The Choosing

Chapter Seventeen

The sound of whispers reaching my ears told me I didn't die in my sleep. I sat up slowly and tried to listen closely to the voices.

They were coming from all over the room. Some unintelligible, some so quiet you wouldn't care to try and listen. They all said different things.

"I bet they're after you."

"I wonder if they'll kill you in your sleep.."

"Poison is in the air!"

Why was I hearing all of this? This doesn't make any sense. Who's after me?

"What do want?" I asked.

The voices just got louder and louder. More words and phrases. All telling some story of my timely demise.

Hot tears started to fall down my face. How couldn't the guards hear? Why weren't they telling the voices to stop? Maybe the guards were in on it. Maybe they were the voices.

"Maybe slitting your wrists will help," once voice whispered.

"Yeah, maybe," I muttered.

I mindlessly searched the room. I needed something sharp. If I cut myself the voices would stop.

I hurried over to the desk. Pencil. Not sharp enough. Ruler. Could break it, but would make too much noise.

My eyes set on the handheld pencil sharpener. Perfect. I struggled to get the blade out of it.

"Faster Evie- Weavie," a voice teased, "Hurry up!"

I tossed the sharpener to the ground and smashed the flimsy plastic with my boot. I gripped the blade and held it to my left wrist.

"One long cut down each wrist."

"Hurry up Evie!"

"Nobody wants you anyway."

"They'll get you if you don't"

Breathing hard I smashed the blade into my soft skin. Just as I was about to drag the blade down my wrist a scream made me drop it.

I turned around and a dark-skinned girl was shoved into my room. Her short, dark curls outlined her tear-stained face. Her clothes were covered in dirt and blood. She was beautiful despite it all though. Even as she slid down the metal door and cried.

She turned to me, "They killed her! They killed my girlfriend!"

My eyes widened. I didn't know what to say to comfort her. What scared me even more though, was that the voices were gone.

It seemed as if my body moved on its own though as I walked over to the girl and hugged her.

She sobbed into me as I sat there uncomfortable and scared. How did this girl survive? Why was she here?

When it seemed her sobs had stopped I pulled away from her body.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Essence. What's your name?"

"I'm Evelyn. I'm so sorry about your girlfriend. They killed a lot of people I loved too."

She sighed, "I had nobody but her. My parents hated the idea of us and kicked me out at sixteen. We ran away to the outside. No with the exiled people, just away. We had built a nice sop in the woods. The Town knew, but let us as long as we kept up without duties. Then everybody got massacred. We heard screams and tried to help. But they killed without mercy."

She choked as tears swam in her eyes.

"They killed her right in front of me. Slit her throat. I tried to save her, but I couldn't. I watched the life leave her eyes," she paused for a moment as if remembering what happened, "They were coming back so I hid. I hid underneath her dead body. I tried to attack one of the guards when they came by but they caught me and brought me here."