REVOLUTION: A Rebel Among Monsters ✔

Sixteen••The Invasive Option

No matter how hard she stared at the door, it didn't reopen. Melaynia didn't return, apologize, accept her results, accept her new life.

Valnia waded through the recruits clustered nearby, shoved past those crowding the corridors and the Common Room—and never glimpsed her sister.

She must have gone to her bedroom.

Valnia wouldn't give up. Stomping like an angry giant wanting to squash any tiny being in its passage, she stormed to Melaynia's quarters and knocked. "Mel, we need to talk!"

"Go away, Val! Until you've fixed my issue, don't bother me!" Melaynia's muffled yell—though close to the door—fizzled out into the hallway. Luckily, no recruits lingered in the area.

With another round of knocking—more insistent, this time—Valnia jiggled the doorknob... but Melaynia had locked it. "My hands are tied! I don't have that kind of power, don't you get it?" She huffed, smacking both palms against the door's thick wooden surface. "Skipping school... it's not possible. But if you're serious, come with me... we'll talk to Lexa, okay? See what she suggests? We can't not get along, Mel. I'm your supervisor."

Melaynia growled. "You're my sister!" She kicked the door, and a loud thump sent Valnia backwards. "And you can go talk to Lexa for me! Make it happen! I have no problem waiting here, because I will not go to school!"

"You're being really childish, so stop playing—" A door creaked open down the hallway, freezing Valnia's speech, stilling her heart.

She craned her neck, curious to see who came to interrupt her failure at coaxing Melaynia out of her room—and released a breath of relief when seeing Lexa marching over to her, braid swishing, glasses pressed hard over her impatient gray eyes. She held a clipboard and squinted at Valnia, pursing her lips. "What are you doing here?" With one quick glance at the door Valnia hunched over, she nodded. "Ah, Melaynia. Well, perfect timing, because we need to talk about her."

It took all of Valnia's energy not to snort. "What did she do?"

"More like what she didn't do." Lexa held the clipboard against her torso as she leaned forward, whispering, "she avoided her appointment at the Infirmary today. The appointment. The blood."

Valnia gulped. "Ah, great. Just great." She winced. "Another thing to negotiate with her, then." Lexa's head cocked. "I'm sorry, but... this was a bad idea. I have no control over her."

A flash of sympathy flickered over Lexa's features, before her eyes turned cold, charcoal-hued. "She'll go to the Cell if she doesn't drink, Valnia. I can't prevent or delay it. The Monsters want her in school now. We need her to cooperate."

Valnia scoffed, turning away from the Main Attendant Supervisor. "Lexa, I—"

Lexa's hand flew up, inches from Valnia's face, stopping her excuses. "Use whatever means necessary, but get her to the Infirmary. This is urgent. I give you..." she tipped her clipboard back and glanced at it, "one hour. Then I'll have no choice. She needs to understand how things work here."

Before Valnia had a chance to complain, the gray-haired woman spun on her heels and scurried to the Common Room.

Valnia slammed her fist on the door. "Did you hear that, Mel? Huh? Why must you be so difficult?"

"Because you all lied," spat Melaynia, spite and rage flaring up in her tone.

With a rumbling roar, Valnia deflated against the door, sliding down to her knees. "Enough is enough. Stop being a child. You're doing this on purpose, to avoid the blood!" Melaynia groaned some indecipherable curse on the other side. "Watch your tongue! Trust me, the sooner you drink the blood, the sooner we'll start your regimen and we might reevaluate you."