The 21st Century Cure

Chapter 3 - Change

Chapter 3

The GeneCo tower is silent. The employees inside sit at their desks, their hands folded in their lap as they nervously wait for the Heiress herself to enter. They'd all watched the Reaping from their homes. What had happened shocked them all, and fear crept into them when thinking about what Miss Sweet would do to them because of it. The GeneCops should have been more alert. The entire force now fear for not only their jobs - their lives. Yet, no footsteps are heard. The clinking sound of high heels touching the hard floor haven't come, and neither have the cocking of her bodyguards' machine guns. This doesn't settle them, however. It only makes them more tense. As if their thoughts are heard, the entrance doors open. Every employee - GENturn, surGEN, and GeneCop - immediately straighten themselves up where they'd sat or stood. The woman had arrived.

Her hair has been dyed back to its original bright-red color and hangs in curls, her eyes brought back to their original color brown again. Her dress has a modest feel about it: an amber-colored dress that comes out ruffled at the skirt, the skirt reaching her knees, straps coming around her shoulders, and an orange pendant that hangs around her neck. This year, she has a commitment to change GeneCo for the better. Her hope is, as this happens, more people people will become a Purist and reject any more surgery just for their looks. To enforce this, Amber had changed back to her original self and refused any more plastic surgery, as much as it pained her. Some people had followed in her footsteps, changing their body back to what it used to be, or refusing to get surgery if they hadn't already. At this rate, she'd thought the Games were set to end by next year...until she attended today's Reaping.

Amber and her bodyguards step into the elevator and wait until the doors close. The elevator, moving at fast speed, begins its ascension up to the top floor, where her office is. Her two brothers - Luigi and Pavi - hear the contraption rising up, and they take a deep breath in their seats. They know what is coming. When the doors open, Luigi slouches in his armchair as he hears her footsteps approaching them, Pavi following along with him. The dark amber color of the President's outfit greatly contrasts with the mens' attire; white suits accented with the black and red circle tattoos covering their bodies. They watch their sister as she makes her way behind the desk and turns to the back wall, the bodyguards standing by her side. She gives a huff and picks up the small remote on the desk. Pointing it at the wall, she clicks the power button. A big screen appeared on the wall, replaying the events of the Reaping earlier that day. In a rage, Amber throws the remote on the desk and turns to her siblings, who jump in surprise.

"How the hell did this happen?!" she exclaims, her hands leaning on the table and her back bent over.

"Well..." Pavi starts. He swallows with difficulty and looks to his brother.

"It was unexpected," Luigi continues, "the attack came out if nowhere."

"Out of nowhere?" Amber questions, her eyebrow raised. "More than HALF of those in the audience were rebelling. How does an army of half of them stop the Reaping?!"

She throws a loose strand of hair behind her back and scoffs. Her head lifts to watch the events from earlier. It started with one man in the audience shouting. One man. The words were etched into her brain: "NO MORE GAMES". Sighing, Amber crosses her arms. She lifts one of her arms and presses two of her orange-polished nails into the sides of her head. Just one more year. One more year and it would all fade away. Erase all of the evil her father had done. But it was never that simple, was it?

Her eyes shoot up just in time to watch the Purist rebels jumping onto the stage and nearly pushing the announcer down. The entire force of GeneCops then rushes in to stop them, and the video starts all over again. Unable to watch, she grabs the remote and shuts off the video. She turns to her brothers, who looked up at her as soon as she does so. Amber rolls her eyes at them and points a finger at Luigi, locking her eyes with his.