“Fold.” He says in my head. “You’ve lost enough money already.”
“You’re the one taking all my money, anyway.” I roll my eyes and fold my cards. I hate poker; it’s not about knowing your game, it’s about luck. Daniel wins because he can see the near future. Well, he’s good at bluffing, too. The guy next to him, who likes to call himself Chuck, thinks he has Daniel all figured out. And that’s how he makes his biggest mistake.
Daniel has been bluffing all night, but this time he’s got it: one king and an eight of diamonds. The same kind as the rest of the cards on the table, and that is going to lead him to a flush. Chuck, who is still betting against Daniel, is confident that he has a better hand; I would guess a pocket queens, and he thinks three of a kind will get him the money lying on the table.
I watch as Chuck’s security man hands him his scotch. The guy looks more like an armoire than a person. I admit he’s huge and kind of scary, but why be afraid of him when I could break him in half without breaking a sweat?
“Can you get this over with? I’m bored already!” I prod Dan’s mind. He ignores me and keeps on betting higher and higher and Chuck follows—just like prey walking into a trap.
The dealer puts the fifth card on the table, a two of hearts. Daniel bets higher. Chuck stares at him, checks his cards again, and puts out another five thousand. Daniel’s face is unreadable, not even a sparkle in his eyes. How is he able to control his emotions so coolly? If I knew I was suddenly fifty-thousand dollars richer, I’d be jumping up and down.
Chuck refuses to be the first to show his cards. Without hesitation, Dan puts his two cards down and Chuck gasps. He’s just lost the thirty-thousand dollars he had initially won early in the night, plus another twenty-thousand that he bet on these last couple hands.
I was right when I guessed Chuck had a pair of queens. My ability to empathize with people has developed to another level. Lately, I’ve been able to precisely guess what someone is thinking. I can’t really see the thought in its details, but I can sense it through their emotions.
With that, the game is finished. I stand up from my green velvet chair and I walk out of the poker room, just one of the many poker rooms in this building. Daniel knows about all of the illegal underground poker joints in Vancouver. That’s how he got by after leaving Emily’s house—playing poker and stealing people’s money. I say stealing because his ability allows him to cheat easily. Since I can read people, Dan thought we could win some cash and travel around the country in pursuit of the other three kids genetically enhanced like us. That is, if the agency hasn’t gotten to them yet.
I walk outside the building; the strong wind hits me, bringing the smell of rain with it. I jog into the street and hide in the nearest alley where I wait for Daniel. He didn’t think it was a good idea for people to see us together, just in case. This entire weekend, we pretended we didn’t know each other.
We’ve been in Vancouver for the past four days, planning our next move. After Akiak, my uncle’s friend, dropped us off in Anchorage, we made our way back into Canada and down to Vancouver. Our next stop is Columbus, Ohio. We need to find a girl named Jordan Sanchez. If she has the ability Dan thinks she does, she’ll be able to lead us to the others. He believes she’s clairvoyant and that makes her capable of finding distant people and objects.
I see Dan jogging towards me and he slips into the alley. “Hey, sorry it took me a while to get out of there.” He pulls his hood over his head and a smile takes over his face. “Happy birthday to us!” He hands me the backpack unzipped so I can look in it. “Fifty thousand dollars!”
“Yeah, happy eighteenth birthday.” I say but my smile is not as big as his. I’ve tried to avoid thinking of my birthday all day. This doesn’t feel like it, not when my parents aren’t here to wake me up with my favorite chocolate cake. No, it doesn’t feel at all like my birthday.
I wonder what Adam is doing and if he even knows that it’s his birthday.
Dan puts his backpack facing forward on his chest. He wants to protect the money in it, but I don’t think anyone could steal that from us. Even if they put guns to our heads, we could disarm them faster than they could pull the triggers.
We start walking down the road. “I need to go shopping tomorrow,” I say. “I need some new clothes, something other than jeans and this hoodie.”
“I think we have enough money for a shopping spree.” He pats the backpack. “You’ll need a hat to cover your face from public cameras. The agency can track you like that.”
