Program 13 Book One by Nicole Sobon Page A

eyes from the television. The last thing he needed was to see their images again.
    “Unfortunately, I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “Part of me thinks they are in cahoots with the government. I mean, how else could they get away with collecting dead bodies, and turning them into Programs? It’s not like they only bring in a body every now and again; it’s a daily thing. Someone in the government has to be involved. It’s the only reasonable explanation as to why they haven’t been discovered by the general public, yet.”
    Colton nodded. “It’s just sad to know that these people think they are fulfilling their loved ones’ wishes by donating their bodies to science. They have no way of knowing that they are allowing them to become lifeless machines.”
    He was right. Their families thought they were doing the right thing. If only they knew.
    “Screw it,” Colton demanded. “Why don’t we just expose them? People need to know.”
    I wanted to tell him, okay, because I knew that he was right, of course, but I knew that we couldn’t. The second we put our faces out there, we’d be dead. Plain and simple. There was no way around it. We would need to sit back for now and try to live our lives to the fullest extent possible, no matter how hard it might be.
    “I’d love to expose the scum just as much as you want to, but we can’t. Not yet.” I shot him a stern glance. If I could, I’d tear them to pieces this instant, but this wasn’t a war that could be won overnight.
    “So, for now we run?” he asked, although he wasn’t actually looking for an answer.
    “Yes, for now we run.”
    And we did.
    I closed my eyes, allowing the next spliced memory to fill my mind. I was in an alleyway, a car’s headlights shining on me from behind. My first instinct was to run. As I ran, the car sped up, keeping pace with me perfectly. When I turned to look back, I saw my body lying lifeless on the ground. There were no witnesses, no one to tell my parents I was hurt. It was the perfect scenario for a crime of this nature. The two men, Charles McVeigh and Douglas Todd, got out of the car and lifted my lifeless body into the trunk.
    “Let go of me,” I screamed. I ran towards the car, which was backing away with every move I made. I tried to save her. I tried to save me, but I couldn’t. I turned and fell on the ground. Colton stood above me with his hand reaching down.
    “We need to go,” he said.
    He pulled me along as we ran down an endless road into the darkness. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t happening. I turned to face Colton only to realize I was alone, running directly into the darkness. No, I screamed. No . I failed him.
    My eyes shot open to reveal Colton standing over me. I lifted my arm, brushing my hand gently against his cheek, relieved to know that he was here, and that I wasn’t zoning out again. He appeared to be worried, and I couldn’t blame him. I was worried about myself as of late, too. These dreams, or whatever the hell they were, just kept coming, and I wasn’t sure how to control them. Or if I even could.
    “I take it that you still refuse to find Hayden?” he asked.
    “You know that isn’t an option.” I looked at Colton and shook my head. “Besides, I’m sure I’ll figure this out eventually. You live and you learn, after all.”
    Colton sighed before taking a seat on the couch. We’d been locked away in this house in the middle of nowhere going on twenty-four hours, and it was doing neither of us any good.
    “So what would you like to do today?” I kicked him lightly, trying to avoid hurting him. “There’s a whole world out there. There’s no reason to be stuck inside all day.”
    “I was under the impression you were trying to keep us alive. Last I checked going out there was a suicide mission. After all, you are supposed to be dead, or did you forget that all of Seattle believes you were killed in a car accident yesterday?”
    I chuckled, trying to lighten the