N.I.C. (The Almost Series Book 3) Read online

  “I don’t know if she’ll cooperate with that.” I scooted towards the hanger exit. His two goons pointed their guns in my face. I froze, raising my arms above my head. “She hates creating weapons.”

  “So let her save a few mammals here and there. I like animals. I’ve invested in several habitat shelters. She can travel throughout the world with her new father, saving lives.” His eyes glistened. “I can see it now. I’ll be honored worldwide.”

  “With N.I.C., there is so much more you must be informed about before even considering disabling him. He’s changed things for you in ways no other program could.”

  “He means nothing to me without Shay,” Endre said.

  The helicopter landed atop the research facility.

  I jumped out. Amie unrolled a red carpet for herself and Endre. She held his arm and adjusted her tiara. They climbed down the steps and sauntered towards the elevator.

  “Bridgett darling,” she said. Her voice was like poison infiltrating my ears. “Hurry up and find your sister. You’ve much work to do.”

  Chapter Three

  S.H.A.Y. Subject 31

  Dr. Cole

  I wasn’t always this way. My developmental days were filled with adventures and tricks that I loved to play on the other scientists. My mind craved more than just to explore the Lone Keys. Sure, I was an active S.H.A.Y., but I loved to experiment with people. I wanted to know what made them tick, to discover their true motives and to explore my boundaries with them.

  I made one horrible mistake, by falling under the manipulation of my Amie. My ignorance cost my dearest friend her freedom. Sure, at the time, it was in desperation that I entered my Amie’s room. Room 217. I’d never forgotten the number. It served no purpose now but to hold my best friend hostage as my Amie fed from her to create a real body for herself. I’d imprisoned my friend and handed her over to my artificial mother like a meal on a silver platter.

  I just wanted independence. Was that so hard to attain? Why did everyone want to mold and develop me into the perfect S.H.A.Y. all the time? Didn’t they realize I had ideas of my own that I wished to explore?

  I wiped my eyes. Couldn’t they have just left my Eric alone? He wasn’t all that bad, right? It was his programming. How could you fault someone for that? I hated everyone at the research center. Except Shay. She was just a child that wanted to save animals. Who forced her to design weapons? Yeah, me. What a great older sister I’d turned out to be.

  I stepped forward, entering the elevator.

  I pressed the correct floor.

  I knew where I had to go. It was time I faced my demons and accepted what a horrible thing I’d done back when I was Shay’s exact age, all so that I could live and see what I could not without my Amie attached to me.

  I’d spent my days in the developmental phase pretending ignorance so they’d never notice my intellect, and it served its purpose. No one was ready for what I could do. I’d come at them unexpectedly.

  Pop, Shay’s holographic “father,” entered the elevator. His dark skin and eyes reminded me of my P.O.P. He wasn’t as bonded to me as hers was. I didn’t interact with him much as I wasn’t a scientist or intellect. His services weren’t really needed other than to submit my logs for analysis.

  “Has my Shay survived?” His voice was filled with static. “Has she?”

  “She escaped into Miami.” I refused to look at the program.

  “How do you plan to detain her?”

  “I’ll use Subject 31.”

  Her Pop let out an electronic gasp. “She’s contained in your A.M.I.E.’s room. Is that wise?”

  “You should be worried about your N.I.C. program and not what I’m going to do.”

  “What’s to happen to N.I.C.?”

  I frowned. This was probably the most annoying program I’d ever seen. He had a mind of his own, although not human. Yet, somehow he felt so very alive. Maybe it was because he was so connected to Shay.

  “Dr. Cole,” he said. “Please inform me of what is to happen. I am connected to him and his fate is thus mine as well. With the modifications being implemented, if N.I.C. is disabled, Shay’s life will be in jeopardy too.”

  “I told Endre that it was the N.I.C. who tried to kill Shay.”

  “Your Amie gave the order.”

  I nodded. “Telling him that would’ve meant my death.”

  “Instead, you terminate two valuable programs and endanger Shay’s existence. Her only hope of survival is N.I.C.; she cannot survive phase two without him.”

