I grin. “Now you have a reason to dislike me.” I step down from the chair looking at the other twin. “Give your sister some pointers in silence,” I say, eyeing them, hoping my glare is as intimidating as I’m trying to let on.
The smarter twin nods and helps her sister from the floor. I lean against the chair behind me, preparing to speak.
Cory nudges me. I whip around to my left, meeting his gaze. “Didn’t take you long to shoot someone,” he quips. He stands directly next to me, leaving little space for air to pass through. The group notices his closeness.
I step to the side. “Don’t sneak up on people,” I tell him then add, “I wanted to shoot her in the face. But I thought it would look bad on me to lose two before we started training.”
“I doubt it.” He turns, surveying the twins. “The generals do not honor, nor do they like, those who do not respect authority or who treat their authority figures without respect,” he states. “Respond!”
“We understand!” they drone, straightening.
“We are moving to the field. Training will take place in the obstacle courses.” He marches off.
“I’m sure everyone heard him. Now listen, and listen carefully. I’m all about enjoying yourself in training. I also don’t mind you being friends or talking amongst yourselves. But understand, when it’s time for business, there’s only business. No fooling around. You feel no pain during training. I will not tell you to shoot yourself, but I do not like failure. We should all be ready for this.”
They nod.
“Help your friends. If they fall back, you push them forward. As a team, we will lean on each other. We do not come in last to anyone. Not coming in first place is failure. I would appreciate a strong team that is willing to work together, accomplish goals, and stand out. Can you do that? Follow in response.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
I face the evil twins. “If you are not a part of this team. If you intend to hold us back. If you hesitate to help another. If you do not give this your all… I will be the only chief commanding over ten Creations. Respond!” I instruct without raising my voice.
“We understand,” they state, ordered and respectfully. I turn on my heels, heading out.
Chapter Nine
We jog two miles to the base’s obstacle course. General Jord orders our units to line up in preparation to hit the course. The first unit to complete the course does not have to participate in a second round.
Other chiefs take a short break to give their teams a pep talk, but I’ve already gone over the requirements with my group. They know what’s expected out of this race: greatness.
The units line up. When a gun fires, they take off like bullets. Cory takes my right as Luke takes my left.
“You are going to keep at it with my sister,” Luke says, arms folded behind his back, boots snapped together in an attention stance.
Marc strides past us, looking at me and then away. Something about the way he moves makes my eyes stay on him whenever he’s around. Slow and serious. Strong stance. Confident. He’s not like Cory or Luke, with his hair flowing ruggedly around his head. It looks soft and untangled, like it’s meant to be touched and curl around my fingers. He’s untamed, or maybe, it’s the lazy way he looks back at me, with his hooded eyebrows and low-set eyelids and then drags his gaze away as though he’s forcing himself not to stare.
Cory, who notices my perusal turns and comments, “Wow, Ky. He really grabs your attention, huh?”
I pull my gaze away. “No. What’s up?”
“It’s not important,” Luke answers.
“You know, Ky,” Cory starts, “if you’re into him, I can take a hint.”
Thinking about what Luke said, I say, “I’m not into anyone.”
Cory grits his teeth, and the square of his jaw pops out. He pulls his scarf up so it sits just under his eyes before he runs off, hitting the course.
I face Luke, frowning. Pity: the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortune of others.
“Don’t give me that look,” he says, watching the groups make it through the course. “You did the right thing.”
“It doesn’t feel right. My stomach is turning uneasily, like when I forget to clean my Glock and it jams.” I shake my shoulders in an effort to remove the discomfort.
“Told you, you need to get rid of that thing anyway.” He bumps my arm. “Hit this obstacle with me.”
Absolutely. This will make me feel better. I smile, pulling my scarf up to my eyes.
We run off toward the course, splashing through deep watery mud as we dive under barbed wire and crawl on our bellies. Up a six-foot rope to monkey bars, we cross twenty-four bars to another rope. We crawl through tunnels to a longer barbed wire obstacle. We run over wood log walks, and run through tires. We climb up an eight-foot wall and jump back down to the dirt. We’re dirty, but I feel better.
Luke pulls down his scarf. “Check on your unit,” he says, breathless. I look for my team, seeing them lining up in preparation to run again.
“Dang!” I run to them, still catching my breath. “Who was last?” I demand. It better not have been one of those twins.
“It was me.” Anthony raises his hand, bending over on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
“You will finish first,” I order. “All of you will finish first in this run.” To the twins I ask, “You two finished first?”
They nod.
I nod, knowing they had to have some dignity. “If the entire group does not finish first, there is no finishing. You will run this course until the sun comes up tomorrow. If you see your teammate falling behind, treat them as you would your twin and help them.”
The captain prepares to shoot the gun, and I move out of their way. This first race speaks volumes for us. Though they aren’t being graded, their placement shows on day one to determine who has the strongest team. I do not like losing. I stand back, watching my newly minted subordinates take off after the gun fires again.
Marc’s familiar silhouette takes the space beside me. I peek at him from the corner of my eye.
