Instead of attending her shift at the grocery store, Ada planned on robbing it. Well, robbing the adjacent ATM, anyway.

It seemed fitting to steal from the place that had paid her and her mother so very little.

Altogether, all Ada had to fund her plan was one hundred dollars.

Later, she would have much, much more.

With the small stipend, she purchased a short blonde wig and mustache at a nearby toy story. When she saw her reflection in a store window, she laughed. The disguise seemed silly, but would be enough.

Just in case it wasn't enough, Ada had a plan. Outside of the grocery store, she would take out the security camera. As soon as the thought entered her brain, the camera perched on the roof crackled in assertion, the red display light powering down. Easy peasy. She couldn't do a thing about the o-planes that were most assuredly hovering miles above the city skyline, but crime went on regardless of the constant vigilance.

"Please identify yourself, Citizen."

She stared at the ATM screen, following the paths of the wires in the machine, assuring it with her abilities that she already passed the eye-scroll. Red pathways transitioned to green, indicating the bypass was successful. The machine ate up her lies like spoonfuls of data-coded sugar.

"How can I help you today?"

Withdraw, she told the machine.

"How much would you like to withdraw?" the female voice asked quite pleasantly.

Five thousand dollars.

"Five thousand dollars. Is this correct?"

Yes.

A whirring sound, and the money appeared at the bottom of the ATM. Ada stuffed the bills into her bag without a zip in her conscience. Just as her mother had always taken care of her, Ada would take care of her.

"Thank you for your business, Citizen."

~*~

While her daughter was out, Gemina attended Bible study at Prominent Church 141. Amnesty converted her from an Agnostic to a devout believer in Him and His Word. Though never advertised, this was the outcome the State aimed for while working with Amnesty volunteers.

Before her heart surgery, Gemina spent her Wednesdays at home, reading books from her interface or having quiet dinners with Kressick. Post-surgery, learning about Him left Gemina feeling more fulfilled than she had in years. At least, this is what she told her friends, friends she met in group.

The group in Bible study accepted Gemina; they were kind. Group leader, Fallon Marteen, was her favorite. He was handsome, well-spoken, and had an answer to the hard questions in life. After receiving her synth, she had done a lot of questioning. Had she lived a good life? Had she raised a good family? Would her daughter follow the right path?

Fallon knew best how to comfort Gemina's fears. Naturally, she assumed he would help with her latest problem. Instead, she was surprised at his reaction.

"I cannot grant your request, Gemina. There is only so much Amnesty the State can offer, in your case especially." His eyes narrowed, followed by a frown indicating she should never have approached him with her problems.

She knew of a few other citizens defaulting on their synth payments--—not many, as they mostly disappeared. Each time, the church had helped them get by, or that's what she'd heard.

"What's so different about my case?"

Fallon stared as though she were a simpleton. "You asked the State for a new heart. Surely you did not expect to earn such a great gift."

He was being harsh, not like his usual good-natured self at all. Tears waited at the edge of Gemina's eyes.

"I did earn it! I served my term of Amnesty, paid my weekly tithe to the Church of $300—"

He cut her off. "Which you've missed for the past two weeks. Frankly, I was surprised to see you at study today."

Heat rose to her face. True, she hadn't paid tithe lately, but she thought her friends would understand. Her savings were running out, a fact she shared openly with the group. They tsked, affirmed that money was hard to come by, and offered to cook her dinner a few nights a week. All the niceties now seemed false in light of Fallon's current demeanor.

She muttered an apology. Her eyes blurred as she stumbled in a zig-zag-like pattern to the exit. A hand fell on her back, and Gemina assumed it belonged to Fallon.

When she turned, she discovered that the hand actually belonged to Cybil Goodwise. Cybil was the kindest to her in group, lending her interface for Bible study if Gemina forgot to bring hers, coming to Gemina's house with cookies and tea for gossip time. She could trust Cybil.

Her friend's smile slipped, forming a pinched line.

"What is it?" Gemina wiped her eyes.

She gestured for Gemina to move with her into the empty hallway next to the meeting room. Once there, Cybil spoke quickly.

"I overheard Group Leader Fallon meeting with some Prominents."

"Yes, and?" Cybil's story differed little from any other day.

"They were in dark suits, like the one Sammies wear." Cybil swallowed a lump in her wrinkled throat. "They were looking for you."

"Oh no."

Ada and Kressick had been right. All the Amnesty in the world wasn't going to help Gemina in this situation. Once Sammies came looking for a citizen, Undesirable status wasn't far behind. But even Undesirables could reach a higher status, once they came back from wherever they were sent.

