Project Infinity

18/19

Chapter Eighteen

A week passes faster than I want it to.Ian,Cassandra and I have one final meal before I have to go to the Ascendancy's headquarters for two months.I may not even return.The thought is so morbid I shove it out of my head immediately.I can do this.

One by one the trainees and I slide into the small compact van that will be taking us there.I try to keep my mind blank as the van sets off,once in awhile turning left and right.

"Are you okay,Beth?You look really pale."Diana asks.I nod stiffly and swallow.

"If you continue like that,the Ascendancy'll know you're lying."Another trainee called Austin calls from the back seat.I lower my head and stare at my arms,who are clasped tightly at my sides to prevent them from trembling.

"Hey,stop it."Diana snaps at Austin."It's her-our-first time doing this.I bet you pissed your pants but you're not saying anything."

I shake my head.I don't need anyone to be defending me,or even lying to me.Austin's right.If I can't keep my shit together these two months,I'll land myself in execution.And I do not want that."No,it's fine."I tell Diana and Austin,who are now busy arguing.

"Austin's right.If I can't do this then I'm dead."I blink furiously and turn away.The van is now ascending up a hill(oh,the irony)and I can see the white marble tips of Ascendancy's headquarters revealing themselves.A feeling very unlike fear envelopes me:determination.As we near the guard house,I make my face blank and put my emotions behind me.

"Who are you?"I hear the guard asking our driver,another trainee.

"We're here to join the Ascendancy as guards."He answers smoothly.A small part of me hopes for him to mess things up so that we have a chance to fight and not do this at all,but that's not the point of this operation.

The guard peers in,meeting each of us in the eye.I match the rest of the trainees' blank stare,and thankfully his gaze carries on from me like nothing's wrong.

"Do you have any weapons?Surrender them now or face death later in the compound."The guard continues,and scans the floor of the van for any possible hidden weapons.I slide the pocket knife I've been given-as a precaution-down my jeans.I really hope they don't ask for us to get out of the van.

He finally turns his burning gaze away from us and opens the gate.Then just like that,we're in.Diana gives me a quick smile,but it is tense and all blood has drained from her face.I guess she's as nervous as I am.

We get out of the van and enter through the main foyer.Guards flank the ten of us into a large white office.Like the Project Infinity headquarters,everything is white.Just then,I wonder how two sides so different can manage to seem so similar.It's strange.Judging from the other trainees' awed expressions,they are thinking the same.

When we enter the room,the Ascendancy leader Brian sits behind a polished glass desk.I've read about him and his plots to find and kill the Skylarks.His prim and proper look somehow makes me want to punch his face in.He looks up slowly and smiles,but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"So,"he says."Newbies?"

"Yes sir."A guard on the left of me answers.

"Interesting."He scans us from top to toe,and looks down again,continuing some sort of paperwork."It's always a huge amount of you coming every two or three months.There's a...pattern of some sort,don't you think?"

I speak up before I can control myself."We heard about the Ascendancy's achievements,so we want to join you.Also,word has been spreading around."

Diana shoots me a panicked look,and I pinch my lips together.What a wrong time to draw attention to myself.