Aurore

11- Rebel

I squinted in the morning sun. The air was brisk, not cold enough to be uncomfortable, but warm enough to appreciate the beauty of the day. A ring, similar to a ring used in a boxing match, had been set up for the fight. I pushed through the kids standing around the ring and found General Stewart. He nodded to me.
"It's about time that you show your full potential, Agent Boneck." he remarked. I nodded to him.
"Yes, sir."
"You're a good agent, Jason. But so is your opponent, so be aware and give it your all."
I nodded again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kyle, of course, kissing his new girlfriend. I walked to him.
"Hey!" he said. "Are you a Final Competitor?"
"Yea."
"Good Luck." He said. "Where's Shasta? You guys are always attached at the hip."
I shrugged. "I don't know. We got in a huge fight earlier."
"About what?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Before Kyle could ask anything else, General Stewart had stepped up onto the platform with a microphone.
"Attention, everyone."
You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was silent.
"I'd like to introduce the Final Competitors this year."
You'd expect people to cheer, but no one said a word.
"First, we have Jason Boneck."
Most of the agents cheered loudly as I stepped up on the platform.
As the cheers faded, General Stewart began to speak again.
"And we have a first year agent, here. Sabrina Halliday!"
My heart dropped. I couldn't move as I watched her step onto the platform next to me.
"I...I didn't know you were the other..." she stuttered.
I turned away from her.
My heartbeat in my ears and I began to breathe heavily. As I looked up into the crowd of kids, I saw Shasta. She was as surprised as I was, but I knew she'd been crying.
I glanced to the side and noticed General Stewart's off-road motorcycle . It shone in the sun. I turned back to Sabrina and General Stewart.
"Let's do this." I growled.
"Wait." Sabrina interrupted. "You can't think that we are actually going through with this."
"I don't think you've caught on by now." I said to her. " There's no way to get out of this. The Agensie gives an order, we obey. One of us is going to die today. And it won't be me."
She looked at me, confused.
The ringer buzzed for us to start the fight. I lunged towards her and held her in a headlock.
"Okay. When I say go, we are gonna jump on Stewart's motorcycle and we are getting out of here."
"What?" she gasped.
"I'm taking down the Agensie, and you're gonna help me. Okay?"
She nodded. She twisted out of my grip. We circled around each other.
"Go!" I exclaimed.
We jumped the ropes that encased us in the ring and jumped on the bike. Before General Stewart could get to us, I started in and moved us forward. The agents moved to the side so we had a clear path.
Sabrina clung to my waist as we shot forward.
I heard people scream as we moved.
I glanced at Shasta. She shook her head at me.
"Come with us!" I exclaimed.
She turned and walked away.
I sped the motorcycle up and continued on to the distant horizon.
We drove until we couldn't see the crowd anymore. I got off the motorcycle.
"What are we doing?" Sabrina asked me.
"From here, we are going on by foot." I said.
"Uh... Okay."
We didn't speak to each other for a few miles. Finally, I stopped.
"We are stopping for the night."
"Okay." she said. "Jason?" she asked.
"Yea?"
"Are you okay?"
I turned from her. "I don't know. And I don't want to talk about it, at least not to you."
"Why?" she pushed.
I sighed, exasperated. I thought I had had my lowest point, maybe after my first kill, or realizing my family didn't want me, or even when Andrew died. But I was wrong. This was my lowest point.
"Because Sabrina!" I let out. "You're the cause of my not being okay, so why would I tell you?"
"What?" she asked, utterly confused.
"You had no right to kiss me. You KNEW I was with Shasta, but you chose to go with it anyway. And look! You ruined it. I've been in love with Shasta since we were 9, and as soon as we actually get to be together, you ruin it! You ruined it all! You couldn't just keep your feelings to yourself, could you? No! You had to act stupidly and its not like you even ruined your own life! You ruined mine! You messed up my entire plan to leave the Agensie with her, and now she is probably going to die on Floor 0. They're gonna think she knows something about my leaving, and she doesn't!"
I crumpled to the ground, ending up in a sitting position.
"I hate you...I hate you..." I whispered to myself as I buried my head in my hands.
"Jason." I knew she had kneeled down next to me. I looked up at her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that my actions would...would ruin everything for you..."
I shivered in the cold wind. Because I didn't plan out my escape, I wore a T-shirt and jeans and tennis shoes.
She touched my chin and lifted it up. I looked up at her.
