This will be skipping to when the soldiers are heading to Day's house. I'm leaving out Day's and June's first kiss since the book said Tess was asleep when it happened (I want to keep the story as accurate as possible)
I bolt awake when I hear the wailing siren of a medic truck. I've learned to recognize which siren belongs to which type of Republic vehicle. This siren is high pitched and loud, like a mix of the screaming military vehicles on the streets and a wailing voice of an ambulance.
My first thought is about Eden's safety. "Where are they going?" I ask, glancing at Day.
"I don't know," Day murmurs with his eyebrows furrowed and face filled with worry. Across from him, the girl is wide awake and tense.
"Morning," Day says, smiling despite the sirens. Something about him changed when he speaks to the girl. His tone's lighter, more caring. The voice of a lover. I force my jealousy back down, where I bury all my thoughts and feelings.
"Your family had their door marked, didn't they?" the girl says tonelessly. My eyes widen with surprise.
"You followed me last night," Day realizes. There's no anger in his voice. Mostly confusion with a hint of awe.
The girl looks Day in the eyes. "Is that what you're saving up all that money for? A plague cure?"
"Yes," Day replies. "Why do you care?"
"You're too late," she says. Her eyes are grave. "Because today the plague patrol is coming for your family. They're taking them away."
Day pales. He stutters but manages to get out, "What do you mean? What do you mean, they're coming for my family? How do you know this?" Every air of confidence Day ever had has vanished. What's left is a terrified young boy. I've never seen this side of him.
"I did see you visit your family's quarantine zone last night, and I overheard some guards talking about today's sweep. They mentioned the house with the three-lined X. Hurry. I'm trying to help you- and I'm telling you that you have to go to them right now."
Day leaps up and begins running straight towards the corner of Figueroa and Watson despite his bad knee. He's nearly disappearing when I exclaim, "Come on, let's follow him!" I jump to my feet and grab the girl's hand. "He might need our help."
The girl yanks her hand out of my grasp. "No," she snaps. "You wait here. I'll follow him. Keep low and stay quiet-someone will come back for you." She darts out of the alley after Day.
"Wait!" I shout. "Please don't leave me!" The girl keeps running.
I find my feet sprinting after her. Of course, I'm a little shorter than her so I can't keep up with the girl. She disappears in the crowd. I switch directions, running in a less crowded path that leads to the back of Day's house.
I don't see the soldier until I run straight into him. "Hey!" he shouts angrily.
"Sorry," I breathe out, gasping for air. The soldier doesn't care. I see a flash of metal before I sprawl onto the ground. I feel the pain in my cheek and I taste the coppery tang of my blood.
"This is a plague scene!" he shouts, waving the pistol that he slapped me with. "Get the hell out of here you fucking street brat or I'll fill you with lead!"
The soldier doesn't give me a chance to run. He kicks me hard in the stomach. There's cruel pleasure in his eyes. My body instinctively curls up into a fetal position. The soldier kicks me one more time before everything stops moving.
For a second, I think that it's over, that I'm safe again, but when I open my eyes, I know it's the worst mistake I've ever made. The soldier grabs my neck, raising me off the floor and tightening his grip. In the distance, I hear screams, shouts, and gunshots.
My lungs beg for air. My fingers are frantically clawing at the arm that strangles me. I feel my eyes bulging, blood trickling out of the corner of my lip. This is it, I say to myself. I don't want go like this. I want my last moments to be of myself except….. the real me is nothing but a scared little girl.
Black spots appear in my vision, small tiny dots that remind me of the mosquitoes in the summer. The man suddenly gasps out, his grip loosening and he drops me. Through my blurry vision, I see something silver sticking out of the soldier's chest, crimson spurting out. He lets out a guttural shriek of pain as the blade protruding from him twists. The man chokes up blood, the warm repulsive liquid dripping on my face and into my mouth. I gag as the blood mingles with the blood on my split lip.
I notice the young woman only after she pulls out the knife. He falls besides me, twitching. "Come on," the woman says impatiently. She has short black hair and a vine tattoo on her neck. Kaede holds out her hand, the one that's not in the makeshift sling for her broken arm.
She's still holding the knife that killed the man, whose blood is still splattered on my face. Her dark eyes are unreadable- it's a mix of a clash of feelings. Anger, cruelness, pity, and even some fierce pleasure of killing him.
The sirens are fading. I already know what's happened. And there's nothing I can do.
I can't take this. I can't I can't I can't. A dead man is beside me. The killer stands in front of me. The girl betrayed both me and Daniel. Over by Day's house, Eden's been taken and someone's cold body was bound to be left behind. It could even be Day.
Kaede's hand is still outstretched. "We need to go," she says more urgently. Her hand is stained with blood.
I don't take it. I scoot back as far away from her as I can before I get to my feet. I find myself running. It's the only thing I really know how to do.
"Hey!" Kaede shouts behind me. I hear her heavy footsteps and I push myself into a sprint. "I'm trying to save you!" her voice is nearly lost in the wind and the loud crowd I duck into as protection.
I will not trust anyone ever again. I will not throw my reliance around to anyone who shows the slightest pity. I will not be tricked again. I learned my mistake for a grave price, and I will not dishonor Day's memory. I will never fall again.
Definitely not what I had expected for Tess and Kaede...it just came out that way. Sometimes I just sit in front of my computer and start writing randomly while listening to music.
And like always, please tell me what you guys think! Also, does anyone know around how old Kaede is? I think she's in her early twenties but I'm not so sure. And what is her ethnicity? The book mentioned she had black hair and dark eyes but I really don't know beyond that…..