consciousness, fading in and out, but definitely there. And definitely real.

  So much worse than it was last year. If we ever get out of here…

  It’s Ollie’s thoughts I’m hearing. I’m sure of it. These thoughts sound like Ollie. Which means he must be alive, and that in itself is a miracle.

  If Emma ever finds us…

  It’s him. I’m one hundred percent sure of it now. He’s alive. Thank God.

  Okay, Ollie. I hear you. Come on. Tell me where you are.

  I close my eyes, willing him to say more, to think more.

  Ninety-one freaking days and counting—

  Oh, God. I’d suspected he was replaced over Christmas break, but hearing it spelled out like that…

  Colin, dude, you’ve gotta try harder. I know you’re worried about Emma—

  Colin. I almost gasp again. My dad. He’s with Ollie. I feel myself tensing, concentrating harder than I ever have in my life. Please, Ollie, give me a clue. Something.

  This cage is sick. Trapped here, no windows. One meal a day… We’re all freaking losing it… Everyone’s so skinny… I’m gonna get this all on film and send that bastard straight to prison.

  A cage? What cage? Where is there a cage on this island? It’s somewhere without windows…

  I spin around to face my friends. I don’t run. The last thing I want to do is catch the attention of the guards. I approach Levi deliberately. Of all of us, he knows this island the best.

  “A cage,” I whisper to him. “A place on this compound without windows. It’s where Ollie and the others are. Where could that be?”

  I watch Levi’s expression morph from confusion to recognition. “There’s a lab on the second floor. Strictly off-limits. There might be a cage there—I’m not sure.”

  It’s the best lead we have. The only lead.

  “Ollie and the parents,” I exhort my friends under my breath. “They might be in the lab on the second floor. It’s a windowless cage. Get everyone to the boats. Go.”

  Before I’ve even processed what’s happening, Ansel and Pippa have kicked two of the guards to the ground in a surprise attack. One guard’s gun goes flying, shooting into the air. Jago grabs it and points it at the third guard’s head. Which gives Maude and Theodora an opening to pound open the door to the room. “Go,” Theodora orders me and Levi. “We’ll find you. Just go!”

  I’m torn; I don’t want to leave
my friends. What if more guards show up with more guns? They’d be outnumbered. But Theodora’s right. Levi and I need to find Ollie and the others as fast as we can. Conflicted, we run. Tears streaking down my face, adrenaline pumping, I blindly follow Levi down the first hall, and as he rounds corner after corner. Then he stops for a beat, abruptly, trying to work something out in his mind.

  “What’s wrong?” I take in a breath. Levi concentrates, then starts moving again, this time walking rather than running. I match his footsteps. We don’t hear any guards. I pray that they aren’t on our tails.

  “I was confused at first, but now…” Levi reaches for my hand, and I accept it, a thrill going up my spine that’s a mix of fear, adrenaline, and yes, longing. We jog together, measured at first, then increasing our pace. “Emma, I don’t think we’re on Castor Island.”

  “Um, did you get knocked in the head when I wasn’t looking?”

  “The layout of the halls. It took me a bit to figure it out.” We reach a stairwell and start tackling the steps, going up two at a time.

  “Figure what out?”

  That’s when an alarm sounds. It’s jarring and earsplittingly loud. I tense, assuming it’s an alert to the guards that we’ve gotten away.

  Levi sucks in a breath. “All of the rooms here look exactly like the ones on Castor Island,” he explains. “But now that we’re in the halls, it’s clear—the layout is reversed.”

  “Reversed? How? Like a mirror image of Castor Island’s floor plan?”

  “Exactly,” Levi says as I follow him to the metal door at the end of the stairwell. “Look. The training quarters should be that way, but based on what I’ve seen in the last five minutes, they’re likely that way.” He points to the right, and that’s the way we run. “It’s so obvious to me now, I can’t believe I’m only just realizing it. We’re not on Castor Island. We’re on its twin. Pollux.”

  Rescue

  We’re nearing the hallway that will lead us to this windowless section of the compound, the one Levi believes is the “cage” Ollie was referring to. I’m still reeling from Levi’s revelation about Pollux.

  “We never knew about this other island, the entire time we were growing up,” Levi explains.

  “But when we were on the helicopter,” I protest, still disbelieving. “Wouldn’t we have seen two islands?”

  “Not necessarily. It would depend on the approach the copter took.” We stop in front of a stark metal door boasting a steering-wheel type mechanism. It’s essentially a glorified doorknob, but a lot more complex-looking. This is one knob our Darkwood keys won’t open. “I guess once Gravelle was done raising us on Castor, he moved his operations here, to Pollux, to create and train the Duplicates.”

  “Do you think Castor’s empty, then?”

  “Maybe.” Levi shrugs, trying to make the wheel turn, but with no luck. We hear voices and footsteps behind us. Panicked, we dart toward some nearby equipment and are about to duck behind it when I realize who’s here. Pippa, Maude, Ansel, Theodora, and Pru. They all look uninjured, even Theodora. With a rush of relief, I run straight to them.

  “You got past the guards,” I say. “Where’s Jago?”

  I have to yell over the alarm to be heard. It’s a deafening sound.

  “Two more guards showed up, and he took one for the team,” Maude shouts back. She gets to work trying to pry open the door. “This must use a combination… Dammit!” she cries out, more rattled than usual. But of course she is; Jago didn’t make it out of that room.

  “He’s…” I’m afraid to ask.

  “Injected,” Maude informs me.

  I let out a breath. Not dead, but indisposed. Stuck in Gravelle’s portal. I’ve been there before; I was there last year. I know how terrifying those simulations can be. And now Jago’s suffering through them.

