^^^SIX IN HIS TUX 😍❤️😋
*FLASHBACK*
"Are you ok?" I asked her. She looked like she was barely breathing.
"I'm stronger than I look," she said, sending me a weak smile.
She winced as she tried to sit up, and I rushed to her side. "You shouldn't put any strain on your wrist."
"You're one to talk. You're going to give out Xander. You can't keep taking more than all of us combined and then taking care of us afterwards," she scolded.
"I can, and I will. For as long as I am stronger than you guys, I will take whatever they want to give you," I replied.
"They're torturing us all. If you're taking all the torture, you may never leave. You may stay here as their super soldier forever," she argued.
"I heard there were others; two other kids that are better than you and I," I informed her.
"There are others?" she asked in surprise, to which I nodded.
"Have you told Rio?" she asked.
"Silo hasn't left her side," I mumbled angrily.
"He's just protecting his sister. It has nothing to do with you," she sighed.
"It does and you know it. He blames me for what they did to her even though I tried everything to protect her," I pointed out.
She was silent for a while before she spoke again. "You know, even for a twelve year old your need to protect others is great."
"Don't make me sound like a good person when we both know very well that I'm far from it," I replied, thinking about all the lives I've already taken.
"She wouldn't have made it without you. None of us would still be alive without you," she said strongly.
I wish I believed her.
Before I could say anything, we heard the siren go off, meaning we were being called upon. I helped her get up and we headed out to the meeting station. Silo was holding Rio up, while Karr helped Kenya into the room. The six of us had been to hell and back.
As we entered the room, we caught a glimpse of one of the other kids rumored to be here. We didn't get to see his face, but he was limping. From the looks on the others' faces, I could tell we were all wondering the same thing- why he and the other kid were isolated from us.
"Who is that?" I was brave enough to ask.
"That's none of your concern boy," the burly man in the room spat.
Black seemed amused by his man's hostility. "Don't worry about who that is. What you need to worry about is getting through this next stage."
"They're all too injured to carry on," I protested.
"So what do you want me to do about that?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.
I didn't think twice about my answer. "Let them go."
"NO!" the five of them objected.
Black looked pretty chuffed. "They don't want to leave, so I'm not sure what I'm meant to do here."
"Let them go and I'll partake in the next stage for all of them," I said bravely.
Inside I was terrified.
YOU ARE READING
Z.E.R.O (Wattys 2016)
Teen Fiction"Xander, you can't sit here and tell us that this doesn't look the least bit suspicious to you," Mordecai told me. "I'm pretty sure I know my own girlfriend, and I highly doubt she would shoot herself just to prove a point, or whatever the fuck you...
