by Leigh Walker
Finn didn’t move. “I have never once questioned your authority, and I’ve followed every one of your orders—except about the phone call, and that’s because I was helping my friend. I’ve even done the things I don’t agree with, sir. But this isn’t necessary. Riley had questions—”
“I said get in—”
“—and because of the issues with her file, she needed answers. It’s not fair—”
I jumped into the cell and pulled the bars across. “I should be punished, sir. I violated your direct order. But Finn didn’t do anything except be a friend. He has nothing to do with this.”
“He has everything to do with this.” Cranston pulled the door open and pushed Finn inside next to me. Then he pulled the bars back across and locked the door. He took a step back, the light from his phone illuminating his face. Shadows bounced in his wrinkles and crags, making him look menacing. Maybe the fact that I hated him in this moment made him look intimidating and ugly. Or maybe it was that he’d just locked us in a jail cell in a deserted prison.
“I will be back for you later, soldiers.” Cranston headed down the hall, taking the light with him. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
I started crying immediately. Some soldier I was going to make. “I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t be in here with me. You were just trying to help, and look at the mess I got you into.”
“It’s okay.” In the darkness, Finn groped for my hand. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I should’ve known your monitor would go off, and he’d track us down. That conversation was too upsetting, and then Kyan bailed… Of course we were going to get dragged in.”
“What’s going to happen to Kyan?” I tried to focus on our conversation, not on the fact that the cell was pitch black and God-only-knew-what could be crawling around us.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I told you he was an asshat. I can’t believe he tried to rip out his own monitor. He’s dumber than I thought.” He almost sounded amused.
“I hope he’s going to be okay.” I shivered. “Because we’re not.”
“Listen.” Finn squeezed my hands. “Nothing bad is going to happen to us right now. I mean, this is bad, but we’re safe. Anything Cranston does to us is military standard. He’s not going to kill us, maim us, or leave us here to go insane. I mean, not forever.”
“So you agree with what he’s doing?”
“I didn’t say that. I’m trying to explain that even though this seems crazy, Cranston won’t do anything to hurt us—er, kill us. Actually, he’ll probably definitely hurt us, but he can’t kill us.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Finn didn’t answer my question. He simply held my hand in the dark.
“Before he comes back, I want to understand what my mother said. She said they got me from The Division, but that they had to give me back, that ‘I was always theirs’—The Division’s. What the heck does that mean?”
“You sure you want to talk about this now?”
“In case you’re wrong and Cranston’s going to kill us, yes please. I would like some answers.”
He sighed deeply then didn’t say anything for a full minute. “Your family got you the same way my mother got me: through a government adoption process.”
I took a step back, shaking my head. “That’s not true. My mother gave birth to me. She showed me her C-section scars. She had two of them. One from Katie, one from me.”
“My mother gave birth to me, too. But there’s a reason I’ve never mentioned my father. It’s because I didn’t have one.”
“That’s okay.” I said, not understanding what he was getting at—not wanting to understand what he was getting at. “Lots of people are raised by a single parent.”
“That’s not what I meant. My mother didn’t have a partner—not ever. She was artificially inseminated by lab workers from the United States government. She adopted me, so even though she gave birth to me, she’s not my biological mother.”
I didn’t care if there were spiders and rats crawling nearby. I felt along the wall for the bench and flopped down onto it before my legs gave out on me. “The government doesn’t do that.”
“Not often,” Finn agreed. “And certainly not for regular civilians. But it did it for the future agents of The Division. All of us were adopted that way—Josh, the twins, Rachel, Emma—you.”
“That’s not possible. I look like my dad. We have the same hair, the same eyes.”
“You were placed with him for that reason: a close physical match.”
“That’s crazy,” I said. “I look like my sister—exactly like my sister, not the sort of exact you can closely match. People could always tell we were sisters. Sometimes, people thought we were twins—”
“That’s because you were sisters.” Finn’s voice had a jagged edge to it, like he was delivering a sharp blow. “Katie was from the agency, too.”
My eyes filled with tears. “You shut your mouth. Don’t you say things like that.”
“I’m sorry. I know you don’t want any of this to be true, but it is.”
I jumped back up. “It doesn’t make any sense! She’s dead, Finn! They were watching me for years. Cranston told me! You think they’d just let her get killed in a car accident?”
“No. I don’t.” I couldn’t see his face, but the misery was clear in his voice. “Accidents like that don’t just happen.”
“What the hell does that mean, Finn?”
“Nothing. I’ve already said too much. Cranston’s coming back for us soon. We need to calm down.”
“I will not calm down! Tell me what all of this means! Who are my actual parents? Why were our mothers artificially inseminated with embryos from the government? What are you implying happened to my sister?”
“I don’t know the answers to all of those questions—like who your actual parents are. I don’t know mine either. All I know is that the government was developing The Division for decades. The people who donated embryos were part of that development. My understanding is that our biological parents were all gifted like we are, and the government wanted to preserve that power. I don’t know what happened to them or why they weren’t allowed to raise us.”
