Stronger (20 page)

“Again!” My brother says. I call him all sorts of names as I bench press the bar loaded with three hundred pounds. My arms shake and quiver as it crests in the air above my chest. I swear I can actually feel my muscles tearing and popping. It practically drops as I try to ease it down, but two strong hands shoot out and catch it before it crushes my neck.

“I think she might need a break, Ty,” Bryant says, helping me set the bar onto the catcher. The bench is soaked with my sweat and I reek. Bryant tosses me a towel and I mop up my forehead and wipe off my damp palms.

“Another set, Lexie.”

I want to cry, to pout, to yell, to call him horrible names but instead I lie back down, grip the bar, and push. The fate of humanity depends on me becoming strong enough. The bar shakes in my hands and my arms sway more than a truff grove in a strong breeze, but I push the weight in the air, gritting my teeth and exhaling through my nostrils.

He stops me half way up. “Hold it there for five seconds or you’ll do it again, Lexie.”

My arms quake as he counts. Slowly.

“This is more than just about you. This is for the freedom of the whole Earth.”

I somehow make it to five before my arms give out. Bryant reaches in and saves me again.

“Three laps, Lexie.”

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

“Five laps. If you don’t get up, I’ll make it ten.”

I glare at my brother and peel myself from the bench and run, channeling my anger into my footsteps.

I double over at the end of my ten laps. Yeah, I did that to prove to my brother I could. In a totally ugly move, I make it to a bucket and puke.

Bryant hands me a glass of water. After swirling some in my mouth and spitting it out, I guzzle the rest.

Ty strolls up to me whistling. “Your times are off the charts, Lex. You’re beating the times of the top Vals, and not just students.”

“Cool.” It’s hard not to dance in place.

He enters some numbers into his tablet. “If you keep up that same pace over the next few training sessions we can add the carrier you’re going to be hefting the metal in.”

“I still don’t see how your mom can create something that can hold that much weight, and still hide under a uniform,” Bryant says.

“Me either,” Ty says. “That’s why we’re the muscle and she’s the brains.”

I pat them both on the cheeks. “Please, I’m the muscle. You guys get to stand there and look cute.”

“Before you made that comment, I was going to feel bad about making you lift more, but now? No way. Ready to lift again?”

“Ugh! I used to like you,” I say with a groan.

Ty grins. “I know you still love me. Come on Lex, this should be easy. Your scrawny arms are getting stronger every day, and recovering faster, too.”

Bryant’s face peers down at me. “Each time you heal it makes you heal that much quicker the next time. This weight is doable for you.”

“Easy for you to say.” I grunt as I regrip the bar and manage to lift it.

We know the metal is going to weigh between three and four hundred pounds. I have to be ready to not only lift that much, but carry and maybe even run with it, far enough that I can get clear of the place where they store it. At the minimum, it will mean walking at least half a mile carrying the whole load myself.

I take another swig of water and walk toward the bench. “I’m ready.”

After training, I lie on the mat too tired to move. Bryant sits beside me, three types of fresh truffs on a plate in front of him. “I’m trying to decide which is my favorite,” he says.

I roll to my side and prop my head up on my hand. “You don’t know.”

“I think I do.” He pokes at one of the truffs with a fork. “But I don’t trust anything I thought I knew. Not about the world or me. I’m not sure what I really think and what was forced on me.”

“So, you’re trying to get to know the real you?”

“Something like that.” He takes a bite of the second truff. “Want some?”

“I would love to, but my mom’s expecting me for dinner. I need to shower before I go.” I force myself to stand. “Good luck getting to know Bryant. From what I’ve seen, he’s a really good guy.”

He loads up his fork and brings it to his mouth. “I hope you’re right.”

I wave goodbye as I head to the bathroom. After I’m clean I grab my rations and bring the meal to the lab where my mom works. After greeting me with a tight hug, she loosens her hold on me but keeps her arm around my shoulder. I thought it might be awkward trying to reinsert myself into my family, but it’s not. I’ve slipped right back into where I belong.

“I have a hard time letting you get even a few feet away from me,” she says. “I’m so afraid I’m going to lose you again.”

“I have that same worry. It’s nice having a family again.”

Her hands go to my shoulder, holding me still. “You’ve always had a family.”

“Yeah.” I give her a grin before bringing up something I’d been curious about. “I was wondering if you wanted to run any tests on me.”

“No, you’ve had enough of those. We have the results of all the experiments they ran on you back in the lab. We have enough here to study without you becoming a lab rat again.”

“Good. Any idea how it happened?”

She shrugs. “I have a theory, but nothing certain. The idol you touched, its purpose is to rebuild DNA. But why it made you stronger instead of killing you, I don’t know. Maybe the Val’s blood you came in contact with, maybe something about the explosion. I don’t know and don’t really care. All I care about is you. Not what you’ve become, but
who
you’ve become. I’m proud of you.” She hugs me again.

I pass under the archway that leads from my mom’s lab to our main living area and drop onto the beat up couch, shoving one of dad’s maps aside to prop my feet up on the coffee table. From my position I can see through the second archway into my dad’s lab. I tilt my head, trying to see if the schematics covering the wall make more sense from an angle. They don’t.

The front door opens—that’s what we call the main entrance from the hallway—and Ty enters carrying a tray laden with several bowls of soup. “Uncle Charlie still thinks we should eat in the cafeteria with everyone else. He thinks us bringing it here sends the wrong message.”

“Then he shouldn’t have stolen my daughter from me for twelve years,” my dad says, following behind him with drinks. They set down the tray and drinks on the coffee table before heading toward their respective rooms.

