Unforgotten (41 page)
He appears in a dark, quiet room. The soft beeping of machines is the only sound.
Cody, who sits next to the bed looking hopeless and forlorn, startles when he hears Kaelen’s gentle footfall. He looks up.
“Where is Sera?” Cody asks accusingly.
Kaelen doesn’t reply. Instead, he steps forward and uncurls his hand, revealing the tiny vial with the clear liquid inside.
“Is that it?” Cody stares wide-eyed at it.
Kaelen nods. “Please administer it immediately.” His voice is distant. Cold. A shuddering reminder of his old self.
Cody stares somewhat distrustfully at him, unsure whether to do as he says. Unsure whether to trust him without me.
Kaelen reads his distrust well. “There is no other option. Administer it or he
will
die.”
Cody considers, and then finally rises from his chair, takes the vial, and walks to Zen’s bedside. He opens the cap, stabs a long needle into the liquid, drawing it out. Then he inserts it into Zen’s IV.
“Now,” Kaelen says, “give me something clear.”
Cody’s forehead furrows. “What?”
“A clear liquid,” Kaelen demands impatiently. “Anything.”
Cody riffles through one of the nearby boxes, removing an unmarked bottle. He proffers it to Kaelen, who quickly goes to work refilling the empty vial with its contents and securing the cap.
And then …
A subtle beeping sound snags their attention. They turn. Watching the screen in silence. Expecting nothing and everything at the same time.
Slowly but surely, the numbers begin to rise. Zen’s heart rate begins to stabilize.
Cody’s face lights up. He looks from Kaelen to Zen, beaming. “What did it do?”
“It is a genetic repressor.”
The light on Cody’s face immediately dims. He understands. “You mean…”
“He will never be able to leave this time,” Kaelen verifies.
Cody’s shoulders slouch as he gazes back sorrowfully at Zen. “He’s stuck here.”
“That is correct.”
“And Sera?” Cody asks hopefully.
Kaelen’s gaze flickers momentarily to Zen and his thoughts turn fuzzy. Indecipherable. His emotions are jumbled. The memory becomes cloudy and vague. Despite how fresh it is.
“Sera will never be returning.” There’s an almost imperceptible crack in his voice.
The sound of fabric rustling snags Kaelen’s attention and he and Cody both turn toward the bed.
Zen’s face twists and pulls. The first sign of movement in days. His leg twitches slightly under the sheet. And then, miraculously, he opens his eyes.
The memory drizzles to an end. As soon as my gaze lands on the fallen books on the floor, I understand. They were a diversion. Kaelen knocked them over on purpose. He had to distract Alixter and the guards long enough to slip into the past and return less than a second later without anyone noticing.
He had to make sure Alixter still believed he was on his side.
That he was incorruptible.
The joy I feel in this moment is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Zen is alive. He will be okay. He will live long and, hopefully, find happiness.
I whisper a quiet
thank-you
to Kaelen.
Then I take three purposeful strides toward one of Alixter’s guards and lift my chin high in the air. Exposing my neck. Offering myself freely.
I don’t speak. There is nothing left to say. I’ve made my choice.
My life belongs to him now.
It takes Alixter a few stunned moments to react. But then he snaps his fingers and points toward me. The guard closest to me responds, wielding his Modifier as he approaches.
I don’t run. I don’t move. I breathe in. I breathe out. The air comes easily. Without a fight.
It feels good not to fight.
The cold metal prongs jab against my skin, just at the base of my ear. And I welcome the darkness.
67
GRAYED
The table is cold and hard against my bare back, causing me to shiver in the chilly room. I open my eyes and gaze into the blinding white light above my head.
I try to move, but it is pointless. My wrists and ankles are cuffed to the table with large, steel clamps. My head is restrained by a strip of metal stretching across my forehead, keeping me from struggling.
A man in a lab coat appears above me. His eyes are gray and emotionless. Like a robot’s. I wonder if he
is
one.
My throat is parched and scratchy, making it impossible for me to speak. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to ask what is happening.
I knew when I agreed to stay that this was what my future held.
They will rebuild my brain.
They will make me docile. Compliant. Agreeable.
And they will take everything.
But I know it’s the only way I will be able to survive. The only way I will be able to live with my decision.
When Zen is completely erased from my memories. When there is nothing left to remind me.
He is safe. And that’s all I need to know before he is stolen forever.
“Don’t worry,” the man reassures me in a completely unreassuring voice. “This won’t hurt. And you won’t remember a thing.”
That’s what I’m hoping for.
I watch him prepare a long, sharp needle. Drawing up an unknown substance.
I feel the sharp prick as the needle settles into my arm. The mysterious fluid works fast. Clouding over everything in my vision. Turning my world to a dreary, colorless gray.
I focus my thoughts on Zen’s face. His vibrant, deep brown eyes. His perfect crooked smile. The soft urgency of his lips against mine. The way one strand of his hair would curl down his forehead when it got wet.
The gentle warmth of his touch on my forehead as he whispers in my ear.
“Yes. Always yes.”
I hold on to all of that. Clenching it tightly as my mind is infiltrated. Gripping it desperately as my thoughts are seized. Keeping him alive in my memory for as long as I hu
m
anly can.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Well, well, here we are again. Another book finished. Another chance to offer my UNdying gratitude to all the amazing people who help me navigate this crazy journey called book publishing.
