The Modified (The Biotics Trilogy, #1) (4 page)

She releases the hug and pulls away from me while wiping away her tears. “You’ve been my saving grace ever since we lost Dylan. It’s going to be very tough around here, but at least now I’ll be able to get some sleep at night knowing you won’t be in harm’s way like your brother was,” she states, a sad smile returning to her face.

“Here, I got you something.” I pull out a small pot of flowers wrapped in a plastic bag from my backpack. “It’s some blue poppies for your garden. I had Joey stop by your favorite flower shop in town before he dropped me off.”

“Oh, these are lovely, Kenley,” she replies, giving me another hug and taking them from my hands. Tears come to her eyes again and it suddenly dawns on me why. “They’ll go perfectly with the red ones your brother gave me before he went off to war.”

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I didn’t even think about that,” I reply with sadness in my voice. “I just wanted to get you some of your favorite flowers.”

“It’s all right, dear. I love them, and I know exactly where I’m going to put these. Right next to your brother's.”

“So, have you heard from Dad lately?” I ask, trying to change the subject before I start to cry.

“No, but you know your father’s busy with this project of his. He’ll call when he has time, dear. I can’t wait to tell him the good news about your new assignment, though. I think he’ll be relieved to hear you’ll be safe for your two-year service with the Federation. Are you hungry? I was planning on making your favorite tonight, eggplant parmesan.”

“I’m actually kind of more tired than anything else, but that sounds great, Mom.”

“Well you go rest up a bit, and then let’s plan on having dinner at around seven?”

“Okay,” I reply, trying to keep my emotions at bay. I’m bawling on the inside and it’s so difficult not to just burst into tears. I’ll be leaving my family soon, and my dad and I are the only ones who know the truth.

After giving my mom another hug, I head up to my bedroom. On my way, I pass by Dylan’s old room. The door hasn’t been opened for months, and my mom has kept it just as he left it the day he went off to war. I realize the door is slightly ajar and hear noises coming from inside. My heart skips a beat as I push open the door the rest of the way and see Gavin sitting at the edge of Dylan’s bed holding something in his hand. I sit down next to him and he doesn’t say a word. He just continues to stare at a photo of him, Joey, Dylan, and me. It was taken the day after Dylan’s assignment. All of our faces are strained in the picture even though Mom had told us to smile. Tears come to my eyes as I remember back to the day a soldier brought this picture to our front door with a message. A message that would change our lives forever.

“Don’t go, Kenley,” Gavin whispers.

“I have to,” I reply as I wrap my arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. “I’ll be okay. You don’t have to worry about me or Joey, all right?” I feel him nod into my shoulder and hear him sniffle. Wiping away my own tears, I look into his eyes as he raises his head to me. “Mom says dinner will be ready at seven, so that means we’ve got an hour to play some games. What do you say?” He nods. “Well, go set it all up and I’ll be in soon, okay?”

“Okay,” Gavin replies, wiping his eyes and handing me the picture.

I go to put the photo back onto the mirror, but then stop to look at it once more. Tears begin to well up in my eyes again as I look at Dylan’s handsome face. He almost looks like he knew this was the last picture he would take with us. “I’ll make them pay, Dylan. You have my word.” 

Chapter Two

The Shrouded Facility

As I pull up to our usual Thursday night hangout, my car’s headlights shimmer off the side view mirror of Joey’s old red Mustang. The black stripes on the sides of the car have almost all but worn away, and the vehicle is a little beat-up, but he absolutely loves that car. It was what allowed him to get away from his parents.

Thursdays were barhopping nights for his dad, and Joey never wanted to be home when he returned. I’ll never forget the first night he came to my bedroom window after his Dad beat the crap out of him. That’s actually why we started meeting in this field by Old Man Gary’s farm.

Ever since we were kids, Joey and I have loved looking at the stars, and this field was the perfect place to do that. Before we were old enough to drive, we used to come out here with Dylan. We’d all lie in the back of his truck and stare up into the peaceful night sky. Those were definitely happy times.

“Hey, stranger. I wasn’t sure if you’d show up tonight. You know, with us leaving tomorrow and all,” I say as I see him shielding his eyes from the brightness of my car’s headlights.

“I’d never miss our Thursday nights,” he replies with a grin. “Besides, Dad’s been in rare form lately, and I didn’t want to push my luck.” He laughs off his statement, but I know it bothers him. “Hey, what? No pizza this time?”

“Oh crap, I knew there was something I was forgetting.”

“You just don’t want to go to Jonnie’s Pizza Place anymore since you found out that Bobby Fowler has a crush on you,” he jokes.

