When I awoke the sun was casting on my face through a clear glass window a dark figure sitting between me and the light. White walls surrounded me as I lay on a white cot, white tiles reflected the bright lights back up to the dirty white ceiling.
I sat up tenderly looking around to see Con sitting by my bed his white head down on the cot as he sleeps bent over breathing quietly.
I felt the ache in my back and my neck and I sighed laying back on the pillows and wiping some of the hair from Con's face he had a purple mark by his eye that was swollen but he seemed otherwise unharmed.
"He insisted on being with you that one did, they tried taking him away but he pulled a fit like no other." A female voice says sweetly and I look to the right over Con and see a tall lady draped in white smiling. She had grey hair tied into a high bun that was kept out of her face by a nurses cap her kind blue eyes matched her smile as she approached me.
"You must be so confused." The lady says her blue eyes looking sadder then before. "You two are the only gifted left, the Guardian attempted to remove you all so that you could be trained in combat to work with us, unfortunately the plan didn't work." She says putting a hand to the back of my head smiling sadly.
"That's seems to be the way that life goes lately, never to plan." She says and I can only nod sitting up in the cot careful not to disturb Con.
I feel my eyes sat down to him sadly he and I were all that was left of the gifted, the faces of the others who stayed in the holding flashed through my mind as the hospital door was slammed open.
Three Guardians cloaked in black flanked a tall lady who was also in black Guardian armour but had a scar across her eye. She was Athena Auditoria the only person to make it past the walls and come back alive, she trained and led the Guardian for their whole lives.
Few were chosen to be Guardians even fewer survived training, but those that did were said not to feel anything.
"Leave us Poppy." Athena speaks her voice loud and demanding, the lady dressed in white nods bowing her head before walking past them and out the doors which they came through.
Con blinked sleepily up at me before smiling wide only to jump backwards when he sees the Guardian's.
Con stood his back against the wall his eyes wide, I stood between him and the others my muscles aching as I placed my hand on Con's shoulder and felt him giving me his energy to heal.
Con was very skilled at not only producing his own energy but at spreading it to others without him I would be bed ridden for months.
"What are you called?" Athena asks her dark brown eyes glaring at us as I stood taller facing her.
"My name is Scarlett Jones and this here is Con Attersee." I say and she nods her dark eyes sliding over to Con who stood tall with his head bowed low.
"You are his caretaker then?" She asks and I hesitate for a second unsure of how exactly to answer that question while Con and I were close I had never thought of him as being someone I cared for.
The woman raised her hand and I flinched back Con gripping at my sides gasping. The girl fixes her glove and looks at me suspiciously.
"The Guardian have been beating you all haven't they?" She says it's more of a statement then it is a question and I nod looking down.
"It is disrespectful to speak out of turn mam we were simply corrected for our actions." Con says in a quiet voice and Athena simply nods.
"You have healing capabilities am I right?" She says raising an eyebrow at me and I nod.
"Yes but I am too weak to heal on my own Con here can give me some energy but often I pass out when trying to do too much, Anna says it was because I haven't exercised my gift." I respond looking into her dark eyes. She frowns glaring slightly before nodding.
"He gives you energy so that you can use your gift?" She says and I nod in response Con stepping forward sightly.
"With him you can heal though?" She says her eyes having a softer look to them, a more desperate look to them. I nod and relief floods on to her face.
"Come with us then please." She says and the Guardians step forward with the thick chains but Athena puts her hand out. "That's not necessary they will follow us to his room."
She says turning to walk away and I follow her hesitantly Con sticking by my side as the Guardians flank around us closely.
They stare daggers into us as we walk towards the grand doors and out into a grander hallway. The dark wooden floors lead up into blood red walls with photos of men and woman dressed in black some dressed in the white nurses uniform, all smiling, all happy.
I frown slightly thinking of what happiness could live in the halls where kids are trained to die and taken from their families if they are selected during infancy.
We are walked down the winding picture filled hallways until we reach a hidden stair well behind a locked door the stairs are made of stone and are musty smelling. We climb the stairs for nearly half an hour twisting our way to the top where another door lies locked.
This time Athena knocks before opening the door a crack and then urging us inside, a massive bed lays in the middle of the room furs and blankets lay on top of a frail boy who looked to be two or three years older then I, looking to be eighteen or possibly nineteen.
His skin was pale dark hair flopped lazily over his sweaty forehead an odd grey colouring to his skin, he was dying.
The boys leg stood out of the blankets wrapped in old bandages blood leaking through the many layers of bandages his foot turned at a rough angle.
Cuts and bruises line his neck and face and I hear myself gasp upon seeing him.
"He was found two nights ago just outside the wall, our hope was that one of the gifted would be able to help him. Only we weren't sure which of you had what gifts so we went to take you all, yyou know where it went from there." She says and I nod stepping forward slightly to look at the boy he was clinging on to life and his breathing was hoarse.
"We do not know if he was bitten or not." She says and I flinch away slightly from the boy. "But, our nurses can't help him anymore, it's too risky." She says and all I can do is look at the boy and nod.
"We'll do what we can." I say and I feel Con glare at me.
"They raised us for slaughter and you want to help one of them?" He hisses under his breath at me and I can only nod placing my hand on the boys forehead that was burning hot.
"They've given up on him his bandages haven't been changed in days, we can't afford to give up on people Con." I say to him softly and he looks back at the Guardian before nodding his eyes casting down the his torn runners.
"We need bandages and some bowls or something for water." Con yells suddenly taking Athen aback the Guardian flinch under his harshness.
"You just gonna stand there or what?!" He yells and Athena nods at the Guardians who leave through the door the locks clicking behind them.
Athena takes a few steps forward taking off her thick leather jacket and rolling up her shirt's sleeves passed her elbows.
"How can I help?" She asks but again it's more of a demand then it is a question Con looks to me his blue eyes questioning an eyebrow cocked my way.
"We need all these blankets moved we will have to drain his wounds to get the infection out and clean them properly it'd be best to put a tarp or something plastic under him." I say thinking of the books that I spent my years reading to distract myself from the pain of being alone.
The next hours go by in a blur I speak but I don't recall the words I say the actions I do are automatic but in my head I am far away. In my head I am with the others with Anna and Justin and Thomas living out our lives, taking turns in cards or just talking and laughing about little things.
