Heightened: The Federation Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

is one of the laws that were created to contain diseases.
    Sean is still looking at me.
    My eyes meet his and linger for a moment before I look away. We aren’t supposed to exchange eye contact in public. We are to maintain order and follow the laws. But when we enter private areas, like the educational building, we are allowed to relax and socialize in an appropriate manner. By appropriate, I mean no touching, no standing too close, no personal information exchanged. We bend the rules, but not enough to get into trouble. Tonight will be either amazing or a complete mess. Sean is my obvious choice for an emotional connection tonight, but there’s something about him lately that makes me uneasy. He acts awkward and avoids any of our usual conversations. It’s almost like he is hiding something from me.
    Only married individuals are allowed to be intimate with their information, but physical contact is limited to predetermined special occasions. Children are created by design, in a medical procedure that results in a viable offspring using each parents DNA, citizens are rendered incapable of reproduction in the conception procedure. A hospital incubator is used to bring a fetus to full term. But on the night of the heightening, the citizens can express themselves physically without fear of the law. Not everyone decides to be physical, but if they do they are not punished. The Federation found that the Heightening allows citizens to express their human nature, and, as a result, leads to more productive citizens. There are still laws that must be obeyed. No citizen is allowed to harm another citizen, and civil unrest is forbidden.
    The Federation determined that emotions on the extremes of the scale contributed to most, if not all, of social problems. They enacted the Heightening because they recognize the need for humans to experience the full range of emotions. But it is two-fold they want to please their citizens, and to remind them of the problems caused by the extreme emotions. So every year for one-night citizens are allowed to express their unrestricted emotions. And there are always plenty of problems that solidify the need for complacency. I have never understood how anyone could oppose the laws eliminating any actions that can lead to love and hate, or the laws that eliminate all social barriers by making all individuals equal, regardless of occupation. Everyone contributes and everyone receives the same benefits.
    I look at Sean as I step in front of him in line. He doesn’t return the favor, but I feel his breath on the back of my neck; it’s quick and labored as if he were exerting a great deal of energy. He’s standing closer to me than he should. I want to turn around, but our Proctor, Adam, is approaching. I hope Sean can control himself before he arrives. They could pull him out of the line and questioned him for any unusual behavior and if you asked me, breathing like a madman is unusual.
    I hear him inhale and slowly let out a breath. It’s warm on my neck, and it sends shivers throughout my body. I flinch. I try to clear my mind. I think of my orchard. The apples are starting to get heavy on the branches; their sweet scent fills the air. I close my eyes and smile…I will miss the orchard. I envision him, the man from my nightmares. I should feel fear, but the thought of him warms me and comforts me. Sean’s breath has slowed, but he is close to me, and I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I imagine Sean is the man from my nightmare, and he kisses my neck as he reaches around and pulls me close to him.
    “Miss Greene,” a stern voice shatters my comfortable vision of apples, serenity, and desire.
    “Adam?” My breaths are quick, and my heart is racing.
    “Please come with me,” he says abruptly. He doesn’t look pleased with my lack of formality. His eyebrows are squished together, and his face is drawn into a stern scowl.
    My mind starts to race. What did I do? Did he find out