For several seconds, the six of us stare at the buildings in the distance. They are big. Massive stone-colored blocks in the center. Flatter, squarer buildings on the outside. It’s funny really, how they’re all concentrated in one spot. Beyond the last buildings is just land, not a sign of the inhabitants in it. Few Enhanced—if any at all—live in the isolated, rural areas; if they did, all it would take would be for a group of Untamed to kidnap them and starve them of the augmenters until they gained some of their humanity back. Or kill them.
My eyes fix on the town. Even from here, I can hear—or maybe, sense—the buzz of electricity that screams civilization.
Rahn frowns as he looks out toward the town. The outskirts, from what we can see, don’t look as sophisticated as the skyscrapers peeking from the middle of the assembly.
“Right. We’re goin’ to raid for supplies,” Rahn says after a few moments. He turns to Corin. “You’re with me. And you.” He nods at me, but the action is completely devoid of friendliness.
For a second, I’m too stunned to speak—me? He wants me? The liability, the one who’s caused all this trouble? Sure, I may be the fastest runner, but he’s sending me there, in his team? I don’t know what to do, where to look or what to say at all. In the end, I observe the distant town again.
The Enhanced will be in there. People…like me.
No. I push the thought away, feeling the muscles in my neck tense.
Oh Gods. I didn’t mean to think that.
I look back up at Rahn. He’s still looking toward the town. I take a deep breath, trying—and failing—to calm my nerves. Maybe this is a test. Maybe he wants to know whose side I’m really on.
“Kayden, you’re in charge of Esther and Three.”
Kayden nods. In this bright light, his red hair is blazing. His shoulders are starting to burn, emphasizing the ragged fire scars there. He got badly hurt in an attack seven years ago, when the Enhanced set fire to the house we were all in, to try to flush us out the front door. Kayden saved me—though I’m sure he mistook me for his girlfriend, seeing as I always was very tall for my age—throwing me out the window, but the walls of the house collapsed right after. A burning beam fell across him. My father and Sajo managed to get Kayden out, but no one thought he’d live more than a few days. Especially when we didn’t find Faya’s body, or his baby daughter.
“We’ll take different ends of the town; I’ll approach from the west, you the east,” Rahn says. I nod to myself, just as I thought: Rahn, Corin, and I have the furthest distance to cross. “We’ll attract less attention in smaller groups.” Rahn rolls up his sleeves, and I see him looking at our meager belongings. “We’ll hide these over yonder.” He points at a group of rocks. “Kayden and Three, you concentrate on gettin’ food. I’ll get medicine. Corin and Seven, you look for clothes and better shoes. We’re goin’ to need more than just foot-wraps if we’re walkin’. Esther, you get the girl stuff.”
Esther nods. She looks somewhat like a warrior with her short, cropped hair, broad figure, and aggressive stance. The gun in her belt finishes the look. Next to her, I look like a tall, skinny, lanky girl. She looks like a woman.
We begin to move our supplies over to the rocks. After a few minutes, Rahn is satisfied that they are hidden well enough.
“Will your dog guard it?” Rahn asks Three and me.
Three nods, then tells the terrier to guard it. At first, he looks confused, but then he barks as though he has the idea.
“All got guns?” Rahn asks.
My words get stuck as I hold up empty hands. We only have five guns, including Raleigh’s semi-automatic pistol.
“Just stick close to Corin,” Rahn says, giving his nephew a meaningful look that I can’t quite work out.
Then we’re walking back out for the town.
“Act as normally as you can,” Rahn says. “The Enhanced walk confidently with their heads held high. Mimic them. Don’t do anythin’ that will draw attention to yourself.”
“What about our eyes?” Corin asks. He has a hand up over his, shading them from the sun. He’s wearing a dark vest and lightweight shorts, and his skin is beginning to burn again. It looks painful in places. “They’ll notice right away what we are.”
Rahn’s quiet for a long moment. Back at our old village, we wouldn’t have had this problem. We had several sets of dark glasses for this purpose, but now Rahn is the only one with glasses—his retinas are too weak for the strong sunlight, and he fears he will go blind if he doesn’t wear them permanently; after all, his half-sister did. Then she got captured and converted.
