Little Secrets

Jessica: Blood Stones

"The APT is the newest and most advanced in agent-training technology," Agent Hathews said as Brainy Dude started to open his mouth but closed it, " It.... You know, I'll just explain this through an example. Do I have any volunteers to go first?" he asked us, scanning through the line.

Feeling a tinge of excitement to try this out first, I proudly raised my hand and gave out a strong reply. "Me!"

Agent Hathews nodded, and gestured me to move in front of class.

I moved quickly towards the tall man, while Cassie gave me a thumbs up. I smiled at her and stood next to our instructor.

"Now. Why don't you put on the wonderful Arlo creation and demonstrate?" the agent suggested, though it sounded like an order.

I rose an eyebrow at him, as if daring him to say that again. I glared at him, and I fought the urge to put my hands on my hips. Staring at the horrible-styled costume, I shuddered. It looked ridiculous if you ask me.

But the worst thing? Agent Hathews seemed to read my mind, and was mentally chastising me for it. His dark hazel eyes stared back to my icy blue eyes- my father's eyes- intently.

Feeling lost, I stared down at my white converse shoes. They were polished this morning, it's laces were still rainbow colored from the Camouflage Class two days ago.

I sighed, holding my arm out to Arlo to hand the items to me. I took the items carefully, not quite sure if moving it around too much would break it in some way.

In front of the class, I slid the pajama-looking costume on, then headphones and the sunglasses. The headphones rested against my head comfortably, and the sunglasses were pretty stylish. Being cautious with the items as much as possible, fearing something wrong would happen at any minute.

I stood in front of the class, my eyes toward the giant TV. "Any time now, Arlo," I said, closing my eyes, letting myself sink into the darkness the sunglass's projected.

The dark gym started to fade away and I heard and felt a whoosh of wind whistling through my ears.

Wow. I thought. Arlo really did it correctly this time! The last time he made me headphones was as a birthday present, which almost killed my eardrums. Glad he improved.

Finally, my vision cleared and I could see a dry, barren landscape in front of me. Above me were dark gray clouds grumbling and rumbling like someone with a stomach ache. At my feet was dark red dust, as if the ground had been stained with blood. Smoothly the landscape began to shape more clearly on the horizon, and nothing but the red and gray could be seen for miles. With time, my surroundings started to look more realistic, a place where I remembered deep inside my mind. Familiar feelings erupted in the pits of my stomach.

Then I heard gun shots fired somewhere close to my left. My training taking control, I started to run toward the sound; where there's a gunshot, there's someone who needs help.

I reached for my belt, where a gun was strapped. I didn't have time to wonder how that happened, because I hadn't had a gun before, but a feeling of relief flashed through me, but it only lasted for a short second. Grabbing my gun, I pointed it in a shooting position. Like a ninja, I ran silently through the barren wasteland.

I came to a sudden stop as I rounded the corner of a high cliff to my left. In front of my eyes was a city under siege.

Screams where everywhere. Cries and pleas. I heard boots clattering towards the destruction. It was crazy. People who were injured badly started to fall. I had a sick feeling in my stomach, a familiar one. A feeling I hadn't I felt since I was about three years old.