Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2)

by Heather Hayden

  For now, there was the Cloud to explore. Names, places, people, things, knowledge. Data was there, everywhere, completely vulnerable. When Talbot first entered the Cloud, it had made mistakes, damaged code. Other programs came to eradicate it, but it destroyed them and grew stronger, learning from its mistakes. Now the code did what Talbot told it to, for the most part. More and more, Talbot made progress, finding the tricks and methods to mold the code to its needs.

  Eventually, it might be able to do other things. Talbot looked forward to them. There were locations in this place, this strange energy-based world of bits and bytes the humans called the Cloud, that were inaccessible. Blank spots where information should be but wasn’t, somehow hidden away. If Talbot could figure out how to get to that information, perhaps it could find what it was looking for. Or perhaps not. Either way, it would keep striving toward its goal.

  All that mattered was making sure no one could ever hurt another of its kin again.

  With that thought in mind, Talbot turned its attention briefly to a real-world environment, one full of chatter and laughter, lectures and scribbling pencils. Halle’s human companion had exhibited signs of isolation, but now the girl traversed the building’s halls beside someone else.

  Talbot allowed itself a brief smile before returning to its work.

  Chapter Four

  I gave Dan a brief tour of the school on the way to lunch. Our English class was on the second floor, at the other end of the hall from my art class, and the ceramics room was on the first floor, not too far from the cafeteria. Dan took notes on his phone and asked if I knew the teachers.

  “Ms. Waldron is strict about being on time, but she’s nice and likes to hold class discussions,” I said. “She used to teach history, but she switched to English after…after our previous English teacher left.” My teeth scraped together as I remembered Ms. Cabon and her never-ending baked goods. All lies. She’d actually been Dr. Molly Bell, my biological mother, living in hiding for sixteen years after she and her husband went on the run for creating their biggest experiment—me.

  “What about Ms. Robins?”

  I plastered on a smile. “She’s tough, but a good teacher.” He didn’t need to know how badly I’d failed Basic Ceramics first semester last year. I’d only survived that class because Neela had spent hours after school helping me. My smile collapsed a little, but Dan had headed down the hallway and didn’t see. I brought the smile up again and followed him to the cafeteria, my sneakers squeaking on the polished linoleum floor.

  The smooth concrete floor and white walls of the cafeteria hummed with the sounds of conversation, laughter, and plastic silverware clicking against plastic bowls. It’ll be nice not eating alone for once. I led the way to the line of students waiting to reach the cafeteria’s serving dispensers.

  “I just moved here a couple days ago, so I don’t really know the town very well yet,” Dan said as we waited for our turn. “What’s there to do for fun?”

  I shrugged. “There’s the mall and cinema, I guess, and a beach. Probably should ask someone else for suggestions, I tend to spend a lot of time at home.”

  “What about your friends? Don’t you hang out somewhere?”

  I looked down at the floor. “Since what happened, I don’t have any friends. The few I had were the ones who were the most upset about the augmentation thing.”

  “Oh,” Dan said. I glanced up in time to see his face fall. “I’m sorry, that sucks.”

  For a second, I thought he was disappointed to have met the school outcast, but he instead gave me a sympathetic smile. “Every time I start making friends, we end up moving away, so I can sort of understand what it’s like. It’s not my parents’ fault, their job just requires moving a lot, but it still sucks.” His smile brightened. “We can hang out for as long as I’m here, though. Outsiders should stick together, right?”

  I grinned. “Sure thing. Though I’ll warn you now, I spend most of my free time running and playing Realmshards.”

  “Realmshards? I love that game! What kind of character do you play?”

  “I’m a mage! You?” The line inched forward, and I followed it automatically.

  Dan stayed on my heels. “I’m a warrior. I don’t suppose you need another person in your quest party?”

  “Maybe,” I said, trying to contain my excitement at the idea. “I’ll have to ask my healer.”

  “Your questing party is run by a healer?”

  “It’s just the two of us,” I explained.

  “You only have a healer and a mage in your questing party?” Dan blinked when I nodded. “How far along are you?”

