Shards

chapter 34

Chapter 34:

We were punished for our failure. Audrey and Desmen were put on the list for an outer, Psy-ops facility. That left only Kyle and I. It was then that I realized how few of us there actually were, against the huge number of children forced to life in the Compound. Could we really make a difference? Was six standing together really much better than one standing alone? At ten years old I did not stop and think about the philosophy of it all. All Kyle and I were worried about was staying together, about not being left alone with no one to watch our backs. Vulnerability made us desperate, and desperation made me vicious.

It was in this period of time that I took my first life; the first of our group to do so. In truth, it was an accident. Not the type of accident that would be filed under manslaughter in a court of law, but the type that left a ten year old kid shocked and wondering what happened.

Kyle and I sat side by side in the windowless bus. It jolted and rocked beneath us, and I attempted to memorize every bump. What would be the use in escaping if we were just to get lost in the jungle? The bus jolted to a final stop, and I met Kyle's eyes. His worry mirrored my own. We'd been told nothing about the purpose of today's out-trip, but rumors circulated. We'd heard talk of some sort of battle royal, to thin out our numbers, and we were painfully aware of how outnumbered we were by the robots.

“Everyone off!” The guard gestured with his machine gun, moving the herd of children from the bus.

Ages in our advanced training group ranged from ten to twelve, making me one of the youngest, although my eleventh birthday was fast approaching.

Kyle and I tried to stay near the back of the group, as far from the robots as was physically possible. Both Nea and Rion were present; as people sometimes jokingly called them, the anti-Jaylee and Ian. The rules were explained to us and—much to my relief—most of the rumors appeared to be false. Instead of some type of fight to the death, it was kind of like a violent game of capture the flag, but without designated sides.

Instead of sending captured intruders to jail, we could incapacitate them in any way possible. Our instructor stressed that there were no rules, no boundaries. He made it clear that there would be no repercussions if someone left here in a body bag. This rule did not excite me, quite the opposite actually. I did not plan to take a life that day, but I knew that I could, and that's what scared me.

The group of around thirty was told to divide up into two teams. Kyle and I stood quietly and waited for others to come to us. If none did, we'd be placed on whatever team needed the members. Secretly, hidden somewhere in the logical side of my brain, behind the pride, was the want to be on the same team as Nea and her friends. Sure we didn't get along, but everyone knew how deadly it could turn when the fighters and robots were pitted against eachother.

“Wait!” The instructor was back. “One more rule, to insure that no team has an unfair advantage over the other. Of the people on this list,” he pointed to the piece of paper in his hand, “no more than five can be on one team. If your name is called, take it as a compliment. You're the ones we know can handle themselves.” He cleared his throat. “Rion, Leo, Nea, Jaylee, Darren, Kyle, Shay, Spike, Theo”

He folded the list, placing it back in his pocket.

“They did it on purpose!” Kyle's face was turning red. “They did it on freaking purpose!”

They had, but in the end there was nothing we could do except for continue waiting. Around us I could hear the conversations. The people not on the list debated the pros and cons of asking Kyle and I to join them. We were good allys to have, but they—just as much as the instructor—knew the bull's-eye we had on our backs. The robots hated the fact that I was a Resistant. They couldn't understand it, and looked at it like I was getting special treatment.