Refinement: A War of Europe

Chapter Twenty-Two: West: A Friendship Formed

Eloise~ West (England)

We arrived home as the heroes, but my conscious weighed heavily upon me. The faces of the men and women that died from my gun appeared every time my eyelids weighed upon each other. Arielle greeted me with a hearty scolding, Lex greeted me with his goofy smile and a Western salute, and Jenny greeted me with a “Gosh-I-am-so-glad-you-are-alive” embrace. Exhaustion was my best friend at that moment, so my body betrayed it for Sleep.

                                                       ~~~

“Just because you traveled to East with actual soldiers doesn’t mean you are one. Get up. It is time for The next section of Refinement.” My eyelids were very heavy, and it took a great deal to pry them open. I sat up, and the first image sent to my brain was Grayson’s perfectly sculpted face.

“I wasn’t looking for luxury, Grayson.” He frowned.

“Get up.” I stood from my bed, and dared not to look at what I was wearing. By the look of Grayson’s face, it must have been something quite revealing. I pulled a spaghetti strap that escaped my shoulder during my rest back to its habitat, and pulled my grey shorts down to give him the illusion that they were longer.

“Uh, do I just go like this, or-?” He tears his eyes from my body, and forces them to look me in the eyes.

“Uh, yeah. That will be fine. It doesn’t really matter.” I felt uncomfortable. He felt the same, but he let his eyes betray him.

“Let’s go.” I sigh. He agreed, and led me to a glass elevator. We plummeted deep into The Base. Grayson stood beside me, his face expressionless. I stiffened. Elevators used to be frequent back when the war was just a threat. But then the first bomb dropped. It sent us into devastation. Panic attacked with an iron fist, and a heart of ice. Death laughed in the face of fear, and stomped out any hope West had for her people. Chaos slaughtered our government, and ruled every soul in what used to be known as England. West fought for her people only to be defeated.

We

were

dying

and there was nothing to heal us.

The elevator opened with a squeak, and we stepped into it, silence taking hold of our necks all of the time. I didn't keep track of the sections of Inauguration any more. I didn't want to keep track of how close to the ceremony I was. I wanted to keep sight of the very frightening reality that I was not there yet. With every section I had victory in, there was another section that could instantly send me home; or even kill me.

Grayson guided me to a dark hallway where lights hung from the roof, only barely   penetrating the shadows. There were large metal doors bolted into the wall one by one, with only three slits at the top of  the door for air.

"You're going to put us in one of these, aren't you?" I startled, and whisked my head around to see Saphire leaning on the concrete wall behind Grayson and me. She had bright green eyeliner on, and I noticed a tattoo on her forearm that she had gotten since I had last seen her.  It was of a dove whose feathers were ruffled and mangy, and its eyes were a golden brown, with blue sparks combined mixed in. It was beautiful. I wondered what it meant.

"I am afraid so," Grayson grabbed our arms, and half shoved us into the room, "this is the Confinement section of Inauguration. You will stay in here for 12 hours straight, with no food, or water. There will also be a gas that will be let into the room. It is mostly to make you feel that you have been in these walls for far longer. It also has a hint of truth serum mixed in, so be prepared to know each other a lot better." He slammed the door in our faces. We stared. I found a corner, and sat in it. I prepared myself for a whole lot of crazy. A light hiss rung in my ears, and a smell tickled my nose.

"Here we go." Saphire muttered under her breath.

The room changed.

The walls seemed so familiar. My eyes seemed to have memorized the four walls, 52 tiles, 1,032 bricks. That is when it started getting scary. I felt the walls pressing in on me, taunting me with the fact that they are the only thing keeping me from freedom. My breaths became shallow, as if to show that I only had three slits of air.

Three slits of decreasing oxygen.

"The tattoo. What does it mean?" My lips moved to the words that were spoken. She was funny looking. She looked so strong, and tall, but her eyes were soft and sad.

"The dove is me, rising out of poverty, to avenge my family. Both my parents met at Refinement, but they both failed it, and chose to be a disgrace. Because they loved each other, and everything would be okay as long as they were together," Her blues eyes were swimming in tears. Tears are funny. They always seem to appear when you don't want them, and have a twisted way of making you look weak when you want to look strong. "They had me soon after. I grew up on the streets. I grew up as the girl whose parents were a failure. So, I saved up all of my money, and completely changed my appearance. I came home, and my parent's didn't even recognize me. That was good. But it made me sad. So, I went to Refinement. Knowing that if I died, I would not be missed." I furrowed my brow.

"You are sad." Saphire nodded. "What is your real name?"

"Carol Suthers." I looked around. The walls were evil. The way the concrete pressed in on me made my brain hurt. I was still tired, but I couldn't sleep in the same room that was trying desperately to earn the title "The murderer of Eloise Tyler".

"YOU." Saphire extended a finger at me. Her finger was long. "You are his daughter. I found out about your father."

"My father." I affirmed.

"I knew him." My senses became 10 times clearer. I sat up straight. The serum was not enough to hold me down when hearing my father mentioned.

"HOW?!" I exclaimed.

"He gave me food every Tuesday morning at 8:30. He would always say, 'start training, Carol, you are going to fight beside me one day.' He is the reason I am here." A sob attacked my lungs. My father never failed to be the kindest man I had ever known.

"I want to be friends, Saphire." She wrinkled her face.

"I don't make allies with the weak."

"Saphire, my dad is dead. He died killing the general, and I am here to avenge my father." She looked up, and it was clear she was doubting herself.

"H-he died an honorable death." She spat.

"You of all people should understand that he didn't deserve to die." A tear escaped Saphire's eye.

"I can't believe he is dead." I closed my eyes to try and keep away the pain. We were both silent the rest of the day, until I finally fell asleep.

                                                           ~~~

"Time's up." Grayson threw open the door holding a clipboard.

"How'd we do?" I said, trying to avoid eye-contact with Saphire.

"Both of you handled it rather well. You didn't scream, attempt self harm, or attempt to eat each other, and not only that, neither of you seemed to be that affected by the serum at all. This will result in a high score for the both of you." I let myself smile.

"You may go and eat." Saphire walked out of the room quickly, and left us behind. "She cried for hours after you fell asleep. She really loved your dad, it seems." I stopped walking and looked into Grayson's crystal blue eyes.

"Nobody could hate my dad. Nobody, Grayson." Grayson grabbed my arm.

"I am so, so sorry." His eyes glistened with actual sorrow. I nodded, and continued to walk towards the cafeteria. Saphire and I couldn't help but feel something for each other, now. It is almost as if my dad planned out my life. He planted seeds in lives, so that it would be easier for me to make it through Refinement. My father was smart. He always had a perfect plan, and I can't help but think that this was one of them.