SMOKE (The Aurum Trilogy Book 2)

Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

Lia

I couldn't help but think of him. It has been a while since I'd last seen Lawrence-my only love, my only one. 

I shook off the feeling of his absence and the pain it left me for missing him. My fingertips grazed the railing of my balcony, the cold hard metal sending a light frost on my skin. I shut my eyes and inhaled the fresh air. In Argentum, pollution was very much minimal. In fact, you'd think there was no pollution at all. 

I imagined Lawrence being here. I could feel his arms around my waist, pulling me closer as his warmth enveloped me all throughout. I could feel his breath against my neck and I could see his beautiful eyes looking right into mine, making me melt with his rigorous stares. 

All of a sudden, the sound of a loud warning signal filled my ears. I jumped in shock, my grip on the railing growing tense. Panic coursed through me, making me bolt upright and wonder what happened that triggered the alarm. I mentally checked today's schedule. There was no evacuation drill or anything of the sort so what was happening outside is really a huge mess. I made my way outside the room, swiping my access card only to find red lights blaring in the laboratory's  ivory hallways. Sirens wailed loudly in my ears and the sound of heavy footsteps resounde on the ground. I looked to the left and right only to find soldiers and scientists, all going mad over what triggered the alarm. I was clueless in the middle of all the ruckus. 

A girl with blazing red hair whose color acted as a camouflage in the current situation, sped past me. I recognized her as one of the geneticists in Dr. Lincoln's department but I didn't know her name. Living in the lab since I was a child, I've had my share of seeing people come and go. I've known a lot of them, mostly by face and not by name. 

"Excuse me!" I called out to her. She turned, placing her hands in the pockets of the lab coat. "What's going on?" She looked away after rolling her eyes at me and went on with the rush. 

A troop of soldiers were running towards my way. I flattened myself against the wall and felt fear creep inside of me at the thought of those heavy-loaded guns and modernized deadly weapons. My gaze shifted towards the direction they were going which was south of the hall. 

I shook my head and gave out an annoyed look. I didn't know what was going on and what to do. I stomped a foot on the linoleum floor and mouthed a curse. I spotted Dr. Carter, his brown hair wild and dishevelled, his green eyes, wide and in shock. He wasn't wearing any glasses which made him look young and a button was undone on his shirt, exposing a small portion of the hollow of his neck. He reminded me so much of Lauren and how if she weren't an experiment, I'd suspect them as father and daughter. They looked suitable for each other as if fate pulled them closer because of one donated gene. 

"Dr. Carter!" I shot a hand out as a signal for him. My voice drowned in the noise of the sirens so I walked nearer to him, making each stride faster. Dr. Carter was walking away from me and I repeatedly called his name to get his attention. "Dr. Carter!" 

He turned around, his emerald eyes looking into my brown ones. A crease was visible on his forehead and the dark circles under his eyes were visible amidst the blaring light. "Where's Lauren?" 

"I haven't seen her." I answered. "Why? Has she set the alarm? Has something happened?"

"She doesn't need to witness this." Dr. Carter's voice shifted from being worrisome to uptight. 

"Why not?" I asked him again. 

"She can't see this." He shook his head, strands of his brown hair falling above his eyes. "Please, Lia." He sounded so desperate and so tortured. "She has a week before she leaves Aurum and not a word to her."

"Yes, doctor." I docilely responded, sighing. "I'll make sure she's locked up in her quarters or busy with her training." 

"He's escaped." 

It took me a moment before the words finally sunk into my mind. I blinked twice, making sure that what Dr. Carter was saying is true. "What do you mean?" 

He licked his lips and looked up. His hands were on his waist and his expression was completely serious. But it was hard to believe. "He's on his way out the building. Lauren can't know." 

"I'll see to it." I nodded sternly, my movements very much limited. A guy in a white coat pushed me aside, almost knocking me into Dr. Carter. 

"Please, Lia," He begged, his voice quivering and scared. "You hold all of Argentum's plans now." 

I nodded once more. A part of me didn't want to comply with Argentum anymore, but I have to. I need to. I need to save it. But at what cost?  "I understand." 

He put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed it lightly. "Thank you." And he walked away briskly, leaving me standing on a thin line between truth and mendacity.