Breed of Havoc (The Breed Chronicles #3) (15 page)

Did anything stay secret here, or was it only my issues that were known to every Prospect?

Peter and Adam walked in before I could think about it more. Peter had his usual relaxed smile on his face. Adam, spotting me, winked and followed Peter to the center of the room, where most of the others were standing and talking to each other.

“Is this everyone?” Peter asked.

A few people looked around, as if double-checking, and nodded.

“Alright. Come on over so we can start the meeting.”

Everyone took a seat. Me and Kristina were the last two standing, so we ended up sitting next to Peter and Adam, with the other P4s across from us. I didn’t mind a bit. Given my choice, I would’ve sat by them, anyway.

Still smiling, Peter looked at everyone. “You’re here to learn about the genetic treatments you’ll be getting in a few months. So, anyone have any questions or a place for us to start?”

“I do.” It was Rachel, which had me cringing inwardly. “Are we going to end up as weird as her?” Naturally, she pointed to me. “I mean, have her weird abilities,” she corrected with a fake smirk.

Peter’s eyes narrowed slightly but the smile remained in place. His tone was friendly enough, though it was cooler now. “Unlikely.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “That’s something at least.”

“If you think,” Peter started, “I wouldn’t ask for the abilities she has, you’re wrong. And if you think you’re better off without them, you’re wrong again.”

“Why?” There was a maliciousness in Rachel’s tone. “We’ve all heard the rumors from last Phase, that she’s turned into a freaking magnet for demons. What’s so great about that? What’s so great about attracting killer demons?”

“Attracting killer demons? Not much. But you’re leaving out the fact that not all of them hate her.”

“That’s supposed to be good? They
like
her.”

“Some do, yes. Though I have no idea how
that
would be helpful to hunters.” The sarcasm dripped from Peter’s tone smoothly.

“Didn’t one nearly kill her last Phase?” a dark-haired guy asked. I’d overheard his friends call him Tommy.

Rachel shot Peter a yeah-answer-that-one look.

“None of the abilities come without a price. Even the ones you’d think would only benefit you have downsides.”

“How?”

This time, it was Adam that spoke. “Your senses are improved. You’ll hear sounds you’ve never heard before, which is great until you hear something you shouldn’t. Most hunters can see a lot further away, but some...their eyes are more sensitive to light. We’re stronger, but when most of your opponents—demons—are still two or three times stronger than you, it’s not exactly a huge advantage.”

“Then why do people get them?” David, a light-haired guy, asked.

“Because they help,” Adam answered.

“You’re all forgetting that not every hunter has had the treatments.” Peter glanced at everyone. “There are more hunters without them than there are with. People were doing this before the treatments were available.”

David shook his head. “I get that, but if they don’t help, then what’s the point?”

“A small advantage is better than nothing, isn’t it?” Adam asked. “Wouldn’t you still be here, even if you couldn’t get the treatments?”

As a few people nodded, Tommy leaned closer. “But what about her?” he said, indicating me. “What other abilities does she—”

Peter shook his head. “‘She’ has a name. And this isn’t about
Jade
or her abilities. This is about you and
your
soon-to-be abilities. If all you want to do is discuss Jade, I’m afraid we’re all wasting our time here. Keep it professional—not personal.”

“Will getting the treatments hurt? No one’s ever said.” Kristina looked at the other P4s. “I’ve heard some things, but I’m not sure if they’re true or not.”

“They’re…uncomfortable,” Peter said. “I’m not a scientist, so I don’t understand the technology behind it or every little detail, but you’re unconscious while receiving them. Once you wake up, it’s like a constant state of growing pains for a few weeks—not quite painful, but not quite not, either. More achy and annoying, like you’ve got the flu. Your muscles are rebuilding, strengthening.”

“You know when you sleep somewhere new and you hear strange new sounds?” Adam asked.

Most of the small group nodded. Some looked unhappy thinking about Adam’s words. That’d always been one of my least favorite parts of moving around—getting used to all the new sounds. New footsteps, weird creaking, noisy dripping.

