Calypso Initiate

Chapter Nine

I'm solid stiff, like every muscle in my body has turned into stone. It's as though an anchor is tied around my waist, keeping me in place, my feet welded to the platform like it's a part of me. A petrifying chill crawls on my skin, slowly penetrating my bones and choking the air out of my lungs with its icy claws. I want nothing more than to jump off and escape, but no amount of will can make me move from my spot.

Now I keep wondering why on earth I thought it was a good idea to put my gun back in its holster. Oh yeah, so I can jump without falling to my death. But that seems absurd now.

The girl licks her lips as she eyes something on my arm. She looks nervous. She shifts her weight between her knee and foot as though her posture is becoming uncomfortable. Her eyes blink more than they have to. Her hands cradle the pistol, sure with aim, but her fingers twitch around the handle every now and then.

It's probably her first time to use a gun as well. We've all been taught the same things. All of us—except maybe for Vincent—half-trained rookies tossed into battle. But from where I am the girl doesn't need to have perfect aim to get a hit. 

If only I can reach for my gun. I'm afraid the slightest movement will provoke her to shoot. I may not be a weapon's expert but there's something about a nervous person with a gun that gets me more edgy. Even if I manage to actually reach for my pistol, I'm not sure if I'm fast enough to avoid the laser projectile from her weapon. What can I do? If I remain still, her laser would hit me and I'll fall. If I try to dodge it I would still fall. Both terrible options.

The girl narrows her lids, her eyes still focused on my arm. I know exactly what she's looking at. The object that dictates our place in this city, like a mark iron-branded on us from the day we were born. My identity wristband. It only takes one color to tell her what she needs to know.

I'm a low rank.

When she sees it, her face hardens, and every trace of her nervousness disappears. I can almost read the insults in those rusty brown eyes. Bright red speckles glow on them. She measures me up with a look so venomous I feel like it can eat through my armor and unravel my soul. She must be wearing contact lenses. Only the chipped can decorate their irises without them. It's almost sickening how the high and mighty can throw away money on something so useless while the rest of the population starves. But what sickens me more is how much I envy them, living in all that glamour and comfort. Their lives seem easier than mine will ever be.

"Just let me get on another board," I manage to sputter out, but the words feel strange on my tongue. I'm not supposed to speak to them. Avoid them at all cost and never draw attention to myself. I can hear my mother's voice in my head telling me exactly that, like I'm listening to a recording of her reminders on loop. I fight the impulse to look over my shoulder as if I expect her to be there, staring down at me with those disapproving eyes.

"You don't deserve to be here!" the girl snarls, although I notice a slight tremble in her voice.

The tip of her pistol glows, and whatever trace of hesitation she has left on her face is now concealed by a cold and distant mask. Her eyes pierce through me like shards of ice, tearing me from the inside out. I've seen the same look on our hunters when they're about to take down a beast. It's the same look I've seen on Vincent a short while ago when he was battling the other elite rank. A look unfeeling and without remorse, a look ready for a kill.

Coldness grips me, its sharp claws sinking deeper into my flesh, panic crashing down on me in thick waves. I don't understand why she just won't let me move out of her way. It's not like I'm a real threat. I've never been in combat, and I've barely made it out of the previous tests. Even if I manage to take my gun out, then what? Shoot her? How can anyone bring themselves to shoot another person so easily or even at all? I doubt she only plans to stun me. I might not die from the gunshot but I would from the fall. I know the elites hate our rank, but not enough to kill us. At least I hope not.