When sisters with lethal touch are taken to Sector 45, commanders start to fall. Regions break apart. Revolution starts.
Based on Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me. Characters and plots belong to the author except for my OC's and my own plot with them.
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When I wake up the next morning, I realize just how much trouble I'm in. The clock on my dresser reads a time so late I think I might faint.
I haul myself up from the bed, slip on my suit, and rush downstairs to the breakfast hall. My brother looks up from his newspaper and pushes a plate of freshly-cut fruit toward me. I sit down and pick up my utensils, but not before realizing that both Ferrars sisters are sitting directly in front of Aaron and I, with Adam flanked on one side, and Kenji on the other.
I gaze at the bruise on his cheek and feel like crying. It's purple and blue with a splotchy red mark in the center. It's slightly raised and has the shape of a flattened ellipse. My fingers tingle, and I clench them tightly.
I did this to him.
This is my fault.
Kent follows my gaze to Kenji's cheek. I peer over Aaron's shoulder, taking the newspage he handed to me and spreading it out between the two of us. It covers our faces almost completely, allowing Aaron to check if the dark mark near my chest is infected.
Thankfully, it seems to be healing already.
"—the bruise?"
Kent's question causes me to move the newspaper aside. Aaron elbows me, grabbing both pages and muttering, "I'm still reading."
"It looks like you've been slapped out of existence," Julia comments.
Aaron briefly looks up.
Juliette shushes her. She looks to Kenji, interested in what happened next. I sip on a glass of water; I already know.
"Your sister gave me this wonderful present," Kenji says, after meeting my gaze for a second. Now I can't tell if he's really mad at me, or just really good at acting.
Aaron finally sets down the paper. "You did this to him?" he asks me.
I nod.
Juliette whispers, "Why?"
I barely glance at her, instead looking at my brother. His face is a complicated mix of confusion and pride. "He kept following me."
Aaron massages his temples. "Kishimoto is assigned to you. I suggest you stop trying to kill everyone you meet."
Juliette doesn't flinch.
I shrug, "I don't take orders, and I barely take suggestions."
Aaron doesn't chuckle. Kenji does. I can see him stifling a laugh in the reflection of my goblet.
Aaron continues, "Will you stop undermining my authority?"
My utensils slam into my bowl. Blueberries roll down towards the floor. "Your authority? Since when was this—" I gesture to the tables in the room. "—possible without me?"
My brother bites back a curse. "Slip of the tongue."
I'm about to smash his head into my bowl of fruit when Julia's snarky comments fill the air once again.
"Trouble in sibling-town," she singsongs.
I feel blood rush to my head. I'm not even aware of my hands on the base of our table. I am no longer aware that I am standing up with smoke practically coming out of my ears.
With one swift push from my palms, all the plates of food on one side fall to the ground. The sounds of plates shattering and goblets cluttering to the ground stills the entire area. Every single person in the room has their eyes on me, and this time, it's not in a way I hate.
They look at me in fear.
"Alex," Kenji is the only one daring enough to make a sound, and even then, it's a whisper. "You just flipped a goddam table over."
I look at my hands, which are now leaning on the width of the table. Our entire table has flipped on its side. I hide my surprised face, masking an I meant to do that one instead.
Even Aaron looks unnerved.
Without making a sound, I remove myself from the room. I step over the chaos, twirling a blade in my hand and remaining focused on the large banner in front of me. It has a large white SECTOR 45 painted in white block letters over the black material. A gold trim runs around it.
One of my blades slices it cleanly off the hoist. It falls to the ground, elongating like it's a red carpet and I'm the celebrity.
I pivot on my heel and look at Aaron.
"You're in charge of this sector?" My voice carries over to him. "Clean this up."
I walk calmly to where the door should be and leave them all in silence.
My brother doesn't come to check on me, and for once, I'm grateful. I don't want to see his face right now.
I can't believe I was that stupid; To think that my brother thought of me as his equal. He never will. I've tried and tried and tried to show him that I can do this. I can lead something important.
This time, it isn't about protecting me. Being in a position of power keeps me protected.
"Hi."
"Hi," I mumble, leaning back in my bed. I leap up. "—WHAT?"
"Chill out," Kenji says, shutting the door and strolling into my room. "I'm not here to murder you or some creepy shit."
I pause. "You're not mad?"
He laughs. A loud, happy-filled laugh that sends joy streaming down my body. I feel exhilarated like this is as close to happiness as I'll ever get to. "Mad? You just left the entire sector reeling—including your moody-ass brother, after doing some Wonder Woman shit."
"Wonder Woman?" I ask. "Is that the one with Marvel?"
Kenji looks personally offended. "DC, Alex. We've been over this."
I ask of the elephant in the room. "What are you doing here?"
He drops his shoulder and looks at me. I've never seen him so serious before. "I'm leaving."
