Chapter 9

Part 3

Jaden brooded in his room the entire day and into the evening. He didn’t even come out for dinner. Ally was eating away at his soul, bit by bit. He had to tell someone, but whom could he trust? Not Reth or any of the other splitters, and when he had the chance to tell Baqer it hadn’t felt right. Who else was there? Maybe he should go and see Ally, one last time.

No, no . . . that was his problem. He had to get her out of his brain.

A knock echoed on his door.

“Catch me later,” Jaden called through the door.

“But the Groundhog’s Day court is open now,” came Kim’s perky reply. She opened the door and walked into his room. She wore a skintight bodysuit, ready for exercise. “Look, I know you’re disheartened about your performance in the interview today, but you didn’t do all that bad. Really.”

Jaden sighed. Here he was moping about Ally, and he had totally forgotten the interview that had abrogated all hopes of promotion for him. Great.

“You just need to blow off some steam,” Kim said. “Grab your gear and let’s head for the gym.”

Maybe Kim was right. He needed to stop feeling sorry for himself and just get out and do something. “You’re on.”

When they arrived at the Groundhog’s Day court, it was still empty. Groundhog’s Day was a sport in which two players wielded enormous mallets and tried to hammer down four-foot-high groundhog robots that popped up out of holes in the court. Jaden considered Groundhog’s Day to be among the many stupid facets of the culture he lived in, but he had to admire Kim’s prowess at the game. After two hours of intense competition, Kim eked the final victory, having smacked down seventy-five of the robotic rodents to Jaden’s sixty-four.

“Feel better?” Kim asked, wiping her face with a towel and tossing a second one to Jaden.

“Yeah,” Jaden said, and he meant it. The game had been so action-packed that he realized he hadn’t thought of Ally once in two whole hours.

And yet, here he was, his first respite thinking about that girl again. How was he ever going to get her out of his mind?

“You okay?” Kim asked, touching up her makeup even though they were both going to have to hit the showers. “You look like something’s on your mind.”

“Someone,” Jaden said.

“Oh, yeah? What’s up?”

Jaden looked at Kim’s sincere countenance. She had been his team leader and confidante since the day he first arrived at the Splitter Center, a scared kid, rife with troubles. And here he was again. He’d always been able to trust her in the past.

The entire story flooded out of him. It felt purifying to let it all just pour out without censure, knowing Kim would understand. When he was all done, he took a deep, cleansing breath. “Well?”

Kim’s look wasn’t judgmental or stern, but it was resolute and firm. “Jaden, you’re an addict.”

“What?” That was the last thing he’d expected. He knew he’d made all kinds of stupid mistakes because of Ally, but he wasn’t like her—he wasn’t an addict to music, to Joy, or to anything else.

“That girl. She’s enthralled you. She’s got you under her spell. I knew you hadn’t been yourself these last few days, and now I know why.”

Jaden frowned. “I know I’ve been off a few days, but to call me an addict, isn’t that a bit strong?”

“Look at your behavior and answer your own question. Are you acting like a productive employee?”

“Not the last couple of days—”

“And what’s been causing your aberrant behavior?”

“Ally,” he said softly, hating to admit it to even himself.

“Do you want your life to continue on like this?”

“But I’ve quit. I’ve given her up.”

“And how many of your addicts have you heard say that, Jaden? How long will your determination last, without assistance?”

Jaden knew she was right. He’d seen addict after addict try it on his own. They all eventually came for treatment.

“It’s not that bad,” Jaden insisted.

“And if you take care of it now, it never will be,” Kim said. “You’ve got too much going for you, Jaden. You must be diligent. Make it stop now, and you’ll be able to go on with your life.”

“But how? You can’t split a person out of you.”

“She’s an addiction just like alcohol or music. She can be split.”

“But if I undergo splitting, won’t The Corporation know? It’ll tank any hopes I have of the Ripper Squad.”

“Not if we go tonight. We’ll pop down to the Splitter Center, take care of you, and no one will be the wiser.”

“But who will do the splitting?”

“I will. I was a splitter before I was a team leader. It’s requisite for the job. I’m sure my skills haven’t atrophied.”

“I can’t ask you to do that. If we got caught, you’d get in trouble too.”

“We’re not going to get caught.” She put her arm around his shoulder. “Trust me.”

The Splitting Center seemed ominous at night. Only the nighttime safety track lighting glowed in the darkened halls. Every step echoed on the cold tile floors.

“You know the procedure,” Kim said, gesturing toward the splitting chair. Jaden turned his wrists as Kim locked the safety straps around his arms, legs, and head. The chair adjusted around him, molding itself to his body like quicksand. He felt the cold feet of the probe rise from the chair and rest on the back of his neck. A sharp prick and then he felt the probe’s tongue slide beneath his skin.

Once his thoughts were connected to Kim, he’d see what she saw, and maybe he’d finally get to experience the palette of his own mind. He’d always been curious. He thought maybe he was a royal gold, or even amethyst purple.

Instead, he got blackness, and the vague feeling of being watched. It was as if someone was standing just over his left shoulder, sorting through his open brain cavity.

Stop, he tried to say, but nothing came out of his mouth. His thoughts felt like cold fingers wiggling after grapes buried inside cherry gelatin. But there was something else inside the gelatin, something darker and colder. Whatever it was, he knew it wasn’t his. The coldness invaded his mind, and he shivered against the restraints. The coldness rose up from the base of his brain, encompassing everything.

Then, as swiftly as it had arrived, the feeling of being watched dissipated. The cold remained.

A voice traversed the darkness. “We’re all done, Jaden.”

Jaden opened his eyes, seeing and hearing as if his body was under water. “Great,” he heard himself answer.

“Wasn’t that bad at all, was it?” Kim asked.

Jaden shook his head, and a wave of nausea rolled through him. “Nope,” he heard himself say. He willed his body to stand up and felt as if he might collapse back into the chair, but his body gave no outward indication of his weakness.

“Tell me how you feel about that girl,” Kim said.

“Which girl?” Jaden asked, feeling as if he was surfacing through balmy tropical waters, leaving something cold and hard buried beneath him.

“That girl—Ally Fayre.”

“Oh, you mean that addict I need to pink-slip first thing tomorrow,” Jaden answered, feeling himself burst through the waves.

“Exactly,” Kim said, grinning.