Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2) by Heather Hayden (best reads .TXT) 📗

wishing that I didn’t know the truth about the cyborg sitting across the table from me. Every word he said, every motion he made, I was reading into more deeply now, wondering if something was going to trigger whatever his orders were.

When it was finally time for P.E., I threw on my shorts. Before Betty Jean even acknowledged my presence, I vaulted the low wall that ran around the track, marking its borders.

Running gave me something to focus on, something to get lost in. I walked, then jogged, slowly joined by other classmates. Dan pulled up beside me, wearing a bright smile, which I forced myself to return.

It was time to run. The teacher called out laps, but I barely heard her, my legs carrying me down the track at a speed that even Annabeth had trouble keeping up with. I grinned and pressed forward, wondering if I would finally beat her record, or if this was simply an off day for her and not a sign that I was getting faster.

Dan did a better job staying on my heels—a perk of being a cyborg, I guessed. And another inconsistency with his story, given that he’d told me previously he wasn’t a great runner. Did he realize that? Or did Talbot simply make sure the incongruity didn’t register?

For a while, we paced alongside each other. When Betty Jean called the class together using a large bullhorn that sent her voice flying across the track, I began to slow. Dan did as well, still in step with me. Then he flung his body sideways.

The collision knocked me to the ground, scraped my knees and arm, and shook the wind out of my lungs. I gasped, twisting around to find myself pinned down by Dan.

“What are you doing?” I gasped. Betty Jean was still shouting for everyone to meet back at the starting line—we were alone on the track, around the bend enough that the low wall blocked her view. “Dan?”

He didn’t respond. His eyes were unfocused, and his body was shaking.

“Dan, you’re scaring me!” I twisted my body against his hold. He was too strong. I opened my mouth to scream for help, but one of his hands slammed over it, crushing my lips against my teeth painfully. I choked and forced myself to breathe through my nose.

Unable to speak, I could only watch helplessly as he stayed kneeling over me, keeping me pinned with his knees and his other hand. I twisted my head, but couldn’t free it from his grip. The pressure of his weight was painful.

Why wasn’t Halle doing something? Of course—there was no way to monitor us out on the track, no cameras or building system like the school had. I grabbed for my phone. It wasn’t there. I had left it in my jeans, back in the locker room. There was nothing I could do, no way to call for help. No chance to use the knockout code Halle had given me. I cursed my stupidity. Betty Jean would notice our absence, right? But she was new to the school and the track team. It could take a few minutes. That was too long.

Dan could do anything to me, and I was suddenly terrified. Halle couldn’t help. I had to save myself from whatever fate Talbot had planned. Had it targeted me specifically, or was I simply an unfortunate choice? I didn’t know. It didn’t matter.

Dan convulsed, his grip tightening for a moment to the point that I thought my jaw might crack. “No,” he growled through gritted teeth, his eyes suddenly focused on mine. “Viki.” Every word was being forced out of his mouth, as though he was pushing them through a physical barrier. “Run.”

Run? How? I was pinned down.

And then he convulsed again, twisting his body and releasing his grip on me. He collapsed on the pavement. “Run,” he grunted again as he landed, fingers balled into fists and arms squeezed against his chest. “Viki…” There was pain in his voice, a deep, real pain, and the look in his eyes was as human as any I’d seen.

“Don’t hurt anyone,” I gasped, scrambling to my feet. “Follow me.” I ran, but not toward the potential safety of the school. If I didn’t reach my phone in time, Dan might hurt someone. I needed to get him away from here.

I ran out of the track and across the soccer field, headed straight for the street. I was going home. If I could get Dan there, Halle would be able to help. My determination gave my feet wings, and I ran even faster than I had before.

Before long, I heard footsteps behind me, as swift as my own. I recalled how easily he’d kept up with me on the track. My already pounding heart raced harder. I could only run for so long before the burn would catch up with me. Did Dan have the same problem, or was he going to run tirelessly until he caught me? I had no way of knowing.

Home was five miles away. In good condition, I might make the distance in twenty minutes. But my body ached from slamming against the pavement, and my lungs were recovering from having the breath knocked out of them.

I had to make it. Gritting my teeth, wincing against the pain in my jaw where Dan had squeezed the muscles to the point of bruising, I charged forward. This was it, the race of my lifetime, the first time my running had been a matter of life or death.

Block after block passed by. I dodged the occasional pedestrian, ignoring any shouted complaints. They had no idea what I was running from. I kept going.

My mind was racing as fast as my feet. If I got home and Halle couldn’t help, I needed to find a way to subdue Dan. Blunt force wouldn’t work—his