Imperfection

Imperfection Chapter 4

"We're just like you,"

The words echo in my mind. Like me? Nobody is like me.

"...How?" I croak in disbelief.

Truth bites her lip and looks down to the floor. "We're all mistakes,"

"Errors," Modesty adds.

"Flaws," Walker notes.

"Imperfections?" I suggest.

Truth nods. "You get it,"

I clear my throat and prop myself up on my elbows.

Truth sighs solemnly. "We're different from other people in Beta."

My lips form a straight line and I nod. "I know. It's not fair,"

We sit in silence for a moment and stare each other. It's clear we're all thinking of the same thing; why does it have to be us?

Truth's loud voice violently shatters the silence.

Her eyes are cast down. "I used to think I was a Sapphire so I could fit in with all the other girls, but you see, I don't really look like them. Nobody wants to be friends with the girl with red eyes,"

Truth's hair looks as if it has been soaked in bleach for years. Her skin is pale, almost sickly. Pale, blond girls aren't that rare in Beta but what makes Truth stand out the most are her eyes. Her irises are as crimson as fresh blood. They shine through the darkness, giving the room an eerie atmosphere.

She swallows loudly and sighs.

I never thought I would ever actually meet anyone like her.

Modesty sighs. "I... um... I'm not very good in social situations..."

"What's wrong with that?" I ask.

Modesty is silent. She looks away from me and rubs her hands together, nervously.

I look to Walker, who stares back at me. He doesn't say anything, so I begin to speak.

"I don't really know what I am," I admit solemnly. "I'm just different,"

"Different how?" Truth asks. "Besides your physical appearance, of course."

I shrug, and then wince from a sharp pain in my shoulder. "I've always just acted differently from other people my age,"

"Example?"

I close my eyes and allow my thoughts to whirl around my head. "I never fit in, no matter what. Nobody shared my same interests. I would always be the only person to ever ask why. Everyone else was programmed to stay silent and recite facts without reason,"

She nods. "The Dux Ducis don't want us to question. They want us to just live without thinking,"

"But how do they expect us to live like that? Without even wondering why we do what we do?" My voice comes out desperate and confused.

Modesty shrugs and but still says nothing.

Truth glares at Walker, smirking. "So, you know why we're here. What about you?"

Walker purses his lips. "It's not important,"

She looks shocked. "Well, you're only on a train leading to some random camp where we will most likely be killed. That isn't important at all,"

He sighs and shakes his head.

After a few moment of silence, he speaks. "My Caretakers didn't receive me from the Genus,"

To become Caretakers in Beta, a pair must fill out a document and mail it in to the Dux Ducis. Within a month, the pair will receive an infant from the Genus, the department where children come from. I have heard that in the Praeterita, couples could have their OWN children. It seems impossible to me how a human can produce another human without the help of a machine.

"What do you mean?" Truth tilts her head in confusion.

Walker clears his throat. "My Caretakers made me without the Dux Ducis,"

"How?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I don't really care. They made a mistake and it cost them their lives. Now it'll cost mine,"

I stare at him. "That's it?"

"What's it?"

"You're just giving up like that?"

"It's not like I have a choice. I was -"

I cut him off. "You do have a choice. We all do. You're just choosing the easy way out,"

"Oh? Then tell me what the other ways are,"

I feel myself scowl and open my mouth to speak but Modesty stops me.

"Hush," she whispers, holding a finger to her cherry lips. "The train has stopped,"

Genus- Birth