UNIQUE (A Powers Novel)

Sixteen

The black walls of the room absorb the harsh florescent lights. And thank god. My head is aching and still bogged down by something. Anxious test subjects in Paragon-issued scrubs await instruction. Feet scuff the tiled floor as they shift. Hands fidget. I lean forward and look down the line. It's the most subjects I've seen in a room at a time. Including meals.

Twenty. More than ever. What is about to happen? I lick my lips. Weight presses down on my chest. All of them have abilities but me. That can't bode well. And all I can think about is what happened upstairs, how Bianca is doing, who the blond ninja was. Shouldn't Paragon be more concerned about that over another test? I know I am. Does this have something to do with the breaking?

At our backs, a series of doors lead to who knows what on the other side, one for each of us. Across from us, ten researchers with tablets stand behind Forrest. All wear the same somber expressions as they read data on their tablets. I scratch at the electrode on my temple.

"This is a Blindsight test. The rules are simple," Forrest says. "Some of you know them. Some of you don't. So let's refresh."

The girls standing beside me lets out a shaky breath. I offer her a reassuring smile, but she doesn't notice.

"Behind those doors are a series of rooms. Each room has different obstacles; some have different levels. You will each receive a tag unit." Forrest's voice is hollow.

A cart with squeaking wheels rolls along the line. The sound is subtle, but a few of the subjects wince—Enhanced Hearing—as two security guards handle the tag units.

I hope Bianca's okay. I look down at the floor. She's somewhere below me. Unless they moved her. If they moved her, I won't know if she's okay. Not unless Forrest tells me. I should have asked Miller to keep an eye on her.

"For those of you not familiar with the unit, just point and shoot." Forrest demonstrates by aiming a tag unit at a cloth dummy and firing. There's a flash of blue light as it fires. The sound makes me jump.

"It will stun your opponent until they can be removed."

Stun guns. They're giving us weapons. I swallow, heart racing. One of the security guards puts a unit into my shaking hands and I realize in a panic that I didn't hear anything.

"Good luck."

The doors behind us swing open, one for each of us. The other test subjects dart through, but I linger back, taking a sluggish step toward Forrest. "I missed that. What—?"

Researchers huddle together over their tablets, Forrest among them. A security guard nudges me toward the door.

Using my shoulder, I try to push past to him when suddenly I'm off my feet and tossed through the door by two guards. My tailbone aches from the landing, but I scramble to my feet and rush the entry as it slams shut, enveloping me in perfect dark.

Blindsight. He said this is a Blindsight test. Which means subjects can see in this darkness or they have an enhanced Somatic Sense—Smell, Touch, Night Vision Sight, Parabolic Hearing. There could be Telepaths, too. Without an ability to guide me, I'm lost in the dark. An easy target.

The wall starts to hum, then presses against my hands. It's forcing me into the maze.

Heart hammering against my ribs, I turn into the absolute darkness and a shuffling step forward. The tag unit slips in my sweating palm. I reach out with the other, feeling in all directions. There are walls on either side of me leading forward. So everyone is in their own point of entry, and somewhere along the way we encounter each other. I can assume we're supposed to be tracking each other down with abilities, but I don't have any advantage.