“All right. Spill,” N8 whispered, taking a swig.
“There’s been an uptick in communications,” F8 murmured, keeping her head bowed. The rest of them pretended to drink or mouth incoherent words, as if they were having an innocuous conversation. “I think they’re getting ready to start another series of tests on us.”
K8 gasped. The action drew water into her lungs, and she was hit with a fit of coughing that took her a minute to clear. N8 slapped her on the back to help her clear her lungs.
“What?Moretests?” G8 grumbled. “When is it going to fucking stop?”
“Don’t they run enough of those things on us already?” P8 inquired, voicing what they were already thinking.
“Any idea what kind of tests?” T8 queried. In other words, would they hurt and cause pain to the point where they’d be hospitalized for several days the way some of them did?
F8 shrugged. “Don’t know. Didn’t have the chance to hear anything more.” She glanced sideways at N8. “But they did say your name specifically.”
He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. It made sense.
“Why do they keep picking on you?” K8 angrily denounced.
“You fucking know why,” T8 almost growled. “The rest of us, our abilities were easily discerned. They knew early on when we were younger just what we could and couldn’t do.” He saluted N8 with his water bottle. “Except for you.”
“They still don’t know the extent of whatIcan do,” F8 reminded them. “For all they know, I have extraordinary vision and hearing. They have no idea I can interpret the pulses in the electrical currents, or catch the magnetic wave forms in some of their communications.” She managed a shy smile. “I learned not to make any of that known whenever we were undergoing their trials.”
“Speaking of abilities…” N8 gestured to G8. “You’re starting to peel.”
The young man nodded and fingered a sheaf of skin waving from his bicep. “Yeah. Another couple of days, and I’ll be a whole new me.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in it.
N8 addressed F8. “Any idea when these new tests are due to begin?”
“In a couple of days. That’s all I managed to glean. I guess it’s going to take them that long to prepare whatever they have planned.”
“Shit.” T8 looked at N8. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“I agree,” G8 remarked. “That usually means a more elaborate test. And more elaborate almost always equates to painful.”
“N8?” K8 laid a hand on his knee. “Have you thought any more about what you told me the other day?” Her comment got the others’ attention, and they leaned in closer after F8 double-checked to make sure they were no longer being spied upon.
He nodded as he took another long swallow from his water bottle. “Yeah. In fact, when Cydney came around to get my files, I asked her straight out if she’d have coffee or ice cream with me.”
“When?” F8 asked.
“She didn’t give me a definitive yes. Just a possible maybe,” he admitted.
“That’s not good,” T8 commented. “You’re on a timer now.”
“If you’re going to discover anything, it has to be soon. Tomorrow, at the latest,” added P8.
N8 grimaced. “I’m afraid if I push, she’ll rabbit on me.”
G8 belched softly. “Well, either you give it a try, or wait until after the tests, which could put you back in the hospital for another month. But we all know if you put it off until then, she could be gone when you finally get released, just like the others.”
K8 gave his knee a squeeze. “N8, are you sure you can pull this off? I mean, you’ve never gone under more than a couple of hours. You’re looking now at staying out of your body overnight!”
“I know, but do we have any other choice?”
“There’s something seriously off about our circumstances,” T8 reminded them. “The only way we can find out anything further is by getting one of us away from these confines and investigating.”
“I’m the only one who can do this,” N8 softly stated, hoping he sounded confident. The comment wasn’t anything they didn’t already know. His was the only ability the doctors and scientists weren’t aware of. Some argued that maybe he hadn’t grown into them. Others were certain his were dormant. Either way, he was the only one of the six who was probed and prodded, injected and experimented onad nauseam, hoping they’d either discover it, or force it to reveal itself.
It was only by sheer luck they hadn’t recognized it when he did use it.
