Okay, we can just all say I am a terrible updater I haven't updated in weeks, so sorry! Now we can all be friends! Hehe. Divergent (movie) is coming out soon so I got inspired to update again, which may make me inspired to update more and more and more! Unlikely, but oh well. Make sure to tell me what you think in the reviews, PMing and such! (and thanks for 50 reviews!) -EmuFrost
My heart almost stopped when Floor, no Tubias said those three words. He stared at me in amazement. I stared at him in terror. My whole body was completely frozen. I couldn't speak even if wanted to. I tried to think of something to say, but I guess my brain was frozen too.
"No, I'm not," I lied.
"Yes, you are. Only people certified to give this test are trained to see Detergent results. I'm guessing you haven't been trained, so how would you even know what the word Detergent is?"
My mind was still frozen in shock. Nobody was supposed to ever know and Floor knew.
"Detergents aren't affected by simulations the way normal people are. You knew it wasn't real, so you did amazing. Tide, your life is in danger. People out there want to kill you. J'clean Matthews would send an army after you if she ever knew you were detergent. I don't know why. Apparently, they hate detergent. They threaten our system. Our whole world depends on separation! If I had any sense at all right now, I would kill you, but I don't," Floor said.
"This never happened right?" I said hopefully.
"No," Tubias agreed "By the way, your results would put you at the top of the list, congrats. You're officially a Dustless."
•••
I left the room with my heart pounding out of my chest. Could I really trust Tubias? The one who killed Pristina? Tubias, Floor, I don't even know his name! The one who put me through all this pain? I clenched my fists and joined Ble and Well who were waiting for there turn. I would have to trust Floor. I had no choice. Out of all the people who could know? Tubias!
"How'd it go?" Well inquired.
"Great," I lied. He nodded and returned to twiddling his thumbs. You could cut the tension with a butter knife. I got up to go to the bathroom. Any excuse to leave the room was a good one. My hands were shaking in fear. I was about to round the corner when I heard two people talking around the corner. I stopped short to eavesdrop. So un-bathnegation.
"There is no choice. We must examine all test results thoroughly!" A woman's voice was practically yelling.
"But really, what kind of dumb detergent would choose Dustless?" said another voice. I clenched my fists and pressed my body to the wall. If I were caught eavesdropping I would be dead.
"There is no compromising this situation. One detergent could mess up the whole plan," the woman said.
"If you say so," the other voice said. I heard footsteps slowly fading away. I slowly stuck my head out in the corridor to catch a glimpse of the two people. Right in front of me was the very person that I hoped never to see in my life. A tall skinny figure with short clean cut blonde hair. Dressed in a slim business suit, J'clean Matthews spun on her heels. I gasped and flattened myself against the wall. J'clean walked by with her head held high as if everyone were below her, which they were. When she was gone, I looked out in the hallway to catch a glimpse of the second person, but all I could see was a dark figure disappearing into the shadows. Something was happening, and it wasn't good, for me at least. The plan, detergent, checking the scores. They would find me, soon.
•••
I woke with a start in an uncomfortable position. Sweat had pooled around my neck. I could only put together bits and pieces or the nightmare that had consumed me. Greaser coming at me with serrated knife, Grubby laughing and pinning me down, Floor yelling "Detergent!", over all a cheery experience. The halls were quiet except the faint noise of someone snoring in the distance. I took deep breaths calming myself. I went over a routine of making sure I knew what was going on. My name is Beatide Prior. I am sixteen years old. My home is Bathnegation. I trained in Dustless. J'clean Matthews hates me.
A shot rang out in the corridor. I bolted upright. Red lights began flashing as sirens wailed. As if they were under a spell, every Dustless in the corridor stood up with a gun at the ready. I copied and grabbed the nearest gun. Something was happening to them, I had to blend in. We marched simultaneously into the halls. My footsteps were off the beat as I stammered to catch up with the group. I searched the crowd to find someone that wasn't under the spell. There was nobody who stood out, except me. Suddenly the person beside me nudged into me. I tried to stay calm.
"Tide," he whispered. Floor thank goodness. I couldn't turn my head to talk to him, we would be found.
"You're-" I was about to say Detergent when he cut me off.
"Don't say it," he whispered. I nodded and continued to march. The group turned and exited the building. J'clean Matthews was inspecting the army. I gulped and stared straight forward. Out of the corner of my eye I could see J'clean glare at me. Then, I did the worst thing I could've ever done in my life. I turned to face J'clean. Her eyes widened in surprise. I could see the word forming on her lips. Detergent. She knew. Tubias cursed and faced me. He grabbed my arm and yanked me through the crowd.
"Seize them!" J'clean cried. "Filthy Detergent!" Tubias had pulled me a reasonable distance from the crowd before they turned to us. All armed and ready to fire. We were almost to the entrance of the city, about 10 feet away. A metal gate about 10 feet tall loomed over us.
"Climb!" Tubias yelled. I grabbed the fence and scaled about 5 feet of it. Tubias had already lifted himself over the side when they began to shoot.
"Tide!" he yelled, grabbing the back of my shirt and pulling my up. I leaped over the side of the fence and landed in Tubias's arms. He smiled, but I stood up. It was not this time. We sprinted as fast as we could through the alley way. When the sound of firing was finally gone I leaned against the cold brick wall to catch my breath.
"You're-"
"Yes, I know, don't say it!" he said quickly.
"Fine," I said. "So what next? The whole Dustless community is after us, and Odorite is up to something, they're probably starting a war, and I bet we're worth about a thousand bucks each."
"Who's fault is this again?" he asked.
"Mine," I muttered.
"Listen, Odorite has been planning this for years. The serum was injected into everybody during their initiation, but J'clean just set it off. All Dustless are waging ware on Bathnegation while Odorite gets to sit back and relax."
"But, why?" I asked. He sat in the street and put his head between his hands.
"I don't know Tide!" he snapped. I heard footsteps approaching. I cocked my gun and aimed at the opening in the alley way. I wasn't afraid to shoot. A dustless stepped into the shadows. I gasped and without a moments hesitation fired. I heard a gasp and a thud as the solider fell to the ground. Hopefully it was just a shoulder wound. On a closer look I could see my bullet had pierced his chest. A fatal wound, why was I so good? I approached him carefully and removed the helmet.
Under it was the face of a boy. An innocent boy who had already lost his friends, left his family. His eyes still had a little sparkle as if life was in them, but I knew it wasn't. A tear escaped my eyes and landed on his face. The face of Well.