{The Firelight Chronicles} 6: SE7EN, The Sunflower Effect (girlxgirl) Lesbian

Chapter 3: Paired Up

There was a line of about fifty of us going down a hallway. Some seemed proud to be there, others, like myself, had scared eyes that eyed everything suspiciously.

The walls were all white with paintings that hung here and there, and the floors were made of polished granite. It was fancy, but something about it gave off the vibe of being in a hospital, so I didn't like the place at first. Last time I had been to a hospital, Lara had gotten in a fight with a group of rich kids and was so bruised and cut up she could barely open her eyes.

The hallway seemed neverending so I found myself thinking of home, the beautiful works of nature outside the orphanage, and finally Alex Pertierra. I had seen her in a dream before I met her, I was sure of it, but how was that possible? 

Then it hit me. Of course, a dormant ability was awakening. I would be able to predict things using my dreams once it did.

I shrugged, figuring it would come in handy when those government people made me do something I didn't want to do. I decided I could run away before it happened (if I predicted it), but then I remembered how impossible it was to get out of government facilities, and what they would do to those who did get out. I gulped, I was going to have to stay.

Then we reached the end of the hallway. There was a man scanning people's eyes with one of those flashlights Alex had shown me, but this one looked more like a glow stick. He was reading names out from a list, and he would press a clicker after he scanned each person's eyes.

"Valkyrie!"

I snapped out of my trance immediately, and straightened my shoulders so I wouldn't look so scared.

The light shone brightly in my eyes, blinding me for a few seconds. By the time my vision cleared, I had already walked into the facility, and what I saw made me gasp. 

There was nature. More than I could have imagined: a synthetic sky and ocean, animals, beaches, palm trees; all seen from a seventh floor, through a huge glass window that ran across the wall. 

A loud voice blared through the speakers, "All cadets report to the second floor for uniforms and orientation. Basic training starts at dawn tomorrow."

I heard the shuffling of feet as all of the new recruits hurried to get to the lifts, elevators that held around twenty people each and had no walls. The trainees or cadets stood straight in the platform as if on an attention stance because one wrong move would possibly mean plummeting to their deaths. I followed reluctantly, knowing i had no choice in the matter. If I disobeyed orders, the guards would find me and drag me to orientation, possibly coming up with a punishment they saw fit as well.

Amongst the new recruits, I saw a familiar face. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the lift,

"Don't stay behind," said Mia, "they might believe you are resisting. They'll put you in their little black list. Get in there too much and you'll get sent on the worst missions."

I simply nodded and followed her. She stood straight like a true soldier on the square mark on the platform that shone with neon blue edges when somebody stepped on it. I imitated her, laying both of my arms flat against my sides, and standing perfectly straight except I was absentmindedly staring at her long, dark lashes instead of at an imaginary point in front of me like I was taught to.

Almost every school had basic military training, starting at the tender age of three, Mia had probably been to one of those as had I. A lot of schools also offered martial arts defense and basic emotion management because of the danger of having someone lose control of their emotions while manifesting an ability. Most people acted like robots or cold-hearted, calculating blocks of ice. One would only see passion, if ever, in the lower classes, orphans included. We were less afraid to show emotions, and also tended to be more creative since we couldn't afford all of the classes that took most of the high class students' time. In other words, we'd get bored and come up with something creative to do, if we didn't turn to drugs that is. My thing was drawing and playing the piano. Lara's was playing the Cello and Violin. She'd always enjoyed using the old ones that were made of wood. She was also a street artist, she would do amazing graffitis that only lasted two days for the most time because the city would have them covered up. Lara tended to make art out of controversial topics, usually as a protest. Other times just because. Lara was just... Lara; always picking a fight with everyone, even the government.