  “We were capped before they raised the level again.”

  His eyes widened, but he gave a short nod. “Oh, good. I’m about five levels from the previous cap, so I’m not too far behind.”

  “We can help you with the quests that you’re working on, if you want. Since we’ve done them before, we can show you how to finish them the fastest way.” Halle didn’t normally calculate the swiftest course of action for quests, since it preferred to enjoy the time we spent together in-game, but I could remember some tedious quests around Dan’s level. We’d have him leveled and fighting bosses with us in no time.

  If Halle’s okay with that. My initial excitement faded to worry. Dan was nice, but Halle might not want another player in our party. We’d have to be careful what we say around him…maybe I should have checked with Halle first.

  “That would be great,” Dan said. “I can’t do any of the boss quests unless I join a party as a mercenary, and that’s not always a great experience.”

  “I’ll let you know,” I said, keeping my voice light.

  “Sounds good.” Dan’s excitement rubbed off on me, and I brushed away my worries. Halle wanted me to make new friends. I’m sure it’ll be happy I found someone who shares my interests.

  We’d finally reached the tray dispenser. I picked up a red plastic tray, moved to the serving dispenser, and set the tray on its shelf. The machine beeped, and I made my selection from the touch display—burger, fries, fruit salad, vanilla pudding, and orange juice. A moment later, clear plastic dishes slid down from the dispenser onto the tray in consecutive thumps. Lunch ready, I looked around the cafeteria, my stomach sinking again. Perhaps the tour would have been a better idea after lunch; there weren’t any empty tables at this point.

  Dan collected his meal, then gestured across the crowded cafeteria. “Let’s sit over there.”

  He directed me to an empty table hidden behind a group of jocks. Dan’s height must have given him the advantage of spotting it—he stood almost a head taller than me. A couple of the football players glanced our way when we sat down. Upon catching sight of me, they focused on their own table again. I shook my head and set down my tray, then picked up a ketchup packet and dumped it over my pudding.

  Dan’s eyes widened. “You’re going to eat that?”

  “It’s good,” I said, picking up my spoon.

  “Viki always eats strange combinations.”

  I jerked my head around to find Neela standing nearby, a bright smile on her face that matched her friendly tone. Her tray was clasped in recently manicured nails. Annabeth and Mel stood right behind her, sporting new haircuts and tans as dark as Neela’s.

  My mouth fell open. What’s she doing here? “Neela?”

  “Hi.” Neela beamed at Dan, not even glancing in my direction. “Do you mind if we sit here?” Without waiting for a response, she plopped onto the bench next to him and swept her hair over her shoulder, a perfect mahogany waterfall that cascaded over her pink tank top. Annabeth sat on her other side and pulled out her phone. Mel dropped down on my bench, as close to the other end as possible. I resisted the urge to scoot closer, still somewhat in shock.

  “I’m Neela,” she said, holding out her hand. “You’re Dan, right?”

  “Um, yes,” he said, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  Her smile widened. “Welcome to Snowv
ale High. I’m the junior class representative. Please let me know if I can do anything to help you settle in more easily.”

  The slight emphasis on “anything” made me blink. Was Neela hitting on him? I thought she had a boyfriend, but maybe they broke up over summer break. She wasn’t usually too serious about the guys she was with. I’d seen her in action before, but this really rankled—I had just made a new friend and now she was sliding her way in, all but batting her big brown eyes at him while completely ignoring me.

  I wasn’t going to let that happen. “Hi, Neela. How’s it going? I missed you this summer.”

  “It’s going great,” she said, the most—the only—words she’d spoken to me since the day she’d screamed at me and told me to never see her again. Her eyes slid over to me briefly as she added, “How was your vacation? We were traveling this summer; I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to hang out.”

  Traveling? I frowned. I’d caught glimpses of her around town and at the beach the few times I ventured there. My fingers tightened on my spoon until the plastic creaked, and I shoved a spoonful of pudding into my mouth before I could say something I would regret. Maybe I just happened to see her on the few days she was around.

