Page 49 of Anders
I need to know,Etta said, her tone turning insistent.These are my memories, my life.They stole them from me.I won’t let them keep them.
Anders studied her face, then nodded.I’ll help you.But we go back in carefully, under cover of darkness.And at the first sign of trouble, we leave.
Relief flooded through her.Thank you.
Don’t thank me yet,Anders warned.What you’re looking for might hurt more than help.
I’d rather know the truth, no matter how painful,Etta said firmly.I’m tired of living a lie.
Anders’s expression softened, and something in his eyes made her heart skip.Eat something first,he said.You’ll need your strength.
Etta forced herself to nibble on toast, though each bite seemed to stick in her throat.As she ate, another memory flashed—
A sterile room.Different from the medical lab.This one had desks, computers.Training.
Your assignment is to document without conscious awareness,a man’s voice said.These trigger phrases will activate your reporting protocols.
A list of seemingly innocuous phrases appeared on a screen before her:WEATHER PATTERNS.COMMUNITY RESOURCES.LOCAL HISTORY.
When you hear these phrases, you will observe and document without retention of the activity.Your conscious mind will remain unaware.
But why?she heard herself ask, her voice small and confused.Why make me forget?
The wolf must remain dormant,the man said.Conscious awareness triggers shift response.Shift response neutralizes chemical suppression.The program requires complete dormancy.
A woman stepped forward, holding a small device to the back of Etta’s neck.Pain shot through her skull as something cold and metallic adhered to her skin.
Integration control activated,the woman reported.Neural pathways aligned with trigger responses.
Good,the man said.Begin suppression protocol three.
The memory faded, leaving Etta gasping for breath.Her coffee mug slipped from her fingers, shattering against the floor.
Etta?Anders was immediately at her side, concern etched on his face.What did you see?
The trigger phrases,she managed, her throat tight with fear.
What about trigger phrases?Anders asked, stroking his hand down her back, soothing her.
After a moment, Etta was able to recount the whole memory.They programmed me with trigger phrases,she said then.That’s why I kept writing things I didn’t remember—someone was activating me.
Anders’s expression darkened.An intelligence gathering protocol.These phrases would be casual enough to use in normal conversation.
And the mark,Etta said, her hand flying to the back of her neck.It’s some kind of control device.They called it ‘integration control.’
Anders gently turned her, brushing her hair aside to examine the mark.His touch sent a jolt of awareness through her, momentarily displacing her fear.
We need to remove it,he said, his voice low and tight with anger.But carefully.If your memory was right and this thing is not just on your skin but connected to your nervous system as you said, removing it improperly could be dangerous.
Etta turned to face him, suddenly desperate to act, to do something—anything—to reclaim control of her life.The notes first.Then we figure out how to get this thing off me.
Anders nodded slowly.Tonight, then.After dark.
ONCE AGAIN, THE NEWSPAPERoffice loomed before them, a dark shadow against the night sky.
Etta’s heightened senses picked up a thousand details she would have missed before—the faint scent of someone who had passed by hours ago, the distant sound of a conversation three blocks away, the subtle movements of small nocturnal creatures in the alley behind the building.
Stay close,Anders murmured as he unlocked the door.He’d insisted on scouting the area thoroughly before approaching, checking for surveillance or traps.We get what we need and leave.No lingering.
