🏆 WATTPAD CREATORS PROGRAM 🏆
🏆 8CC November - December 2023 Completer 🏆
𝘛𝘏𝘙𝘌𝘌. 𝘛𝘞𝘖. 𝘖𝘕𝘌. 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯.
Thirteen remembers one thing from the moment he woke up: live on, through whatever means necessary. When he is thrown into a society...
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Five came limping through the foliage, cursing under her breath as she massaged her hip. "Remind me to never get on Eight's bad side," she murmured. Thirteen tucked his bloodied hands into his pockets. She noticed the motion, stopping a few steps away. Slowly, her gaze landed on the body sprawled at his feet.
"It's over?" She inclined her head at him. When he nodded, she pouted. "Damn. You didn't have to hammer it home that much, you know? Really, three?"
Thirteen glanced at the gaping wounds on Karrel's forehead, throat, and chest. "Spur of the moment," he said. "I played it safe, in case the first two missed. You know how elusive she is."
Instead of being horrified at that, Five chuckled. "I can agree with you on that."
Silence filled the space between them, thickening into a sticky wall. A moment passed. Two. Five cleared her throat eventually. "I have a question though." She raised a finger in the air. "What did Karrel mean about stealing abilities? Did you really do that?"
Thirteen blew a breath. It would have to come out eventually. "I had to, if I were to survive," he said. Let him hope Five gathered all she could with that, or if she gathered anything at all. These people weren't good at reading between the lines nor guessing what was implied. He had long given up using cryptic language too. "Got any issues with it?"
Five's jaw clenched. "Just that accusation of causing some people's deaths for you to get their abilities," she said. "You didn't do that, right?"
"What if I did?" Thirteen challenged, raising an eyebrow in her direction. "Will that change anything?"
She crossed her arms, tilting her head to one side. Her bobbed hair told him she probably used a ton of strands to fashion something for herself. Medicine, maybe. Having Three around had been a convenience none of them appreciated until now. "Between us, or between the rest of Section M?" she quipped.
Thirteen grinned. Five might not be on the same level as him, but she could be an interesting verbal spar partner from time to time. "Depends on what you're looking for," he said. "For whom are you asking? For your conscience or for camaraderie?"
"What if I wanted it for myself?" she answered.
"Then, I did it for my own benefit," Thirteen replied. Crossing his arms over his chest was a far-off fantasy, knowing the blood on his wrist probably coated half his pant leg by now. He wouldn't die through blood loss, and he could always use Three's chip later. He just had to last that long. "You, of all people, understand what I told you in that dingy room. I ensure the maximum number of survivors. Through every means necessary. Even through stealing abilities."
He resisted the urge to start pacing. This wasn't a damned lecture, not when Five probably had enough of those from him already. "For all you know, that move was the best I came up with in my calculations," he said. "I am merely acting upon what I believe is right."
