by H. J. Lawson
“So we’re not human?” a girl mutters under her breath, the question we had all been thinking.
“I like to think we are an advanced version,” he says, and there is a glimmer in his eyes.
Voices start to mumble again throughout the small room. “You are stronger, faster, and you heal quicker than those without the extra DNA,” Theo explains.
Is that it? What about being able to hear their whispers? Or that I can smell them? I glance around the room; some people are smiling, boys are flexing their muscles, and some are still afraid. Yet no one seems to think he’s missing anything off the list. Am I the only one?
“Any other extra things?” I ask, and the room falls silent.
Theo’s eyes intensely connect with mine. “What’s your name?” he asks.
“Sadie,” I say, but it comes out quietly, weaker than I hoped. “Sadie,” I repeat in a louder, stronger tone.
“I see you are not very good at following the rules. If I can teach you anything, it will be that following the rules is most important,” he says sternly. “Nothing else. Well, a few side-effects. I will leave that up to the doctors to explain.” He glances over to me with narrowed eyes.
“Now, the vampires,” he says, gritting his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he grips hold of the chair. “At the same time we were working out how to improve humans, the vampires were working on improving their kind, which is why we have day walkers—these kids were born around the same time as you. Their advantage is that they have been training all their lives to hunt you down, and they crave slayer blood … our blood. It's like a drug to them,” he says, shaking his head and moving his mouth around likes he’s tasted something bitter.
“They do have a disadvantage: they grow old the same as us if they were born a day walker,” Theo explains.
“What about the brutes of bodyguards they have?” I put my hand over my mouth. “I really was trying not to ask more questions,” I say between my fingers.
Theo just shakes his head. “May I finish what I was saying?” he asks, looking at me like a disapproving teacher.
I nod in response.
“The brutes, as Sadie likes to the call them, have been given a new strain of the injection. This was another thing which was stolen from our labs. That injection was created purely for your guardians, vampires who had just been changed or those that disagree with the uprising. You will find out more about these vampires in depth when classes begin. You will know more about them than they do about themselves,” Theo explains.
No wonder there is so much security. We are being protected from the vampires that crave our blood. A coldness enters my veins, as if one of them is in here with us.
“After our briefing, you will have your blood drawn to see what stage your body is at. We have found people’s bodies react at different speeds. Normally people don’t come here until they are of college age, which you will be soon.” Theo pauses for a moment, as if he’s thinking back to when he arrived. I wonder if his parents were killed by vampires, or taken by guardians.
“There was a break-in at our lab, where all of your information was stored. That’s why the vampires were about to track you down. Normally they find you by your scent. Some of you may have already been found by them, in which case you were relocated by the government.” I see a few heads nodding at this.
“The government tries to keep you out of harm’s way until you come of age,” he states.
"Your families are being cared for in Sector 207. Your guardians will be watching over them, and no harm will come to them as long as you are here," he says dryly, and swallows.
"So they are your leverage to keep us here." All eyes turn toward the kid in the corner that said it—it's Kai, the boy in the suite next to me on the train.
"What? You know that's what you were all thinking, but no one had the balls to say it," he adds as he waves his hands around. We all look at him and then turn back to Theo, eagerly waiting for an answer.
"You can leave at any time," Theo says sternly.
"And if I go, so does any protection for my family!" he snaps as his fist curls up into a ball.
"You are correct. The government has a set budget for this program, which doesn't extend to non-student families," Theo says.
"It's down to money," I say bitterly through my teeth.
"Isn't everything?" he says in a low tone. Is his family also protected?
The room falls silent, then Theo breaks it. "Those who have family members who have been bitten by a vampire …" A girl’s face screws up, like she's tasted something bitter when Theo says vampire. "… they are at Sector 207 for treatment. Those who are slayers will be joining us once ... if they get better," Theo adds. That one sentence contains so much. He's coming here, if he gets better ... He has to. My heart misses a beat at the thought of seeing him again.
"Lastly, Sector 105, the training sector. You will be taught how to use your strength against the vampires. There will be hand-to-hand training, weapons training, and plenty more. This training will be done in preparation for your final trial, which will give the board the results for your internships," he says quickly. He takes a gasp, then continues.
"Due to the interruptions earlier we only have five minutes for questions," Theo says, looking at me. I can feel the eyes burning into the back of my head.
"What happens if we fail the trial?" Kai asks, not waited for Theo to select him.
"You go home," Theo says, and then points to the girl next to me; he will not even look at me. I know he's not going to ask me so I drop my arm. He examines me and smiles.
"Can we speak to our families?" the girl asks.
"No. Safety reasons," he says.
Theo points to the next person. "So we just have to pass, and everyone will be protected?" Kai asks loudly, interrupting before the other person can speak.
"If you are in the top twenty," Theo says without looking at him.
"What?" I blurt out.
"Top twenty," he repeats.
"I heard you.”
"Could have fooled me."
