Freak of Nature

  She fought the urge to run up the stairs and ring the doorbell. It would be cruel to come back from the dead. Her parents would never understand. Her excitement quickly turned to overwhelming sadness.

  Kaitlyn hung her head and spun on the ball of her foot, leaving without a single glance back.

  On autopilot, Kaitlyn took a left down Sanders and a right down Oakwood Drive. Evan. Her body was pulling her to Evan. She wanted to resist, but her feet kept moving forward. Just one peek. She wanted to see him, she had to, and then she would leave.

  She was watching the pavement, lost in her own thoughts, when she heard laughter. She looked up to find a couple walking towards her—a blond-haired guy and a beautiful blonde girl.

  Kaitlyn’s body revved up, and just as quickly her body stabilized as her sensors overrode the fight or flight impulse.

  Evan.

  Her eyes met his, and she forced her face to stay blank.

  “Cassidy?” His voice was incredulous. He abruptly let go of the woman and stepped forward.

  Cassidy. Not only had the IFICS taken her old life, they had given her a new name.

  “Excuse me?” Kaitlyn pulled her hat down lower.

  He was silent for a long time, his girlfriend shifting uncomfortably behind him, and Kaitlyn in front, standing still, her heart hammering.

  “I’m sorry.” He shook his head, his face pale. “You look like someone I once knew.”

  Kaitlyn covertly scanned Evan and was surprised to see he had a wedding band on his left hand. She glanced over at the blonde—she wore a matching band. Kaitlyn gritted her teeth; he hadn’t wasted any time moving on. She kept her face expressionless.

  “It’s uncanny, really. The resemblance.” Evan’s face looked pained. “It’s like seeing a ghost.”

  The blonde woman came up and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “Sorry, sweetie,” she said. Addressing Kaitlyn, she added, “He lost someone once. Any girl with dark hair and your build always stops him in his tracks.”

  “It’s okay.” Kaitlyn was proud when her own voice didn’t waver. “I saw a movie once where they said everyone has a twin.”

  “We should go, babe,” the blonde murmured to Evan.

  Evan’s eyes were glued to Kaitlyn’s face. It was making her uncomfortable.

  “Your friend’s name was Cassidy?” Kaitlyn asked the question before she lost her nerve. “What happened to her, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “She was murdered. A long time ago.”

  A long time ago? Kaitlyn opened her mouth to ask “how long?” but Evan spoke again, turning to his wife. “The resemblance really is uncanny, isn’t it, Rachel?”

  The woman nodded in agreement, her sapphire gaze regarding Kaitlyn seriously. “Yes. It is eerie. Come on, babe. Let’s leave this poor girl alone. We’re sorry to bother you.”

  Kaitlyn nodded but didn’t say anything more as the woman took hold of Evan’s arm and pulled him past her. She could smell his cologne as he passed, his eyes catching hers one last time. Kaitlyn breathed deeply; the scent was so familiar. She continued down the sidewalk, her hands still shaking from the encounter.

  How could he have replaced her so quickly? He was married?

  Something wasn’t right. Quess had said Evan was twenty-one, and it had bothered Kaitlyn at the time, but she wasn’t sure why. If she was only seventeen, had her parents let her date a twenty-one year old? A cursory scan of state laws told her that was illegal.

  She was murdered. A long time ago.

  How long?

  Kaitlyn waited until Evan and the blonde had turned a corner and were out of sight, then she took off at a steady run. Lucas had warned her she was faster than humans, and she needed to be careful not to draw attention to herself. A six mile per hour pace seemed adequate. She ran through the streets and came to a stop before the first store she found. The store had bars on the windows. She had obviously ventured into the bad side of town.

  Taking a deep breath, Kaitlyn walked through the door and grabbed a soda and some beef jerky. After she paid the cashier, she asked, “What is today?”

  “Monday. All day it’s been Monday.”

  Kate shook her head. “I mean the date and year.”

