eliminated

:8:

what to listen to while reading this chapter:
"radioactive" -imagine dragons

•~•

i furrowed my brows. "no, there's been a mistake. we're not joining...i mean, we can't...we..." i stuttered, fearing karina's reaction if we rejected her offer to join. we can talk about it later, i tried to convince myself. stay alive while you can. i sighed. "never mind. thank you."

she nodded and gave me a tiny smile. "of course. any questions?"

aidan cleared his throat. "yes. um, can you please explain what exactly our mission is?"

just when i thought her glare would burn a hole through aidan's eyes, she began to speak. "everyone has a role in the outlaws. i am leader, i guide everyone. jasmine is my assistant, she is most suited to give me advice because of her wisdom and intellect. some hunt. some gather. the first thing you will do..." she handed me, sean, and blair each a small dagger. "is be stationed outside our border and make sure there are no unwanted intruders." i wondered if we had been "unwanted intruders" to them at first as well. if that was true, we weren't very quiet and sneaky if their border patrol found us. oops.

i frowned. "why doesn't aidan get one?"

"because his first mission differs from yours." she said. "your friend will be trained in fighting techniques before he is allowed to participate in more...rigorous activities. i can tell that the three of you are already experienced. but he is not. we will build up his skills and make him strong like the rest of you."

"hey, wait a second." aidan said, looking alarmed and distressed. "are you saying that i'm the weakest link in the chain? that they get a better mission because they're stronger, and i have to be a student before i can be as good as them?"

karina nodded and smiled brightly and unsympathetically. "that is exactly what i'm saying." she took him by the arm and walked a little. "and all of the missions are equally important. you will learn this with time." she walked faster, and aidan looked back at us and mouthed help me! i laughed at him and turned back to my friends.

"so. when do we get started?" blair said.

"now." a voice said behind us.

it was jasmine. she wasn't dressed in her usual outfit, the standard uniform that we were carrying in our arms. she was wearing a dark gray jumpsuit with medals across her belt, showing her high authority. "i am in charge of border patrol. get dressed and meet back here as soon as possible, and don't. be. late."

i looked at sean. he nodded in reassurance.

this was it.

our first mission.

•~•

i stepped out of our tent, feeling awkward in my new clothes. although they were soft and comfortable, they were tight and form-fitting. i felt as though if i moved a muscle they would rip. i moved my arm around, testing the theory. surprisingly, they stretched to better fit the position i was in. apparently blair was feeling the same way, because she came out of the tent thrashing and spinning and not-so-gracefully fell on her back. she groaned and i stifled a smile.

"feeling good, huh?" i said and helped her up.

"shut up," she said, but i could tell she was joking with me. "it's not like these clothes are easy to walk in."

i nodded in agreement. "it does take a while to get used to. is sean ready yet?"

right on cue, he hopped down from the steps of the tent and walked over to us. i noticed that his uniform was different than ours. it was made out of the same material, but it was looser and didn't have as many of the weird folds and creases that we did. "ready?"