Equals

Chapter 12

 Changing

 

          I wake up in another hospital room. The lights are brighter; fumes of anesthesia and medication fill the air. There are at least five doctors surrounding me. I want to tell them to get away, to run back to Maddy, and escape. But whatever they’ve injected in my arm is too strong for me. Once they see me trying to move I hear a doctor order for another dose of anesthesia. I try to wake up, but first I say there, motionless, trying to make the doctor take back his order for anesthesia. “No, wait…I think she’s being pulled under already, hold the anesthesia.”

          Finally, I can be alone—in a way. I keep my eyes open, looking for anything familiar. I’ve seen all of these tools before, when I’ve watched them doing the operation on sixteen year olds, but some of it’s different. I’ve never seen them use razors or sharpeners before. Then it comes to me. I finally realize why she’s so different. Why Judge Maria has yellow eyes, immunity to harm, powerful strength, and beauty that’s intimidating. She’s a myth—well, a true myth that kids talk about in the cities. They’re called Secret Services, (Servies, for short). They’re frightening creatures, unnaturally strong, finding joy in any terror they cause, exactly what she does.

          I feel the anesthesia pulling me under, and the room darkens.

 

          I open my eyes. The dust floating around me, hearing every little click, snap, and tap in the building, being able to feel things, smell things, and taste things like some super-human robot. I’m expecting to be drowsy, from the anesthesia, but I feel more energetic than ever. I walk over to a full length body mirror, and smile at what I see. Intimidatingly beautiful, a flawless face and body, stronger than any machine built before. I look closer, my eyes have changed from their dull, hazy brown to a glowing infrared/ night vision built in system. When switched to the next setting, they turn to a luminescent bright green. But when switched to normal, the color vanishes, and they turn to full, black pupils.

          When I show my teeth, I’m met by sparkling, white, razor sharp points, clicking perfectly together. I start to walk around, getting the feel for my new skeleton inside of me. My foot gets caught on a table and I fall, hearing my wrist crack. I should feel pain, but I feel nothing. A pinch, at the most, maybe, but nothing compared to the pain I would feel if I was nobody, like Madison. I wait minutes, watching it, feeling the bones morph back perfectly together to fit back into my airy, light metallic skeleton. I slip on my clothes and stare at myself, taking in every new detail of my body. A normal looking human on the outside, but on the inside, I’m an indestructible machine, a perfect work of art.

          “Congratulations, Azurite.” I turn to meet her, Service Maria.

          “What’s happened to me?”

          She smiles, exposing her sharp, white teeth.

          “Congratulations, Azurite,” she repeats, “you’re a Secret Service.”

 

          

 

Part II: Secret Service

 

Chapter 1: Being a Servie

 

          “Azurite, are you daydreaming again? Hurry up!” I laugh; we’re too perfect to daydream, to get distracted.

          “Very funny, Kay-la, I’ll race you back!”

          “Don’t even try, you know I’ll beat you again, Az-zee. Besides, you’re a new Servie, you can’t beat me. Don’t you remember what happened to you last month?” She smiles, showing her razor sharp teeth. I wince, thinking about it. Weak, pathetic Madison, protecting her was a waste of my time. And worst of all, Michael. Playing mind games with me, making me see how “good” and “perfect” the Hideout was…well we all know how that worked out. Trying to keep me from really seeing things as they should be, trying to keep me from being perfect. Why can’t everybody just see how focused it is to be a Servie?!