The Alpha Drive

by Kristen Martin

  Rhea scoffed and inserted the buds back into her ears.

  Emery grabbed the cord and threw it onto the floor. “Listen, we only have one month of school left. One. I don’t want to end on a bad note,” she implored. I’ve already lost Anthony—I can’t lose Rhea too.

  Rhea stood up, looking her square in the eye. “You know, I would have expected betrayal from anyone else, but not you.”

  If it weren’t for her blurry contact lenses, Emery could have sworn she saw a small tear form at the corner of Rhea’s eye. A pang of guilt hit her as she looked at her roommate. Deep down, all either of them wanted was to forget the lies and the betrayals and go back to being friends. Unfortunately, it was starting to feel like they’d never get back to that point.

  “Rhea, he asked me to be his girlfriend, but I said no,” Emery repeated for what felt like the thousandth time. “Mason and I aren’t dating. Seriously, what more do you want me to do?”

  Rhea seemed to consider this. “I don’t know. It just feels like I can’t really trust you. And that’s hard for me.”

  “I know,” Emery whispered. “I’m sorry. Just tell me how to fix it.”

  “Even though you guys aren’t dating, it seems like you still hang out a lot.”

  There was no denying this because it was the truth. Emery and Mason did still hang out, but just as friends. Why couldn’t Rhea see that?

  “Let me guess,” Rhea chided. “You two are hanging out tonight?”

  Emery felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. Guilty. “We’re just going to the Darden mixer to check out which clubs we want to sign up for next year.” If there even is a next year. “You should come.”

  “And hang out with you and Mason?” Rhea sneered. “No thanks, I think I’ll pass.”

  That was it. Emery had reached her breaking point. If Rhea wanted to be stubborn, then so be it. It was no use getting hung up on it. It’s not like Dormance was real anyway.

  That evening, Rhea left a few minutes before Emery did. She didn’t mention where she was going, and Emery didn’t even bother to ask. At a time like this, it was best to just give Rhea space and hope for the best. Things had a funny way of working themselves out. Eventually.

  Emery met up with Mason across campus, just outside the Student Union. Darden’s end-of-year-mixer was a chance for current students and prospective students to visit different club booths and converse with the various members. While the Darden administration saw it as a networking opportunity, most students saw it as an advantage to skip out on homework.

  Bus after bus was lined up outside the building. Emery recognized a few of the school names, feeling disheartened when she didn’t spot her old school. A part of her hoped that Riley would be there, but it looked like her old school wasn’t participating this year.

  Mason and Emery walked into the Student Union, the halls already buzzing with chatter. At least thirty booths were scattered along the hall, their brightly colored banners hanging behind the tables. Emery wasn’t paying attention and accidentally bumped into Mason’s back, who had stopped dead in his tracks. He whirled around with an alarmed look on his face. “Oh, this isn’t good.”

  Emery tried to look over his shoulder to see what had gotten him so riled up, but he straightened his posture to block her view. “What’s going on?” she asked, trying to keep the gnawing feelings of worry at bay.

  “Do you really need to know?”

  Emery rolled her eyes. “Yes, I do. How bad can it be?”

  “Well, for starters, my ex-girlfriend is here,” he muttered, trying not to make a scene.

  Emery knew this shouldn’t bother her, but it did. “Where?”

  Mason cocked his head toward a tall girl with strawberry blonde hair and freckled cheeks. She watched as the girl tossed her head back in a fit of laughter. As if she could sense that someone was watching her, the girl made eye contact with Emery, her glowing smile fading into a grim line. The girl called out to Mason, beckoning him to come to her.

  Emery was aware of some of the history between Cadence and Mason. Cadence was completely self-absorbed and spoiled—anything she wanted she got—including one of Mason’s closest friends. Mason had caught her one summer, red-handed in a cheating scandal, but even so, Cadence found the nerve to dump him right then and there.

  Out of respect for Mason, Emery stepped in front of him and marched over to where Cadence was standing. When she was no more than a foot away, she extended her hand assertively. “I’m Emery.”