I take that into consideration as we walk the dark streets of Vancouver, heading back to the apartment we’re staying in. It’s one of those rent-by-the-day places. It’s disgusting, but safe.
“We should leave town soon, maybe tomorrow,” Dan says.
“Yeah, we need to figure out a way to get out of here. We should get a car.”
He nods. “We can look for one for sale by owner and pay cash; that would be safer.”
We reach the apartment building and I hurry into the shower. We’ve been out at that poker place all night, and the smell of smoke is stuck to my hair and clothes. Once I turn the shower on, I just stay still, letting the water fall on me. I close my eyes and think of the day we’ll be ready to confront the agency and get Adam back. It has been thirty-two days since I last saw him, and I can’t wait for the day that I do.
I put on my clothes and walk out of the bathroom expecting Daniel to complain that I took too long, but he’s nowhere to be found. I slide my shoes on and creep outside down to the road. It’s late and the sky is overcast with no moonlight to illuminate the dark streets. I walk a mile south from our apartment, but I don’t see a trace of Daniel. I wonder where he could have gone, considering everything is closed, and no one is out in this cold.
Right before I turn around to head back to the apartment, I hear Daniel’s voice and I spot him on the other side of the street using a public phone—“What the hell?” I whisper, but it was loud enough for him to hear. He quickly puts the phone back on the hook.
I hurry across the street. “Who were you talking to? I thought you said it wasn’t safe to use a public phone.”
His shoulders sink low. “I know, but I had to.”
“Who were you talking to?”
“No one.” He glances at the phone.
“Daniel!”
His eyes darken when he shoots me a look. “Look in my mind, see if I’m lying.”
“I’ve told you I won’t invade your privacy, and don’t plan on starting now.” I cross my arms. “I just need you to tell me the truth.”
“I dialed Emily’s number,” he admits. “I just wanted to hear her voice. I’ve been worried about her lately and I wanted to make sure she was alive. When she didn’t answer the phone, I panicked. That’s when you heard me.”
I sigh. “You have seemed a little worried lately.” I walk closer to the phone and I feel Daniel’s hand on my shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling my uncle.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I can’t do any more damage than you’ve already done by calling Emily.”
He steps back. “Fine, but you can’t talk to him. Hang up after you hear his voice.”
I pick up the phone and dial uncle’s cell phone number. It rings two times and his voice comes on. “Livia?” Uncle Henry says with hope to his voice.
My heart swells. “Uncle.”
Daniel moves fast, trying to disconnect the call. I hold his hand out of the way, but he pushes me to the side and the phone line goes quiet.
“I told you not to talk,” he hisses. “The agency can track your voice!”
I rub my face. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.”
Daniel grunts. “Let’s go; we’ve gotta get out of this town first thing in the morning.”
“Maybe you’re overreacting about this.”
“I’m trying to keep us alive, Livia!”
>
“You were the one who came here to use the phone in the first place,” I snap and turn away from him. All I want is to know how my family is doing; I need to know they are all right.
I stomp back to the apartment and Daniel hurries to catch up. We walk in silence, and on the way back, I noticed two other phone booths closer to the apartment. It makes me wonder why Daniel walked all the way down the street, out of my hearing range. “Why didn’t you use one of these? They’re closer to the apartment.”
“They’re broken,” he explains, and I glance at him. For a minute, I contemplate reaching into his mind, but I don’t. If Daniel had the ability to know what I was thinking and feeling and he used it on me, I would feel violated. I don’t want to do it to him. Daniel hasn’t done anything for me not to trust him; quite the opposite. I’ll never be able to repay him for all that he has done for me.
When we reach the apartment, I’m drained and I head straight to my room. “Goodnight.” I tell him before I shut the door behind me.
When I wake up in the morning, Daniel is staring at me. I frown and he looks away. His emotions are changing fast, making me confused and unable to grasp onto his feelings. “What’s the matter?” I ask, sitting up in bed.
“You’ve been sleeping for twelve hours. I’ve tried to wake you up, but you couldn’t hear me, like you were stuck someplace else. Were you dreaming?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You always say how your dreams feel so real, so it crossed my mind that—” He rubs his eyes. “Never mind.”
