Exposed (3 page)

Chapter Five

     5:00 a.m., Charles heard the tumbler of the front door click. He leapt off the couch to peer through the peephole. It was Alyson. He thought she was upstairs asleep. Alyson pushed the door open slowly to find her father standing before her, his shoulders slightly hunched, eyes still glazed with sleep.

     “I’m glad you’re safe, but why did you leave the house in the middle of the night?” Charles asked, trying to ignore the vein throbbing in his head.

     Alyson flopped down on the couch, oblivious to her father’s words. She flipped through the channels searching for anything to distract her. Charles sat down beside his daughter, eager for any sign of acknowledgement.

     “I know you must be upset by what you saw yesterday. It must have been quite a shock for you.”

     Alyson remained silent. She kept flipping through the channels, not really paying much attention to what was on the screen.

     “Please speak to me, Alyson.”

     Alyson took a deep breath, leaned forward on the couch and turned to face her father. She looked in his eyes, searching for the answers to her questions. She scanned his face, once handsome, now weathered from years of hard work. Her gaze shifted to his thinning salt-and-pepper hair. She looked at this beaten down version of the man who used to give her strength and protection, no longer recognizing the person who sat before her. The one who always told her the truth, or so she thought. Who was this stranger?

     “Please, Alyson. Don’t ignore me. Please? Can we talk?”

     Alyson took another deep breath and pushed the hair from her face. Charles could see she had been crying. Her blotchy cheeks and smeared mascara complemented her state of mind. As he reached his hand out to wipe the makeup away, Alyson jumped back.

     “Now you want to talk! Now! After all these years, now you want to talk to me?”

     “Please, Alyson. Just listen.”

     Charles explained in as little detail as possible, careful not to mention anything about Cassandra. Above all else, he needed Alyson to believe she was the only surviving clone.

     “I’m sorry, Alyson. This was never intended to hurt you.”

     “Of course not. After all, I’m not human. I don’t have real feelings. I’m just some freak mutant you cooked up in your lab one day!”

     “I know you’re angry and you have every right to be. But you have to see the bigger picture. Do you understand what this means?”

     “I know what it means to me, Dad. You’re not even my real father. I don’t even have real parents. What have you done to me? I can’t even say I wish I was never born because technically I never was!”

     “Alyson, try to calm down,” Charles said with an even tone, trying to comfort his daughter.

     “Calm down? Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down?”

     “I know you’re in shock right now, but once you’ve had a chance to think about everything, you’ll see it’s not that bad.”

     “Not that bad? I’m not even legal! My very existence is not even legal!”

     “I know you’re planning to be a scientist someday. You must understand how technology can change the laws. One day you will be legal. Cloning will be the norm.”

     “Do you even hear yourself? Someday I’ll be legal? I’m here now, Dad! I can’t wait for the laws to catch up with technology.”

     “You just need time.”

     “No, I just need to get away from you. I feel like Frankenstein’s monster. All that’s missing are the bolts on the side of my head.”

     “Alyson, please.”

     “Don’t! Don’t even come near me. I can’t look at you. I don’t know you.”

     She grabbed her bag, ran out the door and stumbled into her car. Charles followed, watching in the darkness as his only child faded from sight. Screeching tires shattered the silence of the morning as Alyson turned the corner. He chased after her, but couldn’t keep up. He walked back, shuffling his feet, his eyes fixed on the ground. When he reached the front door, he looked down the street, hoping her car would be coming around the turn, but it didn’t. He stepped inside, collapsed into the chair by the window and phoned his colleague, Alexander Stephens.

     “We have a problem, Alex. Alyson knows.”

     “What do you mean, ‘Alyson knows?’ What exactly does she know?”

     “She wandered into the suspended animation lab. She saw Tina. She saw Samantha. It didn’t take much for her to put two and two together.”

     “She knows about the transplant to save Samantha?”

     “Not yet. She’s already in shock. I couldn’t tell her she was created for body parts. That would destroy her.”

     “Eventually she’s going to have to find out. The surgery is scheduled for a month from now.”

     “She needs time to process everything she’s just learned. For crying out loud, she just found out she was created in a laboratory, not the daughter of a woman who died during childbirth. She wasn’t even born. She was incubated in an artificial womb.”

     “I know you love her, Charles.”

     “I do love her. I’ve grown to love her as if she were my natural born daughter.”

     “Alyson needs to know that.”

     “After she’s calmed down, I’ll tell her everything. Right now she’s too angry and confused to listen to anything I have to say. I’m not proud of what we’ve done to her, but look what we’ve accomplished. We’re contributing so much to the scientific community. We’ve succeeded where so many others have failed.”

