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Imperfect

Smashwords Editions  
Copyright © 2013 by Tina Chan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from the author.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1484016879

Cover design by Kit Foster.

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Imperfect

Tina Chan

prologue

"Maria Shea?" asked a doctor dressed in a crisp, mint colored uniform.

"That's me," the woman lying on the hospital bed replied.

"Congratulations with your newborn." The doctor handed her a bundle of blanket with an infant girl swaddled within.

Maria held her baby tenderly, dreading the next words the doctor was going to say.

"According to my notes, this was an unplanned pregnancy. Am I correct?"

She nodded.

"An officer will arrive in an hour to collect this Accident. Would you like to hold onto your newborn until collection time?"

"No." Maria's heart broke as she thrust the infant away from her. "Take the Accident out of my sight."

The doctor accepted the baby; he didn't look surprised by Maria's request. It was better this way—less painful for the mother to part with the child if they minimalized contact between them.

Maria watched the doctor leave the room, knowing she would never see that child again. Once the government confiscated her, she was as good as dead to Maria.

5 Years Later

There was a sharp rap on the door. Maria jumped to her feet and hurriedly ushered the man outside into the house. The man held a bundle in the crook of his arm. An Accident. Not the same one she had given up five years ago. But it was still an Accident—a chance for Maria to pacify her guilty conscience.

She never did fully escape the memory of giving up that child. Without a word, the man handed the infant to Maria. She gazed down at its tiny face, knowing this was her hope to redeem herself. When she looked up again, the man was gone.

Her husband observed the baby from a distance. "I can't believe you agreed to take in this Accident. It's not just our necks we're risking, but also our son's."

Maria held the Accident tight against her chest. "The government isn't going to find her. We have connections that can help us conceal her from the government until she's old enough."

People wouldn't notice if an infant disappeared without a trace—that happened all the time. But if a toddler was to vanish, people would start talking. All I have to do is keep her safe for three years, Maria thought.

"There's a good reason why Accidents are removed from society," her husband said. "Imagine out medical bills for this...child. We don't know what type of health issues she may develop—asthma, high blood pressure." He muttered some expletives under his breath, but promptly shut up when he noticed his son crouching behind the sofa. His Perfect son. "Jaiden, I see you."

The little boy ran out and peered at the Accident cradled in Maria's arms. "Who is she?"

"Your new sister," Maria said.

Jaiden looked at his sister, round eyed and excited. "Can I play with her? Can we go to the beach together? Will we go to school together?"

Maria nodded. "Of course."

"Provided she doesn't get confiscated by the government," her husband muttered darkly. "The officials will discover us harboring this Accident soon."

He was wrong.

chapter one

[ Kristi ]

Kristi blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and pulled the blanket over her. The sunlight still seeped through though, rendering her efforts to sleep in futile. She rolled onto her side and stared at the alarm clock glowing 9:42; she definitely was not a morning person.

With a groan, she sat up, mumbling, "Any time before ten in the morning is too early." She still hadn't figured out how she survived school on a weekly basis.

Kristi slid down the banister of the spiral staircase, something she hadn't done in a while. She hopped down at the base of the stairs, landing on the balls of her feet. The house seemed quiet—too quiet.

"Is everyone still sleeping?" Kristi wandered into the empty kitchen. "And I thought I was a late sleeper," Kristi said to herself. "Maria and Don are probably sleeping in if they stayed up late doing work. But Jaiden should be up already; he's always awake before I am."

Kristi always referred to her adoptive parents as Maria and Don, never Mom and Dad; it wasn't that she purposely refused to call them Mom and Dad—it was just that they weren't very close. Jaiden, her brother, on the other hand, was someone Kristi had known her entire life. She couldn't imagine not having him as a brother, whether he was related by blood or not.

Kristi's eyes trailed from the fridge to the kitchen island. "Oh, crap," she said.

The electro-note left on the smart-glass kitchen counter reminded her that Sunday Gathering was today at nine o'clock. She scanned the note and then mentally smacked herself on the forehead. The note read:

Kristi:

Don, Jaiden and I are volunteering at the Sunday Gathering an hour early. Be sure to arrive on time.

\--Maria

PS,

Waffles are in the fridge.

Kristi snatched an energy bar from the cabinets; there was no time for waffles. She cursed Glenn, the Speaker's son, for damaging her hydro-bike. Walking to the Gathering Hall took at least ten minutes, a feat she could've accomplished in five if she had her hydro-bike. Alas, her hydro-bike was sitting at Mechanic Leo's garage, waiting to be fixed.

Halfway out the front door, Kristi face-palmed herself. She let out a sigh of exasperation and stormed back up the stairs and to her room. She had forgotten her windbreaker and walking in the drizzle without a jacket would be no fun.

She accidentally kicked her wardrobe then yanked up her throbbing foot. She blamed her birth parents for her troubles.

It's their fault I'm not perfect. Why couldn't they have me be normal? Why couldn't I be a Perfect like everyone else? Kristi knew she shouldn't hold a grudge against them for something they didn't ask for, but sometimes being the only Accident in town really got on her nerves.

In a world where all citizens were genetically perfect, thanks to science, it's hard not to feel like a sore thumb when her DNA hadn't been specialized. There are too many things that could go wrong for a baby born without genetic modifications.

Take me for example, Kristi thought. I have so many allergies it would be pointless to keep track of them. Oak. Dandelion. Birds. Peanuts. Wool.

Kristi never figured out why Don and Maria adopted her in the first place. Who would want an infant with no genetic modification when you could freaking customize your own kids?

Want your kid to be a girl? Gender specification costs only fifty points. Want your daughter to have blonde hair? Twenty-five points. Want to give your daughter green eyes? Another twenty-five points. Of course, basic DNA alterations, such as allergy preventions were free; allergies were a symptom Perfects never had to worry about. The result was a Perfect baby. So why didn't I get my DNA tweaked? Why am I even alive? Those were two questions that had haunted Kristi for as long as she could remember.

It was unusual enough for an Accident like Kristi to even be born, but for an Accident to survive past infancy was unheard of. All Accidents, save Kristi, mysteriously disappear within weeks of being born. After all, the government couldn't have a bunch of kids with bad genes running around and corrupting the Perfect kids, could they? So it was indeed very unusual for Kristi to be adopted into a wealthy family.

Her alarm clock blared, announcing it was now 10:00. Stop dawdling, Kristi scolded herself, and get on the move. She threw on her jacket and hurtled out the front door.

The eerily empty streets beckoned her to run faster; she already had two late marks for this month's Sunday Gathering attendance. Kristi was tempted to skip out on today's sermon; she loathed listening to yet another boring speech about the boring community in the boring room.

A solar-compressor loomed ahead. She skidded to a stop, pausing just long enough for her to dispose her energy bar wrapper. At last, the Gathering Hall came into view. As quietly as possible, she attempted to sneak into the room unnoticed.

Speaker Quincy was at the podium, towering over the rest of the audience on the raised stage at the head of the Gathering Hall. He droned on about something Kristi had absolutely no interest in. Unfortunately, as passionate as Quincy was about his speech, he noticed her as soon as she crept past the doors.

"Acting is one of the greatest sins one can commit. In truth, acting is simply lying with actions. When one does—KRISTI!" he suddenly barked out.

Half of the attendees jumped in bewilderment.

"Young lady, why are you late for such an important Gathering? I would expect a child of sixteen years to be much more responsible."

Speaker Quincy's pug nose twitched with resentment. He had gone through multiple surgeries in effort to make his nose look like less of an eyesore. As far as Kristi could tell, though, his efforts were in vain.

"Not that I expect a child with genetic disabilities to attend an intellectual meeting," Quincy said to himself, but loud enough for most of the attendees to hear.

Glenn snickered loudly. He was leaning against the wall with his oh-so-perfect hair and his oh-so-perfect eyes. The usual gaggle of lackeys was sprawled in the pews around him. All of Glenn's followers had three things in common: they were rich, they were good-looking, and they were stupid.

Kristi slunk to an empty seat near the back of the room and proceeded to sulk.

The Gathering Hall could easily seat five hundred people, though only three quarters of the room was filled today. The ceiling was three stories high and had a magnificent mural of the Evolution of Science painted on it. Marble pews ran down the hall; a plush, velvet carpet rested between them, snaking its way to the head of the hall. It gave the room an intimidating feel.

After making sure Kristi had been thoroughly embarrassed, Quincy resumed back to his speech. "As I was saying before, acting is a sneaky sin. Although we all know acting is lying with actions, many of us unconsciously act all the time. Of course when you act, you don't do it with a malicious purpose; perhaps you pretended to be happy when you received an unwanted gift, or maybe you have acted excited about attending an event you really weren't enthusiastic about. Nevertheless, those are all sins, no matter how small."

Kristi assumed an interested look, even though her mind was really wandering about. Sorry, Quincy, for acting interested during your speech about the sins of acting. But then again, do you see me wearing a halo? I didn't think so.

She chuckled at irony of the situation and was shushed by the surrounding people who gave her distasteful glances. Kristi slouched in her seat, not wanting to attract any more attention. Life was harsh being different.

The small, glass bell rang, signaling the end of Sunday Gathering. Kristi hurried out the door. It was almost twelve o'clock and the energy bar she ate for breakfast didn't satisfy her stomach's need for long. To her annoyance, Glenn and his cronies must have snuck out of the sermon early because they were waiting for her by the entrance. It was common knowledge among the citizens Kristi hated Sunday Gatherings; she was always the first person out of those double doors that lead into the Gathering Hall.

Glenn had a nasty smirk pasted across his face. Lunch would have to wait.

"Think you're better than everyone else, being able to come to my dad's speech late, don't you?" he asked.

Henry and Michel, his two staunchest supporters, nodded their heads in agreement. Henry resembled a grizzly bear to some degree; his hulking figure certainly helped with that image.

"What do you want, Glenn?" Kristi said. "It's not my fault I was late today.

Glenn arched an eyebrow. "Are you implying it was my fault that you were late? If so, would you be so kind as to explain why it's my fault I made you late?"

"I could've gotten here on time if I had my bike," Kristi lied.

"It's your own fault you don't have your bike," Glenn said. "Maybe if you were more careful when riding it, you wouldn't have run it into a fence."

"Glenn, would you just cut it out and leave me alone? I know it was you who slashed my bike's tires."

"I wouldn't be so sure. According to the records, it was your stupidity that caused your bike to be currently unusable." Some Perfects streamed out behind Kristi. Glenn winked at a group of girls, eliciting a chorus of giggles from them.

Kristi tried her best to rein in her temper. If she started a fight in public, she would get sent to the detention center.

"Tell me you did not hack into the records," she said.

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't change the records." Glenn gave Michel a meaningful look.

Michel sneered at Kristi. "You poor thing, running around getting yourself in trouble. What are you going to do next? Ride your droid-horse into a wall?"

"Glenn!" Speaker Quincy called out. "Get over here now. We have a college tour at Westland University in two hours."

Glenn mockingly tipped an imaginary hat at Kristi. "Until next time."

Kristi watched the three boys file into the solar-car. Her electro-slate vibrated against her jeans, announcing she had an instafication.

"On," she commanded the electro-slate. "View instafication."

The message popped into view.

To: Kristi Shea

From: Leo's Bike Shop

Message: Kristi, your hydro-bike is ready for pick up at any time.

"Dad's not too happy with you."

Kristi spun around to face the voice. Jaiden stood behind her, scrolling through his electro-slate while he spoke. "You know how he dislikes negative attention being cast upon our family."

Kristi laughed without the slightest hint of humor. "What else is new? He's always complaining about my mistakes."

"Although it may seem like he's being tough on you, he does care about you."

"Not enough to allow me to skip Sunday Gatherings." Kristi stowed away her electro-slate. "Don't you have someplace to be?"

Jaiden glanced at his smart-watch. "Yeah. I have to assist Professor Smetana at the lab in an hour. Stay out of trouble, will you?"

"It's not like I purposely go chasing after trouble. By the way, how many points do you have on your electro-slate? I might need to borrow some of yours."

"A bit over eight hundred points. Why do you need some?"

"Glenn had Michel hack and alter the damage report I submitted to hide the fact that my hydro-bike was vandalized. He didn't want to be found guilty of slicing the tires. So now it's my fault my hydro-bike isn't functioning. Insurance doesn't cover self-damages."

"All this bullying needs to stop," Jaiden said. "I think I'm going to confront Glenn tomorrow."

Jaiden was a year older than Glenn, but Glenn's dad held a considerable amount of authority over the town. Getting on the bad side of the Quincy family may not end up well.

"Please, don't," Kristi said. "It's not worth it."

"We'll see," Jaiden said.

He wordlessly sent Kristi some of his points and then left; Professor Smetana expected her lab assistants to be punctual.

"Kristi Shea," Kristi said to the girl behind the reception desk.

"ID?" The receptionist held out her hand for some form of identification.

Kristi pulled up her ID page on her electro-slate and allowed the girl to scan the barcode.

"Your bike is in garage five," the receptionist said.

Kristi found Mechanic Leo organizing tools in garage five. She rubbed her arms; the chilly air being blown onto her from the overhead air conditioner stimulated goose bumps to run up and down her arm.

Mechanic Leo set down the wrench he was holding and wheeled Kristi's hydro-bike over and gave a quick report. "I replaced both of the tires and the seat. I also gave the bike a quick weather-proof seal of paint."

Kristi grasped the memory foam handles of the bike. "Thank you. How much for the repairs?"

"A hundred and fifty points."

She wired the points to Mechanic Leo's account and thanked him again.

Kristi headed to the stables in her backyard as soon as she parked her bike in the garage. Of course, there were no real horses in the stable because that would be silly; nobody wants to clean up the mess real horses make. Flurry, a droid-horse Kristi had received for her tenth birthday, peered at her with mocha-brown eyes.

"Good to see you again." She fondly stroke Flurry's face. "Wish I could stay longer, but I have to go. I promise I'll take you for a ride right after I finish my homework."

Kristi gave Flurry one last scratch on the withers then left for the library.

chapter two

[ Troop ]

Troop had never particularly enjoyed chemistry class, and he wasn't enjoying it now either. The only reason why I haven't fallen asleep yet is because Jennifer is in this class. As if hearing his thought, Jennifer twisted around in her seat and flashed Troop a smile.

Her silky, chestnut hair cascaded impeccably past her shoulders. Although Jennifer had shown interest in Troop for a while, he'd never considered her to be more than a friend.

She tapped her electro-slate, letting him know she'd sent him an instafication.

"Jennifer," Mr. Brunes, the chemistry teacher, said. "Since I am sure you have your complete attention on my class, please tell me the name and number of valence electrons of the newly discovered element made by Dr. Snyders last week."

"Name: Novium. Number of valence electrons: eight," replied Jennifer without missing a beat.

Troop tilted his electro-slate so that Mr. Brunes couldn't see his screen. Then he opened up the instafication from Jennifer:

Chem is such a bore. Want to hang out at Eden's Park after school today?

Troop slid a sideways glance to make sure Mr. Brunes was occupied with some other student before replying:

Sorry, but I can't. I promised to hang out with my guys today at the indoor snowboarding center. You can come if you want.

He looked up to see Jennifer cast him a pout. Fortunately, the bell rang, saving Troop from having to deal with Jennifer's puppy-dog looks. She was so damn adorable when she used her full-on persuasive powers; Troop sometimes found it hard to say "no" to her requests.

"What's up?" Darrel, Troop's right hand man, met him at the door.

He gave Troop what he considered to be a light punch to the shoulder. However, because Darrel was built like a linebacker, the punch really wasn't light at all. Troop masked his wince from the blow though; he had a reputation to maintain at Ludus High.

"Chem with Brunes," said Troop.

Darrel made a face. "Tough class."

"Not so much as tough as mind-numbing."

"Tompkins was looking for you. Said he found the perfect person for VicDay."

VicDay. It was a day Troop both loathed and loved at the same time. It was a monthly event started by him, so there was no one else to blame but himself. But it was a necessary event—something that couldn't be skipped.

"I'll see Tompkins at Shawn's Snowboard Center after school today. He can tell me the person's name then," Troop said.

"Jennifer's still hounding after you." Darrel jerked a thumb in her direction. "She's ogling you from across the hall. Never mind—she just looked away."

"Just drop it. I already made it clear to Jenn I don't want to date her."

Darrel snorted. "Why, is she not good enough for you? Honestly, I can't figure out why you haven't picked a girl yet. I swear, more than half the girls at Ludus are willing to cut off their arm if that meant they could go out with you."

Troop suppressed a sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm just not interested in a relationship. I have to go to World Studies class now. See you later, alright?"

Darrel gave Troop another friendly punch then headed into the chemistry lab. Troop turned away from Jennifer, feeling her eyes bore through his back like lasers, then strode through the crowded hallways. He didn't have to shoulder his way through the crowd, though; most of the students parted before him, acknowledging their place on the social hierarchy.

A few members of Troop's faction exchanged curt greetings; a brisk nod here, a high-five there. It was good to be king.

Some students regarded Troop with reserved respect; others threw themselves at his feet, hoping to brownnose their way into his circle. However, every so often, Troop would spot a student look at him with dread burning bright in their eyes. It was these students Troop's conscience often bothered him about. After all, it was his fault that they feared him. Better to be the hunter than the hunted. Troop extinguished his guilty conscience like a candle being blown out.

R-i-i-n-n-g.

Two minutes until the next period started. The World Studies classroom was in the opposite wing of the chemistry lab. The fact that Ludus High was a massive school didn't help. Troop sped up and crossed into the classroom just as the final bell rang.

There was an empty desk in the back corner of the room. Troop grinned to himself. That was his seat and others knew better than to take it. Not unless they wanted the rest of the school year to be pure misery; Troop's gang had that type of power. It never ceased to amaze Troop how the right connections could make the difference between being the alpha or the omega.

He slid into his designated seat and promptly tuned out the lesson being taught on the smart-screen. He could always swipe the key points of today's lesson from Darrel later.

Flipping on his electro-slate, Troop saw that Jennifer had sent him three more instafications.

Want to come over to my place after snowboarding?

I got some new music I know you will like.

Okay, are you just going to ignore me? Fine. Be that way.

Typical Jennifer, thought Troop. He typed back a reply:

Jenn, I'm not ignoring you—I just don't check my inbox every other second of the day. Like I said before, you can come along to Shawn's Snowboard.

Troop lazily took a few bullet points' worth of note. When he returned to the home screen of his slate, Jennifer had already answered his message.

Nah. I've never been good at snowboarding. I guess my parents were too cheap to code some snowboarding skills into my DNA.

Troop didn't bother to reply Jennifer informing her athletic skills couldn't be genetically coded.

He started to reply but got interrupted—another instafication from Jennifer. He began to wonder if he should block her from his contact list.

It's Maya, isn't it?

Troop creased his forehead and typed back a message:

Who the heck is Maya?

Jennifer's reply:

Don't pretend you don't know her. She's the girl with blue eyes, black hair...good snowboarder. You're meeting her after school today, aren't you?

Now Troop remembered who Maya was. New girl at Ludus; moved to the city a few weeks ago. She was pretty, but not exceptionally eye-catching in a school full of Perfects. Troop thumbed back a reply, hastily covering his electro-slate for a second when the teacher glanced his way.

Sounds like you're jealous of the new girl.

He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

I am so not jealous of her. I mean, really, blue eyes and black hair? That's so cliché. I bet her parents were "Ravenhood" fans back in their days and wanted a daughter that looked just like Raven.

Troop grinned, fully aware that Jennifer was a Ravenhood fan herself. Ravenhood was a popular e-book published thirty years ago. Although the novel was no longer on the top ten books of the year, most people still recognized the title "Ravenhood." Troop had read the story only once—he didn't find it especially interesting.

The main character in the novel was a girl named Raven who had black hair, blue eyes and a snappish attitude. So Jennifer is jealous of Maya. Poor Maya; she'll be receiving Jenn's wrath. Jennifer was ruthless when other students threatened her popularity at school. Feeling some pity for Maya, Troop did his best to mitigate Jennifer's envy towards her.

Jenn, how many times have I told you I'm not looking for a girlfriend? Maya's not an exemption.

Jennifer shot back an answer:

Well, maybe you're not interested in Maya, but she's definitely interested in you.

chapter three

[ Kristi ]

Kristi couldn't shake off the feeling she was being followed. Probably just Glenn and his friends trying to harass me, she thought. Wait—that can't be right since I just saw them leave with the Speaker to look at colleges. Maybe they're back early.

Kristi passed over the short cut that ran through the center of town, trying to throw off whoever was following her. She ducked into an alley in the poorer part of district, thinking if it really were Glenn, he would stop following her. He would never associate himself with the lower class.

The normally well-maintained sidewalk progressively grew more neglected and chipped the further Kristi strode on. Footsteps mirroring her own echoed loudly in the backstreet. She paused and whirled around.

No one.

She resumed walking, heart thumping loudly in her chest. The footsteps behind her picked up again. Kristi unexpectedly stopped once more, hoping to surprise her pursuer and get a glimpse of him or her. A low-lying rose bush to her left shuddered. She whipped her head around.

A pair of luminous gold eyes blinked back then disappeared.

Louder, faster footfalls sounded. Someone was definitely chasing her. Racing blindly, Kristi turned into another twisted alley. Warped shadows of the tall brick buildings leaned over her. Kristi glanced at a street sign. She had no idea where she was.

But what she did know was that she had just entered a dead end. In front of her, two silhouettes materialized. Gasping, Kristi turned around and saw the original pursuer behind her. The three men were wearing loose, nondescript clothes and bore a buzz cut.

All of her escape routes were blocked. I need a weapon, Kristi thought. She frantically ran her hands over the grimy brick walls in search for something hard and wieldable, like a loose brick. Perhaps she could knock out one of the three men if her aim was accurate. Nothing. Her fingernails scraped up a lot of dirt and gunk, but found nothing useful.

Kristi glanced around. The gang was closing in on her; they were no more than fifty feet away. She slapped the brick wall with frustration and fear. A hole opened up in the wall and she fell forward and through. Tumbling through the darkness, Kristi hit the dirt floor with a thud.

Then she groaned when she realized any second the gang was going to find her. She curled up into a small ball in the corner of the room.

Thirty seconds passed.

Then a minute.

After five minutes, Kristi worked up the courage to uncurl herself and switch her electro-slate onto flashlight mode. She was in a small, barely furnished room. The gap she had fallen through had completely closed up. Cautiously, Kristi made her way to the wall and heard people conversing on the other side.

"We lost her, boss," a deep voice said.

"What do you mean 'we lost her'?" a female voice snapped back.

"She just disappeared on us."

"Yeah, she was standing by the wall, then poof! She vanished," said another guy.

The female voice lashed out, "You guys are useless. Can't even do a simple task. Did you search the area?"

"Of course. She's not around anymore."

The woman snorted. "Well, the girl's obviously far away now. No point in going after her. You guys are terrible at snatching electro-slates for the black market. Let's leave."

Their footsteps faded away and Kristi let out a sigh of relief. For the first time, Kristi noticed the TV standing in the corner of the barely lit room; her electro-slate was the only source of light. That's strange, she thought. Nobody watches TVs anymore.

Fictional movies and TV shows were banned since the actors were sinning every time they performed a script. Actors were no more than paid liars. The only shows approved by the government were learning channels and the official news station, which were broadcast on the electro-slates and public news-screens.

Kristi's stomach growled, reminding her it needed food. She placed a hand on the bricks that outlined the entrance to the room. Silently, the bricks revolved away creating an exit back to the alley. She stepped outside, blinking in the sunlight.

When Kristi looked behind her, the brick wall was solid once more. Shrugging, she sped-walked home as fast as she could. She no longer felt as if she was being followed.

Kristi grabbed a quick lunch of waffles (leftovers from breakfast) then flicked the kickstand of her hydro-bike away with her heels. All level eleven students were required to fulfill a minimum of five service hours per week, and Kristi still needed two more hours.

She guided her bike around a lamppost and then between a wishing fountain and a bronze statue of a winged lion guarding the steps leading up to the learning center. The pair of lions that guarded the center's entrance looked well-aged; in truth they were less than five years old. A special ageing acid wash had been applied to the statues to give them a weathered look.

Kristi rolled her bike to the rack and double-checked to make sure she had properly locked her padlock; many people would be more than happy to steal the bike of the only freak in town.

After scanning her ID card at the front desk, Kristi ambled into the library of the learning center. The library wasn't very big. Five floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined three of the walls. Only two of the shelves contained paper books; the other three shelves held government approved DVDs. Smart-glass desks and one smart-screen occupied the rest of the room.

Jaiden stood at the front of the room, beside the smart-screen. The group of level-six students he was tutoring leaned forward in their seats, not wanting to miss a word of his lecture. Jaiden's sessions were always full; not only did he teach, he taught classes in a fun and engaging style.

Since Kristi had twenty minutes before it was her time to tutor, she decided to wait in the library. She looked on the tutoring session with as much attentiveness as the students; perhaps she could pick up a few tips from Jaiden to make her own class more interesting.

"Who can tell me the four regions of the United Regions?" Jaiden asked.

Fifteen hands shot up into the air.

Jaiden pretended to look shocked and said, "What? No one knows the answer?"

Grinning, he closed his eyes and randomly pointed at a girl wildly waving her hand. He called on her.

"They are the North Region, South Region, East Region and West Region," said the girl.

"Very good. And can you tell me which region we live in? You better know this or else..." Jaiden wagged a finger at her.

"North Region."

"Correct. Who can name the countries of the world?" Jaiden asked. He chose a boy with sandy hair to answer.

"United Regions, South Union, Asian Republic, and the Unified Provinces of Europe."

"That's right. Okay, here's a harder question. Whoever answers this question right gets brownie points. Who are the leaders for each of the named nations?"

After a moment of hesitation, the boy with the sandy hair raised his arm up again. Jaiden called on him without missing a beat.

"President Ducix runs the United Regions. Chief Imperate is in charge of South Union, Empress Regina rules the Asian Republic and, uh..." the boy trailed off, flushing with embarrassment for forgetting the name of the Prime Minister who ruled the Unified Provinces of Europe.

In the meantime, several other students had raised their hands, ready to be called on by Jaiden. Jaiden let the boy have another fifteen seconds to come up with an answer before picking on a girl with a French braid running down her back.

The girl blinked her unnaturally blue eyes and said, "Prime Minister Rector commands the Unified Provinces of Europe."

Jaiden nodded his approval. Using his index finger, he powered off the smart-screen and wrapped up his class. "I hope you've all learned a lot. If you remember at least eighty percent of the materials we just went over, you should be well prepared for tomorrow's test." He paused to confirm the time on his watch. "Class has been concluded."

The kids packed up their belongings, thanked Jaiden and left. Kristi took a look at her own watch; ten minutes left before she had to leave. Her tutoring class would be taught in one of the spare classrooms.

Jaiden finished gathering his belongings and noticed Kristi hovering by the door.

"Did you get your hydro-bike fixed?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I didn't tell Maria and Don about it. I assume you want to keep it this way?"

"Yeah," Kristi said, nodding a little and grateful that Jaiden understood she didn't want Don and Maria to be concerned with her wellbeing. "Do you know if anyone still uses a TV set in town?" Kristi asked, a picture of the TV she had found earlier flashing into her mind.

"I don't think so, but I might be wrong."

Kristi mentally rolled her eyes; Jaiden was never wrong.

"I have to go now. Professor Smetana is probably wondering why I haven't shown up at the lab. I promised her I would return to the lab as soon as I completed my service hours."

With that, Jaiden left the library, giving Kristi a slight pat on the shoulders as he walked away.

Well. That was Jaiden: wanted by everyone because he was good at everything. Kristi left the library then stepped down the hallway and into the empty classroom.

The smart-screen in the room was an older model, and it took four attempts before Kristi got the machine to spark to life. Even after coaxing the ancient screen to turn on, it was several minutes before Kristi was able to connect her electro-slate to it. She irritably tapped her foot, waiting for the lesson to finish downloading.

The kids she was tutoring were level two; most of the children were six to seven years old. Kristi counted the number of kids seated at the desks. Five in total. Not a bad number. She told herself she preferred her classes to be small.

I get to do more one-on-one teaching this way, she thought, refusing to acknowledge the reason why her classes were generally smaller than the other tutoring groups was because not many parents felt comfortable with the idea of having their Perfect youngsters being taught by an Accident.

The lesson finally completed its download. Kristi turned to her group and said, "Hope everyone's interested in learning about polynomials today because that's what we're doing."

Kristi plopped down onto a soft, cushioned chair, exhausted from teaching. Dealing with kids she knew who were going to one day turn out smarter than her took a heavier toll than expected. Although her students were generally well behaved, they were still only six year olds, and had the tendency to wander off topic.

She trudged to the bathroom and turned on the steam-powered jets. The pounding water massaged away her tiredness. Citrus scented bath foam rejuvenated the spirit and once she'd toweled dry her dark, wet hair, Kristi began to ponder what to do with the rest of her day. I suppose I could go revisit the hidden room in the wall. After all, it isn't everyday something interesting like this happens. I would be dumb not to make the most of it.

She exited the bathroom and dug her bag out from underneath her bed. Then she hunted around the house, packing anything she felt that she should include on her mini excursion.

"Water, granola bar and electro-slate," Kristi said, counting each item on her fingers. "That should be all I need." She pulled her drawstring bag closed then headed out the door.

There was an air of stillness on the streets during this time of the day. The adults were at work, the younger kids had their extra curricular lessons and the older kids were usually off doing whatever they did with their free time. Many teens liked to visit the indoor surfing complex, although Kristi never discovered why being chased by a wall of water while crouching on a Plexiglas board was considered fun.

She traced her path back down the alley, making sure to be wary of the electro-slate bandits. Kristi skipped around a puddle, not wanting to get her new sneakers muddy. Her peripheral vision caught something reflecting off the puddle. Looking down at the tranquil water, she spotted something that shouldn't be there. Beside her stood a furry creature.

Caught off guard, Kristi almost stumbled into the puddle. She caught her balance against a solar lamp and looked around. A spotted tail slid behind a bush. Warily, she shuffled towards the barberry shrub, keeping an eye out for any movements.

A pair of gold eyes peeked out from behind the bushes. A few seconds later, the tops of two tawny fur-covered ears emerged from the upper portion of the plant.

"Where is your owner?" Kristi asked the creature. "Are you a lost droid-pet?"

The upper half of the animal emerged from behind the bush. The droid was a leopard bearing a magnificent, glossy pelt. Exotic droid-pets cost a hefty amount of points, and the owner was probably worried about the leopard.

Kristi lowered her voice to a soothing tone. "Come here, let me take you to the lost and found center."

The leopard inched towards her, but paused halfway. Its ears twitched back and forth, listening to sounds too subtle for the human ear to catch. Then it turned its back on her and bounded away, melting into shadows as fast as a sonic-plane.

The droid-leopard encounter took up more time than Kristi liked. She had a bit over half an hour to find the room, explore it and return home. Curfew wouldn't be enforced for another couple of hours, but none of her family members knew where she was going and Kristi didn't want them to worry about her if she didn't make it back before dinner.

She broke into a faster pace and located the alleyway where she had almost gotten robbed. Kristi checked her surroundings; she was alone.

"I didn't notice the indent in the wall before," Kristi murmured.

One of the terracotta bricks looked like a giant had come along and decided to prod that one brick inwards. Kristi touched the palm of her right hand against the sunken brick, not sure what she expected to happen next. As before, bricks pivoted away like dominos knocking into each other in order to form an entrance about three feet in diameter.

Making sure her electro-slate was set to flashlight mode, Kristi stepped into the room. The bricks immediately spun back into their original position, sealing off the chamber from the outside world.

The TV, Kristi noticed with interest, was actually plugged into an outlet. Curious to see if it worked, she tentatively pressed the power button. The screen glowed to life. The words "insert disc" flashed on the display. No film of dust coated the TV, suggesting it had recently been used.

Odd, Kristi thought. Whoever was using this TV was watching a DVD. I can't think of anyone who would go through the hassle of attaining a DVD when you can get all the channels on an electro-slate.

Thinking there was nothing of interest left in the room, Kristi prepared to leave. She didn't know what she had anticipated to find in this secret room, but she felt let down.

"You're so childish, Kristi," she chided herself. Her voice rang out abnormally loud in the empty space. "What did you expect? A secret vault of treasures?" She laughed at her own whimsical fantasies, but stopped shortly.

The light cast by her electro-slate reflected off the shiny padlock hanging off a solid, wooden door. The door embedded itself so deeply into the wall at the back of the room Kristi would've never noticed it had the padlock not given away its presence.

She fiddled with the lock for a few seconds; although Kristi wouldn't call herself an expert, she did have some experience with picking locks. She set down the padlock almost as soon as she picked it up, though; she could tell there was no way to crack the lock without the key. The intricate gears nestled within it were so small and complex it would take her a good hour or two to pick, and she didn't have the time.

Kristi swung her electro-slate-doubling-as-a-flashlight around the room one last time, making sure she didn't miss anything else noteworthy.

"Didn't see this either." Kristi knelt and peeked beneath the TV.

A plastic case of some sort was stuck beneath the TV, as if someone had hid it in a hurry. She tugged the container out from where it was wedged. It was a DVD case. Nowhere on the cover did Kristi spot the government-approved stamp on it. In other words, this was an illegal DVD.

The words, Phantom of the Opera, were boldly printed on the covering. Beneath the title was a picture of some sort of a mask and rose. Kristi tested the title: "Phantom of the Opera."

The way the name rolled off her tongue brought Kristi a sense of satisfaction, unlike the titles of the government issued TV programs: Explanation of the Elements of the Periodic Table for Level Five Students, The Complete History of the North Region of the Past Twenty Years, and The Channel of Weather Forecasts.

Feeling a bit rebellious, Kristi removed the DVD disk and inserted it into the designated slot behind the monitor. Then she clicked "play" on the remote and the screen flickered with words rolling across a black background.

Kristi didn't notice her mouth hanging open when the movie ended until she realized she was drooling. She snapped her jaw shut, wondering, Did I really just watch a fictional movie?

Bleep! Her electro-slate vibrated, bringing Kristi back to her senses. Crud. I completely lost track of time. She flicked on her slate and picked up the instafication.

"Kristi, where are you?" Maria's concerned voice pricked at Kristi's guilty conscience.

She checked the time—it was already seven-thirty; curfew was eight. Kristi quickly replied Maria, "Sorry—I lost track of time; I'll be home in fifteen minutes or so."

"Next time, leave an electro-note for me if you're going to be staying out later than six."

"I didn't mean to stay out past dinner. I'm sorry—bye."

Kristi muted the electro-slate and returned the DVD into its case. After doing one last check to confirm she didn't leave anything behind, she stepped back out into the alleyway and right into a pair of waiting arms.
chapter four

[ Kristi ]

"Ahh—" Kristi let loose a yell that was instantly cut off by a hand clamped over her nose and mouth, stifling her breath. The next thing she knew, a brawny arm wrapped around her waist and she was being slung over a shoulder with ease.

Kristi's heart pounded against her chest as she tried to escape the steel-like grip, but whoever was carrying her seemed completely unfazed by her thrashing and kicking. Her screams were muffled by the clammy hand still glued over her mouth.

Kristi's arms and legs eventually grew weary and heavy with her fruitless struggles with escape. She willed her entire body to go limp and tried not to vomit up the food she had consumed earlier.

The abductor began running at a fast and steady pace through the empty streets; any normal person would have to either be insane or suicidal to roam the backstreets so close to curfew time. No Perfect would risk being caught by the curfew patrols.

The pavement bounced up and down from Kristi's point of view, making her feel dizzy. The hand suffocating her breaths didn't help with the situation.

"Cah ye mo ye han?" Kristi tried her best to mumble her words coherently. "Can't breh."

Her kidnapper didn't remove the hand, however the hold over her mouth loosened a bit, enough for her to breathe more comfortably, but not enough for her to scream for help. Something cold and sharp pressed against the side of her cheeks. Kristi leaned her head away from the object; it was a gold stud earring.

Several minutes passed, the person carrying Kristi decelerated to a slow jog, then to a walk and placed her on the ground after ripping the drawstring bag off her shoulders.

Kristi braced her arms against a damp and moldy wall to steady her shaky legs and rebelling stomach. Her captor remained at a distance far enough to avoid being splattered by puke in case Kristi's stomach decided to empty itself, but still within grabbing distance. Kristi finally assessed her surroundings once the world stopped spinning enough for her to find her balance.

Four bare walls of an abandoned building closed around her; the ceiling sagged dangerously low. If I was to jump up, Kristi contemplated, I bet I could touch it. Not that that would do me much good.

A man stood guard by the entrance; aside from the tattoo of a flock of raven trailing up the side of his neck, the man looked inconspicuous. He didn't have a memorable face nor wore clothing that beckoned attention.

Another guy, who Kristi automatically assumed to be her abductor, was going through the contents of her drawstring bag. He wore a black shirt and ratty jeans; several gold hoops looped through his earlobes. Kristi counted nine cuffs in total and wondered whether the man's ears got tired from bearing the weight of the jewelry.

The man looked up from her bag. "Nice electro-slate you have; latest model with all the newest updates."

She recognized the raspy voice as the same one she heard while eavesdropping from behind the brick wall. They were the electro-slate bandits.

The man wearing the black shirt spoke again, "Thought you could make a fool out of me, didn't you? Boss demoted me to rank two after today's incident."

The guy with the raven tattoo ground his teeth and spat on the ground. "Rank two," he said to himself. "That's a rank for newbies, not someone like me."

The kidnapper continued on, as if he hadn't heard a word the other man had said. "Boss doesn't believe me when I told her there was a secret room in the brick wall. But I saw you escaping into a hole in the wall with my own eyes. Now she thinks we're going mad. Right, Steph?"

Steph nodded his head in agreement. The way Steph looked at black-shirt-guy with reverence and followed his every move reminded Kristi of Glenn's followers. Naturally, this observation promptly made her dislike these two men even more.

Kristi removed her hands from the wall. Testing to see if she could walk on her own, she took a small step. Her head felt a bit woozy, but other than that, she felt fine.

"Take my electro-slate and my backpack if you want. Can I leave now?" Kristi took another step towards the exit.

Steph perked up and cracked his knuckles loudly, daring her to make a dash for freedom.

"No." Black-shirt-guy threw down the drawstring bag with disgust; apart from the electro-slate, nothing else in the bag was worth any value on the black market.

"Can I see the slate, Wilson?" Steph asked.

"No."

Black-shirt-guy now had a name: Wilson. This insignificant piece of information lent Kristi a small scrap of knowledge.

Wilson stalked over to Steph, clutching the stolen electro-slate in one hand. "Grab me some ropes. And be quick about it."

Steph beat a hasty retreat, muttering under his breath, "Don't want to make Wilson mad—he blinded his last offender."

So, Kristi thought, Wilson's temper is something to be reckoned with, a trait that probably often gets him what he wants. She was not at all comfortable with this arrangement; being alone in an unfamiliar room with a cruel man made her squirm anxiously.

Wilson slammed the door shut then booted a rickety folding chair into the middle of the room. Rust covered its metal edges.

"You," Wilson brusquely pushed Kristi into the chair, towering over her. "Tell me how you escaped us today."

"There was a hidden room behind the wall." Kristi couldn't think straight enough to even consider lying.

"I already know that. Tell me something I don't know. Tell me how you got into the room."

"I'm not sure how I got into the room. I just kind of slid my hand over a section of the brick wall and a gap opened—"

"Don't lie to me," Wilson said. The edges of his lips pulled backwards tightly, permitting his two silver tipped canines to show. Kristi involuntarily shuddered; his teeth reminded her of vampires. Wilson leered. "Tell me now or—"

"I got you the ropes," Steph cut in.

Kristi let out a sigh; she was certain whatever Wilson's threat was, she didn't want to hear.

Wilson snatched the ropes from Steph and tied Kristi's hands behind her back.

"Don't try to lie to me," Wilson growled into her right ear. "Steph would be more than happy to knock you around a bit. So here's the deal. I ask you the questions and you answer truthfully. If I like your answer, you're safe from Steph. If I don't like the answer you give me, you'll be hurting for a few days. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Kristi whispered.

"Good," he grunted. "Did you use a special key to get into the hidden room?"

"No."

"Then how did you pass through the wall?"

"I touched the wall."

"Do you really think I'm stupid?"

"No."

"Tell me the truth if you know what is good for you!"

"I did."

"Don't sass me. I had my gang try getting through the wall and that included searching the wall for any hidden levers. How do I get into the hidden room within the walls?"

Kristi debated whether she should lie and please Wilson or continue telling the truth. She kept silent. Technically, she wouldn't be lying if she didn't say anything; not that lying to someone as vile as Wilson bothered her. Kristi refused to admit it, but she was too scared to speak for fear of infuriating Wilson.

"Answer me, ignorant child!" Wilson snarled.

She said nothing.

Wilson let out a yell of frustration.

She said nothing.

"Speak!" Wilson got a bit red in the face.

She said nothing.

Wilson's face took on a dangerous hue.

She decided she better say something. Kristi tried to string together some words, but was too terrified to articulate any comprehensible sounds. Wilson mistook it for defiance and kicked the chair Kristi was sitting on.

"This isn't over yet," he said. Menace laced the edge of his tone. "We'll finish this tomorrow."

With that, he roughly shoved Steph aside and stormed into a different room. Steph bolted the door to the warehouse, followed Wilson and turned off the sole bulb lighting, plunging the room into darkness.

Kristi experimentally tugged on the ropes binding her wrists, but they were securely knotted. Exhaling, she wondered how exactly did she land herself in this predicament. She had received more than she bargained for by going back to the hidden room.

Kristi spent the next two hours searching for anyway to escape, but was unsuccessful. Eventually, her eyelids drooped with exhaustion and she muttered, "This is going to be a long night" before easing her way into an awkward sleep.

chapter five

[ Troop ]

Troop switched his electro-slate into sleep mode, not wanting to continue the pointless argument with Jennifer. Once she set her mind on something, nothing could change her mindset. With no annoying instafications to bother him, Troop's thoughts wandered to the topic of the upcoming VicDay.

VicDay—short for Victim Day—was a day of entertainment for some. For others, it was a day of humiliation. Troop had established VicDay a few years ago to secure his position on the social ladder. Once a month, members in Troop's circle would cast names of students who had in one way or another crossed paths unfavorably with them to be their next target. The purpose of VicDay was simple: to send a clear message to everyone warning them not to upset Troop and his crew.

Richie Honston was last month's victim. He had been caught kissing Darrel's girlfriend. As a result, Troop had sent Jack, the school's chief hacker, to hijack Richie's electro-slate. All the answers of the test Richie submitted for the next three days were misordered, thanks to the virus Jack had implanted. Richie was expelled from Ludus High due to the five F's he received on his test. A Perfect failing a test was frowned upon. A Perfect failing five tests in the matter of three days was unacceptable.

"Maya," Tompkins said. "That's the name of the girl who I think should be the next VicDay target."

Troop completed a double-handed 360 on his snowboard then replied, "Did Jennifer set you up with this?"

"Yeah. How did you know?" Tompkins cleared a wide gap jump, catching a lot of air as he did so and obtaining a smattering applause from his peers.

Not to be outdone, Troop flawlessly completed the same jump with a midair corkscrew. Darrel let loose a wolf whistle and shouted, "I rate that a ten out of ten."

"So?" Tompkins said.

"Jennifer has a grudge against Maya," said Troop.

"For what?"

"Jealousy."

Tompkins's eyes boggled and he almost swerved into another snowboarder. He veered away just in time.

"Jealousy? What does Maya have for Jennifer to be jealous of?"

"Long story short: Jenn thinks I'm into Maya."

"But you're not, right?"

"Right." Troop's eyes scanned the area, searching for his guys.

They skidded to a stop, sending a wave of powdery snow spraying before them. Troop unfastened his feet from the snowboard and ambled over to join the rest of the gang, ignoring the sycophants trying to impress him with their measly tricks.

"Alright, does anyone want to have one last go on their boards or are we ready to choose our VicDay target?" said Troop.

No one answered so he took that as a sign the guys were done snowboarding for the day.

"Names?" said Troop.

"Elise Lighters," suggested Parker. "He wouldn't let me copy his homework."

"Samson Tuckerson," said Charles. "Because he took my lab partner on Wednesday."

"Timothy Garcia," said Bruno. He carelessly blew a spitball into the back of an unsuspecting passerby. "Just because I hate his face."

Troop inwardly frowned. Personally, he disliked Bruno but kept him around for two reasons: 1) he helped maintain Troop's reputation and 2) more than once, Bruno had hooked Troop up to useful connections. Bruno's father owned Ludus High.

"Maya Abels," said Tompkins. "Because Jennifer said so."

Some of the guys shot each other knowing looks. The fact wasn't lost on them Jennifer was one of the prettiest girls in school and winning some favors from her wouldn't cause any harm.

"Jay Allgood. She didn't turn off the lights in the study lab and Mr. Marlin blamed it on me. Got an after school detention." The corner of Mason's mouth twitched, the standard of Mason's grin forming. Mason rarely smiled outright. He paused, then said, "Actually, Jay's pretty cute. Maybe I can convince her to date me—I heard she just broke up with that slug, Gary Whitman."

"So, do you want Jay to be a VicDay candidate or not?" asked Troop.

"No. I withdraw her name," said Mason.

"Any other nominees? No? Alright, send me your votes."

Troop waited for a minute then checked his instafication. Scrolling through his inbox, he ignored the fifteen instafications from Jennifer and opened up the instafications containing the votes.

Maya

Maya

Samson

Maya

Elise

Timothy

Maya

Maya

Elise
chapter six

[ Kristi ]

Someone was breathing heavily into Kristi's left ear. She slowly peeled opened her eyes and turned her head towards the source of the sound. Amber eyes locked onto her gaze. Before she could make a sound of alarm though, someone shoved a hand into her mouth. She bit down hard and drew blood. A girl's voice swore in the darkness.

"I'll really appreciate it if you would stop chomping my hand off my arm," the girl's voice whispered. "Just don't scream or else we're both done for."

The hand extracted itself from Kristi's mouth and she spat out blood. The metallic, salty taste lingered in the back of her mouth.

A solar lamp flickered on and shed some light in the darkness. Kristi squinted to make out the person in front of her. A girl about Kristi's age held the lamp above her head and the droid-leopard Kristi saw earlier stood beside her.

"Who are you?" Kristi whispered.

"Chelsa. Chelsa Bright. We can talk more once I get you out of here."

Chelsa removed a knife from her boots and swiftly cut the ropes Wilson used to secure Kristi with. Kristi let out a small gasp of pain as the blood rushed back to her fingertips.

Chelsa grasped one of Kristi's swollen hands and silently led her out of the warehouse, relocking the latch on the door after they passed through. Kristi ran behind Chelsa, not knowing where they were headed. The droid-leopard loped gracefully besides them.

The once-familiar streets became an alien landscape at night; Kristi had never ventured outside after curfew. The whole experience was rather dreamlike. Acquainted statues of the city's founder turned into unrecognizable figures, waiting for the right moment to spring into action.

Chelsa threaded her way through the maze of streets with confidence, often doubling back as if to shake off any pursuers. She slowed to a walk and Kristi recognized where they were: the alley where all the trouble started.

Chelsa placed her hand over the indented brick. As soon as the gap appeared, she stepped through the opening, motioning for Kristi to follow. Chelsa unlocked the padlocked door at the back of the room with an old fashioned key. It was the same door Kristi had tried to open earlier.

"After you." Chelsa gestured for Kristi to pass through the door before her.

So she did, with Chelsa and her droid-pet trailing behind her. Chelsa flicked on a switch and five muted bulbs lit up the room they were in.

It was a modest, little room, with few pieces of furniture scattered about. In one corner was a bed with a quilt neatly folded on it; in another corner were a desk and chair. An old—but clean—rug rested in the center of the wooden floored room. Last but not least, a wardrobe squatted beside the bed.

"Welcome to my humble home," Chelsa said, dropping onto the bed. She waved for Kristi to sit on the wheelie chair tucked beneath the battered desk.

"Thanks for rescuing me. My name's Kristi Shea."

"Any time. After all, how could I let someone like you get hurt? You're too much like me."

"Too much like you?" Kristi asked.

Chelsa explained, "We're both not Perfects."

Kristi momentarily lost the ability to speak. She had lived her whole life believing she was the only living Accident in the world. Her brain tried to process what Chelsa said, but couldn't seem to quite grasp the words.

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Chelsa said, petting the leopard. "I was beyond shocked when I saw you leaving the hidden room. To get into the room, you have to place your hand on the sensor I installed outside. The sensor checks your DNA for any artificial changes and only allows people with no DNA alterations to pass through the wall. I thought only I could get past the sensor. Apparently I'm wrong."

"This is crazy," Kristi said.

Yet she believed Chelsa at the same time. Looking at her closely, Kristi could tell that she didn't have DNA alterations. Yes, Chelsa was pretty, but not pretty the way Perfects were. Her facial features weren't exactly symmetrical. Chelsa's eyelashes weren't as long and exaggerated like the eyes of perfected females. (Lavish lashes and eccentrically colored irises were the "in thing.")

"How did I not know you?" Kristi wondered.

She felt like her world was being turned upside down and twisted inside out. First she'd been stalked by a droid-leopard, next she'd watched an illegal movie, then she'd barely escaped some electro-slate thieve abductors and now she just found out she wasn't the only Accident alive.

"I didn't know there were others like me until today," Chelsa pointed out. "I just moved into North Region a few weeks ago and have been trying to keep a low profile."

"Where were you originally from?" Kristi asked.

"East Region. You?"

"Born and raised in the North Region. Do you have an electro-slate I could borrow? I need to give my parents an instafication to let them know I'm all right."

Chelsa handed her an old electro-slate, giving Kristi the impression times were hard on her. Chelsa's belongings supported this assumption; everything looked either second-hand or timeworn.

Kristi dialed Maria's ID number. A notice popped up:

This is not a registered number. Please try again with a valid ID number or contact the Communication Headquarter for help.

Frowning slightly, she entered Don's number. The message popped up again:

This is not a registered number. Please try again with a valid ID number or contact the Communication Headquarter for help.

Now she felt disturbed and uneasy. Kristi nervously punched in Jaiden's ID number, praying he would pick up even though she was sending him an instafication at one-thirty in the morning. To her relief, Jaiden's ID number was valid. However, he must've muted or turned off his electro-slate because she had to leave him a message.

"Hi, Jaiden, it's me, Kristi. I'm borrowing someone else's electro-slate to send you this instafication because I kinda lost mine. I'll explain more about that later. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow...or rather, later today. Bye."

The urge to yawn overcame Kristi; she couldn't suppress it and the yawn escaped. The leopard mimicked Kristi and let out a yawn as well. Its maw stretched, fangs glinting when they caught the light.

"You must be exhausted. Why don't you sleep in my bed for tonight? We can talk more after breakfast when you're not feeling half dead," Chelsa said. With a firm grip on her arm, the older girl led her to the single mattress in the room.

Kristi weakly protested, "Let me sleep on the floor. I've caused you enough trouble for the night."

"Nonsense," Chelsa said in a don't-argue-with-me tone.

Kristi opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it when she realized she was too tired to argue back. Under normal circumstances, she would've considered this whole situation absurd, but today hadn't been a normal day, so she let it slide. Before she knew it, she was sound asleep.

It didn't surprise Kristi that Chelsa was already up and about before her in the morning. As usual, Kristi was the last one to wake; what else was new?

Chelsa was making instant oatmeal with a portable bio-fuel stove, stirring the pot with a wooden spatula. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, but looked up when she noticed Kristi moving.

"There's a change of clothes for you in the bathroom if you're up for a shower." Chelsa nodded her head towards yet another door in the room Kristi failed to observe last night.

The bathroom, like the rest of Chelsa's living quarter, was small but tidy. Kristi twisted the doorknob to the bathroom; it refused to turn.

"You have to press the knob to the right a bit," Chelsa said, watching Kristi struggle with the bathroom door. With a reluctant creak, the door swung inwards, permitting her to pass through.

The shower Kristi took refreshed and drained all the sleepiness out of her, probably because the hot water wasn't working. And there is no faster way to wake oneself up than stepping underneath a jet of ice-cold water first thing in the morning.

Next, she slipped on the clothes Chelsa had left for her on the counter. The V-neck shirt and jeans hugged her body comfortably; not too tight nor too loose. Satisfied with her new outfit, Kristi did her best to untangle and braid her hair. It was quite a challenge since her hair seemed to rebel against all attempts of being tamed. At last, she restored the bathroom to its original condition and stepped back out into the main room.

Chelsa had finished cooking breakfast and it smelled divine. Kristi nodded thanks and appreciatively accepted the bowl of cinnamon sugar oatmeal Chelsa offered. Then she started to sit on the wheelie chair, but halted when she realized the droid-leopard perching there. It takes skill not to notice a large cat sitting in the chair you were planning on sitting in, Kristi thought to herself sheepishly.

The leopard hissed at her, not pleased for having almost been sat upon.

"Geez, no need to get all catty on me," Kristi said. She backed away from the chair in case the feline decided to pounce on her.

Chelsa cracked up. "That was hilarious! You should have seen your face when you saw Ghost!"

"I'm pretty sure the saying is, 'You look like you've seen a ghost'," Kristi said. For some reason, her response made Chelsa laugh again. "Now what?" Kristi didn't see anything funny about the situation.

"My leopard's name is Ghost. I wasn't talking about the idiom," said Chelsa.

Kristi looked over to Ghost who stared evenly back.

"Ghost won't bite you unless I command him to," reassured Chelsa.

"Okay. I think I'll eat breakfast standing though." Kristi scooted away from the one-hundred-pounds-plus leopard and lifted a spoonful of oatmeal to her lips.

"Pet him. He likes being stroked."

"I think I'm fine."

"You aren't scared, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Pet him."

Ghost let out an annoyed huff and leapt down from the chair. He glanced back once at Kristi then stalked out, looking as peeved as a droid-leopard could look. Kristi seated herself in the now-empty chair and ate the cooled oatmeal. Chelsa came over and nursed a mug of black coffee.

Kristi couldn't prevent herself from observing Chelsa. Before her eyes was another Accident that had survived into her teens, a feat Kristi had believed only she had accomplished. If Chelsa noticed her watching, she showed no signs of it.

"Who are you exactly? Why are you here? Where are your parents? When did you move into North Region?" Kristi's questions spilled out from her.

"Where to start..." Chelsa said.

"Why don't you start from the beginning? That's usually a pretty good place to start." She gulped down a sip of coffee so strong it could've passed for an extra-concentrated caffeine pill.

"As I said before, I come from the East Region. Things weren't pretty back there. I was constantly framed for any crimes that happened simply because I'm an Accident. Eventually, I decided I've had enough and left." Chelsa collected the empty bowl from Kristi then continued on. "I found this room by accident; I was searching for a place to sleep and somehow ended up in the room behind the wall. To make a long story short, I installed the scanner lock to keep out intruders. My security system worked pretty well until now because all intruders have one thing in common: altered genetics."

"What about your parents? Aren't they going to worry about you?"

"My parents don't care about me. Enough said about me. What's life like for you around here?"

"Most people here just ignore me or treat me like I'm a three-year old," Kristi said. "It must've been pretty bad in the East if it caused you to move."

