by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.12, only a few days later than I would have liked but I finally got it done. Sorry about the delay, as I said in my blog I was having internet connectivity issues and when I finally fixed it I realized what a moron I was for not noticing a simple cord being loose. Enough of that though. I have a new plan for this story, which will end its first part of the tale after Ch.15. I will take a break where I want to pursue something else then I'll write the second half of this story, most likely consisting of 15 more chapters. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

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12.

The rest of the week and most of the week that followed went by without much incident. The retribution that Clarissa claimed Natalie was going to rain down on me never came. Sure there were a lot of sneers and dirty looks but nothing life threatening. Word did spread about the “locker room incident” though. People now seemed to think I was a force to be reckoned with. In the hallways, most guys gave me a wide berth while a lot of girls stopped to congratulate me on a job well done.

It turns out Natalie was a bit of a bitch to everyone.

So I wasn’t so special after all.

I think I’m gonna cry.

It was kind of funny how she operated. I think I mentioned before that it reminded me a bit of those teen vids that Carrie watches. Well it was exactly like those, almost as if Natalie was using them as a script for her own stupid antics. It was the bullying and the teasing and what she thought were intimidating looks. It was sad really. I was waiting for the bucket of pig’s blood on my head. The glares got even worse when she realized they were having no effect on me.

It was comical really.

The little human trying to pick a fight with the Alpha.

Oh, ugg…that sounded way too Alpha of me.

Sorry.

Besides Natalie though, things were good.

Clarissa nicely filled the spot in our group vacated by Ted and Maddie. Once you got her to open up, she was actually pretty cool. She’s a techie like Joe. The two of them together were really cute, too. Listening to them rattle off all their mumbo jumbo and practically salivating as they did it. The scary part was that I kind of understood some of it. Well when they talked about numbers anyway. Numbers were good for me. I seemed to get them better than anything else. Speaking of numbers, Ted finally cracked the mystery of the hex code.

Once he knew what he was doing that is.

It turns out he wasn’t lying about it being archaic.

He only revealed to me yesterday that he cracked it.

“Simple know that I know what I’m doing” were his exact words.

Now I knew what I was getting:

DANGER.

THAT WAS CRUEL.

DO NOT TRUST.

Danger was an easy one though I’m not sure what I was in danger of. Joe didn’t seem to know either which scared him a little. That Was Cruel was a little more ambiguous that is until I remembered when I’d gotten the message. It was after I showed off in front of the Free Ballers that day in the park. God that felt like ages ago now. The last message had been in the park too, right after my talk with Agent Rossen. So the mystery of the messages were solved. Joe managed to write me an algorithm to decode them too. He downloaded it into my Bio. Now whenever I got a new code, it would automatically translate for me. Now more funky messages I didn’t understand. I made him teach me the code anyways though. Who knows, maybe I wanted to send my own message back.

That led to our second mystery to solve though.

Who sent them?

Joe had his theories.

According to him, there were only so many people smart enough to even remember hex code. Hell, his own “source” didn’t even know how to crack it at first. Joe complied a short list, all Z3s and some of the smartest men in the Metro. Outside of The Cube of course. He would get back to me on it as soon as he had more to tell. Which was Joe speak for “I’m narrowing things down”? It was funny. I was the only one who could ever truly translate ‘Joe speak’. Ted used to have a hell of a time with it. He never really had much of an imagination honestly. He was one of those “I see, I get it” kind of people, no room for creativity or individualism.
I don’t think he truly loved Maddie.

He wanted her because she was pretty and shiny.

He practically self destructed when she wasn’t interested.

He was such a fucking child.

Well screw him.

We both lost.

I could only imagine what he’d think of Maddie if he saw her now. For one he’d barely recognize her. Hell, I barely did and I saw her every day. Her tats and piercings seemed to multiply every day and she was thin now. Well she’d always been a little thin but now she was scary thin. There was this attitude now, too. Speaking out in class, failing grades, synth cigs, foul language. I mean sure I swear but Maddie had a mouth now that would make a sailor blush. She didn’t even call herself Maddie anymore. She made that clear one day last week when one of the teachers called her name. She made it very clear her name was Zee now.

What the fuck kind of name was that?

I guess it was progression.

I called her Mads. Her new friends were calling her “Madz” and now she apparently took the “Mad” out of it altogether.

The girl needed help.

It was like someone brain jacked my girlfriend.

Well, former girlfriend.

Thinking about it all though helped me get through other things.

Like Sentinel training.

Last weekend had been more orientation stuff. It’s too boring to get into but let’s just say it was pretty much a repeat of the same from the week before. This weekend---today---was supposed to be the nit and gritty of it all, Ryan’s words not mine.

“Good morning Lady and gentlemen”.

