Freak of Nature

chapter Five



Lucas would rather be going anywhere else tonight, but he hadn’t been able to say no. Professor Adams insisted, and when that man got something in his head there was no changing it. He was like a bulldog with a bone.

Lucas held up two shirts: A light blue oxford and a white oxford. He eyed them warily, lifting first one then the other up to the light. He wished he had someone to help him make these decisions. His cat domino rubbed against his leg. “What do you think domino? Blue or white?” The cat purred.

“A lot of help you are.”

He could compute equations in his mind, but couldn’t decide what to wear. Ridiculous.

Picking out a shirt shouldn’t be this difficult, he told himself. Hanging the white shirt back on the rack, he shrugged into the blue. He always wore white to work. It was the logical decision. Maybe he should expand his wardrobe, but since signing on with IFICS his social life had taken a back seat.

Fumbling with the buttons, Lucas wondered what was so important that Adams couldn’t talk to him tomorrow at work. Didn’t they see enough of each other as it was.

He hoped there weren’t more big changes in store for Kaitlyn. Every time they did an upgrade, she became less and less human. They were robbing her of her life experiences—memories of old ones and the pleasure in new ones. They were piece by piece removing her soul. Soon, all she would have left was the technology and not the person. If there was even anything left. After the first operation, she still smiled at him, still let out a half-amused breath when he tripped over the power cords. After the second upgrade, she stopped laughing. By the fifth, she stopped smiling entirely. Guilt washed over Lucas, and as hard as he tried to push it away, a permanent, low level of uneasiness stayed with him.

It was an hour’s drive to the compound, which was ridiculous since it hadn’t even been an hour and a half since he’d left work. And here he was, headed back in the same direction. On the bright side, IFICS reimbursed him for mileage and gas.

IFICS did a lot for Lucas. The job really was a dream-come-true. Great pay, generous benefits, and work he loved. Seriously, what more could he ask for?

If only his conscience hadn’t started to bother him. Without knowing why he was doing it, Lucas had started planning escape routes for Kaitlyn. He shook his head at the thought, gripping the steering wheel tighter turning his knuckles white. He must be losing his mind.

Every time he saw her, he wanted to whisk her away from the life she was headed towards. Hell, the life she was living. Who was he kidding. Guilt wrenched his body knowing he was practically the mastermind behind morphing her into a cyborg. If it weren’t for his coding, they wouldn’t have been able to get as far as they had.

He felt repulsed by himself—for what he had done, and for the fact that he was so drawn to her in her half human form.

It didn’t help that she was gorgeous: those long legs, dark hair, athletic body, and incredible mind. It was the last one that made his heart trip up. God, she was so intelligent. The amount of information stored in her beautiful brain was mind-boggling. It was like she was a living, walking encyclopedia. In his eyes she was perfection, at least until they kept stripping away who she had been little by little. Now she was an empty shell of what she had been.

Lucas shook his head—he had issues.

He drove the rest of the way lost in his thoughts. Before he knew it, he saw the sign—Private Property. Trespassers Will Be Shot. The sign was not a joke. Lucas looked up and saw the silhouette of an armed guard patrolling the grounds. Well-trained guards stood on alert throughout the property, most of them ex-Special Forces and armed with the kind of weaponry that was probably illegal in seven countries. It was a constant reminder of the importance of the project.

Dr. Harrington spared no expense. As a billionaire, he could pretty much do whatever the hell he wanted, which was how IFICS was formed. It wasn’t even an acronym, IFICS didn’t even mean anything. Harrington’s dry sense of humor had thought it would be funny to name his company IFICS: Sci-fi backwards. Lucas smiled to himself. It was clever—he had to give him that.

Harrington had always been obsessed with the future and advances in technology, not to mention his own desire to live forever. His company was on the cutting edge of science as far as anti-aging, and he had made tremendous gains in the field. The company was known for nanobots used to dramatically slow the process of aging. Harrington was sixty-three and barely looked forty. Modern miracle.

But Kaitlyn was the real dream. The secret project. Now that Kaitlyn was turning out to be a success, Harrington had started to get greedy. The eccentric man had begun to believe that cyborgs—like Kaitlyn—were the way of the future. In fifty years, he believed it would be normal, she would be normal, and so would thousands of other cyborgs living out their lives among the human populace. Lucas didn’t quite believe that, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

He hadn’t seen the man in quite some time. Professor Adams had informed him Harrington was off in the rainforest hunting exotic wild animals or something equally as crazy. The man had a death wish, but fate always seemed to shine on his side. Some people were just lucky that way. A man with a death wish that wanted to live forever. Makes total sense, Lucas thought wryly.

