glitched | ✔️

t h i r t y s e v e n

Peter POV

"She must have destroyed the boat. We cannot find any trace of her, and where she might have gone," Anastasia reported solemnly.

Father banged his fist against the table.
"You're telling me you cannot find a sixteen year old girl despite having the most advanced technology in the world?!"

"Sir, in all honesty our technology may be advanced but it is nowhere near as sophisticated as old day tracking systems-"

"And we don't have those," Father cut in, growling.

I stood back, silent, as I watched the proceedings.

"With all due respect, I must cut in," Yulia spoke up, stepping forward.

My father waved a hand in her direction, granting her permission to speak.
"It is possible that someone may be masking her location. We have bounty hunters on every continent- every island we know of, on the lookout for her. She must be taking refuge somewhere."

"Oh please. She was stabbed in the stomach, and from what my son tells me- dying. And from what we know she has no contacts, no partners, nothing. We have already torn apart her house looking for clues- and taken her family into captivity in attempt to lure her from where she hides. What more can we do?"

I transferred my gaze towards Yulia, who seemed to think for a moment before speaking.

"Doctor Levine." She drew the name out, speaking slowly.

The name sounded vaguely familiar. Father's jaw clenched.
"She disappeared years ago- wounded and weak."

"Yet we never confirmed her death," Anastasia cut in, and Yulia nodded in agreement.

Father leaned over the table, staring the two woman down.
"If she is still alive, than we have a whole lot more than a girl who shoots lightning from her fingers to worry about. I want every island on this planet searched. And I want Doctor Levine's head on my desk. Contact Heinrich to double his security. I am not losing."

•••

Amara POV

"You mean to tell me that we have met before- after the day where you injected me with the serum?"

Dr. Levine nodded, spreading a salve on my stitched-up wound.
"Actually, I visited you quite often up until your thirteenth birthday. It was then that people were starting to get a whiff of my whereabouts and I had to go into hiding."

"But why don't I remember you? It was only recently that I recalled the day with the tulips."

"I had to wipe each memory- for your safety and for mine. Amara, let me tell you that everything I have done since the day I injected you with the serum was to protect you,"

I looked away. "Why me?"

She wrapped a bandage around my wound.
"You are the only one who can sustain the power of the serum, the only one who can control it. I had no choice."

"Than why did the dark haired man say it would protect people from the next electricity surge the machine gave off?" I had so many questions.

Doctor Levine helped me into a sitting position, handing me a bowl of food.

"They only had half of my serum, the activator in a way. When it combined with the substance injected into your veins it's power would grow tenfold. When extracted from your veins it would weaken, diluted in a way, and therefore normal human bodies would accept the serum. Yes, it will protect them. But I created the serum to destroy the machine, not to preserve the people."

I took a bite of the food and swallowed.
"What aren't you telling me?"

Doctor Levine laughed a little. "You're smarter than you look."

"Thanks... I think?" I took another bite.

"Amara. It's risky. To destroy the machine you must use all the power that now courses through your veins, and you must use your own strength of mind to direct the energy towards the right points on the Machine. It's going to be a lot of raw power at once..."

"...you think it might kill me," I finished for her, looking at my hands.

Doctor Levine nodded, pulling her long hair into a ponytail and standing.
"I won't lie to you and say you have a choice. There's only three paths you can take from this point."

"And those are?"

"To do nothing and let humanity die, to take your chances and destroy the machine, or to be captured and let Doctor Lafrance crown himself king and enslave all life on this earth."

I chuckled dryly. "So either way I die."

"Eventually all life dies. Think of your family. Think of your friends. Of your dogs that wait in the next room. It's up to you."
With that the doctor left the room, leaving me alone.

I turned my head to the side, where a mirror hung on the wall and stared into it.

My whole life I had been blindly stumbling about, puzzling about what my purpose was. Every prank I pulled, every reckless stunt I executed I did for the feeling of adrenaline, for the rush.
Every boy I had strung along a line, every adult I had manipulated, it was all to make me feel better about myself.

When the truth was I hated myself.
It was time for me to do something with my life that would make up for all those years of mistakes.

Even if it meant dying.

•••

Chelsie POV

"Three more months," I murmured, looking at the calendar with a hand resting on my stomach.
It was November already, and soon it would be December, and my 17th birthday.

The door slid open and Peter came in, looking stoic as ever.
I raised an eyebrow. "What can I do for you."

He sat down at the table, grabbing a nearby apple and biting into it.
"Chelsie, what do you remember about her? Do you ever have dreams with her in him... it's like I can't get her out of my head."

I walked over to the table and sat down across from him.
"Sometimes, yes I dream about her. But the dreams are fabricated- because in those dreams she's so sweet, so rebellious, so... full of life and laughter."

Peter nodded, lips pressed together.
"Exactly. The Amara I dream about is nothing like the manipulative, violent, power-hungry girl I have fought. How did she dupe us so throughly?"

I rubbed my forehead- my head ached horribly. "I don't know, Peter. I don't know."

•••

As I mentioned before there will be a prequel, though I'm not sure yet when I'm starting on it.

It is going to be about the creator of the Machine- and that whole time period.

Here's a sneak peek at the cover: