Resilient (34 page)
“You’ve been sleeping for twelve hours. I’ve tried to wake you up, but you couldn’t hear me, like you were stuck someplace else. Were you dreaming?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You always say how your dreams feel so real, so it crossed my mind that—” He rubs his eyes. “Never mind.”
“Just tell me.”
He shrugs. “When you have those dreams, are you in control of what happens or not at all?”
“Not at all, and they’re always in unfamiliar.” I frown at his curiosity. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m just trying to think of an explanation for those dreams… I know you’re scared and it’s probably just a reflection of fear, but it feels like there’s something more to it.”
I nod. I’ve thought about it too, but nothing really made enough sense to talk about. “Well, let me know when you figure it out.”
Daniel nods and I can almost see a sparkle in his eyes, not corresponding to his worry. But that’s nothing new; Daniel’s eyes never match his emotions and I’m constantly fighting the urge to look into his mind. “All right, get up,” he says, backing out of the room. “We have to get going.”
I lie back down and stare at the broken ceiling fan. This place looks older than I am, and its popcorn ceiling reminds me of Mom; she hates it. She refused to move into our place in New York until Dad got rid of that ceiling—the thought of my parents brings a smile to my face, until the possibility that they don’t remember who I am makes my smile die. I miss them, I miss my brothers, and I miss my uncle. Most of all, I miss my life.
I get ready and help Dan scrub every place and object we’ve touched in this apartment. “We can’t leave any trace behind,” Dan murmurs and gathers the trash. I follow him out and wait for him to dump the trash bags across the street.
We head to the mall on foot. I wanted to get a taxi, but Daniel called me lazy. “The mall is only eleven kilometers away, Livia,” he says. “We haven’t exercised for four days now, we gotta at least walk.”
“Yeah, but it looks like it’ll snow at any moment.”
“We’ll be fine,” he laughs.
After what seems like forever, we reach West Georgia Street, and I see the Pacific Centre Mall. The place is packed with people already out for Christmas shopping. It’s the middle of November and the sales signs are stuck in every store window.
“How about we go separate ways for an hour and a half and meet back here? We would be done faster,” I say, and I can sense Daniel hesitating.
“I think we should stick together.”
“It’s just an hour and an half.”
He shrugs. “Fine.”
Dan pulls me into a secluded hallway that leads to the janitor’s closet and puts half of the money we won yesterday in my backpack—just in case something happens to one of us. He’s always worried that the agency is going to catch him and then I’ll be left alone. That’s why he trained me as best as he could while we were in Noatak.
Today I have all of my abilities appropriately developed. I can run faster than I could two months ago, my hearing range expands every day, my cell regeneration ability makes me heal in a matter of seconds, and my strength gives me confidence to walk around without fear.
While in Alaska, I read tons of books on martial arts and my fighting skills have improved because of it. I can only be grateful for Daniel, but yet, I’m never nice to him. I’m always keeping my distance, and I shut him out every time he tries to get close to me. I hope he knows that I consider him my friend and I’m thankful for all he has done. I just can’t afford to get emotional or sensitive; I need to be distant, so if something were to happen to him, I wouldn’t get hurt.
Looking at him right now, knowing that he worries about me, makes me want to tell him how much I appreciate his patience and nurturing, but I can’t get the words out. So, when he hands me my backpack, I give him a hug, and his body stiffens in my grasp.
“Sorry,” I pull away quickly. “I just wanted to…”
“We’re not saying goodbye, Livia.” He fixes his eyes on mine. “We’re meeting back here in an hour and a half.”
“I know.” I smile.
I first go into an outdoor goods store; I want to be prepared if we have to camp out somewhere. I want a sleeping bag and a backpack big enough to live out of. I also need a good knife; it would make it easier on me if I have to hunt. I don’t like killing animals with my bare hands, and it would be an altogether cleaner job if I had a sharp object to help. Honestly, I wish Dan had never made me kill those rabbits in Alaska. I tried to do it as fast as I could, but I still felt their pain, and it was horrible.
When I’m done at the store, I check the time. I have thirty minutes until I have to meet Daniel. I go into a department store and pick as many clothes as I can, including two dresses that I’ll probably never use, but I just couldn’t pass on the deal. I change into a new pair of jeans, black converse, and a long sleeve black and white sweater. I grab two baseball hats and walk back to our supposed meeting place.
When I reach the spot, I see him tapping on his watch. “You’re late!” His eyes fall on my new outfit and the bags I’m holding in my hands. “And it looks like you’ll need a bigger backpack.”
“Yeah, I’ve got one.”
He raises his eyebrows. “I didn’t think you would’ve, so I got us camping gear, including these huge backpacks so we can travel around. I also got you hiking boots; I hope they’re the right size.”
“I actually thought about that. I got some neat things I saw around. Look at this bottle.” I pull its box out of the bag. “It filters dirty water.”
