imperfect i-1

by Tina Chan

  Jaiden found Kristi in the laundry room. She had dozed off, waiting for the clothes to finish drying in the dryer.

  “There you are,” he said. “Chelsa and I couldn’t figure out where you went when we got back. Here, take these tablets.” Jaiden handed her two white tablets and a bottle of water.

  “Thanks.” Kristi swallowed the bone-growth supplement tablets, making a face at the chalky taste and texture. “Any news about Maria and Don?”

  “Their trial is in five days.”

  They lapsed into a thoughtful silence, thinking about what would happen to Don and Maria if they were deemed guilty. The outcomes weren’t exactly hopeful; at best, they would be exiled from United Region, at worst, they would be executed.

  Although Kristi was hurt that Maria and Don had lied to Jaiden and her and gotten them tangled into their mess, she still didn’t want something terrible to happen to them.

  “I’ll take care of the laundry. You go back to our room and stay in bed for the rest of the day,” Jaiden said, bringing Kristi out of her thoughts.

  “Are you feeling better?” Chelsa asked Kristi the next morning.

  She tentatively flexed her wrist and was delighted to find it no longer hurt. “My wrist is better, at any rate.” Then she let herself have a big stretch and pain shot through her ribs. “But my ribs still hurt.”

  “Do you think you can ride?” Chelsa asked.

  “I should be able to.”

  Jaiden said, “I want to have a doctor look at your ribs.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Kristi said. “I managed just fine yesterday, didn’t I?” I don’t want to delay our traveling with a doctor’s appointment.

  However, Chelsa seemed to be considering Jaiden’s words and said, “Jaiden’s right. We won’t be able to travel at all if your ribs get worse. Jaiden, will you go ask around for a doctor?”

  “There’s a reputable doctor staying at Country Inn,” Jaiden informed them. He closed the door behind him. “Dr. Hanson is an excellent doctor, according to the innkeeper. Apparently he travels a lot because he is wanted in many places.”

  “What time will he see Kristi?” Chelsa asked.

  “He’ll come up here around 7:30 a.m. So we have about half an hour before the appointment.”

  Kristi went to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. When she was done, Jaiden and Chelsa had already prepared a breakfast of instant-waffles. They were just about wrapping up breakfast when there was a soft knock at the door.

  “That would be Dr. Hanson,” Jaiden said, striding open to the door to let the doctor in.

  Dr. Hanson walked in. It took Kristi two looks for her to realize he was the same man she saw yesterday at the laundry room. She blinked to make sure she hadn’t made a mistake. Yep, he’s the same guy for sure.

  “Well, we meet again,” Dr. Hanson said to Kristi, shaking her hand.

  “You’ve met each other?” Chelsa swung her eyes back and forth between Kristi and the doctor.

  “I saw Dr. Hanson yesterday in the laundry room.”

  “Which one of you is the person with the injured ribs?” Dr. Hanson asked.

  Chelsa pointed to Kristi, “That’s Kris—Kelly.” She cursed herself for almost forgetting to use their cover names.

  Dr. Hanson gave no sign that indicated he heard Chelsa almost say Kristi’s real name. He examined her ribs quickly, but professionally, and was soft spoken when he talked.

  “Your ribs don’t seem to be broken or fractured. Did you take any bone-growth supplement tablets?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Then if your ribs were fractured or broken, the tablets would’ve fixed that problem. However, you say your ribs still hurt?”

  She nodded.

  “Then your ribs are either sprained or simply bruised.”

  “Well, are they bruised or sprained?” Jaiden asked.

  “I believe Kelly has sprained her ribs,” Dr. Hanson said.

  “You can sprain ribs?” Chelsa asked incredulously.

  “You’ll be surprised with the amount of injuries the human body can get,” Dr. Hanson said. “You have a mild case of a grade II rib sprain,” he said to Kristi.

  “Is there anything I can take or do to speed up the healing process?” Kristi asked.

