War of the Sexes

Chapter 14

"The. Boys. And. The. Girls." John repeated slowly

"What do you mean?" I asked, utterly lost. My eyes moved back and forth between the two boys in front of me. John's eyes never left me.

"Dude, she might not actually know" Clayton said in a low voice

"Its possible...but its more likely she's faking it" John muttered under his breath. Clayton looked at me, holding my eyes. I bit my lip, holding myself.

"John, we found her in one of those tubes" Clayton said "Its possible she's been in hyper-sleep since before the war"

"That would make her nearly 300 years old, dumbass. No hyper-sleep lasts that long" John snapped

"They say the 21st century had an experimental drug they gave to the sleepers. It could have something to do with her abnormally long hyper-sleep"

What's hyper-sleep? What does he mean 300 years old? What tube? The questions buzzed through my heads. Questions I was too afraid to find the

answers to.

"Girl!" John shouted, my eyes darting to him. I knew I looked pathetic, sitting here half-naked, hair wild and dirty, eyes full of the terror I felt inside me. I

couldn't control any of the way I looked and I could tell John noticed all of it. His composure hinted the enjoyment he gained from seeing me like this. A small

bubble of anger poked at the back of my mind, but fear for my life pushed it away.

"Are you from before?" John asked

"B-before?" I whispered

"You know, before the Great War" Clayton said in a calm tone.

"World War t-Two?" I asked, fully knowing that wasn't the answer they were looking for. Unfortunately, that was the last war that would be large

enough to be considered 'great'.

For the first time, John's eyes left me for Clayton's. They exchanged a look, one unreadable to my eyes. I watched them both, wondering what was

going on through their minds.

"How old are you, girl?" John questioned me, a strange expression on his face.

"S-seventeen" I answered

"And when were you born?"

"March 3rd."

"What year, stupid girl" John snapped

"N-nineteen- ninety-three"

There was a short silence.

"Holy shit." Clayton breathed out. John didn't say anything, but I noticed his eyebrows had risen. Both of them stared at me. I felt a blush creep

across my cheeks for the first time in forever. The heat was unfamiliar to my skin, yet I knew actually what it was. I lowered my eyes, biting my lip, hoping I

hadn't said something wrong.

"Do you know what year it is now?" John asked

I looked up at him, shaking my head slowly