Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I forced a smile. Major looked very pleased by Phil’s enthusiasm.
“Can you do it now?” Phil asked in a hushed voice.
My eyes flickered to Major who gave a nod. Of course. The trophy Variant had to prance around her Variation. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed about my Variation. Sometimes I managed to feel proud, but I didn’t like how eager Major was to show me off. I was more than just a Variation.
Devon wasn’t looking at me. I stared down at my feet—their skin had turned slightly blue by now. The hoodie didn’t help with the cold floor. I shuffled through my memories for someone I could turn into. Madison appeared before my inner eyes and my skin actually started to ripple in that familiar way, but I suppressed the sensation. I wouldn’t do that to Devon.
I randomly picked the next person that came to my mind, an old man I’d encountered during my time in St. Elizabeth hospital in Manlow while I’d been playing my role as Madison. A couple of days after I’d pretended to have woken from a coma, I’d bumped into him on my way to physical therapy. I could feel my body recall his body data, which got automatically stored in my DNA as dormant DNA whenever I touched someone.
Sometimes when I really thought about it, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of people’s data that was slumbering inside me. I grew a few inches but didn’t gain any weight. My skin rippled as it turned flappy, the bluish veins shining through. My hair receded and turned white. My cheeks sunk in and my teeth retreated. I shuddered when the change was done. I could see the form of the old man reflected in the windows. It was the body of someone on the verge of death.
“Oh man, that’s just unbelievable,” Phil said.
I’d lost count of the times he’d said that. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from retorting something. I knew I shouldn’t be as annoyed about his enthusiasm as I felt. When I’d first met other Variants and seen their talents, I’d been excited too. But at least I’d hidden it behind a mask of caution. Maybe Phil hadn’t had as much reason to distrust other people as I had when I was a kid.
“Damn,” Devon said under his breath. He didn’t sound enthused at all.
My lips pulled back over my gums with the resemblance of a smile. “That’s my Variation. But now the show is over.” With a violent ripple, I returned to my own body.
“Even your voice.” Phil shook his head in obvious admiration. “That’s the freakiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Freak. That’s what my mother had called me when her disgust for me had gotten the better of her.
Major cleared his throat. He picked up a tray with tea from the small cabinet to the left, the steam curling up from the cups in smoky spirals. The china had a blue, flowery pattern, which seemed at war with Major’s personality. The scent of bergamot flooded my nose. Earl Grey—Major’s favorite. He must have prepared it while I was zoned out just now.
He strode past me and set the tray down on his desk before handing a cup to each of us. “Sit,” he ordered in a clipped tone.
I sank down on the glossy, black hardwood chairs across from Major’s desk, which was, as usual, spotless. Despite the dark wooden surface, not a fingerprint or a trace of dust could be seen. The door to the office opened, and Alec entered. I gave him a faint smile, which he returned before his expression hardened. It took me a moment to realize why. He had noticed Devon’s hoodie on me. Was he jealous?
“Major, what happened? Who is missing?” Alec asked, voice business-like as he sank down in the chair beside mine. This Alec—public Alec—was light-years away from the person I knew when we were alone.
Phil began sipping his tea casually, his eyes watching me from the side as if I was the morning entertainment. Why was he so fixated on me when there were much bigger things at hand?
Major sank heavily into his desk chair. “Agent Stevens.”
I let out a small sigh. I was glad it wasn’t someone I was close to, but immediately felt bad for thinking like that. Stevens was a fellow agent and who knew what he was currently going through? I’d met him a couple of times during my first mission, but I barely knew anything about him. I became acutely aware of the freezing temperature in the office as the cold from the linoleum floor seeped into my bare feet and spread through my body. Or maybe it was my anxiety that turned my blood into ice.
Who knew what his captors were putting him through? Or who they were going to target next? Four agents had already been abducted and the FEA had been incapable of stopping it. I shivered and began rubbing my arms for warmth.