All We See or Seem (13 page)

 

The room was dimly lit, and the hum of the cooling system filled the room as Gem opened her eyes. She shifted her legs slightly on the mattress, drawing the attention of Ms. Birger.

“How are you feeling?” she whispered, smoothing back Gem's hair with a gentle hand.

More movement in the corner of the room caught Gem's eye. Someone else was there. She squinted against the darkness to make out the face of the intruder. Ms. Birger rested her hand on Gem's shoulder. A comforting gesture. Or was it protective?

The man stepped closer to Gem's bed, and her breath caught in her throat. Gryff. It really was Gryff. She struggled to sit up, to get a better look. See him. Touch him. But Ms. Birger held her down with one hand.

“Just relax, Gem.” She lifted a warning finger to her lips and shook her head. “You know how it is.”

Of course. They weren't out in the safety of the night air anymore, where there was no surveillance of conversation. Here in this room, it wasn't safe to talk. Not openly. Desperation rose in Gem's stomach. She wanted to know if this was just a dream. Her eyes could be deceiving her. After all, she had seen Gryff so many times in her sleep, it was becoming difficult to determine desire from reality.

He reached for her hand in a deliberate movement. Through her eyes, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Gryff was here. In her room. Holding her hand. He had never held her hand before — not like this. His eyes searched hers, and she felt lost in the depth of them as he knelt beside her bed and propped his elbows on the mattress, still clutching her hand.

Leaning closer, he spoke into her ear, his voice hardly more than a breath. “I'm here, Gem. I'm going to take you away from this place, and then it will be you and me. I promise.”

Promise
was a word she didn't understand. But his eyes said it had a profound meaning, and whatever it was, she desperately wanted it to be true.

“You have to go, major. You've stayed too long already,” Ms. Birger said, prodding him into action.

He lifted Gem's hand to his lips. His warm, soft lips. A surge of warmth spread through her hand, up her arm and to her core, gradually encompassing her whole being.

“You'll come back?” she whispered.

“As soon as I can.” Then he stood and strode from the room with purpose in his step.

****

The old clock had just begun to chime out the noon hour when Aaron approached the hidden door and drummed a solid knock on it. It opened on creaky hinges, leaving just enough room for him to step into the darkened room. Aria stepped aside and let Aaron pass through the opening.

“I don't have long. They're expecting me at the mess hall.” He glanced around with a feeling of paranoia. Could they be heard here?

“I know. I'll be quick. Gem has been scheduled for transport to the research facility. But if it is your intention to save her, you must understand the true nature of what is going on here. I can't help you. If they think I have anything to do with this, I'll be in danger too.” Aria reached into her pocket and retrieved a small iridescent plastic tube. She slipped it into his hand. “This is your file and Gem's. Don't access it on a connected computer. The one in your room is connected. You'll have to disable the connection to use it. Do you know how?”

He nodded, though he wondered how she was able to access the top secret files that had been locked even to him.

“When you get done, you'll have to wipe your cache before you reconnect.”

A rustling outside the door startled Aaron, and Aria seemed to jump too — her eyes darted to the entrance behind him.

“Her transport leaves tomorrow night at midnight. They will sedate her, and there will be only one attendant. The driver.”

He wanted to ask how she'd gotten all this information. But it wouldn't make any difference. It was what it was.

“Major, don't try to see her again before then. Lie low. They already suspect you know more than you should.”

****

“Lieutenant, these are the duty rosters for the men. Please see to it that they're posted.

“Yes, sir.” The officer took the tube and slipped it in his pocket. Then ventured, “Are you having problems with your monitor, sir?”

“The connection is bad. Not sure what's wrong. Hasn't been working today.” He pushed back from the desk to offer the lieutenant access to the monitor.

“Yes, sir. It looks like the wiring is frayed. I'll get you a replacement. May take a couple hours.”

“Hours? What about the tech staff? Can they get it fixed sooner?”

“No, sir. Maintenance on the mainframe today. They won't be able to take care of this until tomorrow at the soonest. I can take care of it for you. No problem, sir.”

“I suppose that will have to do. Just make sure you post the duty roster first.”

“Yes, sir. I'll go take care of that right now.”

“Good. You're dismissed, lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir.”

The second the lieutenant left, and the door slid back into place behind him. Aaron disconnected the cord, set it aside, and pulled the file tube from his shirt pocket. His first officer's alibi would keep him out of trouble from the disconnected monitor.

Aaron inserted the tube into the monitor and clicked the file access. He drew a deep breath, exhaled slowly through pursed lips, and closed his eyes.

His file and Gem's. That's what Aria had said.

Up to this point, Aaron had doubted her claim about his origin. And why wouldn't he? He had his childhood memories, his reminders of home. But he also had those haunting dreams and the nagging discrepancies — his dominant right hand, the missing scar, the connection with Gem. This file. Everything could change in an instant.

