Enhancement

- - 63 - -

I gasp out of the Equinox task, crippling to my knees. My heart beats a million times a second. I'm back in the glass box, in reality, where I belong. I'm alive and breathing. I'm okay. I'm free...

President Hybriad. The black platform beneath me swirls. The President spoke as clear as day, but somehow I swim through a haze. How many of his threats were true? Did I imagine him or was it all real? True threat or a fake claim from the Equinox?

I'll never know the answers. Instead I huff for breath, my forehead pressed to the platform's cold surface. It's like a block of ice, chilling away at me.

My eyes glance up, noticing vague reflections of myself on the glass walls. The other inductees through the glass appear depleted, exhausted beyond their abilities in their cages. I wonder how many of them had to face hell like me.

Shards connect together within me. In the first Task, Stephen claimed I died in his arms, even though I experienced his death, not mine. The Equinox must contort to fit each player's likes, dislikes.

My lip trembles. Stephen better have held up against whatever they threw at him. Induced dream or not, horror can affect us all.

Slowly I rise from my collapsed position.  Dizziness clogs my brain, and I feel incredibly parched. I need answers about these Tasks. Not knowing a thing about them fuels an oncoming headaches.

I peer through the glass at Nicolette and the inductees near her. Everyone stumbles around, rubbing their foreheads or necks. This Task came with a cost.

Hybriad's words still ring through my ears. Disloyal... illegal... punishable by death... find the rebels and then execute you first. Like a spiral I'm trapped by him, spinning out of control. According to the Task, it's been Hybriad's goal all along to mess with me, torture me and teach me how to quit battling with the way he wants to run the nation.

My heart shudders. I can't believe he's been keeping such a close watch on me... or is he? Is the Task a lie or Hybriad's way of warning me one last time? Either way, I did good. No way will I give up Pod 14 and the rebels, Tanner and Peyton.

"Inductees, please stand on your platforms," a cold voice blares through the glass box. The declaration sends chills through my chest. I climb to my feet, tucking my hands into the pockets of my patriotic jacket. Black with gray and white accents. A reminder of who I used to be before the Project and what I've made of the world: a colossal mess.

The Equinox inductees around me leap onto their platforms. Most of them seem to have recovered quickly from their induced dreams. I glance at my shoes then at Nicolette. Her frantic eyes meet mine, and I see her body quiver.

Without hesitation I feel the fury, a sickening blast of flames. This is all so unfair. Why damage people when you can leave us alone? President Hybriad is behind all of this. I hate him for it. I hate him.

"Inductees," the voice draws out. Its sharpness penetrates my lungs. I feel the chill, the breath of Hybriad, the all-consuming fear of everything. "Congratulations on completing your Equinox tasks."

To my utter surprise, an applause breaks through the speakers. The other inductees applaud themselves and each other. The clapping echoes and pounds. It's unbelievable, and all I respond with is a shake of my head to Nicolette. We experienced some horror no one else did.

Some horror we never asked for but receive anyway.

The applause dies down, fading into the announcer's voice. "After extensive data collection and analysis, the Equinox team has made some crucial decisions for the futures of yourselves, the next generation of the nation's workforce."

Holographs jump to life, swirling and displaying in the air surrounding each inductee. Playbacks of my Tasks revolve around me, a stream of nonstop videos. It's horrifying, and only then does it cross my mind that the Tasks were more despicable than praiseworthy.

Without even thinking I take a look at Nicolette through the glass. Her videos swirl around her, and I squint to make out what her videos play. I spot her parents kneeling on a stage, and an office space full of Screeners. Very similar to my videos, yet altered to scare the daylights out of her.

The voice continues with its speech. "Based on your performances within the Tasks, it is possible to categorize each inductee according to their tendencies, likelihoods, possibilities, and confirmations. Here are your scores..."

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had to cut this chapter here! figured i'd keep the suspense for just a while longer... ;)

"feel the fury" was the winning choice! it simply floors me that week after week, you guys keep commenting responses. you're changing the course of the story, and i love it!

Question: Choose a phrase: give us the answer, give us a minute, or give us the world