this?” he repeated.
“ The information passed on from our source was that someone escaped from a Wisconsin facility. But you said she’s a UDK. So it couldn’t have been her, right? Only, like I said, she was running from something.” Dominic shook his head. “Never mind. It couldn’t have been her. But, I mean, did you notice her eyes?”
Impatient with his continued procrastination at stating the obvious, he snapped, “Notice what about them?”
Dominic shifted his weight, hesitating.
“Would you just spit whatever it is out and save me the drama?”
“ They almost looked like they glowed, just a little. But they’re blue, so…” He shrugged. “It must have been a trick of the light. No one else noticed it. I must be wrong.”
Dominic went back into the house, leaving him alone once more. Long after he was gone, Christian stared at the same point he had during the conversation, but the tree in the distance offered no answers. Anyway, it was obvious he already had his answers. The most obvious being Honor Rochester, a UDK, was on the run. That had to mean something significant.
What was she running from? Regret that he hadn’t been more forceful about her accompanying them swept through him. Whatever importance she had or information she might know could help him immensely. He had a feeling she was the answer to a lot of things. If they were to cross paths again, he wouldn’t let her go so easily. Maybe Dominic was wrong, but if he was right, Honor was number one on his persons of interest list.
He’d always thought her unique, intriguing, and for a small span of time, he’d even wondered what it would be like to date someone like her. But that was pre-UD—that was before any hope of a normal, fulfilling life was snatched away and a poor excuse of an existence was given to him instead. It was laughable how naïve he’d been, all the dreams he’d had were nothing more than a distant, fading memory.
This is your life now. Deal with it.
At the end of the shift change, Christian paused just inside the door, his eyes taking in the scene. The room was dark, only the moon projecting through the dusty windows offering any kind of light. The wood floor creaked as he shifted his weight; his head lowered as he looked from one UD to the next. They were sitting in a makeshift circle in the middle of the barren room, talking. There was a kinship to the group that he’d never paid attention to before. He felt uncomfortable for witnessing it and even a little bit regretful for not being a part of it. Though he’d formed the allegiance among them, he was more the intruder than anyone else. He was the one that didn’t belong.
Natasha sat away from them, her back to the wall, wrists bound together before her. Her head drooped, the weight of it and the draw of sleep apparently too great. Still she fought, her eyes locked with his, the intensity of the brown orbs too big for one so small. She was another one who didn’t belong, but her incompatibility was more obvious—she was the only one in the vicinity fully alive.
“ Which of your parents gave it to you?”
The question was asked of Juli. Her eyes shifted to Christian and away. “I was adopted, so I don’t know. I was seventeen when they came for me. I was leaving work, it was dark. I don’t think anyone even knew. My parents think I ran away. After I went through the change, I couldn’t go back to them, to that life. I let them continue to think that I ran away. I haven’t contacted them since. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I don’t want them to know about this life, about any of it.”
A UD being adopted by a normal human being with no knowledge of what they were raising—Christian hadn’t thought such a thing was possible.
“ Juli.” Words stopped, bodies stiffened, eyes turned his way. It was always that way when he drew attention to himself. “I need to speak to you.”
“ Sure.” She disentangled her limbs and met
“ The information passed on from our source was that someone escaped from a Wisconsin facility. But you said she’s a UDK. So it couldn’t have been her, right? Only, like I said, she was running from something.” Dominic shook his head. “Never mind. It couldn’t have been her. But, I mean, did you notice her eyes?”
Impatient with his continued procrastination at stating the obvious, he snapped, “Notice what about them?”
Dominic shifted his weight, hesitating.
“Would you just spit whatever it is out and save me the drama?”
“ They almost looked like they glowed, just a little. But they’re blue, so…” He shrugged. “It must have been a trick of the light. No one else noticed it. I must be wrong.”
Dominic went back into the house, leaving him alone once more. Long after he was gone, Christian stared at the same point he had during the conversation, but the tree in the distance offered no answers. Anyway, it was obvious he already had his answers. The most obvious being Honor Rochester, a UDK, was on the run. That had to mean something significant.
What was she running from? Regret that he hadn’t been more forceful about her accompanying them swept through him. Whatever importance she had or information she might know could help him immensely. He had a feeling she was the answer to a lot of things. If they were to cross paths again, he wouldn’t let her go so easily. Maybe Dominic was wrong, but if he was right, Honor was number one on his persons of interest list.
He’d always thought her unique, intriguing, and for a small span of time, he’d even wondered what it would be like to date someone like her. But that was pre-UD—that was before any hope of a normal, fulfilling life was snatched away and a poor excuse of an existence was given to him instead. It was laughable how naïve he’d been, all the dreams he’d had were nothing more than a distant, fading memory.
This is your life now. Deal with it.
At the end of the shift change, Christian paused just inside the door, his eyes taking in the scene. The room was dark, only the moon projecting through the dusty windows offering any kind of light. The wood floor creaked as he shifted his weight; his head lowered as he looked from one UD to the next. They were sitting in a makeshift circle in the middle of the barren room, talking. There was a kinship to the group that he’d never paid attention to before. He felt uncomfortable for witnessing it and even a little bit regretful for not being a part of it. Though he’d formed the allegiance among them, he was more the intruder than anyone else. He was the one that didn’t belong.
Natasha sat away from them, her back to the wall, wrists bound together before her. Her head drooped, the weight of it and the draw of sleep apparently too great. Still she fought, her eyes locked with his, the intensity of the brown orbs too big for one so small. She was another one who didn’t belong, but her incompatibility was more obvious—she was the only one in the vicinity fully alive.
“ Which of your parents gave it to you?”
The question was asked of Juli. Her eyes shifted to Christian and away. “I was adopted, so I don’t know. I was seventeen when they came for me. I was leaving work, it was dark. I don’t think anyone even knew. My parents think I ran away. After I went through the change, I couldn’t go back to them, to that life. I let them continue to think that I ran away. I haven’t contacted them since. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I don’t want them to know about this life, about any of it.”
A UD being adopted by a normal human being with no knowledge of what they were raising—Christian hadn’t thought such a thing was possible.
“ Juli.” Words stopped, bodies stiffened, eyes turned his way. It was always that way when he drew attention to himself. “I need to speak to you.”
“ Sure.” She disentangled her limbs and met
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