Page 20 of Conform
Communications will reach out shortly. Look forward to seeing you again. —Collin
My stomach swooped. The second was an official message.
F13463233 It has come to our attention that your next meeting with M17292834 has been set for 5:30 this evening following your preparation appointment at 3:00. All travel information has been loaded to your MIND chip. Fertile Blessings.
A million thoughts hit me all at once. The main one: I hadn’t messed it up. I checked the time. I needed to go now if I was going to make my three o’clock meeting with the Starlings. I quickly packed my bag, typed some notes into my report, and darted out.
As I ascended, I pulled out my Comm Device and quickly updated Lo. In the atrium, the chandeliers glittered even more splendidly from the afternoon sun’s rays. Mesmerized, I took a minute to register the cacophony of voices.
The atrium was full of people dressed in gowns and suits in extraordinary colors—no shades of gray or blue among them. There was only one group that was allowed to wear colors of their choosing.
The Elite.
Panic engulfed me. I couldn’t breathe.Just move,a voice yelled at me.Just keep moving.I ducked my head, beelining for the door, my heart thundering.
I had never seen Elite here, but I had never ventured to the surface other than to move to and from my living quarters during designated transition hours. Were they always here at this time? The glass doors loomed closer. Twenty more feet and I would be free.
I weaved among the Elite, close to running. Ten feet. I lowered my head even more, focusing on my dull gray shoes as sweat coated my body. Why did I remove the lens?
Five feet.I can make it.
I collided with someone. Steadying hands grabbed my shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, dipping my head more as I tried to step away.
“I didn’t see you,” the man said.
I glanced up at his odd tone to find features that were familiar. I shared some of them, my blue eye the same crystal shade as his, the same straight nose, and he shook brown curls, a shade lighter than mine, out of his face.
I knew, without having to ask, that we shared blood. He was one of my Elite birth brothers. His face went completely blank.
“Is that a Defect?” someone exclaimed.
“Truly disgusting how they think they can be here,” a male voice rang out. My cheeks burned fiercely.
“Did you see her eyes?” another whispered. “They aren’t the same. A Defect out in the sun.”
“I want to see.” Several people began to push to the front as if I were an exhibit.
“You may proceed to the Defect-designated Pod pickup area,” my birth brother told me, pocketing something before turning away from me. “They’re ready for us,” he told the others, leading the sea of colors away from me. Whispers filled the air as I fled.
What were the ramifications of this? What would Collin say?
I began to jog. I had a birth brother. He was real.
The jog turned into a run. My lungs burned in a gloriously familiar way. I had loved going for daily runs before my MIND forbade it. Each pounding footstep into the earth cleared my head, washed out the fear.
I arrived at the Pods too quickly, taking deep gulps of air. Perspiration dripped down my neck, chilling me despite the afternoon sun.
I had felt seen in the Garden, or I thought I had. But I had looked like one of them. They had seen a crafted façade. They hadn’t truly seen me, until now. The Elite and my birth brother saw me for what I was, a Defect. A disgrace.
An empty Pod stood open, waiting. I scanned in and took a seat, trapped with my thoughts, pushing the walls in, suffocating me.
This time, I didn’t even bother to fight the hopelessness that threatened to consume me whole.
CHAPTER SIX
THE STARLINGS SWARMED ME THE MOMENT I STEPPED INTOthe room, squawking about my horrid appearance and my missing lens. They pelted me with their questions while they led me into the bathing chamber.
