InEscapable

InEscapable Part 3

Chapter Two-Alexander

Alexander finds Wade right where he knew he'd be, his back turned to the moonlight, dangling his feet into the pool and chewing on a drinking straw smuggled from lunch. His pant legs are rolled up to the knee, which means he's either been here a while, or planned to be. Add a cowboy hat and replace the Olympic-size pool with a murky pond, and the picture of deep, country-boy meditation would be complete.

But that is who Wade used to be. And he's got to get used to it.

Alexander glances to the barracks on either side of the pool. The two-story buildings sit quiet and unlit, waiting for their residents to return from the evening run. Wade must know that he's got mere minutes of peace left before a herd of their younger, hyper eight-year-olds counterparts come crashing from the training field ahead. But by Wade's expression, it doesn't look like this quiet moment is filled with peace at all.

It's nerves, Alexander knows. A lot hinges on your first Extraction, after all. But Alexander also knows that stalling an appointment with Liam is foolish. Foolish, and pointless. This is going to happen, whether Wade likes it or not. Still, Alexander can't imagine what Wade's so worried about. Tomorrow might be his first Extraction, but he's already got an advantage. He'll know why he's there, and who he's there for. Which is loads more than what the Objective knows.

The Objective is unsuspecting, at best. A normal teen living a normal life, wasting his or her potential on normal things like football or track and field. Well, maybe this one will be a little more difficult. Maybe Leah-that's her name isn't it?-doesn't exactly fit the description of normal. Not to the world, anyway. She is in a juvenile retention center, after all, not just a regular high school. But all the Objectives are disoriented, disengaged to an extent. They're clones of other people long dead; they just can't adjust to this way of life. The rules of survival here are not the same as they were in ancient times.

Alexander remembers the day he Extracted Wade. He was a troubled teen, about to get kicked off the high school football team in an insignificant little town in Texas. Wade had fought well. Wildly, really. The mighty quarterback was determined not to be taken.

They've got no reason to expect tomorrow's target will be any different. Leah is a seventeen-year-old clone of the Amazon Queen raised in a cushy suburb in Nebraska. Used to be head cheerleader before she fell into disagreement with the law, which isn't surprising. Or impressive. All of the Objectives are athletic in some way. Wade's actually lucky that the other assigned Objective-another Amazon Queen raised as Leah's twin sister-was removed from the equation, injured by a freak accident and confined to a wheelchair. Useless to the cause. But even two Amazon Queens shouldn't be too much for Wade to handle. They're all raw skill, un-stimulated power. Wade isn't.

Wade is battle-ready.

Which is why Wade's apparent anxiety annoys Alexander. He walks up to where the other boy sits and kicks his hip, disappointed when he startles. He should be more aware of his surroundings. "Wake up," Alexander tells him.

Wade all but jumps to his feet. That's the one good thing about Wade. He's eager to please. "Sorry, Alexander. I was just preparing for-"

"You're prepared." Alexander prepared him himself. But he knows Wade's not talking about physical training.

Wade nods. "Oh, I know. I just meant-never mind. Sorry."

Alexander shrugs off the apology. After all, it's not his test tomorrow-he's just supervising Wade's. But Wade can't focus with all this contemplation bogging him down. He knows this. Wade needs to think without thinking. To act and react. That's what Liam tells Alexander. That's what Alexander tells Wade.