Contagious - Chapter 4

I stumble towards the table, taking in everything I see - the chandeliers, the guards, the hundreds and hundreds of kids. I see something that looks like a trophy case and I squint to try to see it better. I give up, turning just in time to see the tall guy’s chest just before I run. My face smashes against someone’s chest and I’m thrown back. I land heavily on my butt. A hand reaches down to me and I grab it. The guy hauls me to my feet with surprising strength.

"Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry," I gasp, looking up to see who I ran into. The guy smiles down at me, his blue eyes and blonde hair sparkling under the light. He looks sort of familiar, but he’s dressed too nicely for me to actually know him. "Day dreamer, huh?" He chuckles softly at his own joke. Almost like he’s laughing at me.

My eyes drift back down to his shirt curiously. The insignia of the military glitters in the top corner of his polo. He’s and Immune. No wonder he’s dressed so nice, his features so perfect. I grit my teeth. "On second thought," I say angrily, staring back up to his perfect face, "I’m not sorry. Jerk."

I push past him and walk faster, pushing through the crowd, not looking back. Soon I reach the lines at the table, and I push through to the second one. I step into place and lean forward to see how far until its my turn. The line seems to go on forever. I sigh, tapping my foot subconsciously. Someone taps my shoulder and I whirl around, expecting to see the Immune I ran into. Instead I’m greeting by another girl who looks to be about my age. She’s pretty, with curly black hair and startlingly bright green eyes. She wears a t-shirt torn slightly at the bottom, jeans, and combat boots. She smiles at me. "I can't believe they’re making us wait in this line."

I blink. "Uh, yeah, I guess."
"So what’s your name?"
"Trin," I say cautiously.

She nods. "I’m Rae." She reaches back and pulls some guy’s hoodie, dragging a boy into our little circle. He looks at her, slightly annoyed. "And this is Flynn."

The guy glances down at me. He stares at me silently a moment before staring back out at the crowd. It’s obvious, he’s Rae’s twin. He has the same bright green eyes and black hair. But he’s a lot less bubbly, more silent. "Hi," I say softly, "I’m Trin."

His eyes jerk back to my face quickly, like he forgot I was standing here. "Cool."
I press my lips together in a line. "Nice guy," I say sarcastically to Rae.
She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, he’s a jerk sometimes. But what can you do? I’m stuck with him for, like, ever. It’s a twin thing."

I nod, totally not understanding what she’s saying.
"Anyway," she breathes, "What district are you from?"
"A medical district, south of here." I say, glad for the change of subject.
She nods, tilting her head to the side. "What’s your family like?"
I shrug. "Mom, dad, little brother. You?"
"Eh, it’s just Flynn and me. We’re orphans, so it was pretty much only a matter of time until we got recruited."

I can’t help but feel bad for her. I can’t imagine life without my family, but I guess I’ll have to, for the time being. "I’m sorry."

"Don’t be. Things happen. Like this. Can’t say I ever wanted to join the Contagious Army. Too much death." She looks past my shoulder. "But at least the line’s moving."

I turn, seeing that she’s right. Only a few people stand between us and the table. I look at the other lines, my forehead creasing as I stare in confusion. I’d thought our line was long, but the other lines seemed to be at least three times the size. And almost all the kids were being steered in those directions. "Why is our line so short?" I ask Rae.

This time, Flynn stops his searching the crowd and turns his attention to me. "The special soldiers are in this line," he says, simply.
"Special soldiers?" I ask, and Rae turns to look at Flynn, confused.

Flynn blanches under our stares and shrugs, turning back to the crowd. Rae turns to me and I turn to her. "Special shoulders?" I repeat.

She shrugs. "He repeats what he hears. Probably heard some soldier saying that. But I wonder what a special soldier is. Maybe an extra-awesome soldier? I would love to give all those Gone a major butt-kicking!"

I laugh as she does a high karate kick. Someone behind me clears their throat and I turn, seeing it’s now my turn at the table. The woman raises her eyebrows, her lips poised in a perfect pout. I frown. "Name?" She asks blandly.
"Trinnith Bernard."

She rifles through some papers until she comes across the one she’s looking for. She pulls it out of the pile and presses her lips together. "Trinnith Bernard. Room 12A in the Special Quarters. Rooming with Rae Dall. Meal group C, 9:00, 13:00, and 19:00. Lights off at 22:00. Questions to military officer Red Steward. Any questions?"

I shake my head and take the paper. "Next?" She calls.
I turn and Rae squeals. "Roomies!" She holds up her papers and gives me a high-five. "I told Flynn I’d see him at dinner. Let’s head up to the front. I can’t wait to see what this crazy Commander Skye has to say."