     “Does she know about Cassie?”

     “No, I didn’t tell her there was another surviving clone. She believes she’s the only one.”

     “Good. If she ever found out about...”

     “She won’t, Alex.”

     “We must keep it that way. We need Cassie as a backup for the transplant. If anyone knew it could mean trouble for all of us. Especially Samantha. We need to protect the project, Charles.”

     “We need to protect Samantha. It’s her only chance at survival.”

     “Are you going to the office today?”

     “I can’t. I need to stay here. In case Alyson comes home.”

     “You mean when she comes home, Charles. She’s a teenager. She just learned the truth about herself. Give her some time to cool down and come to her senses.  She’ll be fine. She’s a scientist’s daughter. Hell, she’s the clone of a scientist.”

     “I know you’re right, Alex, but I’ve never seen her like that before. So angry. So very, very angry. She wouldn’t even listen to me. I know she feels as if I’ve betrayed her. And in a way, she’s right. But I never meant to. I’m so afraid of what she might do.”

     “She’ll cry it out. Maybe scream a little. Then, she’ll get over it. We can’t change the past. Once she realizes that, she’ll come home.”

     “I’ll meet you at the office later.”

     “Good man, Charles. We can’t let anything distract us from the project. Especially not now when we’re so close to completion. One more month and we’ll have Samantha back.”

     “I hope you’re right, Alex.”

     “I’ll see you later.”

     Charles hung up the phone and continued looking out the window.

   
 
What if I lose both of them? What if Alyson doesn’t forgive me? I don’t know what I would do without her. She has to come home. She just has to.

     Several hours passed while Charles remained glued to his seat by the window. He couldn’t bring himself to look away. He was ever hopeful that at any moment Alyson would be coming up the walk and life would return to normal. But that was never going to happen. Life was never going to be normal for Alyson or Charles again.

Chapter Six

     “Hey, Jake. We gotta go. The late bell just rang.”

     “You go ahead. I’m waiting for Alyson.”

     “We’ll catch you inside.”

     “Where is she? This isn’t like her,
”
Jake muttered under his breath as he paced back and forth in front of the school statue. 

     He pulled out his cell phone to call her when security tapped him on the shoulder.

     “You need to get to class, son. Late bell already rang.”

     Jake walked toward the entrance, cell phone in hand. When the guard turned his head, Jake completed the call. Voicemail. Straight to voicemail.

     “Alyson, it’s Jake. I’m at school. Where are you? Call me.”

     Jake disconnected and entered the building. He stopped at the front desk for a late pass, then went to history class. All through first period he kept staring at his phone, waiting for Alyson’s name to pop up. It never did.

     After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang. Jake grabbed his books and headed to his locker to call Alyson again. Straight to voicemail. Jake tried several more times, but each time the outcome was the same -- voicemail. With his throat tightening up, he left one final message.

     “Alyson, please. When you get this message, please call me. I’m going crazy not knowing where you are or if you’re okay. This isn’t like you. Whatever it is, I’m here for you. Please! Call me!”

   Before he could get any kind of response, the next bell rang and he was off to English class. Jake spent the entire period checking his phone. No response.

   
 
Where can she be? This isn’t like her. She’s not even picking up her cell.

     By the end of class, Jake couldn’t take the not knowing. The silence of his phone was slowly driving him insane. He found a quiet corner and called Alyson’s house. Her father answered on the first ring, speaking before Jake could get a word out. 

     “Hello? Alyson? I’m so relieved you called. We have so much to talk about. I’ve been going out of my mind with worry since...”

     “Mr Pierce, it’s not Alyson,” Jake interrupted.

     “Hello, Jake. Please tell me she’s with you.”

     “I didn’t see her in school. That’s why I’m calling. What happened? Is she...okay?”

     “She received some disturbing news this morning. Just give her some time.”

     “I left her several messages, but she hasn’t called me back. I think her phone might be turned off.”

     “It wouldn’t surprise me,” Charles half muttered under his breath. “If she comes home, I’ll tell her you called.”

     “Thank you, Mr. Pierce.”

     On his way back to class, Jake repeated the words in his head.

   
 
If she comes home. Why would her father say that? If, not when.

     Jake was more worried than ever. He couldn’t stand the idea of sitting through one more class not knowing where Alyson was.

     He left the school grounds and headed over to their secret place. Whenever one of them was stressed, they would go there and block out the world. When he got there, the only thing he found was an empty park bench covered in bread crumbs. There was no sign of Alyson anywhere.

