“I won’t hurt you, Lauren. I won’t do it. Kill me if you have to, but I won’t hurt you.”
She goes for me again, this time the tip of the knife hits the padded wall to my left, only just missing my shoulder.
“You love reading. You have a diary that no one knew about, and they auctioned it off, Lauren. They didn’t care about you, you’re just a number. Just like me, Bella, and Kylie. That’s all we are to them.” My voice breaks as I try to remind her of who she is. Lauren wouldn’t hurt a fly, much less me. I just need to make her remember.
“Like you? You wanted me to be a better killer, I’m just meeting your expectations, PX-3. Not even number one. But you killed her, didn’t you? PX-1 was your assigned partner, and you killed her, too.”
My stomach sinks so low I’m afraid it hits the floor. My heart stops beating in my chest. “That’s not what happened. You make it sound like I killed her on purpose! I didn’t! I didn’t know what I was doing, I made a mistake!”
“And now Shayleen is dead.” Lauren lunges at me again, this time managing to cut my arm, the jumpsuit thankfully saves the cut from being too deep, but I’m now bleeding and already weak as it is from everything else they’ve done to me.
I need a plan, and fast.
“Bella’s alive! Bella misses you. We met a target, Target 106. His name is Cayden Ashford. He was a part of the original experiment. All of us were never supposed to be a part of The Academy, but the boys’ trial failed.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not, I would never lie to you. He has a friend. I can’t tell you his name, but he was a part of it, too. He’s going to find me, Lauren. And when he does, you can come back with us. I promise, we can get out of here. You can trust him.” Okay, that one is a lie. Even if he was trying to find me, he would’ve done it by now. But he hasn’t.
“You speak like you feel something for him.”
“Because I do! Because he makes me feel safe. Because he wouldn’t lie to me! Because it’s human to want a connection with someone else. Lauren, listen to me. We will be okay, we will get out of here.”
But she lunges at me again, and I’m unable to push her away this time. My body is exhausted. The blade sinks into my side, and I cry out, collapsing to the floor as she takes back the knife, preparing to strike me again.
“Lauren, please. Please, don’t do this. You’re my sister, I love you.”
Her expression falters briefly before it hardens again. “What was it you said to me? Do you really think they would have kept you alive if they didn’t need me alive? I guess you’re not that important anymore. But don’t worry, I’ll find Cayden and kill him. And when I do, I’ll make sure he knows you sent your regards.”
That kicks something into me. Clutching my side, I force myself back up onto my feet, hiding my knife behind my back as I stand. “You will not touch him, Lauren.”
“Aww, look at that. You really do love him.”
I scoff, the very idea of loving him after how he betrayed me is pathetic. I do not love Cayden, I never have. I cared, but I didn’t love. “I don’t love him,” I seethe, forcing myself to limp closer towards her. “But I won’t let you kill him.”
“You can’t stop me, PX-3.”
My hand moves before I can stop it, my training kicking in as a reflex. I quickly reveal the knife and slice it across her neck in one single slice before realising what I had just done. Almost instantly I drop to my knees, throwing my knife across the room with trembling hands.
“No. No, no, no, no, no…Lauren! Lauren, you’re going to be okay…we’re going to…” She’s gasping, choking on her own blood.
I watch every second, holding her head in my trembling hands as her eyes start to droop. “HELP! SOMEONE HELP!” I scream, tears pouring down my cheeks into Lauren’s hair as we wait for the door to open.
“HELP! I NEED HELP!” But no one comes. No one is coming to save her.
Grabbing my knife, I cut a long strip of the jumpsuit pants, making a makeshift bandage and wrapping it around her neck; it doesn’t help, the blood instantly soaks through the bandage.
“I…forgive you…” Lauren says as her final breath enters the room. I break out into a sob, holding her close to me, forgetting I’ve been stabbed as well.
I just killed Lauren.
“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. Please forgive me, please. If I loved anyone it was you, you are my sister, I love you… I’m so, so sorry...You’ll be safe now, they can’t hurt you anymore. I love you, I love you, I love you.”
I’m not sure how many times I repeat the words, but I mean them, every single one of them. I do love Lauren. Thinking she had died was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to live through, but being the one to actually kill her? Impossible. I won’t survive this.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I love you, you’re safe now, they can’t hurt you anymore.” I’m rocking her in my arms like it will somehow bring her back to me. “I’m sorry. So, so sorry.”
My own injuries start to take hold of me, the adrenaline running out as I feel the light-headedness from the blood loss. The world spins, my mind going hazy, but I only hold Lauren closer.
