“Kalen, mother says you have to get up. She said if you don’t she’s going to get Dad in here with a bucket of ice water.”
I groaned, burying my face in my pillow. I quickly checked my watch and saw what time it was. Five in the morning. She had to be kidding me. I still had a solid hour to sleep before I had to get to school.

“Kalen……” my brother’s annoying voice moaned.

I swatted him away. “Go away, Anthony.”

“But you have to get up! Mom said!”

I ignored Anthony and closed my eyes, steadying my breathing. I was determined to get some sleep. I
was up too late last night texting Lila and reading. I knew that wasn’t the best idea, as Anthony always found a way to wake someone up when he puts his mind to it.

And sure enough, a second later he put his entire thirteen-year-old weight on me, bouncing up and
down on my bed and slapping my face. “Wake up, Kalen! You’re gonna be late for school!”

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I reached out and snatched my brother’s ankle, so he tripped
and fell onto the mattress. I grabbed the neck of his shirt and pulled his face toward me so that it was inches away from my own, then growled at him, “I. Will not. Be late. For school. Look at the time, Anthony! It’s five in the morning! I still have an hour before I have to get up! How in the world will I be
late?”

“Your’e forgetting the fact that your alarm clock is set an hour behind, and you forgot to set in back last night, like Mum told you too.”

I muttered a couple swear words under my breath as I checked Anthony’s clock on his own phone to find that he was right. It’s actually 6:15 in the morning. School starts at 6:45, and it takes a little
while for me to get ready, to drop Anthony off, and then to get to to my own school in time.

“Anthony, out. I need to get ready.” He opened his mouth to tell me something, but I pushed him out. Once he was gone, I rushed to my closet and pressed the button. It pushed out the outfit it thought
will be best for me today. It was dark jeans, a hoodie, and a beanie cap. I pulled it on and twisted my hair into a loose braid which lay on my shoulder. I grabbed my favorite combat boots too. When my backpack was packed and I was heading out of my bedroom door when something caught my eye.

There was a flash of metal that I saw out of the corner of my green eyes. I turned around slowly and cautiously and walked up to my desk, where the sharp piece of metal was laying. My dagger. My special, beautiful, shiny new dagger. I had almost forgotten I had after the dream I had last night. I grabbed it and shoved it in my pocket.

In my community, everybody fifteen and older has a weapon. On a person’s fifteenth birthday, their parents will present them with the weapon they scored best with at school. Around here, all we care
about is survival. We save an education for later. For instance, my classes in school: Spy Training, Combat, Chase and Hide, Swimmimg, Climbing, Running. It was actually really fun, until one of us got hurt or we got yelled at for failing. Which happened a lot, honestly.

Anthony, Dad, and I rushed to the car once we were all ready. Dad barely ever listened to the speed limit, but then again, not many people did at all. Most everyone at this time of day is busy. When we finally got to Anthony’s middle school, we were making pretty good time. At this rate, I would totally get to school on time.

As Anthony got out of the car, I reached out and pulled him in for a brother-sister hug. I ruffled his wavy blond hair and whispered in his ear, “Hey. Anthony. Promise me you’ll do good today, alright? So we don’t have to continue with these private lessons.”

“I’ll try, Kay. Its just kinda hard to do all of this, this fighting. I don’t feel like I’m meant to do it.”

I smiled sympathetically. “I know how you feel, Anthony. I still feel like I’m different. But in our town you’re either a lover or a fighter, and I’m not exactly sure you’re a lover.”

He smiled. “Okay, Kalen. I’ll try harder. I’ll see you after school.”

“You too,” I said. “Love you.”

He let go off me, and shouted to me, “Love you too!” Then he rushed off, towards his friends. I love that boy more than anything, and I always went to extreme lengths to make sure he was okay. He’s one of the only boys that went right in the world.

As Dad drove out of the parking lot so we could get to my own school in time, I turned around in my seat to try to see Anthony, wondering what he was doing. I expected his to be with his friends.

What I didn’t expect to see was one of his best friends pointing a gun at him from a distance. A second later, Anthony crumpled to the ground in a heap, blood flowing.

I sat there, in the passengers seat, not doing anything. On the outside, I was completely calm, collected, and normal as I ever could be, just unmoving. I was frozen in my seat. On the inside, I was mentally dead, dying, and just completely out of control. Anthony, my thirteen-year-old brother, dead? Shot? By his best friend? It just didn't seem possible, and yet, I saw it with my own eyes.

Dad looked over at my stiff and frozen body, concerned at my posture and my facial expression, I supposed. "Kalen? You okay? You look sick. Do you need to go home?"

I shook my head, maybe a bit too quickly. "No, Dad. I'm fine. I- I just pictured something. I'm seeing things."

He nodded and went back to looking at the road, but he still seemed concerned. I can't blame him, I must have looked like I'd seen a ghost.

But I've concluded that what I saw- Anthony being shot by his best friend- could not possibly happen. Those sorts of things didn't happen in this community anymore, as we had all too much security. His friend would have been arrested just for pointing the gun at Anthony. We can't have any accidents around here, or the government, the State, will take us out, kill us, or just banish us from America. We could not have that happening.

So I've decided that it was just my over paranoid self speaking, making my see things. That wouldn't be the first time that had happened. You live in this community, everyone is paranoid. It was just something we were all born with, so we've learned to embrace our paranoia. But the second I get home, I'm going to check on Anthony. I could never be too careful with that boy.

Dad and I didn't talk to each other for the rest of the ride, except when he told me goodbye as I left the car to go into the school. Outside, at the front of the school, was one of my best friends, Lila, waiting for me. She smiled as I walked up to join her.

"Heyyy, Kalen!" she said spazzily.

I giggled. "Hey, Lila. I see you're being your usual spaztastic self."

"Psh. Since when am I not?!"

"Good point."

Lila paused as we walked through the school doors to look at me. "You don't seem yourself, Kay. Whats up? Forgot to do homework last night or something?"

I glared at her. "Hey. I'm not that much of a teacher's pet, Lil."

She scoffed. "Oh, don't even pretend, Kay. You and I both know you are. In fact, just about the whole school does."

I paused. "No comment," I said.

Lila rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kay. You can tell me anything. What the heck happened?"

I opened my mouth to answer her, but just then the warning bell rang, which meant five minutes until first period. And I still had to get to my locker. Lila swore under her breath. "Tell me at lunch, Kalen. I have to get to Ms. Ryken's room. Bye!" She began walking away, and yelled out to me, "Love you, sweetheart!"

I laughed out loud at my best friend. "Love you too, sweetie!" I shouted, for speed walking to my locker. I jammed my backpack in and grabbed my Running clothes, then ran as fast as I could to Running Class to meet up with Alyec, and to get there before the bell rang again.

I burst out the doors of the hallways and into the morning sunshine. I sighed, still conflicted about my schedule. I loved it but hated it.

I noticed Alyec standing a little while away, by the wall with a couple of his friends. His friends were all standing with their backs against the wall, with Alyec pacing in front of them, like he's instructing them, as if he was a leader. He always acted like that.

