Program 13 Book One by Nicole Sobon

the concrete below me, warm blood oozing out from my skull.
    When the Pod door unlatched, I realized it was all part of another false memory. I flung the door open and ran from the room, wanting to get as far away from the Pod as possible.
    “ Colton ,” I yelled when I noticed he wasn’t in the living room yet.
    But there was no answer.
    I looked down the hall only to find his bedroom door wide open. I ran to his room and found him lying in the middle of his room in the fetal position, shaking. There was confusion and pain in his eyes.
    “What happened?” I asked, picking him up carefully so that he was in a sitting position.
    “Have you seen the news today?” he asked.
    His question was random, and I didn’t understand the meaning behind it. Staring back at Colton puzzled, he shook his head and then continued. “You were on the news this morning.”
    No, not this, I pleaded. Anything but this.
    “They said you were dead, that you died in a freak car accident last night. The news even showed your photo and pictures from the scene of the crime. The caption read ‘Emile Reed, 17, killed in a car accident.’” Colton was shaking, tears running from his eyes. “But that wasn’t the worst part, Emile. I saw them.”
    As I took in Colton ’s words I began to realize what they truly meant: He saw his parents. Which meant that McVeigh knew that Colton was with me. That fact scared me more than knowing they announced my death on the news…months after it actually occurred. Vesta Corp was desperate to find me, so desperate that they needed to create the illusion that I was killed in an automobile accident the previous night. It was smart on their part, as it would make life a bit harder for me now.
    But what I forgot was that it wasn’t just my life this would affect, it would also affect the way Colton lived his life from here on out, too.
    “You saw who?” I asked Colton after I was finally able to relax my body. I knew the answer, but I needed to hear him say it. I needed to hear it from him.
    “I saw my parents, Emile. They were in the background of the accident coverage,” he whispered. “They looked like normal people. They looked alive.”
    They had to know Colton was with me . Programs were not sent out into the human world if their family remained behind. The fake death, the fact that his parents were there…it was a set up to draw us out of hiding. It was a trap and I wasn’t going to take the bait.
    “It’s a trap, Colton ,” I whispered, trying to remain calm.
    “What the hell do you mean it’s a trap?” he screamed at me, his anger winning over.
    “Think about it, Colton .” I shot up and looked over at him, grabbing hold of his hands. “Why do you think they announced my death on the news? Why do you think your parents were there? It wasn’t a coincidence. It’s because they know that you’re with me. They are trying to lure us out so that they can find us. We can’t let that happen.”
    “And why’s that?” He tried to pull his hands from my grasp. “Why can’t I see them?”
    “If we go back there, you will become one of us,” I sighed, allowing what I was about to say next penetrate my thoughts. “The minute we go back into the city, McVeigh will know and he will send his men to find us. And when they do, because they will, you will become one of us. And I will be deactivated.”
    Silence filled the room as Colton realized I was right. We couldn’t go back. We would need to keep running if we wanted to stay alive. And I needed to keep him alive, at least.
     
    Hours later, when we were both able to come to our senses, we made our way out to the living room. The news was still airing their report of my death. Part of me was curious as to whose body it was being taken away, mainly because I feared for that person. I feared that they’d become like me, something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.
    “How do they get away with this stuff?” Colton asked, making sure to avert his