Chelsa nodded her confirmation. "I've seen new-born Accidents left out for the street patrols to pick up. You risk your life by being an Accident in East Region. Tell me more about yourself."

Normally, Kristi wouldn't act so open around a stranger. On the other hand, Chelsa did just save her life and struck her to be trustworthy person. "I have lived here all my life and have a brother named Jaiden. My real parents left me when I was little and Maria and Don adopted me. There really is nothing much interesting to know about me."

"How did you end up being captured by the electro-slate thieves? To my knowledge, they don't take prisoners," said Chelsa.

Kristi told Chelsa about narrowly escaping the gang by stumbling into the TV room by mishap and returning to the room later that day to further explore it. She described her awe while watching The Phantom of the Opera and how she ran into Wilson when exiting the room.

"Speaking of DVDs," Kristi said, "How did you get a copy of The Phantom of the Opera? I thought the government had destroyed all fictional films."

"Alex gave it to me," she said. The corners of her eyes tightened. "He also taught me how to make the DNA scanner I placed outside on the brick wall. Alex was a good friend of mine," she added when Kristi shot her a quizzical look.

"From the East Region?"

"Yeah."

She watched Chelsa subconsciously play with her hands, almost dropping the mug precariously balanced at the edge of her knees.

"Do you want me to wash the dishes?" Kristi indicated the bowl and mug in Chelsa's lap. She wanted to do something helpful for Chelsa; a small action of thanks in return for the help Chelsa gave her.

"That would be great. You can use the bathroom sink. I'm going to find Ghost and make sure he's all right."

After rinsing the utensils and leaving them besides the sink to dry, Kristi returned to the main room to find Chelsa typing something on her electro-slate.

"That was fast," Chelsa said. She exited the message she was typing on her slate.

"Is Ghost still upset about me?"

"Nah. He's fine." Chelsa prodded Ghost, who was curled up at the foot of the cot, with her foot. "You're not used to visitors, are you?" she asked the leopard.

"I should get going. My parents are probably having a heart attack right now since I've never been out after curfew. Do you want to come with me? I'm sure Don and Maria would be more than happy to meet you."

"Thanks, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer."

Kristi masked her disappointment. Perhaps Chelsa doesn't want to attract any unnecessary attention to herself, she thought.

"You won't tell anyone about me and my rooms, will you?" Chelsa asked right before Kristi stepped outside.

"Of course not."

"Good. I knew I could trust you."

With that, Kristi stepped back into the alley and ran home as fast as her legs allowed. The sky seemed to be just a little bit bluer than usual and the sun seemed to shine just a bit brighter.

I think I've found a potential friend. Aside from Jaiden, there was really no one in the city she trusted. Not even Don and Maria. As much as she appreciated her adoptive parents for taking her in, they never established a close relationship with her.
chapter seven

[ Kristi ]

Kristi pounded up the driveway to the mansion, then skidded to a stop. She took a double-take; none of the lights were on. Not even the porch lights. Maria and Don's solar-car was still parked outside though, so her parents should be home.

She pressed her thumb onto the scanner to unlock the front doors, but it rejected the thumbprint. Frowning, she tried again. Same results.

What the heck?! Is the scanner malfunctioning?

Kristi resorted to old-fashion pounding on the door. She waited for someone to let her into the house, but nobody responded to her knocking.

"Jaiden!" she shouted. "Maria, Don! Can someone unlock the door for me?"

No reply.

Kristi stepped down from the front door. Something small and white peeked out from the corner of a sculpture of a frog. She squatted and tipped the ceramic statue over to retrieve the object. It was a note written on a piece of paper. That was strange; who'd use paper when they could just leave an electro-note or send an instafication? Paper kills trees and therefore, the Earth.

Kristi had to squint to read the barely legible handwriting scrawled across the index card:

Find Jaiden and locate the others.

\--M & D

She reread the note once, and then twice, making sure she didn't misread it. "Find Jaiden and locate the others."

"Ha-ha. Real funny joke Jaiden. Stop messing around with me." Kristi stood up, brushing the dirt from her jeans. "That was a really lame prank. What did you want me to do? Run around screaming?" She waited, hoping to lure Jaiden out from wherever he was hiding.

A branch above her shook and a plump, black-capped chickadee angled its head at Kristi. "Chicka-dee-dee-dee," the bird whistled. On the last "dee" it flapped away.

"Jaiden, this isn't funny anymore! I admit you scared me, okay? Are you happy now? Please let me into the house." Her voice sounded painfully small.

A silence settled over the area; no Jaiden, Don or Maria appeared. Kristi's mind began jumping to conclusions. Wilson's gang wouldn't dare harm my family, would he?

"The stables," she said. "Why didn't I think of that?" But Kristi did know why she hadn't thought to check the stables for her family; Maria and Don never rode droid-horses and Jaiden should be assisting Professor Smetana at this time of the day.

Kristi dashed to the barn, praying that the horses were still in their stalls and unharmed. She briefly crossed her fingers then unlatched the barn door.

The droid-horses were gone. She was the only person in the building. Or so she thought. Two shadows loomed over her. Kristi tensed her muscles, ready to sprint in an instant if it was Wilson's gang.

"Are you ready to go?"

She relaxed, recognizing Chelsa's voice. Ghost padded to Kristi's right shoulder and nuzzled her. She squirmed, the droid-cat's inch-long fang grazing her earlobes.

"You followed me?"

Chelsa nodded. "I'm too curious for my own good. I guess something bad happened from the looks of it." She handed Kristi the paper note she had dropped.

"Thanks." Kristi crumpled the paper and shoved it deep inside her pocket. "I think that— "

Chelsa cut her off, "No, I highly doubt Wilson's crew kidnapped your family. This doesn't seem like gang work. Trust me, if it was Wilson's crew that caused this mess, they would've already sent you a message asking for a ransom."

Kristi didn't bother to ask Chelsa how she knew this. "What do you think happened? I can't think of any other reason why my family would suddenly disappear."

Chelsa thought for a minute, then said, "Why don't we try locating your brother—er, Jaiden? I think he might have an idea of what is going on, judging from the note."

"I suppose you're right." Kristi stood up and left the empty stable. Chelsa seemed to be a very smart and logical person—exactly the type of girl she needed to be around right now. "Let's go check the learning center. Jaiden might be there."

Kristi had Chelsa and Ghost wait outside while she went inside the learning center in search of Jaiden. What she hadn't thought through with her plan was that she didn't have her electro-slate anymore. Without the electro-slate, she didn't have her electronic ID card. The actual, physical ID card was locked inside her bedroom.

"Can't I just give you my name and have you can look up my ID?" Kristi asked the receptionist.

"Nope," she said. The receptionist's long, sleek hair was pulled into a flawless French twist. Diamond studs glittered in her ear and an expensive ring adorned each of her fingers. She was Glenn's girlfriend and was taking great pleasure in aggravating Kristi.

"I really need entry into the learning center. Is there any way I could get in? Please, this is very urgent."

"Can't do. Go buy a new slate I'm sure the retailer could give a discount to someone like you."

"I don't have time to do that."

The girl giggled, like Kristi had just said something hilarious. "No time? Why would you have no time? It's not like—Glenn!" She abruptly broke off.

"Veronica, I got you the rest of the day off. Let's go have lunch somewhere more pleasant than this dump." Glenn strolled over to the two of them. "I got Michel to take your shift."

"What'd you do, Glenn? Bribe him?" Kristi said.

"No, more like blackmailed him," Glenn shot back, knowing she couldn't do anything about it.

Kristi restrained herself from slapping his oh-so-perfect face. He'll look better with a bruise on his cheek, she thought. One that I am more than happy to give.

Glenn turned his attention back to Veronica. "Let's go. I'm going to have my father promote you to somewhere where you don't have to encounter it." He threw Kristi a pointed look. Veronica tittered and Glenn sauntered off with Veronica sashaying next to him.

Chelsa poked her head into the reception room shortly after the couple left. "Is Jaiden here?"

"I don't know. Veronica wouldn't let me in since I don't have my ID."

"Excuse me, could you move out of the way," said Michel.

Chelsa stepped to the right, allowing a tall, curly haired boy to pass through. He took his place behind the desk and peered at the two girls.

"Are you entering the learning center?" he asked.

"Yes," said Kristi. "The problem is, I don't have my electro-slate or my ID card with me."

"I'm afraid you'll have to present some form of ID in order for you to pass through. It's not your fault that you forgot your electro-slate or ID card though."

Kristi sighed. Michel was starting one of his endless conversations.

"The fact is the human brain will sometimes forget things, such as bringing an electro-slate with oneself when visiting a public place. Of course, with science, the brain's memory skills can be boosted with a few DNA tweaks. But since you don't have any changes done to your heredities, your memory is naturally going to be more forgetful. There are so many things for the brain to remember it has to prioritize information. From the looks of it, tutoring at the learning center isn't very important to you as you didn't bring your ID."

Kristi turned around to Chelsa and mouthed, "Help."

"Ah-hem. Are you listening to me?" An annoyed expression crossed Michel's face.

Chelsa causally strolled up to Michel. "I would love it if you would tell me more about the wonders of genetic science. I find the topic extremely interesting and you seem to be very intelligent. "

She offered him a coy smile and fluttered her lashes for a good measure. Then she whispered something into Michel's ear, provoking a self-satisfied smile onto his face.

"Why, of course I would be more than happy to inform such a smart person like you," Michel said. "Some people appreciate an innovative chat."

Kristi had to give credit to Chelsa for being a good actress; she truly looked interested in Michel's conversation. In fact, she even got Michel to show her some pictures of a zygote being formed on his electro-slate. While Michel was busy finding the pictures on his slate, Kristi snuck around the reception desk and into the learning center.

It was time to find Jaiden.

She instinctively checked the library first; ninety percent of the time Jaiden could be found in the library if he was in the learning center. Kristi barely peeked into the library before she left. It was obvious the room wasn't occupied; it was too quiet.

Next stop was the classrooms. Kristi flung each door open and peeked inside each room. However, thirty-six classrooms later, Jaiden was yet to be found. She was steadily growing concerned about the whereabouts of Jaiden. Aside from the learning center, the only other place where Jaiden might be was the lab.

Feet dragging against the tiled floor, she went back to the reception room of the learning center. Michel was still explaining the miracles of science to Chelsa, using words too big for Kristi to even bother to pretend to understand.

"Hey, I thought I said you couldn't enter without a valid ID!" Michel exclaimed. His curly head shot up when Kristi walked by.

"That was a lovely discussion we just had. Thank you so much," Chelsa said.

"Why don't you stay for a bit and we can talk some more? Let me just deal with Kristi."

"I would love to stay, but I really must go." Chelsa grabbed Kristi's arm and pulled her out the front doors.

Michel called out, "Wait, let me give you my instafication number. It's—"

Chelsa allowed the heavy glass door to slam shut behind her, drowning his voice. "Conceited little idiot." Chelsa sent Kristi a mischievous smile. "Michel really thought I was interested in him, didn't he?" She didn't wait for a reply and kept on talking. "He wouldn't stop rattling on about how science has improved human genetics and that Perfects were the apex of the human race. He must've thought I was getting bored of listening to him talk science nonsense because then he was all like 'I love the color of your eyes; did your parents customize them to be green?' and I'm thinking to myself 'I'm a freaking Accident. Of course my parents didn't choose for me to have green eyes'."

Chelsa dragged Kristi down the streets, scanning the buildings lining the pavements. Kristi pointed to the direction of Professor Smetana's lab and Chelsa readjusted their course. Chelsa continued talking and Kristi continued bobbing her head and making noncommittal sounds at the right places.

"Hey, um, Kristi, is that your mom and dad?" Chelsa pointed to the public screen broadcasting NRN (North Region News). Kristi looked up. A picture of Don and Maria's faces scrolled by and reporter appeared on screen to announce:

"This is NRN. Breaking News: Two spies of the South Union were caught this morning at 7:32 a.m. The spies lived on 37 Bridge Street. Police have declared the property to be under investigation and have installed surveillance cameras around the perimeters. Maria and Don Shea have been brought into a top security prison while their son, Jaiden Shea, is being held in the local jail until the court has decided the appropriate actions to take. As of right now, Kristi Shea is on the Wanted List. Evidence suggests she was involved in this network of spies for the South Union. Keep an eye out for Kristi Shea and help the North Region stay united and safe. Have a good day, fellow citizens!"

"You're a spy?" Chelsa's eyes bugged out.

"No! I didn't even know my parents were spies," Kristi said, her mind reeling with disbelief. "Things just got a lot more complicated."

"You think?"

"At least we know where Jaiden is now."

"We better find Jaiden quickly before this news spreads," said Chelsa.

"How do you suggest we break into the jail?"

Chelsa let out a laugh. "I've broken out of jail plenty of time, but I can honestly say, I have never tried to break into jail. Breaking in shouldn't be any harder than breaking out though."

"What should we do first? Visit the jail so we know what the security is like?"

"Exactly what I was thinking."
chapter eight

[ Troop ]

Troop's mom arrived home later than usual; it was well past dinner and Troop was putting the dishes into the wash when his mom entered the kitchen.

"There's leftover chicken salad." He jerked his head to fridge humming beside the stove.

"Thanks, T." His mom used a nickname Troop's dad had come up with.

It had been a while since Troop talked to his dad; his parents divorced fourteen years ago.

"Hard day at work?" he asked.

"Yeah. I've been assigned a new project which I don't have enough time to do."

"We can always move again, to a place further away from the..."

"No." Her voice was firm. "We are not moving again unless we absolutely have to. Not unless something like that happens again."

Troop swallowed down a lump of guilt. If they hadn't moved from Marbleton to the city, then his mom wouldn't be so overburdened with work. However, that had happened and the company Troop's mom worked for offered them to start a new life here in the city. The catch was his mom had to increase her workload by a third. She had begun working for the Company a few months after her divorce.

His mom was proud Troop had transitioned to his new school without any difficulties—but that was because she didn't know the extremes Troop went to ensure he would no longer face any problems from anyone or anything at Ludus High. She didn't know he was a thorn in disguise as a rose.

"How was school today?" his mom asked, massaging her temples with her index fingers.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Classes, tests, exams, lunch, more exams, etcetera."

"No troubles with kids?"

"Mom. That's the past. That part of my life is over. I'm doing just fine at school."

"Just making sure."

Troop softened his tone, knowing his mom hadn't meant to sound overbearing. "Everything's good. Why don't you take a shower and I'll fix up some minestrone soup to go with the chicken salad?"

"You're an angel. I think I'm going to take you up on that offer."

If you only knew, Troop thought. I highly doubt you'll look at me the same.

She kicked off her heels and floated out of the room. Troop heated up a small saucepan. While he waited for the soup to simmer, he flicked through the world studies notes Darrel had sent him. Most of the material he already knew, thanks to private tutoring sessions provided by the Company.

His electro-slate vibrated. The caller ID informed Troop it was Bruno calling him.

"Hello," said Troop.

"Hey. Listen, you've got to hear this. Are you listening?"

"Yeah."

"Jack's planning a coordinated hack on the school system tomorrow after school, but he wanted to get an okay from you first."

"Why doesn't Jack ask me himself? And anyways, he knows he doesn't need my permission to hack the school system—he knows the rules we play by."

"Jack doesn't have your ID number, so he asked me to call you for approval," said Bruno.

Troop nodded, even though Bruno couldn't see him do so. That makes sense. I don't remember giving Jack my number and even his hacking skills are still one step behind the Company's. The Company had encrypted all of Troop's personal information; things could become disastrous if they leaked into the wrong hands.

"He's planning on breaking the system tomorrow but wanted to make sure you were okay with it ever since, you know, the Harold incident," said Bruno

"Got it. Do you know what Jack is planning to do after he breaks through the system?"

"Mason offered him three hundred points if Jack raised his grade in Physics."

"Tell Jack to raise Tompkins' grade in World Studies while he's at it."

"Alright. Are you going to help Jack with the hijack? I know I am. Darrel is too. Jack says he needs enough people to overwhelm the system for tomorrow."

"Can't," said Troop. "Tutor session tomorrow right after school."

Troop could almost see Bruno wrinkling his nose when he replied, "Oh, I see. Is it one of those fancy private lessons?"

"I suppose you could say so."

"Ludus High isn't good enough for you, is it? Nope—you've got to have one-on-one classes even though you already attend the second best high school in the United Regions." There was a hint of taunting in Bruno's tone. "Only the best for—"

"Bruno," Troop said. He kept his voice even.

Bruno immediately realized he was walking on a fine line. "Sorry." He didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

Troop let it slide, but decided to keep a close eye on Bruno's behavior over the next few days. Bruno would be more than happy to stab him in the back given the chance; it was common knowledge at school that Bruno hungered after Troop's power at Ludus.

chapter nine

[ Kristi ]

"I see five watchtowers. How about you?"

Kristi replied to Chelsa, "Same."

Her left leg was going numb from crouching behind a bush.

"Stay here and count how many guards there are for each entrance and watchtower. I'll go check out the patrols, alarms, cameras, trip wires, lasers, heat sensors, droids, pressure pads—"

Kristi interrupted Chelsa, "I get the point."

With that, Chelsa was gone in a blink. Kristi hunkered in the bushes, tallying the guards while Ghost drifted around nearby in case she needed help. She tripled checked to make sure she had counted right: two per entrance and three per watchtower. This equaled to nineteen guards in total and two droid German shepherd watchdogs (one per entrance).

Hopefully Chelsa would be back soon. She was eager to start moving and find Jaiden. Both of her legs were seriously going numb now.

"One little stretch won't hurt anyone," Kristi said.

She straightened her back. Ghost hissed.

"Okay, okay. Keep your hair on."

The droid-leopard didn't stop the threatening sounds until Kristi lowered herself back behind the shrub.

"Did Ghost see something?" Chelsa returned from her brief scout.

"No. He just started hissing all of a sudden." Kristi failed to mention chances were that Ghost was trying to stop her from standing up and potentially end up being seen by the guards. "So, find any useful information?"

"Breaking in shouldn't be too much of a problem. Breaking out once we're in is the bigger issue. I checked out the perimeter and found a couple of options on getting into the building. We can either go through the window on the north side of the building, through the delivery chute or through the fire escape that leads to the exit on the roof.

"Patrols of five guards pass every ten minutes or so. There are some cameras and lasers though, so we'll have to watch out for those. I don't know what the security is like inside, which may pose a problem later on. On the bright side, I found out your brother is being held in cell three, which saves us a lot of time from having to check every cell."

"How did you get all of that information so fast?"

Chelsa smirked. "Practice. Lots of it."

Ghost padded over and rumbled his chest.

"We're getting off track," Chelsa said. "We better start moving. So here's the plan: we're going to sneak in by means of the window I mentioned. The north side window is the only one that isn't locked; I guess one of the workers here wanted to have a smoke without setting off the fire alarm, but forgot to close the window properly.

"There are four cameras and one laser that we have to watch out for. Ghost will take care of the cameras, which leaves only the guards and laser for you and me to deal with. The laser shouldn't be too difficult to avoid; it seems like the standard model all local jails use. As for the guards, if we time our moves right after a patrol passes, then we have about ten minutes to get in, which is more than enough."

"Ghost will take care of the cameras?" Kristi asked to make sure she heard Chelsa right. She tried to imagine how a droid-cat could disable four security cameras.

"You'll see."

Kristi took a deep breath in. She had spent less than forty-eight hours with Chelsa and was already breaking laws. Chelsa was not a good influence; but she was a good friend. "Let's do this."

Kristi closely followed Chelsa as they skirted the edges of the jailhouse by keeping in the shadows, ducking behind foliage and running low to the ground. Just when she was getting the hang of it, Chelsa stopped; Kristi stopped herself from crashing into Chelsa. The window that was to be their entrance was about half a football field's length away.

"Ghost, go take care of that camera." Chelsa pointed to a surveillance camera mounted on a tree.

Ghost climbed up the tree and using his paws, turned the camera so that it was facing the trunk. Then Ghost leapt down, purring with satisfaction of a job well done.

"Come on, we're going to make a dash for the trash bins," Chelsa said.

They dashed for their temporary cover and waited for a patrol to pass. Shiny, polished boots marched by in unison. The guards swung their flashlight around, searching for anything out of the norm. They didn't spot Chelsa and Kristi hidden behind the bins.

Chelsa whispered to Ghost, "Get the two cameras hanging off the rain gutters."

Ghost flicked an ear to show he heard and scaled the building and onto the roof. He crept, belly close to the roof, then along the gutter until he was directly above the camera. As before, he knocked the camera askew so that it was pointing downwards. Then he repeated the procedure with the second camera.

"Good. Everything's going according to plan," Chelsa whispered. "We just have to hurry up before the people monitoring the cameras notice all they're monitoring is a patch of dirt and the building wall."

Ghost bunched up his hind legs and prepared to leap down. Suddenly, a beam of light from the watchtower landed on him, blinding the droid with its bright light. Ghost froze, as still as an ice sculpture.

Kristi held her breath anxiously, heart pounding like a sledgehammer beneath her ribs. Then to everyone's relief, the searchlight swung away. Ghost leapt down, looking shaken for once.

"That was a close call," Chelsa murmured. "They must've mistaken Ghost for a runaway droid-cat. Okay, the next obstacle is the laser. Think of the laser as an invisible trip wire. If you pass through it, it will trigger an alarm."

"Where exactly is the laser?" Kristi skimmed the ground around them but nothing hinted the presence of an invisible trip wire.

"About a foot off the ground, a yard in front of the window we're entering through." Chelsa directed her gaze to a small, black box positioned along the wall of the building. "That's where the laser trip wire is coming from. There's one last camera right above the black box. The camera can't see us though, since we're in its blind spot. I don't think I want to risk Ghost being spotted disabling a camera again, therefore we'll have to be sure to stay close to the walls of the jail."

"So all we have to do is step over the laser, open the window wide enough to get through and stay in the camera's blind spot?"

"Yep. I'll lead."

Chelsa took a huge step over the laser and hugged the wall of the building. Kristi imitated her, shimmying along the wall. Once they reached the window, Chelsa tried to pry it wider. "Give me a hand, will you? It's heavier than it looks."

Kristi slid along the wall and grasped the metal-framed window with cold fingers. Through their combined strength, the window lifted easily and smoothly.

"After you." She gestured to Chelsa.

Chelsa swung herself through the gap and offered Kristi a hand up. Using Chelsa's hand as a grip, Kristi landed much less gracefully inside.

"That wasn't too hard," Chelsa said. "Now we need to find cell three."

Kristi looked around the corridor they were in. It was lined with cells, all of them empty. The door closest to them had the number "ten" engraved on it. There were five cells total in this hall.

"Cell number three is in a different hall. Are there any alarms or cameras we have to watch out for?"

"I don't see any cameras, wires, lasers or heat sensors either, but you can never be too careful," said Chelsa.

They entered the main hall and turned right. All the overhead lights were off, which made keeping a sense of direction difficult.

"It's this hall," Kristi said, spotting the plaque that read: cells one through five.

She took lead and turned the corner, almost running into a guard. If she had taken one more step, she would've walked straight into him. Luckily, the guard was dozing in his chair, so he didn't notice the close encounter. A large, empty bottle of booze was loosely held in his right hand. Thank you, maker of that bottle of alcohol, for putting the guard to sleep, Kristi thought. She supposed that even with the advancements made in science, science could only do so much. While Perfects were genetically perfect, they still succumbed to certain pleasures.

Chelsa feigned wiping sweat off her brow. Then she moved forward to lead the way, not trusting Kristi not to lead them into any other guards.

They skirted a wide turn and moved on past a couple more cells until they reached a door with the number three. Kristi took a peek inside through the tiny glass window on the metal door.

"He's there," she whispered to Chelsa. "And asleep."

Chelsa came over and examined the lock. "Quietly wake Jaiden up so once I have this lock figured out, we can leave as quickly as possible."

Kristi gently tapped on the window. Jaiden bolted upright, blinking in confusion. Then he saw her and furrowed his eyebrows as he processed why she was in the jailhouse at 2:17 in the morning. As soon as he came to the conclusion Kristi was trying to break him out of here, his expression turned murderous.

He came up to the window and mouthed, "What in the world do you think you are doing?"

That wasn't quite the reaction she was hoping to get.

Click! The door swung open when Chelsa broke the lock. She hastily stashed away her lock pick into her boots, taking care to move out of the way when the steel door swung open.

Jaiden stepped into the corridor. "Kristi, what are you doing here? You're going to be in so much trouble if you're discovered. Do you know what you just did?"

"Run now, talk later," Chelsa cut in.

Jaiden turned on his heels and looked at Chelsa. "Who are you?"

"Chelsa, Kristi's friend. And like I said, we can talk more once we're out of here."

CLANG!

"What the heck?" yelled a man's voice.

They jolted in surprise.

The guard was talking to himself now, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Must've dropped my bottle. Scared the crap out of me. Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have accepted the dare to finish the beer."

They waited for the guard to fall back asleep, but that didn't happen. After a few minutes, Kristi gave Chelsa a look: "Now, what?"

She mouthed back, "We wait."

A few more minutes passed and the guard stood up from his folding chair. He let out a belch and flipped on his flashlight. The artificial light penetrated the darkness and the guard ambled away to the general direction of the bathroom.

All sighed in relief before dashing down the hallway. The window was still open at the end of the hall. Chelsa gestured for Kristi to climb out first, reminding her to stick close to the walls. Jaiden came out next and plastered himself against the wall beside Kristi. Finally, Chelsa escaped from the building and lowered the window so that it was back in its original position.

The three teens waited in a suspenseful silence for the next patrol to come. Less than thirty seconds later, a squad of three patrollers thumped by in their heavy boots. The guards scanned their surroundings, eyes passing over the crouching teens. They marched on without breaking a stride.

Chelsa scuttled to the same trio of trash bins they had hid behind earlier and beckoned for either Jaiden or Kristi to follow.

"You go first," Jaiden whispered.

Kristi carefully stepped over the laser and joined Chelsa behind the bins. Jaiden started to follow, but he had barely taken a step away from the wall when an alarm went off.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Jaiden froze, not sure what to do.

"Oh crap," Chelsa muttered and swore under her breath. "I completely forgot to tell Jaiden about the laser trip wire. Jaiden!" she said his name as loud as she dared.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to make a run for it."

The droid-dogs barked at the top of their lungs. Guards shouted commands to each other and the spotlights from the watchtowers swung to and fro, searching for intruders. The whole place was launched into a frenzy.

"Head for the trees," Chelsa instructed.

She popped up from the ground and ran for the surrounding woods. Jaiden and Kristi raced after her. Branches whipped at Kristi's face and tore at her hair. The ground was covered in dead leaves, making it hard for her to know where there were roots; she nearly tripped over one jutting out from the ground.

The cloudy night sky meant the moon wasn't able to provide a lot of light, which Kristi supposed was a double-edged sword; it made it harder for the guards on their tail to find them in the dark, but at the same time meant sticking close to Jaiden and Chelsa was even more important. Ghost reappeared sometime and ran beside his owner.

"Can you lead us to your place?" Kristi asked Chelsa. She drew in an extra deep breath to recover from asking her question.

"What else do you think I'm doing?"

"You can't hide from us, you runaways!" a guard hollered. "You'll never escape us."

"Let's see about that," Chelsa said.

Kristi ran with renewed effort, splashing through as many streams and puddles as possible to throw off their scents. The freezing water soaked into her jeans, plastering them against her legs. The wet garment hindered Kristi's speed, making her fall behind Jaiden and Chelsa.

Ghost slowed down to match Kristi's pace, nipping at her heels whenever he felt her start to slow down.

"You okay?" Jaiden asked. He spared a second to look over his shoulder, making sure she was still in sight.

"Yeah."

Ghost snipped at her ankles in encouragement.

"I lost the trail," a guard called.

"Hold on a second," another guard replied. "Let my droid-dog find the trail."

Their voices faded away.

At long last, they broke through the tree lines and the guards appeared to be nowhere in sight. Kristi recognized where they were; somehow, using her uncanny sense of location, Chelsa had managed to lead them to a street that branched off to the alley where Chelsa's home was.

They hustled to the brick wall and Kristi ran her hands over the sensor. The bricks rotated away, exposing the room inside and Jaiden let out a whistle of admiration of the craftiness. The gap closed up once more the moment everyone was inside.

Chelsa swiftly unlocked the door to the main room and turned on the lights.

"Sweet hideout," Jaiden said.

Chelsa nodded to show she heard and put the kettle on. "I need some tea. It calms my nerves. Want some?"

"Yes, please," Jaiden and Kristi said in unison.

Jaiden spun to face Kristi; she did not like the expression he had on his face. He looked positively furious.

"What were you trying to do, Kristi? You could've been killed. I was fine; they weren't going to do anything with me. The judges were going to deem me innocent and I would be let out within a day. Do you know what they would do to you? The government will be more than happy to use this break-in as an excuse to lock you up for the rest of your life. You're my only remaining family member and I couldn't stand it if you were captured."

"What about Maria and Don? They're part of our family too," Kristi said. "And anyways, I'm fine and you're fine. Nobody got hurt."

"They're traitors," Jaiden growled. "They're not my parents any more. They betrayed me and never told me who they were. Ha! They brought me up to follow the laws while they were breaking the laws themselves. They're back-stabbing liars."

Jaiden grabbed Kristi by the shoulders and shook her with each word to emphasize the point. "Our. Parents. Were. Spies." Then he seemed to realize what he was doing and hastily dropped his hands. "Sorry." He apologetically met her gaze.

Kristi rubbed her sore shoulders—Jaiden's grip was strong—and said, "Apology accepted. I don't think you've been properly introduced to Chelsa yet."

Chelsa took the kettle off the stove and poured everyone a mug of green tea.

Kristi rapidly downed her cup of tea and withdrew to take a shower, leaving Chelsa and Jaiden to get to know each other better.

"What do you think the note means?" Kristi asked Jaiden and Chelsa the next day. She took out the crumpled piece of paper and flattened it on the wooden desk. They stooped around the table, trying to decipher the message.

Find Jaiden and locate the others.

\--M & D

Jaiden read the note and assumed a thoughtful look. When he spoke, he chose his words carefully, "Who are the others?"

"No clue," Chelsa replied, snacking on a cracker. "Kristi and I have been trying to interpret it for a while now. We were hoping you would know."

Jaiden frowned then said, "Maybe others could be implying that there are other people with no genetic alterations."

"Do you mean Accidents?" Chelsa asked.

"I hate that term."

Kristi supposed it was possible that other Accidents like her and Chelsa existed.

"Or Maria and Don may be referring to other spies," Jaiden said. He accepted the saltines Chelsa offered him. "But honestly, is there any valid reason for you to follow the orders on the note?" He directed the question towards Kristi.

Jaiden had a point. Her seemingly mundane parents were actually spies. As a result, Jaiden had gotten thrown into jail and she was a wanted fugitive. Did she really want to follow instructions left by them?

"I personally just want to forget about the note and move on in life," said Jaiden. "But I'll support whatever choice you make."

"If you decide not to go searching for the others," said Chelsa, "you're welcome to stay with me."

"That's very nice of you," Kristi said. She tried not to shudder imagining living the rest of her life in the three rooms that made up Chelsa's residence. Being trapped indoors, relying on Chelsa to bring her news of the world outside; just thinking about it made her cringe.
chapter ten

[ Kristi ]

"I want to carry out Maria and Don's wishes."

Jaiden and Chelsa looked up from the electro-slate, both listening to Kristi.

"I don't know what else to do." She dropped onto the rickety bed beside Chelsa.

"You could always stay here, as Chelsa has offered," Jaiden said.

"I think following the directives may clear some of the confusion that happened over the past two days."

"Very well, I will do whatever I can to assist you." Jaiden looked neither pleased nor upset by her choice.

"So will I," Chelsa added, catching Kristi off guard. "Oh, don't look so surprised at my offer. You're my first friend in a long time. You didn't think that I was going to allow you to slip away so easily, did you?"

Kristi gave them both a hug. "Thanks guys. I really appreciate it."

Chelsa made a face. "Don't get all mushy on me." All the same, she returned Kristi's hug, then said, "I'll go see if I can find some sleeping bags for you two." She brushed cracker crumbs off her sweatshirt. "And don't you even think about leaving—it's too risky for you to show your face in public."

"There's no way Maria and Don could've known about Chelsa," Jaiden said. He twirled the pen masterfully through his fingers. In. Out. In. Out.

"Who knows what they knew?" Kristi glanced at the clock; Chelsa had been gone for over an hour.

"So you think the others are other Accidents?" He grimaced at the word.

"I don't know anything. Others could be other Accidents, it could be other spies, and it could be a secret family of dwarves, for all I know." Not for the first time, Kristi wished her parents' message could've been a little less vague.

"We're getting nowhere," Jaiden stated the obvious.

"Go shower. You smell." Kristi pushed her brother in the direction of the bathroom.

Then she wandered around the room, picking up different objects and examining them. There was a map tacked up on the wall. On the desk was a cup holding a bunch of pens and pencils. She picked up an album off the desk. Ghost looked up from cleaning his whiskers and growled softly.

She ignored him and flipped open the book. The first page showed a younger Chelsa standing in front of a man and a woman. Her parents. Chelsa had her mother's hair and nose; from her father, she inherited his high cheekbones and green eyes.

She flipped on to the next page. Chelsa was much older now, perhaps twelve or thirteen years old. Beside her was a boy a few years older. The boy had light, curly hair and impish eyes. They were playing with Ghost beside a lake.

Kristi turned the page. The picture showed an even older Chelsa (fifteen, or sixteen years old?) being hugged by the same boy in the previous picture. Over the picture, someone had scribbled "Chelsa + Alex" in permanent marker. Kristi wondered how things stood between them now.

Ghost growled softly once more and Kristi realized with a start she was snooping through Chelsa's private stuff without her permission. What a great friend I am, she thought, replacing the album as she had found it.

Ghost stared at her, as if to say, "You should've known better than to do that."

The doorknob jingled and the door was flung open. Chelsa returned with her purchased goods. At the same time, Jaiden stepped out of the bathroom, toweling off his wet, dark hair.

"I got you new clothes," Chelsa said, tossing Jaiden a stuffed bag.

He caught it one-handed. "Thanks. I'll go change into them now."

"I got you some, too," Chelsa said and passed another bag to Kristi.

"Is there any way I can repay you?" Kristi didn't want to become a burden to Chelsa.

"How about making breakfast tomorrow?"

"Deal."

She helped Chelsa take out the rest of the purchases from the bags. All the food was stored in a plastic bin and the sleeping bags were kept underneath the bed until needed.

"Did you find any news about Maria and Don?" Kristi dumped a container of water-purifying tablets into a bin.

"They're being held in a high security prison until their trial takes place. As for the spy group Maria and Don work for, all I know is that they work for the South Union, but I can probably find more information given some time. Here, you can check the news on my electro-slate for more information." Chelsa removed the slate from her shoulder bag and pitched it onto the cot.

Kristi pulled up the NRN website on the electro-slate and browsed the headlines until she found one that read: Officials Uncover More Information About Shea Spies. The article read:

After breaking into the electro-slates of the two convicted spies, Shelly Smiths and Kyle Rogers (cover names: Maria and Don Shea), government officials have concluded they were working for a South Union spy network known as the Revealers. Further evidence suggests that their primary purpose of being stationed in the United Regions was to smuggle top-secret information to the coordinator of the Revealers. When questioned, both spies refuse to cooperate and all they would say is "follow the truth hunter", which the officials theorize to be the Revealers' motto.

"Follow the truth hunter." That phrase stirred something deep inside Kristi, but she just couldn't put her finger on why.

"How do I look?" Jaiden asked. He stashed his old clothes in a biodegradable plastic bag and indicated to his new clothes.

"Very nice," said Chelsa. She sounded like she meant it. Even by a Perfect's standards, Jaiden was very good looking.

"Jaiden, does the phrase 'follow the truth hunter' sound familiar?" Kristi asked.

"Isn't that the name of the poem Maria used to read to you when you were little?"

She sat upright. "Yes, I remember it now." She closed her eyes and recited the poem:

"One who defies

the lies and deception

sees through the mask

hunting out

the truth."

"It's the Revealers," Chelsa said. "The 'truth hunter' is the Revealers."

"The Revealers?" asked Jaiden.

Kristi briefly gave Jaiden an update about Maria and Don's case.

"I feel like I don't know my parents—Maria and Don—anymore. They were freaking spies for the Revealers and I never knew it," Jaiden said. "And now they want you to contact the Revealers. Does this only sound crazy to me?"

"Makes sense to me," said Chelsa. "Yeah, maybe a little crazy, but overall, everything makes sense."

"Chelsa, do you think you can snoop around town for any other information involving Don and Maria? I'll do more research on your electro-slate," Kristi said.

"I know just the place to go. But it doesn't open for another two or three hours."

"Where exactly is the place you're talking about?" Jaiden asked.

"Troll's Tavern. You can get almost any information there at the right price."

"You're not planning on going there alone, are you?" He cast Chelsa a questioning look.

"No, Ghost will be with me. I'll be fine."

"Ghost is a cat."

Ghost shot Jaiden an evil look.

"I've been to plenty of pubs before. This one will be no different," said Chelsa.

"Except for the fact you're looking for undisclosed information this time. At least let either me or Kristi come with you."

"Have you already forgotten? You two are wanted people." Chelsa spoke the last part slowly, making sure Jaiden didn't miss her point.

"I refuse to let you go by yourself to a shady sounding saloon."

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do," Chelsa said. She drummed her fingers against the desk. "I've been living on my own for long enough to know what I am capable of."

"You just saved Kristi's life. Do you really think I'm going to allow you to risk your life for some stupid task Maria and Don left behind?"

"Fine. Kristi, will you come with me?" Chelsa asked.

"Okay," Kristi said. "Jaiden, will you stop shooting daggers at Chelsa?"

Jaiden dropped his gaze. Kristi handed Chelsa's electro-slate back to her, but she refused to take it. "Use it to do some more research."

They had pathetically little information to show for the three hours of hard-core research. Sadly, all of their notes about the Revealers combined barely filled half a page.

  * Established for 15 years

  * Declared that they are an independent spy network that only has their headquarter located somewhere in the South Union—not part of South Union

  * There has only been two public case in which the Revealers were directly involved:

  * The United Region government accuse the Revealers to be a spy group for the South Union in disguise as a do-good organization

"The tavern should be busy now," said Chelsa once they finished reviewing the notes. "Here, wear this and keep your head down." Chelsa dug through some clothes and offered Kristi an oversized hoodie.

Kristi pulled it on and drew the hood over her head. "Can you see my face?"

"Only if you tilt your head," said Jaiden. "Just keep your eyes on the ground and you should be fine." He spoke to Chelsa, "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"Yes." Chelsa made an impatient sound in the back of her throat. "You've just broken out of jail; the local law enforcers are going to be on the lookout for you."

Jaiden crossed his arms but didn't try to convince Chelsa otherwise. Ghost stood up and nudged open the door connecting the TV room to the main room. The two girls silently crept outside. The cobblestone roads were slick with water, as it was drizzling.

"It's about a twenty minute walk to the tavern," Chelsa said out of the corner of her mouth.

"Do you think the weather's going to worsen?"

"I don't think so."

Chelsa trudged on ahead with Kristi following her like a lost puppy. They met almost no other people out on the streets; the citizens either opted to stay indoors or travel by car. In a short span of time, Kristi's sweatshirt was downright waterlogged. The heavy fabric hung awkwardly on her and the hood started to slip off her face.

"Hold on a second," Kristi said and readjusted her covering.

"Hang in there," said Chelsa. "We're almost there."

"How far is 'almost there'?"

"Close."

It turned out "almost there" meant ten minutes later. They finally arrived at the Troll's Tavern. The tavern itself was located underground and only its sign and stairway leading down to its entrance was located at street level.

"Don't forget, your name is Kelly and mine is Taylor," Chelsa reminded Kristi of their cover names before entering the tavern.

"Got it. Let's go inside."

People were crammed into the Troll's Tavern. Some customers were travelers; others were workers having a drink to celebrate a day off from work. Many were merchants, thieves and sailors. The sole bar girl was kept busy mixing drinks behind the counter. Kristi wondered if Wilson's gang was around

The moose head mounted above the pub's entrance swung its head from left to right. Several fireplaces roared merrily, casting strange shadows on the walls covered with knife marks. Rickety wooden chairs, tables and stools were scattered throughout the room without any apparent organization. Card games were being played everywhere and gambling for spending points seemed to be the main activity happening. The government had banned gambling three years ago; they deemed it to be "uncivilized."

Chelsa nudged Kristi out of her daze. "Keep your eyes and ears open for any useful information. Tongues tend to start wagging after a few drinks."

They stationed themselves in the corner and listened to the conversations around them.

"North Lane was blocked," said a traveler to another. "Bandit activity was going on, I heard."

"Wonder when the government's going to stop the bandits for once and for all. I lost my droid-dog to an ambush," the other traveler replied.

Both travelers looked weather-beaten and tired. A merchant wandered over to the two travelers. He had an odd-looking scar on his left cheek that resembled a fish. His eyes were coal-black, so dark Kristi couldn't distinguish his pupil from his iris.

The merchant joined the talk. "I heard the number of bandits is growing. A lot of people want easy work and end up joining the bandits. I lost five hundred points worth of goods passing through Bald Head Rock trail."

"Traveling isn't safe anymore," said the first traveler.

"Rumor is that the bandits are targeting the South Lanes as winter approaches. The South Lanes are always jam-packed with travelers heading to South Region to spend the winter. It's going to be chaos along the roads if the bandits are indeed ambushing people along the South Lanes," said the second traveler.

"All this worrying is making my head hurt," muttered the first traveler.

"I know how to fix that problem," the merchant said. Then he yelled, "Three beers!"

A harried looking girl brought over three bottles and turned to Kristi and Chelsa. "Would you like anything?"

"We'll take two mugs of cider," said Chelsa.

The merchant overheard Chelsa ordering the drinks. "What's a fine girl like you doing in an underground tavern?" he asked.

"That is none of your business," said Chelsa.

"Are you looking for something?"

"You wouldn't have what I need."

"At the right price, I can give you what you want."

Kristi tugged on Chelsa's sleeve and said into her ear, "I don't trust him."

"Me neither," Chelsa replied in a low voice.

The merchant's eyes lit upon Kristi for the first time. "What is this? Two underage girls in a pub?"

Ghost appeared besides Chelsa's feet and bared his fangs. The merchant tried to kick the cat away, but Ghost evaded his foot and scratched his leg. Glaring at the protective droid, the merchant mumbled some curses under his breath and turned his attention back to the two travelers.

"Here are your drinks." The serving girl reappeared. She frowned at Ghost, then looked at Chelsa and said, "I'm sorry, but we don't allow droid-pets in here."

"What droid-pet?" asked Chelsa. Ghost had vanished without a trace.

The girl blinked then shook her head. "Never mind. It's been a long night and I think I'm starting to imagine things; I could've sworn there was a cat by your side just a second ago."

Chelsa made a show of looking around. "Nope, I'm pretty sure you imagined it. I don't see any droid-pets. How much for the ciders?"

"Four points."

"Want to move to a different place?" Chelsa asked after paying. "There's a free spot by the bar counter and another by the table beneath the moose head."

Kristi nodded and got up. "I'll take the spot by the counter."

"Alright. Don't get in trouble or else Jaiden might end up killing me." Chelsa slipped through the crowded room; soon Kristi lost sight of her among the mass of people.

She left her empty mug on the chipped table then slowly shuffled to the unoccupied bar stool. After establishing some personal space from a leering sailor, she tuned into a soft discussion being held by two men dressed in dark clothing. Both had their faces covered and nobody seemed to be paying them any attention aside from her. She strained her ears to make out their words.

"They were caught. I still can't believe it, that our best two members got caught."

"I know. We need to find new recruits. Our numbers are dropping. Kelvin was badly injured three days ago. He barely escaped the bandits that attacked him. He's still in the hospital recovering from three broken ribs, a concussion and a bad knife wound."

The other man replied, "How many active members do we have left in the East Regions?"

"Fifty members, more or less. We need to ask the headquarters for replacements. Either that or we need to start recruiting more members, like I said before. The loss of Kyle and Shelly really hit us hard. They were so close on making a breakthrough on their case."

Kristi perked up at the mention of Don and Maria's real names. She debated whether she should make herself known to the two men, but decided against it. It was too risky to do so. She listened to their conversation with renewed interest.

"Who's going to be taking up Shelly and Kyle's case now?"

"I don't know for sure, but I assume Tiffany will. She worked closely with Kyle and Shelly."

Someone stumbled into Kristi, almost knocking her off the stool. She leapt off the chair as the person struck it with enough force to break bones. Kristi calmed her heartbeat and resituated herself, then refocused her attention back to the conversation. But her slight movements were noticed by one of the men.

"Hush up. We're being observed."

"Let's go," said his partner. They both stood up and exited the tavern.

Kristi silently cursed for not being more discreet. Nevertheless, she had gathered enough information to make the trek through the rain worth the trip to Troll's Tavern.

Two off-duty law enforcers took the seats left by the men in dark clothes. Kristi beat a swift retreat; the last thing she needed was to be caught.

Time wore on; the tavern progressively grew rowdier and rowdier. More people filed in, seeking retreat from a stressful day. Kristi searched through the crowds for Chelsa, but was soon swallowed up by the mob.

"Where are you?" she mumbled to herself. She checked the spot beneath the moose head, but Chelsa had already left the area.

"You looking for me?"

Kristi held back a small shriek. It was the merchant with the fish-shaped scar. "No—no, I'm not."

"You're looking for information, aren't you?"

Kristi's face betrayed her answer. The merchant grinned, knowing he had guessed right. "I have many connections. Perhaps we can work out a deal..."

"Kelly, let's go," said a voice behind her.

Kelly? Who's Kelly? Then Kristi remembered it was her cover name.

Chelsa tapped her on the shoulders. "We've been here for over an hour."

"Until next time," said the merchant, winking at Kristi. He disappeared into the pulsing horde of people.

They climbed up the stairs and onto the street. Kristi took one last look at Troll's Tavern and saw a richly dressed person lead two fairly drunken fellows away.

"What did you learn? Did you see any spies? Who are involved? Were you guys recognized?" Chelsa and Kristi had barely walked through the doors when Jaiden started to fire them with questions.

"Let us eat first, then we'll answer." Kristi's stomach grumbled, agreeing with her words.

"Cruel," said Jaiden. "You are a cruel person. Withholding such information from a poor guy left behind while others get—"

"Oh, stop griping," Kristi said.

"Does instant rice sound good?" Chelsa asked.

"Anything edible sounds good to me."

"Spill. Tell me what you learned," said Jaiden.

Chelsa ripped open three packages of instant fried rice while Kristi boiled some water on the bio-fuel stove. Jaiden vigorously bounced his knees up and down with impatience. Chelsa shot him a sideways look and said, "I'll tell you what I found out, if that makes you happy."

The water came to a full boil and Chelsa dumped the rice into the pot.

"So?" Jaiden prompted.

"The government suspects there are actually two headquarters of the Revealers. One is located, as we already know, in South Union. However, their second headquarters are located in the West Region of the United Regions."

"The West Region," Kristi mumbled. "It seems like a good place to start looking for other spies. There's bound to be spies there if that's where the headquarters are located. Ow!"

Jaiden jerked up. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I just scalded my tongue." She bashfully held up her bowl of steaming rice.

"Geez, Kristi. You really scared me for a second."

"I'm sorry." She exaggerated blowing on her spoonful of rice before swallowing it.

"You can apologize by telling me what you learned at Troll's Tavern," said Jaiden.

"Okay, okay. No need to be pushy. I found out that the Revealers are searching for new recruits. They have roughly fifty members stationed in the North Region. A bandit attacked one of their members named Kelvin. Last but not least, we need to find and contact a woman named Tiffany."

"Who is she?" said Chelsa.

"She's part of the Revealers and worked closely with Don and Maria—I mean Kyle and Shelly. Apparently she is now finishing whatever work they left behind."

"Here's what I think we should do," Chelsa said. "We should travel to the West Region, searching for Tiffany at the same time. If we haven't found Tiffany by the time we have reached the West Region, perhaps someone there who is part of the Revealers can help us find her."

"Works for me," said Jaiden. "When do you want to leave for the West Region? A week from today?"

Chelsa swallowed a spoonful of rice. "I was thinking of tomorrow."

By the time everyone had finished packing for tomorrow's trip, it was well past midnight. The sleeping bags would be rolled up nicely on top of the weatherproof backpacks in the morning. Food, medical supplies and other knick-knacks required for living in the wilderness were distributed among the three bags.

After a few minutes of debate, they settled on traveling by day rather than night; the risk of running into bandits outweighed the risk of Jaiden and Kristi being recognized on the roads. They would just have to do their best to stay beneath the radar. Chelsa was the ideal travel partner, as she was excellent at staying unnoticed.

"I can't sleep," Kristi said.

"Try to," said Chelsa. "You'll need all the energy you can get once we hit the roads."

"Chelsa?" Kristi asked her new friend.

Chelsa answered with a yawn and slurred, "What?"

"Never mind." She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like forever. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.
chapter eleven

[ Troop ]

"Who's coming over for a visit?" Troop asked, even though he had clearly heard what his mom said the first time.

"Your father."

"Why now?" He stretched his mind to the last time he had seen his father. Does he really think he can abandon us for ten years and then come swinging back into our lives?

"Troop, be reasonable." His mom stabbed at her chicken salad, conveying the opposite message of her words. "He's only staying for three days."

"You still haven't answered my question."

The fork pierced a piece of chicken and struck the plate so hard its tines bent backwards. Troop fetched a new fork from the kitchen and threw the old one into the incinerator.

"Your father is going through some tough times," said Troop's mom. "He just needs a place to stay for a few days until he secures a new living arrangement. His house was destroyed by a mudslide two days ago."

"He could go die in a mudslide for all I care."

"Troop." His mom gave him a reproachful look.

"It's the truth. What kind of person divorces his spouse behind her back, runs off and doesn't visit his son for ten years and then expect them to take him in?"

"That is enough, Troop Mendax." She never used his last name unless she was seriously pissed off.

Troop decided keeping his mouth shut was probably the smartest thing to do. His mother pushed her chair away from the table and said, "I don't want to hear another negative word regarding your father from you."

"Fine," he grumbled under his breath. Then his voice rose so that his mom could hear him. "Fine. When is he coming?"

"Tomorrow." She checked her to-do list on her electro-slate. "I don't have enough time to prepare the guest room for your father. Can you do me a favor and do it for me? There should be fresh sheets in the dryer."

"Alright."

He threw open the door of the guest room and surveyed the interior. It was a basic room; there was only a twin bed, a wardrobe and a single window overlooking the streets. Troop retrieved the gray, microfiber sheets and fixed up the bedroom in no time. I wonder if we have any itching powder, Troop thought. Wouldn't it be a tragedy if somehow some itching powder made its way into this comforter?

He shook his head to rid his malicious idea. I better watch my thoughts. I don't want to become the person I pretend to be in school. The Troop Mandex who attended Ludus High wouldn't have had a second thought about dumping itching powder onto the bed. But the real Troop Mandex would've actually given a damn.

"Why didn't you answer any of my instafications?" Jennifer placed her hands on her hips and put on a little pout.

"I was going to, but never got around to it. Too much homework. Someone should tell Brunes to lay off the chemistry assignments a bit," said Troop. In truth, he hadn't even read the messages Jennifer had sent him.

A student exiting the library blundered into his path; Troop automatically shoved the offender out of his way. Then he inwardly recoiled at his actions the moment he realized what he had done. I'm growing into this Troop at Ludus High character more than I like.

Not even a year ago, the old Troop would've hesitated at the thought of pushing someone out of his way; now it had become second nature.

Jennifer babbled on, oblivious to the fact her words were going in one of his ears and out the other. "Anyways, Tompkins tipped me off Maya was the next VicDay person." By this time, she had lost her pout. "You know you didn't have to do that for me."

Troop realized she was waiting for him to respond. "Do what?"

"You know, set Maya up for VicDay because I told you I didn't like her. You spoil me too much." Jennifer clung onto his arm like a burr.

He gently shook her off, ignoring the pout reappearing on her face. "The group voted for Maya," he said. "I didn't vote for her."

"Oh." The pout deepened and grew less cute. Then Jennifer spotted her friends gossiping in front of the vending machine. She twirled away from him and said, "See you later."

Troop relaxed the moment Jennifer left his side; half the time he spent with her he felt like he was dealing with a three year-old who always got what she wanted. Lengthening his strides, he hurried to his math class. A Perfect was never late.

The bell rang a second after Troop crossed the threshold of the classroom. He slid into a seat beside Mason in the back corner of the room. Mason looked up in greeting and wordlessly passed Troop the answer key to tomorrow's math quiz.

"Jack?" asked Troop.

Mason nodded.

"Thank him for me if you see him."

Mason nodded again; his taciturn demeanor was a relief to Jennifer's non-stop chatter. Mason brought out his electro-slate to take down some notes.

Troop didn't bother to do so; he could always snitch the math notes off someone else.

chapter twelve

[ Kristi ]

She was the last to wake up. As usual. Jaiden was busy making breakfast and Chelsa was sitting on her bed, talking to him. Wait, Jaiden's making breakfast? That's my job!

Kristi bolted upright and said, "I didn't mean to over sleep again. You should've woke me up; I promised to make breakfast today."

"Don't sound so surprised," Jaiden said. "What else is new? It's okay—I got breakfast covered for you."

"Did I ever mention how awesome of a brother you are?"

"No, but you can do so now."

"Fine. Jaiden, you are an awesome brother. And now I'm going to brush my teeth because it feels like a rat had died in my mouth overnight." By the time she had changed, brushed her teeth and braided her hair, Jaiden had finished making pancakes for everyone.

"Best pancakes ever," Chelsa mumbled around a mouthful of pancakes. "Beats the instant oatmeal I normally have for breakfast."

Kristi finished breakfast before Chelsa and Jaiden. She took a look around the room; nothing about the room hinted that its inhabitants were about to abandon it. The pictures and maps were still pinned up on the wall and all of Chelsa's accessories were spread throughout.

"Is this one mine?" Kristi pointed to the dark green backpack.

"I think so. The lightest one is yours because, no offense..." Chelsa trailed off.

"I know. I'm just a soft city kid."

"That wasn't what I was going to say."

"It's true though. I've never left my town before." She shouldered her backpack and her knees almost buckled. This is the lightest one? How much do the others weigh? This must be at least fifty pounds. Kristi resolved to at least be able to carry her own weight. She bit her bottom lip and allowed no sounds of complaint to escape her.

"You done?" Chelsa nodded to Jaiden's plate. He handed the empty plate to her and she deposited it in a bin beneath the cot after washing it. "Let's get going."

The sky was still dark and the roads were almost empty. The slimmest rays of sunlight peeked out from behind the mountaintops, hinting at a spectacular sunrise to come.

The plan was to follow Route 56, which connects the North Region to the West Region. Route 56 was a decently maintained road; most of it was paved, though parts of it were little more than a dirt path. Much of the road wound through the countryside, where only animals dwelled. The vast majority of the travelers using the road traveled by solar or hydro-cars. Others traveled by foot, droid-horses or hydro-bikes.

