Shattered Girls (Broken Dolls Book 2) (24 page)

“They’re controlling you,” I say. “You’re not meant to live like this.”

“No one controls me.”

“It’s a company. They transmit signals into your brain. You’re basically a robot.”

“And you’re not?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m different.”

“Well, you look like me. So you’re not different. I think, therefore I am.”

“Robots think. They create music, art, hypotheses. What are they? We’re pushing the boundaries of existence. I love, therefore I am. The animals that protect one another love, so they exist. A robot can’t love. Neither can a human brain controlled by signals and wires. That’s what you are. So there you have it, Delilah. I
am
different. And you can be, too. You just have to fight the transmissions!”

Delilah remains expressionless. She takes a step towards me, her hips squeaking. “I’m not fighting anything.” She blinks. “Only you.”

With unexpected speed, she runs at me, tackling me to the ground. My back cracks, as she clenches her fists and pounds my head. It doesn’t hurt; it’s just unpleasant.

“Shh!” Lisa hisses from the desk. “What are you doing down there?”

“Just a fight to the death!” I say, pushing spikes from my body. Delilah jumps backwards and stares at me in horror. “Nothing major.”

“What
are
you?” she shrieks, scanning me up and down.

“I told you.” I inch closer. “I’m not like you.”

Delilah backs into the wall near the power point, glancing up at her master.

“Don’t you dare scream!” I whisper, preempting her action. “Lisa? How much longer?”

“Substantially longer due to the fact my foot is the size of my human index finger. It takes forever to type anything.”

The cop stirs, as Delilah’s eyes dart from him to me. Her lips pursed and her fingers wriggling, she opens her mouth.

I run and wedge my fist between her teeth before she can speak. “Don’t do it. I’ll break you. Lisa, type faster!”

“It’s showing their proposed coordinates all over the world,” Lisa says, almost to herself.

“What?” I jam my fist further into Delilah’s mouth.

“The dolls. They want to expand it everywhere. Australia. England. Portugal. Africa. Holy crap. They want to dominate the world with freakin’ dolls.”

If I could feel my stomach, it’d sink. “Have you accessed the NYC server?”

“Yeah. I can transmit local waves. We’re close enough to headquarters to send them out.”

Lisa jumps on the keyboard, swearing when she hits the wrong button.

Delilah squeals when her eyes roll to the back of her head and clamps down on my fist. I pull my hand out and withdraw my spikes. Then I study her, as she blinks several times.

“
Sianne
,” she says. “
Find Sianne at the company. Listen to Lisa. Take down the company. Get our bodies.
”

“I was half-tempted to give them demonic orders. Think gritty, horror movie. Totes cool. Eh, maybe next time.” Lisa jumps off the desk and into the jeep. “Come on. We have to get back to the park. The dolls will be coming.”

“Why did you send them to Sianne?”

“Duh.” Lisa grins. “She can give them upgrades.”

Josh’s eyes fling open, and he leaps out of bed. “What is this?!”

Like rabbits in headlights, Lisa and I stare at the cop.

“Ella,” she says through her teeth. “Disconnect.”

With one swift movement, Lisa rips off her foot and flicks the switch, her doll form going limp.

I go to do the same, but the cop has already picked me up. He’s not so attractive anymore. “Oh, no you don’t. So
you’re
the little troublemaker everybody is talking about.”

“Talking?” I titter nervously. “Really? About me? I think you’re confusing me with somebody else.”

“We’ll see. You’re coming to the station with me.”

“
Sianne. Find Sianne at company. Listen to Lisa. Take down the company. Get our bodies
.” Delilah repeats, turning on her heel and leaving the bedroom.

“What?” the cop brays. He goes to follow Delilah when he spots his laptop. “What did you do to her?”

“We saved her,” I say simply. Without wasting another second, I push out my spikes, and the cop lets me loose. I pull off my foot and press the switch, just as he bends over to pick me up again.

I’ve never been happier to welcome the darkness.

t’s freezing. It’s dark. It’s not Central Park.

“Lisa?” I struggle to adjust to the dim lighting.

“Here.” Her hand reaches for mine. I can’t see her, but her touch is reassuring, despite how icy her fingers are.

“Where are we?”

“Beats me. We’re moving, though. I think we’re in the back of a truck.”

“Where’s Sianne?”

“Ella, I’ve only been here for a minute longer than you. Your guess is as good as mine.”

The alleged truck slams to a stop, and we roll forward. I forgot how much my palms could hurt when they smack into the cold surface. A door bangs outside.

“It must be the company,” I choke. “Oh God, they found us. They got Sianne!”

“Relax. I’m sure Sianne just found transport.”

The doors swing open, the bitter breeze an unpleasant greeting. Standing outside with a bent aluminum hat is Sianne.

“What’s this all about?” Lisa scrambles to her feet and jumps out, not bothering to help me up.

“I stole a truck. The birds were laughing at me, so I showed them who’s boss.” Sianne motions for me to hurry up. “Quickly. I think I did perpendicular parking. That place is over there. What now?”

“We’ve sent a transmission to the dolls.” I groan as I step out of the truck. We’re in an empty parking lot, and the sky is pale and murky. “Lisa told them to meet you at the company. Can you give them upgrades?”