  The girl glared at her under flawlessly full, arched eyebrows. “Cadence,” she drawled, her voice dripping with arrogance.

  “I know how you treated Mason,” Emery said, her voice lowering, “and I want you to stay away from him.”

  Cadence’s lips curled into a demonic smile. “How cute. Mason has you fighting his battles for him.” She snarled. “I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you. He always comes back.”

  Emery gave her a look of disgust before turning on her heel. She grabbed Mason by the arm, then led him down another hallway, trying to get as far away from Cadence as humanly possible. But even after two hours, Mason still wouldn’t let go of the encounter. Emery drowned him out for what felt like the hundredth time, scanning the hallway for an exit strategy.

  “I guess I just don’t understand why—”

  “I’m ready to leave,” Emery interrupted. “I’m exhausted and all we seem to be focusing on is Cadence. We haven’t even stopped by any of the booths. This whole thing is pointless.”

  Mason shut his mouth mid-sentence. “Fine. Let’s go then,” he said as he stormed toward the door.

  They walked in silence the rest of the way, arriving at Scribner Hall fifteen minutes later. The silence had been unbearable, but what happened next was ten times worse.

  “I can’t believe you just approached my ex like that,” he muttered.

  Emery look at him with wide eyes. “Really? What was I supposed to do? She looked straight at us.”

  “You should have just ignored her.”

  “No,” Emery shook her head. “I shouldn’t have. She deserves to know that what she did was wrong.” She could feel her anger rising. “Why does it even matter? Do you still have feelings for her?”

  “Of course not,” Mason scoffed. “And even if I did, why would you care? It’s not like you want to be with me either.”

  The words cut into her like a knife. “It’s not like that. I already told you,” she sighed, “I’m just not ready yet.”

  When he didn’t answer, Emery sighed. His silence made the decision for her. “Look, I’m just gonna go.”

  “No, don’t go,” he begged, the bold, brash man she’d just witnessed fading from sight. “I’m sorry. Just stay. Please.”

  Emery hesitated, her hand on the doorknob. “Fine. But I’m still mad.” She followed him into the living room, taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch. Her eyelids fluttered as she yawned and, just as she was about to doze off, an unfamiliar ping sounded throughout the room.

  Mason leaned forward to pick up his phone from the coffee table.

  “Who is it?”

  Mason scooted closer to her and squeezed her arm, as if to apologize in advance for what he was about to say. “It’s Cadence.”

  Emery clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut. “What did she say?”

  “It’s not important,” Mason assured. “Let’s just forget about it.”

  Emery was surprised at how smoothly her response left her mouth. “Mason, we’re friends. And as friends, we’re not going to hide anything from each other anymore. Tell me what she said.”

  Mason groaned, but gave in, knowing there wasn’t any way out of it. “She said . . . she said that she’s still in love with me.”

  “Of course she did,” Emery murmured, feeling too emotionally drained to express a higher level of anger.

  “I’m blocking her number right now,” he said, his fingers striking the screen rapidly.

  “Y
ou don’t have to do that.”

  “I know. But I want to.” He finished updating the settings on his phone, then set it down on the coffee table.

  More buzzing sounded, this time from the inside of her purse. Emery pulled out her phone with a confused expression. Even though it was a restricted number, she decided to answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Yes, is this Emery Parker?” a morose voice asked.

  “This is she. May I ask whose calling?”

  “This is Judy, calling from the Phoenix Hospital.”

  Emery’s heart dropped.

  “We have Rhea Alexander here in what appears to be a concussion. We need you to get here immediately to—”

  But Emery was already halfway out the door.

  Twenty minutes later, Emery arrived at the hospital. She whipped her car into the closest available parking space and hurried inside. As expected for afterhours on a Friday, the waiting room was swamped. She bolted toward the front desk, hands shaking, trying to get a nurse’s attention without seeming too irrational.