The second I saw him, I got an evil grin on my face. I walked quickly up to Alyec, walking behind him so he didn't notice me coming. The second I got a step away from him, one of his friends tells him quickly, "Alyec, behind you!"

He was about to turn around, but it was too late. I hit Alyec upside the head, and stood back and watched his reaction.

He scowled at me. "Kalen, I swear, one of these days I am seriously going to trip you as you walk through the hallways."

I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too, Alyec."

The bell for the start of first period rang, and Alyec and I got in line next to each other. I saw a couple girls giggle and point at the two of us, and I scowled. No matter what anyone thought or said, Alyec and I are really just friends. Best friends, and only that.

The teacher took roll, then told us we were running the mile today. Alyec and myself got in our running positions, then when the whistle sounded, we began running at a slow enough pace that we could still talk to each other.

People gave us looks. I ignored them, at least Alyec and myself knew we were just friends.

"Kay, over here!"

I heard someone yell my name as Alyec and I were running, and I looked around searching for the source of the familiar voice. I looked at Alyec.

"Alyec, did you here that?"

He smirked. "Maybe, maybe not. Depends. Will you quit hitting me every time you see me?" he said.

I snickered. "Never, Alyec. I blame you still for us not having any classes together for last year."

He groaned. "But Kay! That was last year. Now we have most of them together anyhow."

"Whatevs," I said, and I opened my mouth to say something else to him, but he tapped my shoulder and pointed to something behind me.

I turned around and started running backward, so I could see what Alyec was pointing to. Suddenly, I gasped when I saw who it was.

"Ava!" I practically shreiked. "I thought you had Combat first period?!"

"I did," Ava said, as we hugged each other mid-run, Alyec rolling his eyes next to us. "That is, until I got a schedule change. I told you I was thinking of doing it."

"So you switched?"

She nodded. "Yup. I switched into Running first, as running in the morning is more my thing. I have Chase&Hide sixth period, with you!"

I laughed. "You can sit with Myra and myself."

Ava nodded, and opened her mouth to say something else, when Alyec interrupted. "Yo. Kalen, Ava, hate to interrupt your little girl time, but Kalen? Myra and Blake wanted me to tell you that we have Band practice after school today."

"Did Myra say anything about bringing Ava with us, so she could join?" I asked him.

He nodded, then rubbed his shaggy black hair. "She said bring her, then she slapped me upside the head and told me my hair is too long."

I laughed and messed with his hair, because I knew he hated it. Alyec slapped my hand away, and I said, "Dude. Your hair is too long. Get a haircut."

He scowled. "I hate you, Kay."

"Hate you too, Alyec."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, you guys. I would totally say something, but then you two would kill me."

I glared at the black-haired girl. "Don't. You. Dare."

She stood back, arms raised in surrender. "I didn't say anything, Kalen! And I won't, either. I'd rather not die today."

"Good choice," Alyec and I said at the same time.

I groaned. "Anyway. Ava, your coming with Alyec and I to band practice. It's at Blake's house this week, right Alyec?"

"Yea, I think so. Don't go asking me. Your the one that remembers every little detail in life, Kay."

Ava laughed. "Very true, Alyec."

I rolled my green eyes. "Again. Anyway. Its at Blake's house, so Ava, you can walk with Alyec and myself over there. Got it?"

Instead of nodding, her blue eyes sparkled maliciously. "Oooh, it's at Blake's house, Kay?"

I burned bright red and flicked her arm. "Shut up."

"Oh, you know your happy, Kay," Alyec said. "You get to be with Blake. He's your partner this week."

"Be quiet, both of you! Before I kill you!" I said, my face getting redder.

"Whatever," Ava and Alyec said in unison. Then, the bell rang for the end of first period, and I dragged Alyec off with me to second period, Combat.

"Any idea what we're doing today?" I asked Rocky, one of my better friends, as Alyec and I sat at the three person table next to her.

"How would I know? I just got here too, you know," Rocky said, frowning at me.

"Don't get all defensive yet, Rocky," I said. "I havn't done anything. Yet, at least." I winked at her, and she scowled at me.

"Yeah, yet. That always means somethings gonna happen. It does everyday, anyway."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up, Rocky."

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

I smirked. "Too late. Already did."

Rocky growled and slapped my arm, and in return I whacked her upside the head. Before it got totally serious, Alyec stepped in between us.

"Girls, girls! Seriously!" he said. "I don't want to have to get in the middle of one of your little girly fights. But this time, I'm gonna. I'm sitting in between you two."

Rocky and I both opened our mouths to protest, but Alyec refused to listen. He sat in the middle seat between Rocky and myself before we could say another word. We both crossed our arms and sulked in silence, waiting for class to start. Rocky was, of course, one of my best friends, but we were more like enemies, sometimes. So, frenemies. Sometimes I can't stand her, or she's mad at me, and we fight. They are not always real fights, but we have had a couple real ones. I, however, can't hold a grudge to save a life, so we never say mad at each other. Its a complicated relationship.

The bell for the beginning of second period sounded, and our Combat teacher, Mr. Fuller, jogged up to his little platform at the front of the room. "Good morning, second period!" he shouted.

"Good morning, Mr. Fuller!" we all shouted back, it being a habit of ours.

"Okay, students, today we will be doing something a little different. After all our training, I will assign you a partner and you will fight each other, starting with a sword, and then going up to the more complex weapons over the weeks," Mr. Fuller said.

Instantly everyone in the class started inching towards their friends, hoping to have them as a partner. Rocky looked over Alyec's head at me. She wanted to be my partner.

Honestly, I really didn't care who I was partners with. I had so many friends in this class, anyway. Besides Alyec and Rocky, I also had Malika, Vince, Blake, Damon, and Sabrina. And even if I didn't end up with any of them, I would'nt mind fighting anyone in the class.

"No, children, you do not get to pick your partners," Mr. Fuller said, crushing many kids' dreams.

"Aww..." everyone groaned. I heard a few people swear, and I frowned. There was no need to cuss over not getting to choose who you work with in class.

"Now, I'll announce your partners. Sabrina, with Damon. Vince, with Mina. Blake, with Martin-"

Blake and Martin cheered and gave each other a high five. Those two had been best friends since third grade, and they always did things together. It was with pure luck those two got to be partners.

"Yes, yes, very exciting for Blake and Martin," Mr. Fuller said, smirking. "You two are just lucky. Anyway..." he named off a bunch of other names, and then, "Alyec, with Rocky. Kalen, with Malika. Thats all. Everyone stand up, get with your partner, and come with me to the gym."

I smirked. I admit, I was a little upset that I wasn't with Alyec or Rocky, but at least I got to be with Malika. I havn't a real conversation with that girl in a little while.

"Hey hey, Kay!" Malika said as she bounced toward me, walking with me to the gym with the rest of the class.

I snickered. "Like a poet."

She rolled her eyes. "Its a habit. I can't stop, literally."

I laughed and held out my arms. "Gimme a hug, Malika. I havn't got one from you for a while."

Malika practically jumped on me as she gave me a hug. "Ready to fight, Kay?"

I sighed with an added groan." Sure hope so. You're scary when you fight, Malika. I can never take you, trust me."

"Psh," said Malika. "Not true. I'm not a fighter, Kay, and you know that. I can fight when I really want to, but I'm honestly more of a lover."

