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the room, you have
to place your hand on the sensor I installed outside. The sensor
checks your DNA for any artificial changes and only allows people
with no DNA alterations to pass through the wall. I thought only I
could get past the sensor. Apparently I’m wrong.”
    “ This is crazy,” Kristi
said.
    Yet she believed Chelsa at the same time.
Looking at her closely, Kristi could tell that she didn’t have DNA
alterations. Yes, Chelsa was pretty, but not pretty the way
Perfects were. Her facial features weren’t exactly symmetrical.
Chelsa’s eyelashes weren’t as long and exaggerated like the eyes of
perfected females. (Lavish lashes and eccentrically colored irises
were the “in thing.”)
    “ How did I not know you?”
Kristi wondered.
    She felt like her world was being turned
upside down and twisted inside out. First she’d been stalked by a
droid-leopard, next she’d watched an illegal movie, then she’d
barely escaped some electro-slate thieve abductors and now she just
found out she wasn’t the only Accident alive.
    “ I didn’t know there were
others like me until today,” Chelsa pointed out. “I just moved into
North Region a few weeks ago and have been trying to keep a low
profile.”
    “ Where were you originally
from?” Kristi asked.
    “ East Region.
You?”
    “ Born and raised in the
North Region. Do you have an electro-slate I could borrow? I need
to give my parents an instafication to let them know I’m all
right.”
    Chelsa handed her an old electro-slate,
giving Kristi the impression times were hard on her. Chelsa’s
belongings supported this assumption; everything looked either
second-hand or timeworn.
    Kristi dialed Maria’s ID number. A notice
popped up:
     
    This is not a registered number. Please try
again with a valid ID number or contact the Communication
Headquarter for help.
     
    Frowning slightly, she entered Don’s number.
The message popped up again:
     
    This is not a registered number. Please try
again with a valid ID number or contact the Communication
Headquarter for help.
     
    Now she felt disturbed and
uneasy. Kristi nervously punched in Jaiden’s ID number, praying he
would pick up even though she was sending him an instafication at
one-thirty in the morning. To her relief, Jaiden’s ID number was valid. However, he
must’ve muted or turned off his electro-slate because she had to
leave him a message.
    “ Hi, Jaiden, it’s me,
Kristi. I’m borrowing someone else’s electro-slate to send you this
instafication because I kinda lost mine. I’ll explain more about
that later. Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow…or rather, later today.
Bye.”
    The urge to yawn overcame Kristi; she
couldn’t suppress it and the yawn escaped. The leopard mimicked
Kristi and let out a yawn as well. Its maw stretched, fangs
glinting when they caught the light.
    “ You must be exhausted.
Why don’t you sleep in my bed for tonight? We can talk more after
breakfast when you’re not feeling half dead,” Chelsa said. With a
firm grip on her arm, the older girl led her to the single mattress
in the room.
    Kristi weakly protested, “Let me sleep on
the floor. I’ve caused you enough trouble for the night.”
    “ Nonsense,” Chelsa said in
a don’t-argue-with-me tone.
    Kristi opened her mouth to argue, but then
closed it when she realized she was too tired to argue back. Under
normal circumstances, she would’ve considered this whole situation
absurd, but today hadn’t been a normal day, so she let it slide.
Before she knew it, she was sound asleep.
     
    It didn’t surprise Kristi
that Chelsa was already up and about
before her in the morning. As usual, Kristi was the last one to
wake; what else was new?
    Chelsa was making instant oatmeal with a
portable bio-fuel stove, stirring the pot with a wooden spatula.
She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, but looked up when she
noticed Kristi moving.
    “ There’s a change of
clothes for you in the bathroom if you’re up for a