Chapter Four
*~Meilai~*
After Himmler had ordered our room mates to be shot, I felt like fainting, but somehow, I guess
I managed to mutely follow Lillith and Himmler out of the room. Himmler led us down the
hallway, and then into a large eating hall. We were the only ones there so far, but soon,
Atkins came with several more children. We all sat stiffly at the tables, and judging by some
of the horrified expressions on the others faces, I had a feeling their room mates had been
shot also.
Lillith in the meanwhile was looking around the room and moving her fingers. "What are you
doing?" I whispered.
"Counting. Do you know how many of us there were yesterday?"
"Um...201."
"201?"
"Yeah...you were the extra 'one.'"
Lillith nodded and continued. Finally, she said, "87."
"WHAT?!"
She nodded wearily. "101 were eliminated yesterday; that leaves 100. Now there are thirteen
less. Therefore...87. Over half of us are already gone; there is only...forty...three percent
left."
"Wow...you're good with numbers."
She smiled ruefully. "I've been trained to be a fighter, scholar, and musician for as long as
I can remember. Is that the same with you?"
"Yes...how did you know?"
"Who hasn't heard of the Ron clan?"
I laughed, but quietly. "Well then, what clan are you from?"
Lillith hesitated. "I have no clan. I've been disowned, remember?" then set her mouth in a
firm line. I gave up asking.
Soon, Himmler and Atkins and several others came into the room with several bowls of oatmeal
and started passing them out. Lillith and I stared at ours. I noticed her hesitation, and I
whispered to her in Chinese, "You think it's poisoned, don't you?" She nodded. I frowned, then
said, "I have an idea." I waited for the boy sitting next to me to take several bites of his
oatmeal, and the girl next to Lillith to do the same. When neither of them seemed to keel over,
I quickly spooned some of oatmeal and some of Lillith's, then I indicated to Lillith to copy
what I would do. Turning to the boy next to me, I hissed, "Hey, is that a spider?" The
boy quickly turned to look, and I dumped my spoonful into his empty spoon. "I don't see
anything," he frowned. In the meantime, Lillith said to the girl next to her, "Look, the
spider's over there!" When she turned to look, Lillith did the same. Finally, the girl
turned back. "Where?" "Oh, it must have run away," Lillith said breezily. The girl shrugged,
and ate a spoonful of Lillith's oatmeal. The boy on my side did the same with mine. Then
we sat and waited.
After a few minutes, nothing had happened, so we were about to start eating. Suddenly, on the
other side of the room, a girl collapsed. Several others began falling down onto the floor
also. The boy next to me also fell. We all stared, and several shrieked. I stared down at
my oatmeal. "Er...could I share some of yours?" I asked Lillith weakly. She nodded, her face
pale.
After that unpleasant episode, the bodies were removed and we were all taken out to a field,
where we were all separated. I looked franctically at Lillith. "I don't want us to be
separated," I wailed, trying not to whine. She twitched the corners of her mouth, trying to
smile, but not quite succeeding. "It's okay," she whispered. "Just be brave."
I was led into an empty room, given a number (4) and then left alone. Soon, a soldier came in
and handed me a box. "Take a piece of paper," he said. I did, and looked at it. It said: 17.
"That is your opponent," he said tonelessly, and left. After he left, I figured that I was
probably going to have to fight someone, and so I started to stretch. Later, the door opened and
Atkins appeared. "Follow me," he ordered, and I did, and was led to a field, where everyone
else was. I immediately found Lillith and attached myself to her. "Who is your opponent?" she
whispered.
"Number 17."
"I know her," she whispered, and pointed. I nearly fainted: I was staring at a girl
who was nearly twice my height. Lillith smiled. "Don't worry; see how tall she is? Duck
around her blows and wear her out."
I tried to smile. "Who is your opponent?" I asked. Lillith pointed to another girl. "49,"
she said. "She doesn't look like much," I said, trying to sound brave. Lillith shrugged,
sizing her up and down. "She's built like me; she may fight the same way as I do."
Before we could say anything else, Himmler began to speak (bark). "Number one and your
opponent, step up to the front." At that, two boys stepped up and were handed two fencing
foils. "You have five minutes," Himmler barked. "Now, fight."
The two boys stared at each other. "Did you not hear what I said?!" Himmler roared. "Start
fighting!"
Finally, the two began to spar. However, it wasn't much of a fight, since it was obvious
neither of them had any experience with a sword whatsoever. After about two minutes, Atkins
stepped in, disgusted. "That's enough!" he snarled. "Next!"
After a few more equally pathetic fights, it was my turn. I clutched my sword protectively; I
wasn't too sure if I was willing to give it up; then again, I certainly didn't want to die
either. But Atkins simply looked at me, smirked, and said, "Since this one already seems to
have her own weapon, let her keep it."
The girl and I circled each other. Judging from the expression on the other girl's face, I
could tell that she did not think that I was much of an opponent, so I lunged to gain the
element of surprise. I'm not too sure who was more surprised, her or me, when my sword went
clean through her. We stared at each other, horrified, then the other girl slumped forward,
dead.
Chapter Five
~Reiming~
I can never forget the expression on Meilai's face when she impaled the other girl with her
sword, killing her. All activity had instantly ceased; all were focused on Meilai, her
sword dripping with blood, and the dead girl. I sneaked a glance at Himmler and Atkins, then
turned away, disgusted. The expression on their faces was one of glee, of delight. "What
monsters!" I thought, disgusted and horrified. Finally, Atkins spoke, "Next," he said
cooly, as if little girls killing each other was commonplace. No one moved for a moment, then
I realized that I was next, and stepped forward dumbly. Meilai hadn't moved from her spot; she
looked like she was about to faint or throw up, or maybe both. Taking her arm, I gently
steered her out of the way and back into the crowd, where everyone backed away from her. Then,
I turned to face my opponent, and recoiled.
The look in the other girl's eyes was dangerous, ruthless. It was clear that she had fought
before, and had probably killed many also. At that moment, I knew. I knew that I would be
fighting for my life in this battle. "Start!" Himmler called out.
