Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“Ascending,” the automated voice says, the craft moving upward just slightly.
I get announcements of ascents and descents, but I don’t seem to have any control over the route. I’m just along for the ride, which is excruciating. If I at least had to watch out for giant whales or whatever, at least I’d have something to focus on.
Gussie’s interior is sleek and minimalistic, mostly white with silver accents. It’s cool and comfortable; the ride smoother than the one on my one-man sub-slash-toilet.
“Hey, do you read me?”
That’s Briggs. I jump up from my seat, looking for the radio he’s talking to me on.
There’s no radio in here. At least nothing I recognize as one.
“How do I use the radio?”
No answer.
“I swear to Christ, I’m going to scrap you for parts, you piece of shit. Where’s the fucking radio?”
“Look for a little white square on the control panel,” Briggs says through a speaker I can’t see. “Open it and there should be a switch inside. Flip that to talk back to me.”
I find the square quickly, my shoulder slumping with relief when I open it and see the switch. I sit down in my seat and flip it down.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Why is this thing going so slow? I keep telling it to move faster, but it ignores me.”
“It detects obstacles and goes around them. There’s a huge coral reef and underwater volcanoes.”
“Yeah, but forty knots? Can’t it go any faster?”
“Gussie’s designed to travel as fast as she safely can. She needs to be able to maneuver away from obstacles, and some of the obstacles can move.”
I shake my head, missing good old-fashioned gas pedals that let drivers decide how fast to go.
“So you’re still in the sub, right?” Briggs asks.
I pinch my brows together. “You just called me on the radio in the sub and we’re talking.”
“Yeah, I know. I just needed to confirm because ... I’m not sure how to even say this, it’s gonna sound crazy.”
I scratch at the tattoo on my arm, wishing I could scratch the fucking thing off my skin. “Okay, what?”
“According to our eyes and ears, you’re already back on your island.”
I stand up, glaring at the switch I flipped to have this conversation. “I’m telling you, man, there’s something wrong with this sub. It’s going too slow. It probably should be—”
Briggs cuts me off. “I know exactly where you are from the tracker on the sub. Our sources show you on the island for the past four hours. There’s a lag, so we’re just now getting the feeds that were recorded earlier. It’s you. People are talking to you and it’s your voice. I don’t have a straight shot of your face, but what I do have is ... you. What the fuck is going on? You got a twin you haven’t mentioned?”
My jaw drops and my eyes widen with alarm. No. No, no no. No fucking way.
“Is Ingrid Voss there?” I ask, hardly breathing.
“Yeah. And she brought friends. Lots of them.”
“Fuck.” I put my hands on top of my head, feeling like a lion trapped in a small cage.
“What’s going on?” Briggs snaps.
“They cloned me. Voss and her people. They had access to my DNA and they made clones of me. They’re trying to perfect accelerated and decelerated aging.”
Briggs’ only response is a deep sigh. I look at the glowing numbers on the timer counting down the time until I get home. Two hours and thirty-two minutes.
Finally, Briggs speaks. “Didn’t Voss think you were going back to your island?”
“Yeah, she did. But—”
Tyrone. Or Evander. I don’t know if either of those is his real name, but the only way Voss could have known I didn’t go back to my island is if ...
No. There are several possibilities.
“The person who vouched for me,” I say, my mind reeling. “Are you completely sure of that person?”
“A hundred percent. I’d stake my life on it.”
I close my eyes. If Tyrone didn’t send me to the ILF island under Ingrid’s command, that means he was discovered. He risked his life to help me. If his cover was blown, he’s probably already dead. Or maybe in a cell, being tortured for information.
“I’ll be in touch,” Briggs says, his voice as heavy as I’m feeling. “Be safe.”
“Yeah. I will.”
I flick the switch and sit down in my seat, fear and regret swirling in my chest. Even though I didn’t do anything wrong—at least not that I know of—Tyrone put his ass on the line for me.
“Descending,” Gussie announces.
This sub is taking me into a shitstorm. I’m eager to be in the eye of it, but I have to be careful. Whatever Voss is playing at, she’s putting a lot of lives at risk. The lives of people I care about.
Briar. I cringe thinking about that fucking clone even looking at her. What she must be thinking.