𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭

12

Joanne didn't return for the rest of the testing, and I felt the strange hollowness of her absence in the pit of my stomach as we were locked inside our dorm. Like the rest of the Prime House, our room was cold and unfriendly. Six bunks, one painfully bare, lined the walls. I found fresh clothes and food on my bed and showered in one of the bathrooms, but even the blissfully hot water could not drown out my worries.

After I changed and stuffed my face with sandwiches, I pulled Chase aside into the bathroom, since it was the only place that did not have cameras. Even though we both thoroughly checked each other's new clothes for bugs, I wasn't quite sure the government would give the bathrooms complete privacy.

"Spill it. Why don't you have a Mason Chip?" I demanded once we had scoured the bathroom for hidden microphones.

Chase sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Is this really important right now? Shouldn't we be worried about the Tempests, or what they're doing to Joanne, or-" he trailed off as I rolled my eyes.

"It's important to me. If you really can't hear the beating against the wall," I paused, making sure the sound still resounded around the room, "then maybe the Tempests aren't real." I desperately wanted to remove my Mason Chip myself, but thanks to the long needle in my skin, it would be difficult to do without someone with enough experience to help.

"Fine. I had a Mason Chip until about two weeks ago, when I removed it."

"Yourself?" I asked, craning my neck forward.

He rubbed the back of his head, not meeting my eyes. His fingers grazed the back of his ear, where the doctors had implanted a new Mason Chip. "I had help. But that's besides the point."

"Why?"

"A year prior, my brother Noah was chosen as an Offering. And up until that point, I assumed he was dead. But somehow he sent me a message through my wristband," he held up his arm, waving it in front of me, "telling me to take off my Chip and come to the border to find him."

"How did you know it was him?" I asked, studying his wristband. It appeared to be the exact same as mine- dark, sleek, lined with buttons I had yet to figure out.

"I don't know, really. I just had this feeling in my gut. And he sent the message entirely in Morse Code."

My eyes widened. Morse Code was an ancient way of communication. Nobody knew it, because it was cut out of society centuries ago. How could Chase ever have learned it?

"So I took the Chip off. It took days to get the needle out, but it was definitely worth it. Immediately, the drumming stopped. Gone. It was so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat." Chase rubbed the sides of his head, as if missing the beautiful silence.

"Did you find him?" I questioned, still studying his Mason Chip. Sleek and silver, not much bigger than mine. Was it somehow different than the one the government gave him before?

Chase shook his head. "They caught me yesterday and brought me back to a jailhouse. Don't remember much. I think I was drugged for most of it."

After a brief pause where we both just stared into space, I replied, "Why are you telling me this? I know it's not just because I asked."

He shrugged. "I don't know. There's something about you that I just can't figure out. Maybe I thought you could... uh. Help me understand what happened."

The stillness that followed was tense and slightly awkward, since we were both at a loss for words. I contemplated telling him about that day in the square. He seemed trustworthy enough, and maybe he'd trust me more if I shared something personal too.

Why do I care if he trusts me or not? We're going to be dead in a couple of days.

Or we might not, if what he and Allison says is true.

Finally, I mustered the courage to speak. "About nine years ago, I witnessed something that I still don't understand," I began slowly, but once the words were out, more just kept coming. I had wanted to tell this to someone, anyone, for so long. "I saw a riot in the town square. But then, all at once, the shouting stopped and the crowd dispersed. They had this look on their face, like-" I swallowed, rubbing my eyes, "-like they weren't human. An Executive chased me down after he noticed that I wasn't affected. He told me not to tell my parents and that the governor made it all better. He said he put my name on a list."

Chase puckered his brows. "You're thinking that the list is of all the people who are resistant to whatever he did."

"Did you ever experience anything like that? It almost seemed like..." words formed on my tongue, but all sounded too stupid to say out loud. My voice came out like a tiny whisper. "Mind control."

To my surprise and relief, Chase didn't laugh or mock me. He only nodded. "Let me think about it. I think a good night's rest will do us some good."

With that, he pushed open the bathroom door, right into the penetrating scrutiny of the cameras.