“Are you saying I was…manufactured?” My head spun, and I literally couldn’t think straight.
“Not exactly. I don’t know.”
We were quiet for a minute. I wasn’t sure he would speak again until he said, “I don’t know why the government had us adopted. I do know that all of our adoptive parents signed agreements stating that they would raise us as their own and keep us safe, but that one day, we’d be activated. And we wouldn’t be able to come back.”
“Why would anyone in their right mind agree to an adoption like that?”
“People had different motivations. Some wanted to help the government. It was a patriotic privilege, a way to serve. Others were desperate to adopt and had been turned down by traditional channels. Some people did it for the money.”
I almost threw up. “I don’t believe this.”
“I don’t blame you. I only believe it because I know it’s true.”
“My parents agreed to this?”
“They must have.”
“Tell me about my sister.”
“I know she was part of the program. She was adopted, too.”
“You said it wasn’t an accident,” I whispered.
“Riley, I—”
Footsteps echoed down the hallway. A light appeared, getting closer. “Are you ready, soldiers?”
“Whatever happens,” Finn said quietly, “I want you to be safe, okay? I don’t care if it looks like I’m hurt. Even if I’m bleeding, passed out, whatever—I want you to take care of yourself.”
Anxiety rolled through me. “What are you talking about?”
“The next test. It’s going to get ugly, Ri. Just remember—you come first. No matter what.”
23
Me Vs. You
“Are you two having a
good talk?” Cranston asked as he approached.
“I’m filling Riley in on some of her background,” Finn said. “I was able to get the sentences out, so I’m assuming the disclosure was authorized.”
“But you didn’t tell her everything, though, did you?” Cranston’s voice curled in a taunt.
“No, sir. I did not. But I will when the time comes.”
“Oh, I know you will.” He rolled back the door as I tried to decipher their conversation. “It’s time for you next test, Riley. This is the last one before we wrap up training camp. We’ll be moving on after this to another base where we’ll work on the more academic and tactical portions of training. But before we do that, we’ll head back up to Hanover.”
“Why?” My voice came out sharp.
“So that you can say goodbye to your mother.”
“I thought I couldn’t talk to her again.”
“I’ve made special arrangements and had the visit cleared. You shouldn’t have called her just now, but it makes me see that you need closure. You’re a valuable asset to our team, Riley, and Finn’s right—a lot of this has been a shock to you. You deserve to be able to say goodbye to your family. Every soldier has that right.”
“Thank…you.” The words tasted bitter on my lips. I was suspicious of his change of heart, but I wanted to see my mom.
“Follow me. And watch your step. There’s a lot of crap thrown in this hallway.”
We picked our way down the narrow passage, guided by Cranston’s phone light. Finally, more natural light started coming through, and it became obvious that we were headed out of the interior space that held the cells.
I breathed a sigh of relief as we entered an enormous room filled with windows. We were in the largest part of the building. I recognized the curved windows. I walked over and saw the water and the bridge we’d driven across. The sky was getting darker as the sun trekked west, about to set. I turned back to the men. “How long are we going to be here? It’s going to be dark soon.” I had no desire to be in the prison at night.
“That depends.” Cranston stalked the middle of the large room, his footsteps echoing. “They used to have a basketball court and a bowling alley here. Can you believe that?” He turned in a circle, looking around. “I hate to see these old buildings go to waste. That’s why I brought you here.”
I waited for him to say more, heart hammering.
“You two are going to have what we call a ‘brother battle.’ Finn, you go on the far side of the room. Riley, stay where you are.”
Finn gave me a long look before he headed over.
“Don’t look so glum, soldier,” Cranston called to him. “If you follow instructions, this will all be over soon.”
I raised my hand. “Sir?”
“Yes, Riley.”
“What exactly is a ‘brother battle’?”
“It’s when we pit team members against each other, and you have to fight until someone clearly wins.”
“I have to fight Finn? I don’t really have a great chance.” I eyed him from across the room—all muscled six-foot-three of him.
“Of course, you have a chance. Do you think you’ll only be fighting female soldiers who weigh less than you when we’re on active duty?”
“Is that too good to be true?”
“This isn’t a joke, Riley. You’ll be fighting men bigger than Finn, men who want to kill you. You aren’t just going to be fighting them with your body, even though you’ve become quite proficient with your combat training. You’ll be fighting them with your mind. That’s what makes you deadly.”
“You don’t expect me to try to kill Finn, do you, sir?”
“I don’t want you to kill each other. I want you to beat each other senseless, so I can see what you’re capable of in this context.”
I tried not to panic at the phrase, beat each other senseless. I had a bad feeling that there would be a lot of hurting before I got anywhere near senseless. “Are you expecting me to lift him up or set him on fire?”
Cranston perked up. “Do you think you can?”
“No, sir.”
