Freak of Nature (16 page)

He pulled her close and kissed her deeply, as if he only had a moment left to live. It literally took her breath away.

“I still don’t know how you do that to me,” she said against his lips, stealing one more kiss.

He brushed a strand of her hair out of her face. “Whatever you feel is magnified by a thousand for me. God, I’m going to miss you.” His voice was hoarse.

Kaitlyn opened her mouth to argue such a thing was not statistically possible, but something overrode the reaction. She realized without having to be told that he was just being sweet. But was it her computer that recognized the sentiment, or the real Kate?

“Kate, I’m going to do something I should have done a long time ago. I hope you can forgive me for all I’ve taken from you.”

“Lucas don’t say that, none of this is your fault. You were just a pawn in Harrington’s game.”

“Shh.” He pressed his finger to her lips. “Turn around.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m giving you your past back. Memories of your old life.”

Kaitlyn’s breathing hitched and she paused in the act of turning to look at him seriously. “My real life? Human life?”

Lucas nodded. “I programmed it so that your memories won’t hit you for thirty minutes. That should give you more than enough time to get off the compound.”

“But how? I thought they were gone…”

He closed his eyes, pained. “Not gone, Kate. Saved to a hard drive and taken away from you.”

“They saved my memories?”

Opening his eyes, he said, “No. I did.”

Kaitlyn couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping. “Do they know?”

He shook his head.

“Why would you save them?”

“Because I cared about the girl you were before you came to us.” Before she could ask another question, Lucas went on. “I can’t take you through this time. I need an alibi once they realize you’ve escaped. It will give you more time. I’ll have to sound the alarm when Harrington sends me to pick you up, and I find the room empty.”

Pivoting on the balls of her feet, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for one last kiss. The thought of never tasting his lips on hers again made her feel hollow. “Thank you.” A small part of her was annoyed that he had her memories the whole time, but she pushed the thought aside. He was risking so much for her.

Once they broke away, Lucas looked at her sadly. She wondered if his heart was hurting as much as hers. “Let me implant the chip to override the commands. I wish I had known you then, Kaitlyn.”

Kaitlyn hesitated, and then slowly, she turned around. He pulled down her shirt and kissed her neck. There was an audible click and she felt a pinch as something was inserted into her mainframe.

“Okay, it’s done.”

She turned to face him, and he handed her an iPhone. Kaitlyn had never seen one before, but it would be easy enough to figure out.

“There are maps on here and access to information. The phone is not traceable. If you need information, double click on the round button and speak into the phone, asking it what you need.”

Kaitlyn looked at him like he was crazy. “You want me to talk into the device, and it will answer me?”

“I know it sounds silly, but it really works.”

“Where am I going to go?”

“I-I don’t know. Just trust your instincts. Remember, try not to draw attention to yourself. Harrington will not stop looking for you.”

“I don’t want to say goodbye.”

“It’s the only way.” He whispered. “Don’t underestimate the guards, Kate, they know what they’re doing.”

She shot him a look. “I’ll be fine. I’m quite efficient, thanks to IFICS.”

Lucas looked down at the floor. A flush of red covered his cheeks. “I’ll still worry about you. Every day.”

Kaitlyn reached for his hand and entwined his fingers in hers. His hand was large and warm in her own; it felt so natural. How could she walk away from him? And Quess?

“Quess!” she blurted out.

“I’ll tell her you’re safe, but you have to go. Now.” Lucas picked up the rucksack and handed it to her. “Don’t kill anyone getting out. The guards are just doing their job. They all respect you. I think some have even grown to like you.”

“No collateral damage. I’ll get out without loss of life.” She nodded and slung the bag over her shoulders.

Lucas peeked out the door first and motioned for her to follow. They hurried down the empty hallway. At the back door, Lucas came to an abrupt stop. “I have to go back to the lab so I’m seen.”

“I’ll never be able to repay you for giving me my freedom back. I will find you again,” Kaitlyn told him, her heart pounding.

Lucas’s eyes glistened under the fluorescent lights. “Goodbye, Kate. I’ll never forget you.”

Pushing the metal door open, Lucas hurried to the right, and Kaitlyn silently took off to the left, blending into the night. Her night vision kicked in, and her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. She had to admit the technology came in handy. At first, it had taken her a bit to get used to, but now it felt no different than her day sight. It was an advantage the guards did not have, at least not automatically like she did. They would have to go to the supply closet and pick up night vision goggles, buying her more time.

Kaitlyn knew the location of all the guards, and she also knew that at any minute they would be alerted that she had escaped. She had to act fast.

She flitted across the campus, aiming for the far reaches of the compound. It only took five minutes before she heard crashing in the bushes behind her. The erratic bouncing of flashlight beams danced around her, followed by excited yelling. Lucas must have sounded the alarm.

A bullet whizzed past her ear. She heard it thump as it hit the grass. They’d spotted her! It took all of her self-control not to turn around and break the guard’s neck. Lucas had told her no death. She ran in a zigzag pattern—typical of her training. It was hard to hit a moving target. Let alone at her speed.

Vectoring in through her location sensors, Kaitlyn found the nearest wall almost four hundred meters away. So close. She increased her speed, legs and arms pumping, breaths equal and strong. Just a little further, and she would be free.

Don’t think. Just move. Let your body do what it was made to do.

The high fence loomed before her. Skidding to a stop, she tossed her bag over. One quick glance behind her, and she scaled the fence. Once she was close to the barbwire she jumped over, her arms flailing as she fell towards the ground. She hit the ground, bending her knees and tucking in her elbows to absorb the impact.

With one last glance behind her, Kaitlyn shrugged her rucksack on. Her heart constricted and an aching pain filled her chest.
So that was what pain felt like
, she thought sadly.

