90 DEADLY DAYS (WEEKLY UPDATES RETURNING THIS DECEMBER)

Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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"All of you over age ten have been administered a piece of technology that gave you a simulated dream. It revealed the past that you weren't supposed to become aware of until the day of your Graduation," Protectorate Markus says. "The nursery is a place where you were to live in peace, safe from the harm of the real world you must face-"

"You lied to us!" A girl stands up and shouts at the screen. "You made us live a lie!" Her voice trembles and she falls to her knees sobbing. I couldn't agree more. I make a move to help her but before I even stand a warm hand wraps around my arm.

"Don't," the boy whispers. It's his tone, not his words that keep me seated.

"--the attack by Grecous destroyed both the facility and your naivety. Therefore the nursery can no longer serve its purpose and you must be ejected early along with the already exiting Graduates," Markus says. "Those ten and under will undergo a procedure to erase this memory as well as being evacuated to the back up nursery. The rest of you will enjoy an early reunification."

My blood turns to ice when I realize what he has said. Adonis is nine, eleven years younger than me. They're going to tear us apart forever now. The nightmare I refused to dream is real now, I've lost everything I love. The discovery sends me reeling and my fingers curl around the seat's arm rest, the only thing keeping me rooted.

As my fists tighten the sound of crinkling paper erupts. In my left hand the card the Protectorate gave me quickly becomes a balled piece of paper. The thought to rip it to shreds occurs to me but something, some feeling that I stupidly trust, advises me to keep it.

I stuff the card in my shirt pocket.

Head Protectorate Markus says more but I am too disoriented to pay much attention. All I can think is how much I lost. How much the Protectorates let everyone lose. I'm convinced none of this would've happened if we knew the truth. We would've been prepared. I rest my face in shaking hands and the panicked voices around me to sound like nothing more than gibberish.

Minutes later, a soft finger brushes back a lock of my hair, just like Jewel does. I flinch away and sit up, uncaring that my face is wet with tears.

"We're leaving now," the boy says as he stands up. It's then I notice the white cocoon wrapped around his leg is gone.

He notices me staring.

"They sped up my treatment, probably so I can leave with everyone else."

Blinking, I nod and wipe my wet hands off on my pants. The awful voice telling me to keep it together, to never show them your weakness, whispers to suck it up. I swallow carefully, and shove the pain in deeper, hiding it behind a brave smile. Extending his hand, the boy smiles too. I shake it limply.

"I'm Talon by the way, and you are?"

"Phoenix Ethridge."

"Ah you're using your last name," he chuckles. "Already used to it?"

"No," I reply, rising to my feet. "Just trying to get used to the truth."

His smile dims and I think it is because he understands.

"Well in that case, I'm Talon Pierce."

"Why did you tell me not to help that girl?"

"Because in my dream someone touched her and she disappeared."

My brows lift and flick to that same girl walking to the exit near the front of the room.

As everyone exits, we enter a hallway replica of the ones I came from. Standing in the middle of it are three Protectorates. My steps falter and I eye them closely, realizing that they don't look as safe as they did before. Their jaws hang tautly from blank expressions, eyes focused on nothing in particular. What unnerves me the most are their hands balled up into fists, like a subtle promise of violence.