Her head fell, ashamed of the mess she had created. It was my turn to lift her head up.
I had nothing else to lose. I'd lost my best friend, my girlfriend, and now, the only life I'd ever known.  I took her shoulders in my arms and pulled her towards me. I must have surprised her, because as soon as her lips touched mine, she pulled away. I entangled my hand in her long hair and placed my other hand on her back, pulling her towards me. She melted in my arms, returning the gesture. But, then, realization must have come about her, because she pulled away.
"This is what got you into this mess in the first place." she whispered.
"I don't care. I can't lose more than what I've already lost." My lips found hers once again, but we were interrupted by the sound of a helicopter.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
I grabbed her hand and dragged her to a nearby cave.
"They won't find us here."
She nodded.
She put her hand on my arm.
"Jason." She looked at me. I glanced at her, but before I could look away, she pulled me towards her and pulled me in for another kiss. My heart beat out of my chest. I felt like a cheater, a liar, and an all around idiot.
I pulled away.
"I can't do this." I told her. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. And it wasn't Sabrina's.
I looked behind me and saw General Stewart.
"G...General Stewart..." I stuttered.
"THAT." He began. "Was a stupid move!"
He grabbed my shoulder and yanked me after him, I struggled against his grip, but General Stewart was much stronger than me.
"Oh!" General Stewart stopped.
"Good job, Agent Halliday."
I gasped and stared at her. She wouldn't look at me in the eyes. She followed General Stewart and I to the helicopter. I pulled against his grip to no avail.
He threw me into the helicopter. He jumped in after me and pushed me down so I was sitting.
"Get the cuffs." He ordered Sabrina. She nodded and took them off her belt and handed them to me.
"Hands." He ordered. I didn't move a muscle.
"Hands" he ordered again through clenched teeth.
I stared at him defiantly.
He pulled his hand back and backhanded me, his rings sliding across my face.
I stared at him, shocked and wide-eyed.
I felt the sting of his many rings as he grabbed my arms and clamped the cuffs around them. I shook the shock of Stewart's hit off and looked at Sabrina.
She looked nervously out the window as she fiddled with her fingers. I held my stare at her for a long while. She finally looked over to me.
I mouthed, "How could you?"
She shrugged and looked down at me.
"I'm sorry."
I glanced at General Stewart. He sternly talked into his phone.
"You wouldn't understand," she whispered.
"You're right. I don't. I thought we were friends. But it was all a lie."
"No...Jason...you wouldn't understand because I'm a Special."
"I know."
"What?" she exclaimed.
"I'm not stupid, Sabrina. I've been trying to keep it from you from day one."
"Why would you keep it from me?"
"It's dangerous... being a Special. It's hard to understand."
"And I suppose you would know." A voice interrupted our conversation.
"What?"
General Stewart walked towards me.
"I'd suppose you know what it's like, being a special and all."
"How did you..." I started.
"How did I know?" He laughed a fake laugh. "It's all very simple. You went to the medical floor for a "check up." In the 9 years you've been here, you've never, in your own will, gone to the medical service for a checkup. Also, your performance and progression through past years could have pointed to your being a Special. But it could also just be talent and hard work. But after your check up, I decided that during Fight Week, I'd take all agent's blood. After years and years, we finally came up with a blood test to identify Specials. And it turns out you are a Special, and so is Agent Halliday here." He put his arm over Sabrina's shoulder. She looked up and smiled at him.
"Ugh," I said under my breath.
"What's that?"
I shook my head. "Nothing."
"Anyway," He crouched down so our eyes were level. "You'll be used to test the limits in which Specials can endure."
"So you're gonna push me till I die?" I remarked sarcastically.
"Exactly!"
My jaw dropped.
"You are no longer of use to me. Actually, you're just a threat to my power, as all Specials are, except Sabrina of course."
She moved towards him.
"I didn't know you were going to hurt him." Sabrina said quietly.
"You would have done it anyway." he snipped.
"I wouldn't have-" He rolled his eyes, pulled his arm back, and struck her across the face. Her eyes widened in fear.
She pulled away from him and sat on the other side of the helicopter.
"Look, kid. I don't like kids who go against me. Actually, they have a tendency to...disappear."
I looked at him.
I shrugged. "So do people who go against me."
He grabbed a needle inserted a liquid into the syringe.
He pointed it toward me and inserted it into my neck.
"What was that?" I asked him.
"Something that will take you far away from here."
As darkness clouded my vision, all I could think of was if he just killed me.