Move
, Kaitlyn scolded herself and took off in a full sprint, disappearing into the night as if she’d never existed.

Chapter Twenty

K
aitlyn crashed through the woods, the cracking branches beneath her feet filling the dark silence. The green-tinted night forest spread around her as far as she could see. She had been on the run for thirteen minutes and eleven seconds. Scanning the forest she could see the body heat of several startled animals. There wasn’t a human form in sight. If they were chasing her, they weren’t close—at least, not yet.

Faster.

She had to get out of the woods and into civilization; a town. There had to be a town near here, somewhere. They would be combing the woods for her for days, but she didn’t plan on being there that long.

Recalling the phone Lucas had given her, Kaitlyn came to a halt, swung the bag off her shoulder and dropped it to the ground. She unzipped the side pocket and slid out the smooth, thin phone. When she pressed the round button on the bottom, the screen came to life.

A small square on the screen said ‘Maps.’ Not knowing what else to do, she tapped it. She was surprised when it opened to a map. She had spent extensive time with Frank learning to read the terrain and navigate maps. It didn’t take her long to realize the pulsing dot was her location. When she moved forward, the dot moved with her. Genius.

There was a major highway approximately fifteen miles due north. She stuffed the phone back in the bag and took off in that direction. The undergrowth was getting thicker, and the hills steeper. Reaching up, she grasped hold of a branch to help pull her forward, and then another until she made it to the top. She broke free of the thick shrubs and trees and found herself standing on the edge of a cliff over a stream.

A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she stumbled back, losing her footing. Had they caused her to malfunction remotely? Closing her eyes, she tried to steady herself, to wait for the dizziness to pass.

But instead, like a tidal wave, her memories came crashing back.

It was too much. She wanted to grab the sides of her head and scream, but as images flashed through her mind and emotions spun her around, she breathed deeply and pulled herself back up the slope. She had to keep moving.

Memories of a young girl streamed through her mind. A young, dark-haired girl stood outside in a raincoat and yellow boots waiting for the bus. She turned and smiled at a woman with dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes. It hit Kaitlyn that the woman was probably her mother and the girl Kaitlyn herself. The next flash was her, slightly older, sitting cross-legged under a Christmas tree. A tall slim man with curly blond hair and grey eyes handed her a wrapped box. The girl squealed when she opened up the box and found ice skates. She threw her arms around the man. “Daddy!”

Daddy. The man was her father. He was wearing a red sweater with a snow man on it. His jaw was chiseled and his eyes were the same color as her own.

Keep moving. The influx of memories weakened her. She wanted to drop to the ground, curl into a ball, and wait for it to stop, but her pursuers could be gaining on her. Lucas had given her a chance, and she wasn’t going to let him down.

She seemed happy as a child. She laughed and smiled a lot. Athletic; she raced horses, played soccer, practiced karate, surfed, and later, rock climbed.

Kaitlyn ran faster in the shadows of the trees, pushing herself. Keep moving.

And then she was a teenager. School and parties. Boyfriends, dances, and kisses. She gasped when she saw Evan for the first time. His blond hair was shorter, but his green eyes sparkled just like in her dreams. They walked arm in arm through a park, so natural and happy together. He turned and kissed her. Kaitlyn couldn’t help but wonder if his kisses made her feel the way Lucas’s had.

She almost tripped over a large root when the next image flashed in front of her vision. Okay, so she definitely wasn’t a virgin. One mystery solved, as Quess would say. Just seeing the images of her and Evan naked and entwined together on a twin bed made her temperature start to climb, but her sensors quickly regulated her body.

More memories crashed through, like watching home movies. Kaitlyn’s breath caught in her throat when the memories started to dim and she was walking by herself. She finally understood the meaning of hairs standing up on the back of one’s neck. She tensed, and came to an abrupt stop.

She was about to see something really bad, she could feel it. It was as if she were back in her old body and feeling what she had felt at the time.

In her mind, she watched herself cross Washington Blvd, the main street of her town. She’d done it a thousand times over her lifetime. She paused at the center line, waiting for a car to pass. A truck: Mr. Freeman from the bakery smiled and waved from the drivers seat. She hurried across the street and turned down Lance Drive, a side street that would get her home faster. It was a moonless night, and the streetlights gave off an eerie glow. That’s when she heard it: a woman screaming, begging for someone to stop.

In her memory, Kaitlyn froze, then jumped to action. Whipping out a cell phone, she dialed nine-one-one and in a hushed voice told the operator a woman was being attacked. She gave the street, and clicked off the line. Kaitlyn ran up the hill in the direction of the screams which had softened into muffled whimpers.

She spun around, searching. It took her a few moments to realize the sounds were coming from behind a large dumpster. Kaitlyn gasped when she saw a man on top of a woman, her clothes were ripped and face bloody. The man was too intent on the woman to notice Kaitlyn approaching.

She glanced around, searching for something to use as a weapon. A metal pole was sticking out of the dumpster, so she pulled it out, trying to be quiet. Kaitlyn grasped the pole like a baseball bat and swung as hard as she could at the man’s back.

“What the hell?” he screamed slumped forward grabbing his back.

“Help me,” the woman said, mascara running down her cheeks. “Please.”

“Get off her, you asshole.” Kaitlyn’s hands shook as she held the metal weapon.

The guy ignored her and kept slamming himself into the defenseless woman as if having Kaitlyn watching turned him on even more.

“Get off her!” She drew back again and smashed him on the head.

That caught his attention. He jerked up, stumbling away from the prone woman. “Bitch.” Blood trickled down the side of his face. He pulled his jeans up, but left himself hanging out.