The Beyond: Dystopian Survival Fiction (The Breeder Files Book 4) by Eliza Green (most popular novels TXT) 📗

Anya felt that way, too. ‘So, what do we do about it?’

‘We make him see sense. This place is sending out serious vibes of déjà vu and we need to understand why.’ Sheila shivered and looked back at the room they were in. ‘This one reminds me of the boy’s dorm room on the fourth floor.’

So she wasn’t imagining it.

‘Yes!’ Sheila shushed her and Anya lowered her voice. ‘What do we do?’

‘Agatha says the door will open tomorrow. We wait for that to happen, get the others across, and see what to do then. We should try to bring the wolf over, you know, for protection.’

Having Rover here would shift the balance in their favour.

‘What happened at your medical?’

Sheila shrugged. ‘Nothing much. They took my temperature, blood pressure, heart rate. Then they scanned me and found nothing. You?’

‘Same. They found Dom’s tech.’

Sheila checked the corridor. ‘We need to keep an eye on him.’ She looked back. ‘Make sure he doesn’t become their newest experiment.’

Anya nodded.

Sheila checked the corridor a second time. ‘We should get back. You coming?’

‘In a minute. I want to check one thing out first.’

Sheila slipped out the door as quietly as she had entered it.

Anya crept back to the control room. Maybe it would give her some insight into how this place operated. She froze at the door when she saw the screens had been activated and Alex was hitting something on the console.

‘What are you doing?’ she whispered.

Alex startled. He yanked his hands back as if something had electrocuted them.

‘I... was seeing if there was a way to release the door.’

She checked behind her and stepped inside the room. The screen showed security details. It looked like Alex was searching for the security access.

‘And is there?’

‘Nothing I can see.’ His eyes shifted. ‘Go back to bed. I won’t be long.’

She took a step closer. ‘Maybe I can help.’

Alex stepped in front of the console, blocking the screen.

‘Why aren’t there any guards in here?’ she asked.

‘The system is a sentient one. It runs on its own schedule after hours.’

‘Did you find anything?’

He shook his head and shifted to the left. She caught a glimpse of something on screen. Override command codes.

She hadn’t spoken to Alex properly since the Collective had taken him prisoner. Frahlia’s birth had pushed that conversation further away.

‘I need to talk to you,’ she said.

‘Can’t it wait?’

‘No.’

Alex hit something on the console and the screens went black.

She walked out of the control room and led him back down the corridor to the start of the more basic designed area.

‘We haven’t spoken since... you know.’

‘Yeah.’

‘What happened when Julius took you and Jerome to the city?’

Alex shrugged. ‘They separated us. Then you found us.’

Anya frowned. ‘Nothing else?’

‘Like what?’

She didn’t know. ‘Did they try to experiment on you? Did anyone talk to you?’ She gripped his sleeve. ‘You and I spent a week together and they barely left us alone.’

Alex eased his sleeve away. ‘It wasn’t like the last time. I guess my Breeder status meant something only when there were females to pair up with me.’

Anya shivered, thinking how clinical it all sounded. ‘I guess.’ She paused, bit her lip. ‘Are you and June doing okay?’

He shrugged again. ‘Sure. We’re fine.’

‘And Frahlia?’

His eyes lit up and he beamed. ‘She’s perfect. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her. I never knew how perfect children could be until she came along. She’s something, isn’t she?’

The child with the strange eyes, less than a day old, was certainly something.

‘She is perfect.’ It was the only way Anya could think to describe her. ‘But her eyes, they’re a little bright, don’t you think?’

His smile dropped away. ‘Do they give her away?’

She understood his worry. If Agatha discovered what Frahlia was, she could be experimented upon for the rest of her life.

She smiled. ‘No, they’re fine.’

The way Alex looked at her, the way he switched from a quiet energy to a nervous one, bothered her.

She rubbed her arms. ‘I’m gonna head back to the dorm. See you back there?’

Alex nodded. ‘I’m going to take a look around.’

Anya watched him go. A hand on her arm startled her. She spun around to see it was June.

‘What are you doing here, Anya?’

‘I... was talking to Alex about his time in the city.’

‘Sounds like you were interrogating him. And asking about Frahlia. Do you have a problem with her?’

Her mouth flapped open. ‘No... I... we were just talking.’

June’s eyes had hardened. ‘I will do anything to protect her, so don’t get in our way.’

‘I wouldn’t...’

‘And leave Alex alone. You had your time together in the medical facility. He doesn’t want you; he wants me.’

‘I’m not interested in Alex.’

It was true.

‘Stay away from him. Leave him alone.’

‘Fine. I’m gone.’

Anya turned and walked back to the dorm.

24

Carissa

Carissa marched on ahead of the others, out of the school and towards the Learning Centre.

She heard a set of steps behind her hurrying to catch up.

The Inventor reached her and put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Where are you going, miss?’

‘Back to the Learning Centre.’

She resumed her walk but the Inventor stopped her again. ‘To do what?’

Carissa caught the looks on the others’ faces. Both Vanessa and Charlie were concerned, but Thomas was curious. She’d forgotten the Originals needed more detail to make decisions. They could not hear her thoughts or gauge her response in the blink of an eye.

‘There’s a download-upload room in the Learning Centre.’ She looked from one to the next. ‘I used to provide my daily uploads there. The console says there’s someone