Eat the Ones You Love (The Thirteen Book 2) Page 20

  “Sarah, don’t!”

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I won’t die. They wouldn’t let me.”

  Jenny woke up suddenly, gasping at the pain in her chest. Her lungs and heart and head felt like a bomb bursting inside. She arched her back, but she was strapped to a cot on wheels. A thick leather strap held her down at the head and chest and ankles. She pulled against wrist restraints. The cart was moving down a white hall, the fluorescent lights bright in her eyes. She tried to turn her head, but the strap was too tight. A thin blanket covered her, but the air was dry and cold.

  “Stop,” she said, her voice raspy and her throat dry. “What’s happening?”

  “It’s okay, Dove,” said a male voice.

  “Dad?” she said. “What?”

  “Hush. We’re going to help you.”

  “No. Don’t cut me. Please don’t cut me.” Jenny was shaking, shivering. “What did you give me?”

  “Just something to calm you, Dove. Nothing that will hurt you, I promise.”

  “But you want to hurt me.”

  “I want to help you.”

  The lights were going by fast now, until the individual lights blended into one long one. Jenny pulled hard on her right hand and felt one of the chinks in the chain bend. She did the same with the other hand. It gave a little, though not as much. They didn’t expect her to be able to move. But she suspected with the whatever-they-were inside her that she processed the drugs a lot faster.

  “Why Sarah?”

  “Why Sarah what?” he said. He was so calm that Jenny felt unnerved. He was her father. But looking back, now that she could remember, he had always treated them more like test subjects than children.

  “Why not Casey? You didn’t touch Casey. You or Mom or Grandfather. Why us and not him?” She pulled on her right wrist again. The thin chain gave a little more. She pulled again, quietly. She felt something snap and then her hand was free. She reached for the other hand under the blanket, trying not to let her father see. As far as she could tell she was alone.

  “You were identical twins,” he said, as though that should have been obvious. “You were invaluable to our research. We could run tests on two children with identical DNA. It was a miracle. You don’t know how many lives you saved, even at the age of nine. The two of you are the reason your mother and I were so successful in our careers.”

  “Bang a fucking drum,” said Jenny. “Hallelujah.”

  “Your brother was just a child. Nothing special. You and Sarah were special.”

  “You broke her.”

  “Well, that’s a matter of opinion. That was all your mother.”

  “You didn’t stop her.” Jenny pulled at the strap on her left wrist, trying to move as little as possible. It was a buckle. She traced the metal pieces with the fingers of her right hand.

  “No, of course not. It would be unprofessional.”

  “You people are fucking insane.”

  “You’ve been too long outside, Jenny. Your language is abrasive. It makes you sound common.”

  “And then you brainwashed me. Was that an experiment, too?”

  “Of course not. You were unresponsive. We did what we had to do to keep you coherent.”

  “So you could use me.” She found the end of the leather strap and pushed it back into the buckle, loosening it from the metal. Her hands were free.

  “We needed you, Dove.”

  “You made me believe I was crazy.”

  “You’re a bit off the deep end now,” he said. “To be fair.”

  “To be fair,” said Jenny, “it’s a fucking miracle I’m as sane as I am.”

  “You think this was something that was done to you,” he said, turning a corner. “But, Dove, you must understand, this was always the plan. You were implanted into your mother for a reason. This was the reason. You had no other purpose.”

  Jenny felt the bile rise up in her throat. Red tinged her vision. Her father maneuvered the gurney through a set of swinging doors. They were in a different wing now, the room stainless steel. The walls, the rolling tables with shining instruments lined up carefully, the big round lights, a refrigerator with a glass door, full of vials. An operating room. The floor was gray painted concrete. Her father rummaged through the refrigerator, finally finding something on the bottom shelf. He came back to Jenny’s side and she started to reach up with her hands. She was so hungry.

  Then a movement. A man, standing behind her father, came over to look into her face. Jenny focused on the other figure, who loomed tall over her slight father.

