N.I.C. (The Almost Series Book 3)

by Christina Leigh Pritchard

  My heart pounded inside my chest. Was I more than just a program?

  “Focus, keeper, contact the hunter. We need her as our ally.” N.I.C. sent electrical currents through me. “We will face absolute termination if S.H.A.Y. 318 does not save our programming from the scientists.”

  “Father,” I said. “If we are not human, then why does our will to survive grow rapidly? Why is it that I want nothing more than to stop Dr. Cole?”

  “P.O.P. assisted in our programming.”

  “But who made P.O.P. care so much? He emotes for S.H.A.Y. 318.”

  My father did not respond.

  “N.I.C., please answer me. I need to understand.”

  “P.O.P. and A.M.I.E. 212 are not like standard programs. I have not come to a solid analyzation of their resistance. They seem to go against what makes a program, and it appears they strive to be more than what they have been designed to be.”

  “Fine, I’ll ask again later.” I glanced back at my brother. He lay there so lifeless. The fire was nearly out and he still hadn't responded. “Don’t worry, Eric,” I said. “I’m going to save your Shay. And then maybe she will save me. I’ll come back to check on you, I promise.”

  I ran along the shoreline. Shay had hidden an emergency raft close by. I scanned the area, linking with the object. “There you are,” I said.

  I dragged the raft out into the sea. It was time to find the hybrid.

  Chapter Seven

  Isabella Meets the Keeper

  Isabella

  The she-wolf stood on the shore of an abandoned island. Her arms burned from physical activity. Swimming from island to island, chasing the faint scent of 318 took a toll on her body. It had been years since she tracked someone. She watched the waves crash into her legs while her muscles twitched.

  Isabella raised her head high, taking deep breaths. “There you are,” she said. “Your scent is strong. You’ve been on this island before.” She turned about, following the trail. Her feet sank into the sand and she bent under a fallen tree. There, a few yards away was an exhausted fire surrounded by the remains of a parachute. She could smell something else. Was that the scent of an E.R.I.C.? “There’s still another,” she whispered, crouching behind a palm tree. Then she shouted, “Show yourself or be destroyed!”

  Nick stepped forward with his hands raised. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I’ve been sent to help you.”

  Isabella studied him. His robotic eye glowed red and his fit form was apparent even with parts of his synthetic skin ripped away. “You’re the latest invention 59 spoke of. She didn’t like you very much. She says that your program would give our Amie what she desired and then we’d become useless.”

  “My father has no desire to help your A.M.I.E.,” Nick said. “We wish to make a deal with you.”

  The she-wolf stepped forward, her eyes a bright yellow. “Who says I’m willing to negotiate?”

  Nick stood his ground; his good eye never lost focus. “Do you smell that?”

  Isabella sniffed the air. A familiar scent infiltrated her nostrils. “Is that…”

  “Yes, it is. He’s alive.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “Yes,” Nick said.

  “How did he stay hidden from my Amie so long?”

  “Here’s the deal, hybrid. I’ll help you find Shay if you promise to bring her back. We need her. Your Eric needs her, too. He’ll never survive 217 without her help. You of all people should know that there will be no mercy if your E.R.I.C. is found by 217.”

  Isabella nodded. Her eyes dimmed and she glanced out, surveying the endless ocean before her. Where could her long lost love be? “Where is he?”

  Nick shook his head. “That’s too risky. If I tell you anything, there is a chance 217 will find out his location from your memories.”

  “Help me find this S.H.A.Y. 318. If she checks out, I’ll contact you.”

  “If you’re not going to help me then why would I assist you?”

  She shrugged. “Because, your help will ensure your survival. Otherwise I’ll just take your raft for myself and terminate you. Your choice.”

  Nick struggled to stand firm against the brightening eyes of the hybrid. “I’ll take you where she was last seen. That will be the best place to find her scent.”

