A Chosen Destiny (The Samantha Project Series #3) Read online

  I heard Dave running across the room. “Someone tell me what the hell’s going on!”

  “Let me stay with her!” Colin’s voice got fainter and fainter as he was dragged away from the room. “Sam! Don’t give up! Fight this! Don’t you dare leave me!”

  Suddenly I felt more needles in my arm and a tube down my throat. Warm liquid seemed to be entering my bloodstream. And then everything went dark.

  When I woke up again, I heard the beeping of machines all around my head. Everything else was silent. I lifted my eyelids, but they were still very heavy. I took a deep breath. My throat was burning from the tube they’d shoved down it. I opened my eyes a little more and saw Colin and Dave sitting in chairs next to my bed. Both of them were asleep.

  I looked over and saw Erik on the other side of the room, still hooked up to the monitoring devices. Jack was sleeping in a chair next to him.

  I moved slightly, waking Colin up. He shot up in his chair.

  “Sam?” He got up and sat next to me on the bed.

  “Hey. Thanks for coming.” My voice was hoarse and my throat was sore and scratchy.

  “Yeah. I’m sorry about that.” He looked ashamed of himself for even considering not being there, knowing the risks of the procedure. “So how are you feeling?”

  “My throat hurts, but other than that—”

  “Sam, you’re awake.” Dave jumped up and pushed a button on the side of my bed. “How do you feel?”

  “Pretty normal, actually.” In fact, in the short time I’d been awake, I was feeling much better. The soreness in my throat was fading quickly and I felt strength in my muscles again. “What time is it?”

  “It’s uh,” Dave glanced at his watch, “1:30.”

  “So I’ve been out a few hours.”

  “It’s 1:30 in the morning, Sam. Monday morning,” Colin explained. “You’ve been out since yesterday morning.”

  The doctor walked in and began swiping a computer screen attached to the end of my bed. “Samantha, you’re feeling better?”

  “Yeah. I feel pretty good.”

  “Excellent. Well, your DNA has accepted the base codes and everything seems to be working as it should.”

  The doctor looked at Dave. “Your program is working perfectly. Do you want to see?” He pointed to the computer screen.

  “No, I’ll look at it later.” He turned back to me. “Sam, are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

  I looked at him and Colin. Neither one of them seemed to believe me. “Yeah. Why? Did something happen while I was asleep?”

  The doctor turned to Dave. “Everything looks good. If you need me, just press the button, like you did before.”

  After he left, Dave moved his chair closer to me. “There were some problems after they put the new DNA into your cells.”

  “What type of problems?”

  Dave held my hand. “It was like we thought. GlobalLife built a destruction sequence that basically—well, it almost stopped your heart.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “About three hours after the procedure.” Dave nodded over toward Erik. “It happened to Erik first. Although in him it wasn’t as severe.”

  “What do you mean? What did it do to Erik?”

  “It disrupted his heartbeat. The changes came on gradually. We were able to correct it before any real damage was done. But in you, the process was much faster.” Dave was trying hard not to show emotion. “The damage was occurring rapidly, right after the procedure. We had just minutes to—well, it’s over now.”

  “So how did they fix it?”

  “Dave fixed it with his genius computer skills,” Colin said. “He was writing some complicated software code within like, seconds. As soon as they noticed a problem, he was over there writing code. It was amazing.”

  Dave shook his head, trying to downplay his role. “No, no. It was a team effort. I just helped out. Although this was definitely more complicated than anything I’ve ever done.”

  “What did you do, Uncle Dave?”

  “I was able to rewrite the software in your cells to accept the new DNA without the, let’s say, GlobalLife-induced side effects.”

  “He saved your life,” Colin said, looking at Dave.

  “Well, thanks.” I squeezed Dave’s hand. “I guess I don’t know what you’re supposed to say when someone saves your life. Thank you doesn’t seem like enough.”

  Dave smiled. “You being here is enough of a thank-you.”

