Remainder Read online

  Remainder

  Stacy H. Pan

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright: © 2016 by Stacy H. Pan

  Edited by Sue Toth, Editing and More by Sue

  Cover Art: Reese Dante http://www.reesedante.com

  Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.

  Dedication

  To my husband,

  for all your love and support.

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  I wake. There is pain; so much pain. Intense pain that originates from the base of my neck and spreads through my entire body like a poison. I feel paralyzed by the searing heat on my skin. A scream pierces my ears and the smell of burning flesh assaults my nostrils as the scorching sensation continues. All I see of my surroundings is the white marble floor staring back at me. It doesn’t matter though, as I can’t focus. I can’t focus on anything except the agony. My stomach feels sick and, involuntarily, I retch, but nothing comes out. I try to move my body, to somehow stop the intensive ache, but I can’t. My body is restrained. Grogginess fills my head and my eyes grow weak. I try hard to keep them open. I want to find out what is causing me to feel such torment. The fatigue comes over me like a wave and although I try to fight it, I can’t. Everything goes black.

  I do not know how much time has passed when I open my eyes again. I am blinded by a bright light. My eyes shut, squinting tightly. Slowly, I open them again and let my eyes adjust. I feel a shiver travel all over my body. I am cold. So very cold. A slick, piece of metal jabs into my body, creating a numbing sensation as though I have been on this table for a very long time. Then I realize I'm naked. Oh my gosh! Why am I naked? I have a sense of urgency to cover myself. I look around to see if there is anything I can use to shelter my nakedness. My mission is quickly forgotten when I see a boy on a table next to me. He is also naked and doesn’t appear to be awake. I try to sit up, but straps around my chest, waist, and legs hold me in place. I look around as much as I am able and in my limited visibility, I see people, male and female alike, lying naked on metal tables.

  As I look around, I try to recall where I am and how I got here, but come up with nothing. I try to remember something, anything that can help me discover what happened to me, but my mind is blank. I decide to test my knowledge and start peering at the things I can see in my view. I name off items in my head: computers, tables, people, ceiling, walls, lights, doors. This tells me that I have basic knowledge of my surroundings, so why can I not remember anything about me?

  I hear the sound of high heels clacking on the hard floor. A woman in a white lab coat takes her place at a computer a few feet away me. I start to call out to her when a man appears in the room, in the form of a hologram. I can see right through him and could probably walk through him too. From what I can see, he is an older man with graying hair. He doesn’t wear a white lab coat, but is dressed in all black. The garment he wears gives me the impression he is wearing a uniform, possibly military in origin.

  "How are things progressing?" he asks the woman.

  "Right on track, Killian,” she replies. "Twenty have already been prepped for tomorrow and we are waiting on ten more to wake up."

  "Excellent. Tracking device installed?" asks Killian.

  "Yes,!" the woman responds.

  "Failsafe activated?" he asks.

  "Yes. I know how to do my job, Killian. Why don’t you concentrate on your job and let me do mine," she snaps.

  "Sounds like we are going to have some exceptional products. Keep me updated on the progress throughout the day,” Killian orders. “Oh, and Dr. Kendall, do not test my patience.” The man called Killian disappears before he gives Dr. Kendall a chance to respond.

  Dr. Kendall grabs a tablet and walks over to me.

  "Oh good. You're awake,” she says, rather dryly.

  "Wh...wh...where... am….. I?" I gasp, choke, struggle….. my throat feels dry.

  She grabs a blood pressure cuff and wraps it around my arm. She pumps it so that it tightens, feeling as though my circulation is being severed. The sensation is familiar, but also disturbing, sending a new wave of chills down my body.

  "You're in the hospital," says Dr. Kendall casually.

  "Why? Wh...what happened?" I shudder.

  She reads my blood pressure and records it on her tablet, ignoring my question. Before I can press further, she haphazardly shoves a thermometer in my mouth. As the thermometer comes closer, I see that a brown bird, its wings tucked to the side with big round eyes, is perched on the bottom of her wrist. An owl maybe? If she were to lay her hand flat on a table, it would not be noticeable. However, with her wrist tilted to the side, I have a clear view of the mark. With the thermometer safely placed in my mouth, Dr. Kendall turns her attention to the heart monitor standing beside the bed. The constant beeping is reassuring. She taps busily on her tablet again and then takes the thermometer out of my mouth. Putting her tablet and thermometer on the table beside her, she begins working on the side of the hard metal slab I lie on. Undoing the straps that bind me, she commands me to sit up. Weakly, I place my hands on the side of the cold slab and struggle to push myself up. Dr. Kendall takes out a contraption that looks almost like some kind of small gun.

  “What’s that?” I ask, as I give myself one last push to put my body in a sitting position.

