The Perfects

I stared at them, dumbfounded until they disappeared from view. I waited a few minutes, my mind racing. Had Ian been telling the truth? Had he been helping me and Ashley escape? With the mention of the faulty GPS, could that have been something he wanted me to hear? Had he disabled it or had it been something that needed to be fixed regardless? But him leaving the bag couldn’t have been an accident. He wanted me to stay hidden, and he offered me the rest of the supplies. Why?

  I sprinted over to the bag and grabbed it, then ran over to another tree to hide behind. I opened the bag and took stock of the items. The remaining water bottles and granola bars were inside. The rope and medical supplies were in there too.

  I had to believe a part of Ian was still alive, even if he were inside of a Perfect copy.

  The sound of thunder rolled in the distance, and I knew the tree wasn’t going to be a safe option for tonight. I wandered for a while, looking to find some cover. I’d turned myself around when the others had captured Ashley, so there was no hope for me to get back to the bunker.

  When I stopped for a break, I dug into the backpack to get some water. Something crinkled on the bottom of the bag and I pulled out what looked like a map.

  I unfolded it and gasped. It wasn’t precisely a map to give me directions. I found several underground bunkers marked across the paper along with some caves and streams. This must have been what Ian and Caleb had found with his grandfather’s help. At the top showed the land for Edgewood. I got up and shouldered the bag. Perfect-Ian had left this for me to find. It was a peace offering of some sort to help me find shelter.

  It took me some time to figure out where I was on the map but after hours of searching, I came up to one of the caves. The opening had an overgrowth and I gently moved it aside, revealing a deep shelter. The rain started to trickle down the leaves of the trees above me, so I went inside the cave and covered the opening up with the natural barrier.

  I sat down and pulled my legs close to my body. Without the constant movement of walking, my body buzzed with overused energy. I was running on empty, and I was utterly alone.

  In being so, I allowed myself to let go of the tension in my heart and body. I slumped against the wall and tears quickly flowed out of my eyes. I let my emotions run for a few minutes. In the time since we discovered Edgewood’s real plan, I hadn’t had a moment to process. Given that moment, my head was clearer. There was no other choice than to go back to Edgewood. Perfect-Ian must have come up with some plan to help. At least I hoped he did. And since he was headed back there, I knew that’s where I needed to go.

  It would take a miracle to save my friends, but I’d rather get caught trying.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  I barely slept through the night. Between the uncomfortable cave floor, the inconsistent pitter-patter of the rain outside the cave, and terrible nightmares about being suffocated inside of a pod sleep only appeared on the edge of my mind before it was ripped away.

  So much for the last night of being human. I’d decided my best course of action would be to march right onto the property and offer myself up. I believed Lucy when she said I wouldn’t be able to make it out of the woods alive. And even if I made it to the road, I’d probably be caught by a Perfect before getting close to home.

  In my mind, it was better to try and fail then not try at all. I could do so much more for my friends and the rest of the teens inside the facility from inside than outside. And I’d fight them every step of the way. If I was going to be inside of a box for the rest of my existence, then they would have to force me in there.

  When the light over the horizon started to filter through the trees, I ate what was to be my final meal out in the forest and commenced in the direction of Edgewood. I left the bag in the cave. If Ian was still inside of Perfect-Ian, then I didn’t want him to get into trouble for helping me. The professors and the Perfect had seen it with him when they left the bunker. If they saw me with it when I came onto the campus, then they would be able to know the connection.

  Thinking of my time with Perfect-Ian, a part of me still doubted him. I tried to focus on the larger part which hoped that he was telling me the truth about the immunity. It’d be good if I were immune because then I’d be able to fight like he had. But that was a slim chance.

  I thought of my grandmother at that moment. When I was very young, she’d taken blood from me when she was watching me one afternoon. She’d sworn me to secrecy about it. Since she never said anything or warned me, I knew this whole situation was inevitable. I couldn’t believe she lied to me about everything. If she knew what was going on, she should have tried to stop it.

  I instinctively touched my wrist where her charm used to be. I was glad that I didn’t have it now. It was a reminder of her betrayal of her family. If the scientists wanted to rid the world of an illness, there were plenty of other ways to do it.

  I almost wanted to find the charm so I’d be able to smash it into a million pieces. Instead, I made due with what I had. I picked up a large stick and beat it into the ground until it splintered. I didn’t feel any better. I tossed the remainder of the stick aside and shoved all thoughts of her out of my mind.

  I gave myself a few minutes to revel in the angry feelings I had. Even though she went to Edgewood to study farming, she had to know what was going on there.

  When I found the fence that we’d crawled under, I followed it until I found the main opening.

  The path leading to the campus was up ahead of me. I stopped walking. I expected Perfects to be waiting for me, but there was no ceremony about this. I had to make a choice to turn myself in. I glanced in the direction of the way I’d come into the Institute a week ago. I could have made a run for it, but that would be the cowardly way out.

  Instead, I turned toward the campus and marched right up to the concrete road that led to the entrance of the main building.

  Walking up the main road toward Edgewood had a different feel than it had when I first arrived. Then, I was excited for a future that hadn’t been clear to me. Now I was going to a future that I knew and dreaded.

