The ARC 02: Talented

by Alexandra Moody

  ‘You asked me not to,’ he says, leaning casually back in his chair.

  ‘Right. There’s no way I can tell whether you are. So, of course you’re respecting my wishes. You are not reading my mind, or making me see things.’

  He smiles at me and shakes his head, decidedly ignoring my rant. ‘Are you sitting here all afternoon, or are you going to head to class?’ he asks.

  ‘I have a free period,’ I explain.

  ‘Lucky for you, I do as well.’

  Perfect.

  I’d done such a good job at avoiding him so far, and now I’m trapped with him for an entire free period. Doesn’t he realise I don’t want to talk to him?

  ‘Will you tell me what’s wrong?’ he asks. ‘You know, give me an explanation for why, when you see me walking towards you, you turn and run in the other direction?’

  ‘You noticed that?’

  ‘Yeah, I noticed,’ he replies.

  I look down at my hands. My fingers are tearing at the skin around my nails. I haven’t done that bad habit in years. I self-consciously lay them flat on the table, as I try to find the words to describe how I feel. I don’t want to hurt him, and I can’t tell him the whole truth, but there’s no point in even having this discussion if I’m not honest with him. I take a deep breath before I start.

  ‘It scares me,’ I begin in a small voice. ‘What you can do, I mean. There are things about me I wouldn’t want anyone to know. How do I know you’re not sifting through my brain for my deepest, darkest secrets? How can I know my thoughts are truly my own when I’m around you?’

  ‘You can’t. You just have to trust me.’

  I scoff. ‘Trust isn’t something you can just expect. It needs to be earned.’

  ‘I understand that. I won’t use it on you though. I respect that you don’t want me fiddling around up there,’ he points to my forehead, ‘so I won’t.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t you do it? Lara says it’s only natural.’

  ‘Lara’s talent is different to mine. I have to actively be trying to hear people’s thoughts. Let alone mind manipulation. I can still barely do that.’

  ‘Didn’t look like you could barely do it to me,’ I say. He was quite capable of making me see an elaborate apartment that wasn’t there.

  He shrugs. ‘You were tired and you’d hit your head. You could barely make a coherent thought, let alone fight against my influence. It makes it a lot easier.’ He looks down at his own hands before he continues. ‘I guess my motivation was also stronger than the other times I’ve attempted it.’

  ‘How so?’ He looks away from me, over to the kitchen hands clearing away the food from lunch. ‘Hunter?’

  ‘I was embarrassed,’ he begins. ‘I live in a complete shambles of an apartment. It was the last place in the world I would’ve wanted to take you, but I didn’t really have a choice. I wasn’t going to just leave you there with those recruiters.

  ‘When I saw you stirring in the morning I began to freak out. I couldn’t have you waking up in such a derelict place. I didn’t want you to be scared.’ He places his head in his hands in frustration.

  ‘I appreciate what you did, really I do, but it doesn’t change how I feel.’ Or does it? He’s done nothing but look out for me since we met. Maybe I’m wrong about him? He seems so genuine in what he’s saying. Maybe I’ve been wrong to think I can’t trust him … he’s actually kind of sweet when he’s not being so arrogant.

  I push my chair back abruptly, the metal whining against the concrete, and stand. I refuse to let myself think these things, to so easily change my mind. He can’t know the truth about me, so we can’t be friends, that’s all there is to this. Without a word I walk outside.

  ‘Elle?’ Hunter calls after me. I don’t turn back to his voice. Instead, I try clear my mind by concentrating on the fresh, cool breeze that hits me as I leave the building. What is wrong with me?

  ‘Elle!’ His hand grabs a hold of my shoulder, wrenching me around. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘I’m getting some air.’ I thought he was sweet. I obviously need it.

  ‘So suddenly?’

  His words make me pause to search his eyes. My thoughts had so quickly turned to accepting him without the slightest consideration for my real problem with his talent. It wasn’t until I was outside again that I could think clearly.

