Potentia by Joseph M. Schmidt

Author:Joseph M. Schmidt [Schmidt, Joseph M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798885046800
Publisher: New Degree Press
Published: 2022-08-19T18:20:47+00:00

Chapter 12

Through the Eye of a Needle

A fist flew straight for Diego’s head. He fell backward and tripped over his own feet. Santiago loomed over and wound up for another punch. Diego lazily threw up his arms to defend and sulked on the ground.

“You’re off today, amigo.” Santiago sat crosslegged next to his friend and removed his tattered, brown boxing gloves.

“The robbery at the school is just running through my head. Petrov is in the hospital because of me. I just feel like I keep failing.” Diego laid his head down on a half-dead grass patch. “First, it was the gang attack in the alleyway and now the school. I can’t stop them from hurting my friends, no matter how much I try.”

Santiago flopped down next to his friend on the dry grass. “Diego, it’s not your fault. I’m still here and so is Petrov. Remember what you told me in our first practice: the moment you give up is when you let the enemy win. Keep fighting back. No matter how messy your hands get, you protect what you care for.” He paused to massage his forearm and calloused hands. “When I was in Brownsville, the other kids seemed so carefree. Their biggest worry was what phone they would get next or the most recent drama in school. Growing up here, you realize there’s a lot more to care about.”

Diego inspected the blisters forming on his hands. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. All we’ve known since we were kids were gang wars.”

“I’m going to change that. Whatever it takes, I’ll become the mayor and clean this place up. No other kid will have to go through what we did.” Santiago paused to let the words sink in. He sprang onto his feet and held a hand out to Diego. “Why were you even at the school so late? I thought you finished your competition. You weren’t supposed to be there.”

Diego grabbed his friend’s outstretched hand, stood up, and shook his poofy hair to remove any dirt. “Petrov and I wanted to make sure our projects were perfect. We still have to compete with other high schoolers if we get to Aspera and they’ve got better equipment, no doubt.” He scooped his dusty, black training gloves off the dead grass and slipped them on. “I still can’t figure out why they were so interested in the printers. It’s not like they could print—”

“It’s for the potentias. Remember when you told me the X38 could fabricate at the cellular level? I’m betting they found out somehow and are trying to print specialized organs to become stronger.”

“They would need to take time modifying individual genes for each person to stop the immune response. My guess is they’d get cancerous growths popping up in a couple of weeks.”

Santiago shrugged. “Maybe they don’t care. They might use new recruits as expendable pawns until they reach their goal.” He practiced a few jabs in the air to warm up. “But even then, they’d need to

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