UNIQUE (A Powers Novel)

Fifteen

The candy makes my mouth water like crazy, the flavor of caramel sinfully perfect. Nothing else in the world compares. It's all a bit hazy as I make my way back to my room. Are the hallways darker than normal? It has a calming effect, and I'm in no rush to get back. I'm so tired.

A click. I try to stop, to turn my head towards the sound, but find my body is sluggish—like it's struggling through the caramel wrapped around the candy.

My body finally trudges to a stop, allowing me to lull my head towards the sound, where I find a woman with hawk-like eyes steps out, propping the door.

I smile and give a casual wave, blinking again. As my eyes come back into focus, I'm staring down the barrel of a gun inches from my face.

"Name," she says.

Despite the demand, I find myself staring at her beautiful eyes that burn with intensity. A ninja mask covers the rest of her face.

"Name!"

"Ugene," I say through an odd slur, the corner of my mouth curling upward.

She groans and swings the gun at me.

A strange thump echoes in my head, then blackness.

A pulsing pain erupts next to my temple, yanking me back into the light. Why does the side of my head hurt?

And why are my cheeks cold? Wait, no... that's tile. The floor.

The world tilts as I push myself to my knees.

Then a cacophony of screams. Gunshots. Boots and bare feet slapping the tiles. I cough into the crook of my elbow, wincing at the growing pain at my temple as I glance lazily around. Smoke is everywhere, making my eyes water and lungs burn.

My room. I need to get to my room.

Standing, I stumble against the wall, coughing and head throbbing. Everything's fuzzy

I try to shake away the fuzziness in my mind, but it only causes the throbbing to worsen.

Before I can take a single step, people rush through the smoke, careless of bumping into my shoulder. I fend off the first, but the second throws me off balance. The only way to find my way to my room is by counting the room numbers. Another test subject in Paragon-issued scrubs shoves past, pushing me against the wall.

More gunshots and screams. Am I headed toward it or away?

Someone else bumps my shoulder in passing, and I clutch at his arm to keep from falling.

But a shove breaks my grip. I tumble to the ground, flopping into a heap, making the pain in my head explode. Perspiration beads on my forehead. But I have to get up, so I push against the tiles, my limbs fighting against me. I stumble, slide, then use the wall for traction to pull myself back to my feet.

"Ugene?"

I blink back tears and squint into the smoke as Miller comes out of it faster than I can think. He puts hands on my arms, examining something on my forehead.

"You're hurt," he says. "You ok?"

"Wha... What?" is all I can manage.

"Christ, you're high," he mutters, holding a damp cloth to my mouth. "How the hell did you get high? Come on, kid."

Together, we stumble deeper into the chaos, heading toward my room—I think. Test subjects are running to their rooms, slamming doors shut. Paragon security is caught in a standoff at one of the corridors, doing their best to fend off a group of people clad in heavy black clothes and ninja masks. We turn back to go the other way around.