“Quess, what do you know about Lucas?” Kaitlyn twisted a golden maple leaf in her hand as she walked next to her friend in the fading sunlight. Pine needles crunched under foot, like a soft, spongy blanket on the grass muffling their steps.
Quess’s face lit up. “Lucas? He’s cute, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is physically appealing,” Kaitlyn responded, her machinery already whirring to verify her answer. “His face is very symmetrical and pleasing to the eye. However, that’s not what I mean. Do you know anything about him as a person?”
Her young friend stooped to pick a taraxacum, or the plant commonly known as a dandelion, from the ground. “From what I gather, he’s some sort of boy genius. He finished his Master’s degree when he was seventeen. He’s completely dedicated to his work. I don’t think he has much of a life outside of IFICS. I know my grandparents have invited him over to dinner, but he always refuses.” Quess paused thoughtfully, twirling the brilliant yellow weed between two fingers. “He doesn’t seem very social, and I’m pretty sure he’s single. Maybe he’s just shy.”
Well, Kaitlyn thought, at least it wasn’t just her that he acted aloof around. Lucas was anti-social in general. That knowledge was somewhat comforting. Kaitlyn wasn’t about to admit she fantasized about Lucas on a regular basis. She couldn’t stare at his lips for too long, because she imagined them trailing down her body, and spent too long pondering what that might feel like.
No, she definitely couldn’t tell Quess that.
“Why do you ask? Do you have a crush on him?” Quess grinned.
“A crush?” Kaitlyn asked, confused. Sometimes she wondered if she and Quess spoke the same language. Kaitlyn was programed to understand and speak seven languages, but she didn’t know what her friend was talking about.
“You know … Do you think he’s hot?” Quess bit her lip, searching for the words. “Does he rock your world and make butterflies dance in your stomach?”
“I don’t know what that means.” Kaitlyn tucked a stray strand of her long hair behind her ear. “I just wanted to know more about him. He’s so young to be working here with your grandfather.”
“I told you, he’s a brainiac. Dr. Harrington plucked him from some Ivy League school. I know Gramps is impressed with him. He says ‘the young man has a brilliant mind’.” Quess held her hands up, bent down her two first fingers, and said, “Air quote.”
The move emphasized the fact that Kaitlyn couldn’t understand half of the things Quess said, but she enjoyed the girl’s company all the same.
“Did you know that dandelions are edible, and in French the name means lion’s tooth?”
“Nope, didn’t know that.” Quess smiled. “It must be strange to have random facts always running through your mind.”
Kaitlyn didn’t reply. To her it was normal, so she didn’t know the difference.
It was nice to get outside. Summer was quickly turning into fall; the leaves were beginning to change colors, and the temperature was dropping. Kaitlyn knew they were somewhere in northern Virginia. She had analyzed the dirt and rocks, and compared it to the array of trees. It was mainly the pine trees, dogwoods, and red agate that gave away the location.
Out of curiosity, she had once asked Quess if they were in Virginia, and the girl had confirmed it.
Whenever she looked at anything, she analyzed it.
She could look at Quess’s floral-print dress and was able to find out it was from American Eagle. Further, she then knew that American Eagle was a popular American store located in almost every mall. She didn’t know how she knew this, she just did. The clip in Quess’s hair was harder to narrow down because it was produced in several countries, and sold in many stores.
Quess rambled on about her friends and Facebook, which jogged Kaitlyn’s memory about their last conversation.
“Did you have any luck with the picture?” Kaitlyn asked nonchalantly, trying to hide her curiosity.
“Not yet. It didn’t go quite as easily as I thought. You wouldn’t believe how many good looking blond guys there are out there that match your description. I got a lot of hits, but I need to narrow them down. I wish we knew more about your past. You don’t recall anything? If we knew where you were from, it would help a lot.”
“Not really. I just remember the blinding light. And, of course, the blond haired guy that always shows up in my dreams. Sometimes I see flashes of scenes, but they don’t make any sense.” Kaitlyn paused. “You don’t think I’m from this area?” She had never given it much thought. It didn’t really matter to her where she was from. She couldn’t go back.
“No. They wouldn’t have taken you from this area. Too many chances of being spotted by someone you know.” Quess sounded sure of herself.
That made sense. They put far too much money into the project to risk someone recognizing Kaitlyn. Not that they really needed to worry about that since she was confined to the massive compound. Everything they needed was within the gates, which surrounded over one hundred acres. She still had no idea what they planned to do with her. Everyone kept saying she was almost ready, but for what?
“You don’t have an accent, so it’s hard to say. Do you think they changed the way you talk?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Kaitlyn had no idea how much they had altered her. Sometimes she wondered what she used to like to do. She must have had hobbies, a favorite food, a family …
“I’ll poke around and see if I can find anything out,” Quess stated. “Maybe Nanny will spill some secrets. She’s always been a bit of a gossip.”
Stopping suddenly, Kaitlyn pivoted on her toes to look at the girl. “Do you think she knows anything about who I was?”
Quess flipped her copper braid over her shoulder. “Who knows? But if anyone does, I would say it was her. My grandparents have been married nearly fifty years. I think they tell each other everything.”
Kaitlyn found that hard to believe, but didn’t want to dissuade Quess. She seemed to enjoy the mystery, and it gave her something to do. The girl had said many times how boring it was spending the summer with her grandparents. At least Quess was able to leave the compound to go shopping with her grandmother, which seemed to make her happy. Kaitlyn secretly wished she was able to join them on their outings, if for no other reason than to see if the human world reminded her of who she had been.
“Why don’t you come over for dinner sometime?” Quess asked, her eyes lit with excitement.
“You know I don’t have to eat.” Kaitlyn continued down the path, watching leaves float to the ground as they fell from the trees.
“If you wanted to you could, right?”
“Yes, I can eat enough to pass me off as human if needed.” The words made her flinch. The computer side of her thought of humans as inferior, for they lacked the brain she possessed. The human side of her, however, longed to know more.
“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, you will come over for dinner, and we can grill Nanny on your past,” Quess said.
A part of Kaitlyn was curious to find out more about her past, but another part didn’t want to know. What good would it do to find out she had family and friends who thought she was dead? It wasn’t like she could just stroll back into her old life and start over. No, that life was dead and buried. It should stay that way.
Shouldn’t it?
“Does your grandmother know about our talks?” she asked.
“Kaitlyn, I can’t believe you would ask that. We pinky promised, remember?”
Kaitlyn smiled at the memory. For some reason, a pinky promise was very important to Quess. Kaitlyn had thought it was very strange at the time, but a feeling of warmth had come over her after the exchange.
“I remember.”
“How am I going to be a spy if I can’t even keep a simple promise? You can trust me, Kaitlyn. I know I’m just a kid, but my word means something.”
“I like you, Quess. You are the only person to treat me like more than a robot. If it weren’t for your warning to keep my memories to myself, who knows what else they would have done to me. For that, you have my loyalty.”
Quess smiled. “And you have mine. I’m sorry they did this to you, but I’m glad they saved your life. This summer would have really sucked without you around.”
They continued their walk around the compound. After the sun faded completely, they said their good-byes, and Kaitlyn returned to the white walls of her room.
Aware of how alone she was without Quess, Kaitlyn settled into bed for another dream-filled night.