  The older woman looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Are you being fresh with me, child?”

  “No. I was in an accident and sometimes I forget things.”

  “Oh, you poor thing. Amnesia?”

  Kate scanned the definition and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Amnesia.”

  “It’s the twenty-eighth of September, 2014.”

  Kate wobbled on her feet, but managed to compose herself before the cashier noticed her panic. The mechanism that overrode her balance set in place, whirled, and she felt better.

  Twenty-fourteen.

  “Thank you.” Kaitlyn turned towards the door, her thoughts clouded.

  “Honey.” The cashier pushed the bag over the counter, her dark eyes concerned. “You forgot your bag.”

  Kaitlyn thanked her, grabbed the bag, and nearly ran from the building. She stopped on the sidewalk, the hot sun beating down on her. Her world had tilted.

  Three years had passed since her accident. Not several months, like she had thought. Where did that time go?

  Kaitlyn needed answers, and there was only one person who could give them to her.

  Lucas.

  Her mind was racing. How could this be? She was so distracted she didn’t notice the group of guys up ahead. She heard someone whistle and her head snapped up, and she stopped in her tracks.

  “My my, what’s a girl like you doing on this side of town? Slumming?”

  Slumming? She didn’t respond. There were four of them, and she didn’t need her sensors to know they were going to be trouble. She really wasn’t in the mood.

  “Cat got your tongue?”

  “Why would a cat have my tongue?” She asked innocently even though, thanks to the slang chip, she knew it was yet another human saying that made no sense.

  “Comedian. We got a funny girl.” A tall guy with tattoos all over his muscular arms, and neck stepped forward. The leader. His chest was puffed up like a rooster.

  “I don’t want any trouble.” Kaitlyn said calmly. In her mind she was going over avenues of attack.

  “Well, sweetheart you are on the wrong side of the tracks. Trouble is all you find over here.”

  “That’s a shame. You shouldn’t let a train track decide if you are good or bad.”

  A couple of the guys laughed in the background.

  “Feisty, I like it.”

  “What’s your name?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “What’s it to you?”

  “I’d like to know your name before I kick your ass.”

  “You and what army. I’ll tell you what’s going to happen.” He flicked a knife out of his pocket. “I’m going to tear your clothes off, and then make you beg for it. Once I’m done with you, my boys are going to have their turn.”

  “I don’t think so.” Kaitlyn, felt her body relax. She welcomed the chance to take out her anger on these jerks. Her mind flashed back to the girl that was raped and the man who caused the end of her life and the start of her new one. As far as she was concerned, the world would be a better place with four less bullies. Someone had to teach them a lesson, and it might as well be her.

  The guy licked his lips and took a step forward.

  In a blur Kaitlyn slammed her elbow into the crook of his arm. The knife clattered to the ground. Kaitlyn kicked it away. The guy’s eyes widened in surprise. The other three moved forward, but the tough guy waved them away.

  “I got this bitch.” He snarled, his eyes flashed with anger.

  He lunged forward, and Kate side stepped causing him to loose his footing. Kate took the advantage and slammed the heel of her open palm into his chest as he fell forward. She heard his ribs crack. He fell to the ground coughing blood. The three guys looked at each other.

  A stocky bald guy of average height and
wide shoulders came forward. She found it funny that they came one at time when they would have had a better chance if all three attacked. Not much of a chance, but still.

  Kaitlyn got into position with her legs bent making it easier to pivot and deliver strikes to her opponent. The guy cocked back his arm and threw a wild punch which Kate deflected easily. She sensed the guy on the ground move, but she knew he wasn’t a threat.

  Go to your opponent, Frank had told her. Never show fear. Move forward. Don’t hesitate; they wont expect it. The grueling hours of training had paid off. She acted reflexively.

