Ms. Hetly glanced at the newcomer. “Pavel, read the first problem and choose a partner to solve it with.”
Two rows over, Pavel stood, quivering. Poor guy. His big eyes flicked between Ms. Hetly and the newcomer before tapping Myrtha on the shoulder. Good choice. She went rigid, like she might cry or hide behind those huge ears of hers.
The two walked to the front of the silent room. I was safe, at least for now...
“Analyze the following,” Pavel read, enunciating each word. He didn’t look up, far from his usual cool. “You’re working in a verticalized solar cell facility following the clean energy collapse. Which of the following…”
I got distracted and before I knew it, they’d finished a three-tiered sorting system with some notes about increased worker hours. They turned to Ms. Hetly, eyes wide.
The man was pounding away at his keys, staring steely-eyed at the three of them.
“Well done. You can go back to your seats,” Ms. Hetly murmured, her voice a few octaves above normal.
The enhancer lifted a threatening finger. “One second.” He took a full two minutes to finish a note before turning his attention to Pavel. Pavel shuffled his feet and looked at the floor.
“How do you like school?” he asked.
“I like it well enough.” Pavel bit his lower lip, still staring at his feet.
“Well enough? What do you want to be when you graduate? And look at me, boy, when I’m talking to you!”
A bolt shot through Pavel, the jerk of marionette strings pulling him straight, his feet back, chest out. He looked at the man. “I’d like to be an engineer, sir.”
“An engineer, huh?” The man smirked. “That requires university. Your kind doesn’t do higher education.”
“I know, sir. I thought, I could learn it on my own and try to apply, convince ‘em. You know?” Pavel said in an excited voice.
“No, I don’t know,” the inspector replied icily. The man’s hard eyes narrowed further. “Can you spell it out for me? Which part of the law did you think you could convince ‘em to break?”
“Um, well, I didn’t—”
“I think what Pavel is trying to say, sir,” Ms. Hetly cut in, “is that he has big dreams and wants to contribute to society. Right, Pavel?”
“Yes, ma’am. Yes, sir. That’s—that’s what I meant.” Pavel looked away, flushing.
“I don’t buy it. Remember your place.” The enhancer sneered. “You’re dismissed, all of you. Get out!” He turned to Ms. Hetly. “Not you, Pelly. You stay here with me.”
His voice gave me chills as we rushed for the door.
4
Autumn
AUTUMN WAS MY FAVORITE season, but it always ended too soon. This autumn was no different, except for the attack. The months flew by, but people were on edge. Even good old Mr. Trew seemed stressed. Elephantish, I’ve heard. But it’s hard to tell. A lot of folks are like that, their human DNA is dominant. But if you see someone on the street without a fancy evosuit, they’re animote. We could never afford that kind of awesome tech. I’d seen holograms of elite kids messing around: the suits absorb impact, prevent burns, even stop a knife.
They weren’t faked either. I checked. That was a big problem for a while, before The Experiments. Scientists researched AI back in those days. The Bioplague changed all that. When the GDR formed, it clamped down on AI research. Said it was for our protection, but it was about power. AI could change everything. They didn’t want that.
We even had to watch Terminator in school. All. Six. Of. Them.
Mom’s voice shattered my sleep. “Wake up, Raek! It’s time for school!”
Had I been dreaming? Crap, I fell asleep. I’d wanted to practice more warehousing examples before today’s test.
There was a knock at the front door. By this time, I was dressed and ready.
“It’s Pavel!” Mom yelled. “Did you study for manufacturing?”
Crap. “Yes, Mom,” I lied, not making eye contact as I slipped out the door.
Pavel was waiting on our dinky doorstep, anxious to leave. The weather was beautiful with a rich red sunrise and warm breeze.
“Ready, princess?” He elbowed me in the ribs and earned a jab for his snark as we hurried to avoid being late.
At school, something felt off. A crowd of parents milled about the entrance, talking to a group of restless teachers. Gloomy, nervous energy hung over the place.
We heard snippets of conversation. “What’s all the commotion...”
“Have you seen...”
“Police?”
Pavel and I looked at each other.
Ah, Professor Fitz. If anyone could tell us what was going on, it would be him.
“Professor Fitz, Professor Fitz!” I ducked through the crowd and dodged a huge bearish dad to get to him, grabbing his arm.
Professor Fitz looked terrible, heavy bags under his dark eyes that reminded me of a Neurowebber. From the looks of it, he hadn’t slept. His beard was unkempt, his hair disheveled, and even his signature microfiber shirt had wrinkles.
“Professor Fitz, what’s going on?”
“Raek, Pavel, I’m glad you two are okay,” he said, tone grave. “There’s been an attack. By the elites, Merie Mram. She was a year or two younger than you boys. She was found dead. It looks like elites, the cynetics.”
I gasped. Merie? Vovi’s sister? Vovi was always at our house. Jeez, little Merie...
“You boys should go home. We don’t need anyone else getting hurt. School is canceled today. I’ll see you tomorrow, unless the search takes longer.”
He stepped closer, giving each of us a glare Mom would be proud of. “And don’t even think about it, Raek. You either, Pavel. This is a job for adults.”
Actually, it was a job for the police, but they could care less.
His eyes narrowed further. “I don’t want to see either of you in those woods. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” we said automatically.
“Linus, get over here!” someone shouted.
“I have to go, boys, and so do you. Go home, and stay home.” With that, he turned in the direction of the caller and disappeared into the crowd.
Elly tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped. For a second, I thought she was Vynce—they had the same eyes and nose, plus her hair was back in a bun. “Jeez, sis, a little warning would be nice.”
“Thank goodness I found you, Raek,” she said, talking fast, her voice high. “Have you heard? We need to go home. Now! Oh, Pavel,” she added, noticing him. He turned bright red. Pavel was even more embarrassed around girls than me, especially Elly—not that they’d ever be able to have kids or a future, him, owlish, and her, wolfish.
“Let’s stick together, Raek, and find Vynce. Pavel, you can walk with us. Come on.” With that, she turned and scanned the crowd.
We got home fine, but it took longer than usual. We were excited and nervous, and must have checked over our shoulders a dozen times. It had been a long time since anything like this had happened.
Accidents and occasional run-ins were one thing, but murder—cold-blooded murder—didn’t happen often. Even with the mixing in the cities, violence was rare thanks to extreme punishment. Out here though, there was nothing. Kiag was a small animote town, one of thousands. We knew everyone.