  ‘It was you? Wasn’t it?’ I say.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’m not stupid you know.’ I shake my shoulder out from under his hand and start to walk away, intending go to my locker, get my bag and go home. I’m completely over today, and I no longer care what the repercussions for missing a lesson are. I’ve already been doomed to be sent to the west.

  Two steps out though I get another wave of anger towards him and turn to him. I’m not letting him get away with manipulating me that easily.

  ‘You know that was a really low blow,’ I say. ‘How can you ever expect me to trust you, when you can’t even keep your word in the short term?’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ he asks, looking more frustrated than guilty.

  ‘You know,’ I say firmly, folding my arms across my chest.

  ‘No I don’t,’ he replies steadily. ‘Your little outburst is enough to make me want to read your mind though. Seriously!’ he exclaims, throwing his hands in the air.

  ‘You really have no idea?’ I ask. He looks confused and pretty annoyed by my outburst. If he’d actually manipulated my thoughts he’d probably laugh and fess up to it, rather than react the way he has.

  ‘No,’ he replies.

  I back away from him. Oh shit. I’ve made a complete idiot out of myself.

  He looks at me, still confused, but then his eyes light up. ‘You think I manipulated you,’ he accuses.

  ‘No!’ I take several steps back further.

  ‘No, you said I can’t keep my word.’

  ‘I didn’t mean…’

  ‘You really think I’d manipulate you to accept me?’ he asks, hurt clear on his face.

  ‘No,’ I reply, feeling like an absolute idiot for throwing around false accusations. Especially when it’s clear how much it’s hurt him. ‘I’m really sorry. I’m just confused.’

  He looks into my eyes. Seeing what’s there his shoulders relax slightly and the hurt lessens on his face.

  ‘I barely know you and it’s hard to know who you can trust up here.’ I trust him about as far as I could throw him, but I can’t exactly say that.

  He begins to pace back and forth. ‘What if I could do something to earn your trust?’ he asks.

  ‘Like what?’ I say, my curiosity piqued.

  ‘Like helping you find your friend Sebastian.’

  ‘You’d do that?’

  ‘If it would mean you’d trust me.’

  ‘But why? Why does gaining my trust even matter?’ I ask.

  He looks at me for a moment before turning away. ‘When you first got here I had a glimpse into your mind and straight away I knew I wanted to be your friend. You talk of gaining trust, and I know better than most how hard it can be to trust people. There are only a handful of people I trust up here, and you’re one of them, so I guess that’s why I want you to trust me so bad.’

  I shuffle my feet uncomfortably.

  He sighs and turns back. ‘Will you please just let me help you?’ he asks. ‘I may be one of the few people here who can.’

  I’m not in any position to turn down offers for help at this point, and maybe, with Hunter’s aid, I’ll actually get closer to finding Sebastian? Part of me wants to give him the chance to gain my trust, and I’m about 90% certain that’s all me.

  ‘Yes,’ I respond. ‘Thank you.’ We stand in silence for a moment before Hunter speaks up.

  ‘So, we’re friends now, you’ve slept in my bed, we’ve got ourselves a mission to accomplish and I’m pretty sure I caught you eyeing me up earlier. What’s the next step in our relationship?’ he jokes.

  I roll my eyes and laugh despite m
yself. ‘You’re terrible. You are aware of that, right?’

  ‘Completely.’ He throws his arm over my shoulder. ‘C’mon, let’s get you to your next class. If we stand out here any longer someone might catch you drooling over me again,’ he laughs.

  ‘You wish,’ I say.

  ‘You’re the one doing the drooling.’

  ‘Stop it!’ I plead.

  He chuckles under his breath. As we walk towards the next class I watch him out of the corner of my eye. It’s nice to finally understand why he wants me to trust him. I’ll still have to be careful of my thoughts when I’m around him though.

  Hunter holds out his hand, stopping me abruptly.

  ‘Don’t move.’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I ask, looking up at him. A hard look of concentration has come over his face. ‘Hunter?’ I look around, trying to see why he’s gone so rigid, but nothing is out of place.

  ‘Recruiters are here. We have to hide.’

