The Amplified

by Lauren M. Flauding

  After a couple hours, we hear the alarm that tells us it's time to go back to training. We definitely made some progress on the dorm. The wall is about halfway finished.

  "Hey Mari, you want to come check out the urban obstacle course with me?" Joby asks.

  Before I can say anything, Liam jumps in. "Actually, Mari, I was thinking you might want some help with the electrocution room."

  I look back and forth between the two of them, not sure how to respond. Alia comes to my rescue.

  "Mari and I are actually going to shower real quick before we start any training, we don't want to get dust all over the equipment."

  "Oh, sure, good idea," Joby says quickly and turns to leave. Liam raises an eyebrow at me before following Joby to the Coliseum.

  "Thanks for that," I say gratefully to Alia.

  "Sure, that's what friends are for," she replies.

  I feel a stab of guilt at the word "friends."

  "Hey Alia, the other night..."

  "Don't ask," Alia cuts in.

  I let out a small laugh, wondering if she's joking. Although I guess this isn't something you would joke about. "What?"

  "Don't ask," she repeats. "You don't want to know and I don't want to tell, so it's better to leave it alone."

  I'm shocked at this response. I know it must have been an awful thing she went through, but I've never known Alia to turn down an opportunity to divulge the personal details of her life. She really has changed. She must sense the awkwardness, because suddenly she forces an excited tone and asks, "So who do you like more, Liam or Joby?"

  This sudden mood change confuses me even more.

  "I - I don't know," I say, glancing back toward the Coliseum where Liam and Joby just went. But what catches my eye is a small, curly haired boy sneaking into the nutrition hall.

  "Felix," I say under my breath.

  "Who's Felix?" Alia remarks with some interest.

  "Uh, no one," I hedge. "I think I forgot something back there, I'll meet you in the Coliseum."

  "Okay, see you later," Alia concedes. I know she's probably suspicious, but she doesn't press the matter.

  I head to the nutrition hall at a brisk walk. I don't want to draw attention to myself, but I'm hoping I can catch Felix before he disappears this time. I'm thinking there's a possibility he might know something about the attack the other day, and I still want to know about the voice on the recording from my device.

  The hall is empty, mostly everyone is probably in the Coliseum right now. There are still several gaping holes in the ceiling from the explosions, and they cast unnatural shadows throughout the building. I move toward the back where I know there are a few storage rooms; it seems like a probable place for Felix to hide.

  I'm about to push open the door to one of the storage rooms when I hear Talina's voice coming from inside.

  "This is ludicrous, Justin! We can't keep lying to them about what happened the other day."

  "What are we supposed to do?" Justin exclaims. "Undermine the Governor? At this point I think the truth would only make the situation worse, plus we'd get ourselves an appointment with the Restrainers."

  "But they're going to find out about the North sooner or later, and they need to be prepared for what's really coming! We're not doing them any favors by coddling them. In the end, it's just going to do more damage."

  "How do we know the North wasn't just accidentally out of their jurisdiction? This is the first time they've made an assault beyond the Outer Reaches, maybe it was just a mistake."

  "When has the North ever made a mistake?" Talina retorts.

  "Look," Justin says, taking a deep breath, "I'm just saying that the Governor probably has a plan in place. There's no need to get everyone worried until we're sure there's a real threat."

  "I'd rather deal with worried trainees than completely unprepared trainees," Talina snaps. And before I have time to react, she opens the door and I'm staring her in the face.

  "Dang it, Mari! Why is it always you?" She remarks. She looks me over, as if considering me, then shrugs her shoulders. "Well, at least one of you will have an idea of what's coming." And with that, she strides out of the nutrition hall. Justin steps out of the room and grabs me by the collar of my uniform.

  "Don't you dare tell anyone what you heard, understand?" He threatens. He lets me go roughly and is gone before I have a chance to respond.

