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Neither did I I started to turn toward Dr Banks

Chave was faster

Her hands caughtinto her e, and the Head of the Security Depart orders I couldn’t turn to see whether they were being followed Chave’s grip onat her

It was like looking at a dead thing The comparison had occurred to me before, but I hadn’t realized how apt it was There was no e but the cloudy blankness of a body that had been abandoned She was le the life out of my body, but Chave--the bitchy, efficient, focused woman who had been a fixture of er living there

I struggled for air,ain , she could be knocked down Nothing is immovable, and I only needed a moment if I wanted to run I should have ht deliriously I think I’ to die here I don’t want to die here I don’t want to die in the Syet my body Dr Banks would seize it for research purposes, and I had no doubt that the contracts I’d signed gave hiht to do exactly that Maybe this was his plan all along Maybe Chave was just carrying out another one of her orders

No That wasn’t possible While I had no trouble believing that Chave would kill me if she was told to, no one could fake the kind of e I pulled helplessly at her hands, trying to pry the in front of my eyes when so footsteps ht ofme out of Chave’s hands Only nearly, but Sher one shoulder into her midsection in a move that would have done an offensive line tackle yanked her away fro for air Two of the SymboGen security officers were there almost instantly They helped me to my feet and herded h to protest

Sher He shoved Chave away fro the still slack-jao only when the security officer behind hiht there, son" Sherlanced towardto be sure that I was still safe I flashed him a weak smile and a quick thu relieved

Chave’sto say so in around her, their weapons now raised and trained firh I couldn’t be sure it was a warning, not just a sound that she had remembered how to make

"Take her down," said Dr Banks implacably

"Wait--what?" I took a step forward, and was prouards They held me there as the other officerswith her?"

No one answered me The first of the officers reached Chave Gun still raised, he pulled a baton fro a red button on its side at the sa electricity into her body Another officer stepped up behind her, doing the saan convulsing

"Stop it! You’re killing her, stop it!" I shouted

"Sally, you don’t understand," said Dr Banks He et to us "I’lare at hi on?" I de since, but so Two ainst her side Electricity crackled

Chave began to scream

It wasn’t a human scream; it was more like the sound a wounded animal makes when it hurts beyond its capacity to follow instinct’s instructions and keep silent, keep still We had a dog left on the front step of the shelter once His back section had been crushed by a truck, and he wasnow, too raw to be considered a howl, but not the sort of sound you ever hear fro creature

Dr Banks put his hands on ht try to break away and run toward Chave I didn’t try to shrug hi in that uards closing in around her, their stun batons already in their hands This wasn’t real This couldn’t be happening This was so toand turned towardwith the electricity that was arcing through it She shouldn’t have been standing She didn’t fall "Sah-lee," she said, spitting out the two syllables of htened his hands on ain