“It’s similar to that, only intensified. For me, it was like hearing constant whispers. It took some time to adjust to it,” he said. Beside him, Peter snorted, so Adam glared at him. “Okay, so it took me a long time to adjust.”

Peter leaned back in his chair, grinning. “You jumped at every weird sound.”

A bit of color crept into Adam’s cheeks. “The point is, you have to readjust to things again, relearn sights and sounds. Even textures can feel different. It takes some getting used to.”

“Was it different for you?” Kristina asked.

I stared ahead, wondering why no one was answering.

“Jade?”

“Yeah?”

Peter smirked. “The question was for you.”

“Me? Oh!” I blinked. “Yeah, I guess it was different. Before I got to the CGE, I never thought about what was or wasn’t normal for me or anyone else. Honestly, I never had much reason to. People see and hear things differently, but I never knew there was that big of a difference between what I saw and heard versus what others saw and heard.”

Though, looking back, it did explain things a little, like when I’d lived at the Pond. There were a few times when the others would have been in another room talking and I’d comment, and then they’d go quiet or shout at me about eavesdropping. I never understood why they’d yelled at me, because I’d always assumed they’d been talking loud enough for me to hear.

“And now?” she asked.

“Now…things are a little different.”

“How so?”

I didn’t answer immediately and I wasn’t sure I should, but what was the point of being here if I wasn’t honest? “It’s similar to what Adam described. I heal faster and it’s harder for me to get hurt. I don’t get out of breath like I used to, even though it was never a lot. But until recently, I didn’t know that wasn’t normal.” Until it was
nicely
pointed out by Linc and Doc that I was pretty much lazy when it came to all things exercise. “I’m stronger and faster than I used to—” Breaking off as Rachel rolled her eyes, I sighed. “I’m not trying to sound like I’m bragging. She asked, so I’m just telling her the truth.”

“What about the demons?” a guy asked. He rested his arms on the table and leaned forward to look at me. “Doesn’t that worry you, having them come after you?”

“That’s not what we’re here about, Matt,” Peter said.

“No, I’ll answer. It’s a fair question.”
I just hope I answer it right.
“It does bother me, yeah, but demons go after people. That’s what they do. Some just…come after me more.” And a lot more aggressively. But I didn’t see a reason to mention that.

Matt shook his head. “What about the ones that like you?”

“That’s a little different, but it’s more weird than anything else. I mean, as long as they’re not trying to kill me, I can’t complain about it too much. I definitely prefer them to the aggressive ones.” I’d take a hundred Sercoons over one Sawthorn.

“You’re crazy, chica,” he said, laughing.

“Are you hearing her? She
likes
it.” Rachel shoved away from the table. “Is this what we can expect? To like demons? Because if it is, then—”

“Then what, Rachel?” Kristina and Peter both asked at the same time.

Kristina said nothing else, so Peter added, “What? You won’t get the treatments? That’s your choice, all the way. No one’s forcing you to get them. There’s a few months yet before you have a decide. But I’ll tell you now, if this is your attitude about it, take the time to consider it carefully.” Peter turned away from her and instead looked to everyone else. “That goes for everyone in this room. This is not something to take lightly. Yes, there are perks with it. Yes, there are also downsides. And unfortunately, sometimes weird side effects can belong in either of those groups.”

“I didn’t say—I just meant—” Rachel muttered. Then, deciding it was pointless, she shut up and crossed her arms over her chest like a sulking kid.

A few people glared at Rachel. It was super petty, but it made me feel better.

“Okay folks, that’s it for this meeting,” Peter said, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Already?” Tommy asked.

“Yes. I’m cutting it shorter than planned because we’ve gotten off track. Process what’s been discussed already and think of topics for next week. I want a
minimum
of five serious questions that have nothing to do with Jade or her abilities. Questions about her
experiences
may be acceptable, if she’s willing to answer.”

“Five questions each?” David, a light-haired guy, asked.

“For now, five total will be enough. You can each ask five if you want, though.” He paused. “I hope some of your attitudes are improved by our next meeting.” He gave the words a second to sink in, then smiled cheerfully. “We’ll see you next week. Same time, same place.”