  Dr. Hanson reached into his leather bag and pulled out three containers filled with small gel capsules. He held up one container labeled “internal swelling reducer” and said, “Take one of these every day for the next two days. The pills will reduce the swelling caused by the sprain.” He held up the other container and said, “Take two of these every day for the next three days. They will aid in the healing process and allow your ligaments to heal five times faster than normal.” Last but not least, he held up the last container and said, “These are painkillers. Take them as needed.”

  He gave all three containers to Kristi. She wrapped her fingers around the small glass bottles like they were precious gems.

  “Thanks,” Kristi said. “How many points do we owe you?” She hoped this doctor’s visit wouldn’t cost a huge amount of points.

  Dr. Hanson gathered up his stuff and said, “Don’t worry about paying me. Consider this a gift.”

  He opened the door and put a foot out into the hallway. Then he turned back and said, “Kristi, it would be best if you stayed in bed for the next couple of days. And Jaiden, make sure Kristi actually stays put. The supplements and inflammatory pills I gave her won’t be as effective if she’s spending six hours a day riding droid-horses. Good day to you all.”

  Dr. Hanson closed the door firmly.

  There was a brief pause, and then Chelsa finally asked out loud the question they were all wondering, “How did he know your real names when we never told him?”

  chapter twenty-two

  [ Troop ]

  Mason wasn’t at school the next day. Nor was he at the school the day after. When Troop questioned the whereabouts of Mason, he was met with a dead end. It was as if Mason had ceased to exist, and that made Troop wonder, Is he like me then? Does he have connections to the Company as well? I’m sure the Company has the power to efface all traces of his existence.

  “Did you even hear a word of what I just said?” Jennifer’s grumble yanked Troop out of his thoughts.

  He looked around the lunch table. Darrel sat on his left, Jennifer to his right. Bruno, Lee, Tompkins, Lily and Silvia occupied the rest of the seats.

  “Yeah,” Troop said.

  “Then tell me what I just said,” said Jennifer.

  “Help me,” Troop mouthed to Darrel.

  Darrel snickered, but came to his rescue. “I’m sure Troop is interested in the after school study group, right?”

  Troop nodded, not really sure what study group they were talking about. “Sounds great.”

  “Awesome. Now we have a total of twelve people attending.” Jennifer took a sip of her iced tea. “Do you think I should invite Trevor or is twelve a good number?”

  “Twelve’s good,” Troop said.

  He resisted rolling his eyes when he spotted Bruno shoot a spray of spitballs at the back of a teacher.

  “Then tomorrow after school at Frosty Shakes it is,” confirmed Jennifer.

  Mason claimed Bruno hadn’t sent him after me. But how do I know he wasn’t lying to me? Troop thought, his attention drifting away from Jennifer’s voice and the general discussion being taken place.

  Troop’s mom was back from work early, something that happened about once every few centuries or so. When he walked into the living room, she was already lounging on the memory foam couch, typing some documents. She looked up for a second to acknowledge his presence, then jabbed the holographic keyboard a few more times and powered it off.

  “Done for the day,” she said. “Can’t believe I have the rest of the day free.”

  Sensing that his mom was in a good mood, Troop decided to try his luck and ask her a question involving a rather sensitive topic. “Mom?”

  �
��Yes?”

  “Are there other people…the Company may potentially hide?”

  Her head snapped up in an instant, like a spring-loaded trigger. “Did something happen?”

  “No, no—nothing happened,” he said, perhaps a little bit too hurriedly. His mom didn’t know about his Mason encounter after lessons with Vikens. “I was just wondering if there were others like me that live in the city as well.”

  His mom relaxed her posture by a few degrees. “None that I am aware of. I can inquire more information if you would like me to.”

  “Nah, I’m good. Thanks for the offer though.”

  “Alright. Promise you’ll let me know if anything bad happens.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Just promise you’ll tell me if anyone at school shows the tiniest bit of suspicion about what you are. A replay of four years ago is the last thing we need, not to mention the amount of trouble the Company would be in if word leaked out about you.”

  “Yeah,” Troop lied. “Promise.”

