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Chapter 19
By Shell97
A chill ran over Cisia’s prone body. Her limbs were tangled in the thin blanket Talehn had draped over her and for a minute she panicked, thinking she was back in the Core. “Don’t go to pieces,” a gravely voice told her. “You’re in the Core but not in the way you think. Open your eyes.” Cisia reluctantly raised her heavy lids. She looked down at herself and unraveled the gray blanket.
Cisia took a deep breath and glanced at her surroundings. Talehn was sleeping on the floor next to her mattress; Anika was sitting up facing the entrance to the strange room, even in sleep her whole body was taut as if anticipating trouble. Cisia couldn’t seem to find the boy they had been walking with, had they reached Anika and Darian’s hideout? Or were they really still in the Core? Why couldn’t she remember?
“You can’t remember because they drugged you.”
Cisia tried to swallow but her parched throat made its objections clear. Her voice came out sounding thin and raspy. “Who are you?”
“Don’t you remember, Cisia? I have been with you since the beginning. When the pain became too much for you to bear I took it upon myself. You could say I’m your father.”
Cisia shook her head; her damp locks of hair fell heavily on her neck. “I have no father, I’m a clone.”
“Your genetic ‘blueprint’ came from me.”
“What do you want from me?” Cisia cried, her breath coming out in uneven spurts.
“I want to help you. You can’t trust the people you’re with, they’ve drugged you and brought you into the Core, brought you back to the Ministry.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Close your eyes, can’t you feel the ether pulsing around you?”
“Yes,” Cisia acknowledged, her spirit broken. “What can I do?”
“You must leave. But first you need to destroy the drugs they’ve used on you.”
Cisia nodded. She could see a metal case, like the ones the Ministry scientists used, sticking out of Anika’s jacket. Carefully she made her way towards the female hunter.
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