Whisper (Whisper #1)(85)

“Electroshock therapy hardly constitutes torture,” he replies dismissively. “And besides, if I couldn’t study your physical samples, I was damn well going to research your brain chemistry. But then you had to go and cry to Landon Ward. He even had the audacity to threaten me. Why couldn’t he see I was only trying to help you? That’s all I’ve ever wanted. To help you — all of you. To help Speakers everywhere.”

I don’t know what’s worse: the words he’s saying or that he seems to believe them.

“None of that matters now,” he intones. “Because with your help, I’m going to change the world as we know it.”

I grimace when he reaches for the IV tapped into my vein and pauses the blood flow to swap out the collection bags. When he starts it up again, I can’t suppress a quiet whimper, wondering how much more I can lose before I pass out again.

“My Speaking ability was stolen from me,” he says, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Jeremiah saved you,” I murmur, with no strength for anything louder. “He healed your mind. You were insane.”

“Jeremiah destroyed me,” Vanik spits into my face. “He took away the best of me and left me to my fate. And then Falon came swooping in with his regulations and edicts, saying I could only experiment on willing subjects. Of course, no one was willing then. Luckily, I still had some leftover samples from my initial Speaker tests.”

“The people you killed.”

“Their deaths were unfortunate.” Vanik reaches for the scalpel again and holds it up to the light as if to see how sharp the blade is. Satisfied, he places it back on the metal tray. “But ultimately, they were necessary.”

“Just so you can get your Speaking ability back?” I grate out. “How can you rationalize the deaths of all those people — and the rest, with the Ebola and plane crashes and other disasters — just so that you can be a mind reader again?”

Vanik raises a greasy eyebrow. “You have done your research, haven’t you?” He lets out a dry chuckle. “You’re right, but you’re also wrong. I don’t want my Speaking ability back.”

It’s an effort to focus with the pain, the fear, the exhaustion all flooding through my body. “Of course you do.”

“I don’t,” he disagrees. Then he leans in close again — too close — and says, “It’s not my Speaking ability that I want — it’s yours. And thanks to your cooperation here today, it won’t be long until I’m able to identify and locate your specific genetic anomaly. When I have that, Six-Eight-Four, I’ll be but a small step away from becoming a Creator myself.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE


Vanik’s declaration leaves a buzzing sound in my ears. I can’t handle what it might mean.

“When I’m a Creator, I’ll have the authority to command my specialized army of genetically enhanced Speakers,” Vanik says, oblivious to my turbulent thoughts. “Through them, I’ll bring the world to its knees.”

The buzzing grows louder. Enough that I understand it for what it is — I’m beginning to panic. But I can’t. I can’t lose it here, not now while I’m so vulnerable. I have to push it back. I have to fight it. I have to fight myself.

I am stronger than this.

I will not let fear control me. Not anymore.

I search for something within me, something to give me focus. All I have are the whispers of my memories, and I latch on to one and hold tight.

I need you to take a breath. We’ll do it together. In and out. Come on, Chip. Listen to me breathing.

Ward’s crystal-clear voice hurts my heart but clears my head. I breathe deeply, and the buzzing fades, allowing me to focus on Vanik again as he starts to move around me, slowly taping electrodes to my skull and along my pulse points.

I keep breathing.

In …

… And out.

“Years ago, my intention was to share the gift of Speaking with everyone,” Vanik tells me. “That plan has changed. Now I will share it only with a select few, my chosen ones, and I will serve out a purpose that even Charles Darwin himself would approve of. Evolution at its finest.”

Although my head is now clear again, my thoughts feel like Swiss cheese, with gaping holes preventing me from keeping up with the conversation. “Darwin was all about natural selection,” I rasp out. “If you pick and choose who you turn into Speakers, that doesn’t line up with his theory.”

“All that matters is that human beings evolve as a species, regardless of how I bring that about,” Vanik says, finishing with the electrodes and moving away to grab some kind of scanner, which he rolls toward me. “By studying you, I’ll have the means to start our race afresh, beginning with my army of Speakers, who will look to me for direction, for leadership, and who will be submissive to my will.”

I keep breathing.

In …

… And out.

I realize now what he truly seeks. Everything Manning said when he first told me about the Remnants was a lie. All along it was Vanik who wanted revenge against the government, right from the very beginning and still after all this time. And now that desire for vengeance has morphed into something more — he actually wants to take over the world.

“You’re on a power trip.” I shake my head the little I can, the whole room blurring as the motion prompts a dizzy spell. I’m so light-headed for a moment that I wonder if I’ll throw up, but then I settle enough to continue, “You were stripped of power when you were captured as a teenager, and now you want to get that power back — and more. You want revenge, to make everyone feel as helpless as you felt.”