  “Why weren’t you at Frosty Shakes yesterday?” Jennifer demanded.

  “Why would I be at…oh, yeah. The study group,” Troop said. “Did I forget to tell you I had private tutoring afterschool yesterday?”

  Jennifer glared at him.

  “No need to get all pissed off. It was just one study group I missed. I swear I’ll go to the next one. When’s the next one?”

  “This Thursday,” said Jennifer. “And for your information, I am not pissed off—I am very, very pissed off.”

  “Jenn giving you a hard time?”

  Darrel ambled over, his arms swinging like pendulums by his side.

  “Troop forgot about our study group yesterday,” Jennifer complained. “Everyone attended but Mr. I-have-private-lessons-after-school.”

  “Oh, give the man a break,” said Darrel. “It was only one missed study group.”

  “Exactly what I said,” muttered Troop.

  “Fine. I see how this is.” Jennifer let out a huff and stalked over to her girlfriends waiting for her across the hall.

  Troop sighed. Then he said, “Who wants to bet fifty points Jenn will be over this by lunch time?”

  chapter twenty-three

  [ Kristi ]

  Jaiden flung open the door of their room, looking for Dr. Hanson. His light footsteps could be heard tapping down the hallway. Chelsa and Kristi looked at each other, mirroring each other’s stunned expression. After a few minutes, Jaiden returned.

  “He’s gone,” Jaiden announced after searching the entire inn. “The innkeeper said he checked out as soon as he left us.”

  “Did you find out where he is heading?” Chelsa asked.

  “No.”

  “Well, we better get going as well,” Kristi said. She popped a painkiller into her mouth and swallowed it dry.

  “Didn’t you hear Dr. Hanson’s instructions?” Chelsa said. “You’re not supposed to move around for the next few days.”

  “We can’t delay our progress anymore. And anyways, Dr. Hanson gave me at least a week’s worth of pills. I should be fine.”

  With the painkillers doing their job, Kristi felt back to normal. She was slipping the three pill bottles into her pocket when she noticed there was a slip of paper within one of them. Curious, she pulled the bottle back out from the pocket, and with some difficulty, managed to extract the slip of paper. On the paper it read:

  Address for Revealers’ Headquarters:

  213 Nova Street

  Charleston, West Region

  Burn this when you’re done reading this

  “Jaiden, Chelsa! I think you should come and see this.” She clenched the paper so tight she was afraid she might accidentally rip it.

  “What is it?” Chelsa asked, coming over to read the message over Kristi’s shoulders with Jaiden right behind.

  “Do you think the address is legit?” Jaiden wondered.

  “Well, Dr. Hanson did know our names,” Kristi pointed out. “And visiting 213 Nova Street is worth a try, since we’re already going to Charleston.”

  Chelsa entered the address onto the electro-slate and said, “Who has the lighter?”

  Jaiden found a lighter from his backpack and handed it to Chelsa. She lit the paper aflame and brushed the ashes out the window.

  Everyone grabbed their respective backpacks and headed out.

  A speck appeared on the horizon and Kristi pointed it out, “Is that Charleston?”

  “Yeah,” said Chelsa. “Come on, we only have forty minutes before curfew.”

  Their backpacks were considerably lighter than they used to be, the result of camping overnight for the past five days in a row. At most, they could last another two days with the food left.

  “Why do you think Don and Maria want us to locate the Revealers?” Kristi asked to no one in particular after making sure there were no potential eavesdroppers around.

  “Maybe they left something for you and Jaiden in the possession of the Revealers,” Chelsa said. “Jaiden, what do you think?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  The smudge that was Charleston continued to grow. Soon, individual skyscrapers, bridges and other architectural landmarks could be distinguished against the horizon. Charleston was one of the biggest cities in the United Regions with a population of almost 2 million. It was also one of the most technologically advanced cities.

  Over 700 miles of air-train tracks ran throughout the city. Many famous companies, such as Megatronics, Instafood, Green Furniture and Urban Clothes, all have headquarters in Charleston. It was both a gift and curse that Charleston was so massive; on the bright side, Jaiden and Kristi would be able to blend into the city easier with so many people around. However, on the flip side, there was a greater chance that someone would recognize them.

