Modified: Book One in the Manipulated Series

by Harper North

  Lacy looks at me as if she has something to say and doesn’t want to.

  “What?” I ask.

  She pinches her lips then leans toward my ear. “I didn’t mean to kill that woman. It’s just I thought she was going to get the gun. It all happened so fast.”

  I sigh and pull back from her. “I don’t know what to say. It’s not like I can tell you it was okay. You need to be more careful. All our lives are at stake here. Other people’s lives, too.”

  She hangs her head for a second and then looks up at the bunk. “I get the top.”

  “Great avoidance strategy, Lacy.” I wave my hand, indicating the upper bed. “Be my guest.”

  She scurries up there and throws herself under the blankets. I fall into the bottom bunk, still clutching my precious bag of food and trying to push away the nightmare of today. My body seems to naturally curl up into this lovely bed, far more comfortable than anything I’ve ever slept on in the sleeping quarters below ground.

  Lacy pops her head over the edge, “You still got that candy?”

  “We should ration it,” I reply, holding the sack tighter.

  “No way. That Mason guy will probably give us some more food.”

  I shake my head. I hate to admit it, but I’m sure she’s right. “Fine.”

  I reach into the bag and grab one of the bars and break it in half. Before I even have the chance to hand it to her she’s already ripped it from my hand and has it in her mouth. I’m not even sure what happened to the paper.

  “I so want to go snoop around this place,” she mumbles, mouth full of chocolate.

  “Lacy, just finish your candy and go to bed.” If anyone’s ever needed a mother, it’s that girl.

  She flops over out of sight.

  Crackling sounds from above and the wrapper flies onto the floor. I guess she didn’t eat it with the chocolate.

  I glance over to Sky and Drape across the walkway only to realize they are staring at me.

  “Can we have some, too?” Drape pleads.

  I look at the halved chocolate bar in my hands and roll on to my side, flinging it to him. I know if I eat it it’s going to give me a stomach ache. “You can split that.”

  Apparently because Drape doesn’t give a care about stomach aches, he breaks it in half and hands one of the pieces to Sky.

  “Fin? I said I wasn’t sharing with them,” Lacy says from above.

  “That was my half. You have no say.”

  Sky’s lips quirk into a weak smile as he looks my way. Quickly, he leans back and peels open the wrapper.

  Drape’s eyes are closed, chocolate already smeared across his face. I open my mouth to let him know, but he rolls over, away from me. Cleaning his face is the least of his worries, I guess.

  Sky’s just staring up at the underside of the top bunk, munching on the corner of his treat.

  “Hey,” I whisper to him. “You okay?”

  He blinks from his trance and twists to face me. “Oh, sorry. I… I just can’t stop thinking of her. She’s probably so scared. She’s never been alone for this long. I’ve always been there to tuck her into bed. It’s just hard, ya know?”

  My mind works through today’s events. Getting off our shift seems a lifetime ago. Why did I have to listen to Lacy today? Nine times out of ten, I tell her no. This had to be the one time I said yes to her. How did any of this happen? I push back the negative thoughts and straighten with false confidence.

  “We’re going to get her back. We didn’t come this far for nothing. Elias and Mason will help us.”

  “I don’t know,” he pauses. “This world we’re in is so new. We don’t know what to expect. Or who to trust. I’m all she has.”

  “She has us now, too.” I say, forcing myself to believe it.

  The bunk above me rattles. “Quit yappin’, I’m tired,” Lacy whines.

  I kick the underside of her bed. “You’re such a punk, Lacy.”

  “Yeah, but you love me anyway,” she says.

  I turn back to Sky, but he’s turned over and facing the other way now. I guess he’s done talking. I don’t blame him. He’s a good guy and he has a good heart.

  I adjust my soft pillow and tuck my forearm under it. Facing the wall gives me a bit of privacy from this room filled with strangers and my friends. It doesn’t take long before the room fades.

  Screeeech.

  I jolt. My head thwacks on the wood of the bunk above me as I sit up. I curse under my breath and throw my feet to the floor.

