His finest creation…he’s referring to my mom. This is the man who turned my beautiful mother into a lab rat and made her life a living hell. Is he responsible for her death as well? Had he found her, chased her, trying to get her back? I want to beat my fists against his chest, shred his expressionless face with my nails, and shriek at the top of my lungs. I lunge to my feet.
He studies me coolly. “I can inject you with drugs that will put you into a permanent coma and still harvest your body parts. Now be a good girl and sit down.”
I stand clenching and unclenching my hands. Reluctantly, I sink back in the chair. Instead of ripping his eyes out, I ask, “What do you mean your dolphins?”
“I have found the dolphins off the California coast have the best temperaments for my experiments.”
My stomach rolls: first my mom, now my poor dolphins. He killed my father, too. I can’t prove it, but deep inside I know it.
He takes off his glasses and cleans them, inspects the lens, then puts them back on. “Sacrifices must be made for science.”
“Science or money?” Bastard.
“Often the two go hand in hand.”
“Lucky for you.”
“Yes, isn’t it?”
“What do you intend to do with me?”
He taps his fingertips. “Since your mother took the mixing of dolphin blood and human blood to the next level, I’d be curious to see the results of a third generation.”
Ice chills my blood. “You plan to use me as a brood mare?”
“Nothing so plebian, I assure you. You are a miracle of science. I want you to be part of creating another miracle.”
What exactly does this madman have in mind? Surely, he’s not thinking about Joel. Is he?
“What if I say no?”
He doesn’t even dignify that with a response. Instead, he glances at his watch. “I’m going to have Casey show you to your room. We can talk more later.” He pulls out his phone and speed dials. “Casey, Piper is ready to go to her room.”
I looked at the phone. “Can I call my grandfather?”
“There will be no contact with the outside world. This is your home now. I trust you’ll find it pleasant.”
My home? My home is with Gramps. The ocean. But not this house of horrors. My God what if I find myself strapped to a table and a fin added behind my blowhole? My stomach heaves. I feel sick. Bile rises in my throat. It takes every ounce of willpower I possess to keep from throwing up.
A knock sounds at the door.
“Come in.”
Casey opens the door. I push up from the chair. I’ve got to get out of here.
“Send a tray to her room. After she’s eaten, have Joel show her around the facilities.”
“Yes, sir.”
She smiles at me. I follow her out the door and fall in step beside her. The drug that makes me feel encased in cement is wearing off. We walk to the elevator and step in. Casey pushes the button for four and we glide up.
Should I try to overpower her? A security camera is in the upper corner of the elevator. No good.
The door opens and we’re in a large suite. In the center is a big screen TV that rivals any theatre I’ve been in, along with a game station, stereo and a cappuccino machine. A table sits in the corner, next to a fridge and microwave. A middle-aged woman dressed in a blue uniform is stocking the refrigerator. She smiles and nods when we walk by. If she’s carrying a weapon, it’s concealed.
The lounge is larger than our cottage back home. There are three doors on each side. Casey heads for the furthest on the left. She opens the door and motions me in.
The room is a combination bedroom-sitting room, the bedroom set back in a large alcove. The walls are a pale coral, and a pink and coral duvet covers the queen-size bed. A painting of a sunset done in pinks, red, and coral draws the eye to the far wall. But what catches and holds my gaze is the view.
It’s similar to the one on the second floor, all craggy rocks and ocean below. It draws me. I walk to the window and give myself to the pull of the sea. How long will it be before I feel the silken caress of waves against my skin, like the beckoning arms of one’s beloved?
“How do you like it?”
“It’s fine.” For a prison.
“Is there anything you need?”
A way out of here. I shake my head. She sounds more like a social secretary than a nurse, but I don’t doubt she works effectively in either capacity.
“Are you hungry?”
On cue, my stomach juices start rolling in my tummy.
She points at an intercom on the wall. “Just press the button and talk into the intercom. Order whatever you like.”
“Anything?”
“Pretty much. I’ll just check your vitals before I go.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Probably not. But it’s my job.” She checks my pulse, blood pressure and takes my temperature.
“Everything is great. Your blood pressure is a little high but since you’re in new surroundings, it’s nothing to worry about.”
New surroundings sounds much more socially acceptable than kidnapped.
She walks to the door, turns, and smiles. “If you need me, just call me on the intercom. Okay?”
“Okay.”
The door swings silently shut behind her. I hurry to the door and crack it open. Casey is gone, but the woman who was filling the refrigerator lounges in a nearby chair reading a magazine. It’s then I notice the Taser on her hip. I let the door close.
I walk around the room. No escape exits except through the door. I also look for a security camera but don’t see one in the room. It’s either well hidden or I’ve caught a break.
The hollow feeling in my stomach is more than just nerves. When was the last time I ate? With Gramps. My knees give. I grab the edge of the sofa. Hopelessness overwhelms me. I take a deep breath, then another and another. Finally, my fight comes back along with my spine. Gramps didn’t raise a quitter. I will get out of here. In the meantime, I need to keep my strength up. Determined, I stride to the intercom and press the button.
