Droves of addicts litter the dirty pavement the closer Bastian gets to
Block 63. While Markus navigates the Gerts125 through the human refuse, Bastian
scans the streets. He tries to avoid the vacant gazes of the Shined, lost
staring at the holes in their veins and the stars in the sky, drool running
down their chins to pool on the fetid ground. Shine abuse is blatant in the
city's outskirts.
The next shockwave hits sooner than it should. Psionic abilities don't
normally awaken violently, but Bastian can sense she's a Rare. At this
proximity he no longer needs his wristband's help to pinpoint her, but glances
at the beeping indicator to avoid arousing suspicion, before silencing it with
a brief jolt of power.
Another shockwave warps the air under their vehicle. Bastian doesn't wait
for the transport to stabilize, but steps out as it slows and shades his eyes
as Block 63 implodes.
Flames envelop the upper floors of the four apartment towers. Pieces of
concrete cascade down the outer walls. Amidst the chaos, he can sense her
panic, bewilderment, and--above all--her utter exhaustion. The fact that he's
still standing there, that the area around him isn't in flames, means she
pulled some of the force back into herself somehow.
Panicked screams and distant sirens make it hard to focus. The thin layer
of Shine permeating the mess doesn't help either, and Bastian refuses to think
about the potential death toll. The surrounding blocks should be safe as long
as the emergency forces can contain the blaze.
Smoke and ash obscure Bastian's vision, and he has to close his eyes to
focus. He listens for a moment, picking up her--Sai's--incoherent inner diatribe, which leads him to the botanica.
The vegetation once protected within has already started to wilt, and the glass
walls of the small atrium lie shattered in a perfect circle around the girl.
She sits in the center, blinking tears away as silver power tendrils wind
their way through black irises, leaving her eyes unfocused. Blood from a cut on
her forehead mingles with dark hair, lending it a dull red gleam in the
flickering light. Her flannel nightshirt is tattered. She clutches it as she
rocks back and forth. Pieces of glass embedded in her back glitter through the
shirt, but he'll deal with that later. Her state of mind is the more pressing
matter.
"Sai?" Bastian puts a little suggestion behind it--that she can
trust him, that he will help her. He has to be careful, though. Her mind is raw
from the awakening blast. She continues to rock back and forth, so he repeats
himself a little louder. "Sai?"
She looks up at him and blinks, only tears left streaming down her face.
Her mouth opens, but no words come out.
Bastian reaches out a hand and waits for her to take it. For a few
moments, her eyes dart wildly. He can sense the turmoil--her instincts telling
her to run, her mind urging her to go with him. She slides her hand into his,
and he tugs her up.
Markus waits at the end of the street, a scowl on his face as he leans
against his door.
"We didn't make it in time after all." He gestures toward the
buildings, and his voice carries over the sound of the emergency vehicles as
they hiss to a halt next to him.
"Obviously," Bastian says as he motions for Sai to get in the
back of the car. A second before the door closes, panic crosses her face, but
she sticks out her chin and hugs her chest instead. Her erratic thoughts threaten
to break the fragile facade she's holding onto.
"At least we saved her," Bastian says softly as he slides into
his seat. "Let's get her to the facility."
Markus grunts as he turns the transport back on. "I still don't
believe that young thing caused so much damage."
Bastian shrugs and glances at the girl in the rearview mirror. Her face
is mostly hidden by shadows, and her eyes are as wary as her thoughts.
"She did most of it, though some of the sparks ignited the
building's filtration system. We're lucky the emergency dampeners still work in
this sector or the chain reaction would have spread through the city."
"How can you be so calm? Won't they have your hide for this?"
Markus steps on the gas and takes them away from the dregs of the city.
Bastian stops observing Sai long enough to chuckle. "No. I'm
psionic, not a fortune teller. I'm only as good as the signals I receive, and
frankly the onset of puberty is unpredictable. Besides..." He pauses to
watch her twirl her blood-stained hair around her fingers. She counts to ten
slowly in her head, loud enough for him to hear, and reminds herself to
breathe. Over and over.
Markus prompts him. "Besides?"
"This doesn't happen often. Do you remember a last time?"
Markus shakes his head. "Is she special?"
"Pardon?" It's not like Markus to pry into Bastian's business.
"Can she do something special?"
"Besides blow up an entire block?" Bastian laughs.
"Not...not really."
The "not yet" echoes silently in his head. Just a few more
years and he won't have to fight alone anymore.