Author Disclaimer: If there’s anyone I did not include herein, I take no responsibility. Diotech has been erasing my memories for years.
Anyway
…
As always, thanks to the bubbly, energetic, supersavvy crew at Macmillan Children’s, who put together some pretty darn spectacular-looking books and who shout about them tirelessly from the rooftops. Janine O’Malley, the editor of my words, calmer of my fears, and champion of my work. The ever-elegant and impressively efficient prom queens of publicity: Mary Van Akin (the better half of Jessary!), Molly Brouillette (we’ll always have Boston!), Kate Lied (I miss you tons!), Courtney Griffin (ain’t no party like a Tampa party!), and Allison Verost (proud new mama!). Thanks to my BFF, Caitlin Sweeny, to whom I will be forever indebted for introducing me to
New Girl
and whose name I finally learned how to spell. (I triple-checked it this time!) The
fierce
and fantastic Stephanie McKinley, Elizabeth Fithian, Ksenia Winnicki, and Kathryn Little, who market my books like it’s their job (oh … wait). Seriously though, you guys are
the
best! Thanks to Lauren Burniac, who manages to make the paperbacks even more exciting than the hardcovers! Also thanks to the extraordinary Angus Killick, who always makes me laugh; the dynamic Jean Feiwel, whose publishing prowess makes me
swoon
; Joy Peskin, whom I adore beyond words; and Simon Boughton, who always has my back. This book would be a sloppy mess if it weren’t for the copyediting talents of Chandra Wohleber. Thank you! The biggest, squishiest hugs and gratitude to Elizabeth Clark for another amazing, eye-catching, heart-melting cover! And thanks to Mark Von Bargen and the awesome sales team, who work so incredibly hard to get my books on the shelves.
Also thanks to the foreign publishers who bring my work to life worldwide, especially Polly Nolan, Catherine Alport, Katharine Smales, Amy Lines, and Claire Creek in the UK.
Bill Contardi, my agent, deserves heaps and heaps of gratitude for guiding me through the makings of a trilogy, as well as Marianne Merola, who makes selling foreign rights look easy (even though I know it isn’t).
Thanks to all the teachers, librarians, and booksellers who have invited me in with open arms and supported my books around the country, especially Courtney Saldana, Allison Tran, Damon Larson, Crystal Perkins, Dalene Kolb, Cathy Berner, Maryelizabeth Hart, Mel Barnes, Shane Pangburn, Stephanie Squicciarini, Amy Oelkers, Julie Poling, Jade Corn, Cori Ashley, and Michael Johnson.
The BLOGGERS! Oh, the bloggers. How you rock my world. How you rock it hard! Thank you for accepting me as a sci-fi author and for your endless enthusiasm about Sera and Zen and the Unremembered universe. I couldn’t do this without you guys constantly cheering me on and begging for more. THANK YOU!
My author tribe: Jennifer Bosworth, Jessica Khoury, Marie Lu, JR Johansson, Brodi Ashton, Morgan Matson, Gennifer Albin, Ann Aguirre, Alyson Noël, Anna Banks, Emmy Laybourne, Leigh Bardugo, Brad Gottfred, Carolina Munhóz, Raphael Draccon, Carol Tanzman, Debra Driza, Elizabeth Fama, Marissa Meyer, Lauren Kate, Gretchen McNeil, Lish McBride, Claudia Gray, Victoria Scott, Mary Pearson, and Robin Reul. You are each more important to me than you know! Thank you for being sounding boards, listeners, beta readers, collaborators, promoters, tour mates, and friends.
And a special thanks goes to Michelle Levy. Only she knows why … for now.
Keith Wrightson of Yale University, thank you for the crash course in seventeenth-century society, criminal proceedings, and family life. And, Dan Starer, thanks for your invaluable research assistance.
Brittany Carlson, I’m proud to call you a companion. Nicki Hart, you continue to impress and amaze.
Thanks to Honey Pants, my adorable puppy. It’s impossible to have a bad day when you’re around.
And of course, thanks to my wonderful, if at times quirky, family: Terra Brody, Laura Brody, and Michael Brody. I’m so proud to come from such a talented gene pool.
Charlie Fink, there are no words. There is only love. And gratitude. And forever.
Hmm. Is that it? I swear there’s someone I’m forgetting …
Just kidding. I could never,
ever
forget you. The reader of books and the holder of this one in particular. Ask me if I’m grateful for you. Go ahead, ask. I have only one answer: “Yes. Always yes.”
A
LSO BY
JESSICA BRODY
Unremembered
52 Reasons to Hate My Father
My Life Undecided
The Karma Club
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
175 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010
Text copyright © 2014 by Jessica Brody
All rights reserved
First hardcover edition, 2014
eBook edition, February 2014
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Brody, Jessica.
Unforgotten / Jessica Brody. — First edition.
pages cm
Sequel to: Unremembered.
Summary: “After a daring escape from the scientists who created her, Seraphina and Zen believe they are finally safe from the horrors of her past only to discover that new threats await them.”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-374-37990-2 (hardback)
ISBN 978-0-374-37987-2 (e-book)
[1. Amnesia—Fiction. 2. Space and time—Fiction. 3. Genetic engineering—Fiction. 4. Great Britain—History—17th century—Fiction. 5. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B786157Unf 2014
[Fic]—dc23
2013021246
eISBN 9780374379872
