“Well, I should go meet DJ,” I said. “I promised I’d help him clean the air recyclers in the garden since you already refused.”
A sly, suggestive grin crept onto Jenny’s face. “Have a good time,” she said in a singsong voice.
I gave Jenny the finger as I left the galley and made my way toward the garden. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to visit Dr. Kim in Bell’s Cove. It was fine talking to DJ or Jenny, but I also had to live with them. There were things I hadn’t told them, things I didn’t want to tell them, that it might be beneficial to discuss with someone else. That was one of the reasons I visited Bell’s Cove. To escape Qriosity. To see people other than DJ and Jenny, even if those people ultimately weren’t real.
The first thing I saw when I opened the door to the oxygen garden was the sky painted the colors of a crane lily. The ground fell away, and I wavered on my feet. Stumbled into the bulkhead and managed to stay upright, but only barely. Impossible memories filled my brain. DJ was going to be standing at the pond in a tan suit, holding a yellow flower. He never intended for us to clean the air recyclers. He’d invited me to the garden for a surprise date. And Jenny had helped him arrange it.
I couldn’t catch my breath. I pressed my hand to my chest and fought for air. As the memories that had assaulted me began to settle, the dizziness receded. That couldn’t have been déjà vu. That had been violent, as if someone had cracked open my skull and forced the remembrance of something I’d never experienced into my brain.
Slowly, I followed the path deeper into the garden. I remembered this, too. I called DJ’s name. He called back. I found him at the pond. This time I remained quiet as I walked. As I grew closer to the end of the path, I prayed DJ wouldn’t be there. Or that he would be wearing the overalls he usually wore when he planned to do particularly filthy work and not an ill-fitting tan suit.
“Hey, Noa.”
The yellow flower. DJ held it out to me and smiled. God, he was so handsome, and there was a moment, brief and fleeting but real, where I considered taking the flower from him.
“This is a date, isn’t it?” I said. “You lied to me about cleaning the air recyclers so that you could get me here.” I pointed at the food containers sitting on the blanket on the grass. “Spaghetti, bread, and salad.”
DJ stared at me like I’d unzipped my skin. “I mean, yeah. It wasn’t really a lie, though. You could look at it like it was, I suppose, but—”
I ran from the oxygen garden, not bothering to listen to the rest of his explanation. I’d been right. How could I have known? Maybe I could have read subtle body language from Jenny. At best, though, that would have given away that DJ was planning something. Not what he was planning. Not what he was wearing. I’d known down to the way he’d cuffed his pants because they were too long. I shouldn’t have. It should not have been possible.
I opened the door to medical, tugged off my shirt, and snapped the MediQwik cuff around my bare arm before hopping onto the table.
“Thank you for choosing the MediQwik Portable Medical Diagnostician and Care Appliance. How are you injured?”
“I don’t know. But there’s something wrong with me. I’m remembering things that I shouldn’t be able to remember.”
“Your heart rate is currently one hundred and seventy-five beats per minute, and your respirations are abnormally high. You appear to be suffering from panic-related tachycardia—”
I slammed my fist on the table. “I don’t care about that! What’s wrong with my brain? Why am I able to remember things before they happen?”
The door opened, and DJ, face flushed and sweaty, ran in. He was the last person I wanted to see, but I was also grateful he was there because maybe he could convince MediQwik to do its damn job.
“Noa?” DJ moved cautiously like he was afraid I might bolt again. “What’s wrong?”
I laughed and laughed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
DJ inched closer. “Try me.”
“Fine,” I said. “It started with the soufflé. I was going to taste it after I took it out of the oven, but when I did, I burned my finger. Except, I hadn’t touched it yet. I only remembered burning my finger. But how could I remember something that I hadn’t done yet? And then there was this conversation with Jenny. It went differently last time, but I remember the game she was playing with. You were the same, though. You made the dome look like a sunset, and I said I hadn’t seen a sunset in a long time, and you said it was a date, and I said ‘No thank you’ and ran off because… well, that’s not important.”
DJ licked his lips and swiped his hand through his hair. “It’s good you came here.”
“It would be if MediQwik would follow my commands.” I tapped the cuff with my finger. “What’s wrong with my brain?”
“Your heart rate and respiration are dangerously high. Probable diagnosis is that you are suffering from a panic attack. Would you like to begin treatment?”
“No!” I said. But DJ said, “Yes, he would.”
“I absolutely do not!” I told him.
“Immediate treatment is recommended,” MediQwik said.
“I don’t know what’s going on, Noa, but you’re not making sense, and I’m worried about you. Let MediQwik help you and then we can figure out what’s happening together.”
“You’re not listening to me!” I tried to pry the cuff off my arm, but it let out a harsh beep, and the lights flashed red.
“MediQwik is initiating patient override protocol. Administering treatment directly. MediQwik, health redefined. MediQwik is a trademark of Prestwich Enterprises, a subsidiary of Gleeson Foods.”
“DJ?” A cool sensation spread through my limbs, and the world slowed to a blur.
DJ approached and helped me lie back. “You’re gonna be okay, Noa. I promise.”
My eyelids grew heavy. What was I worried about?
“I’ll be here when you wake up.” DJ took my hand. It felt like he was touching me through two inches of foam rubber.
The drugs invaded my blood, they drowned my brain, but I fought the darkness. I clawed for the light. I felt helpless and alone even with DJ by my side. My eyes slid shut and I screamed soundlessly.
THREE
THE TIMER I’D SET BEGAN to blare as I reached for the oven door.
“Wait,” I said. “It’s not ready. The soufflé will collapse if I take it out now.”
“Talking to yourself again, Noa?” Jenny called from the other side of the galley.
I remembered. I’d done this before. More than once. I walked around to the table and flopped down in the nearest chair, my mind in a daze. Jenny was playing with a familiar object. A game or puzzle. It was the first time I’d seen her with it, but I knew without a doubt that I had watched her twist and turn the pieces while trying to get the faces to light up the same color.
“Noa?”
I blinked and looked at her. “Call DJ and tell him to come here.”
Jenny frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to meet him in the garden?”
“To clean the air recyclers,” I said. “But it’s a trick. When I get there, he’s going to be wearing a tan suit that doesn’t fit well, and he’ll be holding a yellow flower.” I caught Jenny’s eye. “Just get him here.”