  “Can I help you?” a slender woman in blue scrubs asked.

  “I just received a phone call from a woman at this hospital,” Emery said through hurried breaths. “Her name was Judy. She said my friend, Rhea Alexander, suffering from a concussion.”

  The woman punched the keys on her computer, clicking the mouse incessantly before responding. “Ah, yes. Emery Parker, I presume?”

  She nodded.

  “You’re her emergency contact. One moment please.”

  Emery looked at her as if she’d just been hit by a freight train. I’m Rhea’s emergency contact? As if she couldn’t feel any lower, she sank a few more feet, like someone had tied her to an anchor and thrown her overboard to drown.

  The nurse returned with another woman who had a shiny, plastic name tag on her left breast pocket, the name JUDY printed in neat block letters.

  “I need you to fill out some paperwork,” Judy said, as she handed Emery a clipboard. “Once you’re finished, I’ll take you back to see her.”

  A glimmer of hope passed through her thoughts. “She’s awake?”

  “No,” the nurse managed as nicely as she could, “but we need you to verify that it’s her.”

  Emery gasped. “She’s not dead, is she?”

  “No, Ms. Parker. She’s still breathing.” She motioned toward the nearest chair. “Please. Have a seat and fill out the forms. I’ll be back momentarily.”

  Emery clutched the clipboard, her knuckles turning white as she sat down. Her phone began to ping nonstop with messages from Mason. She shut it off to keep the only sane part of her brain from exploding.

  She scribbled Rhea’s information as quickly as she could, doing her best to ensure her writing was legible. When she finished, Emery shot up from her seat and bolted back over to the receptionist’s desk. She spotted Judy and waved the clipboard, summoning the nurse to come her way.

  “The doctor has one more test to run,” Judy explained. “I’ll come get you when it’s okay to head back there.”

  Emery returned to her seat, not sure what to do in a situation like this. She didn’t have Rhea’s parents’ phone numbers and, even if she did, she wasn’t sure it was a smart idea to call them just yet. Of course, any parent would want to know if their child was in the hospital, but Emery couldn’t bear to deliver bad news. She knew that now wasn’t the time to be selfish, but it seemed wise to wait until she had more information at her disposal.

  Thirty minutes went by with no news. Emery sat on the edge of her seat, drumming her fingertips against the cold, metal armrests. She peered around the hospital for any sign of Judy. The gold plated clock above her read one o’clock in the morning.

  Footsteps sounded from the opposite end of the hall. Emery jumped up when she realized it was Judy.

  “We’re ready for you,” Judy stated, placing her hand gently on Emery’s shoulder.

  She followed the nurse back to one of the rooms, stopping just outside number 103. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look through the window. There lay Rhea, lifeless, in a crisp, freshly laundered hospital gown. An oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth, and her arms were dotted with IV needles. An empty bag was hooked to one of the stands by her bed, and Emery realized it must be for a catheter. She quickly wiped a tear from her eye as she turned to face the nurse.

  “The doctor is unable to determine the cause of Rhea’s episode. We’ll need to run more tests. She’s stable, for now, but still unconscious.”

  “Episode? What episode?”

  Judy cleared her throat. “Rhea appears to have had some sort of seizure.”

  Oh my god. “When will she wake up?”

  “We can’t know for sure,” Judy coaxed. “Whenever you’re ready to go in, feel free. I’ll be just down the hall.”

  Emery smiled bleakly as Judy gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. She watched as the nurse walked down the brightly lit corridor, then turned her attention back to Rhea, her eyes clouding with tears. She opened the door to the room and grabbed a tissue from the nearest counter. A low beeping noise was the only thing signaling that Rhea was still alive. It was barely audible, but without it, it’d be easy to mistake her for dead.

  Emery shut the door behind her and slid down against it, her bottom lip quivering uncontrollably. She squeezed her eyes shut as she sobbed into a tissue.

  This was all her fault.

  She should have asked Rhea where she’d planned on going earlier that day. Even a partially decent friend would have done that.

