Enhancement

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My heart collapses at Tanner's declaration. It tests your loyalty to the government.

My loyalty? The darkness surrounding the dim lighting suddenly feels haunted. All eyes are still on Stephen and I. Someone wants to knows where our loyalties lie, yet why go through all this trouble? Why not get rid of us?

The Enhancement Project should have killed me. They know I'm a traitor, aligned with the rebels. Instead of killing me for good, they're keeping me here. Is it because of their faith in the Project? That it'll keep me tame forever?

"Time's up," Tanner says. The lighting makes his eyes look dead serious. "I gotta get going. The signal scrambler in my pocket only lasts a few minutes. The video feeds will notice something's wrong."

I'm shaken out of my thoughts. My nerves are shot back to life. "What? We need more time to figure this out!"

Tanner shakes his head. "It's enough for now. After I finish all my rounds to others, I'll be back."

I push a hand through my hair. "And how long's that going to be? Months? A year?"

Tanner shrugs. "As long as it takes, but it might take a while. Just remember: make friends and recruit for the rebellion."

Tanner and I both nod, reluctant to leave. My heart hammers in my chest, scared of everything. I don't want to face the Equinox tomorrow morning. The pit of my stomach feels like it's too heavy.

Tanner reaches his arms out, and I hug him tightly. My noses digs into his jacket, and that's when I notice how thankful I am for him. I don't want to see him go.

With a final reassuring goodbye, Tanner urges me back into the alleyway. My feet step through the dark passageway before releasing into the open street. I don't dare to look back at Tanner. It could give us away to the cameras planted everywhere.

I slowly make my way back to the Equinox building. The still air is stuffy, and each step forward rattles my stomach.

Automatic doors. Empty lobby. Elevator cab. Desolate hallway. No one is anywhere in sight. My fingers can't stop shaking. Do they know something I don't?

At the end of the hall I find my apartment door. All I do is find the nearest pillow and fall asleep on the couch.

-- -- -- -- --

I wake up the next morning, disoriented. Dryness scratches my throat. I lift my head from the pillow, expecting to see my gray little apartment from my hometown.

My heart drops. Nothing of that kind meets my eyes. I'm alone in a foreign living room.

Anxiety creeps over me. Today's the second task. Today's the second task.

My weak fingers dig an AirPhone out of my pocket. I check the time, deciding to go for a shower before doing anything else.

With a heavy yawn, I lift myself of the soft sofa. Mild daylight drifts through the small slot above the window connecting to the outside fire escape. I take my shower, switching into a fresh set of inductee clothing before returning my focus to the slot.

I re-enter the living room, my hair marginally damp and hanging over my shoulders. I unzip the inductee jacket, my eyes catching onto the window again. It's like it's begging me to step outside... to find out what city I'm really in.

Setting my weight onto the PrintPad near the window, my bare heels press into the cushioned mat. The sensors identify me, and a square embedded in the wall slides open, releasing a gust of wind that rustled my hair.

I lean into a semi-squat and duck through the window's opening. My back straightens as another wind threatens my balance. I grab onto the risking for support, peering down at the stories below me. I glance up to the top floor of the building only a couple floors above me. From my vantage point, I can see everything.

Eye wide, I finally see where this city might be located. Mile upon mile of dry land and sunburned bushes stretch past the city border. Everything is flat, rocky, and blowing around in the wind.

I've never seems anything like it, let alone the hot air. It chokes my throat up a bit, but I don't budge an inch. I prefer the outside over the Equinox, the tasks.

But it's just so different. I've never seen land so flat and rocky before. It's beautiful and sun-stricken. Even mountains line the horizon with their peaks cut off. They look like pedestals, red with dirt and heat.

The sound of voices flutter in the distance. I look away from the border and switch my view to the building across the street. A crowd of preteens splits up and rushes to various pillars to board their SkyTrain. I watch each student as they climb. The Screeners positioned around them watch carefully.

It feels like ages ago I was that young, that innocent. If only I knew I'd end up like this, watching younger kids without them ever knowing. This is not what I planned for myself, or rather, what the nation planned for me. I'm the useless catalyst of a pretty much crippled rebellion.

Maybe not entirely useless though. I could never thank fate enough for allowing me to find Stephen in a Project cell of all places. At least the rebels know how much evil the Screeners are capable of. As for Tanner, I just hope he manages to avoid death.

A scream echoes across the air. I pan the city roofs before finding the source. A ten-year-old runs across his roof, sling bag banging against his backside.

"Wait!" the boy yells. "I'm here, wait! Please!"

The boy's arms pump as fast as he can make them. He claws onto the pillar for his age group, mounting only two rungs before the Train pulls away. The boy screams again, crying after the unwavering SkyTrain.

The blood-red Screeners leap into action. "Roy Alheast, you're under a screening order for breaking the national motto!"

-- -- -- -- --
the second task starts in like an hour for holland, and then she experiences this. omg i am an evil writer.

Choose a phrase: save him, leave him, or watch him.