why he chose me as his little plaything, but he’s scary.”
Gerard never thought he would ever hear those words from those lips. Devyn wasn’t the kind of woman who admitted that she was afraid of something, or so he believed. Maybe this Stewart Hall man really crawled under her skin in a bad way. No matter. Gerard really did mean what he had said, whether he teased Devyn about it or not. In a way, Gerard almost wished the Director would take up his offer just to have an excuse to slap the guy across the face like he had done to Devyn, among other things.
He reached over and placed his hand on Devyn’s lower thigh before giving her a reassuring squeeze. “You don’t have anything to worry about, you hear me?” he told her, and though she was looking at the dimming lights, he stared at her profile, hoping she understood his message. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I know,” Devyn murmured, giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She placed her hand over his and interlocked her fingers within his just as someone walked on stage and the auditorium went completely dark.
In a quick moment, a spotlight flashed on, and the Units realized that it was Sarah, standing at the podium, her icy smile carved onto her face.
“I’m sure everybody is wondering why you were all called in here today,” she began. Though it was rare for a genome to actually like Sarah, it had to be said that she was actually a very good speaker, and her presence all but commanded direct attention. “Well, I’m here to tell you. As I’m sure you’re all aware, the days slip by, which could only mean that the date upon which your Mission begins is only getting closer. Besides telling you just what the Mission requires you to do and what your goal is, you don’t know much of anything else. However, today, that’s about to change. In the next twenty minutes, you will be getting valuable information about this Mission, including the rules. To give you the rules, it is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to the man who created you all, who is the sole reason why you are alive, breathing, today, the Director, Mr. Stewart Hall.”
It couldn’t be helped; the auditorium burst into applause. A few genomes even decided to stand up, but Devyn refused to do such a thing, and Gerard didn’t exactly blame her. Once the room settled, Gerard grabbed Devyn’s hand again; he knew she was a strong woman, but he wanted to offer her whatever support he could. And since she hadn’t yet pushed him away, he took it as a good sign.
“Thank you, thank you,” Stewart said, flashing a charming smile.
Gerard’s eyes narrowed. So this was the man who wanted to take Devyn away from him? He’d like to see the guy try.
“Now, I know we all cringe when we hear the word rules, but please, don’t think of them as constraining,” the Director begin, his eyes slowly looking across at his audience. Truth be told, Stewart Hall was a good speaker too. “But there are important guidelines that you should all be aware of. Now, the Mission itself starts August thirteenth of this year, so please make a note that it’s less than two weeks. It’ll be starting at oh-six hundred hours. What’s going to happen then is eight Whitecoats are going to check each of you, which could take up to an hour. This is going to happen to ensure nobody brought any sort of weaponry out into combat because, like I’m sure you’ve heard over and over again, weaponry is not allowed. And if it turns out that any genome has a weapon, they will be terminated without question. Is that clear?”
The genomes said nothing but nodded.
“Good,” Stewart said, and smiled once more. “Now, I’m sure you all know your objective. It is crucial that you get to the Gates of Freedom before any other Unit. The first Unit to the Gates of Freedom gets to
Gerard never thought he would ever hear those words from those lips. Devyn wasn’t the kind of woman who admitted that she was afraid of something, or so he believed. Maybe this Stewart Hall man really crawled under her skin in a bad way. No matter. Gerard really did mean what he had said, whether he teased Devyn about it or not. In a way, Gerard almost wished the Director would take up his offer just to have an excuse to slap the guy across the face like he had done to Devyn, among other things.
He reached over and placed his hand on Devyn’s lower thigh before giving her a reassuring squeeze. “You don’t have anything to worry about, you hear me?” he told her, and though she was looking at the dimming lights, he stared at her profile, hoping she understood his message. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I know,” Devyn murmured, giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She placed her hand over his and interlocked her fingers within his just as someone walked on stage and the auditorium went completely dark.
In a quick moment, a spotlight flashed on, and the Units realized that it was Sarah, standing at the podium, her icy smile carved onto her face.
“I’m sure everybody is wondering why you were all called in here today,” she began. Though it was rare for a genome to actually like Sarah, it had to be said that she was actually a very good speaker, and her presence all but commanded direct attention. “Well, I’m here to tell you. As I’m sure you’re all aware, the days slip by, which could only mean that the date upon which your Mission begins is only getting closer. Besides telling you just what the Mission requires you to do and what your goal is, you don’t know much of anything else. However, today, that’s about to change. In the next twenty minutes, you will be getting valuable information about this Mission, including the rules. To give you the rules, it is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to the man who created you all, who is the sole reason why you are alive, breathing, today, the Director, Mr. Stewart Hall.”
It couldn’t be helped; the auditorium burst into applause. A few genomes even decided to stand up, but Devyn refused to do such a thing, and Gerard didn’t exactly blame her. Once the room settled, Gerard grabbed Devyn’s hand again; he knew she was a strong woman, but he wanted to offer her whatever support he could. And since she hadn’t yet pushed him away, he took it as a good sign.
“Thank you, thank you,” Stewart said, flashing a charming smile.
Gerard’s eyes narrowed. So this was the man who wanted to take Devyn away from him? He’d like to see the guy try.
“Now, I know we all cringe when we hear the word rules, but please, don’t think of them as constraining,” the Director begin, his eyes slowly looking across at his audience. Truth be told, Stewart Hall was a good speaker too. “But there are important guidelines that you should all be aware of. Now, the Mission itself starts August thirteenth of this year, so please make a note that it’s less than two weeks. It’ll be starting at oh-six hundred hours. What’s going to happen then is eight Whitecoats are going to check each of you, which could take up to an hour. This is going to happen to ensure nobody brought any sort of weaponry out into combat because, like I’m sure you’ve heard over and over again, weaponry is not allowed. And if it turns out that any genome has a weapon, they will be terminated without question. Is that clear?”
The genomes said nothing but nodded.
“Good,” Stewart said, and smiled once more. “Now, I’m sure you all know your objective. It is crucial that you get to the Gates of Freedom before any other Unit. The first Unit to the Gates of Freedom gets to
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