  “What is that?” I snap. Drape, Sky, and Lacy are already out of bed. Other people are scattering and darting out of the building. Mason rushes into the room and heads straight for us.

  “Come with me. Hurry!”

  In a flash, he hustles us out the door. I don’t even have time to grab my bag of rations. A crack of sunlight peeks over a mountain range in the distance. An enormous, shadowy hovercraft, backlit by the sun, zips our way.

  “What’s going on?” I demand.

  “It’s a random EHC security check.” Mason’s eyes are wide with panic. “We normally have one about every month, but we just had one last week! We’re not ready.” He looks around, frantic. “Over here now. Hurry!”

  He leads us to a few wooden barrels outside of the storage shack we had been in overnight. He opens up the two barrels. “Can two of you fit in one?”

  “We’ll make it work,” I say.

  He waves a finger in my face. “Don’t show your face until they’re gone. Otherwise, we’re all dead.”

  Lacy and I squeeze into one barrel, and the guys into the other. Good thing Drape’s built like a twig.

  Mason closes the lids. “If you’re praying folks, you should get on your knees,” he whispers.

  Not really sure I could do that even if I wanted to in here.

  There’s a hole in our barrel, and I peer out of it as the hovercraft lands in the midst of the settlement.

  “This is tight,” Lacy gripes as her knee makes contact with my chin.

  I reach out and grip her by her shirt. “You need to be quiet,” I order.

  She goes silent, but I can feel the fear radiating from her body.

  Outside, Mason stands with a crowd of his people, waiting for the operatives to exit the ship.

  “Why do you think they’re doing another security check on them?” Lacy whispers.

  “Seriously? They’re searching for the missing tech,” I say.

  “And us,” she adds.

  “And us.” I continue peering out the hole. The operatives swarm the entire compound, and I can hear screams.

  “I see you’ve been housing more defectors,” one of the operatives yells at Mason as a group of about ten men and women are dragged off. “We can’t stand by while these people corrupt our society.”

  “They’re just people,” Mason says.

  “People are powerful if you let them get away with thinking,” the operative responds. “Turn this place upside down!”

  Operatives continue to swarm, and several other defectors are dragged onto the ship. An op runs up to the man who spoke to Mason, whispering in the leader’s ear. The man that seems to be in charge one-eighties, throws out his arm. His fist makes contact with Mason’s jaw with a crack, knocking him down. I suck in air as several operatives surround him and begin violently kicking Elias’ uncle.

  Lacy throws me a stunned expression. Though she can’t see what’s happening, by the noise, I’m certain she can figure it out.

  “Please, stop! You’re hurting him!” Elias’s voice sounds from nearby, but I can’t see him from the position of the barrel.

  “What’s happening?” Lacy whispers.

  The male guard we kidnapped, escorted by the operatives, comes into view. “There were four of them—defectors,” the guard snarls. “Two girls and two boys. One of them killed my partner!”

  The lead op waves his thumb behind him to the crowd of defectors led to the ship. “Any of them?” he asks.

  “No
,” the guard says.

  The lead operative glares down at Mason. “Where are they?” he demands.

  “I don’t know,” Mason says as he gasps for breath. He gets kicked in the head for his response. The shocked crowd of people wait frozen around him. None of them want to be next. “I said I don’t know, you idiots!” he shouts.

  The men lunge for him again, kicking and punching. When they’re done, the men violently yank him up to his feet, covered in blood, and drag him to the ship. My heart sinks as I watch the whole scene.

  The lead operative waves his hand at the crowd. “Take this as a lesson. The EHC does not put up with traitors! Your leader is coming on a little ride with us.”

  He turns and marches onto the hovercraft, dragging Mason. Within seconds, the ship lifts from the ground and disappears into the distance, taking Mason with it.

  CHAPTER 11

  “What just happened?” Lacy squirms, trying to see out of the hole in the barrel.

  I shove her back with my shoulder. “They took Mason. They beat him to a pulp, then they took him.” My voice shakes.

