Perfect (6 page)

“How did they find us?” Jessica nearly
shrieked as she followed me to the window.

“They must’ve followed us,” Michael answered
for me.

Just then I heard a pounding on the door and
Jessica jumped beside me. My heart raced and I ran to the window at
the back of the room.

I shoved the half-rotting screen out and
climbed through. Once Michael and Jessica had come out after me, we
ran toward the dense forest away from the house, our footsteps
making soft scuffling noises across the brush. I heard Glen’s voice
calling after me and it made me run faster. In my peripheral
vision, I saw Glen and another creator run around the side of the
house and spot us. My heart thudded and I began to panic. What if
we couldn’t get away? Where could we even go? I tried to run faster
and saw that Jessica and Michael were doing the same.

It was difficult to run through the woods.
The terrain was rugged and littered with brush, much of which
contained thorns, not to mention that my back seemed to be
screaming. Trees were scattered everywhere and it was hard to make
a clear path or even see where we were going. I hoped that this
would help us hide instead of help them catch up to us.

“Drew, there’s no use in running!” I heard
Glen’s breathless voice from behind us, startlingly closer than I
had suspected. “We’ll catch you eventually.”

Suddenly I felt something snag on the back of
my shirt and I was wrenched backward. I spun around to find that
Glen had brought an android with him. I tried to wriggle out of his
grasp.

“Go!” I snapped at Michael and Jessica, who
had stopped momentarily.

I yanked away from the android’s hands,
twisting his arm, and punching him in the face. I hoped it was hard
enough to stop him for awhile. As he staggered backward, I could
hear Glen shouting at him, but I didn’t wait for him to catch up
before I darted after Jessica and Michael.

We sprinted through the woods, passing trees
and jumping over shrubbery. I heard Glen and the others right
behind us and wondered how we would ever lose them. I knew that I
could probably keep running until they got tired, but Michael was
starting to breathe heavily and Jessica already looked exhausted. I
felt warmth trickling down my back and knew I was bleeding again. I
prayed that the creators would get tired soon.

Just then I saw a thick clump of trees and
raced toward them. Jessica followed Michael. I darted right into
the middle of them, having to push branches out of my way. After a
few seconds we came to a clearing and I ran as fast as I could
through it, knowing that they would be able to see us. We reached
another part of the forest, dense with trees and we tried to make
our path as random and confused as possible, hoping to lose our
pursuers.

After a few minutes of running, I stopped to
look back. Jessica leaned over beside me, panting heavily, and
wheezing. I didn’t see the creators anywhere behind us, but I knew
they were still searching.

I turned to Michael. He was staring at me
incredulously. “What?” I asked, surprised.

“You’ve just been shot, not even three hours
ago, and you run faster than me without even breaking a sweat,” he
stated. “You’re not even breathing hard.”

He seemed slightly exasperated and I couldn’t
help but laugh. “Well, then it’s a good thing neither one of you
were the one who was shot.” I forced myself back to seriousness and
started listening for the creators.

“Do you hear them coming?” Michael asked
me.

“Ugh, I hope not,” Jessica wheezed
desperately.

I shook my head. “No, but we need to be ready
in case they find us.”

Jessica leaned against one of the trees. “I
don’t think I’ve ever had this much exercise in my whole entire
life,” she exclaimed, breathless.

I laughed quietly.

“I mean, this is insane,” she added.

There was a pause while we all stood around
trying to catch our breath. Now that the immediate panic was over,
my attention turned to my throbbing wound. I moved to sit.

“Hey, Michael?” Jessica asked suddenly.

He looked over at her.

“How do you think Mom and Dad are?” she asked
quietly, staring at the ground, twirling grass between her
fingertips, her breathing still labored from the running.

He didn’t answer right away. He stared at the
ground, shifting his feet. “I’m sure they’re worried sick about us,
Jess,” he replied. “But we can’t go back right now.” I knew he was
holding back how upset he was. Although they were twins—and Jessica
had reminded me on many occasions of her three minutes of life
before Michael came into the world—I could tell that he was the one
who acted older and took the responsibility for both of them.

“Couldn’t we just tell them we’re okay?” she
tried, but I could tell she knew it was no use.