The girl immediately lunged. I danced out of the way, holding out my sword and keeping her at
bay. She lunged again, swinging wildly and nearly hitting me. I still didn't strike back;
instead, I circled her and watched her. Soon, it became evident that though she certainly was
a good fighter, she had no experience with the sword; however, her wild swinging was still
dangerous. I would have to disarm her. The next time she lunged, I brought up my sword and
with a flick of the wrist, knocked her sword away. Then, I jumped at her and rammed my
shoulder into her, knocking her back fifteen feet. She was defeated, and I turned around to
leave. Suddenly, Himmler blocked my path.
"You're not finished," he said. I stared at him, confused. Giving me a horrible
smile, he handed me a gun. "Finish it," he said coldly. I stared at the gun in my hand, then
I slowly turned around and pointed it at the girl. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to get
away. "I'm...sorry," I whispered, and I squeezed the trigger. Later, as I bent over the
dead girl's body and stared into her blank eyes, I saw that my own eyes were as dead as hers.
later...
Meilai and I sat in our room, silent. Neither of us had said a word after the whole dueling
business was over. After it was done, only forty children remained out of the original 201.
Some had succumbed to the poison in the oatmeal; others had died fighting. I sneaked a
glance at Meilai, and saw that her eyes were as dead as mine. It was strange; we had only
been here a day and already it seemed like an eternity. I could barely remember myself as the
girl who loved to sing and play and tease her older brother.
"I'm dead," I whispered to myself. "Chang Reiming is no more...I am Lillith, the cold
blooded, ruthless killer..."
Suddenly, Meilai jumped up and ran for the toilet, where she promptly began to throw up. I
left her alone and let her finish. After five long minutes, she stopped and promptly began to
sob. "Stop that," I said coldly. "It is a sign of weakness."
Meilai looked at me with a tear stained face. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I...I can't deal
with this...I'm not a killer, I'm NOT!" she said franctically, shouting the last word. I
looked at her with blank eyes. "You are now..." I said dully. "Our fates are sealed..."
We wallowed in our misery and self pity for a couple more minutes, and then Atkins appeared in
the doorway. "Both of you, come here!" he ordered. Wordlessly, we got up and stood in front
of him. He glared at us for a few seconds, then, raising his saber, hit us both hard with the
flat side several times. We looked at him with weary eyes.
"Stop looking like that!" he sneered. "Himmler and I can't stand weak people, and only
weak people look like that! If I ever catch either of you two looking like that again, I swear
I will kill you with my own hands!"
After that tirade, I straightened, as did Meilai, and without a backwards glance, we walked out
into the hall with our heads held high. Atkins glared at us, but didn't say a word, and
herded us down the hall and into a room, where the other 38 children were.
We were separated into two groups of twenty; I went with one group and Meilai went with the
other. I was told to go into a side room last, so I sat and waited. Finally, I was called in.
Inside was Himmler, and in front of him was a computer.
"Congratulations Reiming," he sneered. "You've survived the first part of Operation:
Natural Selection. You ought to be proud."
I looked at him, and I said, "Who is Reiming? My name is Lillith. Chang Reiming is dead."
Himmler stared at me, then he began to chuckle evilly. "Yes, I knew you were a special one
when I saw you. Lillith now, is it?" and he typed something into the computer. "There," he
announced with satisfaction, and turned the screen towards me. On it was my profile: "name,"
date of birth, fingerprints, DNA, blood type, and etc. "Your training will commence tomorrow,"
he said. "In the meantime..." and he shoved a laptop at me. "This will be yours. On it is the
document regarding Operation: Natural Selection, and various other programs. Learn to
use it well."
I took the computer and started to leave, but Himmler grabbed onto me. "Don't disappoint me,
Lillith," he hissed. "Atkins and I have a little wager, and if you disappoint me, you won't
live to regret it!"
Chapter Six
*~Meilai~*
After the fight, Lillith and I sat in some sort of stupor. It was the first time either of us
had had to really harm another being, let alone kill. I didn't know about Lillith, but just
killing a spider had been hard enough for me, but after what I had just done, killing a spider
seemed like nothing.
However, even after I had impaled the other girl, it still did not prepare me for what Lillith
did. Though I hardly knew her, Lillith hardly struck me as the type of girl who would
intentionally kill someone in cold blood, but she did. After she had shot the girl, she
walked back slowly, as if she were day dreaming. Now that I look back, I'm a little surprised
at how I hardly reacted. Unlike the rest of the children, who were now staring at the two of
us with fear, I simply looked at her. Her eyes were flat and dull, and, as I stared at my
reflection in her eyes, I could tell that my eyes mirrored hers.
Despite all that, I guess the abrupt transition from "girl-who-can't-even-kill-a-spider" to
"girl-who-just-impaled-someone" was still too much for me, and after some time in the room the
two of us shared, I ran to the toilet and threw up for five minutes straight. "You're being
weak," Lillith called out dully as I sobbed. However, deep down, I knew she was right. Tears
had no place in the world we now belonged to, and I vowed that I would never cry again.
Later, we joined the other 38 children in a large room (after Atkins smacked us several times
for being "weak") and were separated into two groups of twenty. Lillith and I were separated,
but at the moment, I hardly noticed. I went to a large room with 19 others, and sat and
waited as each of them were called into a room. Finally, it was my turn.
I went into the room and stood in front of Atkins. "Congratulations on surviving the first part
of Operation: Natural Selection, Veylona," he barked.
The name cut through my stupor. "Veylona? You...you are mistaken. I am Meilai."
Atkins narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Are you challenging me?" he growled, his hand moving to
his pistol. "It says here that Veylona survived. I see no Meilai. Now, I ask you again, what
is your name?"
Well, I certainly wasn't stupid enough to disagree. "I am Veylona. I am a girl with no past; I
am someone you found on the streets, and I am fortunate to have been taken in by you," I said
stiffly, fabricating a story.
Atkins smiled dangerously. "Very good, Veylona. Let us forget that temporary lapse in
memory, now, shall we? Good, good," and he shoved a laptop at me. "There are various pieces
of information on that thing. Your training shall begin tomorrow."
As I turned to leave, he said, "And for your sake, you'd better be a quick study."
