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The pictures are still spilling out.
A cow that’s all out of proportion, with an udder so large the legs couldn’t reach the ground, even if she were on the ground and not floating in some kind of tank.
And then another giant tank, with something—someone?—suspended in it. I see hair, dark hair, swirling like seaweed, a hand, a foot, but that’s all I can make out, because there’s someone standing outside the tank, grinning. It’s the scientist with all the tattoos.
The computer clatters from my lap.
I twist around, fall to my knees, and get the lid up before I vomit up what little is in my twisting stomach.
Dry heaves. Can’t stop.
Oh, no, no, no. My mother … Oh God.
Aislin bangs on the door. “Hey, what’s going on with you in there? Are you all right?”
I can’t stop the heaves.
Aislin picks the lock. It’s not hard. She has to step over me to get all the way inside. She places a calming hand on the back of my neck. Aislin has long experience with puking.
“Try to breathe, but only through your nose,” she says helpfully.
She sits on the edge of the tub, prepared to wait it out. I hear her pick up my computer.
I try to say “no,” but I can’t find any words.
“Don’t fight it, just relax into it,” Aislin advises. “It’s…” She falls silent. She’s seeing.
“Oh my God,” she says. “Oh, no. What is this? Oh … Oh no. No. No.”
But of course, no is not the answer.
– 25 –
SOLO
I’m awake when someone pounds on my door. It’s not like sleep is an option. I’m so hyped up I can’t lie still for long.
And if I close my eyes, even for a second, the horrifying images from Tommy’s computer are waiting for me.
The pounding intensifies. I throw on a pair of boxers.
For a moment, I wonder if it’s Eve. She’s probably viewed what’s on the flash drive by now—assuming, that is, she has any intention of looking at it at all. Could be she just tossed it in the nearest trash can.
I wonder, again, if I was wrong to share what I’ve learned.
No. Eve’s like me. She’ll want to know.
“Open the damn door.”
A jolt of pure adrenaline shocks me into full alert mode.
It’s Tommy.
He knows.
I have no choice. There’s nowhere to run, not from here, not now. I unlock the door.
Two security guys burst in. One is older, graying. The other’s young. He works out, I’ve seen him at the gym.