  “You’re not alive, Pop. Stop acting as if you and your machines are human.” I closed my eyes. “I’ve killed no one today. And Shay is not connected to N.I.C. yet. She’s safe, for now.”

  “I’m not heartless,” he said. “I do love Shay. Just because I’m made of artificial parts does not mean that I cannot emote. Everything I do is for Shay.”

  “You should be warning your N.I.C.”

  He disappeared, leaving me alone as the elevator stopped. I stepped out into the familiar hallways of A.M.I.E. programs.

  I took a deep breath.

  Would Subject 31 still be alive? What if I entered Amie’s room and all I found was my friend’s corpse? If I removed her from containment, would Amie put me inside to rot for all eternity?

  It didn’t matter anymore. I had to get Shay before Endre destroyed everyone and everything I’d spent years building.

  I walked the halls, passing room after room. I stopped in front of Shay’s A.M.I.E. It was impossible to miss it now that her shoe prints were indented into the wood. Most A.M.I.E.s refused entry by their S.H.A.Y.s. Why did she open her doors for my sister? I could’ve saved her from death.

  My Amie’s door stood ajar. No one ever dared enter for fear of what they’d see inside her chamber. Which S.H.A.Y. would she be experimenting on this time?

  My sister was never making it into this room.

  I stepped inside, holding my breath. It smelled of death. Skeletons hung along the walls and were piled up in the corners.

  “What are you doing in here?” Amie appeared, her eyes sharp. “You can’t take Subject 31 out unless you plan to take her place.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at my Amie’s first S.H.A.Y. to have ever survived on her own, without an Amie attached to her. She’d raised me and any of the other S.H.A.Y.s who seemed to have the ability to do the same. Subject 31 sat, very much alive, inside a glass containment.

  “I’ve kept her alive,” Amie said. “Did you expect anything else? She is my child.”

  “But you’ve killed all the other S.H.A.Y.s.”

  “They weren’t mine, what do I care?”

  I couldn’t speak.

  “Well, why are you here?” Amie folded her arms. “Are you finally tired of trying? Have you come home to me?”

  I shook my head, my mouth agape.

  “Spit it out, Bridgett.”

  “I want 31 to find my sister.”

  Amie threw back her head. She let out a monstrous laugh. “You want me to let my child out of her protective unit? She’ll mutate and die!”

  “She survived on her own for many years without your help.”

  “Well, you couldn’t survive a week before you mutated.” Amie sat on 31’s glass containment. “She can’t see me.” Her fingers reached for Subject 31. “You cannot risk her life.”

  “She’s a prisoner in a box. I bet she’d love to see the world around her. You should think of your children’s needs and desires sometimes and not your own.”

  Rows and rows of alarms appeared.

  “No!” I covered my ears. “No, Mom, no!”

  She raised her arm.

  Alarms rang. I curled up, trying to muffle the sound. They pierced me, deafened me.

  “Why do you fight me?” Her hair rose and she floated off the ground. “I don’t know what to do with you anymore!”

  “Mom! Please!”

  The sirens dulled and Amie turned her back to me. “What am I to do with you?
”

  I sat up, my eyes blurry with tears. “I thought you said I was useless to you?”

  She shrugged. “You’re still my creation.”

  “Please, please, Mom, I beg you, let Subject 31 track Shay.”

  Amie glanced back at Subject 31. Her eyes softened. “She’s my child. I won’t have you kill her.”

  “She’ll track my sister and come back here right away!” I said. “You’ll see, everything will work out for the best.”

  Her fingers brushed along the glass containment. “We’ll see.” Her dark eyes set on me. “Don’t make me regret this.”

  I raced over to the containment cell, lifting the doors. Clouds of what looked like steam blew in my face and I coughed. Subject 31 did not move.

  Was she dead?

  How long had she been in there? My only friend was locked up because of me. It was time she was set free. Would she remember what I did? Did she think I was the enemy? Was I?