Thanks to Chelsa's shortcuts, it didn't take long before they left the city where Kristi had grown up far behind. Soon, she was surrounded by open space on all four sides; her hometown became only a silhouette in the distance.

She looked up; the sky began to brighten like a flower blooming. The thin stream of traffic thickened on Route 56—the result of people commuting to work.

They Kristi shifted off to the sides of the road in order to avoid getting caught up in the flow of movement and risk being separated from each other. The sun broke through the clouds, painting the sky a gorgeous red-gold color.

No one spoke. The only sounds to be heard were the crunch, crunch, crunch from their boots grinding the gravel beneath their feet. Yet somehow, the silence didn't feel awkward or forced.

Kristi squinted; there was something long and tall coming up ahead. The object spanned the entire road. She slid Chelsa a quick look to see if she'd noticed it as well.

"It's a tollbooth," Chelsa said. "I want both of you to keep your heads down and let me do the talking when we reach it."

Both ends of the tollbooth were submerged in a large, rushing river. There was no way to avoid passing through it, unless one wanted to risk crossing the rapid-filled water. Kristi estimated the rivers to stretch the width of at least three hundred yards; the length was immeasurable—it gushed far out of sight off into the distance. She looked down at her feet when they got near the booths.

"How many people are traveling with you?" asked the tollbooth-collector.

"Two," replied Chelsa.

"IDs, please."

Chelsa handed him her electro-slate and two plastic cards. He matched Chelsa's electronic ID to her face and grunted, "I need to see Kelly and Zach's faces."

Kristi looked at the tollbooth-collector for a millisecond before ducking her head again. Jaiden did so likewise.

"They're both shy," Chelsa said.

"I can tell. Nine points."

Once Chelsa had transferred the points, they were on their way again. Kristi turned to Chelsa and asked, "Since when did you get Jaiden and me fake ID cards?"

"Since you decided you wanted to travel to West Region. How did you expect to pass through checkpoints without an ID?" Chelsa handed them each their cards. "You should probably keep this on you at all times. I forgot I still had them on me; I would've given them to you earlier."

Kristi scrutinized her card. The girl in the picture did look a little bit like her. They shared the same hair and eye color, at any rate. Her full name was Kelly Harrison; she was seventeen years old, born in the North Region and had an ID number of 012935.

"Can I see your card, Jaiden?" Kristi asked.

"Sure." He palmed her the thin piece of plastic.

Jaiden's cover name was Zach Ware. He was nineteen years old and lived in the East Region, according to the ID card. Although Zach Ware didn't resemble Jaiden, the card was better than nothing. She returned his card and tucked hers into her right boot.

Jaiden pointed to a patch of trees and suggested, "Let's break for lunch. I could use some shade from the sun as well."

Kristi set down her weighty backpack, barely suppressing a groan of relief. Stretching out her aching shoulders, she wondered how she was going to survive the rest of the journey. They didn't have enough points to spend on air-train tickets and none of them owned a car. Even just thinking about carrying her backpack again after lunch made her back ache. Better get used to this. She allowed herself ten more seconds of self-pitying then snapped herself out of her misery.

"I'm going to refill my water bottle from the nearby stream," Jaiden announced.

Chelsa diverted her attention from her lunch. "Don't take too long."

He extracted his water bottle from the bottle holder of his backpack and headed towards the stream about twenty-five yards away from the picnic area.

Ghost ambled in front of Kristi. He sat down for a few seconds, and when he got up there was a little pile of poo left behind. Kristi stared.

"Ghost pooped," she stated the obvious.

Chelsa glanced over. "Yeah. I can tell."

She repeated, "Ghost pooped."

"So?" Chelsa asked nonchalantly.

"Ghost just pooped."

Chelsa sighed. "Kristi, what goes in one end has to go out the other." She sounded like she was explaining why one plus one equals two to a kindergartener.

"I have never seen a droid-pet poop before. Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having a droid-pet instead of real animals?"

Chelsa suddenly let out a bark of laughter. She opened her mouth to say something, but then got overcome by a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Kristi asked.

"You thought Ghost was a droid?" Chelsa wheezed between waves of laughter. She was laughing pretty darn hard. "Ghost isn't a droid! He's an actual living, breathing, pooping leopard!"

"Oh." Kristi didn't know how else to respond.

"All those days you spent with Ghost and me," Chelsa said, "and you honestly thought he was a droid-pet."

"Well, yeah. I've never seen a live animal before."

"What's so funny?" Jaiden asked, returning from the stream.

Chelsa and Kristi looked at each other, then both started cracking up at the same time.

"Ghost pooped," Kristi managed to say to a confused looking Jaiden before breaking off into more laughter.

This caused Jaiden to furrow his eyebrows in bewilderment, which naturally caused the two girls to crack up even harder.

The weather was unusually warm for September and the sun was blazing hot. Sweat poured from the back of Kristi's neck.

She trekked along the road, in front of Jaiden but behind Chelsa. Although the first three days of travel had left her completely exhausted by the end of each day, Kristi was pleased to find she could now survive twelve hours of hiking without feeling near death come dinner time.

Chelsa paused in her steps. "I see smoke. There's probably a campfire nearby—chances are it's a trader's fire. We could use some more supplies."

Kristi looked off to Chelsa's gaze and noticed the thinnest wisp of smoke escaping the treetops. "The fire could also belong to a bandit camp."

"That's unlikely. Bandits wouldn't make their camp so close to the road. Jaiden, how many water purifying tablets do we have left?"

"About two days' worth."

"Couldn't we just stop by the next town we pass by to restock?" Kristi watched the fragile traces of smoke diminish in the bright sunlight.

"I still don't want to risk going into an urban place," said Chelsa. "Not until at least a week has passed since we broke Jaiden out of jail."

"You could always enter the town by yourself. Jaiden and I are capable of waiting for you outside."

"Hm," said Chelsa. "All the same, it would be better if we could replenish our provisions with the traders rather than visiting a settlement."

Kristi shrugged. "Your call."

They followed the smoke and came upon an abandoned campfire that was partially put out. Someone had carelessly kicked some ash over the glowing embers, leaving a trail of footprints heading away from the fire and deeper into the woods.

Kristi regarded her surroundings and realized that if they were ambushed, they'd be in deep trouble. The trees blocked the view to Route 56 and there was no one around to help them.

"I guess the traders left," she said. "Let's head out now."

"They still might be around." Chelsa knelt down by a footprint. "The fire's not more than a few hours old and the tracks are fresh."

"Something feels off. Don't you think so, Jaiden?" Kristi approached her brother for support.

"Maybe. Wouldn't there be more footprints if this was a trader's campfire?" Traders were known to travel in groups to reduce their likelihood of being attacked by preying bandits.

"There's always the possibility this belonged to a lone trader," said Chelsa.

Jaiden looked torn between siding with Chelsa or Kristi.

"How do you know that this set of footprints isn't from a spy member of the network?" Chelsa challenged. "Anyways, I've always gotten you out of trouble, haven't I? Even when I didn't cause the trouble to happen in the first place."

Good point, thought Kristi. She didn't have to free Jaiden. Or free me from the bandits as a matter of fact.

Chelsa stubbornly ignored Jaiden and Kristi and followed the footsteps. The tracks wound deeper and deeper into the forest. The further they went, the bigger and more imposing the trees got. Huge oaks, sycamores and pine trees towered overhead like skyscrapers. It would've taken five people linked together to surround the trunk of the ancient trees.

Despite the diversity of plants present, the forest sounded unnaturally silent. No birds chirped from the trees and no chipmunks chattered on the branches. Kristi's apprehension increased; the foliage blocked sunlight from reaching the forest floor and the trees grew denser and denser together.

"I really think we should head back to Route 56," she said.

"Five more minutes," Chelsa insisted. "Give me five more minutes and if we still haven't found the person we're tracking, we'll turn around."

"Very well."

Kristi could no longer see any footprints embedded in the dirt, but Chelsa seemed to be following some sort of invisible trail only known to her. Jaiden, in the meantime, had moved up closer to Kristi, sensing her nervousness.

"Don't worry, Chelsa won't let anything too bad happen to us." Jaiden didn't sound as if he believed his own words.

"I heard that," said Chelsa. "It would be nice if you guys put a bit more faith in me, you know."

"Chelsa, Ghost left us," Kristi said.

This fact increased her anxiety. If Ghost detected trouble, then trouble must be coming up ahead; the feline's eerie knack for recognizing trouble was something that didn't escape Kristi's awareness.

"He'll come back eventually," Chelsa replied, sounding distracted.

"Three minutes are up." Jaiden tapped his watch.

Chelsa stopped. "That's weird. The person's trail just disappeared. Let's backtrack a bit; I think I might've missed something."

"What's that?" Jaiden asked. He pointed to a low-lying building of some sort nestled in the shadows of a huge sycamore tree.

"Seems like some sort of cabin," Kristi said.

The cabin looked ramshackle and desperately needed a paint job. No lights shone from inside the cabin and the roof dipped inwards, hinting of the weight of snow it bore during the winter months.

"Shh!" Chelsa whispered tersely. She pulled Jaiden and Kristi behind a large sassafras tree with a trunk at least six feet across.

"Who visited Stevey?" a croaky voice called out from behind the cabin. "Stevey likes visitors."

Kristi peeked out from behind the tree trunk. A stooped, stout man emerged from behind the cabin; he had crazy, white hair and a long, matted beard. He wore a yellow plaid shirt with the collar unbuttoned. The sleeves carried a grayish stain on them and he looked like he could use a bath. Stevey's wiry build and his overall appearance made him seem like a genius gone mad.

He looked around the empty area around him. When no one appeared, he called out once more, "Stevey knows he saw people here. Come out! Stevey likes to talk." He paused in his talking long enough to waggle his eyebrows up and down. "Stevey knows many, many stuff. Stevey is smart. Stevey knows about the Revealers." He clapped his hand over his mouth and loudly mumbled, "Bad Stevey. Stevey wasn't supposed to say that."

"I'm going to talk to him," Kristi whispered and then tried to approach Stevey, but Chelsa held her down.

"Let me go first. Stay behind the boulder with Jaiden. Wait—where's Jaiden?"

While they were talking, Jaiden had slipped away. Kristi peered around the sassafras and saw him approaching Stevey. He was too far away to stop now. She bolted after her brother with Chelsa hot on her heels.

Stevey's eyes lit up when he saw three visitors appear. He straightened up from his stance and attempted to run his fingers through his severely tangled beard. "Stevey hasn't had visitors for a long time!"

"I wonder why," Kristi said under her breath.

Jaiden, being ever the gentleman he was, stuck out his hand for Stevey to shake. Stevey vigorously pumped his arm up and down. The little, eccentric man must've had more strength than Jaiden expected because he grimaced with pain.

"Nice to meet you, Stevey," greeted Jaiden. Stevey reluctantly let go and grinned toothily. "So, I heard you know a lot of stuff."

Stevey bobbed his head up and down. "Yes, Stevey is very smart." He proceeded to rattle off the periodic table of elements then started to recite the numbers of pi.

"I also heard Stevey knows some information about the Revealers," Jaiden said.

Stevey paused his recitation and shook his head, "Stevey doesn't know anything about the spy group. Stevey got in trouble for interacting with them."

"Stevey, we need your help. If you do know information about the Revealers, we would really appreciate it if you would share it with us," Kristi said.

Stevey's gaze fell upon Ghost who had reappeared. "Stevey will give you information if Stevey can have the kitty."

Ghost snarled at Stevey and spat at his shoes.

"Sorry, the leopard isn't up for trade," Chelsa said. She turned as if to leave. "Come on, we should get going."

Stevey looked up in alarm. "Wait! Don't go! Stevey will share information if you give Stevey company. Stevey is very lonely."

"Stay or leave?" Jaiden asked.

"Stay." Kristi faced Stevey and said, "We'll stay for as long as you can provide us useful information, okay?"

"Okay. Let's go to Stevey's house." Stevey led them into the pathetic excuse of a cabin and lit a fire in the fireplace; Kristi was mildly surprised he didn't burn down his cabin in the process of lighting the fire. It seemed like something he would do.

Then Stevey patted on the worn-out couch for them to sit on. Ghost, still looking sorely insulted by Stevey calling him a "kitty", had once again disappeared.

"What do you want to know?" Stevey asked.

"Who are you and why are you living in the woods by yourself?" Jaiden said.

"Stevey was a brilliant scientist. Stevey was the head scientist and worked for the government. But, Stevey couldn't stand the pressure of Stevey's work anymore and went coo-coo," Stevey said, simultaneously twirling his index finger and wiping a string of drool with his sleeve.

"I can tell Stevey went coo-coo," Chelsa muttered into Kristi's ear.

Kristi hushed her and listened to Stevey continue to talk. "Stevey got fired and the government said Stevey had to disappear or else they would make Stevey disappear. So Stevey left Stevey's old home and lives here now."

Jaiden asked some more irrelevant questions, getting Stevey to grow comfortable with his presence.

Chelsa leaned over to Kristi, who was seated between Jaiden and Chelsa, and said, "Tell Jaiden to cut to the chase and ask Stevey where the Revealers are. We don't have time to waste."

"It was your idea to come here in the first place," said Kristi. She kept her voice low as not to distract Jaiden from his questioning.

"I didn't expect finding this whacko in the woods."

"Fine."

Kristi passed on Chelsa's request to Jaiden, who in turn asked Stevey, "Stevey, why don't you tell us more about the Revealers?"

"Stevey can't do that. Stevey will get in trouble if Stevey gives away top-secret information."

Chelsa started to speak up, wanting to get Stevey to give her the answers she sought, but Jaiden broke in before she could. "Why don't you share some information that's not undisclosed?"

"Stevey knows lots! 1.77245385091 is square root of pi. Some numbers are square and others are triangular. The circle has the largest area out of a group of shapes with the same perimeter. A jellyfish is over 95% water. The average government official spends 137 points a day. A lot of Revealer members visit Charleston because that is where their headquarters is. Droid-pets were invented twenty-nine years ago. Is that enough information?"

Chelsa, Kristi and Jaiden exchanged looks. At last, one vital piece of information in aiding them to hunt down the Revealers.

"So, one of the Revealer's headquarter is in Charleston in the West Region, right?" Kristi asked Stevey.

"Stevey said too much."

She took that for a "yes."

Stevey offhandedly stood up and opened the rickety door of his cabin. "Out!" he commanded. "Stevey wants you out!" He wagged a finger at them and said, "You guys are sneaky. You made Stevey careless and say too much."

They got the message and left.

chapter thirteen

[ Troop ]

Troop sucked in a deep breath then opened the door to his apartment.

A man stood in the kitchen with his back to Troop. His father. At the sound of the door clicking shut, his father spun on his heels to face him. Troop hid his discomfort as the man scanned him from head to toe. In return, Troop observed his father.

He had changed a bit. Granted, the last time Troop saw him was ten years ago, but he had changed more than Troop expected. His father had acquired a gaunt and haunted look. Dark circles encircled his eyes, which flickered around in an unnerving fashion.

"Troop." His father stuck out a hand.

Troop reached out his right hand and briefly shook his father's. Everything felt wrong; everything felt too formal and alien.

"What time does your mother come back from work?" his father asked.

"Not for a while." Troop couldn't bring himself to call this man dad. "How did you get in here?"

"Your mother picked me up from the air-train station and dropped me off here before going back to work." His father lifted up a duffle bag and said, "Where should I put my belongings?"

I used to belong to you, Troop thought. I used to be your son, and where did you put me? Nowhere, that's where. You ditched me. He took a second to get his emotions under control, and then said, "This way."

He showed his father to the guest room and left him in there to unpack.

Troop wanted to leave the apartment. He wanted to get away from this relative stranger, but for some reason, Troop didn't trust leaving his father alone in the apartment.

His father sat on the couch across from Troop in the living room. So far, he had looked at everything but Troop. As a matter of fact, he seemed unsure of what to do.

Good. The more uncomfortable he is, the better. Troop still hadn't taken his eyes off him yet, as if he was afraid the man would stab him in the back the first chance he got.

The door swung open. Two pairs of eyes trailed to the door. Troop's mom stepped into the apartment. "Has Troop gotten you settled in yet?" she asked.

Troop's father stood up to give her a hug. "Yes, Troop has already shown me my room. Thank you so much for taking me in."

"Not a problem." She gently pushed away his attempted embrace. "Troop, don't you have a tutor session in fifteen minutes?"

Troop detested the idea of leaving his mom with his father. His mother saw the concern in his eyes and shooed him out the door with her hands, "Get out of here. I need to talk with your father and if you don't leave in ten seconds I will personally skin your hide."

He took off without another word.

chapter fourteen

[ Kristi ]

"That's a bummer. We could've gotten a lot more information from Stevey if we had only posed our questions correctly," said Jaiden, kicking rocks down the road.

With less than one day's supply, they desperately needed to refill their necessities, as the next closest civilization was at least three days' walk. Chelsa had grudgingly agreed to stop by the city of Alma for one night.

"We still received a fair amount of info," said Kristi. "Let's go find an inn."

Chelsa looked at a map on her electro-slate, deciding where and when they should call it quits for the day. Jaiden pulled out his electro-slate and typed something. Chelsa, absorbed with her map, didn't notice Jaiden using his slate.

Since when did he retrieve his slate? Kristi thought.

"Jaiden, you never told me that you had your electro-slate the whole time. How'd you get it from jail? When did you—" Kristi stopped talking when Chelsa's head jerked up.

"You brought your electro-slate?" Chelsa said.

"Yeah." Jaiden brandished his slate in front of Chelsa, but snatched it back to his chest when she attempted to nick it out of his hands. "Is there a reason I can't bring my electro-slate, when you can bring yours?"

"Duh, there's a reason why you shouldn't have brought yours. I thought you knew electro-slates have trackers in them—the government could be tracking us this minute. I thought Perfects had their brains meddled with so they can be smarter, not dumber!"

Kristi, taken aback by Chelsa's volatile moods, didn't know whether she should jump into the argument or not.

"Then why do you have yours?" said Jaiden.

"Because I removed my tracker."

Jaiden attempted to form a response and Chelsa took this as a chance to seize the electro-slate out of Jaiden's hands, throw it onto the ground and stomp on it.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" Jaiden demanded, eyes flitting from the broken device and Chelsa.

"Were you not listening to my explanation?" Chelsa grounded the heels of her boots into the shattered remains of the slate, causing the shards to catch the rays of the setting sun.

They stood nose-to-nose, glaring at each other; Kristi could almost see smoke coming out of their ears. The way Jaiden and Chelsa were giving each other death-stares should've warned Kristi to keep out of this dispute, but the attention they were beginning to receive from passerbys convinced her otherwise.

"Guys, cool down a bit, alright? We should find some place to stay for the night." She stepped between the staring contest, feeling Jaiden and Chelsa's burning glares pass right through her.

Chelsa and Jaiden scowled at each other, neither willing to back off from the stare-down. Kristi exhaled slowly through her pursed lips and decided to blame the hot tempers she was witnessing on the stress created from the past few days.

She grabbed Jaiden's wrist in her right hand and Chelsa's wrist with her left hand, then pulled them apart.

"Stop fighting," Kristi ordered. "Unless you haven't noticed, you're attracting attention from the residents." She awkwardly dragged them down Rhine Lane, hoping to find a cheap inn to spend the night.

Jaiden tried to pry her fingers off his wrist. After a moment's hesitation, Kristi released her grip, knowing Jaiden could easily remove her hand by force if he wanted to. Then she uncertainly loosened her clutch on Chelsa as well, not sure if Chelsa was going to punch Jaiden in the face or not. Chelsa clenched her fists, but didn't lash out.

"Do you know where you are going?" Jaiden asked her. His voice was calm and steady, as if nothing had happened between him and Chelsa.

"No."

Dazzling red lights flashed down upon them. A United Regions Homeland Security Helicopter hovered above them, its blades whirling at a demonic speed. The searchlight landed on them and an amplified voice rang out, "Stop where you are! Put your hands behind your head and lay down. We will shoot if necessary."

"Look what your stupid slate did," Chelsa hissed to Jaiden. "We're lucky they hadn't dispatched a helicopter earlier."

"No time for arguing." Kristi craned back her neck, eyeing the chrome belly of the chopper.

"Split up and return to the intersection of Rhine Lane and Route 56 once you're sure you've lost the law enforcement," said Chelsa. She turned on her heels and swirled away in the cityscape.

"Want to come with me?" Jaiden asked.

"It's better if we split up," Kristi said, waving away Jaiden. "Go now. I'll be fine."

Jaiden cast a doubtful look at her but heeded the advice when she gave him a slight push. The searchlight brightened, tightening its focus on Kristi. She scrunched her eyes against the beacon.

"I repeat. Put your hands behind your head and lay down. We will shoot if necessary," the speakers attached beneath the chopper blared.

Well, Kristi decided, she wasn't about to be caught so easily. She raced out of the beam and dodged between two apartment buildings. The few civilians that were wandering the streets so close to curfew scuttled into the nearest building and locked the doors.

"Stop running!" the speakers crackled once more. "You will face fewer consequences if you come with us peacefully."

In your dreams. She tore through the narrow streets, staying in the shadows of buildings as often as possible. A gunshot was fired into the air as a warning.

She peeked behind her; several law enforcement officers searched the streets of Alma. Each officer shone his or her flashlight down every nook and cranny. They kicked the trashcans lining the streets and peered under the porches in front of the houses.

Somehow, Kristi always managed to stay just out of reach of their flashlights. Spotting a stack of empty fruit crates, she darted behind the rotting wood. The stench of overripe apples, bananas and pears clogged up her nose, forcing her to breath through her mouth.

Kristi crossed her fingers and wished for all the officers to bypass her. And most of them did—they walked right by without giving a second look at the fruit crates. Except for one officer who stared at her hiding spot a few seconds too long for comfort.

"Linda, let's go," a senior officer yelled. "There's nobody there."

"One minute, sir," replied Linda. She strode towards Kristi. "I'll catch up with you in a minute, sir!"

Kristi crouched lower to the ground and pressed herself against the wall. Linda kicked over the stack of crates concealing Kristi and shone her flashlight a bit too far to the right. Kristi stopped breathing and began praying Linda would leave, like all her comrades did.

Linda didn't; she swung her flashlight straight onto Kristi and yelled, "I found someone!"

Kristi made a run for it. She ducked underneath Linda's arm while Linda fumbled for her handgun. The woods, Kristi thought frantically. The trees should provide some protection from the bullets.

There was just one problem with her plan. In order to reach the woods, she needed to cross fifty yards of open space.

She pounded down the pavement, sneakers slapping loudly. A solar-car crossed by; Kristi seized this opportunity to surge across the road, causing the driver to honk irritably when he slammed on the breaks. The car squealed to a stop less than a foot away from her.

There was a brief moment of silence while Kristi momentarily lost the officers on her trail. Rising walls on either side of her provided plenty of shadows for her to blend into. A door ahead opened and an arm snagged Kristi around her waist, pulling her inside of the stone building. The door slammed shut and someone locked it.

"Seemed like you needed some place to hide," a voice grunted in the darkness. "Don't worry, you're safe here. There's a hiding place in the fireplace for you if the officers decide to search the store."

A solar lamp flickered on, allowing Kristi to discern that she was in a bookstore. All the shades were drawn over the windows and the person who pulled her inside was a woman who looked to be in her fifties. The woman thrust Kristi into the fireplace before she had a chance to protest.

"You comfortable in there?" the woman asked.

"Yeah," she lied, feeling cramped. She was in a hidden compartment within the fireplace; the compartment was just barely big enough to fit a person.

"Alright. I'm going to close the lid over you now." The woman dimmed the solar lamp and slid the lid above Kristi shut with a click.

It felt like several hours had passed by the time the woman let Kristi out from the fireplace. In reality, only forty-five minutes had elapsed.

"Thanks for hiding me." Kristi scraped some ash and soot off her skin.

"No problem," the bookstore keeper said. "I'm so tired of the government sticking their noses in other people's business. I don't understand why they can't just leave people alone. Been here for thirty-six years and every time I see someone running down the street, I let them hide here. Government has stuck their noses in my own business too. God knows that fireplace has seen more thieves, beggars and lawbreakers than any other."

Kristi wasn't sure how she felt to be lumped together with criminals. But then again, she reasoned, officially, she was a wanted fugitive. "I really appreciate your help, but I should get going."

The woman opened the door and let her back out into the streets. "Remember Beth the Bookkeeper if you ever need a safe place to stay," she said before closing the door.

Kristi took a huge gulp of the crisp, night air. Breathing in fresh air felt heavenly after living off stuffy air for forty-five minutes.

Jaiden was already at the intersection between Rhine Lane and Route 56.

"Thank God, you're alive," he said as soon as he saw her approach. He looked rumpled and sweaty, but was otherwise unharmed.

"Never felt so good be alive."

Less than five minutes passed and Chelsa came jogging over to them with Ghost by her heels. She had scratches on her face and hands; her hair was littered with leaves and twigs.

"I don't think we should stay in Alma for the night," Chelsa said. She shook out her hair, displacing some of the sprigs. "It'll be safer if we camped outside." Chelsa purposely spoke only to Kristi and ignored Jaiden, still angry with him about his electro-slate.

"I'm sorry," Jaiden said, catching the drift. "I honestly didn't know there was a tracker in the slate. I acted inappropriately when you smashed my electro-slate; I understand you were concerned about our safety."

Chelsa's expression softened a bit. "Apology accepted." Then, after an awkward moment of silence, she added, "I apologize too. I shouldn't have been so rude to you. You didn't know any better about the tracker in you electro-slate."

"Apology accepted. So we're cool, right? No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings."

"Can we move on?" Kristi said. "Save the touchy, feely stuff for later, when I'm not about to fall asleep on my feet."

"Sure. I found a nice clearing in the woods."

"Get up! No time for extra snoozing!" Chelsa's voice brought Kristi out of her slumber.

Kristi grabbed the pillow from beneath her head and smacked Chelsa. Then she settled back down for more sleep. She considered her sleep to be very important.

"I said get up," Chelsa said.

"Well, then I say shut up," said Kristi. She wondered when had she and Chelsa started harassing each other in a friendly way. Probably the past couple of days. Surviving so many near-death experiences has an uncanny way of bringing people closer together. The learning centers ought to consider putting students through near-death-scenarios for their teambuilding exercises.

"I might as well get up seeing as I won't get any more sleep," Kristi grumbled good-naturedly, wiggling out from her sleeping bag.

"That's the spirit," said Chelsa. "There's no time to waste when we have a long trip ahead of us."

Kristi noted that Chelsa was already dressed and had her sleeping bag rolled. Jaiden came back into the tent to roll up his own sleeping bag. Seeing no other options, Kristi reproachfully trundled up her own, warm, comfy sleeping bag.

"Here's breakfast." Chelsa handed her a protein bar. "I'll go take down the tent in the meantime."

Kristi took a huge bite out of the bar. It had a chocolate-peanut butter flavor, which tasted pretty good considering it had expired a week ago.

"Let's hit the road," Chelsa said. "We should reach the town of Oxfield by nightfall. Hopefully we'll be able to refuel without running into any problems. However, we should be even more on our guard after our narrow escape last night."

"Perhaps we should change our appearances?" Kristi suggested.

"Can't believe I didn't think of that."

Chelsa dug out a knife from her boots and motioned for Kristi to come over. "How much of your hair do you want me to cut?" She fingered Kristi's hair, which almost hung to her waist.

"A bit past my shoulders sounds good."

Chelsa started hacking away. She worked quickly and efficiently, cutting off hunks of hair. Within minutes, the ground around them was littered with clumps of hair. Jaiden watched with a certain amount of interest, chomping on his breakfast.

"All done." Chelsa rinsed off her knife with water from her water bottle.

Kristi shook her head back and forth, trying to get used to the lightness of it now that two thirds of her hair had been cut off. I never knew hair could be so heavy.

Kristi looked at Jaiden. "Your turn."

He stood there, combing through his hair with his fingers. A small songbird fluttered to the ground near his feet, tilting its head. Then the bird picked up a cluster of Kristi's fallen hair with its tiny beak and flapped away.

Chelsa watched the songbird fly away, carrying its precious cargo, with a slight smile. "I've forgotten chickadees like to line their nests with hair."

Eventually, Jaiden allowed Chelsa to cut his hair.

"Thanks?" he said once Chelsa was done. The word came out unsure.

"Never knew you were vain about your hair," Kristi said.

"I'm not." He shuffled over to his backpack and lifted the considerably lighter pack onto his shoulder.

The sun threw a golden glow across the sky. The temperature today was cooler than yesterday and a biting wind cut through the air. Kristi burrowed deeper into her jacket.

The three of them trekked along the road, shoes encrusted with mud that was the result of last night's drizzle, feeling heavy on their feet. Several solar-cars zipped by, passengers and drivers shielded from the outside world by tinted windows.

"Wish we had a car," Jaiden said, not for the first time. "We could've reached Charleston within four days."

"Suck it up, toughie." Chelsa spread her arms open, waving to the open space all around them. "What's the harm of walking? You get to enjoy the fresh air, the scenery and get some exercise as well."

"You get to enjoy being drenched in rain, swarmed by bugs and blisters on your feet," Jaiden said.

"You big wimp." She punched Jaiden lightly in the arm. "And to think that I thought you were good at everything!"

"Your compliment flatters me, but being good at something doesn't mean I enjoy it. It's hard work being perfect, you know."

Chelsa and Kristi looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "Right Jaiden, it's just so hard to walk," said Kristi.

"Aren't you supposed to be the manly one? From what I'm seeing, both Kristi and I beat you in our manliness." Chelsa let out a bark of amusement.

"I never knew you were sexist," Jaiden replied.

"Discovering new stuff every day, aren't you?" Kristi said.

They continued bantering in a friendly fashion, not noticing a rider slow his droid-horse's pace to keep at the same speed as them until he coughed to grab their attention.

"How may we help you, sir?" Jaiden asked.

"I was wondering where you are headed towards," said the stranger.

"Launceston," Kristi lied, figuring it wouldn't be a smart idea to entrust a stranger with their destination. Launceston was two towns before Oxfield. What is this guy doing on Route 56 by himself anyways? Is he an idiot? Nobody travels by themselves on such a dangerous route.

"I'm going there as well. However, I am rather unfamiliar with the roads. Would you mind if I accompanied you?" He scratched his balding head then yanked on the reins to halt his droid-horse.

He's giving me a creepy vibe. Kristi scooted a few steps away from the flea-bitten grey droid-horse. She pulled the hood of her jacket down before Creepy Guy could get a clear look at her face.

"Will one of you kindly please answer my question?" Creepy Guy inquired.

"We'll slow down your traveling because we don't have droid-horses," said Chelsa. Her tone wasn't hostile, but it wasn't friendly either.

"That's alright. I have a few friends that will be joining me later. They have some droid-horses they can spare for you to ride to Launceston." The man dismounted elegantly, his boots barely raising a puff of dirt from the ground.

Chelsa raised an eyebrow but made no comment about their unwanted companion. Kristi swallowed her apprehension and allowed Creepy Guy to walk beside her.
chapter fifteen

[ Kristi ]

They traveled in silence for the next half mile until Creepy Guy shattered the quietness. "My friends should be here soon," he said, raising his voice towards the end of the sentence.

Ambush! Kristi's brain barely had time to register the thought when several bandits hidden around the bend sprung on them.

A woman with studs glimmering in her eyebrows swung down from an overhead branch, knocking the breath out of Kristi. She landed hard, sprawling on her back. Then she rolled over and jumped to her feet, doubling over and clutching her guts.

"Jaiden—" Kristi wheezed.

Wham!

The same woman backhanded her across her face. Kristi noted her eyes were an alarming shade of crimson.

"Don't touch my sister," Jaiden snapped. Creepy Guy wrenched Jaiden's arms into a lock, but he twisted away.

Meanwhile, Chelsa was kept busy dodging two bandits wearing identical bandanas. Kristi slithered out of the grapple of the crimson-eyed bandit. She only managed to take three steps before another one tackled her to the ground though, ramming her head against a jagged rock. Silver light flashed in her vision. She snapped her eyelids open in time to see a hand reach down, hauling her onto her feet.

"Thanks," Kristi said, thinking it was Chelsa who had helped her.

An arm wrapped around her neck and arms, immobilizing her. "You're welcome," purred a voice that was definitely not Chelsa's into her ear.

Kristi wheezed for air, like a fish out of water.

"Let her go, Mag," Creepy Guy's coarse voice ordered.

Mag gave Kristi one last squeeze then released her from the headlock. Kristi tenderly rubbed her bruised windpipe, flinching at the soreness.

A few passing cars slowed down to see what was happening, but no one came to help them; Kristi didn't blame them. Making an enemy out of bandits was not a good idea.

"Put your hands in the air and do not move," Creepy Guy ordered.

They obeyed him without a protest. Being surrounded by twenty bandits was intimidating.

Think, Kristi, think! You're a smart girl so figure out a way to get out of this mess. She scanned her surroundings for anything that could be useful.

There were eight droid-horses standing beneath an oak tree and no one was watching them. About three of the bandits were engrossed with searching and sorting through their backpacks. Only five bandits were keeping an eye on them.

A car screeched to a stop and a woman stepped out.

"You don't see anything, lady," Creepy Guy yelled at her. "Mind your own business and we'll mind our own."

She shaded her eyes and yelled something back. The remaining five bandits keeping an eye on Jaiden, Chelsa and Kristi diverted their interest to the woman and Creepy Guy's conversation being shouted back and forth.

"Jaiden, Chelsa," Kristi whispered. "Make a run for the droid-horses. We won't be able to escape on foot, but we can on the horses."

They both nodded to show they heard, then simultaneously dashed for the droid-horses. The woman and Creepy Guy were yelling so loud and causing such a commotion it took a few seconds for the bandits to realize their captives were making an escape.

"Grab the other horses so they can't ride them to chase us," Kristi said to Jaiden and Chelsa before swinging into the saddle of the nearest droid-horse. By the time she snatched the reins of the droid-horse beside her, the bandits were already hot on their trail. Kristi spurred her mount into a gallop.

Eyeing the bandits behind her, Kristi noticed that Jaiden had already thrown off the bandit chasing him and had two other horses in hand. Chelsa was struggling; she held the reins of two horses in her left hand, but a bandit had somehow managed to get astride one of them.

The bandit on the horse brandished a dagger and cut the reins of the horse he was riding.

"Ride to Oxfield," Kristi said. She wasn't sure if Jaiden and Chelsa heard her, so she repeated herself.

The lone bandit on the droid-horse was the only bandit Kristi could see pursuing them. They had left the rest behind in their mad gallop. The bandit seemed to realize this and yanked on the broken reins of his horses. The droid screeched to a stop, spraying mud all over her.

"You better hope you never see us again!" the bandit hollered. "I promise you'll regret it!"

"And I hope I never see your face again either," Kristi dryly said to herself.

She drove her horse into a faster pace, even though the poor droid was already running close to its top speed. A sign passed by reading: Oxfield 3 miles.

Chelsa pulled her horse next to Kristi's and said, "Slow down. We're attracting too much attention at this break-neck speed and the circuits in the horses will burn out at this rate."

Kristi reduced her droid-horse's pace to a steady canter. At last, the road leading to Oxfield came into view. She dismounted, thus giving her droid-horse the chance to recover a bit. The warning light located on the shoulder of the droid-horse blinked crazily, warning Kristi that the droid was overheating.

"You guys okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Chelsa said.

"I managed to snag one of our bags in the chaos." Jaiden dropped a half empty backpack and examined the remaining items. "Good news: we still have the electro-slate. Bad news: most of our supplies and food are gone. The ID cards are gone as well."

Chelsa let out a sigh. "We should be fine as long as we have an electro-slate. We can buy everything else we need in town, including some fake IDs."

Kristi surveyed the seven horses they stole. Three were brown, one was gray, one was black and two were dun colored. They all seemed to be in reasonably good shape, especially after a hard run at a speed that could've blown their fuses.

"Pick the horse you want." Kristi patted a droid-horse on its flank. "I call dibs on the gray one."

The gray horse was the droid she had ridden. He had the same build as Flurry and responded well to commands when Kristi rode him. She stroked his neck and scratched behind his ears, missing Flurry even more now that she was surrounded by droid-horses.

"The small dun horse is mine," Chelsa said.

Jaiden surveyed the remaining mounts. "I'll take the brown thoroughbred with the white stockings."

"Ghost!" Chelsa yelped. "Where is he?"

"He's probably just hiding nearby," Jaiden said. "I don't think he was left behind. He's a smart leopard."

"But everything was so chaotic Ghost might've missed us leaving on the droid-horses!" Chelsa sounded hysterical. "I can't lose Ghost—he's all I have left of Alex."

"Alex?" Jaiden asked. "Who is he?"

Chelsa didn't hear him, though, and continued rattling on. "What if the bandits got Ghost? What if Ghost thought we went to Launceston? What if a bear attacked Ghost?"

"Chelsa, get yourself together," Kristi said, placing a firm hand on the distraught girl's shoulder. "Ghost is fine. He's a tough leopard. Don't worry about him."

She picked up the reins of three droid-horses from Chelsa's slack hands and handed them to Jaiden, then grabbed the rest of the horses and started walking to Oxfield.

Chelsa straightened her back. "I don't know what came over me. Sorry guys, I didn't mean to freak out." When neither Jaiden nor Kristi answered her, she said, "Really, I'm done freaking out. Ghost knows how to survive in the wild and I know he can locate us by following our scent."

"I have never seen you lose your marbles the way you did today," was all Kristi said.

"Who's Alex?" Jaiden repeated his question later on that day. They passed underneath the stone arch proclaiming they were now officially in Oxfield.

"He was a friend of mine," Chelsa said. "A very close friend."

"He was your friend?" Jaiden asked.

Chelsa closed her eyes. "He died about a month ago." A single tear leaked out from the corner of her eye. "Oh God, I'm losing it again for the second time in a day. This must be some sort of emotional breakdown record for me."

Jaiden brushed away Chelsa's halfhearted attempt at a joke. "It's okay to cry once in a while. Let out your feelings if you want; don't hold it all inside you."

Kristi attempted to lighten up the mood, "What are you, Jaiden, a therapist?"

"You don't understand," Chelsa said. "I killed Alex."
chapter sixteen

[ Troop ]

"What would you like to buy?" The bakery girl shifted her weight from her right foot to her left foot.

"I would like a loaf of carrot bread," Troop said. He was pretty sure "carrot bread" was this week's password. Or maybe it was chestnut muffins? Oh well, I'll find out soon enough.

"Hold on a second." The girl left her position and hollered into the kitchen, "Mr. Vikens, someone needs you."

So he had remembered the correct password. Mr. Vikens, the tutor provided by the Company, emerged from the kitchen wearing a flour-dusted apron.

"Thank you, Layla. I'll take it from here," Mr. Vikens said to the girl. "Troop, meet me in the cellar. I'll be down there in a few minutes."

He nodded and headed downstairs. The bakery cellar was located directly beneath the kitchen. The carpeted stairs muffled Troop's already quiet footsteps to a dead silence; the overhanging lights cast a welcoming glow when he flicked them on.

Troop dropped his bag on the couch and surveyed the cellar; for an unknown reason, something felt off about the room. The tall, magnolia bookshelves were still in the same position, books neatly organized on them by alphabetical order. The smart-glass desk with two wheelie chairs were still as they were from last time. Yet Troop couldn't shake off the feeling that something was out of place...

Scanning the room once more, he finally spotted the culprit. Someone had left open a hardcover book on a black wheelie chair. Troop flipped the book over, reading the text on the opened page.

"No one ever told her it was impossible.

So she did it."

"The 1000 Quotes. That's a good book," said Mr. Vikens in his deep voice.

"Sorry." Troop fumbled, dropping the book onto the desk. "I didn't mean to pry. Were you reading it?"

"No. Layla must have been, though."

"She knows about your cache of books?"

"Don't worry, she's trustworthy. She works part time for the Company," said Mr. Vikens.

"I see."

"Your mom landed her the job with the Company." Vikens clapped his hands together. "Alright, ready to begin today's lesson?"

"Yeah." Troop seated himself and waited for Vikens to introduce today's topic.

"Good. We'll be covering the Civil War II. First, tell me what you already know of it then we'll move on from there."

"Well, it was a war fought between the East and the West Region. The East wanted to make it a requirement for all citizens to be Perfected. However, the West felt that undergoing the procedure should be left up to free will." He picked at his brain, but that was all he could come up with.

Vikens grunted. "It's a start. Not a phenomenal one, but a start nevertheless."

Troop bit the inside of his cheeks. It was next-to-impossible to impress Vikens.

Vikens handed him a list titled "50 Civil War II Facts and Key points" then said, "I'll give you three minutes to memorize this, starting...now."

Troop skimmed the list, starting from the top:

  1. Started in 2075

  2. Ended in 2078

  3. Porter Salders led the East Army

  4. Joseph Smilton led the West Army

His eyes sped over the words, devouring them like an inferno devouring a haystack. He soon reached the bottom of the list:

47) The Battle of Fox Crossing was the turning point of the Civil War II

48) Joseph Smilton was kidnapped by the East Region on July 5, 2078

49) However, the West Region Army was winning the majority of the battles

50) A compromise was formed between the two sides: Smilton would be released unharmed but the Government would make a law requiring all planned infants to be Perfected

"Time's up." Vikens plucked the list out of Troop's hand. "Start reciting."

"Do they need to be in order?"

"Ideally, yes, but it's okay if they're not."

Troop closed his eyes and started listing the facts out loud; he always found it easier to recite with his eyes closed. After listing forty-eight facts, his mind drew a blank. "Uh..."

Vikens tapped his pen to a staccato beat on the glass desk.

"That's all I can remember," Troop said.

A look of disappointment crossed Mr. Vikens face. "That's not good enough."

"Forty-eight out of fifty isn't terrible," Troop said before he could stop himself.

"No, it's not," Vikens agreed. "But it's still not good enough. You need to be a perfect Perfect—unless you want what happened at your last school to happen again."

Troop lowered his eyes, afraid he might've been too forward with his earlier words. "Yes, sir. Give me another chance. I won't let you down."

Vikens pulled out another piece of paper from his folder and passed it to him. "Let's try again. Fifty Facts about the Formation of the New Countries. Time starts now."

"The hack was a success," said Jack. "I changed Tompkins' grades as you requested. I only boosted them a few points though—didn't want to make it look suspicious."

"Nice work," Troop praised.

"I also raised a few other members' grades a point here and there."

"Did you try to raise mine as well?"

Jack paused, not sure if Troop was asking him a trick question or not. Troop had made it clear to everyone not to delve into his private information.

"No," said Jack after a second's hesitation. "I didn't try to change your grades. I could if you want me to. Just give me the word and I will."

He brushed Jack's offer away. "No need. My grades are fine the way they are."

"Troop! A word with you," Bruno called across the school courtyard.

"Later," said Troop to Jack.

Bruno waited for him beneath the shade of an elm tree. The shadows cast by the branches upon Bruno's face gave him a twisted, sinister look.

"What do you want?" Troop asked.

"You moved here a few years ago."

"I thought you already knew that."

"Why?"

"That's none of your business."

"Your profile's blocked," said Bruno.

"What are you talking about?"

Bruno continued on as if he hadn't heard him. "I couldn't access your school records even after Jack disabled the network security system. I could access everyone's records but yours."

Troop grew stone cold. "And why, Bruno, were you trying to get into my records?" His voice could've froze boiling water on the spot. "You know better than that."

"I was curious. I wanted to know why all your information is classified—ID number, past school records, your address—"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

Bruno gave Troop a suspicious squint. "There's something going on here. I don't know what you're up to, but I'm going to find out if it's the last thing I do."

"I simply prefer not to share my personal information with the world," said Troop.

"You're hiding something."

"I'm hiding something? What would I want to hide? You're being ridiculous."

"Maybe." Bruno shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "But remember this: one misstep and I'll be waiting to take your place at Ludus."

"I don't make mistakes," said Troop. I'm perfect.

"We'll see about that."

"If you're making a threat, Bruno, you may very well end up being the next target of VicDay."

The corners of Bruno's mouth lifted slightly. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. It wouldn't be wise to target the heir of Ludus High—no matter how popular you are."

"Was that a threat?"

Bruno shook his head. "No. Merely a warning. Consider yourself warned."

Troop locked his glare onto Bruno's icy blue eyes. Bruno held his gaze, but eventually lowered it. The first bell rang and the two boys went their separate ways.

Troop remained composed and in control on the outside, but on the inside he was shaking. No one could find out the truth about him.

chapter seventeen

[ Kristi ]

Kristi's jaw dropped open. "What?" she asked, thinking, Am I seriously hearing Chelsa confess murder?

Jaiden pulled them behind a gardening shed for some privacy. Chelsa swiped away at her wet eyes.

"You heard right. I killed my boyfriend." She swallowed and continued on. "And I live with the guilt everyday. Ghost is all I have left of him. Alex gave me Ghost when he was just a cub. He snuck Ghost out of the lab where he volunteered because they were going to exterminate him."

Neither Jaiden nor Kristi could come up with a reply. One of the droid-horses nickered, reminding them that they were still around and getting edgy.

"Come on, let's check in at an inn for tonight. We also need to find a stable for the horses," Kristi finally said.

Chelsa numbly followed Jaiden and Kristi, allowing them to lead her to Quick Wink Inn. The innkeeper, a bored looking girl in her early twenties, showed them to their room then left.

"Jaiden, will you go find a place for our three droid-horses to spend the night? I'll ask around for a droid-pet buyer and purchase some supplies as well." Kristi turned around and pushed Chelsa back onto the bed when she tried to get up. "And you're staying in this room for now."

She picked up the electro-slate and went outside. Kristi untied the four horses to be sold from the hitching post. Looking up at the public news-screen, a picture of Jaiden and her declared to be wanted persons flashed by.

Even though the pictures displayed were taken before their haircuts, Kristi reminded herself to buy some hair dye as soon as possible. The newscaster appeared on news-screen. She displayed her pearly whites—Kristi supposed it was the reporter's attempt at a smile—then said:

"Two sailors were found dead this morning behind a warehouse. The police aren't sure how they died, but wounds suggest they were stabbed to death. Citizens should report to the authorities right away if they see any suspicious activity or know of any information regarding the two murders."

The pictures of the murder victims appeared on the screen. Kristi stifled a small gasp; they were the same two travelers she had been eavesdropping at Troll's Tavern.

Chelsa has killed another person before. And she saw those two sailors at the Troll's Tavern as well. Kristi whipped her head back and forth, clearing her thoughts. I refuse to believe Chelsa murdered those two people. I bet it was that shady merchant who committed the crime. Yeah, that must be it.

She checked the time scrolling across the bottom of the news-screen. It was 5:47 p.m.; she still had a decent amount of time left before curfew. Spotting a sign advertising "Drake's Droids", she pushed open the door and entered the shop.

Droid-dogs barked in cages, droid-parrots recited the alphabet from their perches and droid-cats sauntered around the store. Schools of droid-guppies zipped around in the Plexiglas tank being displayed in the center of the shop, their neon light pulsing beneath their opaque scales.

"How may I help you?" asked the man standing behind the register.

"Do you buy droid-horses?" Kristi said. "I have a few that I am looking to sell."

"I don't deal with large droid-pets. However, George down the street deals with droid-horses."

Kristi thanked the shop owner and left. She looked down the street and made out a sign with the words "Oxfield Stables" written on it. She grasped the droid-horses' reins and guided them over to the stable.

A broad shouldered man was brushing a droid-horse. He didn't look up when Kristi entered the barn; the grooming job absorbed his complete attention. She cleared her throat. He still didn't notice her.

"Are you George?" she asked.

"That's me. Is there anything I can do for you?" He stopped his cleaning and looked up.

"I have four droid-horses I need to sell. The owner of the droid-pet shop up the street said you deal with droid-horses."

"I'll buy droid-horses if the price is reasonable."

"The horses are outside," Kristi said.

"Alright, I'll come take a look." He led the droid-horse he was grooming into a stall then came outside where Kristi had tied the horses to the sign. "Nice droids. They all seem fairly new."

He fondly scratched a brown horse beneath the jaw. Next, he gave each droid a quick look-over. "I'll give you 1,000 points for the lot."

Kristi wasn't sure if 1,000 points was a good deal or not, but figured 1,000 seemed like a nice, even number.

She stuck out her hand. "Deal."

He shook her hand then transferred the points onto Chelsa's account. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Her next stop was the general store, where she planned on picking up more food, camping supplies and hair dye. The general store's glass door was heavier than it looked, and Kristi grunted with effort pushing it open. Inside, there were shelves filled with a wide assortment of items, ranging from edible gum to DIY solar-car kits.

Kristi obtained a hover-cart and started shoving dehydrated food into it, not paying attention to what was going into the cart. The hover-cart levitated a few inches above the floor, suspended by repelling magnets stuck on the bottom of the cart and magnetic tracks running beneath the linoleum floor.

"Are you cooking for an army or what?" asked a store employee with a nametag reading: Hello, my name is SAMMY.

Kristi checked out the contents of the overflowing cart. Indeed, she could probably feed a small army with all the food she'd tossed in there. She started replacing some of the packages back onto the shelves. Sammy reached over and helped her.

"I'm going on a droid-horse trail ride that requires me to camp over night for a few days," Kristi explained.

"You'll probably be interested in this then," Sammy said. She snitched a bottle off a shelf. "It's a water bottle with built in ultraviolet filters that will make contaminated waters safe to drink. Saves you a lot of time from boiling water if you run out of purifying tablets."

"How much for a water bottle?"

"Twenty points."

That'll be sixty points for three water bottles, Kristi thought. It's not cheap, but hey, I have 1,000 points to spend. "I'll take three of them."

Sammy placed the bottles in Kristi's cart. "Let me know if you need any more help."

Kristi wandered to the hair section of the store and picked up a black dye, blonde dye and light red-brown dye. She couldn't decide which color to choose for Jaiden and her, so she ended up placing all three dyes into the hover-cart.

Moving on, Kristi entered the outdoors section of the general store. She snagged a second-hand tent, two backpacks and three more sleeping bags since the bandits had stolen theirs.

Something round and shiny being displayed behind a glass counter grabbed her eyes. She walked closer to the object, still not sure what it was. The thing was made of two circular pieces of metal hinged together. One of the circles contained a cross-like symbol.

"That's a compass," Sammy said, seeing Kristi's interest with the object. "I think it still works. It's usually antique collectors who purchase old artifacts like this."

"What does a compass do?"

"Tells you which way the direction east lies...or maybe it was north. Nobody uses compasses anymore though, when you can just use UnivMaps."

"I'll take the compass." Kristi's tongue blundered through the unfamiliar word.

Sammy unlocked the glass counter and took the object off the black velvet cushion it rested upon. The chain attached to the compass clinked against the glass when she laid the compass on top of the counter.

Kristi picked the compass up and snapped it closed with a click. There was a detailed etching of a dove carrying an olive branch in its beak on the outside of the metal disk. If the electro-slate ever fails, at least she would still be able to find east/north, provided she figured out how to work the compass.

Kristi looked over all the items in her cart and did a rough calculation of how many points this cartload of supplies was going to cost. After paying for everything, there would be a bit more than two hundred points left in Chelsa's account. It wasn't a terribly low amount of points, but it wasn't a lot either. They would have to ration their spending in the days to come.

Somehow, Kristi managed to stagger back to Quick Wink Inn with a week's worth of food and camping gear.

"Oh good, you can help me carry some of the stuff up the stairs," she said, spotting Jaiden by the inn's entrance. "Did you find a place to stable the droid-horses?"

"Yeah. There's a barn right at the back of the inn. The innkeeper said she'd just add an additional charge of twenty-five points to our bill for keeping the horses there." He grunted as he picked up some of the bags of purchased goods Kristi had set on the ground beside his feet. "What the heck did you buy? An elephant?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but the bags aren't heavy at all."

Then Jaiden noticed she had given him the heaviest bags and chased her up the stairs. Kristi pounded on the door of their room. Chelsa opened it and Kristi flung her bags onto the bed.

Chelsa looked better; she had stopped crying and her trademark mischievous glint had returned to her eyes. Jaiden thundered into the room and dumped his load onto the tiny bed. The cot creaked in protest.

"Everything go smoothly?" Chelsa asked. "Nobody recognized you?"

"All's good," Kristi replied. "Can you help me organize the supplies for tomorrow?"

Chelsa came over and sorted the items from the bags into three groups: food, camping gear and others. She picked up the compass, running her fingers over the engraved decorations. Then she popped it open.

"Where did you find this?" Chelsa asked. "I haven't used one in years."

"General store," Kristi replied.

She peered over Chelsa's shoulder, watching her twist a thin layer of glass so that the needle was lined up with the arrow painted on the moveable glass piece. Jaiden, who was absorbed with taking the packaging off the ultraviolet water bottles, didn't notice Kristi and Chelsa playing with the compass.

"What else is in that bag?" he asked.

Chelsa threw the pouches of dried mango strips at his head as her answer. Yep, Chelsa is definitely back to normal if she's throwing packaged food at Jaiden, Kristi concluded.

"Okay, okay! I get it." Jaiden dove behind the bed for cover. "No need to be aggressive. You could've just told me what else Kristi bought."

Chelsa produced more items from the bag and threw them at Jaiden. Some instant oatmeal. A box of dehydrated fries. A couple protein bars.

"Ow—wait, was that a compass?" Jaiden said and popped up from behind the bed.

"Yeah, what else do you expect us to use when we get lost?" Chelsa asked.

"How does an electro-slate sound like to you? And they hurt a lot less than a huge hunk of metal being thrown at you."

"Have you ever thought about what you would do if your electro-slate suddenly starts to malfunction? Then what would you do? At least you can rely on a compass to always point you north."

"Touché," Jaiden said. He dusted himself off and picked up the items scattered around him. "Don't throw any more stuff at me," he warned Chelsa with a teasing edge to his voice.

The streetlamps outside all went out at once, signaling the start of curfew. They wouldn't be able to leave the inn until tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. without breaking the laws. Not that following the laws mattered much anymore; Kristi had transgressed the laws more times than she could count on her fingers within the past few days.

She hauled two of the newly purchased backpacks off the mattress and dropped them by the door where they could seize them in a matter of seconds. She was tempted to press Chelsa for more answers regarding Alex, but looking at her finally happy after two breakdowns in a day, Kristi couldn't bring herself to harass Chelsa.

They couldn't travel the next day. A freak snowstorm that was supposed to last from morning until evening blew in. The wind howled and rattled the window shutters, banging them against the outside wall. The snow was coming down so thick Kristi couldn't see her hand in front of her face when she stuck her head out the bathroom window.

"Who's ever heard of a blizzard in the middle of September?" she mumbled.

"Blame it on global warming," Jaiden said.

"Global warming?" Chelsa asked. "Isn't global warming supposed to make the earth warmer, not colder?"

"Overall, yes. But it can also seriously mess up the weather."

"Well, at least we can dye your hair now. Who's first?" Chelsa went into the bathroom and filled a bucket with water.

"I guess I'll go first," Kristi said. "Can you prepare the red-brown hair dye for me?"

"On it."

Kristi took two towels off the rack in the bathroom and brushed out her hair. She returned to Chelsa and allowed her head to be dunked into the bucket of dye. Once Chelsa was satisfied every bit of her hair was covered in the dye, she allowed her to towel dry.

