Spliced

by Kat Stiles

  I pulled into the underground parking garage of my condo. Yes, a high-rise condo wasn’t exactly practical, I know. But I wasn’t ready for the break-ins, sounds of neighbors fucking, and overall sense of desolation that accompanies a regular life. And with my ability, I wouldn’t have to. My father’s “gift”—tampering with my genes—turned me into a fugitive freak. Might as well have something good come out of it.

  On my way in, I greeted my neighbor Gary on the bottom floor, a day trader with expensive taste in watches. He carried a Cantonese Garden plastic bag, and the delicious aroma of Chinese food wafted in my direction.

  The form he knew me as was an attractive male, nothing crazy gorgeous but respectable-looking. I never showed my real form to anyone, and having the high-profile, very hated father I had, it was for the best.

  Gary nodded in response, a controlled smile on his face. It occurred to me I hadn’t seen his girlfriend around lately, a swimsuit model named Candy. I was about to mention her, when he slipped inside and closed his door behind him. Gary wasn’t much of a talker, but he would usually at least say, “hi.”

  I figured the Chinese food was the reason for his haste. Cantonese Garden was hands down, the best Chinese food in the city. The mere aroma produced an unnatural craving in me. But first I had to let my dog Frog out or risk losing my deposit with a urine-soaked carpet.

  Once inside my condo, Frog assaulted me with doggy kisses. Even though she was only a terrier mix, she still somehow jumped high enough to reach my face. I got rid of my facial hair, as doggy slobber tended to linger around in it. No matter who I shifted into, Frog always knew it was me. Her pigtail-looking ears and sheer excitement at my presence never failed to delight me.

  I turned on the news while I got a glass of water. Using my power tended to dehydrate me.

  “Tension rose in Congress today, as citizens marched to demand something be done about the enhanced. The proposed bill, the Craff Act, would give the government the authority to gather up the enhanced into a central location, for further study. Democrats are concerned this would violate the civil rights of…”

  “Internment camps, really?” I sighed. There’s so much we could do, to help humanity. But they’re not even giving us a chance. Were some of us assholes? Absolutely, that can’t be helped. Assholes are everywhere, especially among the rich, which was 90% of enhanced. But most of the enhanced I’d met were decent people. Just ordinary human beings with a sort of super power. In a sense, it was good that enhanced were primarily composed of the wealthy—if not, more enhanced would be abusing their power for financial gain. I chuckled to myself. Like me.

  The scene cut to interviews of the protestors. “They’re already rich, and now they have super powers? It’s not right, i-it’s not fair.”

  So much hate and fear in their eyes. Every time I watched the news, my sense of paranoia became more and more justified.

  “In other news, the Romeo killer is still at large, claiming the lives of over two dozen human and enhanced victims. Authorities believe he himself is enhanced, and urge everyone to stay safe by avoiding strangers, practicing safe sex, and…”

  “The world is an unsettling place, Froggy girl.” She wagged her tail, still on her happiness cloud that I came home.

  I secured the briefcase of money and the envelope of paperwork under the floorboards in my massive walk-in closet, in a secret stash spot I had created. Then I slipped Frog’s harness on and we headed for the park.

  On the way down, my new neighbor from the adjacent condo joined me in the elevator. I felt my heart begin to pound in my chest, and a bit of indigestion as well. I hadn’t dared talk to her—she was the kind of beautiful that I’d have to morph into a male model to even have a chance with. Long, red curls, expertly applied makeup, and her skin? As flawless as the diamond necklace I just stole. Her name was Ella, which I only know because I happened to overhear a conversation.

  Frog sniffed her, but didn’t jump or act like a total spaz, like she did with me.

  “Cute dog,” she said, breaking the awkward silence. “Can I pet her?”

  “Of course.” I kneeled to Frog’s level and pet her as well, to let her know it was okay.

  Ella gently stroked Frog’s head. “She’s sweet.”

  “I’m Tyler,” I said quietly.

  “Ella.”