"You're not late on your supplemental, are you?" Cybil was a gossip, but a keen one.

Gemina sniffled. "A little."

With clipped movements, her friend adjusted her glasses, all business. "You need to go. Fallon's probably calling them right now. Go home, pack, and be gone before they get there." Again, she touched Gemina's back, this time to push her toward the front door.

She moved to leave, but glanced back briefly. "Thanks, Cybil."

Her friend checked behind her. "You're welcome. Go!"

~*~

About halfway home from Ada's small-stakes robbery, the car chugged along, then died. She groaned in frustration. Somehow, the car hadn't charged up all the way.

Over the last few months, the battery charged less and less, losing power after a couple of hours. Ada had been meaning to change it out. Had she the funds for the details in life, she might've gotten around to it. As she sat on the side of the road in her lifeless vehicle, she regretted the oversight.

August would've remembered to change the battery.

He would've done so and not expected any thanks in return, just the small smile he would come around with, the one that said, I know you're scatter-brained, but I love you still.

Despite the fact it wouldn't turn on, she pushed the power button again. When it didn't start, she sighed.

Five thousand dollars isn't worth much sitting around in my pocket.

Not like the State would repossess her mother's synth in the literal sense, or if they did do that sort of thing, Ada had yet to hear of it.

The State was capable of inducting Gemina into a re-education camp and downgrading her status. At one level above an N.A., she might become Undesirable, never spoken of by name and hardly ever seen.

Ada flashed back to the children, racing after the woman she'd nearly run over. The absolute desolation in the woman's eyes was nearly has haunting as her dangling jaw.

Her mother could not become one of those.

"Call Mom," Ada spoke to the purple wristlet that never left her arm.

The interface repeated the command back to her before dialing.

Gemina picked up on the third ring. "Hi, honey. Where are you?"

"Car died again," Ada said.

"I told you to change the battery. Call the tow and get home." Gemina sounded distracted, but stern.

"Mom, I don't have money for a tow." Only to save your life. She assessed the rustling sounds, then asked, "What are you doing?"

"Packing."

"Why?"

More rustling and a faint bell toll.

"Someone's at the door, hang on." A pause then, "Hello?" She spoke with unknown guests: "No, I paid that."

The line disconnected.

Ada's heart thudded in her ears..

"Call Mom," she barked at the interface.

No one picked up. Three re-dials later, and she was plunged into a world of worry. Sammies must have arrived, inquiring about her mother's supplementals. The same supplementals her mother hadn't paid.

"Car on." Her voice was hoarse as she was near tears.

"Insufficient battery," was the car's response.

"Car on!"

It was two miles to the house, so walking there, or even jogging, would take thirty minutes.

"Insufficient battery."

"Stupid piece of shit car!" She pounded on the steering wheel with each word.

She tried calling Kressick on her wristlet, but he didn't pick up. Her anguish intensified, sending blue sparks flying into the dashboard. For a moment, the car whirred to life. Ada held her breath expectedly, expelling it quickly when the car refused to turn on completely.

"Insufficient battery." The car sounded breezy about the dire situation.

"Yeah, thanks."

Every light in the car winked off as the last vestige of energy drained away.

"Insufficient batt...er...ry."

Battery. Battery. The word stuck in her head. All the car needed to run was a battery, and the human body operated a lot like a battery, or so she'd heard in a movie once.

Ada hoped if she channeled her energy, she could power the car to get her home faster than walking.

Though, she didn't really know what she was doing. Her powers had only recently manifested, and she was still learning how to use them. Zapping roaches and overriding ATM machines came easily, like breathing. Powering a car would, maybe, come as easily.

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, the type of breathing exercises her mom would be proud of.

Deep breathing worked, as it brought Ada out of the panic bubble. In a state of rest, her mind reached out to the engine. She imagined the car surging with electricity.

The car sputtered, and inside, Ada ignited as well. Her heart fired when the car did. Immediately, she felt a tug, like an invisible harness around her chest, tied to the engine, pulling and pulling, but she wasn't going anywhere.

"Route to home," Ada gasped.

A firestorm brewed in her chest. It hurt. A lot.

"Routing to home. We will reach your destination in three minutes."

Three minutes? Another ten seconds dragged on, taking her lungs with them. Already her chest burned. No, her chest was freezing cold. Every breath tasted like swallowing a handful of nickels.

As the car drove on auto-pilot, Ada struggled to stay awake.

A/N: If you like the story so far, brighten up my day by voting for this chapter.