Page 27 of Dark Flame

Kane and Flip turned to hear what doc had to say, moving toward the couple on the boulder. He sat beside her on the cool grass, Regan never leaving her side.

“Okay, but I don’t remember much, I have to be honest. I was much younger than most of the others when I was there.” Ivy shrugged her shoulders, knowing that she wouldn’t be much help to Adam if he was going to dig into her past. Like all of the other ‘gifted,’ she was a child during her time at the Depot.

“That’s okay. Let’s just give it a try. How old were you when you were at the Depot?”

“I guess between the ages of two and four. I don’t remember going there, but I remember leaving and not being happy. I was sick then, too. Not with a rash. I don’t remember…” she said, rubbing her temples.

Adam’s eyebrows raised both in curiosity and questioning. She hadn’t mentioned being sick as a child.

“Do you remember what you felt? Were you sick to your stomach?” asked Adam.

“N-no, I don’t think so. I think… I think it was serious. I remember my mother crying, and my father was angry because she wanted to leave the Depot. She didn’t want to be at the Depot anymore. I remember her saying that it, the Depot, was making me sick.”

“What happened to your parents, Ivy?” asked Adam.

“They died in a car accident when I was seven.”

“I see. Ivy, did you see doctors when you were at the Depot?”

“Doc,” said Regan impatiently, “I know you’re trying to help Ivy, but it’s clear she can’t remember that far back.”

“This is important, Regan. Indulge me.”

“I did. I think it’s why my father was angry. I remember my hair… my hair fell out. I remember because my mother used to put bows in my hair, and she couldn’t anymore. I was crying, and my mother was holding me.”

“Ivy, this is really important. Did you see a doctor more than once?” Ivy rubbed her temples again and then closed her eyes as if willing the memory to return.

“I did. Many times. We had to go off-base.” She was quiet for a moment, begging the memories to come to the surface. “I had cancer. I think I had cancer. The doctor said something to my father about a foreign body or something that was inside me that shouldn’t be.”

“Ivy, I’m going to lay my hands on your body again. Just relax.” Adam laid his palms against Ivy’s stomach and then her back, moving down her torso to her legs and then back up to her chest and arms. “Fiona?”

“Here,” she cried, running towards him.

“I need you to look for something with me. I think it’s hidden really well.”

“O-okay,” she replied quietly, laying her hands against Ivy.

“In her chest, it’s hidden behind the heart. I think it shouldn’t be there. I can’t…” said Adam.

“I see it,” said Fiona. “It’s a metal piece, something round, but it’s not like a pacemaker. I’ve seen those before.”

“What is happening?” cried Ivy. “What’s wrong with me? Is my cancer back?”

“Ivy, I think when you were sick, the doctors at the Depot put a tracking device inside you. I think the device is what’s making you sick. I believe it’s moved and is creating a sort of rebellion within your body. You show no signs of your cancer returning. All your blood work is clear, and neither Fiona nor I detect cancerous cells.”

“What do we do?” asked Regan, squeezing her hand.

“We take it out,” said Adam. “But we also need to check everyone for one. If Ivy has one, we all might. They may not be functional any longer, but it would lead anyone straight to us.”

“Son-of-a-bitch!” said Flip.

“You said it, brother,” grinned Adam. “Okay, missy, let’s get you back to the clinic, and we’ll get that hunk of metal out of you.”

Two hours later, Ivy was sitting up, her rash already dissipating and a small incision on her chest covered with a bandage.

“Is that it?” asked Kane, staring at the small metal disc.

“That’s it, brother. Definitely military-grade. It’s old, but it was functioning.” Adam looked at the small metal disc, the wires corroded due to exposure in her body. “It was supposed to be housed outside the rib cage, but it must have dislodged and caused problems. She’s lucky it didn’t pierce her organs or find its way into something that could have killed her.”

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