Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,10

wanted to?”

“Yes, I can eat enough to pass me off as human if needed.” The words made her flinch. The computer side of her thought of humans as inferior, for they lacked the brain she possessed. The human side of her, however, longed to know more.

“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, you will come over for dinner, and we can grill Nanny on your past,” Quess said.

A part of Kaitlyn was curious to find out more about her past, but another part didn’t want to know. What good would it do to find out she had family and friends who thought she was dead? It wasn’t like she could just stroll back into her old life and start over. No, that life was dead and buried. It should stay that way.

I think.

“Does your grandmother know about our talks?” she asked.

“Kaitlyn, I can’t believe you would ask that. We pinky promised, remember?”

Kaitlyn smiled at the memory. For some reason, a pinky promise was very important to Quess. Kaitlyn had thought it was very strange at the time, but a feeling of warmth had come over her after the exchange.

“I remember.”

“How am I going to be a spy if I can’t even keep a simple promise? You can trust me, Kaitlyn. I know I’m just a kid, but my word means something.”

“I like you, Quess. You are the only person to treat me like more than a robot. If it weren’t for your warning to keep my memories to myself, who knows what else they would have done to me. For that you have my loyalty.”

Quess smiled. “And you have mine. I’m sorry they did this to you, but I’m glad they saved your life. This summer would have really sucked without you around.”

They continued their walk around the compound. After the sun faded completely, they said their goodbyes, and Kaitlyn returned to the white walls of her room.

Aware of how alone she was without Quess, Kaitlyn settled into bed for another dream-filled night.

Chapter Five

Lucas would rather be going anywhere else tonight, but he hadn’t been able to say no. Professor Adams insisted, and when that man got something in his head there was no changing it. He was like a bulldog with a bone.

Lucas held up two shirts: A light blue oxford and a white oxford. He eyed them warily, lifting first one then the other up to the light. He wished he had someone to help him make these decisions. His cat domino rubbed against his leg. “What do you think domino? Blue or white?” The cat purred.

“A lot of help you are.”

He could compute equations in his mind, but couldn’t decide what to wear. Ridiculous.

Picking out a shirt shouldn’t be this difficult, he told himself. Hanging the white shirt back on the rack, he shrugged into the blue. He always wore white to work. It was the logical decision. Maybe he should expand his wardrobe, but since signing on with IFICS his social life had taken a back seat.

Fumbling with the buttons, Lucas wondered what was so important that Adams couldn’t talk to him tomorrow at work. Didn’t they see enough of each other as it was.

He hoped there weren’t more big changes in store for Kaitlyn. Every time they did an upgrade, she became less and less human. They were robbing her of her life experiences—memories of old ones and the pleasure in new ones. They were piece by piece removing her soul. Soon, all she would have left was the technology and not the person. If there was even anything left. After the first operation, she still smiled at him, still let out a half-amused breath when he tripped over the power cords. After the second upgrade, she stopped laughing. By the fifth, she stopped smiling entirely. Guilt washed over Lucas, and as hard as he tried to push it away, a permanent, low level of uneasiness stayed with him.

It was an hour’s drive to the compound, which was ridiculous since it hadn’t even been an hour and a half since he’d left work. And here he was, headed back in the same direction. On the bright side, IFICS reimbursed him for mileage and gas.

IFICS did a lot for Lucas. The job really was a dream-come-true. Great pay, generous benefits, and work he loved. Seriously, what more could he ask for?

If only his conscience hadn’t started to bother him. Without knowing why he was doing it, Lucas had started planning escape routes for Kaitlyn. He shook his head at