Again she awoke to the sight of a dull white ceiling. She sighed inwardly; it would be nice to pass through one day without getting knocked unconscious. She lifted her head and saw that they had guards posted inside the room now, even though she was still strapped down. Elise commended their caution; there was no telling what she might do next.
Elise blinked as a sudden realisation dawned on her. She was controlling the movement of her head and the direction her eyes shifted. She was back in command and there were no thoughts or orders coming from the other one. She tested this using all the muscles in her body and she had total control, even down to wiggling her toes. She nearly laughed out loud in triumph.
'I win bitch!' She thought gleefully. Elise wondered what had happened to eliminate the other consciousness that had recently taken up residence in her head. She thought back to what had happened over the last few days. It was mostly a swirl of darkness to her, only occasionally had she been able to break through the suppression in order to see what was happening. She remembered pain, a great deal of pain. Surely she ought to be able to remember everything that the other experienced. For although they were somehow separate identities, they had shared one brain, one set of memories. Yet it all seemed so hazy. Elise hoped that with time her memories would clear up.
The guards had called Tong the minute she had opened her eyes and now he walked cautiously into the room. She observed his reaction to her with mute surprise. She was securely tied down, what possible threat could she be? What had she done to put them so on edge? She had to change that as soon as possible, she needed to gain their trust. Otherwise she could spend the rest of her life tied up or locked in a cell somewhere.
"How are you feeling?" Tong asked as he came to stand over her, scrutinising her expression.
"Despite a minor headache not too bad actually." She kept her tone light even managing a slight smile. But this seemed to put Tong further on edge.
"You don't feel like killing me?" Tong had turned his attention halfway to a rank of monitors, no doubt displaying all sorts of readouts regarding her system. The question caught Elise by surprise.
"Uhhh…not really. No." She wished she could remember more of the events of the past week. What had that bitch been up to?
"Interesting." Was all that Tong replied. He seemed to have lost interest in her completely as his fingers flickered across the console. He made a curious noise in his throat but Elise could not read his expression. "Were you aware that Everett implanted some sort of device in your brain? Apart from the standard augmentations?" He asked at last.
"Yes! Or at least I came to suspect that he had. I'm not entirely sure of its nature." So she had been right about Morgan, he had completely betrayed her trust. "I suspect he's been using it to control me all along. At first it was of a subtle suggestive nature I never even realised it was there. I would just often feel of two minds about things. It was very confusing." Tong listened intently and nodded that she should continue.
"As mine and Morgan's beliefs began to diverge its presence became more violent, more assertive. The first clue I had that there was something controlling me was when Everett ordered me to kill JC. It used pain as a motivator and even gained some control of my motor skills." Speaking all of this out loud for the first time made Elise realise how far-fetched it sounded. Would Tong believe her? Perhaps she had only believed it so that she could forgive herself for murdering so many people. If she hadn't been in control it couldn't be her fault, could it?
"The Chateau was the first time it really took charge. I know this is going to sound crazy but it was like there was another version of myself inside my head." Elise chewed at her bottom lip as she tried to put what she had felt into words. "It was me and yet it wasn't. She was stronger than me and she took over completely. I remember very little of what passed after the Chateau Du Clare." She fell silent as she pondered it all.
"Do you feel her now?" Tong asked. Elise thought hard, trying to find any traces of the other in her mind and at length she shook her head.
"No. And believe me I don't miss her." She smiled ruefully and Tong even managed a short chuckle. "But it is strange that I do not want to kill you. My father ordered me to and yet…" Tong interrupted her suddenly.
"Wait, your father?"
"Yes. I am Elise Everett. Morgan Everett is my father." Tong seemed to find this news both surprising and disturbing. "I would not be surprised if you did not know that. Morgan had to keep my existence a secret for my own safety especially after my mother…my mother…" Elise knew that something had happened to her mother, something important and yet she could not recall what. "I'm sorry, it seems my memory loss is worse than I had suspected."
"What can you remember? What is your earliest memory?"
"I…I can remember that I had memories of my childhood. Many memories. But when you asked me just now I cannot recall them." Her brow knit together in confusion as she tried hard to recall memories she knew she had. "Waking up in the lab in Paris, the operation was a success. I remember that." Tong acted as though he had suspected this all along. Before he could speak though she continued. "There is more, it's almost more like a dream than a memory. It's dark, I cannot see anything." She closed her eyes trying to place herself in similar situation to help the memory come to her. "It is warm though and confined and I feel safe." She shook her head uncertainly. "Maybe it is a dream."
Unexpectedly Tong reached over and undid the bindings that were holding her down.
"Uh, what are you doing?" She uttered in astonishment, believing the man has lost all of his senses.
"I no longer believe that you are a threat to us. Everett has no control over you anymore." He was confident in his statement and Elise only hoped he was right. No matter how normal she might feel she had no way of knowing when Everett, or the other Elise, might suddenly take control again. She pushed up into a sitting position on the med-table and rubbed at her wrists. She hadn't thought the binders were that tight but they had scraped the flesh off where they touched. She was going to slide to her feet when Tong held out a restraining hand.
"I recommend you remain sitting for what I'm about to tell you Elise."
