The Samantha Project (42 page)

“Alden, no! Wait!” Jack begged. “Take me instead. You know what I can do for you. Please!”

“Sorry, Jack, but we don’t need you anymore. We have new people. A whole new crop of young geniuses. You had your time. And your programs still live on. Loved that termination code.”

Jack knew exactly what he meant. “Why won’t it turn off, Alden? What did you do to my program?”

“We enhanced it. Made it better. Works quite well, wouldn’t you say? But I wouldn’t worry about it now that these two are in our custody.”

Jack wouldn’t give up. “It was missing something, Alden. That part of their DNA. It had missing base pairs. And their enhanced genes have unique base pairs that the rest of us don’t have.”

The statement took Worthings by surprise. His face turned serious. “It’s not your concern, Jack. Leave it be.”
 

“Is that what’s missing, Alden? Did GlobalLife engineer new base pairs to create their enhanced genes? What are the base pairs? If you don’t tell me, I can find out myself.”

“Give it up, Jack. You can spend the rest of your days trying to figure it out. You’ll never find those base pairs. And looking will just get you killed.”

Worthings signaled Man #1, who then mumbled something into a device attached to his jacket. Man #1 nodded back at Worthings.
 

“Sounds like we’re ready to go.” Worthings walked to the door as the guards followed, pushing Erik and me ahead of them.
 

“Don’t move—any of you,” Man #2 said to Colin, Jack, and Brittany, who remained on the sofa. I took a last look at Colin, who was completely dazed and unresponsive. As I walked to the door, scenarios kept updating in my head, ordering me to take the guns. But I couldn’t. Doing so could get the others killed.
 

Erik was trying to once again communicate with me with his thoughts.
“When we get outside, I’m taking this guy down. Sam! Do you hear me? You need to do the same with your guy. It’s our only chance. We have to try. If you understand, let me know.”

I used my thoughts to answer.
“No. It won’t work. We said we’d go without a fight. We fight and they’ll kill everyone. I can’t do it.”

We got outside and started walking to the black SUV that was waiting for us. The two other armed guards stood outside the door of the trailer. Before we reached the SUV, Worthings looked back at them and nodded. What was he nodding at? Was it a signal of some type?
 

I quickly turned to look back at the guards, but they were already inside. In seconds, I heard a shot. Then another. And another after that. Multiple shots had been fired. Enough to easily take out Colin, Jack, and Brittany.

“No!” I screamed. I felt rage burning inside me. Blood raced through my veins as my muscles tightened. Suddenly my hands broke through the metal cuffs and I lunged at the guard who had been holding on to me, pushing him at least 20 feet away. I heard a loud thud that sounded like his body slamming hard against something. From the distance, I could see his head cocked to one side, snapped like a tree branch.
 

I felt sick. I hadn’t meant to hurt him. I just wanted him away from me. I didn’t have time to think about what I had done. I looked over to see that Erik had the other guard pinned to the ground.
 

I searched for Worthings but couldn’t find him. Then I heard him behind me and I whipped around, only to be met with an electric current. A taser. Worthings held it against me, but I didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, the sudden surge of electricity made me feel even stronger.
 

I grabbed Worthings’ outstretched arm with one hand and shoved him to the ground with the other. The electric surge that had ignited inside me from the taser transferred into Worthings like a massive bolt of lightning. Worthings dropped the taser and his arm went limp. The current was coursing through his veins in a violent way as his lifeless body jerked around, the movement finally ending at his heart, causing his chest to heave off the ground. In seconds, he was gone.

“Sam!” Erik’s voice came from behind. The guard was now standing over Erik, who was on the ground, struggling to get up. Erik had blood all over his shirt and I saw a bloody knife in the guard’s hand. As I ran to help, another shot rang out. Erik and I watched as the guard dropped to the ground.
 

I was sure one of the guards from inside had fired at Erik and missed. “Erik, the other guards!” I yelled. Erik and I spun around toward the trailer, searching for the two remaining gunmen. But the only person there was Brittany. No guards. Just Brittany. Holding a shotgun with perfect form, like a soldier in the field.
 

We stood in awe as she slowly lowered the shotgun to the ground. As I ran to her, she put the gun down and collapsed on the dusty welcome mat near the trailer door.
 

“Brittany, are you okay? What happened? Where are the guards?” Brittany couldn’t answer. She was frozen in shock.

“They’re gone.” Jack came out of the trailer, his clothes splattered with blood. He had Colin with him, holding him up. Jack had taken the duct tape off Colin’s mouth and the cuffs off his wrists, but Colin was very weak.
 

“Erik needs help,” I said to Jack. “He’s bleeding. A lot.”
 

Erik was next to me, trying to remain standing. I lifted up his shirt to reveal a deep knife wound on his lower left side.
 

“I’ll be fine,” Erik said, slumping to the ground.
 

“Sam, you help Colin. I’ll take Erik,” Jack said.

I went over and took Colin from Jack. Colin could barely hold himself up, his knees buckling each time we took a step. “You’re gonna feel better soon, Colin. Can you hear me? I’m right here.” I walked him over to an old metal bench and sat him down so I could take a closer look at his injuries.

“So we’re sure they’re all . . .” Jack ripped open Erik’s shirt, exposing the wound.

“Dead?” Erik said. “The ones out here are. What happened in there?”

“Brittany,” Jack said, glancing over at her. “She got her mom’s shotgun before the guards came in. They didn’t know what hit ’em. She just took them out, one and then the other.”

We all looked at Brittany. She still couldn’t speak. She had obviously used that shotgun before and had practiced enough to make a perfect shot, even under stress. It was a skill none of us would have ever imagined this petite girl, obsessed with boys and fashion, would ever possess.
 