"How's the color?" Kristi asked.

"I like it," Jaiden said. "I never imagined you would look good with a lighter hair color."

"The color matches your hazel eyes." Chelsa motioned for Jaiden to come over. "You're next. Choose which color you want."

Chelsa and Kristi went to the bathroom. Kristi examined her new look while Chelsa dumped out the bucket and refilled it with fresh water and mixed in the dye Jaiden had chosen.

Dying Jaiden's hair was much faster and he was soon finished. Kristi had to do a double take to reassure herself Jaiden was still, in fact, her brother; he looked like a new person.

"Anyone want to play cards on the electro-slate?" Kristi asked. "We have plenty of time to kill."

"Count me in," said Jaiden.

Chelsa poured the bucket of liquid down the sink. "Me too."

chapter eighteen

[ Troop ]

Clang!

"Ow!"

Troop awoke with a start. He stared blearily at his clock. Who's up at 3:34 a.m.? He turned over on his side and prepared to go back to sleep.

Crack!

He slipped out of bed and peered into the hallway. It was empty and dark. He cocked his head and listened for any sounds. There it was...the scuffling noise. Tiptoeing, Troop snuck towards his mom's office, where the sound was coming from.

The office door was shut, but Troop could see some light spilling out from the crack running along the bottom. Fearing that there might be an intruder, he brought along his electro-slate in case he had to make an emergency call. Troop grasped the door handle and pushed it open, half expecting to see his mom wrapping up some last-minute work and half expecting to see a burglar.

It was neither.

"What are you doing here?" Troop demanded.

His father froze, caught red-handed.

"Get out, you low lying, flea-infested slug!"

Footsteps pounded down the hall. His mom hurtled into the office and looked from Troop to her ex-husband. At first she looked confused, then she looked furious. "Don't you dare move," she said.

Troop's father put up his hand in defeat.

Troop tried to figure out what was going on. Why is he snooping in my mom's home office? His mother, on the other hand, seemed to have a clear idea of what was happening. She had taken out her electro-slate and was calling someone.

"I need some backup," she said. "There's a spy in my office."

Troop's father looked hurt. "I'm not a spy. How could you accuse me of such thing?"

His mother ignored him. "Yes, this is work sensitive information he is going through. I don't know how he found out the info is at my office."

"Don't move," Troop said, noticing his father edging towards the window.

His father smiled a pinched looking smile. "Feels awfully warm in here, doesn't it? Some fresh air would be nice."

Troop lunged forwards, grabbing the tail of his father's shirt.

His father cracked a maniacal grin and said, "Didn't they teach you about personal space in school?" Then he twisted out of Troop's grip and threw a small object at the window.

"Troop, get back!" his mom screamed.

The object exploded, shattering the window and sending splinters of glass flying everywhere. Troop ducked down, but not before catching the sight of his father tumbling out of the building. The smoke cleared in a matter of seconds. With his ears still ringing, Troop assessed the situation.

Aside from several minor cuts, both he and his mother were unharmed. The detonation had completely demolished the window and knocked askew the desk though.

"What was he looking for?" Troop asked, speaking louder than usual since his hearing was still impaired.

"Just information." His mom rushed over to her desk and pulled out its drawers, ignoring the shards of glass strewn all over the floor. "At least I think that was what he was searching for," she added later. She let out a small sigh. "Good, he didn't find the file."

Troop didn't ask what type of information his mom would possibly have that others would try to steal. The Company did a decent amount of underhand work.

Somebody knocked on the door. "Reinforcement squad."

"Just a bit too late," Troop muttered.

chapter nineteen

[ Kristi ]

"He returned!" Chelsa's shriek rang out the next morning.

"Who returned?" Kristi rubbed her crusted eyelids.

"Ghost."

Kristi cracked open her eyes; Chelsa was hugging a very saturated Ghost. His fur dripped with melted snow and tiny icicles had formed on his whiskers.

"Can someone hand me a towel?" Chelsa asked.

Jaiden handed her one.

Chelsa vigorously rubbed Ghost. Once Ghost was dried to her satisfaction, she stood up beaming and said, "Ready to go get the droid-horses?"

The landscape outside was beautiful and serene. It was the crack of dawn and the tunes whistled by a symphony of mourning doves, larks and warblers filled the air.

"You need a name," Kristi said to her recently acquired droid-horse. "Mist. I'm calling you Mist."

Mist looked at her with an expression that read: Call me whatever you want and I couldn't have cared less.

She tightened the girth one last time before walking Mist outside into the snowy wonderland. The virgin snow blanketed the world with a dazzling sparkle, completely unmarked except for the footprints made by Chelsa, Jaiden and Kristi on their way to the stable.

Kristi clambered atop Mist and waited for Jaiden and Chelsa to meet her outside. They steered the droid-horses towards the unplowed road. The horses released steam into the frigid air, plunging their way through two feet of snow. Ghost opted to perch on the back of Chelsa's horse instead of toiling his way through the snow.

Two hours later, they reached a section of Route 56 that had been cleared of snow. Nevertheless, the horses only dared to take mincing steps, for patches of ice still appeared every so often on the road. No one else but the three of them was traveling on Route 56. Kristi supposed the hazardous driving conditions turned off a lot of people.

A stillness inhabited the air, reminding her of the calm before a storm hits. She shaded her eyes, observing the tumultuous sea of clouds behind them.

"Chelsa, can you check the weather on the electro-slate?" Kristi asked.

"Crud. There's a weather alert for this area. Another snowstorm is blowing through."

Jaiden took a look at the storm clouds as well. "They appear to be a mile away, give or take. Do you think we should make a dash for New Amsterdam?" New Amsterdam, the closest town from them, was ten miles away.

Kristi dared another peek back to the clouds and said, "The clouds are moving pretty fast. It'll be a close race to see who reaches New Amsterdam first."

"Let's race for New Amsterdam," Chelsa said. "I don't want to spend the night in this storm."

She clucked to her horse and drove it into a gallop. Jaiden and Kristi spurred their horses after Chelsa. The first two miles or so flew by, but the sky grew dark and ominous with each passing minute. Then the storm hit them. Snow swirled all around Kristi, confusing her sense of direction.

Kristi rocked back and forth in the saddle, doing her best to steer Mist around the bits of black ice. The heavy, stifling silence that suppressed the atmosphere wrapped around her like a cloak. She shifted in her seat and made sure Chelsa was still within sight.

"Can you run faster?" Kristi asked Mist.

She crouched low in the saddle. Chelsa began to inch further and further ahead of Kristi. Mist huffed out a breath then extended her strides. The warning light positioned on Mist's shoulder flashed at an allegro tempo. Kristi checked to see if the other droid-horses were overheating as well. They both were. Jaiden turned his head towards Kristi and she pointed to the red, blinking light on Mist's shoulder.

"Chelsa, slow down! The horses are going to malfunction," Jaiden yelled into the wind that was starting to pick up.

Chelsa eased the pace a little, but only just a little. The warning light hovered between yellow and red. If they weren't careful, they may very well end up in the middle of a blizzard with no working droid-horses and several miles away from the nearest civilization.

"How many more miles until we reach New Amsterdam?" Jaiden shouted. The howling wind stole his words from his lips as soon as he shouted them.

"What?" Chelsa asked.

"He asked how many more miles until we reach New Amsterdam," Kristi hollered.

"Four miles."

The storm began in earnest, sending searing waves of wind slicing through the air. An icy, dagger-like mixture of sleet and hail pelted anyone crazy enough to be outside in this kind of weather. Within minutes, Kristi was soaked to the bones and shivering violently. She cursed herself for not wearing her thermal sweatshirt and water-wicking jacket.

"We're not going to be able to reach the town in time," Jaiden shouted to Chelsa. "I say we stop and wait out the storm instead of plowing onwards. If we wait much longer, we won't be able to set up the tent in the strong wind."

"Alright. Let's pull off the road and head towards that clump of willow trees ahead." Chelsa turned her droid-horse and plunged through three feet of snow and into a hidden ditch eight feet deep.

Her horse struggled to paw its way out of the ditch, but its effort was in vain.

The roiling mass of black clouds hovered directly above them, and they felt the fury of the storm; the wind picked up speed and pounded ice chunks at them without mercy.

"Chelsa, tie the rope I'm going to throw to you around your horse," Kristi yelled.

She edged Mist to the lip of the ditch. Then she fumbled about, searching for the ropes in her backpack with numb fingers. "Jaiden, get behind me."

Jaiden didn't hear her though, so she repeated louder, "Jaiden, get behind me!"

This time he caught her words and guided his droid-horse a few yards behind Mist. Kristi finally got ahold of the ropes and threw one end to Chelsa and passed the other end to Jaiden. She wrapped the rope around her wrist several times then said to Chelsa, "Did you secure the rope around your horse?"

Chelsa gave her a thumbs-up.

"We're going to try to pull Chelsa and her horse out." Kristi yelled over her shoulder to Jaiden.

She urged Mist to back away from the ditch. Mist's shoulder quivered from exertion and strain. Kristi tugged on the rope, easing some of the burden off Mist and Chelsa's horse slowly started to free itself from its frosty prison.

Chelsa patted her horse, giving it encouragement. The droid lunged up in a sudden burst of power and the upper half of its body became liberated. The droid-horse's front legs scrabbled at the rim of the trench while its hind legs scrambled on thin air, trying to find footholds.

Kristi's wrist burned, though whether from the cold or the rope, she couldn't tell.

"Watch out!" Chelsa screamed right before her droid-horse lost footing on solid ground and crashed back into the ditch, pulling Mist and Kristi towards the edge.

Mist sat down on her hindquarters to stop both herself and the rider from plummeting down. They skidded to a stop less than two inches away from the brim of the trench. Kristi's heart thudded wildly in her chest.

Mist stood up and tried to back away from the snowy trap, but Chelsa's droid-horse, panicking and wild-eyed, reared up; this caught Mist by surprise and she reared up onto her hind legs as well. Kristi was launched off Mist's back and sailed through the air before dropping into the ditch, mere inches away from the failing hooves of Chelsa's droid-horse.

"Are you okay?" Chelsa wrinkled her eyebrows with concern and yanked down the reins of her horse, forcing the droid to drop back to all four legs. Then she rushed besides Kristi. "Kristi, can you hear me?"

Kristi groaned. Her entire body throbbed, her nerves shrieking at her for allowing them to experience such suffering. She waited for the worst of the agony to subside before speaking. "I think I sprained my wrist."

She tried to push herself up into a sitting position and nearly passed out from the angry waves of pain radiating from her wrist and ribs. Chelsa grasped Kristi beneath her arms and, with their combined effort, managed to stand Kristi on her feet.

Mist nickered at Kristi from above. Jaiden came over to the edge of the pit, alarm written all over his face. "I'm going to try to pull just one of you out at a time."

"Get Kristi out first," Chelsa said. "I think she injured herself pretty bad."

Chelsa removed the rope around her droid and tied it around Kristi's waist. Jaiden and his droid-horse were able to tug her out in a matter of seconds. Then he hoisted Kristi a safe distance away from the trough before re-attempting to free Chelsa's droid-horse.

It took several tries, but Chelsa's horse finally crawled out of the ditch. Chelsa clambered out with the help of the ropes. In the meantime, the storm had weakened a bit. Together, they shambled their way to the clump of willow trees.

The trees blocked out some of the wind, which allowed Jaiden and Chelsa to set up the tent while Kristi tended the droid-horses by rubbing antifreeze on their metal joints. Task completed, Kristi shoved the sleeping bags inside of the tent. The cozy, dry sleeping bags lured her to fall asleep and escape the biting cold.

"Change out of your clothes," Chelsa said. "You don't want to catch hypothermia in this weather."

"You should change first since you're the wettest," said Jaiden.

"I think we're all equally soaked." Nevertheless, Chelsa entered the tent, leaving the task of starting a fire to Jaiden and Kristi.

They tried to start a fire to no avail. The wind blew it out every time they drew a single spark to alight on the tinder. In the end, they turned on the solar lamp, which provided some light but not much heat. Chelsa exited the tent and let Kristi enter.

Kristi stripped away her sopping clothes as fast as possible. Then she examined her ribs, which still throbbed painfully. The discomfort had receded some, but breathing still hurt. A mean, purple-green bruise was starting to form. Her wrist was definitely sprained, if not broken; it was becoming a swollen, tender lump.

Kristi grabbed the first aid kit and hustled out, not wanting Jaiden to catch hyperthermia.

"Chelsa, can you bind my wrist?" she asked.

"I think your wrist is broken," Chelsa said, "which is lucky. A broken wrist will heal faster than a sprained one if we can obtain bone-growth supplement tablets."

She unraveled some self-adhesive gauze and prodded at the puffy joint. Kristi winced at Chelsa's gentle touch.

"Was I too rough?" Chelsa asked.

"No. Go ahead and bind it."

Kristi forced herself to not twitch a muscle while Chelsa wound the wrapping several times about her wrist. Chelsa gave the bindings a soft tug, causing Kristi to bite down on her tongue hard enough to draw blood. Chelsa pressed down on the self-adhesive gauze, making sure they were secure.

"That's all I can do for now," Chelsa said. "There's nothing much you can do to speed up your healing until we get some bone-growth supplements."

"Let's worry about that tomorrow."

Jaiden popped his head outside of the tent flap to let them know they could go in. Kristi inched into her sleeping bag, taking care not to put pressure on her injured wrist and ribs. At long last, she waited for sleep to take her away from the cold and misery.
chapter twenty

[ Troop ]

Someone's following me. Troop knew it without a doubt. He just didn't know who. Or what. What if it's my father tailing me? Nah, that's not possible. There's no way he could've survived a sixty-story fall out the window.

Students set free from school packed the streets. Troop had a private lesson with Vikens this afternoon. If he didn't lose his stalker soon, he would be late for it, which was not good. A perfect Perfect was never late for anything.

The bakery awaited Troop three blocks away. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid. Maybe I'm imagining that someone's following me. However, Troop couldn't convince himself otherwise.

A piece of red fabric flashed by from across the street. Troop blinked. The person in the red shirt was gone—however, Troop was positive red-shirt-person was the person tracking him. Troop racked his brain, trying to think of a brilliant scheme to lose the guy.

He scuffled down the sidewalk, keeping an eye out for anyone wearing red. Although a few pedestrians had on red clothing, none were his suspected stalker.

Troop pushed open the door to the bakery and caught another glimpse of red. He shot back outside. Too slow. Red-shirt-person had disappeared once more.

Layla looked up from the fudge pops she was decorating and said, "What would you like?"

"Strawberry muffins." He remembered the password this time.

"Vikens is already waiting for you."

He thanked Layla and went downstairs. Something red danced at the edge of his vision right before Troop started downstairs. He spun around, almost losing his balance at the brink of the cellar stairs.

No one. That's it. I'm hallucinating. Troop drifted downstairs and entered the study room.

A look of displeasure creased over Mr. Vikens face; he tapped his smart-watch. Troop swallowed hard.

"You're two minutes late, Troop."

"Sorry, sir. I met some unforeseen troubles on the way here."

"You should've given yourself extra time to come here. Better early than late."

And better late than never, thought Troop.

As if reading Troop's thoughts, Mr. Vikens said, "And it's better to be on time than early or late." Vikens walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a hardcover book with the tips of his fingers. "We'll be reading then analyzing a few stories from Grimm's Fairy Tales."

The man peeled open the tome, flipping through the pages until he reached the page with the words "Little Red-Cap" on it. Then he flattened the book against the smart-desk and slid it over to Troop.

"Let me know when you're done reading this story. Be sure to note figurative language, themes and the author's message to readers."

"Alright."

Troop turned the book around so that the words weren't upside down. Vikens buried his nose in Hamlet, leaving Troop to start his assignment.

Two hours later, Troop replaced Grimm's Fairy Tales back on the shelf and left the bakery.

A hand slammed into his windpipe, shoving Troop against a wall. Troop kicked his attacker in the gut and slithered out from the chokehold.

Red-shirt-person had trapped Troop alone and unaware while walking home. The attacker swung a punch at Troop, forcing him to skitter backwards.

There was a hood drawn over the face of the stalker, but the way the person moved about reminded Troop of someone from school. Bruno, he thought.

Person-that-might-be-Bruno aimed another punch at Troop's jaw, but Troop ducked beneath the meaty fist and stepped close enough to whip back the red hoodie. The figure turned and landed a kick to his shins, distracting Troop for a moment. Person-that-might-be-Bruno jammed his hoodie back on.

"What's wrong with you?" Troop demanded.

His attacker didn't reply. Instead, he aimed another punch at Troop's face. Troop sidestepped the brunt of the punch; the knuckles of person-that-might-be-Bruno grazed his ears. Troop returned the punch with a low kick beneath the knees. Cheap move—but it worked.

The attacker let out a groan and collapsed onto his knees. Troop took this chance to yank back the hood once more, this time revealing a recognizable face. It was Mason.

"What the hell?" Troop exclaimed.

He sidestepped a poor attempt made by Mason to grab him. Mason growled.

"Why do you always mess everything up?" Mason, having recovered from Troop's kick, sprung onto his feet. "Don't answer that. That was a rhetorical question."

"Did Bruno send you to follow me?"

"No." Mason wrinkled his nose in disgust, as if the idea of doing Bruno's bidding offended him.

Troop couldn't think of any other reason why Mason would try to corner him if Bruno hadn't ordered him to do so. Mason never caused any trouble in his gang, so why would he start now?

They circled each other, neither willing to retaliate.

"You looking for trouble or what?" demanded Troop.

"No. I'm trying to stop trouble from happening."

Mason faked a blow to Troop's face and swept his leg out, hitting Troop behind the knees. Troop lurched forwards, the backs of his legs throbbing. There's no way I can outfight Mason—he outweighs me by at least fifty pounds.

Troop ignored his pains and pushed himself up. He spun around and backhanded Mason hard enough to send him backwards a few feet. However, he barely had the time to blink before Mason knocked him onto his back. Troop rolled over, popped up and then landed a square punch into Mason's gut. Mason elbowed Troop hard and the two of them landed on the ground with enough force to knock over a solar-car.

Clump. Clump. Clump.

They hastily detangled themselves when a patrol of three law enforcers peered into the alley. Mason pierced Troop with a look that could have skewered steel. Nevertheless, he remained at a distance away from Troop.

"Fighting is a public crime," said a uniformed officer.

"Any idiot knows that," Mason muttered.

The officer shot Mason a dark look. "I am issuing both of you a warning and a fifty point fine. Names?"

When neither Troop nor Mason offered their names, the officer rumbled impatiently then said, "I will increase your fine to a hundred points each if you don't hurry up and tell me your names. I have better things to do than waste my time on this."

"Troop Mendax."

An officer typed something into his electro-slate and said, "ID."

Troop passed his ID card to the closest officer. The officer entered more information into his electro-slate, and then returned the card back to Troop.

"Fifty points has been deducted from your account. A warning has been added to your records as well. If you are caught fighting again, there will be harsher consequences than a fine and warning. Am I clear?"

Troop nodded.

The officer turned to Mason expectantly.

"Mason Fusran." He passed his ID card to the officer.

The officer entered Mason's information to his slate. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He pulled another law enforcer to his side and pointed to something on the electro-slate.

Troop craved to know what was so interesting about Mason's ID.

The officer holding the electro-slate stammered, "Ah, Mason, we're terribly sorry about this misunderstanding. We didn't know—"

Mason seized the man by the throat and hissed, "Are you stupid? Don't. Say. Anything."

Then he released his grip. The officer slumped down, rubbing his throat. Mason stalked out of the alley.

An officer motioned for Troop to get out of there. So he did.

chapter twenty-one

[ Kristi ]

Kristi woke to a dull pain blossoming in the center of her chest. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night because the solar lamp's brightness never permitted her to fully sink into sleep's embrace. If anything, Kristi felt more exhausted than before.

Jaiden and Chelsa were still fast asleep, so she took great care not to wake them up when she crawled outside.

The storm had left an additional foot of snow on top of the three feet from previous days. Kristi stood up in the knee-deep snow and accidently bumped her head against the branches of the willow tree, causing the snow that had accumulated on the branches to plop onto the tent.

"What the heck!" came a muffled shout from inside the tent.

So much for trying not to wake Chelsa and Jaiden up.

A red-cheeked Chelsa poked her head out of the snow-flattened tent to see what had happened, then re-emerged when she got her boots on.

"What's going on?" Jaiden asked, still inside the tent.

Chelsa, who was outside, answered, "Kristi tried to squash us beneath a ton of snow."

"Hm," said Jaiden. "Murder by Snow. That would make a great murder mystery."

Ghost crept into the camp, carrying a dead bird in his mouth. He dropped the bird by Chelsa's feet, giving Kristi a clear view of the prey. It was a flashy, colorful creature with bright green plumages and a striking blue head. Ghost finished washing his paws and picked apart his meal.

Kristi looked away, not wanting to see the beautiful animal become a bloody mess of bones and entrails.

"Can you pass me the tent bag?" Jaiden asked.

Kristi stooped down, picked up the canvas sack and passed it off to Jaiden. He and Chelsa efficiently packed away the tent and they were ready to set off. Kristi grabbed the front of Mist's saddle and stuck her left foot into the stirrup.

"Ow!" she gasped. She lifted her foot out of the stirrup and stood still, massaging her aching ribs.

"I forgot you got hurt last night," Chelsa said. "Why didn't you remind me? I could've rebound your wrist if only you had asked."

"The cold partially numbs the pain snd my wrist should be fine; it's just my ribs that hurt really bad when I tried to mount Mist."

"Do you need a leg up?" Jaiden asked.

"That'll be great." She accepted Jaiden's boost into the saddle, gritting her teeth. Once she was remotely comfortable in the saddle, the pain lessened and she relaxed.

Chelsa navigated her horse onto the road and determined the direction where New Amsterdam lay. Kristi bit her tongue every time Mist took a step; her upper ribcage complained at the jarring movement. She made sure Jaiden and Chelsa were in front of her, so they wouldn't notice her grimacing every time Mist took an extra bumpy stride; both of them had enough to worry about without Kristi adding to their list.

After an hour, her tongue was a bloody mess.

The droid-horses picked up the pace, sensing their rider's eagerness to arrive at New Amsterdam. The town of New Amsterdam greeted Kristi's eyes. It wasn't a big town, probably a mile wide at most. Either way, she was heartened to see plowed roads, coffee shops and an inn advertising vacant rooms.

"Let's check into an inn first," she said. "I need to get out of the saddle and stretch my legs."

"Same," said Chelsa. Her eyes lit upon an inn. "Let's go check out Country Inn."

The deeper they rode into New Amsterdam, the more wanted posters of Jaiden and Kristi appeared. The posters were taped to the windows of many shops, posted on public bulletin boards and nailed onto trees. Thankfully, the pictures were the same ones Kristi saw in Oxfield, which meant the government hadn't realized Jaiden and she had changed their looks yet.

New Amsterdam wasn't like the city she used to live in; this place was obviously accustomed to the old way of living. Although such civilizations weren't unheard of, they certainly weren't common. There were no public news-screens, street cameras or droid-pets roaming the streets. The houses were built out of wood—real wood, not synthetic wood.

Kristi dismounted with care, not wanting to jar her ribs too much. They tied their horses to the hitching post and entered Country Inn.

"Are you looking to lodge here for the night?" a pleasant looking woman greeted the trio from behind a solid oak desk.

The interior of the reception room was painted a warm red and an electric fireplace cast a cheery glow.

"Yes," Chelsa said.

"Room for three?"

Chelsa nodded and added, "Do you have a stable for our droid-horses as well?"

"Country Inn doesn't have a stable, but if you go down Cherry Lane you can lodge your horses at Blossom Barns."

"Thanks," Chelsa said. "How many points will it cost to spend a night here?"

"150 points." The woman waited until Chelsa had transferred the points to her account then showed them to their room.

Like the rest of the inn, the room had a rustic feel to it. The walls were painted a soft yellow and there were two twin cots and one futon in the room. A soft, braided rug lay in the center of the hardwood-floored room to keep out the chill.

"Stay here," Chelsa ordered Kristi. "Jaiden and I will retrieve our bags and get the horses settled in at Blossom Barn. Aside from the bone-growth supplement tablets, is there anything else you want me to buy at the drug store?"

"No, I think I'm all set here."

Chelsa and Jaiden left the room then returned shortly, dropping off their backpacks before leaving again to buy the needed supplies.

First things first, Kristi thought. What I need is a soak in the tub. She filled the bathtub with scalding water and dumped in two capfuls of grapefruit-scented bubble bath. Once the water had cooled down enough so that she wouldn't burn herself upon contacting it, Kristi sank into a blissful state of mind.

She re-examined her ribs and was horrified to find the bruise covered about a third of her chest. It was a patchwork of colors ranging from a sickly green to a deep purple. In short, the bruise was not a pretty sight.

After the soak, Kristi moved all of the filthy laundry into a bag. She heaved the sack over her shoulder and stumbled into the laundry room.

No one occupied the laundry room except for a well-dressed man. He didn't look threatening or particularly noticeable. Rather, it was the fact that the man seemed to be so unnoticeable and mundane that caught Kristi's attention; if she hadn't almost run into him upon entering the room, Kristi highly doubted she would've noticed him at all.

"Sorry," she apologized to the man, taking a step back before colliding into him. "Are you using the washer and dryer?"

"I'm just about done with my laundry," he said in a bland tone. "Go right ahead and use the washing machine. I'll be gone once I collect my stuff from the dryer."

She loaded the clothes into the washer, feeling the man's eyes on her back the whole time. When the dryer beeped to announce it was done, the man gathered up his clothes into a satchel and left without a sound.

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 Ghost 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.

"Are you kids lost?" a bellhop asked with an air of aloofness. "Perhaps you arrived at the wrong address. The Regional Inn is across the street from the Rex Hotel. Oh, and we only allow domestic droid-animals inside the hotel," he added, spotting Ghost by Chelsa's heels.

It is a sad thing when a bellhop is better dressed than you at the hotel you are staying at, thought Kristi.

"No, we're at the right address," Chelsa replied. "And I'll assure you my leopard is very well behaved."

The bellhop sniffed and said, "Very well." He spun on his heels and click-clacked away.

"Chelsa, why in the world did you reserve us a room at the Rex Hotel?" Kristi asked. "We're not going to be able to pay for it. There's less than one hundred points on your account."

"I didn't make the reservations," she said.

"Then who did?"

Chelsa shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that there was an instafication sent to my electro-slate asking me to confirm our stay at the Rex Hotel. Everything has already been paid for."

"Doesn't that seem a bit suspicious?" said Kristi. "We might be walking straight into a trap."

"There's not much of a choice left," Chelsa replied. "Curfew's already in act and we can't leave this place now. Might as well spend the night here."

"Yeah, but don't you think we should at least make a reservation for a different room in case the reservation that someone else gave us is a trap?"

"Like you said before, we don't have enough points for a room here."

"You should've thought about this before telling Jaiden and me to meet you here." Kristi felt annoyed Chelsa hadn't thought through the risks of accepting a stay at a first-class hotel from a stranger. Her jaw tightened slightly and her back stiffened.

Chelsa started to form a reply. "Kristi—"

"Stop arguing," Jaiden interjected. "Chelsa, I would really appreciate it if you told Kristi and I if something like this happens again in the future. Kristi, Chelsa's right; we're just going to have to stay here for the night and hope everything's going to go smoothly."

The girls shut up and followed Jaiden to the reception desk. A steward fiddling with his ruby studded watch looked at them apprehensively as they made their way over. He, like most of the other people in the hotel's grand lobby, seemed less than pleased to have a rag-tag trio of teenagers tramping around in a world-class hotel.

"How may I help you?" The steward's nose wrinkled, reminding Kristi of Speaker Quincy when he spoke to her. The steward also had the same condescending tone as the bellhop.

"We need a room here for the night," Jaiden said.

"You do realize the cheapest rooms at the Rex Hotel cost four hundred and seventy-five points, right?" the steward said.

"Oh, we already have reservations," Chelsa said.

"Reservation number?"

"1047."

"Name?"

"Chelsa Bright."

The steward opened a drawer and took out a laminated card.

"This card has all the information you need for hotel services. It also doubles as a key to your suite. There are two ways you can unlock the door to your suite: by sliding this card through the card reader or by scanning the barcode sent to you via instafication for the room confirmation. There's a one hundred point fine for losing this card." He handed the card to Chelsa.

"Friendly people, eh?" Jaiden commented, walking away from the steward.

"I'm sure we'll be treated better once we've cleaned up a bit," Chelsa said.

"Assuming we're not walking into a deathtrap," Kristi muttered.

"Just drop it!" Jaiden threw his hands up in exasperation. "If we're walking into a trap, then at least we're not completely oblivious to it. If there is no trap, then so be it."

Kristi realized she wasn't making things easier by arguing and tersely apologized to Chelsa. "I guess I'm just stressed out."

"I think we all are," Jaiden huffed to himself.

"We're on floor twelve," Chelsa said. "Let's go find the elevator. Here, why don't you hold onto the card?" She passed the room card to Kristi.

The electric-magnet-powered elevators were located at the back of the lobby. Kristi slid the card through the card reader and the elevator door hissed open, revealing the largest elevator she had ever seen. It could easily hold fifty people. The marble floor glistened and the window that looked out to the streets of Charleston was so clear she could've sworn the back of the elevator was open; Kristi wouldn't have been surprised if she walked right through the window and into thin air.

The pulsing light of the city threw neon colored beams onto her awe-struck face. Kristi's eyes enlarged at the spectacular cityscape before her.

"Please enter desired floor into keypad," an automated voice instructed.

Jaiden entered "12" into the keypad and the elevator ascended so swiftly and smoothly Kristi would not have known they left the ground floor had the voice not announced "Floor 12." The doors slid open with a soft sigh and the three of them stepped into a wide hallway carpeted with plush velvet.

"Well, we're still alive," Jaiden said a few hours later. "And there doesn't seem to be a trap."

"I suppose," Kristi said.

She was in a good mood after exploring their suite. It was the most luxurious suite that existed on the face of the Earth. It was comprised of a kitchen, a living room, four separate bedrooms (each equally and excessively furnished) and two master bathrooms. All the furniture and technology offered were state-of-the-art quality.

"I wonder who made this reservation for us. He or she must be very well off points-wise," Kristi said.

"Let's not worry about that." Chelsa kicked her legs back on the couch. "And just enjoy this stroke of luck."

"What should we do? Watch the news? Play a card game? Visit the bowling alley? Try out room service?" Jaiden ticked off each activity with his fingers.

"How about we watch a movie?" Chelsa suggested.

"You brought a movie?"

Chelsa grinned slyly. "I have a couple of illegal DVDs I like to keep around all the time. Have you heard of the Titanic?"

"Isn't that a ship that sank on April 14, 1912?"

"Yes it is, Mr. Know-it-all," Chelsa teased him.

Jaiden put up his hands in mock defeat. "I can't help it if I memorize everything I learn in school."

"What you probably don't know," Chelsa said, "is that the 'Titanic' is also a movie."

"I've never heard of it."

"Duh. That's because the government banned it."

Chelsa walked over to her backpack slung haphazardly over a kitchen chair—it was the bag Jaiden had managed to save from their bandit encounter—and took out a DVD case. She flourished the DVD and said, "Prepare to be wowed by this film. It's amazing. I swear, you haven't lived yet if you haven't watched this."

Kristi wrapped a fleece blanket around her shoulders and settled into the couch in front of the smart-screen. "That's one of the few things I've done before you have," she said with a slight smirk.

Chelsa slid the DVD into the player and dimmed the lights.

"Are you sure this is the right address?" Kristi asked.

They stood in front of an imposing skyscraper made out of steel and fiberglass. All of the windows were tinted black and a plaque that read "Verus Real Estate" hung over the revolving door entrance.

"This is the place," Jaiden confirmed. "Let's go inside. No point in standing out here."

Maybe the interior will look more like what I would expect of a spy headquarters, she thought.

The three of them, plus Ghost, entered through the main entrance. Contrary to Kristi's prediction, the inside of Verus Real Estate looked like the typical real estate office. Staff in pressed suits bustled about, sorting files, sending instafications or negotiating deals with potential customers.

"Let's go ask the receptionist for more information," Kristi said.

They approached the least busy receptionist. The young woman in her mid-twenties looked up from the electro-note she was writing and said, "Yes?"

"Is this the headquarters?" Kristi asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Yes, this is the headquarters for Verus Real Estate. Are you interested in selling, buying or leasing real estate?"

"The other headquarters. You know what I'm talking about."

The receptionist frowned a bit. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kristi didn't believe her. The receptionist had paused a second and glanced to her right before replying, which usually indicated the person was lying.

"Maybe Dr. Hanson gave us a fake address," Jaiden whispered into her ear.

She ignored him and pressed on. "We have important information the Revealers might be interested in."

The receptionist looked taken a-back for a millisecond before dismissing the notion that three teenagers could possibly have any useful information.

"I'm going to have to ask you three to leave if you are not here for real estate related business."

Kristi let out a frustrated sigh just as a woman with black hair neatly pulled into a bun caught her eyes. Maybe she could help us. The woman glanced over and made a sign telling her not to leave.

"I think I'm who you're looking for," the woman said from across the room.

Could this woman possibly be Tiffany?

The woman approached them.

"Sorry, I was just about to send these kids out," the receptionist apologized to the black haired woman. "I can deal with them; I know you're always busy with your work."

The woman waved away the receptionist's words and said, "It's alright. I'm sure these kids have traveled far to come here." She turned to them and said, "Why don't you follow me to my office? I'm sure you have a lot of questions and in retrospect, I have a lot of questions for you as well."

"Who are you?" Chelsa asked.

"I'm Tiffany, of course. Let's take the elevator to my office, unless you feel like climbing sixty-seven flights of stairs. Beautiful leopard, by the way."

Ghost purred in satisfaction.

Tiffany looked to be in her mid-thirties; however, appearances are often misleading with Perfects. There was always the possibility that scientists had tweaked with her aging genes to slow the formation of wrinkles.

The elevator dinged and opened up into a large office. The office had a wide window showing a picturesque view of Charleston. Despite the fact that there must've been over twenty electro-slates and computers on the five desks in the office, it was a very organized room. By the window was a coffee table with five chairs encircling it.

"Take a seat," Tiffany said. "Drinks? I have juice, soda, water, coffee and tea."

"No, thanks," Kristi said.

Jaiden and Chelsa also declined a drink.

Tiffany got herself a bottle of mineral water and sat down in the chair across from them. "I assume you enjoyed your stay at the Rex Hotel?"

"It was you who made the reservation?" Chelsa said.

"Actually, it was Dr. Hanson who made your reservation. I am going to guess that you're Kristi." Tiffany shook her hand. "And you're Chelsa." She extended her slender hand towards Chelsa. "And you're Jaiden." Jaiden nodded.

"How did you know who we were when you saw us downstairs?" he asked.

"Dr. Hanson informed me of your arrival and provided me with pictures of all three of you. Not that I wouldn't be able to recognize Chelsa and Kristi without the pictures Dr. Hanson gave me, despite the fact the last time I saw them was thirteen years ago."

"Is it just me, or is this a bit confusing?" Jaiden looked around to Kristi and Chelsa.

"I suppose I should explain everything from the beginning," Tiffany said. "Do you remember Stevey?"

"He's kind of hard to forget," Kristi said.

"Stevey used to work for the Revealers. He worked undercover at one of the government-funded labs for several years and provided us with invaluable information. However, a few days after a major promotion at the lab, Stevey began to go, ah, mentally unbalanced."

"Why?"

Tiffany lowered her voice a notch, "We're not sure. Ever since, it has become extremely difficult to communicate with him. However, we think that Stevey's delirium is related to something that happened at the labs." She raised her voice back to normal volume and continued on, "Dr. Hanson is Stevey's caretaker. He checks on Stevey once a week to make sure Stevey has enough food, water and such. Well, he naturally became suspicious when Stevey started rambling on about three visitors with a leopard that seemed very interested in information about the Revealers. As a result, Dr. Hanson checked the tapes from the cameras at Stevey's cabin to see who exactly the visitors were."

"You have cameras installed at Stevey's house?" Chelsa interrupted.

"To make sure Stevey doesn't accidentally set his house on fire," Tiffany said. "Anyways, after concluding that Stevey's visitors were indeed who he suspected they were, Dr. Hanson sent me an instafication letting me know that you guys were searching for the Revealers' headquarters."

"And then Dr. Hanson recognized us at Country Inn and left us with this address," Kristi finished.

Tiffany nodded. "Exactly. Dr. Hanson knew you were coming to Charleston, so he set up reservations at the Rex Hotel and sent me an instafication today when he spotted you three entering Verus Real Estate."

"But what I don't understand is why Maria and Don sent me to find you guys."

"Do you mean Shelly and Kyle?" Tiffany asked.

Kristi then remembered her adoptive parents' real names were Shelly and Kyle. "Yeah."

"It's because they left this behind for you." Tiffany stood up and walked over to one of her desks. She entered a password to the padlock locking a drawer, then returned to them holding an electro-slate.

"They sent us halfway across the country for an electro-slate?" Jaiden sputtered.

"I think it's much more than an ordinary electro-slate," Tiffany said.

"You think?"

"Nobody except for Shelly and Kyle know what's inside this slate."

"Speaking of Shelly and Kyle, how did the trial go?" Kristi asked.

The sorrowful look Tiffany gave answered her question. They were dead.

Although Kristi hadn't felt very close to Don and Maria—no, Kyle and Shelly—she couldn't help but grieve at their deaths. After all, they had housed, clothed and fed her for thirteen years. She blinked back the tears threatening to trickle out.

Even Jaiden, who claimed he would never forgive his parents for not telling him they were spies, seemed a bit misty-eyed.

"Didn't anyone try to crack open the electro-slate to view its content?" Kristi asked, changing the topic.

"Kyle and Shelly placed a lock on the slate. Go ahead, try to unlock the slate if you want," Tiffany said.

Kristi powered on the slate and swiped her finger across the screen to unlock it. A message popped up:

Access Denied. Fingerprints of the Naturals required.

"Who are the Naturals?" Kristi asked.

"As you may or may not know, one of my jobs was related to Shelly and Kyle's case. I was in charge of ensuring four chosen Accidents would survive. The government is very effective in making sure Accidents disappear," said Tiffany.

"Why do you need four Accidents to survive?" Jaiden asked. "It seems kind of irrelevant, though I do appreciate you for making sure Chelsa and Kristi didn't mysteriously vanish after birth."

"I can't answer that question because even I don't know the answer. All I know is that Shelly and Kyle requested there to be four Accidents, also known as the Naturals, in order to complete their assigned cases. I'm sure all of your questions will be answered once you unlock the electro-slate they left behind."

"Do you have the address of the other two Naturals?" Chelsa asked.

"No—"

"Great," Jaiden said. "We get to go on another wild goose chase across the country."

"What I was going to say," Tiffany said, "before Jaiden interrupted, was that I have the address to only one of the other Naturals. To be more specific, he's my son."

"Who's your son?" Chelsa asked.

"My son is one of the Naturals," Tiffany said. "And he happens to be in Charleston right now." She checked her watch. "He's still in school, but should be out in four hours or so. His name is Troop."

"So that means once we find Troop, all we have to do is find the last Natural who is somewhere in the South Region," Kristi said. "Then we can unlock this electro-slate and find out why the four of us were needed to survive."

Tiffany nodded.

"Why don't you have the address of all the Naturals if it is your responsibility to ensure their safety?" Jaiden said.

"I was keeping close tabs on them. However, funds got tight and all the members of the Revealers had to work double. It wasn't until three years ago when the Revealers were financially more stable was I given the chance to check up on the four Naturals. Unfortunately, by that time I had lost contact with Kristi, Chelsa and Finn's family. Finn's the name of the fourth Natural, in case you're wondering."

"Do you remember the last address where Finn lived at?" Chelsa asked.

"He has probably changed addresses during the twelve years I lost contact with him," Tiffany said. "But, I do have the name of the town where he last lived in. It's Oppidum."

Chelsa typed "Oppidum" into her electro-slate. "Is there any other information you can provide us about the whereabouts of Troop and Finn?"

"Troop goes to Ludus High School, which is about ten blocks from here. Regrettably, I don't have any more information about the location of Finn." Tiffany exhaled and took a sip from her water.

Chelsa entered "Ludus High School" into her electro-slate as well.

"Are you going to come with us to meet Troop?" she asked.

"No. I'm much too busy with work. Finding Troop shouldn't be too hard though."

"Will Troop even come with us once we find him? After all, we're just strangers to him and we're asking him to come with us on cross-country trip across the United Regions," Kristi said.

"Don't worry about that," Tiffany said. "I already sent him an instafication telling him you guys are going to meet him after school today." She looked at the time once more. "I really need to get back to work. Are there any more questions?"

Jaiden and Kristi shook their heads.

Chelsa said, "Yes. Do you think the Revealers can provide us plane tickets for Oppidum? Traveling by air will take only a fraction of the time it takes to travel by road."

"I'm afraid that's not possible for a number of reasons. First of all, airport security is very hard to fool. With Jaiden and Kristi both as wanted persons, the risk of having you guys travel by plane is too high. Second of all, the Revealers don't have enough points to buy four—possibly five plane tickets." Tiffany glanced at Ghost, who was cleaning his paws. "We have been trying to recruit more members and followers for the Revealers, and all of this underground promotion and recruitment requires a fair amount of points from our funds."

"Fair enough, I just thought it was worth asking for." Chelsa stood up from her chair and Jaiden followed her lead. "I guess we'll be on our way."

"Wait," Kristi said. "Didn't you say you had some questions for us, Tiffany?"

"Yes, indeed I did. Thank you for reminding me. I was wondering if any of you have seen any bandit activity going on? The Revealers suspect that the government is somehow involved with the increased bandit attacks occurring."

"Shouldn't the government be trying to stop the raids?" Kristi frowned.

"The world's a messed up place," Tiffany said.

"We did encounter some bandits on the way here," Chelsa said.

"Tell me about it."

Chelsa described their narrow escape on the droid-horses after the narrow encounter with the bandits along Route 56. Then Kristi also told Tiffany about the electro-slate thieves that, in a way, were the reason why she met Chelsa in the first place. Last but not least, Kristi informed Tiffany of the suspicious merchant she eavesdropped on at Troll's Tavern.

"You say this merchant has a fish-shaped birth mark and looked wealthy?" Tiffany asked.

"Yes," Kristi said. "And the two travelers I saw him talking to ended up being murdered a few days later. I have strong feelings that it was the merchant who committed the murder."

"I agree with you," said Tiffany. "The Revealers have been after this merchant for a while. He is, in fact, one of the leaders of a large band of bandits. His name is Malik, and he has recently taken to posing as a trader, merchant or businessman at pubs in order to lure some drunks into a secluded place where he kills them and takes their valuables."

I was right, Kristi thought. Chelsa didn't murder those two sailors.

"Thank you for the information. Is there anything I can do to return the favor?" Tiffany looked at Kristi, awaiting an answer.

Kristi thought for a second. "I used to have a droid-horse named Flurry. However, I think the police seized Flurry when they arrested Shelly and Kyle. I would really like to have Flurry back."

"I will see what I can do."

"We'll get going now. I don't want to distract you from your work anymore," Chelsa said.

The three of them headed for the door.

"Hold on a second." Tiffany sprung up from her seat. "I need you to take the Oath."

"The Oath?" Jaiden asked.

"You didn't think I was going to let you leave with all this top-secret information without making sure you wouldn't share it, did you?"

"You never said anything about taking an oath of secrecy." Kristi crossed her arms.

"I'm not going to be able to let you guys leave unless you take it," Tiffany said. "All you have to do is promise you will never tell anyone who isn't part of the Revealers anything we talked about in my office today. Also, by taking the Oath, you are agreeing you are a member of the Revealers and must abide to our rules."

"I don't want to be part of some type of spy group," Jaiden said. "Look at what happened to Shelly and Kyle."

Kristi had to admit Jaiden had a point; she didn't plan on dying anytime soon.

"The Revealers isn't just a spy group," Tiffany said. "It's much more than that. The Revealers is also an organization dedicated to uncovering the truth to many corruptions of the world. We are a dedicated group in bringing more justice to the world."

Jaiden rolled his eyes. "That's what they all say."

Tiffany gave him a frosty glare. "You are so naïve, young man."

Chelsa sighed. "Fine, just tell me what to say or whatever I have to do."

"Jaiden and Kristi, are you going to be reasonable like Chelsa and agree to become a member of the Revealers?"

"Fine," Kristi complied. "But I don't like how you sprung this on us unexpectedly."

"Jaiden?"

Kristi could almost see Jaiden's brain struggle to decide whether or not he should be part of an organization that his parents were part of and died as a result of. The silence dragged out. Defiance burned bright in Jaiden's eyes. The silence continued on.

"Okay, but only because you two are taking the Oath too," he muttered, shooting Chelsa a glance.

Chelsa's cheeks reddened and Kristi got a funny feeling about her brother and Chelsa, which she decided to ignore for now.

"Wonderful." Tiffany beamed at them. "Now I just need you to hold up your right hand and repeat after me:

I solemnly swear to be a loyal member of the Revealers.

From now on, I will do my best to reveal truths, solve suspicious mysteries that endanger the welfare of others and make sure the truth is heard throughout the world.

I swear to follow the rules set down by the founder of the Revealers.

I swear I will never betray information of the Revealers to outsiders.

I swear I will never purposely imperil any members of the Revealers.

I do solemnly swear this."

They repeated after Tiffany and Tiffany smiled once more when they finished.

"See, that wasn't so difficult, was it?" she said. "Congratulations, you are now official members of the Revealers. I just need you to sign these papers and you can leave." She handed everyone a packet of papers.

Kristi flipped to the end of the packet and scrawled her name on the line, not bothering to even skim through the text. She handed her packet back to Tiffany.

"Thank you," said Tiffany. "A copy of the Revealers' rules has been sent to your electro-slate. I have also transferred five hundred points to your account, Chelsa. It should be enough to suffice your needs for a while."

Tiffany called the elevator up for them and waved goodbye.

chapter twenty-four

[ Kristi ]

Ludus High School was a wealthy private school. The school building squatted in the middle of a ten-acre plot of land in the center of Charleston. There was a well-maintained front lawn, a pristine track and the parking lot was jammed with expensive solar and hydro-cars.

"School should be out in a minute or so," Chelsa said.

The words had hardly left her mouth when the massive front doors of the high school were flung open and students streamed out. Jaiden, Chelsa, Ghost and Kristi were semi-hidden behind a statue of Charles Landers, the founder of Ludus High School.

They figured they could easily pick out Troop from the mass of genetically perfect students, follow him and confront him once he was alone.

Like with most high schools, the school junkies were the first to escape the building. Next came the gaming whizzes that were eager to get to the gaming center as fast as possible. After the gamers usually came the popular crowd. Finally, the outcasts of the school exited the building last.

They didn't spot Troop among the junkies or gamers.

"He's probably an outcast," Chelsa said. "Especially among all these rich, perfect kids. No offense to you, Jaiden," she added.

Jaiden flashed her a quick grin to show that he understood Chelsa's point of view.

They returned their attention to watching students file by. The wind carried their trills of laughter far and wide.

"Here come the popular kids," Kristi said.

As customary, the ringleader of the crowd was surrounded by his posse. In this case, the popular guy was joking with his friends while all his followers hung on behind him. The guy in the middle was tall and had dark hair carelessly swept to the side. His friend, a muscular guy with the build of a personal bodyguard, whispered something to the dark haired boy and pointed to a girl hurrying out of the high school.

Kristi knew a bully when she saw one, and she was certain the girl was going to be the target of some bullying. She was right.

The dark haired boy left the protection of his circle of lackeys and sauntered over to the girl. The girl glanced over her shoulder, saw that she was being hounded and walked even faster. However, the boy had longer strides and easily caught up to the girl.

He grabbed her shoulder and said something into her ear. Whatever it was, the girl didn't like what she heard and snapped back, "Take your hands off me, you asshole."

"What did you call me?" the boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

The rest of his friends caught up with him. The girl cast her gaze around his friends; all of them were broad-shouldered, tall and probably more than happy to beat her to pulp if their leader told them to do so.

"I called you an asshole, because that's what you are."

"This isn't going to be pretty," Kristi said.

"The girl has spunk though," Chelsa replied.

The girl wrenched her shoulder out of the guy's grip, but his arms snaked out and grabbed her by her waist.

"Let go of me!" she said.

The boy's friends snickered, watching the spectacle. The boy holding the girl seemed to be enjoying the attention.

"That's it. I've had enough," Kristi said and stormed towards the scene.

"Kristi, come back. We're supposed to be looking for Troop," Jaiden called after her.

Kristi answered over her shoulder, "Why don't you go inside the school to look for him? He might be in some kind of school club. Don't worry about me."

She didn't see what Jaiden and Chelsa decided to do because she marched on towards the crowd without a second look back.

"Let go of the girl," Kristi said in the most commanding voice she could muster. "And while you're at it, why don't you go get a life instead of harassing people?"

She pushed her way to the center of the gang. This is probably one of the dumbest things I have ever done in my life.

A few guys whistled and someone called out, "Looks like you have a challenger."

Mr. Popular was momentarily distracted and the girl took this advantage to free herself from his grip.

"Who are you?" he asked Kristi.

"Somebody who's telling you to stop acting like a jackass," Kristi shot back.

She felt whispers and fingers pointing her way.

"That girl's obviously not from around here—"

"—everyone at the school knows not to mess around with Troop."

"She better hope she's not attending Ludus or else she'll pay for this."

"You're Troop?" Kristi managed to ask before she was rendered speechless from shock. This doesn't make sense! How can he get along with all these Perfects?

"That's me. And as far as I'm concerned, you're in some serious trouble with me," Troop said. "I'm not going to let you make a fool out of me," he whispered into Kristi's ear, leaning too close for comfort. Kristi took a step backwards.

Wham!

Something big and furry landed onto Troop's chest, knocking him down onto the brick sidewalk. He swore, and pushed himself up. Ghost sprung away from Troop.

"Let's beat it," one of Troop's friends said. "The principal's headed this way."

Troop stood up. Kristi noticed him wince and felt a sense of satisfaction.

"Are you going to run away now?" she taunted him. "Is Troop going to follow all his little, Perfect friends and hide from the principal? You're just a Perfect wanna—"

His slap caught her by surprise.

"They don't know I'm not a Perfect," he hissed. "And I would like to keep it that way." He looked over his shoulders to his remaining friends and said, "You guys can leave. I'll deal with this myself."

"You sure?" asked the brown haired guy that had pointed out the girl Troop was harrying earlier.

"Go on," Troop said. "Unless you want a chat with Principal Burnd."

His friends left, not wanting to get in trouble with the headmaster. Chelsa and Jaiden walked over to Troop and Principal Burnd. The principal looked like he was in his early thirties.

"Is there a problem?" he said. "These two informed me that there was some trouble brewing up in the front of the school." He scanned Troop, who had a few scratches on his arms and face, from head to toe.

"We just had an argument, sir. Everything's fine now," Troop replied slickly. "There was a slight misunderstanding. My fault completely."

"I hope you have apologized to this young lady?" Principal Burnd asked, nodding his head towards Kristi.

"I apologize for my rash and rude behavior," Troop said, looking straight at Kristi.

He sounded so sincere he almost fooled her. Almost. Troop was a damn good actor.

"Very well. Please do not let this happen again, Troop," Principal Burnd said. He turned on his heels and went back into the school, satisfied the conflict had been resolved.

"You're Troop?" Chelsa asked as soon as Principal Burnd was out of earshot.

Troop nodded. "And who are you?"

"Chelsa. That's Jaiden and that's Kristi."

"Are you the three people my mother was referring to when she sent me an instafication?"

Jaiden nodded. Kristi shot Troop a scowl. She was not looking forward to be traveling with this jerk.

"Let's talk more at the Rex Hotel," Chelsa said.

Troop shrugged. "Whatever. Lead the way."

"So you already know about the Naturals and all that fun stuff, right?" Chelsa said.

They sat in the living room of the suite. There was a bowl of pretzels in the center of the coffee table, but only Troop had touched the food.

So far, Kristi had refused to speak to Troop and was more than happy to hand over the get-to-know-you chitchat to Chelsa and Jaiden. Troop's behavior today had disgusted her.

All her life, she had been treated like scum and ignored. In the past, she might have stood up for herself if somebody made a rude comment or gesture towards her, but she usually pretended nothing happened.

"My mother told me the basic idea of the Naturals," Troop said. "I don't know the nitty-gritty details, but yeah, I have the general concept."

Chelsa quickly reviewed what they had learned from Tiffany today. Once Troop was all caught up, Chelsa said, "I didn't even recognize you as Troop because you blended so well with all Perfects. I'm curious; why aren't you considered an outcast at Ludus High School? From what I know, Accidents aren't treated very well in public."

"That's because his friends thought he was a Perfect. He didn't tell them that he wasn't one," Kristi said, jerking her head in Troop's direction. "He's just a Perfect wannabe."

"I do have a name, you know," Troop said. "It wouldn't hurt you to use it. And like I said, I'm sorry about what happened today. The only reason I was acting like that was because today's VicDay. I usually don't act like that."

"What's VicDay?" Chelsa asked.

"Nothing important," Troop hurriedly answered.

Kristi gave him her best death-stare. He met her eyes and didn't flinch. She sighed and dropped her gaze to Ghost. Kristi patted her lap and Ghost gracefully leapt besides her on the couch. Troop seemed a bit uncomfortable with a live leopard so close to him.

Good, she thought.

"You understand you can't continue that sort of behavior while you're with us, right?" Jaiden said. "You better have a good reason for your behavior."

Troop sighed. "Long story short. I used to go to a public high school where I was known as an Accident. As a result, I got picked on. I was eventually transferred to Ludus High School after some kids tried to lock me in a classroom and set it on fire. At Ludus, nobody knew I wasn't a Perfect and they accepted me as I am. Basically, I made the right friends, acted the right way and fit right in."

"That's still no excuse for your behavior," Jaiden said.

"I was getting to that," Troop said. "You're either the hunter or the hunted at Ludus High School. I was sick of being tormented all the time at my old high school and decided I was going to take charge of my life. I've learned that if you don't want to be a hunted, then you have to be the hunter. I wasn't actually going to hurt the girl, you know."

"I'll accept that," said Chelsa.

"Jaiden? Kristi? Do you believe me?"

"I trust Chelsa's gut instincts, so yeah," Jaiden said.

Kristi responded to Troop with another one of her death-glares. Troop was a smooth actor and talker for sure, but he wasn't going to fool her.

"Do you have your electro-slate on you?" Chelsa asked.

"Yeah," Troop said. He pulled it out from his jacket pocket. The slate was top-of-the-line and looked so new it could've been just taken out from the factory.

"Good. Hand it over please," Chelsa said.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Troop hesitantly forked over his slate to Chelsa.

"Thanks. I'll be in my room. Don't disturb me unless it's an emergency."

Chelsa left the living room and headed into her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

"What is she doing with my slate?" Troop asked.

"Probably removing the tracker from it," Jaiden said.

"There's a tracker in my slate?" Troop sounded surprised.

