by Melissa West
“Hey, are you okay?” Law asks, and I can hear the question in his voice. He’s worried I’m mad at him for not telling me about the brother thing. And maybe I should be, but I know it wasn’t Law’s fault. Besides, from what they told me, it sounds like he hasn’t known for very long himself.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I crack my neck and drop my notes tablet into my locker. I won’t need it for testing today anyway. “We should get to testing. See you later, Law,” I say.
Gretchen steps in line with me and loops her arm into mine. “What’s going on, Ari? You can tell me. Is it…Jackson? I know you said you’re just friends with him, but it sort of seems like—”
“I told you, we’re nothing.” I shake my head, but I can’t meet her eyes. I don’t understand how I’ve gotten myself into this. I can’t have feelings for Jackson. Can’t.
Gretchen’s face fills with hurt. “I’m your best friend, Ari. You can trust me, you know?”
I stop outside the F.T. door, fighting the overwhelming emotions swirling through me. “I don’t know. Okay? That’s the truth. It’s like gravity disappears when he’s around and I’m lost, no longer sure of anything. I think… I don’t know… He’s just different than what I thought.” I tug at my ponytail, twirling it around my finger again and again. I can’t bring myself to admit I have feelings for him, even to Gretchen.
She tilts her head, her expression full of concern. “Does he feel the same way?”
I shake my head. “I’m not sure.”
“Not sure of what?” a familiar voice says from behind us.
I cringe as I turn.
CHAPTER 13
Jackson opens the F.T. door, holding it so we can go in front of him. Gretchen shoots me an excited look and then nods toward him. “I’m going…um…on in,” she says. “See you after, Ari.”
I start to follow, but Jackson grabs my arm. “Wait.”
“Yes?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say.
“It doesn’t seem like nothing.”
Then before we can say anything else, Coach Sanders flashes the lights then yells from the back door, “Testing is out here. We’re all set up.”
Once we’re outside, Coach lines us up in front of a giant metal obstacle course. I’ve heard these are used in actual Operative training to force Operatives to think quickly on their feet. I have no idea what we’ll face inside, but I do know whatever it is will use every form of simulation and advancement the Chemists can throw at us.
“As you know,” Coach says, “you have all passed your limits test and have advanced forward to this very crucial element of testing. Today, you will be judged on your resourcefulness and your ability to handle unusual weapons. I can’t tell you what you’ll find in the obstacle, but I can tell you to expect anything and to trust no one. Your job is to get through in ten minutes. Anyone not on the other side in ten will be disqualified.”
“Do we all go in at once?” Marcus Wilde, a tall, slim boy—another Engineer legacy—asks. His father is a Lead Op and has a reputation for being as tough as Dad, so I can imagine he’s asking to prevent any mess-ups that would then get back to his father. Little does he know asking this sort of question suggests weakness.
Sure enough, Coach gives him a hard stare. “You’ll figure it out.”
“But,” Lexis says, “how are we supposed to—”
“Begin!” Coach shouts.
Everyone jumps into the entrance at once—everyone except me. I wait for the others to disappear and then enter, not wanting anyone else to see which way I go. As soon as I’m inside, a loud bang followed by click-clack-click sounds from behind me, and I turn to see a metal door where the opening to outside stood just moments before.
There are only two directions from here—right or left. I have no idea which way to go, so I choose right and hope my instincts serve me well. I draw a deep breath to steady myself.
I press my hands against the metal walls that line my sides and push, just to see what might happen. Nothing does. That’s both good and bad. The good is that it didn’t open up new paths, which would have potentially led me farther into the obstacle course. The bad is that I’m coming up to a corner, and every instinct in my body tells me something dangerous lies beyond the turn.
I can’t go back. And there’s nothing but metal on my sides. So, I have no choice but to push forward and face whatever waits.