There were six of us standing in a line, Ryan in front of us. A few seconds ago, there was a quick intro around the room. My fellow Probates were all male and all very human. Four of them were from different Zones, two Z1s, a Z4 and a Z5. The fifth guy was a Z2er like me. Mark Ross. I think I briefly mentioned good ole Mark back before finding out I was even in the program. Mark was one of the last guys in the waiting room with me actually. It seemed he was the only one who made it beyond myself. The look of surprise on his face only a few moments ago was pretty priceless.

Not too many girls made it to Sentinels.

None were Alphas.

Mark was still slightly staring at me.

“Probate Ross, do you have a problem with Probate Daniels?”

“No sir” said Mark, snapping to attention. “I’m just a bit surprised to see her, sir”

Ryan nodded then addressed us all. “Probate Daniels is an Alpha as most of you mutts can see but you are to treat her like you would any other Probate. Do I make myself clear?”

There was an “aye sir” from all of them.

There were glares from two.

The Z1ers.

Spooners were snobs; everyone knew that. They were privileged little snots who thought they were God’s gift to the world. Children of the Administration, they usually got the best of everything. The best clothes, the best education, the best that money could buy. They were silver spoon brats, which earned them a bit of a nickname in the other Zones.

Spooners.

You could barely tell the two of them apart to be honest.

Same hairstyle.

Same striking blue eyes.

Same sneers.

“Listen up everyone, from this day forward the seven of us are a unit. As such we will move as one, talk as one and fight as one. If one of you fails, all of you fail”

There was a collective bit of mumbling at that last part.

The Spooners louder than the others.

“As a unit” Ryan continued. “You’ll each be given a specific call sign. This name will be a unique identifier for when we’re in the field together. It will be the only name you have from this day forward for as long as you’re with me. Do I make myself clear?”

More “yes sirs”

Ryan dropped the next ball on us only a moment later. Apparently, the names had already been chosen for each of us and there was no changing them. The Spooners definitely didn’t like that. Ryan had apparently compiled them while we’re been in orientation the two weeks before. He apparently hadn’t really thought them out well enough though.

The tall kid from Z5---Griggs---was now Stretch.

The solid, muscled Z4---Ford---was Ox.

Z1 #1---Jackson---was now Hawk.

Z1 #2---Hines---was now Falcon.

My good buddy Mark was now Spider.

Last but not least.

“Carson from now on, you’re Enigma”

“What the hell” snapped Hawk. “I get a fucking bird and she gets a cool name like that?”

Ryan snapped around on him fast. “You have a problem with birds, Hawk?”

I saw the tattoo on Ryan’s arm a second before the others.

A large black bird.

A raven.

Guess what his call sign was.

“Why Enigma though?” asked Hawk.

Ryan smiled. “That’s for you fools to find out”

We were broken into pairs after that. Ryan said he wanted to get a gauge on our combat abilities, specifically how much hand-to-hand we could do without any actual training. After announcing that we’d be rotating partners every ten minutes, the Spooners groaned again.

“It’s not fair. She’s an Alpha. She’s got a serious advantage”

This time it was Falcon.

“And yet we’re required to handle all threats, human and Alpha alike. You lot are privileged to have Enigma here. No other unit has an Alpha to practice with. Through her, you’ll learn their strength and their weaknesses. You’ll know what to do if you’re ever in the unfortunate situation of running into an Alpha and getting on their bad side”

“Does that happen?” Stretch asked, looking very nervous.

“Sometimes” said Ryan “usually it’s a misunderstanding on their part, some drunk accident. Combat training to fight them is only one of our weapons though”

Ryan walked over to a locker on the far side of the large training room. He placed his hand on a pad and the door opened. Inside, I could make out rows of strange silver jumpsuits. The chest, arms and legs were padded slightly. He took one out and tossed it toward Stretch. Stretch strained slightly as he caught it in clumsy fingers.

“This boys and girl is am SAS, Shock and Absorb Suit. It’s specially designed to protect its wearer---us---from potentially life threatening blows from a larger opponent, i.e. an Alpha”

Boy that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

He reached into the locker again, taking out a pair of bulky looking gloves and a strange glowing baton.

“Shock gloves” he said, slipping one on.

A moment later, there was a light hum and each individual finger seemed to glow for a second.

“Get a hold of someone with these and its pretty much lights out. The current in these gloves is enough to take down a full size Adonis”

“And that?” asked Hawk, putting to the baton.

Ryan smirked.

He walked over to Hawk. Before the jerk could react, Ryan gently tapped him in the stomach with it. Hawk immediately doubled over and puked. Very unpleasant to say the least. It got a few laughs, though.

“We call this little baby the Sick Stick” Ryan waved it around. “I don’t think I need to tell you what it does”

There were murmurs all around.