  I let out a shaky breath and let myself lean on one of the tables close to me. I knew it wasn't just a simulation! And I agree with Talina, I think we all have a right to know what's really going on. Who is the North? The Outer Reaches? And what's coming? I make a mental note to ask Talina about it later, assuming I can talk to her in private anytime soon.

  I hear a noise near the entrance of the hall and remember the reason I came here in the first place: to find Felix. I get up and walk toward the sound, hoping that it was him, but stop short when I see Jaren leaning against one of the still-crumbling doorways.

  "Hey Mari," he says casually, as if we're on friendly terms, "I've been meaning to talk to you."

  "What do you want, Jaren?" I answer back fiercely. I already hate him for whatever he did to Alia, plus I'm also on edge about the information I just overheard.

  "Hey, calm down, girl," he chuckles. "I just wanted to say how impressed I was with what you did during the simulation. Quick thinking, very inspiring."

  "Is that all?"

  "Of course not, Mari," he says as he starts walking slowly toward me, "you are a remarkable girl and I would love to get to know you better."

  Something about his tone makes me uneasy.

  "What do you mean?" I ask steadily.

  "Well," he gestures to the empty hall, "we're all alone and I can be very persuasive. Just ask your friend Alia. And about a dozen other girls," he adds with a twisted smile.

  "Alia," I whisper to myself, starting to put the pieces together.

  "Ah yes, Alia was fun for a while," Jaren says smugly. "I'm sorry to say that I got her into a bit of a predicament, but she worked it out. Turns out the Amplifier is good for getting rid of all kinds of ... mistakes."

  The gravity of Alia's situation comes crashing down on me. The months of moodiness, the odd weight gain, her inconsolable sobbing the other night... I feel sick. Sick for not being there for her, sick for assuming she was just having petty boy problems, sick for this burden she's had to carry all alone. I start to shake in anger, but Jaren is still advancing.

  "So, what do you say, Mari?" He oozes, "Nobody has to know. I'm sure you're curious, and then you'll at least have a pleasant memory from Training."

  I want to strangle him. I want to scream profanities in his face and make him wish he'd never said a word to me. But instead, I will myself to be calm and take a step closer to him. I just have to pretend for a little while in order to inflict the most damage.

  I force a coy smile and play with the edge of his sleeve.

  "You know, Jaren," I simper, "I was actually a little jealous that Alia got to spend so much time with you."

  "Really?" He murmurs as his eyes flash over my body, "Tell me more about that."

  Ugh, he thinks he's actually going to get it. I swallow back revulsion.

  "It's just that, I've been attracted to you for a while, and I was wondering if you were ever going to notice me," I mutter timidly.

  I feel his lips on my neck and I almost lose it. Just a few more seconds.

  "Well, Mari," he whispers in my ear, "tonight all of your dreams are going to come true."

  Oh, if you only knew.

  He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me close to him. Just as he starts to bring his lips to mine, I pull my knee up as hard as I can into his groin. He whimpers and collapses in pain, but I knee him in the groin several more times for good measure. Then I slam his head onto a nearby table and hiss into his ear.

  "If you ever come near me or my friend again, I swear I will pulverize your manhood into oblivion."

  I shove him
onto the floor and run out of the nutrition hall while he moans in agony. I want to scour every inch of my skin, every place that he touched or breathed on or looked at. I'm just hoping I incapacitated him enough to keep him away from girls for a while. A long while.

  I run all the way back to my dorm and I'm relieved to find Alia there alone. She's sitting on her bed staring at the wall. I rush forward and throw my arms around her.

  "Mari, what happened to you?" She asks, clearly startled that I'm suddenly hugging her. "I waited for you in The Coliseum - "

  "I know, Alia." I interrupt. "I ran into Jaren. I know about everything."

  I feel her crumple into my embrace and soon her tears are soaking my shoulder.

