Unnumbered

Chapter 2 - F7

Four Years Later

December 31, 2071

"A12, please, don't. If you use your wish for this... you'll fall into a terrible place. You'll be hated!" I grabbed A12's arm, determined not to let him go. He simply looked back at me with a little smile.

"F, I told you all about what happened to me. I can't stay where I am without the guilt. He... He should've been the one to rank up, but he died. I can't feed off his achievements any longer." A12 yanked away from my arm, yet didn't walk forward. "Hey, F7?" I looked up at the taller boy.

"Yes?"

"We're friends, right?" At A12's comment, I dashed in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. His eyes were watering as he fought back tears.

"Yeah. We're friends." I smiled sympathetically and released the copper haired boy. He smiled back a little and walked away from me, towards the stand of elders. "We're friends." I reassured myself as I walked up to the stairs and back to my seat to watch from.

"A12, you have been an outstanding soldier and leader since day one," the wish granter fawned. He continued to talk about achievements and whatnot but I wasn't paying attention. All that I could think of was how strange it would be in section 5 without A12 keeping me from being rash. How strangely empty the bunks would be without A12 there making a ruckus. How weird it would be to wake up to an alarm rather than A12 poking me after having snuck into the girls bunks at 3 AM. It would be so awkward. So different. How would I apologize to C9 for failing at keeping her friend from leaving. Before I could figure it out, I was awoken from my thoughts by people whispering around me. I could hear them fighting over something in harsh whispers. What were they saying?

"Who's he looking at?"

"It's not me!"

"Who said it's not you!?"

"Quickly, who is it?"

I looked up from my hands and engaged in reality once again. It was A12. He had stopped the wish granter mid speech by turning his whole body away from the man and looking directly into the crowd behind him. Directly at me.

"Wish granter," A12 turned back to the wish granter a half smile slithering onto his face. "I appreciate your compliments but I already know what I am doing to my wish. By the thirty-first proclamation of wish granting rules, I wish to give my wish to F7, the informant of Section 5." Immediately, the crowd burst into a ruckus.

"An F informative? Not possible."

"There's no way he should be able to do that."

"Someone check if he can do that?!"

"He can! The thirty-first proclamation states that wishes can be wished to be given to people of different lettering or standing."

"Quiet!" the wish granter shouted. A silence fell upon the room. I could feel my heartbeat increase. He was giving it to me? Did he have something I was supposed to do with it? Why would he give it to me and not C9? "How do you correlate with this individual. You do know that by the sixty-seventh proclamation the person receiving the wish must have ties to the one giving them the wish." The crowd fell into deep thought with the wish giver's words. A12 stood in the center of the silence, not saying a word. The air seemed to be sucked from the room as the people held their breath in anticipation.

"She..." A12 looked down as if ashamed to say his next words. "She has been my fiancé since the week after she was born." At this an uproar overtook the voices of all. It bounded off the walls and the booming voice of the wish giver came out as a whisper in comparison. The crowd began to stand, thirsty for the blood of the one who would receive the wish. I felt myself cower back in my seat. These people were out for blood and I stood out. I was wearing an F uniform with my informant badge sitting on my wrist. I even had my number tattoo showing! The power crazed onlookers immediately turned to me, their rage covering their faces. I felt their malice radiating off them as they drew nearer and nearer. One man grabbed at my hair and yanked me up from my seat.