Blindsided

by Natalie Whipple

  “Find anything interesting?” he asks through a mouthful of pizza.

  “Just this.” Rather than saying outright that his dad’s probably guilty, I show him the texts Bea translated.

  Seth sighs. “We should probably find out who exactly this Ted guy is.”

  “Yeah.” I take a small bite from my salad, my appetite minimal.

  “And it only confirms my…” Seth’s hands go to his head, the words turning into cussing. These vision glitches are getting ridiculous, and I have a feeling they are more frequent than he’s telling. He puts his head on the table as I watch The Pack stare at him in confusion.

  “What’s wrong?” Hector asks. “Did you realize something bad?”

  “No…” Seth’s voice is weak.

  “Must be a sudden headache,” Brady says in a feeble attempt to cover. “You know how he gets those.”

  Carlos purses his lips, not seeming to buy it. “Looks like one hell of a headache.”

  “Maybe you should go to a doctor,” Bea offers.

  “No!” I blurt out. That was so not the right thing to say, because now they look even more suspicious. “Uh, I mean…”

  “What’s going on?” Hector’s face is serious, and I worry he’s heard more than he lets on with how often he goes without his ear plugs lately. “I get the sense you guys aren’t telling us something.”

  Carlos nods. “Something majorly important. That’s not cool—we’re supposed to be in this together.”

  Brady and I cringe at the same time, but what are we supposed to say?

  Bea frowns at Brady’s expression. “Wait, is there something you’re keeping secret?”

  “Guys, don’t worry.” Seth picks himself up from the table, trying to look like he’s fine. Too bad his eyes flit back and forth rapidly. At this rate there’s no way he’ll be able to keep his secret, no matter how much he wants to. “It’s just—”

  “Fiona!” someone calls from behind. I turn to find Allie waving at me, a big smile on her face. She comes up to the table, panting and excited. “There you are! I was hoping I could steal you away for the rest of school, get started on things. What do you think?”

  “Oh, sure,” I say evenly, though I’m afraid she’ll notice Seth’s pain. She is a scientist; she has to be observant. “Seth can come, too, right?”

  “Of course!” She nods toward the office building. “Should I check you out now?”

  I wasn’t aware she was allowed to do that, but I tell her she can, anyway. “We’ll meet you over there, okay?”

  “Perfect.” Allie practically skips off.

  As I help Seth up and head for the lab, I’m happy for the excuse to leave because I’m not sure The Pack would have stopped pressing for answers. “That was close.”

  “Yeah.” He’s shaky still, and I’m not sure his vision has fixed itself yet. It’s been a while since he held onto me this tightly. “Do you have the microphone today?”

  “No. Mom took it to work with her. Lee Seol is hoping to get more intel on The Phantom’s base, since we have the Army covered.”

  He nods. “It’s getting weird, Fi. I’m seeing through things I never did before.”

  This is not good news to me. “Like what?”

  “Just…there’s more subtlety, I guess. Like instead of pulling back all skin layers I know I’m pulling back only a few. Or with trees—I can pull out particular rings in the trunk. And with Allie’s hair just now, I think I saw through her hair dye, because it was brown instead of blond.”

  I take in this information as we walk the halls. “And you couldn’t do that before?”

  “No. I’d just see straight through something, not midway.” He puts a hand to his eyes. “It hurts like hell.”

  I wish I could take care of him, even though I’m not sure he’d let me. Maybe we came to some kind of truce last night, but we’re still dancing around our physical issues. “It sounds like you’re going through some kind of ability growth spurt.”

  “Maybe.” He appears a little stronger now. “Better than thinking I’m messed up.”

  “It’s not unheard of.” The lab is in sight, and Allie waves to us from where she stands by the guards. “Lots of people with mental abilities don’t fully master them until they’re older. My mom spent years honing her telekinesis.”

  We get to the lab before he can answer, and Allie clears us with the guards. The lab is mostly the same, except now the vials of merinite give the room a blue aura. These must be the samples she got when we discovered her and Graham in the cave. Speaking of which, “Where’s my brother? I haven’t seen him in a few days.”