  “Push your hair aside,” she orders, ignoring my question again. I comply and swipe my long strands to one side over my shoulder. She takes the small gun and holds it over the back of my neck. I wince, not sure what to expect. The gun makes a noise like it is scanning something. She pulls it back and I see a hologram appear in the air protruding from the red laser inside the gun. I stare at a picture of a girl with long blond hair and green eyes. Words I don’t comprehend are written to the side of the picture. I look down at my strands of hair and see they are the same color as the girl in front of me. A sense of familiarity invades my senses and I just know the girl in the picture is me.

  "Great! Looks like you are good to go!" she says.

  Reaching under the table, she pulls out some fabric and hands it to me.

  "Here. Put this on."

  I reach for the garment and Dr. Kendall lets it fall to the floor before I have a chance to grab it. Her stony eyes bear into me and she makes no move to pick the garment off the floor. I scoot to the edge of my metal bed and slowly move my legs over the side so that they dangle off the edge. Cautiously, I extend one leg until I
feel the cold marble floor beneath my toes. I inch my other leg down until those toes get the same rush of cold as the others. I ease off the table and attempt to bear all of my weight on my gelatin legs. My legs begin to buckle and I grab hold of the side of the metal slab to keep myself from hitting the floor. Tapping her foot, Dr. Kendall impatiently waits while I try to regain my composure.

  Once I am steady, I slowly bend down to pick up the garment while one hand holds onto the table. After inspecting the garment, I see that it is a paper gown. I decide that I would put it on with the open part in front so that I can hold it together. It feels like it takes longer than it should to put on the gown, since I am so weak. While I dress, I have a chance to really look at Dr. Kendall. She is an attractive, short, petite woman who looks to be in her thirties. Her black hair is cut short and her long bangs cover her forehead. She has lines in between her eyebrows that don’t seem to disappear even though she is not furrowing them.

  "Ready?" she asks flatly. She doesn’t smile or have much of an expression at all. Her businesslike demeanor causes her to appear detached, like this is just another tedious task she must complete before she can go home.

  "Yes,” I reply.

  "Follow me."

  With one hand, I clutch the open part of the gown closed and use the other hand to hold onto the metal table that I have become so acquainted with in order to balance myself. I test my right foot as I bear my weight onto it. I look down at my foot willing it to work. I place my left foot in front of the right and I am forced to let go of my aid. My legs wobble as I try them out. Slowly, but surely, she leads me to the door of the room. I take notice of the large room and all the bodies on tables that fill it up. All of them appear to be sleeping. Or dead. I try to be optimistic and believe the former. No one wants to think they were just lying in a room with a bunch of dead people.

  We go out of the room and I follow her down a long empty hallway. The walls are white and bare, not even giving me some clue as to where I am. The few people we pass on the way to our destination do not acknowledge our presence. To them, we are invisible. The hard floor is cold on my bare feet. I clutch the hospital gown tighter around me, wishing I were wearing more clothes to keep warm. The only sound we hear is that of Dr. Kendall’s high heels clicking and clacking on the stone surface. I think about adding to the noise by asking more questions, but my instincts tell me Dr. Kendall doesn’t like questions. Thankfully, our journey is not a long one. My legs are still weak and I do not think I can walk any further.

  Dr. Kendall stops in front of a light brown door with no window, no way to see what is inside. Beside the door, on the wall, is a computerized screen that reads “Enforcer-656.” I ponder the meaning of the words and numbers. Perhaps it is the name of the room. I look around and see other doors like the one in front of me. They all have screens with different names and numbers. Dr. Kendall opens the door and walks into the room. It is small, with a twin bed on one wall and a desk on the other. There are no windows. In the corner on the same wall as the bed are a toilet, sink, and mirror. There is no door and no shower. Everything is out in the open. Again the walls are white and bare, with no visible markings. Red clothes and shoes occupy the bed.

  "Dinner will be served to you at six. There are clothes for you on the bed. I suggest you get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow," Dr. Kendall says with a strange grin on her face.

  "What's tomorrow?" I ask, wondering if she is going to evade my question again.

  "Training Day," she says so matter-of-factly, as if she was surprised I didn’t already know.

  She turns around abruptly, strides out of the room, and closes the door behind her.

  I walk over to the clothes on the bed. A red shirt, red pants, and red shoes. Luckily, the clothes fit. At least I don’t have to wear that uncomfortable gown anymore. I walk over to the mirror and look at my reflection. This is the first time I remember looking at myself, although it seems like I am seeing someone I know...or remember. My instincts were correct. I am the girl I saw in the hologram. My features, though not striking or superior, remind me of someone I can’t yet seem to remember, someone I wonder if I should try to forget. I have bright long blonde hair that flows past my shoulders. My eyes are green with specks of blue. A small straight nose sits in the middle of my face, above full lips. Some people might think I am pretty. I would think myself to look average, although I have no basis on which to compare. I am a little pale, making me question the last time I ate. Then I remember the intense pain I felt earlier. I move my hair out of the way, touch the base of my neck and feel tender puffed skin. I wince at the pain my touch causes. What is that on the back of my neck? It all comes back to me: the paralyzing pain, the smell of burning flesh, blacking out. I search for memories and all I find is the memory of intense pain. For the first time since I woke, I have time to think. There are so many questions that I need answered. Where am I? How did I get here? How long have I been here? Why can I not remember anything before now? What is my name? Something must have happened to me. I must have been in some kind of accident. What other reason would there be for me not remembering anything? Who are the other people I saw? But most importantly, who am I?

