Shattered Girls (Broken Dolls Book 2) (19 page)

ou bastard!” I cry, wriggling from the professor’s grip. Ignoring Pam’s hysterical sobs, I push the spikes through my body and ram into Maddox’s foot. He instantly drops to the floor to nurse his ankle swollen. I don’t even care that I cursed. It flew out of my mouth so naturally, so easily.

“I didn’t mean to shoot her! My finger slipped!”

“
You’re a monster
!” I jump up and land on his stomach, sending the potent spikes through his shirt. He wails as oozing welts appear when I deliberately move about. “You like this feeling? I hope you do, because I’m not stopping until every inch of you is covered in blisters.”

“Ella, stop,” the professor says calmly. He stands by the broken window, staring down into the street. “Come here.”

“No! I don’t want to see her like that!”

“Trust me, Ella,” he whispers softly. “Please come here. You forget how nasty those spikes are. You’ve done enough to the boy. Pam, Jason, you need to see this, too.”

Reluctantly, I snarl at Maddox and retract my spikes. I walk towards the professor who picks me up and places me on the windowsill.

I have to mentally prepare to look down. Who knows what kind of mess there will be? It’s only when Jason starts laughing and kissing Pam that I can bring myself to look.

“Are you okay, baby?” Pam cries, mascara smeared across her face.

“Nine lives, Mamma Bear!” Gabby says, followed by a cheeky chuckle.

On the pavement is Gabby, standing and waving at us. I stare in disbelief. There’s a huge hole in her stomach— but no blood. There’s nothing wrong with her. No bruise, no graze, no cut.

“How is this possible?” I breathe.

“Remember how I came to you in a large doll version?” The professor crosses his arms, beaming at Gabby. “My sister has been working on several things. I’m shocked she managed to transfer consciousness like this, though. She always struggled with that part. Did she have help?”

“Shiitake fried mushrooms,” I say. “Lisa. Lisa came to our house and… and…
that’s
what she was doing! So that’s why Gabby didn’t want to eat. Oh, and she’s been weirdly sullen and fearless… and… kinda taller, I think. So, her real body must be safe at home.”

“Lisa?” the professor loses his cool. “But that scheming troublemaker worked for…”

“Yes. Except I think she’s good now?” I say. “Maybe? I mean, she turned Gabby into a big doll to protect her, right? That’s gotta count for something!”

“Lisa
always
does what she does in her own best interests.”

I glance down at my left foot, tempted to hit the switch to turn me back into a human just to escape the interrogation. “She said that she’d help us rescue you if I grabbed the company’s data. That’s not a bad thing, is it? Well, I mean, a little underhanded, but…”

The professor’s cheeks flush, but he doesn’t have a chance to yell, though I can tell how he very much wants to.

“Guys! They’re coming!” Gabby shouts from below. She bolts from the pavement, out of sight.

“It’s time to move!” Jason gestures at the door. Pam steps over Maddox, sneering, before she rushes down the hall. The professor picks up the gun and follows, pretending Maddox doesn’t exist. Then, it’s Jason’s turn. He stops and spears Maddox with an angry stare. “You know, if we hadn’t taken precautions, you would’ve killed my daughter tonight. You just think about that, boy.”

Maddox only whines in response. Sighing, Jason offers his hand to help him up. Maddox takes it, and limps down the corridor, leaning on Jason for support.

Jason is a bigger person than I am. I would’ve left Maddox to his grim fate.

Which we all may be sharing.

Bringing up the rear, I stumble, blinded by the flashlights shining at us from the end of the hall.

“
Police! Freeze!
”

Like rabbits caught in headlights, we scurry in separate directions. I hide in the shadows, screaming helplessly when a police officer captures Pam. She stomps on his foot, so he grunts and hurls her to the ground.

Maddox and Jason are nowhere to be seen. The professor is across from Pam, cocking the shotgun.

“I’m armed!” he warns. “Stay back!”

I close my eyes when he fires, too afraid to look. Is he
nuts
? Suddenly, I’m lifted into the air. I thrash around violently when I realize it’s a woman officer, baring her teeth.

“How on earth did you get caught up in this? They’ll have to erase your memory and resell you.”