  Movement out of the corner of my eye grabbed my attention. I glanced over to see several Perfects walking toward me. It was a change to have them walking instead of running at me. But when I looked over my shoulder I saw several coming at me from all angles. They didn’t need to run, they had me surrounded.

  My chest fluttered with anticipation, and I took several calming breaths. A part of me felt like I was giving up, but a bigger and stronger part of me knew that this wasn’t going to be the end. I’d fight until the last minute before they stuck me in that pod. By coming to them willingly, I had the upper hand. At least I tried to think I did.

  Christopher and Lucy waited for me at the front of the building. Both of them wore smirks on their faces. Something deep inside of me stirred seeing them there. They thought they had defeated me. But nothing could crush my spirit.

  “Hello, Abigail,” Lucy said when I approached her.

  I didn’t reciprocate the greeting.

  “Don’t feel too badly,” Christopher said. “You aren’t the first to get that far. But as you can see with your friend Ian that we always win in the end.”

  So they didn’t know that Perfect-Ian helped me. It contributed to solidify how I felt about him and his reasons for supporting me. The thought of Ian alive inside of that robot gave me hope. When I undergo the transition, Ian would find a way to help me, even if I couldn’t help myself.

  “Are you going to put up a fight?” Lucy asked.

  I shook my head.

  They gave each other a look and then Lucy signaled with her hand to the Perfects. As if they were all on the same frequency, they took one step back from me.

  “Come with us,” Lucy said and grabbed hold of my upper arm and directed me to the front entrance. I took one last inhale of freedom and accepted my fate.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  My plan was going smoothly. Being back at Edgewood, even though I hadn’t been
gone long, gave off a different vibe this time. The sterile surfaces were gleaming with suspicion. Each person I passed while walking to my doom needed an extra look. Were all of these people Perfects or did they sell their souls to Edgewood for a job. Was that what my life was worth to them? Or did some of them really have no idea what was going on here? I found the latter hard to believe.

  Lucy and Christopher took me directly to the laboratories and into one of the pod rooms. Inside, there were two white-coated men waiting for me.

  “We’ll see you on the other side,” Lucy said and patted my arm as if she were a friend. I dipped my arm away from her. She was no friend. She was the cold-hearted enemy.

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’ll change your tune in a short matter of time.”

  She and Christopher brought me to the table. The two white-coated men went to their stations, just like I’d seen during Karen’s transition. I glanced over at the container next to the shiny stainless steel table. It was deeper than I remembered. The liquid wasn’t clear, it was almost opaque. A flesh-colored blob sat in the middle of it, curled up in a fetal position. The only reason I knew it was my A.I. was because of the vibrant red hair swirling around the top half of the creature. Talk about an out of by experience.

  I instinctively recoiled, and Christopher and Lucy gripped my arm tighter.

  It was difficult to relax when I saw what was to become of me in a very short amount of time. They assisted me onto the table and quickly strapped me to it. The straps bit into my skin, and I knew they would bruise. Or would they? Once I was in the catatonic state and inside the pod, would my body react to anything when it was frozen in time? Did anyone who entered a pod come out? Or did they plan on keeping us there until the end of time?

  There were more questions I wanted to be answered but I knew I’d never get the chance to ask them.

  The white-coated man who was next to the table with the heart monitor gently moved my hair away from my face. He then strapped my head to the table. They didn’t do that to Karen.

  His eyes met mine. They were kind, brown eyes. “This is an extra precaution. I hear you’re a fighter.”

  I wanted to show him how much of a fighter I was, but I couldn’t move. Instead, I used the only part of me that could drum up any fierceness. My eyes.

  He smiled and patted me on the forehead like he would a child.

  I frowned.

  I couldn’t see what was going on once he moved away from me. He was in a rolling chair, so I listened to the movement of the wheels. The other scientist shuffled things around on his metal tray. The scraping filled my ears like nails on a chalkboard.

  When he appeared in my vision, he held a syringe in his hand filled with a liquid.

  “This is going to sedate you,” he said.

  I tried to move my arm away, but I couldn’t even budge an inch.

  “Take a breath,” he said.

  And before I could, I felt the pinch of the needle breaking through my skin. I bit my lip and closed my eyes. The pain was quick, and it went away within seconds. My eyes sprung open. The room tilted and the edges of the ceiling panels were blurry.

  No wonder Karen barely moved when she had been on the table. This stuff was strong.

  I blinked a few times, feeling the heaviness of my eyelids.

  A tear slipped down my cheek, and I couldn’t even wipe it away. I didn’t want these men to see that they broke me. I’d hold onto myself until the very last second. I had a small shred of hope that I would turn out like Perfect-Ian. Would I wake up as a Perfect with memories and thoughts carried on from this entire adventure? Or would I be a soulless robot that did as she was told? What if I went home and had to force Catherine into coming to Edgewood? I sucked in a breath. It was one thing to turn me into an A.I. but Catherine? She didn’t even want to come to Edgewood. Was this a part of their plan all along? Did they give some teens a choice and then forced it on them anyway?

