by Miria Masdan
“What are you doing,” Quinn’s voice is low, but it makes me jump.
I whip around and see him right behind me. “I thought you left me.”
“I told you to wait,” he says, “I said I would be right back.”
“I didn’t…” I say, “I’m sorry.”
“You say that a lot,” he says. “We need to go now.”
He grabs me around my waist, and he pulls me with him. I grimace but push through the pain. We head away from the creek and deep into the woods again.
“Quinn,” I say, “I have to slow down.”
“Not yet,” he says. “We don’t have much time.”
“What are you talking about,” I whisper. “What did you find?”
“We’re not alone,” he says. “I thought I heard someone when we entered the woods. That’s why I sent the others ahead.”
“Marcus’ men,” I ask?
“No,” he says, “I saw a rebel take off to the south. It won’t be long before someone comes back to find us.”
I look over my shoulder. My heart sinks, and I cling to Quinn. I put pressure on my foot. It hurts, but I don’t want to be caught by rebels. The pain is excruciating.
We exit the woods and stop. I can see the wall in the distance. When the Federation built the wall they cleared an area between the woods and the wall; some spots are a mile in distance, and some are only a few yards. We are standing looking out at one of the spots that are nearly a mile.
“We overshot where we needed to come out,” he says. “We’ll have to follow the tree line back to the access.”
We stay in the shadow of the trees. It is much easier to walk in the open without the obstacles and debris of the forest. We are walking east, and the sky before us is beginning to lighten.
The distance between the wall and the woods has decreased. I’m beginning to feel hopeful. Quinn is strong, and he’s doing more than his fair share tugging me along.
“Look,” he says, “the access. We made it.”
Just then, a light shines from someplace deep in the woods. We stop. I can feel his breaths quicken, and his grip tighten around me. I hear the sound of an engine before I see the vehicle.
“Run,” he shouts.
I don’t have time to react; he pulls me with him. I give it all of my energy and strength, but I can’t do it. I stumble and fall out of his hands. He grabs the back of my shirt and yanks me up, and over his shoulder. He takes off. I hear the roar of the vehicle, as it speeds towards us.
In the next instant, we are falling. I hit hard and roll down, landing in a shallow pool of icy cold water. Quinn is at my side pulling me up again. This time he cradles me in his arms. I grab around his neck, holding on for dear life.
I hear shouting from the bank above, and splashing from below me. Then I hear a familiar voice; it’s Max.
“Hurry up,” he shouts, “give her to me.
I feel him grab me and take me into his arms. A loud metallic sound echoes around us and I jump. I hear the others; they waited. I bury my face into Max’s chest and cry. It seems to be the only thing that I am good at lately: tears and sobs.
It seems like forever in his arms. We traveled through tunnels, up stairways, and along hallways that were lit by faint emergency lights. When we emerge into the early morning air, I am exhausted and defeated.
Max sets me down on the concrete sidewalk. I can feel him feel my leg, shoulder, and face.
“She needs to be patched up,” he says.
“We’ll take care of her,” I hear Grace.
Where’s Quinn? I feel a panic rise from within me. I open my eyes. I can’t see him. In fact, I haven’t heard him since we entered the access.
“Quinn,” I gasp.
“She’s asking for you,” I hear Mandy.
“Take care of her,” I hear him say.
But that was all. He didn’t come to me. He didn’t ask me if I was okay. He just left.
Grace and Mandy help me back to the POE. We enter the building. The sun is just coming up. There are a few stray interns wandering around. I think to myself that at least we aren’t the last ones to arrive.
They take me to my room. I sit on the bed. I look at the clock; 5:24 am. In 2 and a half hours, I will wake and head to the receptor hall, and my sensors will be reset. I will be myself again; I hope. I think about what I saw on the screen.
“You gonna be okay?” Grace asks. “A lot happened tonight.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Do you think they’re going to turn you in?” Mandy asks. “It’s their job, right?’
“Yeah, but they have a lot to lose if we tell on them,” says Grace. “Besides Max and I…well let’s just say, I hope he applies to be my partner.”
“Really?” Mandy asks.
“We kissed,” she smiles. “It was amazing!”
“Only you could find love in the most horrible place in the territory,” I say.
“What about you?” Grace says. “Quinn and you have quite the spark.”
“You are delusional,” I say. “He’s a jerk and he is not interested in me at all. I made a complete fool of myself.”
“You kind of did,” she says, “but hey, it’s okay…you have Adam.”
“Oh, Adam is going to kill me,” I say, “how am I going to explain this to him?”
“Are you crazy?” Mandy says. “You don’t tell him.”
“I’m a mess,” I say. “My ankle and my face, I can feel it. How bad is it?”
“It’s…well,” says Grace. “It’s not as bad as it could have been.”
“We’re going to tell everyone that you fell down the stairs,” says Mandy. “No one will question it. And we aren’t going to say anything to Adam.”
