Read Online The Sphinx Project by Kate Hawkings - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kate Hawkings
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moved on in an attempt to stop myself crying again. Nicole and Briana came back in as I was dumping the trash into the can.
Nicole ran her gaze over the room before ordering us into the car. She was only a few minutes older than me, but she was always meant to be our leader. She had the backbone I sometimes lacked. To be honest, it had always been a relief not to be responsible for the hard decisions. However, sometimes it would be nice to have more of a say.
As I was about to leave the room, I hesitated. Spinning, I retrieved the phone from the trash can before hurrying out to the car.
We climbed in, Nicole taking the wheel, me beside her and the others in the back.
"Where are we going?" Briana asked.
"Away from here," Nicole stated, putting the car into gear and reversing from the parking space. "Away from South Carolina. I say we head to a big city, somewhere we can hide out and figure out what to do next. We're still too close to the lab here."
"Can we go somewhere with a beach?" Mouse piped up from the back. "Please? I've always wanted to see one."
Like money, we knew what beaches were. We'd seen pictures of them but had never actually been to one.
"I vote for the beach too," Briana volunteered.
"What do you think?" Nicole asked, turning to me.
"Let's go to the beach." It felt strange to be consulted on decisions. I pulled out Guy's big map book, paging through it. "What about this one?" I handed it to Nicole.
"Sounds good." She handed it back to Mouse and Briana, who readily agreed. It was perfect. A big city to get lost in, on the other side of the country with a long coastline. We could disappear completely.
"Los Angeles it is," Nicole stopped at the intersection, looking left and right. "So, which way?"
"Left."
"We need to find an ATM," Briana said from behind us. "In case they cancel the cards. Remember when your Mom's bank canceled hers and she couldn't buy her medicine?"
"We need gas too. We're running low."
We stopped at the next town. An ATM was easy to find—there was one on the corner by a shoe store.
"So, um, how does this thing work?" I asked, standing in front of it. I looked back and forth between the machine and the card. The other girls crowded around me, observing over my shoulders.
We argued back and forth until we finally managed to get five hundred dollars from the card. We'd tried for more, but the machine had said that was the daily allowance.
We used all of the cards, withdrawing the maximum amount from every one. Guy was lucky no one had ever stolen his wallet, since he'd left the pin numbers taped to the cards.
We returned to the car, stopping by a gas station before leaving the small town far behind us.
"I wish we could fly. Surely it couldn't be that hard to get hold of a plane," Briana whined when we were again seated in the car.
"You've only ever flown simulations. There is no way I'd step foot in a plane under your control," Nicole replied.
No one else said anything, opting instead to read magazines and stare out the window.
"Nicole." Mouse and Briana were asleep in the back seat so I whispered.
"Yeah?"
"One day, if we have the chance, I want to go back to South Carolina."
"Why?" She appeared to be a little perplexed. Her eyes momentarily flicked away from the road to look at me.
"Mom wasn't like us. She actually had a family. I want to see where she came from and if we have anyone left." I stared at my hands. The others might understand, or they might not.
Nicole and I were the only ones who'd grown up with our mother around. Technically, she wasn't even our biological mother, but she carried us, gave birth to us and raised us until she passed. Mouse and Briana had been abandoned by their carriers at birth, no strings attached, although we know money changed hands. None of us had biological family anymore.
"And if we find out she had family, then what? Do you think they'd want to know us? We aren't actually related to them. Would they even believe us if we
Nicole ran her gaze over the room before ordering us into the car. She was only a few minutes older than me, but she was always meant to be our leader. She had the backbone I sometimes lacked. To be honest, it had always been a relief not to be responsible for the hard decisions. However, sometimes it would be nice to have more of a say.
As I was about to leave the room, I hesitated. Spinning, I retrieved the phone from the trash can before hurrying out to the car.
We climbed in, Nicole taking the wheel, me beside her and the others in the back.
"Where are we going?" Briana asked.
"Away from here," Nicole stated, putting the car into gear and reversing from the parking space. "Away from South Carolina. I say we head to a big city, somewhere we can hide out and figure out what to do next. We're still too close to the lab here."
"Can we go somewhere with a beach?" Mouse piped up from the back. "Please? I've always wanted to see one."
Like money, we knew what beaches were. We'd seen pictures of them but had never actually been to one.
"I vote for the beach too," Briana volunteered.
"What do you think?" Nicole asked, turning to me.
"Let's go to the beach." It felt strange to be consulted on decisions. I pulled out Guy's big map book, paging through it. "What about this one?" I handed it to Nicole.
"Sounds good." She handed it back to Mouse and Briana, who readily agreed. It was perfect. A big city to get lost in, on the other side of the country with a long coastline. We could disappear completely.
"Los Angeles it is," Nicole stopped at the intersection, looking left and right. "So, which way?"
"Left."
"We need to find an ATM," Briana said from behind us. "In case they cancel the cards. Remember when your Mom's bank canceled hers and she couldn't buy her medicine?"
"We need gas too. We're running low."
We stopped at the next town. An ATM was easy to find—there was one on the corner by a shoe store.
"So, um, how does this thing work?" I asked, standing in front of it. I looked back and forth between the machine and the card. The other girls crowded around me, observing over my shoulders.
We argued back and forth until we finally managed to get five hundred dollars from the card. We'd tried for more, but the machine had said that was the daily allowance.
We used all of the cards, withdrawing the maximum amount from every one. Guy was lucky no one had ever stolen his wallet, since he'd left the pin numbers taped to the cards.
We returned to the car, stopping by a gas station before leaving the small town far behind us.
"I wish we could fly. Surely it couldn't be that hard to get hold of a plane," Briana whined when we were again seated in the car.
"You've only ever flown simulations. There is no way I'd step foot in a plane under your control," Nicole replied.
No one else said anything, opting instead to read magazines and stare out the window.
"Nicole." Mouse and Briana were asleep in the back seat so I whispered.
"Yeah?"
"One day, if we have the chance, I want to go back to South Carolina."
"Why?" She appeared to be a little perplexed. Her eyes momentarily flicked away from the road to look at me.
"Mom wasn't like us. She actually had a family. I want to see where she came from and if we have anyone left." I stared at my hands. The others might understand, or they might not.
Nicole and I were the only ones who'd grown up with our mother around. Technically, she wasn't even our biological mother, but she carried us, gave birth to us and raised us until she passed. Mouse and Briana had been abandoned by their carriers at birth, no strings attached, although we know money changed hands. None of us had biological family anymore.
"And if we find out she had family, then what? Do you think they'd want to know us? We aren't actually related to them. Would they even believe us if we
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