Freak of Nature by Julia Crane Read Free Book Online

colloquialisms. I can work on a program tomorrow.”
    Professor Adams nodded. “Very good. Thank you, Quess. I would have never thought of such a thing on my own.”
    Kaitlyn watched the exchange, only somewhat interested. It was as if they were talking about a stranger and not herself. She didn’t really care if she could understand slang, as they called it. It wasn’t as if she had a say in the matter anyway. They always did what they wanted without consulting her.
    At least the idea seemed to make Quess happy. The girl’s round cheeks were flushed, and her eyes shone with pride at her grandfather’s compliments.
    Then Kaitlyn’s sensors alerted her to something she’d missed during the conversation. Lucas had said the general population . Kaitlyn took that to mean she was going to leave the compound. The thought was equally as exciting as it was terrifying.
    “Professor Adams, I am curious. Where did I live before moving here?” Kaitlyn asked between bites of roast.
    She was met with silence. Kaitlyn wasn’t sure if it was the question itself, or that no one had expected her to speak.
    She watched as a look passed between Lucas and the professor.
    “Why do you ask?” Professor Adams asked calmly, setting his fork on the table and wiping his mouth on his napkin.
    “I was just wondering. Virginia does not feel like home.” Kaitlyn took a sip of water and waited for their reply.
    All eyes, even Quess’s, were wide and shocked. Kaitlyn realized she had made a mistake.
    “Feel, Kaitlyn?” the professor asked. “Please, explain what you mean by ‘not feeling like home.’” Professor Adams focused his attention solely on Kaitlyn.
    Her machinery kicked in, and her coded neurons warned her processing center that the situation was an uneasy one. One moment of analysis and she realized why—she had used the word ‘felt.’
    She meant it. Something inside her recalled some place , and she couldn’t figure out how or why or where. It bothered her when she couldn’t understand things. She was supposed to be a superior being, and yet the littlest things made no sense to her.
    But the professor—and Lucas—couldn’t know that.
    She considered her words carefully. “I don’t know. Quess was telling me she grew up in Ohio. I must be from somewhere else. I have no idea where I grew up.”
    The professor’s shoulders seemed to relax. “Perhaps because where you were from did not experience the drastic season changes. Summer is turning into fall, is that what you mean?”
    Kaitlyn thought about his answer for a moment before replying. Her computer banks immediately began to filter through states and weather patterns. The professor had narrowed down where she was from without realizing it. “Perhaps, the change of season is what is triggering the random thought. It doesn’t matter where I am from. What matters is I am here now.”
    The professor smiled, satisfied. Lucas, however, looked paler than usual.
    They could use this information to narrow down the blond haired guy, and perhaps learn something about her past.

Chapter Seven
    P rofessor Adams attached the blood pressure cuff to Kaitlyn’s arm and turned away, one fist pumping the small bag and filling the cuff with air. “Don’t move,” he told her, his eyes on the gauge.
    This would be a good time to roll her eyes Kaitlyn thought. As if she would have moved.
    While her arm was slowly gripped tighter and tighter by the cuff, Kaitlyn sensed someone coming down the hall, but they were too far away to determine who it was. Hopefully, it was Lucas—she hadn’t seen him all day. He was probably working on the new coding, the ‘slang’ they had spoken of at dinner. The day seemed longer when he was not around. She longed to see his face and hear his familiar voice.
    Instead, she had been stuck inside all day with Professor Adams running tests on her artificial heart. Thirty minutes at maximum speed on the treadmill, and then a blood pressure check.