Free Perfect by Pauline C. Harris Page B

she gets inside,” he whispered.
    I shook my head sadly. “No,” I told him,
reluctantly prying my fingers from his grasp. “You know it wouldn’t
work, anyway.”
    He bowed his head and I could tell he was
angry.
    I walked to the door and opened it for
Yvonne.
    “You ready?” she asked.
    I shrugged. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
    She looked behind me at Jessica and Michael,
then back to me. “Okay, let’s go.”
    “Wait,” Jessica called. She walked over to us
and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. After a moment she stepped
back to let Michael hug me. I hugged him back with all my might,
but it was interrupted when Yvonne tapped my shoulder. I stepped
back from him and followed her out into the hallway.
    “My car is parked outside,” she said as we
went down the elevator. “Now, I’ve got everything worked out. You
need to act as if you’re putting up a struggle when I bring you
in,” she explained.
    I nodded halfheartedly, looking away from
her.
    “I’m just going to explain that I found you
wandering the street alone.”
    I turned to Yvonne sharply, a sudden
realization dawning on me. “Wait,” I said suspiciously. “Didn’t you
say you had my tracking device?”
    She looked at my quizzically. “I do,” she
replied, although her calmness seemed forced.
    “Then why haven’t the creators just been
asking you to hand it over or go get me if they know that you know
where I am?” I snapped.
    Yvonne hesitated for a moment. “Uh...I told
them I lost it.”
    I narrowed my eyes. “And they bought it?”
    The elevator door opened and Yvonne walked
out. I followed her. “Yup. They did,” she answered. “So when I turn
you in, it will make up for me losing the tracking device,” she
explained.
    “Huh,” I said after a pause.
    We reached the car minutes later and were
soon on our way to the Institution.
    “So since you don’t want to get your friends
in trouble,” Yvonne told me, “I suggest that you tell the creators
you parted ways with them a long time ago. Because they’re bound to
ask. I’ll back you up, saying I saw you alone.”
    I nodded absentmindedly.
    Just then, we turned the corner and the
Institution came into view. My stomach flipped and I felt like I
might throw up. I wanted desperately to reach over, grab the
steering wheel from Yvonne, and turn the car around. How could I
have agreed to this? Wait a minute...I hadn’t.
    I felt like punching Yvonne for making me do
this. But knowing her, she would probably just punch me back.
Harder. So I kept my fists to myself.
    She pulled her car into the back parking lot
and parked near the back door. She turned to me. “Show time.” She
smiled.
    I glared at her.
    “Oh, come on.” Her smile dropped. “It’s not
that bad. After all, you’ll get out soon.”
    I heaved an irritated sigh. “Let’s just get
this over with.”
    Yvonne nodded and hopped out of the car. She
came around to my side and opened the door for me. “Struggle,” she
instructed and as soon as I was out of the car, she had her hands
around my wrists. I started pulling away and making noise.
    She pushed me through the back door and down
the hallway. Once we got to the front desk in the lobby and a
creator saw us, his expression changed to disbelief. “Is that...?”
he asked, his mouth gaping.
    “Yes it is, now help me,” Yvonne snapped. By
now, I was struggling harder and starting to yell. I was no longer
acting. My heart raced and I felt terrifyingly trapped. I was trapped. A few more creators appeared from the doorway
at the end of the lobby and among them was Glen. He smiled when he
saw me, although it wasn’t a pleasant one.
    “Drew!” he said as if he were greeting an old
friend. “How are you? And how nice of you to drop by.”
    I gritted my teeth and glared at him. By now
a few more androids had come out and were holding tightly onto my
arms.
    “Yvonne?” Glen asked turning toward her. “You
found her?”
    Yvonne nodded.
    He smiled. “Good