The Boy Who Wasn't Real

Elisaveta

The freakshows deliver water and crackers to Eric and I about an hour after the first part of the test. They stand beside us as we eat, watching our every move. I don't know what they're worried about. My leg will never be fixed, so I'll probably be limping for the rest of my life, and Eric wouldn't leave me behind— hopefully.

Finishing my last cracker, I down the rest of my water. Eric does the same.

"Good luck to you both for the next subsection," the pair says together. "You have two hours to consult with each other."

"Thanks for the careful timing, freakshows," I say sarcastically. The pain in my side sparks as I laugh sharply—one quick ha! Eric presses me into him when I bite my lip.

The freakshows leave Eric and I with a nod, getting replaced by two burly men who carry away the bodies of Nikos and Eric's sister.

When they're out of earshot, Eric whispers, "Are they really gonna time us?"

"Probably." I pause. "We better use it as best as we can."

"How about you tell me about Nikos? You said he was your sparring partner?"

I smile. "Yeah. We were friends when I wasn't talking to my family—both biological and married into. I needed to let some steam off one day. I was visiting Evan one weekend; I think I was twelve, maybe thirteen. So, naturally, I went to the training rooms and punched the crap out of one of the punching bags. I honestly think I knocked it down at one point."

Eric laughs.

I continue, "I guess Nikos heard me raging—I was probably yelling a bit—and he came into the training room to see what animal was being tortured. When he saw it was just me, he relaxed and asked me if I wanted to spar with him, since he needed a partner. He had this really weird accent, English, but different. It was always bloody this and bloody that."

I grin. "Nikos was my best friend, up until he accidentally lost too much blood in a fight. They moved him to a City hospital not long after. All the doctors said that he probably wouldn't survive the night, or even the hour. They were right. Nikos died in his sleep half an hour after being transferred to City. We were only fourteen. I was the first one to get the call. I guess he felt close enough to me to do that."

"I'm assuming he liked you," Eric states, a bit of jealousy clipping his words.

"Yeah. I really don't get how you two feel that way about me." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I get that I'm unfairly beautiful, but..."

Eric smiles and strokes my hair with his hand. Surprisingly, almost all the crusted blood has flaked off of him, but I'm covered from breast to knee in Adlet-Nikos' blood. The two knives that I stuck in his chest are lying on the floor at my feet. They're covered in blood too. Ruiner and Rampager.

"Was it weird seeing your sister again?" I ask quietly.

Eric's hand on my head stops for a brief moment before continuing its path over my thick hair. "I guess. I mean, I didn't freeze up like I did in the hallucination. I think my brain just knows that she's dead already, so it didn't stop functioning like before. But, yeah, it was weird."

"She's pretty, you know."

"I know. Iris was always the favourite. She was smart, talented, beautiful. I didn't mind being left alone. I just watched from a distance, wondering how anyone can stand that kind of attention. But Iris was like me. She didn't like the doting and the praise. She liked the quiet, so she could delve into her imagination and write her stories. I loved her stories."