  A sloshing sound moved from next to me, and I tried to turn my head again to no avail.

  I didn’t need to turn my head. I saw right away my A.I. body standing next to me. She was being held up by the scientist.

  My entire body started to tremble. Her eyes were closed, and I hoped they would stay that way. This was already freaking me out, enough that my teeth started to chatter.

  “Her heart rate is spiking,” the white-coat sitting behind me said.

  The one holding up my Perfect glanced over at me. “You need to calm down, or we’re going to have to sedate you again.”

  I completely lost my nerve. This thing was going to take over my life in a matter of minutes. So I did what anyone would do when faced with a situation like this.

  I screamed my head off.

  The standing white-coat jumped and almost dropped the Perfect. She was more unstable than I remembered.

  When my voice cracked, I took a deep breath and started screaming again. If they were going to take away my limbs, they were going to hear it from my throat.

  The one monitoring my heart clamped a hand over my mouth, and I bit down on his fingers. I didn’t think about what was on them, I only wanted them off.

  He cried out in pain and whipped his hand back. “Give her more.”

  The other white coat came over with another syringe. He shoved it in my arm, harder than he had before.

  I gritted my teeth and tried to fight off the effects of the drug.

  “You aren’t the first to scream,” he said with a wicked grin.

  I wanted nothing more than to kick him right where it hurt.

  Then my thoughts started to drift. My limbs were heavy as if the room was caving in around me. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and just before I fell out of consciousness, I heard a crash in the distance. And then my world went black.

  A kaleidoscope of lights flashed in and out of my vision. A cool breeze whipped all around me. A shuffling sound filled my ears as my body felt as if it were moving through space and time.

  “She’s coming to,” a familiar voice said.

  “That’s a good thing, they were giving her a massive dosage of sedative,” said another familiar voice, one that I would know under any state of mind.

  “Ian?” my voice was low, and my lips were heavy.

  My head fell to the side, and I blinked open my eyes. The lights above my seared my eyes and I quickly closed them.

  “You’re going to be fine,” Ian said from somewhere. His voice was distorted and appeared to be coming from all directions.

  Something light brushed across my face, and I opened one eye to see Ashley above me. She was looking passed me.

  Then I understood what was happening. That crash I heard before I blacked out had to be them. I was still laying on the gurney, and the breeze was from her wheeling me away.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” she asked Ian.

  “Yes,” he said. “Follow me and be quiet.”

  She let out a rude remark but continued on her way.

  How had Ashley escaped from Christopher and Lucy? Since they had taken me to be transitioned right away, why hadn’t they done the same for her?

  The movement of the gurney started to make me feel nauseous. And I rolled over to be on my side.

  “We’re almost there,” she said.

  We turned a corner, and she moved her position from the back of the gurney to the side. She wore different clothes than what I’d seen her in last. Did they offer her a shower before transitioning her?

  Her shirt was a brilliant white as if it had come straight from the factory onto her body. She wore a pair of gray capri pants. For some reason I couldn’t stop looking at her legs. My subconscious needed to prove my conscious mind wrong.

  But it wasn’t wrong. Ashley’s scar was missing. Just like Ian’s mole.

  Ashley was a Perfect!

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “Get away from me,” I said and started to sit up. With the movement from the gurney, I lost my balance. The gurney went up on t
wo wheels, and Ashley struggled to keep it upright.

  “Abigail, chill!” she said.

  “You’re one of them,” I said and tried to get off the moving table.

  “You’re not ready to walk yet,” she said. “Ian!”

  I whipped my head around to see Ian in front of us. The hallway tilted and I clamped my eyes shut, but the dizziness continued, my stomach flip-flopped.

  “In here,” he said and pushed through a door. It surprised me that a door opened when he wanted it to. We’d had enough trouble with that while we ran away from the Perfects. One of them was pushing me away, and the other was leading us. What was going on here?

  The room was pitch black when we got inside. The door closed and I heard the distinct sound of a lock clicking.

  The disorientation from the drugs and lack of light made me shiver.

  The lights flicked on, illuminating the giant room we were in.

  I looked around the space. We were on the upper level of an auditorium. Below us were rows of seats with a large stage at the bottom.

  The room wouldn’t distract me from the biggest question in my head.

  “You were transitioned?” I asked Ashley. She looked at me the same she always had, with disdain and attitude. Wouldn’t Perfect-Ashley have lost all semblance when she was locked up in the pod?

  “You’re the reason I’m still me.” She came to my side, and I tried not to recoil. She took my hand in hers, the smoothness of her skin was unmistakable. She placed something in my hand.

  I looked down to see my charm resting in my palm.

  Before I could say anything, Ian came up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “We don’t have a lot of time. I need to examine you.”

  He clicked on a small flashlight, and the beam illuminated the charm. He lifted the light to my eyes, but I stopped him.

  “Shine the light here,” I said, indicating the charm.

  “I don’t know how it happened,” Ashley said. “You knew I took it from you but out of spite, I kept it on me at all times. So when they took me in to be transitioned, I woke up as the Perfect version. At first, it was freaky seeing myself on the gurney. But then I knew something had happened. And the only thing I could think of was the charm.”