Violet (24 page)

David smiles down at me, and I can’t help but
wonder if I’m looking at him the way he’s looking at me. If so,
there’s no question about whether or not I’ve fallen for him. He
leans down and kisses me softly; his lips just barely brush mine
and he whispers, “I just can’t believe I get to have you.” He
scoots down a little and I feel his lips softly brush my neck.
“Foster’s cut is almost gone; I can barely see it.” He’s only being
nice; I’m sure I’ll carry a scar from that cut. David lifts his
head back up to meet my eyes. He kisses me deeply, a kiss like the
one in Amara that makes me want to keep kissing him.

After a little while, David pulls away. “Let’s
get some sleep,” he says. Then he winks and I can’t help but laugh.
“We’ll have plenty of time for kissing tomorrow.”

I turn over and let my head sink into the
pillow. There’s nothing I want more than a restful sleep, but after
a few moments, I begin to dream. My mind is accosted with sounds
and images, but they’re all things that I’ve already experienced.
Again, I get the distinct feeling that my brain is trying to get me
to remember something.

Ezra’s voice in the hallway
It’s not his
right to keep it from her.

The Scientist in his lab
That’s why he
created her.

I sit up in bed; my father’s pocket watch
indicates that it’s almost morning. Everyone will be getting up
soon. The images still flood my mind. Why these memories? All of
this excitement is getting to me.

I go into the washroom and flip the lock behind
me. I splash some water on my face and look at myself in the
mirror.

My face. The same face I’ve seen every day since
I woke. Every day that I remember.

He was afraid that your body and mind had
been irreversibly torn apart.

Again, I look at the cut on my neck; David was
right, it’s almost gone. As I think about this, I find myself
tracing the veins on my left wrist with the fingers of my right
hand. I stop and open the medicine cabinet. Yes, that’s what I’m
looking for.

Perhaps your consciousness had been
transferred to The Cube.

I pick up the shaving blade from where it sits
on the shelf. I look again to my wrist, but when I return to my
reflection, the image is blurry. The tears have distorted my
vision, and though I was determined not to cry, I am powerless
against them.

This doesn’t make any sense. David would have
known. He would have seen it in my eyes.

The Cube creates life where none exists.

Some would say that this is a choice, but what
choice do I really have? I can’t stand living with all the things I
don’t know.

I press the point of the blade into the middle
of my wrist and wince at the pain. Fat tears plop onto the skin of
my forearm. But I do not stop. I pull the razor further, making a
conscious effort to steady my hand against the sobs. There is less
blood than I thought there would be.

Ramla, The Seer
You do not know yet what you
are.

I put the blade down on the sink and allow the
blood to trickle from the gash. I press the fingers of my opposite
hand into the cut and draw it open. There it is. I touch it. The
springiness of artificial bone. I run my fingers a little further
down the cut. A small circuit. For stimulating muscle
contractions.

My father’s own words
When we had that
accident, I lost Violet. I lost my daughter.

Naturally, I thought he had been talking about
me.

You do not know yet what you are.

Violet Price never woke from her coma.

Violet Price lies sleeping in this very
compound.

I am the BioMech.

At this moment, there is a knock on the door. I
don’t answer immediately, but then I hear his voice.

“Violet?” It’s David. “Are you all right?”

I look again at my reflection. Am I?

“Cecil says breakfast is ready.”

I rinse the blood from the sink and replace the
razor in the cabinet. I look at the cut on my arm. The blood has
already ceased to flow. The wound will be healed by day’s end. I
pull my sleeve down to cover it and look again at my
reflection.

I turn toward the door and say, “I’m
coming.”