“If you see any glasses, grab them,” he says. “But we’re goin’ to have to risk it. Look down, avoid eye contact. If they do notice, use your gun and get the hell out of there.” He looks across at me. “Put your hair down, it might help cover your eyes more.”
I reach up, pull the piece of sinew from my hair, and shake the waves free. My hair’s jet black and hot to the touch.
“It’s the hottest time of the day,” Rahn says. “Most will be sleepin’. Just be careful. It doesn’t matter if you come back empty-handed. So long as you come back.”
After a few final words, we set off. Our trio is going first; Rahn’s instructed Kayden to lead his team in once we’re nearer the town.
Corin, Rahn, and I run in a wide arc toward the western side of the town. We set a good speed, and it feels nice to move without lugging drapes over my arms. My hip is still painful, but, after a while, the pain numbs itself, and the rhythmic beat of my feet becomes therapeutic. But I can’t stop myself from shaking as we move. Even my fingers are twitching. I clamp them into tight fists. Corin’s head turns toward me, but he doesn’t say anything, just turns back again, his lips pressed together in a tight line.
Oh Gods. How am I going to manage this? Will the Enhanced recognize me as their own? I swallow hard. What if we all get captured? But the fear of capture is nothing compared to what it used to be like, because I know now… The Enhanced…they’re not all bad…are they? They have food, shelter… They’re just trying to survive. Like we are.
Then I think of Raleigh.
We slow down to a walk as we near the buildings. I’m trying not to look, but, try as I might, I can’t keep my eyes off of the buildings. Will the Enhanced recognize me? Will I recognize them?
We reach the first buildings—huge structures with ornate architecture and intricate decorations—in good time. There is no one else around, and I can’t decide whether I’m pleased about that or not. Narrow roads weave between the buildings, and Rahn leads us down one. Rahn goes first, then Corin, then me.
“We need to get closer to the center,” Rahn says in a quiet voice. “It’s just houses here.” He looks up at the rooflines ahead. There’s a tall steeple to the right, and he points at it. “There’s a square near. Shops should be there.”
He’s right. The steeple belongs to a church with amazing stained glass windows. And, as we get nearer, shops begin to emerge from the unmarked buildings. The doors to most are open. There’s a huge white building ahead with a green cross on it.
“I’ll head in and get medicine,” Rahn says. “You take that road. Should be clothin’ shops down there. If not, nearby.” He hands Corin a small, blunt penknife, then gives him a handful of old receipts. “You know the plan.”
Corin and I nod. We’ve done this countless times, though we’ve never done it together before. Normally, we go in same sex pairs as it’s easier in the changing rooms then.
“We must have a hell of a lot of medicine by now,” Corin mutters as we’re walking through a side street. It is deserted, and the air smells funny. His whole body is rigid, and the tension between us is thick enough to cut with the blunt penknife. “He’s always getting it. And we never use it.”
“I thought we lost it all, when we lost the truck.” Wasn’t that what Rahn had said?
Corin shrugs. “What’s in that old box then? The one with the carvings? That’s where he keeps it. Lik
e I said, we must have a hell of a lot of medicine.”
“Best to be prepared,” I say.
He snorts as he increases his pace, then gestures for me to go first. I step in front of him and lead the way down the road. This one is narrower than the last, and tiny tiles make up the path. Buildings press against each side of the road. A few buildings down, I see a shop that has lots of mobile phones in the window. The door is open, and it looks dark inside.
Corin nudges me, then flicks his hand to where two Enhanced women walk together at the end of the road. My breath catches in my throat. They’re in the distance, but I can’t stop looking at them, checking to see if just one of them could be her….
I swallow hard again, feeling sick. The perfect beings aren’t far away now. I gulp, trying to remain calm. Neither of them looks familiar.