“Not true. Bobby Fowler has a girlfriend.”

Joey laughs. “Uh, he’s a guy. Just because he has a girlfriend doesn’t mean he isn’t looking. And word is he’s been looking at you a lot lately. And you know how he has a thing for tall, athletic blondes.” 

“First of all, gross. And for your information, not all men are like that. And second, he’s not even my type,” I reply with a huff.

“Uh-huh,” Joey mutters sarcastically as he jumps onto the hood of his car and takes a seat. He taps the space next to him for me to join.

I crawl onto the hood of the car and lay back on the windshield. As I look up into the sky, I take in a deep breath and begin to think about everything that will happen tomorrow. There’s a light breeze and I can hear it rustle through the field of long grasses that surrounds us, as they swish and sway. The smell of fresh flowers fills my nose as I take in a deep breath. It’s soothing really.

“What’s on your mind?” Joey asks me as he settles into a laying position, resting his head on the windshield next to mine.

I let out a little laugh. “Tons,” I reply and look over at him with worry in my eyes. He returns my look and grabs for my hand.

“You know what, Kenley? No matter what happens to us, no one can take away the memories and times we’ve shared. Those are ours, and we will never lose them.”

“Wow, you sound final,” I state with slight sadness in my voice.

“No, not final. I just want you to know that. Just in case…you know,” he says, sending me a little smile while squeezing my hand.

“Please don’t say things like that right now, okay? I don’t want to even imagine that,” I murmur as I turn away to look at the stars again. He just squeezes my hand and lets out a sigh.

“I didn’t mean to make you upset. I just wanted you to know that,” he says quietly.

“It’s okay, Joey. But tonight I just want to live in this moment for a bit and try not to think about what the future holds.”

“Got it,” he states and turns to gaze toward the stars as well.

I begin to feel bad about how I just handled the last conversation. It eats away at me since I know Joey was just trying to get out what he wanted to say. I was quick with him. He’s quite an emotional person and doesn’t really have much of an outlet other than talking to me.

“Hey, Joey?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember the game we used to play with Dylan? He used to drive us out here and we’d sit in the back of his truck while staring up at the sky and play that star game.”

“How could I forget? The ‘What’s Your Star’ game, right?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah, I remember. You’d pick a star, name it, and then make up a story about it,” he replies with a warm laugh, almost like he was remembering back to a particular time.

“Do you want to play? You know, for old times' sake?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll go first,” I say and then scan the sky for a star. The blanket of tiny twinkling lights above our heads is truly breathtaking. There are so many stars in the sky that it almost makes it impossible to choose just one. I finally settle on a large bright one off to our left. It’s surrounded by several other stars, but its light is so intense that it shines there like a beacon in the darkness. “That one,” I announce as I point to it.

“Good choice. Now, what’s its name?” he asks.

“Joey.”

“Joey, huh?”

“Yep, I’m dedicating this one to you.”

The moment I say that, another star right next to the one I chose begins to shine just as bright.

“Well, I’m choosing that one then,” Joey states, pointing to the star next to mine. “That star has your name written all over it.”

I laugh and so does he. “What’s your star’s story?” he asks me.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I have a story for both of them,” I reply with a slight smile.

“Oh really? Consider me intrigued,” he jokes.

I strengthen my grip on his hand. “The Joey star and Kenley star are best friends, and have been inseparable since they were young. They’ve been through a lot and have persevered, not allowing their glow to ever be diminished. Joey and Kenley have made a pact that they will always be by each other’s sides, and nothing, not even death, will keep them apart. When one of them glows bright, the other one glows just as bright because they support one another, no matter what.”

I feel Joey kiss my forehead and lay his head down closer to mine. “Kenley Grayson. You are my best friend in the entire world. You know that, right?”

“Yes, and so are you,” I reply as a tear rolls down my cheek. There’s a slight pause in our conversation as a silence falls between us.

“Hey, I thought you said you didn’t want to get deep and emotional,” he says with a laugh.

“I guess I got caught up in the moment.”

“Well, that was a great story. Ever thought of becoming a writer?” he jokes.

“Very funny. Let’s see you come up with a better one,” I giggle, giving him a little love tap on the arm.

“I’m up for the challenge. Here goes nothing,” Joey states and I snuggle up close to him as he begins to tell his tale of Joey star and Kenley star.

While Joey and I sit in the airport terminal waiting to board our plane, I think about the fact I’m going to fly for the first time in my life. The thought of flying kind of terrifies me, but in the way riding a roller coaster does. The sad truth is I’ve never left Maine until now. And who knows if I’ll ever return after all of this?