     Jake sat for a moment, knocking the crumbs to the ground with his books. He quickly stood, then sat again. Feeling restless and helpless, he pulled out his phone to call Alyson one last time. Just as he flipped his phone open, her name appeared on the screen.

     “Allie baby, what’s wrong? What’s going on? Where are you? Talk to me.”

     “I’m fine,” Alyson said, holding back the tears, her voice cracking.

     “No, you’re not. I know you and you’re anything but. Talk to me. Please.”

     “I can’t. I can’t talk about it. Not over the phone. Not yet.”

     “I need to see you.”

     “Not now. I can’t see anybody.”

     “I’m not anybody. I love you. You can trust me.”

     “I know, Jake. I love you, too. I do. But you don’t understand. You couldn’t understand. I need some time to think. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

     “You know I’m here for you.”

     “I know. Bye, Jake.”

     Alyson shut her phone and headed over to Marshall High to find Cassandra. When she arrived, classes hadn’t let out yet, so she waited outside, impatiently leaning against the building. She avoided being seen by security until the final bell rang. As the bell echoed through the hallways, a burly man in blues walked toward Alyson, tapping the silver name tag on his shirt. Right before he reached her, a herd of students charged through the doors and she was lost in the confusion. The officer walked off and Alyson resumed her position near the school entrance.

     Several minutes later, Cassandra walked by, books in hand. She wasn’t alone. Alyson could see she was deep in conversation and didn’t want to interrupt. She followed closely behind, trying to get up the nerve to speak.

     “Cassandra?” Alyson meekly called out.

     The auburn haired girl with Alyson’s face turned around. Seeing Alyson, she dropped her books and froze -- speechless. Cassandra’s friend picked up the books and stared at Alyson.

     “Oh..my... There’s two of you.”

     “I’m Alyson. I’m sure you must have a million questions, but I really need to talk to Cassandra. Privately.”

     “It’s Cassie. My friends call me Cassie. If we share the same face, I guess that makes us friends. But I don’t understand how...”

     “I’ll explain as much as I can, but not here. It’s not safe.”

     “Cassie, I’m not leaving you alone with some stranger we just met. Even if she does have your face.”

     “I understand you want to protect your friend, but it could be dangerous. Not just for you, but for Cassie and me. This is very sensitive information.”

     “You can trust Rachel. We’ve been friends since preschool. We don’t have any secrets.”

     “That’s what you think,” Alyson whispered under her breath.

     “Your last name is Stephens, isn’t it?” Alyson stated to Cassie.

     “Yes, but how do you know...”

     “And your father is Alexander, a research scientist at New View Biotech?”

     “Yes, but how do you know all this information about me and my family?”

     “Because my dad is Charles Pierce and they’re working together on a project at New View Biotech.”

     “So they work together. What does that have to do with me? With us?”

     “Because we’re the project.”

     “What? I know we share the same face, but are you nuts? What do you mean we’re the project? I’m not some high tech tinker toy that my father put together.”

     “You’re not that far off. We weren’t built with spare body parts, but we were created in a laboratory.”

     “I don’t believe you. You’re sick! You need professional help.”

     “I’m not crazy. I can prove it. There are files on all of us in my dad’s office.”

     “What do you mean ‘all of us’? Are you trying to say there’s more than just you and me with this face? What, like an army of teens that all look the same. I think you’ve seen one too many science fiction movies.”

     “I know it sounds completely crazy, but it’s true. It’s complicated. It would be easier if I just show you. Have you ever been to New View Biotech?”

     “I’ve been going there for years. My dad does my asthma treatments there.”

     “Great! Meet me at the Northeast exit tonight at exactly 11:00 sharp. I’ll open the door for you. We don’t want the security guards seeing us together. That would arouse too much suspicion. I have all the pass codes so we won’t have any trouble getting into any of the rooms. Until then, don’t say anything to anybody.”

     “This sounds dangerous, Cassie. I don’t like it. Maybe I should come with you. My dad won’t be home tonight anyway. He’s flying a shipment out to France. I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind. She loves having the house to herself. I’ll say I’m staying at your place.”

     “I appreciate the offer, but you don’t have to do that.”

     “I would feel better if I went with you,” Rachel said, concerned for her friend’s safety.

     “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

     “Call me the second you’re out of there.”

     “Yes, Mom,” Cassie said with a smile.

     “I’m serious. This isn’t a joke.”

     “Okay, I’ll call you when I get home.”

     “Thank you,” Rachel said as she gave Cassie a reassuring hug.

     “Tonight at 11,” Alyson said, then turned to leave.