Prototype Dorian

2.

Eight days before the Selection

Rea is right; the inspector bot is here. Its robotic voice announces its presence using the speakers in my ceiling.

"Dear Cadet Lorensky, I will be entering to perform a routine unit inspection. As per the privacy law stated in Code 109-B, you have one minute to prepare for my entry. Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight..."

The countdown booms above me as if preparing for a rocket launch. Great, I only have less than a minute to figure out how to get this unconscious man out of my living unit. Why did I even let him in?

Groaning, I scurry over to Ryan and grab him by his collar.

"Hey, wake the fuck up," I snap, shaking him as vigorously as I can.

He scrunches his nose and makes a gagging sound. I stop moving him. He is already stinking up the entire room with his alcohol stench. I do not want him to throw up too.

"Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight..." the inspector bot continues, oblivious to my ordeal.

"Ryan, come on!" I whisper-shout. "Wake up! You need to get out of here!"

Ryan responds by rolling his head against the wall. Argh, stupid, useless brother. Frustrated, I slap his pale face a few times. He grunts, and his brows twitch, but he remains unconscious. I slap him more; he merely grunts more. I need to do something more drastic.

I dash back to the kitchen to grab a cup of cold water. Splashing it over his face finally jolts him awake.

"What the fuck?" Ryan mumbles, sitting up and looking around. Half of his hair is wet and flat, while the other half remains as tousled as ever. "Where the fuck am I?"

"Teleport back to your unit!" I demand.

He frowns. "Huh? Lara? What?"

"Thirty-one, thirty, twenty-nine..." my speaker echoes above me. Damn it, I don't have much time left.

"Listen, Ryan, you need to leave right now. Use your Gift and teleport the hell out of here before the inspector bot comes in!"

"Slow down, Lara, slow down..." Ryan massages his temples. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Why are you in my room? And why is someone counting down like it's New Year's Eve?"

I want to yank my hair out of my head. I do not have time to wait for this slow drunkard to figure things out. The inspector bot is right outside the door, and I barely have fifteen seconds left.

Once again, I run into the kitchen. I grab the closest and sharpest tool: my fruit knife.

"Ryan, you either disappear from my unit or I drive this knife into your heart!" I yell, lifting the knife in the air.

Ryan's half-closed eyes are now wide open. "Wait, wait, wait! Lara—"

And when I bring the knife down, he yelps—and vanishes. My poor fruit knife stabs through the air, plunges into the metal wall, and breaks into pieces.

Great. Now I'll have to get a new one or I can't cut my fruits.

"Warning: attempting to stab someone is a violation," Rea chimes into my ears.

Well, it's a little too late for that warning. With a heavy sigh, I stand up. I don't know where Ryan teleported to—to his own living unit; I hope—but at least he's out of here. I always make fun of his Gift for giving him the most unimpressive ability, but I have to admit teleportation can be quite useful sometimes.

"Four, three, two..."

Time is running out, so I can't clean up the pieces of metal. All I can do is spin around and hope for the best.