Jeremy, strapped to a bed in an unfamiliar room, had gone hoarse from yelling. At that point, he would do anything for a sip of water. Anything for real food, something other than the slop they would force-feed him.

People came and went. Nameless faces that spoke little but appeared three times a day, to give him his injections and the slop food. Injections that gave him a rush and made him feel invincible—injections that he didn’t want to admit he was beginning to look forward to. He was moving from one addiction to another. His skin was itching, and he couldn’t scratch the itch.

He concentrated on breathing, in and out, and he felt a surge of power as his arm ripped through the leather cuff imprisoning his wrist. He was free! He quickly freed his other arm, then the straps around his chest and legs. Wobbly and unstable, he made it to the door that opened outward. Why wouldn’t they lock it?

He wanted more of whatever they were shooting him up with and figured that they would probably have more of the drugs pretty close by. The door opened, and he pushed past a hall lined with white lab coats, hanging on hooks. He grabbed a white jacket hanging by the door and slid into it, using it to blend into the surroundings. He picked up a clipboard off the nearest table and walked quickly with purpose down the lit, sterile hall.

A door next to him buzzed, and he heard a lock click. Pressing against the wall, he pretended to read the clipboard as a female tech in a wheelchair wheeled out of what looked like a controlled laboratory. That was probably where they kept the drugs. Jeremy lowered his hand, catching the door before it locked. He slipped inside before anyone noticed.

It wasn’t what he’d expected. There were no drugs. Instead, tall circular pods lined the walls, and inside them were . . . young people. People like him. Floating, suspended in the liquid. Breathing tubes covered their mouths, a device wrapping around their heads. Jeremy took the other line of pods and walked down, looking at each of the kids carefully, reading the results or at least trying to make sense of the words on the digital screen.

Subject 1-78

Stable

Subject 2-12

Unstable

He lowered his head and tried not to stare directly at the other pods . . . or the kids inside them.

Some of them had wings; others had extra appendages. He shuddered in fear. His stomach rolled, and he swallowed the bile that rose in his throat.

He looked up at the one marked unstable and saw nothing different about the young girl floating in the unit. Her hair was brown, she had a pert nose and looked at peace floating. He put his hand on the glass and she awoke.

The pupils of her eyes dilated as she focused on him. Bubbles streamed from her breathing tube as she struggled to communicate. Her hand pounded on the glass, and her feet kicked. Jeremy was so surprised that he fell to the ground.

He had never seen eyes that dead and dark. A tapping on a pod made Jeremy spin.

A young man with unruly auburn hair and the greenest eyes was in the water, motioning with his hand to the side of the unit.

Jeremy leaned in close, studying the frantic inhabitant. “I know you,” he laughed, a feeling of exuberance going through him. “You ruined my date.” Jeremy felt a thrill at seeing the boy who’d interrupted his time with Wendy inside the tube. “Looks like you messed with the wrong person.”

Peter thrashed about inside the tube, his fist hitting the glass. He was becoming agitated. Jeremy finally looked at the panel that Peter had been motioning to and saw the release button for the pod, but he shook his head.

“No, you deserve this.” He stepped back, away from the pod. He loved seeing Peter beg and continued to wave and motion to him. “You’re gonna get what’s coming to you,” he taunted and began to laugh.

“Is he now?” a deep voice echoed in the room, cutting Jeremy’s laughter short.

“Who’s there?” Jeremy asked, feeling jumpy, though he didn’t feel afraid. He felt more power running through his veins than ever before. He wasn’t scared of the spectator.

“I’m the one who brought you here,” the man said, stepping from behind a pod with a young blonde woman floating inside. “I see you’ve taken an interest in my newest acquisition. Do you know him?”

“Know him, despise him, all of the above.” Jeremy flicked his chin at Peter and squared off to confront the man who seemed to be in charge. He couldn’t help but scratch at his skin, and the man noticed.

“You seem to be in need? I have what you’re looking for.” He held out an injector gun filled with clear liquid.

Jeremy’s quick intake of breath gave him away. He wanted it, desperately. His body yearned for it.

“What would you do to get this?” the man asked.

“Anything,” Jeremy said, not feeling proud of his desperation.

“Even if it could cost this one his life?” The man motioned to Peter.

Jeremy noticed how Peter had gone completely still at the man’s sudden arrival. But surely, there was no way he could hear or understand what they were saying.

“Revenge would taste just as sweet as a fix,” Jeremy smirked.

“I like you. I think you will do well here.” He handed Jeremy the injector gun.

His fingers couldn’t grasp it fast enough, and he struggled to inject himself in the left arm. He inhaled and waited for the thrill of the drug passing through his veins. “Yesss,” he sighed, feeling the euphoria hit.

“You have one more thing to do before you are officially part of our D.U.S.T. program.”

“What is it?” Jeremy asked eagerly.

“You have to make a choice,” he said and gestured to the two of them. “One of you must die. You or him.” He pointed to the black button on Peter’s pod. “Push this button, and you will end his life. Tick Tock. What’s it going to be?”

Jeremy launched himself at the pod, his hand slapping the button without a second’s hesitation. Peter’s body went into shock, his back arched, and bubbles flew from his breathing apparatus. He struggled, an alarm went off, and then Peter went completely still.

The clear tubes attached to Peter’s body filled with a liquid that traveled out of his body to a test tube attached to the outside of the pod. It wasn’t red like blood but rather clear like the serum Jeremy had just injected himself with. He wondered what it was.

“Is he dead?” Jeremy asked, more out of curiosity than remorse.

“For the moment,” the man said, staring at Peter and the test tube that was filling. When it was full, he eagerly plucked the full test tube and held it up to the light to study it. An evil grin formed on his lips. He tucked the tube into his vest pocket and turned to offer a hand to Jeremy. “Welcome to the D.U.S.T. program. I’m your captain, Captain Hook.”

Jeremy grinned and saluted, glad that he could succeed at something, to belong and have access to the drug that he desired. “Yes, sir.”