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There are no vehicles in the driveway, and power to this property is massively reduced compared to its neighbors. All indications suggest the owners aren’t home.”
That made sense. Without thinking, she launched herself effortlessly up and over the six-foot wall. The rough texture of the bricks beneath her fingers registered dimly in her mind, but then she was over and dropping into the space on the other side. A paved area wound between the house and the wall of its neighbor, seemingly a utility area if the coiled hose on the wall and the bins were any indication.
Stop,the voice ordered before she could take a step. She froze, every muscle taut as she listened for any signs of pursuit. But she heard nothing. If they were following her, they’d lost the trail streets back and moved on. All she could hear were her own ragged breaths and the frantic pounding of her heart. But as she noticed them, her breathing evened out, and her heart rate slowed to a steady rhythm, as though she hadn’t just run what felt like a mile in under two minutes.
One minute, forty-nine seconds,” the voice informed her calmly.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“But… that’s not possible.”
She’d spent endless hours in the hospital with nothing but holo-magazines to occupy her time. One had an article about Dastan Edeck, the fastest man alive. He was famous for holdingthe Earth Alliance record for running a mile… in two minutes and nine seconds.
“There’s no way I could beat a record like that.”
Engines roared in the distance, growing louder by the second. Jesh’s heart leaped into her throat as she flattened herself against the wall, as if trying to meld with the bricks.
They’d found her. How?
Shielding system readings, the voice in her head announced calmly.
She held her breath, every muscle tensed for flight. But the sounds of pursuit rolled right past her as if she’d somehow turned invisible to their scanners. She blinked as the sound of the engines faded into the distance. How had they missed her?
“How did you do that?” she murmured in confusion. But then she noticed a smear of red on the right where she’d been leaning. “Ah, shit… I’m bleeding.”
She turned her arm and hissed through her teeth. The gash on the back of her forearm from when she’d thrown herself out the car was deeper than she’d thought. She wrinkled her nose as she looked at it. It was gnarly, the edges of the skin split open again to reveal… shit, was that… was that… metal? Her eyes shot open wide. Where she should have seen bone, instead metal glinted at her beneath the blood. She twisted and flexed her arm, watching with morbid fascination as the muscles within the cut moved and shifted, hiding and then revealing the metal within like some kind of macabre hide-and-seek.
She had metal bones.
“Shit. Why do I have metal bones?”
Go into the house,the voice said.Scans indicate a defibrillation unit.
She flinched. “I have a cut…” Understatement of the century there, but she didn’t have the words to argue with whatever was living in her head. “Why do I need a defibrillation unit?”
Often a first-aid kit with suturing supplies will be nearby.It sounded slightly irritated, like it was dealing with an awkward toddler.
“Oh, okay.” At least that made sense. Not much else did.
She approached the back door, slowly. Warily. It was solid with what looked like armored glass and no lock that she could see, just a blank panel to the side.
“How am I supposed to get in?” she whispered, her fingers hovering over the panel uncertainly.
Place your palm on the scanner.
She hesitated for a moment and then pressed her hand against the cool surface. A tingling sensation spread through her palm as the panel lit up, scanning her hand.
“Now what?” she murmured, looking up and around for security cameras. She found none and relaxed a little.
Scanning… bypassing security protocols,the voice said neutrally. It seemed to flick between irritation and emotionless. Perhaps it was broken, just like her? That would make sense since it was in her head.
Enter the following sequence, it instructed.Seven-two-nine-Alpha-Echo-three.
Her fingers danced across the panel, inputting the code, and after a second, the door clicked open with a soft hiss.
Security system disabled,the voice confirmed.
She slipped inside, her enhanced senses immediately on high alert. The house was quiet, broken only by the soft padding of her feet on the polished hardwood floors. She inhaled deeply, picking up the sharp odor of lemon-scented cleaning products mingled with the faint, lingering aroma of a home-cooked meal.