“How may I help you?” The tinny voice echoes from the intercom.
“I’d like lunch.”
“What would you like?”
Talking to the wall is odd, even for me. I persevere. “I’d like a hamburger, fries, and a mocha latte.”
“Okay, it will be around twenty minutes.”
“Thank you.” I click off and take a closer look at the room. There’s a pretty little white desk with a laptop and a bookshelf over it. I run a finger over the titles: thrillers, YAs, and philosophy.
I sink down in the chair. Does the computer have Internet hookup? I open the cover, nothing but games, Word, and Excel. I hadn’t expected anything. That would have been too easy.
A few minutes later, there’s a knock on the door. A woman with graying hair scraped back from her face walks in and sets a tray in front of me. The smell makes my mouth water. I bite into the burger hungrily. I take a healthy sip of my latte. I swear it’s the best I’ve ever had.
I clean my plate in an embarrassingly short time. I’m crunching on the last, still-hot fry when someone knocks on my door again.
I jump up, prepared to run, though I have no idea where. “Who is it?”
The door opens. I let out my held breath and relax. Joel stands in the doorway, smiling, a young girl beside him. I can’t decide who’s prettier: him or Tyler. They both take my breath away.
“Hi, Piper.”
“Hi, Joel.” I know I’m wearing a goofy grin, but that’s okay. He is, too.
The young girl is hanging back. He pulls her forward. “Piper, this is Amy. Amy, Piper.”
“Hi.” She smiles shyly.
“Hi.”
“Joel says you’re like us.” She takes a hesitant step into the room. She’s a beauty with shiny straight black hair, olive skin and…turquoise eyes. She has the melodious voice of a dolph.
I point at my eyes and nod. “Come in and sit down.” I motion toward the cream-colored leather couch against the wall.
Amy sinks down, draws her legs together, and hunches her shoulders. Joel sprawls out.
Chewing on her lip, Amy glances down.
I have so many questions. I should be trying to figure a way to get out of here, but there’s so much I want to know. To be able to talk to another dolph, someone I didn’t even realize existed. It’s like thinking you’re the last person on earth and discovering you’re not. It’s almost worth being captured, almost. “Do either of you have any dolphin characteristics? Besides the turquoise eyes and lyrical voice that seems to be unique to dolphs?”
She looks at Joel questioningly. He bends his head toward her and nods.
“I have stereoscopic vision. I can see well in water or on land.” She clears her throat, self-consciously. “Where I’m different is in the dark, or at night, a layer that glows comes down over my eyes. In bright light, I have a brownish filter over my irises, kind of like wearing contacts.”
“Wow.” I lean forward, enthralled. “Can I see?”
She looks around. “Do you have a flashlight you can shine in my eyes?”
“I have no idea.”
“Check your nightstand. There’s probably one in there for emergencies.” Joel chimes in.
I do as he says. Sure enough, there’s a small penlight. I flip it on. For a small light, it’s powerful.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me shining this in your eyes?”
She laughs. “It’s okay.”
I grimace then shine it at her left eye. As I watch, a brown filter comes down like a shade and covers the iris. “Cool.” I whoop. “Anything else?”
She points in the direction of her sandals. For the first time I notice her feet. “They’re webbed. Amazing.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“Bother me? To find I’m not alone in the universe? You’ve got to be kidding.”
I turn to Joel. “Your turn for show and tell.”
“I am an extremely fast swimmer and I can leap in the air like a dolphin when I swim.”
I lift back and forth on my toes and nod. “Anything else?”
“Isn’t that enough?” He gives me a slow wicked grin.
My knees grow weak and the pit of my stomach goes soft. What’s wrong with me? I’m in love with Tyler. I shake my head.
“Well then, Miss Greedy, I can detect chemicals in the water with my taste buds.”
I twist my head to the side and study him; my eyes narrow thoughtfully.
As if reading my mind, he nods. “Exactly. Oil slicks, chemical spills.” He shrugs. “I’m worth mega bucks.”
“What do you mean?” Goose bumps stand up on my arms. I rub them.
“We’re bred or created, as the case may be, to be sold.”
For a moment, I’m speechless. I don’t know which appalls me more, what he says or the matter-of-fact manner he says it in.
“Doesn’t that bother you?” I demand.
“What’s the point? It is what it is.”
I start to protest. His mouth thins and his eyes narrow. I swallow what I’m about to say and ask instead, “How long have you been here?”
“As long as I can remember.” He crosses his legs at the ankles. He looks comfortable, at ease.
I turn to Amy. “You?”
“Since I was born.”
“You were born here?” I shift on the hard chair.
“Yeah. Our mother was a lab rat. She was artificially inseminated with human sperm and her germ line altered with dolphin DNA. “
“Oh.” What can I possibly say? “How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
What she said dawns on me. “Our mother?”
“Joel is my brother.”
I look at Joel. He nods.
“Is your mother here?” I dance my fingers along the desk.
“She died having me. They think it was something in the Dolphin DNA that her body was trying to reject.”
“I’m sorry.” My blood roars through me, first hot, then cold. How can they live here? Live with people that killed their mother? Joel looks out the window. A shadow crosses his features. Amy’s shiny hair drops across her face as she lowers her head. Who am I to judge?