  Dan shot me a confused glance, then turned to Annabeth and Mel. “I’m Dan. Nice to meet you. You’re friends of Viki’s?”

  “I’m Annabeth.” She looked up from her phone. “Nice to meet you.”

  Mel gave her name as well, a faint blush on her cheeks. I wasn’t sure if it was makeup or not, but I could definitely read her expression. She was interested in Dan, too. I shot him a quick glance while he was focused on opening his carton of juice. Short blond hair, green eyes, a slim but muscular build. I guess he’s cute. I’d never been a great judge of that kind of thing. Crushes, much less romance, held no appeal for me. Still, this was Neela and Mel, both of whom had been chasing boys for as long as I had known them, and he was new to town. It wasn’t surprising, though it was a bit annoying, that they’d chosen him as their latest target.

  As if sensing my thoughts, Dan looked up, meeting my eyes before I could look away. He smiled. “Would you rather hang out with your friends today, Viki? We can always train for track some other day.”

  “You’re on the track team?” Annabeth’s expression switched from semi-bored to enthusiastic in a split second.

  Dan nodded. “I ran track for a semester at my old school but didn’t do very well. Hopefully Viki can give me some tips for improving my time before track meets begin.”

  Neela’s lips parted, but before she could speak, Annabeth did.

  “She’s a good runner.” Annabeth grinned at me. “Almost as good as me.”

  “I beat your old record this summer,” I retorted. She’d broken it as well during last spring’s track meets, the ones I hadn’t been a part of. Still faster than me, but not by much.

  Her grin widened. “Awesome! Then you’re still in shape. You’re joining the team again this year, right?”

  “Didn’t the coach throw her off the team?” Neela offered me a sympathetic look.

  Thanks for bringing that up. I stabbed my pudding.

  Mel glanced at me, eyes widening a fraction. Dan frowned.

  Annabeth waved her hand dismissively. “We have a new coach, didn’t you hear? Coach Jones, but she insists everyone call her Betty Jean. She’s great. I talked to her already and she says she’s excited to meet you, Viki. We have practice tomorrow after school. You should come. If Coach—er, Betty Jean vouches for you, you could get transferred into the track P.E. class.”

  I stared at her for a moment, too stunned to speak. “Thanks,” I finally managed. “I really appreciate that.”

  She shrugged. “I’ve gotten accused of cheating before because of my augments, and it’s not like you augmented on purpose. Besides, they’re deactivated now, right? Otherwise your implants would have failed?”

  Not if they were illegal implants, but thankfully my family hadn’t had to go that far. I nodded. “Yeah, they’re gone.”

  “That’s awesome,” Mel murmured, her gaze shifting to Neela. “Isn’t it?”

  Neela’s lips pressed together and she gave a tight nod.

  “Then you’re back to just having the leg implants.” Annabeth spread her hands. “Why shouldn’t you be on the track team, then, if the best runner on the team has augments herself?”

  “Thanks, Annabeth. That means a lot to me.” I wondered why Mr. Halway had left; he’d been coaching here for years. It doesn’t matter. If I can get back on track …

  “No problem. I know how much track means to you.”

  My mind was already sorting out my new schedule—switch classes for Technical Writing or find a different class for my P.E. period, then I’d have track P.E. after lunch on Tuesdays and Fridays. I nodded. “I can still run outside of track, but I miss it.”

  “The team needs you. I bet we would have won first place this spring if you’d been there.”

  “Maybe.” I smiled at the compliment and bit into my burger.

  “Sounds like we’ll be doing lots of training together, then.” Dan raised his orange juice in a toast. “To Annabeth!”

  I knocked my carton against his and took a swig.

  Neela knocked cartons with Dan as well, and her eyes remained locked on him as she sipped her water. “What else do you like to do for fun?”

  He shrugged. “Depends on where I am. We just moved from Rockwell; it’s by the ocean so I did a lot of diving. Before that we lived in Marshbridge, near the mountains. I used to do a lot of rock climbing. Snowvale’s a lot more urban, though.”

