2 Chapter 2

Soft sunlight streams through the open window, warming my skin. The table in front of me is littered with parts; twisted wires, motors, scraps of metal, circuit boards, you name it. My small hands fiddle with the pieces, some sort of barely functioning machine forming.

"Quenin!" a voice calls from another room. I don't answer, completely absorbed in my work. "Quenin, what are you doing?"

I turn in my chair, watching Mommy walk into the room. "I'm building!"

Mommy stops by my chair and leans on the table. "What are you building?"

"It's a car!" I say proudly. "See? And I built this so I can drive it!" I hold up a basic remote, wires sticking out of it. "But I'm not done yet," I say, gesturing at the car. "I still have to make it look cool."

Mommy laughs. "Have you tested it today?"

I frown. "Yes, but one of the wheels won't turn, and I can't figure out why. I checked the motor, and everything is fine, and it's not the signal from the controller either!" I say, frustration evident in my tone.

"Can I look at it?" Mommy asks. I hand her the car and she takes it delicately. She fiddles around with it, picking up a couple of the tools laying on the table, before handing it back to me. "Here," she says. "One of the axels was bent out of place. It should drive fine now."

I smile at her and give her a hug. "Thanks, Mommy!"

++++++++++++++++++++

I am older now, probably eleven or twelve. The leaves of the trees rustle in the cool breeze, some of them fluttering slowly to the ground.

"Come on, Quenin!" Kaedin shouts ahead of me.

I roll my eyes but pick up the pace a little. Kaedin drops back so that he's even with me.

"Why are you being so slow?" he says, drawing out the last word.

"Just thinking," I say. "I've got a lot of new ideas."

"Like?" Kaedin kicks a tree cone on the ground.

"Well, I had this one idea… I mean, I don't know if it will work or anything, and it's not like I have actually tried to make it yet. Not even a prototype. It's really just some drawings and notes on paper…" I trail off, lost in thought.

Kaedin looks at me and raises his eyebrows. When I don't say anything he makes a 'go on' gesture with hands. I look at him questioningly.

"Are you gonna actually tell me your idea or…"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking…"

He rolls his eyes. "Of course you were. Are you ever not?"

I shove him. "Don't be an idiot. You wish you were this smart."

"Eh. I mean, it would be great and all, don't get me wrong, but who would want to spend so much time in a workshop? It's way more fun to be outside."

I glare at him. "That's why I'm here. By learning to fight and shoot, I will better understand the technology, which will allow me to know what needs improvement. I'm sure there are many flaws to our technology that must be fixed to reach maximum potential."

"Is anything ever not a lesson to you?"

"I don't see why it shouldn't be. Knowledge will only benefit us and lead us to new, more efficient ways of doing things."

Kaedin sighs. "I seriously hope you learn this foreign concept called a sense of humor in the near future."

++++++++++++++++++++

"Harder!" my brother Omar's voice rings through the clearing.

I grunt, sweat running down the back of my neck. My chest heaves, and I hit the bag harder.

"You gotta do better than that! Even Ahji could beat you without trying!"

"Hey!" I hear Ahji say indignantly.

Gritting my teeth, I knock the bag with two punches before spinning around and whacking it with a smooth roundhouse.

"Good." Omar finally says. "Take a break."

I straighten from my crouched position and take in the clearing. Kaedin stands to my left, leaning on his bag, catching his breath. Ahji is laying on his back on the ground, his eyes closed and breathing heavily. After months of begging Omar to teach us to fight, he finally relented about a month ago and now we meet in this clearing a few times a week.

Technically the three of us could be taking official classes, all being over fourteen, but none of us are, for different reasons. Ahji can't pay for official classes, and he won't let us help him out. Kaedin says it's not for him. "Too many rules and regulations. I would go crazy. I'm more of a free spirit, you know?" he told me once. I just rolled my eyes at him. Only Kaedin would come up with something like that and make it sound reasonable.

As for me, I was just too busy. I went to work with my parents at the Engineering Compound almost daily, training under some of their best minds. They taught me the ins and outs, and all the rules. They've shown me projects and seriously asked for my input. I've made changes to some of our oldest designs.

And recently, I started a new project, something that could be huge. It could change our entire military.

The sound of friendly teasing pulls me back to the clearing.

"We totally could!" Kaedin and Ahji say confidently.

"You couldn't take me if I was blindfolded and had a broken arm," Omar replies.

Ahji turns to me. "What do you think, Quen? We could definitely take him, right?"

I hold up my hands. "I'm staying out of this," I say, grinning. I know Omar could crush both of them without trying.

My two best friends give me dirty looks. "And here I was thinking you would take our side for once," Kaedin says, shaking his head.

I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at him. I know, childish, but I couldn't care less at the moment. "I'm not an idiot, Kaedin. I know he'd kill you in a second, no sweat."

"So you are taking sides!" Ahji says.

"I suppose I am," I say, grinning mischievously.

"I will get you back for your lack of faith one day," Kaedin threatens.

I laugh. "I'd like to see you try."

++++++++++++++++++++

There are small signs of me regaining consciousness. A cold, hard floor pressing against my back. The smell of stale air. I don't open my eyes. I don't acknowledge the real world. I choose to stay trapped in a world of good memories, where it is easy to forget my pain and suffering.