Freak of Nature

  Maybe he was meant to be alone. He deserved to be alone after what they–he–had done to Kate.

  He cleared his throat. “I have to go take care of some things,” Lucas said as he pulled his hand away.

  Kaitlyn didn’t reply. Her body had slumped slightly forward, and she could not even hear him.

  He lied. There was nothing he had to do, but he couldn’t stand being in the same room as her, knowing what he had done. It was like she was his mirror and he couldn’t stand to look at his own reflection. He grabbed his coat and rushed out of the room without another word—leaving Kaitlyn all alone.

  What a coward, he thought, disgusted with himself.

  He didn’t deserve her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lucas walked out of the lab, passing Adams on his way in. The professor greeted him, but Lucas didn’t respond.

  Odd, Kaitlyn thought as the door clicked shut behind Lucas.

  She didn’t feel any different, but that wasn’t a surprise. She could rarely tell when they made changes these days. The little tweaks were not as jarring as the big upgrades in the beginning had been. Everything they did now was to make her more efficient. More of a machine.

  “Kaitlyn, I do believe you’ve received your last upgrade.” Adams said with a smile. He scribbled something unintelligible on the white board as he spoke.

  “The last?”

  “Yes, unless something else comes up. You should be ready for delivery.”

  “Delivery?”

  The professor continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “As long as they want you, of course. There is the slight chance that they might not be interested, but that would be shocking to all of us. You are the most advanced human on the planet.”

  Human—yeah, right.

  “Where will I be sent?”

  The professor turned to stare at her. “Well, I guess there is no sense in keeping it a secret, since you are the one that will be going. I’ve heard rumors of a top secret facility for special projects such as yourself.”

  “There are others?” Kaitlyn kept her voice neutral. This was the longest conversation she had ever had with the professor.

  He laughed. “No, not like you. Not yet anyway. Mostly drones and other robotic equipment that they use on the black side.”

  “Black side?”

  “Yes, secret. No budget. No paper trail. Things that exist in a void.”

  Being in a void didn’t sound too appealing, but like usual she kept her thoughts to herself.

  Kaitlyn’s body went into alert mode and a giant yellow ‘Caution’ flashed in her vision. Someone was approaching the lab from the hallway. Her every muscle tensed, preparing for action. Moments later, the door swung open.

  The man who entered was easily categorized by Kaitlyn’s machinery: six foot two, two hundred fifteen pounds, jet black hair greying at the temples, and sharp blue-grey eyes. His face was weathered, but he aged well. Current age—sixty-three.

  With mechanical precision, Kaitlyn locked gazes with the man. She had to fight the urge to jump up and wrap her hands around Dr. Harrington’s throat. She was programmed to observe any subjects with a ‘caution’ categorization, but not act until it elevated to a ‘warning’. Her body felt odd, and she quickly analyzed the feeling as rage.

  That’s new.

  Her analyzers began listing the many ways she could kill Harrington, but then logic took over. If she killed him, it wouldn’t do her any good; they would probably deactivate and disassemble her. Disassembly didn’t sound good. Her body would die. There was not enough human to survive without the help from the computers. As much as she disliked her new life, she wasn’t ready to cease to exist.

  It had been sixty-four days since she had last seen her creator, Matthew Harrington, owner and founder of IFICS. He carried his large body with athletic grace, and he looked the same, except his skin was a shade or two darker. She should have warned him that too much sun exposure was dangerous, but she kept her mouth closed.

  “Professor. Is the subject ready?” the man said in a smooth, deep voice, not taking his eyes off Kaitlyn.

  “Dr. Harrington.” The professor held out his hand and clasped Harrington’s hand in his own. “So nice of you to drop by. Yes, the subject is more than ready. Magnificent piece of work, if I do say so myself. She is going to stun on her unveiling.”

  “As she should. We only have four days until we meet with the committee.”

  “I’m sure they will be pleased. Quite pleased indeed.” Professor Adams shifted uneasily. Kaitlyn zoomed in on his face and the word ‘nervous’ flashed across her field of vision. Recalling his behavior sixty-four days ago, she concluded that he always looked that way when Harrington was onsite. Kaitlyn didn’t understand why. Adams was only the brains behind the operation, Harrington just supplied the cash and took the credit. At least, that was what she had been able to gather during the time she had been awake and alert. After her body healed from the accident and the upgrades.

  “They better be pleased,” Harrington said sharply and turned his attention back to Kaitlyn. “We have everything riding on this.”

  Dr. Harrington was clearly a man used to getting his way. ‘Arrogant prick’ ran through her head. She had to analyze it for a moment to realize it was part of her upgrade. Interesting. So prick had two completely different meanings…

  Harrington crossed the room until he was standing only inches from her. Armani suit, bronze Panerai dive watch, Clive Christian cologne—$375 a bottle, and Barker Black shoes. Nothing but the best.

  He ran his hand down the side of her face and trailed it all the way down the side of her arm. His skin was warm against hers. “It’s going to be so hard to give you away. You are my life’s work. I’ve dreamed of creating you since I was a little boy.” Her sensors informed her that his expression was sincere, as if he indeed was making a great sacrifice. If that was true, then why did he have to give her away?