"Yes...sir," I whispered, and quickly left.
later...
It was several hours later, after dinner. Of course, all 40 of us had stared suspiciously at
our dinners, but Himmler and Atkins waved their guns around and said that we were being
stupid; they wouldn't kill us so early, so we ate, expecting at any moment to fall over, dead.
After that, we were told to come to breakfast on our own accord tomorrow at seven, and we
were dismissed. Lillith and I went back to our room quickly. As soon as she set foot in the
room, she started up her computer and began to study it.
"What are you doing?"
She waved a hand at the screen. "Reading this thing," she said, pointing to a document that
said, "Operation: Natural Selection."
I followed her example and did the same. After I was done, I heard Lillith mutter to herself.
"Hmm..."
"Hmm what?"
"Hmm as in I want to survive, no matter what," she said vehemently. Her tone startled
me.
"Lillith...what are you saying?"
"Look Meilai, I just killed for the first time in my life. I've just thrown away my
soul. I may as well go all out," she said flatly.
I understood. "So...how should we, ah, start?"
Lillith stood up. Her eyes darted around the room. "Aha," she muttered, and pointed. I looked
and saw what she was pointing at. "Oh...the camera."
Lillith nodded. "Exactly. I'm going to dismantle it."
"WHAT?! Himmler and Atkins will kill you!"
"No, they won't."
That threw me off. "Why not?"
"You read yourself that they want to train the 'Perfect Soldiers.' Well, the Perfect
Soldier must not only be a skilled fighter, but experienced in espionage, among other things, and
espionage involves technology, and that camera," she said, gesturing, "is technology. We'd
better learn what it's made of."
"But that still doesn't mean that they won't kill you."
She shrugged fatalistically. "Do I have choice? I've got to survive. I have no heart any more,
I'm just an animal, and animals fight to survive."
Lillith said this all in a blank tone of voice, and she went up and tugged the camera down.
I held my breath, expecting at any moment for the door to come crashing open, but it didn't, so
Lillith came over, sat down, and started taking it apart. Then she opened something on the
computer and began inputting data. Soon, she had a decent analysis of how the camera
was designed.
I watched her, and smiled. "Well then, that camera can't be the only thing in here. Let's see
how many we can find." Lillith glanced up, surprised, and smiled. "Bet you I can find more
than you can," she challenged, smiling, though her smile did not, nor ever would, reach her
eyes. "You're on," I said grimly.
Within thirty minutes, we had combed the room and found ten detection devices. We stared at
them.
"Do you even know what this is?" she asked, picking one up.
"No clue...Let's find out."
And so the evening continued. I took five and she took five, and we put the data on the
computers. Then we exchanged it, and tweaked around with each other's designs. At around
midnight, we were done. We stared at our data, smug.
"Not bad for a few hours work, eh?" I said.
Lillith nodded, satisfied. "Not bad at all," she asserted. Then she yawned. "But let's go to
sleep now Meilai. We don't want to be late tomorrow."
I agreed. "Good night, Lillith," I called, then stopped. "One more thing, who is Meilai? My
name is Veylona."
Lillith understood instantly. "Sorry, my mistake. Good night, Veylona."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whew! So, what do you think so far? Please send me some feedback! Oh yeah, and feel free to
comment on my other story as well!:)
Chapter Seven
~Reiming~
And so life continued. Himmler and Atkins were true to their word: no more poison appeared in
our food, and we weren't forced to fight to the death with anyone. Instead, we were trained in
martial arts, how to handle arms, how to hack into computers, and various other skills. However,
I knew, as did Veylona, that this peace could not last, so we prepared.
Veylona and I agreed that to survive, we would have to join forces. So instead of just doing
our daily activities, Veylona and I did extra. I managed to find several sources on how to
detect and make various poisons, and I managed to perfect the art of outwitting security
systems, whether they be cameras or locks or keypads, and obtaining information and getting out
of there as fast as I could. A game of ours involved my changing the images security cameras
caught, and then Veylona changing them back. Veylona perfected the art of making explosives, and
she learned to make small and original weapons that could be concealed, whether they be poison
tipped pens or switchblades to be concealed under long sleeves. Both of us taught ourselves to
design programs, and we fine tuned them by giving them to the other to crack. We also made our
own cameras, microphones, and pressure sensors.
I'm still not really too sure if Himmler and Atkins were aware of our little escapades;
regardless, they left us alone. Finally, Veylona and I decided to infiltrate Himmler and
Atkins' quarters and find out what would happen. So one afternoon, AC 190, after extensive
planning, I decided to try to sneak into Himmler and Atkins' private quarters.
It was late afternoon, and several of us were going in groups outside to practice our
shooting. As everyone milled around, I carefully separated from the crowd and ran down the
various hallways. I had memorized the pathway the night before using the images I had
downloaded from the security cameras using a program Veylona and I had designed together.
I ran quickly down the hallways, pressing myself along the sides in the shadows when I had to and
changing the security camera images. Eventually, I reached the door. I quickly removed a
microphone I had hidden in my hair, which I had started braiding the sides of, and a small
pair of headphones, and worked the microphone into the crack.
At first I got static, but then eventually, I could hear the two.
"It's been four years," Atkins said crossly. "I'm tired of feeding forty brats."
"Agreed. Let's initiate the next part," Himmler said.
"How many should we eliminate this time?"
"At least half. We could do the one on one combat again."
"That will do it. Then it's agreed: we have them face each other and fight to the
death."
"But there is also the issue of those two girls."
At least, my heart nearly stopped. Atkins said, "True true, is that Lillith girl still your
favorite?"
"Just as Veylona is yours?"
Atkins laughed coldly. "Naturally. Those two show much more potential than the rest of this
miserable lot. Haven't you seen them teach themselves all those skills? At ages nine and ten,
they are probably as skilled as our soldiers. But, they are also potential problems," he
added. "I can still remember one of them finding and dismantling one of our cameras right
after we had completed the first phase of our plan."
"That would be Lillith. But Veylona is equally dangerous. She has stockpiled an
impressive supply of arms, ranging from minor explosives to various blades of different size.