Corin steps closer now, watching me. Although both our heads are bowed—and my dark hair’s falling in front of my face—I know that his eyes are on me. I want to straighten up, to lift my head higher, to look at him and let him know that I know he’s watching me, but I can’t.
We keep walking. I think of Rahn. I know he set this up. He probably wants me to fail this, to go running to the Enhanced, begging for augmenters, so that he no longer has a liability in his group. He already got rid of my mother. But then, why’s he put me with Corin? I glance over at him next to me. If I concentrate really hard, I can still remember the way Corin’s arms wrapped around me as he tried to stop me from going back to the Enhanced Ones’ compound.
Surely Corin would stop me now if I did lose it? I frown. If Rahn wanted rid of me, why didn’t he pair me with himself and send Corin off on his own? He could’ve conveniently lost me to them without the others questioning him or trying to save me.
I scowl, but it doesn’t help my feelings at all. Or the way my legs are shaking. I know without looking that the Enhanced women are closer.
Just act normally.
I try, I really do, as we walk down the cobbled street.
But they’ll notice our eyes, of course they will. I look down.
The Enhanced pair walk right past us. Corin and I let out sighs of relief, and we keep going.
I crane my neck as far as I can, searching every alleyway we pass, picking out the darkest of all the shadows. But there’s never anyone there. Never a tall woman with my own eyes.
Only her eyes will be different now….
“Your mother’s not going to be here.” Corin touches my shoulder lightly, and I flinch. “We’re not going to bump into her.”
I know he’s right, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. Worse, if anything.
We speed up. Corin steers me to the side. There’s a doorway. I search for scanners, either side, but I can’t see any. What if they’ve developed them since we last saw some? What if they’re tiny or invisible?
Corin presses up behind me, and then I’m setting foot in a shop. No alarms go off.
It’s cool inside, and huge bottles of water stand near the door. I’m drawn to them, and I linger slightly, but Corin urges me on.
I quickly pass the checkout counter. An Enhanced man sits behind it, but he doesn’t look up. He mustn’t be used to Untamed humans just walking into his shop in broad daylight.
I look around. There are racks and racks of clothes. Corin has turned down an aisle, and, too soon, I lose sight of him. I take several jolty breaths. I see a rotating stand of sunglasses to my left and head for it. I grab a handful of pairs, then unhook a lightweight jacket and sling it over my arm. I see several pairs of heavy-duty shoes and pick up a big and a small pair, for Corin and me.
Next, I get several shirts, then head for the changing rooms. Corin’s already there, his back to me as he pretends to be engrossed in a leather jacket. He turns as I approach and nods at me. He has a pair of shoes, several shirts, and pairs of shorts.
He holds open the door to the nearest changing room, and I duck under his arm. He closes the door. The cubicle itself is small, but even smaller with Corin’s physique.
As quietly as I can, I pull the labels off the glasses, then hand him a pair, while I put one on. He takes two of the spare pairs from me, pocketing them. Then we both put on as many clothes as we can manage for a natural look. A couple of times, we bump into each other. It can’t be helped. There isn’t much room.
“Stand still,” Corin says after I’ve dragged two shirts over my head. He cuts the labels off with the knife Rahn gave him.
I do the same for him. At one point, the back of my hand catches a bulky shape, just below his waist.
Gun, he mouths at me. I nod. Of course, he has a pistol with him, but it should be tucked in the back of his waistband, less damage in an accident there.
Rubbing at my head, I point at the floor. “Which shoes?”
He indicates the darkest pair with a flick of his fingers, then slides his own shoe-wraps off, stuffing them deep into the pockets of his new three-quarter-length shorts. His old ones are still on underneath, but the new ones cover his belt and gun more effectively.
I put on my new shoes—white ones; wonder how long they’ll stay that color—and wipe a thin layer of sweat from my forehead. My hair feels hot and sticky, and I can feel drops of perspiration forming down my spine. It’s far too hot for this kind of work. I zip the lightweight jacket over the many shirts. It actually fits me well, when I’m wearing many layers underneath.
Corin raises his hand suddenly. We freeze, hear footsteps outside. Corin breathes heavily. Eventually, the footsteps pass.