I peek around the corner to an open area and spot an Op sitting between two paths. I recognize him at once. Lane something. He’s a trainee under Dad and always has a smug expression plastered across his face. He calls me—
“Fancy seeing you here, Princess,” Lane says. I step out, my eyes on the two paths behind him. If I knock him out I won’t know which way to go, which means he needs to be disabled but coherent. My eyes dart around the open area. There’s nothing but composite bushes. What am I supposed to do with— Ah-ha! I spy a tiny silver mass on the far left, no larger than a trick knife. I have no idea what it is, but it has to be there for a reason. I dash for it at the same time as Lane, barely nabbing it before he shoves me to the ground. I jump up and widen my stance. He grins, his expression sardonic. He knows what it does, and he knows that I have no clue.
Lane straightens. “You’re tougher than you look, I’ll give you that.” He gets into position. I have less than five seconds to figure out what the thing does before he attacks. My eyes flicker to it. There’s an indentation in the bottom. Maybe… I slide my thumb into the indentation and press. A spark followed by buzzing. It’s a Senso-Taser. No way! I thought these things were a myth. Most Tasers stop muscular control. These things shut down all senses so the victim can’t see or hear or feel.
I smile up at him. “You have no idea.” I run forward, flip through the air, and land in front of him. He punches me in the gut, causing the Taser to fly from my grasp. I scramble for it, but Lane is fast and jerks me up by my hair, dragging me back. I kick and thrash against him, managing to wiggle free and driving my fist into his face. Blood pours from his nose, the smile on his face vanishing for the first time.
I know this is the only chance I have, so I kick Lane in the chest, causing him to stumble back, and dive for the Taser. I’m close, so close, but then I feel a jerk and realize he’s dragging me by my feet back, back, back. I dig deeper into the ground, what little fingernails I have breaking under the pressure in painful snaps. The tips of my fingers graze the metal and then wrap around the Taser. I turn just as Lane is about to jump me and shove the Taser into his chest. His body spasms and shakes as the electrical current courses through him. “Which path?” I command. The Taser will strengthen with each zap until he passes out. The first hit should only last a few seconds, with each sense coming back one by one. He can speak now, but he can’t move. “Which path?” I scream and jerk his arm to me, nearing the Taser to his skin. He flinches. “One, two—”
“Okay, okay! Go to the left. You’ll find three more paths. You’ll need to get through the center one. Once through it, go left, then right, then left again. You’ll hit another set of paths. The right one leads out.”
I release his arm. “Thanks.”
His expression turns serious. “Good luck. You’re the kind of fighter we need if we’re going to beat them.”
My eyes widen. Them.
“Hurry, you only have seven minutes left.”
“Thanks again.” I race down the left path, realizing that while the sun was shining bright when I entered the obstacle, now the paths are all dark and shadowed. I repeat Lane’s directions again and again in my mind so my body will act on a subconscious level. I can’t trust my eyes to lead me right now, and thoughts just slow down our body’s natural ability to survive. Dad taught me that. But he didn’t teach me how to handle this.
I stop short in front of a group of children, by their faces they look to be about ten, but they’re tiny, the size of toddlers. They sit on the ground in front of the middle path. The other two
paths aren’t blocked, but Lane said to take the center one. I back up, planning to run and jump over them, when I hear something. Whispers. They’re whispering to me, beckoning me.
“Follow the light…follow the light…” they repeat over and over.
What light? My eyes dart from path to path and around the large opening. There is nothing else, only the strange children and me.
Thunder roars in the sky. The children stand and point, their heads tilting back. Black clouds hover over us, lightning strikes, and the children cry. Their eyes mirror the sky—black, emotionless. Their faces break into devilish grins while tears pour from their eyes, washing away the blackness. They shake their heads, as though disoriented, and edge toward me, calling my name, beckoning me to the light.
