Free The Arrival by CM Doporto Page B

shocked and worried at the same time. I had to hear Gaby’s rationalization
for putting us at risk. At least when it came to Gaby’s actions, I trusted her
more than anyone else.
     “Relax, both of you. We can trust Dr.
Ridus. He’s not like Dimas or the other Eslites. He thinks what they’re doing
to us is wrong. Very wrong. He’s totally against Dimas. I guess that’s why he
started confiding in me a few months ago about the genetic modification and
testing.”
    I narrowed my stare. Although I wanted
to believe her, I still had my doubts, only because I didn’t trust the Eslites.
“Are you sure he’s on our side?”
    “Yes, of course.”  She nodded her head
and smiled. “Considering what’s going on in the Med Center and the lab area, I
know he’s telling me the truth. He tells me things he shouldn’t, and he really
wants to see this end.”
    “Hmm, I wonder why he’s confiding in
you.” Was it too good to be true? Why would an Eslite be willing to help a
human?
    “In fact, he’s working on something
right now that you and Kate can take to block the nanocytes from being tracked.
That will allow you to go to Columbia or wherever you need to go without the
Eslites knowing.”
    “What?”  Kate’s eyes bulged. “I…I don’t
know. I mean, I can’t do this. I’m not smart enough to know what to do. What if
we get caught? I don’t want to put Miranda in jeopardy if I do something wrong.
I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her because of me.”
     I wrapped my arms around my legs and
hugged them. A cloud of doubt rolled in, filling my mind to the fullest. Kate
was right. Our idea was not only crazy but risky, too. Convincing two people
probably wouldn’t make a difference, anyway. My dad only had a local influence
and although Kate’s uncle probably had more extensive connections, he didn’t
know me. I had no idea if he would believe Kate, either.  Aside from that, Kate
didn’t seem to want to go through with it, and I felt exactly the same way she
did. If anything happened to her, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
    “Kate, you can’t back down now. You can
do this. Right, Miranda?” Gaby glanced at me, her smile weakening as my doubts
registered.  “I mean, Miranda can’t do everything by herself.”
    “I don’t know, Gaby. I mean, I
appreciate all that you’ve done, but Kate has a point. It’s highly unlikely my
dad will do anything about it, and Kate’s uncle is in another city. I don’t
want to put anyone’s life in danger, especially Kate’s.
    “No. No. You can’t back down now.” Gaby placed
her hands on Kate’s shoulders. “You can do this. You just need to find some cojones and man up. You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. Having blonde
hair doesn’t mean you have to act blonde.” She released Kate and then turned to
me. “Miranda, you already have cojones, so I think you need to pull them
back out and tell yourself you can do this and forget about Bryce right now.”
    Mouth agape and eyes wide open, Kate and
I stared at Gaby. Before we could respond, she resumed her rampage.
    “I’m putting my life at risk, too, you
know, and so is Dr. Ridus. He’s working damn hard to find a way to make this
possible. If you don’t at least try and take a stance, then we will never
know.” She paused for a moment and inhaled a deep breath, relaxing her tone.
“If you try and fail, then it’s okay because at least when you come back, you
know you did what you could. What you haven’t realized is that this goes beyond
us. You’re fighting for all six hundred girls on this floor. You’re fighting
for the thousands that come through this facility, testing day and night.
You’re fighting for the six thousand souls that are here, right now, that have
been ripped away from their families and have no idea when or if they will
return home. And if anything, you’re fighting for the survival of the human
race, for crying out