#
Sweat drips in her eyes, reminding Sai how ineffectual
eyebrows actually are. She rolls away from her training partner, defending
herself with an ease defined by four years of practice. Being the smallest in
all her classes makes her an easy target to pick on, but no one has tried it
more than once. She positions her hands to better protect her face.
One more test and everything will be worth it.
But one more test is deceptive. They're all aware of the ones whose minds
break. The mutterings and the hollow eyes. The inability to recover that leads
to them never being seen again. And those are the lucky ones. Sai's seen the
mangled remains wheeled out of the examination areas. Not everyone survives the
final examination. Maybe not everyone is meant to.
After decimating a city block and killing and injuring over a thousand
people four years earlier, Gerts, Newton, & Williams United Conglomerate
will never let Sai forget they own her, that she and everyone else in the
training facility live only as long as GNW sees fit.
"Fifty-Two! Where is your head?"
Sai snaps to attention, her train of thought broken, and narrowly avoids
Eighteen's punch to her face. She dodges to the side and grabs her opponent's
right shoulder with both hands, smoothly bringing her knee up into the girl's
stomach.
"That's better." Her instructor, Ms. Genna, glances down at her
reader and pokes at the screen before moving onto the next students.
Sai wishes she could read those notes, know something about her fate. As
she continues to spar, she feels a desperation that isn't her own. Eighteen's
shields are weak, and her fears and emotions trickle through intermittently.
Like everyone else, the girl is scared on the inside but refuses to show
it on the outside. It's a pity Sai can hear the panic in her head. The bravado
is ruined when half the room can skim your thoughts if your shielding isn't
tight enough.
Sai watches her opponent as they circle each other in identical
stances--hands up, knees slightly bent, ready to react.
They've sparred numerous times over the last few years. Eighteen was one
of the first people Sai used to convince others to leave her alone. This might
be the last time she sees her, and the pang of regret takes Sai by surprise.
"That's enough for today." Ms. Genna sticks the stylus behind
her ear. "Rest up for your final tomorrow. You'll need it." Her
parting grin as she leaves the hall is laced with derision.
Sai stays behind to grab a drink bottle and towel. Twenty-Nine pushes in
with a smirk and snatches a water straight out of her hands.
"Didn't see you there..." The false smile doesn't reach
Twenty-Nine's eyes, even though they crinkle with the expression. Sai shrugs
and watches as the girl turns to leave with the rest of the class. They file
out in groups of two and three, friendships they've made and maintained over
the years, even as their numbers have dwindled. Sai's never been close to
anyone. Not after Block 63.
She knows there are no longer fifty-two people in her class. Many have
disappeared over the years, but after the example set when Sixteen asked where
someone was, no one let on they cared again.
The scent of lemon lingers in the air as she makes her way through the
corridors and back to her room. Her feet make so little noise on the pristine
tiles, she can hear the soft whir of cameras tracking her every move.
A murmured mantra leaks from the walls, in the perfect loop her
benefactors demand.
For your own safety, please do not
leave your designated areas. Report any unauthorized personnel immediately.
Remember, the future of GNW depends on you.
Sai's room is sparsely furnished, like everything at the facility.
Necessity, not indulgence. The steel bed, desk, and chair have been her home
since she arrived. Whether or not she survives tomorrow, everything will
change.
With the door closed and the cameras locked out, she's finally alone with
her thoughts. They're the only thing not monitored consistently. Sai lies down
on the bed and twists a strand of hair around her finger.
"I will not fail. I will succeed. I will not be broken," she
whispers to the stark white walls. The words comfort her, even if the memories
in her head do the opposite. Sixteen slammed against the wall so hard blood
dripped out his ears, nose and mouth. All for asking where his sparring partner
went. Older students in previous years carted out of exam rooms in such broken
states her mind still can't comprehend.
She clenches her fists and continues her mantra in her head. The faint
smell of disinfectant comforts her and helps her drift off to sleep.
#
Sai rolls over and blinks her eyes
open. The lemon scent is gone, and the bed is hard. Pain rips through her
abdomen, and she curls into a ball.
"C'mon out, Sai. There's
someone I want you to meet."
Shivers convulse her slim frame at
the sound of her mother's voice beyond the door. All Sai can think of is the
pain in her body and just how much she doesn't want to meet the other person
outside.
"Sai-y."
Her mother's tones are velvet. It's
the voice she uses whenever she wants something, which is most of the time.
Sai claws her way into an upright
position, trying to ignore the throbbing in her temples. She opens her mouth to
speak, but thinks better of it. Any sign of acquiescence and her mother will
take it as an invitation into the room.