Cory and Luke have been saying I stare, and I don’t want to keep that idea going. I try not to look, but I can’t help it.
He stands with his arms folded in front of his swollen chest, chin extended with his head slightly tilted back. Those shadowed eyes lower until he looks at me. I turn away.
He moves closer. “Hey.” His husky voice is raspy and deep.
“Hi. Your group finished?”
“Yes. How are you?” We avoid looking at each other, my gaze stays fixed on the course.
“Fine. You?”
“The same. You and Cory have something?”
Wow, what a direct question. “I have nothing with anyone.” I try to seem as casual as possible, but sometimes, the façade is hard to maintain.
“It doesn’t come off that way.”
“Why are you concerned?”
“I’m not, only asking a question.”
“It doesn’t seem like just a question.”
“It is.” He gives me one last glance and walks away.
I turn, watching him. He doesn’t look back. I suppose I want him to look back at me and maybe be concerned about Cory and me.
Speaking of Cory. “Good run?” He once again stands too close.
“It was.” I take a step back.
“You are really hard on your group.”
I throw my hands on my hips. “Yes, like pulling out my gun and putting a bullet in the skull of a girl and her sister because they believed they didn’t belong.”
“Exactly.” He nods. “That harsh. Like shooting someone because they don’t like you.”
Defending my decisions, I bat back, “I didn’t kill her.”
He shrugs one shoulder. “You had no reason to.”
“If I wanted to, it would have been reason enough.”
Cory steps in front of me, inches from my face. “Are you voicing your opinion, insi
nuating your superior was wrong?”
“No, not wrong. That’s on you, you’ll have to answer for that.” I step back, giving myself some space. “Just trying to get you to see I’m a nicer person than you.”
“I doubt that. But later, can we talk? Without Luke and, um, everyone else.”
I meet his eyes. “There’s no place to talk without everyone else. And we have nothing to talk about.” In every crevasse of this place, we’re being watched.
“We have plenty to talk about, and there is always some place to go.”
“I’m your subordinate, Cory. I can’t.”
“You can.” He looks over my shoulder. “But later, we’ll talk.” He jogs away, off behind me.
I scan the course, searching for my group. They’re climbing the rope and are ahead, for now. It’s clear I have a lot of work to do to make sure my group and I stay at the top of the leaderboards.
Chapter Ten
We’ve successfully made it through our first week of Separation. The routine is pleasant, I’m used to it. But I miss doing things like showering and eating at my leisure. I remind myself that this is what we’ve looked forward to for so long and I shouldn’t complain. It will get even easier soon.
I lift my gaze from my dusty boots to Jord pacing the stage. He says, “There will be blood tests in the next hour. These tests will check your immunity to certain diseases you may come in contact with during the war. If your tests come back affected, you will undergo a series of treatments designed to boost your immunity. Some of the things you will go up against will be like nothing you’ve ever seen or experienced. Shortly, virologists will come to administer vaccinations for suspected viruses and diseases you may come across. It shouldn’t happen, but if the vaccination makes you sick,” Jord’s head bows as he walks from one end of the stage to another, “I hate to say it, but that is the end of your mission.” He lifts his head. “For you and your twin.”
“We should elaborate, General, so they know what’s at risk.” His sister stands. The obscure expression he gives her reveals he doesn’t see the relevance in informing us. “They are already unaware of what they are going up against and why they’re here so early. Tell them why they need the vaccine at least. They are not like the others and should know.” She strides toward the rear end of the stage.
Silence falls over the room. Our attention is on the twins as we await the reveal. While curiosity isn’t frowned upon, we are trained to not question the motives of our superiors. When they say jump, we jump. When they tell us to take vaccines without knowing why or what they may do to us, may it even lead to death… We take the vaccine.
Jord paces the stage twice before saying, “The vaccination is supposed to keep you from changing or, for a better word, transforming into whatever,” he says the word like he doesn’t even know, “those things are. If you are not strong enough, two things happen.” He turns on his heels, starting back at his pace. “You are instantly weakened, and your twin cannot heal you. It works too fast. You die in less than five minutes.” He makes another turn. “The second you turn into one of them, a drooling, bloodthirsty, mindless monster, we will kill you. The upside to this is your twin will live. However, the likelihood of one twin surviving is rare; if one twin is unable to take it, neither is the other.”
Seits walks to the middle of the stage, cutting off her brother’s pacing. “Any who cannot respond?” she asks calmly, looking us over.
No one answers.
“Okay,” says Jord. “Now, respond!” His command is loud and deep with authority.
“We understand!”
“Each of you, gather next to your twin for vaccinations. Once administered, each one of you will fight a battle, two versus two. Expect to battle to your last. This will be for fight preparation.” He jumps down from the stage. “We will keep it simple in the first round; girls will fight against girls—the strongest of the girls. Boys will fight against the strongest of the boys.”
“And who will the strongest boy and girl fight against?” someone from the crowd asks.
Jord snorts a chuckle. “If they can keep it up after fighting all of you, they will go against each other.” He heads down the aisle. “Once finished, meet us at the rings.”
