Unknown

Ms. Davis

Anna's POV

"Anna," Dawn's voice is muffled by the sounds of my pounding heart.

"Anna." I feel her place a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay."

Slowly my head turns to face her.

"Okay? Okay?! I just shot a gun. Chris shot it, Peter shot it, you'll shoot it," My voice comes tumbling out against my control.

"It's just a gun," Dawn coaxed.

"A gun that can take lives," My eyes narrow.

"But you didn't take a life, none of us have," Dawn continues, her voice unusually soft.

"But we'll have to," I spit.

"Anna," Dawn place her hands on both of my shoulders. "These things, they're not human. They're a a biotic cross breed of a plague and a demon. We have to fight back to survive."

"They could've been somebody we knew," I fight back the tears.

"What possesses those things are nothing similar to the person we'd known," Dawn's gaze slips from mine, but only for a second. "We're not taking lives. We're the antibodies fighting the infection."

"I'm sure Hitler looked at it that way too," I snarl. "I can't do this, I'm not cut out for this." I look down, shaking my head. Raising my eyes to meet hers, I continue, "I'm scared."

Her eyes glance from side to side, staring me in the eyes.

"I know."

My eyes turn away. What does she care? She's hated me since she met me.

"I'm scared too. It's okay to be scared. But that shouldn't stop us from being strong," Her arms fall and she turns away before turning back to face me. A battle going on in her head.

"I don't like you," she confirms the obvious.

"I know," I grumble. "I don't know why though." She sucks in a deep breath.

"You remind me of her. Brandy. So much," Her voice cracks, but she shakes it off.

"You're weak. I knew that the second I saw you," She changes the topic.

"You reminded me of how I used to be. I was always looked down on because I was a girl. I worked so hard to prove that I can be as strong as a thousand men. And I proved to them. I proved to them that just because I am a girl, doesn't make me weak. And then I saw you. Cowering behind Chris, afraid to speak out," She shakes her head. "I'm just like the rest of them. Looking down on you because you haven't found your courage. Then your timidness, your awkwardness, and the way you stuck to your bubble reminded me so much of Brandy. You went from being a bad taste in my mouth to a steak in my chest." She closes her eyes, fists clenched tightly.

"Who was she?" I find myself asking.

Dawn's eyes fly open.

"The best damn soldier I ever met," She stares at me.

"We met in training, I was eight." She smirks, closing her eyes as she's taken back. "She was turning nine soon. She was so excited. Drako and my parents had died in an experiment room, back when I was six. The government found us and brought us to the facility. Brandy was born there. She'd been there her whole life. It's a top secret place. She'd never been outside. Brandy was top secret."

"The three of us became best friends. Inseperable. We were the ultimate fighting machine. We were test subjects. Fucked up right? Government taking children, turning them into warriors before they're even ten then using them for experiments?" She shakes her head.

"Eventually her and I were like sisters. But her and Drako? They were another story. He was lovestruck. That's why he also can barely stand you. He would do anything for her. It made the notebook look amateur. For her sixteenth birthday she wanted to go to a public school. She wanted to go to homecoming and prom. So the government let her. But they didn't slow the experiments."

"She'd always been spunky. Mischievous, determined, bubbly, and full of love. She was devoted and strong. But the experiments began to take their toll. After seven years of exposure, she began to deteriorate. The experiments were to make an ultimate warrior, an army if you will. Seven years and they were getting so close and so impatient. They doubled her doses. She became aggressive. She became isolated. I think she knew what was happening to her. She stayed away from us more and more. Locked in her room." Dawn shakes her head blinking away the tears.

"She was a fighter. She was full of pride. Her and her stupid pride." her voice stumbles. Taking a deep breath she continues.

"Her eighteenth birthday, she was in the experiment room by herself, doing whatever she normally does. We thought we'd bring her cake. Strawberry shortcake. Her favorite. We opened the big metal door and froze. What we saw," Dawn's voice cracks and she shuts her eyes. She continues, her voice a whisper.

"Her eyes. They were solid red. Glowing. Her skin. It had black cracks. Her teeth were barred in a snarl. Her teeth were sharp as razors. She was tense, staring at us. Sharp claws stuck out of her finger tips. Time seemed to stand still as she stared at us before suddenly she was clutching her head, claws digging in. She was screaming. Her voice. It was. Her voice was. It came in and out, a cross between a demon and a girl in pain. It was an ear splitting blood curling scream."

"She flailed as we stared. She moved like an untamed creature. Like a demon. She reached for something strapped under the table, before staring us in the eyes once more. Her face looked apologetic. She knew she was losing. The beast was taking over. In a split second she had managed to pull the gun out and shoot herself in the head before we could even register what she was doing. She wouldn't let the beast win. So she took her own life. She was a fighter." Dawn smiles to herself.

"Drako stopped talking, then. We both trained and trained and trained. And here we are almost a year later," She shrugs.

"Why didn't that happen to you?" I ask quietly.

"Scientists discovered we were immune to the specialized plague virus they created. We could only get possessed. That is, until we found God. We went rogue when they found out," Dawn's eyes burned with intensity.

"So, ready to train?" She smiled.

I nod, determined to make her proud.

"We'll start with a lap," her smile grows as we take off into a jog.

We go for a few laps, she gives me combat training, and I practice shooting a few more times.

"That was... fun," She smiles at me as she rubs a towel on her hair.

"Yeah, but those showers are terrible," I laugh. "They're hot then they're cold."

"They're yes then they're no," Dawn smirks.

"Let's not," I put an end to the Katy Perry song.

We finish getting dressed before grabbing our bag and heading out of the locker rooms.

"I'll have Drako teach you how to load the gun when we get back. You help. With the Brandy thing," She glances over at me.

"So you and Chris?"

"What? Oh, no. We're just friends," I stutter nervously. She nods.

"I think you'll be good for him," She sighs.

"Good for Chris?" I ask.

"Drako. He needs to heal. I'm not saying you should jump his bones, but," She looks at me. "He needs to get over himself." She smirks.

We arrive back five minutes after curfew, to a room full of worried looking boys.

"Where the hell have you been?" Chris shouts.