The Modified (The Biotics Trilogy, #1) (21 page)

 “Does anyone find it weird that we’re being forced into an exam because of orders from General Barclay?” I ask the small group at the table during dinner.

“Yeah, it is. Must be because of some power trip he’s on or something,” Joey comments.

“It’s a load of bull, in my opinion. But if that’s what the Federation wants to do, and test me, then bring it on,” Sam interjects while pausing every few words to take a bite of her food.

 I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up to see Landon hovering there just behind me. “Want to go for a walk?” he asks and I notice that the smile on his mouth doesn’t quite make it to his eyes.

“Sure,” I reply and excuse myself from the table.

“So this exit exam seems like a big deal, huh?” I ask as we stroll through one of the many corridors outside the mess hall.

“Yeah,” is all he says as he grabs my hand.

I come to a stop and wait for him to turn and look at me. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am, what makes you think I’m not?” he replies, but I can tell there’s something up.

“All right, enough of avoiding the issue. Spill it. What’s on your mind?” I ask, trying to stare him directly in his eyes, which he successfully dodges.

“Uh…well-” he begins to say, but then hesitates.

I pull his face to mine and stare him directly in the eyes. “If something is bothering you, Landon, please tell me. Let me know what’s going on in that head of yours.”

A smirk crawls across his lips and he lets out a laugh under his breath. He then sighs, his face becoming more serious as he starts to speak. “This exam means we’re getting closer to the end of our stay here. Which also means that we’re closer to us being split up. I’ve lost a lot of people in my life because of this war, and I just can’t imagine my life without you,” he says softly.

I begin to say something, but then pause, trying to gather my words.
Damn, what a great time to be speechless, Kenley
, I tell myself. Biting my lip, my eyes dart to the floor and then back to Landon’s face to find it full of concern.

“I’m sorry, I know that was a lot for you to take in and process,” he states. “I’m just worried about tomorrow, that’s all.”

“Me too.” I say, and then think that’s the dumbest short answer I could’ve given. I want to just tell him how I really feel too, but for some reason I’m finding it difficult to do.

“Hey, what do you say we go play some games in the rec hall?” he asks, changing the subject.

“I’d like that.”

Chapter Ten

Final Assessment

I stand in front of a giant metal door that’s traced in blue light, waiting for the exit exam to begin. I have no idea who the other two are in my group, or even what the test actually entails. All I know is that just beyond this door I’ll truly be pushed to my limits.

“Kenley?” Galileo calls my name as he projects from my bangle.

“Can’t this wait? I’m about to start my test,” I reply.

“This actually pertains to that subject. During your exit exam, I will be deactivated so that no communication can happen between us,” Galileo explains.

“Deactivated? Like on purpose? What for?”

“This is an exam, and having me activated could possibly give you an advantage,” he replies matter-of-factly. “As soon as you enter the examination area, I will deactivate.”

I stare down at the band of plastic and become a little emotional seeing the little hologram shutter as it speaks. I usually don’t want Galileo interfering too much with things, but the thought of him being deactivated makes me sad, like saying goodbye to a good friend.

“Kenley, I sense that you are feeling depressed. Is it because of me?”

“Of course, silly. You’re not going to be in there with me.”

“Cheer up, Kenley. I shall return the moment you are finished with your exam,” he replies.

Is it just me, or did his voice sound warm and fuzzy?
I ask myself.

“Kenley?” Galileo asks again.

“Yeah?”

“Good luck.”

I smile down at the hologram, just before it goes back into the bangle.

Turning my focus back to the door, I see there are three circular lights on above it. One of them goes out, followed by an electronic sound, leaving two still lit up. I assume it’s a countdown for the door to open.

My heartbeat quickens and my palms become hot and sweaty. I take in a deep calming breath as the second light goes out. An even louder chime follows. I look from side to side nervously, as I think about what lies beyond the door. The third light fades away and a loud prolonged buzzer sounds. The door slowly slides open to the side. I look into the room and all the walls are black and the floor is made up of large white tiles just like in the training rooms. The space is enormous.

I see two other doors open up into the room, one is far in the distance in front of me, and the other is far off to my left. I use my optics ability in order to see who comes through them, and smile when I see Landon emerge through the door to my left. I wave to him. He sends me a smile and a wave back. I want to run over and hug him, but I see a red light line creating a box around me on the ground, and I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to cross it. The same red light box appears to surround Landon as well.

Looking across the room, I see Geoffrey standing there. He seems to be more nervous than I am, so I wave to him in hopes it will reassure him. He waves back and seems to be a little more at ease than before.

An electronic voice filters into the room. “Please stand on your activation panel to commence with the exam.”

I look in front of me and one of the large panels on the floor is pulsing bright blue. As I step on it, the panel turns solid blue and stops pulsing. I look over at Landon and Geoffrey as they do the same.

A pleasant electronic chime sounds throughout the area. Suddenly, white walls shoot out of the floor and begin to connect and arrange themselves. They form a room around me without any sign of an exit, except the closed door behind me.

The electronic voice pipes in again. “Milton, Geoffrey, please proceed into the exam. Your first task is to reach Grayson, Kenley. Your time begins now.”

After a few seconds pass, the voice says, “Initializing Tactical assessment.”

As the voice fades away, a shiny white post emerges from the floor to my right. At the top of the post seems to be some kind of switch, but it’s not lit up. I stand there waiting for something to happen, anything. The only activity in my enclosed area is the bright blue lines that pulse across the walls in a zigzag pattern. It’s actually kind of hypnotic.