Without hesitation, the spikes spring from my body. She yelps and drops me, so I flee down the hall in the opposite direction.

She careens after me, her footsteps loud and heavy. “Back up! We have a loose doll with dangerous upgrades!”

I pump my arms and run as fast as I can, my legs squeaking with each stride, then skid to a stop when a young, tall police officer appears up ahead, wielding his flashlight.

There’s a bark of another gunshot in the distance.

“Revert, Ella!” the professor cries. “Now!”

I look over my shoulder, the woman only meters behind. Barely containing the hysteria, I rip off my left foot. The male officer charges towards me as I fumble with the switch. He dives, his moon-like face inches from mine.

As he crashes into me with his arms outstretched, everything goes black.

or what felt like weeks, I was convinced I was a flower. I’m not sure why. All I knew was I was motionless and mute. Clearly, that led me to believe I was a plant. Then, I grew tired of the monotony. My mind screamed for someone to “pick me, just pick me”; I didn’t want to live like that anymore. I was beautiful, though. I had long, sharp blue petals with a purple stem. No other flowers surrounded me. I was on my own.

The mind does weird things.

My eyes spring open, and I gasp for air. In the surrounding haze, dozens of wires dig into my arms, legs, and head. I smack my hands against the glass in front of me, and a door hisses open. I cough repeatedly, struggling to catch my breath as my memories snap back into place.

My human form. The one I used to hate. My plump, crippled form, well into its fifties. But right now, I’m not bothered by my age or weight. There are too many other things to worry about.

There’s something in my hand. Slowly, I fumble with a piece of paper and squint my eyes to read the chicken scrawl.

Ella. I brought you back from the dead. Welcome to your new legs. I wish I could use my invention to help the entire world… but look what happened to Daniel when he tried to do the same, and I’m no hero. This is a gift. Don’t waste it. Sianne.

Hold up. Is Sianne saying I can walk? She
cured
me? That’s why she kept mumbling about bringing people back from the dead and cooping herself up in the lab? I would cry with joy if I had the time. She’s an absolute angel. A nut, but an angel.

When my heart slows and I regain control of my breath, I take in my surroundings. I’m in a tube unlike the one Daniel put me in. Instead of a murky, green fluid, I’m placed in what I can only describe as a fridge. I’m in a large…it’s… yes, it’s a warehouse. There are hundreds upon hundreds of other fridge like tubes with sleeping humans plugged in.

“This is so weird.” I cough. It’s going to take a while for my body to get used to everything again; even talking.

I rip off the wires and attempt to walk. I put one foot outside of the tube, and onto the concrete floor, then heave the other leg in front and stand.

My heart flutters. It’s not a great feeling, but it’s nice to feel blood pumping around again.

I’m actually standing. How is that possible? I’ve been paralyzed for decades!

I take another step, the concrete floor cold against my bare feet. Another unpleasant sensation. I take another step… and another… and another…

I can walk.
I CAN WALK!

I squeal and spin in between the rows of fridge things, relieved that Sianne thought to dress me in black pants and a purple tee. It helps me feel young and trendy.

I narrow my eyes at an exit sign in the distance that glows green. I make a beeline for it, unused to the fresh air. Exhausted already, I pause for breath by a case holding a young girl. She looks so much like Farah. The hair. The pursed lips. Everything.

“God no.” I can’t leave her in here. Hell, I can’t leave any of them. If I’m vamoosing, then so are they. Without thinking, I open the door and quickly pluck the wires from the girl’s arms and head as water pours out and drenches me… again. I wait for her to wake up, but nothing happens. “Come on,” I whisper. “Come on!”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was dead. She’s pale, motionless…

“Enjoying your legs, Ella?”

I spin around and face a man my age dressed in a wrinkled collared shirt and faded jeans. He keeps his hands behind his back and smiles slyly.

“Who are you?”

“The name’s Tom. You can’t wake them up that way. Just FYI,” Tom says, one hand still behind his back and another on the fridge-thing he leans on for support. “Goddammit, my back.” He winces. “A transmission is sent to the dolls if we want them to wake up. Can’t have any mishaps, can we? Hey, do you know any good osteopaths? Because,
ah damn
, this ain’t good news. I think I’m done in.”

“What do you do here?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m responsible for choosing who gets picked up.”