986 (Complex Series, #1)

Chapter Twenty-Five

She slides open the door and ushers us inside.

A line of Officials wait inside. A holographic number floats above each of their heads. They’re our Complex numbers. I find the Official with 986 floating above her head.

The Official in charge commands, “Stand by the Official with your number. She is now in charge of you. It’s her instructions you must obey to pass the test.”

I walk over to my Official, trying to judge how she’ll treat me. It’s useless, she’s as emotionless as all the others. I stop in front of her, unsure of what I’m supposed to do.

Pairs of Officials and girls begin to leave this room, going back to the hall. Where are they going? Are we going to go to the same place?

After about half of the pairs have left the room, my Official motions for me to follow. She leads me after the other pairs into the hall. Why did we walk all the way here only to leave? They must have wanted to get us far enough away from the other girls for our tests.

The pairs ahead of us disappear into rooms on either sides of the hall. My Official stops in front of a door and we step inside.

I clench my teeth to keep from screaming. A pale creature, just as Sienna described it, lunges in a metal bar cage. I stumble backwards, bumping against the wall.

Translucent skin. Pure white eyes with no pupils. Chilling screams. Why is it here?

It’s not alone in the cage. There’s a small girl, a rope knotted around her ankle. I follow the trail of the rope with my eyes. The other end is tied to metal bar.

The thing leaps towards her. She flinches and screams, but the rope holds her in place. Something stops the creature from reaching her. It pounces forward, but bounces back from an invisible wall.

The Official behind me speaks. “We call it the Ecru. It’s used for extremely difficult children. Sometimes they need more than simple questions to give answers. It may sound cruel, but some answers could save other children’s lives. Besides, the Ecru are specially designed to not severely hurt people. They inflict minor wounds, preying mostly on the mental weakness of fear.”

The Ecru throws himself at the invisible barrier. The girl cries out and tries to get away, tripping instead.

“The Ecru is only used on rebellious kids. As long as you follow the rules, you’ll be safe from them.”

Then I’m not safe.

The Ecru goes to attack the girl again. Instead of being thrown back, the invisible barrier seems to disappear. It flies straight towards the girl.

I sprint forwards, instinctively going to help her.

“Stop. She earned it.” The Official calls out.

I halt as the Ecru lands on the girl. I have to go save her, but I can’t. What’s more important, that girl’s life or keeping my rebellion a secret? If my defiance is discovered, I could give away Piper, Josh, and Sienna. Besides, the Official said they Ecru can’t kill anyone.

What did she do to ‘earn’ it? Did she show some type of disloyalty or something worse?

I have to help her. I can’t stand still as a monster attacks this little girl. What if I was in her position?

I want to help her, but I can’t make my feet move. They refuse to disobey the Official and betray my defiance.

The Official clears her throat dramatically. I glance at her, but her face is blank. I turn back around.