FREEFALLING

3

The brightness that I hoped would follow in step with the 2nd Mass was not appearing. The nurse's office was growing stuffy and depressing. There had been two deaths from friendly fire on patrols. People were tense, anxious and wondering why we had stopped so suddenly. People worried of another attack like the one in Boston to happen in Charleston. I had snuck up onto the roof many times, and sometimes I had to come down when Hal was up there.

But after a few days of dullness, panic struck.

A kid was rushed into the nurse's office, a bullet wound in his side. I didn't see his face, but he was definitely my age. Hal dragged me out of there as soon as Anne came rushing in with the cot. I tried to pull away, but he had a tight grip on my arms. When the door was shut, he finally let go and I spun on him.

"Who is that kid?" I said.

"We don't know." he shrugged. "He ran up to us through the forest bleeding, asking for help. Would you like us to throw him back out to the Skitters?"

"And may I ask why exactly I'm not allowed to be in there?"

Hal just looked to the floor, his fingers interlocked with Maggie's. I rolled my eyes, strutting down the hallway to the cafeteria where I located Ben. I yanked him away from Matt, glowering at him.

"What is it, Fae?" he asked, looking nervously at me.

"There's a new kid, he ran up to Hal and Maggie on patrol. I need you to figure out what he's doing here, and who he is."

"Why?" he frowned. He obviously thought I was up to something.

"Because, I think he was from my militia."

His eyes lit up at that, and he was out of there before I could speak another syllable. Matt clung to my side, scared of what was going on. At least one kid other than Ben had taken a liking to me. I guided Matt down the hall to the nurse's office to see Maggie keeping guard. She tensed at the sight of me, but calmed herself after seeing Matt. Matt ran down the hall to find Tom, leaving Maggie and I alone.

"Do you remember any of it?" she murmured. I looked up to her in surprise. "Being harnessed, I mean."

"A little." I shrugged. "Mostly, I just felt empty all the time, like I was just watching from the sidelines while someone else played the game. I had next to no control, only memories of what I'd supposedly done, like in a dream. I don't remember who I was harnessed to, all I know is that I was terrified and covered in a cold sweat until the doctors pulled that harness off."

I shuddered at the memory of it, but quickly dismissed it.

Our conversation was interrupted by the yanking opening of doors, and I expected to see Ben. Instead, it was Dr. Glass.

"We've done all that we can." she said. "Before he went unconscious, he kept repeating a name."

I stiffened. Why would she be telling us this? Me rather, she had her back to Maggie.

"Fae, it was yours."

I nearly collapsed when she said that sentence, sliding down the wall. Maggie tried to talk to me, make me stand up. But I knew immediately who it was. I hadn't made many friends in our militia, because many died each day. I had a younger sister, Jodie. She was nine with long blonde curls, the most adorable thing you'd ever see. She was one of the lucky ones, one of those who weren't captured by the Skitters. The only other friend I had was my boyfriend, Dylan. With a sudden burst of energy, I stood and stormed into the room. Anne tried to pull me back, but when I shot her a glare she backed off. I pulled up a stool, sitting beside him as I gripped his hand in mine.