Unforgotten by Jessica Brody

Author:Jessica Brody [Brody, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780374379902
Google: GaWdAgAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2014-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

34

VISITOR

“You have arrived at your destination,” the car tells me in a voice that sounds chillingly human. “Would you like to activate the auto-park system?”

I learned about halfway through the journey to Brooklyn why cars in 2032 don’t have any buttons or knobs on the instrument panels. Why waste energy pushing buttons when you can simply speak and the car will understand you?

“Yes,” I reply, and my hands immediately leap from the steering wheel when I feel it begin to turn on its own, easing the vehicle effortlessly back and left until we’ve squeezed between two other cars into a space on the curb that I never would have imagined we could fit into.

Once we’ve stopped, I pull on the door handle but it won’t budge. “Open,” I tell it.

“Doors cannot be opened while the car is still in drive.”

I gesture frantically, trying to come up with the right command. “Um … undrive.”

Nope, that’s not it.

“Stop.”

Still nothing.

Thankfully the car seems to sense my desperation and offers me help. “Are you trying to activate Park mode?”

I sigh. “Yes!”

A small red P flashes on the panel and the doors unlock. I swing the door open, shoving it the rest of the way with my foot. But apparently I kick it too hard because I hear a loud ripping sound as the large slab of metal flies off the hinges and skids into the street. I’m immediately reminded of the last time I inadvertently kicked a door clear off a car. It was in the driveway of my foster family’s home. I’ll never forget the look on Heather’s face when she saw what I had done.

I eye the piece of green metal lying idly in the middle of the street as a car swerves around it.

I really have to stop kicking doors.

I run around to the passenger side, ease Zen’s door open, and pull him out. He’s slightly more conscious now and appears to be trying to stand up.

“Can you walk?” I ask.

His head teeters in an ambiguous nod. I throw his arm over my shoulder and help him toward the building, his feet scraping against the pavement.

As soon as we’re inside, I’m stopped by a large man standing behind a desk. “May I help you?”

I try to act casual. As casual as I can with a nearly unconscious man sagging against my side. “I’m going to room 419.”

The guard shoots me a very skeptical look. “Are you an expected visitor?”

I almost laugh. If only he knew just how unexpected I really am.

“Yes,” I lie.

He clearly doesn’t believe me. “I’ll have to call up.” He punches at a clear screen built into his desk, then motions to a digital reader on the countertop. “Please scan your DIP card so that I can validate your identity.”

I smile, mustering politeness. “Sure. No problem.” After helping Zen onto a couch behind me, I slide my hand into my pocket as though I’m going to retrieve my identification. But instead, I wrap my fingers tightly around the base of the Modifier, flicking the switch with my fingertip.

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