  Her smile gets dreamy. “He’s been doing a lot of security flights around the school, your house, and factory, watching for any of Juan’s people.”

  “I see.” Sounds like something Graham would do. I’m pretty sure it’s impossible for him to shake the guard dog tendencies. Not that it’s a bad thing—I feel safer knowing he’s up there looking out for us.

  “So…” Allie holds out a hand to the vials. “I’ve started analyzing the merinite, and it’s looking like my theories all these years have been correct.”

  “What theories?” Seth asks in his grumpiest tone. He must still be in pain, either that or he hates the idea of a cure way more than I thought.

  Allie’s smile drops slightly. “I’ve been studying Radiasure since I was a kid. Well, at least the formulas I was able to get a hold of. They never added up to me, and I postulated in one of my high school papers that there was a missing element. Everyone thought I was crazy, because the element I described didn’t fit anything in existence. I tried to get enough Radiasure to study, but people would rather use it than donate it to science, you know?”

  I nod, imagining how horrified my dad would be at the thought of breaking down perfectly good pills to study. “So you kept researching as if there really was a missing element?”

  “Well, it’s a long story, but a few people noticed what I was doing and believed me. Major Norton was one of them.” She runs her fingers over the smooth table top. “If it weren’t for him, I’d have never made any progress. He convinced the military to let me use confiscated Radiasure—I was able to confirm a missing element, but unable to extract that element from the drug. Everything broke down each time I tried.”

  “So that’s why you owe the Major,” Seth says. “Even though he’s an ass.”

  Allie nods. “Now that I have merinite, I should be able to build the antidote from the ground up. I probably know more about how Radiasure works than anyone, and I finally get to put that to good use. Thanks to you guys.”

  Seth doesn’t seem to buy this, but I can’t help liking Allie. She seems so driven and smart and good—I see why Graham is crazy about her. I head for the vials, curious to see more of what could make me visible in the near future.

  “What made you devote your life to this so early on?” I ask. “Seems like a pretty dangerous choice in occupation.”

  She smirks. “I guess you’re right, but it’s personal for me.”

  “It’s personal for everyone,” Seth says. “What makes you so special?”

  “Nothing, really.” She seems uncomfortable with Seth, and I want to tell him to stop being so rude. “So many people focus on the extraordinary abilities from Radiasure mutation, but people forget that our infant mortality rate is higher than it’s been in centuries. Many babies die from deformities or deadly abilities that kill both them and their mother. And if they do live, their lives are often painful and difficult.”

  Allie gets this distant look in her eyes, and I recognize it as the same look Brady often gets. I hesitate for a second, but then say, “You lost someone close to you because of a mutation, didn’t you?”

  She nods, unable to pull her eyes from the floor. “My little sister had a rapid growth mutation. My mother went through an entire pregnancy in a few weeks, which nearly killed her, and then my little sister spent a year growing so quickly you could literally watch her
age. But only her body grew—she was still a baby in her mind. It tore my mom and dad apart, going through life in fast forward like that. I decided I had to find a cure, impossible as it seemed. Too many people have suffered because of this drug.”

  I couldn’t agree with her more. “How long do you think it’ll take to make a cure?”

  “It depends.” Allie goes to a drawer and pulls out a bunch of papers. “I’ve created a lot of theoretical drugs based on what I know about Radiasure and the missing element—if one of these proves to be a good start then it could take just days to create.”

  “Seriously? That seems really fast,” Seth says, seeming a little more interested. “What do you know that all these other scientists over the years don’t?”

  Allie sighs, like explaining this is tedious. “It’s not just me—many scientists agree that Radiasure isn’t what its creators thought it was. Epigenomics was barely a science when Radiasure was developed, and they got in over their heads.”

  “Epige-what?” I say.

