Urban’s birthday passed in a haze of selfies, fake drinks, dancing, and linking with strangers. After an agonizingly long night, the countdown finally happened and her sosh, a 51, appeared. Everyone cheered and raged, but Urban blushed and escaped to the changing room. She managed to bump it to 58 by morning, but she knew it would be slow going after.
Her grades took a dip as she spent the next few weeks focusing much of her energy on her score. After her birthday party, her sosh had climbed to the low sixties but had then plateaued. Despite her best efforts, nothing seemed to move it.
The racing event was now only two days away. Urban had been leaning toward bailing, but since her sosh wasn’t improving, she was rethinking that option. She knew she had a shot at winning, but she still hadn’t had time to practice as much as she would’ve liked. She gave herself one more day to boost her sosh, and then, if it was still in the low sixties, she told herself she would race. The winner was guaranteed a sosh boost. It was the only way.
Since her birthday, she hadn’t heard from Everest. His silence felt like a black hole.
That evening in jiujitsu class, Urban kept thinking about the race and Everest. Thankfully, there were no inspirational stories, just a quick speech about discipline, more shrimping, and some other warm-ups. All of which she barely managed to keep up with. When the warm-up was done, Orion gave them a quick demo on how to do double-leg takedowns.
“Okay, everyone, partner up!”
Lillian motioned Urban over to join her. “I’ll go first.”
Lillian slid to her knees, her right knee shooting forward and her left leg lagging behind. “How are you liking Infini-Fit?”
Lillian gripped Urban tight around the waist, then pulled her back leg around for leverage.
“Huh? Oh yeah.” Infini-Fit was the last thing on her mind, but she couldn’t tell Lillian that. If her sister found out about the race, she’d be sure to try and talk her out of it or else would tell their parents. “It was all right.”
Lillian bumped Urban to get her off balance, lifted up, then let Urban fall to the ground.
“I just don’t dare take any of their classes,” Urban explained from the ground. “I don’t think I’m in shape enough for that.”
Lillian leaned over Urban and dug her elbows into Urban’s side. “Why don’t you train with me?” she said as she worked a few side-control pressure points until Urban tapped.
Urban stood. “I’ve seen you at home doing some of your workouts. They’re weird and painful looking, and—”
“And they make me strong.”
Urban knelt into position next to Lillian. She hesitated, then swapped knees. “Is this the right one?”
“No, it’s the other.”
Urban quickly switched again, but then stilled. “I know! I could train with Everest. I never get to see him anyway, so it would be perfect.”
“Except he can’t get into the gym without a membership.”
“We could train outside somewhere.”
Lillian gave Urban a skeptical look. “If you have time to drive an hour and back to the middle of nowhere to work out, sure.”
Urban knew she had a point. “But you’re way too fit. I can’t keep up. You’ll push me too far.”
“Are you going to practice, or just keep kneeling there?” Lillian asked.
Urban lifted her right knee, then shot in and hugged Lillian. Urban’s knee pressed tightly against Lillian’s side.
“Make sure your back leg is stable so you don’t fall over,” Lillian coached. “Yeah, there you go. Now push.”
Urban pushed against Lillian, but nothing happened.
“Keep going, keep going,” Lillian said. “You’re not going to hurt me.”
Urban dropped her shoulder into it, and this time Lillian tumbled over.
“Good, now mount and try and put me in an arm bar.”
Urban struggled to remember how to do this, but Lillian gave a quick demo with Urban copying her movements.
“I’ll tap when you need to stop,” Lillian said as Urban slowly lifted her hand in an arm bar. “There!”
Urban stopped lifting immediately. She pulled Lillian up and they switched positions.
“Anyway,” Lillian continued, “you’ll get even more fit, I get to do what I love, and we both get sis bonding time.”
Urban rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I really feel like I have two brothers.”
“So, you’re in?” Lillian gripped her tight.
“Fine.”
Lillian pushed her to the ground and climbed onto her. “Great! Let’s meet at Infini-Fit at 0400. It’s when the gym is almost completely dead.” After putting Urban in a triangle hold, she stood and gave Urban a hand up.
“I would ask how you know that, but I have a feeling I know the answer.”
Lillian clapped her on the back as she left. “See ya later.”
On her way out of the gym Urban got a live vid.
[Everest: Hey, meinu. Checking in to see how you’re doing.]
There was a hesitation—something awkward and foreign in his mannerisms after their last conversation. The trust and ease with which they once spoke was there on the surface, but Urban’s stomach twisted underneath.
[Everest: Rough day here in the Outskirts. There were some thieves trying to break into our building. Me and a few friends taught them a lesson. Just the usual.]
He paused for a second, and Urban noticed his bedroom behind him. What looked like giant pillows but were actually sonic vibration basses took up most of the space. The walls were covered in posters of his favorite bands, Wu Pine, ARMY, New Order, and his all-time favorite, the TingBings.
Only one wall wasn’t plastered in posters. Instead, it had a lone painting of two goldfish. It was the painting she’d given him. Warmth trickled through her every time she saw it hanging there.
