The Perfects

  “How did you get it back?” I asked, bringing the charm closer to my eyes. With Ian shining the light on the surface, I could see a small line on the side of it that wrapped around the whole charm.

  “I pretended to faint, and I fell over my unconscious body to remove it from my pocket,” she said and then shivered. “That was the creepiest thing I’d ever experienced. Other than being inside this new body obviously.”

  “What are you thinking?” Ian asked.

  I dug my fingernail into the indented line, but that didn’t do much. “There’s something inside of here.”

  “Here,” Ashley said, putting her hand out. “My nails are stronger than yours.”

  I gave it to her and watched her try to pry the charm open.

  Ian came to my side and took my hand. “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay,” I said. And I truly was okay. We were back together, and with Ashley keeping her own mind in the A.I. form, I had a hope of getting something accomplished while I was back inside Edgewood. At least until they found us again. But now with two Perfects on my side, we might have a sliver of a chance.

  “Got it!” Ashley said. She pulled apart the two halves of the charm and inside was a small piece of metal. There was a green light in the middle that was steadily blinking on and off.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  Ian grinned. “It’s a transmitter. And from what I guess it's an interrupter of some sort. Which is why Ashley is still herself inside of the A.I. body. You said your grandmother gave this to you?”

  I nodded. “She used the Edgewood labs to experiment on our crops.”

  Ian held up the transmitter to inspect it further. “It looks like she was involved more than that.”

  She had known what was going to happen to me. Was this her way of preventing that? There was no way I could ask her, but I instantly threw away all of the doubts and hatred I had for her since I thought she had been a part of this. Edgewood had a zero-tolerance policy for teens who wanted to keep their minds and bodies intact, I doubted they’d have any tolerance toward an employee who wanted to expose the program. I knew my grandmother would have wanted to reveal it if she could, which was why she gave me the transmitter to protect my mind. She knew I’d try and find a way to fight against Edgewood.

  And that’s what I planned on doing. I took the interrupter back and inspected it as Ian did. There was a little button on the side. “Do you think this would somehow work on the other Perfects?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Ian said. “It looks like it's only useful during the transition. Who knows what damage it could cause if it came in contact with another Perfect. The connection between mind and body might be lost and we don’t know the effect of that.”

  I nodded and placed the transmitter back into the charm and closed it. I pocketed the charm in case I would need it again.

  “So what do we do now?” I asked just as a loud banging sounded on the door we’d come in through.

  I jumped off the gurney and my legs buckled under me. Thousands of pins and needles filled my legs and I fell to the ground. Ian picked me up and held me against him.

  Pain radiated through my feet and up my legs as the door was ripped off the hinges from the outside.

  Christopher was the first inside the room, and he held a taser in his hands, pointed straight at us. Lucy was next, and then four other young Perfects rushed into the room surrounding us.

  The situation didn’t frighten me as much as it should have. We’d been up against worse odds.

  That was until an older man entered the room. He black suit radiated expensive taste while it came up as a direct contrast to his stark white hair. The locks were thick as if they were on a teen's head, not a man clearly in his fifties.

  “Who are you?” I asked, eyeing the taser in Lucy's hands. We were outnumbered and outgunned

  “I’m Dr. Sanger. I see the three of you have been causing my star a bit of trouble over the past few days. I admit I admire your tenacity, but I have to say enough is enough.”

  “We’ll never stop fighting,” Ashley said.

  “She’s been transitioned?” Dr. Sanger asked the professors.

  “Yes,” Lucy said.

  “I’m not sure how you got your hands on an interruption device, but I can guess it had something to do with your grandmother, Abigail. She was always a stubborn woman.”

  “You knew my grandmother?” I asked.

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “We knew each other quite well. But like you, she had a certain unwillingness to follow orders.”

  He spoke about her with reverence and annoyance at the same time. And a part of me wondered how upset he was when she passed. And now that his suspicions about her sneaking the interrupter out of the facility were confirmed, neither of us were on his good side.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked. “We don’t want to be your robots. We want to live.”

  “And that’s why I’m doing this, dear Abigail.”

  I curled my lip at the endearment.

  He continued, “We’re preserving humanity with the transition. If it wasn’t illegal to talk about the illness that swept away a third of humans, then your parents might have been able to shed some light on what happened all those years ago. Everyone lost people in their lives. Myself too. I lost both my parents, my wife and my three children. As a scientist, it’s my job to hypothesize and use my intelligence for the greater good. And when I invented a way to preserve young humans while allowing them to live their lives, I went with it. Your grandmother was instrumental in all of this, you should be proud.”

  “I’m not,” I said. I believed she didn’t know how far this would all go. If she did know, she wouldn’t have continued her research. I now knew her “research” had been a ruse so she wouldn’t have to tell us what she was really doing up here. She loved science so much, I did believe she wanted to help humanity. But not in this way.

  “This isn’t entirely you wanting to save humanity, is it?” Ian asked.

  Dr. Sanger lifted his chin.

  “You’re controlling the A.I.’s out there in the real world. Why?”

