Computerized

Chapter Twelve: Not Just the Two Of You

It was mind boggling.

Just a week ago my life was normal. I was simply a teenage girl going to school, with a part time job and no romantic life what so ever. I had two siblings I loved and we were closer than anything. Nothing could break us apart, or at least that's what I thought.

Everything has changed. I was traveling with a boy I'd just met along with my sister. We were trying to find a doctor that preformed surgeries on Ty and I years ago because it was the only way to save Ty's life. My brother fell off the face of the Earth after my abusive adoptive father had threatened to file a restraining order. And now, we were all the away across the country in Montana. Oh, and in case your wondering, I still have no romantic life what so ever.

I sat in the back seat of the car trying to process all this when my phone chirped. I dug it out from my purse and glanced at the screen. 2 unread messages.

Jack:
Hey honey. Just checking in. How's your road trip?

I laughed at the thought of him actually caring about how I was, which earned a strange glance from Ty. I just ignored him and looked back down at my screen. I quickly sent Jack a simple message saying we were fine and having fun. The other message was from an unknown number.

Unknown Number:
Maybe he abandoned you, maybe he had no choice.

What the-? What did he/she mean? How did they know my number? I sucked in a sharp breath of air a little to loudly. Hannah turned to look at me and Ty glanced at me in the mirror.

What's wrong? Ty mentally asked me at the same time Hannah verbally did.

I hesitated before flipping the screen around to show Hannah. She read it and her eyes widened the farther she got into the message. Ty tried to read it but I mentally told him to watch the road before he killed us all. Hannah gasped and leaned over, digging her own phone out of her bag.

"Who sent that?" Hannah asked me. "I have the same message but it's from an unknown number."

"I don't know," I answered honestly, my voice low. I realized that not only did the strange person who sent the message have my number but also Hannah's. Who knows what else they could know about me and Hannah, and who was the he the message spoke of? Could it be Matthew? It just reminded me of the reality that I brought them into this and put them in danger.

"What does it say?" Ty demanded, getting frustrated that he was being left out. I read the message to Ty.

"So whoever this is wants you to know that they know about our situation," he suggested.

"I guess, but they never said anything about our chips and if they were the ones sending us messages they wouldn't have sent it to a phone. They would have just mentally sent it." Ty nodded in agreement with me.

I saved the number into my contacts and shoved the iPhone back into my white purse. We'd arrived at a huge field that seemed to go on for miles and miles. It was a part of the property that had recently been bought. I didn't see any buildings in sight but a narrow dirt road wound through the field and slowly disappeared behind a row of pine trees.

Ty pulled the car onto the road and we started winding around the field of three foot high grass. I looked out the back window at the cloud of dust we were stirring up. We disappeared behind some tall trees and came out into a clearing. A wide open field full of wild flowers spread as far as I could see. My eyes widened as I took in the sight. I heard Hannah slightly gasp as we drove through the field, watching the colorful flowers blur by.

After fifteen minutes on the dirt road we came up to a road that branched off. It was even more narrow than the first one if that was possible. Several bright red 'No Trespassing' signs had been nailed to a tree but Ty ignored them. We soon came to an old rickety wooden cabin, tucked away into the forest. A wide river ran beside it, but it looked deserted. The car lurched to a stop and the three of us sat in silence staring at the tiny cabin.

"This is it?" Hannah said, but it sounded more like a question.

"I guess so," Ty mumbled. He unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out of the car. Hannah and I followed, stretching our limbs. I arched my back and it cracked. I sighed in relief but Ty shot us a glare.

Stop being so slow. Come on! He mentally demanded.

Well, someone's grumpy.

I heard that! Ty shot me another irritated glare.

I know. I smirked at him, starting up the beaten down path that lead to a wooden porch which looked suspiciously dangerous. Ty hopped up on the stairs, paying no attention to the rotten boards. He whacked his knuckles against the door three times while Hannah and I huddled behind him. I was just worried an old man with a shotgun would open fire on us because we trespassed.

Instead we heard shuffling and a loud shout followed by some thumping and three locks before the door swung open.

"What's the password?" A teenage guy asked, a smirk on his face. He ran a hand through his red hair and looked at the three of us up and down through bright green eyes.

Ty narrowed his eyes. "Let me in!"

"Wrong!" The guy declared before trying to close the door on us. Ty clenched his jaw and stuck his foot in the way of the door kicking it open.

"Listen here buddy, we're looking for Dr. Belford. Do you know him?" Ty demanded.

The guys face paled as his eyes flickered between the three of us. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ty and I need to see Dr. Belford."

"Ty? Ty Stanton? Are you Rebecca?" He pointed to me and I nodded. "Oh! I'm sorry! Come in!" The guy exclaimed, opening the door wide and ushering us in. I shot Hannah a confused look which she returned. We followed the guy in. The inside of the cabin didn't look any better than the outside.

The old floor boards creaked underneath my feet, slightly bending under my weight. One light hung from the ceiling barely lighting up the cabin. It was nothing special. A laptop sat on a desk in the back left corner of the room. A fridge, sink, and counter were tucked away in the back right corner. Immediately to the left was a closed off room, which I assumed was a bedroom or bathroom. Finally, a brown couch was pushed up against one of the walls, just underneath a large window at the back of the cabin. The fabric was faded and worn but in good enough condition to be comfortable.

"How do you know our names?" Ty asked the guy coldly. I could tell Ty was angrier than a hornet and just as confused as I was.

"I-I help Dr. Belford working. He's my uncle," the guy replied. He looked intimidated by Ty. The guy was almost the same height as Ty but he was skinnier and less muscular. "My name is Anton Blue."

"So it was Dr. Belford sending us those messages right?" I asked him.

Anton nodded. "Yes, it was. Well, sort of. That's what he had me for."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Anton took a deep breath. "You aren't the only two with chips. I have one too."

"What?" Ty blurted out, shock evident on his face. Anton flinched at Ty's deep loud voice and intense stair but straightened up quickly.

"Dr. Belford is my uncle. I was the first child he implanted a chip in, and you two were the second and third," Anton explained.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Ty questioned.

I'm telling you the truth. Why would I lie about this. I heard Anton's voice in my head. I jumped in surprise. I had gotten use to Ty randomly popping in my head but I never considered anyone else could do it too. In fact, I'd never even considered anyone else being like me before I met Ty. But, it turns out, I'm not the only one with a chip.

Ty let out a long sigh, like he had been holding his breath for ages. He ran a hand through his disheveled black hair and then dropped it to his side, his fist clenched.

"Do you know what's happening to me?" He asked Anton.

Anton looked up guiltily. "No, I don't, but my uncle does."

Ty nodded. "Where is he?"

A grin spread across Anton's face, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Now that I can help you with! Do you by chance know how to kayak, zip line, and rock climb?"