The Similars (The Similars #1)(64)

Maude nods as she operates the control panel, and I brace myself when Oliver’s hologram steps forward.

But I’m not gutted. I’ve been sitting in class with Levi for months, so the sight of Ollie’s face isn’t jarring. Still, the hint of a smile on his lips makes me ache for him.

“Okay,” Maude says, all business. “What information do you want to see first?”

“Is that a serious question?” I scowl. “If I knew, we wouldn’t be doing this!”

Maude laughs. “Point taken. Let’s scroll through Oliver’s data and see what we find. Maybe something will jump out at you.”

“Thanks,” I say. “And sorry. I’m a little on edge.”

Maude starts reading as data pops up. “Oliver Elliott Ward. Born September twenty-third. Parents Jane and Booker Ward. Oliver attended the Nueva School in Hillsborough, California, until eighth grade. He came to Darkwood as a first year, two and a half years ago. Here are all of Oliver’s exam papers and test scores. His class schedule for his ninth-and tenth-grade years. And his junior year…”

“The schedule he would have had if he’d lived,” I finish.

Maude nods. “Does that mean anything to you?” she asks.

I shake my head. That’s when I notice Madison looking from me to Maude curiously, like she’s starting to question what’s going on.

“Time for round two,” I tell Maude, pulling a second syringe from my pocket.

Maude nods, taking the syringe from me and injecting Madison’s arm with it. “I’d feel bad,” she says, “except she did the same thing to us, didn’t she? At the midnight session?”

“Yep,” I say, turning back to Oliver’s stats. “Wait a second. Can you go back to Ollie’s birth certificate?”

“I think so,” Maude says, pressing a few keys. “There it is. Why? Did you notice something?”

“The names! Look at that. Oliver’s mother is Jane Porter. And his father is listed as John Underwood. As in, Albert Seymour’s half brother.” I can’t believe what I’m reading. I’m certain my eyes are playing tricks on me, but after blinking a few times, the document remains the same. “John Underwood is Ollie’s dad?”





Dark Weekend


I scramble for words, trying to explain this to Maude. “They were in the Ten together. Porter and Underwood. Damian Leroy, Jaeger Stanwick…and Seymour. The man behind the science that created you.” I’m so taken aback, I can barely think straight.

“So?” asks Maude.

“This says Underwood was Oliver’s dad. His DNA father.”

“I thought Booker Ward was Oliver’s father,” Maude says.

“He’s his stepfather. Adopted him when Ollie was two or three. Oliver never knew who his biological father was. His mother, Jane—she never talked about him. If his dad’s Underwood, Seymour’s half brother…and Seymour’s the reason you and your friends exist…”

Maude gives me a look, and I backpedal. “I didn’t mean he’s the only reason you exist…”

“Whatever. It’s fine,” Maude says, waving me off. “But this must be what Oliver meant in the note he left you.”

I rack my brain. Oliver always told me he didn’t know his biological father’s name. He said Booker was his dad, regardless of whether they shared DNA.

“Emma?” Maude prods.

“Yeah?” I say, distracted by this new information.

“Look what else the keys are storing. Medical records.” Maude’s back on her own hologram. “Blood pressure, height, weight. And look at this. Resting heart rate. BMI. Bone density. It’s all here.”

“So the school is tracking stats related to our health? Aside from being invasive and a gross violation of our privacy, is that a big deal?”

“It is if anyone studies these numbers closely. Emma, these stats prove that our bodies—mine and the other Similars’—don’t run like a normal human’s. They reveal our unique properties.” Maude looks noticeably distressed.

“But who would look for variants? If someone didn’t know what they were looking for, the data wouldn’t look all that suspicious, would it?”

Maude shrugs. “If these stats are run through a statistical analysis, an alarm bell might go off. Maybe it already has.”

“Then what?” I wonder out loud.

“No idea. But we should get back,” she says, switching gears quickly. “It’s almost seven. Breakfast starts in ten minutes.”

“Wait,” I say. “Before we go. Madison?”

“Yeah?” she says, still dazed from the injective.

“Did you attack Prudence?” I ask, the words catching in my throat. “Was it you?”

Madison stares at me, her blue eyes unfocused. “Attack Prudence? What do you mean?”

“Where were you?” I press. “The afternoon Pru was attacked? Tessa said you missed an appointment for blood work. Why?”

Madison blinks, then frowns. “I had a meeting with my virtual tutor. If I get another A minus in calculus, my mother will kill me. Don’t tell anyone. I’d rather fling myself off Hades Point than have anyone in the Ten know.”