A hunt is what they called it. Animals, I thought. I couldn't help but look over at the three lifeless bodies lying in the middle of the shuttle. A boy maybe fourteen or so, suprisingly well fed, with plump cheeks. And two girls. One was killed by Micah the same time as the boy, the other was shot down half an hour or so before. Micah saw her walking alone while passing in the shuttle. I guess he saw an opportunity. There was a medical kit at the camp where we found the two kids, enough thread for them both but not for the other. If she Rebooted, her bullet wounds might not heal right.
They were both tall, the girl that died earlier slightly more so. She had very long dark brown hair, nearly black, that was covering most of her face. There was something different about her, I could notice it straight away. She wore a shining silver metal band around her wedding finger. A ring with a transparent middle sized stone on it. What was that? Wait, could that be a diamond? Diamonds are one of the hardest things to come by nowadays. Not many people remember what they are, either. God knows how this girl came across one.
That wasn't the only thing that was odd about her. She had 7 digits printed on her right hand in black ink. The last number began just below the knuckle of her index finger, finishing just above her wrist. The digits's 3827496 were printed in the same ink as our numbers. The same ink that tells us how long we were dead for, before Rebooting. The same ink that remind us we are no longer human, but she was. So why did she have that on her hand? If she was a Reboot she would have had it on the back of her wrist with a bar code, like the rest of us. Why was it there? Something was different about her, and we could all tell.
I turned away from the bodies and caught Riley staring at me as we lifted off the ground.
The loud gasps came first before I caught sight of her. We were all cramed around the fire, eating our super when she was seen from a distance away. The same girl Micah killed. The girl with that ring and those numbers, Rebooted. Did anyone even know? She was put into a tent with the dead boy. Was no one watching over them?
I stood, planning on walking over to her but changed my mind. She was angry, really angry. Her hair covered her face. I couldn't even see her eyes. The entire reservation stopped chewing their food. It was silence as the girl walked strongly towards us. I stood still as most of the reservation slowly inched backwards. It might be because they probably havn't seen a Reboot in this state before. Or it could be that she look's totally crazy right now. Could she be an adult?
Her light blue t-shirt was dyed red from the blood that covered it. It stained the dark jeans she was wearing and probably her jacket. Someone must have told Micah, because he came running towards us with Riley at his side. They didn't say a word either, just stared.
She stopped meters away from the fire. She didn't say or do anything, just stood there. We were like an audience, we all had a full few. I could see her perfectly. Long dark, dark brown hair, straight, thick and nearly touching her waist. Blood covered her body. Black boots, broad shoulders, ivory skin. A Reboot. If she was an adult, she would have already attacked us. So we can rule that out.
"Was no one watching her? Did no one hear her Reboot?" Micah asked loudly. They always scream, Jules had told me earlier. That's what Micah means. No one heard her scream. We would have if she did.
"It had been three hours, I thought there was no more need," someone said. I didn't bother turning around.
"Three hours? That can't be," Micah exclamied. "Riley, get a death timer. Now." He ordered. Three hours. No. That's impossible. Before Micah could get another word out, she spoke.
"Where is my ring?" She asked slowly, loudly and angrily.
My gaze flew to her left hand. The didgits were still there, but the ring was gone. That must be why she's pissed as hell. Shock covered Micah's face. Either because she spoke or because she asked him if he stole her ring. Micah reached into his pocket. He took out the diamond ring and held it in front of him.
"This ring?"
She slowly outstretch her hand in front of her. Palm up, waiting to have her ring back.
I don't know why Micah didn't order her to come to him, it sound's like something he would do. But he didn't. He folded his hand with the ring safely inside and walked to her. She waited, standing still, hand outstretched with her head slightly tilted to the right.
He stood in front of her. Micah wasn't that much taller then her, in fact. Only around half a foot. She stood tall as he looked at her hand in front of him. I could tell he was looking at the numbers printed there, but she didn't move it. Seconds later, Riley came running and came to a stand still next to Micah, the death timer in his hand. She suddenly dropped her hand quickly, and her forehead creased. She glanced at the death timer. It looked like a rectagular, flat bit of glace with a metalic plate on it.