  I glanced across the room. “And what about Erik? Is he all right now?”

  “Yes. I worked on his software as soon as we started to see the heart rhythm changes in him. Honestly, fixing his software allowed me to fix yours. I wouldn’t have been able to correct it in time if I hadn’t worked on Erik first. It’s a good thing he went before you to get the procedure done.”

  “So if Erik’s fine, why didn’t they let him out of here?”

  “He’s still being monitored. They’ll release him later this morning. And if all looks good with you, they’ll let you out of here maybe early afternoon.”

  “You don’t need to stay here, Uncle Dave. You should go get some sleep.”

  “No. Definitely not. I can sleep right here in the chair if I need to.”

  “Well, Colin, you can go. Unless you don’t mind staying.” I wanted him to stay, but I wasn’t sure if it was my place to ask. I wasn’t sure what him being there meant. Maybe now that I wasn’t dying, he would go back to hating me again.

  He sat back in his chair. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I felt my eyes getting heavy again. “Why am I so tired?”

  “The IV keeps delivering drugs to your system,” Dave explained. “They’re just meant to keep you relaxed so you can rest. They’ll take you off them in the—”

  Dave’s words faded out as I fell into a deep sleep again.

  “I don’t see why we had to move here,” I heard a girl say. I recognized the voice but the image was blurry. I could hear sirens blaring outside and the beeping of garbage trucks backing up.

  My vision cleared and I saw that the girl was Allie. Mrs. Taylor, her mom, was nearby. They were unpacking boxes in what looked like a loft apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Central Park in New York City.

  Mrs. Taylor walked over to the window. “Darling, how could anyone complain about living here? Look at this view! You have the park right outside your window. And the world’s best shopping is just minutes from our door.”

  “I miss Minnesota. That’s our home. This isn’t home. I can’t believe you made us move. I only had a few months left of school. My last few months of high school! I don’t even get to graduate with my friends.”

  “You have a wonderful private school here, dear. You’ll make friends quickly. The people at your new school are much more like you. Good breeding. Well-educated parents.”

  “I liked my friends in Minnesota. And what are you talking about? Sam was my best friend and her parents were well-educated. Maybe Colin’s parents weren’t, but who cares? What difference does it make?”

  “You’re getting older, Allie. Everything you do now affects your future. You can’t be friends with the wrong people. You need to think strategically. Think about what people can do for you. Who can have the biggest influence on your success.”

  “I’m not one of your investment portfolios, Mom. I’m your daughter. And I don’t choose my friends that way. I’m not you.”

  “Why must you be so difficult? I’m only trying to do what’s best for you.”

  “You don’t know what’s best for me! You don’t even care! You’re never even around. You and Dad only care about your jobs and making money.”

  “And that’s why we can afford nice things for you. You should be grateful for all we’ve given you.”

  “I never asked for those things, Mom!”

  Allie sat on the floor in the corner of the room, staring down at all the people walking by on the street. “I miss Sam and
Colin. I miss them so much.”

  “They’re your old life, Allie. This is your new life. Samantha and Colin ran off together like a couple of reckless teenagers. They ruined their lives. I don’t want you around people like that.”

  “They’ll never find me now. I have no way of getting in touch with them.”

  “It’s for the best. You need to move on. You’ll be in college soon. You’ll be so busy that you’ll forget all about your old life.”

  “But I don’t want to forget,” Allie mumbled.

  “Get up. Let’s go have some lunch. There’s a fabulous bistro over on 66th and Park. And then we’ll go shopping. I’ll buy you something special at Bergdorf’s. Hurry up. Get yourself cleaned up and we’ll go.”

  Allie sighed. She got up slowly, still looking out the window. “Sam, Colin, please come find me.”

  “Allie?” I reached out and grabbed someone’s hand. I opened my eyes to see it was Colin’s.

  “Sam, were you dreaming?”

