The Assassin Academy :

The Assassin Academy

Author's Note:

Hello all,

I am so excited that The Assassin Academy won for the next book I write :) I don't have an entire map blocked out in my head on what I want this story to entail, but I do have the next couple chapters filled out.

If you haven't read the first book: The Assassin Trials, I suggest reading that first. It gives you an insight on what the trials are about, mentions old characters, and references events that have happened.

Anonymous Amy

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Bischoff grabbed me by the arms and leaned my back against the wall. My eyes were able to move as he did the same to the bald-headed boy next to me and the two others across the room. I felt like I was glitching as I moved my neck back and forth to try and get a closer look at the girl farthest from me. My neck wouldn't move a lot though so I could only see that she was sitting perfectly and had blonde hair.

"I will be back in a couple of hours. Hopefully, you all will get your range of motion back. If not," Bischoff droned on for a bit before smiling and leaving the room. He slammed the door behind him and all of us were still and quiet.

Not like we had a choice though.

As I continued to stare at all three of these new people, I couldn't help twist my neck to try and get more motion. I wanted to see one of them at least. I tried and tried and felt my jaw harden at the thought. When I reached my hand up to my jaw, I felt stupid to look down and see no movement happening.

All I could do was sit, watch, and think.

Think about how I didn't know any of these people. Think about how I just saw Jude running in the crowds. Think about where Justin, Colt, Garrett, Eddie, and Asher were. Did they all come to the Assassin Academy too? Did they go somewhere else? Did anyone escape? I know that Colt was close but he also looked back to try and get me. Eddie and Garrett were fighting people off but I wasn't sure if they got caught or if they ended up winning. Asher went down first and I know Justin had the black bag thrown over his head. Why wasn't I with them? Who were these three people I was with now?

I turned my neck further the opposite direction and was able to see the bald-headed kid. He had a gash on his forehead and while it looked like it was healed all of the way, it would permanently be there. I wanted to know how he got it but as I tried to part my lips, there was no movement. Instead, my eyes looked down his body to see that he had small muscles similar to Colt. He was wearing a green tuxedo and when his hands came out from underneath it, they were darker than what Colt would have looked like. Although he would never wear a tux.

"Uhhh…"

I could hear the humming from someone's throat and knew that they were trying to speak. I curved my neck to try and catch who was making the noise but couldn't move it as fast as I wanted to. It wasn't the skinny dude who was staring back at me. While it seemed that the person who was humming wanted to get control of their mouth first, I wanted to be able to see everyone. My neck was the most important thing right now.

"Uh!"

They grew louder as I could hear them flicking their tongue inside their mouth. The girl joined in too but hers were more prominent. I turned my neck slowly and was able to move it a centimeter more than before. Her blonde hair was pulled into a crown and she was wearing an elegant green dress that made it all of the way down to her feet. I tried to observe what shoes she was wearing but her gown was too long to see.

She had to be Ladislava. That sounded like a female name to me. It didn't sound like a name I have ever heard before but I, at least, had the common sense to know that Patrick was a male name. I have never heard of the name Javier either. It didn't sound as pretty as Ladislava did though. It sounded more masculine.

"Hah!" he yelled again. This time he yelled louder and I was able to realize that it was coming from the boy with the scar on his forehead. I moved my neck and stared at him as the veins deepened as he concentrated on what he was about to say. "Hah!"

I could hear movement from right across from me and stared as I watched the other boy move his facial muscles. I tried to mimic him but could not tell if my muscles were moving like his muscles were. When I tried to move my hand up to check, it refused to listen to my commands. I stared back at the boy and could see his eyebrows moving and his forehead creasing. His pale skin made any movement noticeable since his eyebrows, eyelashes, and facial hair were so dark.

"Hah-vee!" he yelled again. I tried to turn my neck faster to the side but felt a sharp pain coming from it when I did that. I wanted to rub the spot that I just hurt but again, my hands didn't want to move. It felt stiffer now. "Air!" he yelled. I looked at him and watched his face as he concentrated. Hs was getting to use his facial muscles now too. "Javier!" I could see a small smile form on his face as he listened to what he said. "Javier." He was more controlled as he said it this time and seemed to find peace with himself that he could say it fluently now.

Javier had a bit of a funny way of saying his name. While his voice was deep, it seemed that he had more of a broken way of saying it. It sounded like three different words instead of three syllables. His voice was also lower than I thought it would be and it echoed throughout the silent room. However, now that he talked, I could hear the others trying to move their tongues too.

