Russian Flower [1] EDITING

2 - Ceremony

My foot nervously tapped the floor. Today was my graduation ceremony. Actually, in 15 minutes was my graduation ceremony. I did not even know what it fully entailed, but from what I've heard it is not good. The thing that bothered me the most was the sterilization part. At 16 years old, here I was about to lose any chance at having kids. I had always hoped that after I escaped from here, I would find someone I would love and raise a loving family with that. And in a short amount of time, that hope would be torn away from me. A knock reverberated through my room as someone stood on the other side of the thick oak door.

"It's Bryce. They sent me to get you."

I stood and walked towards the door. I opened it for there to stand the brown headed boy with a funny accent. There was one final test before I was to undergo the ceremony. It was a hand to hand combat with another Red Room affiliate. I wore leggings, a tank top, and some sneakers as Bryce led me to the fighting room. The floor was not marble in there, but rather wood. It was nicer to fall down on that floor than the normal marble floor.

Madame B stood there as she awaited intently for me to start. Even though she was proud of me yesterday, that exterior was quickly dropped today as she studied me more intently.

"You will fight each other," she ordered.

I knew what I had to do to get out of the ceremony. I did not think that yesterday they would actually pick me. Surely they would have picked the older, bigger, stronger girls, but here I a was. If I failed today, it might be my own demise, but some fates are worse than death.

Bryce lunged at me as he threw a punch, which I blocked with my forearm. I kicked his feet out from underneath him and he came tumbling to the ground. I moved to punch him, but he locked his foot around my ankle and knocked me down. He stood and I kicked him in his groin before hopping up. He rolled and stood up as well. I sent another punch his way, which he blocked and deflected away from him. He punched me in my side, but I tried to hide my discomfort as I staggered towards him. I swung at him, but missed his head.

He grabbed my arm and spun me around before placing me in a choke hold. I knew exactly how to get out of this, but this may be my only chance to fail the exam. I struggled slightly to make it look like I was actually trying. A few grunts escaped my lips before I tapped his arm twice to let me go. He obliged and stepped back.

"Sloppy," Madame B commented. "You pretended to fail. I taught you better than that. You can only pass to take your place in the world."

"I have no place," I whispered quietly to myself.

"Oh, little flower, maybe not now, but you will have your place for us," she spoke coldly. "Again, and this time, do what I know you're capable of."

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I passed. The woman made me keep going until I passed. The minute she deemed me as a success, she had me changed into a hospital gown and placed on a gurney. I gulped slightly as I awaited the doctors to come and grab me. I heard the door open and expected to be the doctors, but a familiar face with short brown hair looked down at me.

"I'm sorry about this," he spoke.

I looked up at him, "This is all anyone in the Red Room strives for."

"Doesn't make it any better."

"No, but this is all we know."

He scoffed as a hint of a smile made its way to his lips. He looked out the window and then back down at me.

"Not all of us."

"Tell me, where are you from?"

"America," he paused before continuing. "My parents wanted to go to Moscow for a vacation. I don't know why but they did. I um... strayed from my parents for one minute, and... I was grabbed. They covered my mouth, dragged me into an alleyway, and knocked me out. When I came to, I was here."

"They never take males for the Red Room," I commented.

"They took me. Trained me for a week before they put me through the graduation ceremony, although they said it wasn't my graduation."

A silence overtook us, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Sometimes it was just nice to have another person in the same room who was trying to kill you or wait for your misstep.

Noises emerged from the hall, and I assumed it was the doctors waiting to take me.

"I should..." Bryce pointed to the door and began walking. "Good luck."

I heard the heavy oak door open and close before there was silence in the room again. I closed my eyes as I relished it, knowing that after today everything would change.

The silence was broken by two doctors coming in and rushing towards me. They grabbed the gurney I laid on and began to push it down through the halls. I heard several whispers around me that I knew were all about me, but I didn't care. They steered me into the operating room and made me come to a stop in the middle of the room. My lip quivered as I awaited for them to begin. I saw them get a syringe ready and filled it was a clear liquid. I winced slightly as they injected it into my arm. I took a minute, but my vision started to blur, until I closed my eyes and stayed in the darkness.

The ceremony had begun.