Enhanced (first draft)

Chapter 15

As the applause continues, I can start to feel my body slightly rock back and forth. It is as if I am standing on a ship in the ocean. The waves are crashing and making me uneasy. The pleasure the the others have for Xander's death is what is causing this. These people are inhuman.

But then again, the Enhanced are not any less inhuman. They disregard anything except for beauty and live in a world of misogyny and eugenics. No matter where I go I am bound to find corruption in this world. No society is perfect; all societies are impure. That means I have to get away from any kind of society. Maybe starting my own will be the best bet.

My swaying continues, becoming more violent and pronounced. There is no way that I can stop it; it continues as the applause continues. The sound has become ingrained in my brain and is controlling my body. I am now just sitting around for the ride; it is as if I am inside of somebody else and just watching what they do.

Back and forth, back and forth. And finally, I stop. Two hands are gripping onto my shoulders, helping me to resist the swaying. The nails dig into my skin, bringing me back to reality and out of this trance. Trace is staring at me, his face laced with concern for me. The nails are removed from my shoulders and instead large hands lace around my back.

"Are you okay?" Trace inquires quietly. He is looking into my eyes. I try to avoid his gaze, though, expecting there to be tears in his eyes and not wanting to catch the contagion of eye-waterig.

"I should be asking you that," I fire back, my voice cracking despite my best effort and intent. I finally avert my gaze into Trace's. To my surprise, his eyes do not show the sorrow that I was expecting. Although they look sad from previous exposure to the cruelties of the world, they do not look overwhelmed by this new, especially cruel occurrence. He must have seen and experienced enough sorrow in this world already. There must be nothing else that will scar him anymore. Nothing else will affect him, no matter how terrible it will be.

Trace pulls me right up next to his body. I can feel his heart beating. I can feel his heartbreak emanating from his body. He squeezes my body tightly in the embrace as if he could transfer the sorrow out of his body by it. Although sorrow is not transferable, other things are. Warmth and hope are transferred to me by Trace. This embrace slightly lifts me up; it shows me that there are others who will help me and who I can help to get through this messed up world. There are others that will try to protect me. I will not be alone when I am away from all societies.

Rather than this embrace comforting Trace, which should have been the case and which has been the case so often lately, this embrace is meant to comfort me. I am more affected by the death of somebody whom I have never met than his brother is.

"It's okay," Trace said, turning me away from the platform as they took care of the body. I only got a fleeting glimpse of the lifeless sack of clothes get dragged away, leaving only a pile of dark blood on the ground. One glimpse was enough for me. Apparently it wasn't for Trace, though, because he was staring at the mess instead of me. He could stand it. He didn't mind watching his lifeless brother get dragged away from him forever.

I guess it is like what Cyrus said. It's better for Trace with his brother gone because the constant worry in Trace's mind is extinguished. Trace can now have concern for himself and only himself. Or maybe not, because he has found somebody else to look out for.

His hand rubs up my back in a comforting gesture. It rests itself just on my neck, suuporting my heavy head. His head gets close to mine. I can feel his breathing on me. I can smell the musty smell of an Outcast. It would be displeasing to most people who are Enhanced, but I love it. It is different and, subsequently, it is beautiul.

"I think I may love you, Nyx. I am determined to protect you. I will not let your former husband find you and brainwash you into thinking your society is wonderful. Don't worry, I will do anything to protect you and your beautiful daughter. You deserve a happy life and I am willing to give it to you." Trace rests his lips on my cheek, just leaving them there. I don't know what to do, I just stand there in awe.

I am surprised at Trace. He has transferred his concern for his brother to concern for me. I am unhealthy for Trace. Rather than him getting better with the death of his brother, he has gotten worse. He has fallen for me and will do anything to protect me. He will sacrifice himself for me. I can't let him so that, and yet I can. I feel a lust for Trace. He makes me feel alive and wanted unlike how I feel with Soren. With Soren, I never felt quite right, because I knew what he wanted. He wanted a subservient woman, one who would succumb to his desires whenever they came. I am not like that. I am independent and will resist anybody's attempts to make me sway from my desires or needs.

At this time where we should be lamenting the death of Xander, a loved one in the case of Trace, we are celebrating the blossoming of a new love, an oath of protection that will only end with death. As the crowd starts to thin, bored now that the execution is now done, Trace and I still remain in our place. We are enamored. Nobody can disturb us. Nobody can stop what we are feeling for each other at this moment.

Finally, though, we are disturbed. Cyrus has found us and is standing I awe in front of us. There are wet lines on his face from the tracks that the tears took. He seems to have just recently stopped the flow of emotion. He gathers up his wits and then starts screaming. "What the hell, Trace?! Your brother has just been executed. Your brother! The one that you would have done anything to save; the one that you have been looking for for months on end. Instead of mourning, your kissing an Enhaced that you met only recently! One that is married, nonetheless! Why aren't you showing any emotion for your brother? Are you finally devoid of sorrow? It's not possible, I've even through much more hell than you have, trust me!"

Cyrus looks about ready to fight Trace. He pulls up the sleeves of his shirt, ready to get dirty. Trace releases me from his grip and faces Cyrus directly with a grin on his face. I am equally a confused as Cyrus at Trace's expression.

Trace lets out a slight laugh before starting. "Why would I be sad, Cyrus? There is no reason for me to! I have declared my never ending love to Nyx-"

Cyrus cocks his arm and lets out a punch. He hits Trace straight in the jaw. After wobbling back and forth for a few seconds, Trace stands up straight and smiles with bloody teeth.

"You always had trouble listening to everything somebody had to say, Cyrus. As I was saying,I have declare my never ending love to Nyx, AND my brother is still alive."

I look up to Trace in confusion. How could Xander still be alve? Avery said there was nothing that could be done, and Kali even admitted that she couldn't do anything. There was no way that Xander could have survived the bullet. It made no sense.

"What? You're screwing with me, Trace. All of this has messed with your brain. You must e unstable." Cyrus can't accept what Trace was saying. Hell, I can't either. There is no way that it can be possible.

"Trust me. I'm not positive about this, but I'm pretty sure. Just think about it. Isn't everything a little suspicious? Why would Avery even entertain one thing that we said after I caused damage to his property? Why would Kali, even though she may be a friend of Nyx, say that she would try to help me? This is just a ploy. Avery is trying to maintain his image as a strict reinforcer, whereas Kali is trying to maintain favorable towards Nyx. Meanwhile, they feel that they must save Xander but they mustn't let us, or anybody, know for it would ruin their reputations. I'm not saying that this theory is without flaws. I don't know why they would want to save Xander, but I just have a feeling about it.

"Furthermore, think back to the actual execution. While Nyx probably doesn't know this, you should, Cyrus. We have equally been to a fair share of executions. When have they ever covered the face of the person being executed? Never! It may at first seem that they are doing it to save me the pain of seeing my brother's dying face, but that's nonsense! Why wouldn't they have done it many times before when relatives were watching a family member be executed? They didn't want anybody to know that the person they were killing wasn't my brother. Like I said, they must uphold their reputation by making it seem like they were actually executing Xander. I know that it seems crazy, but I am almost certain it is true."