Lovely Darkness (Creeping Beautiful)

“What’s that mean?”

“Someone who calls you on your bullshit. I thought it was Nathan. I thought he was keeping you in line, but he’s not, is he? No one actually controls you, do they?”

Now I’m losing my patience. “You literally just told me that I’m being controlled by all of them.”

“No, that’s not what I said. I said they brainwashed you into some semblance of compliance. You’re totally taking this all out of context.”

My IQ is not anywhere near one-sixty-seven, so most of what Wendy is saying goes right over my head. Of course, I don’t want her to know that, so I reply back with, “I can’t tell if you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“I can’t tell yet, either.”

“Well, we both know who controls you. Nick.”

“So?”

“So? Don’t stand here judging me when you’re the one being led around by the nose. He’s corrupting you.”

Now it’s her turn to laugh out loud. “Right.”

“Truly. You look at him like you’re some… weak, pathetic, trailer-trash housewife. Like he’s the law in your land. Like you make him sammiches and bring him beer.”

We both take a moment to make my words into a picture in our heads, then we laugh out loud.

“You are so stupid,” Wendy says. But her tone is different. Lighter. So I know it’s OK. Maybe she does think I’m stupid. Maybe I am stupid, especially compared to her. But it’s OK to be two different people, so she’s not holding it against me. We all have our talents.

Wendy says, “Nick is my truth.”

“Well, here’s some truth for you,” I counter. “And it’s the whole reason I’m walking in the garden with you right now. There are others out there, Wendy. Girls like us.”

“No shit. That’s who Nick hunts. That was my whole point. He hunts them, but not us. Because we’re them, Indie.”

“No. You don’t understand. We’re not them. We came before them. We’re… well. I need to show you.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Show me what?”

I look around until I find Nathan leaning against one of the pavilion pillars. His arms are crossed. No real expression on his face. He’s just waiting for me to do my part. I keep looking, trying to find Maggie. But she and Sasha are inside. Cooking, I think. Merc is nowhere to be found, either.

So that just leaves Nick.

When I look back at Nathan, he nods at me.

I turn to Wendy again. “We’re gonna go on a little trip.”

“A trip?” She scoffs. “A trip to where?”

“A nest. A whole nest of those girls.”

“What?”

“Nathan found a nest of girls like us. Like me, specifically.”

“Clones, then?”

“Probably. Maybe. It’s not really that important. That nest is empty now. They moved on. But Nathan found them.”

“Did he tell Nick?”

I shake my head. “No. Not yet, anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” I huff out some air. She’s the stupid one, not me. “Because, Wendy, we need to talk to them.”

“Why would we want to talk to them?”

“Because they have secrets we need.”

“Secrets about what?”

Wow. I did not expect so many questions. She’s the one with the delusional cognitive dissonance going on, not me. “The rats, Wendy. The fuckin’ rats.” Her face is a whole sky of cloudy confusion. I sigh, getting frustrated with her. “The rats aren’t about eternal life. Not really. They’re about cures.”

“Cures?” Her voice is loud and this word is sharp. “What cures?”

“Their cure, silly. The whole thing turns it backwards. These girls are… what’s the word? Version two, right. Two-point-oh and all that. We need to see this, Wendy. We need to know things. We need to know why they keep making them. We need to understand why the Company won’t give up. Why? Why? It makes no sense if you look at it logically. No one’s gonna live forever. That’s fantasy stuff. Bodies wear out. People die. That’s facts. So what the hell are they doing? Why do they refuse to go away? We’re not the first to fight back. For as long as there’s been a Company, there have been people like us on the inside who want to make them stop. But they won’t. Why?”

She’s thoughtful for a moment. Then she shrugs. “I don’t know. But here’s what I do know. If there is a nest of girls like us—two-point-oh us—then they don’t know any more than we do.”

“Then why does Nick Tate hunt them?”

“Because he wants to kill them, Indie.”

“Is that all he does with them? Just kill them?”

Her face goes sour and her posture goes rigid. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying… he learns things from them. Each of them is a piece in a puzzle. And he’s the only one working on that puzzle right now. But it can’t last. You see, Nick Tate has limits. And he’s bumping up against them right now. He needs help. That’s why he’s here.”