Several minutes pass and suddenly the wall in front of me begins to slide open. Geoffrey is standing there, hunched over slightly, and breathing heavily. His hands are glowing and I notice sweat on his forehead and his cheeks are flush as he looks up at me with his electric blue eyes.

“What happened out there?” I ask as he begins to make his way over to me.

“A lot,” he replies, trying to catch his breath.

The electronic voice flows into the area. “Phase one complete. To begin phase two, Grayson, Kenley, you must activate the switch in your area.”

The switch on the post begins to glow as I look over at it. I turn to Geoffrey to make sure he’s okay to continue and he nods. His cheeks are still flushed.

As I hit the switch, a melodic chime sounds throughout the room. “Milton, Geoffrey, Grayson, Kenley, please proceed into the exam area. Your second task is to reach, Shaw, Landon.”

As we step out into the hall beyond the room we’re in, the wall we entered through closes up behind us. The first thing I notice is that the same blue zigzag line pattern is coursing through these walls as well. Since all the walls are bright white, the lines of light actually show where walls stop and transition into the next corridors.

“Initiating fortification assessment.”

Geoffrey and I begin to move forward cautiously. There are two corridors ahead of us and Geoffrey grabs my arm and tells me to stop. His eyes start to pulse as they begin to roll back into his head. He must be using
scan
to see where we need to go next.

“That way,” he says, pointing to the left hallway. “We need to stay alert, I sense movement ahead.”

I nod to him and both of our hands begin to glow as we move forward. Peering around the corner into the next hallway, I don’t see any sign of movement. I take a deep breath and hesitantly step out around the corner with Geoffrey following at my side. The familiar hum of a rifle warming up sounds in front of us as a combat drone pops out from behind the corner in the distance. A barrage of bullets flies in our direction. I immediately throw up two barriers, one around me and the other over Geoffrey. We stand there watching each bullet ricochet off the walls of energy, with each bullet seeming like it’s hitting harder than the last.

The drone ceases fire and creates a barrier around itself in the process. I dig down deep and concentrate on the drone’s barrier. As the energy enters my hands, ours disappear, leaving us vulnerable. The rifle begins to hum again and I release a shockwave of energy from my hands. It knocks the drone against the far wall, shattering its body into several pieces.

 We seem to be in the clear while making our way down the hallway. Geoffrey moves ahead of me and uses his
scan
ability again.

“There’s more movement ahead. Seems like there are three signatures in the next area, but I can’t tell what they are,” he explains as his eyes return to normal.

“All right, let me take a look,” I say, moving up to the corner that leads into the next corridor. I peek around and see three short walls, standing about four feet tall, and staggered in a left-and-right pattern down the hall. There’s no sign of movement again. I go to step out into the open and I feel Geoffrey grab my arm, pulling me back behind the wall.

“Allow me,” he says with an impish grin.

Geoffrey concentrates, and suddenly a copy of him projects out right in front of me.

“Of course. We can use decoy to draw out the enemy,” I whisper and then concentrate as well. I open my eyes and see an exact copy of myself standing in front of me.

We send both of our decoys out into the hall and within seconds we begin to hear gunfire. I look around the corner and see both our decoys crouched behind the low-lying walls. Two combat drones are moving in on their position and the gun turret on the wall is focused on them as well.

“You stay put and keep control of your decoy. I’m going to create a distraction,” I say to Geoffrey and he nods.

“Be careful, Kenley. The bullets may be rubber, but they still hurt like hell,” he states.

“Will do,” I reply with a smile. “Okay, so you send your decoy forward the moment I step around the corner, and then I’ll do the same.”

“Got it.”

“Ready?” I ask and he nods again.

I whip around the corner and our decoys run toward the drones. They begin to take heavy damage and I see their images start to shutter and fade away just before I dive behind the first low wall on the left. With the fire still concentrated on the decoys, I’m able to cast barriers around both drones, restricting their movements. As they continue to fire, the bullets ricochet around inside the barriers, incapacitating them. They collapse to the floor just as the turret downs both of our decoys.

As I go to move behind the next low wall, the turret hones in on my position and begins to fire. The bullets fly right by my face and I duck back against the wall I was just hiding behind. The turret ceases fire and I turn to see Geoffrey running up to the wall adjacent to mine.

“What the hell are you doing?” I yell at him as he slides behind the wall, barely dodging the flurry of bullets directed at him. He winks at me and points back to the hall he just ran from. I see Geoffrey kneeling there giving me the okay sign. I smile and shake my head.
How was he able to produce another decoy so quickly
? I think to myself.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Geoffrey’s “twin” dash out from behind the wall and begin to take a barrage of bullets to the chest. This is my chance. I pop out from behind the wall and focus on the turret. It begins to glow bright blue. The turret starts to vibrate as I clasp my hand shut into a fist. I move my hand to the left and the turret rips from the wall it’s mounted to and hovers there, waiting for my next move. I slam my fist downward and the turret crashes to the ground in a crumpled pile of metal.

Geoffrey’s decoy fades away as he joins me by my side.

“Nice work, Milton.”

“Not too bad yourself, Grayson,” he replies with a grin.

We cautiously continue down the corridor. As we make our way through the maze toward Landon, we’re surprised we haven’t encountered any more resistance.

Reaching a dead end, I turn to Geoffrey and ask, “What now?”

“The hall leading up to your position came to a dead end too. When I touched the wall, it opened. Maybe you have to do the same,” he explains.