Chapter 66
Room One
The first clinic room had no restraints.
That detail unsettled Claire more than the chair beneath Cabin 12. Room One had been designed to look like a child's bedroom: a narrow bed, a wooden toy chest, a lamp with a yellow shade.
Mara's voice came from the tape.
“Tell me what you remember.”
Claire's younger voice answered, “I remember you changing your name.”
“Why do you think I did that?”
“Because you want to be someone else.”
“Do you?”
The tape clicked. The sound of a child humming appeared beneath the recording.
Claire looked at the first response.
“That is you.”
The child nodded.
“I was the sound they used to make the room feel safe.”
The recording continued.
Younger Claire said, “You told me there was a girl in the clinic.”
Mara answered, “There are many girls.”
“The one with my face.”
“She needs a witness.”
“I am not a witness.”
“You are the only person who can recognize her.”
The tape stopped.
Claire understood her four missing hours had not begun with a drug or a seizure. They began with a question she had asked because she did not trust her sister.
She had entered Room One willingly.
The first response opened the toy chest.
Inside were four paper cups marked with times: 2:03, 3:10, 4:17, 5:22.
Claire picked up the cup marked 4:17.
The room changed.
Mara stood beside the bed. Owen Bell was younger, his face still open with the confidence of a man who believed morality was a technical problem.
Rowan sat on the floor.
Ada stood behind the glass.
Claire said, “I will witness.”
Mara asked, “Even if the witness becomes part of the transfer?”
Claire answered, “Especially then.”
The memory ended.
On the wall, a sentence appeared.
YOU DID NOT LOSE FOUR HOURS. YOU GAVE THEM AWAY.