“Why don’t you start from the beginning? How long have you worked for Williams?”
She stopped rubbing at the mention of her Director’s name. Her shoulders slumped. “You may as well know everything,” she began. “I was seven-years-old when my mom told me to pack a small bag and drove me to a strange house. She was a drug addict.” Glancing up at Evan she fully expected to see a look of disgust but his face was unreadable—neutral, listening.
“I’d been the one to take care of her more times than I could count when she was coming off a binge, I just never thought she’d stoop so low. She pulled into the driveway and a man came out of the house. He opened my door and leered at me. My mother told me to get out of the car and go inside the house. I obeyed her knowing things were going to be different this time.
“Just before I stepped inside the house, I turned back to see the man pass her a small wad of cash and an even smaller bag with white powder inside through her lowered car window. She took the payoff, backed out of the driveway and didn’t look back. I never saw her again.”
Evan saw how painful it was for Kylie to recall that day. Her voice was quivering around shallow breaths. She ended by swallowing back the emotion swelling in her throat. He didn’t interrupt—only watched and waited for her to continue.
“After some shuffling around, I was shipped to the Facility. I don’t know how I lived through the Infinite Serum’s beating that first week, but I did. The Facility was my new home and Dr. Williams took on the role of father figure.” She winced at her words before continuing.
“I felt safe there.” She shrugged. “I think after living with my mom, I thrived on the discipline and predictable schedule. Dr. Williams nurtured my love of science and study. I worked very hard for him, desperate for his approval. I graduated with my doctorate in Metahuman-ology at fifteen and began working in the Research Hospital. I only wanted to make him proud so I obeyed every order. He took care of me.”
Kylie’s green eyes darted up to peek at Evan’s expression. His facial muscles worked as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. She knew she was treading on a sharp edge and lost the nerve to say another word. Her eyes dropped again as she mulled over what to say or do next.
“And then?” Evan’s voice was steady—encouraging her to continue.
“My job description changed.”
“Meaning?”
“As part of my new work, it became my responsibility to administer the Infinite Serum to the ‘new recruits,’ seventy-eight percent of whom died within the first week of exposure.”
His honey eyes locked onto hers and refused to let go.
“It’s the awful truth.” Tears welled in her eyes as she felt compelled to explain her plight. She realized he was her assignment just 48 hours before, but everything was different now and all reluctance to talk shattered under the weight of her torment. Confessing was more important than consequences.
“I couldn’t stand it anymore, Evan. I couldn’t sleep for all the nightmares. I got physically ill every ‘new recruit’ day. I was ordered to disconnect from the ‘subjects,’ but I just couldn’t. I would see that mask of death creep across their faces,” her voice cracked, “and I just wanted to die for them. I wasn’t even supposed to think of them as human. They were just vessels and only worthy of concern if they survived the Infinite Serum.”
Evan nodded slowly, imagining what it must have been like for Kylie to have grown up under those twisted circumstances. “What changed?”
Kylie absently swiped the tears from her face and dived into the story of the last ‘new recruit’ day—the day the Research Hospital was destroyed. She shared every detail of her act of defiance as she worked to save a child from certain death.
“What happened to the little boy you tried to help?”
“I was told the surviving recruits were shipped away before the hospital’s collapse, but I honestly don’t know if that was true.” She shook her head despondently.
Evan swallowed hard then chewed on his bottom lip for a moment.
33 A Time for Truth
“Do you feel well enough to walk?” he asked.
“I think so,” she tipped her head to the side, wondering what he was thinking. It only took a moment for her to decide to trust Evan without question. He could have let her die or killed her himself. Nodding, she carefully moved her legs to dangle off the chair she’d been draped on.
Evan moved to take her by the hands and helped her to her feet. At her touch, he clearly saw a vision of the future—the precognition so crisp and unlike any of his previous visions. The image made him catch his breath, but solidified his decision.
He watched her expressive eyes for any signs of pain and was relieved when he saw none. Once standing, Kylie moved just enough to test her muscles, rolling her shoulders and leaning to either side.