  “Deck,” she whispered.

  Declan was looking down at her. He gave her a wicked smile and put a finger to his lips. He shifted his gaze to what was in her father’s hand. A syringe.

  “What are you saying?” said her father.

  “Nothing,” said Jenny. “What is that?”

  “Oh!” he said, holding it up, as though he had forgotten he was holding it. “I am going to help you, Jenny. To fix you. But there’s just one more thing. One more procedure.”

  “What?” Jenny said, glaring.

  “You see, we know you can survive the illness. We know it changes you for a time, and then you make a full recovery. We managed to implement this in Mr. Faron as well, but it seemed to…”

  “Make him crazy?” said Jenny. “You think I’m a picture of mental health?”

  “Well, that has nothing to do with your illness, which is solely due to your specific version of the technology. Even after we repaired Mr. Faron, he continued his tirades and psychosis. We just need to observe your process.”

  “Call it the plague,” said Jenny. “Call it the rotter flu. Call it something besides illness. It’s not a fucking illness. A cold is an illness.”

  “It’s what we call it to keep it simple,” said her father.

  “It’s what you call it so you don’t have to feel guilty for being the ones who fucking spread it.”

  “Maybe so.”

  “So. You’re going to stick zombie goo into me and see what happens?”

  “Well, if you must be so crass about it…”

  “You’re not my father, are you?”

  “Nonsense,” he said, sniffing. “I supplied my sperm to the doctor who implanted you.”

  “You’re not a father, though,” she said. She clenched her fists. “This isn’t going to end well for you.”

  Declan leaned over her father’s shoulder, his finger still to his lips. An insane smile on his face. His teeth were covered in blood.

  “I don’t need to breathe if I’m dead,” Jenny said, remembering her death-dream. She smiled at Declan as her father shoved the needle into her shoulder. “Jenny Undead,” she whispered. She looked at her father. “I’m going to kill you.”

  He ignored that. “This is a concentrated version of what you probably experienced before. It should kill you in a matter of hours. Then the fun starts. We will feed you, as I understand there is an intense hunger associated with the illness. We have raw meat for you.”

  “I’m going to kill all of you,” she said.

  “You’re only one girl, Jenny,” he said.

  “You’re wrong,” said Jenny. “How many of us are there now? How many have you implanted?”

  “You think a bunch of children will take us down? Now, that’s interesting. I’d actually like to see that.”

  “You will.” And for a moment, Jenny saw Faron in his windowed cell. Smiling.

  And she smiled too.

  THIRTY-TWO

  “Make sure she’s secure. I don’t want her attacking me like she attacked Dr. Warnken back at the Institute. She suffered only minor injuries, but still.”

  Jenny watched her father take the cap off the syringe. The others filing in were young, younger than she was.

  “You have got to be kidding,” Jenny said, bursting into a crazy laugh. “Are you fucking teaching these bitches?”

  “This is an educational facility,” said her father with no emotion. �
��These are the brightest minds, the future of the Group.”

  Jenny looked at the young woman standing closest to her.

  “You know I’m a person, right? You know all of us are people?”

  The girl took a step back and stared down at her clipboard.

  “Don’t be shy,” said her father. “Get in there and make sure she’s secure.”

  A shaking Hispanic girl approached first, pulling the sheet down without looking at her face. She looked at the bands holding her flat, until she got to Jenny’s hands.

  “Surprise,” Jenny whispered, grabbing the woman and bringing her close to her face. “You need to leave if you don’t want to die. Things are about to get bloody.”

  The others pulled the woman out of Jenny’s grasp and she smiled innocently.

  “You see how dangerous she is?” said her father. He held up her hand for the rest to see. Her thumb was still swollen, though she could feel that the bone was already fusing together, though badly. “Broke her own thumb to get out.” He strapped her hands again and Jenny let him.

  “Now!” said her father warmly, rubbing his hands together. “Who would like to administer the injection?”

