Page 135 of Grave Matter

I yell at the mycelia in my brain to do something, to override the sedation.

But there is nothing.

Just a barely functioning brain.

No genius. No plan.

Then I hear the door to the lab open.

Everly gasps.

“Wes,” Michael says stiffly. “Did Roderick bring you?”

My heart leaps inside my chest.

Wes! He’s here. He’s alive.

Relief flutters through me like butterflies, giving me strength.

“I saw Roderick when he attempted to commandeer my vessel,” I hear Wes say from the end of the room. I wish I had enough strength to turn my head, to lay my eyes on him. “He was easy to subdue.”

“Stay where you are,” David says. I hear the slide of metal, and I imagine he’s picking up a gun or a weapon of some sort. Ialmost laugh at the thought, but then I see Michael move out of view, presumably taking it from him.

“What are you going to do, Michael?” Wes says. “Shoot me? Shoot me like you did to Clayton?”

“As if you care,” Everly snaps. “You’re the one who wanted to send him home. All so your little sweetheart could feel better. Pathetic.”

“Yes, I wanted to send him home,” Wes says adamantly. “But I didn’t want him dead. I didn’t want him to end up as the next experiment. You promised me this would stop after Sydney.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not in charge of the program,” Michael says. “All analysis, no progress.”

“No death. Clear conscience. Can’t lose,” Wes states.

“That’s funny,” Everly says, “because Sydney here is under the impression that you tried to kill her.”

“You know I didn’t,” he says quietly. “You saw the footage. I still have the footage.”

Thank god. Thank god!

“So easy to doctor these days,” she muses as she peers over me, her eyes glinting beneath her goggles. “I’m sorry your last moments had to be like this, Syd. You find out your ex-lover killed you right before you have your memories erased. To make matters worse, your ex-lover gets killed too. Or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he has to stick around and watch you begin again with no memory of who he is.”

“I’ll find her again, no matter what life she restarts,” Wes growls, and my heart skips hard against my chest as if it’s trying to return to him.

Everly makes a face over me. “But it would be so sad. To see you keep dying like that? Oh well.”

“So you’re going to shoot me. Kill me. Is that it?” Wes says loudly. There’s a tone in his voice that makes my nerves dance.It’s the voice he uses when he’s about to make someone feel like an idiot. Only people in academia know what that is.

“We don’t have to,” Everly says to him. “I’m sure Michael wants to, but part of me just wants to put you through hell all over again. Just for fun.”

“And what does that mean?” he asks.

“It means you staying the fuck where you are while we operate on Sydney.” She jerks her chin at Michael, her expression grim.

“Would you at least explain what it is you’re doing?” Wes asks. Again, it’s the tone. He’s acting like he’s in front of a class. Like he’s teaching. “Are you killing her?”

“We’re not killing her,” Everly says tersely. “We’re just rewiring her brain. The less she knows about what happens at Madrona, the better.”

“And Clayton?” Wes asks. “Where is he?”

---