Instead, she pushes herself off the
bed and stumbles to the door. Fumbling at the handle until it clicks, she opens
it a fraction, only to have her mother push it in the rest of the way.
The woman's pupils are dilated, and
her face shows the same Shined-out expression Sai's grown so used to. All of
the wonder and love in that gaze are directed at whatever fantasy is playing
out in her mother's brain. None of it at Sai.
"What?" Sai keeps her
tone flat. Disdain is a waste of energy on a woman who won't notice it.
Her mother smiles, an empty, vapid
expression. "You're old enough now."
"Old enough?" Sai fights
the urge to double over as another throb of pain echoes through her.
"To earn your keep. To bring
in money."
Sai backs up a step, suddenly wary.
She's seen how her parents earn their keep. With the moans in the night and the
strange visitors who leave at dawn. Very little money filters back to Sai.
"Earn?"
She sees the shadow move in the
corridor behind her mother and knows even before the person speaks that it's a
man.
"Hey, Sai..." He's tall
and built, but not clean. Not even as clean as Sai tries to keep herself. His
eyes are as dilated as her mother's, and sweat slicks back the hair on his
head. The smell of body odor is cloying, and Sai steps back, but not quick
enough. His hand brushes her arm and revulsion almost makes her retch.
Despite the pounding in her head
and the pain in her abdomen, she has one amazing moment of clarity. She looks
down at where his skin touches her own and back to her mother.
"I will never be like
you," Sai whispers, fighting the tears and the pain. Taking advantage of
the momentary confusion and reactions slowed by Shine, she barrels through the
adults, wrenching the door to the outside open.
"Sai!" Just before the
door shuts behind her, Sai hears her mother let out a pent-up breath and
giggle. "She's not ready yet. Will I do?"
Nothing else follows Sai as she
runs around the concrete veranda to get to the stairs. If she can make it to
the botanica, maybe she'll be safe. Maybe she can pretend her parents never
existed. Maybe she can pretend she's worth the time they've never spent on her.
The grass is cool against her skin,
and she clutches her nightshirt around her legs as the pain in her head and
body increases. She scrunches her toes and smells the faint scent of the now
broken grass stems. The ground shakes lightly beneath her, and Sai frowns,
momentarily distracted from her nightmares of what will happen if she goes back
to the apartment.
Nausea overwhelms her suddenly, and
she clutches her stomach, screaming out in pain before she blacks out.
All she can smell when she comes to
is the smoke. Not even the shattered glass embedded in her back registers as
she looks up at what used to be the concrete block she lived in. She stares at
the flames and the rubble, at the already withering plants around her, and
knows with certainty she was somehow responsible.
#
Sai blinks at the sudden light and pushes the dream
to the back of her mind. Today is not a day for distracting nightmares.
Remembering her parents' apathy won't get her through the exam.
The dim morning light filters down through the slit in the wall that
serves as her window. It's too small for her to even squeeze through, assuming
she could reach it in the first place. Not that there's anywhere to escape to
outside, anyway.
Dressed in training gear, she heads to the cafeteria. The tension in the
air is thick and choking even before she reaches the line. She accepts the mash
doled out to her and forces it down, trying not to think too hard about what
makes it grey.
No one in the room makes eye contact, not even the friends who left
training laughing with each other the day before. Everyone knows what the final
exam means. There is no positive spin to put on it.
Her last bite of food threatens to stick in her throat, but she washes it
down with water and heads to the examination rooms.
Trainers suffuse the hall and foyer outside, finding the students they're
in charge of and metering out supplies. Ms. Genna catches Sai's attention and
motions her over. "Student Fifty-Two, enrolled 2350 via GNW United
Conglomerate 17?"
Sai nods and clenches her fists at her side, hating her full designation.
"That's the spirit." The sarcasm in Ms. Genna's voice makes Sai
cringe inwardly. "Your cubicle will be ready after the first round of
examinees enter their rooms. Stay in the waiting area until I call you."
The allocated room is small with a bench encircling a training mat.
Everyone sits, eyes riveted to the GNW logo in the middle. If they're anything
like Sai, they're imagining the worst possible encounter and figuring out a way
through it.
From pieces of thought strong enough to break through the shielding of
others in the room, she can tell they know it, too. No one in this room wants
to fail, but the chances of success aren't good. If you owe GNW a debt of
gratitude, it's their privilege to keep only the strongest.
One by one, the room empties. By the time her number is called, she feels
an odd sense of finality.