[Everest: Anyhow, let me know how you’re doing.]
Urban live vid requested him back as she climbed on her bike. “Hey there. Glad you’re okay.” She smiled and he smiled back, but it felt forced. They chatted about school and work for a few minutes, talking about everything except their recent argument.
“So, what are you up to tonight?” Everest asked, his voice oddly cheery. He gave an uncertain smile, and Urban wished he weren’t so far away so she could lean up against his chest and feel his arms around her. It always seemed easier to dispel awkwardness and hard conversations in person.
She was careful to avoid bringing back up their argument from the other night. I don’t have the strength to deal with that right now. The upcoming race also loomed at the back of her mind, but she knew bringing that up would probably cause another fight. She’d tell him later.
“I’m on my way home from jiujitsu.”
“Nice. How was your birthday?”
Urban hesitated. “All right. My score is 62 now so that’s an improvement from 51, but I need it to be much higher much faster.” It hasn’t changed. That means tomorrow I’m racing. A flash of panic overtook her.
“I know why you’re doing this, but please be careful.” He studied her face for a minute. “So why only all right?”
Just like Everest to pick up on small things. She sometimes wondered if his medical genomics records were wrong and he had Inceptor enhancements after all.
She pulled her eyes off the road for a split second to glance at her display. He was looking at her with tender concern, giving her butterflies.
Urban turned her noise-cancellation setting on as she weaved through traffic. No one on the street would be able to hear anything from outside of her motorcycle helmet.
“Sometimes I don’t think I can keep up, whether it’s school or a workout class. On top of that, I’m trying to schmooze with all these popular kids, and it’s just, it’s just—”
“Not you,” he finished for her.
She paused a moment, his statement taking her by surprise. “Well, it is. But yeah, it’s not. But it also sort of is because I have to, but then—ugh!” She let out a frustrated sigh.
“Hey, it’s okay.”
Urban inhaled sharply. Her throat constricted, and she forced herself to concentrate on the road. “I should go.”
“All right,” he said reluctantly. “But only if you promise to see me soon.” He winked.
Urban slammed on the brakes to avoid running a red light. “Sure. Just let me know when.”
“All right. Night.” Everest smiled, then cut the connection.
Her anxiety heightened. How are we going to work? He’s never here. He can’t relate to most of my new life. He’s not willing to fake it to join me here.
She thought about the alternative, and her chest constricted.
I’m not leaving him. There were so few guys like him left in the world. She couldn’t think of anyone else who was tough but gentle, artistic and kind, street smart but also book smart. Someone she could trust with her Natural secret. Someone who completely understood her and around whom she didn’t have to pretend. Everest accepted her as she was. I’ll never find another like him.
Back in the dorms, her room was empty—the roommates were still out, partying most likely. Urban stayed up studying until she had a headache and her vision turned foggy.
Crawling into bed, she wiggled under the covers and cranked her sleep headset to high sleep mode. She counted back from ten as the cold sleeping mist filled her nostrils. She made it to six before she fell asleep.
Urban woke up the next day acutely aware it was the day of the initiation race.
Since Lillian didn’t know, Urban would have to figure out a way to lose Trig on her own. Over the last couple of weeks, Urban had been experimenting with invisible Trig’s following capabilities and was impressed.
She couldn’t lose him on her motorcycle, nor could she escape him by going into crowded spaces—the bodyguard was impossible to shake. Which was fine, except for on a night like tonight when she didn’t want her plans getting back to Lillian, or worse, her parents.
There only seemed to be one way to ditch Trig. After Urban had charged her motorcycle, she programmed it to be air dropped to her destination. Then she made her way to the nearest underground ZipLine. The sky overhead was a swamp of gray. A chilly breeze swept dried leaves toward her, and Urban zipped up her leather jacket.
She noticed Trig’s familiar green triangle in her maps as she waited for the next ZipLine to arrive. She stepped in once its doors opened and saw Trig following in the compartment next door. Urban’s pulse quickened as she waited until the doors started beeping and then leaped off right before they shut.
With smug satisfaction, she watched as the ZipLine sped away, taking Trig with it. Then she turned, got on a different one bound for the Outskirts, and found her motorcycle. From there, it was an easy drive.
Urban arrived at the location for the underground race and double-checked she had the right address. Sure enough, her augmented map said NingShan, which was two hours out of the Metropolis. Apart from the dried, overgrown grass blowing in the wind, everything was deadly silent.
She stopped in the middle of the highway to study her surroundings. There wasn’t a single person in sight, despite the high-rises surrounding her on all sides. Several of them still had scaffolding and cranes, as if the builders were only on a lunch break and might return at any moment.
Urban had heard of these ghost cities. They were hastily raised in the early 2000s to support the growing influx of people migrating from the countryside to the city. There’d been too many of them built, and several of the cities hadn’t been able to sustain all the people and had been abandoned. Most of these cities had been repurposed into AI training factories or corporate offices.
