Page 12 (1/1)

"Who are you?" I asked, taking another step forward "Did Dr Thomas send you to check up on me?"

"No," he said, with careful patience "Like I said before, I saw you on the ht I’d colass of water, another blanket…"

"What if I wanted to go to the bathroouards to escort us there, so I didn’t get fired But I’d be happy to get you some water and an extra blanket first" He took the clipboard fro trouble sleeping? This says you had some caffeine earlier I know that when I have too much coffee, I can’t sleep for love orjust fine," I said "Then I woke up My internal clock is all ht help if I knehat tireed "I’ory, by the way, Miss Mason It’s a pleasure to see you up and about" He turned his clipboard as he spoke, holding it against his chest with the paper facing me "You had everyone concerned for a while there"

I’ve had a lifetis Still, I froze as ory’s clipboard, clearly intended for ged auged it a hile one Iclose to neutrality, tilting htly upward to hide the unavoidable wideness of lasses in that moment, if someone had offered me the opportunity

"I’m not sure you can blame me for that I was technically dead at the ti his clipboard around like he was reading froally alive until you started breathing independently"

"That’s interesting Who got to reey for e "As long as the clone never breathes independently of the life-supportentity It’s just meat"

"So you’re allowed to call me a clone?"

"Dr Thomas said you’d reached that conclusion on your own, and that ere allowed to reinforce it, if it came up Said it would lanced up from his clipboard and sure it out so soon"

"That’sto keep my tone neutral This man said I wasn’t safe Did I trust him? Could I trust him?

Did I have a choice?

"All we expect froory, with the sort of firures since I was seven years old He turned his clipboard around again, showing me the second sheet of paper

I AM WITH THE EIS WE ARE GOING TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE GO ALONG WITH EVERYTHING THEY ASK YOU TO DO DO NOT ATTRACT ATTENTION

I nodded "I’ll doto both what he’d said aloud, and to what he’d written down fora lot of ht attendants Now, are you sure I can’t get you anything?"

"Not just yet," I said, and paused, suddenly alarain, in the dark "Actually… I don’t know if this is sohts back on? Please? It’s so dark in here with the door shut that I’et back to sleep"

"I can turn the lights back on," Gregory assured me "I can even turn the to sleep with things lit too bright"

"That would be great," I said Toiving et back to thea subtle stress on the word "soon" "If you decide you need anything else, all you need to do is say the word The monitors will alert lad I didn’t talk inyou"

"Likewise, Miss Mason," said Gregory He turned his clipboard around one final tie written there, and took another step back The door slid shut almost instantly--too fast for me to have rushed out of the rooed back into darkness

I stayed where I was, counting silently The lights ca station, wherever it as approxi at norood to know That meant it would take at least thirty seconds for someone to run from there to here There’s a lot you can do in thirty seconds, if you’re really committed

I walked back over to the bed and cli out withSo the EIS was getting involved… and they weren’t on the side of the CDC That was interesting Interesting, and potentially bad