More Than You Know

The sun shined brightly over the Mall. Taking advantage of the warm weather and strong wind, several people flew kites. The rest of the crowd flocked toward the Smithsonian, Capitol building, or various monuments. A young man lay contentedly on the grass near the National Gallery of Art, eyes closed, hands behind his head.

Clouds gathered in the sky as the day continued. In the early evening, there was a chill to the air, and it began to rain. Soon enough, it was pouring, and the crowd dissipated. All except for that one young man, who continued to lay on the grass near the National Gallery of Art, eyes closed, hands behind his head.

* * *

"We estimate the time of death to be around nine yesterday morning."

"What was the cause?"

"Stab wound to the back. A college student found him early this morning. Alexandria Gray; she's waiting outside."

"Alexandria Gray, are you sure? All right, send her in."

Alex was a small girl, a brunette with bright green eyes. Though petite, as soon as she stepped into the room, she filled it with her presence. The head crime scene investigator cleared his throat when he saw her. "Miss Gray...please have a seat. I'm Inspector Norres." Alex complied quietly. "Where do you attend school, Miss Gray?"

"I'm a junior at George Washington. A communications major."

"A fine school, GW. Went there myself. Now, why don't you tell us what happened this morning." It was not a request. As jovial as his tone had been, Norres was a man accustomed to getting answers.

"Well, I was jogging along the Mall like I do every morning. You know, I try to stay in shape." Alex started out speaking shakily, but gained strength as she went on. "Anyway, it rained last night, so everything was all wet. I slipped a little bit by the art gallery, and when I went to catch myself, there was this guy. He was just laying in the grass. I mean, that's not all that unusual, but he was soaked through, like he had been there all night. I shook him a little bit, you know, to wake him up, but he...he wouldn't wake up. That's when I noticed the blood."

"Thank you, Miss Gray." Norres looked up from the case file. "You say you touched him. I suppose that would explain why your fingerprints are all over the body?"

"I guess so. Am I in any trouble?"

"Of course not, we are merely trying to get the facts. Did you know the deceased?"

"I don't think so...should I have?"

"It's possible. He was a senior at GW."

"There are about seven thousand undergrads. I don't even know five percent of them."

"Hmmm...Miss Gray, you are free to go."

"Thank you."

Alex left the interrogation room. When the door closed behind her, Norres turned to the man in the corner. "What do you think, sir?"

"She knows nothing."

"You don't think she suspects...?"

"No."

* * *

Alex breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the police station. Cops made her nervous. She turned onto 15th Street, toward her internship at the Washington Post. Late again, but at least this time she had a good excuse . A homeless man on the street shoved a cup at her, but she just shook her head and faced straight forward. "Hey!" Alex looked behind her to see the man heading her way. She broke into a run. "Wait, Alex!"

Alex stopped. "How do you know my name?"

The man ignored the question. "Take this." He handed her a paper, then turned away. Alex blinked, and the man disappeared into an alley.

"What the..." Alex unfolded the paper, but it was blank. She looked around for a moment, certain that she was the butt of some elaborate joke, but no one was around.

* * *

"Stop it! Just leave me alone!"

"Take this and give it to—"

"Don't! Please..."

Alex awoke with a start, sweating. She had never had dreams like that before, changing images, voices, not making any sense...

The girl looked at her clock. Five in the morning. She groaned, and rolled out of bed. Fifteen minutes later, she was on her way to the Lincoln Memorial. Once there, she took out her books and began to study for class. Alex enjoyed the quiet of the place; she was rarely interrupted that early in the day.

After working for nearly an hour, Alex looked out over the Mall. She saw the Capitol in the distance, and memory flashed over her.

"Don't, Logan! Please, just leave me alone! I swear, I—"

"I'll pay you! Take this and give it to—"

"No, Logan, stop!"

Alex shuddered. What was happening to her? She gathered her books and rushed down the memorial steps, but suddenly stopped. The reflecting pool...something about it...

She stood at the edge of the water, waiting for him. There! He came toward her, coming...she reached out and grabbed him, forced him down, held him in the pool. He fought, tried to resist, but she was too strong. After several minutes, he went limp. She let go, and he floated down toward the Washington monument.

