Candles

55 | I L L U S O R Y

I WAITED FOR HER TO tell me this was all some kind of sick, twisted joke, and that Sydney was in fact fine and not about to become some super weapon for this pathetic country. What I did not expect was for Bria to reach inside of her bra and pull out a bottle of pills, practically throwing them at me. I caught the orange bottle with both hands and studied it closely. There was not a label but the bottle was transparent. Inside were two white pills. Why did they need a bottle so big when they were so small?

"What are these for, exactly?"

She took this as an opportunity to sit down in the other chair that was meant for Amira and she looked down at the orange bottle in my hand. There was a small smile on her face and when she met my gaze, I swear there was a bit of hope in her eyes.

"I believe these are what you've been looking for since you returned to us," she whispered. "Have you had doubts about this place since you've opened your eyes? Have you told yourself something about this place wasn't right? No matter what Dr. Stanley told you?" I shifted uncomfortably in my seat because she was exactly right. My reaction was my response and she nodded her head. "Before the project began for you and Gwen, we made a deal. Once you returned, I would give you the pills and we would find a way to get you out of this wretched place."

A mirthless laugh escaped me, "And you expect me to believe that? After everything I've been through, how do you expect me to believe what just came out of your mouth? It's all madness!"

"Keep your voice down," she snapped. "Because out of all the women who volunteered to watch your daughter, I fought for her. I made it my mission to take care of your young one while you were gone. She became my responsibility and I have not failed you. Look at her. Does she look like I failed her?"

I saw her standing back by the door, running her fingers along the fabric of her dress and smiling to herself. Her hair was now tucked behind her tiny ears and her cheeks were a rosy shade of red. She looked just fine to me...perfect. I forced myself to look away from my daughter and get back to the conversation.

"What are the pills for, Bria?"

"They're supposed to help you with your memory loss," she explained. "I told you all of this before but for obvious reasons, I'll tell you again. When you and your wife first came here for the experiment, multiple tests had to be run to make sure the two of you were in perfect health. I watched from the sidelines, wondering if the two of you were really going to go through will all this. Everyone else before you died and that made me wonder why you two were so eager to volunteer yourselves. And then your wife told me."

"Told you what?" I leaned forward. "What did she tell you?"

"You weren't doing this for yourselves or to help see if the operation actually worked. You were doing this because that meant Amira would have a safe home. She told me it was hard to take care of her...hard to take care of even yourselves. Even if the two of you died during the experiment, Amira would have stayed here with me under strong protection from the outside world. That was why you volunteered yourselves."

"And these pills?"

"You and your wife are good people, Lucas. Now that Dr. Stanley knows the experiment is a success, he's going to keep going at it. Gwen is the victim of the next part. Lucas, you could be next. Neither one of you deserves this. Sure, you volunteered, but you never truly knew what you were getting yourselves into until it was too late. I'm willing to help get you out of here."

I frowned, "You mean Amira and I."

"Lucas—"

"So, we're not even going to try to help Sydney? We're just going to leave her behind?"