Free Aramus by Eve Langlais

there were things growing from the body. Protrusions from the spine for the most part, skull too at times. Elongated teeth. Grayish skin tones. Longer fingers, but only on some of them.”
    Aramus frowned. “And these weren’t birth defects?”
    “No. At least I don’t think so. Neither were they grafts.”
    “Did your employers say what caused them?”
    “I tried asking once.” Her gaze dropped to her lap where her fingers knotted with each other.
    Even he recognized fear when he saw it. “And?”
    “I woke up three days later with a broken jaw, bruised ribs , and a healthy respect for silence.”
    A sudden rage filled him. Who would dare beat this tiny , defenseless female for daring to ask a reasonable question? The same people who had no problem taking a simple soldier involuntarily drafted and turning him into a fighting machine.
    “In your opinion , what were they trying to do?”
    “Other than play God?”
    “There is no god.” He’d studied the Bible, done his research, and arrived at this conclusion because there just wasn’t any concrete proof. How so many could believe in an entity no one had ever seen or touched, he didn’t understand.
    Again, she surprised him. “On that we agree. But they certainly wanted to set themselves up as creators. However, you asked what I thought they’d been trying to do. Given what I saw during the autopsies, I’d say they were trying to inject humans with foreign DNA.”
    “ Foreign as in…”
    “This is going to sound crazy, but I think they were using some kind of alien DNA.”
    Why did it seem like everywhere he turned, someone was trying to cram evidence of ET’s down his throat? “Do you have any proof?”
    “No.”
    ‘”Then I don’t understand how you can jump to that conclusion.”
    She fluttered her hands and blew out a breath. “Call it instinct. Something about the organs of the affected bodies just doesn’t seem right. Certain characteristics kept repeating and are unlike anything I’ve ever run across. If you did a DNA comparison, you’d probably know for sure.”
    Aramus made a mental note to re -question Percy. Given he was in charge of collecting and testing samples, he should know and had either misled or withheld that information from Aramus. Not for long. I have ways of making him talk.
    “How did you end up working for the company?” Aramus had no logical reason to ask, other than a curiosity to know what would lead a woman such as herself to agree to work for such a vile group.
    “They came to me and lied. Said they had a great opportunity to study medical breakthroughs. The money and benefits they quoted were a dream come true. I jumped on the chance.”
    “They bought you.”
    “I didn’t know when I signed on what they were up to, or I would have never agreed.”
    “So you claim.”
    She puffed up with indignation. “Believe me or not. It’s the truth. What about you? What were your reasons for volunteering for the cyborg project?”
    “Volunteer?” At that he laughed. “None of us ever volunteered. One day we went to sleep as normal men and women, and the next we woke as machines.”
    “You mean they did this to you without permission?”
    “Are you really so naïve to think anyone would volunteer for this?”
    “But the media says— ”
    “A lot of things. Haven’t you learned by now most of them aren’t true?” His smile mocked her.
    Instead of fighting back with more words, her shoulders slumped. “I’m realizing more and more just how dumb I was.”
    He ordered his tongue to not say the words, you’re not dumb, just too trusting. He didn’t owe this female reassurance. She was just like all the other mindless humans on earth, believing what the media, military, and corporations spoon-fed them.
    “That’s all for now. A unit will return you to your quarters until we have need of you again.” Say later tonight in my room wearing nothing. Aramus shoved the unworthy thought away.
    “You mean my cell?