Cranston waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s see what happens.” He walked over to the wall. A bag lay against it, and he opened it up, pulling out two syringes.
“Oh, God. Oh, no.” I did not want to be put on psychedelic drugs in the middle of an abandoned military prison as night fell.
Cranston shrugged. “You’ll be fine. This is a lighter serum than what you had before. It doesn’t induce a full-on, immersive hallucinatory experience. It just mixes up reality a little. You might hear and see some things that aren’t real.”
I jerked my arm away when he got closer. “I don’t want to do this.”
He grabbed my arm and held it firmly. “It’s a direct order. You don’t have a choice.”
I stared across the room at Finn while Cranston injected me. His gaze held mine steadily, soothing me even though we were about to…beat each other senseless.
I had a sinking feeling Cranston wouldn’t let us leave this room until we’d done just that.
I didn’t feel anything from the injection as Cranston stalked over to Finn and administered the drug to him. I watched Finn rubbed his shoulder.
Nothing seemed to happen for a minute until there was a peripheral movement to my right. I looked out the window.
My sister was outside. She banged on the window with her fist, waving me over.
My sister. I ran for her. “Katie!” I shrieked.
I couldn’t see her clearly until I got up close. In the fading light, she looked the same as the last day I’d seen her—blue hooded sweatshirt, her hair pulled up in a ponytail, her signature mascara perfectly rimming her wide, blue eyes.
“Riley.” Her voice was a little muffled, but she smiled when she saw me and put her face up closer the glass.
“Why are you out there?” I asked, my voice thick with tears. “I want to touch you.”
“I can’t come in. I’m not official enough, I guess. Even now.”
“What does that mean, Katie? I’ve heard all these things, and I don’t know what to believe.” I put my hand against the glass, desperate to touch her. I knew she wasn’t real, but I still had a real reaction to her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be over there, beating up your boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Yeah, right. It might not be official, but he’s totally going to be your boyfriend.”
“We’ll see.”
“It’s not like you have a choice, right?”
I almost asked what she meant, but I had more pressing questions. Cutting right to the chase, I said, “I need to ask you a couple of things.”
She laughed. “You and your questions.”
I drank in every detail of her face. “How did you die?”
“In a car accident on 89. You know that. Next question?”
I sighed, relieved even though I didn’t know why. “Did you know about The Division?”
“A little bit. That’s not why I’m here, though. Are we about done with the Q and A? I’m here to tell you something, and it’s important.”
She’s not real. That’s not really Katie talking. It’s them. “What is it?”
“I know a lot of what you’ve learned is…difficult. But every single person who got you to this point did what they did out of love. Love for our country, love for our ideals and our freedom, love for our family, love for you. All of us—me, Mom, Dad, everyone at the agency—every choice we made was for you. I need you to remember that. There’s been a lot of sacrifices to get you here.”
I traced the outline of my sister’s palm against the glass. “They programmed you to say that, right? So I wouldn’t run screaming from the whole thing?”
Katie tilted her chin. “You still think you can run?”
Sensing we were running out of time, I changed the subject. “Did you know we were adopted?”
“No,” she admitted, “not until
later. In my case, it didn’t matter. This was all about you. It’s always been all about you.”
“Katie—”
“You need to go now. Cranston’s going to make you fight him, no matter what. It’ll show what you’re really capable of, more than any other test.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it’s going to hurt so bad.” She put her palm against the glass to touch my hand from the other side. “I love you, Ri. Always did.”
“I love you, too.” Even though she wasn’t real, and I knew it, I still couldn’t stop the tears.
“I have to go now. Maybe they’ll let me come back again.”
“I hope so.”
I watched as she backed away into the darkening evening. She made her way out across the front lawn, dove into the swiftly moving water, and disappeared.
Hand over my heart, I turned back to face the room.
At first, I didn’t see Cranston or Finn. The flashlight was off, and the room had darkened as the sun set. “Finn?”
He stepped out of the shadows. “I’m here, Riley.”
I moved closer to him. “I really don’t want to fight you.”
His shoulders sagged “I really don’t want to fight you, either.”
“If you ever want to leave this place,” Cranston boomed from a dark corner, “you’ll follow orders.”
I took another step toward Finn. How could I beat him senseless? Nothing in me was motivated to even shove him.
He moved closer. His skin shimmered slightly. “You’re…glowing.”
He cocked his head to the side. “So are you—actually, it looks like your face is dripping.”
“Ew, so does yours.” I moved closer, watching him in fascination. His face looked like it was made of wax, and someone had lit a candle underneath. I reached out to touch him and recoiled as my fingers touch something runny, the consistency of Jell-O. “Gross.”
Finn wrinkled his nose. “I always think you’re pretty, but you look gross right now, too.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.” I watched as part of his face melted and fell off, exposing the tendons and muscles underneath. Bile roiled in my stomach. “But ditto. Part of your face just fell off.”