  Amie’s hologram faded, but her voice remained behind. “Don’t let anything happen to my little girl.”

  Sharp pains shot through me. What was I to my mother?

  I shook the thought away and peeked inside the containment.

  A girl with short blonde hair and dark eyes who resembled my Amie sat with her knees tucked into her chest.

  “S.H.A.Y. 31?” I said.

  She glanced up. “Have you found a cure for me?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet.” I couldn’t swallow. Does she not remember me? “We’re still working as hard as we can to fix you.”

  “Why are you taking me out of containment?”

  My lips trembled. “I need your tracking skills to find my little sister. Would you be willing to find her?”

  “Where is she?”

  “She’s escaped into Miami.”

  “That’s a huge place. Have you ever been?”

  I shook my head.

  “How long do I have to find her before I die?”

  I froze.

  “How long, S.H.A.Y. Subject 59?”

  She did remember me.

  “It’s Dr. Cole.”

  “How long, 59?”

  “Dr. Cole.”

  “I’m not coming back from this trip, am I?”

  “I just need my sister found,” I said. “Then you’ll be put safely back into containment until we discover a cure for you.”

  “I thought you were my friend,” she said. “I was nothing but an experiment to you.”

  I stiffened. “That was a long time ago.”

  “Now you want me to help you find someone you claim is your sister? What do you plan to do to her?”

  “Nothing, her sponsors want her alive and immediately back in this facility.”

  “If I do this, I don’t want to go back inside here to rot.”

  “Our Amie says you must go back inside.”

  Subject 31 shook her head. “I said no.”

  “Please just find my sister before something detrimental happens to her.”

  Subject 31 stepped out of her containment, stretching her limbs. She was tall and lanky with a sharpness in her eyes. “My body feels so achy.”

  “Thank you for helping me.”

  She shrugged. “I just want out of that box. Please tell our Amie that I’m ready for phase four.”

  “Phase four?” I stepped aside. “What are you talking about?”

  “It’s none of your concern. Tell our mother what I’ve said.” She sniffed the air, using her hybrid senses. “I’ll find your pet and then we’ll negotiate my permanent release.”

  Chapter Four

  Miami Life

  S.H.A.Y. 218

  I could barely breathe.

  Still, I kicked my feet and swam faster and further away from the only life I’d ever known. The lights of Miami flickered, taunting me with promises of something better.

  My heart pounded.

  I could hear Dr. Cole screaming. She shouted at her Amie. Were they fighting over my escape?

  My Amie floated above me. “Ignore them, my Shay. Keep swimming, you’re almost there!”

  My sister did not want to let me go, but she let me anyhow. Her Amie wanted me dead. Dr. Cole was going to shoot me for her Amie, but she resisted. Why did she?

  “Stop this!” My Amie said. “It doesn’t matter why Dr. Cole let you go; all that matters is that you make it across the border before she is convinced to come after you.”

  She was right. It didn’t matter anymore.

  I was almost free!

  I kicked my feet as hard as I could until I reached the Miami shoreline. My legs were so weak that I could barely stand, and I dropped into shallow waters. I glanced at the lights that flashed in my face and recoiled as music infiltrated my ears. Everything moved so fast and my eyes burned.

  My head spun. I’d never seen so much at one time. Everything was moving. Yards ahead, people walked past me on what looked like cement pathways and there were cars rushing past them. No one seemed affected by their speed. Others danced inside buildings called clubs, some even pranced in the streets. The sidewalks were filled with couples embracing and teenagers who loitered in groups at darkened corners.

  I stood, my legs still trembling. I laughed. There was life, people living their lives, all around me! I was surrounded by real, actual humans and they were dancing. There was laughter and revelry, things I’d only read about in books on the research center.

  The sand was different than the sand on the shores of the Lone Keys. Not only was it darker and grainier than on my islands, this sand promised me a future of freedom.

  My Amie appeared beside me. She smiled and let her red hair fly in the wind. She could read my thoughts and so she nodded in unison with me.

