V I R U L E N T n.romanoff

Two

Chapter two: graduation

A v a l i n a

By the time I'm finished lunch has long since come and gone, and I know better than to ask for food. Instead, I make my way back to the dormitory heading straight into the bathroom to wash the blood off my hands. I sigh as I realize there's blood in a lot more places than my hands and the only way to get it all off is going to be to shower, so I'll just have to deal with it for the rest of the day. Turning off the water, I look at my reflection. Noticing a figure in the edge of the mirror I whip around preparing for a fight, but when I do, the figure's gone. I shake my head, it's just the ghosts again.

I exit the bathroom and find a black leotard, nude tights, and point shoes on my bed. Quickly, I change and make my way to the dance studio. When I was younger I used to love dancing, as I've grown up I've grown to detest it. It used to make me feel free now it's a difference of life and death. One misstep, fall out of one turn and you're dead.

I twist the knob and enter the studio, finding my place at the barre.

"Nice of you to join us Bascrov," Madame B snarks.

I want to respond, after all if she hadn't made me kill Illiana I wouldn't have been late. However, I know better and simply work on picking up the combo the other three girls are doing.

Ballet passes quickly and without incident and after dinner I finally get the chance to wash the dried blood off my skin. None of it's mine of course, though it's still not pleasant to have caked on my skin. Though most of the time we have two minutes to clean ourselves madame B was nice enough to give me five after muttering about how I shouldn't be so messy next time.

I finish showering and pull my wet hair into a braid before sitting down on my bed. I pull the hairpin I always keep with me out of my pocket and turn to the wall behind my bed frame, gently dragging my finger across the marks carved into the paint before adding another. Marking another day. 4873. Obviously the marks long since have been noticed by Madame B though I told her I would stop making them around the 3000 mark and now, to my surprise, she just turns a blind eye to it.

No one talks as we prepare for bed, and soon, Madame B comes in and cuffs my wrist to the bed frame and I fall into a troubled sleep.

***

"As you know, this afternoon you will have your graduation ceremony, after that you will officially be part of the widows. You'll get to go on missions, be the next great success story perhaps," Madame B says.

The four of us sit in a conference room that I've never been in before. Somehow all of us have made it through the past week alive.

"You will wait here until you are called to complete your graduation ceremony," she explains before leaving us by ourselves.

Heavy silence sits in the room as we wait. After thirty minutes the first girl gets called. An hour later the same two guards that called the first girl enter the room and nod at me.

"погнали," one of them says and I follow them down the hallway.

I have no idea what the graduation ceremony will entail that's one thing that stays under wraps. Though as we go down another hallway I recognize where we are. One of the guards opens the second to last door to the end of the hallway and motions for me to enter. I do and Madame B rises from the chair she's sitting in, placing down a clipboard and handing me a gun.

"Kill him," she nods to the man in the center of the room, who's bound the his chair.

"That's it?" I ask in disbelief, not able to contain my shock.

"Yes, and then them," with that four people, all escorted by guards at gunpoint enter the room.

One's a middle aged woman and the other are children. The boy, the oldest, no more than ten and the the younger girls probably around five. Al the kids are sobbing while the woman looks at me.

"пожалуйста, дайте нам жить," the woman pleads. (Please let us live)

"я не могу этого сделать," I shrug without remorse. (I can't do that)

"другая девушка отпустила нас," she says. (The girl before you let us go)

I shrug again. If the other girl let these people live then she's probably dead, which means I'll be the first to graduate from my class.

"я не она," I turn the safety off on the gun and shoot the man first making the others scream.
(Well, I am not her)

I roll my eyes, they're weak. Without hesitation I shoot the woman, hitting her right between the eyes. For the children however I walk up to them, all three of them cowering in fear. One by one I hold my gun up to each child's temple and pull the trigger starting with the eldest. They didn't even put up a fight.

I look back to Madame B and for the first time in my thirteen years in this place I see approval written across Madame B's face and I can't help but smile.

"Congratulations Avalina," he smiles slightly, "now there is one more thing we must do."

She motions for me to follow her and I do, handing the gun to the guard on the way out. I follow her down to the medical wing and decide that they must want to get another physical evaluation before my first mission. She opens a door and a doctor faces us with a smile.

"Don't mess her up, she's the best we have," Madame B says before ushering me inside and closing the door as she leaves.

I grin a little, knowing it's the closest I'll ever get to a compliment from her.

"Hello Avalina, I'm doctor Welkova," he introduces and I nod.

"Now, can you change into this gown for me and we can get started on your procedure," he holds up a thin paper gown.

"What procedure," I ask confused.

"It's really very simple, you don't have to worry."

Clearly he doesn't want me to know what he's talking about. Without giving him a seconds warning I grab a scalpel off a tray and hold it to his throat.

"I'll ask you again," I press the blade in harder for emphasis "what procedure?"

Dr. Welkova does not appear to be trained in fight skills because instead of trying to fight back, he raises his hand in surrender, fear apparent in his eyes. Before he gets to answer the door opens with a bang and guards flood in. They must have heard the commotion. They pull me away from doctor and lift me up onto the operating table, holding me down as I try to fight them off. I feel a prick in my neck and everything goes black.

A u t h o r ' s   n o t e
Hi guys! So this chapter isn't necessarily great but I wanted to get it it out so hear it is.