And both have been practicing hacking. I wonder if they have been able to hack into OUR
computers..."
"Even if they have, it doesn't matter. Remember, they ARE still children. They are
still at our mercy...and they fear us. That will work to our advantage."
At this, I had had enough. I had been there for about five minutes; I had heard enough.
Quickly, I ran back to the rest of the group. As Veylona and I practiced shooting, I whispered
to her in Chinese, "One on one, coming up. 50% cut." Veylona nodded, her eyes not moving from
her target.
That evening, we held a quick conference after we had gone through the room looking for
microphones. Not finding any, I quickly told Veylona what I had heard. "They have a general
idea of what we are doing," I said, "but not all of it. They know about your weapons, and my
skill for making detection devices, and our hacking, but not our programs, or my...other
weapons.
Veylona raised an eyebrow. "...Biological...weapons?" she asked.
"In a way. Cyanide, hydrochloric acid, other poisons, and this," I finished,
producing a few vials. "Truth serum that I really hope works, and some stimulants and
depressants."
"I have blades with poison vials inserted in them, explosives, even poison tipped
arrows with blowpipes, switchblades, etc."
We mentally reviewed our arsenal. Finally, I said in a flat voice, "Well then, shall we
begin our own little Operation: Natural Selection?"
"Yes. Tomorrow, cyanide in the food, explosives in the rooms, and poison tipped
needles in the beds," Veylona said. "Let the games begin."
Chapter Eight
*~Meilai~*
After Lillith's success in finding out what Himmler and Atkins were planning, we decided to
act out our own little plan on eliminating competition. We had already come to terms a long
time ago that we would have to resort to subterfuge and yes, killing others in order to make it
out alive.
The next day, early in the morning, before anyone was up, Lillith and I got up. Lillith took
the cyanide pills that she had doctored, and I took my explosives. The plan was for Lillith
to put the cyanide in the food, and my explosives into guns, so when they were fired, they
would explode. With some of my help, Lillith managed to get past all the guards and security
cameras (it's amazing what some sleeping pills in coffee and computers can do) and into the
kitchen, where, as soon as the soldier/cook's back was turned, she dumped in the pills into the
daily oatmeal. After she returned, I sneaked into the weapon supply room, and, with a device
we had made, "tricked" the keypad and opened the door, where I deposited my cargo. I made
mental marks of which ones I rigged, and we both returned to our room.
At breakfast, we all took helpings of oatmeal to avoid suspicion, but instead of eating it, we
would take spoonfuls and carefully spit it back out into napkins. After breakfast, we went to
get our guns for practice.
That's when the cyanide kicked in. Lillith had made sure to put only a small amount in, so that
it would take more time to act. As we were getting our guns, at least seven dropped dead.
Others got sick and vomited it back up. Lillith and I managed to hack up some chyme, just to
avoid looking suspicious. But Himmler and Atkins didn't react to this, only gave orders that the
bodies be removed.
By this time, I think all of us were so used to death that we all hardly batted an eyelash as
the seven were taken away. The guns, however, caused more confusion. I had only rigged five,
and all five went off. When the smoke cleared, there were five more casualties. Of course, this
definitely caused Himmler and Atkins to look suspicious, and they stared at us.
"We're dead," Lillith muttered, but I said casually, "Oh no, we're not."
"What?"
"When they check the rooms, they will find some left over supplies in someone elses
room, in a person's room that I know that they know has also been experimenting with
explosives."
Lillith glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, then twitched the corners of her mouth.
"Well then," she murmured, "maybe we do have a chance after all."
And somehow, we got away with it. The rooms were checked, but Lillith and I had already
hidden away all of our supplies except for a few, since we knew that they knew we were
experimenting with weapons. However, the incriminating evidence was gone...and in someone
elses room. By lunch, two more were gone, bringing up the total to 14.
"Six to go, in the very least," Lillith whispered. "Needles?"
"Needles," I affirmed.
That evening, before we went to bed, we took several poison tipped needles, and planted them in
cots. We planted fifteen to be safe; ten worked. By the next morning, there were only 16 of
the original 201 left, thanks to us.
But even with this turnout, Himmler and Atkins still went ahead with their plan to have us
fight to the death, so Lillith and I called another conference. This time, I was the one who
had gone and eavesdropped.
"In two days," I said. "In two days, there will be one more fight."
Lillith nodded, thinking. "Of the 14 others, maybe five or six others are an actual threat,"
she mused. She was of course referring to those who had been cautious enough to actually find
the poisonous needles we had planted, and those that weren't stupid enough to use a gun they
hadn't first examined or eaten excessive amounts of oatmeal, which was a food that was very easy
to tamper with. "We need to be careful."
I thought for a moment, then said, "Remember Hamlet? The poison tipped swords?"
Lillith nodded. "But will we be using swords?" she asked.
"Don't know, but it certainly wouldn't hurt."
"True true. Okay, we'll do that then."
And so for the next two days, we prepared. We practiced fighting with each other; we woke up
early to run; we sharpened our swords; and of course, Lillith prepared a poison. Finally, the
two days were over. We all walked out onto the field and drew our numbers.
I was up first. Fortunately for me, I had no trouble with my opponent, and I finished him within
a few minutes. Lillith, however, had more trouble.
We had our first hint when she stepped out with her sword and began to fight...and the other
girl knocked her sword away and took it. I swear, I had never seen Lillith get so angry.
"You will not live to regret your mistake!" she snarled, brandishing the girl's own
discarded weapon. "NO one touches that sword but me!"
The girl was undaunted. "I bet you tipped your sword with poison," she taunted. "And now I
have it, so you're mad!"
Though it was technically true, Lillith rolled her eyes. "Idiot, that sword belongs to me, and
no one touches it but me. Even if I DID use poison, I don't need it."
"Oh, is that right?" she sneered, and lunged. Lillith moved out of the way quickly.
"Yes, that is right," she said coldly. "Observe."
And suddenly, a dagger appeared in her hand, one of the ones I had designed with poison in
them that fits snugly against the arm and under the sleeve. "Eat this!" she snarled, and flung
it.
The girl was dead before she hit the ground.
