Ten

Chapter

He had found her. Rom could scarcely believe it. In all the infinite universe, he had found his soulmate. All it had taken was for him to leap through a transit portal without knowing if it would spit him out somewhere or blow him up. He couldn’t believe he had traveled through blue space without a ship. Tarn and Nancy had made it through, but Rom hadn’t been certain when he tried it himself. It had been a literal leap of faith. At the same time, it hadn’t been optional.

He had sensed her. Sensed Hayley. He remembered now.

There was a flicker in his awareness, like kindling finally catching fire. He’d known in that instant that his soulmate was out there. Why he hadn’t sensed her before was a mystery, but he had been certain she was out there and that she needed him. Little did he know just how much. He tightened his embrace, holding her more closely in his arms as she slept after several more rounds of unity.

Her coppery hair looked beautiful splayed across his blue skin. He ran his fingers through the silken strands, amazed at how soft they were. Then he traced her cheekbone with his fingertips as lightly as he could, wanting her to rest, but being unable to keep himself from touching her. She was so delicate, her skin luminous. She was a marvel, his own miracle.

The bloodless look she’d had earlier was gone. Her lips were pink. The lines of strain around her eyes had vanished, and she was breathing easier. Whatever had been wrong with her before seemed to have resolved itself. Rather, unity had resolved it, just as it had restored his own equilibrium and helped him retrieve his memories.

Norem and his goons were in for a shock when they tried something again. Among the memories Rom had recovered was the knowledge needed to use his wristbands. The Tau Ceti wouldn’t stand a chance against Cygnian technology. As soon as Hayley woke up, he would give them to her and teach her how to use them to protect herself. He was pretty much invulnerable, so it made sense for her to wear them. If that meant he’d have to launch himself into battle and tear apart the people who had hurt her with his bare hands, so be it. He only wished he had a way to protect Mindy and Katie, too.

“You have a lot of thinky thoughts going on,” Hayley murmured.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay. I feel like I’ve been sleeping for ages, but this is the first time I feel rested.”

Rom chuckled. “How rested?”

She smiled, then opened her eyes and looked up at him. Maker, she was so beautiful. He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, memorizing every detail about her.

“As tempting as that is, we should probably start to plan our escape,” Hayley said. She laughed lightly and added, “If you’re done counting my freckles.”

Rom’s brow furrowed. He stroked the backs of his fingers over her cheek.

“You don’t have any freckles,” he said.

Hayley arched an eyebrow at him. “I have thousands of freckles, see?” She lifted her arm for him to view, but he didn’t see anything. She must have noticed as well, because she sat up, staring at her arm intently. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe they faded while you’ve been on the station,” Rom said.

“I don’t know. My freckles have never faded completely. I mean, they get a bit paler in the winter when I don’t get as much sun, but I’ve always still seen traces of them.” She checked her other arm, running her fingers along her skin as if she might be able to feel what she couldn’t see. “I used to have a mole here.” She bent her legs and examined her knees, anxiety rising within her. “And I had scars on both my shins from a bad fall when I was a kid. They’re all gone.”

Rom sat up next to her, running his hand along her back. The fear within her gave way to a deep void of despair. He pulled her against his chest, hugging her tight.

“What did he do to me?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But we’ll find out. We’ll get you answers.”

“Guys?” Katie’s voice came over the room’s speakers. She paused for so long, Rom worried that something might have happened to her, but then she continued. “I think I can help with that. You might want to get dressed first.”

Hayley glanced up at Rom, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. He was going to rip Norem limb from limb for making her cry. For everything he’d done to her, as well as to Katie and Mindy. Hayley slid from his arms and rose on steady legs. Rom was at least glad to see her doing so much better. He quickly rose and dressed—not that it took him long since all he had to wear was a pair of pants and boots.

He hurried to Hayley’s side to help her shimmy into her jumpsuit. As she zipped it up, he found her boots and brought them to her. They both sat on the edge of the bed, as close as they could be to each other. Katie didn’t speak again till Hayley had tugged on both boots. Rom wasn’t sure if they were going to need to make a run for it or Katie was stalling, not wanting to tell them whatever she’d found. His stomach sank as he figured it was the latter reason.

“Did you find other prisoners?” Hayley asked at last.

“No,” Katie said. “As far as I can tell, Mindy, you and I are the last ones left. And we aren’t prisoners. We’re test subjects.”

Rom’s hearts started racing, following Hayley’s quickening beat. He wrapped his arm around her, trying to offer strength and comfort.

“But, there were others,” Hayley said, glossing over Katie’s pointed remark.

“Yeah.” Katie paused for a long time again.

“What happened to them?” Rom finally prompted. He wanted to know just how merciless he needed to be with Norem.

“Norem has been accessing files that he’s never looked at while I was watching him before,” Katie said. “He thought he was keeping his data safe by storing it on a device separate from the station’s servers, but I was able to change the angle of the security cameras so that I could read over his shoulder.”

She was definitely stalling. Rom didn’t want to push, knowing she had probably been through her own trauma at Norem’s hands, but they didn’t know how much time they had left before Norem came knocking on their door. It would take his prism time to reach them. They needed a plan for how to keep everyone safe until backup arrived. He needn’t have worried, because Hayley was just as impatient as he was to learn more.