Joel clears his throat and looks at me. His smile looks forced. “We showed you ours. Now you show us yours.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
I laugh. “All right.” I rise, walk over to them, turn around, and pull the back of my shirt up.
The sofa sighs as they push up. They stand close to me. I can feel Joel’s warm breath on my shoulder blade. It makes me shiver.
He’s the first to notice. “Oh my God, an honest to God blowhole.” His voice is filled with excitement.
“Where? Where? Let me see.” Amy forgets her shyness and hops around me.
Joel places a warm finger just below my blowhole. Nerves ripple under my skin. His finger slowly traces circles down my back before he removes his hand.
“That is so cool.” Amy’s voice is filled with awe. Light as a butterfly, she touches it.
When she removes her hand, I pull down my shirt.
“Has anyone ever seen it?” she asks.
“Outside of my immediate family you’re the first. Since it’s between my upper shoulder blades, my hair hides it. But if I’m feeling particularly paranoid I punch holes in one of those round bandages and cover it. That way if anyone asks, I tell them I’ve scratched the mole on my back.”
They laugh.
“I get webbed-toes and you get a blowhole. It’s so not fair,” Amy complains.
Commiserating, I pat her shoulder. I feel at home with them. Dolph-children like me. It fills an empty space deep inside me.
“Come on and we’ll show you around.” Joel motions me toward the door. Amy tags behind.
“Are there any more of us?” I ask as we walk through the lounge and head down the hall to the elevator.
“Not at the moment.” Joel punches the button for the first floor.
It glides down. The door opens. A middle-aged man with a shock of red hair, wearing a guard’s uniform, sits at a desk with security screens behind him. There must be at least twenty videos running. I’m mildly relieved to see there’re no pictures of my bedroom. “Hello Amy, Joel.”
“Hello, Ed.” Amy says.
“Ed.” Joel nods.
They hold out their arms and a scanner is run over them.
He looks at me. “And who might you be?”
“This is Piper,” Joel responds before I can say anything. “She’s one of us.” He turns to me. “Have you been chipped?”
“What?”
“No, she’ll need a wristband,” he tells the guard. The guard studies my turquoise eyes and nods. He pulls out a band, activates it, and slides it onto my wrist.
“It has a tracking device in it,” Amy explains.
Fury floods my system. “A freaking tracker. What am I, a damn dog?”
“Piper.” There’s warning in Joel’s voice.
Amy’s head is down, her face red. They’ve chipped her, for God’s sake.
“It’s the rules, ma’am.” Ed leans back in his chair and motions us forward.
We walk through the entryway and into a lab that’s eerily quiet. I punch back my anger and look around. I need to get the lay of the land. The lab jogs my memory. “What did you mean when you said not at the moment?”
“Hmm?”
“I asked if there are more of you and you said not at the moment.”
“Jacob, Noah, and Sophia didn’t survive the surgeries.” Amy wraps a strand of hair around her finger as we walk.
“Didn’t survive the surgeries?” I stumble. Joel rights me. Again, icy sweat pops on my skin.
“Other species’ body parts aren’t always compatible.” She continues, her voice devoid of emotion, “Patrick, Marshall, and Marta were sold to other countries.”
“Sold?” I jerk my head up. My eye begins to twitch.
“We are some of the most sought after people on earth.” Joel points to a door ahead of us. Barely aware of what I’m doing, I push it open, my mind reeling.
“But people don’t sell people,” I protest, then add, “well if you discount black market babies and sex slaves.”
He shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets. “They do here. And since I’ve never been in the outside world I couldn’t say. Besides, we’re well looked after. We get the best of everything. We’re too valuable not to be taken care of.”
I stare at him, not believing what I’m hearing. “But to be treated like a favorite puppy instead of having the freedom of a human being.” I shake my head trying to make sense of it. I lift my hand and glance at the sleek leather band on my arm. “It’s like an underground electric fence for a dog.”
“Excuse me?” Joel raises an eyebrow and tilts his head.
“Never mind.”
We walk down another antiseptically-clean hallway. I count the security cameras. There appears to be one every six feet. I stow that fact away, in case I need it later.
“What’s it like in the outside world?” Amy asks as we shove through another set of doors.
I shake off my swirling emotions and pay attention to Amy. “For one thing, you have to pay for your own lattes,” I say lightly. I look down at my shorts. “And you have more clothes options.” Unless you’re a dolph-girl trying to maintain a low profile. “To sum it up, it’s frustrating, heartbreaking, and wonderful.”
“Who’d want frustrating and heartbreaking? Although, the clothes options sound interesting.” Her ponytail bounces around her shoulders, except for the escaped wisps she plays with.
“No one wants frustration or heartbreak, but it’s part of a package deal. We all want the freedom to make our own decisions whether they’re right or wrong. Wouldn’t you like to be in the outside world?”
Instead of answering she points. “They would.”
We go through another set of double doors. On the other side is a huge tank. My heart lifts then crashes. Three dolphins swim back and forth.