*~Meilai~*
After Himmler had ordered our room mates to be shot, I felt like fainting, but somehow, I guess
I managed to mutely follow Lillith and Himmler out of the room. Himmler led us down the
hallway, and then into a large eating hall. We were the only ones there so far, but soon,
Atkins came with several more children. We all sat stiffly at the tables, and judging by some
of the horrified expressions on the others faces, I had a feeling their room mates had been
shot also.
Lillith in the meanwhile was looking around the room and moving her fingers. "What are you
doing?" I whispered.
"Counting. Do you know how many of us there were yesterday?"
"Um...201."
"201?"
"Yeah...you were the extra 'one.'"
Lillith nodded and continued. Finally, she said, "87."
"WHAT?!"
She nodded wearily. "101 were eliminated yesterday; that leaves 100. Now there are thirteen
less. Therefore...87. Over half of us are already gone; there is only...forty...three percent
left."
"Wow...you're good with numbers."
She smiled ruefully. "I've been trained to be a fighter, scholar, and musician for as long as
I can remember. Is that the same with you?"
"Yes...how did you know?"
"Who hasn't heard of the Ron clan?"
I laughed, but quietly. "Well then, what clan are you from?"
Lillith hesitated. "I have no clan. I've been disowned, remember?" then set her mouth in a
firm line. I gave up asking.
Soon, Himmler and Atkins and several others came into the room with several bowls of oatmeal
and started passing them out. Lillith and I stared at ours. I noticed her hesitation, and I
whispered to her in Chinese, "You think it's poisoned, don't you?" She nodded. I frowned, then
said, "I have an idea." I waited for the boy sitting next to me to take several bites of his
oatmeal, and the girl next to Lillith to do the same. When neither of them seemed to keel over,
I quickly spooned some of oatmeal and some of Lillith's, then I indicated to Lillith to copy
what I would do. Turning to the boy next to me, I hissed, "Hey, is that a spider?" The
boy quickly turned to look, and I dumped my spoonful into his empty spoon. "I don't see
anything," he frowned. In the meantime, Lillith said to the girl next to her, "Look, the
spider's over there!" When she turned to look, Lillith did the same. Finally, the girl
turned back. "Where?" "Oh, it must have run away," Lillith said breezily. The girl shrugged,
and ate a spoonful of Lillith's oatmeal. The boy on my side did the same with mine. Then
we sat and waited.
After a few minutes, nothing had happened, so we were about to start eating. Suddenly, on the
other side of the room, a girl collapsed. Several others began falling down onto the floor
also. The boy next to me also fell. We all stared, and several shrieked. I stared down at
my oatmeal. "Er...could I share some of yours?" I asked Lillith weakly. She nodded, her face
pale.
After that unpleasant episode, the bodies were removed and we were all taken out to a field,
where we were all separated. I looked franctically at Lillith. "I don't want us to be
separated," I wailed, trying not to whine. She twitched the corners of her mouth, trying to
smile, but not quite succeeding. "It's okay," she whispered. "Just be brave."
I was led into an empty room, given a number (4) and then left alone. Soon, a soldier came in
and handed me a box. "Take a piece of paper," he said. I did, and looked at it. It said: 17.
"That is your opponent," he said tonelessly, and left. After he left, I figured that I was
probably going to have to fight someone, and so I started to stretch. Later, the door opened and
Atkins appeared. "Follow me," he ordered, and I did, and was led to a field, where everyone
else was. I immediately found Lillith and attached myself to her. "Who is your opponent?" she
whispered.
"Number 17."
"I know her," she whispered, and pointed. I nearly fainted: I was staring at a girl
who was nearly twice my height. Lillith smiled. "Don't worry; see how tall she is? Duck
around her blows and wear her out."
I tried to smile. "Who is your opponent?" I asked. Lillith pointed to another girl. "49,"
she said. "She doesn't look like much," I said, trying to sound brave. Lillith shrugged,
sizing her up and down. "She's built like me; she may fight the same way as I do."
Before we could say anything else, Himmler began to speak (bark). "Number one and your
opponent, step up to the front." At that, two boys stepped up and were handed two fencing
foils. "You have five minutes," Himmler barked. "Now, fight."
The two boys stared at each other. "Did you not hear what I said?!" Himmler roared. "Start
fighting!"
Finally, the two began to spar. However, it wasn't much of a fight, since it was obvious
neither of them had any experience with a sword whatsoever. After about two minutes, Atkins
stepped in, disgusted. "That's enough!" he snarled. "Next!"
After a few more equally pathetic fights, it was my turn. I clutched my sword protectively; I
wasn't too sure if I was willing to give it up; then again, I certainly didn't want to die
either. But Atkins simply looked at me, smirked, and said, "Since this one already seems to
have her own weapon, let her keep it."
The girl and I circled each other. Judging from the expression on the other girl's face, I
could tell that she did not think that I was much of an opponent, so I lunged to gain the
element of surprise. I'm not too sure who was more surprised, her or me, when my sword went
clean through her. We stared at each other, horrified, then the other girl slumped forward,
dead.
Chapter Five
~Reiming~
I can never forget the expression on Meilai's face when she impaled the other girl with her
sword, killing her. All activity had instantly ceased; all were focused on Meilai, her
sword dripping with blood, and the dead girl. I sneaked a glance at Himmler and Atkins, then
turned away, disgusted. The expression on their faces was one of glee, of delight. "What
monsters!" I thought, disgusted and horrified. Finally, Atkins spoke, "Next," he said
cooly, as if little girls killing each other was commonplace. No one moved for a moment, then
I realized that I was next, and stepped forward dumbly. Meilai hadn't moved from her spot; she
looked like she was about to faint or throw up, or maybe both. Taking her arm, I gently
steered her out of the way and back into the crowd, where everyone backed away from her. Then,
I turned to face my opponent, and recoiled.
The look in the other girl's eyes was dangerous, ruthless. It was clear that she had fought
before, and had probably killed many also. At that moment, I knew. I knew that I would be
fighting for my life in this battle. "Start!" Himmler called out.