  ‘What?’ I can’t have recruiters finding me now. ‘Where?’

  ‘Take my hand. Quickly.’

  Two men dressed in black suits walk around the corner towards us just as Hunter’s hand latches onto mine. They stand tall and straight, their hair slicked back and their faces cold and impassive. Their eyes stare right through me, like I’m not here at all.

  One icy set of eyes connects with mine, without any evidence of recognition or perception that I am here. They quickly continue on as they scope the parameter of the yard. It doesn’t look like they can see us.

  In unison, the two men walk their stiff, abrupt steps towards us. I can feel sweat on Hunter’s palm as he firmly grasps my hand.

  As they near, my breathing stops all together. One of them passes, but the other slows his march. His nostrils flare and his eyes flicker in our direction. I close my eyes and grasp Hunter’s hand tighter. I can hear the man’s slow breaths, in and out, in and out. The whole world goes silent, except for these constant measured inhalations.

  The man’s boot scuffs as he moves on. I peek one eye open, and then the other when I see it’s clear. A door slams shut behind us and I turn to look at Hunter again.

  His face is still taught with concentration, but his eyes are no longer distant. He looks at me and leans his lips down to my ear. ‘We should go.’

  I don’t know whether it’s Hunter’s lips being so close to my ear, or the nervousness I felt because of those men, but the words send a shiver down my spine. I haven’t ever seen Hunter act like this. He seems afraid. I know he doesn’t want to go to the north, but I didn’t realise he was this desperate to avoid it. Unless of course he knows they will send me to the west when they find me? He pulls at my hand to get me moving.

  As we walk away I take a look inside the window of the classroom the men have just entered. The two of them stand at the front of the room watching the class. I spot Lara and my stomach drops. Her head is down as she concentrates on writing, but I can see her hand quivering from here.

  ‘C’mon,’ Hunter whispers, urgently tugging me. I look at him, confused. His eyes flick towards the classroom. ‘There’s nothing you can do,’ he says when he spots Lara. ‘If you tried anything you’d only make it worse.’

  I look back at her one last time, before allowing Hunter to tug me away. I thought being recruited to the north was a good thing? Surely it’s not bad enough to warrant his response?

  As we move further away from the classroom a cheer erupts from inside and my stomach plummets. Has Lara just won the genetic lottery and been recruited to the north?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Hunter refuses to let me go to my last class for the day. I try to tell him I’m at no risk of being recruited, but he gives me a dark glare and tells me, in no uncertain terms, I am not allowed to head back to class, which only makes me more concerned he knows the truth about me.

  We spend the last hour of the day sitting under a large tree, down by the netball courts, watching a group of younger students as they play. Hunter is distant and withdrawn. He hasn’t said anything since we saw those men walk into Lara’s classroom.

  As our silence lengthens my mind is overcome with worrying thoughts about Lara. I keep seeing her sitting at her desk, her hands shaking as she tries to avoid detection. She’d lied about her talent and kept it a secret from me for so long, not even Sophie knew how talented Lara is. I should’ve realised she didn’t want to be recruited, what I can’t understand is why.

  ‘Hunter?’

  ‘Yeah?’ He doesn’t turn to look at me in response.

  ‘Hunter,’ I say louder, causing him to snap to attention and turn to look at me.

  ‘Why don’t you want to be recruited?’

  ‘I’ve told you this be—’

  ‘I know. But I’ve never seen you so nervous before. What’s the real reason?’ I ask, cutting him off before he gives me the same excuse as last time. He watches me guardedly before taking a deep breath and explaining.

  ‘I guess originally I didn’t want to be recruited for the reasons I explained to you before. I didn’t want to let yet another decision be taken away from me. That, of course, was before I became curious.’ He pauses as if searching for the right words. ‘They make being talented sound so amazing. I mean, you’ve seen the kids around school and how much they worship the talents. It’s like the best thing that could possibly happen.’

  He chuckles darkly under his breath. As if it’s the world’s biggest joke. ‘So, I kept an eye out. Well, more I kept my mind open and read people I encountered. I was trying to see if I could pick up on what exactly happens over there. I didn’t have much success, but then one day I read one of the recruiters. He must’ve been fairly high up because I saw a series of images; tests they were running.’