  I walk to the door. I am going to find someone. Someone will give me the answers I need. I grab the brass doorknob and turn it. A clicking sound resonates as I unsuccessfully try to open the door. It is locked. In the wave of confusion I awoke to, one thing is perfectly clear: I am locked in, but why? The locked door and all the confusion makes me feel overwhelmed. All of a sudden, my body feels like lead and I am so tired. I go over to the bed and lay on it. The heaviness of my eyes causes warm sleep to find me before I can try to fight it.

  Chapter Two

  I am being led down a hallway by two armed guards in black. In my red and their black, we stand out amongst the bare white walls. They take me in a room that has three chairs spaced out. They are reclined and look like the chairs you would see at a dental office. As the guards lead me to one of the empty chairs, my first and only instinct is to fight, struggle, do anything to keep them from strapping me into the chair. However, they are strong and overpower me. One guard holds me in place, while the other fastens the straps around my chest, waist, and legs. The straps are so tight I can barely move. On each side of the chair are small metal tables with empty IV bags.

  I am so distracted by what is being done to me that I don’t notice that there is a chair in front of me occupied by a boy who looks to be my age. Like me, he is wearing red and is strapped in the chair. He is good looking with messy blonde hair, blue eyes, full lips, and broad shoulders. He is looking right at me, but he has a strange expression on his face, like he doesn’t really see me. His eyes are glassy and empty. He doesn’t move and just stares into empty space. Then I notice what is happening to him. There are IVs hooked to both of his arms in the crease of his elbows. I see the blood run through the tubes and fill the bags. He doesn’t flinch. I notice that he is pale and wonder how many bags have been filled before I got here.

  Just then, I hear a familiar voice say “Are you ready?” It’s Dr. Kendall. She approaches my chair and picks up one IV with a gloved hand.

  “You should get comfortable,” she says. “You’re going to be here awhile.”

  I thrash my whole body trying to break the restraints, but they are too tight. All of a sudden the floor is red. Blood is everywhere. It is filling up the room and rising higher. I look up at the boy in front of me. His head is slumped to the side, his eyes open, but there is no life in them. In that moment, I just know that they have taken it all. They, whoever they are, have taken all of his blood. I look down and see the blood still rising. Dr. Kendall doesn’t seem to notice. She isn’t fazed and approaches me with the needle. I scream!

  A knock on the door arouses me from sleep. I jump, thankful for the sound that woke me from my nightmare that seemed too real. Another knock and the jingling of some keys.

  “Dinner,” I hear a young male voice fro
m the other side of the door say. The door opens and a young dark skinned boy comes in. He has curly black hair and pretty light brown eyes. He smiles, a smile that make his eyes light up and I can tell that his smile is genuine. He walks over to the desk and puts down the tray of food.

  “Roasted chicken tonight,” he says. “It’s usually a little dry, but the chocolate pudding for dessert is pretty good.” He smiles again, showing off his pearly white teeth.

  “How are you feeling?” he asks.

  “Uh…tired,” I say confused, surprised that he is taking the time to ask how I am feeling.

  “Yeah, it takes awhile for the sedative to wear off completely.”

  “Sedative?” I ask.

  “I always say too much,” he says worriedly, his smile fading, replaced by a look of concern, like what he just told me could get him in trouble.

  “I’m Alden, by the way,” he says and smiles again.

  “Where am I?” I ask shyly.

  He hesitates and bites his lower lip as if he is trying to stop himself from saying something he shouldn’t. I can see him pondering how he should respond. He walks over to the door, closes it softly, and then faces me again.

  “You’re at the Avalon Research Center, or ARC as we like to call it,” he says with a sullen look on his face. I can tell he regretted telling me immediately.

  “What is this place?” I ask, somewhat scared of his answer.

  He averts his eyes before he answers. “Scientific research is conducted here.”

  “What kind of research?” I ask, not sure I want to know the answer.

  “Particularly identical human genetic reproduction.” He looks back at me with no trace of humor on his face.

  “Cloning?” I ask.

  “Yes,” he says and I see pain flash in his eyes.

  “Does this mean…am I...” I can’t finish the rest of my question. Suddenly, everything is clear. The cold treatment by Dr. Kendall. My nakedness on the table. The talk of a failsafe and tracking device. The fact that I can’t remember anything about my life. The illuminated dream that seemed so real. I don’t need to finish the question because I already know the answer.