Page 119 of Wicked Little Nightmare

"I'll think about it," I mumbled, my fingers absently tracing the scars on my arms. Each one a reminder of what I'd survived. Maybe it was time to add one more battle to the list.

Just then, Rose sauntered into the kitchen, her lips curled into that infuriatingly sweet smile of hers. Great, another cheerleader for team "let's fuck with Lakey's brain."

"Hey there, Lakes," she said, sliding into the chair next to me. "Heard we're talking about hypnotherapy."

I rolled my eyes. "Jesus, does everyone know about this little pow-wow?"

Rose ignored my snark, her gaze softening. "I actually went through it myself; you know. After... well, after getting back. The nightmares got worse, and the hypnotherapy helped. I still have them, but I know why now, so I can fight against the conditioning."

That got my attention. I studied her face, searching for any hint of bullshit. "Really? You’re actually starting to figure out what they did to you and fix what it did to your brain?"

She nodded, a shadow passing over her features. "It’s not easy. But it helped me face some memories I'd been running from for years. Gave me a way to process the trauma without it consuming me."

I snorted. "Look at you, all kumbaya and shit. What, did you find your inner peace or something?"

Rose's laugh was empty. "Hardly. But I found a way to live with the monsters in my head. To make them a little less scary. I probably wouldn’t run if we went back to the bag baby factory. I dunno. Last week, after seeing that… I didn’t think I’d make it through, but Sarah helped."

Something in her tone resonated with me. The raw honesty, maybe. Or the fact that she wasn't trying to sell me somebullshit miracle cure. And the fact that for the last week since coming back, Cam has been volatile and unpredictable which was fucking with my head. If my constant was unstable, that made me unstable, and I didn’t even know what the root was. But maybe if I found out…

"Did it hurt?" I asked, hating how vulnerable I sounded.

Rose's eyes met mine, unflinching. "Not the process, just the surfacing of the memories. But afterwards... it was like lancing a wound. All the poison came out."

I chewed on my lip, considering. Maybe there was something to this after all. If Rose could face her demons, then maybe I could, too.

Before I could respond, Kyle's voice cut through the kitchen. "Ladies, I think I've got something."

We all turned to see him hunched over his laptop, his face a mask of concentration. Fuck, I'd almost forgotten about the USB he jacked.

Kyle's fingers danced over the keyboard, connecting invisible dots. "These breeding records... they're not just about genetics. They're trying to create something specific. Something enhanced."

A chill ran down my spine. I leaned in, morbidly fascinated despite myself. "What kind of enhancements are we talking about?"

Kyle's eyes met mine, grim and focused. "Strength, speed, healing... and if I'm reading this right, some kind of heightened sensory perception. Each bag baby was injected with a different serum, and each has its own benefits. Well, purported benefits. There’s a stack of files in here following two separate cohorts. One was injected with something called AL1991 and it supposedly made them have increased sensory perception while dulling emotional intelligence. That cohort is around six now. The second was injected with RJ298C. It just lists: healing andbreeding, Project X. Seems to be the third batch of this stuff, just labelled 92B. They’re unstable, their minds having been split into fragments that don’t communicate with each other. That cohort is almost extinct, with three remaining. It says one is thirty-three and runs a police department. Report says: successful implantation."

The room seemed to tilt around me. I gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white. Part of me wanted to laugh, to brush it off as some ridiculous sci-fi bullshit. But the cold, hard evidence was right there in black and white.

"Well," I said, forcing a brittle smile, "guess that explains why I've always been such a freak. I wonder what they did to me."

Sarah's face hardened; her usual calm demeanor replaced by a steely resolve. "We need to shut this down. Now. Before they can do this to anyone else."

I nodded, my mind racing. The idea of other kids going through what I did, well, it made my blood boil. And not in the fun way.

Rose slammed her hand on the table, making us all jump. "Fuck yeah, we do. I say we go back and rip their scrotums from their bodies!"

For a moment, I was right there with her. The thought of watching Chimera go up in flames was enticing. But then reality came crashing back.

"And how exactly are we gonna do that?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Walk right in the front door? 'Scuse me, evil scientists, mind if we just destroy your life's work real quick?'"

Kyle cleared his throat. "Technically if we go at night, there’s less chance of getting caught, but after our break-in, I’m sure security enhancements have taken place. So, while I share your sentiment, Rose. We need to actually find the head of the snake. That’s the only way."

Sarah came up behind Kyle, placing her hands on his shoulders. “And Lakey, you might be able to help.”

And just like that, all eyes were on me again. I felt my stomach twist into knots. They wanted me to remember. To dig into the cesspool of my fucked-up mind and fish out whatever horrors were lurking there.

I glanced at Sarah, then Rose, anger boiling in my gut that Cam was off doing God knows what and not standing with me. Protecting me. Their faces were a mixture of concern and determination. They believed in this hypnotherapy bullshit. Believed it could help.

Part of me wanted to tell them all to go to hell. To grab Cam and run as far and fast as we could. But another part, a tiny, annoyingly hopeful part wondered if maybe this could give me some answers.

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