  Pivoting on the balls of her feet, Kaitlyn delivered a swift kick to his larynx, crushing his wind pipe. The guy dropped to his knees and grabbed his throat. She advanced towards the last two, but they took off in a sprint. She could chase them down, but she had a train to catch.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Once again, Kaitlyn was on a train headed back in the direction she had come from.

  Anger filled her so completely that she couldn’t see past the rage. Lies. She was sick of all the lies. After all IFICS had taken from her, she deserved the truth. The decision had been so easy to make. There was nothing left of her old life but memories. She couldn’t return to her parents and their white house, and Evan had moved on with his life. They could not accept her for the robot she had become. She couldn’t expect them to. If her parents found out what had happened to her. Lucas and the others would all go to jail. She needed to speak to Lucas first. Perhaps someday she would find a way to come back to her parents, but right now it was not the time. Life had moved on when she was gone.

  So Kate knew it was time for her to move on, too. She wasn’t sure where she would go or what she would do, but she would start over.

  Remembering what Lucas said about the handheld device, Kaitlyn reached for the phone. She noticed the symbol at the top informing her that the battery was getting low.

  She hesitated for only a moment before she tapped the button and spoke as clearly as she could. “Lucas Andrews address. Northern Virginia.”

  Kaitlyn actually smiled. A robot talking to a robot.

  A list of potential addresses scrolled across the phone, and Kaitlyn was impressed. She narrowed it down to three locations, and turned off the phone to conserve the battery.

  She didn’t notice the scenery or the passengers this time. Her sole focus was finding out what had happened to her lost time. She knew going back was dangerous. They would be looking for her. They might even be watching Lucas, but she had to chance it. She had to know.

  She dozed off, and for the first time since she could recall, she didn’t dream about Evan.

  As the train pulled into the station, she grabbed her bag and wondered about the significance of this change. Maybe seeing him in person and knowing he had accepted her death and moved on had allowed her to close that part of her subconscious. She still couldn’t get over the fact that he was married, or that her real name was Cassidy. But the most mind-boggling was the time that had passed. Where had that time gone?

  It was cool as she made her way out into the early morning. She didn’t notice it of course, but her internal thermometer flashed fifty-seven degrees. The station bustled with commuters coming and going, and she stopped to watch for a moment. So many people going about their day, living their normal lives. She saw a man wearing a suit carrying a briefcase. He looked like he was talking to himself, but she noticed he was speaking into an bluetooth earpiece. A long line at the coffee cart. A woman pulled her sweater tighter in the brisk air. They had no idea a freak, a deadly super soldier, walked amongst them.

  Switching on the phone, she browsed the map function. It took Kaitlyn almost an hour to reach the first potential address by foot. There was an older model Cadillac in the driveway, so unless Lucas lived with someone, she had a feeling this would be a bust. Although, with the way things were going, even that wouldn’t surprise her at this point.

  She rang the doorbell, and an older man answered.

  Smiling brightly, Kaitlyn asked, “Excuse me, is Lucas home?”

  The man stared at her for a long moment before answering. “Nope. Lucas is at his friends house. What do you want with him?”

  Her mind raced, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. Finally, she just went with the truth. “It was a shot in the dark. My ex-boyfriend’s name is Lucas Andrews. I looked him up, and this was one of the addresses.”

  The man tsked. “Damn computers can tell you anything nowadays. Sorry, wrong house, I’m afraid. I think my Lucas is a bit too young for you. Good luck on your search.” He shut the door.

  Following her instincts, Kaitlyn skipped the second name on the list and made her way to the third, even though it was further away. Something in the back of her mind told her it was the location she was searching for. When she checked the map, it gave her the distances when walking and for when traveling by car. She decided to grab a cab like they always did in the movies. After standing on the street for ten minutes, she realized the chances of catching a cab on a side street in the suburbs were not very good, so navigated to the main highway.

  The first time a yellow cab rode by, she stuck out her hand, but it drove past her. She had no idea what she was doing wrong.

