Defect - By Ryann Kerekes Page 0,48
know.” She finishes bandaging my hand and lets it fall to my side. “I don’t know why you failed the mindscan. Something in you refused to submit – refused to give in to their will. Most people don’t think like that anymore.”
Maybe I’m more like my mother than I realized.
“Listen,” she continues, rubbing the back of her neck. “The talk in the capital is changing. People are questioning the mindscan process, wanting to know more about how it works, why its side effect is the calm, peaceful attitude. The government won’t provide any answers. And this talk, coupled with your refusal to give in, it’s not good, Eve.” She sits down on the edge of her bed, but still poised for something to happen. “What I’m trying to say is, it could be very dangerous for you.” Her voice lowers. “They’ll kill you if you make them.”
I release a slow breath I didn’t know I was holding. My mind can barely process what she says. I am one inconsequential sixteen-year-old girl, why would the capital care about me? But after I’ve seen the interest they take in me here at the compound, maybe it’s not so hard to believe. I know I don’t have long with Rena, and I have many more questions. “What do you know about my father?”
“He was handsome, young, brilliant and kind.” She smiles lightly. “He never had a mindscan, you know. His research was cutting edge, and he showed such promise from a young age – they didn’t want to do anything to his brain that might interfere with that.”
Now I’m completely confused. I didn’t know such a thing was possible. Everyone is given a mindscan.
Her voice gets quieter. “Some of the government officials aren’t submitted to them either. Something else they don’t want you to know.”
Her words stun me, but I press on. “Rena, what became of my father?”
She looks down. “He disappeared. I’m sorry, that’s all I know. I don’t know if he was killed or if he truly got away.”
“Got away? But where would he go?”
“Beyond the fence,” she says in a whisper.
Her words are still ringing in my head when she pushes me from the room saying I can’t be seen here.
***
When I make it back outside, Drew, Bryce and Jake are all back, standing around trading stories, being congratulated by O’Donovan. I’m relieved to see trench coat guy is gone. I stand off to the side, hoping to not attract much attention, and watch for the next hour as a few others filter in through the field. Sam and Alex are amongst them. Sam’s smile beams out at me from a quarter mile away, and I eagerly wait as she approaches.
“Well, imagine finding you here.” Sam pulls me into a one-armed hug and leans on me for support. I can tell she’s exhausted. She fingers my wet hair and gives it a sniff. “Why are you so clean?” I take a step back, and her stare deepens, her lips curling up in the corners. “So who won, Eve?”
I look down and toe the dirt. “Um, I did.”
“What? That’s amazing!” She pulls me in for a hug. “Alex, get over here. It’s just like we thought.” She points a finger over my head. “We got us a badass in the making over here.”
Alex limps over. I can tell he’s hurt, but doesn’t want to call attention to it, especially in the presence of someone who just beat him. “Wow – that’s amazing, Eve.” He gives me a fist bump.
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” I say.
“Not a big deal?” her voice gets louder. “If you look up ‘big deal’ in the dictionary – there would be a picture of Eve and the caption would read, ‘yes folks, she’s kind of a big deal’.” Sam gives a playful slug to my shoulder, trying to get me to crack a smile. I can see some of the others are looking in our direction now, too. Somehow, word seems to have spread about the wolf, and whispers and looks of awe are being directed my way. O’Donovan looks anything but pleased. That’s the last thing I need.
“You guys probably want to go shower, get some breakfast. Come on.” I turn for the doors without waiting for them to follow.
“What’s going on, Eve? Why are you being so weird?” Sam asks as soon as we’re inside the door.
I motion for them to keep following me. It’s not safe to talk yet. We bring