  Dr. Sanger shrugged. “Why not? If you could stop the reason for wars and the cruel slaughtering of our own kind would you do it?”

  “Not like this,” Ian said through gritted teeth.

  The doctor shook his head. “You’re far too young to understand. If you knew what we went through, you’d be singing a different tune.”

  “You tried to control me, but by using the antibodies from the illness, you created a loophole for those who are immune,” Ian said.

  “You’re correct,” Dr. Sanger said. “There is a loophole, but don’t think for a second we didn’t know about it.”

  Ian blinked.

  Dr. Sanger laughed. “I’m a genius, not a fool. We know which familial lines are immune which is why we bring everyone to Edgewood. By undergoing the transition, those like you can be monitored, and we can further research the so-called loophole until we find a way to destroy it. You didn’t think we’d allow you to ever leave here with your mind still intact?”

  He turned to Ashley. “And you. Unfortunately, you won’t be ever leaving here.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  Dr. Sanger sighed. “Your body has already been preserved, so there is no way to make the connection again. So you can live here the rest of your life and work for me, or your Perfect will be destroyed.”

  “I’ll never work for you,” she spat.

  Dr. Sanger listed his eyes to the ceiling. “I thought you’d say that. You know, if I could do all of this to infants, I would. Less talk-back.”

  I balked. I knew the idea had crossed his mind at some point. I hoped he’d never attempted it before.

  “Abigail,” Dr. Sanger said. “You have all the strength and intelligence that your grandmother possessed. I wish you would believe in this program as much as she did.”

  “I
f she believed it, then she would have pushed for my sister and me to both go through with it. And she wouldn’t have given me the only thing to stop it.”

  Dr. Sanger frowned.

  I didn’t dare show him that I still had the charm with me. It was my only bargaining chip for my life.

  “You have no choice in the matter,” he said. “So you might as well come quietly.”

  “I already did that,” I said. “And I won’t do it again.”

  “Suit yourself,” he said and then let out a sharp whistle through his teeth.

  Doors opened from behind the stage and in the next level above us. Dozens of Perfects filed into the room around us.

  Dr. Sanger moved passed us and stood in the middle of the room. Christopher and Lucy held their place mere feet from us, aiming the tasers.

  I found Karen among the crowd, and she looked right at me with her empty eyes. The ones that used to hold shyness and kindness now were cold and soulless.

  “What do you intend to do now?” Dr. Sanger said. “You have no chance to win.”

  There was always a chance. We just had to figure out how to switch those odds to our favor.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Ian, Ashley, and I moved together into a clump. The Perfects didn’t move, I guessed they were under the command of Dr. Sanger or the professors. Where had they all come from? It wasn’t until I took a closer look that I recognized teens from the classes above me. And some I’d seen in town. Dr. Sanger must have called them back to the facility to show us how powerful he was compared to three sixteen-year-olds.

  His methods were certainly theatric and effective, but I wasn’t going to cave in that easily. This was humanity. I had the responsibility to do what my grandmother couldn’t. I had to try something to stop this madman. His good intentions had turned him into a powerful God-like creature who didn’t realize he was like the rest of us. His control over the youth in our society wasn’t right, and I intended to help him understand that.

  “What are we supposed to do next?” Ashley asked in a low voice.

  “Back up a few feet,” Ian said.

  “What?” I asked.

  “My bow, I hid it in here yesterday.”

  “Do you have enough arrows?” Ashley asked.

  “No, but we have to do something,” Ian said.

  A plan hadn’t formed in my mind yet so having something to do was enough for now.

  “Go!” I said and then lunged forward.

  Christopher rushed ahead of me and stood between Dr. Sanger and me. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Don’t hurt her!” Dr. Sanger said. “I need her healthy and unharmed.”

  Christopher’s jaw moved, and I knew he was using all of his control not to taser me.

  Something whipped by my ear and then one of the A.I.s closest to me fell to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his chest. Three more arrows hit their target before I could comprehend what was happening.

  Ian was shooting at them as they came forward. One after another fell but how long would it take for Ian to run out of arrows?

  “It’s not even putting a dent in the group,” Ashley said.

  The Perfects came for us at a steady pace. Since Dr. Sanger didn’t want me harmed, there was no reason for them to rush for me. As soon as Ian ran out of arrows, they would have us.

  “Stop wasting arrows,” I said, glancing over my shoulder.

  Ian’s mouth pulled at the corners. He held his bow at the ready with an arrow between his fingers, but he didn’t fire it.

  “Are you finished?” Dr. Sanger asked, clearly not impressed with Ian taking down his A.I.s. Though he wasn’t completely upset. Since they weren’t actual humans, I was sure with some repairs they could be fixed. “This is taking up way too much of my time. Christopher, Lucy, take the other two.”

  Christopher rushed over to Ian and narrowly avoided the arrow shooting at him. He grabbed Ian’s hands, and Ian struggled under his grip. Christopher was much larger than Ian and apparently stronger.

  Christopher twisted Ian’s arms behind his back and Ian grunted with pain. With his free hand, Christopher threw the bow and quiver toward the door. Even if Ian wanted to use them again, he’d have to fight his way to get to his weapon.