“Yeah, I agree,” says Grace. “He doesn’t need to know…no one needs to know. We need to make a promise never to say anything about tonight.”
“I promise,” says Mandy.
“Me too,” I say.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Quinn
“I saw you,” his voice is cold. I sigh and turn to look at him.
“Mr. Benson,” I say. “I was expecting to hear from you.”
“I took care of you once,” he says, “but you wouldn’t remember that, now would you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Emma is no longer your concern,” he says. “We agreed and you are breaking that agreement.”
“Okay, I’ll play your game,” I say. “What agreement?”
“You scored Defense,” he says. “We agreed to keep her safe. She will score Education, with me. I keep her safe…that’s all you need to know.”
“What are you protecting her from?” I ask.
“Herself,” he says, “and those who want to exploit her. You agreed to this and if you attempt to get involved or change anything; you need to know, we will kill her, rather than let her fall into the wrong hands.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
He hands me a piece of paper, “David Finch, he can reset you. Make you forget her again. This is important.”
“What if I don’t?”
“You make your own decision,” he says, “but I warned you.”
I don’t go to my room. I head straight to the shuttle and get on. I return to my post, on the border. I won’t look back, that is what I tell myself. I can’t; it’s what I told her and I mean to keep my word.
I watch the sun rise. It is beautiful. I close my eyes, and I see her face. It is my light. I can’t sleep: I can’t keep my eyes open. I want answers. Why is she so important? Why would someone take my memories? Why would I agree?
Benson’s words keep replaying in my mind. He will keep her safe. He also has the same orders that Chris gave me; if she falls into the wrong hands, kill her. I go over everything that happened last night. She is not safe with me. Maybe Benson will do a better job. If she had listened to him, she would have been safe last night.
I close my eyes, and I can see her in the woods. She was terrified. I stayed in the shadows, watching and waiting for the perfect moment. I followed the others to make sure they were safe, and when I returned she was gone. I thought for sure she knew what I had planned for her, but she had no clue. I should have neutralized her, but I couldn’t do it.
She awakened the pain deep within me, and with that pain comes questions, and fear. I can’t perform at my optimal level with the pain. I open my eyes and look at the paper Benson gave me. I can make it all go away. I have managed to live without her in my life, and I was content. I decide to make it all go away. I close my eyes again and sleep for the rest of the shuttle ride.
I step off the shuttle and head to my quarters. They are bare, only the essentials. I sit at my desk, and I pull out a pen and paper. I write myself a letter.
I’ve done something that I cannot undo, and I mean to set it right. I plan on resetting my memory. I know it can be done because it’s happened to me before. I have to find out who did this to me, and I need to find out why. All I know is that it has to do with Adam Benson and an intern named Emma Green. But under no circumstances are you allowed to talk, meet or interrupt in her life. She hates you and for good reason. If you approach her; she will be killed, and you will be to blame. You don’t have much time. There has been a breach and information has been compromised. I don’t know what the information is or what the consequences will be if it falls into the wrong hands. Do not tell Max or Smith your plans. You are to act normal and go about your duty without failure. - Quinn Calder
I go to bed. In a little over a week I have time off and I will go to the West City and find my friend: David Finch. He will be able to reset me and then I will begin my fight to save her.
I fall asleep. Her face twists in my mind. I think about what she said to me, she will be lost without me. I am destroyed without her, but I will survive to save her. I will fight.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Emma
I squint, but the sun is still too bright. I cover my eyes. My right-hand aches, I look at it. I shield my sight with my left and look at the damage. It’s bruised, but it seems to be moving just fine. My ankle is a different story. It is throbbing. I reach down; it’s swollen, and even the slightest touch sends immobilizing pain up my leg.
A knock at my door; it’s faint and quick. The door opens; Grace and Mandy peek inside.
“Are you awake?” Grace’s voice is cheery. “Can we come in?”
“Yes,” I say. I sit up and straighten out my blankets.
They sit on the bed. They both look good: showered and unchanged by the previous night’s events. I am changed. I can’t pretend that it didn’t happen.
“We figured you could use some help getting to the health office,” Mandy says. She lifts my covers and looks at my ankle. Her face twists. “Ouch, does it hurt?”
“Yes,” I run my fingers through my hair. It’s greasy and stringy, but my hand gets caught on something dried and crusty. I quickly pull my hand away, when I realize it’s Ryan’s blood dried in my hair.
“You stink,” Grace says.
“Thanks,” I throw my pillow at her. “You’d smell too; if you were covered in blood.”
“How are you doing, really?” She asks, “so much happened last night.”
“I don’t know how to feel,” I say, “I’m scared, worried, but mostly angry with myself.”
“Remember our story,” Mandy says. “You fell down some stairs, and we thought you’d be okay. So we put you to bed.”
“Okay, but where are we going to say we went last night?”
“That place you were talking about,” Grace says. “So many people were there, that no one would be able to say for sure if we were, or not.”
“Okay,” I grimace. “Let’s get me fixed up.”