“Quickly,” he whispers as he pulls on a leather jacket. He bends down, picks up my old shoes—they’re flimsy, but not as flimsy as his shoe-wraps—then lifts his shirts and jackets up and squashes them under his waistband. I try not to notice how his stomach is predominantly smooth, less blemished and burnt than his face, neck, arms, and lower legs, but I can’t look away. He drops his shirt back down, oblivious.
We look around. There are only a few labels on the floor, along with the pair of shoes Corin chose but discarded—they’re too flimsy.
“Ready?”
Corin nods. He gets out the receipts. After studying several, he hands me two. I nod. It’d be suspicious if we walked out without any transaction, because the Enhanced never just browse. We’ll use one receipt to return an item that we’ll claim we bought here a few days ago, and we’ll get a refund or an exchange—whichever the shopkeeper offers us as we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves by insisting on one or the other. The second receipt is there in case we need to produce one for the clothes we’re wearing—after all, shop owners tend to know their stock pretty well.
“Remember to look cheerful,” Corin says.
We leave the changing room, and Corin grabs a new pair of heavy-duty shoes from the rack—the ones we’re going to ‘return’. We approach the desk together. The gun under Corin’s waistband is reassuring, even if it’s in the wrong place.
The Enhanced man at the desk also wears sunglasses; we don’t look out of place.
“Good afternoon,” he says.
Corin nods at him. “We’d like to return these shoes,” Corin says. He smiles brightly as he places them on the counter. “My girlfriend got me the wrong size,” he says, placing an arm around my shoulder.
Girlfriend?
Corin smiles down at me in a way that is warm and…sexy?
My eyes widen. My pulse quickens, and my fingers begin to shake. I’m going to drop the receipt. Corin’s fingers begin to tap my shoulder.
“I’ve got the receipt here.” I place the shorter one on the counter. It’s one of the plain receipts that most of the Enhanced Ones’ shops use. I pray that this one uses the same style too. I look at the till. It looks like one of the older, simpler ones.
The man nods, doesn’t even look at the receipt. “Okay. Would you like another size, sir?”
Corin looks at me, and I nod. I hope the owner doesn’t notice how much I’m shaking.
“Yes. That would
be great, thanks. Size nine.”
I nearly raise my eyebrows. Corin actually has manners.
The Enhanced man moves off down the shop, soon coming back with another new pair. Corin’s arm is still around my shoulders, but it feels heavy, not affectionate. He’s probably forgotten about it.
The man then gives us a new receipt and the shoes in a plastic bag.
“Good day, sir.”
It’s always the leaving that I find the scariest. With every step, I expect someone to jump out on me and call me out for what I’ve done. But that’s only happened once. The majority of the Enhanced are very trusting of others, most likely because they’re under the influence of Honesty. Besides, well, they live in a perfect society.
As soon as we’re outside, I begin to sweat. I can feel my back getting moist, the many layers sticking together.
Corin steers me down an alleyway, his hand pushing my shoulder. We both look around, checking that no one else is here, hidden from obvious view. We appear to be on our own.
“The bag,” he says, holding it open. He’s already pulled out my old shoe-wraps from his waistband and put them in the flimsy white plastic bag along with some of the contents of his pockets.
I take off the jacket, then one of the shirts. Corin does the same, and we squash everything into the bag.
“Good work,” he says and nods at me. I make eye contact with him and nod back, but don’t say anything. He turns away quickly. “We need to find Rahn,” he says in a voice that sounds somewhat choked.
In the end, we go to the big white building with the green painted cross on it. It smells funny in here, like antiseptic wipes. Surprisingly, I’ve never been in a pharmacy before; for a few seconds, I stare in wonder at all the tiny bottles and containers. Perfumes. Shampoos. Lotions. On a wall near me, there’s a massive picture of an Enhanced woman’s eye; the eyeball is a mirror, the eyelid has some bright purple paste on it, and the eyelashes are far too long to be natural. Underneath, there are hundreds of pots of powders, all in different colors.
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