“You can change your clothes after dinner,” Mom says. “I’m starving.”

They both stop and then lunge for my mom, wrapping her in a sweaty hug.

She pushes them away. “Gross! Point made. Go change!”

I love seeing my family like this, up close and real, instead of just the posed glimpses I saw through the newsfeeds over the year. It’s for simple interactions like this that I spend so much time in the living area and not in my own room.

My bedroom is not much bigger than a closet, but I love it. Mom worried at first, but size doesn’t bother me. I chose it over the one Ty ended up with because it has two exits, one that leads here and another that goes directly to the common hallway. Ever since I was a prisoner I appreciate having more than one way to leave a room.

When Ty and Dad come back, my mom points me to my seat. She’s cleaned off one of her lab tables—the only full-sized tables we have—and placed four metal chairs around it. Despite Uncle Charlie’s protests, my parents insist we have meals with just our family a few times a week.

My dad slides the chair in behind her as she sits and Ty takes the remaining seat next to me. My mom smiles at each of us as my dad squeezes her hand, and she leans her head on his shoulder.

Their actions are exact replicas of memories I’ve treasured since Uncle Charlie took me away. Sure, in the past there were kitchen cabinets behind them instead of glass beakers and Bunsen burners, but the same emotions flood my system. The moment is perfect.

Tears form in my eyes. I blink them back as I take a sip of the soup. Mom smiles at me over her water glass. “We’re a complete unit again.” The smile trembles. “Almost.”

My dad kisses the top of her head. “As close as we ever will be.”

My brother raises his glass. “To success, so we never have to part again!”

We all clink our drinks together. A surge of happiness pulses through me. This is worth fighting for more than any nameless Val or Deb. My family, they’re worth dying for.

After training a few days later, I hand Bryant a small drawstring bag. “For you,” I say.

He grins and opens the bag, then dumps a few of the contents out into his palm. “Marbles?” He closes his fingers around them. “Thanks?”

“I found them in one of the storage rooms and thought of you. You used to love marbles. If you’re trying to find out more about yourself, I thought this might help.”

He sets them on the padded floor. “Wanna play right now?”

I drop down to the ground and steal a few. “Of course.”

“Wait. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.” He gets up and dips his finger in the chalk, then uses it to draw a circle. I line up my marbles perpendicular to his, making an x in the center of the ring.

“You get to go first, since it’s your present.”

He rubs his hands together. “You’re going to regret that.” He walks around the circle considering. “I’m trying to decide which of your marbles I want the most. That steely will be mine.”

He crouches and knuckles down, hitting my steely right out of the circle. He smiles and it’s wide and bright, one I haven’t seen from him since I was five years old.

“That’s right. I’ve still got it.” He winks and my stomach flutters.

I force myself to look away from him. “Yeah, yeah. Big talk.”

“Big talk? You’ll be lucky to get a turn.”

He flicks again and this time his marble misses mine completely. When I end up knocking four of his marbles out on my turn he growls and stands. “You cheated!”

I scoop up the marbles I’ve won and wave them at him. “Look at my new pretty marbles.”

He lunges for them but I dance out of his reach. “They’re mine. You get to keep the steely.”

“You can have it back.” He reaches out for me again and manages to grab my waist. I hold my arms behind me. With a laugh he pulls me closer, trying to grab my prize. I squirm and then my breath catches when I realize how close we are. We’re touching, like everywhere. He must realize it too, because his eyes go wide. We both freeze, neither of us moving. I tilt my head back, staring into his eyes. He looks hungry. For me. I go on my tiptoes and he leans down when the door bangs open. We spring apart.

“It’s dinnertime,” Ty says, strolling in.

Bryant picks up his steely and tucks it into his pocket. “Thanks for the marbles. I still like them.” He gives me a smile that makes me swallow hard. “The game’s more exciting than I remember.”

I turn to leave but then hesitate. My family is waiting for me but Bryant doesn’t have his family. He’s alone.

“Want to come to dinner with us?”

He looks at Ty. “Are you sure that’d be okay?”

Ty feints a punch at his gut. “Of course.”

“Then I’m in.”

Ty leads the way, talking about, well honestly I have no idea. My mind is focused on Bryant, how close he is. And I keep thinking about that moment. Did he almost kiss me? I think he did. Maybe I’m wrong? I’ve never been kissed before. Bryant’s hand brushes against mine and my mouth goes dry. Did he mean to do it? His hand grazes mine again. The feel of his skin on mine has my pulse taking off like a rocket ship. I wonder if he realizes he’s doing it. He’s not looking at me but the way his lips curl into a smile lets me know that he’s aware of how crazy he’s suddenly making me.

By the time we get to my parents room I’m a mess. Being so close to Bryant is like being electrocuted. I sit at dinner letting the conversation roll over me as they talk about old memories, ones even I remember.

I’m brought back to the moment when my mom places a tablet in front of me. There’s picture of a stranger on it. “Who is that?”

“She’ll be you. I’ve come up with the procedures to alter your appearance.”

I stare at the image. She looks nothing like me.

“Will it be permanent?” Ty asks.

My mom shakes her head. “I don’t think so. With how fast Lexie heals, I’m thinking she might reject the procedures all together, but we’ll see.”

“Is this necessary?” Bryant asks.

Dad rests his elbow on the table. “She’s currently the most wanted woman in existence. It’s essential.”

Bryant’s eyes find mine. “How dangerous is this mission?”

No one answers. We all know I might not be coming back. But I’m the only one who can do it.

“Who wants dessert?” my mom asks, breaking the silence. We all latch onto the change of subject, but Bryant keeps eyeing me the rest of the evening, a frown marring his face.