  Ashley tried to fight off Lucy, but she ended up in the same position as Ian. With both my friends held against their will, I didn’t know what other choice I had.

  Dr. Sanger held out his hand to me. “Come now. Everyone needs to get back to their lives.”

  That was an understatement.

  I stared at his hand, and the craziest idea came to mind. Ian had warned me about what the interrupter might do to the other A.I.s if it was put into contact with them. Something inside of me stirred as if I was able to channel my grandmother. Ashley was able to interrupt the transition having it on her person. What if I was able to interrupt all of their connections to this place with one push of the button? I had no idea what the button might do, but I was faced with a brick wall and no other way out.

  I had to make a choice for them. This wasn’t a life for them, and even if I doomed them in the pods, at least they would be safe. I felt a little like Dr. Sanger—being the god they never wanted—but I had to do something. This wasn’t their choice, and if I could bring everyone back with one little action, I’d want someone to do the same for me.

  “Ian,” I said, holding the charm in my fingers. I snapped it open like Ashley had, now that I knew it could open.

  He nodded. “Do it.”

  “What if it doesn’t work and I lose you?” I asked.

  “It’s better than being controlled by them for the rest of my existence. I came here to stop them and that’s what we’re going to do.”

  A tear slipped out from my eye as I said a silent goodbye to the only boy I ever loved.

  “Enough of the dramatics,” Dr. Sanger said. And for a moment I’d forgotten he was there. With Lucy and Christopher holding Ian and Ashley, neither could stop me if they tried. At least not without letting go of their captives.

  I held the interrupter between my fingers and rushed into the group of A.I.s. They’d already been ordered not to harm me, and until that order was reversed, I wanted to get as far away from Ashley and Ian as possible. I wasn’t sure the range on the device since Ashley had been nearby when she transitioned but if I could prevent hurting them, I would.

  I bumped into the A.I.s, and their eyes moved over me as I passed but they didn’t try and stop me.

  “Stop her!” Dr. Sanger said.

  Three of them in my closest proximity reached out and grabbed my arms. They surprised me enough that I almost dropped the interrupter.

  I struggled to get out of their grip, but the rest of the A.I.s turned in my direction and created a barrier around me. Even Ian’s arrows wouldn’t be able to penetrate it.

  I closed my eyes and pressed down on the button, hoping that I’d be able to end all of this.

  But when the button depressed under my finger, nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see the A.I.s were still surrounding me, giving me death stares. As my stomach sank with the dark dread of my dire situation, one of the A.I.s loosened his grip.

  Then like dominoes, the rest of the A.I.s, starting with those closest to me collapsed to the ground. I stood there, astounded at what I’d done. The rest of the A.I.s fell, creating a wide berth around me. The few that were left standing were professors I’d recognized in my stay at Edgewood.

  I looked at Ian and Ashley who were one of the last to fall. My chest tightened.

  Ashley dropped against Lucy, and she gently placed her on the ground. Christopher was a little rougher with Ian, and I flinched seeing his prone form hit the ground. I had to remember that it wasn’t really Ian.

  The professors appeared as surprised as me. I shoved the interrupter into my pocket and glanced around the room. I wasn’t sure what I expected.

  I didn’t move from my spot, afraid that something worse would be coming
for me if I broke the silence in the room.

  Dr. Sanger didn’t have any instructions for the professors because he was lying unconscious on the ground with the rest of the A.I.s. It was then I realized that he had been a part of his experiment too. It wasn’t his wish for teens to be somewhat immortal, he had to do it for himself.

  Lucy stepped over the A.I.s to get closer to me. I glanced around me for a weapon, but she held her hands in front of her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  I leaned away from her, doubting her intentions. She’d been an instrumental part in all of this.

  As if she understood my hesitation, she stopped coming toward me. “Thank you for figuring out how to take them down.” She looked down at her boss. “I was never a fan of his, and he threatened my family to keep me working for him.”

  “Us too,” several other professors chimed in.

  That was something unexpected. My thoughts drifted to my grandmother. Had Dr. Sanger threatened us too? Is that why she had to be careful with what she told us? The interrupter had to be her way of protecting us too.

  “What’s going to happen to all of them?” I asked Lucy.

  “I’m afraid that’s out of my wheelhouse. My job is to keep the Perfects in line.”

  The professors converged on the stage while leaving me alone with my thoughts and the unmoving bodies scattered all over the floor.

  Christopher didn’t join his comrades. Instead, he continued to stare at me with disdain and hatred. I wanted to go to Ian and Ashley, but that would mean getting closer to him.

  “It’s over,” I said.

  He reached behind himself and pulled out a gun, aiming it straight at me. “It’s over for you.”

  My heart thumped in my chest as he closed one eye and moved his finger to the trigger. I closed my eyes as a gunshot rang through the room.

  I waited for the bullet to rip through me and put an end to everything I’d been through, but the pain never came.

  I opened my eyes to see Christopher holding his side. He pulled the arrow out of his side and blood pooled out of him and filtered through his fingers onto the floor.