Enhancement

- - 54 - -

Doesn't work at this restaurant? I find myself thinking right off the bat. The written detail seems so insignificantly random I nearly laugh. Then I remember I'm in a bathroom stall, a place where laughing could get you a partial screening if you're not careful.

The government doesn't mess around. We're lucky enough there's no cameras in the stalls, at least that I know of. So as a result, I read and re-read Tanner's message until the words form a chant in my mind. I crinkle up the slip and toss it into the toilet, flushing it out of existence. The note that'll never be found again.

I'm careful to wash my hands and act normal, attempting to wash the stain from my pants again. I peer at myself in the mirror. I look just like my old self, the girl I was before the derailment. It startles me.

I exit the bathroom and return to Stephen, who's already footing the NutriShake bill. He finishes off a final sip before paying.

In the meantime, I glance around the cafe, searching for my fellow rebel. Tables of customers and waiters catch my attention, yet there's no sign of the tall, light-haired Tanner. He took a huge risk contacting me in the public eyes, and he'll have to take another one to get the message to Stephen.

"Ready?" Stephen asks. I give him a confident reply as we head out of the restaurant. Warm fingers manage to enclose mine as we step outside. My arm brushes against Stephen's, and somehow I feel that familiar wave of adoration thumping me in the chest. It almost hurts how much I like being with him.

The image of Stephen's dying figure flashes in my mind, but I force it away. It's a no-brainer our relationship is a weakness. He's one of my only hopes still living. My mom is gone, my dad is who-knows-where, and my own body is constantly being chased down by new threats every day. Screeners, scientists, Equinox employees. The list goes on and on.

"Can we go somewhere quiet? I think I'm getting a headache," I say. Of course my head doesn't hurt, I just need some space to be lost with my thoughts.

"Sure," Stephen nods. We cross the dark street and skim past a few city blocks. A couple dozen citizens are in sight, so we're not completely alone. There's really no place to rest, so we settle with returning to the Equinox building.

"Where are we anyway?" I whisper under my breath. The lit-up buildings and street lamps don't look much different from any other place we've been.

"We could be anywhere," Stephen says.

I nod as we reach the final stretch of street before the Equinox building comes into view. Tanner's message continues to swirl around my mind. The rebellion isn't over... but is it? How on Earth can Pod 14 fight if it's under new control?

Tanner didn't restore my hope; he hindered it. There's no way out of this mess for anyone.

We finally reach the building's entrance. Stephen and I walk through the threshold of the building. The previously empty floor is filled with inductees, swarming with voices. I don't know what everyone's talking about, but there's tons of sound bombarding us.

Stephen and I weave through the crowd, spotting Nicolette sitting alone. We wave her over to us, and her expression turns grim. She rises from her seat and rushes over to us.

"Hey!" Nicolette says. Her eyes look terrified. She has no clue what's going on, and she eyes Stephen with shock. "How are you both okay?"

"Somehow," Stephen says. He rubs the back of his neck so obviously Nicolette would have to be blind not to notice his cue. She picks up on it and nods. It's the small lump at the base of our necks that creates the tasks.

"Well look who it is," a voice threatens from behind us. Fear pounces on me as I spin around. The girl and her followers from the Equinox task appear in front of us, heated as ever.

The girl's face is synonymous with only two words: Stephen's murderer. This girl is the leader of the pack that attacked us in the cornfield. The girl who killed for a stupid box because the Equinox had no rules.

"Well?" the girl says. Her voice is sharp, accusing.

I blink at her. "Well what?" I burst. My blood boils. "Well what? Thank you for murdering my friend? Or how about thank you for almost killing all three of us?"

"You killed me, plus half a dozen members of my group!" she hisses. "I just want to return the favor."

Stephen and Nicolette step in between us, blocking my view of the girl. Stephen's telling me to stop, to let it go, but I can't. His hands sweep down my arms, holding me back. I claw an opening in between him and Nicolette so I can see our attackers.

"You're ruining my future!" the girl yells. "You knocked me off the leaderboard, and now I'm going to repay you for it."

"Is that how you plan to get your precious little life back?" I fire at her. "Because it's not going to work! Who cares about you!"

The girl leaps at me, shoving Stephen's body barrier out of the way. The weight and pressure of the girl's power hits me like a brick, a hammer, a tsunami.

I fall to the floor with the girl on top of me like the savage she is. My brain rocks in my skull, already sending warning signals to my nerves.

A blur of skin flashes past the side of my eyesight, and I'm blinded by pain. I scream in protest as she hits me again.

Blur. Blur. Blur. Fists assault me like I'm their prey. I feel the floor thump beside me. Somehow I know they're attacking someone else beside me. I can't see past my own pain to figure out who it is.

Drawing attention to myself is the last thing I wanted to do, but a blur of inductee jackets surrounds me. Nicolette is saying something in the distance, but I can't hear her much at all.

Blur. My skull feel like it's snapping into a million pieces. Everything is flying by me in slow motion. Am I dying? I can't feel my own limbs anymore. The pain. The pain.

I feel a pulse, then a grunt. The fists finally halt. They stop, and all I feel is beating pulses all over. My bruises and wounds are buzzing with fire.

I pull my eyelids open, cracking them just enough to see. Cloudiness engulfs me. I gasp for air, barely able to twitch let alone breathe.

A face swims into view, familiar and unsettling. I feel myself become lifted onto another surface. Pain slams through my head.

I have no idea where I am or where I'm going. My eyelids flutter again, and there he is. Tanner Austen, the perplexing rebel, is floating into view. I don't see a clue as to why he's here. But I can't deny the existence his lopsided expression. After all, he's hovering right above me as I gargle in agony.

-- -- -- -- --

well that wasn't confusing at all. the winning word choice was "see a clue." i didn't use it that well, but at least there was a fight scene.

also, Enhancement hit NUMBER TWO IN SCIENCE FICTION TODAY !?!? i am still so shocked that this novel is taking off into the top charts. i feel like all my hard work is paying off. I love seeing new readers and returning ones drop comments. it's truly amazing!

Question: choose a phrase: the task, the answer, the end.