Unremembered (Unremembered #1)(76)

I nod.

‘Good,’ he says icily. ‘Then you won’t come any closer. Because I have it programmed to a setting I like to call scramble. One zap from this and he won’t be of much use to you any more.’

I get the point and back away. ‘What did you do to him?’ I ask, my voice shaking as I take in his assortment of injuries.

Zen lifts his head and our eyes meet for the first time. I see so much pain in his face but still he manages to flash me that exquisite uneven smile that I love so much.

Alixter shrugs and takes a few steps towards me. ‘Nothing time won’t heal. And a little antiseptic.’ He motions to the ground behind me. ‘Why don’t you take a seat?’

I drop to my knees and lean back against the rock wall. It feels cool on my sweat-stained shirt.

Alixter nods to the agent who led me in here. ‘Search her,’ he commands.

As the scar-faced man ominously stalks his way over to me, I squeeze the locket in my hand, wishing I had thrown it over the edge when I had the chance.

Now, it appears, Zen’s gift – just like me – will end up in the hands of Diotech.

He grips me by the elbow and starts to yank me back up. I say a sad, silent goodbye to the locket and everything it stood for – eternal love, freedom, escape – and slowly let it slide from my fingers. It makes a soft clank against the stony surface and I pray it will go unnoticed.

The guard reaches into all of my pockets, removing my borrowed cellphone. Zen watches carefully from across the room, his eyes registering panic. He thinks I might still have the drive.

But at least I was smart enough to leave that behind with Maxxer.

When the guard comes up empty-handed, I see Zen relax somewhat.

‘She’s clean,’ he announces to Alixter. ‘Just the cellphone.’ Then he pushes me down to the ground.

‘Gentle,’ Alixter reproaches silkily. ‘Don’t damage the merchandise.’ Then he grins cunningly at me. ‘And I wouldn’t try to break free if I was you. I know exactly how strong you are. And those chains are customized to your specifications. Just out of your reach.’

I glare back at him. The sight of him makes me tremble with fear, but I try not to let it show. ‘I have no intention of escaping,’ I tell him. ‘I came here to fulfill my end of the agreement.’

‘Ah yes,’ Alixter replies sinuously. ‘Our agreement. Of course. But you must understand, it’s hard to trust you, given your –’ he wheels his hand around in a slow circle – ‘well . . . history of insubordination.’

He glances from me to Zen and then back again. ‘Tell me,’ he says, ‘where were you two planning to go? Because I know it wasn’t here.’

‘Don’t tell him,’ Zen urges me, his voice strained and raspy.

I remain quiet. But not on Zen’s orders. There’s no way I’m telling this man anything.

Alixter studies the two of us again. ‘Such solidarity,’ he muses. ‘Right to the end.’ He exhales a long, drawn-out sigh. ‘No matter. Once we get you back to the lab, we’ll be able to find all the information we need.’ He taps his forehead.

I can feel the three receptors still attached to my head. No doubt, once I get back, they’ll use them – or something similar – to dig out all the memories they want. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they reset my mind completely. Back to square one.

After I’ve come so far.

The thought makes me shudder.

‘And then,’ Alixter goes on, ‘maybe we can figure out how to fix this little weakness you seem to have.’ He gestures to Zen, who’s so frail and battered he’s barely able to sit up. ‘It was something we definitely didn’t anticipate.’

Alixter pinches his chin between his thumb and forefinger. ‘You see, when we set out to create you – a perfect genetic specimen with speed, strength, brainpower, beauty, immunity to disease – we honestly didn’t expect you to have many human characteristics. In fact, we purposefully programmed you to be docile and obedient. With all the brain and gene modifications we made, our research indicated that you’d behave much like a robot. A willing servant. Incapable of insubordination or feeling much emotion. And certainly incapable of falling in love.’

He says the word as though it physically sickens him.

‘But clearly something in our calculations was amiss, because here we are.’ He spreads his arms out wide and chuckles sinisterly. ‘It became most obvious that you weren’t what we expected you to be when you fled the compound. And then ran from my agents. Instead of coming willingly. That’s when I knew that apprehending you was going to be a bit more complicated than I had originally hoped.’

He starts to pace, keeping a close eye on me the whole time. ‘I should have realized the truth sooner though. You had a certain zealous spirit about you right from the start. A rebellious streak. I suppose that’s why Rio always called you Seraphina – meaning “fery one” – instead of the name we gave you.’

As revolting as Alixter’s words are, I still find a peculiar satisfaction in hearing them. At least I had a rebellious streak. At least I fought.

‘Of course it wasn’t really a name,’ he muses. ‘It was just an abbreviation for the sequence of DNA that finally took. You see, we had several failed attempts before you came along. But sequence E, recombination A was the successful one. S:E/R:A. But like I said, no one really expected you to need a name, given your anticipated nature. But once it was discovered that you were, in fact, quite human, we figured Sera was as good a name as any.’