Beep, beep. The digital alarm interrupts us.
"Question time’s over.”
Chapter Ten
The closed metal door to the room opens, and ladies with white doctor coats come in. There are five of them. Wheels squeak as they roll in a trolley. I sit up straight to look at the top of the trolley, and I see the silver medical equipment laid on top of it.
Lakia’s face screws up as she sees the equipment.
Theo nods to the doctors and they move in our direction.
One stands in front of me, peering at a handheld computer. "Name, please," she asks me, with her eyes fixed on the computer screen. I can see the other doctors asking the people on either side of me.
"Sadie Meyer." Her eyes look up and connect with mine; I can feel the other doctors looking at me as well.
Her eyes rest on the hidden camera for a moment, then swiftly sweep down to the computer screen.
"Oh," she mumbles. "Date of birth?"
I tell her; she is satisfied with my answer.
“Wrist, please,” she says. I place it on the cart, then pull it away.
“Why do you want my wrist?”
“We need to check that you weren’t infected by the vampires,” she says.
“I’ve not been bitten,” I say, shaking my head.
“That’s good. But better safe than sorry,” she says, waving her hand, indicating for me to lower my hand back down onto the cart.
“Guess so,” I say as I place my hand back down.
She wipes it with a small, damp square, then injects the needle into me and starts to draw my blood.
“Hold on a minute,” she says as she passes me a white cotton wool ball to place over the punctured skin.
“No watch, guess I will have to count,” I reply, looking down at my naked wrist. I look at hers; she doesn’t have one either. My eyes trail across to the other doctors: none of them have watches.<
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“Ouch,” I say as my arm jolts up, ready to grab her. “What the hell was that?” I snap bitterly as she pulls the syringe out of my arm. I breathe in and out, trying to control my anger.
“It's to help you with your side effects,” the doctor replies to my question.
“What side effects?” I say, trying to sound calm. I hope she doesn’t say my mood swings.
“Your sexual hormone levels can be higher than normal teenagers, which are normally already high.” I’m taken aback by her response and I blush.
Theo smirks at me.
Did that night, my first night with Aaron, happen because of my changed DNA? No, it's because we love each other, we wanted to … I wanted to share that with him. I want to again. All I want is his warm body touching mine.
The doctors work quickly through the group, asking the same two questions, name and age, then taking blood and administering injections.
What is in the injections? It could have been anything. They injected us before we were even made, why would they stop now? I should have stopped them. No more injections, I tell myself. No more.
“Right, let the training begin,” Theo says as he stands, then rubs his hands together. “Let’s see what you are made of.”
“Wait outside in the hallway,” Theo says, and everyone moves toward the door. “Sadie, a word.”
Lakia shoots me a “you’re in trouble” look, and I gulp, as I know she’s right.
As the last person leaves, Theo closes the door, leaving us alone.
“Pretend I’m telling you off,” he says as he leans closer to me.
“What?” I reply, confused.
“They don’t have microphones in the rooms, only cameras,” Theo says.
“Let’s switch places—your back needs to block the camera.” Theo’s eyes glimmer at my response.
I drop down toward my shoe and pretend to lace it up. Theo walks around and stands in front of me, with his hands on his hips, blocking the camera’s view of his lips.
“We don’t have long—only drink the water if you want to forget. From the way you looked at my water bottle, I knew you knew. The metallic taste is what we call devil’s breath. It wipes your memory. There is a day’s worth in a bottle of water,” he says, so quickly I almost miss it.
“They wipe your memories? Why?” I ask. All the color drains from Theo’s face.
“You will see in a couple of days,” he says, as if the words hurt. “Don’t tell anyone. If too many people know, soon everyone will, and …” He stops.
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.
“Because you are the one they have been waiting for,” he says. “And so have we.”
“Who’s waiting for me?”
“The government. You were the last of the DNA trials. You were made after the labs were closed down, when the government stopped the trials because they didn’t want to invest any more money into the project. Instead they put it into weapons, not knowing that you are the greatest weapon.” I feel like a speeding train just hit me. I slump down on the ground, still holding onto the laces I was pretending to tie, which I will have to for real now.
“Their greatest weapon? But I’m just a girl.” It feels fake as I say it.
“Alexa Petras created slayer DNA. She kept a detailed log about it. One of the slayers is stronger than any of the others, and that’s you, Sadie. Morgan will explain more to you later. Fake an injury at the end of class today,” he says, pointing his finger down at me as if he’s telling me off.
I nod in confusion, not sure what to say. “Who’s Morgan?”
“She’s a doctor here.”
Theo walks away from me and heads toward the door, leaving me on the floor.
“What do you mean I’m stronger than the others?”
"You’ll see.” He smiles. “The injection they gave you for side effects is also to speed up the extra DNA. It will start taking effect shorty," Theo says.
I screw up my face in response.
"Don't worry, it will not hurt. You have to try to act normal. Follow the others," Theo says to reassure me.