  “There is the genome…” Allie grabs one of the three-dimensional DNA models from the shelf. “…and then the epigenome. Your genes are kind of like a musical score with all the different notes and instrument parts—the epigenome is like the annotation of how those notes should be played. They are chemical instructions that tell your cells what part of your DNA should be used and how much and when.

  “Radiasure is the first and worst of its kind: a drug that acts like an epigenetic tag to control your genes. Originally it was supposed to turn off a human’s sensitivity to radiation, but the FDA approved it without enough testing or knowledge of epigenetics.” Allie stretches out the DNA model, frowning at it. “Scientists knew there was a risk that Radiasure’s epigenetic tag would transfer generation to generation, but since most of the tags don’t they took the chance. Everyone hoped that even if it wasn’t ultimately safe, the drug would only affect those who chose to take it. But it actually added an extra, permanent chemical to the epigenome. That’s why mutations are genetic, but we can’t predict what that tag will tell a person’s DNA to do.”

  I can barely follow what she’s saying, but it seems like Seth grasps most of it. He puts his hand over his mouth, thinking. “So if you can get rid of the tag, you get rid of the rogue mutation?”

  Allie nods. “That’s the idea. It may not work for every debilitating mutation, but even in those situations it should prevent it from being passed on. There are scientists that have known this for a decade, but they haven’t been able to do it because they don’t have merinite. I really believe that will make the difference.”

  My heart pounds at her words, and I crave for this drug to be real right now. If it could take away whatever in me is stopping me from being visible, then every problem that’s haunted me my whole life would be gone.

  Allie could save me.

  “But how will you test it?” Seth doesn’t seem to be impacted by the amazingness of her work one bit. Probably because he has no interest in giving up his ability. “Give rats Radiasure until they mutate and then see if the drug works?”

  Allie bites her lip. “We don’t have that kind of time, or enough Radiasure to do that. But we have a small group of volunteers within the Army forces here.”

  Seth’s eyes go wide. “You’re testing on humans right away?”

  “We don’t have much choice.”

  Seth is saying something, but I can’t hear over my own thoughts. I might not have to wait years or even months…what if I could see myself next week? The idea makes my eyes water, and I say, “Can I volunteer?”

  Seth and Allie stop arguing, staring at me in surprise. Allie takes a deep breath as she puts her hand on my shoulder. “Did you say you want to be part of the study?”

  “No, she didn’t,” Seth growls.

  “Yes,” I say at the same time. “Please. I need to be.”

  Allie’s eyes glitter with excitement. “All the volunteers have more minor abilities. It would be amazing to observe the impact on what’s probably a very complex mutation. If you’re willing, I’m afraid I can’t say no.”

  “I’m more than willing.” I’m desperate.

  “First you throw away my one chance at getting the factory information, and now this?” Seth stomps away, slamming the door as he leaves. I know I should care, but I don’t.

  Chapter 33

  By the time the weekend rolls around, Lee Seol has gathered the necessary surveillance equipment from all over the country. We just have to pick it up under the interstate bridge, where the river has carved a gorge in the rocks. Despite her insistence that only she and I should go, Seth is determined to stay at my side. I wish I could say it was out of affection, but I’m pretty sure he thinks I’ll do something stupid.

  “Why are you wearing clothes?” Lee Seol stuffs a dagger into her pants’ side pocket.

  I glance at Seth, who has acquired a pair of brass knuckles from Carlos of all people. He knows the black dress is because of him. I need the barrier after how he reacted to my volunteering for Allie’s tests. “Last time I nearly froze to death. I can have this off in seconds if I need to.”

  Lee Seol nods. “Fair enough. It’s colder at night here than I expected.”

  “Are you sure we’re enough?” Seth asks as he zips up his black hoodie. “What if we get attacked?”

  “A drop-off is supposed to be about stealth. No one will attack us if they don’t see us,” Lee Seol grumbles as she pulls her hair back.

  “Given how things have been going with The Phantom, I don’t think it would hurt to have backup,” he insists.

