March City: Land of the Gifted [Book 1 | Fantasy/Sci-fi | Complete]

Chapter 15: Does she Know?

Vexi's eyebrows rose so high they almost disappeared into her hairline.

"You know Fris?" she said, turning between the two girls.

Fris's face had gone so white her hair appeared aflame.

"Mina?" she said in a breathless voice. "What... what the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't know," said Mina. Fris looked horror-struck to see her there. What was so bad about this place? After Vexi's reassurance, even the crazy lady scientist's scary words made sense. The place seemed nice. Their purpose was understandable. "But why are you here? Are you helping out, too?"

"She shouldn't be here," said Fris, directing at Vexi. "She's just a little girl. She can't help."

"I can, too!" Mina was indignant, scowling. "Just because I'm not my sister doesn't mean I can't stand on my own two feet!"

"Listen to Mina, Fris." Vexi raised her eyebrows again at Fris, a smile toying at her lips as if she was holding a secret. Her arms were folded, her finger tapping against her elbow. "She can help. Our leader will be very pleased to see someone as spirited and enthusiastic as Mina here being one of us. In fact, with her credentials, she's going to be one of our biggest assets."

Fris went even whiter, if that were possible. Her hands shot out and grabbed Mina's shoulders. She yelped. Fris's fingers dug hard into her flesh.

"Listen to me, Mina," she said in a hoarse voice. "You shouldn't be here. This is a dangerous place – more dangerous than what anyone else tells you. You need to get out of here. Does your sister know where you are?"

"Does she know where you are?" Mina said, frowning. Fris was acting very strange, not like the friendly and strict girl that had often visited Ari at the apartment. Fris looked as though she wanted to tear the hair from her own head.

"Let her know, please. You have to. For her sake as well as yours."

"That's enough," Vexi said, standing in front of Mina. "You're scaring her, Fris. Leave her alone."

Fris gave Vexi such a terrified look Mina wondered what was in store for her if Fris spoke out of turn again. Vexi seemed such a nice girl. Without another word, the redheaded girl walked away, throwing a final backwards glance full of desperation at Mina. Mina watched her, biting her lip.

"You know Fris?" said Vexi in a casual voice, as though they were just carrying on their conversation previously. She took Mina's hand again and guided her through the double doors through which Fris had passed a few minutes ago.

"Yeah. She's my sister's friend. She used to come over a lot and study."

"Fris is another low-ranker, you know that?"

"I know. But she works very hard. I think she was working three jobs most of the time to get enough credits and she scores pretty good in her class too, my sister told me."

They reached the more advanced part of the facility at that point. Although there were still no windows, confirming Mina's guess that they were underground, most of the large glass panes were showing the lit adjacent rooms. Large flickering screens of intricate diagrams and flashing lights took up most of the space. A few students, with their backs to the corridor outside, scanned for information and inserted commands with the hologram keyboard. Coloured lights darted around the room, transporting information from one room to another. Although the sound was completely insulated from the inside, Mina could imagine the bleeps and soft whirring of machinery.

Advanced as the machines looked, she could also tell they were out of date. The computer bodies stacked against the sides of the rooms were chunky. A few had tape stuck across them, holding loosened body boards together and a few stray wires dangled from the ceiling. One or two screens were cracked; some were black, broken.