  Not a threat.

  Her body relaxed.

  She said nothing. She only answered him if he asked a question, which he rarely did.

  Harrington’s blue-grey eyes stared into her own. “It has to be done. You are the future of mankind. It still pisses me off I’m going to have to hand you over to someone else. It’s like giving away my first born.”

  She had no idea what that meant. The thought of leaving what had become her home sent her reeling. She shouldn’t have cared where they put her, but leaving one owner for another was frightening. Not to mention never seeing Lucas or Quess again. Her body revved up, and then cooled down just as quickly. No one was the wiser.

  Just then, Lucas returned through the double doors. His blue eyes searched her face as if looking for something. His shoulders slumped, and his eyes appeared weary. “Dr. Harrington, hello,” Lucas said, shifting his attention to where it belonged.

  Harrington crossed the room to meet him. He threw his arm around Lucas’s shoulder. “My dear boy, we did it.” The old man’s face broke into a huge grin, and Harrington stared at Kaitlyn, full of pride. Standing side by side, the two men looked as if they could be related.

  “Fill me in on her upgrades,” Harrington said to Lucas as they walked out the door without another word to Kaitlyn or Professor Adams.

  She could hear them talking until they made it down the hallway and out the exit door. Lucas did not mention their conversation from the night before to Dr. Harrington. At least, not yet. He had promised he would keep it to himself.

  She hoped he was a man of his word. Something in her told her he could be trusted. Much like Quess and her pinky promise.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lucas sat at his desk, tapping his foot. He was the only one left in the lab; everyone else had gone home. There was a reason for that, beyond his usual overworked, overachieving ways: He was dying to see Kaitlyn—alone.

  He wanted to make sure, to see for himself that the upgrade worked, even though the confirmation would tear him apart.

 
What he needed was a legitimate excuse to go back to her room. He looked around the office and grabbed a folder off the desk. It would have to do. He’d make something up if he was stopped, not that they would, the guards usually left him alone. With Harrington back, however, he’d rather play it safe.

  He hurried out the door and down the long hallway.

  He was anxious to see Kaitlyn, but there was a twinge of fear in his chest. He didn’t know if he could handle the probability of a completely blank stare. Seeing her look at him like that would be like a bullet through his heart. Self-inflicted. Would she remember what had happened between them last night? The coding should not have erased the memory, but she could be confused by it, or just write it off as insignificant. He wasn’t sure how her brain would access the information.

  She hadn’t acknowledged him all day, not that she’d really had the opportunity. If she was still in there she would have found a way to let him know. A glance, anything, but she had been robotic all day.

  As he turned down the J-shaped hallway that led into the dormitories, his step faltered. A janitor stood in the middle of the walkway, pushing a broom. The older gentleman glanced up and acknowledged Lucas with a tip of his hat.

  “Evening,” Lucas responded, sidestepping around the man and clutching his folder. Nothing more was said, and Lucas left the janitor behind, the sound of the steady swish of the broom fading the further he walked. When he finally stood in front of her door, he closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

  Before he had a chance to knock, her voice filtered through the door. “Come in, Lucas.”

  Of course she knew he was coming. She most likely knew before he made it down the second hallway. It was one of the things she was programmed to do. She could detect motion and potential threats. Her mind filtered sounds at an unprecedented rate, and her body was always on alert.

  They key scraped the lock and Lucas pushed open the door. His body was tensed.

  Kaitlyn was sitting on the edge of her bed with her feet planted on the floor, staring straight ahead. The TV was on and she was watching a National Geographic documentary turned down low. She reached for the remote and clicked it off. Lucas rubbed his arms as goose pimples formed on his skin; the room was cold—colder than would be bearable for a normal human, though Kaitlyn’s thin cotton dress showed she was unbothered by it.

  “Kaitlyn, would you come with me for a walk? I’d like to ask you some questions.” He opened the folder to punctuate his statement, but closed it quickly when he realized there was nothing in it. Smooth.

  “Okay.” Kaitlyn stood up and smoothed her dress down before slipping into her shoes.

  Lucas fought the urge to tell her to grab a jacket, that it was cold outside. It stung him that he so often gave her human characteristics; he wanted her to be fully human. To react to the weather. He had never seen her shiver.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked as he held the door open. She slid past him, causing him to inhale sharply as her skin touched his. Even though he knew she could no longer feel for him, she still tied him up in knots. He would probably never get over her. And he had done it to himself. That was the worst part.

  This was not going to be easy.

  Kaitlyn inclined her head. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  Lucas was at a loss for words as they made their way outside. The sun was dipping below the horizon, low enough that the sidewalk lights had already flickered on. The fragrant smell of a burning fireplace filled the chilled evening air. He glanced sidelong at her, hoping for a response to the cold, but she just fell into step beside him, her arms hanging loosely at her sides.

  “Do you like the new upgrades?” Lucas tilted his head to the left to see her clearly.

  “They are interesting. The slang chip and the facial recognition will be very useful. Humans express so much with their faces,” Kaitlyn responded stoically looking up at him briefly. “Sixty to seventy percent of meaning is derived from nonverbal behavior in communication. I think I’ll understand people better now.” Her gaze carefully scanned the perimeter.

