Unleashed Read Free

own.”
    â€œI can handle it.”
    â€œYes. But can you handle her ?”
    â€œHer?” I echo curiously, thinking that maybe he has forgotten again. “Her genes are inferior.”
    â€œHer genes, yes,” Dr. Alixter agrees.
    â€œI don’t understand.”
    With some effort, he stands up, wobbling slightly on his feet, and walks around the back of my chair, resting his hands on my shoulders. I continue to face forward, staring at the giant synthoglass womb that brought me into this world.
    â€œThere’s something you need to know,” Dr. Alixter says, his voice suddenly graver than it was a minute ago. “Sera is unlike you and me. She is dangerous. She has been outside these compound walls for a long time and it has changed her. She will say anything she can to turn you against me.”
    â€œI would never—”
    His nails dig into my flesh. It doesn’t hurt but the urgency surprises me. “Listen to me,” he growls. “She will tell you things—things that will make you feel conflicted. Things that will make you question what you know to be true. She will use whatever means possible to sway you from your mission. But you must remember, whatever she says is a lie. It’s a manipulation. She is broken, and broken people lie.”
    â€œBroken people lie,” I repeat mindlessly.
    â€œBe careful. You are the most powerful weapon Diotech has now, but she will try to convince you that I am the enemy. She will try to turn you against me.” He pauses and his next words are weighted and purposeful. “Because she wants to hurt me.”
    Instantly, I feel fire ignite in my chest. Red, hot rage burns me from the inside. My fists involuntarily tighten. My teeth gnash together. The sensation confuses me and fuels me at the same time.
    â€œI will not let her hurt you,” I vow through my clenched jaw. “I will protect you.”
    His fingernails loosen from my shoulders and he pats my head affectionately. “Very good.”
    â€œWhen do I leave?”
    â€œAs soon as we locate her.”
    â€œI can help,” I say eagerly. “I’ll transesse wherever you want. I’ll search everywhere.”
    â€œThat would be a waste of your skills. The historians are working on it. Tirelessly. She’ll show up. She’ll make a mistake. And when she does, we’ll be ready. You’ll be ready.” The last word barely makes it out of his mouth. It gets strangled by a wheezing sound that convulses his entire body.
    I twist my neck to look at my creator. His face is pale and his eyes are watering. A small droplet of blood drips from his left nostril.
    â€œSir?” I ask in concern.
    He walks uneasily toward the door. As he reaches out to press his fingertip to the panel, I notice his hand trembling. The heavy synthosteel that shields me from the outside world slides open, revealing a hallway I’ve seen but never entered.
    As soon as he’s through, the door begins to retract again. I hear the sound of Dr. Alixter retching just before the door seals shut, locking the acidic smell of bile inside the lab.

4: Disruptions
    Today I am in the middle of the Amazon rain forest, fighting off a clan of armed poachers. I have no weapons save for the ones programmed into my DNA. I’ve been able to fight them off with my bare hands up until now but the simulation is changing, adapting to my skills, increasing in difficulty the more poachers I disarm.
    I hear a crackling around me. They are encroaching from all sides. A swift glance gives me an estimate of twenty. No, thirty.
    I can’t take on thirty. Not at the same time. I look up, my perfect vision observing a canopy of leaves above me. Five poachers dive toward me at once, their machetes slashing inches from my face. Thinking fast, I leap into the air, grabbing on to a tree branch and wresting it free. As it snaps, I start to fall to the ground, holding the newly forged