I felt like I was choking as I tried to move mine. It laid there like a log and despite trying to suck my cheeks in and getting something on my face to move, it was frozen. I forced my eyes closed and tried to move my face again. I could feel that it wasn't moving anymore. Maybe if I massaged it, it would think it's moving and make it easier for me. I reopened my eyes and tried to look down at my hands but saw they were frozen still. Why couldn't I get it moving?

Turning my neck at the sound of a chair moving out, I could see Ladislava fall to the floor. However, she didn't have the reactions that would prohibit her from hurting herself. So despite having the victory of being able to launch herself out of her chair, her knees buckled and she landed on her back. I could see her twitching her ankles and wrists to get them to move too.

"Okay?" Javier asked. He wasn't able to turn his body but at least his speech was coherent now. I waited to hear something from Ladislava but it seemed she was more focused with rotating her limbs.

I could see her rigidy motions turning into smooth fixtures. As she got the hang of her wrists and ankles movements, she began stretching out the use of her fingers and toes. I tried to mimic everything she was doing but could feel nothing going as I wanted it to. I closed my eyes once again and focused on putting all of my energy into my fingers. When I opened them to see if they were moving, I was saddened to see they weren't.

I allowed myself to take a break from trying to move and let my eyes wander over to Patrick. He seemed to be the only person who had barely any movements and I wanted to know how far he was progressing. He had previously been working on his facial expressions and it was rewarding to see that someone wasn't masking how they were feeling. His eyes were wide with fear and curiosity but his eyebrows showed annoyance and discomfort. Right now, he was working his jaw in a circular motion before he opened it to speak fluently.

"Where are we?"

"School?" Javier asked. He wasn't make much more progress with his speech and I had to wonder if that is what he sounded like naturally. Was my voice going to change once I got control of it? I felt like I couldn't grunt at all but was also worried about making weird noises.

"Are we all assassins?" Patrick asked. He continued to look straight ahead at me and the only thing I could do was nod my head. He tried moving his neck so that he could glance at Ladislava but the only thing that followed his mind's orders were his eyes. From on the ground, she was giving a thumbs up. She seemed to have full control of her wrists, ankles, toes, and fingers. Now she was making small circles with her elbows and knees. I couldn't tell what that would accomplish though. I was tired just from looking at her.

"Yes," Javier said. I could see his torso begin to twist so that he was able to face all of us. However, he didn't seem to have control of his neck so he was frozen in looking straight ahead.

I closed my eyes once again and forced myself to try and twist my torso as well. I pictured me doing the action and when I tried to do it, my body refused to move. I opened my eyes and tried again but it still wouldn't listen. How were they all moving? Should I start with something smaller? Maybe try twitching my nose first?

"Focus on one thing," Patrick said. I moved my neck so that I could stare at him and watched as he began to flex his feet. It seemed that he could move his neck to stare at everyone now. However, he still didn't have control of his upper body. Why was he focusing on his feet first?

"Yes," Javier agreed. He twisted his upper body and looked back at me now. He scanned me to see if I was moving and his face seemed to betray him for a second. He quickly masked what he was feeling and looked over at Ladislava. "Good."

She now had full range of motion with her arms up to her elbows and her legs up to her knees. She began making bigger movements with her shoulders and thighs. I could see her making larger circles until she was able to pick herself up. She sat up straight and she surveyed all of us. She touched her throat to indicate what she would work on next and out came a long string of grunts and groans. I felt myself beginning to blush at the weird noises and had a new fear come into me. Would I sound like that?

"When did you graduate?" Patrick asked. He looked at all of us and slowly stood up. He seemed to teeter as if his legs weren't able to support his own weight. He held onto the tabletop to steady himself and when he felt like he had enough support, he began walking over to Ladislava. When he reached her, he grabbed her by the armpits and helped put her back in the chair. Her knees helped him so that he didn't have to support all of his weight. She made another noise and then motioned for us to look at how she dressed.

"Same," Javier agreed.

"Me too." Patrick looked over at me and I nodded my head again. He cocked an eyebrow to see if I needed help but I shook my head that I was fine. He went over to Javier and helped him onto his feet. Crashing to the floor immediately, Patrick began to stretch him out and help with his use of body parts. "You guys weren't in my graduating class though."

"No," Javier agreed.

"How is that possible?" Ladislava asked. Her words all smashed together, and it almost sounded like she was slurring. However, I could hear the low voice and the weird way she said the words. It was almost like that was how she was told to speak them. She was confident in how she answered so she didn't seem worried about anyone understanding her. However, it took me a second to comprehend what she was saying.