He opened his eyes, and the screen flashed to life. Two files glowed on the screen.
Gemini Stem 6418C. Gryffon Stem 6392C.
His finger hovered over the file labeled with the name Gem had called him — both in his dreams and when she had seen him through the garden fence. And somewhere deep in his being, he knew.

It was
his
name.

A light tap brought the file blazing to life, and it filled the screen with more information than Aaron could digest at once. His gaze ran rampant over the clusters of data, searching for a beginning point, absorbing what he could from the scientific particulars. And then he saw it. AARON JENNINGS, CAPTAIN–DECEASED. MNEMONIC TRANSFER COMPLETE 06/18/20XX. A pain in his chest reminded him he was holding his breath, and the rush of the blood coursing through his brain disoriented him.

Everything he thought. Everything he believed he was. Nothing more than a delusion.

He drew in a breath — a slow ragged lungful of air. He could deal with this. He had years of training. Years of controlling his emotions under pressure. Of never letting circumstances dictate his response. And he was always prepared and able to adjust to any situation.

No. Not
him
. Aaron.

He didn't know what he had.

On impulse he shoved his chair away from the desk and sat back, glaring at the monitor.

Gryffon. A stem. A copy of this deceased Aaron Jennings. Just a copy.

He ran his hands over his face and raked his fingers through his short hair, closing his eyes once more and sucking in a deep breath, slamming his fist on the arm of the chair with one solid motion.

And then it came rushing back to him.

His memories as Gryff.

Life at Endfield.

Schedules, assignments, level testing. And codes.

Code Green.

The day he left. The attendant who spoke with what he now understood to be a southern drawl. Being ripped away from Gem. From Teo and Tavon. And Aria.

Oh, no. He had a history with Aria. And she knew it. She had known it all along. Because she wasn't a stem. She was a plant. Someone they had posted in the dormitories to report on stem life and interactions. A close personal eye.

A chill danced up his spine, spreading like liquid nitrogen to his extremities. The danger was real here. If they knew he knew… that he remembered…

And Gem. His fear drew him. Pulling close to the desk, he focused on the monitor once again. One tap closed the file on Gryffon Stem 6392C and another brought Gem's file spiraling to the screen. He drew in a deep breath and held it until it burned in his lungs, begging for release.

The words were in red: STEM COMPROMISED. STEM SURROGACY TERMINATED. REPLACEMENT DUE 10/1/20XX. TRANSFER TO RECYCLE URF. The dates were all there. The specifics of tests to be run on the body. They were set to take her apart piece by piece.

Aaron had to save her. No.
Gryff
had to save her. But Aaron would help him. He wasn't just Gryffon Stem 6392C anymore. He had Aaron's memories. His training. His street knowledge and his identification. And he was going to use them to his full advantage. To save Gem. And get them out of this death camp.

 

Gryff knew he was on his own. Aria had given him the information he needed — when and where Gem would be transported — but everything else was left to him. Aria wasn't ready to leave, and it was far too dangerous for her to seem to be involved in the escape.

He would have to do it alone. It wasn't even safe to confide in any of his men. There's no telling who was trustworthy in a situation like this.

Now that the memory of his stem life was returning, it was becoming clear that no one was safe in Endfield. But right now the only one that mattered, his only objective, was to rescue Gem. Get her away from EROMI and out of the reach of Admatha and Spurius. He could worry about the rest when she was safe.

From his post hidden in the thick foliage, he heard the crunch of the gravel under the tires of the transport ambulance. They had to do these things at night so no one would see the vehicles. It backed up to the bay doors at the rear of the building and parked, the engine was remarkably silent.

A uniformed staff driver hopped out of the driver's side of the ambulance and strode into the clinic through the back door. Gryff moved quickly from his hiding place. He pulled the driver's side door open and slid into the seat. The keys were in the ignition.

Aria had told him Gem would be sedated when they loaded her into the van. They didn't want to have to wrestle with her. He crouched lower in the seat as he heard the voices of two men carrying Gem to the back of the ambulance.

“I need to make a pit stop before I head out. Think she'll be okay out here for a few minutes?”

“Oh, yeah. We gave her enough juice to keep her sleeping clear through the procedure. You've got plenty of time.”

“Great. I'll just strap her in real quick.” The rear doors creaked open. Gryff held his breath. He didn't dare to move as the driver clambered into the back of the van, lifting Gem in behind him. He laid her on the stationary stretcher and strapped her down. Then he hopped out and secured the ambulance doors.

