The Perfects

by D. L. Raven

  The lights came on again, and I blinked a few times, counting each member of our group. We were all here.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and let go of the death grips I had on Ian and Melanie.

  Marcus started backing away from the group. His hands trembled. “I—I can’t do this. I’m not cut out for all of this. I know what happens at the end of these books.”

  “We’re not in a book,” Ian said. “We’re going to be fine.”

  “Marcus, it’s going to be okay,” I said, hoping I sounded reassuring. “As long as we stick together, they can’t get to us. I have an axe and Ian is a skilled shot with his arrows.”

  Marcus continued to back away from us, mumbling something to himself.

  “Marcus, watch out!” Melanie cried.

  Something moved above Marcus’s head, and Melanie screamed so loud my ears started to buzz.

  A Perfect reached down and grabbed Marcus by the shoulders, plunging a syringe into Marcus’ neck.

  Marcus sagged, and the Perfect caught him, then adjusted himself to shove his arms under Marcus’s armpits for a better grip.

  Ian and I rushed over to Marcus. I raised the ax, prepared to strike the Perfect, but I hesitated, not wanting to hit Marcus.

  “Let him go!” I cried. My arms started to hurt from holding the ax up so long.

  The Perfect looked at me, his mouth was crinkled at the edges with his exertion. I glanced up. How was he hanging from the ceiling and trying to pull Marcus up? But as the question crossed my mind, Marcus’s limp body started to rise off the ground. Since he had been injected with whatever drug was in the syringe, he wasn’t fighting. These AIs were much stronger than I realized. It looked like the Perfect’s legs were attached to something. This had been planned for Marcus.

  Ian and I lunged for Marcus and held onto his legs, preventing the Perfect from taking him.

  I groaned with the effort, and Ian’s face was screwed up with exertion as well.

  Down the hall, the sound of several doors slamming shut made me jump.

  The Perfect above us laughed as our grip loosened on our friend. He lifted Marcus up the rest of the way and then closed whatever hatch he’d come out of.

  Ian and I looked at each other, his wide-eyed stare matching mine.

  There was nothing we could do about Marcus. Even if the Perfect let him go, he was unconscious and a liability for us. I hated thinking that way, but our escape was for the greater good. I said a silent promise to Marcus that we would get him out of there and then made my decision.

  “We need to run,” I said.

  Ian nodded, and the four of us took off in the opposite direction of the slamming doors. We didn’t hear footsteps yet, but I was sure they were coming.

  We raced down the hallway, my mind was a total blank, focusing on finding a way out. There was no use for us to try any more doors, they would surely be locked or filled with the AIs waiting to pounce on us.

  After a while, my mind started to wander. The Perfects appeared to know exactly where we were at all times, so why was it taking them so long to find us? Not that I wanted to be caught, but it all seemed very strange. Was this game to them? I remembered seeing Perfect-Karen and her scary smile when I locked us down here. Was that the intent all along? Pick us off one at a time during fake blackouts?

  My thoughts were broken when I no longer heard Ashley’s hard breathing behind me.

  “This way!” Ashley said behind me. She and Melanie had turned down another hallway.

  “Wait—” I said, stopping in my tracks. Ian continued down the hallway we were going. He didn’t appear to hear me. I had to make a decision. I trusted Ian with my life, and we did have weapons. I bolted down the hallway, following him. I prayed that the girls would be okay.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Ian and I stopped at a dead end. It was dangerous for us to go back to where we’d come from since we knew the AIs were going to be waiting for us.

  “Where’s Ashley and Melanie?” he asked, taking in huge gulps of breath. It appeared the effects of the syringe were gone, but I wasn’t sure how much longer either of us could last.

  “We separated from them,” I said, catching my breath too.

  “What?” he asked, looking behind me.

  “I called for you, but you were too far ahead.”

  He raked his hands through his hair, tugging at the ends. “They’re done for. They have nothing to protect themselves with. This is exactly what they wanted to happen.” He let out a string of curses. “I can’t believe this.”

  “Ian, we have to keep moving forward, that’s how we’re going to survive this,” I said. “I don’t know why they went in another direction but let’s deal with what we have in front of us.”

  He nodded. “Okay, let’s try these doors.”

  Instead of falling for another trick, we decided to be on the defense and be prepared for anything. I stood by each door with my ax raised while Ian quickly turned each knob and stood back, raising his bow.

  We tried three doors, two were locked, and the last one led to a mechanical room.

  Ian went inside first.

  I looked around the hallway. I had a bad feeling whoever had come out of those slamming doors had already reached Ashley and Melanie. Soon they would be on the hunt for us.

  “It looks safe,” Ian said, poking his head out into the hallway.

  I followed him inside. Loud whirring sounds filled the space. I closed the door behind me. I locked the door. I doubted the Perfects would be deterred, but it made me feel a little safer. As long as we kept the lights off and our voices quiet, I doubted anyone would suspect we were in here.

  “Over here,” Ian said.

  We sat on the floor on the hinge side of the door so that if it opened, we’d have the advantage but were also unable to be seen from the small window. I closed my eyes and saw Perfect-Karen’s face again and was okay with our hiding place.