"I don't know," Patrick said as he watched Javier begin to move faster. While Patrick's movements seemed to be fluid, I could tell that he was still scared about something not working. He wasn't a masker with his emotions. He walked over to Ladislava and immediately started stretching her limbs out to give them a bigger range of motion.

When Javier started moving, he crouched down to my level and looked me square in the face. I didn't know what he was asking or what he was trying to communicate to me, but after a second, he backed away and started grabbing at my arms and legs. I immediately grunted at him and could feel my eyebrows moving to disagree with him. I did not want his help. I did not want him to touch me.

The only person I wanted to touch me right now was Colt. I didn't know where he was though. I didn't even know if he was safe. Nobody with a black bag seemed to be chasing him. It was just everyone else. We were so close to the exit too that maybe, we could have left this stupid assassin thing behind. Even though I was hoping for it, I knew that there was a very small chance of that ever happening. They would probably threaten our families if we tried to leave.

"I am Ladislava," she finally said.

"Bridget?" Javier asked. I nodded my head yes and he touched his own throat. "Speak to me." I tried to open my mouth so that noise could come out but instead, it remained shut. I turned my neck to see Patrick offering his arm to Ladislava so that she could hobble over here. "Bridget." I turned back to Javier and could see all three of them staring at me. "Speak." I closed my eyes and imagined what it was like to speak and when I felt the same warmness in my throat, I only hummed out. He took his hand and immediately began massaging my throat and neck. It was rough and it hurt but he didn't seem to care. He just wanted to help.

I shook my head in frustration.

"Stop touching her," Ladislava said. She moved closer to Javier and tapped him on the head. Patrick kept his arm around Ladislava to keep her standing up and smiled delicately.

"She's nodding her head so you don't touch her," Patrick said.

"That's how we help," Javier argued. He turned back to Ladislava and Patrick and then turned toward me. "That's how we help," he repeated. He reached his hand out to my neck again and when his skin made contact with my skin, I shook my head again. "Try to speak."

"I made gorilla noises," Ladislava said. She grunted again to show me that it was okay and Patrick joined in too. He smiled as he did so and despite his best effort in trying to make me feel normal, him laughing at himself made me feel more self-conscious. "Neck." She pointed at my neck and she forced Patrick to come closer.

Javier moved the skin around my neck around and at once, I could see all of them look disgusted at me. Ladislava and Javier both masked their emotions immediately. I moved my neck to look at Patrick in hopes that he would tell me but instead, he rubbed his own neck. When Ladislava looked at him, she shook her head no and then Javier answered for her. I squealed through my closed lips so they could inform me on what they were saying.

"Bruise on your…" Javier looked up at the other two as he tried to think of how to phrase it. "Vein."

"We weren't hit in the veins," Patrick said. He forced himself to look up and I was able to see that he was hit directly on the side of his neck. However, no blue lines were close to the entry point. "Maybe you're having such a hard time because of that."

"We need to move you so you can move faster," Ladislava said. "Can we touch you?" I looked at all three of them before she corrected herself, "can I touch you?" I nodded my head and she brought her hands near my arms. Massaging them out, she worked vigorously in trying to help me out. I just didn't want Javier or Patrick to touch me because I didn't want them to think that they could whenever they wanted. I didn't want them to be like Garrett or Eddie. "Try."

I tried to flick out my wrists and fingers but was still met with nothing. I could feel a little tension in my pinky finger and it felt like there was static in my thumb. That was a good sign, right? I could move it as I wanted to. Only bending it a bit, I was excited with the progress. I could see the smile on Patrick's face as he stayed behind Ladislava.

"Why are we here?" Javier asked. He looked at all of us and while Ladislava was busy massaging other parts of my body, she still managed to shrug her shoulders.

"No idea," Patrick said. "We all graduated this year, right?" We all nodded our heads. "But none of us were part of each other's Assassin Trials, right?" Again, we all nodded our heads. "How can we be sure that we're not lying to each other?"

"His forehead scar looks new," Ladislava said.

"We're all wearing green," Javier added.

"But that just means you can be an actual assassin," Patrick said. He thought for a moment and looked at all of us. "Well, are we all elitists?" he asked. Ladislava scoffed at the idea of being anything else and Javier answered aggressively out loud. When Patrick turned to me to answer, I shakily nodded my head again.

I didn't think there would be this type of talk once I was an actual assassin. I didn't know what to expect in general but I thought that once I graduated, I would be seen as an equal. Once again, Patrick seemed to doubt me with a raise of his eyebrow. He nodded his head and looked back at the other two as if he didn't just question me.