Alex opened her eyes and cried out. She was...a murderer? She shut out all of the horrific thoughts, and ran back to her dorm.

* * *

Alex awoke at eight o'clock, just in time for her first class. She walked through the day in a fog, but thankfully with no more waking dreams. She took the Metro back from the Post, and passed another homeless man. She looked again, and realized it was the same man from the day before. She ran up to him and grabbed his arm. "Wait...what was that paper supposed to be?"

"I thought you would know, miss. You gave it to me." The man shrugged her off, and continued on his way, leaving Alex standing there, more confused than ever. The sight of him walking away, though...it was so familiar.

"Excuse me, will you please...wait! I'll pay you! Please, just take this and give it to me the next time you see me. Here." She thrust twenty dollars at him, along with a piece of paper. "Hold on, let me write...oh!" A man grabbed her from behind. She had just enough time to throw the homeless man the paper before she was taken away.

Alex sank down on the dirty ground of the Metro station. "What is going on? For the love of God!"

She sank down on the ground in front of Logan. "What are you doing to me? Just make it stop, I swear, I'll do anything!"

"Anything, Alex?"

"Yes, if it'll just stop!"

"I'll tell you what, Alex, you just take care of a...loose end...for me, and it'll stop. Okay?"

"What do you want me to do?"

* * *

Inspector Norres stood looking down at Alex laying in her hospital bed. "I told you, sir, she is unstable. It was a mistake to bring her into The Project."

The same man from the police station stood next to him. "She was fine, before this murder. How coincidental that it happened to a fellow member of The Project, and she found the body."

Norres nodded. "Yes...coincidental. Oh, get out of sight, sir, she's waking up!"

Alex opened her eyes to see Norres. "Miss Gray. I'm pleased to see you awake. I understand you collapsed in a Metro station. Could this have anything to do with that body you found?"

The man in the corner murmured, "Don't push her."

Norres backtracked. "I mean, finding bodies can be very stressful, especially that of a fellow student. It is unfortunate that Logan Monroe was murdered, but we are close to—"

Alex interrupted him. "Logan?"

"Logan , make it stop! Please..."

The girl began to shake violently. Memories invaded her mind, memories of other seizures like this, caused by...Logan.

"Don't you wanna be part of something big, Alex? It's just a few pills."

"Well...okay."

"Logan, you said there would be no side effects, but I keep shaking! What's happening to me?"

"Okay, maybe there are a few side effects, but there's nothing I can do."

"Please, Logan, I'll do anything!"

"His name is David Jones, and I want him gone."

The voices swam in Alex's head.

"Logan, I killed that man and the seizures didn't stop. Make them stop!" She brandished a knife at him. He looked so innocent, laying on the grass by the Art Gallery.

He saw the knife and panicked. "Alex, okay, I'll tell you everything. It's called The Project. The whole town is in on it, well, the government, at least. The pills...they alter your DNA, so you become a different person. Scientists developed this drug, but they didn't have anyone to test it on. That's where you come in. They didn't know about the seizures."

"Why did you tell me to kill David Jones?"

"He found out about The Project, and was about to blow the whistle, let the public know. We couldn't let that happen. They were gonna make me kill him, and I just couldn't do it."

"So you decided to have me do it, in exchange for making the shaking stop. But even you don't know how to do that!" She threatened him with the knife.

"Wait, Alex! You don't understand, this is bigger than you think! It goes all the way up to the Vice President. They know you've been compromised, and your memory will be erased. Killing me won't stop that!"

"Logan, at this point, I've stopped caring."

The seizure stopped, and Alex looked directly at Norres. "I remember," she said clearly, "and you won't get away with it."

The Vice President stepped forward. "Miss Gray, I'm terribly sorry, but The Project must survive. I'm sure you understand." He took her arm, and led her to the eighth story window of Columbia Hospital.

"Sir, I understand she is a threat, but is defenestration really necessary?"

"Inspector Norres, I decide what is necessary around here. We'll cook up some kind of suicide story, and the public will buy it. They always do."