Series: Zandian Brides Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“When will I get to see my friends?” I take a grape from the cluster he’s left for me on the gleaming silver surface. Daven eats only every ten planet rotations or so, but he provides me with the most amazing food I’ve ever tasted. Fresh food–fruits I’ve only heard of but never seen or tasted before.
“Soon. After they all have settled.”
I’m desperate to fill in the blanks in my head about what happened and why we’re here. I know my concerns are legitimate because when I hugged Flora last planet rotation, she warned, “Don’t say anything, Sia.”
I’m not even sure what it is I shouldn’t say, but I could tell that she remembered something and that we are not to talk about it.
Now I know it has something to do with the chip.
I’m dying for a chance for a real discussion with Flora and to see the three others–Katia, Alyza and Janae. I’m still somewhat in the dark about the big secret we keep in our heads. What is its purpose? For some reason, I believe it’s meant to record things.
Which could be a problem. What if we were sent as unwitting spies on Zandia?
But that doesn’t make sense. We weren’t sent to Zandia, we were left on Simak 14 by a group of Ocretions who thought we were pleasure slaves. There was a mix-up of some kind. We were shipped to the wrong location.
So where were we meant to go and why?
And what will happen now with these chips in our heads? Can we be tracked? Are they recording?
A shiver runs through me as I suddenly understand why Flora sounded so urgent about me not speaking. I remember what they can do to us if we talk–fry our brains from the inside.
The chip is interwoven with our own neurons.
“I’m thankful to be here,” I hurry to add, lest I seem ungrateful. “The food is delicious. I’m safe and warm. But. It’s been three planet rotations now, right? May I see Flora and the other humans?” I gesture outside and look up at him. “Please, Master.”
He sits beside me, and the warmth of his body makes me tingle, as always. The frustration at being kept inside and the fear about my missing memories fades every time I feel his presence. Every single time he approaches me, the need in my body gets stronger. I want something I can’t put into words. It’s a different kind of frustration entirely.
He touches my face. “Your wounds have healed externally. But your memories are still lacking. Dr. Daneth feels it’s better to keep you mostly isolated until you regain more control over your thoughts.”
“I disagree, Master.” I stand and pace. I don’t know what makes me dare argue with my new master, but somehow I sense I’m safe here. “I think going out would help me. My body is full of adrenaline, anxiety, need. I need something. I need release.”
“Have you been logging in your memory journal?” He narrows his eyes at me. “Sia?”
I nod. “Yes. Of course, I log all of them.” This is a lie. I have logged many, but I’ve held back anything that deals with my head scar or the Project Alpha details–not that I’ve even had much success remembering much about either.
“I had another one earlier. Should I tell you?”
He nods, eyes narrowing, as if he’s not sure I’m being honest.
I touch the device, but don’t press the play button. “I remember I was in a lab, and some of the Ocretion lab managers were talking. They were excited. They said,” I pause and close my eyes to get it right, “that there were new proteins they’d isolated that could be given to us in conjunction with various hormones to get our endurance up and make us heal faster from injuries.”
I open my eyes and look at Daven. “They were writing on a holo board, and I remember the symbols. I can scribe them.”
Daven has gone quiet but his whole body vibrates with eager interest. “Yes, Sia, please.” His voice is low. He hands me a tablet with a blank screen. “Do your best to replicate them.”
I don’t know how I can do this, and maybe it should scare me because I don’t know chemistry. I don’t remember all that much about my past, but I know that I was good at organizing glassware and doing basic mixtures, but I was not an expert on science–I was more of a “follow the instructions” tech.
It’s weird, like watching a video, and again–like when I first met Daven–I’m shaken about how my brain can play back something so completely, as if I’m watching a holo. I’m pretty sure my memory never used to work like that before?
“How can you remember all of this?” Daven’s voice has a strange tone as he watches me cipher–not accusatory, but more than idle curiosity. He peruses my work. “I can’t even understand this. Most Zandians don’t remember things so photographically.” He enlarges part of the screen. “This is very complex.”