Her cubicle is small and dimly lit by a buzzing light. There's just
enough room for her to change into the sleek black clothes piled neatly on the
bench. She traces her fingers over the subtly strong material and the GNW logo
embossed over the shoulders.
As she dresses, a sinking feeling forms in the pit of her stomach. This
Sparring gear denotes physical fighting. Though quick and light on her feet,
even one direct hit to her head wipes her out.
There is no time for doubt. She's been at their mercy since she was
twelve.
Sai squares her shoulders and pushes the door open. She frowns at the
tall and lanky man standing there. His dark hair partially obscures some of his
face, but the piercing pale eyes catch the light and make her pause. Something
about him is eerily familiar.
He motions her over. "Are you ready, Sai?"
She starts as he says her name but masks her shock quickly with a nod. No
one in the facility uses her name. It's forbidden. Students are numbers. The
familiarity of his voice nags at her, and she has to concentrate on his words.
"You will face single, double, and triple waves of attackers. They
will be human, psionic and domino. You know what a domino is, yes?"
"Yes, sir."
He nods and continues. "Human combat requires physical prowess. The psionic
waves require that you only use your mind. Against the dominos, you need to
combine your combat knowledge of both. After all three waves, you'll face a
combination of two or all for the final fight of your test." He waits for
a moment, his eyes never leaving hers, and she can't help but wonder why
someone so young is in a position to be giving her instructions.
"You will be observed through the whole process. Do not use the
incorrect type of force against your opponents, or you will fail." He
pauses. "And make sure to stay on your toes. A direct hit from anyone will
end you."
Sai blinks at his retreating back. How did he know? She shakes her head
to clear the nagging doubt. Three at a time will be the problem, not to mention
combining her psionic and physical training. There were few classes on the
theory behind it, and fewer still on practical usage.
The GNW doesn't want survivors.
She pushes the thought away as soon as it flashes across her mind. Given
the price of her awakening, it's no wonder she's considered a danger. She
clenches her fists, determined to make up for her past, to prove her parents
wrong.
The door at the other side of the hall opens, distracting her from her
thoughts. She stands straight and walks into the examination room. The door
slams immediately behind her, and for a second, her body breaks out in a light
sweat.
It's dimly lit, but she can make out some weapons scattered around. Sai
feels her stomach twist at the realization that the weapons aren't only for her
to use, but for her opponents as well. The mundane selection gives her hope.
Knives, maces, hammers, and swords, but no distance weapons. Not her
preference, but at least she doesn't have to resort to only her fists.
As a gate cranks open on the far side of the room, Sai shakes her head to
clear her mind.
She readies herself for attack, hands guarding her face, knees slightly
bent, ready to dodge. "I will not fail." The words help soothe her
nerves.
Her robust opponent crouches low as he circles her. Darting in, she lands
two quick punches to his solar plexus and jaw. While small in stature, she's
light on her feet and fires off strong, focused blows. He's clumsier than
expected and goes down easily.
She frowns as he's cleared from the room and her next opponent enters.
The force of his mind is immediately obvious. Her shields slam up, and she
hopes all her practice is enough. She's better than her peers, but against
someone this strong, any of them would be dust. His first onslaught takes her
by surprise and rattles her head, but she deflects his push back at him and the
momentum catches him by surprise. He falls awkwardly onto one of the hammers
scattered around the room. The crunch is sickening, and his body goes limp.
Her confusion at his ineptitude is stolen by the iridescent domino as it
enters the room. It's bigger than she expected, having only seen them from a
distance before. The frequency of colors passing through its system makes her
blink as she tries to follow the movements. Her eyes adapt slowly, picking the
domino out from its camouflage just in time to dodge the first punch.
Her own speed is barely enough to avoid the flurry of kicks and punches.
Sai ducks in once with a lucky punch, barely avoiding the hybrid's left hook.
Two more quick punches and she rolls to the corner, crouching in wait for the
next onslaught, nursing her hand as a reminder to reinforce her punches with
psionics in the next attack.
But it seems she only needs to score a hit on it three times before it
backs off and the round is declared won. Her mind swims as the examiners
announce she's passed the first round. The opponents were far too easy. Cold
sweat drips down her spine. Something is wrong.
The second round of two opponents in each category stuns her, too. Almost
as easy as the first victories, she finds herself starting to panic as the
unconscious bodies are floated from the room.
When the third round is announced and her opponents revealed, Sai's
stomach spasms. These men look brutal, covered in scars. Their forearms are the
size of her waist, and they're already armed. This. This is the real test.