"Hey, I am too, so its all good. We're great partners in that way. Mr. Fuller knew that."

We walked into the gym, and Malika and I grabbed the swords made just for the two of us. Mr. Fuller instructed us to stand ten feet from our partner, in our fighting stance.

"Good luck," Malika and I whispered to each other as Mr. Fuller blew the whistle, signaling us to start fighting.

Malika lunged at me like a flipping lunatic, I swear.

I squealed as I raised my sword up to block her hit, and our blades clashed together violently, making a terribly loud ringing noise. Malika's face was screwed up in concentration, and I sighed, as much as I could sigh in the middle of battle. "Malika," I shouted. "What the heck. You go off about how your not the best fighter, and then you nearly chop my hand off."

She smirked. "Sorry, Kay. But like you said, when I try hard enough, I really can fight. You can too, you just have to try."

I groaned and swung my sword at her feet, but she jumped to avoid it. She swung back at me, aiming at my head with the button of her sword. I kneeled down and pushed my weapon up above my head, blocking her attack once again. Malika groaned.

"I see you caught on, Kalen," She muttered out as we lunged repeatedly at each other, never getting a real hit at each other.

I snickered at her expression. "Malika, I'm not stupid, or weak. I know how to fight and I'm smart enough to notice a pattern in your attacks and battle strategy. Soon enough, I'll be able to predict your every move, and you won't be able to do anything, and it won't matter if you try to change your strategy anyway," I said, as she attempted to try a different move out on me. "I'll just memorize that too and keep note of it, to use it against you."

Malika gave me a pleading face, looking worn down and a bit defeated. "Really, Kay?! Your putting your schoolwork, smarts, and memory and converting them into combat skills. That's smart, Kay, really smart."

I smiled. "I've always thought like that, my dear friend. I was born using logic and memory in battle."

Suddenly, Mr. Fuller came over to us and looked appalled at my fighting against Malika. "Kay!" he exclaimed. "Simply amazing! Never in my whole life have I seen someone fight like that! Kay, Malika, stop for a second."

Malika stopped, looking sweaty, tired, and defeated. She looked to me and gave me a high-five, smiling brightly at me. "Great job, Kay. That was amazing."

"Kay, tell me," Mr. Fuller said to me. "How do you fight like that? What's your strategy?"

"Well, I just take my smarts, my great memory, what I learn in school, and simple logic and convert them to battle, in combat. That way, once I fight with someone long enough, I can memorize their battle strategy and the order in which they attack. I can then work out in my head the best way to defend against that attack, and get ready to defend myself before the person even uses that attack on me. So I'm a step ahead and they would never know."

He widened his eyes and looked in me in such a way that made me feel totally uncomfortable but at the same time proud. His blue eyes sparkled, and he grabbed me by the shoulders, instructed everyone to stop fighting, and pulled me toward the center of the room. The class looked at the two of us, confused.

"Everyone, I just found out something simply amazing," Mr. Fuller said. "Kalen here is quite the fighter, with an even better battle strategy." He looked at me again. "Kay, fight me. Just as an example, to see who wins and to show everyone your amazing strategy."

I shrugged and got in a fighting position as Mr. Fuller did the same. He lunged at me when I least expected it, and the rest of the class were placing bets on who they thought would win: Myself or Mr. Fuller.

We fought for only maybe five minutes before I had my Combat teacher pinned to the ground, my sword just under his chin, so he couldn't move. He smirked. "Great job, Kay. I guess you win."

The very few students that were betting on me cheered, and I smiled. Mr. Fuller had us hang up our swords, because it was almost time to leave, and I stood with Alyec, Rocky, and Malika by the door.

"Well," Alyec said to me, not bothering to whisper, "You're still a fail to me."

Rocky nodded, agreeing with him. "Me too!"

I rolled my eyes, and Malika said, "Sheesh. You two are so mean."

Alyec shrugged. "Well, it's Kay, and she's actually a really good friend of mine, so it's alright to be mean to her."

I hit him upside the head. "Gee, thanks, Alyec."

Rocky and Malika giggled. Suddenly, I heard a small sound. I furrowed my eyebrows.

In an instant, a knife came crashing out the window, zoomed into the room, and hit someone square in the chest.

My friend, Sabrina.

She crumpled to the ground, knife sticking out of her body. Mr. Fuller looked shocked for a moment. Then, seemingly shaking himself out of a trance, whipped out his phone, calling 911.

They brought her to the hospital. As they were leaving, something tells me something horrible is coming, or was already here.

Another one dead, gone. Usually, no one got seriously injured during Combat - just minor things like broken arms or bruised skulls. It happened so quickly, I couldn't even really process it until the doctors were pulling Sabrina into the ambulance to the emergency room. After school, and after band practice, myself and some friends were going to go check on her. But for now, I sat in sixth period Chase&Hide with my friend Myra.

The second she walked in, she spotted me sitting in the back, and she rushed up to me, grabbing my arm. "Kalen Manning," Myra said seriously, "I have heard so many rumors about you, Mr. Fuller, Sabrina. People have said you flipping died, Kay. What the heck happened in second period Combat that everyone is making such a big deal out of?"

I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked into her brown eyes. "You really don't know what happened, Myra? People have actually said I'm the one that died?"

She moaned and sat in the seat next to me. "Yes! Some have said Fuller killed you in battle, others have said a random knife stabbed you, and that Sabrina tried to save you.... Well, you're obviously not hurt or dead, so what really happened?"

I sighed. "Fine." I told Myra everything that happened during second period, and when I was done, she frowned, tilted her head, and sat back in her seat. "Seriously?" she whispered, looking exasperated.

I nodded. "Yes, Myra. I'm serious. Aleah, Ava, Rocky, Lila, and I are going to go see Sabrina in the hospital after Band practice. You want to come with?"

She smirked, only smirked. I've almost never seen Myra really smile, it was always just a smirk. "I have a better idea," she said, and I raised my eyebrows. "Seeing as Sabrina was part of our Band sessions, and now she can't come, I think we should all go to see her after practice. That would be you, me, Alyec, Blake, Martin, Rocky, Lila, Damon, Malika, Aleah, and now Ava. How's that sound?"

I smiled. "I love that idea, Myra. Brilliant."

Once the bell rang, and the teacher, Ms. Maver, gave us instructions for the day, she let us pick our partners. Alyec and Blake, behind us, obviously became partners, as did Myra and myself. We were the only four from Practice that were in Chase&Hide sixth period. Ms. Maver brought us out to the forest behind the school to get started.

"Okay," Myra said quietly next to me. "Who did Maver say we were running from?"

I smirked. "None other then our other two band mates, Alyec and Blake."

She copied my evil grin. "Great. Just great. This ought to be interesting."

Once we heard the teacher's whistle sound, Myra and I ran for our lives into the woods. We got a head start, so we could find a decent hiding place if we needed one. Alyec and Blake would be coming to find us in thirty seconds time.

After maybe ten seconds of Myra and I running as fast as we possibly could, we reached a divide in the path. We looked at each other and made a split second decision. "You go right, I go left," we said together.