I watched as he put each item back into the locker, carefully memorizing what they looked like. I definitely didn’t want to be on the receiving end of either the gloves or the baton. I might have speed and strength but I knew there was no way I could withstand either of those. Ryan seemed to notice me watching and gave a nod, confirming my fear.

Locker Stuff bad for me.

“Ok now that you’ve seen the gear, let’s see who among you will earn the right to use it next week”

The sparring began.

I was paired with Mark first. I felt bad for him. Hell, I felt bad for all of them. After all, I was stronger and faster and I had some training. Mark tried to stay on his feet but it really was no contest. Stretch lasted a little longer. Hawk and Falcon fought like they talked. They were all show and very little action. Neither one of them proved much of a challenge. Ox was the best. He lasted nearly three minutes.

After the first fights, things rotated again.

We sparred for an hour.

The boys started to pant and sweat.

Me, I could go all day if I wanted.

At one point, they convinced Ryan to let them all come at me at once. He only allowed it after I told him it was ok. It was a valiant effort but in the end, futile. The only one who got close to taking me down was Falcon and only because he tried to cop a feel on one of my boobs. It took me by surprise. A few seconds later though, I flipped the little prick over my head like a rag doll. The satisfying sound of him hitting the mat made me smile.

After that final charge, Ryan called it.

“You guys are pathetic,” he said, shaking his head. “Ox, well done. The rest of you, you shame the human race.”

There were a bunch of groans.

Ox was the only one smiling.

After being told to hit the showers, Ryan stopped me at the door.

“You were holding back,” he said.

I shrugged. “I didn’t want them to hate me too much”

“They’re your teammates; that’s good but don’t forget in the end they’re competition too. By the time you become a full Cadet, at least three of them will be gone. At this moment and time, they’re the enemy too. Don’t forget that”

I nodded. “Thanks, Ryan”

“Now hit the shower,” he said, smacking me hard on the butt.

It was a knee jerk reaction.

A coach did it to his male players all the time.

I think I turned every shade of red imaginable.

Ryan took the whole of the purple spectrum I think.

He stumbled out an apology.

I slipped into my private locker area, my heart thumping in my chest.
Shit.

Stop blushing idiot.

“Beth, wow look at you!”

I was just walking into Deena’s office, feeling better than I’d felt in a while. I will not admit it was because Ryan just smacked my ass. I’m not even going to think about that. Nope that little tap didn’t even happen. It wasn’t even a tap really, just a knee jerk reaction. He apologized for it too. I don’t even care about it. Sure, I blushed. He blushed too. Wait why did he blush? Did that mean that he wanted to smack my butt? That maybe liked smacking my butt. Did I want him to like smacking my butt?

Son of a bitch.

Why am I still thinking about this.

Stop.

Stop.

STOP.

“What’s wrong with me?” asked, responding to her happy greeting.

I looked myself over, hoping that I wasn’t wearing my panties on the outside of my pants or anything. I had been a little distracted getting dressed after all.

She laughed. “Nothing’s wrong, you’re just glowing a bit”

Shit.

Stop glowing Damnit.

“It was just a good day at The Center”

I quickly filled her in on everything. I left out the butt slap though. I think she knew there something else too because she gave me a strange look. She didn’t pursue the inquiry though, so thank god for that.

“So Enigma huh?”

I shrugged.

“I think it sounds cool,” I said, smiling. “Mysterious”

I didn’t tell her we were planning to get tats. It was something the guys decided just after we all left the locker rooms. They wanted to get something to solidify our new team. Tattoos aren’t like they used to be. It’s nothing permanent anymore. In fact, much like makeup and hair color, it was controlled by our Bios. It was just one of those useless apps my mother never thought I needed. Of course, that was before being an Alpha. I had all those silly apps now. Not that I’d ever use any of them but Mom thought I was responsible enough now to use them without abuse.

I already did it.

Thankfully, I had long sleeves or else Deena would have seen the purple question mark was currently adorning my left shoulder.

Hey, the guys got cool animals except for Stretch of course.

I couldn’t wait to see what he’d come up with.

“So tell me about school?”

“I made a new friend,” I said happily.

I quickly filled her in on Clarissa.

This should have been a part of our conversation last week but Deena had been swamped with work so she had to cancel. She still looked swamped. She looked tired; there were circles under her eyes that not even her makeup could hide. Her hair was a little messy too. Not the professional looking woman I’m used to seeing. She was still gorgeous of course, just a little worn out now. I wanted to ask her if she was ok but she would have quickly reminded me that we were here to talk about me and not her.

Telling her about Clarissa though led to Natalie.

“What do you think about that?”

