They Sawed Me Open, So I Stocked the End of the World novel · Chapter 21 of 24
Chapter 21: Count for Me
The technician stood at the edge of the water with his daughter's face pressed into his shoulder.
Sixty of the general's soldiers had come down the slope behind their commander and formed a loose half circle on the far bank.
They were silent, and they were listening.
"I'm not a brave man," the technician said.
His voice carried badly, so Rhys sent Emmett down to hold the speaker near his mouth.
"I want that on record. I took the job because it paid for my daughter's school. I was told it was a wellness program, and for two years it was."
"Then they brought in the first group."
The Director stood quite still at the end of her plank.
"Say it plainly," the general said.
"Lot One was nine people. Lot Two was eleven." The technician swallowed. "They were volunteers on paper. In September, the Director said a protocol change was approved and I was to run it."
"What protocol?"
"Awake."
A low sound went through the soldiers.
"They don't use anesthetic, because the Director says pain makes the ability show. She says it's the only way to map it. A person lies on a table, restrained, and I count backward from ten, out loud, slowly, to keep them focused."
His hands began to shake.
"Jessa Hartwell said I'd do it to her," he said. "I didn't believe her. I know now that she wasn't lying."
Jessa stepped forward.
"Show them," she said. "Count it the way you do. Tell them what happens between the numbers."
He looked at her with enormous eyes.
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