"No," she said. "I don't want to know how long I was dead for."
She didn't want to know how long she was dead for. The thought crossed my mind many times before. I always wondered if I would have been treated differently if they hadn't have found out I was One-seventy-eight. She was dead for a long time, I know that. But how many minutes, I don't know. I'm happy that she doesn't want to know her number. If I had the choice, I wouldn't want to know mine either.
Micah's seemed confused. Probably wondering why she didn't want to know. His eye's turned soft suddenly.
"Let's make a deal," he said with a smile. "You let us time your death, and i'll give you you're ring back."
She glanced at his hand - the ring tightly inside - and then at Riley, holding the death timer. Her expressions went blank. She shifted her weight, suddenly.
"Fine."
Micah smiled widely.
"Here," he said, and handed her the ring.
She looked at it in the palm of her hand, like she was making sure it was the same one. After a while of silence, she slid it slowly on to her wedding finger. Where she always seemed to wear it. It gained a few gasps and whispers from the people around me.
Callum suddenly nudged me. I looked down to where he was sitting next to me. I forgot I was standing.
"Is that the girl you were talking about earlier?" He asked.
"Yes, it is." Remembering I mentioned the girl wearing a ring.
She carefully lowered her hand back to her side and looked at Micah.
"Pass me the death timer," he told Riley.
He held it out to him, looking at the girl nervously. Micah took it from him and stepped forward.
"Your going to have to move your hair, I need you're forehead."
All that hair was still covering her face. She sighed and slowly reached up to drag her long hair away from her eyes. She tossed it all to the side and it settled behind her back. I couldn't breath for a moment. Her eyes. Her eyes were bright gold. Shimmering gold. I've never seen a Reboot with gold eyes before. Brown eyes often had a slight golden shimmer after Rebooting, but her's were bright gold.
Her ivory skin had a slight glow, pale pink lips. She was actually beautiful. Anyone could tell she was a Reboot.
Micah paused for a moment before reaching up and touching the timer to her temple. Seconds later, his eyes widend and lips parted.
"Your neck." His face was serious as he stared at her.
She narrowed her eyes at him and sighed again. It didn't look like she was enjoying this. Her jacket coller and bloodied t-shirt were pushed against her neck. She grabbed them both and pulled them to the left as she tilted her head to the right, making it easier for Micah. As he touched the timer to her neck I noticed a bar code printed on her collarbone.
T.S 64 was printed to the right of it. There was another marking just behind her left ear. A little star in black ink.
What are all these symbols? I've never seen a print besides a bar code and a number on a Reboots wrist. She had these when she was human. Was she working for HARC? I could tell other people were wondering the same thing. Confused faces were scattered all around me.
Micah dropped his hand quickly and took a step back. He handed the death timer to Riley as she let go of her jacket and shirt and met Micah's eyes.
"What's your name?"
She went silent for a moment.
"Seraphine."
"Seraphine," Micah said with a slight smile. "Seraphine. One-ninety-six."
Everyone erupted around me. I heard many "What?"s and "That can't be"s, along with many gasps.
She blinked a few times but other then that, her face was natural. Like Micah hadn't just told her she was dead for a hundred and ninety six minutes. Three hours and sixteen minutes. Micah suddenly raised his hand, and the crowed silenced. Seraphine turned her head from side to side as she looked around the circle. She dropped her head slighty and she met Micah's gaze again, but she looked if anything, slightly disappointed.
She turned slowly and started walking away, without a single word.
"Hey, wait!" Micah shouted after her. He took a couple steps forward as she turned to him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally asking her.
"What is that on you're shoulder? You're hand? That star? What are all those markings?"
She frowned.
"Identification," she said simply.
"Is that a new thing HARC are doing in the cities?"
She smiled slightly. "No."
Her gaze flew to the floor and she began walking again.
I ran forward, joining Micah.