There's no understanding in their eyes, just the same gleam she remembers
from her parents and the beggars that surrounded her childhood home. The sheer
focus of a Shine addict craving their next fix.
Resolve set, she clenches her teeth and attacks first, taking the man on
the left by complete surprise. Her kick lands squarely on his jaw, and he
crashes to the floor. She grabs his mace, jabbing the butt into his skull
before he can make another move. His head lolls to the side. One down. The
other two back off, suddenly not quite so confident.
Wary now, they're tougher to fight. She avoids most of their attacks
except one narrow miss that grazes her ribs. Heat sears her skin and blood trickles
down her side. She sections off the pain and aims for their knees, caps the
middle man with the mace in the left knee, and follows through with a sound
kick to his other one, barely dodging the right guy in time.
Mr. Right murmurs under his breath, his eyes staring at something she
cannot see. She leverages two quick punches directly to his face before jumping
back out of his reach and into a crouch to sweep his legs. A second later, Mr.
Right lies on the floor clutching his knees and gasping something about
coconuts and palm trees. Sai backs away, disgusted, and tries to catch her
breath.
She barely has time to take stock of her injuries before the wall opens
to float the three humans out and deposit the psionics.
Far more difficult than the previous battle, this one is at least less
physical. Suggestion has never been her strong suit, but hours of boredom spent
in her room rebuilding her shields gives her an edge. The ability to keep the
attacks from directly affecting her mind makes it easier to concentrate on her
offense.
She resists the urge to use precious psionic energy to reinforce her
physical skills in this stage. Punching them will disqualify her. The
stipulation for her to use only psionics on her psionic opponents apparently
doesn't extend to their own restrictions.
She forces one of them against the wall in a weak mimicry of Sixteen's
fate. The second stumbles as he's about to attack, and she barely deflects it
back on him in time. He slumps to the ground. Sai doesn't have time to check if
he's breathing, but convinces herself he is.
As she pushes the last one back against the opposite wall, her legs
buckle for a moment. Sai holds him still long enough to rest a hand on his
forehead and send him to sleep. She stands panting over the three subdued
psionics, reinforcing the walls blocking her pain. Her head starts to pound
with the effort as they're removed and replaced with three dominos.
The adrium-psionic hybrids are far stronger than any human. Their energy
supply never ends, and the way the light refracts off their alien skin makes seeing
them difficult, even when they're not attempting to camouflage with their
surroundings.
"I will succeed." She takes a brief moment to center herself
and extends the shielding she uses for her mind underneath her skin. Her
punches hit harder, even though she needs to draw on energy reserves to keep
her speed up. Where it was difficult with one domino, it's near impossible with
three.
It takes almost all of the energy she has left to keep two of them out of
reach while she tries to score three hits on the third. Something brushes her
shoulder briefly, and her left arm tingles. She pushes the irritation aside and
focuses on hitting the dominos. They won't let her tag them.
Reinforcing her own attacks with psionic strength drains her. With one
last desperate heave of power, she flings the first domino into the other two.
The weight is heavier against her mind than she expected and the throw goes
wild, catching the two remaining dominos at chin height and smashing their
heads into the stone wall behind them, temporarily disorienting them. It
appears to count.
Sai would laugh but doesn't have any spare energy. She needs to dredge up
more stamina for her final round.
She closes her eyes for a moment to regenerate what she can.
The sound of the gate mechanism jolts her out of the mild trance. Three
psionics and three dominos emerge. No humans. Six at once. And none of them an
easy out. Her mind is tapped, and she feels an odd sense of peace start to wash
over her.
When the dark-haired psionic instigates his attack, she feels it in her
gut at the same time she hears the strange hum she now associates with dominos.
She closes her eyes to get her bearings and make her decision. Her last hope to
survive this hell they pitted her against.
"I will not be broken."
She reaches for the glimmer of power inside her and lets instinct take
control.
Did a weekend of reading leave you wanting more? 
Twenty-two year old Johanna Cochrin has spent the past six years in self-imposed silence. After witnessing her brother's murder, she vowed to take his secret to the grave - even if that meant living the rest of her life as a prisoner in a remote government compound. But when she is kidnapped from that compound, Johanna finds her silence difficult to maintain. With the ruthless dictator of a fragile government plotting to sacrifice her to a time-altering Device, she is forced to trust people she has never met, share secrets she never meant to share, and come to terms with her own mortality - all while trying to save the world.