If I made it through my trials, I could survive whatever torture Patrick was going to give me. I suspected that he was going to try and blackmail me. Maybe I could try to convince him that I really was an Elitist. However, I was concerned that he would try to ask me some sort of trivia that I didn't know yet.

"Okay, I'm not going to lie," Patrick said as he put his hands on his hips. He stood there for an excruciatingly long time before he spoke. I wasn't sure if he was going to out me right there or if he was thinking something else. "Everything that is running through my head would make me be put on the assassin's list."

While Ladislava was massaging more of my body, I was certain that I moved to listen to Patrick. However, she didn't seem to be excited for me and Javier didn't point out that I moved. As soon as she stopped touching me, she demanded I attempt to move again and although I was trying, there was no physical movement.

"Try!" Ladislava yelled.

"Don't yell," Javier said.

"You heard Bischoff, right?" Patrick asked. I wasn't sure who he was talking to until he made the visible motion of turning toward me. It seemed that he had almost all of his movement back. Although I could see some stiffness on his leg. "He said if you don't get your motion back and left it at that."

"Bait," Javier whispered.

"Injured assassin," Ladislava corrected. She stepped away from me for a moment and waited for me to move some part of my body. "Unacceptable, we just graduated."

"How is that possible?" Patrick asked. He looked between all of us and continued to think. "How did we all just graduate if there is only one Assassin Trial?"

"Very good question," Bischoff said as he came back in the room. He looked around at all of us as Ladislava and Patrick sat near me and Javier forced himself right next to me. He was almost on top of me but I suspected he was so close because he was trying to make me look like I moved.

He pushed his finger into my thigh and slowly, my body started to move toward the tabletop. I craned my neck to see him, but I wasn't about to try and talk just yet. If I attempted right now, it would be obvious to Bischoff that I was not moving as quickly as all of them. Instead, I nodded my head in appreciation and he only smiled at me. With Ladislava and Patrick surrounding me, it was almost like I was invisible to Bischoff.

"I'm assuming we are all moving?" he asked. I nodded my head while everyone else mumbled under their breaths. "Now, Patrick, what did you dare say when you thought I wasn't around?" he wondered. I looked over at him and he just stared at the ground. "I thought that since you passed your Trials that you would have enough courage and guts to say what you were questioning." Bischoff made his way to the front and leaned toward Patrick.

"We were wondering how all of us graduated if there is only one Trial," Javier spoke. Bischoff raised his eyebrows and looked at all three of us. I nodded my head and saw Javier's smile appear to thank me for agreeing with him. Ladislava agreed out loud and Patrick curled his fingers into a fist before finally agreeing as well. "We don't know each other."

"Well, once we get you enrolled into the Academy, we can discuss," he said. "But for now, I want you all to know that you are a team. Similar to your last trial, you are going to be working together with an ultimate goal in mind. You will also be sleeping, eating, learning, and growing in the same room as each other. If one of you goes down or dies, you all will be assassinated." He looked at all of squarely. "I don't care if you are friends or not. If you don't get along or not. Whether you were Elitists or Inductees. I don't care if you have sex with each other or fight each other. As long as you all are breathing by the end of each day and are ready to learn." My eyebrows heighted on my face as I looked at everyone else. "You will cover for each other when someone makes a mistake and if one of you makes it, you all make it. I don't want to hear that anyone did something. If one of you did, all of you did it. Am I understood?" He looked at all of us as we nodded our heads. "Let me hear you."

"Yes, sir!" Ladislava shouted the loudest.

"Understood," Javier agreed.

"We're a team," Patrick said in agreement with everyone else. There was a pause as everyone tried not to look at me. My eyes watched Bischoff until he sighed and looked at me.

"Bridget? I know you've had problems with trust in the past."

Ladislava and Patrick wouldn't look at me but I could see them share a glance with each other. When I looked at Javier, he seemed to be contemplating something before he mouthed something to me. I couldn't see what was said so I turned my neck to him completely. I was unprepared to be punched right in the throat and as my body ricocheted out of my chair, I unwilling started making noises come from the back of my throat.

"Sorry!" Javier yelled as he crouched next to me. Ladislava and Patrick seemed to be frozen in fear. "My body is still warming up," he told Bischoff as he lifted me back in my chair. "And so I am twitching like crazy." He threw his arm out again to make it look normal. "You're welcome," he whispered as he picked me back up.

I gurgled with noise as if the punch to my throat was the reason I couldn't talk. Eventually, I nodded my head and gave a small thumbs up to Bischoff. That's all I could muster up right now but the more I didn't move, the more I felt like my body was starting to freeze up again. It was freaking me out.