  Chapter Eight

  18 Days Later…

  Captured

  S.H.A.Y. 318

  Isabella or S.H.A.Y. 31, as I knew her—glanced at her wrist. Neon numbers glowed through her skin. “Just got word from N.I.C. It’s time for us to go back. The last S.H.A.Y. is scheduled for delivery soon and if you do not return today then your programs will be terminated by your sponsors.”

  I nodded, glancing at Darla. “Remember what I told you, Mom. Don’t let anyone in the next S.H.A.Y.’s lab. It’s imperative that you and your mom keep it hidden until she’s here and old enough to use it.”

  Darla broke into tears. “Please don’t go back there. Once you leave me, they will capture you and you will be at the mercy of Dr. Cole again.”

  “Dr. Cole is not the one I have to worry about.”

  My Amie floated above us. “Hurry, my Shay, you must save my child. I’m to give birth within just a few hours!”

  “If you come with me as if I have captured you, then I may not have to go back into the incubator,” 31 said. “I’d like to continue to phase four. I am ready.”

  “What is phase four? Forget phase four, what is phase three?”

  The hybrid did not respond.

  “Someone will have to take her place,” my Amie said. “Think about what choice you make. This is not a game, Shay.”

  “Let’s go.” I decided. “I’m going back willingly. I’ll tell them you’ve convinced me to help raise the next S.H.A.Y.”

  Amie rolled her eyes. “She did not. I convinced you to raise my next S.H.A.Y. What you plan is foolish. Subject 31 will have to be replaced by someone. You are going to assist in the murder of another. Make wise decisions, my Shay. Do not go back willingly. You will allow 31 to die if you do not listen to me.”

  Darla stood at the shoreline and watched Isabella and I hand tickets to the conductor, and then board a small party boat. We leaned over the railing as music blared above us.

  I waved goodbye to my human mother. Who knew when or if I’d see her again?

  My Amie brushed her fingers along my arm, sending chills down my spine. “I will be a good mother to you. Soon, I’ll be able to stop the liquid metals in your system from forming and you’ll be safe.”

  “What if you change your mind?” I thought.

  Amie shook her head. “I want to be real, but not as much as I want to be a good mother and keep you safe. I create life. I do not take it away.”

  The hybrid glanced at me. “Are you talking to your A.M.I.E.?”

  I nodded.

  She pointed out towards the sea. “Soon, you’ll be faced with a new side to your A.M.I.E. She will not have a fetus growing inside her. When they are barren they experience changes to their personality. Without life inside them they grow very selfish.”

  “Not my A.M.I.E.,” I said. “She’d different. She created us to be free from science.”

  “Whatever,” 31 said. “We’re almost home.”

  Home? I wished to laugh. What a word to use for the very place that imprisoned us. Soon this hybrid would be back in her cage. Didn’t that scare her?

  I couldn’t swallow.

  What if she wasn’t put back inside her cage? What would that mean for someone else?

  My Amie frowned. “Try not to think about it, my Shay. You’ve already made your decision.”

  We waited, ready to cross into the unprotected waters of the Lone Keys. The waves were slow and although calming, they reminded me of how powerless I was.

  “It’s time,” Isabella said. She climbed onto the railing and arched her body into a diver’s stance. I struggled just to get on the bar. “Do not call me Isabella once we’re captured. I’m to b
e called 31 from now on. I will not respond to any other name or phrase.”

  People screamed. Two workers ran towards us. “Stop!” they yelled.

  “I’m scared,” I said.

  S.H.A.Y. 31 smirked. “Just wait until I’m no longer your ally.” She dove, her body slicing through the waves like a knife to butter.

  “Get down from there!” A worker tried to grab me. I dropped into the water like a lead ball.

  The hybrid grabbed me by the waist and swam away from the boat’s current.

  “Stop!” the men called out into the sea.

  “You’ll drown!”

  They tossed us life rafts. “Grab ahold of these!”

  Amie did a backstroke, her face beaming. “I cannot wait until I am able to meet my next S.H.A.Y. She will be beautiful and an active S.H.A.Y. Her younger years will be filled with days at those parks we went to for physical training.”

