Freak of Nature Read Online Free

twice about accepting.
    But Lucas never dreamed that the job would entail taking a human’s life away from her and making her into some kind of combat robot. If he were honest with himself, given the chance, he would accept again in a heartbeat. He hated himself for it.
    “The track or obstacle course?” Kaitlyn asked, her voice monotone. It wasn’t that she cared one way or another, he knew. She was scanning her hardware, preparing for what her body would need. That was how she was wired—know the challenge, meet it, succeed.
    For a brief moment, their eyes met. Lucas had never heard her with emotion in her voice. How would she sound if she could feel happiness? Sadness? He would never know.
    Lucas turned roughly, giving her his back but not an answer. He closed his eyes, and grabbed the discarded clipboard laying on the desk.
    Why was he drawn to her? Every time he was near her, she sent him into a tailspin. He hadn’t expected something meant to be a cutting edge science experiment to affect him. After all their time together, it should’ve worn off. He shouldn’t still think of her as human. What did that say about him? Nothing good he was sure.
    The guilt had not left him since she arrived. If anything, it had increased. She was a person. A human. A beautiful, living, helpless girl chosen to become Dr. Harrington’s lab rat and have every ounce of her humanity erased. He wished he had known her before they altered her personality.
    How many nights had he lost sleep searching through her old social media sites and reading the newspaper clippings? He had longed to know everything about the girl whose life they were going to alter in the name of science. It tore him apart seeing the person she once was come to life on his computer screen. She had been kind and adventurous, and there were hundreds of pictures of her with her friends. In her pictures, she looked much like she did now, with long dark hair that spilled over strong shoulders. But there was a big difference–she smiled. And it radiated real, true happiness. Her smile was contagious, her eyes bright and intelligent. He smiled at the thought of the image of her giving the thumbs-up before she dove from a plane. The same friends mourned her enough that they still kept a memorial page for her on Facebook. They still posted about the fun times they’d had.
    They missed her because she was more than a body donated to science. And Lucas read every post.
    The way she lost her life was tragic. But it was yet another example of the personality they took from her. She lost her life trying to save another.
    Pull yourself together , Lucas warned himself. There was work to be done. He had to find a way to keep professionally detached. Yeah right.
    Leave it to him to fall for the one girl who wouldn’t—and couldn’t—give him the time of day.
    Enough already. Lucas shook his head. He was wasting time with his daydreams.
    Standing up, he reached over the back of his chair and grabbed his jacket. The rain was really coming down. He should dose up on Vitamin C when he got home, to be safe. He couldn’t afford to get sick. Not when they were so close to completion.
    “We’re going to the obstacle course,” he finally answered.
    When he turned back around to face her, he found she hadn’t moved. Not even an inch. Her unflinching, impassive face just stared at him as he shrugged into his jacket. What had they done?
    He longed to see something human from her, but all he got was that familiar blank stare. He wasn’t sure why he hoped he’d one day see something different. It wasn’t like she could think for herself or even feel. Not after all they had done to her. He missed the days before the upgrades. Early on, he’d wondered if she would be able to keep part of her personality, but it was soon obvious they had stripped any remaining spark out entirely.
    They drove in silence deep into the woods. He longed to talk to her, but he had no idea what to say. A