  I looked around. I was still in the hospital bed, but the room was brighter. The lights were all on now and Erik and Jack were no longer there. Neither was Dave.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked Colin.

  “Dave went to get a cup of coffee. He’ll be right back.”

  I glanced at Erik’s bed. Colin noticed. “Jack and Erik are back in their room. Or actually, they’re probably having lunch.”

  “It’s lunchtime?”

  “You’ve been asleep for a while. Were you having a dream? You were calling for someone.”

  “Allie. I had a dream about her. She was in New York City with her mom. She lived there.” I sat up in bed. “I guess I didn’t tell you about Allie.”

  “I already know. Dave told me.”

  “She was never my friend, Colin. Her mom made her be friends with me all those years. It’s just another way GlobalLife has controlled my life.”

  “You can’t believe anything that woman said, Sam. Besides, you know Allie would never let her mom tell her who to be friends with. I mean, come on. When has she ever listened to her mother? She never even sees her mom.”

  “Her mom was pretty convincing when she said it. And it never made sense for Allie to be friends with me. We’re so different.”

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t be friends. Look at all my friends from football. Sports are about the only thing we have in common. But I still like hanging out with them.”

  “In my dream Allie was so sad. She wanted to go back to Minnesota. And she said how much she missed us. She wanted us to find her.”

  “Could your dream be one of those premonitions you have?”

  “I guess it could. When I was at GlobalLife her mom told me how she couldn’t wait to move away from Minnesota. She said they were only there because of me. So maybe she did move to New York.” Just then, I remembered the dream I’d had about Brittany. “But if it was a premonition, then that means—”

  Dave walked in, carrying his coffee. “Sam, you’re up. They took the IV off hours ago, so the drugs should be almost out of your system. You certainly look more alert.”

  “I feel wide awake. I think I’ll get up.”

  Dave came over to the bed. “No. You need a final okay from the doctor. He’ll be in soon.”

  I sat back, feeling anxious. “Uncle Dave, I was just telling Colin about these dreams I had while I was out.”

  “You probably had a lot of strange dreams with those drugs they pumped in you. It’s a side effect.”

  “Colin and I think they were premonitions.”

  “I guess that’s possible. With the gene fragment filled in, you might get more of those now.”

  “Then we need to do something. Because I had this dream about Brittany. She was calling for me. Begging for help. But I couldn’t find her. She was outside, but it was too foggy to see her.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a premonition,” Dave said. “Why would Brittany be wandering around outside? She’s locked up at GlobalLife. You know that, Sam.”

  “Yeah, but it seemed so real. I’m worried about her, Uncle Dave. We can’t keep waiting. We have to get her out of there. If Owens doesn’t do something fast, I’m just going to get her myself.”

  “No, you’re not. You’ll end up right back at GlobalLife and they’ll make sure you never get out. Just be patient. Owens has finalized a plan to get Brittany. Everything’s already set up. We just need to wait.”

  “When is this happening?”

  “Later this week. On Wednesday.”

  I knew I couldn’t get her out any faster, but I didn’t want Brittany at GlobalLife for another second. I tried not to imagine how they were treating her because I knew it wasn’t good.

  The doctor arrived and gave me the okay to leave. Dave walked me back to my room, then returned to the lab. Colin went to get me some lunch.

  “You’re finally out of there?” Erik was standing at the door to my room, looking healthy as ever. “It took you long enough. How do you feel?”

  “Good. How about you?”

  “Never felt better.” He came in and sat next to me on the bed. “I don’t hear that damn thing ticking in my head anymore.”

  “Why did you have to go and get the procedure done first, Erik? I told you to wait. We were supposed to get it done together. At the same time.”

  He shrugged. “I changed my mind. Besides, I helped you out. You almost died in there.” He said it as if it was no big deal.

  “That’s what I hear. Sounds like Dave did some of his code-writing magic. On you, too.”

  “Yeah. I think it made my dad a little jealous. He’s grateful to Dave. He just wishes he could have fixed me himself.”