The girl immediately lunged. I danced out of the way, holding out my sword and keeping her at
bay. She lunged again, swinging wildly and nearly hitting me. I still didn't strike back;
instead, I circled her and watched her. Soon, it became evident that though she certainly was
a good fighter, she had no experience with the sword; however, her wild swinging was still
dangerous. I would have to disarm her. The next time she lunged, I brought up my sword and
with a flick of the wrist, knocked her sword away. Then, I jumped at her and rammed my
shoulder into her, knocking her back fifteen feet. She was defeated, and I turned around to
leave. Suddenly, Himmler blocked my path.
"You're not finished," he said. I stared at him, confused. Giving me a horrible
smile, he handed me a gun. "Finish it," he said coldly. I stared at the gun in my hand, then
I slowly turned around and pointed it at the girl. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to get
away. "I'm...sorry," I whispered, and I squeezed the trigger. Later, as I bent over the
dead girl's body and stared into her blank eyes, I saw that my own eyes were as dead as hers.
later...
Meilai and I sat in our room, silent. Neither of us had said a word after the whole dueling
business was over. After it was done, only forty children remained out of the original 201.
Some had succumbed to the poison in the oatmeal; others had died fighting. I sneaked a
glance at Meilai, and saw that her eyes were as dead as mine. It was strange; we had only
been here a day and already it seemed like an eternity. I could barely remember myself as the
girl who loved to sing and play and tease her older brother.
"I'm dead," I whispered to myself. "Chang Reiming is no more...I am Lillith, the cold
blooded, ruthless killer..."
Suddenly, Meilai jumped up and ran for the toilet, where she promptly began to throw up. I
left her alone and let her finish. After five long minutes, she stopped and promptly began to
sob. "Stop that," I said coldly. "It is a sign of weakness."
Meilai looked at me with a tear stained face. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I...I can't deal
with this...I'm not a killer, I'm NOT!" she said franctically, shouting the last word. I
looked at her with blank eyes. "You are now..." I said dully. "Our fates are sealed..."
We wallowed in our misery and self pity for a couple more minutes, and then Atkins appeared in
the doorway. "Both of you, come here!" he ordered. Wordlessly, we got up and stood in front
of him. He glared at us for a few seconds, then, raising his saber, hit us both hard with the
flat side several times. We looked at him with weary eyes.
"Stop looking like that!" he sneered. "Himmler and I can't stand weak people, and only
weak people look like that! If I ever catch either of you two looking like that again, I swear
I will kill you with my own hands!"
After that tirade, I straightened, as did Meilai, and without a backwards glance, we walked out
into the hall with our heads held high. Atkins glared at us, but didn't say a word, and
herded us down the hall and into a room, where the other 38 children were.
We were separated into two groups of twenty; I went with one group and Meilai went with the
other. I was told to go into a side room last, so I sat and waited. Finally, I was called in.
Inside was Himmler, and in front of him was a computer.
"Congratulations Reiming," he sneered. "You've survived the first part of Operation:
Natural Selection. You ought to be proud."
I looked at him, and I said, "Who is Reiming? My name is Lillith. Chang Reiming is dead."
Himmler stared at me, then he began to chuckle evilly. "Yes, I knew you were a special one
when I saw you. Lillith now, is it?" and he typed something into the computer. "There," he
announced with satisfaction, and turned the screen towards me. On it was my profile: "name,"
date of birth, fingerprints, DNA, blood type, and etc. "Your training will commence tomorrow,"
he said. "In the meantime..." and he shoved a laptop at me. "This will be yours. On it is the
document regarding Operation: Natural Selection, and various other programs. Learn to
use it well."
I took the computer and started to leave, but Himmler grabbed onto me. "Don't disappoint me,
Lillith," he hissed. "Atkins and I have a little wager, and if you disappoint me, you won't
live to regret it!"
Chapter Six
*~Meilai~*
After the fight, Lillith and I sat in some sort of stupor. It was the first time either of us
had had to really harm another being, let alone kill. I didn't know about Lillith, but just
killing a spider had been hard enough for me, but after what I had just done, killing a spider
seemed like nothing.
However, even after I had impaled the other girl, it still did not prepare me for what Lillith
did. Though I hardly knew her, Lillith hardly struck me as the type of girl who would
intentionally kill someone in cold blood, but she did. After she had shot the girl, she
walked back slowly, as if she were day dreaming. Now that I look back, I'm a little surprised
at how I hardly reacted. Unlike the rest of the children, who were now staring at the two of
us with fear, I simply looked at her. Her eyes were flat and dull, and, as I stared at my
reflection in her eyes, I could tell that my eyes mirrored hers.
Despite all that, I guess the abrupt transition from "girl-who-can't-even-kill-a-spider" to
"girl-who-just-impaled-someone" was still too much for me, and after some time in the room the
two of us shared, I ran to the toilet and threw up for five minutes straight. "You're being
weak," Lillith called out dully as I sobbed. However, deep down, I knew she was right. Tears
had no place in the world we now belonged to, and I vowed that I would never cry again.
Later, we joined the other 38 children in a large room (after Atkins smacked us several times
for being "weak") and were separated into two groups of twenty. Lillith and I were separated,
but at the moment, I hardly noticed. I went to a large room with 19 others, and sat and
waited as each of them were called into a room. Finally, it was my turn.
I went into the room and stood in front of Atkins. "Congratulations on surviving the first part
of Operation: Natural Selection, Veylona," he barked.
The name cut through my stupor. "Veylona? You...you are mistaken. I am Meilai."
Atkins narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Are you challenging me?" he growled, his hand moving to
his pistol. "It says here that Veylona survived. I see no Meilai. Now, I ask you again, what
is your name?"
Well, I certainly wasn't stupid enough to disagree. "I am Veylona. I am a girl with no past; I
am someone you found on the streets, and I am fortunate to have been taken in by you," I said
stiffly, fabricating a story.
Atkins smiled dangerously. "Very good, Veylona. Let us forget that temporary lapse in
memory, now, shall we? Good, good," and he shoved a laptop at me. "There are various pieces
of information on that thing. Your training shall begin tomorrow."
As I turned to leave, he said, "And for your sake, you'd better be a quick study."
