AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I smooth a finger along her dark hair that’s pulled back from her face per military uniform regulation, my pulse speeds up as I imagine the silky texture of it.
This photo marks the moment we embarked on this journey together. My smile drops and my expression hardens as I note her unmarred face. This was taken before she attempted to escape with one of the interns, and she suffered greatly for that little stunt.
It wasn’t until after she’d undergone more manipulative and invasive methods that she had the most extraordinary reaction.
I’d almost lost her. In fact, she’d flat-lined before we’d succeeded in reviving her. How angry I’d been with her for causing her beauty to be marred by her escape attempt…
When I’d checked on her the following day, however, the results floored me.
Her hair had changed to a unique shade of silver and her eye color had mutated to become a pale, almost opaque blue, giving her a more distinctive look. She’d always been a beautiful creature, but this mutation amplified that.
Not only had that change occurred, but she began to intermittently emit abnormal gamma-ray readings. I could never quite pinpoint a pattern of when they would occur.
As I peruse the following pages of photographs from only a few years ago, taken of her body while she’d been sedated, it spawns extreme irritation and disappointment.
She’d chosen to taint her body with tattoos. She dared to attempt to disguise the bulk of the proof of punishment she’d endured.
Ah…how furious I’d been with her after she’d arrived with the first section of ink covering her scars. But she’d continued to do so well, proving to be my star pupil, that I’d forced myself to show some lenience.
I still don’t quite understand her inked obsession with time pieces, but that’s neither here nor there.
I stroke my thumb down the median of her naked body and permit myself to whisper the name of the woman who’s been both a challenge and a joy to work with…while also becoming the object of my desires. “My sweet Eleanor Mackenzie.”
Oh, the many times I’ve ejaculated to the thought of her coming to me, covered in the blood of her victims, to profess her love for me. It’s taken great restraint to not program her to do so, but I have to draw the line somewhere.
But it’s been tempting…
The timer buzzes, drawing me from my musings, and I return my focus on my new protégé.
I press the button from behind the enclosed observation room to begin her first doses. She may not be as impressive as my Eleanor, but she does display great potential.
I’ve singlehandedly armed myself, effectively creating a way to eradicate anyone who gets in my way or threatens to reveal this program’s details.
55
MAC
Look under the far-left corner floorboard of your closet.
My own words reverberate, bouncing around my skull as I pad toward my bedroom. Ice-cold fingers of premonition scrape down my vertebrae as I venture closer to the small walk-in closet.
A rack of hanging clothes sits beside the small set of built-in shelves with a half dozen large drawers. My stomach somersaults with uneasiness a second before I press my thumb and finger together.
Near-deafening silence descends over me, and I’m able to breathe a little easier.
Lowering myself to the floor, I smooth my hands along the hardwood surface along the far-left corner and almost immediately discover a slight notch in part of the wood. Using my blunt fingernails, I pry the wood up and it gives way easily, revealing a hollow space beneath.
My fingers go slack, and the piece of wood drops from my hold, clattering against the floor. I flinch at the sound.
Holy shit. Even though I told myself to look here, it’s creepy as hell to find something.
I toss a glance over my shoulder, certain that someone’s about to come storming at me at any second. But no one does. It remains silent and still, aside from my harsh breathing and the rapid drumbeat of my own heart echoing in my ears.
I peer inside the hollow space revealed to find a notebook. A small sticky note is affixed to the side of a particular page, partially sticking out. On the exposed section, I’ve written the truth.
Truth. A harsh, humorless laugh climbs up my throat, threatening to break free, because it seems like my whole life’s been a lie.
Even so, a minuscule amount of relief fills me, because this is the first time I’ve had a breakthrough. Something actually worked to unlock my memories. I just don’t know what the hell to make of them, because the ones I’ve revealed are fucking terrifying.