She continued on again, following her augmented map and weaving her way through wide streets and skyscrapers.
Urban pulled up to a drab skyscraper towering above the others. Her map showed her the location for the start of the race was at the top. Inside, several flares illuminated an impressively large but empty lobby. Footprints and tire tracks made a clear path through the dust-covered tile floors to the escalator.
As she neared the roof, the sound of the bass thumping and people talking reached her even before the ding of the elevator.
The doors opened, revealing to her right, the New Beijing skyline, lit up in a brilliant patchwork of color. To her left, the bare BaiHua Mountains rose up like haunting burial mounds.
Urban followed the sound until she rounded a corner and spotted the people. Surprised filled her as she recognized one of them.
“Coral? What are you doing here?”
Coral leaned back on a slick black-and-green hovercycle. “Same as you. I’m here to boost my sosh by winning the race.”
This struck Urban as strange. Now that she thought about it, she realized she’d never seen Coral’s sosh. Since her roommate refused to link with anyone and her setting was on privacy mode, her sosh was anonymous in the real world. It must be really bad if she’s here tonight too. I hope she’s not a good racer.
Her spine tingled. Looking up, she spotted Olive in the crowd. The pasty girl gave her a cold nod. The last thing I need is her getting in my head.
She also noticed another familiar face. Lillian.
Had Trig followed her after all and then notified Lillian? Urban checked her maps, but there was no sign of Trig.
“What are you doing here?” Urban hissed as Lillian pushed her way through to her.
“I could ask you the same,” Lillian whispered.
“How did you find me here?”
“I got worried when you didn’t answer my pings. I hacked mom’s SCA and traced you here.”
“You hacked SCA? This can’t be happening,” Urban muttered under her breath.
“Please tell me you’re just here to watch.” Lillian grabbed her arm. “These races aren’t safe.”
Urban checked her fuel gage. “Thanks, Mom, but I think I can take it from here.”
“Don’t do this.” Lillian’s voice turned pleading.
“Listen,” Urban huffed, “just ’cause you get carsick doesn’t mean I shouldn’t race.”
“That’s not why I’m here, and you know it.” Lillian crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Urban glanced both ways, then walked her motorcycle off to the side of the crowd. She turned to Lillian and pulled up her visor. “Listen, I don’t have a choice.” She lowered her voice. “My sosh isn’t getting any better, and the winner gets a boost.”
“Have you considered what happens if you lose? It’s an extreme game of truth or dare, and—”
“I wouldn’t take truth. And whatever the dare is, I would suck it up and endure.”
Despite being out of earshot, Lillian lowered her voice more. “What if it’s a dare only an Enhanced person could survive?”
Urban looked away. “That’s not going to happen. Besides, I won’t lose. I’m better than you think. It’s the one thing I’m good at.”
“Racers to the start line!” a voice boomed.
Urban pulled her helmet back down with a snap and left. She noticed in her maps the familiar green triangle had reappeared. And he’s back. Inwardly, she groaned. Then another thought cheered her. Let’s see if you can keep up in a race, Trig.
“Looks like we have a decent lineup tonight.” A barrel-chested Super surveyed the contestants as they pulled up to the line. He checked his retina display. “Newbie Lee Urban joins us. Welcome, rider!”
Urban frowned. Wasn’t Coral a newbie too?
The Super turned toward several crisp, collared-shirt observers in the crowd. “A big thank you to our sponsors for this event. Give it up for the Inventors.”
Everyone cheered and clapped. The Inventors gave curt head nods toward the middle rider on an extremely long behemoth of a metal machine.
The announcer followed their gaze. “The standing champion is still none other than the Inventor B-string player Xin Trina!”
There was a smattering of applause mixed with grumbling.
“For tonight’s race, the winner is the first one to cross the finish line at the top of that building.” The announcer pointed at the skyscraper next to them. “The loser is the last person to cross. The fastest route is marked for you, but feel free to blaze your own trail. Now for the rules.” He laughed. “What rules? Now, who’s ready for some street fighting? I mean racing?”
An Artisan turned up the music on his bike. As it shook with each beat of the music, Urban realized where the music was coming from—his wheels. He sat atop a motorcycle attached to wheels that were actually giant bass-thumping speakers. Urban gaped.
A guy with a goatee, tattoos, and what looked like an old-school Harley, flipped a switch. Instantly, spikes popped out of his motorcycle, nearly popping the tires on the bike next to his. He flashed a devilish grin.
The Inventor next to him lay down on her long motorcycle. Her crisp, formal attire looked completely out of place on the metal machine. She tilted barrels on the sides of her motorcycle skyward and fired an electric shock.
Lillian was right. There wasn’t room for mistakes.
Without any enhancements to protect her or give her an advantage, she could die.
Goosebumps rippled across her arms. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but she bit her tongue and distracted herself by double-checking that her helmet was on tight.
Blood pumped loudly in her ears.
“Ready?” the Super boomed.
Engines revved.