Shattered Girls (Broken Dolls Book 2) (13 page)

“What’s happening…?” I slur, my feet falling out from underneath me. I hit the concrete and everything goes black.

“Ah, perfect! It worked!”

I’m having trouble opening my eyes. Then, I make out three figures staring at me in awe.

“How on earth did you do that?” It’s a younger voice.

“Science, my dear! If we didn’t have her body, though, the point would have been moot.”

My eyes shoot open when I finally recognize the professor’s voice. He looms over me with a huge grin on his face. Gabby is next to him with her arms folded, and Sianne is blowing bubble gum.

“Wh-what happened?” I ask. “We’re in the lab? I thought I was in the police station.”

“Yeah, I know. You took forever,” Gabby grouses. “There was no way I could get you out of there!”

“So she called me, and I figured now was the best time to test this out,” the professor says.

“Test
what
out?” I seriously do not like the sound of that.

“We transferred your consciousness into another doll!” the professor boasts. “It’s remarkable. Don’t worry, you still look like Ella. We found one who looks like you, but Sianne and I added upgrades.” He reaches for a hand mirror and tilts it upwards so I can see myself. He’s right—I’m still me, but… also different. My hair is blond, long, and thick, and I’m wearing jeans and a purple tee. And there are hundreds of tiny holes in my arms and legs—they’re like bullet wounds or something.

“Eww! Why do I have these holes? Eww, eww, eww!
EWWW
! I have trypophobia, you know!”

“They’re not holes, Ella.” The professor pats my hand. “Concentrate really hard for me, okay? On the count of three, you’re going to push really hard.”

“Push what?”

“Just push your insides. Three, two, one,
GO!
”

What am I, birthing out a mini-me? I so didn’t sign up for that. Still, I tense and push my innards, screaming when hundreds of spikes pop from the holes. “
AHH! I’m a porcupine
!”

Gabby and the professor laugh, but they don’t tickle me like they usually do when I’m anxious.

“You’re now your own best weapon,” the professor says. “These are very, very,
very
sharp spikes. Whenever someone dangerous picks you up, you simply push, and they should drop you.”

Gabby smirks. “Like a hot potato.”

I grimace at my reflection. I can barely see my face through the spikes. “Great. Please tell me I won’t be stuck like a sharp tumbleweed. How do I suck them back in?”

“Instead of pushing, pull. They should slowly slip back in.”

Tentatively, I try my best to rein the spikes in and am pleasantly surprised when they retract with minimum fuss. “Wow.” I inhale, running my fingers over the holes. “This could come in handy.”

“Only use it when you need to,” the professor warns. “There are additional upgrades. If you take off your left foot, for instance, you’ll find a switch. Press that, and you’ll be deactivated. Be extremely careful with this, and only use it in an emergency. You won’t be able to return to your doll form once you hit it.”

Whoa. That’s… that’s news. So I can easily change everything and show Gabby I’m not selfish? Just with a press of a button… I can be human again. I’m tempted to press it now, but I don’t. I have work to do.

“Hey, Earth to Ella!” The professor lightly flicks my nose. Plastic against plastic. It’s kind of sweetly creepy. “Couple more things to remember,” he says. “You can take your right arm off and use it as a gun, but it’s not all that powerful. Won’t level walls if that’s what you’re thinking. We’ve also been experimenting with fire. Now, don’t get alarmed, but we’ve filled your stomach with methylated spirits and inserted a switch inside your belly button. If it works, you should safely be able to shoot flames from your mouth.”

I laugh hysterically and rub my hands together in a vain attempt to get warm. “Yep, that’s me. I’m a superhero!”

“Or a supervillain.” Gabby rolls her eyes.

“Hey, the spirits that are in my belly…?”

“Don’t worry, they’re not
actual
spirits. It’s a liquid; not a ghost.”

“No, not that. Remember how I used to cry real tears? I mean, I don’t, but Gabby said the system was overloaded with dolls once so I could feel pain. She said real tears used to come from my eyes. Is that because you put water in my belly?”

“Yes, Ella,” the professor says. “I’ve explained this to you before, but understandably, you’ve forgotten. As a side experiment, I wanted to see if you could invoke emotion through your doll form. That won’t happen again.”

“Oh my God!” Gabby throws up her hands. “Could everybody stop obsessing over the past? Grandpa, is all of this fire stuff really necessary?”

“Absolutely, it is. They’re not going to stop coming after you. It’s imperative that you know how to protect yourselves. More importantly, Ella,” the professor lowers his voice. “What did you see at the station?”

“It’s odd, professor. They’re already turning criminals, transferring consciousness with wires and a switch on the doll,” I report, feeling like a superspy. James Bond, you’d better believe you have new competition coming! “They said they’d take the body to a warehouse where they wouldn’t have to feed it much. They think minimum feeding will save the world’s resources.”

The professor taps his fingers on the desk. “That’s all?” And on my nod, “Just as I feared. The technology has advanced faster than anticipated. It doesn’t take much at all to sedate the victim. They’re going power-mad…”

“Should I be worried that my old doll form is at the station? Can’t they study it or trace it back?”

“There’s not much we can do about that now, Ella. If we didn’t transfer your consciousness, we might not have seen you again.”

He does have a point. It whooshes past me as I stare at a tube, where a chubby, older woman lies dormant in a murky, green goo. “That’s… that’s my body, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” the professor replies calmly, but Gabby fidgets. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” It’s strange to see your body when you’re not in it. I feel connected to it, but also sadly detached. This was the body I selfishly gave up—at least, according to Gabby. It’s weirdly familiar, based on my dreams. I’m not young or stunning, but that’s not what defines beauty.