“Ah, I’m not too sure about that. I can’t give them everything. That takes a while. I guess I could spring for some spikes. And fire. It’ll be a rushed job, though. I’ll have to get creative.” Blinking rapidly at the small doll in a blue overcoat stumbling towards us, Sianne screams. “IT’S COMING FOR ME!”

“Oh good, there’s one already! Could you practice on her?”

Sianne bites her thumbnail. “I brought explosive balls. They’re kinda like mini-grenades. I could insert it into their stomachs? I can’t
wait
to see them storm the place, destroy the labs, the whole shebang!” She claps her hands together. “Payback is a-coming!”

I grin. A genius is hidden behind Sianne’s madness.

Picking up the doll marching mindlessly towards us, Sianne gathers the bags from the truck.

“We’re really doing this,” I murmur, rubbing my arms. “I feel sick.”

“I feel
buzzed
!” Lisa squints at the herds of tiny dolls coming from all directions. “Man, I’m a God. I could make them do whatever. I. Want!”

“Right, Lisa.” I roll my eyes. “You’re a God, sure.”

It’s a real eye-opener watching the dozens of dolls. I always felt invincible and safe; but looking down on them now, they seem so vulnerable and puny. Why did I ever choose a fake life over the real deal?

“Vermin! Rodents! Pests!” Sianne mutters when the dolls reach out to her, vying for attention. “Just shut up and stay put! I’ll get to you eventually.”

Their eyes click when they blink in unison. It’s both creepy and adorable.

“What’s the plan for us?” Lisa bounces on her heels. “Do we revert to dolls? We’ll probably be safer. I mean, we won’t die in that form.”

“No,” I say through gritted teeth. “I can’t. I can’t go back to that.”

“Why not? You’ve lived half your life as a doll. What’s another hour?”

I kick the tarmac, unable to face Lisa. “You don’t understand. I’ve wasted my life. Just tossed it aside like stale bread. Could you even begin to comprehend how selfish and cowardly that was? You’re only twenty. There’s no way you could imagine an entire lifetime.”

Scoffing, Lisa blows into her hands and rubs them together. “Look, Ella, you know I don’t sugarcoat things, so I’m just going to say it. You made a choice. You were one of the lucky few in the world to even make a life-changing decision. There are two things that irk me; the first is fundamentalists and the second is privileged whiners. So
what
if you regret something? Either pick yourself up or throw yourself off a cliff, because we don’t need any more whiners.”

I don’t respond. Lisa always had the uncanny ability to say something offensive without ever really hurting my feelings. She just said it the way it was, and it’s exactly what I needed to hear.

“Can we help you, Sianne?” I ask over the rhythmic eye clicks.

“No,” she says from inside the truck. “Just keep passing me my darlings.”

Lisa and I take turns picking random dolls and passing them to Sianne.

“Have you heard from Gabby?” I ask as Sianne drops three powdery balls into a gymnast’s mouth. “Or Daniel? Anybody?”

“Nope. Next doll.” I swap the gymnast for a swimmer. “Daniel and that lot are still trapped. Gabby, eh, I can’t be sure. She’s smart, though, and she’s protected. Worry about yourself. I haven’t got any more dolls to transfer you into. You’re fighting this battle human.”

“So it’s a suicide mission? Well, that’s just swell.”

“For the greater good.” Sianne clears her throat. “These dolls will probably be destroyed when they storm the company. Even if they aim well, they’ll probably get caught in their own crossfire.”

“That’s good, though! That means they’ll wake up in their bodies.”

“Not necessarily.” Shaking her head, she passes the swimmer back and motions for another. “The company created these dolls to be unbreakable, right? So what if they
do
break? It wouldn’t risk them waking up. If their doll vessel is destroyed, their body might be cut off from its consciousness. I wasn’t kidding when I called this a battle. There are going to be casualties. And you’ll probably be one of them. Thank your lucky stars Gabby is out of the picture.”

I back away, unable to swallow the lump in my throat.

The upgraded dolls swarm Lisa, staring up at her with devoted eyes. “
Found Sianne. Now listen to Lisa
.”

She raises her hands in the air and spins. “I. Am. God.”

“So you programmed them to take orders from you? I hope you’re a master of battle tactics. Didn’t you just hear Sianne say they could actually
die
if they break?”

She shrugs. “There are always casualties. I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise anything. They can destroy the computers and wound the workers. Legally, the company can’t do anything if their own product turned on them. How sly is that? There’s no proof that it was me either! Doll revolution for the win!”

“I don’t care about that,” I say. “I have to get Daniel and Jason out before they get hurt.”

“That’s on you. I’m staying outside. I’ll keep a few dolls with me so they can swipe a computer. Then I can alter transmissions.”

I chew my bottom lip. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Daniel was going to escape and deal with this delicately.”

“Well, considering he’s gotten himself good and caught… Look, if news breaks that the dolls are revolting, nobody will touch them with a ten-foot pole. The kidnappings will stop, and everything will go back to normal. It’s got to.” Lisa pauses. “Here, take this phone. It will stream online so that everybody can see what’s happening. We’ll expose these pugnacious, abhorrent, malevolent, downright pigheaded coxcombs, who are nothing more than conceited fops too preoccupied by their own vomitus, abhorrent agendas!… wait, didn’t I already say abhorrent? I get carried away sometimes. Anyway, you just make sure to grab the data. Should be in Chris’s office. It’s a big hard drive in his desk drawer. Top one. Even you wouldn’t be able to miss it.”