TAINTED ROSE

Chapter 24

Sorry again for the long wait. Life is hectic and crazy.

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“Nat!” Adolpha rushed forward toward the ISH, but was stopped by Ally who noticed the trap before she did.

“Idiot! You can’t save your friends if you die!” She berated Adolpha.

“Sorry, I was reckless.” Adolpha rubbed the back of her neck, like she did when she was embarrassed.

  “And it’s not just ‘my’ friends, Al.”

Adolpha looked straight into Ally’s eyes.

“They’re yours too. Friends are not just limited to one person though, just like love. It’s shared together. We are friends, through weal and woe, we will stick together.”

Extending her hand for a fist bump, Ally smiled; the warmth emanating from the other girl contagious.

“Yeah, we are friends.” She smiled. Ally never had any real friends in this class. Sure, she hung around Katy and the rest but she knew, deep in her heart, they weren’t really her friends. They were just being polite. But in this case, it was pointless to make any friends.

To be a successful assassin for the government, one must be emotionally detached. But ever since this ‘exam’ had started, she began to feel comfortable around Sherry and the others. She was relatively fond of the stoner and the quiet companion, and her group. Clique as some might put it. But they were not snobby or talkative like the rest, they were genuinely nice people, and she often wondered the reason why they enrolled into the school.

  “For my brother, I will live.”

 “I heard a call, and I came, to answer.”

 “For Sherry’s sake, I will protect her.”

“I will not let death take any more of my beloved away.”

They all had such noble reasons, with the exception of some. Sherry and Pearlyn wanted to protect her friends. Helen was forced but decided to dedicate her survival to her late brother. Adolpha wanted to find out who called her. But they all had common goals to protect each other.

  “Let’s go save those precious to us.”