"Okay, you go left, I'll go right," we said again.

I moaned and checked my watch. Alyec and Blake were just let in to come and search for us. "Myra," I said. "Blake and Alyec are searching now. You just take left, I'll go right."

She nodded. "Got it. Meet you by the odd looking tree around the center of the woods. Yell GUITAR SOLO if you're in trouble, and I'll do the same. Got it?"

I tilted my head to the side. "Why 'Guitar Solo'?"

Myra smirked. "Cause that's just how I roll."

Three minutes later, and I was still searching for a good hiding spot, not knowing how Myra was doing. So far, neither of us had gotten caught. That, or Myra was snuck up upon and didn't have time to yell. But I doubted that. Myra was too stubborn, too strong-willed and fast for Alyec or Blake to catch her. I, on the other hand, was not like that. I was in danger.

I sighed in relief as I turned a corner and found a well placed hiding spot; good enough for me, at least. I climbed into the truck of a wide tree, sitting up against the bark inside, bringing my knees to my chest. I just had to be incredibly silent, hoping the boys don't find me or Myra.

"-I swear, I saw someone over here."

My eyes widened and my body froze at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Are you sure, Blake? I didn't see anything."

"Shh! Quiet, Alyec, I think I heard something!"

I bit my lip and sunk even lower into my hiding place. This could be it for me and Myra.

I heard footsteps right outside my tree. I lowered my head and saw Blake's sneakers. I mentally swore. Why did they have to be here, now?!

"Yo, Alyec, you go that way. Tell me if you see Myra or Kay. I'll keep searching around here."

I heard Alyec sigh. "Fine, Blake. Good luck."

After Alyec left, I saw Blake pacing in front of my hiding spot. He examined my tree, and I stood as still as a rock. So, naturally, I jumped as he said my name.

"I know you're around here somewhere, Kay. I saw your flash of blond hair."

When I jumped, I made the loudest noise ever, and swore loudly accidentally. Blake laughed and crouched down to me spot, peering in. The second he saw me, his blue eyes sparkled evilly. Before I could move, he grabbed a hold of my wrist and didn't let go.

Blake laughed. "Got ya, Kay."

Myself being who I was, I attempted to escape from Blake's grasp. But Blake was one of the most stubborn boys I had ever met on this planet,so no matter what I did, I couldn't get away. His mind was set, and there wasn't anything I could do about that.

Blake smirked. "Yo, Kay, I'm stronger than you. You're not going to be able to escape me."

But I ignored him, trying to push myself back into my hiding place inside the tree trunk. I didn't say a word, there was no need to.

I noticed him rolling his blue eyes. Eventually, he chuckled and just flipped me over onto my back, and sat right on my stomach. He officially got me captured. "Ugh," I finally said. "I hate you, Blake."

He gave me a goofy grin. "I know, Kay. You don't have to say it."

"What are you waiting for? You just gonna keep me here?"

He shrugged. "Depends. Do you know where Myra is? Is she somewhere around here?"

"Look, Blake. Trust me when I say this, I honestly don't know where she is. We ran into a divide in the path and went seperate ways. She coud be anywhere."

Blake swore under his breath. "Great. I know you're telling the truth, cause you honestly cannot lie, Kay. Sorry."

"Oh, shut your trap, Blake."

He smirked. "I wouldn't be talking."

At that moment, Alyec burst through the bushes, looking out of breath. He must have been running. He didn't see Blake and I, for just a second. "Dude, Alyec, over here! I got Kalen!"

Alyec turned and spotted us, jogging over. He smirked evilly at me. My cheeks flushed red. Alyec would never let me forget this moment. He always found the best things to make fun of me for. I hated it. I guess that's why he was one of my best friends.

"You think you can hold her while I go out to look for Myra?" Blake asked Alyec.

Alyec laughed. "Of course I can. Keeping Kay restrained? I've been waiting for that opportunity."

Blake snickered and slowly traded places with Alyec, so now Alyec was on top of me. He sneered down at me, and I rolled my eyes at him, glaring as he snickered again. Alyec just loved torturing me, I swear.

Blake took one look back at Alyec and myself before disappearing into the bushed Alyec popped out of not that long ago. After about ten seconds, I decided its safe enough to call for Myra.

"GUITAR SOLO!" I screamed as loud as I could, which, believe me, was pretty dang loud. Alyec winced and hit me upside the head.

"Dude, Kay! What was that about? That's so random, 'guitar solo'..." he said.

I smirked as I caught a glimpse of peircing hazel eyes, and raven black hair. Myra's pale face flashed out briefly from behind the bushes as she checked on me.

"I'll say it one more time," I said, looking in Myra's direction. "Guitar Solo."

At that, Myra burst out from her own little hiding spot, running toward Alyec and myself. Three seconds later, and I caught Blake a little behind her, determined to get a hold of her.

Alyec tried to block Myra, but he failed epically. Myra jumped right on top of him, so he practically flew off of me. The two of them rolled for a second, and during those few moments, I managed to get to my feet. Blake happened to spot me then, and tried to knock me down again, but I moved away at the last second, grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm back. "Dude, Kay, really?!"

I snickered. "Do you not know me, Blake?"

"I've known you since fourth grade and I still have a hard time figuring you out."

"Good. Then you never will, Blake."

At that moment, I pushed Blake up against the tree, Myra threw Alyec to the ground, and in our few seconds of free time, managed to escape the both of them again. With Myra and I paired against Blake and Alyec, who knew how long this was going to take?

Myra laughed as the two of us ran in the same direction away from Alyec and Blake. "I cannot believe that," I said, laughing along with her. "That was incredible."

"Those two are just so stupid, " Myra said, turning a corner. I followed her closely. "I'm so glad we got paired with them. They're not too hard to escape, or too easy. And I can never predict the outcome."

I smirked. "Exactly. With those two boys, who's knows who'll win?"

"It has to be us. I won't let it not be."

"Now we're talking," I said. Myra held out a fist to me, and I fist-bumped her. We were not going to be taken down by Alyec and Blake. Myra and I had never before been caught in one of these sessions, and we weren't going to start today.

Thirty minutes later, and Myra and I were up in a Redwood tree, taking branches from the tree and making weapons out of them. I mean, we wern't planning on killing Alyec and Blake, just seriously injure, if it came to that.

"Yo, Kay," Myra whispered. "What time is it? And what time does class end?"

I pulled my wrist up to my face to check the time. It was 1:30 in the afternoon. "Class ends at 2. So we have exactly thirty minutes."

Myra smirked. "Perfect. Just perfect. I have a plan then."

"And that is...?"

She brought her face up to my ear, and whispered her entire plan. As she spoke, my smirk kept getting bigger and bigger.

I snickered when she was finished. "Love it. Let's put this plan into action, shall we?"

"Hey, Kalen, I wonder if Alyec and Blake are around here somewhere, don't you?" Myra said, extremely loudly, once we got down from our tree. I snickered.

"Yeah, Myra!" I said, just as loudly. "That's just what I was thinking! I doubt they'll find us!"

"Just did. You two stupid?"

Myra and I spun around to find Alyec just standing there, Blake running to catch up to him. I smirked.