  ‘You think they experiment on the talented?’ I ask.

  ‘Maybe. But I think it’s worse than that. I think they were testing modifications of talented abilities on untalents and talentless. I think they want everyone to be talented. It’s like anything less isn’t good enough.’

  ‘What?’ I exclaim.

  ‘I don’t know for sure. The images I’d seen were pretty quick, and I didn’t really get a clear idea of what was happening. All I know is there’s a reason why they keep the talented on the north side of the river, the untalents in the east and talentless in the west. I can assure you it’s not just because some people are more special than others. I don’t want to be a part of whatever they’ve got going on.’

  I stare at him, not knowing what to say. What he saw must’ve been pretty disturbing if he’s this worried about it. If it’s true, I can’t blame him for wanting to stay as far away from the recruiters as possible.

  ‘Could the tests they’re doing make people ill?’ I ask. ‘Is it what they’re doing to the talentless at that hospital in the west?’

  ‘How do you know about the talentless being sick?’

  ‘I’ve been over the wall and seen the people who live there.’ What I fail to mention is the fact I will be joining them any time now. The thought makes me want to throw up. My time here is running out.

  ‘Yes, I think that’s why,’ he responds.

  ‘I need to check on Lara,’ I say, as the bell signalling the end of the day rings.

  ‘Wait, before you go, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you…’ Hunter says, as he stands up. He reaches his hands down to help pull me up too.

  I pat off the grass that clings to my jeans. ‘Ask me what?’

  ‘I was wondering if you want to bump cuffs with me?’

  ‘Oh,’ I look down at my CommuCuff. ‘Sure.’

  He takes a step closer to me, his body nearly touching mine. I crane my neck back to look up at him.

  ‘I just thought, you know, seeing as how we’re friends and all. I should probably get your username.’

  ‘Right,’ I breathe. I feel the gentle ‘clink’ as he bumps his cuff against mine.

  ‘Now that wasn’t so bad @ElleWinters, was it?�
�� he asks, looking down at my details.

  ‘No.’ I swiftly look down as @HunterBlake registers on my cuff. When I look up I find Hunter staring at me.

  I take a step back from him and look over towards the locker room. ‘I should go…’

  He looks as though he wants to argue with me, but after everything he’s just told me about being recruited I’m worried. I need to know she’s okay. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ I say, leaving no room for debate.

  When I get to the lockers, the rush of students that usually crowd the room at the end of the day is over. I stand by Lara’s locker waiting. As the minutes drag by the school becomes quieter and I begin to get the feeling she’s left for the day.

  As I head out the front gates of the school I attempt to comm her. She doesn’t answer though and a flicker of worry and doubt rushes through me. I feel rattled. Our last conversation hadn’t been exactly friendly and then with the recruiters in her lesson… What if something’s happened?

  A set of pedestrian lights flick green up ahead and I jog to make sure I don’t miss them. I’m surprised at myself as I get to the other side of the road. A few weeks ago I either would’ve been amazed by the lights, or not realised what they were and proceeded to play chicken with any cars on the road. Now they are so ordinary. I guess I’m really beginning to adapt to life up here.

  As I slow back down to a walk, I catch sight of Lara’s high ponytail bobbing along further down the street. ‘Lara?’ I call out to her, but she doesn’t turn. ‘Lara!’ I yell out louder, running to catch up with her.

  ‘You’re okay,’ I say, grinning as I fall into stride with her.

  ‘Yes,’ she replies, not looking over to me. My stomach muscles clench as I look at her. She’s pissed off.

  I grab a hold of her arm and stop her. ‘Can I please talk to you? I ask.

  She shrugs her shoulders and looks away from me. I ignore her indifference and drag her over to the alcove of one of the apartment buildings.

  ‘Are you okay?’ I ask.

  She folds her arms and leans against the wall. ‘I’m fine.’ She turns her head away from me again, out towards the street.