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"We have a bit of a last-minute assignment today."
I watch our instructor pull a stack of papers out of a previously locked metal case. He drops a packet in front of each intern, and I study the faces of the first few to get theirs as they begin to turn the pages. I wait for some warning of what is to come, knowing that this can't be good. My paper is set down the moment the eyes of the first intern widen. I glance down, the cover simply stating that this is confidential information about the current criminals of Imperium.
"These are some of our most dangerous prisoners, set before you." I glance over to the intern beside me and see that there are profiles of these prisoners on the second page, complete with pictures of them. I touch my fingers to the corner of the packet, quietly swallowing the lump in my throat. "These animals have tainted the purity of Imperium. They are all that holds us back from true perfection. They have betrayed our communities and ripped apart our unity."
I tuck a finger under the first page.
"What are we doing with this information? There are no questions," someone points out, and although I don't look up, I hear them turning the pages like they're searching for a clue.
I take a trembling breath and turn the page.
"You must decide whether they live or die."
Audible gasps are heard throughout the room. We all knew this internship would be hard, but I don't think any of us expected to have to pick people to kill - although, it's almost guaranteed that we won't truly have a choice. I glance down, covering the picture with my hand. If I'm going to be sending someone to their death, I refuse to see their likely innocent face.
My stomach twists uncomfortably as I read about my prisoner; her parents died in the factory explosion three years ago, her brother going next a couple of years later after a fatal case of Mortem. Jobless, alone, and uneducated, this poor girl seems like every other low-class citizen I've read about. I turn my focus to reason for arrest, hoping for my sake that she's committed some unspeakable crime that might somewhat fit this harsh punishment.
Reason for imprisonment: stealing from and manipulating the Pictors after she was taken in by them.
My heart skips a beat. I move my hand from over the picture.
I assumed getting through the Academy took strength. I assumed speaking against every single thing I stood for took strength. Nevertheless, it takes every last ounce of my supposed strength not to scream when I see Ya Ling's picture staring up at me.
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The Rejects
Ficción GeneralThere's order to everything. Everything has a pattern, a set of rules that keeps it functioning. Without it, organisms die, governments fail, civilization collapses. There's a reason we're the only ones left. We had order, while the rest of the worl...
