The Prologue
The girl struggles to get out of her bonds. She writhes in agony and kicks at the creatures that drag her forward. She screams again but the gag in her mouth muffles her terrified words. It's no use; she knows what's coming. Death. It only makes her fight with more of a passionate fury, her nails digging into her wrists and mouth spewing muffled foul words.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzYc3amYLt
The creatures roughly drag her through dirty halls on her back as she tries to look up at them through her blindfold, if she could see her enemies then she could fight them with her ability. She feels something cold brush up against her back and suddenly the floors that were dirt turn into squares of cracked tile. The creatures lift her up into a standing position as her mind goes numb. They are going to kill her and she knows it. She knows what's going to happen, but she has to go down with a fight.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DQPDTWQpl
Hands grasp her biceps and the blindfold rips away from her face. The gag in her mouth falls away and she realizes just how sore her jaw is from screaming. She gasps loud, more out of necessity than shock; she's hyperventilating at the thought of what's to come. Death. No, she thinks, no this can't happen, I'm not supposed to die! But it will happen; she will die.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94LMfei0g8
The room is dark but enough amber light illuminates the room for her to see the many figures standing around her in a wide circle. They stare at her with glowing phosphorus eyes that seem to probe her very soul.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpiZxZmyaP
"What do you want from me?!" She tries to lash out and throw something at them using telekinesis but something seems to pin her down and stop her from using her abilities to free herself. 846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDI1fO9P0E
She feels tendrils of darkness wrap around her throat as a blinding white light explodes into the room. She blinks a few times as her eyes quickly adjust to the light. She knows for sure that she is completely screwed. There are twenty five of the creatures surrounding her, each one carrying an assault riffle with enough ammo to kill a large elephant. She stares at them in a mix of terror and hatred. Each one looks identical with their buzz cut black hair, grey uniforms, jaundice colored skin, and dark reptilian eyes. They all stare at her and she stares back at them with eyes full of malice. If she could free herself, then she could reduce them all to sludge.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXckFgetRR4
She watches as the glowing outline of a door appears on the metal walls. The door opens and another creature throws a boy into the room. The girl cries out in surprise. "Jase! No!" She tries to rush forward but a whack in the head keeps her from running.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0nU5JGv6Z
The boy stares at her and shakes his head. His long sleeved shirt hangs loosely off his body and covers the markings that show he's the good guy. "Andy," he whispers softly beginning to come towards her before a creature wrestles him back. 846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZnEKzBqOe
Two more creatures step through the doorway. One is abnormally tall but beyond that, completely the same. The other creature is the total opposite of the rest. His humanoid eyes are a deep blue, his hair is long and blond, his skin is pale, and his uniform isn't grey but navy blue. He's different which means he's important, whoever he is. 846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvuyby92AI
"Hello, Socius." He replies calmly to her. "You and your partner have two options, one will be life and the other death. It is your choice. Option number one, you admit that you are wrong about your choice to fight us and convert to our cause. Option number two, we'll find out how many other Socius are in the area."846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHugDUMGO0n
She knows what that means, they'll kill her and see how many of her kind can feel her pain. All Socius are cursed to feel the pain of their kind when one dies. Death or life, the choice is hers. But she knows what she has to do. She knows that there is only one right choice even if it is hard.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY87CTFQM3
She spits at him but misses him completely. "Kill me."846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QmnN1OUon
He nods and looks back to the boy. "Not you, he will die first. Do you have any regrets or wishes to change your option?" 846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vZmfXSRCI
She looks at the boy who has become her best friend and shuts her eyes to stop tears from falling down her cheeks. "No." She opens her eyes to see the boy nodding, he knows that it is their only choice. They can't fight here, their abilities combined are not precise enough to kill all of the creatures.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpS2NOshZ6f
The blond haired creature walks back to the boy and yanks him by his head of hair. "Alright, let's make this as painless as possible. Where are the other Socius? I know that you are aware of their locations!" 846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdRJUSMVSo
The boy gulps down his fears. "I don't know where they are, nobody knows where they are."846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkXSMxHtfi
"Tell me, where is Asahel, Simon Valere, Miriam Kallios, and Micah Fari?"846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ904rmtpxD1
He looks at me with scared eyes. "I don't know them. I know nothing!"846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdmxjp1dF5
"Useless fool," the blond creature reaches into his pockets. He comes up with a long serrated knife. The girl doesn't know how such a knife fit into his pockets but she does knows what will happen next. 846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbGBmwUJX9
The boy tries to squirm away in terror but the creature's knife reaches out, spearing him in the chest. He screams in pain. A red rose of blood blooms across his shirt as his eyes roll up in the back of his head. 846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe944vaFUXb
The girl screams and tries to reach the boy. All the while she screams his name in terror and pain. Pain lights up her body as she feels his suffering as he dies. She can feel the knife in her own chest, the blade digging into her heart. The imaginary pain stops all too suddenly and leaves her feeling like the shed skin of a cicada. Tears fall from her eyes as she gasps for breath and grasps the fabric of her shirt near her heart.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGllQDONAP
"He's dead," she mutters as she feels the loneliness spread throughout her body. No more pain, that only means one thing. She wants to sob but sobbing can't help her now. "He's dead!" Rage envelops her but she can't do anything because half of her is dead and the other half is as unstable as plutonium.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDddz5bzsNL
"Yes, good observation." The creature grabs the knife from the boy's chest and wipes dark red blood off against his pant legs as if he didn't just kill someone. "Do you know where your friends are?"846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPhoqiFzBg
"Even if I did I would rather die than tell you!" She manages to hit him this time with a thick glob of saliva. She watches him casually wipe the glob away from his eyes and smile wickedly.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYClAIp4Ub
"Now how old are you little Socius?"846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTRZboTgNk
"Old enough for you to kill me," she asserts knowing that it's the answer he wants. She feels the metal of his knife against her throat and smells the iron blood of her partner. She can't help but glance over at the dead body and feel rage and sadness. So much sadness.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBsE074kRJ
"Well, it seems we have all the time in the world to become acquainted." The creature's smile grows wider. "Let's make the most of our time until you figure out something to say."846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUpsXV5SKH
He presses the knife against her neck and begins to cut away through the delicate skin. She screams in agony.846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAUwAEyWp8
846Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXv4lGOBgF