I shook my head. “The creators would be
monitoring your house,” I told her. “If there was even a note, they
would know about it.” I looked at her sorrowfully. “I’m sorry.” I
didn’t know how to tell her how true this was.

She looked at me. “They wouldn’t hurt them
though, right?” I could tell by her voice that she was trying to
disguise her panic.

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully, but with
regret.

She swallowed and stared at the ground and
the pile of torn up grass she had just created.

Hours passed slowly and quietly. We decided
to stay in that same spot in case they were watching the roads. We
also had no idea where we were or where we would be going if we set
off into the woods. We were startled by nearly every sound, causing
us to rise to our feet. We had no idea how long we should’ve waited
but we couldn’t risk getting caught.

Suddenly, I heard a noise unlike the others I
had heard the past few hours. It definitely came from something
big, not a rabbit, a squirrel, or a bird. I jumped swiftly to my
feet and Michael and Jessica did the same. I saw a figure slowly
emerge from the shadows, but I didn’t wait to see who it was coming
at us. I grabbed Jessica by the arm and ran, pulling her along.

“Drew! Wait, it’s me!” Yvonne’s voice called.
I halted.

I allowed my body to relax as I let go of
Jessica. This was one of the few times I had ever been relieved to
see Yvonne. She looked kind of disheveled as she approached.

“Here
you are,” she said, her voice
sounding strangely frightened, yet relieved.

I walked toward her. “What took you so long?”
I asked her, slightly annoyed. She had ditched us back at the
Institution. After a gunshot wound, roof plummeting, and a
harrowing chase through the forest, she eventually showed up.

She gave me a puzzled look, her perfectly
shaped eyebrows arching in confusion.

“To come find us?” I asked. “You have the
tracking device.”

She shrugged. I could tell her indifference,
although brilliantly acted, was forced. “I was busy.”

Annoyance toward her pricked at my insides.
“Fine,” I answered. “Can we at least get out of here?”

She nodded. “I have a car on the road about a
mile’s walk away.”

The thought of walking a mile made me cringe
and my back ache, but we followed Yvonne through the brush. By the
time we had reached the car, the sun had already set. The sky was
gray and the air was turning misty around us.

“Where are we going now?” Jessica asked once
we were in the car and driving.

“I’m taking you guys to a hotel,” Yvonne
replied, concentrating on the road.

I let out a sigh of relief. I had been
expecting her to take us to another abandoned and rundown house. At
least a hotel would have bathrooms and beds.

We pulled up to a small hotel and walked
inside. Yvonne booked a room for us and soon we were upstairs,
unlocking the door.

“Drew?” Yvonne asked as I hung the “Do Not
Disturb” tag on the door handle and limped into the room. “Why are
you walking like that?” Her voice was edged with its usual
snobbishness, one of her eyebrows flawlessly arched.

I turned toward her and glared. “Because I
was shot after you abandoned us at the Institution.” I couldn’t
help but notice how sharp my voice had sounded, but I refused to
feel guilty.

Her eyes widened, but only slightly before
she composed herself again. “They shot you?” she asked blankly.

“Yes,” Michael said for me, his tone implying
her fault.

Yvonne glared daggers at him. She turned her
attention back to me. “Are you okay, though?” Her voice sounded
only slightly concerned.

I nodded. “They took me to a hospital.”

“They took you to a
hospital?
” she
asked, taking a step forward. “But didn’t they find—”

“Yes, they did,” I cut her off. “We had to
run away.”

“And she fell off a roof,” Michael added
sharply, implying once again that this was her fault.

“A roof,” Yvonne repeated blankly. “What were
you doing on a roof to begin with?” She talked like I was a
child.

“We were running from the hospital staff,” I
explained.

She just looked at me, her eyebrow raised.
“Okay,” she finally said. There was a pause. “Well, I’d better be
getting back. I’ll see you all later.” Then she turned and left the
room without another word.

I wasted no time in collapsing on the bed. I
couldn’t remember a time when I had ever been even close to this
tired. I was absolutely exhausted.

I curled up under the covers and laid my head
on the pillow. Jessica came over and sat next to me. “I hope we’re
going to be safe here,” she murmured.