Gryff opened the water bottle on the dash and dropped two tiny white tablets into the clear liquid, replaced the lid, crawled into the back compartment, and crouched into a dark corner behind the driver-side wall. It wouldn't do to tip his hand too early. Let the authorized driver get them out of the compound. After all, he was leaving on orders, and no one would be the wiser. Once the sleeping aid did its work, Gryff would start his.

Ten minutes later the ambulance pulled to a quiet stop at the front gate. The lieutenant's voice floated through the driver's window and back into the ambulance compartment. “This the shipment for the University Research Facility?”

“Yep,” was the crisp reply, followed by the rustling of paper being passed through the window.

His stomach tightened. If the lieutenant was doing his job correctly, he would ask to see the cargo. Gryff crossed his fingers and clenched them so tightly his knuckles turned white. The sound of his heart pounding resounded in his ears. Perspiration beaded his forehead and drenched his olive drab t-shirt.

Never had he wanted his men to fail to follow orders so badly. He crouched further into the shadows. A futile effort, considering the fact that the instant the doors opened, the lights would blaze on.

“Are you going to be back tonight?” the lieutenant asked.

“Are you kidding me? A night on the outside? Don't expect me back until tomorrow night. I'm gonna get plastered, find me a friendly civilian, and then sleep it off ‘til sunset.”

“Sweet assignment, man.”

“Yep.”

“All right. Looks like everything is in order. Drink one for me, will ya? Haven't had a leave of absence in three months. See ya tomorrow night.” The rustling sound of the papers being passed back through the window was a relief to Gryff's ears, and he let out a slow, silent breath.

“You bet!” The reply was jovial, almost too much so. It really didn't bother them. Either of them. Delivering a person to her death, and not one scruple to hamper their consciences. Gryff's stomach churned, threatening to betray his presence in the back of the ambulance. He lifted a trembling hand to his abdomen and closed his eyes in misery.

The ambulance jolted forward and pulled through the open gate. Down a few twisting primitive gravel roads and up the small hill to the country highway, and they were on their way the short distance to the university research campus.

Gryff braced himself against the wall and listened for the driver's movements. After several miles of driving, he could hear the crunch of the plastic bottle as the man grasped it in one hand while twisting off the lid with the hand clutching the wheel. He drained a long swig from the bottle and replaced the lid, then slammed it back into the dash cup holder.

It wouldn't be long now. Gryff strained closer to the open passage between the front and the back compartment in anticipation of the incapacitated driver.

The man leaned against the headrest of his seat and blew a heavy breath through his pursed lips. Another couple of miles down the road, he was vigorously shaking his head back and forth, trying to ward off the encroaching somnolent haze. A knowing smile played on Gryff's lips. He fought the urge to chuckle at the irony when the driver reached again for the water bottle in desperation to keep himself awake.

The main street lights of the small town sparkled to life in the distance, and grew steadily closer as they drove.

When the driver finally slumped over in his seat, and the ambulance began to veer to the left, Gryff leaped into action. He grasped the front of the man's uniform and pulled his dead weight to the passenger side of the vehicle, then slid expertly in behind the wheel, righting the direction and cancelling the cruise control.

Gryff glanced at the clock on the dashboard. One o'clock. He had only a few hours to dump the driver, get rid of the ambulance, and hide with Gem before they would notice his absence and send out the search party.

He caught a glimpse in his mirror of Gem sleeping peacefully in the back. A sudden shiver overtook him as the realization of what he had just done sank in. She was safe for now. But they were going to come looking for her. Nothing would keep them from trying to kill her — one of their precious stems out in the general population. Gryff swallowed at the stubborn dry knot in his throat. And nothing would keep them from endeavoring to silence him too — he was nothing more than a lab experiment gone wrong.

Turning onto to the town's main street, he squinted at the bright lights of the storefront buildings, searching for the perfect resting place for the dosed driver. There were several options, but Gryff finally settled on The Angry Horse Tavern.

Loud country music spilled out into the street through the propped-open doors. A neon flashing sign lit and darkened the sidewalk beneath it in turn.

Gryff parked the ambulance up the block under a burned-out streetlamp, hoping for some camouflage in the shadows. Jumping out of the driver side door, he took three long strides around the front and was on the other side, pulling his passenger out by the jacket. He threw the man's arm over his shoulders and supported his weight, but let his feet drag on the ground.

The two staggered down the path and into the bar from the street. No one seemed to notice them as they entered, so Gryff dropped the guy in a booth seat and leaned him back against the wall then quietly slipped out the way he had come in.

Jumping back into the ambulance, he palmed it into drive and pulled a tight U-turn right off the curb, heading to the rural highway.

He would have to put some distance between Gem and Endfield, but not too much. They probably wouldn't think to look close by. One more town ought to do the trick. There was another one about fifteen miles down the road, according to the green road signs glowing under the glare of his high beams.