Besides, my body isn’t that bad. I mean, not really. I don’t look broken at all. I look pretty loved. So why do I hate myself so much when I’m in it? Could it be that nobody truly hates me more than I do?

“We could alter your state using your body. What do you think when you see it?”

“I think I like my body…” I try this on for size, taste the words. “I could hate it, but it’s never said a bad word about me, has it? That’s my body… and I love it.”

Gabby and the professor arch their eyebrows in unison.

“But anyway,” I continue, “we have more important things to focus on! Where were we?”

The professor clears his throat. “Right, yes. Now we know for sure the police are in on it and what technology they have, so when…
if
I can escape, I’ll have to get to the bodies. I’m sure I can think of something. The only impossibility in this life is impossibility.”

“We’ll get you out of the company, Grandpa.”

“No! Don’t you dare come anywhere near me. They’ll kill you. I can promise you that. I have to do this on my own. I
must
protect my family. Don’t trust anybody. Ella, was there anything else at the station?”

I shrug. “Just that Liza girl talking to an officer. She offered to pay him or something. I didn’t really pay attention.”

The professor’s eyes widen. “Do you mean Lisa?”

I snap my fingers. “That’s the one! Lisa.”

“Stay away from her! She used to work for those b… ah, the company. Yes.” The professor reaches for his head and stumbles over his feet. He leans on the table and groans.

“Grandpa!” Gabby rushes over to keep him on his feet. “Grandpa, what’s wrong?!”

“He’s possessed!” Sianne cries, bolting out of the lab. “I’ll grab the salt!”

“They’re disconnecting me,” he says through gritted teeth. “Gabby, don’t let them find you here!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I can’t…”

“What are we meant to do? Grandpa!”

“Don’t listen to Lisa,” he mumbles, collapsing to the floor. “I’ll be in New Yo…” And just like that, he’s frozen on the floor, eyes wide open.

Sianne returns with a bowl of salt that she throws onto the professor. When he doesn’t flinch, she wipes her brow. “Phew! That took care of that! I’ve learned a lot from those Winchester brothers.”

“He wasn’t possessed, Aunt Sianne,” Gabby murmurs, placing me on the floor and examining the professor’s limp arms. “They deactivated him. He’s… he’s just a big dolly now.”

“Like me!” I poke his glass eyes. “But bigger. Much bigger.”

“But why does he want me to go to school?!” Gabby demands.

“The professor always has a motive,” I say, impressed by the lifelike cracks in his lips. “And do you know why I think he really made us go to the police station?”

Gabby shrugs. “To confirm suspicions?”

“Nope.” I grin proudly. “My old doll body stopped walking and talking right before their eyes. Basically, it dropped dead. How do you think that’s going to make them feel if they think at any moment a doll can wake up?”

Gabby gasps and raises her hand for me to high-five. I jump up and hit her in the center of her palm. “Of
course
! He’s freaked them out. It might put a halt on the kidnappings!”

“Not for long.”

“No. But we can’t listen to Grandpa. I’m not letting him rot away in a cell with my parents. We’re going after him. Whatever he has planned—”

“He doesn’t have anything planned. But I know someone who does.” Sianne licks the remaining salt from the bowl. “I’m going to bring the dead back to life.”

I hate when she says creepy stuff like that. “What?”

“The dead. I have experiments too, you know. I’ll bring you back to life, Ella.” She glances at the ceiling. “I… I’d best brush my hair. Go to school tomorrow. Don’t arouse suspicion. I have some things to do here before we go to New York City. That’s where we’ll find them. We’ll save the family.” Keeping her gaze skyward, she backs out of the lab, flicking the salt from her lips.

I can’t help but dart my eyes from the professor doll to my human form. Both are so lifeless, helpless… worthless.

I was told I made the choice to return to life as a doll, but seeing my real body wasting away in that tube, it seems like such a selfish decision. It only makes me grieve for the others who’ve never had that choice, all dormant in their own cramped tubes, out of society’s way and living for someone else’s jollies.

When we rescue everyone and put an end to this… this clusterwoof, I’m going to start living for myself.

I don’t know what time it is, but it’s dark. It could be close to morning, or it could be midnight. Either way, the phone shouldn’t be ringing right now.

Gabby sleeps through anything and I mean that literally. We had an earthquake two years ago, and she didn’t even stir. She even turns off her alarm clock in her sleep, which is a special talent. I can only wake her up by pulling the curtains open and exposing the natural light. Considering there
is
no natural light, there’s no hope.

Five rings. Sianne isn’t answering. Someone really should get it, especially after what we’ve been through tonight. It could be the professor. I jump off the bed and run into the hall where one of the telephones sits on a low table. I climb up the leg and kick the receiver off, bending over to listen.

“Hello, Ella May speaking. How may I help you?”

There’s a crackle.

“Hello?” I repeat. “If this is a prank call, we’re not interested. Thank you for your time.”

“Ella?” the voice is husky, like a wolf’s.

“Speaking. You do realize it’s very late?”

“That’s the least of our problems. Ella, how far would you go for your family?”

I want to hang up. That sounds way too ominous for my liking. “I… I have to go now.”

“Ella, listen to me, you selfish piece of crap. How far would you go to get your family back? The professor? Gabby’s parents? Is it money? I can give you money.”