Eradicated Freedom

Chapter 2 (6206)

Bonnie hated needles. However the way things were going she would love them by the end the week, possibly the end of the day. The first bit hadn’t been too bad a two hour IQ test that made her dizzy because there were too many circles and lines and other shapes followed by reading, writing and listening exams that she lost track of time on and a maths exam she couldn’t wait to end.

By the time she was allowed to have something to eat for breakfast at quarter to ten her head was spinning and she was contemplating taking the medicine tablets her father had given her even though she had sworn to leave them for her brother, before she could make up her mind though they were being rushed out of the room and into another lined with six chairs. Seven people stood in the room, one by each chair and one in front of them holding a clipboard.

“Hello students.” The women holding the clipboard said her voice filled with enthusiasm. “So you have completed your mental tests, congratulations, now we have your response tests and after that your physical ones. Before you ask it’s just easier for us to have them this way round.” she  flashed a winning smile and Bonnie instinctively stepped back, noticing as she did so that one or two of the others in her group stepped forward. “Now we have five syringes here that are filled with a different chemical to stimulate different hormones we aren't going to tell you what they are because that’s part of the problem, while the sirum is in place we will ask you a variety of questions and you need to answer them honestly. So as you can see we have six seats and there are twenty of you so those whose names I don’t call out will have to come with me.” She coughed and Bonnie prepared herself for the long wait. “Bonnie Morgan.” she jumped but stepped forward and walked over to the far chair as indicated. She sat down and examined her classmates while the man next to her looked through some paper work.

They were a mixture of boys and girls from all over South and of different ancestors, mingled ethnicity was common in South nowadays but less so when everybody was originally locked up, ethnicity was still there as was religion so people kept to themselves but its hard with a population of about two hundred and fifty million in only a hundred square miles of land, so people started to mix. It’s strange what a common enemy can do. The oldest was about eleven and the youngest maybe five, as the woman lead the people not doing the test away Bonnie noticed that they were the youngest children all the older ones had been chosen to go first, she was the youngest staying behind.

“So Bonnie.” said the man at her chair making her jump. “You ready?” She shook her head and fidgeted slightly in the chair, the man smiled. “Okay then, I’m Jonathan Rivers, I’ve been doing this kind of thing my whole life.”

“How?” Bonnie interrupted. “How did you manage to evade the guards your whole life?”

“The TE is very good. Even if you fail your tests so much that you won't be emitted into the school they’ll protect you.” He smiled.

“The TE?”

“Third Enemy.” The Third Enemy were the gang which controlled the city, technically the Slain weren't allowed a government but that was what the TE was and they provided everything a government should schooling, basic health care, food and water but they were powerful and ruthless killing anybody they could, bribing guards for land and subjecting harsh rules upon their people along with a fierce rivalry to the next biggest gang the Supremacy. If you lived in South you were under the rule of the TE, the Supremacy or the guards and the TE was definitely who you wanted at your back if you got into a disagreement.