"Yes...sir," I whispered, and quickly left.
later...
It was several hours later, after dinner. Of course, all 40 of us had stared suspiciously at
our dinners, but Himmler and Atkins waved their guns around and said that we were being
stupid; they wouldn't kill us so early, so we ate, expecting at any moment to fall over, dead.
After that, we were told to come to breakfast on our own accord tomorrow at seven, and we
were dismissed. Lillith and I went back to our room quickly. As soon as she set foot in the
room, she started up her computer and began to study it.
"What are you doing?"
She waved a hand at the screen. "Reading this thing," she said, pointing to a document that
said, "Operation: Natural Selection."
I followed her example and did the same. After I was done, I heard Lillith mutter to herself.
"Hmm..."
"Hmm what?"
"Hmm as in I want to survive, no matter what," she said vehemently. Her tone startled
me.
"Lillith...what are you saying?"
"Look Meilai, I just killed for the first time in my life. I've just thrown away my
soul. I may as well go all out," she said flatly.
I understood. "So...how should we, ah, start?"
Lillith stood up. Her eyes darted around the room. "Aha," she muttered, and pointed. I looked
and saw what she was pointing at. "Oh...the camera."
Lillith nodded. "Exactly. I'm going to dismantle it."
"WHAT?! Himmler and Atkins will kill you!"
"No, they won't."
That threw me off. "Why not?"
"You read yourself that they want to train the 'Perfect Soldiers.' Well, the Perfect
Soldier must not only be a skilled fighter, but experienced in espionage, among other things, and
espionage involves technology, and that camera," she said, gesturing, "is technology. We'd
better learn what it's made of."
"But that still doesn't mean that they won't kill you."
She shrugged fatalistically. "Do I have choice? I've got to survive. I have no heart any more,
I'm just an animal, and animals fight to survive."
Lillith said this all in a blank tone of voice, and she went up and tugged the camera down.
I held my breath, expecting at any moment for the door to come crashing open, but it didn't, so
Lillith came over, sat down, and started taking it apart. Then she opened something on the
computer and began inputting data. Soon, she had a decent analysis of how the camera
was designed.
I watched her, and smiled. "Well then, that camera can't be the only thing in here. Let's see
how many we can find." Lillith glanced up, surprised, and smiled. "Bet you I can find more
than you can," she challenged, smiling, though her smile did not, nor ever would, reach her
eyes. "You're on," I said grimly.
Within thirty minutes, we had combed the room and found ten detection devices. We stared at
them.
"Do you even know what this is?" she asked, picking one up.
"No clue...Let's find out."
And so the evening continued. I took five and she took five, and we put the data on the
computers. Then we exchanged it, and tweaked around with each other's designs. At around
midnight, we were done. We stared at our data, smug.
"Not bad for a few hours work, eh?" I said.
Lillith nodded, satisfied. "Not bad at all," she asserted. Then she yawned. "But let's go to
sleep now Meilai. We don't want to be late tomorrow."
I agreed. "Good night, Lillith," I called, then stopped. "One more thing, who is Meilai? My
name is Veylona."
Lillith understood instantly. "Sorry, my mistake. Good night, Veylona."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whew! So, what do you think so far? Please send me some feedback! Oh yeah, and feel free to
comment on my other story as well!:)
Chapter Seven
~Reiming~
And so life continued. Himmler and Atkins were true to their word: no more poison appeared in
our food, and we weren't forced to fight to the death with anyone. Instead, we were trained in
martial arts, how to handle arms, how to hack into computers, and various other skills. However,
I knew, as did Veylona, that this peace could not last, so we prepared.
Veylona and I agreed that to survive, we would have to join forces. So instead of just doing
our daily activities, Veylona and I did extra. I managed to find several sources on how to
detect and make various poisons, and I managed to perfect the art of outwitting security
systems, whether they be cameras or locks or keypads, and obtaining information and getting out
of there as fast as I could. A game of ours involved my changing the images security cameras
caught, and then Veylona changing them back. Veylona perfected the art of making explosives, and
she learned to make small and original weapons that could be concealed, whether they be poison
tipped pens or switchblades to be concealed under long sleeves. Both of us taught ourselves to
design programs, and we fine tuned them by giving them to the other to crack. We also made our
own cameras, microphones, and pressure sensors.
I'm still not really too sure if Himmler and Atkins were aware of our little escapades;
regardless, they left us alone. Finally, Veylona and I decided to infiltrate Himmler and
Atkins' quarters and find out what would happen. So one afternoon, AC 190, after extensive
planning, I decided to try to sneak into Himmler and Atkins' private quarters.
It was late afternoon, and several of us were going in groups outside to practice our
shooting. As everyone milled around, I carefully separated from the crowd and ran down the
various hallways. I had memorized the pathway the night before using the images I had
downloaded from the security cameras using a program Veylona and I had designed together.
I ran quickly down the hallways, pressing myself along the sides in the shadows when I had to and
changing the security camera images. Eventually, I reached the door. I quickly removed a
microphone I had hidden in my hair, which I had started braiding the sides of, and a small
pair of headphones, and worked the microphone into the crack.
At first I got static, but then eventually, I could hear the two.
"It's been four years," Atkins said crossly. "I'm tired of feeding forty brats."
"Agreed. Let's initiate the next part," Himmler said.
"How many should we eliminate this time?"
"At least half. We could do the one on one combat again."
"That will do it. Then it's agreed: we have them face each other and fight to the
death."
"But there is also the issue of those two girls."
At least, my heart nearly stopped. Atkins said, "True true, is that Lillith girl still your
favorite?"
"Just as Veylona is yours?"
Atkins laughed coldly. "Naturally. Those two show much more potential than the rest of this
miserable lot. Haven't you seen them teach themselves all those skills? At ages nine and ten,
they are probably as skilled as our soldiers. But, they are also potential problems," he
added. "I can still remember one of them finding and dismantling one of our cameras right
after we had completed the first phase of our plan."
"That would be Lillith. But Veylona is equally dangerous. She has stockpiled an
impressive supply of arms, ranging from minor explosives to various blades of different size.
