And somehow, I found myself being jostled into an orderly queue, waiting patiently for my turn to answer their mysterious questions.
Chapter Two
“THANK YOU, MS SNOWDEN.” THE HANDSOME young man in a white shirt with very white teeth accepted the clipboard I’d just filled in with my information. We sat beneath a little awning, privacy screens on either side of us, while other women completed their own inquisition.
I yawned again, very ready for that nap.
Sleep was one of my favourite and highly coveted pastimes. I might swap my scenery often—traveling from over-water bungalows on tropical islands to congested foot traffic in smoggy cities—but my habits when I was there never changed.
My main objective was to rest. To avoid stress of any kind. To be as calm and as peaceful as possible. Such zen-like non-reactiveness came from good food, regular relaxation, and a whole heap of freedom to do whatever the hell I wanted at the time of my choosing.
“Are we done?” I asked with a polite smile, my fingers straying to the large crystal raindrop pendant around my neck. My mother had put it on me when I was ten—she’d been almost giddy with excitement, claiming they’d finally found the secret to wellbeing and made me promise never to take it off. I didn’t know what technology Snowflake Corp had stuffed into this piece of jewellery, but I’d kept my promise ever since.
The man grinned, pulling my factsheet off the clipboard and tucking it into a box with other women’s paperwork. “Almost.” Ducking beneath the table, he pulled up a large case that looked suspiciously medical. Unzipping it, he pulled out a small vial that looked like a perfume tester with a silver pad and the tiniest needle at the top.
“If you’ll just place your finger on the top of this please.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
“It’s to ensure every meal, drink, scent, and treatment is especially keyed to your DNA.” He held my eyes, practically beaming with positivity.
“My DNA?”
He just nodded.
Now, for any normal woman, perhaps DNA wasn’t such a big deal. After all, we all gave it away to those ancestry websites to learn if we had some long-lost Irish roots. However, I’d been created by two people who’d single-handedly changed the scientific world. They’d made advances in cryogenics, played God with immortality, and had patented cold fusion that could rival clean energy or be used as weapons of mass destruction. Not to mention the desalination plants, ice shipping, and freshwater rights they’d been systematically buying worldwide.
So yeah, DNA wasn’t something I was prepared to give.
Especially for a weekend.
Pushing to my feet, I grabbed my well-worn rucksack and slung it onto my shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I’ve changed my mind.”
Turning to leave, I caught the eyes of the man who seemed to be in charge. Greying hair and a pristine black suit made him look almost royal, but the glint in his eyes was purely villainous.
“Are you sure?” The young man who’d been taking my details shot upright. “It’s only a tiny pinprick and—”
“I’m sure.” Smiling politely, I meandered through the milling women who’d already given their metadata and DNA and headed toward the splashing peacock fountain where the three buses waited to take the unselected back into town.
The crunch of polished dress shoes sounded beside me; a tall shadow fell over mine. “It’s a shame you’ve changed your mind.”
I wrenched to a stop, turning to face the man who’d left his post on the stage and now stood a little too close.
Alright, if I wasn’t sure something fishy was going on, now I was.
The only problem was, I was utterly useless when it came to physical confrontation.
Almost on cue, a headache appeared, highly attuned to the smallest of stress. I didn’t want to live my life like this. I would rather be a good person than a pointless one, but every time I tried to do something mildly taxing, I collapsed. Each time I even looked at an email from Snowflake Corp, I blacked out.
And thanks to my pathetic body and its zero anxiety tolerance, this minor headache was a warning sign to remove myself from the situation before it landed me unconscious.
“It’s a shame you think testing someone’s blood is as simple as gathering a phone number.” I braced my spine as the throbbing at the base of my skull got worse.
“Isn’t it, though?” He cocked his head. “How are we any different from those who saliva swab or use biometrics to understand their target market?”
“You can do whatever you want.” I shrugged. “But to me, DNA is a full instruction manual. It’s not protected by any law, which means the moment I give it to you, you can patent it, profit from it, hell, even weaponise it.”
His eyebrows shot up, his suave mask slipping just a little. “Who are you?” Dropping his eyes to the tablet in his hand, he tapped a few windows before somehow finding the factsheet I’d stupidly filled in. “Name, Rook Snowden. Profession, unstated. Age, twenty-two.” His gaze shot to mine. “So young, yet so clued up on things that would bore most young women.”
Luckily, my name would not link me back to Snowflake Corp.
My parents had done that deliberately, ensuring every share and asset was under a pseudonym...Elara Snowflake. I cringed every time I had to use it.
“Thanks for that condescending remark. Have a good day.” Brushing past him, I eyed up the coach bus. I wouldn’t get frustrated over the turn of events, because any day I was alive was a good day, but I had to admit, my spidey senses definitely wanted to leave. Immediately.
He didn’t follow me, but my skin crawled as he never looked away.
He watched me walk over the manicured lawn, the soft voices of the women fading behind me.
Glancing at him over my shoulder, he smiled as our eyes met.
The peacock fountain splashed, urging me to move faster, and I didn’t see the tiny chrome nozzles rising from the grass like snake heads. The sprinklers kicked on in a perfect arch. Water blasted my face in a blinding sheet just as my ancient flip-flops caught one of the nozzles.
I fell.
Off the curb. Onto the gravel driveway.
Throwing out my hands to catch myself, I gasped as the sharp pebbles tore into my palms. Pain zinged hot, then stinging warmth oozed out—bright red blood and glistening.
Great.
“Here. Let me help.” The man crouched beside me, pressing a white handkerchief against my wound too firmly—deliberately deep.
We both knew what he was doing.
We both knew he’d won; that he’d turned on the sprinklers and caused me to fall.
But there was nothing I could do about it, and as my blood seeped through the pristine linen, I tried to yank my hand back, only for him to dig his fingers deeper into my flesh.
We fought our silent war until he’d soaked up enough for whatever tests they were running. Finally, his smirk turned sickly sweet, and he cupped my elbows to help me stand.
Even if I kicked up a fuss, no one would care. No one would understand how a kind gesture like taking care of me felt as dangerous as a knife to my throat.
“There now.” He smiled. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Before I could curse him, another man arrived. “You summoned me, Mr. Ward?”
“Take this.” Not even bothering to look at him, the man passed the bloody handkerchief to him.
“Yes, sir.” The man bowed a little, snatched up the crimson-stained linen, and left us alone.
I shivered as my headache grew worse. “What exactly is this place? Who are you?”
Not bothering to hide himself anymore, the polished professional mask was traded for the gleam of a monster. “If you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ll find out.” He reached to cup my cheek, but I back-pedalled with a snarl.