  “We have to get out of here, Fin,” she whispers. “Let’s get Drape and leave this place.”

  “What are you talking about?” Pressure builds in my chest. I know exactly what she’s getting.

  “We don’t know Sky. Why are we doing this for him? And this Elias guy? We basically got his uncle killed. No way he’s not going to turn us in now.”

  Everything that’s happened in the last day runs through my brain, and again, I’m overwhelmed with regret. “Don’t be a jerk, Lacy. For once in your life, try to think about anyone but yourself.”

  “I am thinking of other people,” she hisses. “My people, you and Drape. You are the ones I care about.”

  I twist my body till our noses nearly touch. “We started something, and we need to finish it. I won’t have Cia’s life hanging over my head, and I’m certainly not leaving Sky out here. If you want to go, then go, but you’re on your own. Drape is coming with me.”

  Lacy parts her mouth, then snaps it shut. She nods, but avoids my eyes, which is kind of impressive considering there’s literally nowhere else to look inside this barrel.

  I peek out of the hole. The ship is long gone, and most of the people at the camp have scattered. There are maybe three or four individuals in sight. I push off the lid of the barrel and drag myself out, my knee whacking into what must be Lacy’s head. I don’t even say sorry.

  As we emerge, the attention of those in the yard snap to us. One short guy with dark hair opens his mouth like he’s about to say something but I cut him off. “Where’s Elias?”

  The guy points to one of the outer buildings.

  Out of the corner of my eye, Drape and Sky emerge from their hiding spot. I swing toward them and wave to the building the man pointed out. I look at Lacy. “You’re with us, right?”

  She pinches her lips together. “I’m not leaving you, Fin.”

  The tension in my chest releases. For as awful as Lacy has been, she’s still my best friend, and I love her like a sister. I guess, anyway. If I knew what having a sister was like. I smack my hand to her upper arm and pull her along with me.

  Drape and Sky are already out of their hiding places and the four of us race for the meager outbuilding, zig-zagging around the people running around doing who knows what. We burst through the door and Elias is sitting, head in hands, at a small table in the middle of the room.

  The space is cramped, with a desk in one corner complete with a computer system. With all our commotion, Elias doesn’t even acknowledge us.

  I shuffle to the table, and the rest follow. Without a word, I grab for the back of a chair across from Elias and pull it out. The metal legs screech across the floor. The noise makes Elias’s head pop up.

  “What do you expect us to do?” I ask, sitting. “Mason saved us. I don’t understand why, but he did.”

  “He did it because he’s a good guy. Hard to believe after what you all did last night, but Mason’s seen worse out here.”

  Scenes of the bloody back window roll through my brain, and I study Lacy, but she’s avoiding me.

  “He’s always known that social change is ugly,” Elias continues. “But I don’t think I understood it until this morning.” He releases a long sigh and turns his attention to Sky. “I’ll make you a deal. I want to help you find your sister. I’ll take you all to the EHC operative base and locate the girl.”

  Sky drops into the seat beside me.

  “But,” Elias adds, “you have to help me find my uncle there. No doubt that’s the location they’ve got him, if he’s alive. It’s the only way I’ll do it.”

  Sky’s jaw is tense and Drape’s pacing behind me, white as a ghost, in shock, no doubt. Lacy’s leaned up against the doorway, arms crossed over her chest.

  “We can do that,” I agree, “but know our mission is Cia first. Mason saved us. He could have given us up, but he didn’t. However, Sky’s sister is the reason we’re doing this. I need you to know that now because if it comes down to it, we won’t risk Cia’s safety for your uncle.”

  “Fine,” he says. “I can deal with your terms, but I need your word about my uncle.”

  “You have it.” I don’t wait for the others.

  Sky reaches out his hand and Elias takes it. “So how do we get there?” Sky asks.

  Elias shakes and releases Sky’s hand. “We’ll use the hover car you all stole, land just outside their airfield, and go the rest of the way on foot.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” I say. “Let’s go get Cia and Mason.”

  We exit the office and head back to the storage shack. Elias walks indoors, signaling us to wait where we are.