I shrugged. “She’s a nuisance but hardly a problem. If she starts shit, I can handle it”

“Nuisance or not it could still be dangerous”

“I’ll be careful”

“I know girls that age, hell I was one. It’s not easy and girl problems aren’t like boy problems. If she feels threatened by you, she’ll do everything in her power to get rid of you”

“She can try but I’m not exactly like normal girls”

Deena nodded. “Just be careful”

She changed the subject after that.

She went back to asking me the clinical questions. How am I doing, how am I adjusting. How is life at home? All the blah blah. I answered the same. Everything was fine. Ok so I’d never get the hang of wearing makeup and long hair was a pain in the ass but life was good again. I was finally starting to adjust to this new body. There were still some things I refused though. Still no makeup, still no girly things like dresses and skirts but I wasn’t as alarmed anymore by looking at this body. Yes, it did scare me a little but I accepted it as my own now.

Still human.

Well in a matter of speaking.

We wrapped the meeting up quickly after that. When I got down to the lobby, I waited at my usual spot for Mom. When she didn’t show, I pipped her. I got her message a moment later. Apparently she was caught up in a project and couldn’t get me. Which meant I got to run home.

YES.

I could have jumped for joy as I headed out the front door. I started my stretching exercises. I was halfway through them when a familiar car pulled up. If I had heat vision, I would have burned a hole through it. I definitely would have fried the foul thing behind the wheel.

OH.

HELL

NO.

I stopped stretching and walked up to the car, holding back the urge to turn it into scrap.

The window rolled down.

The thing inside spoke:

“Hey…uh…buddy”

Buddy.

“Hello Person who I do not know”

“I deserved that,” said the man who pretended to be my father.

“No, you deserve a lot worse but I’m not supposed to do anything violent to humans”

Ok, I’m being a bitch but I have my reasons.

The last time I saw Dad was the day he and Mom showed up at The Q.

That awkward and strained moment. Dad could barely look at me then. Now it was clear he was trying but I didn’t give a damn. He and I had always been pretty close, well when we were younger. As I got older and started to stray toward my grandfather’s path in life, Dad sorta stopped trying. So I was used to him ignoring me but I wasn’t used to him running away from home for nearly three weeks.

“Can we talk?”

“We are talking”

“I meant someplace private”

“You do not want to be anywhere private with me right now”

I was hurting.

A lot.

I didn’t want to hear whatever bull shit excuse this man might come up with.

“I really need to talk. I want to explain some things. I need to explain them, to help you understand my absence”

He leaned forward and I saw how he looked.

One word:

Awful.

The last few weeks had definitely not been kind to my father. Like Deena, he looked exhausted. Bags under his eyes, his hair unkempt. He looked thinner too, like he hadn’t been eating and he had an unshaved face. My father was always a very clean, very well groomed kind of man. Except of course when he got lost in his work but even then, it would only take him about an hour to get back to his usual look. He never went out in public looking bad though.

My hard shell cracked.

Whatever anger I felt for this man was gone now.

Now I just wanted to make sure he was ok.

“Holy shit, Dad!”

“Watch your mouth young lady!”

I pulled open the car door and without thinking, I wrapped him in a tight hug. He returned the gesture. We hugged for a couple of minutes before I finally broke it. Public displays of affection weren’t illegal but they were frowned upon. This world and all their stupid rules.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so distant but it hasn’t been easy”

“It’s ok, Dad”

He shook his head. “No it’s not”

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

Like me, Dad had had it rough.

Crystal’s death had been a blow.

Not just for Maddie’s family but for mine as well.

Dad invented the car that crashed after all. The mechanism that failed---the one that caused the crash---he owned the patent on it. So after her death, there was a small inquiry. Dad was called before the Administration. There was an investigation. When it was done, it was ruled an accident but Dad took a blow. An accident, yes, but because it was Dad’s device, he took some of the blame officially. Maddie’s parents didn’t blame him of course but some of his colleagues did.

“The accident” he said “then what happened with you…it was just too much”

I nodded. “I said it was ok and it is. You know why it is?”

“No, why?”

“Because Alphas are Never Wrong”

Ok so I threw the Truths at him.

It seemed to work.

He smirked then both of us starting laughing.

It was nice to hear Dad laugh again.

“So what do you and your mother usually do after one of these meetings?”

I shrugged. “We go home.”

He nodded. “You want to go get lunch. Give me time to get to know my new daughter?”

“I’m still the same me”

“I know. That came out wrong…”

He sighed heavily.

He’s trying. I’ll give him props for that.

“Sure, I’d love to go to lunch with you”

The smile on his face was worth it. Dad put the car in auto, programmed it for the nearest café and we sat back as it drove. The ride was quiet. Neither of us knew what to say. Hey, it was a start. One step at a time. I was just happy to have my father back in my life.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF