Imposter Read Online Free PDF

mistake? Maybe that’s her real job. “She had a brother? I don’t remember. And again, does it matter?”
    Dr. Harding doesn’t respond to my question. “What is the importance of the speech you will be presenting to the House in about two weeks?”
    “Freeing the Texans.”
    Dr. Harding sets her tablet on the table and looks at me. “And how do you feel about this?” Her gaze digs deeply into mine. Unease tugs at the base of my spine. Somehow, I don’t believe this question is one from her list.
    What would Socrates say? “I think it’s high time for change. These people have lived as slaves for far too long.”
    She raises an eyebrow. “So you think the government should just summarily free the Texans?” She still doesn’t touch her tablet.
    “I don’t see how this line of questioning pertains to my recovery, do you?”
    A vivid red flush creeps up her cheeks. “Of course not, sir. My apologies.” She slips the tablet into her pocket and stands up before offering me her hand to shake. “I think we’re finished here. Do you have any questions?”
    I shake my head. “No. Thank you for coming so quickly. I can’t wait to get home.”
    “Right, then.” She turns on her heel. “Malcom, Felix, let’s not waste any more of Socrates’s time, shall we?” With mumbled assurances from both of the men, all three leave.

Slipping
    Will
     
    The pain is a constant reminder, a cruel friend who taunts me not with words but by merely existing. I can go nowhere without seeing her. She’s in the cafeteria where I took her for one disastrous lunch. She’s in the garden by the stream. She’s even standing in front of the elevators with me, a nervous hitch to her step as she gets on for the first time. I stare at the half-filled bag of clothes on the bed. I can’t do this right now. I have to get out of here. With one last scan around the apartment, I quickly leave, not sure where I’m going but certain I can’t stay here one more minute.
    Somehow, I find myself standing before the pressurized entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Garden. The reminder that it was Mira’s favorite place eats at me. Should I go in? Would it appear strange that a servant would come here on his own? If they arrest me, then at least I won’t have to go with Socrates to Santa Fe.
    Decision made, I key myself in and enter the dome. As the slowly gurgling brook comes into view, I freeze.
    Mira kneels by the stream, dipping her fingers in the water.
    “I don’t know how to do this,” Mira says.
    Is she talking about the Exchange, or us? My heart twists. I walk up behind her and put my arms around her waist.
    “Then don’t,” I whisper. Hope rises strong and sure in my chest. Maybe I can talk her out of it. Maybe I can change her mind, and she doesn’t have to die after all.
    She takes a deep breath. “I have to. If I don’t, everything will be for nothing.”
    I crouch down next to the slowly moving water and scoop up a handful of smooth brown and gray pebbles. My throat closes up tighter than the airlocks around the garden. This was a stupid idea. I chuck all the rocks in the water. The resounding splash quiets the birds chirping in the trees and the thoughts in my head, if only for a moment.
    “I’m sorry,” murmurs someone behind me. “You must miss her terribly.”
    At first, I don’t recognize the young man standing before me, but then it clicks. He’s one of the doctors from Mira’s Exchange.
    I grind my hands into fists so tight the knuckles turn white. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” I force my body to relax, as if the man’s presence doesn’t infuriate me. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
    The blond stranger studies the trees off to the side. “I’m a friend.”
    My angry laugh makes him wince. “You’re one of the doctors who killed Mira.” I spit at him, hitting the ground near his feet. “You’re no friend of mine.” 
    He dips his head at my barb. “Appearances aren’t