“Just tell me.”
He shrugs. “When you have those dreams, are you in control of what happens or not at all?”
“Not at all, and they’re always in unfamiliar.” I frown at his curiosity. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m just trying to think of an explanation for those dreams… I know you’re scared and it’s probably just a reflection of fear, but it feels like there’s something more to it.”
I nod. I’ve thought about it too, but nothing really made enough sense to talk about. “Well, let me know when you figure it out.”
Daniel nods and I can almost see a sparkle in his eyes, not corresponding to his worry. But that’s nothing new; Daniel’s eyes never match his emotions and I’m constantly fighting the urge to look into his mind. “All right, get up,” he says, backing out of the room. “We have to get going.”
I lie back down and stare at the broken ceiling fan. This place looks older than I am, and its popcorn ceiling reminds me of Mom; she hates it. She refused to move into our place in New York until Dad got rid of that ceiling—the thought of my parents brings a smile to my face, until the possibility that they don’t remember who I am makes my smile die. I miss them, I miss my brothers, and I miss my uncle. Most of all, I miss my life.
I get ready and help Dan scrub every place and object we’ve touched in this apartment. “We can’t leave any trace behind,” Dan murmurs and gathers the trash. I follow him out and wait for him to dump the trash bags across the street.
We head to the mall on foot. I wanted to get a taxi, but Daniel called me lazy. “The mall is only eleven kilometers away, Livia,” he says. “We haven’t exercised for four days now, we gotta at least walk.”
“Yeah, but it looks like it’ll snow at any moment.”
“We’ll be fine,” he laughs.
After what seems like forever, we reach West Georgia Street, and I see the Pacific Centre Mall. The place is packed with people already out for Christmas shopping. It’s the middle of November and the sales signs are stuck in every store window.
“How about we go separate ways for an hour and a half and meet back here? We would be done faster,” I say, and I can sense Daniel hesitating.
“I think we should stick together.”
“It’s just an hour and an half.”
He shrugs. “Fine.”
Dan pulls me into a secluded hallway that leads to the janitor’s closet and puts half of the money we won yesterday in my backpack—just in case something happens to one of us. He’s always worried that the agency is going to catch him and then I’ll be left alone. That’s why he trained me as best as he could while we were in Noatak.
Today I have all of my abilities appropriately developed. I can run faster than I could two months ago, my hearing range expands every day, my cell regeneration ability makes me heal in a matter of seconds, and my strength gives me confidence to walk around without fear.
While in Alaska, I read tons of books on martial arts and my fighting skills have improved because of it. I can only be grateful for Daniel, but yet, I’m never nice to him. I’m always keeping my distance, and I shut him out every time he tries to get close to me. I hope he knows that I consider him my friend and I’m thankful for all he has done. I just can’t afford to get emotional or sensitive; I need to be distant, so if something were to happen to him, I wouldn’t get hurt.
Looking at him right now, knowing that he worries about me, makes me want to tell him how much I appreciate his patience and nurturing, but I can’t get the words out. So, when he hands me my backpack, I give him a hug, and his body stiffens in my grasp.
“Sorry,” I pull away quickly. “I just wanted to…”
“We’re not saying goodbye, Livia.” He fixes his eyes on mine. “We’re meeting back here in an hour and a half.”
“I know.” I smile.
I first go into an outdoor goods store; I want to be prepared if we have to camp out somewhere. I want a sleeping bag and a backpack big enough to live out of. I also need a good knife; it would make it easier on me if I have to hunt. I don’t like killing animals with my bare hands, and it would be an altogether cleaner job if I had a sharp object to help. Honestly, I wish Dan had never made me kill those rabbits in Alaska. I tried to do it as fast as I could, but I still felt their pain, and it was horrible.
When I’m done at the store, I check the time. I have thirty minutes until I have to meet Daniel. I go into a department store and pick as many clothes as I can, including two dresses that I’ll probably never use, but I just couldn’t pass on the deal. I change into a new pair of jeans, black converse, and a long sleeve black and white sweater. I grab two baseball hats and walk back to our supposed meeting place.