You would've thought he already knew that, considering he was raised in a spy-community. After all, his mom, Tiffany, works for the Revealers, Kristi thought.

"I need some space." She abruptly stood up and left.

chapter twenty-five

[ Troop ]

Troop watched Kristi storm out. "Guess we're off to a rough start."

"Give her some time," Jaiden said. "She'll eventually come around."

"I hope Chelsa's not going to destroy my electro-slate." Troop switched the topic.

Jaiden snorted. "You have no idea." He proceeded to tell Troop about Chelsa crushing his slate. "Don't worry, though. She's good at what she does. Your slate should be safe," Jaiden reassured Troop.

"So, how long have you guys known each other?" He tossed a pretzel from hand to hand.

"I met Chelsa a few weeks ago. As for Kristi, I've known her my whole life; she's my sister."

Troop appraised Jaiden. He couldn't spot any resemblance between the two siblings. He was just about to comment about this when Jaiden suddenly narrowed his eyes and pinned him with an acute stare. "I'm warning you right now, if I see you harm Chelsa or Kristi, you are no longer with us. Do you understand me?"

In a serious tone, Troop replied, "Yes. I swear I won't purposely harm anyone. The Troop you saw earlier today is a different person from the one you see now." He didn't elucidate any further and Jaiden left it at that.

To be honest, Troop wanted to bury all traces of the past behind him.

"So, how did you meet Chelsa?" he asked.

"In jail."

Troop raised a questioning eyebrow and Jaiden told him how Chelsa had busted him out of jail and taken him and Kristi into her hidden living quarters. The revolving bricks leading into Chelsa's old home reminded Troop of something familiar.

"Was there a smaller room leading into the main room at Chelsa's place?" he asked Jaiden.

Jaiden nodded.

"I think I know the place you're talking about. Lawrence, a senior Revealers member, used to stash his illegal library in there. He relocated his cache a few years ago though, when he ran out of room."

Jaiden checked the time and said, "Go grab some sleep; it's already past midnight and we're heading out early tomorrow."

"I will in a minute. I'll just wait until Chelsa returns my electro-slate."

"Alright." Jaiden exited the living room, leaving Troop to his own thoughts.

He popped a pretzel into his mouth, savoring its crunch and saltiness. Feeling bored, he counted the ceiling tiles to pass time. One, two, three, four...

"Here you go."

Troop jerked awake. I must've fallen asleep. He turned his head to locate the speaker.

"There wasn't a tracker in your slate. Sorry it took so long." Chelsa pitched him his electro-slate.

"Thanks. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

Troop walked down the short hallway leading to a bedroom. The lights lining the bottom edges of the wall lit up when he passed by the motion sensors, illuminating his path. He passed by a door and heard a thud. Troop paused for a second, and then continued on his way.

"Ah!"

Not sure if someone had gotten hurt, he knocked on the door. "Everything okay?"

There was an incomprehensible reply.

Troop started to turn the doorknob when Kristi's voice said, "I'm alright."

Shrugging, he left.
chapter twenty-six

[ Kristi ]

Stevey hunched over an empty whiskey bottle. His eyes wandered aimlessly all over the place. Kristi approached him with trepidation. She had no idea how she had arrived back at Stevey's shack in the woods. For some reason, she was all by herself.

"Who is it?" Stevey grunted.

"It's me, Kristi."

"Stevey doesn't want to see Kristi."

"I have some questions for you."

Stevey threw the whiskey bottle at her head. He had a startlingly good aim and arm; he would've nailed her if she hadn't been on her guard.

"Why did you throw the bottle at me?"

"Stevey doesn't want to see you. Go away," Stevey replied with a hint of whining in his voice.

Something vicious inside Kristi erupted and she marched over to Stevey and roughly shook him by the shoulders.

"Answer my questions or else," she snarled.

Stevey cowered in fear and tried to writhe out of her grip, bringing Kristi back to her senses. What came over me? Kristi wondered. She dropped her hands and took a step back. Stevey ran away from her and hid behind a tree.

"Stevey, I'm sorry," she called out. "I didn't mean to scare you. Please come out."

Stevey didn't emerge from behind the huge elm tree. "Stevey doesn't like the questions you ask," he said.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask you."

"Kristi gives Stevey bad memories," Stevey stuttered from behind the tree.

An uncomfortable silence blossomed in the air. The silence grew and strangled the space like a weed. It was Stevey who timidly broke it.

"Stevey has something to show you." His voice was steady now, something that Kristi wasn't expecting considering he had been trembling with fear just minutes ago.

"Okay. What do you want to show me?"

"Come here. Stevey has a secret to show you."

Her sixth sense tugged at her gut, warning her to run away from this place as fast as possible. On the other hand, Kristi was curious about what Stevey wanted to show her. She squashed her fears down deep inside and walked over to Stevey.

His back was turned to her when she inched over to him.

"What is it that you wanted to show me?" Kristi asked.

Stevey spun around and lunged at her. His eyes glowed red and razor-sharp claws erupted from his fingers. Kristi ducked to the right and felt the air hiss where Stevey attempted to swipe at her.

"What are you?" she gasped.

Stevey let loose a string of cackles and swiped his claws at her shoulders again. She dodged half a second too late and his ragged nails raked down her left shoulder. Blood welled out from the three gashes. At the sight of her blood, Stevey seemed to be hyped into a feverous state.

"Help!" Kristi yelled into the emptiness.

"No one can hear you," Stevey grinned a malevolent grin.

He tackled her to the ground. His breath stunk of stale liquor. Flames danced in his eyes.

"Die," he growled into Kristi's ear and lazily dragged a single talon across her throat.

She screamed.

Thud!

Kristi bolted upright in bed, banging her head against the headboard. She checked herself for any injuries and then threw a glance at the clock on the bed stand.

"That was just a nightmare," she reassured herself.

She patted the bed to make sure it was solid and not an illusion while her heart hammered uncontrollably against her chest. There was no point in trying to fall back asleep; she was too disturbed by the nightmare, so she decided to make some French toast for breakfast. Kristi snatched some clothes and tiptoed into the bathroom. Once she had tidied up, she flicked on the kitchen lights and got to work.

Let's see, she thought, I need milk, eggs, bread and butter. She hummed the theme song of The Phantom of the Opera while gathering all the ingredients and started whisking the milk and eggs together. Then she heated up the pan and greased it with a stick of butter. When she dipped the bread into the egg-milk mixture, she accidently knocked over the bowl of pretzels that had been sitting on the counter, leftover from the night before.

"I'll clean that up after I make this piece of French toast," she said to herself.

The pan sizzled and hissed as breakfast cooked on the stove. After she was satisfied that particular piece of French toast was done, she flipped it onto a plate and turned around to clean up the pretzels.

The pretzels were already swept from the floor. She stopped humming and frowned.

Then Kristi looked up and saw Troop observing her from the far side of the kitchen. She knew at once that it was he who had cleaned up the spilt pretzels.

"Thanks," she said curtly and returned to making breakfast.

"I see you still haven't forgiven me."

Kristi dropped another piece of bread into the egg-milk mixture, watching it soak up the liquid. "You best better believe that."

"Why up so early?" Troop asked. "From what Jaiden told me last night, you're not a morning person."

"That is none of your business," she said, feeling displeased that Jaiden was talking to Troop about her when she wasn't around.

"Is there any chance that you'll forgive me? I really don't want to be traveling with someone who's going to be giving me the death-eye every five minutes for the next few weeks." Troop ran his fingers through his hair.

Kristi pretended to think about his question with exaggerated gestures then said, "Let's see...No."

The smell of burning French toast brought her attention back to making breakfast. She flipped the burnt piece into the trash and started on the next slice.

Troop said no more and just watched. Kristi pretended she didn't feel bothered by his presence. Her pretending didn't last long.

"That's kind of creepy," she commented a few minutes later.

"What?"

"You just standing there and watching." Kristi picked up the dirty whisks, bowls and the pan she had used to make breakfast and rinsed them off. "Don't you have something better to do?"

"Not really."

A bleary-eyed Chelsa stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and giving the impression that she had just woken up. She stopped walking and looked from Kristi to Troop then from Troop back to Kristi.

"Were you two actually having a conversation?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Troop said.

At the same time Kristi said, "Only something resembling a conversation."

"We need new ID cards," Kristi said.

They were packing up their belongings and preparing to leave the Rex Hotel. She was going to miss this plush lodging.

"Already thought of that," Chelsa replied. "I ordered new cards for you and Jaiden last night. They should have already arrived. We'll pick them up when we head out."

They hoisted up their backpacks and took the elevator down to the lobby. Chelsa spoke with the receptionist and returned clutching a slim package. After making sure there weren't any prying eyes around, Chelsa discreetly handed Jaiden and Kristi their new ID cards.

Kristi's card name was still Kelly Harrison, but the girl's picture resembled her this time. They shared the same red-brown hair color, at any rate.

"Let's go get the droid-horses," Jaiden said.

The stable, like the rest of the hotel, was grand and extravagant. The stable walls were made out of marble bricks and livery dressed stable-hands patrolled the grounds. They entered through the stable doors, which could've fit twenty horses abreast with no problem. Rows upon rows of droid-horses peered at them over their stall doors.

Kristi scanned the horses until she found the one she was looking for. White fur gleaming and intelligent eyes gazing back at her stood Flurry. A little bubble of happiness rose inside her. Tiffany had kept her word and tracked down Flurry.

Kristi walked as fast as she could without looking conspicuous to Flurry's stall. Flurry nickered affectionately at Kristi and she buried her face into Flurry's mane, stroking her powerful shoulders.

"I missed you so much."

Flurry's warm, chocolate-brown eyes appraised Kristi as if to say, "And I you."

Tiffany was even nice enough to purchase quality tack for Flurry.

"Troop, you can ride Mist," said Jaiden. "Mist is the gray droid-horse beside the appaloosa."

Kristi felt bad for Mist for having to be ridden by a jerk. Troop seemed like the type of person who yanked on the reins too hard or dug his heels into the horse too sharply. She finished tacking up Flurry and waited for Jaiden, Troop and Chelsa to meet her outside.

Oppidum, the town that Finn should be in, was roughly four hundred miles from Charleston if they took Route 56. However, they couldn't take Route 56 due to landslides. They had to detour around the stretch of Route 56 buried underneath tons of earth and rock. As a result, traveling on South Lane—which added a good fifty miles—was the fastest route to Oppidum.

Jaiden and Chelsa rode in the front, side by side. Troop and Kristi trailed behind them, an awkward wall of silence between them.

Kristi concealed her astonishment; Troop was actually a good rider. He had a gentle but firm hand—not that it would've mattered since Mist was a droid and didn't have feelings. Nevertheless, Kristi always acted as if droid-horses were real horses.

Despite the fact that three days had passed by uneventfully, there was still tangible tension taut between Troop and Kristi. Not that Troop didn't attempt to relieve some of the tension. Several times. All in vain.

"How did Chelsa get a hold of a real leopard?" Troop asked.

Another attempt to stir up some conversation.

"A friend gave it to her."

The only travelers they ever saw on the road were merchants with their truckloads of goods, and they always traveled in groups of five or more. Bandit activity was skyrocketing and most people chose to travel by train or plane rather than risk their lives; taking the roads was becoming riskier every day.

So far, their luck had held and they hadn't encountered any more bandits. Still, that didn't mean they allowed their guard to drop.

The sun started to sink below the horizon. Within an hour, it would be dark.

"We should stop soon," Kristi said, projecting her voice loud enough for Chelsa and Jaiden to hear.

"Let's set the camp at the next patch of clearing we find," replied Chelsa.

In less than ten minutes, a small field overgrown with prairie grass came into view. It was the ideal place to spend the night. They had a clear view from all four sides of the camp so bandits couldn't sneak up on them. Of course, that also meant they could be spotted from the road, but they would have enough time to mount the droid-horses and escape if the need came.

Kristi dismounted and allowed Flurry to charge her solar cells with what little sunlight was left in the day.

"Jaiden, want to come with me to find water for tonight's instant noodle?" Chelsa asked.

He nodded and the two of them left in search of the stream they had passed earlier.

"Do you want to start the fire or put up the tent?" Troop asked Kristi.

"Don't care."

He started to gather sticks and stones to make a campfire, so Kristi unceremoniously dumped the tent out from its bag. She had never set up the tent by herself before; either Jaiden or Chelsa had always been beside her to help with the assembling. She now regretted not paying more attention to how to assemble the tent.

The jumbled mess of metal poles and fabric lay on the ground dauntingly.

"Here goes nothing," Kristi mumbled.

She picked up the longest metal pole she could find and pushed it into a connecter. It locked in with a click. Maybe this isn't so hard after all. Kristi attached the rest of the tent parts in no particular order.

She surveyed the tent she had put together. To be honest, it wasn't so much a tent as it was a compilation of metal and fabric. So maybe the tent was harder to put together than I thought. With a groan, Kristi started to disassemble everything. Troop noticed her plight and made a move to take apart the "tent" without a word.

She checked the time. Fifteen minutes had passed and Jaiden and Chelsa still hadn't returned. A sliver of worry embedded itself in her, but she decided to wait for another ten minutes before looking for them. All of the parts of the tent lay neatly on the ground, sorted into different piles.

"Thanks," Kristi said to Troop when he began to put together the tent. "But I can do this myself."

He ignored her and went right on constructing the tent skillfully. She snatched the pole he was sliding through the sleeve of a piece of fabric out of desperation. She wanted to prove she was perfectly capable of completing this task on her own,

"I don't need or want your help with this. Anyways, aren't you supposed to be making the fire?"

"I already did."

A quick look to where Troop gestured towards showed a good-sized campfire blazing away with a pile of twigs and branches to fuel the fire as needed. Kristi watched the flames dance up and down, twisting and writhing. Even though she had seen many campfires ever since she started traveling with Chelsa, she was still mesmerized by the dance of the flames. When Kristi finally tore her gaze away from the fire, Troop was almost done with setting up the tent.

She was ticked off. "I already told you I don't want help from a jerk."

"Oh, really?" Troop pounded in the last peg anchoring the tent to the ground and arched an eyebrow. "It sure didn't seem like it."

"Don't always believe what your eyes see."

"Speak for yourself. You saw me do something I wouldn't normally do and you decide to judge me by that one action," he retorted.

"I don't know how you do it, but everything you say just makes me dislike you even more."

Troop looked like he was about to argue back, but chose not to do so at the last second. The sound of laughter reached Kristi's ears. Two figures emerged from the shadows. It was Jaiden and Chelsa.

"Sorry it took so long," Chelsa said, "but here's the water."

The sun had set completely now and the moon and stars hung in the night sky. It was a cloudless night and after dinner, Kristi chose to admire the stars awhile instead going to sleep. Nightmares seemed to be constantly plaguing her the past few nights. She almost always woke up with her heart rate sky-high and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

Kristi rested on her back and observed the stars. The doused fire only had a few embers pulsing from beneath the ash; they would soon be extinguished when they ran out of fuel and oxygen.

She located the Big Dipper and the North Star, then traced out Orion and Pegasus with her eyes. Next, she located Cygnus, the swan. Cygnus was her favorite constellation, probably because she loved the myth of Cygnus.

A long time ago, two heavenly friends, Cygnus and Phaeton, challenged each other to a race around the world. The two friends ran too close to the sun, burned, and fell to the Earth. Phaeton was trapped underneath the roots of a tree at the bottom of a deep river. Knowing Phaeton would drown if he weren't rescued soon, Cygnus pleaded with Zeus to help him save Phaeton. Zeus offered to transform Cygnus into a swan so that he could save Phaeton; however, if Cygnus was turned into a swan, he would lose his immortality. Cygnus agreed to this bargain and Zeus placed Cygnus the swan in the night sky as a reward for his selfless act.

Ever so slowly, Kristi's eyelids began to droop from exhaustion and she pushed herself up to go inside the tent when something moved out of the corner of her eye.

She froze, unsure whether an animal or a person caused the movement. Then she heard something rustle among the tall prairie grass and scanned the surrounding area with the eyes of a hawk. She saw nothing. After waiting for another ten minutes with no threat presenting itself, Kristi finally allowed herself to believe that she had imagined the sound and movement.

She quietly slipped into her sleeping bag and prepared for another bout of nightmares.

Teeth ripped into her arm. An animal was attacking Kristi. She was in a jungle and had been ambushed by a lion, which didn't make sense since lions don't live in jungles.

"This is just a dream," she said.

The pain in her arm convinced her otherwise.

Huge moths swarmed around her, attracted to the blood spurting from her wound. They landed on Kristi's arm and started licking her blood with fuzzy feelers. She squirmed, but the paw of the lion pinned her in place. Then, before her eyes, the moths started morphing into bats with golden eyes. They chittered and clicked.

"Wake up, Kristi!" she commanded herself.

She closed her eyes, counted to ten and reopened them. She was still in a jungle surrounded by a swarm of bloodthirsty bats and a lion.

A nearby plant reached out its tendrils towards her. The tendrils caressed her so lightly she didn't even feel them until they suddenly tightened around her body. Kristi felt woozy from blood loss and her pathetic attempts to free herself from the vines were next to useless.

Other plants extended their roots and vines from overhead dropped and started to cocoon her. Soon, she became enveloped in a layer of plants. Each breath she took was a struggle and she had to fight for the shallowest gasp. She was suffocating.

Spots danced in her vision.

She was falling,

falling,

falling.

"Ah!" Kristi jolted awake.

She trembled all over and couldn't stop the shivers that racked her body. That was one of the worst nightmares she'd had so far. She could usually wake herself up from a nightmare if she was aware of it, but for some reason, she hadn't been able to do so this time.

"Are you alright?" Troop poked his head inside the tent. "I thought I heard you yell."

"Yeah," she said. "Just a nightmare."

Kristi let out an involuntary shudder and massaged her right arm, which was feeling sore. "Where are Jaiden and Chelsa?"

"They went to get more water. Hopefully it won't take them as long as last time."

Kristi yanked a brush through her tangled hair and tied it back into a ponytail. Then she swirled some liquid toothpaste around in her mouth, cringing at the artificially minty flavor and spat it out behind a shrub. Morning rituals taken care of, Kristi disassembled the tent, which was something she could do.

Taking the tent apart is a heck of a lot easier than putting it together, she thought.

They ate a hasty breakfast and were back in the saddle again. Jaiden instinctively steered his mount beside Chelsa and the two intertwined their hands between them; Kristi swallowed down a small lump in her throat. She couldn't help but feel a bit cast aside from the original trio.

Ghost, as if sensing her distress, turned around from his perch behind Chelsa and gave Kristi a look that read, "What did you expect? Hot guy meets badass girl. It's a recipe for romance."

"Your hair is dark brown," Troop said, breaking Kristi out of her thoughts.

"What did you just say?" She wasn't sure if she heard Troop right.

Troop motioned towards her hair. "Your hair is dark brown, not chestnut."

My hair must've started to grow out if my natural hair color is showing at the roots. "Yeah. I might have to re-dye it soon."

"I like your hair dark brown. It matches your personality more."

"You haven't even known me for a week and you're already judging my personality. And it's up to me to decide whether I re-dye my hair or not."

There must've been a bite to her tone because Troop pretended to shield himself from her verbal attack. "Whoa, no need to get all fired up."

Kristi made an exasperated sound and moved Flurry into a slightly faster speed to get ahead of Troop. To her aggravation, Troop didn't seem to get the message she wanted to get away from him because he followed close behind.

"Have you ever heard of personal space?" she said out of the corner of her mouth.

"Have you heard of being friendly?"

"Just leave me alone, will you?"

"You're upset that Chelsa and Jaiden aren't including you now that they've both been hit by Cupid's arrows, aren't you?"

"I'm upset because a certain twerp won't leave me alone!" Kristi exclaimed a little too loudly.

Jaiden turned around and looked back at them. "Is everything alright? Kristi, I hope you're not arguing with Troop again."

"He's the one that started the argument," Kristi said under her breath, but Jaiden heard it anyways.

"Be nice," he reprimanded her, then turned around once more to talk to Chelsa.

Don't tell me what to do, Kristi bitterly thought to herself.

chapter twenty-seven

[ Kristi ]

"To be honest, I'm surprised the government hasn't tracked you down yet," Troop said.

"Why? Do you want us to get caught?" Kristi asked.

"No. I'm just surprised that there has been no sign of the government searching for you if you guys are wanted."

"What about the posters? Or the news-screens?" She challenged. "And we also almost got caught by the Homeland Security Helicopters before you joined us."

"Fair enough," Troop said. "But I've seen what the government is capable of when they're hunting someone down. It's almost as if the government is allowing you to escape from them."

Kristi shook her head in disbelief. "Why would they do that?"

"You're right. My theory doesn't make sense. I guess I'm over thinking matters."

Kristi squinted off into the distance about a hundred ahead. There seemed to be something big lying on the side of the road. "Chelsa, what's that object up ahead?"

"Seems like some sort of vehicle that's been turned over."

As they neared the vehicle, Kristi could make out that it was an overturned merchant's truck. The truck's windows were shattered and the inside looked like it had been ransacked. There was no doubt this was bandit work. She didn't want to think about what happened to the poor driver.

"Is anyone in the truck?" Kristi asked.

She wasn't too eager to see a dead body.

Jaiden dismounted from his horse, approached the truck and peered inside the front cabin. "It's empty."

"Let's go," Troop and Kristi said in unison.

"Creepy," Kristi said.

"What's creepy?" Troop asked.

"The truck. It's giving me the chills."

The broken headlights of the truck seemed to implore her not to abandon it. One of the wheels spun crazily when a stiff breeze blew through. A loud bang startled her. The wind had slammed closed the passenger door of the truck.

Kristi reined Flurry to the fractured windshield. A rust colored substance stained the edge of the cracks. Deeply unsettled, Kristi backed her mount away from the vehicle. A soft, guttural growl grinded out from beneath the truck.

"Ride!" Kristi gasped, wheeling Flurry around.

A creature erupted from beneath the truck. It looked like a hyena, but had a scaly tail and two terrible looking horns protruding from the top of its head. Its back had a spiny ridge running down it.

"What is it?" Jaiden said.

"Some sort of messed up hyena?" Kristi guessed.

More of the demonic hyena hybrids emerged from beneath the truck. Everyone launched into a frantic gallop away from the creatures.

Chelsa spared a glance backwards and cursed. "They're devil-dogs—government created creatures that shouldn't be out of the lab. They're afraid of water. So keep your eyes out for any streams or lakes"

The devil-dogs were fast for their size and matched the droid-horses' speed easily, waiting for the droid-horses to start faltering before coming in for the kill. Spittle trailed from their curled lips

Kristi did not want to die this way.

"Can the horses outrun the devil-dogs?" She tapped her heels against Flurry's side, requesting more speed.

"Probably, but the devil-dogs will follow our scent. They're built for endurance," Chelsa replied.

"Storm clouds." Troop pointed to the right. "I think there's a storm coming from that direction."

"How convenient. Ride towards the clouds. The rain should deter the devil-dogs."

Kristi crouched even lower on Flurry and asked her to run even faster. Flurry responded and her hooves caused so much friction against the ground that sparks sprayed where she landed.

"Flurry's going to overheat," warned Troop.

"I know," said Kristi. "There's not much I can do about it."

A devil-dog howled and the pack began to chase after them in earnest. The dogs were no longer simply stalking then; they were attacking. A devil-dog came dangerously near Flurry and snapped at her legs.

"Scram!" Kristi yelled. "Get away!"

She kicked the devil-dog away with her foot.

The storm clouds were about a quarter mile away. A quarter mile had never felt so far away in her life. Flurry let out a scream when a devil-dog pounced onto her back. The devil-dog bared his fangs at Kristi. Saliva dripped down his teeth like acid.

Wait...the devil-dog's saliva was acid. Where the saliva touched Flurry's fur, the area hissed and the fur dissolved before Kristi's eyes, leaving behind a smooth spot of metal. This was a nightmare come true.

Kristi clubbed the devil-dog off Flurry's back with the help of her backpack. The creature landed in a mangled heap.

I think it's dead.

The devil-dog raised its head and pulled back its lips at Kristi.

Never mind.

Her skin burned and she looked down to her arm. A single drop of acidic saliva from a devil-dog had eaten through her clothing and burned her skin. A little circle of darkened skin was branded onto her forearm.

Kristi risked a quick look over her shoulder, trusting Flurry not to run them into a tree or whatever. Roughly ten devil-dogs remained, and none of them seemed to be tiring.

The sky flashed and a jagged line of lighting discharged from the clouds. The atmosphere hummed with static electricity. A drumroll of thunder followed the lightning and a raindrop hit Kristi's cheeks. She almost groaned with relief.

"Thank goodness," she said and the rain came down harder.

The droplets hit the devil-dogs' fur, causing them to yip in pain and terror. Whilst the devil-dog's saliva burned through Flurry's fur, the water burned through the devil-dogs' pelt. As a pack of one, the devil-dogs retreated, looking for a place to shelter from the rain.

"Do you guys want to ride on or stop for the night?" Chelsa asked.

"I say we ride on," Troop said. "We're already wet enough, so we might as well continue on through the rain." The rain came down in sheets, as if agreeing to his words.

Troop consulted UnivMaps and led them back to South Lane.

"How did you know that devil-dogs hated water? I've never seen a devil-dog before in my life until today," said Jaiden.

"Secret source," Chelsa said.

"Fine, be like that," Jaiden teased back.

Kristi shivered beneath her layers of soaked clothes. She wished she had put on her waterproof jacket. She considered rummaging through her backpack for her jacket, but decided against it since it would be difficult to do so while riding in rainy weather at the same time.

"Do you want my jacket?" Troop offered as if reading her mind.

"No thanks."

Her chattering teeth sent the opposite message, but there was no way she was going to accept help from Troop; it was just going to indulge his ego which did not need to be inflated any more than it already was.

Troop took off his jacket anyways and held it out to her. Kristi ignored the offering and tried her best to calm her shivers.

"You're going to catch a cold," Troop said.

"You can't catch a cold from being wet," said Kristi

"You can catch a cold from being cold."

"Wrong. You can catch a cold from contracting the virus."

Troop didn't say anymore but the expression he gave Kristi plainly said he thought she was being overly stubborn. And maybe she was, but Kristi wanted to keep her distance from Troop. He reminded her too much of Glenn: smooth and nice on the outside but full of barbs and thorns on the inside.

"I think we should stop," Chelsa said half an hour later. "It's getting pretty dark and we don't want the horses to trip over something in the darkness."

The rain tapered off and came down more gently. Jaiden and Troop set up the tent while Chelsa and Kristi unloaded the saddlebags from the horses.

"I think I'm going to sleep. I'm too exhausted to have dinner," Kristi said.

All of her muscles cramped. Even though Kristi knew she was probably going to have yet another fitful night of rest, her body physically needed to sleep even though her mind protested against the thought of enduring another night of horrors.

She was flying. She had morphed into a dove and was soaring far above the world. The land spread out before her like a quilt. However, Kristi felt like she was being pursued by something, something evil. She shot down towards the ground, trying to escape the feeling of being chased.

The sound of birdcalls filled the air. Bright, flashy tropical birds surrounded Kristi the dove. The flamboyant birds—toucans, macaws, and parakeets—screamed out harsh cries. Kristi landed on the ground and hopped towards the cover of a bush, but a large peacock poked its head into her hiding place and she half flapped, half hopped back out into the open. Acting as one flock, the other birds surrounded and attacked her.

The wings, talons and beaks of the showy birds battered her fragile dove body. A fiery pain shot up her right wing when a swan slammed its powerful wings into her. She lay on the cold, hard ground, right wing throbbing excruciatingly. A bird with a broken wing was a dead bird. She was a bird with a broken wing. She was a dead bird.

Kristi awoke. Strangely, she wasn't sweating nor was her heart beating at overtime. I must be getting used to these nightmares, she thought, stepping outside of the tent.

It was only six-thirty in the morning. Streaks of purple could be discerned among the horizon in the dark sky if she looked close enough. Kristi searched around the camp and found Troop to be the only person around.

"Jaiden and Chelsa went to gather some kindling that hasn't been dampened by last night's rain," Troop said when he saw her hunting for them.

"What else is new," Kristi mumbled. "We don't even usually make a fire in the morning."

Troop didn't grace her with an answer, which Kristi was completely fine by.

"I need to go refill my water bottle," she said. "Do you need yours refilled?" she added in a moment of generosity.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Be back in ten."

She searched for a water source, making sure to always keep the tent in sight. Her boots made sucking noises in the oozy mud. Kristi crinkled her nose. An almost-but-not-quite-familiar scent reached her nose. The smell wasn't unpleasant—in fact, it reminded Kristi of home. Squatting down, she combed the ground until she found the source of the fragrance. Rainflowers. Well, not quite. The flowers looked identical to rainflowers except they were orange instead of purple.

Kristi caught sight of a small creek cutting a course through the land and filled up her bottle to the brim. She had a few minutes before she needed to return back to the tent, so she chose to spend her extra time admiring the sunrise by the creek.

Kristi tilted her head. She thought she heard people talking.

"You're too funny!" a voice in the distance said.

A person replied but was speaking too softly for her to make out the reply. Feeling curious and a bit adventurous, she decided to find the source of the conversation. Ears prickling with alertness, she followed the sounds.

"Don't you think we should be heading back? We don't want Kristi and Troop to worry about us." It was Jaiden's voice.

Kristi walked past a clearing in the woods and spotted Jaiden talking to Chelsa; she ducked behind a rock formation obscuring the view of them. Neither Jaiden nor Chelsa knew Kristi was listening to their conversation, and that made her sting with shame knowing that she was spying on them.

"I think we should be worried about Kristi and Troop tearing the camp apart," Chelsa said. "I sometimes fear those two will bite off each other's head by the time we reach Oppidum."

There was a moment of silence and Kristi peered around the rock concealing her. Jaiden and Chelsa were locked in a kiss and seemed indifferent to the world around them. Kristi dropped back behind her hiding place and sat down for a second.

I should've known it was coming; Chelsa and Jaiden had been flirting with each other for a bit of time now, Kristi thought. But still, Jaiden's my brother—my steady-as-a-rock brother. Kristi cleared her head. Get a grip on yourself.

Jaiden and Chelsa must've left when she wasn't paying attention because when Kristi finally gathered herself together, they were gone.

"Are you alright?" Chelsa asked Kristi. "You seem kind of withdrawn today."

"I'm fine." Except for the fact, you know, I just got a mental slap to the face this morning.

"If you say so. We'll be reaching Milton in about an hour. Aside from food, is there anything else you can think of that we might need?"

"No."

"Do you want to re-dye your hair?" Chelsa asked.

"Nah. The government already knows I dyed my hair, so there's no point in re-dying it again. Actually, it would be great if we could get some dye-remover. I kind of miss my normal hair color. How many points do you have left on your slate?"

"A bit under a few hundred points."

Kristi frowned. "Do you think we have enough to make it to Oppidum?"

"Don't worry. Rich-kid has over five-hundred points on his slate," Chelsa motioned towards Troop.

"You checked my points account?" Troop asked, sounding indignant.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself."

"I don't know if I should be worried or not," Troop said in a low enough voice so that Chelsa couldn't hear him from up front.

"I'd worry if I were you. You never know if one day she decides to buy out a store for the heck of it," Kristi said.

Troop cracked a smile. "Was that a joke? I've never heard a joke from you yet."

"That was sarcasm."

They exchanged few words for the rest of the ride to Milton. Milton was a decent sized town with a bustling community. It was a Saturday and many residents were out and about in the center of town. Chelsa divided up the shopping list among the four of them.

"How does having lunch at The Last Supper sound?" suggested Troop.

"Have you been here before?" Chelsa said.

"Yes. The owner of The Last Supper is a member of the Company. She's not a spy or agent; she's more of a follower."

"A follower?" Kristi scrunched up her nose a bit in distaste. "That makes the Revealers seem like some sort of cult...a cult I'm not sure I want to be part of."

"The Revealers is more than just a cult. It's an organization trying to—"

"—you sound just like your mom," Kristi interrupted. "'The Revealers are a group trying to bring justice to the world.'" She air quoted Tiffany's words.

Troop contemplated her words for a few seconds, and then said, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You two done talking?" Jaiden asked. "'Cause I was thinking The Last Supper would be a good place to have lunch."

Everyone agreed to this plan and set off on completing their shopping list. Kristi looked down at her list, which consisted of: hair dye removal, two pairs of socks, liquid toothpaste and a ball of twine. She should be able to purchase everything she needed at the convenience store, which was located just a few blocks down Main Street.

She fingered the electro-slate her parents had left behind for her. Last night, she had tried and failed to break its lock. To Kristi's delight, though, she was able to access their point account without the fingerprints of all four Naturals. Shelly and Kyle had left a hundred points on the account; it wasn't a whole lot of points to spend, but it would be more than enough to make the necessary purchases.

Kristi located the convenience store in no time. She dismounted from Flurry and looped her reins through the metal ring of a hitching post.

"Kristi, can I have a word with you?" Jaiden came up to her before she entered Mill's General Store.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Did you see Chelsa and me together this morning?" he asked, not bothering to sugar coat anything.

"Um, yes. I'm sorry if I trespassed your privacy. I heard your voices and decided to find you guys," Kristi said, feeling embarrassed of having been caught behaving like a ten-year old.

"I knew I saw someone in the shadows," Jaiden said. "You don't mind me being with Chelsa, do you?"

"Of course not! You don't need my permission to date someone. Chelsa's a good friend and a nice girl. I mean, it would've been nice if you had given me a warning about all this though..." she trailed off.

"Appreciate your understanding," Jaiden said, sounding reassured. "I wasn't sure how you were going to take it."

He left her and Kristi pushed open the door into the store. A movement caught her eyes. She stepped back outside onto the streets. Some boys were hanging out in a group nearby...but something didn't seem quite right with the picture. Then she saw him.

"Troop, were you eavesdropping on Jaiden and me?"

Troop dropped out with trying to blend in from the other kids and confessed, "Yeah. Didn't expect to be caught red-handed though."

"Who do you think you are, poking your nose in my business?" Kristi said, still feeling miffed she was the last person to realize that Chelsa and Jaiden were together.

"I like to consider myself acting concerned."

"I don't need you to feel concerned about me. Shouldn't you be purchasing the items on your list?"

"Already did so," said Troop.

"That was quick."

He shrugged. "I only needed to purchase some extra solar cell replacements."

Kristi pushed the door into Mill's General store with Troop tailing her. She grabbed a basket by the doorway and started thrusting items into it: some hair dye removal powder, two bottles of liquid toothpaste, a spool of twine and some socks that were on sale. Then she paid and checked the time. An hour left until twelve-thirty.

"There are some public trails in Milton if you're up for some riding," said Troop, holding open the door for her.

She placed the purchased goods into the saddlebag and guided Flurry to the trails after referring to a map, seeing as she had nothing better to do. Troop tagged alongside on Mist.

Kristi glanced at them. "I don't remember inviting you to come along."

"I invited myself."

"I'm going to be blunt with you. I really want—no, need—some personal space, alright?" As she said those words, she realized they were true and weren't just an excuse to get out of Troop's presence. She needed some time to be introspective and sort out her feelings.

"Serious?"

She nodded.

"Only because I like you," Troop said, reining Mist around to leave the trailhead.

"If only I could say the same about you," Kristi muttered, "then life would be much easier."

She allowed Flurry to meander along the trail at a leisurely pace while she mulled over the recent events of her life. Now that Kristi was thinking about Troop's earlier words, she couldn't help and be astonished by the fact that, other than the helicopter, they had seen no other physical signs of the government searching for them.

Sure, we tried to avoid going into towns if we could help it, but I know the government's technology could easily track us down if they put them to good use, she thought.

Kristi tried to make out what she thought of Troop. Yes, he was annoying and yes, he hadn't made a great first impression. But Chelsa believed Troop was being honest when he told them he wasn't actually going to hurt the girl at Ludus High; he either had to be the predator or the prey, and Troop was sick of being the prey.

However, that doesn't make his actions any more justified. Bullying is bullying, no matter what. You would think that someone who used to be bullied would understand how it feels to be constantly looking over your shoulder, instead of bullying someone else. Kristi maneuvered Flurry to the side of the trail, allowing a train of hikers to pass by.

But then again, what would happen if I judged everyone by his or her worst actions? Troop openly admitted I had caught him acting inappropriately and claimed he was normally a lot nicer—he just had to maintain his reputation. Also, what would become of Chelsa if I defined her character by her worst act? Hadn't Chelsa informed me she killed Alex? Murder is a serious crime, and if I was to judge Chelsa by her worst deed, then Chelsa ought to have repulsed me...but she doesn't.

Shaking her head at the jumble of thoughts in her brain, Kristi massaged her temples to release some of the tension. Flurry sensed her frustration and offered a nicker of support.

"Thanks, pal." Kristi patted the droid-horse's fur.

Little slivers of metal where the devil-dog's acid had burned through glinted through Flurry's otherwise silky fur. Overall, it gave her hide a silvery, shimmery effect.

"Let's head back. I don't want the others to think I'm in trouble if I don't show up for lunch soon," Kristi said, talking to herself.

She was unenthusiastic to leave the trails. The trail provided her a sense of comfort and privacy. The gentle sunlight seeped through the canopy, dappling the ground. It was a nice break to be riding at a slow pace after days of traveling in all types of weather at a rushed speed. They still had two hundred miles to cover before reaching Oppidum.

Flurry gently jerked on the reins, letting Kristi know they had reached the trailhead. Kristi patted her a thank you and directed Flurry to The Last Supper.
chapter twenty-eight

[ Troop ]

"We ordered your lunch," Troop said, spotting Kristi walk through the doors of The Last Supper. "Hope you like chicken potpie."

"That works."

Kristi had barely sat down when the waitress brought over four plates of piping hot chicken potpie and a pot of tea. Everyone was silent for a few minutes, occupied with the food.

Troop finished his pie in record time; dehydrated food gets boring after a while. He moved onto his buttered rolls next.

A stout woman came over to check on them. She had a dogged look, light brown hair pulled into a tight bun and a stance that suggested she took no nonsense. Her name was Syra and she was the owner of The Last Supper.

"Everything to your satisfaction?" she inquired.

"Yes, thank you," Troop said.

"Have I met you before?" Kristi asked. "You seem very familiar."

"I don't believe I have had the pleasure of meeting you yet."

"Never mind," said Kristi. "There was someone I met who looked like you; she owned a bookstore with a very nice fireplace."

Troop wondered why Kristi had emphasized the word.

A knowing grin split onto the Syra's face. "Ah, I have a sister who does though."

Then he remembered that Syra's sister ran a safe house for members of the Company.

"Tell her I said thanks," said Kristi.

The woman nodded then left to attend a cluster of customers that just entered The Last Supper.

"The whole family is part of the Revealers," Troop told Kristi in a low voice to avoid being overheard.

"Why are you sharing this information with me?" she asked. "Bad things can happen if this information gets into the wrong hands."

"I trust you not to give the information out freely."

"That's a lot of trust to put on someone who you have barely known for a couple of weeks."

"I trust my instincts."

For some reason, Troop had expected Chelsa to be the most talkative and vivacious member of the group. However, he was soon proved wrong. Jaiden seemed to be the only person who could coax the ghost of a smile out of her.

Ghost, the leopard, seemed to share his owner's sudden mood change and would often disappear for long stretches of time. Not that I mind if Ghost leaves for a while. Troop found the creature's intelligence to be unnerving.

"Aren't you happy we're getting closer to finding Finn?" Troop asked Chelsa. "Less than fifty miles left—and we haven't seen any bandits or met any other trouble along the way."

"Yeah, I guess," she replied. She sounded a bit gloomy, if not downright depressed. "I've just been thinking a lot."

"How does thinking make you morose?"

Chelsa shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

He knew she was lying, thanks to Darrel's advice. If a girl says something doesn't matter, then it probably does.

"Well, here's some good news that might cheer you up: we should reach Oppidum in two days at most," said Kristi.

Chelsa didn't react with joy to that bit of news; instead, she appeared even more somber.

chapter twenty-nine

[ Kristi ]

"Want to go for a walk before we bed down for the night?" Chelsa asked.

Kristi wasn't expecting this offer; Chelsa usually spent her free time with Jaiden.

"Sure, if that's what you want to do," Kristi said.

"Yes it is."

"Alright then." Kristi called to the two boys, "Jaiden, Troop, we're going for a quick walk. Be back soon."

"Okay, don't get eaten by a bear," Jaiden called back.

Kristi let Chelsa choose the path of their walk. They walked the first ten minutes in silence; Kristi absorbed the soothing sounds of nature all around her. The further south they journeyed, the warmer the temperature got. Back in the North Region, the ground would be covered by snow during this time of the year.

The girls reached a flat slab of rock poking out from the ground and Chelsa scaled it rapidly. Kristi scrambled after her, sitting cross-legged besides Chelsa at the top.

"Troop really likes you," Chelsa said, breaking the quietness.

"Oh?"

"I don't think you should keep on pushing him away. I don't know if you've noticed, but he has been following you around like a lost puppy."

"Is this what you wanted to talk about?" Kristi asked dubiously.

"Partly. Why do you keep on rejecting Troop?"

Kristi sighed. "First of all, he's a jerk. Second of all..." She couldn't think of another reason why she kept on distancing herself from Troop aside from him being a bully at school.

Chelsa acknowledged her lack of reasons and continued on speaking, "I understand that you didn't get the best impression of him, but I truly believe that he has changed his character. Well, in the first place, I don't think he had a nasty nature to begin with. I think you've been a good influence on Troop. He's a different person from when you first met him. I guess all I am saying is that you should give him a chance to at least befriend you."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," Chelsa said. After a brief moment of hesitation, she asked, "Have I ever told you how Alex died?"

Once again, Kristi was unprepared for Chelsa's erratic behavior tonight.

"Well, you told me you killed Alex," she mumbled.

Chelsa looked off into the distance, "It all started when Alex started dating me. The other students couldn't believe anyone could see any beauty in me—who would want to befriend a girl with no genetic tweaks when there are several other literally perfect girls to date? I was already used to getting hassled, but once Alex and I started going out, the bullying got a lot worse. I wouldn't have minded except Alex was getting his fair share of harassment as well."

Chelsa bit her lower lip, then continued on, "One day, some of the kids at the school decided to throw my backpack into a nearby river behind the school. It was during spring, and the snowmelt had caused the river to swell and increase its current. Nevertheless, I tried to retrieve my backpack because it contained my electro-slate and most important, a baby leopard. Alex had just given me Ghost a few days before and I had kept Ghost in my backpack. I used a fallen branch to snag my backpack and somebody decided to push me into the river."

Chelsa took a shaky breath and then met Kristi's eyes for a second. She rapidly blinked, as if holding tears back. Kristi laced her fingers through Chelsa's hand and listened with rapt attention. She felt Chelsa tighten her grip.

"I was immediately pulled under the icy water. I'm not a bad swimmer, but the current was too fast and too strong. Several of the students began to worry that the prank had gone too far, but nobody tried to help me. Just then, Alex came by and saw the commotion. He jumped into the river to rescue me since he was an excellent swimmer.

"Together, we were able to stay afloat as the rapids carried us downstream. But Alex was holding onto my backpack since he knew Ghost was held within it, and that sapped a lot of his strength. By the time the rescue team arrived, my entire body was numb from the frigid water. The doctors told me I was extremely fortunate to have survived for such a long time in freezing water with only hypothermia."

Chelsa lowered her eyelids, letting the events of the past wash over her. "But Alex wasn't so lucky. He was dead by the time he arrived at the hospital. Somehow, Ghost managed to survive the whole ordeal; he's one fortunate leopard."

A moment of silence enveloped the space around them. The only sounds to be heard were the cicadas chirruping and the breeze teasing the foliage.

"Why did you tell me you killed Alex? You never did such a thing," Kristi stated.

"If I hadn't dated Alex in the first place, none of this would've happened. The other students would've left him alone."

"But still," Kristi argued, "you didn't kill Alex. It was an accident."

Chelsa shrugged. "There are several angles to look at this tragedy. Ever since Alex's death, I've learned to stand up for myself. I can't bear the thought of other people getting hurt because of me. Yeah—I'm still an outcast from society, but at least I've learned to deal with it."

They sat in a silence. Kristi's brain struggled to digest all that she just heard.

"Kristi?"

"Yeah?"

"I really think you should give Troop a chance. I know he likes you and I think you have feelings for him as well," Chelsa said.

Do I like Troop? Kristi wondered. I suppose I am a bit attracted to him. His personality does seem to have changed, now that I think about it. I guess I have been so occupied trying to distance myself from getting to know him that I am missing the big picture.

"You never know when you'll lose someone you care about," Chelsa said, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'll try to be more amicable towards Troop."

Chelsa flashed her the first smile she had seen on her face in a while. Then she checked her watch.

"Goodness—we better start walking back. It's been almost an hour."

Kristi woke up relatively early the next day, though Troop was already starting a fire by the time she ducked out from the tent after pulling her hair into a messy bun.

"Morning," she yawned.

Troop looked up in surprise. "Jaiden and Chelsa still asleep?"

"Yep."

He handed her a bowl of oatmeal topped with brown sugar.

"Thanks. Did you eat yet?" Kristi said.

"Yeah."

She warmed her cold hands against the warm bowl and spooned a large bite of gooey oatmeal into her mouth. She felt the warmth of the oatmeal travel down her throat and into her stomach. Even though the temperature was reasonably warm during the day, the air was still crisp in the morning.

"Something bothering you?" Troop asked.

"Just thinking how I should say something."

"I'm surprised you didn't tell me to mind my own business."

"Troop," Kristi said, fighting to find the right words to convey her thoughts. "I'm sorry if I acted rude to you. I know I kept on refusing your help when I could've used it."

"Well," Troop said, "I wasn't expecting to hear that from you."

"What I'm trying to say is that I'll try to stop acting so unfriendly towards you," she finished awkwardly.

Troop ran his fingers through his dark hair the way he did when he was trying to think of something to say. "Does that mean you're willing to befriend me?"

"I guess. I judged you harshly because you didn't exactly make a good first-impression."

"I'm actually a nice person once you get to know me, believe it or not," Troop said.

Kristi flashed him a half-convinced look.

"Is there anything I can do to convince you I'm not a jerk?"

Kristi thought for a moment than cracked a smile. "As a matter of fact, yes. There is something you could do."

"What is it? I'll do it right now."

"I want you to send an instafication to every person you have harassed and apologize to them."

Troop faltered for a split second, and then pasted a determined expression on his face. "If that's what it takes to gain your trust, so be it."

Kristi expected him to have a huge list of kids to apologize to, but a little part of her hoped Troop wasn't the jerk she thought he was. She looked over Troop's shoulder and onto his electro-slate where he was typing the names of the people he was going to call. In total, there were eight names.

Troop activated the instafication app on his electro-slate and walked away from the camp for some privacy. Kristi followed him.

"I'm coming with you to make sure you're not instaficating your friends," she said.

"You don't trust me? I always keep my words."

"Tough luck."

"Fine. Don't interrupt me though."

"Don't worry, it'll be like I'm not even here."

She sat cross-legged on the grass. Troop dropped down beside her and connected to Lilly Trusk, the first name on his list.

"Hello?" asked a girl's voice.

"This is Troop."

Lilly's voice immediately took on a defensive tone when she replied, "What do you want? Is this a prank call?"

"No, it's not. I just wanted to apologize for hiding your electro-slate on the school roof a few months ago."

There was an awkward stretch of silence, and then Lilly said, "Are you serious? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

"No, I really regret throwing your slate onto the school roof."

"You do realize I had to get a new slate after you threw my old electro-slate, right? The screen got cracked when it landed on the roof."

"I didn't know that," Troop said. He sounded distraught. "You should've let me know that I broke your slate—I could've bought you a replacement."

Lilly let out a nervous laugh. "No, you would've laughed in my face and told me to suck it up. At least that's what the old Troop would've done. I don't recognize the Troop who is talking to me right now."

Troop caught Kristi's eye and shot her a quick smile.

"I've changed a lot, Lilly. I really want to offer my sincerest apology for my immature actions. Do accept my apology?"

"If you really mean it, then yes."

"So are we cool?"

"We're cool. Where are you anyways? Your mom said you were away on some family business."

"I suppose you could say that."

"Alright, I have to go. Bye."

"Bye." Troop ended the instafication.

"See, that didn't go so bad," Kristi said.

Troop rolled his shoulders and replied, "One down, seven more to go."

"Go get 'em."

Troop finished all of his calls before Jaiden and Chelsa joined them outside. Some of his instafications went smoothly, like with Lilly. Others didn't go so well. Some students heard Troop out and left on good terms. Some students disconnected as soon as they heard his voice; at least he tried.

With all his instafications completed, there was really nothing Kristi could hold against Troop. In a way, she felt like she'd grown closer to Troop just by listening to him make all those calls.

"That took a lot more effort than I anticipated," Troop said.

"Not many people have the courage to do what you just did," she replied.

"Thanks. A compliment from you means a lot to me."

"Did I just hear Kristi say something nice about you?" Jaiden asked.

Chelsa gave Kristi a look that read: Did you take my advice?

Kristi nodded.

"One more day until we reach Oppidum," Jaiden announced.

Chelsa frowned a bit, but brightened up when Jaiden gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"What do you think Finn looks like?" Kristi wondered out loud.

"I think he'll be tall," Chelsa said. "Finn sounds like a tall-person name."

"Really? You're judging a person by his name?" Jaiden shook his head slowly.

"And Jaiden sounds like a short and ugly-person name," Chelsa joked.

"Hey!" Jaiden protested and put on a scowl.

Kristi rolled her eyes at their affection for each other. Troop mimicked her when he saw her doing so, earning himself a punch to the shoulders.

"I'm worried about Chelsa," Kristi told Troop later that day.

They only had a few hours left of riding until reaching Oppidum.

"She seems fine to me."

As usual, Chelsa and Jaiden were riding side by side ahead of them and out of earshot.

"She's way too quiet," Kristi said. "She hasn't been talking a lot lately and Ghost seems to be frustrated with Chelsa as well."

As she spoke, Kristi realized Ghost was no longer hitching a ride on Chelsa's horse; he had mysteriously disappeared again.

"Maybe Chelsa isn't a talkative person. Granted, I haven't known her as long as you have though," Troop said.

"I guess I might be over reacting," she admitted. "But I still feel like something's nagging Chelsa more than she lets on. Hopefully she'll be back to normal by the time we find Finn."

"Have you been to Oppidum before?"

"I've never left the that city where I grew up in until a month and half ago."

"I wonder what unlocking your electro-slate will reveal." Troop changed the subject.

"No clue. Whatever my parents left me on the slate better be good."

They tossed ideas back and forth about what could possibly be so important that the fingerprints of all four Naturals were required to unlock it. Their ideas ranged from a hidden vault of gold, to the secret elixir of immortality, to a cache of dinosaur DNA. The more they hypothesized, the more ridiculous their ideas got. Both of them eventually concluded that it was highly unlikely the electro-slate contained directions to the cave of a troll, after half an hour of debating.

"That's Oppidum?" Jaiden's exclamation brought Troop and Kristi out of their discussion. "How are we supposed to find Finn in that architectural jungle?"

Oppidum sprawled before their sights, a pulsing mass of fiberglass, steel and bricks. A lazy river plowed its way through the city. The center of Oppidum could be seen a mile away. A huge dome nestled in the heart of Oppidum, casting off a glow under the sun's rays.

The city was arranged in a circular pattern, much like a bull's eyes. On the outskirts were the less wealthy parts of the city; the houses were smaller and crammed together. Moving inwards, the houses started to space out and there was the occasional patch of green from a garden to be seen; last but not least, a mixture of mansions and skyscrapers dominated the center of Oppidum. Arches graced the skylines and spires reached towards the heavens.

"This might take a while," Troop said.

"Agreed." Chelsa said the word forcibly.

They approached the fringes of Oppidum. Kristi drank in the sights all around her; the hustle of people doing their errands, the hawkers calling out their wares and the constant babble of news being updated on the public news-screens.

"In which part of Oppidum do you think Finn is most likely to be found?" she asked to no one in particular.

Not one person responded, which only made her more aware of how clueless and unprepared they were.

Three hours later, they had made absolutely no progress. They had asked people on the streets if they knew a kid named Finn. The answers they received were all the same: "No."

"Do you want to call it quits for the day?" Chelsa asked.

They were all tired, hungry and feeling hopeless.

"I'm not sure what curfew time is in Oppidum, but it's a bit past seven," Chelsa continued on.

"Excuse me, sir," Kristi called out to a stranger passing by.

The man stopped and said, "Yes?"

"Do you know what time is curfew?"

"8:30 sharp," he replied, then walked away after she thanked him.

"Yeah, let's call it quits," Troop said. "Does anyone have a place in mind where we ought to stay for the night?"

"We walked by a decent hotel called Wayland Hotel a few blocks from here." Kristi pointed vaguely to the direction of the hotel. "Want to spend the night there?"

"Sounds good."

They walked past shops that were preparing to close up for the night: an empty learning center, Urban Clothes and a droid-repair shop. Kristi led the way, as she was the person to suggest staying at Wayland Hotel. After another ten minutes of walking, she began to suspect she had somehow gotten lost in the maze-like streets of Oppidum.

"Didn't we pass by this restaurant already?" Jaiden asked. "I'm pretty sure I remember seeing Moon's Eatery at least three times already."

"Yeah, I think I might be a little lost," Kristi admitted. "I'm terrible with navigation in general. But I could've sworn I was walking in the right direction of Wayland Hotel though..." Kristi paused midsentence, noticing a kid coming their way on crutches. He was moving surprisingly fast with an injured leg or foot (she couldn't tell).

Troop took a half step towards the kid while Jaiden and Chelsa studied a map. "Hey there, do you live around here?"

The kid was more or less Kristi's age. He cocked his head like a bird, observing them with mild interest. "Yeah."

"Can you give us the directions to Wayland Hotel?"

"Sure. Continue down this street then take a right at the first intersection you see. A few buildings down Crescent Street you should be able to find Wayland Hotel."

Something about the kid on crutches bothered Kristi—not necessarily in a bad way—but she couldn't place her finger on what about him that was throwing her off.

"Thanks," Troop said.

"No problem."

The kid turned his neck to scratch an itch and Kristi noticed what had been bothering her: one of his eyes was hazel while the other was a stormy gray. This was something she had never seen before with any Perfect, which must meant—

"Are you Finn?" she asked.

"That would be me."

"Who's Finn?" Jaiden asked, looking up from the map.

"Him," Kristi said, gesturing towards Finn who had straightened up his posture.

"Well, finding you didn't take as long as I feared," Troop said.

"You guys were looking for me?" Finn looked perplexed.

"Yeah," said Kristi. "And it took long enough."

A patrol officer strolled down the street and called out, "Curfew will be enforced in ten minutes!"

"You're a Natural," Kristi told Finn. "Just like us. Well, just like Troop, Chelsa and me. Jaiden's not one."

"I'm a what? Who are Troop, Chelsa and Jaiden? And where did that leopard come from?"

Ghost had slunk back to them in the meantime and was checking out Finn's crutches.