  Lucas knew she was looking for threats. As she was programmed. He flinched at the reference to ‘humans.’

  “Like now,” she spoke up again, her grey eyes moving to settle on his face. “You flinched. I know it bothers you when I say humans. I wouldn’t have picked that up before.”

  “We should have thought of adding the program sooner.”

  “I agree. I didn’t realize so many words had double meanings.”

  They drew near to Kaitlyn’s favorite tree. He wondered if she would notice the sturdy birch today. The new chip should have removed that preference from her mind.

  Lucas realized he had a lot in common with the tree. Kate shouldn’t be attracted to him and yet she had been.

  She didn’t say anything as they passed the large tree.

  A wave of sadness washed over him; the old Kaitlyn was gone.

  “Can we go that way?” She pointed off to the right where a slant-roofed gardner’s shed sat illuminated by a security light.

  “Of course.” Lucas was puzzled that she would want to change direction. Maybe her sensors had picked up on something in that area.

  Once they reached a large oak tree, Kaitlyn sat down and shifted to the side to make room for him.

  After a slight hesitation, Lucas sank down to the ground beside her. He braced himself for the cold, distant Kaitlyn. Her knee brushed his and sent a jolt through him. He longed to touch her, to lean over and capture her lips again and feel her warmth, but he kept his hands by his side. He would have to live with his decision. His unhappiness for the sake of the project. Dear God, what had he become?

  “What did you want to ask me?” Kaitlyn asked, her palms resting lightly on her thighs. In the twilight, her legs looked long and pale.

  Lucas flushed. “Oh. Umm, I just kinda made that up. I wanted to see you.”

  “I was hoping you would come by.”

  “You were?” he said, surprised. He hadn’t been expecting that at all.

  She nodded and cast her grey eyes upward to meet his. The moment their gazes met, he felt like he was falling.

  He couldn’t stop himself; it was as if she was pulling him towards her, drawing him in. Next thing he knew, his lips were crashing down on hers, and her arms were behind his head, pulling him closer. His eyes widened in surprise, and he dropped the folder. She was soft and pliant beneath his hands, her mouth moving against his, timid, and then needy.

  She’s still in there—but that’s impossible.

  All thought left his mind, and he closed his eyes, allowing his body to relax into hers. Nothing had ever felt so right in his life even though he knew it was so wrong.

  He broke away gasping. This wasn’t possible. She shouldn’t be acting like this. He had fixed the coding personally. “Kate…”

  “Why did you stop?” she gasped, curling her fingers into his shirt as if going to pull him back.

  Lucas dropped his hands from her shoulders and tried to gather his thoughts. “What do you feel for me?”

  “I-I don’t know. I like the way you make me feel when you kiss me. Everything fades away, and it’s just us. My mind calms.”

  “Is that the same way you felt yesterday?”

  “Yes. Why are you asking these questions? Do you not want to kiss me?”

  “What?” Lucas couldn’t help the laugh that burst from him. He traced a palm down her cheek. “No, it’s not that. I want to kiss you more than I’ve ever wanted anything before in my life. It just doesn’t make sense. You shouldn’t have emotions towards me. You shouldn’t have emotions at all. You weren’t programmed that way.”

  As soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back.

  Her face went still, as if a mask had dropped down. “You’re right. I wasn’t programmed that way.”

  “Kate, please…” he said, “you don’t understand. Yesterday, I found out there was an error in your c
oding that would leave you vulnerable to forming attachments. Forming attachments like…but I fixed it. So this can’t be. It shouldn’t be possible.”

  He knew her mind was whirring, processing the information. There was a certain look to her eyes when it happened. Maybe nobody but Lucas could tell, and only because he had studied her for so long—and not just as a robot.

  “You fixed me?” she asked coldly.

  “I didn’t mean it that way. I meant I fixed the coding. If you still feel this way, it’s amazing. It’s astounding….” He shoved a hand through his hair, trying to pick his words. “It shouldn’t be, but it is. There’s more to it than coding, here.”

  “So when you ‘fixed’ me,” Kaitlyn said, as if he hadn’t spoken, “I was no longer supposed to be attracted to you?”

  Lucas paused to take a deep breath. “That’s what I expected, yeah.”

  “And you did it anyway?” Her grey eyes flashed with anger and her jaw tightened.

  Oh shit, she’s pissed. He scrambled to think of the words to right the situation. “You don’t understand. I did it for you.”

  Her voice raised. “For me?”

  “Yes, it could be a liability when you leave here. I couldn’t stand the risk of you getting hurt.”

  “So you wanted to take away what little feelings I had left? What little there was of my humanity?”

  Lucas looked down at the ground, shame settling over him.

  “Well I’m sorry to inform you, but it didn’t work.” She moved to stand up, and Lucas grabbed her arm.

  “Kate, please just hear me out. You’re leaving in a couple of days. I don’t know if we will see each other again. Do you really want to waste what little time we have left together arguing? I’m begging you. Please, I was an idiot, but I really thought I was doing what was best for you.””