I draw a shaky breath. This is just part of the test. I search the composite greenery lining the walls. Nothing but leaves and sticks. If the first test involved weapons then maybe this one is resources. Thunder rumbles again. The children’s heads tilt upward. I watch them with curiosity, pressing myself against the wall to my right. Lightning strikes and their blue and green and brown eyes all turn black as though a painter colored in the irises. The children weep, and the black washes away. They chant my name, but this time it’s as if they can’t see me. A second passes and then they all turn, facing me, begging me to come to them. I study their faces, their eyes for half a second, putting the pieces together in my mind. Lightning—disoriented. Crying—clarity. So if I’m right, the lightning somehow blinds them.
I wait for the next rumble and prepare to test my theory. The children huddle together on the west side of the opening. If I time it exact—and if I’m lucky—when the lightning strikes they won’t see me slip around them. The thunder dies down. Lightning hits with a deafening crack! I race around them, dash into the center path, and fall onto my hands and knees. I spin around, prepared to fight, but the children stare away from me, calling my name, oblivious to anything but the storm.
A shiver crawls up my back that I quickly push away. I don’t have time to get spooked.
I follow Lane’s directions, turning left, then right, then left again before slamming to a halt. There are two paths. But blocking the way out isn’t an Operative like Lane or a simulation like the children. Blocking my escape is an Ancient. He stands over two bodies. From this distance, I can’t tell if they’re alive. He smiles widely at me, crossing his arms. “Good to see you, Ari. Your name has grown rather popular back home.”
I peer down the right path behind him. The exit is close, ten yards at most. If I can get past him, I’m sure I’ll make it out before he grabs me. He notices me looking and laughs. “Such a pity.” And he lunges for me. I dodge him, racing for the path, and just as I reach the threshold, Jackson steps up to the exit. His eyes round out in terror as the Ancient hits me from behind. I fall forward, but then something comes alive inside me. My veins pulse, my muscles spasm, my senses heighten. The Ancient grabs my arm, and I swing around with the other, connecting with his temple. Typically that’s a knockout move, but he just seems unbalanced.
I pull back to hit again when Jackson lands between us. “Go,” he says to me.
“I—”
“Go!”
For once I don’t argue. I reach the clearing and spin around, expecting to see other Ancients or hear alarms, something that tells me we’re in response mode. But no one else is out of the obstacle course. For a moment I consider going back in. What if there are other Ancients in there? What if they’ve hurt Gretchen or one of the others? My eyes flash to Jackson, my chest tightening as he circles the Ancient, who says something I can’t make out.
“Who gave the order?” Jackson commands. The Ancient laughs, races for the exit, and leaps past me into a patch of trees behind the clearing. He disappears.
Coach Sanders claps loudly when he sees us. “Great job!”
“He doesn’t know,” Jackson whispers. “No one knows.”
“Knows what? That the Ancient breached the testing?”
“Yes. I think they’ve been ordered to interrupt Op testing.” He checks behind him to make sure no one is around. “I think they want to weaken the military. I’m afraid—”
My phone buzzes, a new message from Mom flashing across the screen. Come home now. It’s urgent.
CHAPTER 14
Mom stands a foot from the T-screen with her hand over her mouth, her eyes glued to a live newscast of an attack downtown, then one two cities over, and before I can process the totals, the screen separates into ten mini screens.
Ten attacks, all today, all happening simultaneously.
Mom reaches out to me, and we lock hands. We watch the attacks in silence. More than fifty people died within a ten-minute stretch. Operatives exit from Engineer trucks at the site of each attack. They look so young from here, but then, they are young, no older than twenty-five. I’ve never understood why we send our future into the fight, but that’s how it has always been and how it always will be…if we survive this.
Gunfire and explosions and screaming jar me from my thoughts. My heart skips a beat as we wait for the dust to settle, wait to see how many bodies lay lifeless on the street—wait to see whether they are our bodies or theirs. But we never get the chance. The T-screen goes black and then a message appears that communication is down.
The front door announces Dad and we both lurch forward to see what he has to say about the attacks. His phone buzzes the moment he nears, but instead of stepping out of the room like normal, he jerks it to his ear. He nods a few times, pacing, and then slides the phone back into its holster.
“They bombed our off-site lab. All our research… How did they know?” he says to no one in particular.