"Yes, actually, we are," I said. I lunged at him, and Myra did the same to Blake. We threw them to the floor again, and climbed up the nearest tree. The boys growled and snarled at us as they struggled to their feet.

"Seriously?" Blake said, looking up at us. "What was the point in that?!"

Myra shrugged. "No idea," she lied. "It's just fun to knock you two down."

Alyec rolled his eyes. "Well then. At least now we have you two trapped. You can't come down without us catching you, can you?"
"Don't be so sure," Myra muttered, an evil glint in her eyes. I snickered and pulled my sharpened stick from my bag, Myra doing the same. "Okay," Myra whispered, so only I could hear her, "You aim for Alyec. I'll get Blake. Got it?"

I nodded, grinning evilly. "Got it. Good luck, Myra."

"Good luck, Kay."

At that, Myra and I aimed at Blake and Alyec, and, being extremely careful while at the same time not, threw our makeshift weapons at our desired targets.

Mine cut Alyec in the cheek, and Myra's sliced down Blake's arm. When the two boys realized we had gotten them, they turned to face us, but we were already gone from there sight. We snuck up behind them and attacked them, tying their hands behind their backs. "Well," Myra grinned, "Doesn't this feel nice, boys? Now you see how it was like for us to be chased by you. How does that feel, guys?"

Blake looked defeated, "Shut up, Myra."

"You shut up, Blake," I said.

"Shut up, Kay," said Alyec.
"This is stupid," Myra groaned. "Blake, Alyec, both of you, SHUT UP."

I snickered. "Well, class ends in fifteen minutes," I said, "Might as well bring these two over to Ms. Maver, Myra. Show her who won today."

"Unless," a voice said from behind us. "You four are all dead. That wouldn't work out too well, would it?"

By the looks on Blake and Alyec's faces, I could tell whatever was behind us could not be good. Frozen, eyes wide, Myra and I slowly turned around to face whatever it was that was behind us. I nearly dropped dead when I saw what it was.

"Hello children," a man said, holding up a bloody dagger. Maybe twenty other men and woman were standing behind him, all holding up their own bloodied weapon. "My name is Jevlin. I, and all these others, are a part of a secret organization called Cyos, made op of Cyones. And, what do you know? You four are on our kill list."

Myra stood up, ever so slowly. She looked calm, but I knew better. On the inside, she feared for her life. As she faced the man, I inched closer to Blake and Alyec.

"How do you know who we are?" Myra said, standing as close to the man, Jevlin, as she dared. He stared blankly at her for a few seconds, but then smirked.

"My dear, let me prove this to you. What is your first and last name?"

Myra opened her mouth, and Blake interrupted her before she could say anything. "Don't lie, Myra. They'll know if we lie. I can just tell."

Myra glared at him. "Shut up, Blake," she mumbled, before turning back to Jevlin. "My name is Myra Lewis. So?"

"Ah, Miss Lewis. You see this list right here?" he shoved a piece of paper at her. "Your name is right there, is it not? At the very top."

By the way Myra's face paled, I could tell her name was there, written in black bold that no one could miss.

"And right under Miss Lewis," he said, looking at the boys and myself. "Is Blake Garrison, Alyec Walker, and last but certainly not least, children, is Kalen Manning."

The four of us all swore under our breath. This wasn't turning out too well.

"Watch your language, children. Not the best idea right now," Jevlin said.

"Don't tell me what to do," I muttered, before realizing that wasn't the smartest thing to say. I hoped he didn't hear me.

But it turned out he did. Raising his dark eyebrows, he turned his icy gaze to me. "Miss Kalen Manning, do you wish to be the first to die?"

For some reason, I was feeling sarcastic, like a rebel. I was not going to let this man push me around. I stood up tall, getting off the ground and away from Blake and Alyec. The boys stared at me, wondering what I was doing. I stood right in front of Jevlin, glaring at him. "Actually," I whispered. "I don't think me, or any of my friends, are going to die anytime soon. Got that?"

He narrowed his black eyes at me. "You foolish girl, you incompetent teenager. You don't know anything about this world, and the evils concealed inside it. You're pathetic, stupid, unintelligent. You don't know or care how things work. You are only concerned about yourself, and would give anyone up to save your own butt. It's too easy to work out the mind of a high schooler, and therefore, just as easy to kill. Don't you see, Miss Manning? You don't stand the smallest, most microscopic chance in the world against the Cyos, or even just myself, my dear."

I snickered. "You wanna bet?"

"Kay," Alyec said at long last. "Don't push it."

Jevlin finally pulled him glance away from me for a second to look at Alyec. "Ah, yes. Mr. Alyec Walker."

Alyec didn't say anything, instead got paler, staring at Jevlin with fear in his eyes. "Lets see... what happens when I do... this."

At that, he snapped behind him at the others, and they instantly began attacking Myra, Blake, and myself. Just before they did, though, I noticed one thing. Jevlin took his knife and threw it at Alyec.

My heart beat quicker than I thought possible. Alyec! No!, my mind was screaming. My lips moved wordlessly, soundlessly. I could not produce strong enough words to explain how I felt.

Myra swore as she grabbed my arm. "Kay, fight! We'll handle Jevlin and Alyec later!"

Finally, I could make a sound. "NO!" I shrieked. "Myra, he'll kill him!"

I guess Myra could hear the fear in my voice, because she let go of me. "Fine, Kay. You try and take Jevlin. Blake! You and I fight the rest of this stupid organization."

Blake nodded, already deep in combat. Myra took one last look at me, her eyes softening, before submerging herself into the battle in front of her. As for myself, I didn't hesitate. I ran to Alyec.

I kneeled to the ground next to him. The dagger was lodged in his stomach, and he was bleeding badly.

A tear streaked down my cheek. "Alyec! Alyec? Don't die on me, please don't die on me..."

He managed to shake his head. "I'm too persistent to let something like this kill me. Don't cry, Kay. I detest gushy emotion."

I glared at him and wanted to hit him upside the head, as always, but felt he already had enough pain to deal with. "Shut up, Alyec. If you die I'll just bring you back to life and kill you again. Got that?"

He smirked. "Same old Kalen Manning I'm dealing with here." The ghost of a smirk appeared on lips.

A second later, he raised his eyebrows at me. “Well, Kay? You gonna sit there and stare at me, or are you going to help me?”

I took a deep breath, examining his wound. I was never a doctor; I had always been hopeless when someone was sick, never knowing what to do no matter how many times it had been explained to me. Alyec’s problem was beyond any sort of healthcare knowledge I could possibly muster up. Nobody had ever taught me how to take care of a boy with a knife in his stomach.

Did that mean Alyec would die?

No, I told myself. The best I could do at the moment was to improvise. Biting my lip in obvious nervousness, I grabbed the hilt of the dagger and pulled up. He yelled as I did so, and it took all my strength to not react to his pain. The weapon was out in a matter of seconds, and I kept it near me so as to get a better look at it later.

“What exactly are you doing?” Alyec moaned, his eyes closed.

I sighed. “Good question. Just stay still, and be as quiet as possible; we don’t want that Jevlin guy coming back.” I absolutely
refused to look at him. If I did, I would lose any power left in me and I would break down at the sight of his pained expression. It would kill me, along with him.