Rachel stormed away first, before anyone else had moved from the table. She’d been out the door ten seconds before Peter shouted, “And I heard that!”

Half a minute passed and Rachel crept back in, eyes wide, mouth slack. “You heard me? From way out there?”

Peter simply raised an eyebrow. “Oh, now you’re actually interested?”

Eyes narrowing, she turned on the spot and stormed back out.

Kristina chuckled. “What’d she say?”

“Something I’d rather not repeat and better not hear again.”

“If I went out there now and said something, you’d be able to hear me?”

“Yes,” Peter said with a nod.

“Can you show us?”

The others—who’d been slowly inching away from the table—stopped and turned back, looking to Peter eagerly.

“Next week, maybe.”

Matt and Kristina both glanced at me as they walked by, but Kristina actually stopped beside me. “Thanks for answering questions, Jade.” She waved and left.

The rest of the P4s shuffled out. I was nearly to the exit when Peter called my name. “See you next week,” he said in a way too cheerful tone.

I didn’t respond. While things hadn’t gone as bad as I’d pictured them, I still wasn’t sure I’d be coming back for more.

*~*~*

That night, once I was back in my room (after getting my ID from Linc who, unfortunately, hadn’t been asleep), I read through my mom’s journal. I skipped to the last one—something I rarely did—and looked for any mention of the mentor program. I had no idea if there’d even been one during my mom’s time here, but I looked just in case. It took an hour of skimming the journal, but I found a small entry about it.

Dear Journal,

When Assistant Director Greene mentioned this mentor program we were supposed to go to, my first thought was: boring! Actually, that was pretty much my second and third thought... But it actually turned out to be good. Becca and Roger (who I still can’t believe are talking about getting married next year!) even said it was okay, and they hate anything that has to do with asking questions. Robert wasn’t as impressed with it as the rest of us, but he figures he knows everything already, so…

The agent we talked to—Kenneth Connor—seemed cool. He’s only a few years older than us and he only got the treatments the year before. We never really talked to him before, though I did see him around. P4s always seem to stick together. Then again, everyone tends to. Not many want to hang out with kids younger than them, which always frustrated me. But I guess that’s kind of hypocritical of me, since I don’t usually like to do the same. Maybe I should fix that…

Anyway, Kenneth was nice. He seemed nervous talking in front of us all, but he knew what he was talking about and didn’t mind answering our questions—and there were a ton. Actually, it was mostly the same questions just worded differently, which somehow ended up with different answers. Weird how that happens.

The point is, I’m more nervous about the genetic treatments now than I was before, but I’m also more…relaxed, too. Something else I find weird. I’m actually finding a lot weird these days. But that’s another entry for another day.

For now, time to go to New Orlando. Robert wants to go waste his money on some video game him and Roger have been drooling over for months. Video games…

“Well, that was helpful,” I muttered, closing the journal with a snap. Then again, what’d I honestly expected to find? At least she seemed to like the program, that was something, wasn’t it? And she’d liked their mentor, Kenneth Connor—

Connor.

Mr. Connor? As in my Combat teacher? Connor was probably a common name. But if it wasn’t…

I was out of bed and reaching for the door handle before I remembered a few things. A) it was Sunday, b) it was too late to go knocking on people’s doors, and c) I had no idea what door to even knock on. And that was assuming Mr. Connor even lived here. Some agents did, but they all couldn’t.

Muttering under my breath, I tucked the journals away and changed for bed. Maybe I could catch Mr. Connor before class and ask him about it. Though, even if it
was
him who’d mentored my mom, what were the odds he’d remember her from so long ago? Pretty slim, probably, but still. I’d take those odds.

*~*~*

The one night I go to bed early and hope to wake early was the one night I overslept. I never even heard Linc knock on my door. As it was, I was five minutes late for class, got dirty looks from nearly everyone, and had to force myself to focus through the entire class. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn someone was messing with time and making it crawl by, because it seemed like the longest class in history.

Linc, eyebrows drawn together, gave me a hard stare at the end of class. “What is with you? You’ve been weird all day.”