The Others

Chaptet 10: To the Death

During my third week at Garrenbuck things got better and worse. Better because I was not subject to another ridiculous reflex test nor did they force us into the rain, which had since turned to snow. But it was worse, because they had other methods of 'testing' us. The week started with a group test, a true sign of its nebulous ending before it had even began. Esther and I were assigned to the same group. I clung to her as she clung to me, neither one of us were used to being the strong one.

They had carroled thirty or so kids into the complex closest to the fence. It was very clean, smelt of ammonia cleaning solution and the floors didn't bare a single scratch which was a normal characteristic in the other complexes. Those were used frequently with a constant tread of people streaming in and out. I liked this complex the best because it was closest to the city and while I couldn't hear the buzzing of civilization, I found it easier to pretend. I also liked the complex because while small, it did not contain as many doors or hallways as the others, leaving little mystery to the eye. There were two floors, separated by a single staircase and metal railing. The first floor walls were lined with wide compartments, almost like lockers but larger and made from a synthetic formula. Each compartment was locked with a combination and finger recognition pad, impossible for us to break into. I observed the locks with a quick, uninterested glance before leaning forward to catch a glimpse of the second floor, where the G.S. soldiers were leading us.

Below the second landing, there was a concrete floor, smooth and clean, covered with six blue mats, equally spaced apart. The mats reminded me of my childhood when Adam had decided to join the wrestling team after much pressure by his friends in Junior High. He only wrestled for two years, the first being quite successful as he was still relatively skinny. Unfortunately for him the following year he was on the cusp of manhood, a few measly hairs sprouting beneath his nose and a thin pack of muscles residing on his arms and abdomen, leaving him a few pounds heavier than the previous year. A majority of those boys in that weight class had competed in the same faction the year before and the year before that. They were prepared and experienced in the art of flipping boulders, whereas my brother was only practiced in flipping rocks.

Esther dug her talons into my forearm, creating purplish crescent indents into the skin. The marks would only mold with my other bruises, creating a strange watercolor impressionist painting on my flesh. I was alerted by her sudden display of nerves. The pint-sized genius had a voice that often fell flat with apathy, her pale eyes unflinchingly cold and unresponsive. She was not the sort of person who seemed easily shaken, so, I unnerved by her distress. Glancing at her in hopes of understanding, I noticed as she fixed her bleak stare fixated on the blue mat closest to our boots, a faded stain resided on its left corner. It was colorless but smelt strongly of chemicals, as though someone had tried an assortment of cleaning products to remove it.

"Blood," She mouthed when I looked back at her.

Now it was my turn to flinch.

In the past two weeks I had witnessed more death than I ever had in my entire life. Three bodies, cold, lifeless and arbitrarily strewn across the ground like a decorative rug. After the first death I wanted to cry. It had happened in slow motion, like a tragic ending to an equally tragic movie. Then, after the second, I wanted to scream, Later, in the confinements of our cell I would realize that he would have died regardless. Whether it be then or sometime later, when he failed to pass another obstacle. Life, was not a sprint but a marathon, there's no time to catch breath- you will only be given the chance to breathe once you've reached the finish line, chest heaving, heart palpitating and stomach twitching. There is no relief or celebration when you cross that line, just exhaustion and the overwhelming urge to close your eyes.

The third to die was a girl. We were sitting in the canteen, Esther, Ana, Joan and I, as we had began to make a habit when suddenly a scream sounded and then, the girl began to convulse in her seat. We were ushered back into to our cells before I could get a good look at her but I had managed to overhear one of the nurses, who was always stationed close to the doors say it was a seizure. The nurse had been holding something in her hand that bared a striking resemblance to the bands we wore but the band was white. Just like Ana's. I didn't think twice about the girl, not because I had become hardened to death, not yet at least, but because I was far more distracted by her band.