Designed with a Destiny by Elle Davis Read Free Book Online

but I would never forget a face like
yours. Your parents were very decisive about choosing your cosmetic
traits, and I remember that the sky-blue eyes didn’t sit well with
the rest of the family, especially your grandfather. If I recall,
he still wasn’t speaking to your parents two years after you were
born.” He smiles and shakes his head as if finding the notion of
eye color as a point of contention between family members
amusing.
    “Yeah, I know. My grandfather took it as an
insult against the African American heritage and worried that
people would assume it was passed down from Caucasian blood
relatives. It took him quite a while to warm up to me, but
eventually I won him over,” Alisha says, looking down at her hand
sandwiched between the two of his, with a perplexed expression.
“I’m Alisha by the way. And you are Dr. Emerick?” she asks before
pulling it away.
    “Please, call me Lawrence” he says, turning
to Jason and grasping his outstretched hand between the two of his
in the same informal way he did Alisha’s. “To answer your
questions; I was taken by the Harringtons, just like your family
members, albeit for very different reasons. I’ll explain everything
soon, however I can see there are more pressing matters to
address,” he says, nodding towards the bed.
    Alisha looks warily in the direction of Liz,
then murmurs “Let’s go downstairs and talk,” abruptly turning and
leading the rest of us from the room, with the exception of Claire
who stays curled up next to Liz with the palm of her hand on the
center of her chest.
    ***
    Lawrence listens intently as Alisha and
Jason relay the story about the virus that was developed in an
attempt to wipe out the Designer children population.
    “How many kids were affected?” he asks
quietly.
    “We don’t really know for sure, but there
have been at least eleven confirmed cases that I know of,” Jason
answers, and quickly adds, “I developed an effective vaccine, but
Elizabeth refused it. She distrusts anyone who has ties to our
government even though in my case those ties were severed once I
fully understood what was at stake.”
    Dr. Emerick shakes his head sadly. “I’m
afraid her dad’s animosity and prejudice may have rubbed off on
her. At any rate, he had legitimate fears of the government doing
something like this and went to great efforts to design you with an
immune system capable of resisting a biological attack. What is the
nature of this particular virus?”
    “It attacks the neurological system, causing
behavioral changes, paralysis and subsequently respiratory failure.
Our only hope now is to get her to a medical facility,” Alisha
says, ignoring me when I shake my head in disagreement. The two
lock eyes in silence and I shift uncomfortably waiting for him to
respond.
    “You have all the healing power you need
right here in this house,” he says softly, and I breathe a sigh of
relief that he thinks so too.
    “Please don’t.” Alisha raises a hand in
protest. “I’m really not in the mood to hear this right now.” She
buries her head in her hands and stares down at the table. When she
speaks again her voice cracks. “If Claire had the power to heal
Liz, she’d be walking down those stairs instead of being confined
to the bed. I’m not going to stand by and watch her take her final
breath. Jason thinks that he might be able to make an antidote with
the vaccine that could possibly halt the progression of the
disease. Bernie’s allowing him to go with them and use the medical
lab in Area 51. It’s the only hope we have of saving her life.”
    “She can't take her to Area 51!” I shout,
jumping up from my seat. “Claire color screened practically
everyone in that place a blue or gray, and you think they’re going
to have her best interest in mind?”
    “Not likely after we kicked their ass in
training,” Brandon chimes in, half smiling as he recalls the
experience.
    “Ronan—Alisha doesn’t have a say in