Shift

Preparation

*Three months later*

"Hold still, I said!" Verin, my mentor, yells at me. "If you don't, I swear, I'll cut your ear off!"

"It might be nicer," I mumble back. She is only a year older than me, but she's already evolved into the hagging stage of life.

"What was that?" she says. I hear a snip dangerously close to my ear. Maybe it's better to keep quiet after all.

Minutes pass, and my head feels lighter and lighter. Midnight and silver locks start to litter the floor. I make a decisive effort not to look in the mirror until she is done.

"Look up," Verin whispers into my ear.

I tilt my head up and gaze into the shiny surface. Bangs no longer half cover my Marks. In fact, my bangs no longer exist. The pixie cut I now wear removed all of them.

"You're ready."

I turn my chair and face the door. Odd eyes, one silver and the other gold, gleem at me. A grin crosses his face as he leans in the doorway.

"Lionel," I said. I shake my head a little, playing with the weightlessness. "You like it?"

"He doesn't have a choice," Verin reminds me. "Everyone cuts their hair day of Initiation, you know that."

He waves his hand at her. Lionel steps farther into the room, careful not to slip on the various pieces of hair. Before I knew it, his hand is in my hair, ruffling it. I raise my hand to slap him, but by the time I move he's out of range.

"Lionel!" Verin threatens to pound him with the scissors. In her hands, any weapon is quite dangerous, and the sharp metal blades that shone in the dim light were no exception. "She has to be ready in an hour!"

Lionel opens his mouth to say something, but is silenced when the lights flicker, already dim light fading into into black. I can hear the shuffling of feet, then a loud thud resonating around the room.

"I hate the generators at this end," Lionel mutters under his breath. A mixture of hair and dust litter the air, adding to the creepy illusion the lighting already gave.

I get up and dust myself off. Maybe I'm still a Novice, but I am taking the final step to become a true part of the rebellion. The fasting, the tattoo, and the hair cut were all signs of that. Only the final step remained, and I am more than willing to take it.

"So, are there any rumors about tonight?" I ask.

Lionel and Verin look at each other uneasily. That look becomes a staring contest. Finally, Lionel breaks away and shrugs his shoulders.

"Some people are saying that he might be there," Lionel says, running his hand through his hair.

"It's just a rumor, though," Verin quickly adds.

It's too late. A cold shiver runs down my spine as cool concentration passes into warmimg panic. The face without a name. Our red-headed, brilliant eyed leader only reffered to by pronouns. The man who has never spoken to me, but handpicked me.

"Why?" I ask, a stutter falling into my speech. "He rarely goes out into the public, even here. An Initiation is about as public as it gets!"

Silence passes. So no one knows, then. What a wonderful situation. My Initiation is quickly approaching. My stomach is burning and aching. I have the fight of my life in less than an hour.

And he is going to be there.

I spin on my heels and walk out of the room. Neither of my friends try to stop me. The dark underground streets, alight in the daytime, have always given me a sense of peace when I need to clear my head. Right now, that's just what I need.

The dark city is illuminated now, candles and lanterns flickering in most windows. Several children run past me and into a nearby shack. Kitchens were filling with baked goods and feast meals, the sweet aromas drifting in the air. If I pass Initiation, the entire community would eat better than they had in months. And if not... Well, there are always people who need to eat.

Moving through the streets is like trying to swim through half-baked dough. I'm constantly getting run into and shoved. No one gives me special treatment.Here, all are equal, at least in theory. There are nurses, cooks, librarians, smiths, candle makers, Marked, and everything in between. There are children that have been orphaned and given sanctuary. Some children have been born to parents that already joined the rebellion. There were former princes and nobility walking beside those who have been slaves for generations. It is magical and peaceful, and it is the very thing that I want to make.

There are always going to be deviants, of course, and people that break the rules. People whose evil overpowers their good. But I have been given a gift, and I intend to use it for all it's worth. If I can create a society with almost no violence, then I will do it. To do it, I will kill whoever stands in my way.

Even though the chaos, I know exactly where I am. The old arena is in the middle of the city. If each person was a blood cell, then that is the heart. Even with grass growing through the old track and bleachers broken beyond repair, this is the place where all things began and ended. It's there, today, that I begin again.

I begin to push my way through the crowds.

Destiny awaits me.