"Aaron will be here soon," Theo adds, and my heart beats fast as he says his name ... he will be here soon.
“How do you know about Aaron?”
“We know everything about you, about all the new kids.”
“What?”
“You can trust me,” he says.
I have to.
Chapter Eleven
Training starts as soon as we leave the meeting room. Theo runs down the clinical white hallways, turning this way and that.
I try to remember the way, but it's like a frigging maze of hallways. Everything looks the same, with nothing to indicate any difference between them.
After what feels like fifteen minutes of running I give up any thought of finding my way back. I guess this is the start of the warm-up for the main training.
“This is worse than school,” Lakia whispers as she runs beside me.
Heavy boots thump behind me. I turn to see another instructor and her group. The instructor has deep, dark skin. Her eyes flicker up and down; her lashes are so long they don't look real.
"What are you grinning at, newbie?" she barks at me. I hadn't realized I was smiling.
"Nothing," I quickly say and turn away from her. I hope whatever they gave me to accelerate the slayer DNA hurries up because she eyes me like she wants to beat the crap out of me.
"Looks like you ended up with the runt of the litter," she sneers to Theo.
"Hey, Tallah, nice of you to join us," Theo says back as he glances over his shoulder; he doesn't stop running.
The ground vibrates as they move faster and closer to me. My group senses the force, and we move quicker and with more intensity.
Every muscle in my legs works together to push me forward. Has the injection already kicked in or do I just think it has? My head swirls with everything Theo told me—that I'm the most powerful weapon, different to the others, and that Aaron will be here soon.
Will he be the same Aaron that held me after our night together, or the one in my dream, who was cold? Dread coats my stomach, and my mouth dries out—it will be my Aaron. I wish I had devil’s breath now to erase the memories of the dream. The thought of drinking it calms me. I could clear my mind of all this. I would just have to drink enough to block it all out. Then I could remember Aaron the way he was.
But that's a weak way out. Now isn't the time to be weak.
Without my knowledge, my body slows down, like it's on autopilot.
Everyone slows down to a jog as we approach an open door. It’s pitch black inside, a stark contrast to the white walls of the hallway.
We make our way in, our group standing on the left-hand side of the room.
Other groups and their instructors are already in the hangar. Tallah’s group stands on the right-hand side of the door. Theo give her a knowing nod.
No one appears out of breath after the run; most look anxious about what is going to happen next.
The room is too large to see where the cameras are, but I know they will be here.
Just like the hangar that we entered when we first came to this sector, this one is the height of a four-story house. It looks as though it's made from metal, and I can just make out the sound of the sand hitting the metal on the outside. There are metal beams running along the ceiling, with long naked lights hanging down.
There is a dry smell in the air, with a coppery scent to it. The room itself is not that interesting but what it is connected to is very interesting indeed.
There are different stations around it, with padded mats on the floor in some areas. Others have paper sheets hanging down from the heavy metal beams, like the ones which you would see at a shooting range, and punch bags hang down from the frame. This is where we will train.
Commander Cheng is standing in the middle of the groups; we have formed a circle around the space without even knowing. I guess that’s why our instructor
s stopped us here. She has guards on either side of her.
Lakia stands by my side as we wait for our instructions.
“If you want to leave after what you have heard today, my guards will escort you off the property. Today will be basic training so we can assess your skill levels. Listen to the instructors, they are giving you the tools to save your life. And more important than your own lives, you will be able to protect others once you are selected for your assignment. Instructors, let the training begin,” Commander Cheng says, then turns and walks through the door we just entered along with her guards.
“Follow me,” Theo says, waving us over as he runs closer to the left-hand wall. I didn’t spot anything when I was originally looking around, just some tables. Now I am standing in front of them I can see what’s so important about the tables: they are covered with rows of stakes.
“Take one and line up,” Theo says as he selects his own stake.
They look just like the one which Blake gave me, but since no weapons are allowed in the sector, I had to surrender it when I entered.
My hand wraps around one; it's smoother than the one I used to kill the vampires. Well that wasn’t really a stake, more like broken remains of a wardrobe, but it did the job.
As we all line up, Theo walks up and down the group. “Today is an important day for us to assess your abilities. Did you hear that, Sadie?” Theo says the last sentence as if I wasn’t paying attention, which I was. I look at him, puzzled.
He rests his chin on top of the stake. Is he giving me a clue? Did I miss it? Am I meant to show my abilities or not meant to?
“Show my abilities?” I repeat in a questioning tone.
“Yes. Show your abilities.” He rolls his eyes as if I am being stupid. The others around me snicker, but at least now I know I am meant to show my abilities, whatever they are.
"How many of you have killed a vampire?" I ask, pointing my stake up toward the ceiling.
As I look back and forth, I see I'm the smallest by far, and no doubt the youngest.
Another group runs past us, led by their instructor. They are doing laps around the edge of the building. They stare at me with my stake raised in the air, and I quickly lower it.