  "I didn't know what else to do," she confesses in between sobs, "and I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how to tell anyone." And suddenly she's telling me everything. The vulnerability, the confusion, the pain, and the loss. We cry together for a long time. And I realize that listening to her is a far more effective means of support than pummeling her ex-boyfriend's private parts.

  Chapter 24

  The Restrainers arrived at 6:00 this morning. There were 20 of them, looking polished and ominous in their metallic uniforms. They did a short fighting demonstration for us and it was absolutely awe-inspiring. They were moving so fast it made me dizzy to watch them. Some of them were spinning and flipping so high up in the air they almost didn't seem like they were human. I'd love to become one of them. Too bad I've made such a bad impression with Governor Plenaris that that will never be a possibility. Afterwards, Talina and Justin lined us up alphabetically outside the Coliseum while the Restrainers filed in, and then they started calling trainees in 5 at a time to complete their assessment. Waiting is the worst part. It seems like it takes about 45 minutes for each group to go through the assessment, and I've been waiting for about 9 hours.

  So far, not a single person has failed the assessment. At first, I was relieved when I saw that Alia had passed, but now I realize that I had nothing to worry about. I watch trainees that I know have done far less than Alia during Training emerge triumphantly from the Coliseum with completion certificates in their hands. I'm starting to wonder why we had to be here for three months if the final assessment was going to be so easy.

  And then, of course, there's the whole issue of what the Restrainers will decide about my future. It may not even matter if I pass today if the Restrainers ultimately decide that I'm not fit to be Amplified. And then what will I do? I mean, I guess living without Amplification has worked out all right for my mom, but I don't know if I can settle for a life like hers. I don't know if I can be happy spending the rest of my life doing menial labor and being called a clam.

  "Oh, Mari, you'll be fine without Amplification, there's already so much you can do on your own!"

  That's what Alia said when I told her about my most recent meeting with Governor Plenaris and the impending decision of the Restrainers. I think she was just trying to be nice. Sure, I don't rely on my Amplifier as much as some other people do, but now that I've experienced it, I'd just feel so vulnerable and helpless without it. Not to mention the fact that I'd be severely inferior to 90 percent of the population.

  Alia and I have spent a lot of time catching up over these past few days. She went into the particulars of her whole debacle with Jaren and disclosed a few things about the other trainees that she noticed when they thought she wasn't watching. Apparently she stumbled upon quite a few awkward moments. For my part, I finally told her about almost being strangled by the mysterious stranger in the hover chamber. She was horrified. I felt bad about making her worry so much, but a small part of me was glad that her fear somehow validated mine; that I wasn't overreacting. I still haven't told her anything about Felix or what I overheard the other night about the attack from the North. I don't want to inundate her with things to stress about.

  Justin's gruff voice brings me out of my thoughts.

  "Devon Nelson, Cassidy Prewitt, Tristan Prewitt, Marianna Quillen, and Joby Reams, please enter The Coliseum."

  This is it, I think, but I'm not really nervous. More than anything I'm elated that I don't have to wait anymore. We follow Justin through the large doors of the Coliseum. Once inside, I see that the Restrainers are divided into 5 groups, one in each corner and one in the middle of the arena. Talina assigns each of us to a different group of Restrainers. I end up in the nearest corner by the wall of weapons.

  I become increasingly intimidated as I approach the 4 Restrainers in the corner. They all narrow their eyes at me as I come near. Even though they all have vastly different physical attributes, somehow, they all look the same. One of them, a pale, thin man, steps forward and addresses me.

  "Marianna Quillen, upon successful completion of this final assessment, your Training will be complete and you will become a formal soldier. You must pass through five tests to determine your skill and compliance with the Amplifier." He takes out a Transcriber. "This year you have the option of completing the tests on your own, or with the assistance of an Override." The man hands the Transcriber to me, and I take it gingerly. Now I know why no one has failed the assessment. It seems a little extreme. We just need to have the actions in our memory and know the right thing to say, but now we can forfeit those responsibilities too? I wonder just how many trainees opted for this route. Did Alia? I skim over the words on the Transcriber. It appears to be a contract, but I don't read it too thoroughly because I already know what I'm going to choose.