I grunted in reply.

“She’s not the nicest person ever...” Her
words slowly faded out as my eyes closed and I sank into the
mattress. Within seconds I was asleep.

Chapter Eight

I woke up the next
morning, looked over at the clock and saw, in surprise, that it was
already nine. I bolted up in bed, feeling suddenly dizzy and
disoriented. I pressed my hand against my forehead and looked
around, blinking away the sleep.

“You’re awake.” Jessica smiled and walked
over to me.

I smiled back, pulling my covers off.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

I stretched my back a little, testing its
strength. I barely felt any pain. “Much better,” I told her. “Just
a little dizzy, though.”

She smiled uncertainly. “So, how fast do you
heal anyway?” she asked slowly as if she wasn’t quite sure how to
word it.

“It depends on the wound,” I replied, sitting
up. “A little cut, in less than a day, but a bullet wound is a
serious injury. I don’t know how long this will take.”

She nodded, although she looked shocked and a
little unnerved.

“So, where’s Michael?” I stood and smoothed
my hair, still surprised I had slept so long.

“Brushing his teeth.” She gestured to the
bathroom door where I could hear the sound of running water. “I’m
absolutely starving,” Jessica told me. “But we wanted to wait until
you got up before we went downstairs. They have a breakfast
special.”

“You guys didn’t have to wait.” I wondered
how many times I had reminded them that I didn’t need to eat.

She shrugged. “Michael, Drew’s up,” she
called and he appeared in the bathroom doorway.

“Great.” He smiled and I couldn’t help but
smile back at the sight of it. It was so perfect. Not the
symmetrical or supermodel perfect the creators were so enthralled
with, but the human kind. The right side of his mouth curved upward
just slightly higher than his left, like he might break into a
laugh at any moment, and his nose almost wrinkled, but not quite.
The human perfect. More perfect than any creation the creators
could think up. They would never be able to top the sight of
Michael’s smile.

“You feeling okay?” he asked me.

I nodded.

“Let’s go eat,” Jessica said, pulling me to
my feet. “You look great. You don’t even have bed head.” She
laughed.

I let her tug me along and soon we were
downstairs grabbing food from the buffet table. I didn’t get much—I
only ate for taste or comfort—but Michael and Jessica heaped their
plates with pancakes and bacon.

We sat at one of the tables and started
eating, talking aimlessly about different things, although we
avoided the discussion of topics that really mattered. I knew they,
as well as I, didn’t want to ruin the few moments of relative
peacefulness we were enjoying. But Jessica and Michael’s words
faded slowly from my mind as I noticed someone sitting a few tables
away staring directly at me. Her piercing blue eyes bore into mine.
Startled, I looked away.

My heart started racing and I swallowed hard.
She couldn’t just have been someone curiously looking our way. No,
the way she had looked at me meant she knew something. I recalled
the look in her eyes, the way her facial muscles as well as her
body was tense and focused. I reached out and tapped Michael’s arm
slightly. “Someone is watching us,” I barely whispered. I felt him
stiffen beside me. Jessica looked up and stared at us
quizzically.

“Drew thinks someone’s watching us,” Michael
explained quietly.

Jessica stopped eating, a mixture of anxiety,
disappointment, and irritation flashing across her face. “If they’d
only leave us alone,” I heard her mutter under her breath.

“Let’s go back to the room,” Michael
suggested quickly, standing up.

I instantly grabbed his arm and yanked him
back down. “No, if she’s a creator we’ll just be like sitting ducks
in our room.”

He let out a sigh, looking thoughtful.

“Gift shop?” Jessica proposed. “It’s near an
exit.”

“Yeah,” I answered and we all stood, trying
to act casual, although I felt as though we stuck out like a sore
thumb. We walked quickly by her table and I noticed, with growing
dread, her gaze following us as we passed. I could see one of her
hands clenched in her lap as she slowly reached for her purse. My
breath caught in my throat. We hurried into the gift shop and
busied ourselves with looking mesmerized by all of the various
souvenirs, although my heart was racing. I could feel warmth
spreading across my back from the gunshot wound, and I wondered if
I was bleeding again. I lightly ran my fingers across the
bandage.