The Rotten Beast by Mary E. Pearson Page A

anymore. I’m a thing. You now have a thing.”

    I manage to send both my parents from the room sobbing, only to have Jenna’s father replace them. He tries to act doctorly, as if he’s checking on a patient. He’s a quack and I tell him so. He’s not affected by my accusations, but when he comes closer and reaches out to touch my wrist, I scream for him to get away.
    He smiles. “You’re a stubborn girl, Allys. You should have woken up a week ago. I suspected the delay was more in here.” He taps the side of his head. “You have a strong will, but that helped us in many ways.” He steps closer again, and I tense, pressing into the mattress. He stops.
    â€œAllys, I know this is—”
    â€œYou don’t know anything, Dr. Fox. You know nothing about me.”
    â€œI know that you blame scientists and doctors for what happened to you—”
    â€œNot just me, Doctor. Millions have suffered because of people like you. You experiment with things you can’t begin to understand and the rest of us pay the price. You’re not going to get away with this.”
    He bends forward and grabs my hand and roughly shakes it in front of my face. I try to pull it away, but his grip is firm. “And millions would give anything to have what we’ve given you. Biogel made this possible and I’m not going to apologize for it.” He doesn’t try to hide his anger, but he lets go and steps away. So much for his bedside manner. “I’ll give you some time,” he says. “This is a lot for you to take in right now, but we will talk later.” He leaves.
    Jenna stands silently at the side of my bed, staring at me, and finally sighs as if she’s annoyed and walks to the door. Just before she leaves she pauses and then turns to me. “Give in to it, Allys. It will make it easier for you. You’ll give in eventually, anyway.”
    Give in to what? Being controlled by all the computer chips stuffed into his Biogel? “I’ll never give in. I’m stronger than you, Jenna.”
    â€œNo doubt about that. It’s what I always liked about you—your strength and determination. But you’ll give in. You’ll get taken over. It will come when you let your guard down and you’re least expecting it.” She walks out, shutting the door behind her.
    Taken over. I’m chilled by the way she speaks of it so matter-of-factly. What does she mean, taken over? Are the biochips waiting to snatch away the last bit of free will I have? Are they going to wring away that little piece of me that still holds some scrap of my humanity? How long can I hold out before I’m more robot than human?
    I close my eyes. Maybe it’s too late. Only twenty percent of me is still original. The rest is bioengineered, created in a lab, loaded with computer chips telling what’s left of my body what to do. Maybe I’m not me at all already? I try to feel the changes. I press my hand to my chest and try to feel the biochips clicking away inside, but all I feel is the strong steady beat of something mimicking what was once my heart.
    After two more days, I’m allowed to go home with my parents. Dr. Fox comes once a week to check on me. Jenna comes every day.
    â€œYou needn’t bother,” I tell her.
    â€œI know,” she says.
    I refuse to say more to her and my parents get just as few words from me. I hear them whisper with Dr. Fox when he visits. Car keys are hidden. Communication codes are changed. They lock my room at night. They don’t trust me. They shouldn’t. I want to turn us all in. It’s the right thing to do.
    After two weeks, Jenna stops coming. For six days, she doesn’t come. I watch the long drive, expecting her to emerge through the oleander bushes that hide our house from the road. But she doesn’t. Good riddance. She must have finally gotten the message that her visits are a waste of