Chapter Three
Mary Jaleski looked around anxiously. Where are you, Amy? She thought, almost in a state of panic. Her heart was pounding like crazy. And she was sweating. Why did I tell her to come here? Mary screamed at herself. I'm only putting her into danger!
Her heart stopped when she saw two identical girls with brown hair walking toward a black car. Amy!
"Amy. Wait!"
The girl with the longer hair turned, as if looking for the person who called her name.
Mary hustled her way to through the crowd. "Amy!" She called again.
Now Amy saw her, and the stunned expression on her face was unmistakable. "Mary--!"
The other girl, obviously one of the Amy clones, frowned. "What are you dong here, Mary Jaleski?"
Mary stopped dead in her tracks. "You…you know me?"
The girl threw back her head and laughed. "Why, don't tell me you forgot, Mary. I'm Amanda Chrysler. The girl you once betrayed. You turned me in, Mary. I'll never forget that."
There was no mistaking the anger that was behind Amanda's laughter.
A wave of nausea swept through Mary. "Amanda…" A very unpleasant memory flashed in Mary's mind. It was almost a year ago…Amanda Chrysler, Amy number Nine, crying helplessly in one of the Project Crescent Labs…
"I…I'm sorry…Amanda…" Mary choked out the words.
Amanda chuckled. "Too late for that." She turned to Amy. "Come on, Amy, let's go." She tugged at Amy's sleeve.
Amy didn't budge. She was gazing at Mary coldly…steadily.
"Amy, come on. There's not much time." Amanda repeated, staring at Amy.
"Amanda…you told me I have to show up for the tests…what kind of tests?" Amy suddenly asked, her eyes still locked on Mary.
"I can't be certain, but it's probably to test your abilities and all that. The Project needs to know if the clones are developing the way they should be…and if it met their standards." Amanda shrugged. "Don't worry, there's nothing to it."
"So why didn't they test you instead?" Amy asked, shifting her gaze to Amanda.
"I'm going to be tested too. They need more than one clone, you know, for experimental reasons…" Amanda grinned. "Oh, and I have a very nice surprise for you, Amy. There are other clones already in the labs."
Amy's eye's lit up. "Is Annie there?" She asked with a frown.
"You mean, the one from France?" Amanda shook her head. "They weren't able to reach her. And even if they did, I doubt Annie would cooperate. I think you know what I'm talking about. Annie had been part of the neo-nazis. Much to the dismay of the Project…" she stopped. "Anyway, Amy, we need to hurry. The scientists are waiting."
Mary just stood there, watching as the two clones talk about Project Crescent. These two girls know nothing about it, Mary thought. They don't know what the Project really wants from them.
Before Mary even realized it, Amy and Amanda were getting into the car. She argued whether she should try to stop both of the girls from getting into the car or if she should try to steer Amy away from Amanda…but she thought better of it.
Mary watched as the car sped past, suddenly wondering who was driving the car. Maybe one of the Project's workers?
"You moron!" A male voice suddenly screamed, startling Mary.
She turned, and saw a slightly familiar guy scowling at her furiously.
The guy was breathless, as if he'd been running. "Why did you let Amy go with that girl?"
Mary suddenly recognized the person. It was Eric Morgan, Tasha's brother.
"This is your fault, Mary Jaleski! What are we going to do now?" Eric's voice was rising.
"Follow them. That's what we should do." Mary answered calmly. She went to her car and dug into her pockets for the car keys.
Obviously, Eric hadn't been expecting this. He stood there, speechless.
Mary started the engine. "Now, hurry up, Eric. Hop in. We have a lot to do."
Tasha Morgan stared at the strange array of computers—much more complex than regular ones—in front of her. She knew where she is, this was one of Project Crescent's labs. What was she doing here? Mainly because Project Crescent wanted to use her to make Amy, Number Seven, come here.
Tasha scowled angrily, getting annoyed by the fact that they managed to take her here. She could remember exactly what happened.
One of Amy's clones—Amanda—went to Tasha's house earlier that day and told her that Amy was in trouble. Tasha, of course, was careful enough to ask questions. But, after a while, she felt sure that Amanda was telling the truth and agreed to go with her…
Tasha groaned. How stupid she'd been! Now because of her, Amy would be caught. And not only that, if the Project achieves it's goals, then the whole world is doomed.
Tasha tried to find a way to stop this…but her mind just went blank whenever she tried to think.
Sure, she called Eric, using a payphone, and warned him about Amy…but that wouldn't be enough. It's quite possible that Eric wasn't able to help Amy, and that Amy might be coming into this lab any second now!
Tasha clenched her fists. If only she wasn't fooled by that clone!
Amy stared out the window of the car she was in, wondering what on earth she was doing. Of course, she suspected that this was a trap. In fact, she was almost sure it is.
Amanda must have thought Amy was gullible enough to just go along. But Amy had different things in mind.
If Project Crescent wasn't successfully terminated, that meant someone must still be funding it. The organization, perhaps? Also, if there still is a Project, what is its purpose? And why isn't it terminated?
According to her Mom, Nancy Candler, the organization that started the Project wanted to create a race of superior people in order to take over the world. When Nancy and the other scientists learned about this, they terminated the project.
Obviously, the scientists have failed. And the project is still working…but…why? What was the point of all this? Amy couldn't think of other reasons except of that of the organization. To create the master race they wanted to create in the first place.
Amy was sure she almost fell into the trap. Almost, but not yet.
Amy figured that she couldn't exactly just get out of the car and escape Amanda. Because even if she manages to escape, the organization is still going to look for her one way or another. Obviously, the organization knew where she lives, and where they can find her.
Also, Tasha won't be released until Amy shows up. That means Amy had no choice but to go there and free Tasha.
Besides, according to Amanda, some of the other clones were already there. Which means that the Project already have the DNA structure that they need, whether Amy goes or not, the Project will still continue.
A plan was beginning to form in Amy's head. Now everything was clear.
The only solution is to go into Project Crescent---and try to terminate it, again.
Before it's too late.