"You're a Natural," Kristi said hurriedly, not wanting to be caught on the streets past curfew in an unfamiliar city. "A surviving Accident. I'm Kristi; this is Troop, Chelsa and Jaiden." She pointed out each person. "The leopard belongs to Chelsa and is named Ghost."

"Alright, that makes sense so far," said Finn. "But why the heck are you looking for me?"

"We're looking for the four Naturals to unlock a slate that my parents left—"

"Wait, did you say your name was Kristi and you have a brother named Jaiden?" Finn cut her off.

"Yeah."

"Aren't you, like, a wanted person?"

"I guess."

"She's really not that scary," Troop inputted.

"But that's beside the point," Kristi said, waving off the interruption. "We're trying to complete this quest and need the fingerprints of the four Naturals to unlock the electro-slate my parents left behind."

"You've lost me," Finn said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Curfew in five minutes!" the same guard barked, doubling back past them. "You kids better get going."

"Why don't you guys come over to my house for the night?" Finn offered. "My parents are constantly having random people stay over, so they shouldn't mind if you want to stay in the guest rooms tonight. You can keep your droid-horses in our spare garage."

They set off after Finn on his crutches, winding deeper and deeper into Oppidum until they arrived at a decent sized house made up of tinted glass panels.

A woman in her mid-thirties came out of the houses and said, "Finn, why are you home so late? And who are these people with you?"

"I lost of track of time," Finn replied, taking his last minute guests up to the front door. "And these people say I'm a Natural like them."The word "Natural" must've made sense to Finn's mom because she jolted her head up and looked at them.

"Well," she said, "do come in. I think there is someone who is very interested in meeting you three in the house."

chapter thirty

[ Kristi ]

"So, we meet again." Dr. Hanson strolled into the living room. "I hope you are in better shape than before, Kristi."

"Yes, thank you."

"And also, thanks for making reservations at the Rex Hotel for us," Chelsa added.

"I assume you found the headquarters, correct?"

Kristi nodded. As glad as she was to meet Dr. Hanson, she wanted to unlock the electro-slate now. She was itching to know what the slate contained.

Dr. Hanson must've noticed her restlessness because he said, "Kristi, you seem eager to do something." The tone he spoke in implied he already knew about the electro-slate Tiffany had given her.

"The slate!" Chelsa exclaimed. "I've been so caught up in my own problems I've completely forgotten about the electro-slate your parents left for you."

Everyone crowded around Kristi as she removed the slate from her pocket and powered the screen on. Words glowed to life:

Fingerprints of the Naturals required for Access.

"Here it goes," Kristi said mostly to herself.

She pressed her thumb onto the screen. A small beep emitted from the electro-slate.

Troop, Chelsa and Finn followed her example with Dr. Hanson, Jaiden and Finn's parents looking on with great interest. Finn, the last Natural to scan his finger, removed his thumb from the slate and two icons appeared on the screen.

One of the icons was a blue folder with the words Disappearance Case labeled on it; the second icon looked identical to the first except the words Individualism Case were written on it.

"Of course," Finn's mom murmured. "Those are the cases Shelly and Kyle were working on for the last five years. It only makes sense for them to want Kristi to complete them."

Kristi tapped on the Disappearance Case icon and a document popped up. She shifted into a comfier position on the sofa and started to read:

Case: The Disappearance Case

Assigned Member (s): Kyle and Shelly

Note: Kristi, if you are reading this, then we (Maria and Don) must either be dead or as good as dead. You have been a wonderful daughter to us and we regret we couldn't have spent more time together. Nevertheless, if you have gotten ahold of this electro-slate, then you must know about the Revealers. We hope you forgive us for keeping this part of our lives a secret from you and Jaiden. If you have unlocked this slate (which you obviously have if you're reading this), then you must've found the other three Naturals. Best of luck in completing the cases we have left behind.

Situation: Where are the Accidents disappearing? Every year, thousands of Accidents, most under a month old, disappear from the records without a trace. Why is the government collecting them and where are they keeping them?

Information gathered:

  * All Accidents—save the Naturals—are under two months when they disappear

  * People who have questioned where the Accidents are died shortly afterwards

  * Stevey is more than he seems

    * Stevey probably knows where the missing Accidents are; the only problem is getting him to talk

  * Possible locations where the Accidents may be found:

    * San King, East Region

    * Waterfront, West Region

    * Klisbury, East Region

Kristi finished reading and no one spoke for a moment. The sound of Ghost's tongue rasping as he washed his paws was amplified a hundredfold in the otherwise soundless room.

It was Kristi who spoke first. "But that still doesn't explain why there are four Naturals. Any member of the Revealers could've completed this case."

"Read the second file," Troop suggested.

She exited the document and selected the Individualism Case. Then she started to read once more:

Case: The Individualism Case

Assigned Member(s): Kyle and Shelly

Situation: Many would argue that humanity has become perfected with science. Diseases and conditions such as cancer, stroke and heart attacks are unheard of. Everyone is more or less genetically perfect. Or are they? Has the human race forgotten what perfect is? The truth is, while it may be true that people nowadays have perfect vision, faster learning skills and better physiques than before, the overwhelming majority of the population has forgotten how to think for themselves; they have accepted "perfect" as who they are; no one has individual opinions anymore. This may cause serious problems in the future as the population has a standardized mindset, thus allowing everyone to be manipulated easily. However, what is most troubling is that the human race seems to have forgotten "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." "Perfection" is merely an opinion, not a state of being. The people have to be reminded that having genetically perfect DNA does not make the human race perfect if their minds and humanity are growing weaker.

Solution: We (Kyle and Shelly) have requested four babies with unaltered DNA to be brought up as normally as possible. The Revealers have agreed to provide protection to these four kids to ensure their survival (Tiffany Mendax is in charge of this). It is our goal for these four Naturals, as we have dubbed the four kids, to grow up as normally as possible and in time, show the world it is our differences that make the world a more interesting place. The Revealers have been relentlessly recruiting more followers and members since this project was launched. To date, there are roughly 125,000 Revealer members worldwide.

"125,000 members," Kristi said. "That's quite a lot of people."

"Not really, if you consider there are over three billion people in the world," Finn said.

"I'm sure the Revealer's numbers have grown though," Finn's dad said.

Dr. Hanson nodded. "Last time I checked, which was about two weeks ago, our numbers were up to 500,000. Tiffany's been a charm recruiting members."

Then out-of-the-blue, realization dawned on Kristi. They were expected to fulfill these two tasks left by her parents. Four—five if counting Jaiden—teenagers were expected to fulfill two cases started several years ago.

Troop must've caught her thoughts because he said, "This is a lot to take in. Are we actually going to attempt to complete the two cases?"

"Of course we are," Kristi said, her own words sounding uncertain even to her own ears. "Well, at least I will at any rate."

"Count me in," Troop said.

"And me," Finn added.

"Chelsa?" Kristi prompted.

"Sure."

Ghost purred his approval.

"Then I'm in as well," Jaiden concluded.

Finn's mom interrupted, "As sure as I am of the fact that the five of you are willing to finish the Disappearance and Individualism Case, I must say that is not going to happen."

Finn's dad nodded gravely. "You're too young and inexperienced to be working cases as important as these two. It would be better if the assignments were turned over to other, more seasoned Revealer agents."

"Mom, Dad," said Finn, "shouldn't that decision be up to Kristi to decide? After all, it was her parents who specifically gave her the two cases to complete."

"Kristi has absolutely no knowledge in this sort of work," his mom said. She turned to Kristi and said, "No offense."

"None taken."

But, she agreed with Finn; it was her right to choose whether she passed on the tasks Maria and Don had left her to better qualified people or not. I mean, I did just cross the entire country to unlock this electro-slate; I don't want someone else to decide what to do with the contents on the slate.

"Derek and Mellany are viable candidates to work on the cases," Finn's mom said to the other adults in the room.

Her husband made an agreeable sound, adding, "Yes. Kelvin and Tom may be interested in this as well. What do you say, Dr. Hanson?"

"I agree with Finn," said Dr. Hanson, startling everyone by siding with the kids. "It was clearly stated in their wills that Kristi is to receive this electro-slate containing information on the Disappearance and Individualism cases. Kyle and Shelly are smart people; they wouldn't have done such actions without a good reason."

Finn's mom gave a curt nod. "I can see your reasoning, Dr. Hanson, but that does not mean I have to agree with it."

Dr. Hanson acknowledged her opinion. Then he faced Kristi and said, "The law's on your side if you decide to take on these two cases. Your parents unmistakably stated this electro-slate is to be for you to inherit. Because the files for the Disappearance and Individualism cases are on the slate, technically, they belong to you as well."

"Kristi isn't eighteen yet," Finn's mom interjected.

"That fact is irrelevant," said Dr. Hanson. "I will do everything in my power to ensure you succeed if you choose to complete the two cases. I have many useful connections, so feel free to give me a call if you're ever in a sticky situation."

Neither of Finn's parents looked happy, but they didn't say anything either. I guess Dr. Hanson was right; the two cases legally belong to me, Kristi thought.

"I want to carry out the two cases," she said.

"I beg you to think over your decision. You're still young and will make impulsive choices," said Finn's dad. He perched at the edge of the couch, wringing his hands.

Kristi replied in a heartbeat, "I'm not changing my mind."

"Fine," said Finn's mom. "I can't tell you what to do. However, Finn isn't coming with you, and I am legally entitled to prevent him from leaving this household."

"Mom," moaned Finn.

His mom glared at him. Luckily, Dr. Hansom came to their rescue once more.

"Jacqueline," he said in his soft voice. "Do what you think is best for the greater good. I realize that you love your son, but sometimes love is also about letting go, not just holding on."

Finn's mom abruptly stood up. "Fine," she said, not sounding fine at all. "Do what you will." She left the room.

Finn's dad looked at the doorway, as if wishing he could escape the room with his wife.

After what seemed like eons, he said, "Finn, your mother and I will deeply regret seeing you depart on this risky business if you choose to. But if that is what you want to do, I won't do anything to stop you."

"Thanks for understanding," Finn said.

"No problem, son."

Finn didn't need to voice his answer out loud. They all knew he was coming with them.

"Finn, will you show the guests the spare bedrooms?" asked his dad in a somber tone.

Finn lightly hoisted himself up from the couch and grabbed his crutches, which were leaning against the wall. "This way."

Thoughts whirled around Kristi's brain like a blender set on high.

"Which case should we start on?" she asked.

"Probably the Disappearance Case," Jaiden said. "It seems to be the most feasible case to complete."

"Wake up." Chelsa roughly shook Kristi awake.

Kristi directed her groggy eyes at the clock: 3:26am.

"What the heck?" she whispered.

"We have to go. Jaiden and Troop are already up. I have to go wake up Finn now. Hurry up and get dressed."

She snagged Chelsa by the arm. "Why?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain. We're already six minutes late; waking Jaiden took longer than I expected."

"I'm not heading outside at half past three in the morning without a good reason," Kristi said. "Do you know how much trouble we will be in if we're caught outside?"

"Alright, I'll explain briefly," said Chelsa impatiently. "I received an instafication notifying us there was someone who had something that could help aid us in completing one of the cases. The person's meeting us at Jabber Boulevard at 3:20."

"Doesn't this seem a bit vague and skeptical? We haven't even known about the cases for a day and we're already being offered help in the middle of the night? Tell the person we'll meet him or her during the day and at a place where we decide to meet."

Chelsa let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, don't you think we could use all the help we can get? The person said he wouldn't be around tomorrow since he's leaving Oppidum as soon as he hands us whatever he has to give."

Jaiden entered the room with Troop.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Can you go wake Finn up while I try to convince Kristi to get out of bed?"

Jaiden left in search of Finn's room.

"Should I find Ghost?" Troop asked.

"Nah," said Chelsa, then she turned back to Kristi, probably ready to yank her out from beneath the blankets by force if needed.

Kristi had already pulled on a hoodie was lacing up her sneakers though. Might as well get this over with, she thought.

"Oh good, you've finally come about to your senses," Chelsa muttered.

Her shoulders bunched up with tension and Kristi began to doubt herself for agreeing to meet this mysterious person in the middle of the night. As far as Kristi was concerned, meeting strangers at three in the morning usually didn't end well.

Jaiden returned to the room with Finn within five minutes.

"Let's get going," he said. "Chelsa, you said you know how to get to Jabber Boulevard, right?"

"Yes."

Chelsa tried to leave the room, but Ghost blocked the doorway.

"Ghost, can you please move?" she asked.

Ghost raised his hackles and hissed at Chelsa. Kristi had never seen Ghost act so aggressive to her before.

"Don't make this any harder than it is," Chelsa said to Ghost in a low voice, prodding him with her foot in attempt to get him out of the way.

Ghost spat disdainfully and stalked away in a huffy manner.

Finn unlocked the backdoor and the five of them stepped out into the crisp night. Kristi was extra glad of the thick sweatshirt she had pulled on when a stiff breeze blew through.

"How far away is Jabber Boulevard?" she whispered.

"About a ten minute walk."

The roads were eerie and void of life. Oppidum had transformed from a lively metropolitan to an abandoned city within hours. Chelsa seemed to want to say something several times while walking, but kept changing her mind last minute. Kristi wondered if she was regretting rousing them up to meet a stranger in the middle of the night.

"Oh, I recognize where we are," Finn said. His voice sounded freakishly loud in the unoccupied roads. "Jabber Boulevard is only two streets away."

They turned right at the end of the avenue and the street sign for Jabber Boulevard came into view. Chelsa, who had been leading the group the whole time, paused in her steps without a warning and spun around. Kristi took a hasty step back to avoid colliding face first into her.

"Are there patrols?" Kristi asked.

"No. Let's go back to Finn's house."

"You're kidding," Troop said. "You dragged us out at three-something in the morning only to turn back now without even seeing if we can receive some help with the case."

"No, I'm not kidding. Let's go."

"At least give us a good reason why we should turn back now," said Jaiden.

"I lied." Chelsa's eyes evaded Jaiden's.

"I don't understand," said Jaiden.

"There is no one waiting for us at Jabber Boulevard. At least no one that you would want to meet. Unless you want to be caught by the United Region Homeland Security law enforcers."

"Are you saying you led us straight into an ambush?" Kristi said, not believing what Chelsa was telling her.

"Yes—get behind those recycle bins!"

Chelsa shoved Kristi behind several bins sitting by the curb just as someone walked off of Jabber Boulevard. Then she walked away from the bins and towards the person.

"Chelsa, good to see you," the person greeted her. The woman was dressed all in black, from her combat boots to her helmet.

"Greetings, Officer Zala," Chelsa replied.

Officer Zala frowned. "You're late by over fifteen minutes. And where are the others you promised you would bring? My people have been waiting for over an hour now."

"I'm sorry. I thought I could convince the others to follow me with the fake instafication I sent myself. I was wrong though; they weren't willing to break curfew."

Zala ground her teeth, whether out of frustration or anger, Kristi couldn't tell.

"I expected better of you," Zala said. "I will call my men off duty then. Remember, the faster you bring the other freaks to us, the faster you'll get what you want. I will be awaiting your next instafication and updates."

"Is that all there is?" Chelsa asked.

Officer Zala gave a sharp nod and left. A few minutes later, three black vans pulled out of Jabber Boulevard and then roared off. Kristi quivered, thinking how close they had been with getting caught.

She looked at Troop, Jaiden and Finn, trying to gauge how they were handling this rapid turn of events. Troop and Finn seemed shocked; Troop's jaw was tightly clenched, trying to hold back his fury of Chelsa's betrayal. Jaiden was deathly still.

Kristi was glad Chelsa had a sudden change of heart and decided not to turn them in to the government. On the other hand, she was shaking with anger; Chelsa had the nerves to fake a friendship with her.

Chelsa started coming back towards them. Kristi had a lot of acrimonious words in store for her.

"How could you?" she asked. "I trusted you."

Chelsa refused to meet her eyes and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to. Nothing went as planned. I didn't know this was the way things would turn out."

"Sorry doesn't change the fact that you almost killed us," Jaiden snapped.

Ghost appeared out of the night and looked up at Chelsa.

"You're right and I'm wrong, Ghost," she said.

Chelsa reached down to scratch Ghost behind the ears. Ghost closed his eyes and rumbled.

Suddenly Kristi understood why Ghost and Chelsa had been in a fight; Ghost knew Chelsa was planning on betraying them. He had been trying to signal Chelsa not to turn them in.

"Let's head back," Finn said. "No point in staying out any longer than we need to."

"Okay," Kristi said, and then she faced Chelsa who still wasn't meeting her eyes. "You have a lot of explaining to do once we get back to Finn's house."

"I promise I'll explain everything."

"You're promises aren't worth a lot to me right now," Jaiden retorted. He sounded furious and wounded at the same time.

They speed-walked in an uncomfortable silence. The walk back to Finn's home seemed both quicker and slower than before. Finn unlocked the door to the house and everyone slipped inside silently so as not to wake up the adults.

They headed into the living room and Kristi adjusted the lights to the dimmest setting. Jaiden, Troop and Kristi sat together on a couch while Finn remained standing by the doorway. Chelsa settled on the ottoman; the whole setup reminded Kristi of an interrogation being taken place.

"Start talking," Jaiden commanded.

"First of all, I feel extremely guilty right now. I know that probably doesn't mean much to you guys, but I truly apologize to you," Chelsa said.

"You can save your apologies for later."

"Just tell us why you pretended to be our friend," Kristi said.

"It's a long story."

"We have all the time we need."

"Do you remember Alex? Officer Zala contacted me shortly after Alex died. It turns out the government has known that there were four living Accidents for a while; however, the Revealers had done an excellent job of concealing our locations. By pure chance, Officer Zala happened to find me after being assigned to document Alex's death. She offered me a deal: if I could somehow manage to steer the other three Accidents, which are you guys, into one place together where she could seize everyone at once, she would bring Alex back to life."

Kristi closed her mouth when she realized it had fallen open in disbelief. "That sounds like something from a science-fiction book. No one has ever been brought back from the dead."

"That's true," Chelsa said. "But Officer Zala knows several scientists that have been working on ways to revitalize the deceased; it's a government funded research department and the scientists think that they will have a method to bring a person back to life using their DNA soon.

"At first, I brushed off her offer for two main reasons: first of all, the whole deal sounded preposterous; second of all, I had absolutely no idea how to find the other Accidents. Heck, I thought I was a one-of-a-kind-freak. But when I accidently met Kristi, I began to reconsider Zala's offer. I told myself I would just pretend to befriend Kristi and let her lead me to the other Accidents then turn you all in and be done with it.

"I wasn't expecting to actually befriend you guys. And I most definitely did not foresee myself falling in love with Jaiden." Chelsa threw him a pleading look, which he returned stonily. She dropped her head to her hands and muttered, "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"You really, really screwed up," Troop affirmed.

Chelsa's face crumpled. She looked at Kristi, awaiting her verdict.

Kristi found her voice and said, "You hurt me, Chelsa, you're one of the few people I trusted."

"I know you probably don't trust me anymore," Chelsa said. "But will you at least not hate me?"

Kristi sighed. "I don't know what to do or feel. I believed you were my friend—I wanted you as my friend. But your actions tonight proved otherwise. Yet, if you hadn't changed your mind and decided to fork me over to Zala, we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

"Does that mean you've forgiven me?"

"I suppose. I do have a question though: was the government somehow involved with our lack of bandit encounters on South Lane?"

"Yes. As the Revealers have suspected, the government is working with several bandit groups. The bandits were instructed to leave us alone. It is also why the government didn't try very hard to capture Kristi and Jaiden; they wanted to wait until Finn, Troop and Kristi were together before swooping in."

Troop gave Kristi a look that read, "Isn't that what I said before?"

"I haven't known you for a long time," Finn said. "But if Kristi thinks you've definitely had a change of heart, then you're cool by me. But take notice, I'll be watching your moves closely, so you better not screw up again." Finn said the words as if simply stating a fact.

Troop didn't offer his thoughts.

The rest of them waited for Jaiden to speak. He looked squarely into Chelsa's eyes and said, "It's over. Whatever we had going on between us is over."

Then he stood up and strode out of the room.

This living room sure witnessed a lot of dramatic exits today, thought Kristi. First Finn's mom and now Jaiden.

"Well," she said, "just when I thought things couldn't get worse they did."

"You think?" Troop said sarcastically.

Jaiden didn't join them for brunch that morning. The grownups seemed to have noticed some of the tension in the air, but to Kristi's relief, they didn't ask about it.

"Where's Dr. Hanson?" she asked Finn's dad.

Finn's mom had left for her office shortly after making sure the teens had enough to eat. Kristi was glad she had departed—her interactions with Finn still seemed strained at best.

"He left already. He had some business to attend to and headed out when you were still asleep. He did leave this for you though."

Finn's dad handed her a sealed envelope. Troop put down his dirty dishes in the sink and peered over Kristi's shoulder.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Hold on. Have some patience."

She carefully slid her finger underneath the flap and pulled out a single piece of paper. In neatly printed letters were the words:

If I recall correctly, your parents believe Stevey holds valuable information in which you may be interested. Stevey's house: 41° 39' 58.1008" Burn after reading. Do not share this information. A driver will take you to a twenty-mile radius within Stevey's house. The driver should arrive a bit after noon, so you will have time to gather your belongings. Your droid-horses will be transported to a stable run by a Revealer member. Good luck.

"As usual, he's one step ahead of us," Kristi said to herself, but loud enough for Troop to hear.

She entered the longitude and latitude into her electro-slate, then tossed the paper into the incinerator.

Clang!

Finn accidently dropped one of his crutches.

Troop retrieved it for him and said, "I've been meaning to ask but keep on forgetting: how did you hurt your leg?"

"Hiking accident."

"That stinks. How much longer until you're off crutches?"

"Um, never."

"Never?" Kristi asked.

"I paralyzed my left leg four years ago."

"Couldn't the doctors do anything? If they can bring back the dead, surely they can mend a paralyzed leg."

Finn shrugged. "I hurt my spinal cord pretty bad. The spinal cord, which is part of the nervous system, was too messed up to be fixed. As a result, I lost all sense in my leg."

"I'm not trying to impose on your personal preferences, but have you considered getting a prosthetic?"

"My parents and I did look into it, but we couldn't find a surgeon willing to perform surgery on me to remove the paralyzed leg; none of the surgeons we approached wanted to help an Accident. To quote the last surgeon we visited, 'This is natural selection doing its job of making sure only the fittest survive.'"

Troop snorted. "That's BS."

Kristi couldn't have agreed more. "Couldn't Dr. Hanson remove your paralyzed leg for you?"

"He's not a surgeon," Finn explained. "He isn't trained to perform operations."

"Someone better wake Jaiden up," Chelsa said. She had been so quiet this morning Kristi had forgotten she was still in the room. "He doesn't know we're leaving in a few hours."

"Want me to do it?" Kristi offered.

"Yes, please," Chelsa said gratefully.

Kristi left the kitchen and headed up to the guest bedroom. Jaiden was already awake and seemed to be deep in thought, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

She gently coughed, as not to startle him when she spoke, "Are you alright? We're going to be heading out soon."

"I don't think I'll be coming," he said.

"What do you mean? Surely you're not so furious about Chelsa you're planning on staying behind." Kristi couldn't imagine solving the two cases without Jaiden. He was her brother, her friend.

"I've already spoken with Finn's parents," Jaiden continued on like he hadn't heard Kristi. "They've agreed to let me stay with them until I get a steady job and am ready to live on my own. They're also nice enough to get me a new ID and paperwork—that's the upside of being in contact with the Revealers."

"Jaiden, you're not serious! How can—"

"—it'll be great. I'm getting the chance to have a fresh start. No one knows me in Oppidum and Finn's parents have agreed to pose as my aunt and uncle." Jaiden paused in his talking and looked at Kristi. "What do you think?"

She took a gulp and replied, "If this is really what you want to do, I guess I'm more than happy that an opportunity like this has presented itself to you. But at the same time, I'll really miss you traveling with the group."

"I want to stay here."

Kristi dipped her head. "I respect your choice, but all the same, your company will be sorely missed. Are you still angry at Chelsa?" She asked before she could help herself.

Storm clouds rolled onto his face. "Not so much angry as hurt. I can't believe she's been playing us along the whole time."

"Chelsa's changed her loyalties."

"That's what you think."

Kristi decided to keep her mouth shut to prevent herself from infuriating this touchy topic.

"Love is like an onion," Jaiden said.

Kristi wasn't sure how to reply to this random statement, so she said the first thing that popped into her mind, "I don't see the connection."

"A person, like an onion, is made up of multiple layers. When you love a person, you get to take away all their layers and truly see what they're like on the inside. You may cry as you peel away each layer and discover not all of them are sweet."

chapter thirty-one

[ Troop ]

"I think the driver Dr. Hanson promised us is here," Finn said, looking out the living room window.

He had barely finished his sentence when the sound of a car's horn was heard.

Troop slung his backpack over his shoulders and headed outside.

"I still can't believe Jaiden is ditching us," he said.

"I don't think he really wanted to be part of this whole fiasco in the first place," Kristi replied. "I'm pretty sure the only reason why he came with us was because I kind of pressured him to."

The automatic front doors swished open and they walked down the driveway to the black van idling. A nondescript man in a polo shirt and jeans came out from the driver's side of the car.

The man checked out the group of teens and said, "I'm sent by Dr. Hanson to drive you to segment 9 of Route 56."

"That sounds right," Troop said.

"The drive will take around three to four days, depending on traffic and what not." The driver opened the doors to the van and ushered them inside.

The van was made to hold nine people, so the five of them (six if counting Ghost) fit comfortably. Kristi dropped her backpack into the trunk and crawled to the backseat. Troop joined her in the back as well and thought, Not bad. I have enough room to stretch out my legs if I want and there's a mini-fridge in this vehicle as well.

Chelsa and Finn took a seat in a separate row each. Ghost curled up in the empty seat besides Chelsa. Once everyone was settled in, the driver locked the doors and pulled out of the driveway.

"I never thought a three day drive would feel so long," Kristi moaned.

Troop laughed and said, "We could've always walked. That would've taken over a week."

"Only three more hours until we arrive at your destination," the driver informed them from up front.

"Thank goodness," Kristi muttered good-naturedly. "My butt is so sore from sitting. What time is it anyways?"

Finn briefly consulted his watch. "A bit past three."

"I think I'm going to take a nap to pass time. Wake me up when we arrive." She grabbed a pillow from beneath her seat and fell asleep.

Troop watched her eyelashes slowly flutter to a standstill, like the petals of a flower stilling for the night. Her breathing slowed to a steady inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. A small smile graced her lips and she let out a soft sigh.

"Troop," said Chelsa, "what do you say we do about Zala?"

"Did she ask for an update?"

"Not yet, but she's bound to soon."s

Troop grunted a noncommittal reply. Chelsa returned to her ponderings.

He removed his electro-slate from his pocket and trawled through his instafication inbox, which had reached an all-time high of two hundred and twenty messages; he'd been neglecting it. Not surprisingly, most of the instafications were from Jennifer. His mom had sent a couple messages to ask how he was doing. Darrel had messaged him several times asking where he was.

Troop gave his mom a brief but to-the-point answer, letting her know he was doing just fine and not to worry about him. For Darrel, Troop replied with a vague instafication of his whereabouts. He deleted all one hundred and thirty messages from Jennifer after reading the first one.

Troop, where are you? I swear, if you don't show your face at school or answer my messages soon, I am going to break up with you.

He was tempted to respond Jennifer, telling her that he wasn't aware that they had been going out in the first place. He smothered the urge to do so, though, knowing nothing good would come out of it. Instead, he blocked her off his contact list.

chapter thirty-two

[ Kristi ]

Kristi woke up to people quietly chatting. She squinted her eyes open and saw Troop looking at her.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice raspy from sleep.

"Nothing." He averted his eyes to the scenery passing by outside.

She let out a yawn for good measure and took a sip of water.

Chelsa twisted around in her seat to face them. "Only half an hour left."

Kristi felt her pulse quicken, anticipating meeting Stevey once more. Tendrils of doubt rooted themselves in a corner of her mind as she recalled the nightmare she had in which Stevey turned into a monstrous creature. She cleared her head of such thoughts.

"Stevey's just an old, harmless guy that is a bit crazy," she reassured herself.

Chelsa overheard Kristi and said, "Very crazy."

"Is Stevey really as eccentric as you guys keep on making him to be?" Troop asked.

Kristi let out a small laugh. "You don't know Stevey until you've met him."

Chelsa's electro-slate buzzed, announcing someone had sent her an instafication. She read the message and a grimace crossed over her face.

"What's wrong?" Finn asked.

"Zala. She wants to have an update about how 'things' are going. I don't know how I should respond to Officer Zala's request."

"Tell her we're being uncooperative and don't want to listen to you. Also let her know we're planning on heading to New Anchorage," Kristi added, thinking of the city furthest away from them as she could think of.

"Alright," Chelsa said, typing back a reply. "But eventually she's going to find out something's not right. Zala's not stupid."

"We'll worry about that later," Troop said.

"That should be your new motto." Kristi kicked back her feet. "Do now, worry later."

The van slowed and came to a stop. The driver turned off the engines.

"We're at the rest station of segment 9 of Route 56."

Kristi barreled out the door, clambering over Ghost and inhaled a lungful of fresh air. She walked around to get the blood circulating to her legs.

"I never knew walking in a circle could feel so good."

"It's all in relativity," Troop said.

"Whatever. A lot of things are all in relativity." She stretched out her stiff legs and let out a breath as the blood rushed to the tips of her toes.

The driver unloaded the backpacks from the van and drove away. Kristi distributed energy bars to everyone and powered on her electro-slate. Then she entered in the latitude and longitude of Stevey's home into the GPS and they set off.

Finding Stevey's shack wasn't as hard as Kristi had anticipated. She had been expecting a ten-mile hike through the wilderness; in reality, Stevey's cabin was within five miles of the rest stop. It was just buried deep inside the forest, meaning progress was slow, as they had to fight through bramble thickets, tripping roots, craggy rocks and even a swarm of wasps.

Finn had a difficult time maneuvering through the uneven terrain, but he managed to keep up.

"I think I see Stevey's place." He jerked his head to the right.

Kristi scanned the area and made out the wooden cabin camouflaged among the trees. "Nice spotting. I probably would've missed it."

"Try not to be too demanding with your questions when you meet Stevey," Chelsa advised. "He seems to be a bit paranoid and doesn't like to be put under pressure. Also, don't be alarmed by his appearance and discursiveness."

"Alright," Troop said. "From what I've heard, I'm expecting Stevey to be this bizarre man with a bad taste in clothing."

"Sounds about right," Kristi said.

She pushed her way through some pine branches and looked around for any signs of Stevey. Aside from his apparently empty cabin, there was no presence of any human being.

"Stevey!" she called out. "Dr. Hanson told us to find you."

No reply. But there was a rustle from the bushes to their left. Five heads swiveled towards the source of the sound. Ghost let out a growl and pounced in the general direction. A fox burst out from the undergrowth and bounded away.

"Hello?" Chelsa called out.

The branches overhead rustled in response. It turned out to be only two squirrels bickering.

"Maybe he's not here," Finn said.

"There's no reason why he would leave this place." Chelsa shaded her eyes, swinging her head from side to side. "Stevey! Are you around?"

"Yes."

They jumped at Stevey's voice. Stevey came lurching out from his cabin. I guess he was in his cabin the whole time after all, Kristi thought.

He had cleaned up a bit since she last saw him. At least his plaid shirt didn't have any mysterious stains on it this time. His hair, however, was as untamed as ever.

"Stevey has visitors!" he slurred happily.

He stumbled toward them in an alarming manner. Kristi suspected he had been drinking from his uncoordinated walk. Her suspicions were confirmed when he came closer and the odor of alcohol wafted off him.

"We should probably sober him up a bit," she said. "I highly doubt he's in any condition to answer any questions we have for him."

Stevey tripped over a rock and stayed on the ground. He attempted to push himself up, but must have decided the effort was too much because he hazily looked at Kristi through bloodshot eyes.

"Troop, can you help me carry Stevey inside his cabin?" Kristi asked.

"Sure."

Troop grabbed Stevey from underneath one armpit and Kristi the other. Together, they half carried, half hauled Stevey inside. Meanwhile, Chelsa got a fire going in the fireplace and turned on the dim lights. Finn held the door open for Troop and Kristi dragging Stevey up the ramshackle stairs and onto the threadbare couch.

"How much did you drink?" Kristi demanded.

"Stevey didn't drink," he garbled.

He had hardly finished his sentence when he spewed up some vomit. Luckily, Chelsa was prepared for this and had a bucket on hand. Stevey let out a groan and lay back down. Threads of spittle trailed down his cheeks.

"Finn, can you go find if there's a first aid kit somewhere? There might be some detoxification pills," Chelsa said.

"Onto it."

"You better hope Dr. Hanson isn't watching this," Kristi said, forgetting Stevey probably didn't know there were cameras installed in his cabin for his own safety.

Stevey let out a giggle, "Dr. Hanson doesn't know. Dr. Hanson doesn't know many things. You don't know many things. Did you know cats sleep for two thirds of the day? Did you know 98% of your body's atoms are replaced annually? Did you—" His stream of facts was cut off as he heaved up another bout of vomit.

Kristi opened some of the windows to get rid of the revolting smell and tried to coax the ceiling fan to life in vain.

"Found some detoxification pills," Finn said, holdinga small white container.

Troop took the container from Finn and read the label. "These expired last year. Do you think we should still use them?"

"Normally, I would say no," Chelsa said. "But I think we can make an exception in this case. We're rather short on time and the faster Stevey flushes the alcohol out of his body the faster we can be on our way."

Troop unscrewed the cap and dumped a small, red pill into his palm and knelt down beside Stevey's head. "Stevey, can you do us a favor and swallow this? You'll feel much better later on if you do."

Stevey squinted at the detoxification pill. Then he threw up some more, causing Troop to jump back and Chelsa to leap forward with the bucket.

"Promise Stevey will feel better?" he asked.

"Promise," Troop said. Then under his breath he mumbled, "Though you probably won't feel so great when all that liquor is leaving your body at once."

"Give me the pill," Stevey ordered. He held out his hand for the pill. Troop gave it to him and Stevey swallowed the pill dry.

Within five minutes, Stevey was chucking up like heck. Stevey must've drunk a huge amount of alcohol at the rate he was retching. Finn managed to get the ancient fan working reluctantly; unfortunately, the fan did little to disperse the smell of puke. The smell turned Kristi's stomach into a queasy mess and she feared she would start barfing herself if she didn't get out of here soon.

"Excuse me," Kristi said, pushing past Chelsa and Troop. "I think I'll go outside for some fresh air, if you don't mind."

"Go on," Troop said. "If anyone else wants to go outside, feel free to. I think I have this situation under control."

Ghost padded after Kristi outside. She could only imagine how awful the stench must have been for Ghost, whose nose was hundreds of times more sensitive than hers.

The sky grew dark within minutes and Kristi had a feeling they wouldn't be getting any answers from Stevey that day. The questions would have to wait until the next day. She set up the tent something she was proud she could now accomplish) and waited for everyone else to come out.

Ten, fifteen, then twenty minutes passed and Kristi decided she was too tired to stay up any longer; before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

chapter thirty-three

[ Troop ]

Some sort of creature snuffling outside the tent woke Troop up. He peeked outside and spotted a deer bounding out of sight. Kristi, Finn and Chelsa were still fast asleep; Ghost raised his head and met Troop's eyes.

"I won't wake them up," he whispered. Then he felt foolish for talking to a cat.

Ghost twitched his whiskers and lay back down, deeming him unworthy of his attention. Troop crawled outside and started preparing some breakfast foods, waiting for the others to wake up. The smell of hot chocolate must've been pretty delicious since Finn and Chelsa emerged from the tent in a few minutes.

"Kristi still sleeping?" Troop asked.

"Yeah," said Chelsa. "She's so tired I wouldn't be surprised if she slept through a devil-dog attack."

"I would not!" came Kristi's voice from inside the tent.

Troop grinned to himself, imagining her forehead creased with indignation.

"How was Stevey doing after I left?" Kristi joined them outside, her hair slightly tousled and looking sleepy.

"Better," he said. "He purged heavily for a good fifteen minutes. We got him cleaned up a bit and left him sleeping on the couch."

The sound of a body falling onto a hard surface interrupted their conversation. Troop looked up in time to see Stevey picking himself up from the front steps of his cabin.

"Good morning, Stevey," Troop said.

"Good morning," Stevey replied, massaging his temples. "Stevey made a bad mistake yesterday."

"What did you think you were doing, polishing off seven bottles of beer?" Finn asked.

"How did you know about Stevey's secret?" Stevey's eyes widened in surprise.

"We found empty bottles near your cabin."

"Are you feeling better?" Chelsa asked.

"Yes. Do you have food?"

Chelsa handed Stevey a slice of bread and some hot chocolate. Stevey wolfed down the food and let out a belch. After draining the last dregs of hot chocolate, he asked, "Why are you here?" Stevey handed the empty cup back to Chelsa and scanned their faces. "I remember you and you," he said, pointing to Chelsa and Kristi. "You guys are bad. You make Stevey say things Stevey cannot say."

Troop noticed Kristi cringe.

She leaned over and whispered to him, "Stevey's memory is better than I anticipated. Hopefully he won't hold a grudge against Chelsa and me; however, if necessary Chelsa and I will leave if Stevey refuses to answer any questions in our presence."

"Stevey doesn't know you and you." Stevey pointed to Troop and Finn.

They briefly introduced themselves to Stevey then got down to business.

"So Stevey, I heard you're very smart," Finn said, trying to ease Stevey into a talkative mood.

Stevey nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes, Stevey knows tons! Did you know that a tarantula can survive without food for over a year? Did you know manatees have vocal chords that give them the ability to speak the human language? Did you know that elephants can't jump? Did you know the last wild elephant died fourteen years ago?"

They allowed Stevey to ramble on a bit more before attempting to steer him back on track to the list of questions they had in store for him.

"You sure know a lot," Kristi said.

Stevey smugly nodded in agreement.

"I heard you were a scientist," Troop said. "Is that true?"

Once again, Stevey nodded. "Stevey was a scientist. Stevey was a brilliant scientist who discovered many things. Stevey was the first person to successfully create a touch recorder."

"What company did you work for?"

"Stevey worked for Universal Science until the United Regions government recruited Stevey..." Stevey trailed off, lost in thought.

"And?" Chelsa prompted him.

"Stevey liked working for the government sponsored organization; there were always a lot of points to be spent on new machines. But later on, Stevey didn't like working there anymore."

"Is there any reason why?" Finn asked. "What made you dislike your job?"

"It was wrong," Stevey said forcefully. "The government used science in a bad way. They wanted to improve things that shouldn't be improved."

Troop furrowed his brows. "How is improving something bad?"

Stevey pierced him with an intense stare. "The price outweighed the reward in Stevey's job."

Troop felt like the answer they were looking for was so close he could snatch it out of thin air.

"Did your job have any involvement with Accidents?" he gently asked, not wanting to bring up bad memories to Stevey.

"My work was involved with many things." Stevey abruptly stopped referring to himself in third person.

"Look," Kristi said. "We're trying to solve a mystery my parents left behind. They suspect that the government has a darker motive for confiscating Accidents."

"Kyle and Shelly were on the right track." Stevey picked at his fingernails.

"So are you confirming what they suspected?"

"Yes. However, if I were you, I would drop the case and try to live as normally as possible. If the government catches even the slightest whiff that you are looking into the disappearance of Accidents, your life will become miserable," Stevey warned.

"Thanks for the advice, but I feel like I can never rest at ease without completing the cases my parents left behind for me."

Stevey shrugged. "Do what you want, but don't blame me for the consequences."

"Do you know why the government is abolishing the Accidents?" Finn asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Chelsa said. "The government doesn't want a bunch of genetically inferior kids corrupting the Perfect kids."

"Fair enough," Finn replied. "But what does the government do to the Accidents then? Surely they don't kill them...do they?"

"No, the government doesn't kill the Accidents," Stevey said.

"Then what do they do with them?"

Stevey didn't reply right away. When he spoke again, his tone was of a child's. "Stevey is tired. Stevey is going to take a nap."

Bi-polar personality much? Troop thought, watching Stevey drop the empty thermos onto the ground and stagger towards his shack.

"Perhaps we should go." Chelsa dusted some dirt off her pants.

"Alright," Troop said. "But I want to ask Stevey one more question. I have a feeling something important happened at the last lab Stevey worked at."

He left the others collapsing the tent and extinguishing the fire.

"Stevey!" Troop called out to the man's back.

Stevey paused at the doorway. "Yeah?"

"What was the last place you worked at?"

"New Genes Lab. Now can Stevey take a nap?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

Troop helped clean up their mess and looked up New Genes Lab on his electro-slate; it was located in Klisbury, East Region, which wasn't too far away from here. If they could catch an air-train to Klisbury, they would be able to find the lab today. He voiced this idea out loud.

"How much are the train tickets though?" Chelsa said.

"A bit over forty points per person. We have enough points to purchase tickets for everyone, but there is considerable risk for using the public transportation."

"I'll run the risk," Kristi said. "Is everyone okay with that?" No one answered. "I'll take that as a yes." She proceeded to buy tickets via her electro-slate.

Troop wondered if he would regret suggesting that they take the air-train.

chapter thirty-four

[ Kristi ]

Chelsa's electro-slate announced she had an instafication. They were on the air-train bound for Klisbury. Their segment of the train was unoccupied, save Chelsa, Troop, Finn, Ghost and Kristi.

Chelsa let out a groan as she read her instafication. "It's Zala. She wants another update. She also says that if I don't turn over you guys to her people within three days, the government will start an aggressive search."

"If everything goes according to plan, all of this will be over in three days," Troop said.

"What are you referring to when you say 'all of this'?" Finn asked, tickling Ghost with the end of one of his crutches.

"Completing the case and hopefully falling off the government's radar."

Kristi barely concealed her sound of amusement with a cough. "Do you seriously believe we will finish both the Disappearance Case and Individualism Case in three days?"

"Miracles do happen," Troop said.

"And pigs fly."

There was a soft knock on the compartment window. Someone slid open the door and poked her head inside.

"Do you mind if my fiancé and I sit here?" the woman asked. "The other compartments are either full or too noisy for me."

"Sure." Troop gestured to the seven empty seats left.

"Thanks."

The woman, who looked to be in her late twenties scooted into the seat across from Kristi; a man followed her. Both of them took out an electro-slate and started typing away.

The woman's toes tapped in time to the music that was being softly played over the speakers. Kristi guessed they were college graduates from the looks of their age and dress.

"The guy looks vaguely familiar," Troop whispered into her ear. His breath tickled the nape of her neck, provoking goose bumps.

"Where do you think you've seen him before?"

"I don't know. Give me a second and I'll think of it."

Finn overheard heard them whispering and offered his thoughts. "Maybe he's a member of the Revealers and you saw him at Verus Real Estate."

"Maybe," Troop said.

Kristi pulled away from Troop and studied the man. The guy did seem old enough to hold a job as an assistant at Verus Real Estate. He had dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and a quirk to his mouth as if he was skeptical of everything. The guy lifted his head up and Kristi hastily looked away, not wanting to appear like a creeper.

She leaned her head against the window and watched the outside world fly by. The countryside gave way to small towns, which gave way to cities. At long last, the air-train slowed down and eventually pulled into a station with a smooth halt.

"All passengers bound for Klisbury should depart now," an automated voice announced through the speakers located in the train compartment.

They got off the train, keeping their heads down and struggling not to get separated from each other while being swept along with the crowd getting off the air train. Klisbury reminded Kristi of her hometown; it was smaller than Oppidum, but still a respectable sized city.

"What do you say we do next?" Finn asked.

"Dr. Hanson sent me a list of Revealer addresses in Klisbury," Kristi said. "I think we should first find a safe house. He recommended staying at the Filches while we're here."

They emerged out of the train station and regrouped themselves. The crowd thinned out once outside and they were able to find a secluded spot to talk without being overheard by any curious ears.

"Who are the Filches?" Chelsa asked.

"A couple that lives only ten blocks from the train-station. They have been part of the Revealers for over ten years and have offered to let us stay at their place while we're in Klisbury," Kristi said, remembering the information Dr. Hanson had sent her while she was on the train.

"The Filches." Troop obtained a thoughtful expression. "That name sounds recognizable. I believe they're a pair of talented hackers that often help my mom get undisclosed information for her cases."

"We'll probably find their talents handy then," Finn said. "Let's start walking."

The Filches lived at a modest brick apartment in an older section of Klisbury. The building seemed weatherworn and tired, but overall had a neat appearance. Jane Filch welcomed her last minute visitors without even batting an eye to the leopard that accompanied them.

The room they were in upon entering the Filches' home was comfortably furnished with two sofas, a plush rug and a couple cots folded up in the corner. It seemed so normal for two supposedly rebel hackers. There were no walls covered with monitors or desks buried beneath mountains of electronic hardware; there were no visible sensors or cameras.

"Thanks for taking us in," Finn said.

"No problem. My husband, Nick, will be back soon. He has to wrap up some work at his office," Jane said.

"Is there anything we should know?" Chelsa asked.

"Not much except curfew at Klisbury is nine in the evening to five in the morning sharp. If you need anything, just let me know."

It was a bit before six, so there was a decent amount of time to spend.

"I'm going to take a look at New Genes Lab," Kristi said. "Does anyone want to come?"

"I will." Troop stood up. "It'll be good to take a look at the lab before breaking in. When do we plan on entering the lab anyways?"

"The sooner the better. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow."

"I think only Troop and you should go scout out the lab," Chelsa said. "The more people you have the more attention you're going to attract."

Jane, who had left the room moments ago, stuck her head back in.

"Sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. If you're planning on breaking into New Genes Lab, you might find these handy." She held out two small containers filled with a liquid. "They're contact-cams. Newly developed Revealer gadgets that allow you to secretly video tape everything you see."

"So they're basically like contact lens cameras?" Kristi clarified.

"Right on. If you wear them while checking out New Genes Lab, you can record a lot of visual information you would normally forget. They can make a huge difference between a successful break-in and a failure." Jane pressed a case into Troop and Kristi's hand each.

"Thanks," they replied in unison.

"That's what I'm here for," she said. "To make sure everything goes smoothly."

Troop went to the bathroom with Kristi to put in the contact lens. The wiring and cameras in the lens were so microscopic Kristi wouldn't have noticed them at all if she hadn't known they were there.

She blinked her watering eyes a few times. She had just inserted a contact-cam into her right eye and it felt a bit awkward. Once Kristi got used to the feeling of having a contact on her right eye, she attempted to put in her left one.

"Darn it," Kristi said after three fruitless tries.

"Here, let me try. I already got both of my lenses on." Troop carefully took the contact lens she was having trouble with from the tip of her fingertip.

"Don't blink," he said. As he said the word, he delicately placed the contact onto her left eye with lightning quick speed.

"Hey!" Kristi said in surprise.

She blinked as soon as the contact-cam was securely in her eye to mitigate the discomfort.

"You're welcome," Troop said.

"You startled me. But thanks."

"Should we bring anything with us aside from our slates?"

"I don't think so. The less we have to carry the better."

Kristi exited the bathroom and told Chelsa and Finn, "We're leaving now. See you later."

They nodded to show they heard.

New Genes Lab was an imposing building located near the edge of the city. A meticulously mowed lawn surrounded the entire perimeter of the building, preventing any chance of being able to sneak inside the lab without being taped by the surveillance cameras that dotted around the property.

Troop and Kristi strolled along the sidewalk passing in front of New Genes Lab, not daring to move any closer to the building for fear of attracting the wrong type of attention.

"Did you get a good look at the cameras?" Kristi asked Troop under her breath. "Perhaps the Filches can figure out the best way to evade the them if they know the cameras' model."

Troop followed her words and focused his gaze on the closest camera to them, which was only fifty feet away. They circled the property, taking note of the number of windows, stairs, entrances and anything else of interest.

New Genes Lab was a five-story, square-shaped building constructed of steel and black tinted windows. Overall, it looked very much like a black cube crouching in the middle of a vividly green patch of green surrounded by a seven-foot high chain linked fence. Even just thinking about how they were going to enter the lab made Kristi's head hurt.

"Maybe there's another way to solve the case without trespassing into the lab," she said.

"If there's another way to solve the case, we obviously aren't aware of it." Troop shaded his eyes from the glare reflecting off the glossy building. "So far, breaking and entering is the best lead we have to follow. If Stevey used to work at this lab and something traumatic involving the Accidents happened here causing him to go crazy, our best starting point would be here."

"Yeah, but if this place made Stevey go whacko, what do you think it will do to us?"

"It can't be that bad," Troop said, sounding like he was both trying to reassure himself and Kristi at the same time.

"Is it just me, or has that red solar-car been following us for the past few minutes?" She threw a glance to her right. Yep, the solar-car was still there, with its blacked-out windows all rolled up.

Troop eyeballed the car. "I think so. I'm going to take that as a sign to go."

They finished circling the lab and walked back onto the main road.

"Do you want to grab some dinner?" Troop asked.

"Do we have enough time?"

"Yeah. There's still over an hour before curfew."

"Okay then. That sandwich shop seems like a nice place." Kristi pointed to Solomon's Sandwich and sent Chelsa a quick instafication notifying her that they would be back in about an hour.

A little bell tinkled, announcing their arrival to the waitress who was chatting with her friend. She stood up and came to them.

"How many?"

"Two," Troop said.

"This way."

The waitress led them to a booth and flicked on the smart-glass imbedded into the table, displaying the menu.

"The shop will be closing in about forty-five minutes, alright?"

"We'll be quick," Kristi promised, then slid into the booth across from Troop.

The waitress wandered off to finish her conversation, leaving them to decide what they wanted to eat.

An old couple sat a few tables away from Troop and Kristi. Across from the couple was a single, middle-aged man who seemed pretty engrossed with his sandwich and soup; the couple was talking to each other animatedly, so Troop and Kristi basically had the whole restaurant to themselves.

The waitress came back to them a few minutes later once her friend left. "Have you decided what you would like?"

Kristi motioned for Troop to order first.

"Can I have the hummus sandwich with a side of tomato soup?"

The waitress noted his order and turned to Kristi. She still hadn't made up her mind about what to order, so she said, "I'll have the same."

"Be back in a few minutes." The waitress turned off the smart-glass and marched into the kitchen.

"Any ideas on how to enter the building?" Kristi asked, wording her question carefully so not to give away what they were planning on doing in case any snooping ears were around.

Troop's face took on a concentrated look. He answered slowly, as if measuring each word out carefully, "Sometimes the best way to hide is in plain sight. Covers. We could use covers."

"That's definitely an idea we can work off," Kristi said. "So my next question is: when and how will we get our covers?"

"Send an instafication to Hanson. He said he has plenty of connections and chances are he will be able to get us some covers. Also—"

"Here are your sandwiches and soup," the waitress interrupted Troop's sentence.

Kristi bit back a word of annoyance.

The waitress set down the food and went to attend the couple that had finished their meal. The couple, well into their sixties or even seventies, floated out the sandwich shop with a light spring in their steps; arthritis and osteoporosis were symptoms of the past.

Troop picked up where he left off, "Also, our host may be able to help us with the security problems. The cameras may be problematic."

"I'll send a message to Chelsa asking if she knows anyone who can help solve our security problems." Kristi unlocked her electro-slate with her fingerprint while Troop munched on his sandwich. After selecting Chelsa's contact, she wrote her a quick note:

Hey Chelsa,

Can you ask Jane and Nick if they can penetrate New Gene Lab's security system with their hacking skills?

Chelsa responded within a few minutes:

They said probably yes, provided you can provide them with the necessary information. Exactly what type of hacking do they need to do?

Kristi replied:

I know there are definitely cameras and ID scanners.

Chelsa answered:

Jane wants you send her the footage you got with the contact-cams. If you use your electro-slate and "search for nearby devices" with it, the contact-cam will appear on the list of connected devices to the slate. To access the film from the camera, type in the password 6h8*_aH. Then send me the video and I'll show it to Jane and Nick.

Kristi did as Chelsa instructed. After pulling up the files from the contact-cam onto her electro-slate, she selected the correct time frame of the clips and sent them to Chelsa. She glanced up from her slate in time to see the middle-aged man leave the restaurant.

The waitress noticed him leaving without paying for his meal and called out, "Sir! You have to pay for your dinner before you leave."

The man ignored her and strode outside without giving a glance back. The waitress let out a huff and started after the unpaid customer.

"Do you think we should help the waitress?" Kristi asked.

"I don't know. My conscience is telling me to go help her, but we should avoid attracting attention at all cost."

The chef from the kitchen came out to the dining area and said, "We'll be closing up soon." He looked around the room, searching for someone. "Where did Tallia go?"

Kristi presumed that Tallia was the waitress. "She went to chase down a customer who left without paying."

The chef let out a snort of disgust. "What has society come to these—"

Ka-BOOM!

Something exploded in the restaurant.

Kristi instinctively covered her head and curled up into the fetal position. Debris rained down around her and the sound of the explosion rang in her ear. Once the ringing had stopped vibrating her eardrums, she peeked at her surrounding through her fingers. Dust swirled in the air, raised by the ceiling collapsing inwards.

She was trapped beneath the booth. Part of the wall separating the kitchen from the dining area had collapsed on top of the table where Troop and she had been sitting at.

"Troop! Can you hear me?" Kristi yelled.

She broke off, coughing violently. The dust coated her lungs like a swarm of fire ants.

As the dust grew thicker, Kristi realized she wasn't breathing in dust; she was breathing in smoke. The building was on fire.

"Kristi!" She heard Troop call her name. "I can't find you! Are you still at the table we were sitting at?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I couldn't get out of the booth fast enough before the wall crumpled over it."

The air around her grew thicker and hotter. Desperately, she searched for some passage out of her confinements. There was a tiny gap near the ground; at most, it was only a foot wide.

Kristi pressed the back of her hands against the wall; it was hot, signaling the fire was very close by.

"Can you get out of the restaurant?" Kristi asked Troop, who was on the other side of the wall.

"I think so." His voice sounded dry and croaky from the smoke. "There's a path to the door, but the fire's going to burn through the path soon."

"Get out of the building now. And call the fire crew if they haven't already been called."

"Are you able to get out?" Troop asked.

Kristi's eyes watered from the smoke; her nose burned from the acrid smell of things on fire. Sweat dripped down her back and glistened on her forehead; the temperature rose intensely. She went into panic mode. I'm going to die! I don't want to be burned to death. Or maybe I'll suffocate in this blanket of smoke. I don't want to die—I'm only sixteen.

"Kristi, are you all right?" Troop's voice brought her back to reality.

"Yeah." The tone of her voice said otherwise.

Something thumped on the wall barricading her from the rest of the restaurant. The walls shook a bit and plaster pieces sprinkled down.

"Troop, get yourself out of here," Kristi said in her most authoritative voice. "You're not much good dead."

She wiped a bead of sweat off her brows and sucked in some air through pursed lips, trying not to inhale too much smoke. Then she kicked at the gap near the floor, hoping to widen it somehow.

"Kristi, try to break down the wall from the inside and I'll work on it from the outside," Troop said.

"I thought I told you to get out!"

"Shut up and listen to me. If we don't work together, neither of us will get out alive. Do you see any weak spots in the wall?"

"There's a small opening near the ground and—" A coughing fit overcame her.

