Free H.A.L.F.: The Makers by Natalie Wright

stomach queasy.
    “Listen,” she thought to him. “Focus.”
    Tex tried to do as she said. It was difficult at first. Their thoughts were incoherent to him. Numbers and equations mixed with phrases or words. Directions given in number sequences. A pattern. Language.
    “They are speaking with the machines,” he said.
    The Regina had been several feet away from him, but in an instant she sidled up next to him, her lithe body next to his, her purple lips so near his ear. “More than speaking. Complete interface.” Even when speaking directly to his mind, her voice was a low, intoxicating hum. “You will achieve this, 9. You will know what it is like to be one with the machines. To know all that they know. Imagine it. All the knowledge of countless generations available to you instantaneously. You have only to ask a question and the answer will be known.”
    Tex had so many questions he wanted answers to. Where only minutes before his queries were like ethereal phantoms in his mind, they now flooded forth. “Where are we? How long have I been here? Why do –”
    “Come. I will show you more. All will be known. In time.”

11
JACK
    Jack stood in the doorway to Anna’s kitchen. Sewell’s price for getting Jack back home was to help her. But Anna Sturgis didn’t look like the kind of woman that needed Jack’s help. She held herself with the same air of confidence and authority that her aunt Sturgis had.
    Jack hadn’t met many girls at school that projected so much confidence. Except Erika. And though they were nothing alike, Anna and Erika had swagger in common.
    But she was a Sturgis. No matter how alluring she was, Jack didn’t trust her. He wanted to help her out about as much as he wanted to fight a honey badger. She’d asked him to tell her what he knew, but he stayed silent.
    “You’re the quiet type? Or maybe you think you need to keep whatever secrets you think you have?” Anna said. “You can trust me.”
    “Trust a Sturgis? Not on your life.”
    “Good point.” Anna opened a cupboard. “Coffee?”
    Did he want coffee? Hell yes, he wanted it. And some real food. But he felt like a traitor sitting in Commander Sturgis’ niece’s house, sipping coffee and chitchatting while Erika and Ian were God knew where and possibly in danger.
    Anna poured water into the coffee pot. “You do drink coffee, don’t you?”
    He wanted to say something witty but couldn’t come up with anything, so he nodded.
    Anna poured coffee into a mug that said ‘I Heart NY’ on the side. She handed it to Jack and poured herself a cup. She reached into the overhead cupboard and her shirt snaked up, revealing several inches of very toned abs. Jack forced his eyes away from her flesh though he wanted to see more.
    It was hard not to feel comfortable in Anna’s house. The buttery yellow walls and orangey-red Saltillo tiles created a warm cottage feel. Fresh flowers in spring colors spilled from a crystal vase on the table. Anna’s house was exactly the opposite of how A.H.D.N.A. looked and felt.
    Anna slapped a package of Hit cookies on the counter, ripped it open and held it out to Jack. “Cookie?”
    The story of Hansel and Gretel came to mind. Here he was in a cute little bungalow house with a woman who appeared sweet and nice. But it could be a façade, like the witch fattening up the kids. His traitorous stomach rumbled loudly. He took a cookie and ate it in one bite.
    Anna smiled again and took a cookie for herself. “You have no reason to trust me. I get that. From what I could worm out of Sewell, it sounds like you saw the worst possible side of my aunt Lilly.”
    “That’s an understatement,” Jack said. His mouth was full of cookie.
    Anna held out the package again. This time he took two.
    “Look, I’m not going to apologize for my aunt or try to convince you of anything. Maybe what she did is wrong.”
    “Maybe?”
    “Or maybe, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not as bad as it seems.”
    “Like a