The Test

Thirty-five

Luc dives in front of me. Time slows down so I see the bullet enter his stomach, see the blood droplets fall and steady into a stream.
"NO!" I cry. "Please! Mom!" I whirl on her, ducking as another bullet fires. "What are you doing?"
I dive to the ground as more bullets rain down, covering Luc's prone body with my own. Checking his pulse, I am very relieved to discover he's still alive. "Thank God," I breathe, seeing his faint smile.
"Anya." My name on his lips is soft, barely audible. "I'm sorry."
"What?" I say, puzzled.
But I'm a little distracted from puzzling out what he meant. The bullet that was meant for me must have also been a signal.
Because there are hundreds of armed, black-clad men pouring down into the compound.

"Vi!" I scream, glancing around wildly. My hair is already soaked in blood, my hands sure to follow as I press them against his wound. "VIOLA!" I can't move my hands from his wound - if I release the pressure, he'll bleed to death.
"Please!" I plead to the air. "Anyone!"

I can hear the beginnings of screaming as the men open fire on the compound. My friends. My family.

I begin to cry as I draw a knife from my belt to cut away my shirt to bind Luc's wound, making a tourniquet. I hope that should hold. I reluctantly leave him there, dying. Oh God.
Fresh tears escape my eyes as I run into the chaos.
"Vi!" I glance around frantically, catching no-one's eye as they run past me to escape the guns and the death, fleeing for their lives.

Zach looks up at me from across the room, hearing my voice. He's just shot a man wearing black combat gear, helmet obscuring his face. But I would know the badge that flashes past as he falls anywhere. The name that haunts my nightmares. AntiGen.
They came here with my parents. How?
No time to work that out now. I call to him, hoping against hope he'll forget his newfound hatred for me and help me save Luc.
"Zach! I need your help! Zach!" I call over the chaos.
But he drops his gaze, shakes his head and turns away.

"Please!" I call in desperation, but he's already gone. A man appears before me, and I twist my knife up and through his ribs. I remember the first time Luc taught me to kill someone, the timbre of his voice more memorable at the time than the words. But now they ring out loud and clear, each one a fresh knife in my gut. He could be dying, dead, and I just left him there.
No amount of self-justification will allow me to forgive myself.
I push on through the crowd, past the tables of the dining hall where bodies sprawl. Blood pools by their feet and across the floor.
"Frex?" I yell as he comes into view. "Where's Vi?"
"The infirmary. How did they get here?"
"Who?"
"Your parents! And those people! I thought - "
"No time, Frex. I'll tell you later." Although I don't know myself. But I have to keep moving.

Bianca comes up beside us and decapitates a guard with disturbing ease, not even blinking at the corpse. "Have you seen my brother?"

"Yeah," I say curtly, trying not to look at the head rolling in a pool of blood. Ugh. I fight not to gag as I respond to Bianca. "He just left me with my boyfriend's body."
Her face turns pale. "He killed Luc?"
"No, no, nothing like that. He just refused to help save his life. He hates me now, probably cause I was in love with Luc the whole time I was dating him."
Bianca grimaces. "So. Is he dead?"
I shudder. "I hope not. Either of them. But I'm looking for Vi so we can take Luc to the infirmary."
"I'll take him," she says as Frex nods and I internally smack my forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?" I chastise myself.

She grins. "Go," she says as another influx of guards come towards us. "I'll hold them off."

I dart through the path they cut down for me as the battle continues to rage. I can't help but wonder if all this is my fault, as the people that brought AntiGen here are my parents. But they handed me over to evil people. I don't know exactly who they are, just that they tried to torture me, and it worked. And mom said they did it to protect me. What does that mean?