This is an unedited excerpt from my upcoming book Pygmalia. In this scene, Adam is sent to go find Lily by her father, Dr. Fairfax, his creator:
“Are you certain she was here? How
did she get inside?” Doctor Fairfax asks himself as he paces back and forth
across the room. I pick up the photo she dropped when I woke up, and place it
on the table. I watch the doctor, waiting to be given some kind of direction.
It’s different than before. I feel a need to serve him, to do as he wishes. I
can tell it’s not what I want; it’s something he must have programmed.
“Where
did she go?” He asks me. My mind reaches out into the building, trying to sense
where she is. I’ve learned that I can sense the heartbeats of everyone in this
house, each one different from the next and hers is nowhere near the property.
“My
readings tell me she is not in the house.”
“Alright,
this is what we are going to do. You’re going to track her and bring her back.
You are not allowed to tell her anything about who you are or what we are doing
here. Your only job is to find her and bring her back to me, you understand? I
cannot risk her going to the authorities.” He pauses for a moment and looks
down at the photo on the table, picking it up. His vitals tell me he is
agitated but even without my extra sensory perception I can physically tell
he’s shaking. “She hates me, you know. . .” It’s as if he wants to say
something else but stops himself. He bites the inside of his cheek and hands me
the photo. “Go and find her. Do not harm her, even if she fights back, and do
not let anyone see you.” He hands me a simple black shirt so I look less
conspicuous. I nod and run up the stairs, noticing heels on the floor. They
must belong to her. I grab them and head down the hallway. A steady, young
heartbeat is heading in my direction and I hide behind one of the curtains. I
can tell he senses something is off, this man with the grey eyes and perfect
pulse. He looks directly at the curtain, squints his eyes and then continues
out of the hall. When I make it outside, I can tell where the gravel and grass
were disturbed by the light and fast footsteps. I follow them out into the
woods surrounding the property.
It’s
dark out and my night vision kicks in. I can sense her heartbeat a bit better
the further out I get but the other creatures in the vicinity are causing my
sensors to work overtime. I switch to infrared, making it easier to see her in
the darkness once I reach where she is. I can tell she is not actively moving
since her pulse is at seventy-eight at the moment. As I keep an even footing
over fallen trees and rocks, I can hear her crying before I even see her. A multicolored
figure rests against a large rowan tree. I maneuver through the greenery, and
shift my sight to night vision again. She looks out into the darkness, her eyes
wide, and her body trembling. I can see her form readying itself to run again.
Her muscles are no longer relaxed; her bare feet steady themselves on the forest
floor as she lifts herself from the ground. I grab her hand before she can
escape.
“Let go
of me, let go! Help!” She screams; fighting to get out of my grip. I can’t let
her go, I wish I wasn’t so freighting to her. The part of me that cares for her
tells me I should do as she asks; that it should break my heart to manhandle her
like this, but I can’t. I have to follow the doctor’s instructions and bring
her back. He is the only person I can obey.
What do you guys think? :o)
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