It’s horrible watching your best friend die and knowing you can’t do anything about it.

“Kay, look out!” I heard Myra and Blake shout in unison. But I was too far gone. Alyec was still alive, but slowly dying in front of my disbelieving eyes. Burning tears blurred my vision, so much that it looked as if Alyec and I were the only two left in the world. Sound faded, as it always seemed to do when I was faced with a life-threatening decision. But this time, it wasn’t my life that was on the line. Alyec would live or die depending on how much I can do for him.

“Kay, please,”Myra pleaded, in a world other than my own. She sounded so far away, so distant, but one thing was still clear to me. The sound was unmistakable--- Myra was crying.

That fact terrified me. If Myra--- strong, ruthless, persistent Myra, was crying, losing hope, how was there any way for the rest of us to be able to push through this? The battle was practically lost already.

“Kay?” I heard Alyec’s weak voice calling out to me. “Stay strong. You’re my best friend, you know that? And one of the strongest people I’ve ever known. But please, if you value your own life, turn around and look at Myra and Blake.”

His words worked miracles on me. Instantly my eyes dried, and I was able to snap out of my stupor of hopelessness. I worked up enough courage to be able to turn my eyes from Alyec’s soft brown ones, back in Myra and Blake’s direction. I struggled to my feet, standing directly in front Alyec so that no one else could get to him.

“Kalen, get out. Now,” Blake rasped, in a voice that didn’t belong to him. It sounded wrong with him, everything about this situation had been horribly wrong. “You need to leave the three of us and run.”

The strange thing was, both of them were alone. No more Cyos guards surrounding them, trying to kill them. They were bruised and bloodied, on the floor, but otherwise just fine. Why then, were they so sure about their deaths? Why were they so determined to get me to leave everything behind?

“Blake, what are you talking about? No one’s even--”

I couldn’t finish my sentence, because all my thoughts and plans were wiped away at the sound of Myra’s scream.

“MOVE, KAY, DO IT NOW!” she shrieked. In my haze, I turned, just to have some sort of sharp object collide with the side of my face, causing me to lose consciousness before I even hit the ground.

And that’s when the nightmares began.

To me, it seemed as if the dark void of my memories and childhood around me was a very accurate image of Hell. I’m sure no normal teenager would be scarred from past hopes and dreams, but I was no normal teenager.

The first thing I noticed was how dark it was. There was no possible way to see anything, and my eyes never adjusted. I could wave my hand an inch from my face for hours and still have no idea where it was. Heaven was supposed to have light, right? Everyone always spoke of that ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ but my new world was nothing but black.

Just as I thought I would lose my mind completely sitting there like that, I saw something. Something that terrified me, and reminded me all too well of one of the few times my life was truly in danger.

I saw my friends and classmates, Aleah and Vince.

Vince had a knife in the waistband of his jeans. Aleah had a picture of me in her hands.

My heart pounded somehow even quicker as I scrambled backward as fast as I could. They were both there, in person, looking straight at me in grave accusation. Since the incident, I have had many sessions in which I learned to grow used to their faces, so I could talk to them normally again without feeling as if they would pull a knife on me at any minute.

It worked, for two years. But now, days before my fifteenth birthday, I saw them the way I saw them at age thirteen, when they would do anything to kill me. Stumbling away from them, my foot slipped away from solid ground. I found myself falling into a void that I could swear hadn’t been there before. My world clouded, and light seeped into my eyes, bringing me back to a memory I had tried so hard to forget.

I grabbed Vince’s shouder, sneaking up on him from behind. He smiled at me, giving me a quick hug.

“Hey Vince. Are you and Aleah still coming over after school?” I asked him.

"Of course, Kay. Why wouldn’t we be?” he smirked, checking his watch. “Oh, dang it. Sorry, Kay, I gotta go right now, I have someone to meet before school’s out. See ya after?”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Who are you meeting?”

He bit his lip, hesitating long enough to make me suspicious. Shaking his head, he said, “It’s nothing. Everything’s okay. Bye.”

Without waiting for any response back, he let go of my hand, turning in the opposite direction without looking back. I waited two minutes before going to follow him, but when I do, he was in an abandoned classroom with one of the younger grade teachers, Mr. Malcolm. Putting my ear up against the slightly open door, I listened in.

“Mr. Vincent Meehan, good to see you here. Have you been being careful?”

“Yes, Mr. Malcolm, sir. Where’s Aleah?”

“I’m right here, Vince. Sorry I’m late,” Aleah said, coming into the room from the opposite door.

“No problem, Miss Gest. You may sit next to Mr. Meehan.”

“So do we have a plan yet?” Vince asked.

“Of course. Miss Gest, do you have the photo?”

Aleah pulled a small picture from her back pocket. “Right here. Why do we need to keep it? Kay doesn’t have any part in this, does
she?”

At the sound of my name, I perked up. Looking closer, I saw that the small photo in Aleah’s hands was of… me. I leaned closer, tempted even further.

Mr. Malcolm laughed. “No, children, of course not. Miss Manning is safe. No need to worry. I do, however, need the two of you to put on these bracelets. They signify your loyalty to me. I’m here to help you, don’t forget that.”

Vince and Aleah took the metallic bracelets, eyeing the red button on the side very carefully as they slipped them on. Malcolm leaned over, impossibly quickly, and pressed the button on both bracelets.

The change in the both of them was obvious. They sat straight-backed, hands in their laps, uncharacteristically silent. What really terrified me—their eyes were burning bright red.

Malcolm handed Vince a knife, and told him to put it in the waistband of his jeans. He obeyed, which was not at all like the Vince I knew. “Now, children. Your real target is your dear friend Kalen Manning. Kill her. She just happens to be right outside the door. Have
fun.”

It took me a few seconds to process just what he said before I had the common sense to run. Clearly, Vince and Aleah were under mind-control. I was halfway out the school doors when both of my friends burst out of the room and headed straight in my direction.

I’m not exactly sure how I fooled myself into thinking I could outrun Vince. He was one of the fastest kids in our grade, and he loved PE. But for some reason I thought my legs would have the strength to carry me all the way home, where I would be at least somewhat safe, and I could call the police.

Not that I made it very far. When you’re running on pure terror, you tend to go faster, but Vince still managed to catch me within three minutes. He grabbed my ankles, causing me to fall over on my face. Pinning me to the floor, he waited for Aleah to get caught up.

“It’s her?” he asked, his strength causing me to not even attempt to struggle.

Aleah pulled the photo from her pocket, looking at me and then back at it. “Absolutely. You’ve got the knife?” when he pulled it out, she added, “Who will do the honors?”

“We both can. Take turns. Then bury the body underneath the school.”

Honestly, the fact that two of my good friends were about to murder me was not what scared me the most. What really terrified me was how they seemed to have no idea what they were doing, or who they were doing this to. I was only thirteen years at the
time, but I had read enough fantasy and mystery books to have the suspicion that
they were under mind control. But the question was: How? In our society it certainly wasn’t impossible, but it was very hard to do and very unlikely to get it done right. And yet, right there in front of my eyes was a success, right down to the unblinking, serene red
eyes.

