THE CULLING TRIAL

CHAPTER 2 — THE MARKING CEREMONY

They said the world is a small place, well, in here it's quite smaller.

The odds of meeting a familiar stranger is higher than going into a new relationship. Well, in Tobi's term and this particular scenario isn't far from that. 

"What are the odds." I glared at him "To meet you again as a broker."

"Among other things." Pierce replied as he pulled out his cigarette and released a smoke into the room before walking in. 

Sera pushed past me to meet him, stretching her hand out

Pierce stared at it like it had disease on it which made her mad. "We had a deal." she gritted 

"And?" asked Pierce which stunned her 

"And? she repeated "You are supposed to pay for accessing them. I know how difficult it was to lay hands on them which makes them precious to you."

Pierce looked at me briefly before facing nodding to the enforcers.

"Gentlemen."

The twins screamed as enforcers moved past me. I lunged forward, but something metallic snapped around my wrists, yanking my arms behind my back.

"Cent! Vivi!" I fought the restraints. "It's going to be okay—"

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Pierce said quietly.

An enforcer had Cent in his arms, the boy's legs kicking as he sobbed. The other approached Vivi, who pressed against the wall, shaking.

"Please," I begged, struggling to grab them "They're kids. Take me instead!"

The enforcers looked at him, waiting for his order

"I'm only going to agree because it will be cheaper for me." and swung his head to his side to gesture them to take me. The cuffs were locked on my wrist, cutting my skin. 

He pulled out a single bundle and flung it at Sera which added more to her confused as I could see veins popping on her neck. 

"This isn't—" 

"We agreed for the children." he cuts her off "Take that and get out of my face."

They led me out to where a sleek transport waited, carved from black glass and silver. A Razorwing. Military grade.

"Get in."

"I can walk on my own," I snarled, but they shoved me forward.

My head was covered with a black hood. The holding facility smelled like disinfectant trying to cover something worse, fear, despair given physical form. Beneath that was recycled air and something organic and rotten.

I sat trapped in a concrete cell barely wide enough to lie down, breathing stale air under harsh screen. This was my pathetic ending, waiting on a metal bench to be shipped off with other marked prisoners.

Morning came too soon. A different enforcer retrieved me, smaller, with a woman's voice underneath the gear.

"Move."

Pierce waited in a staging area, checking his tablet. When he saw me, he looked up with that unsettling smile.

"Sleep well?"

Before I could respond, a syringe pierced my skin. The world tilted and everything went black.

I woke to a blinding light. Beside me were nine other teenagers facing a massive amphitheater packed with thousands. Families watched us like a natural disaster.

I found Tobi and Mila in the third section, horror on their faces. When Mila saw me, she pressed her hand to her mouth, tears streaming.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed through speakers. "Welcome to the quarterly marking ceremony!"

The crowd erupted in skin-crawling cheers.

A woman in white robes took the stage as screens showed close-ups of each of us. When my face appeared, the crowd's reaction was different. Excited, hungry, like they recognized me.

"Please join us in the Anthem of Sacrifice."

Music swelled, and thousands sang in unison.

When it ended, Doctor Voss appeared on screen, white hair and thick glasses magnifying his eyes unsettlingly.

"Friends, we gather to witness humanity's greatest triumph, our refusal to surrender to extinction."

More cheers. Someone waved a banner with my name.

After his speech came another man appeared, middle-aged, well-fed, with practiced confidence.

"My fellow citizens," Thorne began, "survival requires sacrifice. Hope begins with catching them young!"

"AND MOLDING THEM STRONG!" the crowd roared back.

The familiar call-and-response sent ice through my veins.

An enforcer hauled me to my feet. After effects from the stun weapon made my legs shake.

"Citizens, please welcome this quarter's chosen candidates as they begin the Walk of Honor!"

The Walk. I'd seen it broadcast every quarter, never imagining I'd take those steps.

A corridor opened through the crowd. Barriers slid aside, creating a path flanked by thousands of staring faces.

The blonde girl ahead began walking. We followed.

I spotted Cent and Vivi halfway down, pressed against the barrier with enforcers flanking them.

"Kae!" Cent screamed.

Everything went wrong. The twins broke from their handlers, throwing themselves against the barrier. Cent squeezed through a gap, his thin frame slipping past grasping hands.

He slammed into me, arms wrapping around my waist. "Please don't go," he whispered. "Please, Kae, please don't leave us."

The crowd erupted. Enforcers converged with stun weapons.

"Cent, you have to let go," I said, voice breaking.

"No! I won't let them take you!" his grip tightened on my sleeves "I don't want you to go."

"But I have to." Yet Cent didn't budge. 

I have to kneel before him. "Look at me, Cent." he did. "I'm not going to long, I'll see what I have to do and hop out as quick as I can."

"But—" he cleaned his nose with his sleeve "people don't always come back when they are gone."

"I will." I assured him of that even though I'm far from that. "So in the meantime, I'll like you to watch over Vivi for me until I get back. Will you do me that favor?" He nods "Thanks, I know I can count on you cause you're the only one Vivi is close to."

"Anf make sure you get come back to us." I nodded. He pulled out his pinky "Pinky swear."

This was my first time seeing him do that, I normally do that with Vivi. I wrapped my pinky around his "Pinky swear." I did the same for Vivi and pulled them into an embrace. 

Tobi vaulted barriers with Mila behind, fighting through the crowd.

"Tobi!" I called as enforcers pried Cent away. "Take care of them! Get them away from Sera!"

"We'll do the best we can!" he shouted back.

They dragged screaming Cent back. Vivi reached through barriers, tears streaming. An enforcer shoved me forward.

"Keep moving!"

I stumbled ahead, watching the twins disappear. Cent's anguished face was the last thing I saw before the transport door slammed shut.

The cramped transport held all ten of us on bench seating. Nobody talked. Twenty minutes felt like hours.

A sleek train with silver curves and tinted windows waited, an elegant interior with soft lighting and comfortable seats. Under different circumstances, I might have enjoyed it.

An hour in, I heard something that made my hair stand up, a low roar building to shake the air. Something massive and angry in the wasteland, getting closer.

I pressed against the window, glimpsing movement in the distance. Something definitely not human.

The train lurched sideways, throwing us from our seats as whatever was out there decided to attack.