Hope (Book 2, Harvester of Light Trilogy; Young Adult Science Fiction) by S.J. West

information she was giving me with what I already knew but nothing
added up.
    “I still don’t
understand.”
    “I took your
eggs.  Now I have the genetic material I need to produce bodies when we need new
organs.”
    I wrapped my arms
around my abdomen as if I could protect what had already been lost.
    “You took…my
eggs?”
    “Every woman is
born with a set number of eggs in her body,” Lucena said like I was her pupil
and she the teacher.  “There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 million
of them.  So, yes I harvested your eggs.  We’ll need them eventually,
especially now that your mother has so little left to give.”
    “You keep saying
we.  Who is we?”
    “You and I, of
course.  Didn’t I make that clear?”
    I stood to my
feet.
    “No you didn’t. 
Why would I need organs unless…” I faltered, unable to finish my train of
thought out loud because the answer was too horrible to acknowledge.
    “Unless?” Lucena
prodded, urging me to voice my own conclusion.
    “Unless you intend
to make me a harvester too.”
    Lucena smiled. 
“I’ve waited so long for you to join me, Skye.  You can’t imagine how desolate
an eternity alone can be when you’re faced with it.”
    “But you’re not
alone,” I argued, trying to find a loophole which would free me of my fate. 
“You have thousands of harvesters at your beck and call.”
    “There’s nothing
like having your own flesh and blood by your side though,” Lucena sounded
almost wistful.  “If I had known about the sterilization side effect, I would
have had my own eggs frozen.  But, now we have your eggs so we don’t have to
worry about organs anymore.”
    She sounded so
happy, so pleased with herself like she was doing me a favor.
    “I will not become
like you,” I said, clearly enunciating each word to make sure she heard me.  “I
will not become a monster.”
    “You will become
what I say you become,” her head lifted a notch higher.  “I am your mother and
your Queen.  You will do whatever I want and thank me for it later.”
    I didn’t realize
until that very moment just how crazy Lucena Day was.  To actually hear her
call herself Queen of a wasted world sounded ridiculous.  She was completely
deluded in her insanity if she thought I would ever thank her for making me a
harvester.  I knew then there would be no reasoning with her.  You can’t have a
rational conversation with a crazy person.
    “Where are Ash and
Zoe?” I asked, deciding to change the linear progression of our conversation
with a tangent.  Plus, it was something I desperately needed to know in order
to formulate an escape plan.  Leaving them behind was not an option.
    “They’re both
being taken care of,” Lucena said, her eyes shifting away from me suspiciously.
    “What does that
mean exactly?”  With Lucena I knew her definition of ‘care’ clashed with mine.
    Lucena looked back
at me and tilted her head towards the doors.  “Come with me to my other lab. 
You can see them for yourself.”
    Just as we were
about to leave, Jace rushed into the room, flushed and out of breath like he
had been running for a while.  His eyes were drawn to me first and then to my
mother still floating inside the glass tube.  I knew from the look of regret in
his eyes he had hoped to spare me from seeing this particular horror.
    “Are you all
right?” He asked coming to stand in front of me.
    “The pain isn’t as
bad now,” I answered.
    “That’s not all I
meant,” he said, his eyes glancing behind me.
    “I’ll be ok,” I
reached for one of his hands, finely finding my balance with him by my side.
    “I was just about
to show Skye our little project,” Lucena said to Jace.
    “Can’t she have
some time to rest first?” He implored.  “She isn’t feeling well.”
    “No,” I said
quickly.  “I need to know what’s going on.”
    Lucena held her
hand out in my direction.  “See,” she said to Jace.  “I told you she was