  Lee Seol gives him her stink face, which I’m starting to learn is what she does when she agrees but doesn’t want to admit it. I thought Juan’s guys would have gotten us back by now for knocking out their men, but two days have passed with nothing. The longer it takes, the more afraid I get for what they might be planning.

  I shake the box of needles. “I’ll have these just in case. They might be tiny but they are lethal.”

  “They kinda freak me out, honestly.” Lee Seol slips her arms through a backpack, which I assume is to carry the new equipment. “We just need to be careful is all. There shouldn’t be any problems.”

  Miles, who sits on the couch, clears his throat. “Too bad you haven’t cracked that network yet. What if they know more than we think?”

  Her glare doesn’t seem to scare Miles like it does me. “Oh, I’m gonna crack it. And I’m gonna find their hide-out and shut their power down for good measure.”

  He smirks. “I can’t believe you haven’t gotten in yet.”

  “It’s not my fault they got a better programmer!” she yells.

  “Actually, it probably is your fault.”

  “Shut up!” She throws a pillow at him. Then they’re making out. Lovely.

  “Guess we’re not the only ones who do that,” I mumble to Seth. He pretends not to hear me. I shove him. “Did you hear that? Or are you deaf now?”

  “Just because I hear you doesn’t mean I have to reply. Not like you ever listen to me.” He slips his fingers into the brass knuckles, not a single wisp of teasing in his voice. I’m starting to feel like we’ve gone back to that first day I met him, when he made me angry and confused and scared all at the same time.

  I wait for his eyes to meet mine. When they do, my heart twists.

  “What?” he asks.

  “Can you give me my boyfriend back? I miss him.”

  Seth looks away from me. “Only if I can have my girlfriend back, because I’m not sure I recognize her anymore.”

  “What do you want me to do? Give up the things I want in favor of what you want for me?” I lower my voice to a whisper, though Miles and Lee Seol are surely too occupied to overhear. “I know you don’t like the risks I’m taking, but can you at least respect that it’s my choice and maybe you can’t understand why I need to do what I’m doing?”

  Seth folds his arms. “Then explain it to me. Because I’d rea
lly like to know the logic behind taking a drug that could do who-knows-what to you—death included.”

  It’s been a long time since he’s spoken to me like this, and instead of making me mad it just makes me want to cry. “I have explained it to you. Over certain drawings you hate to do. At your dad’s office when you kicked me out. It’s not my fault you don’t want to hear it.”

  Before he answers, Lee Seol is standing in front of us again. No embarrassment in sight. “Okay, now I’m ready to go. Maybe you two should kiss, too. You’re tense. Tense is bad for secret missions.”

  “We’ll be late if we don’t hurry.” Seth heads for the door. I follow, since I couldn’t have said it better myself.

  Though we’re supposed to meet these Spudlings at the interstate bridge, we don’t take the roads to get there. Seth and I know exactly how to navigate the desert so that we end up at the drop-off, and Lee Seol seems happy to let us take the lead.

  The night sky is darker than usual, thanks to the considerable amount of cloud cover. It’s been a while since we had a storm roll in, and I’m not sure whether the darkness is a good or bad thing. Either way, I speed up.

  “What’s the rush?” Lee Seol says through labored breaths. “They know to wait until I get there.”

  “If it rains I’m screwed.”

  She curses. “I’ll suck it up then. You people and your long legs.”

  After another mile or so, I can feel the humidity saturating the air. It’s easy to pick up on, since usually Madison is beyond dry. Thunder growls in the distance, and my heart begins to race. Just a little further. We’ll pick up the stuff and leave. Simple as that.

  “Almost there,” Seth says quietly, and my heart flutters because I know he senses my nerves and is trying to comfort me. Stupid boy. I’m sure he still cares even though he’s acting like a jerk.

  Even though the gorge under the bridge is nowhere near Grand Canyon height, I still get jittery as we approach. A fall off this cliff would mean death. We’ve slowed to a walk, the dark outline of the bridge’s pillars in clear view.