“Yeah,” he smiles slightly, incredulous. “I got that too. All right, let’s put everything into the new bags and get something to eat.”
We buy sandwiches and walk down to Ballantyne Pier. The sky has opened up since the last I saw, and we might be able to see the sun setting. Daniel buys a newspaper from a street vendor and we find a cozy spot; a corner blocked by two tall pillars and away from public eyes.
We sit on the floor and Daniel asks me to hold the newspaper so he can take the wrapped paper off his sandwich. With my food in one hand and a newspaper in another, I open the international news page. I see a picture of a boy about my age, dark skin, dark shaggy hair and matching eyes. Something about his eyes looks like he’s screaming for help. The word GENIUS is printed in capital letters next to his photo.
I read the article about the boy, who’s eighteen but has been studying at Yale University for the past two years. “Mason Wailer. Is he a genius or a criminal?” is the article’s title. I know this name—it’s on the list Emily gave us. I read on.
The FBI is running a full investigation on Mason and some other Yale students. They are accusing the students of hacking into the FBI’s computers system, leaking hundreds of classified documents and exposing dirty business going on within the bureau. There’s no proof against Mason, only that the hacker IP address is located at the Yale campus. Mason is the co-captain of the computer science club at Yale and is more skilled with computers than any other student. “Everyone is being investigated and Mason just falls into the list.” an FBI agent says.
The rest of the article goes on and on about Mason’s academic achievements and how intelligent the boy is—I smile; he’s got to be the same person we are looking for and if his intelligence is due to his DNA being genetically enhanced like mine, he’s one of us. My stomach twists in anxiety. His little problem with the FBI has attracted attention to him and, if he is one of us, the agency is on its way to get him.
That’s it. We need to go to Connecticut, not Ohio.
“What’s the name of the boy we need to find in Virginia?” I ask Daniel just for reassurance.
He cocks his head as he takes a bite of his sandwich. “Wailer, Mason Wailer. Why?”
“Read this.” I pass the newspaper to Daniel and watch as he understands.
Patricia Vanasse was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has studied Culinary Arts, Psychology, Law School, and now has finally found her passion in creative writing. She also loves traveling, cooking, and is an avid reader. Her strength- believes that everything is possible. Her weakness- an obsessive relationship with caffeine.
www.patriciavanasse.com
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Also by Patricia.
Awakened (Resilient 2).
In an attempt to protect their families, Livia and Adam set out in a search for answers that would change their lives forever. While on the run, Livia and Adam crossed paths with Daniel, who had been searching for genetically enhanced teens. But getting out from under The Agency’s radar has not been easy. After being ambushed by the leader of The Agency that created them a desperate attempt to claim what they lost just over a decade earlier Livia was forced to leave Adam behind, barely escaping to safety with Daniel. Now under the control of The Agency, Adam is serving the purpose for which he was created. Manipulated to forget his love for Livia and his past, he lives a life crafted by fake memories that enslave him to a life of following the orders of the agency. Now Adam battles with vivid dreams of a life he does not remember and the strong connection he feels to the girl with familiar blue eyes. The desire for vengeance propels Livia and Daniel into a dangerous race to disrupt the destructive string of events that The Agency initiated seventeen years earlier. As they travel across parts of North America in search of other teens who are just like them, Livia will face an ethical battle over genetics, loyalty, and love. The race is on, and it is up to Livia to destroy The Agency and rescue Adam, but even if she succeeds at saving him, there are no guarantees shell able to save the deep connection they once shared.
Against All Odds.
Sometimes boy meets girl, and the stars align, and their future is laid out neatly before them. Together forever. Meant to be. But Max and Loren are not one of those couples.
Seventeen-year-old Max DuPont is on the verge of becoming a ward of the state and foster kid. Contrary to expectations, Max is not from the "wrong" side of town. He's from a good home in a nice neighborhood, but his mother left after his father lost his job and turned to drinking. Max has been struggling to keep his head above water ever since. All he wants is to survive his senior year, play hockey, and move on to college. When his dad lands himself in jail, Max has no choice but to accept an offer to live with his father's do-gooder attorney, Mr. Larssi. The only contingency is that Max must stay far away from Larssi's beautiful teenage daughter Loren. Loren is aware that she's had every opportunity in her young adult life—at least, that is, every opportunity her parents designed for her. She excels in academics at a competitive prep school, she never parties, she never dates, and she's a budding ballerina and major hopeful for a Juilliard scholarship. But since her best friend Lily died tragically three months ago, Loren is lost. She knows just how precious life is. But she has no idea how to make the best of it. How can she live—really live—with obsessive parents breathing down her neck…and inviting the only guy who never noticed her to live right under their roof? Loren's first step in living her own life might be to get Max to notice her. Max's only chance at a solid future without foster care is to keep his distance from Loren. But their chemistry is undeniable. And they can't fight the odds forever…