Enhancement

- - 52 - -

"You have no idea, Holland, you have no idea," Stephen says as soon as we're seated. After mildly exploring our new home city, we both wanted to find a place to talk. So we stopped into a darkly-lit cafe to discuss our dilemma in private.

"What happened?" I ask. The electronic menu switches on, casting a light shadow. I ignore its desire for attention, staying focused on Stephen as my heart beats faster and faster.

My eyes capture Stephen's every detail, from his cropped hair to his loving dark eyes. There's a boy sitting in front of me who's supposed to be dead, and I don't care. I don't care how much my brain is telling me this is fake because it's not. Stephen is here, and he's okay.

"I mean... I felt like I was dying," Stephen says. Watching him shake at the thought, the mood of our table turns darker than the lighting. "I really thought I was dead. The pain, the breathing, it all felt real. Then when I passed out, I woke up in the same field, in the same moment of time, except you were dying the way I was."

My heart jumps, startled my Stephen's recollections. "What? Did you say it was me you saw?"

Stephen nods.

I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms in fatigued thought. My body is still buzzing due to all the physical activity, yet there's no way it actually occurred. If this is all just an illusion, how am I so exhausted?

"What the heck kind of new obstacle is this?" I nearly throw my arms up in defeat. "Why did you have to die?"

I graze my elbows on the table, arching closer to Stephen. Quickly glancing around the restaurant, I note that we're far away from any snooping ears. "Let's lay out the facts. We know the tasks take place in induced dreams, and I guess the Equinox decides what happens in there. After all, how else could you die and survive?"

I rub the back of my neck, my fingers catching on the lump there. Uneasy shivers rise up my arms as I continue. "We also know the injections create the dreams."

"Yeah, but why dreams? Why the inductees?" Stephen asks. Hints of a grin threaten his features. "And why a cornfield? Seriously, why a cornfield?"

I refute the urge to laugh, though I end up grinning ear-to-ear. "I don't know... maybe because corn is fun?"

"Fun?" Stephen chuckles.

I laugh at myself. "I don't know, maybe!"

"Either way," Stephen starts genuinely. Keeping his grin intact, I watch it fade into pinched fakeness. We both lean forward as Stephen twists his tattooed wrists towards me, subtly pointing at the black rectangles. "I think it has to do with something familiar, yet I can't put my finger on it."

I smile back, nodding. Stephen's a genius when it comes to disguising our real mood and thoughts. He's saying the Equinox is just like the Project, which means we should tread carefully. For all we know, the Equinox Team could be listening to us right now.

"I just don't get the point," I respond with a few chuckles and a grin. My eyes communicate seriousness into Stephen's. "I just don't get the purpose of the corn."

We maintain the facade of calling the illusions corn for a few more lines of conversation, at least until we begin ordering food from the digital menus.

Stephen says, "I guess there has to be a reason for the corn. Maybe a worker on the Equinox team has a reason."

I shrug, looking at my menu again. There has to be a reason for the illusions, yet we don't know what is it. Fortunately the upcoming tasks might reveal something. Or maybe unfortunately.

After typing in my order, I watch Stephen swipe through his own. The way his head tucks near his chest as he reads is so attractive. My heart warms up, not ready to let him out of sight ever again.

"Did you decide what you're ordering yet?" I force the corners of my lips to pull upwards.

Stephen taps a button, glancing at me with a half-smile. His eye contact links me to him as his grin widens. I have no idea why he's so happy. "Of course."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, sneaking gazes at each other. I catch him watching me at least three times, making me think he likes me, too. I feel myself relaxing as I clasp my hands under my chin on the table. My attraction to Stephen Moore has never been stronger. The way his features meet mine is absolutely perfect. Thank goodness we're still side-by-side in this battle against the President's Screeners plus the Equinox Team.

Two NutriShakes slide their way across our table, water dripping down the sides. A hand drops two straws on the table, and I pass one to Stephen. Tearing open my own straw, I stick the tube into my drink and take a sip. I turn my head towards the waiter, wanting to thank him.

My brain registers the face of the person in front of me, adrenaline slamming into the fastest setting. At the exact same moment, my drink lodges in my throat, and I heave into a coughing attack.

Gasping and coughing, my voice scratches as I inhale air. I take a drink again to clear my throat. Pulling on the neck of my shirt, I deliver a vague expression to Stephen as onlookers flick their attention towards me. The last thing I need is to draw attention to my mind and lungs exploding.

A hand presses on my back. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

I nod, evening my breaths. Tanner, dressed in a plain, dark waiter's outfit, gives me a reserved nod, completely out-of-character compared to his bright personality. "I'll go get you a glass of water then."

I struggle to stay calm. Another cough loudly bubbles from the back of my throat, earning more innocent sideglances. I watch Tanner weave around the cafe to the kitchen, and I exhale a shaky breath.

That was Tanner, as in the Tanner. The fighter who somehow made it off the scaffold awaiting him when he was revealed to be a rebel. How is he alive? How is he happenly in the same restaurant we are? Did the rebels take back Pod 4, the Enhancement Project's Pod?

I wipe my face with the back of my hand. My foot taps against the ground as I look at Stephen. He's thinking it already, I know he is. His dark brown eyes communicate his thoughts perfectly, aiding the slight shake of his head. He doesn't want me to confront Tanner.
-- -- -- -- --

guess who is back, wooh-hoo! beloved, lovely tanner is back in business with enhancement! as much as i'd like to reveal more, i think the next two questions will do the job for me. it's crucial to tanner's fate that you answer below:

(vote for this chapter to save tanner from being killed! just kidding haha, but you never know for sure...)

Question: Choose an option: confront him, avoid him, or wait for him.

Follow-Up Question: Choose an enemy to return: Screeners, President Hybriad, or Equinox surprise.