Page 54 of Juniper Unraveling

Staring out the window at the families scattered across the land in tents, I absorb his words, but they’re not entirely true. Six can control himself. During both of the attacks on me, he stopped himself from hurting me. “Will he die of the illness?”

“Naturally? I don’t know. Their life expectancy is much longer than the first generation Rager. But they’re not designed to live a long and happy life. They’re designed to sacrifice themselves for the good of the whole.”

“Six was trained to die?”

“He was trained to kill. Death is more of an occupational hazard.”

“This hospital. How do they get away with this?”

Papa keeps his gaze forward, but I catch the tight curl of his knuckles around the steering wheel. “By making us believe that Ragers are the biggest threat.”

Chapter 16

Dani

An envelope is set in my palm, and I glance up to Doctor Falkenrath’s stern eyes. “Please deliver this to Doctor Salisbury for me.”

At the doctor’s name, I breathe a sigh of relief and nod. I don’t mind Doctor Salisbury so much as some of the others in this place. He’s a bit like Doctor Falkenrath, only more ornery, however that’s possible. He curses, too, but his lab work is strictly third stage subjects—ones who are full-stage Ragers, so it doesn’t trouble me as much to pop in on him.

Not like C block, where Ericsson’s lab is.

I exit the room and head toward the experimental wing.

“Well, well. Look what we have here.” At the familiar voice, I turn to see Raymond coming up behind me, walking with a limp. It’s somewhat odd to see another subject walking around the halls so freely, but perhaps he was sent to deliver something, as well. “Where you off to?”

“I’ve been asked to deliver a package to Doctor Salisbury.”

“So, you’re a gofer for them, too, eh?”

“Keep your voice down!” I chide, as we pass a section of offices.

“I’m sorry.” His hobbling hastens to keep up with me, as I try to ignore him. “Hey, you seen your brother?”

“No.” I slide a glance to him and back. “Not that it’s any of your business …”

One of the doctors approaches us, one I’ve seen chatting with Doctor F before, and I nod in passing, catching the frown on his face.

Once he’s out of earshot, I continue, “My brother was sent out for adoption. On the other side of the wall.”

“Who told you that?” The smile in his question grinds me, immediately setting me on defense.

“Doctor Falkenrath. Who happens to have a better idea of what goes on in this place than you do.”

The grip at my elbow flinches my arm, and I drop the envelope. With an irritated huff, I kneel down to fetch it, and Raymond kneels too. His head scans left then right, and he leans in. “Listen to me. He lied to you. After Shawn went missing, I searched the building. Found his limp body in a trashcan. Whatever they told you isn’t true.”

A zap of pain hits my skull from my clenched teeth, as I scowl back at him.

“There’s a file on your brother, I guarantee it. They document everything here. Find that file, and you’ll know the truth.”

“Why are you doing this? Are you jealous? Is that it?” I don’t want to look for a file, or hear any more of his suspicions. I want to know that my brother is safe and happy, living a good life on the safe side of the wall.

“Of a gopher?” He sneers and shakes his head. “Not even.”

“I may be a gopher, but at least I’m not their guinea pig!”

His eye twitches, and he pushes off the floor to straighten himself. Standing before me, I notice the slight lean in his stature, an observation he seems to pick up on. “Beginning of the week, they removed a section of bone from my leg. I just got out of the surgical ward. One more piece. Small pieces at a time.”

The remorse gurgles in my stomach, and I push up from the floor. “I’m sorry. For what I said.”