  Sitting down felt incredibly good on my sore muscles. But sitting down also made me realize how thirsty and hungry I’d become. It hadn’t been more than a few hours since we started this whole thing but it felt like days. And between the running and adrenaline rushes, I knew I’d need nourishment soon. I at least needed to get some water in me so I’d have enough strength to keep running. I would enjoy this break, but I knew it was going to be short-lived.

  “This is all so screwed up,” I said, leaning my head back against the wall.

  “I know,” Ian said.

  “I can’t believe you were right about this.”

  “I didn’t want to be. Trust me. But I had to find out for my family.”

  “I get that.”

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Not at all. But I have to stay strong for our friends.”

  “You don’t have to be strong for anyone,” he said. “You’re already the bravest girl I know. It’s okay to be vulnerable.”

  I looked at him. I suddenly became aware of how close we were sitting. Our arms were against each other and his face was less than a foot away from mine. A kissable distance.

  He held my gaze and then the corner of his lip quirked. “To be honest, you’re the only one I’ve been worried about this whole time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He barked out an embarrassed laugh. “Initially, I wanted answers. But when I realized what was really happening, my first instinct was to protect you.”

  It was a good thing the room was dim, or he might have seen the flush that crept into my cheeks.

  “I don’t want to think of the worst-case scenario,” he continued, “but you should know how I feel about you.”

  I swallowed, which proved difficult with my parched mouth. I wasn’t sure if it was the lack of water or the anticipation of what he was about to tell me. “H—how do you feel about me?”

  He licked his lips, drawing my attention to them. “I’ve had a crush on you forever. And I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if y
ou ever got hurt. This wasn’t how I wanted to tell you everything. I’d hoped that this place was a brain-washing facility and I’d be able to expose it somehow. But now that I know people are being replaced, it changes everything. I don’t want to regret never telling you how I feel.”

  My insides erupted at his words. They were the syllables I longed to hear for practically my entire life. I couldn’t believe he felt the same way I did. But the confession was bittersweet. We were in a dangerous situation, and if I had, to be honest with myself, we had a slim chance of getting out of here in our own bodies.

  That realization and Ian’s honesty made my heart race. What if this was the last chance we’d ever have alone together? What if by tomorrow we were locked away in one of those pods? Would this—right now—be the last chance to see and feel Ian by my side?

  A single tear slipped down my cheek. Ian’s quickly got up and knelt in front of me. He held my face in his hands, his thumb moving across my cheek to wipe the tear away.

  “Don’t lose hope, Abbey,” he said. He was so close his breath tickled my face.

  “It’s kind of hard for that. We went from seven to two in a matter of hours. There’s no way out of here. We may have weapons, but they have numbers and better weapons. It would be some sort of miracle if we got out of here.”

  He chewed on his lower lip, deep in thought. I had the sudden urge to kiss him. If we weren’t coming out of here, then at least I would be able to do the one thing I’ve wanted to for a long time.

  I moved closer to him, running my hand up his arm and holding him in place. “Ian,” I whispered and pulled him closer to me.

  Our lips brushed, and I closed my eyes, wanting to take a mental picture of this. Maybe it would accompany me in whatever stasis I was going to be in when I went inside one of the pods.

  Ian’s hands fisted my shirt and pulled me closer. Just as our lips were about to touch a loud scream from outside the door made us both freeze in place.

  “Ian!” Ashley’s voice called from outside the door. “Abigail? Are you here?”

  Ian jumped up and grabbed his bow. He held an arrow between his fingers, ready to aim and shoot it.

  I got up and stood behind him. “What if it's a trap?”

  “I don’t know. Would she have transitioned that quickly?” Ian asked.

  I had no idea how long it took or how long we’d been in that room. “What if one of the Perfect’s is with her?”

  “I’m going to take a look,” Ian said.

  I wanted to tell him not to, but the words didn’t come out. As much as I disliked Ashley, if she was still one of us, it was more beneficial to have her on our side.

  I nodded, and Ian opened the door. He waved his hand so I’d move behind him.

  Ashley ran passed our door, and when Ian leaned into the hallway, she appeared again, pushing him through the doorway.

  I stumbled back, and Ian grabbed me before I fell.

  Ashley closed the door and pressed her body against it. “We need to barricade this. Now.”

  Ian and I stared at her while she searched for something to put against the door.

  She glanced over at us and her eyebrows furrowed. “Aren’t you going to help me?”

  Ian lifted his loaded bow, he didn’t point it at her, but he was ready to fire if necessary. I tightened my grip on the ax handle.

  Ashley raised her hands in defense. “What the hell? Ian. Abigail. It’s me.”

  “How can we be sure?” Ian said.

  Ashley rolled her eyes and lifted her pant leg.

  “What are you supposed to be showing us?” I asked.

  She pointed at her shin. I had to squint to see the difference in color. “I got this scar from rollerblading when I was twelve. If I were one of them, I wouldn’t have a blemish, remember?”

  Ian and I sighed at the same time. I touched my own scar. Feeling the thick skin created a sense of comfort within me like I was still human and I had to fight to stay that way.