“I’m going inside to get something for this wound,” Jack said, looking at Erik’s bloody abdomen. “He heals fast but this needs to be cleaned. And then we have to get out of here. Chances are people heard the shots fired. They’ll call the police to come check on it. And we don’t want to be anywhere near here when they find what’s inside and see all of this.”

I glanced at the scene. Blood and dead bodies next to the SUV and a dead man slumped next to a tree in the field. I didn’t want to imagine what it looked like inside the trailer.
 

Jack came back with clean towels and water bottles. I cleaned Colin’s face and tried to get him to sip some water. Jack cleaned Erik’s knife wound. The wound was already starting to heal and Erik was looking better.
 

It was time to leave. Jack and Erik took Colin and helped get him to the van. I stayed behind to talk to Brittany.
 

“Hey, Brittany?” I spoke softly to keep from startling her. Her whole body was shivering. Jack had put a blanket around her but it wasn’t helping. I put my arm around her and got closer. “Brittany. We’re all so proud of what you did today. It was amazing. You saved us.”

Brittany’s eyes fixated on the dust blowing around her feet. “I killed people. I killed them. They’re dead. People are dead.” She shivered even more and I held her tighter.

“They were bad people, Brittany. They were going to kill you. And Colin and Jack. They went in there to kill you. Worthings gave them the order.” Brittany didn’t respond.

“Listen to me.” I grabbed her shoulders, turning her toward me. “Brittany. You saved Colin and Jack. You saved yourself. And that other guard? He could have killed Erik.”

Brittany’s eyes teared up. She laid her head on my shoulder and put her arms tightly around me.
 

“We’re gonna leave here, Brittany,” I said softly. “We’re gonna leave and start a new life where we’re safe and we don’t have to worry anymore.” The shivering slowed but she wouldn’t let go of me.
 

“It’s time to go.” Erik was back and I could hear the van engine in the distance. “I’ll help you get Brittany to the van. Then I need to take the truck back to the farm. You guys will follow me in the van.”

“Come on, Brittany. Let’s go,” I said.
 

Brittany slowly let go of me and Erik helped her up. Her face was red and stained with tears. We each took an arm and walked her slowly away from the trailer. She seemed to be in a trance until she stopped suddenly and turned back toward the trailer.
 

“Goodbye, Momma. I love you,” Brittany said. And then she slowly turned back, never looking at the trailer again.
 

We returned the truck to the farmhouse and got on the road. Jack had me check Erik’s wound for any signs of infection. The van was well stocked with medical supplies, from bandages to pharmaceuticals. But Erik didn’t need any help. His wound was healing well and he seemed almost back to normal.
 

Colin, on the other hand, was another story. He had a deep gash on his forehead that was definitely infected. Jack gave me instructions on how to treat it and clean up all of Colin’s other open wounds. I laid Colin down in the back of the van so I could work on him. Erik and Brittany sat up front in the seat behind Jack.
 

Colin was slowly coming off whatever drugs Worthings had given him. He tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse. I could tell it was hurting him.

“Shhh, we’ll talk later,” I whispered, gently covering his mouth. Colin reached for my hand and held it, placing it on his chest, right above his heart. It was his message for me—a gesture that described what he couldn’t yet say.
 

“I know. Me, too,” I said. He gave me a weak smile. I smiled back at him, trying to hold back tears. There he was, bruised and beaten, but still showing me so much love, even though I was the reason for all that he had gone through.

Occasionally Erik would glance back at us from the front of the van. He understood that I needed to be there for Colin. But I knew it was killing him to see us together. I could see the hurt in his eyes. I could feel him wishing it was him on the floor of the van needing my attention.
 

Erik tried to talk to me through his mind, but I blocked it. I was desperate to talk to him, too, but it wasn’t the time. I needed to focus on Colin. And I needed time to think about all that had happened. Not just that day, but since that night not long ago when the officer showed up at my door. So much had changed. I wasn’t even the same girl. My old life no longer seemed real.
 

A few hours later, Colin slept soundly, his head resting on my lap. Jack drove in silence, deep in his own thoughts. Erik sat quietly, looking out the window, while Brittany lay against his chest fast asleep.
 

This is my life now, I thought. This is my family. And our journey together has only just begun.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Book Club Discussion Questions

1. Uncle Dave seems very devoted to Sam, yet he kept a secret about her for all those years. Do you think he knows even more than he’s telling her?
 

2. GlobalLife has placed people in all levels of law enforcement and government. How can they ever be stopped if they control so many places of power?

3. The Founders are an elite group of people who have invested a great deal of wealth in the technology that resides in Sam. Who do you think the Founders are and what is their purpose?

4. Many companies are working on ways to improve genes to prevent or treat genetic-related diseases. If they succeed, some claim that they would own the patent to those improved genes. Discuss the pros and cons of a company patenting a gene sequence.

5. Sam and Erik are instantly drawn to each other but can’t explain why. What do you think is the reason?

6. Sam and Erik have unique base pairs in their enhanced genes. Where do you think these base pairs came from?
 

7. Do you think it’s just a coincidence that Brittany ended up in the same town as Jack and Erik?
 

8. Brittany seems to be full of surprises. Do you think she can be trusted going forward?

9. Sam is just starting to develop her abilities. So far, which of her abilities is most useful in keeping her safe? Her enhanced senses? Her telepathy? Her strength?

10. If Sam and Erik can’t get their timers shut off, should they go back to GlobalLife so they can live?

11. Sam is attracted to both Colin and Erik, but she claims that she only loves Colin. What do you think? Does she really love Colin or is he just a high school crush?
 

12. How will Sam and Colin’s relationship change now that Sam has these abilities?