SMOKE (The Aurum Trilogy Book 2)

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Lauren

The odd sensation continues to rush through me, pulsing in my veins and twitching in my muscles. My bones have become reins by which I am controlled, and my mind has become a dreaded panel of controls for whatever's inside of me.

Another needle slithers on my arm, and Fiouris draws it back. I feel no pain at all. I am not bleeding. Instead, I saw the tiny hole on the skin patch itself up as if it were natural, as if it was part of being human.

Human. I am far from human. Far from what I was when I began to exist. I have morphed into the beast I feared, evolved into the monster I was meant to be. I have become one of them.

"There, there," Fiouris consoled, patting me on the back. "I can see that your mind's still fighting, but it'll all die down soon." He glanced at his watch which proclaimed the hour of the night. "About a couple of minutes." He turned to P-0001 next and put my hand on his. "Now if you'll lead her to the next room, Hugh, we can begin the process within fifteen minutes."

Hugh nodded obediently, his blank, brainwashed eyes docilely worshipping Dr. Colton Fiouris. He looked dead, but he acted as if he were alive, as if it was his own will.

"Hugh!" My voice came out as a straggled scream. "Hugh, you have to stop this." At once, pain coiled around my throat, gagging me and blocking my windpipe. Hugh seized my arm tighter and dragged me out the door.

The halls were made of glass, and as Hugh and I trotted along, several heads whipped around to gaze at us. Spectacles were adjusted, and seats shifted. The typing ceased, and only the sound of rustling papers remained. I felt like an animal in an enclosure, a beast being watched by curious spectators who are eager to know what I am and what I can do.

A sharp pain cuts through my brain like a knife, and in that moment, I could feel my perception change. My brain points out the wrongs in my theory and tells me otherwise. It tells me that they are amazed at my presence, that they fear power and extraordinary strength, that I am far above their logical and physical capabilities.

I detached myself from my thoughts only to be rewarded by the same odd sensation and the splitting of my skull. I tried to break free from Hugh's grasp, but Hugh held firm, looking straight ahead, his eyes a pair of glassy emeralds that have wills of their own but are now completely controlled.

"Hugh!" My mind was telling me not to tell his name, that revolting was wrong and that my allegiance should be to my country, to my makers, to my real people. "Hugh, Hugh..." I repeated, the letters forming lazy circles behind my eyes. "We have to fight this!"

My head felt like it was being torn to two. I could feel the vein in my temple throbbing, and I feared that it may pop if I don't stop thinking, if I don't stop saying his name, if I don't stop fighting the serum. Black spots began to appear as I closed my eyes. The drug in my bloodstream slithers like snake on the grass, waiting to attack its prey. It spins like a spider weaving a web, licking her lips and waiting devour whoever is stupid enough to fall into it. I clenched my teeth, balling my fists. Every inch of me was resisting what my body was telling me to do, and Hugh swiped his card and opened the door to another room and pushed me inside.

Two metal cots similar to the one I was lying on were resting on the center of the room. P-0001 led me to the right cot and ordered me to lie down on it.

I gasped as I felt my legs lurch themselves off the ground and swing themselves on the bed. I turned my body into lead, refusing to lie down my head and allow the steel bondages to wrap around my wrists, but my mind was speaking in a dialect I do not understand and the same counter of commands was filling it.