  “You ready for this?” I ask Sky.

  “I have to be,” he says, straightening his shoulders. “Elias is our best bet at finding Cia.”

  “You trust him?” I ask, since I’m not sure Sky is the kind of guy who trusts anyone but himself.

  “He hasn’t provided us a single reason not to.” He furrows his brows in thought. “We’ve given him plenty.”

  Before I have the chance to answer, Elias exits with a large, black duffle bag thrown over his shoulder.

  “What’s in there?” Lacy asks.

  Elias avoids eye contact with her and keeps his attention on me. “Weapons, and if it works for you, I’d like to leave them in the duffle bag until we get to the base. I don’t want a certain person getting her hands on them.”

  Lacy scoffs, but I ignore her. He’s right.

  “Your weapons. Your call,” I say.

  He guides us to a small cave just on the outskirts of the settlement. The hover car is hidden inside and he pops open the pilot’s door. “I trust it will be a more pleasant experience this round?” He glares at Lacy.

  “Yes,” she sighs. “But I’m not sitting in the back.” She hops into the second row. “Bad memories.”

  The words send a painful jolt from my gut to my chest. Her indifference to the guard’s death is not the Lacy I know. She sprawls out and lies down on the entire row, taking up its entirety. She rests her head to the far side door, her hands underneath her neck, and shuts her lids. Apparently she intends on taking a nap..

  Drape pleads at me with his eyes. No way he wants to sit back there. Blood makes him queasy.

  “Drape, sit up front with Elias,” I order to prevent him having to have an embarrassing conversation about his weak stomach.

  He flashes me a thankful grin and climbs into the passenger seat. Sky and I climb into the back row together. I cringe as I sit close to the bloodied window near where the woman was killed so callously. A member of the settlement must’ve attempted to scrub the mess away, but it’s still caked in every crevice that lines the paneling near the window. The smell of the cleaner churns my stomach, reminding me of the rare times we’d be allowed fruit for our meals underground, always more than a few days past ripe.

  The hover car lifts into the air a
nd darts from the cave entrance.

  “Okay,” Elias says once we’re headed away from the camp. “Settle in. It’s a bit of a flight to the base because it’s on the opposite end of the city.

  “Seriously?” Lacy whines.

  Elias glances back at her. “Um, yeah?”

  “Ignore her. She’s just in a foul mood since you won’t let her near the duffle bag.” I shoot her a dirty look, but she already has her eyes shut again. “She can be trying when she hasn’t had her beauty sleep.”

  “So that’s what was wrong with her yesterday,” Elias says bitterly.

  I don’t answer.

  With Lacy sleeping, the rest of us grow quiet. Drape and Elias whisper up front, wrapped up in conversation I strain to hear, but can’t. I can only hope Drape is smart enough not to allow anything to slip that adds to Elias’s suspicions.

  Sky slouches in his seat and gazes out his blood-free side window

  “Cia will be fine,” I say.

  “You don’t know that,” he whispers, frowning.

  “Well, we’re going to do whatever we can to make this right,” I say, keeping my voice down. “It’s special what you and your sister have. I’ve never had that. The closest thing I have to that is Lacy and Drape.”

  “You truly don’t have any family, do you?” Sky asks.

  “None that I know of,” I say, glancing up to the front of the aircraft to assure myself Elias is distracted by his conversation with Drape. “I grew up in the Oven, remember?”

  Sky gazes at me as though I’m the one to be sympathized with. A part of me wonders if that is true.

  “What was it like growing up in the mines?” he asks softly.

  “Mentally draining and hard on the body. A lot of work for nothing. Work for your rations. Work or die, basically. It’s all I ever knew. If you wanted more than the minimum, you had to take it. That’s what we did. We were forever stealing from the shipping facility to try to better our lives just a little, and now that’s what’s gotten us into this mess.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sky says. “I mean, making sure we had enough to supplement our garden was hard at times—especially when our garden didn’t produce enough—but I was free, you know? You… you weren’t.”