“What research?” Mom asks.
His head snaps up. “Composite plant life. It produces oxygen and absorbs CO. We were ready to launch final testing. How did they find out?”
Composite plant life. So the rumors are true. The Ancients not only rise from trees; they produce them. That explains the fields of crops even in the dead of winter. One thing’s for sure, they control way more than I ever guessed.
The door alarm sounds again, and Law rushes into the room, his face pale and empty.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, but can we…” He gestures to the back patio.
“Only a second, Ari,” Mom says, noticing us leave. “And stay close to the house.”
I nod and close the patio door behind us. When we turn around, Jackson and Mackenzie are there. Law lunges for them before I can stop him. “What are you doing here?”
Jackson backs up. “We’re trying to help, Law. You know that.”
“I don’t know anything anymore.” Law drops into a chair. “A pair of Ancients came by my house, waiting, stalking our front steps. Mom never showed, but what if she had?”
Jackson shakes his head. “Don’t worry, that was just a visual. They want everyone to see their capabilities. They can get to anyone, even the president. It’s a fear tactic.”
“Well, it worked,” I say. “How are we supposed to stop this?”
“We can’t do anything, but he can.” Law glowers at Jackson. “Place the order. You know they’ll listen to you.”
“To me? I’m not Zeus. This order came from the top. There’s no countering it. The only thing we can do is respond. We need info, stat. I need— ”
“Did you see the news?” Law says. “Why would Ari and I try to stop an attack against Ancients? It seems to me like we should support the rebellion, not stand in its way.”
Jackson’s eyes flash to me, but I can’t respond. I agree with Law; we can’t let them kill our people. Law and I have a responsibility. We’re the next leaders. Humans may be the weaker species, but we can’t go down without a fight. I cross my arms, preparing to speak up, when Jackson interrupts.
“You don’t get it, either of you. This is minor. And time is running out. We need the strategy. Now.”
I walk out to th
e forest edge, needing distance so I can think. Something doesn’t make sense here. Either Jackson doesn’t know the whole situation or he isn’t telling us. I want to trust him—I do trust him. But I don’t trust Zeus, who is the one giving Jackson his orders. I release a long breath as I hear footsteps approach. Law comes up and drapes his arm around me, glancing over his shoulder before walking me farther into the woods and out of earshot of potential listeners. “If we refuse to help, then we’re accepting war. I can’t do that, Law.”
“I’m not sure it’s that simple. And I’m not convinced giving them our strategy will do anything but weaken us further.”
“I know. I’m starting to wonder…”
More footsteps. Jackson. “Wonder what?” he spits out.
I wheel around, all my frustration bubbling to the surface. “None of this makes sense! Why should we give the strategy to you? What good will that do? Do you honestly think we’ll stop fighting now that you’ve killed our people? We won’t. We won’t just lie down and let you take over.”
I see the hurt flash across Jackson’s face, but I don’t take back my words. I can’t.
“You are deciding between surviving or the total elimination of your kind. How can you not see that? This isn’t a fair fight. You. Can’t. Win.”
I start walking deeper into the forest, so nothing but trees and the wind surround us. “Maybe not,” I say. “But we have never in history agreed to work with our enemies.”
“Are you insane?” Jackson shouts. “Your kind has always worked with your enemies. They have done what they needed to do to survive. That is what this is, Ari. Survival. Not who appears strongest or in control. I’m trying to help you stay alive.”
“And how do you know Zeus will do as he says? How do you know he’ll stop the attacks once he knows the strategy?”
“Because he always does what he says, both good and bad. He’s reliable, if nothing more.”
Law steps in front of me, squatting so we’re eye to eye. “I hate to admit it, but I think he’s right, Ari. I think we will have our time to fight. I’m just not sure that it’s right now. I think we need to appease Zeus, get him what he wants, so he’ll stop. Then we can rethink how to move forward. Besides, what choice do we have? It’s take a chance and he keeps his word, or do nothing and we’re all blown to bits.”