  I was finally free from my captors. I'd never known what it felt like to be free until my feet hit that shore. I stepped forward, out of the water and onto the beach. My arms trembled as I turned back to see what I’d left behind. I couldn’t find Dr. Cole, couldn’t see the dreaded Pigeon Key Facility. My eyes watered as I watched party boats drift out into the ocean, into the unknown. As far as they knew, they were going into unchartered territories to break the simple rules against gambling and drinking. What they didn't realize was the sort of life I had lived in those same waters, just beyond that border that they never seem to venture passed. Why would anyone risk such freedom for mystery?

  “Shay!” I heard someone shout in the distance. I turned and there was my mother, Darla. She raced towards me, stumbling in the street. She landed on her knees. Sand caught the wind and blew in her face. “Shay!” She jumped back up and ran towards me.

  I couldn’t move. Tears streamed down her face. My mom was alive. I’d saved her. Maybe I was going to die, but at least I’d brought her to safety.

  I glanced back at the life, the only life I’d ever known, and there in the distance, I could see Dr. Cole standing on a small piece of exposed land. There was a chopper hovering above her. She was barely visible to me but I could tell she was crying. I couldn't hear her anymore, but I just knew I had broken her heart and ruined her life.

  “Shay! You made it!” Darla raced for me. She choked on her sobs. As they left her throat, it almost sounded unreal. “Shay!”

  I braced myself as my mom crashed into my arms. I let all the pain, all the sorrow, and all the anger I felt, for so many years, release itself. I melted into her arms and she in mine. We couldn't let go of each other.

  My Amie performed flips and cartwheels around us.

  We were free!

  My Amie’s little S.H.A.Y. was going to have a human mother and she was going to live here in Miami city. She was going to be free from any type of control. On the other hand, I would only be free for a few moments. Amie didn't have to tell me that part. I knew as well as anyone that I was going to turn into Dr. Cole. It was the inevitable future. But, that wasn’t important today…

  Today, I was going to have fun and I was going to enjoy my time away from the research center
. I’d see what the world could offer me! I was free for the first time in my life.

  A couple strolled passed us. He had one arm around his girlfriend. She stumbled and he steadied her, spilling what must have been alcohol out of their bottles and onto the sand. They laughed, holding each other tight as they took off their shoes. He tossed his bottle and chased her along the shoreline. They were happy, they were giddy, and I longed for that. I wanted to run in the sand too.

  Darla still sobbed into her hands. I barely noticed. Or did I just not care? Had I finally become selfish? In that moment, I just wished to be with Eric; he was everything to me, gills and all. Sure, I hated when he called me a cream puff, but loved it at the same time. His arms, warm against my skin…I looked back at Darla, still uninterested in reuniting with her just yet. I ran, not ready to accept my fate. My feet slapped the wet sand as I made my way further and further down the shore.

  Straight ahead there was a pier. I'd never seen an actual pier besides in a book. It was long and there were fishermen leaning over the sides with their poles dangling over the wooden railings, their fishing wire dipping into the water, dancing along with the waves.

  It was amazing! It was fantastic! It was freedom, and it stunk so bad like old fish.

  I laughed, falling backwards.

  Amie sat at the edge of the shore with her hands on her hips. She frowned. “Don't you think it's time we find a place for your human parent to stay? I’d like to be a part of the selection process. This way I can feel confident that she will be raised in a secure environment.”

  It’s always about someone else, isn't it? “Yes Mom, I'm on my way,” I said. Sometimes, I wished that my life wasn't just meant to serve others’ desires and dreams. At least this time I wasn’t building weapons. This time, I served for a good cause. Darla, she wanted to be a mother to someone. My Amie craved to save her baby and give it to Darla.

  What about me? I needed my Pop, my room and my Eric. Reality struck me like a lead ball, straight in the heart—I wasn't going to get anything I desired anymore.

  Life for me was over. No more Pop—he was probably terminated by now, and I’d destroyed my room. Eric would never find me in time to say goodbye before I turned to metal and died.