The Twenty Five Percent Rayanna

Angry

                Now, what do I do? How do I survive this? I let my feet go out from under me and slide down the wall, beside the door. I wrap my arms around my legs and just cry. Tears streak down my face but I don't care. What else is there left to do? How did I end up in this situation in the first place? I stop crying and scream as loud as I can at the injustice of it all. I don't stop screaming until my throat is sore, and I find my anger depleted, replaced with sorrow and what could have been.

            Should I have done what Kat wanted to in the first place? No. That was a stupid idea. The very thought of killing someone is ridiculous. But maybe we should have just stayed away. I'm sure we could have survived out there on our own. After all, we did it for the scavenger hunt. Of course, that had the small issue of Gelyan trying to kill me. And that creature is loose out there, it could kill us at any time. Kat mentioned that it slaughtered a whole army. But what about Altair? Can't he save me from this fate? I thought he loved me. I thought he wanted to get married. Where is he? If he would only just come here, maybe I could convince him to change his mind about putting us through the Cleansing. Or convince the others that they made the wrong choice. Maybe he will come and see me before that happens. But I better have a really good plan to convince him to change his mind.

             I hear a beep and then my door opens to reveal Altair. Relief floods my body and I jump to my feet. "Altair?" I question.

             "Hello, Rayanna. Are you okay?" he asks walking into my apartment. The door slides shut with a whooshing sound.

             "Am I okay? I'm about to be murdered, Cleansed as you guys call it, so no, I'm not okay." I say, angrily.

             "Your life partner, Kat, is a traitor. Did you know that?" he asks, crossing his arms across his chest.

                 My anger quickly evaporates like a balloon deflating. "Traitor? How do you mean?"

                "Apparently she is working with a group trying to infiltrate the inner circle of the Dini." He responds.

                  Do I dare lie to him? If he knows that, there is a good chance that he knows or at least suspects that I know that as well. Maybe if I tell the truth, or at least part of the truth, he will change his mind. I mean, what is the worst that he can do? Kill me? He already has promised to do that. Of course, Kat did save my life when Gelyan tried to drown me... "Yeah, she said something about that."

               "Why didn't you report it?"

                "Report what? That she wanted to become a Dini? It's not like she told me what she was planning."

                   "She never told you that she was planning on killing me?" he asks, staring at me like he can see into my soul.

                  Keep calm. Keep your face blank. Show zero emotion and look him straight in the eyes. "Not that I'm aware of." Altair frowns at me. Why do I feel like I'm on trial? "I mean, in the middle of the scavenger hunt, she may have mentioned something. But we were scared and angry about various things. Who doesn't say stupid stuff when scared and angry?" I ask.

                "Hmph." He grunts.

                  "Is that why you sentenced us to die? Because you thought she wanted you dead?"

                 He uncrosses his arms. "That's exactly why I sentenced her to be Cleansed. Because despite what you may think, I have done some research on our Copaie friend, and she is not who she pretended to be. She is not someone who is tired of her life as a soldier. She was a excellent soldier, she won many awards. Nothing in her life points to someone who is ready to leave all of that behind. And if she isn't ready to leave that behind, then the question remains, why is she here? The only thing I can figure is that she was sent here by some of my enemies to put a stop to everything happening here. If that's what she is here for, then its best if I put a stop to her first."

                "And what of me? Am I just a casualty of whatever game the two of you are playing?" I ask. My cheeks flush and I can feel my anger returning. My fists ball up at my side, all of this is just ridiculous.

                 "Now it's my turn to ask what you mean." Altair says.

             "You said she wants to kill you. You want to kill her. And I'm stuck in the middle, being forced to meet the same fate as her when the only thing I'm guilty of is falling in love with you!" I shout the last few words. "How? How is any of that fair? I know you have your rules about life partners but if she really is a traitor like you say, wouldn't that be the fault of whoever allowed her to come here and join the program?"

            "I suppose it would be. But Rain, darling, you completely misunderstand what is happening here." He says smiling.

               "What exactly am I misunderstanding? The fact that I'm going to die?" I shout, still angry.

             "Yes. You aren't going to be Cleansed."

            "Oh," I say as my anger once again dissipates. "I'm not?"

            "No. I just needed you away from Kat. With her being a traitor, and us planning a wedding, I didn't want her to hurt you to get at me."

             "Oh," I say again.

              "We are going to Cleanse her first thing tomorrow. I will be here to get you at sunrise." He states, turning to leave.

             "I am going too?"

               "Yes. If you are to be my wife, this is the kind of thing you will have to bear witness to. I need you by my side. Besides, I want to see the look on her face when she realizes you aren't going to die too. Anyways, get some rest. And this door is going to stay locked for your protection." Altair says. He places his hand on the scanner, the door opens up, he leaves, and the door slides shut again, leaving me alone, once again.