  “So do you feel any different? Do you notice anything now that the gene fragment is complete?”

  “I feel stronger than before. And when I was in the kitchen earlier, I could hear people in that computer room down the hall. I had to focus, but still, it seems like my hearing is getting even better.”

  The door opened and Colin walked in with a tray of food. He saw Erik sitting there and glared at him. He set the tray down and started to leave.

  “Colin, wait,” I called after him. He left, shutting the door behind him. “I don’t know what’s going on with him, Erik. When I told him about the procedure, he acted like he didn’t care, but then he showed up. And he stayed with me the whole time. What does that mean?”

  “Maybe after all this, he sees what’s important. Maybe he doesn’t care what went on between you and me.”

  “I’m guessing it’s still front and center in his mind. He won’t forget that anytime soon.”

  “I’m sure he’s doing all he can to forget it.” Erik paused. “Are you trying to forget it?”

  “Forget what?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You know what. Everything that happened between us.”

  “No. Why would I want to forget?”

  “Because you’re trying to get back with Colin. Aren’t you?”

  “That doesn’t mean I’ll forget everything that happened between us.”

  “Good. Well, I’ll let you eat your lunch.” He leaned over to kiss me.

  I pushed him away. “Erik, what are you doing?”

  He smiled. “Old habit, I guess. Gotta work on that.”

  I knew it was a test to see if I was really serious about getting back with Colin.

  A few minutes after Erik left, Dave came by again. “Hey, just checking to see if you needed anything.”

  “No. I’m good. Have you seen Colin?”

  “Yes. Just passed him in the hall. He’s going to that room with the fitness equipment. He said he has some circuit training thing that he does.”

  “It’s probably his sports training workout. He likes to do that when he’s stressed.”

  “Whatever it is, it works. That boy’s in excellent shape.” Dave put his hands on his oversized waist. “I should probably be in there with him. Sit at a computer all day and you end up looking like
this.”

  I laughed at him. “You look fine, Uncle Dave. And I don’t think you could keep up with Colin’s workout. It’s not easy. I’ve tried it.”

  “I was talking with the doctor. He said you may still feel tired from the drugs. You should probably get some rest this afternoon.”

  “I’m not tired. I think I’ll go walk around a little. I need to get out of this room.”

  “Okay, but if you feel weak or sick or any kind of pain, you get right to the medical office.”

  As Dave opened the door to leave, we saw Vince standing there. Vince was one of Owens’ employees. He’d brought me there the night Erik and I escaped from GlobalLife.

  “Mr. Owens is arriving soon. He would like everyone to meet in the common area. You should head down there now. Jack and Erik are already waiting.”

  “Do you think he has news about Brittany?” I asked Dave once Vince was gone. “What if something bad happened to her?”

  “Let’s not assume anything, Sam. We’ll know soon enough.”

  Dave and I joined Jack and Erik in the common area. Colin wasn’t there, so I assumed Vince hadn’t invited him.

  Mr. Owens walked in. “Hello, everyone. Sam, Erik, I hear the procedure went well.”

  Dave and Jack looked at each other, both annoyed at Owens’ comment. The procedure had hardly gone well.

  “Well, then. Let me explain why I called you all here.” Owens sat down. “I have a confession to make.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Motives

  Jack glared at him. “I don’t like the sound of that, Preston.”

  “It’s nothing sinister, Jack. I just feel the need to explain some things. I haven’t shared the whole story about why I brought you all here.”

  Dave got angry. “What are you trying to say, Preston? That you lied to me back in Minnesota?”

  “No, no. Of course not. My goal all along was to get Samantha and Erik up here, where they could be safe and get their timers stopped. That’s exactly what I told you, Dave.”

  “And you also told me that you would have the genes in your possession before they arrived.”

  “Yes, well, that was my plan but I wasn’t able to get them in time. I can’t help that. But we got the genes. It all worked out in the end.”