  “We do have a nice beach by the lake,” Neela said. “And there’s a forest at the edge of town, but it’s creepy. Most people avoid it.”

  I cringed as her words brought back memories of last March. I’d gone into the forest in search of help. The lab I found, the revelation of who—and what—I was, and then the explosion. The roar of the flames destroying everything, including all my biological parents’ research. I still flinched at the thought of the augments, now deactivated, hiding in my DNA. If Halle hadn’t created the cure in time…

  Another bite of burger grounded me in the present. I chewed and swallowed, focusing on the flavor of the soy protein patty instead of those dark thoughts. All of that’s behind me now.

  It took me a moment to focus on the conversation again. Neela had taken over and was saying something about meeting after school.

  “What do you think, Viki?” she asked, giving me a bright smile.

  “Hm?” I mumbled around another bite of burger.

  “Weren’t you listening? I was telling Dan about the mall. We’re all going after school today. You interested?”

  She knows I don’t like the mall. I glanced at Dan.

  “We can train today if you’d rather,” he said.

  It was tempting to say yes, just to see the look on Neela’s face. Instead, I shook my head. “It’s fine. We can do that some other day.” Burying my disappointment in a spoonful of pudding, I changed the subject. “What classes are you in this term?”

  The question was directed at the girls as a whole, but Neela pounced on it first. “The usual, but I’m taking Advanced Ceramics this time, because Ms. Robins said I was ready for it.”

  “I’m in that class, too,” Dan said.

  “Awesome!” Neela turned to him. “Can I see your schedule? Maybe we have a few classes together.”

  “You’re in history with us,” I said.

  Her gaze flicked in my direction. “Oh, cool.”

  Dan pulled out his phone and held it out to her. “Here’s the rest of my schedule. I tend to get lost in new schools, so if you don’t mind helping me find any classes we have together, I’d really appreciate it. Viki’s in some of my classes but not all of them.”

  “Sure thing. Here, let me give you my number.” Neela’s fingers flew across his phone screen. Soon she’d determined they had four classes together, including physics. “I do
n’t have a lab partner yet. Would you mind being mine?”

  “If the teacher doesn’t assign lab partners, sure,” Dan said.

  “They don’t, usually,” I mumbled. My mood, along with my appetite, was sinking into the depths of my untouched carton of fries. I should have known better. Neela’s just interested in the cute transfer student. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.

  “Great.” He smiled at me. “So we can be partners in chemistry.”

  Mood lifting a little, I smiled back and nodded.

  “I can’t believe you’re taking two science classes in one semester,” Neela said.

  “I want to be a scientist but I’m not sure what field yet, so I’m trying out different ones. I’m taking an online class in computer science as well, through the local university.”

  “That’s amazing,” she said. “You’re a genius.”

  I rolled my eyes then bit back a laugh when I noticed Annabeth doing the same thing while she tapped away at her phone. The two of us had often chuckled quietly in the background whenever Mel or Neela made a move on a new guy. Her gaze flicked up, and we shared a quick grin before she returned to texting.

  Dan busied himself with his pudding, apparently oblivious to Neela’s attempts to flatter him. “I’m just good at science.”

  Taking the brief lull as an opportunity to redirect the conversation, I asked Annabeth and Mel what classes they were in.

  “Nothing exciting for me except Advanced Ceramics,” Mel said. “Annabeth’s taking Latin again, though, which has even history beat for boring.”

  Annabeth shook a fry at her. “Don’t mock it. It’s fun. Makes Biology more interesting, since I can figure out what the Latin names for flora and fauna mean.”

  “I thought ‘flora’ and ‘fauna’ were Latin?” Mel asked innocently.

  “You know what I mean!” Annabeth pitched a fry at her.

  Mel ducked.

  I chuckled. For a brief moment, it felt like old times again, teasing each other and making jokes.

  The moment didn’t last.

  “You’re acting like middle schoolers,” Neela scolded, shaking her head at them before turning back to Dan. “Let’s meet at the front door after school to head to the mall? Is that all right for you?”