  “You’re new here?” I was nervous but having the dog to pet distracted me enough so that I wasn’t a total idiot. At least that’s what I had hoped.

  “Yes, moved in a month ago.”

  “Me too, well, six months ago. Welcome.” If I had had any sense of composure, I would’ve asked where she was from, how she was liking it, hell even her favorite color would’ve been something.

  “Thank you.”

  The elevator beeped, indicating we reached the ground floor.

  “Maybe I’ll see you around, Tyler,” Ella said, her gorgeous face smiling flirtatiously.

  “Um, yeah,” I said, confounded by that smile. “I would like to… uh, yeah, that would be great.”

  She giggled the confident laugh of someone who regularly has that effect on people—to catch them completely off guard by releasing just an ounce of charm. I watched her leave, admiring her shapely backside.

  ***

  The fresh, open air of the park was a nice change to the confinement of the condo, where I spent most of my time. I mentioned being paranoid—wherever I went, I carried my backpack with extra clothes and shoes for both sexes, in case I had to shift. Though I could turn into anyone I touched, I still had a fear I couldn’t shake of being found out. Enhanced and normal people both hated me, for what my father unleashed into the world. I guess it was easier to blame us than their parents, who paid for them to be enhanced. Bottom line, a night on the town always ended up with me watching my back and not having much fun. It was just easier to stay indoors and not risk it.

  Frog did her business on a large oak tree, and afterwards I couldn’t resist picking up some amazing Chinese food for lunch. The thing I always loved about cities—everything is right there, within walking distance. Seduced by the intoxicating aroma, Frog and I jogged back to the condo, eager to dig into the kung pao.

  In the lobby of my building, I pushed the call button for the elevator. Gary peeked out of his door, looked around, and when our eyes met, he quickly popped back in and slammed the door.

  I thought it was odd, sure, but I wrote it off to day traders being a strange breed anyway. The elevator dinged, and I got in and pressed the number for my floor. Right as the doors were about to close, I heard another ding, as if someone had pressed the call button. The doors re-opened, but no one was there.

  I scratched my head. Frog sniffed at the air, and then backed away into the far corner. She had a bit of a neurotic streak, so it wasn’t all that unusual behavior for her. But when she started to shake, I knelt next to her.

  “What is it, girl?”

  She whimpered and licked my face, still shaking. As we approached our floor, she started barking at the doors.

  Something is wrong. I transformed into a blonde with curves in all the right places and slipped on a tank dress from my backpack that showed more than a little cleavage. I switched out my shoes to heels, and nearly fell when I heard something that resembled a muffled gasp. I looked around and couldn’t figure out its source. Maybe it was the elevator, I reasoned, or someone from outside on my floor. Improbable? Yes. But plausible, and it helped keep the mounting anxiety within me from taking over.

  The doors opened to a woman in a red jumpsuit standing in the walkway. My condo door was swung wide open, with more nameless red jumpsuits swarming around.

  “What’s going on?” I blurted out, in my most bewildered feminine voice, slathered in a New York accent. I was pretty sure what I was seeing, which only made the anxiety worse.

  I must’ve slipped up at the bank. They figured it out.

  The OCEI had come for me.

  Chapter 3

  “Excuse
me, ma’am. Who are you? What business do you have here?”

  The woman in the red jumpsuit had harsh features, and from the tone of her voice, it sounded like she wasn’t in the mood to socialize. If I could convince her I was the bimbo girlfriend, I might have a shot at keeping my freedom.

  “Where’s Tyler?” I responded.

  “Come with me, we have some questions for you.” She grabbed my arm, and Frog nearly sunk her teeth into the woman’s leg. If I hadn’t pulled back on the leash, I’m sure one of the red jumpsuits would’ve shot her.

  The woman abruptly let go of my arm. “Control your dog!”

  “It’s Tyler’s dog, and you haven’t answered my question. Where is he? Is this about him?”

  The woman narrowed her eyes at me. I had to play this out, sell this girlfriend character I created.

  “Don’t tell me that son of a bitch skipped out on me!” I dropped the bag of Chinese food I was carrying and stomped on the ground. “After everything I do! I walk his dog, get us food, and he just splits? What the fuck!”