And both have been practicing hacking. I wonder if they have been able to hack into OUR
computers..."
"Even if they have, it doesn't matter. Remember, they ARE still children. They are
still at our mercy...and they fear us. That will work to our advantage."
At this, I had had enough. I had been there for about five minutes; I had heard enough.
Quickly, I ran back to the rest of the group. As Veylona and I practiced shooting, I whispered
to her in Chinese, "One on one, coming up. 50% cut." Veylona nodded, her eyes not moving from
her target.
That evening, we held a quick conference after we had gone through the room looking for
microphones. Not finding any, I quickly told Veylona what I had heard. "They have a general
idea of what we are doing," I said, "but not all of it. They know about your weapons, and my
skill for making detection devices, and our hacking, but not our programs, or my...other
weapons.
Veylona raised an eyebrow. "...Biological...weapons?" she asked.
"In a way. Cyanide, hydrochloric acid, other poisons, and this," I finished,
producing a few vials. "Truth serum that I really hope works, and some stimulants and
depressants."
"I have blades with poison vials inserted in them, explosives, even poison tipped
arrows with blowpipes, switchblades, etc."
We mentally reviewed our arsenal. Finally, I said in a flat voice, "Well then, shall we
begin our own little Operation: Natural Selection?"
"Yes. Tomorrow, cyanide in the food, explosives in the rooms, and poison tipped
needles in the beds," Veylona said. "Let the games begin."
Chapter Eight
*~Meilai~*
After Lillith's success in finding out what Himmler and Atkins were planning, we decided to
act out our own little plan on eliminating competition. We had already come to terms a long
time ago that we would have to resort to subterfuge and yes, killing others in order to make it
out alive.
The next day, early in the morning, before anyone was up, Lillith and I got up. Lillith took
the cyanide pills that she had doctored, and I took my explosives. The plan was for Lillith
to put the cyanide in the food, and my explosives into guns, so when they were fired, they
would explode. With some of my help, Lillith managed to get past all the guards and security
cameras (it's amazing what some sleeping pills in coffee and computers can do) and into the
kitchen, where, as soon as the soldier/cook's back was turned, she dumped in the pills into the
daily oatmeal. After she returned, I sneaked into the weapon supply room, and, with a device
we had made, "tricked" the keypad and opened the door, where I deposited my cargo. I made
mental marks of which ones I rigged, and we both returned to our room.
At breakfast, we all took helpings of oatmeal to avoid suspicion, but instead of eating it, we
would take spoonfuls and carefully spit it back out into napkins. After breakfast, we went to
get our guns for practice.
That's when the cyanide kicked in. Lillith had made sure to put only a small amount in, so that
it would take more time to act. As we were getting our guns, at least seven dropped dead.
Others got sick and vomited it back up. Lillith and I managed to hack up some chyme, just to
avoid looking suspicious. But Himmler and Atkins didn't react to this, only gave orders that the
bodies be removed.
By this time, I think all of us were so used to death that we all hardly batted an eyelash as
the seven were taken away. The guns, however, caused more confusion. I had only rigged five,
and all five went off. When the smoke cleared, there were five more casualties. Of course, this
definitely caused Himmler and Atkins to look suspicious, and they stared at us.
"We're dead," Lillith muttered, but I said casually, "Oh no, we're not."
"What?"
"When they check the rooms, they will find some left over supplies in someone elses
room, in a person's room that I know that they know has also been experimenting with
explosives."
Lillith glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, then twitched the corners of her mouth.
"Well then," she murmured, "maybe we do have a chance after all."
And somehow, we got away with it. The rooms were checked, but Lillith and I had already
hidden away all of our supplies except for a few, since we knew that they knew we were
experimenting with weapons. However, the incriminating evidence was gone...and in someone
elses room. By lunch, two more were gone, bringing up the total to 14.
"Six to go, in the very least," Lillith whispered. "Needles?"
"Needles," I affirmed.
That evening, before we went to bed, we took several poison tipped needles, and planted them in
cots. We planted fifteen to be safe; ten worked. By the next morning, there were only 16 of
the original 201 left, thanks to us.
But even with this turnout, Himmler and Atkins still went ahead with their plan to have us
fight to the death, so Lillith and I called another conference. This time, I was the one who
had gone and eavesdropped.
"In two days," I said. "In two days, there will be one more fight."
Lillith nodded, thinking. "Of the 14 others, maybe five or six others are an actual threat,"
she mused. She was of course referring to those who had been cautious enough to actually find
the poisonous needles we had planted, and those that weren't stupid enough to use a gun they
hadn't first examined or eaten excessive amounts of oatmeal, which was a food that was very easy
to tamper with. "We need to be careful."
I thought for a moment, then said, "Remember Hamlet? The poison tipped swords?"
Lillith nodded. "But will we be using swords?" she asked.
"Don't know, but it certainly wouldn't hurt."
"True true. Okay, we'll do that then."
And so for the next two days, we prepared. We practiced fighting with each other; we woke up
early to run; we sharpened our swords; and of course, Lillith prepared a poison. Finally, the
two days were over. We all walked out onto the field and drew our numbers.
I was up first. Fortunately for me, I had no trouble with my opponent, and I finished him within
a few minutes. Lillith, however, had more trouble.
We had our first hint when she stepped out with her sword and began to fight...and the other
girl knocked her sword away and took it. I swear, I had never seen Lillith get so angry.
"You will not live to regret your mistake!" she snarled, brandishing the girl's own
discarded weapon. "NO one touches that sword but me!"
The girl was undaunted. "I bet you tipped your sword with poison," she taunted. "And now I
have it, so you're mad!"
Though it was technically true, Lillith rolled her eyes. "Idiot, that sword belongs to me, and
no one touches it but me. Even if I DID use poison, I don't need it."
"Oh, is that right?" she sneered, and lunged. Lillith moved out of the way quickly.
"Yes, that is right," she said coldly. "Observe."
And suddenly, a dagger appeared in her hand, one of the ones I had designed with poison in
them that fits snugly against the arm and under the sleeve. "Eat this!" she snarled, and flung
it.
The girl was dead before she hit the ground.