  “What happened to Melanie?” I asked.

  Ashley grumbled. “That girl has no sense of direction. She kept leading us down the same hallways. It was no wonder when the other AIs caught up with us. Since Melanie put up such a fight, I managed to escape which is how I got here.”

  “Were you followed?”

  “I don’t think so. It took three of them to take her down. She’s a tough chick. That left one of them to follow me. And if we haven’t been caught yet, I must have managed to run fast enough. But we shouldn’t stay in one place for long. I’m sure they will be after us again.”

  “Should we leave?” I asked. The break was nice, but I wasn’t sure if we should stay in one place too long, especially now that they had four of our own to add to their side.

  I remembered the almost-kiss with Ian and tried to hide that away in my mind. Now that Ashley was back with us, I had a new resolve to get out of this place. With our weapons and combined strength, I had to believe it was possible to get out of here. At least that’s what I would keep telling myself until I was proved otherwise.

  “I think we should explore this room,” Ian said. “If this is where all the mechanicals are, there must be an exit big enough to have moved everything in here.”

  “Unless the building was closed up after they were put in,” Ashley said. “I wouldn’t put it passed these freaks.”

  “Let’s take a look,” I said. “Then if we can’t find an exit we can go back the way we came in. But let’s do it quickly.” The AIs managed to be the smallest of steps behind us every time. We had to keep our guard up.

  We gathered our things and were about to explore more of the room when a booming voice filled my ears.

  I dropped to the ground and covered them. Ian knelt by my side while Ashley remained standing. Her eyes darted around the room.

  “You will never escape Edgewood,” the male voice said. He was so loud it was almost like there were speakers all over the room. “You should give up now and come quietly. If you do, no more harm will come to you. We expect you to announce yourself in two minutes or we will be forced to take you against your will.”

  Ashley snorted. “No one else was given that option. They took them.”

  “Two minutes,” the voice repeated, then a loud click came over the speakers.

  “I don’t trust that voice,” Ashley said. “They’re going to turn us into robots anyway. If I’m going to go down, I’m going to do so fighting.”

  “Are we all in agreement?” Ian asked.

  “Yes,” I said, ready and willing to fight for my humanity.

  Ian took my hand in his, and we started forward into the unknown.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Ashley pulled a face when Ian took my hand, but I pretended not to notice. I couldn’t even focus on how good it felt for him to admit his feelings for me. We were under a deadline to keep our humanity, and we needed to find a way out of the building. The quicker we did, the quicker we’d be able to find a safe place outside of this facility.

  I shook my head, jumbling my thoughts. How different I’d felt days ago. Edgewood Institute had filled my mind for months leading up to my birthday. And now that we knew what was going on here, I wanted nothing more than to leave with my humanity intact.

  What was the purpose of turning teenagers into robots? Was that the real point of coming here? Why? Ian couldn’t be the only one who realized that his brother was different. Why bother with any of it?

  Were we a part of an experiment? The entire program had been a fraud. How could these scientists do this to unwilling participants?

  Marcus was right to assume this was a story out of a science fiction novel. No one would ever guess that a career driven institute would be returning electronic teens back to their homes.

  The sound of metal on metal broke through my thoughts and shot me back to the present.

  Ian and I turned to Ashley.

  She’d kicked over a piece of metal piping. She stared down at it.

&nb
sp; “Ashley?” Ian asked.

  She grabbed the piece of pipe and held it by her side. “Let’s keep going.”

  Her normal attitude was hidden under the surface. Whether it was because of the situation we were in, or the fact that Ian had apparently chosen me. We didn’t have the time to discuss. Getting out was our primary objective. Even though it seemed it would be the hardest one to accomplish.

  We walked down aisles of large metallic equipment. I had no idea what any of it did, but I assumed it took a lot of energy to keep a facility like Edgewood running. At random times, the mechanics would kick on and scare me half to death.

  At least if the Perfects were after us, it would take some time for them to find us.

  We reached the back of the room and were faced with two options of where to turn. The length of the room stretched out on either side of us.

  “Let’s go that way,” Ian said pointing to our left. He turned around and faced the direction we came from. “Going the other way would bring us parallel with the hallway we were in.”

  “What if the exit is that way?” Ashley said, indicating the right.

  As much as her argumentative nature annoyed me, we truly had no idea where an exit might be if there was any.

  “We shouldn’t split up,” I added.

  “We won’t,” Ian said.

  We lost the rest of our group each time we split up. That wouldn’t happen again. We were already at a terrible disadvantage and losing one of us at this point would make the odds even worse.

  Ashley walked in the direction she suggested and narrowed her eyes.

  I knew she wouldn’t take off, but she was acting strange since she returned to us. Had Melanie’s kidnapping affected her even more than the rest? It had been her and Melanie against the Perfects, and she’d ran for her life to find us. Was she still suffering from the trauma of that confrontation? Ashley was still the bratty girl who had made my time here so much harder, but all of us were on an even playing field, and we had to work together if we were going to survive.

  I glanced down the way, opposite from her. A breath caught in my throat. “Ian!”