Enhanced (first draft)

Chapter 5

As I walk along behind them I think about Trace's description of the Outside. It is shocking. I knew that things are bad out there but I didn't know they are so bad that murder is rampant. The Outside is a stark contrast from the Inside.

"So why did you run away?" Trace asks again.

I let a deep sigh escape my lips, having already told him once before. "I didn't want my daughter to have to go through the enhancements. I want to protect her."

"There has to be some other reason," Trace says, looking at my face as if it holds the answer. "I've met many people and not a single one was that selfless. Nobody would leave their perfect life just because they don't want their daughter to be like them."

"But you don't understand. She won't really be like me. They are sacrificing her intelligence for beauty. I don't want to have a daughter that will just blindly follow others without thinking for herself. I want a daughter that will take control of her own situation and put matters into her own hands." Warmth fills up my face as my passion about the subject grows.

"Still, why would you leave a perfect life?" Trace wrinkles his eyebrows, clearly confused about my situation. Neither of us knew much about the society of the other.

"My life is far from perfect. Ever since I was little I hated my life. I hate being Enhanced. There is no benefit of it. The only person that I could talk to about my distaste of our society was my current husband. He felt the same way as me, that is until he changed. Recently, he saw my opposition to changing my daughter and he told me that he was going to help me change my views. I'm afraid that he is going to give me a behavioral implant like what was done with him. If that happens, all of my worst fears will come true. I cannot be changed. I won't allow it to happen."

"Wow. I guess both of our lives are pretty messed up then." Trace quietly says.

We seem to be heading where I had been running away from, back to the Inside. They can't be bringing me back to Soren. There is no way that they would. There has to be some other reason why they are going there.

"Are we heading to the Inside?" I quietly ask.

Trace doesn't seem to hear me, but Cyrus quickly answers. "Trace thinks that his brother may have fled to the Inside. None of the Outcasts that are after him would ever look for him there. He might employ your help to look around the Inside."

I don't want to go back to the Inside. People are guaranteed to be on the lookout for me. It would be too risky going out there, even at night.

"Nyx," Trace whispers, stopping us. "I have a plan. Do you have any makeup?"

I didn't think I would need makeup running away, I wouldn't encounter many people and they sure as hell wouldn't care how I looked like. "No, I didn't bring any with me."

"Could you possibly sneak back into your house for makeup and get some as well as clothes for a male?" Trace looks intently at me, expecting me to say yes.

I don't want to disappoint him, so I say, "Sure, I will. What time is it?"

Cyrus looks up to the sky, examining where the sun was. "A little after ten."

"Perfect," I say, mostly to myself. "Soren will be out right now at work."

"So you'll definitely do it, then?" Trace sounds excited.

I nod.

We continue to walk through the woods, heading towards my house. We aren't too far away now. Finally when we get to the clearing that I stayed in the first night, I motion to Cyrus and Trace to stop. They set there belongings down and I place my bag next to theirs.

I slowly creep through the woods towards my house, making sure to go as quietly as possible. As the trees start to spread apart, I keep my eye on the window of our bedroom. Nobody is in there. I am almost positive that Soren wouldn't be home, but there is always that doubt, no matter how slight.

I get to the window and looked inside. It is unlocked. We had always left it unlocked, and thankfully Soren didn't change our tradition.

I tighltly grip the bottom of the window and struggle to force it up. I make a commotion, so if Soren were home he would come to see what all the noise is. He doesn't come, so I assume I'm safe. Finally, I manage to pull up the window enough for me to slide in.

The first thing I notice is the bed. On Soren's side the covers and sheets are strewn all over, but my side provides a great contrast. It looks as if nobody has slept on it for a while, which is true.

Then I notice something different on the side table next to Soren's side. It is a framed picture. I gently pick it up and stare at it for a while. It pains me with the memories it brings back. It is a picture of Soren and I just before we were married, when we were truly in love. He must look at it every night before he goes to bed and every morning when he wakes up. Maybe he does miss me, but I still can't let him change me.

I go back to my task at hand. I quickly head to the bathroom and grab my kit of makeup out of one of the drawers. It is rather heavy, but it will help with what I'm assume will be disguise.

I then head to Soren's closet. I glance through all of the clothes he has until I ind a suit that I don't remember him ever wearing. I also grab a shirt that I knew Soren had been planning on throwing away.

With the items that Trace requested in my hands, I quickly head out through the window again. I attempt to shut the window tightly, but I can't get it all the way, so I just leave it as it is.

I rush back through the forest to the clearing where Trace and Cyrus are waiting. Then Trace tells me his plan.

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Sorry for the long time before this update, I've been really busy and stressed out. The next update should probably come out Friday or next weekend.