"Alright," Troop said.

Both of them worked simultaneously at chipping away the plaster wall around Kristi's only escape route. She kicked, pounded and clawed at the wall. No matter how fast or hard they tore at the wall, it seemed like the gap was only widening a few millimeters at a time.

Her oxygen deprived muscles screamed at her to stop working and just give up. Her eyes and nose felt like they were on fire; her vision started to blur, strength beginning to wane.

"Hang in there." Troop sounded tired and spent.

A minute later, the gap had widened to about a foot and a half. Kristi could see Troop's hands working, furiously hacking away at the wall.

"I think I can fit through," Kristi croaked, her throat parched.

Flames licked at the backside of Troop and Kristi could see sweat pouring down his neck. She thrust her upper body through the space and squirmed her way through. The hardwood floor was covered with hot ashes and cinder, singeing her cheeks as she slid out from beneath the table.

"Thanks," she said.

"Come on, let's run for the back door."

Kristi followed Troop through the flaming restaurant, dancing over smoldering pieces of furniture and dodging ceiling chunks that were falling from above. The front of the restaurant was completely engulfed in flames. The back of the restaurant was rapidly being eaten away by the never-satisfied inferno.

The glass door leading to the outside world never looked so significant. Kristi put all her focus on getting to the exit she didn't notice when a ceiling beam dropped down with a THUD! She leapt backwards in surprise. Had she taken one more step forward, she would've been dead and burnt crispy.

With a five-foot high wall of flames cutting her off from freedom, Kristi was out of ideas on what to do. Behind her was an impenetrable blockade of fire. Yellow and black spots danced in the corner of Kristi's vision. She felt her body start to shut itself down. The smoke, the heat, the stress and the lack of clean air were taking its toll.
chapter thirty-five

[ Troop ]

Kristi looked like a dead person.

But she's not dead, Troop ferociously thought to himself.

"Sorry, Kristi," he said, and then gave her a hard slap to the face.

Her eyelids flew open.

"Ow! What the hell?" she grated.

"Don't lose consciousness on me." His voice was equally gravelly. "Can you stand?"

He offered her a hand up, which she accepted. They stumbled out of the sandwich shop and traveled a few blocks before Kristi's legs buckled in on her. She leaned against a wall to regain her strength.

Troop looked back at the sandwich shop, where the conflagration still burned. "Wait here. I'll be back soon."

"It's not like I'm in shape to go anywhere."

Troop left her, feeling apprehensive at leaving her alone; but they needed water. Where can I get some water? All of the shops are closed and it's not like I can walk up to someone's house and ask for a bottle of water.

He wandered around, keeping track of all the turns he made; getting lost in the city was the last thing he wanted to happen right now. The thought of Kristi parched and lying in the streets spurred him into a faster pace.

A wishing fountain appeared ahead. Excited at the prospect of getting a drink, he broke into a jog. The water shimmered in the granite basin, clear as crystal. He reached his hands into the fountain to splash some water onto his face...and felt nothing. What's going on?

He leaned down to inspect the water and his spirits sunk. It was holographic water. Troop spun on his heels and continued his search for water.

Please let me find water soon, he thought. As if some water god had heard his prayers, a parked solar-truck with the words "Wayland Water" printed on the side appeared ahead. Finally a stroke of luck.

He scrambled over to the truck. The padlock on the truck was rusty and weak; with some effort, Troop was able to snap it off, brown flakes of rust shedding off the lock. Glancing around to make sure no one was in the proximity, he lifted up the back of the truck, wincing at the screeching sound it made.

"Jackpot," he whispered to himself.

Crates upon crates of water bottles sat upon each other inside the truck; ripe fruits ready for picking. Troop snatched two water bottles from the closest box and pulled down the back door of the truck. Then he leapt down from the edge and sprinted back to Kristi, clutching the two bottles like they were bottles of liquid gold.

Kristi looked better when he got back to her.

"Anybody see you?" Troop asked.

She shook her head. He ripped off part of his shirt and wetted it, then pressed the wet rag over her forehead and she moaned in appreciation. Kristi's hands trembled sponging herself with the cool, soothing piece of cloth.

"Here, take a sip," Troop said. He handed her a water bottle.

Most of the water ended up dribbling down her shirt rather than in her mouth, but nevertheless, she let out a groan as the water revived much of her. Troop downed his own bottle in a few swallows.

Then he took a few seconds to assess their state of being. Kristi's eyes were bloodshot and her hair plastered against her neck from perspiration. He himself was feeling sore and weak; Troop was pretty sure he was as equally as disheveled as Kristi.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like my skin got turned into cracked leather."

"We have to return to the Filches as fast as possible," he said. "It's fifteen minutes past curfew and we're still a ten minute walk away from their apartment."

However, in their bedraggled condition, the walk would take much longer than ten minutes. Kristi staggered to her feet and drudged after Troop. The uneven cobblestone ground didn't make walking any easier and she almost tripped several times; Troop drew in a sharp breath every time she stumbled, but wasn't sure if Kristi would welcome his help if he offered his arm for support.

Instead, he said, "Do you want to stop for a break?"

Kristi shook her head and motioned for him to go on. Troop slowed down his steps. Kristi looked like she was about to say something, but changed her mind.

The full moon perched in its nest of clouds, sending beams of moonlight upon the land below. The clouds scattered the light, creating a surreal effect.

Distracted by the warped lighting, Kristi didn't notice Troop slow down even more to match her steps until she felt his arm supporting her around the waist; she stiffened her back. Troop directed her a questioning look.

Kristi returned with a neutral expression. Gradually, she relaxed her muscles and allowed Troop to bear most of her weight.

"At least twenty minutes has passed," Kristi said a while later.

Troop checked out the street sign nearest to them and cursed. "I think we doubled back by accident."

"Do you think we can just find someplace to crash for the night? I don't think we'll be able to find our way back to the Filches without getting caught by a curfew patrol."

"I'm so stupid," Troop said suddenly. "Why didn't I think of using UnivMaps to find our way back to the apartment?"

He pulled out his miraculously intact electro-slate and clicked on its power button. Nothing happened. The screen didn't even flicker the tiniest bit. The heat from the fire must've caused some type of malfunction in the slate; either that or the electro-slate's power must've run out—but that was highly unlikely since he regularly charged his slate, and a fully charged slate didn't need to be recharged for up to three full days.

Kristi fumbled through her pockets and found her electro-slate. The screen had a slight crack to it, but other than that, it seemed to be unharmed. She jabbed at the power button. Like Troop's electro-slate, her slate refused to turn on as well.

"This sucks," she mumbled.

"Let's head over to the park across from this street," Troop said. "We should be able to spend the night in the wooded area without being seen by the patrols."

They trotted over to a cluster of trees and benches (a little wooden sign declared their shelter to be a Meditation Garden). Troop slumped down on a bench across from Kristi, leaning his forehead against the palms of his hand. He watched Kristi struggle to find a comfortable position on the hard stone bench.

A couple sets of footsteps stomped by outside, patrols making their rounds. But no one ever checked out their hiding place. After making sure Kristi was fast asleep, Troop gave himself the permission to close his own eyes and drifted off to dreamland.

chapter thirty-six

[ Kristi ]

It was the cold that woke Kristi up. The temperature had dropped dramatically overnight and her flesh was covered in goose bumps. She sat up, feeling stiff from sleeping on the rigid bench; she did her best to stretch out the aches that had settled into her muscles. Kristi rubbed her hands together, warming herself up. Troop wasn't around anymore. She checked the time to confirm curfew had already ended.

Then she finger-combed her hair into a messy ponytail and left the protection of the Meditation Garden. Luckily, the park wasn't a busy place to be at five in the morning because Kristi was pretty sure she would be getting plenty of odd stares given her current appearance; it was hard to look or feel normal after barely escaping an explosion and then having to spend the night out in the cold.

She scanned the grounds and made out Troop coming towards her.

"Oh good, you're up," he said upon reaching Kristi. "I just got directions to the Filches' apartment. It's actually not too far from this park."

"G-g-ood," she chattered, still feeling the nip of the morning coldness.

She only had on a black cotton t-shirt and jeans; her jacket got left behind in the sandwich shop yesterday. Kristi was sure Troop felt the cold too because he didn't have a jacket or sweatshirt either, though he didn't show it.

"Do you think you can run?" Troop asked. "It'll warm you up and we'll be able to get to the apartment faster than walking."

She nodded and they set off at a slow jog. Kristi's stomach complained loudly for being forced to run on empty. Thankfully, navigating the city by daylight proved to be less confusing. The welcoming view of the Filches' residence never looked so good.

They hurried up the stairs and banged on the door. Kristi's fist had hardly left the door when it was whipped open.

"Thank God you're not dead!" Chelsa said, dragging her inside.

Kristi sank onto the couch and gathered herself together. Troop plopped down beside her.

"Some food would be great. And some water."

Chelsa snatched a couple of water bottles and bagels from the kitchen and handed them to Troop and Kristi. She drained her water within a minute.

"What took you so long to get back?" Chelsa asked.

"We were worried since you didn't reply any of the instafications we sent you." Finn dropped onto the couch beside them.

"Our electro-slates wouldn't work," Kristi replied, spreading cream cheese on her cinnamon bagel.

"Did you break your slates? And what happened to your skin? It looks like you've been burned." Chelsa noticed their injuries for the first time.

"That wouldn't be surprising," said Troop, "considering we just escaped a burning building last night."

"Don't tell me you were at Solomon's Sandwich Stop last night, were you? I was scrolling through the news on my electro-slate and apparently something exploded in that place; the entire building was destroyed."

Kristi nodded.

Nick Filch entered the living room, nursing a thermos of coffee. "As far as I know, a terrorist placed a bomb of some sort in the restaurant."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Finn said. "Why would someone want to destroy a sandwich shop?"

Nick made an agreeable sound. "There's something fishy going on. The Revealers will look into this event if things don't add up."

"Our contact-cams," Kristi voiced out loud. "We were in the sandwich shop when the bomb went off. Maybe something from the films can help figure out how and why it happened."

Troop and Kristi popped out their contact-cams and Nick streamlined all the recordings onto his electro-slate. He chose the correct time frame and clicked play.

The scene was shown from Kristi's point of view; it showed her exchange of messages with Chelsa via instafication. Next, the view shifted as Kristi glanced up and her eyes tracked the man leaving without paying for her meal.

Troop reached over Kristi's shoulder and pressed the pause button on Nick's electro-slate. "Can you zoom in on the man?" he asked.

"Sure can." Nick enlarged it so that the man's face filled the screen.

"Doesn't he look like the guy we saw on the air-train to Klisbury?" Troop asked.

"Um, no," Kristi said. "The man on the train was in his twenties; this guy is in his forties, if not fifties."

"Ignore the age difference," Troop said.

Kristi shrugged. "I still don't see the resemblance."

"I guess I'm being paranoid."

"Can I resume the film clip?" Nick asked Troop.

"Yeah."

The video played on, showing the waitress chasing after the man, then the chef coming out from the kitchen and asking Kristi where Tallia went. A bright flash filled the screen and everything went black.

"That would be the bomb exploding," Kristi pointed out the obvious.

Nick paused the video and rewound a bit. "Look." He used a finger to pinpoint an object on the screen. "The man left his wallet behind."

Kristi figured out the conclusion Nick had reached in an instant. "The bomb was in his wallet, wasn't it?"

"Yep. Let me fast forward in slow motion."

He did so; it became clear the wallet contained the explosive when it blew apart.

"But why?" Finn asked. "It's a freakin' sandwich shop, not a top secret military base or whatever."

"Do you think the man was an undercover agent?" Troop asked.

"It's a possibility," Nick said. "Anything's possible."

"Okay," Kristi said. "Let's pretend the guy is an undercover agent. Who do you think is he working for?"

"If I had to guess, I would say the government. I can't think of any other group with enough funding to waste on blowing up a sandwich shop," Finn said.

"I highly doubt he's working for the government," Chelsa said. "From what I know, Officer Zala wants you guys alive, so it wouldn't make sense if she sent an agent to kill you."

"You don't think there's another organization similar to the Revealers out there that would attempt a stunt like this, do you?" Kristi asked no one in particular.

"No," Nick said.

They spent the next two hours analyzing the clips Troop and Kristi had captured with the contact-cams. While they didn't get any closer to solving the mystery of the motive behind the man who demolished the sandwich shop, they did manage to determine that the best way to enter New Genes Lab was by going in as disguised workers.

"I'll send Tiffany and Dr. Hanson an instafication asking them if they can rustle up some believable covers for you four," Nick said.

"I'm going to wash all this soot and ash off me." Kristi pulled at her filth-caked shirt. "Do you have any ointment for burned skin?"

Nick grabbed a tube of burn-gel from the medicine cabinet and handed it to her. "A little goes a long way."

"Thanks."

She gratefully stepped into the bathroom and washed away the thin layer of grime that covered her from head to toe. Her skin stung where the water hit it, causing Kristi to make her shower as quick as possible. Afterwards, she slathered on the burn-gel, despite Nick warning just a little bit of the gel should be enough.

She let out a sigh of relief, the cooling gel soothing her raw skin. Kristi took her time drying her hair and reflected on the events of the past few days.

Troop was waiting to use the bathroom and burn-gel after Kristi, which made her feel a bit guilty.

"Sorry," she said, exiting the bathroom. "I didn't mean to take such a long time."

Troop sniffed the air.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Something smells minty."

Kristi laughed. "That would probably be the burn-gel Nick gave me. The gel tube is on the bathroom counter if you want to use it. I strongly recommend using it."

"Okay, doctor," Troop said.

"I have good news," Chelsa met Kristi in the kitchen for a snack. "Tiffany got us covers for tomorrow to enter New Genes Lab."

"What are the covers?" Kristi squirted some peanut butter from the pouch onto her crackers.

"We're going to be window cleaners," Chelsa said. "New Genes Lab had hired some for a cleaning job tomorrow at ten in the morning. We have to pick up our uniforms and ID cards tomorrow morning at six."

"Where do we have to go to pick up the disguises?"

"At the parking lot of Cleandows behind the building; Cleandows is the company which we will pretend to work for."

"Are you filling her in on the details for tomorrow?" Finn joined them at the counter.

"Yep."

"Are you coming with us to New Genes Lab?" Kristi asked Finn.

She worried that Finn's crutches might give away their cover; normally, Perfects were too graceful to break, twist or sprain anything. If someone—whether it be the government or some other group—was looking for them and knew one of the Naturals used crutches, Finn was almost a dead give-away about their identities.

"Nah," Finn said. "I might slow you down—" (Not true, Kristi thought to herself. You get around fast enough that I sometimes I have trouble following.) "—and you need someone back here to get you help if you guys are in a tight spot. Nick and Jane have some other Revealer work that will keep them occupied for most of tomorrow, so I'll be taking their place."

"To sum up what Finn is saying, Finn will be in the electro-room monitoring our progress and notifying other Revealer members to come to our aid if needed. We'll be using the contact-cams," Chelsa clarified.

"Sounds good. Where's Ghost? I haven't seen him around for a while," Kristi said.

"Oh, he's probably in the electro-room with Jane. Ghost seems to have an affinity to Jane. The electro-room is the last door down the hallway. I wouldn't go in there if I were you though; that's where Jane and Nick do all their work and it would be best if you don't disturb them."

"I need your pictures for the picture-wand," Jane said to Kristi that late afternoon.

"What's a picture wand?" Troop asked.

Kristi was wondering the same thing.

"Another piece of technology exclusive only to the Revealers," Jane said. "You can scan a picture onto an ID card or just about anything with it. All you need to do is upload the pictures onto the picture-wand and wave the wand over the surface you want to print the picture onto."

"That sounds pretty cool," Finn said.

"Trust me, it is. Troop, Kristi and Chelsa will need the picture-wand tomorrow to replace the photo on the ID cards with their own. So, which one of you wants to have your picture taken first?"

"I guess I will," Kristi said when no one volunteered.

Jane pulled out a wafer-thin rectangular device from her back pocket. "Smile."

She quickly got all the pictures onto the wand and taught them how to operate it. The instructions weren't that complicated. All one had to do was select the correct picture stored on the picture-wand and slowly wave the wand over the section of the ID card you wanted to print the photo onto and viola—the desired picture will replace whatever image was on the card before.

The picture-wand was given to Troop to hold onto until they needed it.
chapter thirty-seven

[ Troop ]

"Ugh," Kristi said. "I didn't think Tiffany would send someone to knock out these poor people just so we can have a cover."

They were at the back lot of the Cleandows building. Three Cleandows employees—two guys and one woman—were lying unconscious on the ground. They had arrived at the scene to find a note pinned to the uniform of the largest guy:

Take their uniforms and ID cards. Hide the bodies in the storage shed. They won't regain conscious for another three hours and when they do, a drug has been administered to ensure they remember nothing of the past five hours. Destroy this note.

"Everything has a price," Chelsa said, unbuttoning the shirt of the smaller guy.

Everyone quickly stripped off the workers' uniforms and rolled/dragged them into the storage shed. In the storage shed, Troop found some old, musty smelling coats that he used to cover up the three unconscious employees.

"Picture-wand?" Kristi asked.

He flourished the device and passed it around to everyone. When the picture-wand got passed back to him, he waved the wand over his ID card, watching the original face of the picture on the card transform into his face. Like magic, he thought. Out loud, he said, "Everything all set?"

"I think so, except for the fact the contact-cams are still bothering my eyes," Kristi answered.

"Did you put in the eye-drops?"

"Yeah. It's not a big problem."

"Let's move then." Troop stowed away the picture-wand.

Chelsa unlocked the doors to the van belonging to Cleandows. They were going to "borrow" their vehicle to travel to New Genes Lab. She slid into the driver's seat and backed out of the parking lot without a hitch.

The ride to New Genes Lab went relatively smoothly. Everyone on the road was occupied with getting to work on time and paid no attention to other commuters.

Chelsa maneuvered the van up the driveway and to the front gates of the lab. Gravel crunched beneath the tires. A little intercom box was attached to the metal gate. Someone must've been watching the van come up to the front gates because a voice spoke to them through the intercom, "This is New Genes Lab. Please state your business."

Chelsa rolled down the windows and said, "We're from Cleandows. We have an appointment at New Genes Lab today to repair and clean thirty-two windows."

"Please hold on a moment while I verify your appointment." The voice returned after ten seconds or so. "You may enter."

There was a buzzing sound, then the gates swung upon on their own accord. Chelsa inched the Cleandows van up the gravel driveway and parked it beneath the shade of a Mongolia tree.

"Here, why don't we each take some window cleaning supplies to upkeep our disguise." Kristi handed Troop a black toolbox and Chelsa a bucket of cleaning foam.

Troop grasped the toolbox by the handles and almost dropped it; the box was heavier than it looked. Satisfied everything was going according to plan, He led everyone up to the double doors that automatically slid open when they approached them.

A secretary sitting behind a smart-glass desk greeted Troop. When she spoke, Troop recognized her as the voice from the intercom.

"I am sure that your boss has informed you what goes on in this building stays in this building, am I right?"

They all nodded.

"Good," she continued on, completely naïve to the fact that the three of them were lying to her face. "Nevertheless, I still need all of you to sign this agreement of confidentiality."

She pulled out a document from her smart-glass desk and motioned for everyone to sign on the line located at the bottom of a very long block of text.

Troop confidently signed the name Kennedy Shief onto the smart-glass and passed the pen to Chelsa. Kristi nudged him and shot him an "I need help" expression when he glanced her way.

He mouthed back, "Why?"

Kristi patted the pocket that held her Cleandows worker ID card, and then jerked her head towards the agreement of confidentiality she needed to sign.

"Name?" Troop asked her in a quiet voice. If Kristi doesn't know her cover name, what is she supposed to sign her name as? If someone notices her signature doesn't match the name on her ID card, they're going to suspect something is wrong.

Kristi nodded. Chelsa finished signing the contract and gave the pen to Kristi.

"Do you need our ID cards to be scanned?" Troop asked the secretary.

He flaunted his ID card dramatically, successfully securing the secretary's attention onto him, thus allowing Kristi to have the chance to take a quick peek at her card.

"Yes, I will need to scan your cards," the secretary answered Troop. "Has everyone signed the confidentiality agreement?"

"Not me," Kristi said. She quickly scrawled Helen Jes onto the last signature line.

Troop took a moment to read Chelsa's fake name; it was Dakota Collins. He thanked his lucky stars that Dakota was a unisex name. It would've been awkward if someone noticed Kristi and him calling Chelsa by a guy's name, like Harry, for example.

The three of them scanned their ID cards and the secretary pointed the group in the general direction of the windows they were supposed to clean and/or fix.

"Don't be shocked by some of the things you see," the secretary advised them just before they headed off. "As long as you remember to only do what you're supposed to do and nothing else while you're in New Genes Lab, you'll be fine. Don't go looking for trouble by entering parts of the building you're not supposed to be in. If you do get lost, locate the nearest staff to direct you to the correct place."

"Alright. Thanks," Troop said.

He walked down the hallway until the secretary was out of sight. He studied a map depicting the layout of the lab posted on the wall, then nonchalantly asked, "Which room do you want to hit first?"

chapter thirty-eight

[ Kristi ]

"Testing Room A seems like a good place to start," Kristi read the room name off the map.

Even though it was still early in the morning, the building hustled with activity. Men and women rushed from room to room; some carried stacks of electro-slate and others pushed carts filled with tiny vials. None of the staff gave any of them a second look; after all, what could be so interesting about three window cleaners? Everyone was too occupied with their work to spare even a few seconds to wonder why three teenagers were wandering around the lab.

Testing Room A proved not to be of much interest. The room was kept at a chilly temperature, but other than that, nothing inside seemed relevant with helping them solve the Disappearance Case.

"Let's try the next room down the hall," Troop said.

The next room turned out to be a storage room full of empty containers. They made their way down the entire hallway. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary; everything was exactly what Kristi would expect to see in a lab.

"Do you think the answer to solving the case is actually here?" Chelsa asked fifteen rooms later.

"I'm positive," Kristi said.

"Perhaps we're looking at the wrong section of the building." Troop swiveled his head around, searching for other rooms they might've missed. "This lab is a decent size and we've only explored the West Wing. Let's move onto the North Wing of the building."

Accessing the rooms in the North Wing proved to be harder than accessing the rooms in the West Wing. An ID card scan was required before entering all of the rooms in the North Wing. However, they simply trailed behind distracted workers and slipped into the rooms after them.

"Let's follow the man with the bushy mustache," Kristi whispered to Troop and Chelsa.

They stuck at a distance of about twenty-feet behind the guy until he paused to retrieve his ID card to enter a locked room. The three of them subtly closed the distance.

As soon as the man pushed open the door into Lab D, Kristi stuck her foot in front of the door to prevent it from shutting. She waited until the man was occupied with sorting pictures on his electro-slate then pushed the door further open. Troop and Chelsa slithered into Lab D after her and took a look around.

Along one wall of the lab was a line of cages. Within each cage was a rabbit, cat or mouse. The room currently held thirty people; some people were examining slides underneath a microscope, some recorded data and others conversed with each other.

"Leave or stay?" Chelsa asked.

"Let's stay for another minute," Troop said.

Two women discussing something walked in their general direction. Kristi scooted out of the way and eavesdropped on their words.

The woman wearing a string of pearls in her hair spoke to her colleague, "The results were all promising when tested on the cats and rabbits. The specimen grew significantly thicker hair after DNA patterns on chromosome 19 were altered to increase the division of cells in the follicles."

"This sounds good," replied the other woman. "Have you forwarded the report to the level three testers?"

"Yes. In fact, I'm going to the level three section in the East Wing right now to check on their progress with DNA modifications for thicker hair."

The two of them swept out of the room.

"From the sound of it, I think the lab is divided into levels or sections," Kristi said. "If the West Wing was level one and the North Wing—which is where we are right now—is level two, chances are the East Wing is level three."

"Seems logical to me." Chelsa nodded her head in agreement. "Want to move onto the East Wing then?"

"Sure."

Kristi briefly consulted another map conveniently framed on the hallway walls and readjusted their course towards the East Wing. Two guards guarded the doors leading into the East Wing. In order to even enter the East Wing itself, a fingerprint scan to confirm one's identity was required. Only staff members with a high enough clearance were allowed into the East Wing.

"Do you think we should bluff our way through?" Kristi asked. "We could say we're supposed to clean the windows in the East Wing."

"Nah. That's too risky. The guards might verify that with the front desk and our covers will be blown," Troop said.

They backtracked their steps, trying to come up with a solution. Kristi spotted a scientist wheeling a cart headed for the East Wing. On the cart were several large cages. One cage contained a sleeping monkey. Three other cages were empty.

Troop followed her gaze and shook his head.

"No way. You must be crazy if you think we can enter the East Wing by taking a ride in a monkey cage. The guy will notice us in a heartbeat." He grabbed onto her arm as if afraid Kristi would bolt off any second.

The cart-pusher passed. Troop released her arm. Kristi rubbed her arm painfully.

"You didn't have to cut off my blood supply to my arm," she said under her breath.

"Sorry. Any ideas, Chelsa—ah, Dakota?" Troop hastily remembered to use the name on Chelsa's Cleandows ID card.

Chelsa shook her head.

"It might be easier for us to individually sneak into the East Wing," Kristi suggested.

"That's true," Chelsa said. "But I'm worried about us splitting up in an unfamiliar building. We'll be running the risk of not being able to find each other again."

"Well, we're running out of time and options. Distract this guy for me, will you?"

"Wait, what?"

Kristi gave Chelsa a small shove into the path of the scientist, hissing, "Just do it."

Another man wheeling a cart came their way. There were two dog carriers stacked on his cart. One was empty and the other had a blanket thrown over it, preventing Kristi from seeing the inside of the crate.

"Sir," Chelsa called out to the man. "Can you please direct me to the right direction of the West Wing? And also, can you come over here for a minute please? I have a problem with my electro-slate."

The scientist walked over to Chelsa. Kristi made sure he was engaged with a conversation with Chelsa then scurried over to the blanket-covered dog crate and unlatched the door. A sleeping Labrador occupied the crate. The dog must've been doped up because it didn't give the slightest hint of activity when Kristi nudged him.

"Can you re-cover the blanket over the entrance of this dog carrier after I get in?" she asked Troop.

Troop looked like he was about to argue with her, but she was already sliding herself into the cramped space. Kristi held the door closed and signaled for Troop to hurry up and reposition the blanket back to its original position. She heard Troop step away just as she felt the cart start to move.

At first, Kristi pressed herself far away from the snoozing dog in case it suddenly awoke. After a few minutes though, she gradually relaxed her guard around the animal; the dog was so out of it she wouldn't have guessed it was alive except for the fact it was breathing shallow breaths. Good thing I'm not allergic to dogs else I'm screwed.

Kristi bit her bottom lip and tried to figure out how she was going to get out the dog crate without being detected. Now that she thought about it, her actions had been impulsive and rash. You got yourself into this, she told herself. Now you have to get yourself out of it.

The movement of the cart came to a stop and she heard a voice demand the man pushing the cart for a fingerprint scan and ID verification. A few seconds later, the cart jolted forward once more.

"What do you have there, Kenny?" a woman's voice asked.

"Just subject 76," the guy named Kenny replied. "Marilyn requested a dog to be tested for the hair thickener genetic tweaks. Research data suggests doubling the amount of thymine in section F of chromosome 19 increases the rate follicles reproduce their cells. As you know, thick hair is all the rage right now, so this new discovery could lead to some serious profits."

"Didn't Marilyn just try decreasing the amount of cytosine in section F of chromosome 19 a week ago in order to produce thicker hair in subject 56?" the woman asked.

"Yes. However, the hair grew too uncontrollably and took up most of the nutrients subject 56 was consuming in order to grow and maintain. As a result, subject 56 became extremely malnourished and died three days ago."

"Do you have time for me to show you the latest results in Lab H?"

"Yeah," Kenny said. "I just have to transfer subject 76 into Holding Room 3. I'll meet you in Lab H in a few minutes, alright?"

"Sounds good."

Kenny pushed the cart once more. Then the movement eventually halted and Kristi heard Kenny walk away. She felt her stomach unclench from tension; she had been afraid Kenny would check on subject 76 (the dog) and discover her hitchhiking.

Kristi listened to her surroundings. It was deathly quiet. However, the air smelled of animals. She pushed open the gate of the dog crate and crawled outside; then she latched the entrance of subject 76's carrier shut and absorbed the details of her environment.

Holding Room 3 was filled with cages with blankets draped over them. Aside from her and the sedated animals snoozing in their prisons, the room was empty.

Kristi patted her pockets and located the micro-fiber sponges stashed in there. She slunk out of Holding Room 3 and pretended to clean a tinted window in the hallway while she waited for Chelsa and Troop to arrive. After several minutes, Kristi tucked the micro-fiber cloth back into her pocket and set off to explore the East Wing for a bit.

Her first room to check out was Lab E. Lab E was by far the biggest lab Kristi had ever been in. The lab could've easily held five hundred people; as of right then, roughly fifty people milled about in it. What really grabbed her attention, though, was the abnormality of the animals being housed in the room.

As with several of the other rooms Kristi had visited in New Genes Lab, animal cages took up a good portion of the lab. The majority of the animals housed in Lab E were primates with a few canines, horses and colorful, tropical birds sprinkled here and there; they all either looked wrong or acted wrong.

The chimpanzee to the far right of the room had gold fur. The pony fast asleep beside the golden chimpanzee stood on unnaturally long legs. An orangutan across the room curled its lips at Kristi and her eyes snapped wide open when she realized the eyes of the orangutan were a shocking violet color; she was pretty sure normal orangutans didn't have purple eyes.

"Ah-hem."

Kristi jumped at the noise coming from behind her. An intelligent looking man with a slightly drooping mustache towered over her. He crossed his arms and a disapproving expression etched into his face.

"Are you lost?" he asked.

"No—no I know where I am. I just got lost in my thoughts for a second. I'll be off to clean the windows now." She held up her micro-fiber sponges to show that she was here to clean the lab windows.

Kristi ambled over to a window beside a cage holding a bird whistling a simple tune. She wiped the sponge left-to-right on the glass. A few moments passed and she couldn't shake off the feeling that eyes were boring into her back. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder.

A woman in a white lab coat observed her work; at the same time, she was listening half-heartedly to the man who had just spoken to Kristi. The woman caught Kristi staring back at her and gave a smile. The smile the woman flashed her sent shivers running down her spine; although the smile seemed friendly on the surface, there was something sinister about it. Kristi desperately wished Chelsa and Troop were beside her.
chapter thirty-nine

[ Troop ]

Troop watched a gaggle of scientist stride by him and Chelsa. He checked his watch; three minutes since he last saw Kristi being wheeled away—God, it felt like three hours though.

"Any brilliant ideas on how to get into the East Wing?" Chelsa asked.

Troop shrugged.

A man in a rumpled lab coat came barreling down the hallway. A stack of electro-slates tittered precariously in his arms.

"Careful there," Troop said. "There's a person in front—"

Wham!

"Too late," muttered Chelsa.

The untidy looking man rammed into another man pushing an empty cart. The electro-slates flew into the air rained down onto the ground.

"Aw, crap," said the man who was carrying the electro-slates

"I see that you're in a rush as usual," the disgruntled cart-pusher said.

"I'm going to be late for my meeting." The man knelt down to examine the dropped slate closest to him. "Thank goodness the glass isn't cracked. So glad the lab ordered reinforced glass for these slates."

"Watch where you're going next time, alright?" The other man booted a couple electro-slates out of his path. "The lab just got a new shipment of supplies, so there's a lot of traffic transporting the stuff from the holding room."

"Yeah, yeah."

The cart-pusher wheeled the pushcart away. Chelsa helped pick up some of the electro-slates and asked the scientist, "Would you like me to help carry some of the electro-slates for you?"

"That would be great." He picked up the last slate off the floor then said, "Follow me this way."

The two of them stood up and Chelsa trailed after the man, headed in the direction of the East Wing. Well, she's figured out how to enter the East Wing. Now it's just me left.

Troop absent-mindedly opened the black toolbox and rummaged through the contents: a bottle of window glue, a three-in-one tool of some sorts, cleaning acid and a tin of mints. Nothing really useful.

A petite woman rolled a cart with a load of crates on top past Troop, traveling to the East Wing. A few minutes later, a different woman pushed an empty cart from the opposite direction. Troop observed the flow of laden and empty cards, catching on the pattern. Carts carrying supplies were being transported to the East Wing while unloaded carts were being wheeled out.

If I can find the room where all the stuff being carried into the East Wing, I can hide myself in a box and sneak in as well, he thought.

He began to walk in the direction the empty carts were being pushed without appearing too obvious. Troop shadowed a bald scientist for the length of a few hallways, then stopped, watching the man continue on out of sight.

He pretended to inspect a window for signs of damage while he waited for the next empty cart to pass by; he didn't want to be caught stalking a New Genes Lab employee.

"Hey there, Kenny."

Troop looked up to see two scientists greet each other, each walking in opposite directions.

"How many loads left?" asked the scientist who wasn't Kenny.

"Seventy-three last time I checked. Better hustle."

Troop tailed behind Kenny; Kenny remained oblivious to Troop the whole time. Troop stopped trying to keep track of left and right turns Kenny made after twelve turns. He stayed back when Kenny pushed his empty cart through a set of automatic doors.

Troop didn't have to wait long before Kenny reemerged with a few black bags piled onto the handcart. Kenny hummed a monotonous tune under his breath as he wheeled his load out of sight.

Another man entered the holding room with an empty cart and exited with it buried beneath bales of hay. Convinced he had found the room he sought, Troop allowed a couple more employees to go in-and-out of the room before ducking inside when he was sure it was empty.

Troop squinted in the weakly lit holding room. He quick stepped over to the nearest crate that appeared to be big enough to fit his body. The crate his eyes were on was long and low. The top of the crate slid off with no problem—no locks or anything.

"Squawk!"

He flinched in surprise and peered down into the wooden crate; five or six chickens milled about aimlessly.

"Hey, guys. Sorry to crash your party," he said.

Troop laid himself down inside the crate, ignoring the chickens' clucks of indignation. Then he slid the cover of the crate back in place. The slates of the crate allowed some light to filter through; the gaps created by the wooden slates also allowed him a limited view of what was going on outside.

The automatic door whooshed open and Troop heard rustling and the thud of someone dropping something heavy. A few seconds later, the door swooshed open once more. Troop saw a pair of black dress shoes make their way out the room.

He counted at least five different people come and leave the holding room. I wonder how long it's going to be before someone moves the crate I'm in. Perhaps I should try a different tactic.

"Let's see, I have to move box number fifty to Lab N," said a feminine voice.

The speaker's high heels tip-tapped across the floor. Please let this crate of chickens be box number fifty, Troop thought. The shoes strode right past him. Okay, once this person leaves, I'm getting out of here and coming up with a different plan.

The automatic doors hummed open again and another person wheeled a cart into the holding room.

"Hi, Jack," said the woman. "Do you know where box fifty is? I can't locate it."

"Check over there," Jack suggested. "I think it's beside that really tall box."

There was a pause and some scuffling noises. "Oh—got it. Thanks."

The pair of red stilettos click-clacked through the doors and out the room. Troop thought it was a minor miracle that the woman managed to keep her balance on those ridiculously high heels.

"Gosh, this thing's heavy," a male—Jack's, Troop assumed—voice grunted.

Troop felt one end of the crate tip upwards. Finally.

The opposite end of the crate was lifted upwards then laid down until everything was level once more. The chickens fluttered their wings at the movement. Troop squirmed, the prickly straw padding poking into his back. He felt like he was lying in a coffin. A very itchy and poultry-smelling coffin.

The wheels whirred beneath Troop as the cart launched into motion.

"Somebody must've ordered extra chickens," Jack said. "Subject number twenty-three sure is lucky."

Troop gazed out the slates of the crate, watching a parade of legs pass by him. The chickens at last left Troop alone and stopped pecking at him. The checkered floor scrolled by, momentarily hypnotizing him.

"What do you have there?" a gruff voice demanded.

The cart stopped. Troop gauged the speaker stood a good distance from Jack.

"Chickens," said Jack.

"ID?" A pause, then, "Alright. Fingerprint scan."

There was a soft bleep.

"You're cleared."

A mechanical lock buzzed to life and Jack pushed the cart into the East Wing. Troop allowed himself a mental victory dance.

"I don't see why we still need to upkeep subject twenty-three if it's just going to be put down in a few hours," Jack said to himself. "Such a waste of resources."

Jack drove the cart straight down the hall, and then turned into a room branching off the main hallway. From his point of view, Troop couldn't see any other people in the room aside from him and Jack.

"I have your lunch, twenty-three," said Jack. "Hope you enjoy your final meal."

Troop propped himself up with his elbows to get a better look at subject twenty-three, bumping his head against the top of the crate in the process of doing so. He bit back a string of curses.

"No need to get all hyped up, chickens," said Jack. "It's not like you'll live to see another day."

Troop tilted his head and stared at the large, metal cage directly in line with his field of view. Oh, shit. Why does subject twenty-three have to be a tiger?

chapter forty

[ Kristi ]

"There you are. I just finished drying the window in the hallway and didn't know where you went," Chelsa said, walking over beside Kristi.

"Good, you're here," Kristi said softly to her once she was within earshot. "Take a look around this room."

Chelsa took in her surroundings and let out a faint gasp. "We're definitely getting closer to the answer of the Disappearance Case."

"There were cats, rabbits and mice in the North Wing of New Genes Lab," Kristi said. "Now there are primates in the East Wing. I think we both can predict what we'll find in the South Wing."

Both of them stared wide-eyed at each other, reaching the same conclusion. Neither of them had predicted that the government would be conducting experiments on the Accidents. And of course, there was also the question of why the government would want to conduct experiments on the Accidents in the first place.

"How did you get into the East Wing?" Kristi asked Chelsa.

Chelsa spread a glob of cleaning foam onto the window Kristi was wiping down.

"Some distracted bloke had too many electro-slates to carry by himself. I offered to help him carry some of the slates and the guards allowed me to pass through the door accompanying him without a question."

"Do you want to wait for Tro—Kennedy or not?" Kristi remembered to use Troop's Cleandows ID name at the last second.

"Sure. Want to give him five minutes then move on?"

Kristi nodded.

chapter forty-one

[ Troop ]

The tiger rumbled and bared its saber-like fangs.

"No need to get all hissy on me, twenty-three," Jack said.

Troop gripped his black toolbox so tight his knuckles turned white. Jack's footsteps echoed in the small, square room.

Crrkk. The cover of the crate grated open.

Troop bolted upright. Jack widened his eyes in astonishment.

"What are—" Jack began to say.

Troop slammed the heavy toolbox into Jack's temple. Jack crumpled to the floor like a piece of paper. A thin line of blood oozed on the side of his head.

Subject twenty-three sniffed the air and let out a growl.

Troop nudged Jack with his foot. The scientist remained unconscious. Then he walked over to the single window of the room and slid up the panel. Next, he returned to the crate of chickens.

"Lucky day for you. I'm saving you guys from becoming tiger food."

Troop caught and released each chicken out through the window. Subject twenty-three mournfully looked at its lunch escaping before its eyes.

Chicken-freeing task completed, Troop heaved Jack into the now-empty crate. The man's lanky frame barely fit in the box; he had to bend Jack's legs to ensure he was completely within the crate.

Jack let out a soft moan. Troop didn't hesitate to give him another bash to the head. Then Troop opened up his toolbox and removed the bottle of window glue. He applied a thin layer of the adhesive around the rim of the crate and slid the crate's cover back in place; someone was bound to find Jack when they came to kill the tiger. In the meantime, Jack wouldn't be able to alert Troop's presence to others.

Troop cracked open the door and slid into the East Wing hallway. Time to find Kristi and Chelsa.
chapter forty-two

[ Kristi ]

Kristi chewed on her bottom lip. Troop still hadn't shown up after ten minutes.

"We really ought to go," Chelsa said.

"Two more minutes. Give him two more minutes. If he still isn't here, then we'll leave."

Chelsa sighed, but complied with her wishes.

"Come on, where are you?" Kristi muttered.

"I'm here," Troop's voice said over her shoulders.

"Jeepers! Don't creep up behind people like that," Kristi said. "It's rude to surprise people by sneaking up on them."

"Well, that wasn't the greeting I was hoping to get. Are you two finished checking out this room?"

"Yeah. Let's move onto the next room."

She finished drying the window (which was thoroughly cleaned after being cleaned a total of three times by Chelsa and her). They left Lab E and proceeded to investigate the next room down the hall, which happened to be Report Room D. Kristi wondered what the heck was a Report Room. Her question was quickly answered when they peeked inside.

Rows upon rows of smart-glass desks lined Report Room D in an orderly fashion. Staff feverishly typed away documents at their desks. Kristi silently backed out of the room, not wanting to disturb the peace.

"We've been here for two hours already," she said when they returned to the main hall. "We should hurry up and finish our business here."

"Then let's skip the rest of the rooms in the East Wing and go straight to the South Wing," Troop said.

"We are not splitting apart this time though," Kristi said.

She feared being alone after seeing the woman that gave her the disturbing smile. Goosebumps still covered her arms, even though at least fifteen minutes had passed.

"We'll probably have to split up to get into the South Wing, though," said Chelsa. "Chances are that security is the tightest in the South Wing compared to the West, North and East Wing."

They walked onwards, each person lost in their own thoughts. Kristi rubbed the itch on her nose. Then she stopped dead in her tracks.

Saying the security to the South Wing was strict would be the understatement of the century. Kristi watched a scientist pass through a blood test, three finger scans, two retina scans, a metal detector, an ID check, and a pat down followed by a series of security question all the while being accompanied by two armed guards. She didn't even want to think about the security level inside the South Wing and what would happened if it was discovered that they were imposters.

"Crap," she muttered. "Finn, if you're watching this, we could really use some help."

"You just stole the words from my mouth," Troop said.

Unfortunately, Finn didn't send them help and Kristi didn't possess the ability to teleport the three of them past the security.

"You people cleaning the windows in the South Wing?" a guard barked out at them.

"Uh—" Kristi froze, unsure of how to reply.

"Yes, we are," Troop cut in.

Chelsa and Kristi exchanged looks. What is Troop thinking? A simple check to the front desk of New Genes Lab and the guards will realize we aren't supposed to be here, Kristi thought.

She resisted the urge to rub her nose again. For some reason, her nose was really starting to itch and her eyes felt raw and watery.

"I need your ID cards." A guard sauntered over to them and ran their cards through a handheld scanner.

Next, he had each of them scan their fingerprints. However, the scanner refused to recognize any of their prints; an error message kept popping up when the guard attempted to scan their fingerprints.

"Stupid scanner," the guard said. "I keep on filing a request for a new scanner but it keeps on getting turned down."

"Let me try," another guard said. "It worked just fine a minute ago."

Once again, the scanner couldn't read their fingerprints.

"Whatever," said first guard. "It's not like some window cleaners are going to be terrorists. They barely look like they've just graduated from college."

The patronizing tone in his voice ticked Kristi off just the tiniest bit.

"Okay, we need to perform a retina scan and blood test on each of you," said the second guard.

Likewise with the fingerprint scan though, none of the devices functioned properly. The retina scanner wouldn't turn on and the blood tester kept on announcing their blood type to be unidentifiable. It was as if the three of them didn't exist, according to the government database.

Kristi began to suspect it was Finn's doing that everything was malfunctioning except for the metal detector, which they went through without a hitch.

"You guys can pass." The first guard lazily motioned for them to go through the entrance to the South Wing.

The other guard fidgeted with his stun gun nervously. "I don't think we should allow them entry into the South Wing. Technically, they didn't pass the blood, retina and fingerprint test."

"They didn't fail it either," replied the first guard. "And they've already signed the oath of secrecy when they entered this building, so they can't speak of what they see in the South Wing. If it makes you feel better, we can check with the secretary to confirm that they are supposed to be here."

This is where everything starts to spiral down to hell, Kristi thought to herself. The guards were going to find out the three Cleandows weren't supposed to be in the South Wing and they'll end up getting asked questions they couldn't answer without giving away the truth.

"Hello? This is Hilton," a guard spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"This is Julia," the secretary replied. The sound quality of the walkie-talkie was so faultless Kristi would've sworn Julia was standing in the room next to them if she was blindfolded.

"I would like to verify three Cleandows workers with the names of Dakota, Kennedy and Helen are authorized to enter the South Wing for window cleaning," Hilton said.

"I don't remember any of the South Wing windows needing a repair or wash job. Hold on a second while I check on my electro-slate." There was a pause, then Julia spoke again. "Never mind—I was wrong. It seems like ten of the windows in the South Wing need to have their panels cleaned."

"Thanks, Julia."

"No problem."

"See, what did I tell you?" the first guard said to the second. "We're not breaching any security measures by letting them into the South Wing."

They stepped aside and allowed Kristi, Troop and Chelsa to file between them and into the South Wing. Kristi was expecting to step into a long hallway like she did in the West, North and East Wings. Instead, the South Wing was really just one huge, open room. The ceiling was a minimum of three stories high, even though the South Wing only had one level. The entire learning center could've fit into the room with space to spare.

Out of the blue, Kristi felt the urge to sneeze build up inside her; she pinched the bridge of her nose and eventually the urge faded away. On the other hand, her eyes were as irritated as ever.

"I think I'm allergic to something in the lab," she said in a low enough voice so that only Troop and Chelsa could hear; Perfects didn't have allergies and she would immediately stand out if she had an allergic reaction.

"Don't rub your eyes," Troop said when she raised her hand to her face. "It'll only make it worse."

That was when Kristi noticed parts of Troop's clothing were covered with feathers. "Troop, why does it look like a bird decided to molt on you?"

"I snuck into the East Wing in crate shared with chickens," he said.

"Crap."

"What?"

"I'm allergic to birds."

"Crap," Troop echoed her words.

"Don't sneeze," Chelsa advised.

"I'm trying not to," Kristi said. "Come on, let's wrap up our business here before snot starts dripping down my face."

Chelsa made a face. "Lovely thought. Thank you for the imagery."

"Anytime."

They nonchalantly wandered throughout the room. Documents covered several smart-glass desks.

"Think of those poor trees that were killed to make all these papers. What a waste of resources," Troop said.

Most of the desks had a person seated over it, so they couldn't read what was written on those papers. But, by pure chance, a scientist a few desks away from them stood up from his desk and let out a huge stretch. Then he walked away, presumably to stretch his legs or answer the call of nature.

Kristi hurried over to the unguarded report left lying on the desk. She skimmed over the contents:

Name: Dr. Leemers

Experiment: DNA Alterations for Stronger Teeth

Test Subject #: 216

Results: Doubling the genetic material on section K of chromosome 23 does indeed result in stronger teeth on subject 216. However, subject 216's teeth grew continuously and constantly needed to be filed down. Subject 261 also experienced loss of appetite after the DNA alteration. Subject 216 was injected with the final sleep shot on November 17th.

Conclusion: Doubling the genetic material found on section K of chromosome 23 is not a viable option for usage among citizens.

The rest of the report was a thorough account the entire experiment. The procedures for the experiment were well documented with pictures and descriptions. Subject 216 an Accident who had died at a young age of two months. Reading the report made venom towards Dr. Leemers boil up within Kristi.

"This is sick," she said. "How can they kill an infant?"

"Oh, my god," Chelsa said.

"My thoughts exactly," Kristi said.

"No, you don't understand what I mean."

Kristi realized Chelsa wasn't even looking at the report anymore. "What is it?" she asked.

"Look."

Kristi followed her gaze. On the far side of the room were rows of cribs. A number was pinned onto each crib and a tranquilized baby slept in each one. Further to the right of the cribs were toddlers kept in pens; most were fast asleep. The few that were awake seemed pretty groggy, so she suspected their sedatives were just beginning to wear off. There weren't many toddlers—thirty at most compared to at least a hundred infants.

Some of the Accidents looked normal while others did not. A small, freckled toddler no older than three was babbling a string of meaningless words. Another Accident was fast asleep in her pen; her hair was a turquoise color. The girl woke up and looked at Kristi straight in the eyes, as if it was she who had woken her up from a nap. When the girl grinned at Kristi, she recoiled back in surprise; the blue-haired toddler's teeth were fang-like and carnivorous.

Troop cast his eyes around the room. "This is so freaky."

Kristi nodded in agreement. She shuddered to think how close she had been to being experimented upon. All these lives sacrificed to satisfy the indulgences of a perfect society, Kristi grimly thought.

Without the Accidents to test on, there would be no progress in DNA perfectionism. The government depended on a society where everyone was a Perfect to run seamlessly.

A movement in the corner of her eyes snapped Kristi back to reality. She looked up in time to see the woman in the white lab coat who had given her the disturbing smile earlier. Her stomach clenched in response and she swallowed nervously.

"Are you even listening?" Chelsa asked.

"Sorry. What did you—ah–choo!" Kristi let out a huge sneeze.

The sound reverberated around the room. Everyone became absolutely still and silent; it was as if a magician had thrown a freeze over the South Wing. Kristi fidgeted beneath five hundred pairs of eyes.

"Ha-ha," Troop said loudly, diverting some of the attention off her and onto him. "That was a funny joke, Helen, pretending you were allergic to me. I didn't know you could sneeze so loud. Maybe you should save your pranks for a more appropriate time though."

Some of the tension melted away in the room and gradually people returned to their work.

"Good save," Chelsa whispered to Troop.

But creepy-smile-lady was still staring at them. Chelsa lifted her head up and looked in the direction Kristi was looking.

"What is she doing here?" Chelsa asked more to herself than to Kristi.

"Who is she? I feel like she's been following us for a while," Kristi said.

"She's Zala's assistant. Her name's Rosa."

Rosa saw the three of them looking at her and marched over. Following behind her was Officer Zala and a guy Kristi didn't recognized. He looked to be a few years older than her.

Troop met the guy's eyes. "What is he doing here?"

chapter forty-three

[ Troop ]

He looked different since the last time Troop saw him—he had obviously gotten a haircut—but the guy behind Officer Zala was, without a doubt, Mason.

What in the world is going on? Troop thought.

Mason stopped a few paces behind Officer Zala.

"Fancy meeting you here, Chelsa," Zala said. She braced her feet shoulder width apart and crossed her arms. Rosa and Mason copied her posture.

"I'll prefer if you call me Dakota for now," Chelsa replied.

"Chelsa, Dakota, whatever." Officer Zala waved her hand diminishingly. "It seems to me you have only upheld part of our bargain. Where is the fourth Accident?"

"He refused to come," Chelsa said.

"Very well. At least you have brought me two of the three. I will reward you once the last Accident is in my hands." Zala turned to face Mason.

Troop debated whether they should make a break for it or not; he settled on a "no" since armed reinforcements had materialized all around them.

"Deputy Mason," Zala said in a flat tone that somehow made those two words sound ominous.

Mason snapped to attention. "Yes, Officer."

"I am disappointed in you."

Rosa smirked behind Zala's back and Mason shot her daggers. "Yes, Officer," Mason said.

"You know what happens to people who disappoint me," Zala continued on.

An expression of panic crossed Mason's face for a second, but his face quickly became an emotionless mask. Rosa's smirk widened a few inches.

Zala spoke again, "You informed me Troop and Kristi were killed two nights ago in the explosion at Solomon's Sandwich Shop."

"Yes, Officer. I believed the grade A bomb I placed in the shop killed them. It was foolish of me not to return to the site of the detonation to confirm their deaths," Mason said.

"You placed the bomb in the sandwich shop?" Troop asked.

Mason looked nothing like the forty-something year old diner he saw at Solomon's Sandwich.

"Yes." Mason sounded smug. "I have been complimented on my extraordinary skills in the art of disguises. You didn't recognize me on the air-train either."

"Who are you?" Kristi burst in. "How do you know Troop?"

Mason didn't try to hold back the scorn spreading across his face. "Don't speak unless you're asked to, Freak."

Troop bristled at his words.

"That's enough talk, Deputy," Zala snapped. "You can flatter yourself later."

Mason fell silent. Zala's gaze fell upon Chelsa. "You were starting to worry me, Chelsa. After not receiving any updates from you for a long time, I began to fear you might've gotten distracted from your task."

Kristi tensed up beside Troop in anticipation for Chelsa's answer. Troop gave her right hand a squeeze of reassurance. Would Chelsa betray them once more?

"No, I haven't gotten distracted from my task," Chelsa said.

Troop's stomach dropped a hundred feet. Is she seriously double-crossing us again?

"Good," Zala replied.

But Chelsa wasn't done speaking yet. "I've decided I never want to have anything to do with you again." The enmity in her tone was acidic enough to dissolve diamonds. "You knew what was going on with the Accidents, with all of this." She gestured to the room around them. "And you don't seem to find anything wrong with it. I wouldn't be surprised if you stabbed me in the back the second I gave you what you wanted. You—"

"Watch your tongue, young lady." Officer Zala's lip curled up whether in contempt or disgust, Troop couldn't tell. "I offered to bring your boyfriend back from the dead, which is an offer you clearly don't deserve having. You accepted my bargain; I never forced you into it. I gave you protection when you traveled. I made sure bandits didn't bother you. I made sure you had enough points to get by on. I've wasted much of my time ensuring an Accident was as safe as possible within my power."

"You're a murderer," Chelsa spat.

"Ooh, them is fighting words," Rosa whistled.

"Shut up," Zala snarled.

Rosa and Mason both took a few steps back and lowered their heads in submission.

Zala bared her teeth in anger. "You're treading on dangerous grounds, Chelsa. If I were you, I wouldn't be so rude to my superior."

"All those deaths just to make people feel secure about themselves," Chelsa said. "You know what? The government's brainwashing people into thinking they are the best, the greatest, the most flawless if they have perfected DNA. Well, guess what, they're wrong. There's nothing wrong with the non-Perfects. Do you want to know what's the greatest weakness in all you so-called 'Perfects'?" Chelsa didn't wait for a reply and kept on rolling on, either oblivious or ignoring the guns being aimed at them. "You guys are afraid of being imperfect. But let's face it: none of you are perfect. And yes, Zala, I mean you too. You're. Not. Perfect."

Silence.

Then Officer Zala slowly broke into an exaggerated applause. "Thank you for your speech," she said, sarcasm dripping like honey. "Just what we needed; an Accident giving advice to a Perfect. Obviously you didn't inherit much intelligence from your parents."

"Don't insult Chelsa," Kristi said.

A hand slapped across her cheek. Kristi clasped her hands over her skin, smothering a gasp of pain.

"Don't touch her!" Troop snapped.

"I don't think you're in the position to be making demands," Mason said.

"You vile scumbag. I can't believe we used—"

"Shut your mouth." Mason dared Troop to go against his orders.

But Troop wasn't stupid; he knew he was no match against armed guards.

Officer Zala directed a curt nod towards Rosa and said, "Round them up. Keep them in the underground cells. I want a full interrogation done with each of the Accidents. I am sure they know some useful information about the Revealers."

"Yes, Officer." Rosa dipped her head in acknowledgement.

Zala started for the exit of the South Wing. Before she left, she turned to address the shocked scientists. Troop supposed it wasn't every day a break-in happens at one of the most guarded labs in the country.

When Zala spoke, her words rang out with authority. "What you see today in this room stays in this room. Do I make that very clear? Good."