When I reach the spot, I see him tapping on his watch. “You’re late!” His eyes fall on my new outfit and the bags I’m holding in my hands. “And it looks like you’ll need a bigger backpack.”
“Yeah, I’ve got one.”
He raises his eyebrows. “I didn’t think you would’ve, so I got us camping gear, including these huge backpacks so we can travel around. I also got you hiking boots; I hope they’re the right size.”
“I actually thought about that. I got some neat things I saw around. Look at this bottle.” I pull its box out of the bag. “It filters dirty water.”
“Yeah,” he smiles slightly, incredulous. “I got that too. All right, let’s put everything into the new bags and get something to eat.”
We buy sandwiches and walk down to Ballantyne Pier. The sky has opened up since the last I saw, and we might be able to see the sun setting. Daniel buys a newspaper from a street vendor and we find a cozy spot; a corner blocked by two tall pillars and away from public eyes.
We sit on the floor and Daniel asks me to hold the newspaper so he can take the wrapped paper off his sandwich. With my food in one hand and a newspaper in another, I open the international news page. I see a picture of a boy about my age, dark skin, dark shaggy hair and matching eyes. Something about his eyes looks like he’s screaming for help. The word GENIUS is printed in capital letters next to his photo.
I read the article about the boy, who’s eighteen but has been studying at Yale University for the past two years. “Mason Wailer. Is he a genius or a criminal?” is the article’s title. I know this name—it’s on the list Emily gave us. I read on.
The FBI is running a full investigation on Mason and some other Yale students. They are accus
ing the students of hacking into the FBI’s computers system, leaking hundreds of classified documents and exposing dirty business going on within the bureau. There’s no proof against Mason, only that the hacker IP address is located at the Yale campus. Mason is the co-captain of the computer science club at Yale and is more skilled with computers than any other student. “Everyone is being investigated and Mason just falls into the list.” an FBI agent says.
The rest of the article goes on and on about Mason’s academic achievements and how intelligent the boy is—I smile; he’s got to be the same person we are looking for and if his intelligence is due to his DNA being genetically enhanced like mine, he’s one of us. My stomach twists in anxiety. His little problem with the FBI has attracted attention to him and, if he is one of us, the agency is on its way to get him.
That’s it. We need to go to Connecticut, not Ohio.
“What’s the name of the boy we need to find in Virginia?” I ask Daniel just for reassurance.
He cocks his head as he takes a bite of his sandwich. “Wailer, Mason Wailer. Why?”
“Read this.” I pass the newspaper to Daniel and watch as he understands.
About the author
Patricia Vanasse was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has studied Culinary Arts, Psychology, Law School, and now has finally found her passion in creative writing. She also loves traveling, cooking, and is an avid reader. Her strength- believes that everything is possible. Her weakness- an obsessive relationship with caffeine. www.patriciavanasse.com.
Also by Patricia.
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Awakened (Resilient 2). In an attempt to protect their families, Livia and Adam set out in a search for answers that would change their lives forever. While on the run, Livia and Adam crossed paths with Daniel, who had been searching for genetically enhanced teens. But getting out from under The Agency’s radar has not been easy. After being ambushed by the leader of The Agency that created them a desperate attempt to claim what they lost just over a decade earlier Livia was forced to leave Adam behind, barely escaping to safety with Daniel. Now under the control of The Agency, Adam is serving the purpose for which he was created. Manipulated to forget his love for Livia and his past, he lives a life crafted by fake memories that enslave him to a life of following the orders of the agency. Now Adam battles with vivid dreams of a life he does not remember and the strong connection he feels to the girl with familiar blue eyes. The desire for vengeance propels Livia and Daniel into a dangerous race to disrupt the destructive string of events that The Agency initiated seventeen years earlier. As they travel across parts of North America in search of other teens who are just like them, Livia will face an ethical battle over genetics, loyalty, and love. The race is on, and it is up to Livia to destroy The Agency and rescue Adam, but even if she succeeds at saving him, there are no guarantees shell able to save the deep connection they once shared.
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