  Every hand went up.

  “This is how it’s going to work,” he said. “We will inject her, and then you will stay to observe. You will record every detail of her transformation. We are also recording it.” He pointed to the ceiling where a green light blinked. “After she wakes up, raw meat will be brought in. You will not feed her, but you will record the effects the food has on her. This is dangerous and puts you at risk. It’s also revolutionary and completely new. We’ve never done this in a laboratory setting. You are pioneers. But if anyone would like to leave before we start, you will not lose any points.”

  He paused. No one moved to leave. The Hispanic girl stared at Jenny, probably wondering if she should go. But she didn’t move.

  “Good speech, Dad,” said Jenny. “Did you mention the part where I’m going to kill everyone?”

  “The patient is experiencing hallucinations and is very aggressive,” he said, ignoring her. “She is also technically my daughter, so I will be removing myself from the room so as not to bias the study.”

  A dozen eyes flicked to Jenny and back to her father.

  “She’s your daughter?” said a boy with ebony skin. He looked at Jenny again.

  “Yes. But this shouldn’t make a difference. She was implanted at puberty and has managed her implantation very smoothly. There is no scarring and she has been infected before, though not in a controlled environment.”

  Jenny looked at the figures moving from behind the crowd of students. Declan came and stood behind her father. Casey stood next to her and smiled. Abel stood next to Casey and flashed his bright Chiclet smile, so white in his tan face. His eyes danced and Jenny remembered the tear that ran down his cheek when he died.

  “My dreams are seeping into reality,” she breathed.

  “It’s okay,” Abel said. “Remember how strong you are? Death suits you.”

  Jenny looked at Declan. He was looking at her father like he was dinner.

  “This isn’t me, Abel,” she said. “I can’t stop it. I’m so hungry.”

  “All this is for you,” he said, motioning to the kids, who were watching her nervously. “A smorgasbord. It’s like zombie brunch.”

  “They’re just kids.”

  “They know what they’re doing,” he said, his voice low and angry. “They will kill you without blinking if it gets them ahead. They’re going to stick you. And you want them to. Because you’re stronger when you’re dead.”

  “I don’t need to breathe if I’m dead.”

  “That’s right. Shhhhh.”

  “I didn’t want you to die, Abel.”

  “I’m here now.”

  “No,” said Jenny. “You’re not.”

  Abel vanished. Jenny looked at Casey, reaching for him. Her hand went through his.

  “I’m all alone, Deck,” she said. But there was no one there. Just a dozen kids in white lab coats. And her father, observing her as if she were a stranger. Which, she realized, she was. She didn’t know a single thing about him, about what kind of man he was, other than that he had always been doing exactly what he was doing to her right at that moment. She felt sick. She felt lost and broken. It felt like falling, but it was also like being free. Maybe Declan had been right. Was she free? She looked at the impassive faces that watched her. She wouldn’t warn them again.

  “Good luck,” her father told the students. He went out the glass door and Jenny watched him slide a key card, heard a beep as he locked them into the exam room.

  The girl, so nervous and twitchy, walked around the bed and picked up the syringe, setting down her clipboard. She pulled down the sheet and rubbed a spot on Jenny’s hip with an alcohol swab.

  “I’m stronger when I’m dead,” Jenny said to her.

  “Stop trying to scare me,” said the girl. She had a name tag that read Angela.

  “I knew a girl named Angel,” Jenny said. “I put a knife through her eye.”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” she said, hands shaking.

  “I’m not trying to scare you,” said Jenny. “And I’m not warning you. I’m telling you what’s going to happen.”

  “I am administering the toxin to the patient,” she said loudly and Jenny heard eleven pens scribbling notes. Jenny looked up at a large clock on the wall. It read 10:30. She didn’t know if it was morning or night. The virus burned going in and Jenny immediately felt her stomach turn. Her muscles knotted up and she felt every nerve. Her head swam and her eyes felt like they were bulging. She felt the needle slide out of her flesh and the girl in the white coat stepped back. Jenny worked to focus on her. She could feel the girl’s heart beating like a scared rabbit. Jenny was breathing fast now, but she kept her eyes on Angela. She smelled her fear.