  About ten minutes later, another came down the highway, and pulled over. She slid in the front seat and showed the driver the address on her phone. The car pulled out and neither spoke on the drive, which was fine by her. She wasn’t feeling chatty.

  “Please drive past the house without stopping.”

  The driver raised an eyebrow, but kept driving.

  Kaitlyn recognized Lucas’s Jeep in the driveway. She stared up at the small brick house. Hopefully, he didn’t have a secret wife she wasn’t aware of.

  “Can you drop me off two blocks ahead?”

  The driver drove ahead without a word. She noticed a black SUV parked across the street from Lucas’s.

  Walking casually she turned right and then left, and walked the two blocks until she was directly behind Lucas’s house a street over. She should wait till nightfall, but she wanted answers now.

  Harrington’s security team wasn’t that large. More than likely there was only one guard watching the house and he would never see her enter.

  She walked through the yard and hopped the short chain linked fence. As she suspected, there was no one in the back yard. She hurried up the back steps, and knocked on the door.

  The door swung open, and Lucas stood, staring at her, his mouth agape. He was only wearing plaid pajama bottoms and nothing else. The sight of his bare skin almost made her forget what she was there for.

  “Kate?” He pulled her into the dim interior and slammed the door. “What are you…how did you…what are you doing here? There’s a guard out front.”

  “That’s why I came in the back door.” She looked away from his chest and met his eyes. “Why Lucas? Why all the lies?”

  “Come in here and sit down. What’s happened?”

  He led her into an open living room. Dark curtains were drawn and the lights were out. A worn leather couch faced a brick fire place, and a large red rug covered the hardwood floor beneath a coffee table. The walls were lined with bookshelves. A brushed metal lamp sat on a dark wooden end table. Her mind was going through the stores where they were purchased, but she ignored it. She didn’t care where Lucas shopped. She wanted different answers.

  “Sit down.” Lucas motioned to the couch.

  A black cat with a white patch of fur around its left eye strolled slowly into the room and sat down, flicking her tail as she stared suspiciously at Kate. She wondered if it could tell she wasn’t fully human.

  “How old am I, Lucas, and… you have a cat?”

  He settled in a recliner next to the couch and dropped his head. “You’re twenty, and yes, I have a cat. She came with the house, I guess you could say.”

  The cat seemed to make some kind of decision, and jumped on Kate’s lap. Startled, she
ran her hand down its soft fur without really thinking about it.

  “Domino never goes to anyone.”

  “Domino?”

  “The cat. She’s very much a loner.”

  “Kindred souls, I guess. Why did you let me believe I was seventeen?”

  Lucas sighed. “I guess I never thought about your age. I didn’t realize you thought about your age.”

  “I don’t care about my age. What I want to know is what happened to me in those lost years?”

  Lucas leaned forward to take her hand, but she pulled away. His brow knitted together. “You were in a coma for almost three years.”

  Kaitlyn didn’t say anything for a long time while she processed the new information. “I remember waking up and seeing you.”

  “Do you?” He smiled sadly. “I sat by your bed every day. We weren’t sure you would pull through. It’s a miracle you’re alive.”

  “A miracle, or science?”

  He shrugged. “They often go hand in hand.”

  “I’m so confused, Lucas. I thought it would help, finding out who I was, but it hasn’t helped at all.” She stared at him. “I saw someone from my past. Someone I once loved.”

  Lucas tensed. “Evan.”

  Nodding, she replied, “I saw Evan, and that made me even more confused.”

  “What happened?”

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t tell him anything. He just thought I was someone that looked like Cassidy. My name is Cassidy? That doesn’t even sound right.”

  “It was Cassidy,” Lucas said gently. “You’re Kaitlyn now. Unless you want to be Cassidy?”

  She shook her head. “No. Cassidy died a long time ago.”

  “How did you feel when you met him?” Lucas looked away as if he didn’t really want to hear the answer.