  Emery continued to cry as she scooted closer to the bed. Rhea’s hand was cold and clammy, but she didn’t care. She laced her roommate’s fingers with her own and laid her head on the blanket, her eyes stinging from the salty tears.

  “Rhea,” she whispered, “I know you can’t hear me, but I want to tell you that I’m so, so sorry.” She sniffled before continuing. “I promise to be a better friend and I’ll never let something like this happen to you again.” She placed her hand on Rhea’s cheek, gently caressing her pale skin with her index finger. She could have sworn she felt Rhea’s body shudder, but it was just a figment of her imagination—her hopeful, delusional imagination.

  Rhea was in a coma within a comatose world. And she didn’t even know it. Well, isn’t that something.

  Emery moved her hand delicately from Rhea’s cheek to her disheveled hair. She brushed a stray strand from her roommate’s face. Even though she was unconscious, the expression on her face was eerily peaceful.

  Just as Emery was about to grab another tissue, she noticed and odd glow on the pillow. She touched the striped fabric near Rhea’s neck, determined to figure out where it was coming from. Her curiosity loomed as she caressed the back of Rhea’s head, her fingers outlining a small square above the nape of her neck. Emery moved her fingers over the lumpy skin once more, just to be sure.

  No, it can’t be.

  Yet there it was, tucked behind piles of dark auburn hair, in the same place Emery had hers.

  The microchip.

  34

  Two weeks of coding, and a whole lot of nothing. I’m screwed, Torin thought to himself. His suspension period was locked in at sixty days, and it was horrifying to think that by the time he’d be reinstated, the Federal Commonwealth could have already attacked. Time was of the essence and, for that reason, waiting around, twiddling his thumbs, just wouldn’t do.

  Even though he’d recreated the code as best he could from memory, it always seemed to be a line or two off. Each time he tried to connect to Emery’s phone, crickets greeted him on the other end. He hadn’t slept in days—this last stint had him at seventy-two hours—but he was determined to crack it. He didn’t have a choice.

  He’d tried connecting to her microchip and, just when he thought he may have gotten through, the power went out. He’d cursed the spring thunderstorm, knowing that if he’d been at his office at 7S Headquarters, the back-up generators would have k
icked on to save the day.

  But he had no such luck. Because he was suspended.

  With a yawn, Torin adjusted the final line of code, his fifty-ninth try that evening. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. “Let’s give it a go,” he muttered to himself. He squeezed his eyes shut as the connection started up.

  Four beeps. He had to make it through four beeps to connect with her. Torin opened his eyes, tapping his foot against the ground.

  One beep.

  He glanced at the virtual monitor, waiting impatiently for the next one.

  Second beep.

  Torin drew himself closer to the screen.

  Third beep.

  This was it. Just one more beep.

  He rolled his neck, the joints cracking loudly from the motion.

  Come on, come on.

  Another moment of silence, and then it came.

  BEEP.

  Torin tugged on his earlobe, not sure if he’d actually heard a beep, or if his half-dream state was playing tricks on him. But, clear as day, an image of Emery’s dorm room filled the screen.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” he muttered as her face popped up in front of him. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her eyes were wet, as if she’d been crying, and it was then he remembered Rhea. I’m too late.

  “Emery, oh no. Are you okay?”

  She shook her head as another tear slid down her cheek.

  Torin noticed that the other side of her dorm room was completely cleared out. Empty. It confirmed his thoughts. Rhea’s gone. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Something happened to Rhea. She was rushed to the hospital. When I went there, I accidentally saw her chip.” Her bottom lip quivered. “And now she’s gone.”

  Torin sat back in his chair, wishing more than anything that he could comfort her in person.

  “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” A loud sob escaped from her throat.

  “Oh, Emery, I’m so sorry. What can I do?”

  She sniffled into a tissue as she blew her nose. “Just take my mind off of Rhea. Please. I need to think about anything but her and what a terrible friend I am.”