Fixed by Beth Goobie

Author:Beth Goobie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV000000
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2005-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

THE TWO GIRLS SAT on their beds, watching each other from opposite sides of the room. Overhead, a security alarm beeped faintly. On the monitoring screen, occasional figures in Detta uniform came and went. A star chart hung on one wall and beside it was a small alcove that contained a statue of the Goddess, with the constellation of the Cat glowing above each shoulder. At the foot of each bed stood a free-standing closet and dresser. Except for the lack of a mid-room barricade and the presence of a toilet, a sink and a locked door, the room could have been the one Nellie shared with Tana in the girls’ dorm.

Keeping her face expressionless, she studied the mirror image of herself that faced her from across the room. Her twin was now dressed as she was, in a dark gray bodysuit. After her meeting with the two Detta officials, Nellie had been taken to a small change-room and told to exchange her Advanced uniform for the plain gray outfit she was now wearing. Col. Jolsen had then escorted her to this room and left without further instructions, locking the door behind him. Swallowing the numb sick feeling caused by the click of the lock, Nellie had climbed onto the empty bed, positioned herself with her back to the wall and fixed her gaze on the girl lying on the opposite bed.

How she longed to be back in Advanced, shooting holographs, running laps and studying viruses. No matter, she thought grimly, studying her twin through slitted eyes. She would complete this special assignment in stellar fashion, earning herself extra points. And when it was over she would file it in one of her deepest, most inaccessible filing cabinets and return to Advanced where she wouldn’t have to think about it ever again. For once she would be glad to forget something. A shiver skittered up her back, and she fought the urge to run her fingers over the scars hidden beneath the hair on her scalp.

Across the room her twin sat motionless, her eyes dark shadowed and heavy lidded. Soon after Nellie had entered the room she’d sat up, but neither had spoken yet. A scowl crossed Nellie’s face and she almost hissed at her twin’s placid expression. Didn’t the girl realize where she was, stuck in K Block, the very bowels of danger? Anything could happen in this place, anything, and the memory of it completely erased. Nellie’s lips parted, a surge of angry words on her tongue. But just as she was about to speak, a vague whispery sensation rippled across her brain, almost like window curtains lifting in a breeze.

Don’t look surprised, her twin’s voice said quietly inside her head. Keep scowling the way you are, and they won’t suspect a thing.

Nellie’s face shifted in amazement, but she covered by scratching her nose.

Good, her twin said approvingly. I’m going to pretend to go to sleep now, but I’ll keep talking. All you have to do is think at me and I’ll hear you.

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