  The woman relaxed the slightest bit, and I hoped it was because she was buying my story.

  “My boss wants to talk to everyone, come this way,” she said, gesturing towards the condo.

  “Sure, but can I put the dog up in one of the bedrooms? She’s nervous as hell now.” I pet her head and tried to console her, but she was having none of it. The dog simply continued to growl and bark at all the strangers.

  “Very well, I’ll escort you.” She radioed one of the other jumpsuits to come relieve her. “No one comes or goes on this elevator, is that understood? Not even one of us.”

  “I’d keep my distance, if I were you.” She shot me a look but did as instructed. I kept Frog on a short leash, and harsh woman explained to all the other red jumpsuits we passed that I was with her.

  I chose my bedroom to see the state of it. Thank goodness I hadn’t bothered to make my bed that morning. The story I conjured up just might work…

  I got Frog settled on the bed. She was still a neurotic mess, shaking even worse now. I leaned my head against hers, and she licked my face.

  “It’ll be okay, girl,” I whispered. She gave me another lick and rested her head down on the bed.

  I glanced at the walk-in closet, and the door remained closed. Though I was tempted to run in there and check on my money, that would’ve been about the stupidest move I could make. I just had to hope they wouldn’t figure out my hiding spot.

  I thought about choking out harsh woman and taking her form. But then I remembered what she said about the elevator. Could I climb out the fire escape? I glanced out the window and noticed a few red jumpsuits outside. There was no way I was getting out, even with using my power.

  I exited the room, closing the door carefully behind me. “Now what’s this shit about? You people just barge in here like you own the place, my fucking food is getting cold, and—”

  Harsh woman was on her phone. She motioned to me to wait. “I understand, will do.” She turned to me. “I have to take you in.”

  “Take me in where? What is this about?” I raised my voice some, which I thought would be a typical response of a New York woman being jerked around.

  “We got a tip about Tyler. That’s he’s an enhanced.”

  “Enhanced? Are you kidding me? What kind of a bullshit operation is this—” My voice raised higher, which caught the attention of one of the larger OCEI red jumpsuits.

  “Carol, is everything okay here?” His voice was deep and foreboding, which pretty much matched the rest of him. Not someone I wanted to mess with. But then I remembered my form.

  “There is no way,” I shook my head and folded my arms under my breasts, which served to prop up my perfect cleavage. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”

  “How do you know that?” big dude said, staring at my tits.

  “Simple. We fucked. I’m still alive. Any questions?” I figured it was common knowledge, especially to the OCEI, that fluid exchange from super-charged DNA was fatal to a normal person.

  “What if you’re enhanced too?” harsh woman said. Her eyes were critical, judgmental. As if my beauty and overt blondeness offended her plain sensibility.

  “Pfft! As if. Do I look enhanced?” I turned to the big guy and squeezed my breasts. “Do these look enhanced to you?”

  “Well, as a matter of fact…” his cheeks burned a hot crimson color, and I nearly lost it. God it was fun to screw with people.

  Harsh woman punched him in the arm. “Just go, Tad, you’re not helping.”

  He rubbed the spot. “Fine, you don’t have to be a bitch about it.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

  “Nothing,” he mumbled as he walked away. I wanted to like this woman, but she really had been a bitch.

  She sighed, her features softening some. “I know this is a hassle, but the head boss wants to question you himself. Afterwards, you’ll be free to go. Can I take you to headquarters?”

  I nodded, knowing with this many people everywhere, it would be suicide to shift into anyone. I thought it was civil of her to ask, when we both knew I was going whether I wanted to or not. I grabbed my backpack and followed her.

  ***

  At headquarters, I was escorted to a small questioning room with only a table and two chairs on either side. Carol gave me a glass of water, which I didn’t drink from, even though I was insanely thirsty. Her boss entered shortly afterwards.

  “I’m Joseph,” he said, and offered a hand to shake. “Carol never did catch your name?” His steady gaze was incongruent with the plastic smile on his face.