I giggle and grip Rae’s hand as we weave through the crowd to find a seat for Skye’s speech.

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Perched on the edge of our seats in the third row, Rae leans over to me and whispers, "There’s a guy staring at you next to the stage."

I look to where she’s pointing and see the Immune I ran into. He looks away quickly, trying to hide his curious expression with boredom. I frown and turn back to Rae. "He’s no one I know." She glances suspiciously at me and opens her mouth. "Oh, really? ‘Cause I could have sworn -"

A buzz sweeps the room as Commander Skye takes the stage. She looks remarkably young for someone a little over thirty - as I’d heard on the news one day - and very, very menacing. Her presence controls the room the minute she steps in it. I now know why the Council chose her to lead the army.

All the kids are silent and she grabs a microphone from one of the waiting officers. "Welcome," she begins, "Welcome to my army. Welcome to the most challenging experience of your young lives. Welcome to the chance you have to prove yourself to those of the Council. Welcome, children, welcome." She pauses to push her hair behind her ears. "Many of you have been recruited for specific purposes - which will be carried through with. Others of you have been recruited to simply fight. You shall be trained every day for as long as it takes for you to understand and follow through with my orders. There will be challenges, risks, death, but more ultimately – success. Together we shall conquer the Gone, and the Contagion itself!" She holds the microphone up and a few people cheer, mostly the officers. "When - and only when - we are done, you shall return to your families, unless you choose to stay in the capitol. Now come, children. Make me proud." She puts the microphone away and walks out of the room. I clench my fists.

"Wow," Rae whispers, "She sounds so powerful. And so just. Too bad she ruins her perfectness by taking kids right from their homes."
I laugh softly, squeezing her hand. "Thanks, Rae."
She stares at me with her pretty green eyes. "For what?"
"For knowing what’s right."

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Row by row, the officers pick up kids and drag them down the separate halls to their rooms. Rae shivers next to me as one of the officers approaches us. He squints down at us. "Wait, are you guys in the Special Quarters?" He removes his hand from the gun on his belt.

"Y-yeah," I say.

He grabs my arm and hauls me out of the chair. He grabs Rae with his other hand. We walk out of the main room into one of the nicer halls, the thick blue carpet squishing under our feet. "Where are we going?" Rae asks.

He laughs condescendingly. "To your room. Where else?"
"I don’t know, maybe we’d be better off in the guillotine," I say, suddenly angry at him for being mean to Rae.
He stops, releasing Rae, and presses me up against the wall. "What did you say, chickee?"
I sneer at him, "I said that may be we’d be better off in the guillotine. Death is better than a permanent prison."

He places his hand on his gun. "Are you so sure? Maybe we can test it out."
I raise my eyebrows. "Like killing a cadet’s going to do you any good."
He shoves me against the wall harder. Rae shrieks and pounds on his back. "Leave her alone! Leave her alone!"

The soldier whirls and smacks Rae, who whimpers and falls to the ground. "Hey!" I scream, bringing my knee up between his legs. He groans and clutches himself. I run out from his grip and rush to Rae. "You little -" he begins. He reaches out and grabs me by my hair, pulling me back to him. He fumbles with the gun in his belt, pulling it out and fixing it on my head. I close my eyes and wait for the sound, but I don’t hear it.

"Hey!" Someone screams. "What’re you doing?!"

I open my eyes and turn to see the Immune boy running towards us. The soldier drops his gun awkwardly and swallows, untwining his fingers from my thick, brown hair. "I was just…she was…I had to…it was…"

"You think Commander wants you killing two of her best cadets?!" The boy roars.
The soldier flinches, dropping the gun. "N-no, sir."
"Then why were you about to?!"
"I-I’m sorry, sir, but she was back mouthing me and assaulting me and -"
"I kicked your balls because you hit my friend!" I snap.

They blonde boy looks at me, trying to hide back a smile. He turns back to the soldier. "You are dismissed from duty for the night." The soldier nods solemnly and walks back down the hall, leaving me with Rae and the boy.

"How did you get him to listen to you?" Rae asks.
The boy blinks, like he’s just now realizing Rae’s here, too. "I…it’s complicated."

"So is everything else, I see." I say bitterly.
I turn and head down the hall.
"Wait, Trin." Rae calls, hurrying after me.
"Don’t you need help finding your room?" The boy calls after us.
"No." I say before Rae has the chance to say otherwise.

I grip her wrist and together, we continue on until we reach our door. We step inside and I slam the door, shutting out everyone else.