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

‘We’ve met?’ Her head swam with the lies. ‘And I don’t remember agreeing to your little social experiment.’

‘Yes, you did. Everyone who entered had to sign an agreement.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

Agatha got up and picked up a tablet from a table nearby. She turned it on and swiped until she came to a page.

She showed it to Anya. ‘You signed this. The agreement was one month in the Region.’

Anya squinted at it. It could be her signature. She didn’t remember what hers looked like. ‘That could be anyone’s scrawl.’

Agatha returned to the desk and opened the drawer. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

She placed it in front of Anya. ‘Sign your name.’

She did. Agatha showed her the signatures. They were identical.

‘You could have forged my signature. That doesn’t mean anything.’

‘We also have your DNA signature on file.’

Anya looked at Dom, who was staring down at his plate. ‘Do you believe her?’

He didn’t answer, grabbing the page and pen and signing his name.

To Agatha, he said, ‘Show me mine.’

She swiped a few times and showed him his signature. Again, identical.

‘We agreed to the Region?’ said Dom softly.

‘Yes, you did. In your case, it was your father who pushed for it.’

‘And the payment for it?’

‘Sitting in an account with your name on it, ready to be claimed.’

‘And my parents?’

‘If they’re dead, their payment is passed on to you.’

She flicked to a new page on screen and showed a figure to them.

Anya had no clue about the value of currency in this city, but there were lots of zeros. ‘Is that a lot?’

‘Enough to buy you a nice life here. Quintus risked the entire operating system of New San Francisco. If he ever spread beyond this city, he could have gained control over the west colony. Believe me, we would have paid double to lock his ass down.’

Dom lifted his brows at Anya. ‘Looks like we’re rich.’

33

Carissa

Carissa sat inside a grey-walled room with only a single bed and a bedside locker for company. The way out was made of solid steel, except for a small viewing window two-thirds up. This place felt familiar to her, even though she’d never been there before. After Carissa had stepped out of a large machine an hour ago, a woman in a white coat had brought her to this room. She’d said it would help Carissa to adjust to her new life.

A face appeared at the viewing window. It belonged to the dark-skinned woman who ran this base. That much she knew; she’d been there when Carissa had exited the machine. The old man with the white hair had also been there. The door clicked open and Carissa—the old man kept calling her that—sat up straighter. Agatha entered the room first, followed by Jacob. Although, she sensed he had a different name.

She frowned at the pair, one smiling the other not. She flicked her gaze between them.

They remained near the open door, having a conversation that did not include Carissa.

‘Will you consider staying on this side, Jacob? We could use someone with your expertise.’

Jacob’s eyes flicked to Carissa. ‘What will happen to her?’

‘She may live as she pleases once she passes our cognitive tests to check her emotional responses.’

‘Responses?’

‘Humans and synths can live together in this city, but only after synths prove they can recognise the difference between right and wrong.’

Carissa wondered what that had to do with her.

‘How much longer do I have to stay in here?’ Her words snapped both sets of eyes to her. ‘I feel fine. I’d like to leave now.’

She’d felt okay after stepping out of the machine and had told Agatha so, but the commander hadn’t listened to her.

Agatha rarely smiled—an oddity she’d noticed about her. But the old man, Jacob... his eyes were crinkled and his mouth had softened into a smile. She focused on him and his stance. The familiarity of him nagged at her.

Agatha stepped forward. ‘I thought you’d like a tour of the base. But I also have someone I’d like you to meet.’

Carissa stood and checked with Jacob, who smiled and nodded at her. She took a deep breath, smoothed down the front of her borrowed jeans and long-sleeved shirt and stepped closer to the exit.

Agatha walked on but Carissa hesitated a moment. The room felt safe, but the uncertainties of what freedom entailed worried her.

Jacob steered her out of the room. ‘Come on, miss.’

She jerked at his touch and he withdrew his hand. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.’

He gestured for her to follow Agatha.

It wasn’t his touch that had alarmed her; it was something he’d said. Something that she should know...

Carissa hurried to catch up with Agatha, who had stopped at the end of the corridor. They resumed their walk and Agatha pointed inside rooms as they went. Carissa glanced inside them, barely hearing anything Agatha said. The commander stopped at the base of a set of metal stairs in the middle of a bay, trucks parked around it. The stairs led up to a prefab perched above the space.

‘Follow me. There’s someone I want you to meet.’

Agatha climbed the stairs.

Carissa hesitated and looked back at Jacob. ‘Are you coming?’

He smiled. ‘If you want me to.’

She nodded and he gestured for her to go on up. She arrived at the top of the stairs, where Agatha waited by a door to the prefab. When Jacob made it to the same level, Agatha opened the door and stepped inside.

Carissa gripped her left arm. What did Agatha need her to see inside a tiny space?

A hand on her back soothed her. ‘It’s okay, Carissa. Trust me.’

She looked up into the watery eyes of