They beat me, Aleah and Vince. By the end of it all I was bloodied and bruised, on the verge of unconsciousness, or possibly death. At that point it was hard to tell anymore. I found that when faced head-on by death itself, I began to lose my hearing, as
the world slipped out of my fingertips as slowly as possible, as if it enjoyed seeing me in pain.

Oh, please, I moaned inside my head, having lost the strength to speak long ago. Please let me die already.

I didn’t die, not before a stranger passing on the street stopped them andbrought them to their senses. I was taken to a hospital, where they spent weeks teaching me to forget that memory.

That was the first time in years that I’ve actually remembered it.

When the memory slipped away, I still found myself in my dark cavern of nothingness. I was still in Hell, and there was no escaping unless I actually was alive, and someone was working to bring me back to consciousness at that very moment.

It didn’t come for a very long time.

But something else did come. Another memory, but more recent this time, something that I remembered happened… just that morning. My head pounded as I recalled the moment:

As Dad drove out of the parking lot so we could get to my own school in time, I turned around in my seat to try to see Anthony, wondering what he was doing. I expected him to be with his friends.

What I didn’t expect to see was one of his best friends pointing a gun at him from a distance. A second later, Anthony crumpled to the ground in a heap, blood flowing.

Right before my eyes in the dark wasteland was my little brother, Anthony.

I wasn’t exactly sure I was ever breathing. I remembered all I had seen, even Anthony. But before I could say anything to him, the darkness disappeared, and I found myself waking up in a hospital.

Unable to produce words, all I did was groan. My face felt unusually fragile, and it took me a long time to turn my head to look around the room. At the bed next to me was Alyec, sleeping softly, doctors working on him. I cringed at the sight of all the oxygen tanks and cords surrounding him.

On my other side was Myra, beaten up and bruised, but otherwise just fine. She was also asleep. Across from her was Blake, looking close to awake but not quite there yet. Across from me, was Sabrina, who was injured during Combat earlier. Next to her was… Anthony.

“Anthony!” I choked out, coming out more as a whimper. One of the doctors working on Alyec looked over at me.

“Miss Manning is awake,” she said, looking over her shoulder at one of the nurses. The nurse came over to me, checking on me.

“What happened?” I asked.

“You and your friends encountered the leader of the Cyos, Jevlin Shatari. You four are lucky to have made it this far alive. You, Myra, and Blake are going to make it out alright, but it’s looking really shady for Alyec. You didn’t take the knife out properly, and he’s bleeding pretty badly.”

“How do you know?”

“Myra and Blake informed us of all they saw. According to them, they fought off the Cyos pretty well, but you were taking care of Alyec and had forgotten about Jevlin. They managed to push them all back, but they couldn’t get Jevlin to. They were trying to get you to turn around so you could fight him, before he could kill you. But you turned around too late, and he struck your face near your chin with his knife deeply. You’ll have a scar.”

“I’m fine with that. As long as Alyec lives. And… and Anthony…” I looked over at him.

“Oh, yes. He’s told us his best friend had shot him. I’m not sure how a rifle had been given to the child… He’s only thirteen, for goodness’s sake. We’ll have to upgrade the security.”

“Yeah…” I said, not paying attention. All I could hear was Anthony’s soft, feeble breathes as he slept. “Is he well enough to talk to
me?”

She opened her mouth to say something, but we were interrupted by the doctors who were working on Alyec. “Get him to a separate room!” one cried over the others, his voice slightly muffled because of the mask over his face. “His heartbeat has slowed considerably!”

My breath caught in my throat as I heard his heartbeat on the machine beating too slow to seem possible. I fully expected and feared his heartbeat to go flat at any second. They rushed him onto a stretcher, taking all the machines and equipment with them to a private room. I saw a glimpse of his face as he was rushed out the door--- his eyes were wide open. He blinked, and caught my eye
before he was completely gone.

And I? I cried. I had way too much fatal activity in one day to last a lifetime. Everyone was gone from the room except me, and Myra, Blake, Sabrina, and Anthony, who were all asleep. And so I cried and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. I don’t cry that often, my mother had always teased me about that. On the outside, I seemed to generally have a hard heart and a sarcastic attitude. But on the inside, I was as fragile as Alyec’s heartbeat.

By the time my eyes dried, I had no idea how much time had passed. All I knew is that Alyec had to be dead. How much could doctors really do for a boy who spent hours with a dagger in his stomach, and then had it taken out incorrectly?

Wiping my eyes on the hospital blanket, I searched the room. My gazing eyes froze as I reached my brother’s bed.

“Anthony,” I whispered. “You’re alive.”

“Kay…” he began to cry. “I was so scared.”

I didn’t need to hear anymore. Without hesitation, I threw myself away from all the hospital equipment and sat on Anthony’s bed, hugging him as tight as I could without killing him. “Oh, Anthony…I’m so, so sorry… I wasn’t there for you. I… I saw it, I saw him do it to you…But I shrugged it off, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, I had no idea…” By that time I was speaking quickly, I had no idea what I was even saying anymore. I just couldn’t let Anthony out of my sight.

“Hey, Kalen, stop,” he said, surprising me by how firm his voice sounded. “It wasn’t your fault, and I won’t let you blame yourself for it. I can’t stay here, Kay.”

I paused. “Wait… what?"

He shook his head. “I’m not staying here. They got rid of the bullet hours ago. I’m still sore, not completely healed yet, but there’s no way I’m just going to sit here when I know I could be doing something else. I don’t need them to baby me here; I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

My face burned bright red. I opened my mouth to tell him off, ready to tell him he would not be going anywhere, but he interrupted me with a totally different topic.

“You know what was weird about the shot this morning, Kay? He wasn’t himself. It was almost like he wasn’t in control of his own body. And his eyes were the strangest part. His eyes… they were bright red. Glowing, burning red.”

That was all I needed to hear.

The light reflected from the moon leaked through the hospital windows, leaving bright streaks spread across the floor, cutting into the darkness and revealing anyone who walked through it. I had no idea where Alyec’s room was, but it couldn’t have been far. I knew there were doctors around--- even at midnight, it was still fairly busy.


But I was beyond the point of caring whether I was caught or not. It had been a week since I had seen him, and all of us were still being holed up here, no matter how many times we claimed to be just fine. I repeatedly asked to see Alyec, but they always refused, insisting he needed his rest. The thought scared me - was he really that bad?


My birthday was going to be in two days, and I would not let it pass without seeing if Aleyc was okay. That night I had had enough, knowing there was no way I couldn’t allow myself to check in on him, even just once. I didn’t really care what I looked like anymore; the doctors never gave me a mirror. But the more the survivalist part of me broke to the surface, the more I realized I no longer cared about my appearance. That’s not what really mattered anymore, especially when faced head-on by danger.


I checked every window in the hospital doors, looking for any sign of Alyec. It took quite a while to find him, but eventually I did. I opened the door slowly, carefully, in case he was asleep or doctors were still somehow in there.


The room appeared abandoned at first sight; his bed was empty, his sheets crumpled, the lights out. The window wasn’t even open, so the moon couldn’t light up the place. It took my eyes a couple minutes to adjust, and when I did, I saw a faint outline of a person crouching near the frame of the shut window.


