Page 3 of The Order

Amy winces at the sight with a look of disgust. Slowly, I gravitate closer, watching the chip's spindles seep into the cut, its light moving from a dull white to light green. Clenching her palm, Lily's nose flares as she takes in a sharp breath, her eyes blinking repeatedly at the lingering feeling of the chip slipping behind her skin. The green light grows duller behind the skin of her ear. Quickly, I spray on a dose of our Cure-All, watching her skin close as the lesion becomes nothing but the scar that we all share.

"What's your daughter’s name?" Lily questions, her hand gravitating behind her ear, feeling her new scar.

"Forest," I say, staring at the Re-Regulation Device on the tray. It blinks in an attempt to pair with her chip.

"Maybe when she is out of you, I can meet her," Lily says.

Caught off guard by her tiny hand landing on my stomach, I stare at her with wide eyes as she smiles at the bump. Forest's feet kick beneath her touch, Lily letting out a small chuckle at the gesture.

The pure innocence that looms over her is nothing short of euphoric.

"I would like that very much," I say.

Amy's voice clears.

"Ma'am, it's ready," Amy whispers. Refocusing my attention on the Re-Regulation Device, its green light syncs up with Lily's neuro chip in gentle strobes. Looking flustered, Lily pulls her hand away from my stomach. Grabbing the device with steady hands, her eyes are wide as she looks over the slight gleam of the green light. As always, I program the usual set of commands into the device.

Stand with verbal cues.

The device's screen flashes as I begin running the simple code.

"Alright, Lily, go ahead and stand up for me," I order.

With no hesitation, she slides off the chair, her tiny feet hitting the floor with a thud. Turning toward her teddy, my fingers are already inputting the following command.

Leave the teddy bear on the chair.

My stomach drops as her hand continues to reach for the small bear, her hands enclosing around its soft material, dragging it closer to her petite frame, my throat going dry as I try to process what has just happened.

"I must have input the code wrong," I whisper, frantically retyping the code. Amy's confusion consumes her face, her eyes still fixated on Lily. I angle my body away from prying eyes, not once letting anyone see the device or the codes being input into it. I type in the prompt again, run the program, and wait for her to place the teddy bear where I have coded her to do so.

She never does.

"Dr. Blackburn, is everything alright?" Amy questions silently.

"Lily, put the bear back on the chair," I commanded clearly to the wide-eyed girl.

With great hesitance, she puts it back.

"Amy, grab the scalpel," I order, the nurse's attention finally focusing back on me. With a nod, she grabs the small blade, Lily's hands shaking as I input the next set of code. The cool metal of the medical device presses into my palm like an unbearable weight. Once filled with pure innocence, the space around me is now filled with nothing but fear.

"What are you doing?" Lily questions, her voice lined with fear.

"Amy, run the program," I order, watching the nurse's perfectly manicured fingers press down on the screen of the Re-Regulation Device.

Cut the right pointer and forget the action. End Expulsion test.

"Lily, I need you to cut your right pointer finger, and then I want you to forget it all. Please, tell me you can do that for me," I whisper as I press the blade into her hand. The shift between confusion and fear in her eyes has never been more haunting.

Her small hand tosses the blade across the room, a look of confusion and fear swirling in her eyes—the surgical tool skids across the white tile floor. Lily moves to grasp her teddy bear.

My heart rate accelerates, my body turning toward Amy with a panic I had not noticed had crept inside me.

"Rerun it!" I yell in a plea.

Once more, Amy hits the Re-Regulation Device's screen. Lily continues to flee toward her furry sense of comfort.

"What's going on?" Amy mutters in a shaky voice.

---