  "I'll complete the tests on my own," I announce confidently.

  I see a hint of surprise flash through all the Restrainer's expressions before they make their faces indifferent again. Now I'm worried. Is the assessment so difficult that you need the help of an Override? Maybe this was a test to see how loyal I am to the Amplification system and I've already failed.

  "Very well," the pale man finally responds. "We'll start with weapons."

  Our small group moves in front of the wall of weapons, and one of the Restrainers flips up the training mode switch. I position myself in front of the first weapon, a crossbow, heft it out of its cradle, and obediently wait for the manikin to come out of the wall. When it does, I give myself a swift command, load the crossbow, take aim, shoot, and floor the dummy in less than 2 seconds.

  I move down the line of weapons, giving myself commands and taking out the manikins. I'm careful when I reach the bow staff to only use the generic command. I have a little trouble trying to load the machine gun, but otherwise I make it through all the weapons without much trouble.

  When I reach the end of the line, I turn and look back at all the defeated manikins. For a moment I imagine they're real bodies, and I feel a surge of horror course through me. But soon the cracks in the wall open up and pull the fake warriors back in, and I'm able to shake the feeling. The Restrainers are stoic as they take notes on their Transcribers. Eventually, they motion for me to follow them to the boxing ring.

  I'm surprised when one of the Restrainers joins me in the ring, a short woman with graying hair and impressive curves. On a signal, we access our Amplifiers at the same time and start fighting. I can tell that she's intentionally holding back for my benefit; I know she's capable of far more than what she's doing. I guess they have no interest in keeping people from passing. I dodge a few of her punches and finally knock her down with a well-placed uppercut to her chin. Another one of the Restrainers comes in and resets her jaw, and then we move to the next test, calmly, as if I didn't just beat up one of my assessors.

  The third test consists of retrieving a set of rings from various locations on the field. They're all pretty easy to get, except for the last one, which is suspended from the ceiling. I use the pole vault to launch myself into the air and reach it, but I overshoot it a little bit and am almost impaled by one of the ceiling's glass stalactites. I grab the ring on the way back down and land gracefully on the mat below.

  I start to get uneasy when I see that we're heading next to
the electrocution jungle. Maybe I should have opted for the Override. The pale man switches on the electricity and looks at me expectantly. Perhaps it's my hesitation that prompts him to explain the end goal.

  "You are to make it to the other side and push the button without touching any of the cables."

  I take a deep breath. I've never made it through the room and I've never seen anyone else do it. I guess I'll have to try to constantly give myself commands as I go through. I scan the jungle again, looking for a good place to start. I notice that the cables are more sparse near the ceiling, and every now and then I can see an exposed piece of pole. As far as I can recall, the poles aren't electrified. I guess there's only one way to find out.

  "Mari, run up the wall and grab onto the nearest pole."

  My body responds quickly, and before I know it I'm lunging off the top of the wall and reaching for the pole. I wince as my hands connect, bracing myself for a shock, but luckily, it doesn't come. I let my legs swing for half a second before I give myself another command.

  "Mari, do a side aerial twist around the cables to the next pole."

  My limbs contort through the buzzing wires as I spin and flip to reach the pole. The cables are becoming more dense and I need to think of my next move quickly. I look down and see a clear patch of floor.

  "Mari, drop to the floor and roll to the left."

  My shins burn slightly from the impact of such a long fall. I stand up gingerly to avoid contact with any of the cables, which is a difficult task since I'm surrounded by them. Apparently I've landed in the worst possible spot in the room. Everywhere I look I'm confronted by thick webs of dangerous wire. Unless some of the cables magically disappear, I have nowhere to go. But I can't just stay here, even if any move I make means I'll fail. Not to mention I'll have to endure those torturous shocks.