Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,28

nurse rushed over and withdrew her blood, and then quickly left the room.

His heart sank. Without a word he moved away from Professor Adams, and made his way to his desk to pick up the upgrade chip. Watching Kaitlyn from the corner of his eye.

He knew now that her fluid movements, her blank stare, it was all an act. He couldn’t imagine what she had been going through all this time, sitting motionless, expressionless, in front of them. In front of the cameras. Her level of self-control was impressive. At least he could take comfort in the fact that he would be removing the mental anguish she must have been dealing with every day.

Sure, Lucas. Keep telling yourself that. He clenched his fists at his side, tempted to put them both through the nearest window. A little pain and blood could clear his mind and take away his frustration over what was about to happen. The removal of the only spark of life she had left. He opened his right hand and stared down at the tiny, innocuous chip, and crossed the room towards her. He had to do it. In two days, they would hand her over to the Department of Defense. He inhaled deeply, steeling himself.

“Kaitlyn. We’re going to give you another upgrade that should avoid another shut down,” he said. “We’re also implanting the slang chip so conversations will be easier for you to follow, as well as a facial recognition program that will give you the ability to tell what people are thinking and feeling by their expressions. I’m sure you’ve picked up a lot on your own through watching others interact, but this will make it easier. You are programmed to be very adaptable. Eventually, you will be able to mimic them on your own during interaction.”

I’m also going to take away any feelings you had for me. He groaned inwardly.

She nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement. Her eyes met his there wasn’t a hint of distrust in her grey eyes. Which made it even worse.

It was killing him. He forced his breathing to slow and tried to quiet the emotions raging in his mind. She trusted him completely. If she knew what he was about to do, he knew she would beg him not to, and he would be helpless to tell her no.

His hand shook as he walked around behind her and gently untied the top of the hospital gown to expose the plastic and metal door in the center of her back. He opened the plastic on her back. The skin on either side was smooth, completely unmarred by anything but the transparent teal door. With a click, Lucas disconnected and removed the old processor chip and implanted the new one, wondering if she would feel the changes. Probably not.

He closed the plastic door again and it slotted into place. His hand lingered on her skin longer than necessary. Being so close to her was too much. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Her processor was updating as he watched. He had just ended any chance he had of a real relationship with her, the one woman he wanted. He had never connected to another woman the way he did Kaitlyn. Sure, he’d had a couple of girlfriends—sexual partners, really—but they had never meant anything of significance to him.

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

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