We all find our twin if we aren’t seated beside them already. I leave Cory for Luke, who I’ve been avoiding all day so I wouldn’t have to see the revulsion in his eyes after seeing me talk to Cory.
Watching my steps, making sure to not step on anyone’s feet, I collide with Marc. “Hi,” he says when I look up at him, just a couple inches taller than me, only a few inches away.
“I’m sorry.” I take a step back, almost tripping over someone’s foot. He and Cory are so different. He makes me feel something, something deep in my stomach that causes me to swallow hard and my words to get tangled up in my throat. I want to avoid his eyes and these odd feelings, but at the same time, I want to accept them.
“Don’t sweat it.” He side-steps, and I accidentally match him as I’m trying to move around him. We both go for another side-step in the same direction, still blocking each other’s paths.
“I’m sorry, again,” I mumble when he grabs my shoulders and moves me to the left as he takes a step to the right.
He nods. “It’s nothing, Kylie.” My name dripping from his tongue makes me shiver. He makes it sound strong, like everything else about him. As I watch him walk through the rows of tables to his brother, I search for a word for the emotion I’m experiencing and can’t place it. He stops and looks like he’s about to turn around.
Crap. He probably feels me staring a hole through his back. I whip around to charge across the room, and I bump into Cory.
I push him. “Watch out.”
“You walked into me, Ky.”
“You should’ve moved if you saw me walking.”
“I would have,” he nips my chin with his crooked index finger, “if I didn’t want you to walk into me.”
I laugh, pushing him out of my way. “Watch out before my brother puts your head on the point of one of those flagpoles.” I gesture to one posted outside the door.
“I’m not worried about Luke. What’s up with the tussle between you and Marc?”
“No tussle. We happened to be in each other’s way.”
He twists his lips to the side. “We can talk later?” he asks after staring at me for five seconds too long.
“We’ve talked.” I don’t have to look to know Luke’s staring at us. “I don’t think we should keep talking.” Last time I agreed to talk with him, he tried to kiss me. That’s against the rules, and with Cory being in a position of power, he shouldn’t have crossed that line.
He smirks. “I meant with words.”
“I’d prefer to not have that kind of talk now or in the future,” I mutter.
“Ky,” Luke calls. I knew it.
“I’ll get back to you.” Leaving Cory, I rush to Luke’s side. “If you die after you get this shot, I’m going to just kill myself,” I say as I sit.
“Me too. If I turn into something else just shoot me, okay?”
“Yes, and you shoot me.”
“You know it.” He sits.
No way am I living without my brother. No him, no me. “What do you think it is?”
“It has to be bad for them to go to the extent of administering vaccinations.” He watches some girl walk past before he shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “I’m just ready. This petty training isn’t enough.”
“You will like the rings he was talking about. Sounded like you might be able to beat the crap out of a few people.”
He grins. “Yes,” he says excitedly. I accommodate his smile.
“Me too.”
His smile fades as a thought takes its place. “They better have you as the strongest, Ky.”
“They will, Luke, don’t sweat it,” I reassure him.
“Excuse me, Lukahn and Kylie?” A small woman in green scrubs interrupts us. She holds two syringes full of
clear liquid with tiny blue balls in it. The topped needles are both wide and long, and the syringes are almost an inch in width.
“Yes,” I answer for us. She steps forward, taking Luke’s arm. My hands shake, and for the first time since the incident with my uncle, my stomach drops and my blood rushes. I’m nervous; a pinch of fear makes my palms sweat from the thought of losing Luke. I’d never reveal this aloud, as I am a Creation. Creations do not know fear; we do not have feelings, I recite.
“I will insert the needle directly into your vein,” the woman states. “You will feel a pinch, and burning is natural. But if it stings, constricts your body, or your vision fades, say something.”
“What does that mean? What if that happens to him?” I ask in a rush, holding her hand as she prepares to push the needle through the thick blue vein of Luke’s right arm.
Her eyes pinch with pain. “Um,” she mutters.
“Ky, calm down. You’re hurting her,” Luke says.
I let go after pushing the hand holding the needle away from Luke. “My apologies. If any of those things happen, what does that mean for him?”
“It could indicate a change or failure, maybe both.” She adjusts. “If you will excuse me, regardless of your questions, I still have to administer the vaccine.”
I scoot closer to Luke, staring him down as he watches her. The corner of his eye twitches at the insertion of the needle. The woman pushes the funny looking blue-balled liquid into his arm. His vein expands, blackening.
I panic. “Why is that happening? Why is it turning black?”
“Ky,” Luke says, trying his best to conciliate me. “Did she say anything about being worried about black veins?”
“No but—”
“So why are you worried about black veins?” he asks in an even tone, causing me to question my panic.
“Sorry… Um…” I gawk, taking in his eyes as the black of his irises are filling with color. I grab his face in my hands and turn it left, right, then left again. “Luke, your eyes are being infused with color.”
“That’s a good sign. It means he’s withstanding the serum. He’ll survive,” the woman says happily.
The Separation Trilogy Box Set: Books 1 -3 Page 7