“Who’s there?” Alyec’s feeble voice broke my heart. He was one of the strongest people I knew. It would take a lot to break him, and now he found his limits.


“Alyec?” I whispered, inching closer. “Are you okay?”

I could hear his breath catch in his throat. “Kay? Is that really you?”

By then I was at his feet, looking closely into his dark eyes. He looked good - in a sense that he looked perfectly healthy, like he was never close to death. “Yeah. How are you feeling?”

He shrugged. “Fine, I guess. I’m just tired of being here. I’ve been alone for a long time, no one but the doctors and nurses. And all they cared about was my health, never what I had to say. I’m glad you came. I’ve actually been wanting to talk to you.”

I smiled. “What about?”

He took a deep breath. “Well, I’m not the only one who hates being here, right?”

“Of course not. All of us are hating it here. Anthony’s even on the verge of running away.”

“And what did you think when he said he wanted to run?”

He finally looked up at me. I frowned, wishing I could read his mind. Did he agree with Anthony? Disagree? Or was there something more underneath his penetrating stare, something that I seemed to have missed this entire time?

When I spoke, my words hardly came out as more than a whisper. “I disagreed. I thought we should stay here, where we’ll be safe. Especially with Jevlin and his gang out there somewhere, looking for us. Why do you ask?”

“Well...” his voice was softer than mine. “I was thinking it would be better to leave.”

For a long while I acted as if I hadn’t heard. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. Should I agree with him and Anthony? I was sure Myra would, and Blake would take whatever decision Myra did.

And Sabrina had died last week, the day we had arrived here.

“Kay?” Alyec said, his face expressionless.

But I refused to answer. At least, not yet. I had to think. If the five of us chose to run, there were so many bad things that could happen. For one, if the doctors still wanted us here, that meant we weren’t fully recovered yet. We would be asking for death on the road. Not to mention we would be such an easy target to Jevlin Shatari. And how would we even know where to go? I had no idea where we were; I just woke up in this hospital a week ago, as did the others. It’s not like we could survive on our own for who knew how long without proper survival equipment, food, or water. We were taught to survive in the toughest of situations, but we still had not yet learned everything. We hadn’t reached graduation, we were only fourteen-fifteen. And Anthony was barely thirteen.

However, if we stayed at the hospital, who knew how long they would keep us here? Could they possibly be trapping us? But we did feel very safe, the locked doors and high security keeping out anyone wishing to kill us. We were being treated properly here, with food, water, and anything we needed right at our fingertips. How could any of us even think about leaving?

Nevertheless, I also hated being stuck here. My birthday was in two days, and if we weren’t let out by then, I might just have to run with my friends.

“Kay? Are you okay?” Alyec asked. He had repeatedly called my name when I hadn’t noticed.

I nodded. “I’m fine. I’m just...thinking, you know?”

He didn’t ask me about it again, meaning he understood. He was going to give me time to think about it. He changed the subject. “What do you think the other band members are going to be doing lately?”

I sighed heavily. “Well, they must be wondering about us. I just hope they haven’t gone to extreme lengths in looking for us. We can’t afford anyone’s foolishness - we’re close enough to being caught anyway.”

Three or four years ago, I and a bunch of other friends who secretly loved music started the smallest act of rebellion we would let ourselves commit. We started a band class. In our world, we can listen to music from centuries ago, music from a time of people that didn’t know what to do with their lives. In fact, they were so paranoid, they got themselves killed way back in 2030. But since then, our community had risen from their ashes, bringing together a better equipped, smarter, more survivalistic nation that was capable of tearing down the past struggles of our ancestors. We, the Americators, as we call ourselves, were born in 2098. It’s now the year 5063. It’s been so long since they created their music, so we dislike listening to it. It’s discouraged, anyhow. We’re supposed to spend our free time throwing knives or running marathons.

We were forbidden to create or form music of any kind. My friends and I just couldn’t have that.

We were never taught how to create music; we never learned about any of it. There was just something deep inside us all, something so spectacular, that every fiber of our beings just knew we had to make music. We were naturals at it, without ever learning how. So we created a music class after being sworn into secrecy. We met in Blake’s basement everyday for an extra class that never had been and never will be taught in school.

We’ve kept up our secret for almost four years now.

“Maybe they’re all planning an escape,” Alyec said. He hesitated for a long while before he spoke again. “What kind of songs do you sing?”

He was talking about my section in our music class. There were a select few of us who either chose not to or couldn’t play an instrument, so we sang. It was really only Ava, Myra, and I who did, though. There were several others who sang and played, but mostly played. Myra could play, but she chose to sing a majority of the time. Typically, we would write lyrics to the music the band members create, or we create our own. Or-- very rarely do we come across one of the older songs that we like. We can sing them as they are, or we could put our own twist on them. Ava was especially good at that.

I looked up to meet Alyec’s eyes again, smiling lightly. “I guess that depends on you guys, doesn’t it?”

Smirking, he said softly, “Will you sing for me?”

I lowered my head, slumping against the wall next to him, pulling my knees up to my chest, and hiding my face. “I couldn’t do that,” I whispered, questioning whether he heard me or not.

Apparently he did. “Why not?”

I choked on the words lodged in my throat. I couldn’t answer that. I didn’t know how to answer that. Why must he do this to me? He should know how reluctant I am singing solo. “I wouldn’t know what to sing,” I said.

He shook his head. “That’s no excuse not to sing. Sing anything, I won’t mind.”

“You might not mind, but I do, Alyec.”

He paused. Giving up, he nodded, letting me off this one time. “Okay, okay. I won’t make you. At least, not today.”

“Thank you,” I breathed.

A second later, he hooked a finger underneath my chin, tilting my head up so my eyes met his once again. His gaze swallowed me whole, and I found myself falling right into it. A deep, dark hole of emotions, staring right into my seemingly hardened soul. My eyes revealed my true intentions, my true self, and how fragile I actually was. This time, there was something different about him, hiding in the depths of his eyes. He appeared confined, isolated, alone. A feeling I knew he had never felt before.

“You really do hate it here, don’t you?” I said.

He didn’t answer. I knew the answer without him telling me. His eyes searched my face, until they landed on the scar near my chin. Running the back of his hand gently across it, he looked worried. “How did this happen?” he asked. “Jevlin didn’t do this to you, did he?”

“Alyec...” I breathed. “He did. I--”

“How did he do it? What happened?” He cut in.

“I was trying to help you, since you had Jevlin’s dagger in your stomach. I was supposed to fight Jevlin, but I forgot. Myra and Blake fought the rest of the Cyos off, except him. He came up behind me, and they tried to warn me. I turned around, and he struck me with his blade. The doctors said it would make a scar, but I haven’t seen it yet. I don’t remember it much, I just know I woke up a while later in this hospital.”

“I’m going to murder him...”

I shook my head. “It’s fine, Alyec. We’re both okay, and so are Myra and Blake and Anthony. Hey, I’ve made a decision.”

He perked up. “About leaving?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I want to leave. And soon. I know just when we should.”

“Tonight. Now,” we said in unison.

I smiled. “Great. Let’s get the others.”