Origin (Lux #4)(6)

“Of course you don’t.” He placed the chest piece under my shirt, like he had done before. “No one in this room, or even in this building, expects that from you, but fighting us, before you even know what we’re about, is only going to hurt you in the end. Now breathe in deeply.”

I breathed in, but the air got stuck. The line of white cabinets across the room blurred. I would not cry. I would not cry.

The doctor went through the motions, checking my breathing and blood pressure before he spoke again. “Katy—may I call you Katy?”

A short, hoarse laugh escaped me. So polite. “Sure.”

He smiled as he placed the pressure cuff on the table and then stepped back, folding his arms. “I need to do a full exam, Katy. I promise it will not hurt. It will be like any other physical exam you’ve had before.”

Fear balled in my core. I folded my arms around my waist, shivering. “I don’t want that.”

“We can postpone it for a little bit, but it must be done.” Turning, he walked over to one of the cabinets and retrieved a dark brown blanket. Returning to the table, he draped it over my bent shoulders. “Once you regain your strength, we’re going to move you to your quarters. There you will be able to wash up and get into fresh, clean clothes. There’s also a TV if you want to watch, or you can rest. It’s pretty late, and you have a big day tomorrow.”

I held the blanket close, shaking. He made it sound like I was at a hotel. “Big day tomorrow?”

He nodded. “There is a lot we need to show you. Hopefully, then you’ll understand what Daedalus is truly about.”

I fought the urge to laugh again. “I know what you guys are about. I know what—”

“You know only what you’ve been told,” the doctor interrupted. “And what you do know is only half true.” He cocked his head to the side. “I know you’re thinking of Dawson and Bethany. You don’t know the whole story behind them.”

My eyes narrowed, and the answering rush of anger warmed my insides. How dare he put what Daedalus did to Bethany and Dawson back on them? “I know enough.”

Dr. Roth glanced at Green Beret by the controls, and then he nodded. Green Beret quietly exited the room, leaving the doctor and Khaki Beret behind. “Katy—”

“I know you basically tortured them,” I cut in, growing more furious by the second. “I know you brought people in here and forced Dawson to heal them, and when that didn’t work, those humans died. I know you kept them away from each other and used Beth to get Dawson to do what you wanted. You’re worse than evil.”

“You don’t know the whole story,” he repeated evenly, completely unfazed by my accusations. He looked at Khaki Beret. “Archer, you were here when Bethany and Dawson were brought in?”

I turned to Archer, and he nodded. “When the subjects were brought in, both were understandably difficult to deal with, but after the female had gone through the mutation, she was even more violent. They were allowed to stay together until it became obvious there was a safety issue. That was why they were separated and eventually moved to different locations.”

I shook my head as I pulled the blanket closer. I wanted to yell at them at the top of my lungs. “I’m not stupid.”

“I don’t think you are,” the doctor answered. “Hybrids are notoriously unbalanced, even the ones who have mutated successfully. Beth was and is unstable.”

Knots formed in my belly. I could easily remember how crazy Beth had been at Vaughn’s house. She had seemed fine when we found her at Mount Weather, but she hadn’t always been that way. Were Dawson and everyone in danger? Could I even believe anything these people were telling me?

“That’s why I need to do a full exam, Katy.”

I looked at the doctor. “Are you saying I’m unstable?”

He didn’t respond immediately, and it felt like the table had dropped out from underneath me.

“There is a chance,” he said. “Even with successful mutations, there is an instability issue that arises when the hybrid uses the Source.”

Clenching the blanket until the feeling came back in my knuckles, I willed my heart to slow down. It wasn’t working. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe anything you’re saying. Dawson was—”

“Dawson was a sad case,” he said, cutting me off. “And you will come to understand that. What happened with Dawson was unintentional. He would’ve been released eventually, once we were sure he could assimilate again. And Beth—”

“Just stop,” I snarled, and my own voice surprised me. “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”

“You have no idea, Miss Swartz, how dangerous the Luxen are and the threat those who have been mutated by them pose.”

“The Luxen aren’t dangerous! And the hybrids wouldn’t be, either, if you left us alone. We haven’t done anything to you. We wouldn’t have. We weren’t doing anything until you—”

“Do you know why the Luxen came to Earth?” he asked.

“Yes.” My knuckles ached. “The Arum destroyed their planet.”

“Do you know why their planet was destroyed? Or the origins of the Arum?”

“They were at war. The Arum were trying to take their abilities and kill them.” I was totally up to date on my Alien 101. The Arum were the opposite of the Luxen, more shadow than light, and they fed off the Luxen. “And you’re working with those monsters.”