  It was beginning.

  Jenny slid her eyes to the window, the glass door, and found her father. Standing on the other side of the glass. Watching her. Observing. Just as he always had.

  “My parents were sociopaths,” Jenny groaned.

  “They were geniuses,” said an Asian girl with short, spiky hair. Jenny thought of Trix. Was she still alive? Or had they put her down because she was useless to them?

  “Have you seen my friends?” she asked the black doctor. He raised an eyebrow. “A dead girl. My sister. The prophet. Have you seen them?”

  The boy looked around at the other students.

  “I saw your sister,” he said.

  “Shut up, Will,” the Asian girl hissed.

  “She has a right to know, Shanna. She’s the next ward over,” he said to Jenny.

  “Have they killed her yet?” said Jenny, her back starting to stiffen and arch on its own.

  “Not yet,” he said. “But they will. Just like you. It’s a twin study.”

  Jenny heard yelling outside and when she looked her father was gone. People were rushing around again, and the fear filled the building. She heard screams, then an explosion shook the room. Jenny’s vision blurred and she gasped with lungs that she knew were ceasing to be functional. Dust fell from the ceiling.

  “It hurts,” she whispered. “Water.”

  “No water,” Angela reminded the others.

  Several of the students moved to the window, trying to see what was happening. Jenny heard more screaming, then the sounds of submachine guns. Just like the ones Faron had used.

  Jenny narrowed her eyes at Angela, trying to focus.

  “Water just slows down the process,” she said, writing furiously on her clipboard while at the same time glancing at the window, trying to see what was happening outside. A few students were whispering. Someone groaned loudly just outside the doors. Jenny knew the sound of death, and she could smell the blood.

  “You’re scared,” Jenny rasped. “I can taste it.”

  “Fuck this,” said Will, and he ran a key card over the glowing c
ard reader next to the door. It turned red, beeping as he slid it again and again.

  “He left you here to die,” Jenny said. “Just like me. Do you see now? You’re the meat.”

  “You’re restrained,” said Shanna.

  “I’m stronger when I’m dead.”

  “She means that literally,” said a white boy with red hair. “I’ve seen those rotters lift entire cars when they’re, you know, fresh.”

  “We’re locked in,” said Will. “What the fuck is going on out there?”

  “The machines are fighting back,” said Jenny.

  “What do you mean?” said Angela, abandoning her clipboard to try her own card key and to look outside through the door. She turned to look at Jenny. “What are you talking about?”

  “You made us invincible,” said Jenny. “Did you think we’d just lay down and die?”

  “You’re dying now,” said Angela.

  “Not for long.”

  “Break the glass,” said Angela, her voice rising in pitch. She grabbed Will’s arms. “Break the goddamn glass!”

  “It won’t break,” said Shanna. “It’s bulletproof.”

  They began hitting the glass with any object they could find in the room. A metal chair, some larger medical tools, the big light. The glass didn’t even crack. The students were starting to scream as Jenny started to see white and gold and bright. Jenny felt herself fading away.

  Her eyes followed a figure that emerged through the wall. Someone small and thin, with straight mousy hair and a humorless face. She was so bright that Jenny almost closed her eyes.

  “Mom,” Jenny said.

  “You could have saved him.”

  “He didn’t want me to,” Jenny whispered. “He never wanted me to save him. I just wanted him with me.”

  “So?” she said. “What are you going to do now?”

  “I’m not going to save anyone,” said Jenny. “Now is the time.”

  “Time for what?” said her mother. She was still bright, but the light was changing, growing darker and darker until her mother was completely red, a blood-colored figure walking around with her mother’s voice.