The girls help me shower and dress and then they take me to the health office. My ankle is broken. They set it and put a cast on it; after we go to lunch at the café in the POE.
We just get done ordering, when Max and Smith approach our table. Max is looking right at Grace. She smiles up at him. I sigh. At least one of us made a connection last night. All I found was trouble and heartache.
“Hey,” Max’s voice interrupts my thoughts. “You okay?”
“I’m wonderful,” I didn’t even try to hide my sarcasm.
“I just want you to know, your secret is safe with us,” he smiled at me. “You seem to have a good grip on it and there’s no reason to turn you in.”
I hadn’t even thought about it. They all know that I am heightened and that resetting only temporarily fixes me. They also know that someone has been messing with my programs and that I may or may not, be in danger.
“I went over your scan again this morning,” Smith says, “I didn’t see anything unusual; other than the energy spikes. I’m going to do some more research and see what I can find, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“Emma,” his voice is like a swarm of bees attacking my skin. I look up and see Adam approaching. “I heard you had a fall.”
He pulls up a chair and sits next to me. He takes my hand in his and gently kisses my fingertips.
“I’m fine,” I say. “It was a stupid mistake.”
“Does it hurt?” He looks at my cast and then at my face. “What happened to your eye?”
“My eye is fine. I hit it when I fell,” I say, “but they fixed me up and gave me a pain blocker.”
He looks up at Max and Smith. “Who are your friends?”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “This is Max and Smith; they’re Defense officers.”
“Really?” He says. “Is there a problem?”
“No,” says Grace. “They’re with me and Mandy. We just wanted to make sure Emma was being taken care of.”
“Well,” he says. “I’m here now and she won’t have to worry about a thing. I’ve already arranged for her care.”
“That’s not necessary,” I say. “I can care for myself.”
“I wouldn’t hear of it,” he says. “You need to rest.”
“Really, I don’t want to be a bother,” I say.
“I’ve already had your things moved into your new apartment,” he says, “and there will be 24-hour staff to see to all of your needs.”
“I’m staying at the intern dorms,” I protest. “I want to do this on my own.”
“NO,” he shouts, and then he takes a deep breath. “I’ve already arranged for your care. I won’t settle for anything but the best for you.”
“Thank you,” I say. I don’t argue anymore. He has his mind set.
“My car is waiting,” he says, “whenever you are ready.”
“I look at Grace. She is forcing a smile. She leans over and gives me a hug, “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you guys too,” I can feel the tears building up. “I’ll see you soon.”
Max is looking at Adam with an unusual expression. I think it might be a mixture of disapproval and hate, but I can’t tell.
I wanted to talk to Max, some more, I wanted to ask him about Quinn, but all I can manage are formal pleasantries. “Thank you for all of your help.”
Adam helps me stand and offers me his arm. I allow him to lead me away. He waits until we leave the building before he speaks.
“There was a third man with them last night,” his voice is cold. “I believe he is the one who touched your hand during scanning. What was his name? Quinn, was it?”
“I don’t know,” I decide covering up the truth would be to my best interest. “Grace and Max seem to have hit it off, and Smith was the only other man around and he seems to be interested in Mandy.”
“Really?” he is not convinced. “So he didn’t bother you last night?”
“Who?”
“Quinn Calder,” he says. His grip on my arm tightens.
“No,” I lie. “I don’t even remember him.”
“Good,” he says. “He’
s trouble. If he tries to contact you, tell me immediately.”
“I will,” I lie again. I’m getting good at it.
“I need to know I can trust you,” he says. My arm hurts; I can feel his fingers dig into my flesh. “I know you are not telling me the truth. All I have to do is access your schedule and check your map. I can see everything you do.”
How could he know that? I don’t say anything, and then I remember the fourth shot. He gave me a tracker.
He opens the car door for me and pushes me inside. I slide over to the opposite door. I grab the handle. He gets in next to me and yanks me towards him.
“I won’t tolerate any dishonesty between us,” he says. “Calder is not safe and you are to stay away from him.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t realize it was so important.”
“I’m willing to overlook your little escapade last night,” he says, “but only this one time.”
He grabs my face and kisses me. I try to pull away, but he pins me against the seat. I struggle for air. He presses his finger on my bruised cheekbone. The pain shoots across my face and deep into my eye. The tears are uncontrollable. He laughs and kisses me harder, thrusting his tongue deep into my mouth. When he is done, he pushes my head away. It hits the window.
“You’ll find that life is a lot different outside of Agriculture,” he says. “It’s important to know where you belong.”
“Where is that?” I ask.
“With me, of course,” he says. “You have one purpose…make me look good.”
I sit back in my seat and look out the window. The POE disappears. I am an adult now.
Adam grabs my hand. It hurts. The doctors said it was not broken, but that I needed to rest it for the next few days.
We pull up to my new apartment. It will be my home for the next year. It is in Political, near Adam’s parent’s house. Adam lives in Education. I wonder why he picked this location; wouldn’t he want me closer to him?
