Free Activate by Crystal Perkins Page A

wouldn’t tell me even if I asked, and what’s the point anyway? I’m going to die whether I know or not.
    I stand up straighter, knowing any show of weakness will be punished and mentally giving myself a slap. I walk over to my closet to pick out a dress, and everything to go with it. I’ll show up, and show myself off, just as expected. And then, if I can, I’ll look for what I need to find, even if that shouldn’t matter, either.

Hinton
    J ennifer and I felt the pull near Wilde’s house yesterday, but there were too many tourists around, so we couldn’t investigate. We’ve got to be careful, because if we’re caught, it’s certain death for us, or at least a cell while we wait for death. We staked it out for the rest of the day, noting when the workers and guards came and went. Tonight, we’re going in.
    Since we’re near the college, and a number of pubs, there are still a good number of people on the streets. We’ll never find a time when there’s absolutely no one out, so we decided to just go for it. The people will either be too drunk to notice us, or just think we’re a couple out for some romance. We won’t be stealing anything nor doing any damage, so there should be no reason to remember us.
    We laugh as we cross the street, our arms entwined. No one pays us any mind, just like we’d hoped. As we turn to the back of the house, Jennifer drops her arm from mine and sets about opening the back door. This is our spy DNA in action, scoping out weaknesses and picking locks. Pretty damn cool.
    Once we’re inside, I disable the alarm with no problem, and we follow our feelings to what was once a formal dining room. The call is so much stronger in here. We know we’re definitely in the right place. I let her walk in front of me to the right side of the room, where she drops to her knees.
    I join her, and we both run our hands over the boards. “I’ve got it,” she says.
    I move closer and help her pull the loose pieces of wood up, finding a hidden staircase below. We look at each other and nod. We’re definitely going down there.
    “We’ll have to put the boards back, just in case.”
    “Yeah,” she agrees. “Since they were loose, we shouldn’t have a problem pushing them up if we have to backtrack, or come back this way.”
    We both grab some boards, and I let her go in front of me again. Once we’re far enough down, we place the boards back into place before jogging down
    underground. I feel like the stairs go on forever, but we finally end up in a small room. There’s no furniture in the room, only various pieces of metal, computer parts, wires, and some tools I’ve never seen before.
    I’ve never seen them, but I know how to use them, and what to build. The realization of this startles me a little, and I step back. This isn’t my spy training.
    “We think this is another ‘gift’ from them to our DNA. We don’t know if it’s something they added, or if the species we partially belong to just simply knows it all and takes over automatically.”
    I silently ask my Muse which one it is, but he doesn’t answer. I guess it doesn’t matter. “Do you know how to make the modifications?”
    “Yeah, I totally do.”
    “Teach me what you know, Jen. I promise to try and be a good student.”
    “I may not be a good teacher—I’m not too patient.”
    “I’ll take my chances.”
    “Pick up those big pieces over there and start putting them together; we’ll take care of the modification last.”
    “Yes, Ma’am,” I tell her with a laugh.
    It feels good to laugh, and I almost think it’s a part of me I lost—the ability to be funny and laugh. It’s a fleeting thought, but I know I’m going to hold onto it. If there’s even a chance I can bring some of my past back, I’ll do everything I can to never let it go.

Sabrina
    I t takes us three days of walking before we feel the pull, the inexplicable need to get to the very thing we’re looking for. It’s in the Luxemburg