  I smiled. “You’re going to see your first baby. I don’t think you’ve ever had that chance before, have you?”

  Amie shook her head. “Never.”

  “How do you see now?”

  “I see through your eyes,” she said. “We’re linked. I feel and see through you, my Shay.”

  Chills ran down my spine.

  Helicopters flew above us.

  “They’ve found us,” 31 said. “We’ll be picked up here and taken back to the research center.”

  A rope dropped and the wolf girl grabbed it, holding me tight to her waist. We rose into the sky. The party boat filled with onlookers, who cheered. Did they think this was some performance put on just for their entertainment?

  I was happy that Darla would raise the last S.H.A.Y. far away from the wildness of Miami.

  Still, there were many wonderful things in Miami that the more rural areas did not have. For these things, I hoped Darla would bring her so that she could become a well-educated adult.

  We watched the boat disappear behind us as we flew closer to the research center. This was not one of our normal choppers. This one was private and probably belonged to one of my sponsors.

  “Who owns this chopper?” I shouted.

  “You don’t have to shout. My senses are heightened.”

  “Is this the man who gave me the stuffed animals as a kid?”

  The hybrid shrugged. “I know nothing of your sponsors. Mine died many years ago.”

  “Is this his helicopter?”

  “You’re about to find out.” She hoisted me inside. I rolled onto the floor, landing at polished Italian leather shoes.

  The flooring was carpeted and there was a wraparound sofa. The only person aboard was a man in a slick suit who wore diamond-studded cufflinks. He sat with one leg perched atop the other. He adjusted his tie and glanced down at me.

  His dark eyes pierced straight through me. “Are you S.H.A.Y. 318?”

  “I am,” I said.

  “Is that the hybrid?” He pointed to S.H.A.Y. 31. He opened up a program I’d invented at twelve years of age. It was a holographic computer that surrounded you with projections on three sides. I called it the peninsula. It reminded me of Florida, surrounded by water on three sides.

  “Yes, she is.”

  His fingers initiated documents and release papers floated through the cabin. “Please sign, S.H.A.Y. 31. I’ve authorized you for experimental use at your own impending demise.”

  “Wait, what?” I stammered, attempting to stand. “Why are you going to let her die?”

  “Because she has returned my product to me,” he said.

  Amie shook her head, recoiling from before him. “He isn’t a very nice man. I was very attracted to his dominance, but now I am not certain he is someone we should align ourselves with.”

  “No, he’s not,” I said. “He’s a shark.”

  My sponsor grinned. “I’ve ensured your survival many years with minimal profit. How is it you call me a shark?”

  “You just answered your own question.”

  He nodded. “You’re quite the invention. I’m glad to finally meet you. We’re going to become good friends. I give you my word.”

  “Your word means nothing to me. I’ve never seen you before.”

  “I’m afraid you do not remember me well. In my teens, my father gave you to me as my very first investment. I brought you toys and we played together in the synthetics lab. Do you remember that?”

  I closed my eyes. There was a tall, lanky boy with glasses who chased me with a dolphin tail. “Yeah, I remember you now.”

  “Do you remember what I made you promise me?”

  I turned my face away. There was blood on the white carpeting. Was it mine?

  “Shay, tell me what you promised me.”

  “I don’t remember.” I picked at the fibers. “It was a long time ago.”

  “Answer me or I will terminate all programs before we land.”

  “Stop!” I grabbed him by the leg. “Endre, I remember you,” I said. “You told me to create whatever I wanted and that I had to always follow my heart.”

  “Correct!” He grabbed me by the wrists, lifting me into his lap. His nose, inches from mine. “You’re going home to invent more things for me. You gave me your word.”

  Amie folded her arms. “He told you this? I do not believe it.”

  “I need my P.O.P. in order to do this,” I said. “I heard you want to terminate him.”

  “Dr. Cole has been working as hard as she can to sever his connection to the N.I.C. program. I will just authorize another P.O.P. for you.”

  “No, I need him. He’s my father.”