"Finn," Troop mumbled, "some help would be great."

"Keep your hands raised above your head and do not move," a male soldier commanded. "Any effort to resist arrest will not be taken lightly."

They obeyed his instructions. Two of the guards lined them up in single file with soldiers on either side. Kristi let out a loud sneeze, surprising at least three of the guards around them. The guard to her right glared at Kristi while dealing another stinging slap.

"She didn't do anything," Troop said to the guard.

The guard held up a small dart near Troop's face and breathed in his face, "Cause one more disturbance and you will find a tranquilizer in you or your girlfriend."

"You guys alright?" asked Chelsa from the front of the line.

The guard gave Troop a look daring him to answer Chelsa, languidly tossing the tranquilizer from one hand to the other. Troop kept quiet.

They approached the entrance and began leave the South Wing when a loud rumble vibrated across the floor. Everyone stopped walking.

"Keep on moving," Rosa ordered.

They resumed walking. Another rumble vibrated through the air, followed by a sharp bark. Then a howl sliced through the space and the sound of sharp nails clicking against the marble floor could be heard loud and clear.

"You don't think it's the devil-dogs, do you?" a nervous sounding scientist called out.

Deputy Rosa smiled a tight smile. "Of course not. The devil-dogs are kept in the lab's basement in a triple locked cage in a triple locked room. There's no way they can escape or—" Deputy Rosa never got to finish her sentence because a very large and very present devil-dog pounced onto her chest, knocking her onto the hard floor.

Troop cringed at the sound of Rosa's spine snapping when she slammed into the ground. The devil-dog crouched over Rosa, its poisonous saliva dripping over her. Her flesh melted off her skull in random patches. Troop turned his eyes away from the gruesome sight.

A devil-dog let out another howl and was answered with an assortment of howls, barks and snarls. Judging by the sound, there were at least thirty other devil-dogs that were not in a triple locked cage in a triple locked room.

Understandably, the South Wing broke into chaos.

chapter forty-four

[ Kristi ]

"Will all unarmed persons take cover under a desk," a soldier bellowed through his portable speakers.

A stream of devil-dogs flooded the room. The guards surrounding Kristi, Troop and Chelsa dropped onto their knees and began firing at the creatures. The bullets seemed to do little, other than to annoy the devil-dogs though. Kristi watched a bullet lodge itself firmly into the shoulder of a devil-dog, yet the devil-dog only gave a yip and nothing more.

"Let's run for the emergency exit," she said to Troop and Chelsa.

A devil-dog landed between the three of them, causing Kristi to jump sideways. The guard to her right immediately shot the devil-dog, which caused it to stumble for a second, giving her the chance to dodge out of the circle of soldiers guarding them.

"Meet you outside," Chelsa said and dashed away amidst the commotion.

Kristi rapidly lost sight of Chelsa and Troop in the turmoil. It's every woman for herself, she thought. Although the scientists were instructed to stay beneath their desks, several were attempting to escape the building through the emergency exits as well.

"The Accidents! Don't let them escape!" someone hollered. "Vincent, the boy's behind you!"

Kristi caught a glimpse of Troop sidestepping a guard trying to grab him; then he disappeared from her view once more. She threaded her way towards the exit, trying her best to avoid attention.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked the soldier who had slapped her for sneezing earlier. He moved in to block her way.

Kristi didn't waste her breath with an answer and side-stepped to the left. He side-stepped along with her and lunged forwards. Luckily, Kristi accidently tripped over a briefcase and stumbled backwards, out of the man's reach. She leapt to her right, recovering from his swipe for her.

"Grr."

Both girl and guard froze at the growl. Kristi took a peek behind her and saw a devil-dog come flying towards them. The guard rolled to one side just in time; the devil-dog's powerful jaws snapped around empty space where the guard's head had just been a split second ago.

The devil-dog twisted around to face Kristi with its fangs bared and nose quivering with excitement. She danced backwards, the devil-dog snapping at her limbs. They continued this perverted version of a waltz: Kristi stepping just out of reach of the monster's teeth with every step she took backwards.

The devil-dog grew bored with her and fixed its attention back onto the guard. During the few seconds the devil-dog was occupied with Kristi, the guard had managed to get back on his feet and grab his gun.

The devil-dog took a flying leap at the guard. The guard fired a quick shot at the creature's chest and sprung aside. The wound only angered the devil-dog without causing any damage that would hinder its movement.

"You distract the devil-dog while I shoot him," the guard yelled. "If we don't work together, we'll both get killed."

Kristi knew what the guard said was true; the devil-dog was bound to kill one of them sooner or later, and once that happened, the devil-dog would go after the remaining person. As much as she loathed working with an ally of Zala, she replied, "Okay. But the bullets don't seem to be effective against the devil-dogs."

The devil-dog spun towards the sound of her voice and let loose a bark. It advanced towards Kristi and she evaded its venomous saliva by sprinting to the opposite side of the hall.

The guard answered her, "I'm sure the devil-dog won't be able to survive a bullet to the heart."

The devil-dog momentarily forgot about Kristi and settled its gaze back onto the guard.

"Hey, you fluff-of-fur!" Kristi yelled at the dog, successfully diverting the devil-dog's focus back onto her.

The guard fired another round of bullets into the devil-dog's hide. After about ten shots, Kristi noticed the movements of the devil-dog were getting just the tiniest bit slower. Sure, the creature was still fast enough to maul her if she wasn't careful, but at least its reaction time was slowing down.

"Watch out!" the guard warned her just before he slammed the butt of his gun into the snout of the devil-dog.

Kristi jerked her hand back as saliva spewed from its muzzle; a few drops of drool splattered onto her arms, making the skin hiss when the acid burned through her shirt.

"What are you doing?" she screamed. "Are you trying to kill both of us?"

"No," the guard answered in a strained voice. "I figured it's time to try another method to kill the devil-dog since bullets obviously aren't working—that and the fact that I ran out of bullets."

The devil-dog swayed onto its feet. Surprisingly, being whacked by a rifle seemed to have the greatest effect on the devil-dog so far. The guard accidently stepped into a pool of devil-dog slobber and the rubber soles of his boots dissolved into putty.

"Crud," he said.

The devil-dog twitched its ears towards the sound of the guard and pounced onto him. The guard was knocked backwards with enough force to break a brick wall. Fortunately or unfortunately, the guard slammed into a second devil-dog instead of the wall. If the other devil-dog hadn't been around to cushion the guard's impact, he would've died for sure. On the other hand, he now had another problem to deal with, leaving Kristi to face the first devil-dog on her own.

Kristi slipped on the floor now slick with blood, letting out a yell before she landed hard on her butt. Both of the devil-dogs cast their gaze onto her. Then realization hit her: devil-dogs were attracted to noise. She spotted the guard crawling towards his gun and did her best to keep the attention of the two devil-dogs on her without actually getting herself killed because, well, being slayed by devil-dogs wasn't very high on her to-do-list.

"Yeah, you're just a little puppy," Kristi taunted the devil-dogs.

Whether they understood the words or not, she couldn't say, but they definitely comprehended the tone of her voice since both of them raised their hackles and began to circle Kristi.

She looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. Except for a smoke alarm hanging by a few threads of wire on the wall, a heap of broken tiles, an overturned cart and some scattered paper reports, the hallway contained nothing helpful.

Kristi rolled off to one side just in time. The larger devil-dog sprang towards her.

"Fire!" she yelled. "Water!"

"Is that supposed to mean something?" the guard asked.

"Can you start a fire?"

She shoved some paper towards him to use as tinder. "The smoke alarm will activate the sprinklers if we can set it off," she explained, dodging a swipe made by a devil-dog and throwing a broken tile towards the dog at the same time.

"And devil-dogs are afraid of water," the guard finished her thoughts.

"Exactly."

"Here—use this to keep the devil-dogs busy while I make a fire." He threw his rifle to her and pulled out a small lighter from his pocket.

Kristi caught the rifle and used it to poke at the devil-dogs, keeping them at a safe distance away. She snatched up more tiles off the ground and aimed them between the eyes of the devil-dogs. She didn't pay attention to her footing though, and backed into the upturned cart. The smaller devil-dog was upon her in an instant.

The rifle clattered out of Kristi's hands and skidded out of reach. She held her breath and tried not to gag on the rank breath wafting off the devil-dog. A giant, gooey, glob of slobber plopped onto her sternum. Tears welled up in her eyes from the burning sensation.

Kristi struggled to wiggle out from beneath the devil-dog, but the dog placed one heavy paw on her chest, stilling all movements.

"Help!" she yelped.

Naturally, her voice attracted the attention of the other devil-dog. Why am I so stupid? Of course I had to forget devil-dogs are attracted to noise!

The devil-dog pinning her to the ground stuck its face near hers. More droplets of acidic saliva splattered on Kristi's bare skin, causing tears to flow freely and run rivets down the side of her face. The muzzle of the devil-dog rubbed against her tearstained cheeks.

Hiss.

The devil-dog jumped backwards, allowing Kristi to get back onto her feet. The fur near the nose and mouth of the devil-dog was gone, and the exposed skin appeared to be red and raw. Kristi realized her tears—which contained water—must've eaten away the devil-dog's fur.

Both of the devil-dogs were more cautious now, knowing she had the potential to harm them. For once in her life, Kristi wished she would cry more tears. She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and flicked the droplets at the devil-dogs. The dogs skittered backwards when the teardrops rained down upon them; but Kristi knew eventually they would overcome the fear of her tears. Although the droplets did indeed blister their pelts, the injuries were only superficial.

She risked a glance to see how the guard was faring with making a fire. He had managed to light the pieces of paper she had given him by rolling the paper in a torch-like fashion.

"Do you think you can distract the devil-dogs while I try to set off the smoke detector?" Kristi asked.

"Yes." He passed the smoking bundle of paper to her and then grabbed the fallen rifle from the ground.

The sprinklers better work, Kristi thought. She held up the makeshift torch to the smoke alarm, hoping it would still detect the smoke since several of the wires were ripped. The little green light on the alarm was still blinking, so she had hope.

"Umph!" the guard grunted.

He had taken off his shoes and thrown them at the devil-dogs; his shoes were basically useless at this point as the acid had melted most of the rubber soles. The devil-dogs were momentarily distracted by the objects being chucked at their heads. However, the price for a few seconds of distraction was high. The guard had to be extra careful as to where his feet touched the ground—one step in a pool of devil-dog slobber and he was a goner.

Kristi squeaked and turned her attention back to the improvised torch she held. Her fingers were slightly singed.

"Come on," she whispered partly to herself and partly to the smoke alarm. "Please let this work."

There was little more than two inches of paper between the flames and her hand now. She would be forced to put out the fire soon if she didn't want to burn herself.

THUD!

The sound of a heavy body hitting the ground made Kristi lurch in surprise.

"One down, one more to go," the guard announced.

The dead body of the smaller devil-dog slid towards Kristi along the slippery floor. She stuck her foot out to stop the body from colliding into her. The devil-dog had been clubbed to death, from the looks of the wounds on its body.

The blank eyes of the animal stared unfocusedly back at Kristi and its large, slimy tongue drooped out from the corner of its mouth. Blood crusted its mouth along with bullet wounds. She shuddered and averted her gaze from the corpse.

THUD!

Kristi looked back towards the direction of the guard and the devil-dog, expecting to see a second dead devil-dog come sliding towards her. Instead, she saw the devil-dog slamming the guard into the ground.

The guard let out a bloodcurdling howl that was quickly cut off when the devil-dog killed him with a bite to the throat. The body of the guard lay in a limp and crooked position. The devil-dog sniffed over the guard to make sure its prey was dead then started trotting towards Kristi.

She dropped the torch and grinded out the fire with her boots (the torch wouldn't have lasted another ten seconds anyways—there was less than half an inch of paper left to burn). Her chances of making it out of the building alive were growing slimmer by every second. She needed a miracle.

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

"Thank heavens!" she exclaimed.

The sprinklers sprang into action at last. Lifesaving water drizzled down onto the devil-dog. The devil-dog stopped in its steps, confused by the sudden change in the environment. Kristi prayed the devil-dog would retreat and leave her alone.

It didn't.

Undeterred by the fact it was steaming water from its pelt, the devil-dog still stumbled towards Kristi, albeit its steps were shakier and slower. The nearest emergency exit was two hundred meters down the hall. There was no way she would be able to make it there before the devil-dog was on her.

Kristi fake lunged towards the left to evade the dog by dodging to the right. Too slow. The left paw of the devil-dog hooked around her legs and she tumbled to the ground.

Her head cracked against the marble floor and silvery stars exploded across her visions. I refuse for my life to end like this, Kristi thought. Oh yeah? Well, it sure seems like your life is about to end soon, a little voice whispered in the back of her mind. SHUT UP! She ignored the pessimistic voice and focused on getting her head together.

The devil-dog leaned closer, ready to tear through her throat. Her hands blindly swept the area round her. Her fingers wrapped around something small and slim. It was the tranquilizer the guard had threatened to use on Troop and her earlier. The small dart must've slipped out of his pockets.

The devil-dog's teeth flashed dangerously close to Kristi's face. With all her strength, she thrust the dart into its gaping maw. In its weakened state, the highly concentrated sedative knocked out the devil-dog within a few seconds. She barely had enough time to roll out of the way before the devil-dog dropped down cold onto the space where she had just been lying.

Kristi permitted herself a few seconds to catch her breath. Then she dusted some debris off of herself and took off running out of New Genes Lab without a second look back, leaving the pandemonium occurring in the South Wing far behind.

chapter forty-five

[ Troop ]

"Zala's definitely going to actively pursue us now," Chelsa said.

She hit the brakes of the Cleandows van as a stop sign loomed into view. Her driving skills were questionable when she was under pressure.

"Since Zala knows I've switched alliances, there's no questioning that she's not going to allow us off scot-free. She'll be promoted to vice commander of the United Regions Homeland Security if she's able to turn in the four Naturals to the current president of the Homeland Security."

"Since when did you find out about this?" Troop asked.

"Rosa's electro-slate," Chelsa said. "I picked it up after she dropped it and read over some of the instafications they exchanged."

The van lurched back into motion.

"Do you still have the slate?"

"No. I ditched it after reading through her messages. I didn't want to risk bringing her slate with us in case it had a tracker in it.

"Do you think the release of the devil-dogs was Finn's doing?" Kristi asked.

"If it was, he has a lot of questions to answer," Chelsa said. "He could've killed us all."

"But he didn't," Troop pointed out. "As Machiavelli would say, 'The end justifies the means'."

"Whatever."

Kristi didn't say anything.

"You feeling alright?" he asked.

Kristi nodded, but Troop could tell she was lying. He placed himself in Kristi's shoes and tried to work out what was upsetting her.

"You couldn't have helped them," he said. "You barely got out alive by yourself. If you had tried to save an Accident, neither of you would've made it."

"What type of person am I?" Kristi said, her words low and shaky. "How can I be so self-centered that I didn't even think about saving the Accidents until after I escaped the lab?"

"You're a brave, smart and honest girl. Kristi, whether you like it or not, you can't save everyone," Troop said. "If this helps, think of it this way: you're ultimately preventing more deaths by escaping New Genes Lab today."

"How?"

"The video footage you captured with the contact-cams is solid proof of where the Accidents are ending up."

"So? How does that help?" Kristi asked.

"If we can broadcast the footage to the Perfects, then they'll know the truth about what the government has been doing to the Accidents. Then the government will have to stop abducting Accidents or else they'll have to face a rebellion from the citizens."

"But what if the Perfects don't care?" Kristi countered. "What if the Perfects felt that the price of better genetics is worth it? You know how most of the population is obsessed with receiving the latest surgeries in search of perfection."

Troop creased his forehead.

"Sorry for raining on your parade," Kristi mumbled. "I know I'm being such a downer."

He shrugged it off. "Reality sucks."

"We're here," Chelsa announced from the driver's seat.

She parked the van and they jumped out. Troop shed his Cleandows uniform and went to the storage shed where they had hid the three Cleandows employees earlier. There was no one inside, so he assumed they had woken up and left.

"Ready to go?" he asked when he returned back to the others.

"Yep. Let's head back to the Filches," Chelsa said.

The walk to the Filches' apartment felt like an eternity to Troop, even though it wasn't supposed to be very long. He checked out the name of the street they were walking on. We're not even halfway there yet.

Everywhere he looked, public news-screens bombarded the community with the news of the New Genes Lab break-in. Citizens watched wide-eyed with horror of the footage being shown of the devil-dogs attacking the people in the lab; some people huddled together and gossiped while others trawled the government news site on their electro-slate, searching for any updates regarding the break-in.

"Nobody cares about the Accidents," Kristi hissed into his ear. "None of the footages being broadcasted show the Accidents being kept at the lab."

Troop cast a fugitive glance over his shoulders, afraid someone might've overheard her comment. "I know, but now isn't the best time to be talking about this."

He made sure Chelsa, who was walking on the opposite side of the street, was still visible ahead of him and Kristi; Officer Zala had already made a public announcement notifying all citizens should be on the lookout for three teenagers: two girls and one guy, that seemed different—that seemed imperfect.

Keeping his head down while he walked, Troop overheard snatches of conversations.

"I don't understand why the government allowed them to live."

"I agree with you. Accidents are a danger to the public—"

"—I don't know...There must be a reason why they would break into New Genes Lab—"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Havanah. I'm telling you, Accidents are nothing but trouble."

"How do you know? You've never met one yourself."

"Just trust me on that."

Troop felt a tug on his jacket. He immediately pushed the offending hand away, thinking some stranger had recognized his face from the public new-screen. His panic was diminished when he realized it was just Kristi, though.

She jerked her arm back and said, "Hold on a second. Give her some time to get into the apartment before we do."

"Oh." Troop watched Chelsa push through the glass doors. "Okay." He thought he heard Kristi mumble something else, so he said, "What did you say?"

"It was pointless, wasn't it? Trying to find out where the Accidents were and breaking into the lab."

Troop yanked Kristi off the streets and through the doors of the closest building, which happened to be a hardware store. "I told you not to talk about that in public," he whispered tersely. "It's not safe."

Kristi looked troubled, but didn't say anything. They left the hardware store and arrived at the Filches' apartment. Troop called up the elevator and jabbed the correct button. They stood in a strained silence, waiting for the elevator to reach the thirty-seventh floor.

He gave the door a sharp knock with his knuckles and waited for someone to open it.

"Coming!" someone yelled from inside.

The doorknob jangled, and then the door was flung open by Jane.

Finn, Nick and Chelsa were seated on the couch in the living room. Finn seemed to be terribly excited about something. His knees were bouncing up and down so fast Troop wouldn't be surprised if all of a sudden he jumped up and ran a marathon without crutches.

Jane locked the door behind them and motioned for everyone to take a seat. Troop popped out his contact-cam and handed it to Jane for her to sync onto her electro-slate; then he dropped onto the synthetic leather couch.

He turned to Finn and asked, "Was it you who caused the malfunctioning of the fingerprint, retina and DNA scanners in the South Wing?"

"Yeah. Nick helped me with temporarily blocking the internet in the South Wing so that the machines couldn't access their database," Finn said, looking pleased with himself. "But I swear it wasn't me who let out the devil-dogs," he added before Troop could ask his second question, which was whether or not Finn freed the devil-dogs from their cages.

"If it wasn't you, then who was it? The timing of the devil-dog's release was very convenient. Maybe a little bit too convenient, wouldn't you say?" Chelsa said.

chapter forty-six

[ Kristi ]

Kristi nodded to whatever conversation was being held in the Filches' living room; she wasn't listening, partly because she didn't care at that moment and partly because her mind was reeling with thoughts. What sort of selfish, egocentric person am I? Did I really not even stop to think about attempting to save those Accidents in my own desperation to escape the lab?

"Isn't that so, Kristi?" Troop asked, breaking through her reflections.

"Huh—oh, yeah, right," she said.

Troop gave her a look as if to say, "You have no idea what you're saying, do you?"

She gave the barest hint of a shrug and tuned out whatever Nick or Finn or whoever was rambling on.

But honestly, what is the point of solving those two cases? I mean, yeah, so we found out where the Accidents are ending up, but so what? There's nothing I can do about that. And as for the Individualism Case, maybe I'll just turn it over to Finn's mom; she'll be happy about that since she didn't think I was experienced enough to attempt to complete the two cases.

"Alright," Chelsa said. "We've found out where the Accidents are ending up. Now what?"

My thoughts exactly, Kristi thought.

"We tell the world about this conspiracy," Troop said.

"Uh-huh. And how are we going to do that? And why are we going to do that? What is the point of releasing this information?" Kristi immediately felt bad for raining on his parade for the second time in a day. I must be in a worse mood than I thought I was.

Troop said nothing and she could sense the gears in his brain clicking and turning.

Hmm, perhaps I should give both the Individualism and Disappearance case to some other Revealer member to solve. I'm not exactly the ideal person to be doing this job.

"I think I have the answer," Troop said. "Wait for it, wait for it..."

Kristi returned to her own thoughts. What is the point of life? What is the point of my life anyways? She tried imagine what Jaiden would say if he was besides her.

"I think we have some trouble," Chelsa said.

Kristi looked up. Chelsa was focused on her electro-slate, which was broadcasting the official government news station. Chelsa angled her slate so that everyone in the room could see it.

Kristi took a huge gulp when she saw who the guest speaker was: Officer Zala.

"Good afternoon, citizens. I'm Debbie Kruz reporting from GN Headquarters. Officer Zala is here with me today to make an important public announcement."

Zala made an irascible sound with the back of her throat, as if she was barely restraining herself from knocking Debbie out of the way and declaring her announcement. Debbie noticed this and hurriedly wrapped up her sentences.

"Stay tuned! I'm going to hand it over to Officer Zala, head of the East Region Homeland Security."

Debbie almost tripped over her heels when Zala pushed herself forward, right in front of the camera. Zala flashed a quick grimace that Kristi assumed was supposed to be a smile.

"As many of you already know, there has been a major break-in at a government funded lab. Although everything is now under control, the United Regions Homeland Security is asking all citizens to be on the lookout for the Accidents responsible for this infringement. The East Region Homeland Security's forces will be doing a door-to-door search for the Accidents. Any resistors to our search will be taken into custody."

Zala stopped talking while pictures captured by the lab's cameras flashed onto the screen, showing Chelsa, Troop and Kristi.

"Help keep the United Regions safe by reporting any sightings or tips of these fugitives. Citizens aiding the Homeland Security protect the United Regions from these terrorists will be handsomely rewarded." Zala gave a brisk nod to show she was done speaking and the camera panned back to Debbie.

"So, fellow citizens, keep your eyes and ears open and report any suspicious activity or persons to the Homeland Security. You can contact your local security branch by dialing 1600 plus your area code," said Debbie. "That's all there is for now. Until next time, folks."

A commercial for the latest electro-slate began to play and Chelsa clicked her electro-slate off.

"Door-to-door search?" Finn said. He snitched his crutches off the couch and swung over to a window and peered out, like he was looking to see if he could spot the officers making their way down the street.

"Is there a place where we can stay until the search blows over?" Troop asked.

"I can think of one or two," Jane answered. "But getting you four to the safe place may be more risk than it's worth."

As if to emphasize Jane's point, a Homeland Security helicopter whirled by overhead. The sound of the helicopter's blade spinning shook the apartment walls.

"But we can't stay here," Chelsa said. "Sooner or later, the officials are going to search your place and find us."

At this point, I couldn't have cared less, Kristi thought.

A little, rebellious voice in the back of her head spoke up. What is wrong with you today, Kristi? It sounds like you're planning your death.

Well, maybe I am. I can't believe I haven't realized this for a long time: there is no point in life. It just goes on. Why doesn't it seem like no one else has noticed that?

The voice responded, Well, have you considered this: Life is an endless chain of meaningless actions. Your purpose is to bring meaning to those actions.

Oh, thought Kristi, then, Am I seriously having a mental conversation with myself? I think I'm going insane.

"I've got it!" Troop snapped his fingers in excitement. "Never mind...I just lost it. Give me a second."

"While we wait for Troop to relocate his idea, does anyone have any suggestions for our current predicament?" Finn asked. "We're rather pressed for time right now."

I might as well take a stab with figuring out how to evade the officials for now, Kristi told herself. Okay, so I know what is happening to the disappearing Accidents and I also have proof of the government funded science corporations testing on them, thanks to the contact-cam. How does the Disappearance Case relate to the Individualism Case, though? How does missing people connect to the population forgetting "perfection" is an opinion, not a fact or standard set by the authority?

Suddenly she got it. Kristi looked up from her lap and saw that Troop seemed to have reached some sort of conclusion as well.

"If people—" they both started to say at the same time.

"Go ahead," Troop said. "Say what you wanted first."

"Alright." Kristi took a look around the room. Everyone's attention was latched onto her. "I think what my parents wanted to do was bring awareness of the Accidents' plight to the public in hopes that if people know the price of having a genetically 'perfect' race they will condemn it. The purpose of the Naturals is to show everyone perfection is an illusion. The public buys into the propaganda that portrays Accidents as dumb, ugly and maybe even dangerous people, but we all know that is not true. I mean, look at us." She tipped her head towards Chelsa, Finn and Troop. "We're not uncivilized savages. Most of the Perfects have been corrupted into believing without genetic alteration, humans would become beasts."

"Over seven billion points are spent each year on genetic alteration updates in the United Regions," Jane interjected.

"Perfects are afraid of becoming imperfect," Chelsa breathed out, catching onto her train of thoughts.

"Exactly," Kristi said. "Except that doesn't really make sense because Perfects aren't perfect to begin with. And just because Accidents have no DNA tailoring doesn't make them imperfect either."

"You've lost me," Finn said. "How can a person be neither perfect nor imperfect at the same time?"

"It all depends on the point of view of the person judging. But that's not the main point. The main point is that people have forgotten how to be unique individuals. We need to remind the world there is no such thing as a one-size-fits all form of perfection."

"That's great and all," said Finn. "But how does reminding the Perfects that perfection is an illusion going to help us right now?"

"I think I know how," Troop said. "Nick and Jane, do you think you can override the government news station?"

"I believe so," Jane said. "I've never tried to before, but that was because I've never had the need to. Is there a reason why you need an override?"

Troop nodded. "If we can cause some commotion that will hinder the Homeland Security for a while, it will give us the chance to sneak into the safe house to hide until the door-to-door search is over."

"And what is your idea of causing some commotion?" asked Chelsa.

"I was getting to that. If we can broadcast the testing done on Accidents in search of more DNA alterations for Perfects on the public news-screens, then that should stir up some commotion on the streets. At the same time, we can start the Individualism Case by trying to convince the population that non-genetically altered people aren't much different from Perfects. Two birds, one stone."

That doesn't sound like a very reliable plan, thought Kristi. But a plan is better than no plan.

chapter forty-seven

[ Troop ]

Nick passed an electro-slate to Troop and said, "Start editing the video you want Jane and I to broadcast on the public news-screens. All of the footage shot from the contact-cams is saved onto the file labeled 'Lab Film'. I'm going to start stashing some of the Revealers-only-technology in the safe." He unfolded his lanky frame from the couch. "You coming with me, Jane?"

Jane followed her husband out of the living room and Troop opened up the Lab Film folder and began to filter through the recording. Most of the shots wouldn't be useful for his purpose. Eventually, he found some footage he deemed suitable for making a video clip to stir up some trouble.

"Do you want some help with the film?" Chelsa asked. "If not, I think I'll help Jane and Nick hide their equipment."

"Go ahead and help them," he said.

"Is the clip done?" Finn asked.

"Almost." Troop rewound the video. "Let me play it one more time to make sure it's good to air."

"I don't think you'll have time to do that." Finn drew the curtains over the window he was looking out. "The Searchers are at this apartment complex. I just saw a group of them enter the building. We have to air the film now."

"Okay. We should have some time before the Searchers arrive since we're on the thirty-seventh floor."

"All the same, there's no more time to edit the film," Chelsa said.

"Are Nick and Jane still busy?" Troop asked.

"Nope." Nick strode into the room. "Just finished putting away the last of the equipment."

"Here's your slate. I saved the film clip under the name InTheLab."

"How long does the clip run?"

"A bit over ten minutes. I hope that's not too long."

"No, not at all." Nick accepted the electro-slate containing the precious video. "I'll get started with the override. Keep an eye on the public news-screen. When your video starts playing, start to make your way to the safe place. Oh wait, I haven't given you directions to the safe place, have I?"

Troop shook his head.

"Alright, you remember Solomon's Sandwich, right?"

"Yeah."

"A few blocks away from the sandwich shop is a city park. In the park there is a Meditation Garden."

Kristi cut him off. "Oh, I know the place you're talking about."

"Beneath one of the benches is a trapdoor that leads to an underground shelter," Nick said. "Stay in there until a Revealer member comes and gets you. I'll send for someone to fetch you guys if Jane or I can't do it ourselves."

Jane coughed gently, interrupting Nick. "I think we better hurry with the news-screen override. The Searchers have reached the fifteenth floor already."

The couple disappeared from the living room, retreating back into the electro-room. Finn resumed his position by the window while Chelsa and Kristi conversed quietly. Troop fingered the straps of his backpack. He had packed lightly, taking nothing more than a few granola bars, water bottles and an electro-slate; he shouldn't need anything else if all went according to the plan.

Some time passed, and he wondered if Nick and Jane were actually capable of overriding the system. What if they overestimated their skills? Troop thought.

Knock! Knock!

Everyone swiveled their head to the door.

"This is the Homeland Security conducting an official door-to-door search. Open up," barked a sharp voice.

"It's not us," Kristi said. "Not yet."

Some of the tension deflated from the room. There was the sound of a door being thrown open a few units down. Finn pried the window open, preparing an escape route.

Knock! Knock!

The rapping noise sounded louder. Troop guessed the Searchers were two units away from the Filches' quarters. Nick or Jane, please hurry up and get the film playing on the new-screens.

"Open up! This is Homeland Security conducting a door-to-door search." The voice sounded even closer.

Troop slung on his backpack, ready to flee at any second. He paused mid-action, though, when he saw Finn drop his crutches out the window.

"What are you doing?" There was no way Finn had just accidently lost his crutches in one go.

"Storing my crutches where I can retrieve them later. You didn't think I was going to carry my crutches and descend the apartment at the same time, did you? I was planning on getting out of here via the fire escape unless you have a better idea."

Troop poked his head out the window, spotting the crutches piled together in some hydrangea bushes; one of them appeared to be crooked, though Troop wasn't positive, since he was thirty-seven stories above the ground; he had to squint to see the crutches far below him.

"I hope your crutches are covered by insurance," Troop said.

Finn made a "whatever" face.

Knock! Knock!

All occupants in the living room froze. There was no mistaking it. The Searchers were here.

"Out. Everybody out the windows now," Troop said, his voice terse.

"Homeland Security conducting a door-to-door search. Open up!" bellowed a masculine voice on the other side of the door.

Nick and Jane came thundering into the room.

"Okay," Jane said. "Hold on a second." She turned to Troop, Kristi, Chelsa and Finn and said in a quiet voice, "The override is taking longer than we thought. We'll keep on trying, but in the meantime, get out of here."

"Open up!" a Searcher commanded. "We will break in forcefully if you do not cooperate."

"Coming." Jane motioned for the group to hurry up and leave.

Chelsa clambered out the window, followed by Finn with some difficulties. Ghost mewed plaintively, watching his owner leave without him. Jane stroked the top of his head, comforting the leopard.

Troop indicated for Kristi to go out the window before him.

"If you do not open up in ten seconds, we will shoot down the door!" This was followed by some pounding to emphasize the point.

Troop hastened and climbed over the windowsill; the door was bashed down a split second later. He ducked down, pressing his body against the wall and finding some footing on the fire escape. He looked up and saw Nick drawing the blinds over the window.

"You guys managing alright?" Troop asked.

"More or less," Kristi replied.

"My bad leg is throwing me off balance," Finn said. His knuckles were a chalky white from squeezing the railings.

Troop held his breath, watching Finn perilously climb down the fire escape with his paralyzed leg hanging limply. Kristi shortly joined Finn on the platform on the thirty-sixth floor.

"It's working," Kristi said. "Troop, you're film is playing on the public news-screens."

Troop took a glance at the nearest news-screen. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Debbie the reporter was reporting some type of new product being recalled. He was about to tell Kristi this when the news-screen began to blink on and off. Then Debbie was replaced by the video Troop had created earlier.

He descended a few more rungs of the rusty fire escape and observed the citizens milling the streets of Klisbury. A few were watching the news-screens and scratching their heads in confusion, but most still hadn't noticed the hijacked screens yet.

Troop counted how far he'd descended. Twenty floors left before we're home free, he thought. Provided no one on the streets spots us making an escape. When he cast another look to the news-screen, Debbie's face was back on.

"Sorry for the minor broadcasting incident that occurred just a few seconds ago," Debbie said. "Everything is under—"

Her words were chopped off when Troop's film began to play again on the screen. Troop felt his sneakers slip on the edge of a platform and he barely saved himself from free falling fifteen stories. His fingers scrabbled against the window ledge nearest to him.

"This is the truth," a voice boomed out from the public speakers lining the streets below him. With a start, Troop realized it was his voice being projected from the speakers. Somehow, Nick and Jane must've manipulated the speakers into playing above the standard set volume in addition to overriding the public news-screens.

Nine floors left. So far so good; no one has noticed us yet. Troop resisted the temptation to watch his film being played. From the sounds coming from the streets, it seemed that the citizens had finally notice something was amiss with the news-screens. Five floors to go. I think we're actually going to pull this off.

chapter forty-eight

[ Kristi ]

Kristi was worried. She knew Finn was tiring, even though he worked hard not to show it.

"Three more levels to go," she muttered to herself, thankful they were low enough on the fire escape to be blocked by the trees planted along the edge of the apartment complex. "Three more left, three more left, three more left," she chanted under her breath. "Two more levels left, two more left."

"Success." Finn pushed off the rim of the platform and awkwardly landed on the ground. He braced his fall with his hands and knees then pushed himself onto his feet. "You guys coming?"

Chelsa silently dropped down beside Finn; somehow, Finn had surpassed Chelsa while making his descent. Kristi shimmied her way down until she was only eight feet above the ground before leaping off the fire escape. Troop was beside her in an instant.

Finn hobbled over to his crutches and let out a grunt. "Guess I'll have to make do with only one for now."

He shoved a crutch beneath his arms then tossed the other back behind the bushes; it was little more than a piece of mangled metal after its thirty-seven-story plunge.

"I'll lead," Troop said.

"I know how to get to the Meditation Garden, too," Kristi said. "I don't mind taking the lead."

Troop raised his eyebrows. "Allowing you to lead us to the Wayland Hotel was the last time I trust you with directions."

"Point taken."

Troop went out of his way to make sure they took all the backstreets and dodged behind a building every time a law enforcer came into view. Although, to be honest, Kristi thought they could've walked down Main Street in plain sight all the way to the Meditation Garden and no one would've noticed. All eyes were trained on the public news-screens, which were still exhibiting Troop's film.

A few more turns and backtracks later, they were at the Meditation Garden. There were a few soccer matches being held in the city park, but the Meditation Garden itself was void of citizens. Visiting the garden in daylight, Kristi realized it wasn't as big as she had imagined it to be. At most, the garden took up an acre of space.

A small dirt path spiraled its ways through the bamboo plants and trees until it reached the center of the garden. A small pond with shimmering droid-koi splashing in the water dominated the heart of the garden. Moss covered stone benches surrounded the pond.

"Did Nick say which bench the trapdoor is beneath?" Chelsa asked.

"No," replied Troop. "Start searching, everyone."

Kristi dropped to her knees and peered beneath the bench besides her. A layer of dead leaves obscured the ground. She stuck her hand into the space to sweep aside the foliage. No trapdoor. She moved onto the next bench. Same results. Onto the next bench.

Chelsa pointed to the bench Kristi was searching below. "I already checked that one."

"Did we leave any unchecked?"

"I don't think so."

"Let's recheck all of them, then," Troop said. "The trapdoor must be pretty well hidden if it has to remain undetected for a while."

Everyone got back onto their hands and knees and started a second sweep through for the elusive trapdoor. Well, everyone but Kristi. A trapdoor beneath a bench in a public garden seems just a bit too obvious, she thought. If I had to hide the entrance to a secret place, where would I place it?

"Kristi, why aren't you helping?" Troop demanded.

"Hold on a second," she said.

He let out a snort-slash-sigh. "In case you haven't noticed, time's not on our side."

Kristi ignored him and walked over to a plaque positioned a few feet above the ground. It read:

Leonard Memorial Pond

Donated by the Klisbury Community Garden Club

The sign was nailed to a hunk of granite jutting out from the dirt; the granite didn't have as extensive of moss growth compared to the stone benches. Which must mean the benches are older than the koi pond, Kristi thought.

She took off her sneakers and rolled up her pants. Then she waded into the pond, scattering the fish when she took her first step in. Her breath hitched a little; the water was colder than she anticipated.

"Kristi," Troop said. "What has gotten into you?"

"I think the trapdoor's in the pond."

"Nick clearly told us the entrance was beneath a bench."

Chelsa and Finn looked at each other and resumed hunting for the trapdoor, clearly uncomfortable with the argument being taken place. Kristi took another step and stepped off an underwater ledge of some sort. She dropped down several feet and sputtered; the water reached her shoulders.

"Get out of the pond now," Troop demanded.

"I don't remember anyone putting you in charge of us."

She edged towards the center of the pond; the water continuously got deeper and deeper. By now, she had to tread water to keep her head from being submerged. A rigid gust of wind blew through, making her teeth chatter.

"I think I found something," Finn said.

Troop shot Kristi a look of disproval and mouthed, "You should've listened to me."

Kristi remained in the pond and watched Finn reveal what he had found. It turned out to be nothing more than a large, flat slab of rock with the year the Meditation Garden was built etched into it. Finn's shoulder slumped in defeat.

Kristi took a huge gulp of air and allowed herself to sink below the surface. She stretched her legs and used her feet to feel around the bottom of the pond. She shirked away from the gross texture of the oozy mud. Stop being such a wimp, Kristi chided herself. She drew in a breath and ended up choking on pond water.

Gasping, she kicked her way to the surface and slurped in a deep breath before going back under. Kristi forced her eyes open to grasp a vague sense of her bearings.

Her foot connected with the pond's floor. Using her arms to keep herself upright, she shuffled her way around. There was a muted thunk when her right foot hit something hard.

Ignoring her throbbing toe, Kristi dove down and found the object that she had hit with her foot. Her fingers wrapped around a metal handle. This must be the trapdoor, she thought.

She wanted to stay down longer, but she was running out of oxygen. She broke through the waterline to replenish her lungs. The others were still busy looking beneath the benches.

"It has to be here," Troop muttered. "Nick wouldn't lie to us."

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

A group of people marched by, obviously not attempting to hide their presence. Finn and Troop simultaneously hid behind a bench. Chelsa nonchalantly played with her fingernails with her back turned to the group of Searchers.

"It's not fair we don't have the droid-dogs," a Searcher whined from the back of the group.

Kristi submerged herself until only her eyes were above the water.

"Will you shut up?" a senior officer said.

"We'll never find the Accidents if we don't have the droid-dogs. They could be anywhere!"

"I swear, if you don't shut your mouth in a minute I will personally see you kicked off the squad. I honestly can't figure out why I agreed to take you on." The officer stopped in his tracks, right in front of Chelsa.

Kristi completely dove underwater, praying no one would think to search for a fugitive hiding in a koi-pond. She waited beneath the surface until her ribs ached for air and stars swam before her eyes. As seamlessly as she could, Kristi pierced the surface of the pond for a quick inhale. The Searchers were still talking to Chelsa when Kristi submerged herself again.

She waited and waited. Every time she went to the surface for air, she risked being caught. Just leave, Kristi directed her thoughts at the Searchers. Just go away and never come back. A gold droid-koi zipped by in front of her eyes. Kristi reached out her hand to touch it, but the fish darted beyond reach.

She leaned her head back and looked up. Although the water blurred her vision, she could still make out the outlines of the Searchers.

Great, now I can't come up for air because the Searchers will definitely notice me. She swam to the possible location of the trapdoor. Once she felt the metal handle, she grasped it with her hands and pulled on it with all her might. It refused to budge an inch. What was worse, though, was that the exertion had depleted her oxygen levels dangerously low. Dumb, Kristi. That was really dumb. Why do you never think your plans through?

She began to propel herself to back to the surface. Something big and heavy sailed through the air and smashed through water, narrowly missing her head. She splashed up and saw the disappearing backs of the Searchers. A Searcher whirled around, catching the sound of the disturbed water caused by Kristi.

Kristi sank below once more, but not before she heard Chelsa call out, "Probably just a surprised koi."

She allowed a minute to slip past then deemed it safe to reemerge from the pond.

"We have to hurry," Chelsa said.

Both Troop and Finn had come out from their hiding places. Kristi's wet hair plastered against her back.

"A second group of Searchers will be passing through shortly," said Chelsa. "And they have the Sniffers."

Sniffers were droid-dogs with a sole purpose: to track down people by scent.

"I've found the trapdoor," Kristi said. "But I can't get it open."

"Who would put a trapdoor in the middle of a pond?" Troop asked. "You wouldn't be able to enter the room without letting all of the water from the pond flood it."

"I've found the entrance. Check it out if you don't believe me."

"Sniffers," Chelsa reminded everyone. "We don't have time to waste."

After a brief pause, Troop kicked off his sneakers and said, "Alright, I'll go look at the 'trapdoor'. Chelsa, can you walk around a bit and try to make a trail that will throw the Sniffer's off track? Finn, keep a lookout for other Searchers. If you see someone approaching, slap the surface of the pond to warn me and Kristi."

Troop followed Kristi back into the body of water. Kristi doggy-paddled to the deepest part of the pond and said, "The trapdoor should be directly below us."

Without a word, Troop dove to the location Kristi was pointing to. She followed him. By the time she reached him, Troop was already tugging at the trapdoor's handle. A cloud of silt exploded in front of their faces as the trapdoor suddenly sprung up. Troop slammed the door shut and motioned for them to go back up to talk.

"Did you find it?" Finn asked.

Troop nodded, sending a spray of water everywhere.

"Good," Finn said. "Because I think a second group of Searchers are coming this way. Listen."

Kristi strained her ears; she could make out the sounds of barks and yips.

A person crashed through the undergrowth. It was Chelsa, wiping sweat off her forehead and breathing heavily.

"Searchers," she gasped. "And Sniffers. I'm not sure if they caught sight of me or not."

chapter forty-nine

[ Troop ]

Troop snatched up his sneakers and threw them as far away as he could. "It's to mislead the Sniffers," he explained.

Everyone else copied him and they all splashed into the water. Kristi stopped when she was knee-deep though, and said, "Finn, where did you leave your crutch?"

"Oh snap, I forgot about it," he said. "It's beneath the bench by the dragon statue."

"I'll go get rid of it," Kristi said. "Troop, you remember where the trapdoor is, right?"

"Of course."

Troop located the trapdoor and heaved it open. Then he came up and led Chelsa and Finn to the entrance of the safe place. When he passed through the trapdoor, he broke through some type of gel-like membrane. Then he dropped like a rock and landed hard. Luckily, his backpack cushioned the worst of his fall. Chelsa and Finn followed through.

"This is so weird," Chelsa said. "How come the water isn't entering through opening?"

Although they were still soaked through, they were standing on dry grounds. If he hadn't known better, Troop would've thought they were simply inside an underground hideout instead of beneath a pond. From the looks of his surrounding, they were in an old subway tunnel.

"I think it's because of this." Finn pointed to a large metal cylinder with various tubes attached to it. There was a small screen implanted in the cylinder with blinking numbers and symbols Troop didn't recognize. "It's an air pressure controller."

"So?" Troop said. "What does that do?"

"It manipulates the air pressure so that it nullifies the water pressure from above. Essentially, air is pressing against the membrane we passed through and keeping the water out of here."

Troop unzipped his (thankfully) waterproof backpack and removed his electro-slate from it. The slate was still set on the GN channel, but Troop's video was being played instead of whatever broadcast the government had planned to air.

He wondered if his film was being played a second time, since the entire clip wasn't much longer than twelve minutes and he was sure it had been at least twenty minutes since Nick and Jane first overrode the channel.

Troop tried to change the channel, wanting to see what other news stations were making of the GN override. But no matter which station he turned to, the results were the same: the film he made was being played. He grinned inwardly; Nick and Jane had really outdone themselves.

"Hey, can I see your slate?" Chelsa asked. "I haven't watched the completed video yet."

"Yeah." Troop handed it over to her.

Finn and Chelsa found a spot on the floor a few yards away from him and turned up the volume of the electro-slate. Troop paced beneath the trapdoor, expecting Kristi to come crashing through any moment. He counted the concrete tiles beneath his feet to pass time. I shouldn't have left Kristi on her own, he thought. I know she's prone to make hasty choices when under pressure.

He started to recount the tiles a second time. One, two, three, four...

"That's it." Troop turned to Finn and Chelsa. "I'm going back up to find Kristi. She's taking way too long."

"Don't," said Chelsa. "We don't know if there are Searchers and Sniffers up there."

Troop paled. What if the Searcher caught her? I should've stayed behind to dispose Finn's crutch instead of having her do it.

"Troop, look at me." Chelsa grabbed him by his dripping shirt and spun him around so that he was facing her. "I am being dead serious right now. Don't risk all of our lives by going after Kristi. Our scents are all over the Meditation Garden which means the Searchers and Sniffers are going to be all over that place for a while. Wait until either Nick or some other Revealer member notifies us that it's safe to go before leaving this hideout."

chapter fifty

[ Kristi ]

"Where should I hide the crutch?" Kristi asked herself.

She willed her body to stop shivering from the cold. The crutch felt awkward in her hands, getting in the way of her feet when she walked. She spotted a low hanging branch and got an idea. Slipping her forearm through the crutch, she began to scale the tree.

"Let's see how the Sniffers like barking up a tree," she said.

Kristi hooked the crutch onto the highest branch of the yew tree then scrambled down; she had walked further from the pond than she would've liked. The leaves and gravel crunched beneath her feet; she wished her footsteps wouldn't make so much noise.

A yowl seared the air. Kristi froze, not sure which direction the sound was coming from.

"They found a trail," a voice rang out.

Sniffers! Her brain screeched. Get back to the koi-pond before they spot you. She traded caution in for speed, hurtling through the vegetation and not caring that she was trampling patches of meticulously cared for flowers and plants.

"Sir! I saw a movement to the left," a female voice called out. "Requesting permission to investigate."

"Permission granted."

Kristi leapt over a rotting log and skidded around a muddy patch of ground. She backpedaled immediately. A Sniffer snapped at her ankles and let out a bark.

"Target located!" the Searcher behind the Sniffer yelled.

The other Searchers shouted back their replies, but Kristi was too distracted to make out their words. She sprinted towards the pond. Halfway to the pond though, she abruptly changed directions. What am I thinking? I'll give away the hiding place if I go there, Kristi thought.

Something heavy pounced onto Kristi's back, sending her sprawling across the ground. A Sniffer pinned her in place. Jeez, how much does the droid-dog weigh? 150 pounds? 200? The other dogs were onto her in an instant.

The Searchers came into view. A woman officer knelt down besides Kristi and said, "Where are the other Accidents?" She made a command for the Sniffer to get off Kristi then wrenched her onto her feet.

"I don't know," Kristi said. "I lost sight of them."

The Searcher snapped to attention when the commanding officer of the Search unit arrived. "Sir, requesting permission to search surrounding area for trail."

"Permission granted."

"Here, somebody take care of this thing." The woman pushed Kristi away from her, as if she was infected with a transmittable disease.

She stumbled into a pair of open arms.

"Well, we met again, Freak," said a familiar voice.

Kristi spun around. "It's you."

Mason smirked. "Who else would it be?"

He released Kristi for a moment, but it was only so that he could pull her arms behind her back to secure them in a pair of handcuffs before she had a chance to run away.

"I'll take care of her," said a Searcher, stepping out from the back of the group.

"Who are you?" Mason asked.

"Officer Holnes."

"I don't recognize you."

"New member to this Search unit," Holnes said. He made an attempt to grab Kristi, but Mason jerked her out of reach.

"Commander Klove, when was Holnes added to this unit?"

That was when Kristi noticed Commander Klove was missing.

"Imposter!" Mason yelled. He directed the remaining Searchers, "Seize him!"

The Searchers lunged for Holnes, but more people had melted out of the shadows. None of the newcomers were clothed in Searcher uniforms. Nobody knew who was on whose side. It was complete madness.

Now's my chance to make an escape, Kristi thought. But she hadn't taken three steps before a person tackled her to the ground. She fell on her back, her handcuffed hands digging into her lower back. Her attacker was Officer Holnes.

"Are you part of the Revealers?" she asked.

"No," he said, then stuck a needle into her arm.

The world turned into a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns. The last thing Kristi thought before she lost consciousness was, At least I kept Chelsa, Finn and Troop safe for now. If only I could do the same with the Accidents in New Genes Lab.

chapter fifty-one

[ Troop ]

The trapdoor swung open and a body fell through the entryway. Troop jumped to his feet.

"Kristi?"

His heart sank immediately when he saw that the person was a guy.

The guy stood up and shook Troop's hand. "I'm Pier. Nick sent me to let you know it's safe to go back to their apartment. The door-to-door search has been called off for the day." Pier ceased his talking for a moment to look about him. "I thought there were four of you."

"There are," Chelsa said.

"Then who's missing?"

"Kristi," Troop answered. "You haven't seen her by any chance, have you? The last time I saw her was...about four hours ago."

Pier shook his head. "Come on, we better leave before curfew's in place."

"But what if Kristi comes back here and doesn't know where we are?" He faced Chelsa and Finn. "You guys go ahead with Pier. I'll wait here for a bit and see if Kristi comes back."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Pier said.

Chelsa flashed Troop an understanding countenance. "You stay here if you really want to. Don't get caught on your way back to the Filches'."

Pier didn't protest against Chelsa. "See you in a while," he said to Troop. "I'll leave you a change of clothes behind the koi-pond plaque. You'll attract too much attention if you walk around the city in soaked clothes."

With that, Pier pushed open the trapdoor and allowed Chelsa and Finn to exit the hideout before him.

You can't stay here forever, Troop's conscience nagged him. It's almost midnight. It's time to face the truth: Kristi got caught. He clenched his fist and cracked his stiff neck. It was time to leave.

He repacked his belongings into his backpack and zipped it shut. Then he shoved the trapdoor upwards and jumped, breaking through the thin gel membrane acting as a barrier between the water and underground shelter. The sudden change of pressure shocked Troop for a second, and then he swam towards the surface.

The full moon radiated a strong glow, making the droplets of water suspended midair fracture the rays of moonlight shining through. Using strong strokes, Troop made his way to the pond's perimeter and located the spare clothes. He exchanged his sopping t-shirt for a dry one and left the Meditation Garden.

chapter fifty-two

[ Kristi ]

She was a bird again. A dove, to be precise. Like in her previous dream, all species of flamboyant birds flocked around her, screeching, cawing, and squawking. The noise was not the least bit euphonious.

She knew she was dreaming, but that didn't make the dream seem any less surreal.

The other birds continued to barrage her with claws and talons and beaks. She simply spread open her wings and took flight. Soon, she was coasting over the highest mountain peaks on Earth.

She kept on ascending and saw the thin layers of the Earth's atmosphere come into view. She was flying at a speed faster than the speed of light. No longer was she bound to the Earth's gravitational pull; she was floating in space.

She gracefully flew her way around stars, planets and moons. She circled the sun three times and then left the Milky Way. She flew through stellar nebulas, asteroid belts and black holes. She experienced vertigo when she spiraled through dark matter. She shadowed a shooting star, flying faster than she had ever dared. Faster. Faster. She was a mere speck in the universe. Then she was nothing.

Her eyelids flashed open. She sat upright, appraising her surroundings. Where am I? she wondered, then, Who am I?

chapter fifty-three

[ Troop ]

12 days. 288 hours. 17,280 minutes. That was the amount of time that had elapsed since Troop had lost Kristi. The Revealers had dispatched a search party, but came up with nothing. The search party was cancelled three days ago. The trail had gone cold.

Nick, Jane and Dr. Hanson hadn't tried to sugarcoat the situation by telling Troop that Kristi was probably fine, and for that, Troop was glad. Then again, he hadn't seen a lot of the three Revealer members a lot lately.

He lay on his back, tracing the ceiling cracks of his new bedroom. Yeah, he had moved again. His mom insisted on it the moment he stepped over the threshold of their old living quarter Charleston.

"Somebody's here to visit you," his mom said, tapping on his bedroom door.

"Who is it?"

"Jaiden."

"Jaiden?" Troop repeated to make sure he hadn't misheard.

"That's what I said."

What does Jaiden want from me? He probably wants to beat me up for letting Kristi get into danger. Nevertheless, Troop slipped off his mattress and clumped down the stairs. Jaiden stood waiting for him by the front door.

Troop jerked his head to the living room. "Want to talk in there?"

"Nah. I can't stay long; I have to catch an air-train to Middleton in twenty minutes."

"Are you meeting Finn and Chelsa?" Finn's family had relocated to an obscure little town named Middleton; Middleton was only an hour's drive away from Troop's new address. In the meantime, Chelsa was staying with Finn's family until she worked out some other living arrangement.

"Yeah. Like I said, I just have a quick message for you," Jaiden said.

"What is it?"

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Feeling sorry for yourself. Quit moping around. If Kristi was here, do you really think she would want you having a pity party of one?"

Emotions collided within Troop. Anger. Realization. Sadness. He reined in his temper.

"Oh, yeah?" he said, keeping his tone as even as possible. "What do you want me to do then?"

"Something productive."

"Like what?"

Jaiden let out a long exhale, "Do I really have to spell it out for you? The Revealers could use some help; not that I'm an avid fan of the organization, but it would benefit the world if you helped them a bit."

Troop swallowed a lump of guilt. Ever since his video had been aired, the Revealers had begun to receive an overwhelming amount of instafications and publicity, courtesy of the contact information Troop provided at the end of the film. His mom had been at her wits end for the past week until the Boss had forced her to take a week long vacation.

Riots had broken out on the streets. Some citizens sided with the Revealers and were furious with the government for conducting human experiments. Others sided with the government; they agreed DNA testing on Accidents was for the greater good of the Perfect citizens.

"Alright," Troop said. "I'll see what I can do."

Jaiden gave a nod of approval and opened the front door to leave.

"Say 'hi' to Finn and Chelsa for me," Troop added.

"Will do."

The door slammed shut. Jaiden was right. It was time to start doing.

the story continues on in:

flawless

acknowledgments

Without the help and support of so many people, there was no way imperfect could've been the book it is today. A huge "thank you" to Jenn Rosenberger, Heather Sowalla, Heather Rose, Lani, Jess, Miriam and Kirsty for going through all those early editions of imperfect and whipping it in shape. Also, a "thank you" to my family for putting up with my craziness when I was writing this novel.

About the Author

Tina Chan lives in New Hampshire with her family and two tanks of fish. An avid reader and writer, Tina enjoys blogging book reviews. When she's not reading or writing, you can probably find her either running, playing racquetball or listening to music. Visit her at www.thebooklanders.com.

