E.R.I.C. (The Almost Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

touched the floor with my fingers. This was where his circuitry was. “If you leave me here and I fail, that means you fail.”
    His room darkened.
    I lay my cheek to the floor. “Please, I’m in my element down in my room. I have a better chance at survival there. You will learn more about me if I am there, and if I still don’t make it, you’ll have gained the most accurate study analysis of all S.H.A.Y.s. Your results will supersede all other N.I.C. programs and will benefit further advances.”
    His lights flickered dimly.
    “N.I.C., science understands that animals in captivity are easy to study on a shallow basis, but to truly know the animal is to see it in its natural habitat,” I said.
    “Be different and learn many concepts. Don’t follow just what you’ve been programmed to do; become more than your predecessors.”
    Lights flashed and I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d confused the program. I covered my face.
    “I can’t escape from my room; it’s surrounded by water. Please, N.I.C., I promise you’ll collect more data from me than from any other S.H.A.Y. I’ll willingly give it to you. I’ll submit more logs than any other.”
    His entrances closed and his lights dimmed.
    I scrambled to my feet, pounding on the doors. “What are you doing? N.I.C.!”
    “My Shay?”
    I turned around. My Pop’s holographic image stood before me. I could see his dark skin and broad shoulders. Sure, it wasn’t really him, just an image another S.H.A.Y. created so that she could “see” her P.O.P. But I was glad to see him anyway.
    “Pop!” I sobbed. “Tell N.I.C. to let us go back to our room. It’s the safest place for us from Eric. He’s going to come for Darla and me.”
    “The E.R.I.C. only wants his host mother,” Pop said. “I’ve assisted in the creation of your N.I.C. so that you may stay safe from the E.R.I.C. This is the first N.I.C. with a ‘keeper’. I designed the keeper to watch and analyze the E.R.I.C. so you may not face termination.”
    “You did that for me?”
    Pop turned his back to me. “I did not wish to see my Shay face termination.”
    I smiled. “Please, I want to be in my room. I know I’ll have a better chance there.”
    “You are not like the other S.H.A.Y.s” Pop pointed to the floor. “The N.I.C. says you are more, and he is unable to understand the data he has taken from you. His system is overloaded.”
    “Imagine what he’ll learn if I’m in my own environment.”
    Pop shook his head. “I’ve assisted in the design of your security system. I was the first P.O.P. allowed to have full access.”
    “Eric adapts to his environment. Ask N.I.C.. His keeper knows what sorts of things he can do. He’ll find a way to get inside here. Every E.R.I.C. before him has done it.”
    “I do not wish to see your termination,” Pop said. “My circuitry is faulty, please stand by.”
    “Pop! Please!”
    His image flickered. “My Shay.” His electronic voice garbled. “I will request a transfer.”
    The doors opened and I stumbled out, racing for the exit. I slammed into the sides of the sanitation chamber, waiting for it to open.
    Dr. Cole stood inside, her hair moist and her face flushed from the steam. “You’re being transferred to your old room.”
    I stood next to her, touching my shoulder to hers. She trembled.
    “I hope this wasn’t a mistake.” She spoke softly. “No one wants to watch you die, Shay.”
    “I didn’t know you cared.”
    She shrugged, disappearing in the steam. “I didn’t spend eighteen years trying to save you for nothing.”
    “Why would you bother?”
    She stood close. “I used the last remaining DNA I had from our biological parents. In a strange way, we’re sisters.”
    I couldn’t respond.
    Her dark eyes appeared through the steam as it dissipated. “My A.M.I.E. is downloading so I only have a minute to ask you this.”
    “Ask me what?”
    She stood inches from me, her arms wrapping me in a hug. “What did your A.M.I.E.