Storm

Chapter Sixty-Six

This was far more complex than I'd originally thought.

I'd been silent the entire drive back with the body. I didn't want to think about it. Just the fact that I'd even touched it freaked me out.

Because this wasn't some manufactured object.

This used to belong to someone.

Unless...

Unless Noah had been right. Unless that had been a body factory. But how would that make sense? Why bother killing people and using their bodies if you could easily make your own?

It was too much to take in and I had more pressing issues to worry about.

For one, I was now terrified by what the lady had meant when she'd offered to fix my leg.

If these people were in the body business, what if she'd meant she'd literally give me a new body? I didn't want one. It made me sick just thinking about taking over another person's body. Of becoming somebody I wasn't.

Our van came to a stop outside the basement where I'd signed that contract with that woman. Did that contract even have any validity, especially if their group was illegal? Like, what could they even do if I had broken it? Go to the police?

Nobody asked for my help in moving the box. I was grateful, for once, that my leg didn't work. I couldn't stand to be near that thing. Not for another second. I followed after them down a set of stairs and to the familiar basement room. The woman was still at the desk, but a couple of other people wandered about, most with masks either covering their faces or hung around their neck. They obviously had a lot of hands on deck.

The woman waved me over and I walked up to her. She was only half paying attention. She scribbled something down on a notepad, before tapping a few things into her computer. I carefully sat down at the chair opposite her, not bothering to wait for her permission.

"All right, perfect. Easy job, huh?"

She was waiting for my response apparently. "Um, yeah. I guess so."

"Don't you worry about what you saw. And once you leave, you better not go yapping about this to anyone, you hear?" she snapped.

I immediately sat up straighter. "Yeah, of course. I would never. But..." Maybe I was just feeling a bit reckless, but I couldn't help my curiosity. "What exactly is this?"

She glanced sideways at me. I really wasn't expecting an answer, and was shocked when she deigned to give me one. "The government doesn't do it's best handling the body industry. Lots of opportunity it doesn't seize. Modifications. Improvements. Really useful, but not available. We do the extra work to help people out. It's also good pay." She grinned wide at that.

"Oh." I felt a bit conflicted about that. I mean, this was still a shady underground business. "Wait, why don't they want you selling bodies? Don't people do that here?" I blurted.

Dumb question.

She seemed to think so, too. "Do you live under a rock, honey? The law."

At my continued confusion, she explained further.

"Only approved businesses are allowed to sell bodies. But there are too many rules. Bleh! Nobody likes those. We prefer a free trade," she finished. She tapped the enter bar on her keyboard aggressively, then turned to me. "We also need an extra hand from time to time. That's where you came in."

"Right," I agreed. The more she talked, the more inclined I was to get out of here. Even if these people didn't have terribly sinister intentions, I didn't feel comfortable being associated with them. I was honestly ready to walk out on the deal altogether. I could get someone else to fix my leg.

Everything here just didn't sit well with me.

I stood up from the chair, crutches keeping me up. I smiled nervously at the lady, before taking a step towards the door. "Thank you again. I think I'll be going," I said, a little too quickly.

The woman smiled, but didn't seem too alarmed. "Oh, honey, don't forget the contract."

My face immediately went red. "Yeah, I'm fine without the help actually. I loved getting to work with you!" It came out sounding extremely fake. What was wrong with me?

"You signed the deal. It won't take very long at all," the woman argued. She stood, and a few of the nearby masked people started to take notice.

"Yeah, but I'm really comfortable as I am," I replied, urgently. The way she was looking at me only proved how much I needed to escape. These people weren't trying to help me. They never had been.

Underground illegal businesses usually were illegal because they weren't the good guys.

"I'm very sorry, but you signed the deal. And we are in need of someone with your hair," the woman said, and smiled pitifully. She clutched her hands together in front of her innocently.

Yup, this was exactly what I'd thought.

I looked towards the door. There were too many people around it, but maybe, if I were quick enough...

But I wouldn't be. Not with my crutches.

I had to try anyway. Before she could reach for me, I took off, speeding across the room as fast as I could. The crutches at least gave a bit of an extra umph in my step. My arms burned, and then...

I fell flat on my face.

Chuckles rang out into the basement's murky air. I turned over my shoulder and saw the woman approach. She knelt at my side, a syringe held in hand. I tried to move away, but my thigh wound hurt. It hurt too much. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't fight back.

"A deal's a deal," she said, sadly. Then, she injected me.

I passed out.