Sleepers Part 1

Dreamers Episode II

Chapter 2

          She had traveled through the night to reach her destination. The hand off had to be quick. They were running on borrowed time as it was. They could not be found together when the agency caught up. And they would catch up of that she had not doubt. All she had needed was a head start. She had finally reached the first of her stops in the wee hours of the morning. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as she pulled into a driveway of a quiet neighborhood. It was not ideal to separate the two of them, but it was the best chance she could give her.

          She was aware of what Genlife had been creating the children for. She couldn’t help wondering if the lives of those created with the genome would differ if they weren’t brought up in violence. Born killers derived from the very DNA of notorious murders. Not just those in recent years either. Every dangerous deviant that had ever left a genetic footprint for her employer to find was available to them. Yet the question remained would they be killers if given another choice? She hadn’t known the answer then. She still didn’t now but with her defiance an answer would be found. These creations could not help how they came to be or what genetic material had been used. It seemed outrageous to round them all up like cattle. Never to have any other path in life but the one that was laid out for them.

          Any true scientist knew that for the experiment to prove successful their needed to be a control group and one that was the test group. If the children at Genlife were the control group, then a test group must be created. So, create one she did. There would be hell to pay once her deception came to light. It was her hope that they would not find out about it util not even she could give the location away.

          Reaching up she pressed the button to open the garage door. The inside was bare devoid of any proof that someone lived there. Pulling in she closed the door behind her before exiting the vehicle. The less eyes that witnessed the exchange the better.

          The door to the house opened as she closed the car door. Her partner in this approached soundlessly but she could see his reflection in the glass.

          “We need to hurry. The less time I’m here the better.” Opening the back door of the car a golden halo of curly hair was illuminated.

          “Is she sedated?”

          “Yes. She should be out at least another couple of hours yet.”

          “The transport should be here within the next half hour. Was it really necessary to knock her out for so long?” The question caused her to look up into the stormy gaze of the man behind her. Her shoulders sank in resignation losing the hope that such weakness could have remained hidden from him.

          “It was the only way to leave her without a prolonged goodbye.”

          “She got attached, did she?” A devilish smirk played across his lips as his eyes moved to look at the tiny bundle within. Sighing she dropped her gaze to the ground in slight shame.

          “It wasn’t her tears I was avoiding but my own.” The confession had his attention snapping back to her in shock. Ignoring his presence, she kneeled beside the open door reaching inside to caress the silky ringlets. His large hand touched her shoulder in compassion. In all her careful planning she had not counted on her own attachment to the child. Leaving her was proving harder than she had bargained for. She knew it was inevitable if she was to remain safe.

          Through the entire planning and execution, she had forgotten the bonds of motherhood. She had spent an entire year to create the perfect genome sequence. Had been thrilled to have the case fall into her hands shortly after. She had even gone so far as to change her wardrobe to hide her inevitable betrayal. She could not use a surrogate as it would leave a trail to the girl’s existence. She had schemed, plotted, executed, and given birth alone. Every step carefully thought out to get them to this very moment. She hadn’t factored in what would happen to her in the process of carrying the fetus. Biologically yes, but emotionally she had been unprepared. The result was a child that had become much more than 426 to her. She had become Cora, her daughter.

          “She’ll be safe with us. You know that.”

          “I know. It’s just, this is probably the last time I’ll ever see her again.” Sniffling she leaned in to place the barest of kisses upon the golden head. Standing back up she moved to the side allowing him access to the child. She watched as he gently lifted her out and cradled her into his chest. Once he was out of the way she closed the door and moved back to the driver’s seat.

          “Are you sure about this? Leaving her I mean.” Pausing she looked back to the two of them with longing but knew she was doing the right thing.

          “They’ll be coming after me soon. Make sure you’re both on the transport when it shows up. No one can be found here.” At his nod of understanding she closed her door starting the car back up. She waited until he had retreated into the house closing the door behind him before she opened the garage door again. Pulling out onto the road she took one last look at the house before driving away. She had her route mapped out. She had wasted enough time already just depositing her secret. She would need to move quickly from here on out. The further away they were from each other the better.

          Driving down the freeway the coast came into view. Pulling over on the side of the road she took hold of the garage opener before exiting the car. Walking over to the guardrail she took a deep breath. Reaching back, she threw the device over the edge watching as it was swallowed by the waves below. She didn’t linger once it was out of sight rushing back to her vehicle. Pulling back onto the road she felt a small sense of relief. There was still another stop to make before she could be found