"Wait," I shouted. I at least wanted to ask, I need to know if she's working with HARC.
She stopped abruptly and turned to us, an annoyed look cast over her face.
"What does T.S 64 on your collarbone mean? What do those numbers on your hand mean? You were human, how did you get those?" I ask.
"T.S 64. Test Subject 64," she explained.
She held up her left hand, the 7 digits on display. "It was my name." She glanced at them briefley, before letting her hand fall quickly.
"Test Subjest? HARC experimented on you?" Micah looked shocked.
She nodded slightly.
"I thought they only experimented on Reboots?" he asked in confusion, flashbacks crossing his eyes.
"You'd think that wouldn't you," she said with a frown. "The truth is, HARC started experimenting on humans long before Reboots." She sighed as if she was sick of the truth.
She's only around my age, and HARC did that to her?
"So, they just took you off the streets?" Riley asked, sympathy in his voice. I hadn't noticed that he came to stand by my side at some point.
She smiled sadly. "No, they didn't."
"My father was a doctor in one of the New Dallas HARC labs," Seraphine explained. "After my mother died when I was four, he hated me. Blamed her death on me. He said I remainded him of her," she shrugged, like she didn't care. "So he gave me to them."
"When you were four? Did he even know what they were going to do to you?" Riley asked, shocked.
She nodded. "He even did the experiments, sometimes." She didn't even look sad, her face was blank. No emotion.
"That's what these are," she hooked the coller of her shirt and dragged it to the right, revealing more markings. She flashed both her wrists, also. The same thing on each bodypart. Four black lines with a fifth going through them. It was repeated four times on her collerbone. Three sets on the left wrist with two and three lines on the right.
"They called it a 'Tally Chart'. Each time we survived an experiment, they'd add a mark."
There was a long pause.
"They said they did it to remind us of our achievements, help us remember what we were doing for our societies future. But most importantly, remind us of who and where we were. They are there to remind us we are tainted. We will never truly be free, because these markings will always be with us." She looked to the setting sun as she recited the words, as if they were taught to her.
No one dared to speek. I don't blame them. What is there to say? Sorry for what they did to you? What good will that do for somthing that's already been. It won't take what happened to her back. I wish it could, but it can't.
"How long did they keep you there?" Someone asked quietly after a long moment.
"Evelen years," she whispered, looking at the ground.
"You must have been lucky to survive so long as a human," Micah spoke up, seeming impressed.
She looked up, eyes filled with anger and rage as a tear ran down her face.
"Lucky?" She laughed humorlessly.
"I've been dead more then once but I had a father with a guilty conscious, he did whatever it took to save me. Bribes, experimental antidontes, he sometimes even sent someone down to my cell with food. I was never lucky. I was privilaged," she eyed Micah. "If I was anyone else, I'd say he did a good thing. But the damn rat just wouldn't let me go," she spat. "He just wouldn't let me go. After eleven years he just couldn't figure out that I would have been happier dead."
The tears were gone, replaced by anger.
Seraphine. One-ninety-six turned and stormed away. No one called after her or tried to follow, not even Micah.
My God. The things this girl has had to go through and this is where she ends up? A reservation filled with Reboots she doesn't even know, probably going to be forced to join an army she doesn't want to be a part of, it isn't right. Maybe Callum was right, Micah's fight isn't ours. She wanted to die, but not the way she did. She didn't want to be killed just so she can come back to life as a Reboot to go to war. She's been fighting her whole life, she doesn't need this. None of us do.
"Do you have a medical kit?" I turn to Micah. He was distracted. His eyes were full of sympathy, anger, confusion.
"Um.. yeah. It's in the supply tent," he said, dazed.
I headed toward the row of tents, searching for the right one.
"Why?" Micah shouted.
I threw a look over my shoulder, meeting eyes with Callum. His eyes were full of moisture.
"Why do you think." I called back.
I grabbed the medical kit, along with a few other pieces she would need. A towel, t-shirt and trousers that looked like they might fit her, and went out to try and find her.