  Theodora explains that Jago took a hit, but the rest of them managed to escape the room. With one Similar fighting two guards each, they made it out, grabbing a gun and shooting one of the guards in the leg.

  “Where’s the gun now?” I shout.

  “Here.” Ansel holds it up gingerly. I shudder at the sight of the gleaming metal weapon that holds so much destructive power. I know it’s necessary though; if they’re armed, we have to be too. Even with our super strength, we can’t be weaponless. Who knows how many guns the guards have stored up or how long this fight may go on.

  “By the way, we’re not on Castor.” Levi starts to explain, but Pippa interrupts him.

  “We know already! So this is Pollux?”

  There’s no need to confirm, and no time. Ansel and Maude begin pounding on the metal door, shouting Ollie’s name, and my dad’s. Why hadn’t Levi and I thought of that? If Ollie and my dad and the others are inside, maybe there’s a chance they’ll open the door.

  I feel myself holding my breath as we all join in. Ansel and Pippa grab a nearby table and try ramming it into the door, attempting to knock it down with their excessive strength. But it doesn’t budge. The alarm’s still blaring, threatening to drown out our cries. “We’re here,” we shout, offering reassurance. “Not the guards. It’s us. Maude, Theodora, Ansel, Pippa, Pru, Levi, and Emma!” But with each passing second, a lump forms in my throat. If I was wrong about this, and we’re no closer to rescuing them, and we’ve pissed off Gravelle with our stunt…

  That’s when the door wrenches open.

  Two guards stand in the entryway, aiming their guns right at us. One’s on his comm device, alerting Gravelle that we’re here.

  But I’m not focused on the guards—I’m standing on tiptoe, straining to see around them. And what I do see guts me. Behind them is a truly grim sight.

  It is a cage. A cross between a pen, where farm animals are held, and an enclosure that’s part prison, part zoo. It’s dimly lit inside, and there’s something dirty about it, but institutional at the same time. Sleek equipment lines the upper walls, where windows are noticeably absent. There is no natural light in this room at all. I gasp as I take in the full scene in front of me; it’s like nothing I’ve ever witnessed before. Figures lie propped up against the cement-block walls, and a literal cage—like the bars of a jail cell—encloses the entire space.

  I scan the faces of the people on the ground in desperation, looking for my loved ones. I see originals, including Jake and Archer, as well as some of the DNA parents. They look lifeless and emaciated. My stomach roils with nausea.

  Ollie, is all I can think. Dad. Where is he? Where are they? Where’s Jane?

  “Gravelle sent us down here to visit our originals,” Maude sweet talks one of the guards, or tries to, anyway, over the still-blaring sound of the alarm. “He wants us to see exactly why we’re so much better than them. So much stronger and smarter.”

  “Lies,” answers a guard, his finger trembling on the trigger of his gun. Before he can press it, Levi kicks the gun out of his grasp and tackles the guard. All hell breaks loose as Theodora, Ansel, and Maude take on the second one.

  I rush past them, through the doorway to the perimeter of the room, scanning the bodies lying there. Their mouths are duct-taped, their wrists handcuffed to the metal bars of their cage. Every single DNA parent and original wears some kind of regulation burlap shirt and pants, tied at the waist with string. They’re barefoot and thin, lying on coarse mats on the hard floor. I have to bite my lip so I don’t get sick; Gravelle’s been treating them like animals all these months. Worse. All I want to do is release them, but I can’t. I’m not inside the cage, but merely on the outskirts of it. I couldn’t free them if I wanted to.

  Beside me, Maude is trying to pry the bars apart with her extraordinary strength, but they don’t move. She’s strong, but not strong enough to bend the thick metal.

  “Emma!” I hear Maude scream. I glance behind me just in time to see three guards charging me. Maude’s warning doesn’t come soon enough. They grab m
e.

  I struggle against them, but it’s no use; I can’t fight them all off. The next thing I know, a gun’s being fired, two of the guards release me, and Pippa charges the third, who lets go of my arm. I flee, toward the far end of the cage.

  “Emma?” says a voice. I squint into the dimly lit pen and see him standing there in front of me, wearing that same burlap uniform and gripping the bars of the cage from the inside, his eyes looking unfocused and confused.

  It’s him. It’s really Ollie.

  If I could, I’d fling my arms around him, not caring about anything but feeling him, solid, for the first time in months. He looks so frail, like he’s barely eaten the last hundred days. My eyes roam over his face, that familiar face that’s been my lifeline since we were kids. “I thought I’d lost you again.” I choke out the words. I can’t believe he’s here, in front of me. Our only barrier is those bars.

  “You didn’t,” he whispers, his eyes glistening with tears. I feel our connection even as the world falls to pieces around us. “You won’t. Ever.”

  “Promise?” I breathe.

  “Promise.”

  “I’ve got the keys,” Levi shouts gruffly over the wail of the alarm, forcing me to wrest my eyes from Ollie’s face. Levi runs to where I stand and begins fiddling with the padlock on the cage. “Glad you’re all right, brother,” Levi says, working hard on the lock. At the sound of that word—brother—I feel a pang of remorse, acutely aware of last night, and how Levi and I spent it together. I flush deep in my bones at the memory of it. Of how he made me feel. When Ollie’s been in this cage, suffering so much. When I love him too. Maybe not in the same way. But I do.

  There’s no time to acknowledge what’s happened or anything except this moment right now, getting out of here alive. Levi’s opened the cage, and we rush inside to tend to as many of the DNA parents as we can. I scan the ground for my father—is he here? Everyone’s so emaciated, it’s hard to distinguish who’s who. I gasp when I notice Frederica Leroy, usually so sophisticated, languishing on the ground, incapacitated next to Tessa, who is equally thin and unresponsive.