“And?” she said.

“The great news is that M-1 through M-36 are all living happy lives on Earth with loving families,” Katie said.

Hayley let out a rush of breath. She pressed her hand against her chest, as if she was trying to keep her heart from leaping out from it. Rom covered her smaller hand with his and kissed the top of her head.

“I was always afraid that’s what M-37 meant,” Hayley said. “That there were others out there like Mindy.”

“You were right about the others, but the ‘out there’ part is actually really nice,” Katie said. “Norem has been visiting breeders on Earth for years and secretly injecting the dogs with genetically engineered cocktails in an attempt to heighten certain abilities. His reports didn’t say what they were, but each generation made advancements. Mindy was the first subject that he considered a success, so Norem brought her to the base. He’s still keeping track of the rest of her cousins, siblings, parents, and grandparents.”

“Do you have the names and addresses where those other pups are?” Rom questioned. Hayley glanced up at him, so he explained. “Just because they didn’t meet his standards doesn’t mean that he didn’t succeed in altering them. We need to make sure they get the care they need and that we can have our own people monitor them for possible health issues resulting from his tinkering.”

Hayley turned her hand in his so that she could squeeze it. A wave of such love flowed out from her that he gasped from its intensity. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers again.

“There’s more.” Katie spoke hesitantly, as if she didn’t want to break into their moment, but also couldn’t let it go on.

“I take it from your tone that the ‘more’ isn’t good,” Hayley said.

“You know me well, bestie,” Katie said. “Norem looked through your file.” She pulled in a harsh enough breath that Rom could hear it over the comm channel. As far as he knew, she was holding it, because she stopped talking again.

“And?” Hayley said.

A few more seconds passed. Rom heard Katie let her breath out, then make a few incomprehensible noises. He was just about to prompt her again when she spoke.

“It was labeled H-7,” Katie said.

Hayley looked up at Rom, her eyebrows furrowed. He could feel his own confusion mirrored in her. Why was that such a bad thing? Katie said it as if it was a death sentence. Then she went on, and Rom’s hearts started thundering on their own.

“H-0 is still labeled as active.” Katie’s voice was low and soft. “But, um… H-1 through H-6 are listed as failed. As in… deceased.”

“Wait, what?” Hayley shook her head. “Why would there be multiple files for one—”

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She clapped her hand over it as if she was trying to hold back a cry. It did nothing to hide the way her soul called out. Rom heard her horror as clearly as if she had screamed through their bond.

“What is it?” He pulled her closer, scanning the room for threats instinctively.

“This doesn’t change anything,” Katie said, forcefully. “We’re still getting out of here together and you’re still my best friend. You’re still you . Hayley…”

Hayley pinched her eyes shut tight, as if hearing her name in that moment caused her pain. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I’ll give you two a moment,” Katie said, her voice once again soft and gentle. “Just say my name when you’re ready for me to come back into the conversation.”

There was a beep, then the only sound was Hayley’s soft sobs.

“What is going on?” Rom asked, bewildered. He thought back to how sick Hayley had seemed when he first encountered her and his stomach felt as though it was flooded with ice. Had she almost died? Was that why she was so upset? Except she had stabilized after they achieved unity. She was fine now. Wasn’t she?

He struck his wristbands together gently so as not to disturb her, then hummed the note to activate their scanning function. A small, holographic image of Hayley appeared behind her. Her vitals were fine. Everything looked great. The scans couldn’t find a single thing wrong with her. Rom let out a breath of relief, then dismissed the hologram. He rubbed Hayley’s back, holding her close.

“Okay, you’re not the first person Norem experimented on for this project,” Rom said. “And the others… They didn’t make it. That’s horrible, and we’ll make him pay for it. But you’re okay. You’re fine. Hayley—”

“I’m not Hayley,” she nearly shouted, pulling away from him and hugging herself tightly. A chill shot down his spine. She believed what she was saying, but Rom still didn’t understand it. Katie had tried to reassure her, telling her she was still her, whatever that meant. Rom was missing something. Something important. Hayley shook her head, then buried her face in her hands. Rom knelt in front of her, resting his hands on her knees.

“Please help me understand so I can help you,” Rom said.

She shuddered and took a deep breath, then dropped her hands into her lap. She stared at the backs of her hands as if she’d never seen them before.

“My… my…” she stammered. “My freckles are gone. And so are my scars.”

“Okay,” Rom said. “So, Norem tweaked your body when he was trying to make you telepathic. Or it was a side effect.”

She shook her head. “It’s more than that. I remember things. Hayley’s experiences.” She looked up at the ceiling, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. “God, how did he give me her memories? How did he make me think I was her?”

“Hayley…”

This time, she didn’t chastise him for using her name, but she let out a pained groan, as if the word hurt her.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Rom said. He picked up her hands, holding them gently in his and rubbing his thumbs over them. “What did Norem do to you?”

Such pain twisted her features, it took Rom’s breath away. He stared at her, trying to think through the all-consuming despair radiating out through their bond.

“He created me,” she said.