Of course, Harrington would have to return soon before the government bid on Kaitlyn. Lucas knew there was no chance he would miss that. His vision becoming a reality.

He rolled his Jeep to a stop at the guard gate and nodded to Sam who had a high powered rifle slung over his shoulder.

“What are you doing back?”

“I know, right?” Lucas said, “Adams called me back in. I’d just got home.”

Lucas handed his pass to the burly guard. The older man’s arms were as big as Lucas’s neck.

Sam grunted and handed Lucas his ID. Lucas nodded in thanks and put his Jeep in drive and crept through the gated entry. Night had already fallen and a full moon hung high in the sky. Giving the compound an eerie glow.

Who would have thought that at only twenty he would have such a highly classified job? Certainly not his father, not that he had stayed around to see how Lucas turned out.

Pushing the negative thoughts aside, Lucas drove towards the back of the compound. He pulled into a parking spot and jumped out. Professor Adams’s stone cottage stood off in the distance with a wisp of smoke billowing from the chimney, looking for all the world like an idyllic cottage in the countryside. Very out of place, but Harrington wanted Adams to live on the compound in case any issues arose. The cottage had been Mrs. Adams idea. She said if she was going to be stuck on the god forsaken compound she might as well get her dream house. Harrington had built it to her specifics. Harrington definitely took care of his own. He had to give him that.

Lucas trudged forward across the well-manicured lawn and rang the doorbell. He just wanted the night to be over with.

Mrs. Adams opened the door with a friendly smile, her white hair falling in loose curls around her face. It was obvious the woman had been a looker in her day, but time had taken a toll, and had deeply lined her oval face and high cheekbones. Her bright blue eyes, however, still sparkled with youthfulness.

The Adams’s didn’t believe in the anti-aging treatments that IFICS had invented, but they were okay with turning a girl into half a human. People rarely made sense.

“Come in, Lucas. So glad you could join us.” She stepped aside and allowed him to pass into the cottage. He could smell fresh baked bread cooking. The aroma was mouth watering.

“You look as lovely as ever, Mrs. Adams.”

“Oh, you. Keep ‘em coming. You know I’m a sucker for compliments,” she gave him an impish grin that took years off her face.

A stone fireplace sat to the right, lit with flames. Knickknacks covered the worn wooden shelves that lined both sides. From the look of the shelves, the mantle, and end tables, Mrs. Adams collected angels and porcelain bears. A worn leather couch and two rocking chairs filled the small room. He smiled at the sight of the brightly colored rug in front of the fireplace. It reminded him of a rug his mother had made by hand many years ago. His mothers didn’t turn out quite as nice, but at least she tried. His mom always tried.

“Dinner is almost ready,” Mrs. Adams said sweetly. “I made roast. I hope that’s okay with you. You’re not vegetarian, are you? If so, I can whip something up.”

“Roast is fine. Thank you, it smells amazing.” He’d had no idea he was coming for dinner; he had thought it was just a last minute meeting with the Professor. The sound of his stomach rumbling reminded him he hadn’t eaten since lunch, so a home cooked dinner was a welcome surprise.

“Take off your jacket and join the rest of us in the sitting room.”

Lucas shrugged out of his jacket and wondered who ‘the rest of us’ were. He hoped he wasn’t being ambushed with some crazy upgrade by the professor. They were too close to make drastic changes now.

Mrs. Adams took his jacket and walked away to hang it in a nearby closet.

“Follow me.” She smiled and led him down a narrow hallway lined with black and white photographs.

He almost stumbled over his own feet when he saw Kaitlyn sitting on a floral loveseat next to the Adams’s granddaughter.

What is Kaitlyn doing here?

Kaitlyn looked up and caught his gaze. He felt like a lovesick teenager. His heart raced, and his mouth felt dry and refused to cooperate; he needed to say something, but nothing would come out. She literally took his breath away.

She sat at the edge of the loveseat holding a glass of water. The white dress she was wearing was entirely too revealing. Her long legs were pressed together and tilted to the side. He could see the coding scroll through her calves, and he had to force himself to look away. He searched the room until his eyes settled on a painting in the corner. It was black, red, and white and he had no idea what it was supposed to depict. It looked like a bunch of paint splatters to him, but something told him it was worth a fortune.

“Lucas, I’m so glad you could join us tonight,” Professor Adams said, offering a hand. “My wife has been dying to have you as a dinner guest for some time.”

“A dinner guest?” Lucas sputtered, shaking his superior’s hand. “I thought you had to see me about work?”

The elder man tutted. “My dear boy. Sometimes work needs to be set aside, and we just need to enjoy one another’s company.”

Lucas felt like he was being set up, but he had no idea why. What could that Adam’s possible want with him.