Fallacies

Chapter 2

We walk over the hill down the long city sidewalk, watching the sun peeking above a mountain ahead to indicate the start to the evening. Sean keeps looking at me for the first several minutes and as much as I want to talk and get to know him, my eyes keep straight, doing their best to avoid him at the risk of crying now that I'm stabilizing myself. No matter how exciting this opportunity may be for my future, the thought of leaving my family for three years, if not longer, is impossible to deal with. I know that I'll talk to them again this evening, but it'll only be for a goodbye, unless of course the program turns out to be so horrible that I retract my interest to join before then.

"What's on your mind?" Sean asks beside me, as if sensing my brain struggling to think straight. It breaks me out of my reverie, but I can't give him any more indication than glancing at him for a fraction of a second just to acknowledge him. He raises his eyebrows at me expectantly, clearly not considering that a good enough answer.

"Just thinking," I say quickly, feeling my breath start to condense.

"That's so specific," he responds mockingly. "What are you thinking about?"

"My family." Saying these words makes my head spin, my feet already feeling like jelly walking over charred ground.

To my surprise, Sean stops walking and puts his briefcase down. His eyes beam a deep-green against the setting sunset and his dark hair glistens in a short cut. He walks over to me and puts his hands on my shoulders. Still, I have a hard time looking up at him, so I focus on his chest. His head leans down to get a better look at my face, forcing my eyes to his.

"Hey," he says softly. "It's OK to be scared, but this isn't anything to be afraid of. Your parents will always be there for you and this is just a day trip."

"I know," I say. "But when I come back, it won't be for long."

"True, but when you come back to train, you'll have two homes. You'll have a family here too."

I nod, knowing that he's right. The only problem is that I'm not sure whether I want to be a part of the family I'm about to meet. He lets his hands fall from my shoulders and stoops down to retrieve his briefcase, picking up the pace almost like he's trying to keep me distracted.

"So what was it like when you first started training?" I ask, curious why he cares so much about my feelings towards this.

"Oh, it was horrible," he answers in a playfully dreadful tone. "My body ached and there was practically no rest for weeks. You get used to it, though."

"Is that supposed to be encouraging?"

He flashes me a smile, clueing me in that he's just messing with me.

"Aren't there tryouts, though?" I continue, realizing that all of those girls couldn't have gotten in automatically when the Council is attempting to recruit capable soldiers.

"Yeah," he explains. "There will be. Only so many will get in, but it will be important that we recruit as many as possible."

"How can I take a tour of the facility and say goodbye to my parents so quickly if I haven't passed the test, though? I might not even be allowed to stay."

"I said that there is a test. I didn't say that everyone is required to pass the same one."

That sounds too cryptic to make sense, so I frown at him. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I wouldn't be taking you to your new home if you hadn't passed it already."

"But what did I pass? You never gave me a test."