  I shook his hand as lightly as I could manage, while he had a rather strong grip. I was grateful for the contact—boss man’s form would likely come in handy if they decided to try to keep me here.

  “Rose. Like the flower?” I smiled sweetly, as innocently I could. Innocent was a hard thing to pull off lately, but I hoped the blonde hair was working in my favor.

  “Rose?” He motioned for me to continue.

  “Smith,” I answered. I tried to keep my fake last names as generic as possible.

  “And your relationship to Tyler?”

  “I hardly even know the guy. We hooked up a couple of times.”

  Boss man wrote some notes in a small pad. “And by hooked up, you mean…”

  “We had sex. Awesome sex, actually. Tyler is masterful in bed.” I smiled, happy to see him adjusting his tie. It felt good to rattle him a little, and it was kinda fun being secretly arrogant.

  “Are you enhanced, yourself, Ms. Smith?”

  “No.” I met his probing gaze. “I’m just a girl from the Bronx trying to have a little fun before I die.”

  He chuckled uncomfortably.

  “Carol said you got a tip that Tyler was enhanced,” I said. “Who called it in?”

  At that he perked up. “And why would you care, if he’s just a hook up?”

  “Only wondering if it’s a prank.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Surely you get a lot of those kind of calls…”

  He sighed. “Tell me about your date with Tyler.”

  “You want to know what positions we were in? How long his dick is?” I motioned with my hands apart, then adjusted them outlandishly farther apart. I wanted to laugh at boss man’s frustrated, blushing expression. “What level of detail we talkin’ here?”

  A knock on the door sounded, and I had to stifle a gasp at who walked in.

  Ella. What the hell is she doing here?

  “Can I talk to you, sir?”

  Oh my God, she’s one of them. An OCEI agent.

  Boss man nodded and exited the room. I couldn’t hear the whole conversation that was taking place outside the door, but a few phrases were clear.

  “Tyler is not enhanced…” Ella’s voice said.

  “The call was from the building…” boss man said.

  “I’ve been watching him,” Ella shot back. “Solid month... I’m sure.”


  Watching me? Holy shit, I can’t believe it… Damn, it’s always the pretty ones.

  “Okay, I trust you,” was the last thing boss man said.

  He re-entered the room, and without even acknowledging me through eye contact, he motioned to the door. “You’re free to go.”

  “About fucking time,” I muttered. But I had to wonder, what was Ella’s stake in this? Did she really believe I wasn’t enhanced?

  Ella smiled at me as I exited. I felt a pang of stomach pain, but it was fleeting. Probably just the dehydration.

  “I’ll give you a ride home,” she offered.

  “Thank you.” I should’ve refused, I wasn’t even sure where to tell her to go for my house. But I was too curious about what she knew.

  I followed her to her car, a modern sporty model. Not flashy or expensive, but it moved, which I discovered as we sped out of there.

  “Don’t you want to know where I live?” I asked, as we pulled onto a highway.

  “I know exactly where you live.” She glanced in my direction. “Tyler.”

  Chapter 4

  How does she know? Does she really know, or is she bluffing? My heart started pounding, thinking about how I could escape, what she had in store for me. But then I stopped and considered the facts. Even if she does know, we’re driving away from the scary place. She could’ve turned me in, but she didn’t.

  “What are you talking about?” I said, with a fake laugh. “I’m Rose.”

  “Give it up, I saw you shift in the elevator.”

  That gasp I heard in the elevator, it must’ve been from her. But if that’s true, she’d would’ve had to have been invisible, which means…

  “You’re enhanced?”

  “Wow, you’re not as blonde as you look!” She smiled that intoxicating smile of hers.

  “You’re OCEI?” I said, more to myself than her. “And enhanced…in what universe does that make sense?”

  “It’s a lot easier to keep tabs on them that way. When enhanced started making the headlines, I heard rumors about an organization setup to stop them. Once I discovered it was real, I wanted to find out if the horrible things people were saying had merit. Some of them didn’t. Most of them did.”