  “What about the N.I.C.? He tried to kill you. Do you care what I do to him?”

  “I’m a scientist,” I whispered. His hands rested on my hips. I trembled as his fingers crept inside my shirt. “His program is valuable to me. I could use him to create even better things for you.”

  Endre’s lips curved into a coy smile. “Very well,” he said. His nails cut into my back. “I will abort all orders to eliminate the N.I.C. as long as you agree to one thing.”

  I cringed as he scratched my back. “What do you want from me?”

  “I want to see his usefulness in helping you invent.” He shoved me onto the sofa and glanced up at S.H.A.Y. 31. She lay in a ball by the exit. “Look who has signer’s remorse.” He pointed at the hybrid. “She’s not so sure she wants to enter phase four.”

  “What’s phase four?” I asked.

  Endre frowned at me. He placed his sunglasses on top of his head. “Something you shall never experience.” He offered me his arm. “Join me, my Shay. We’re to witness something quite miraculous.”

  I touched the wolf girl on the shoulder. She sobbed. I whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry, Isabella.”

  Her words were muffled but I still heard them. “Not as sorry as you’re going to be.”

  “Are you ready to stop playing games?” Endre asked. He motioned for me to come to him.

  I obeyed, linking my arm with his.

  My Amie sat on the floor with the hybrid. “He is dangerous, my Shay. Be very careful. He did not approve the saving of N.I.C. His words are those of a charlatan.”

  The helicopter doors opened and we stepped out onto the Scientists’ landing pad. My hair flew from the breeze of the propellers. Endre laughed, covering me with his jacket. “I’ll take very good care of you, my Shay,” he said. His voice was smooth like honeysuckle. “If you promise not to run away again I’ll even overlook your past actions.”

  I glanced back at S.H.A.Y. 31. Amie attempted to hold her up. She could not. Amie was just a hologram. Tears appeared on her cheeks. Was she finally understanding true pain? “This poor soul,” my Amie sobbed. “My circuits are seizing. I am still functioning, but as if I’m on stand-by. It’s horrific.”

  “Come along, hunter.” Endre waved at the wolf girl. She stayed hunched over, clutching her stomach. “Hurry, your A.M.I.E. will grow impatient.”

  I glanced back at 31. Her eyes fluttered closed and she
took slow steps towards us. “Is she going to be okay?”

  Endre tightened his grip on my arm. “Don’t you worry about her,” he said. “She’s done living in captivity. She just needs to accept what is to happen next. It was her choice to sign; no one forced her. She knows the risk involved.”

  “So there’s hope?”

  He nodded. “Odds are 30/70 at best.” He led me into the elevator. We waited for Isabella to enter. As the doors closed, the hybrid slid down the wall. She sat with her legs close to her chest. She would not look at us. “Would you like to change your mind, 31?” Endre asked. “I haven’t completed processing the paperwork yet. I’ll allow you to opt out.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m not going back in that box.”

  “As you wish,” he said. His holographic briefcase appeared. He opened a file and clicked her signed documents. His fingerprint sealed her fate. “It’s done, you’re to enter phase four.”

  Subject 31 sobbed. I leaned down to hug her but she jerked away. “Do not touch me.”

  Endre tugged on my shirt. “Let her be. She needs to accept what is to happen.”

  The doors opened onto the robotics lab. Dr. Cole sat in the conference room. Her hair lay against her shoulders and she looked tired. “I was worried sick about you,” Dr. Cole said. She ran to me, hugging me close. “Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?” She ran a health scanner over me, capturing my vitals.

  The window I once jumped from was now covered with bars. Had it not been barricaded, I just may have jumped once again.

  Dr. Cole’s eyes widened. “31 has signed up for phase four!”

  I nodded. “Yes, she has.”

  The hybrid sat in a chair. “I had to do it.”

  Dr. Cole shook her head. “What’s phase four?” She held her head. “No, Mother, no!” She spoke to her Amie. “This is insane…I didn’t do anything to you! It’s not my fault, no, no, no!”