  “Welcome to Charleston!” Chelsa declared, the welcome gate to Charleston looming ahead. She checked the time and said, “Hurry—only ten minutes until curfew.”

  The gate would be lowered once curfew time arrived and they would be locked out of the city. With this threat hanging over their heads, Jaiden, Kristi and Chelsa urged the horses into a gallop and hoped they wouldn’t run out of power before reaching Charleston. The horses needed to be recharged as soon as possible.

  “Gate closing in five minutes,” a gate guard announced over the speakers. “All citizens must be inside a building in five minutes.”

  “I only have 1% charge left,” Chelsa said.

  Kristi checked Mist’s charge: 1.5% remaining.

  “Three minutes until the gate is closed,” the speakers blared.

  Kristi was so close to the gate she could make out the facial features of the gate guard. He was young, like he had just graduated from college. His uniform, which was tailored to fit him perfectly, boasted him of a rank one law enforcer.

  Mist barreled through the gate just as the gate started to crank down. Jaiden and Chelsa pulled in after her.

  “ID?” the gate guard inquired. Although he was a low ranking enforcer, he spoke as if he was the captain.

  “ID?” Chelsa said. “I didn’t know you needed an ID to enter a city.”

  “Charleston is an important city,” the guard replied. “ID verification allows us to keep the city safe from terrorists and other dangers to the public.”

  Kristi shot Chelsa a worried glance. She didn’t look anything like Kelly Harrison’s picture on her ID card, especially since she dyed her hair. Jaiden, who didn’t resemble Zach Wares much in the first place, now looked completely different from Zach’s picture on the card after his hair cut and dye.

  Chelsa petted Ghost and whispered something into his ears while she pretended to locate her electro-slate from her backpack. She swiped the slate to show the guard her ID. The guard grunted and allowed her to pass.

  “Your IDs?” he said to Jaiden and Kristi.

  Ghost unexpectedly leapt down from Chelsa’s horse and onto the guard. Jaiden and Kristi both realized G
host was distracting the guard to let them pass through into the city.

  “Get your droid-cat off of me!” the guard barked, clumsily locating his gun—he was clearly inexperienced.

  Ghost was offended by being called a “droid-cat” and snarled.

  Kristi ignored the gate guard’s plight and galloped Mist right by him with Jaiden hot on her heels.

  “Meet me at the Rex Hotel—there’s a reservation for us there,” Chelsa said to Kristi when she rode past her. Chelsa thrust the electro-slate into Kristi’s arms.

  “I will shoot your droid-pet in ten seconds!” the guard yelled, prompting Chelsa to finally call off Ghost.

  Kristi slowed down Mist enough so that she could type the directions of the Rex Hotel into the electro-slate.

  “This way,” she said to Jaiden, taking lead.

  Kristi checked the time. Two minutes until curfew. Fortunately, the Rex Hotel wasn’t too far away and they found it within a minute.

  The Rex Hotel was magnificent. That was the only word that popped into Kristi’s mind when she saw the castle-like building. Even the word “magnificent” didn’t do the extravagant hotel justice. Everything about the hotel—from its gilded arches, stained-glass dome to the marble bricked walkway—screamed rich! She wondered if Chelsa was crazy for choosing the Rex Hotel to spend the night. Five hundred points would probably get them a broom closet in such a pretentious hotel as this.

  There was a stable-hand ready to take the droid-horses into the stable located behind the hotel. Jaiden and Kristi entered the hotel lobby, feeling sorely out of place among the richly dressed people. Grave looking businessmen in fine suits strolled around the grand lobby, discussing trades and oversea commerce with their peers. Many adults cast them disdainful looks. It couldn’t have been more obvious they didn’t belong in this lavish world.

  “There you are,” Chelsa said. She ambled through the massive, gold-gilded double doors of the hotel just as the city clock bonged to announce the curfew was in act.