"Now, there are rules about dating," Bischoff began. "You can only date assassins. If you even try to date someone else, them and their family will be assassinated immediately and publically." He looked at all of us again. "If you make it through the Academy, you will be able to go in general population with the other assassins." I perked up instantly. Did that mean Colt would be there? "In saying all of this, don't forget that you all will be in the same room in which Ladislava is thirty-four, Patrick is twenty-five, Javier is nineteen, and Bridget is seventeen." I immediately looked at him but it was like he expected my response. "Happy birthday, Bridget."

I could feel everyone staring at me but the only part of me that I could move was my neck. I angled it downward and just stared at the tabletop. It was my birthday? How could I forget my own birthday? I looked forward to it every year. Dad would give me more privileges on the farm and when my mom was gone, we would celebrate secretly. He always kept it a secret because then mom would celebrate with all of us and it was like I got two celebrations. They even let me skip school if it was during a school day. The whole day was magical.

I would wake up in the morning and everything would be normal. When I came downstairs, my mom would already be gone for work but my dad would be in the kitchen waiting for me. He would have the hugest smile on his face and give me the tightest hug I have ever received. Each year, I always thought that I would pass out before he let go. Instead of making breakfast at home, he would drive me out to the local breakfast place and we would eat there. Whenever I got back, there were differing presents I would get: either a new animal or I could keep an animal that was originally slated for food. One year, I kept a cow that I fell in love with, but most years I accepted a new animal to be given to me. I wondered what type of animal I would have gotten this year. Once I made my decision, dad and I would spend all day together. He tell me about the new crops that were sprouting and how to tell if it was time to stop something. We always finished up earlier than the sun and when we got back to the house, mom was home. She would have cake in the oven or buy something from the store and would give me an actual present – usually it was books or school supplies. Nothing like new supplies to get me motivated in school again. After all, I had all the pressure to be the first to go to college on a full ride.

Now I had to wonder who would be the first in my family to go to college.

I didn't have anyone to celebrate with now either. If it had just been one day earlier, I could have celebrated with Colt and Heather and Justin and Asher and Eddie and Garrett. Not that most of them would want to celebrate with me anyway. I looked around at Javier, Ladislava, and Patrick and sighed. I didn't know them. I couldn't celebrate with them. Besides, most of them were far older than I thought. Did they celebrate their birthdays at the age of thirty?

"Now, at the beginning of the trials, we stripped you of your identity and from the government's database," Bischoff said. I looked up as he continued talking but from the corner of my eyes, I could feel Javier continuing to look at me. "Now that you have officially become assassins, we are reassigning fingerprints onto you." I watched down in amazement as the table shifted before my eyes and a scanner was put in place of it. When I craned my neck to see Javier's, he had the same exact thing in front of him too. "Unfortunately, the government has yet to figure out how to make new fingerprints so we will be using some from people who were attempting the assassin trials." I craned my neck to look at him but felt cold suddenly. I tried to clasp and unclasp my fingers but they were no longer willing to move. When I moved my neck, I had less motion than I did before.

Inside of me, I felt panic. I tried to move every inch of my body that I was able to before, but it seemed to be freezing again. My heart started to race as I moved my eyebrows up and down and felt them starting to loosen again. I twitched my fingers in out and again and again and could feel the movement getting back to them. How did I make my movements without Bischoff seeing them? I knew that wasn't why I was feeling cold though.

"The person's fingerprints we are using is Caleb Maeville," Bischoff said.

I could hear a gasp from beside me and instantly craned my stiff neck to look at Javier. I blinked heavily and found the motion more natural now. Javier instantly put his neck down to stare at the table but I could see him clenching and unclenching his fingers. His veins seemed to tighten whenever he clenched and they were visible all of the way up his arms. His neck was also flexed and every time he swallowed, his apple went up and down harder than it should have. He also seemed to be doing it more frequently and quicker than most people would. Finally, my eyes met his but they were empty. I kept forgetting that all of these people in this room were assassins just like me. They knew to mask their emotions.

And having my face frozen for a little bit was a great thing right now because they would have all been able to read my face.

"One of you should recognize Caleb and the others should not," Bischoff said. He paced in front of all of us until he stopped in front of Javier. Bischoff tapped his toes in anticipation but when he didn't get a good reaction out of Javier, he started pacing again. "Since Caleb was erased from the government's database, these are unclaimed marks." The tables moved to show that the first finger up would be the left hand's pinky finger. "Place your left hand's pinky finger onto the mark. You will start to feel a burning sensation worse than the original one you had. There is a tiny needle point picking your skin apart and rearranging it so that you scar correctly. Keep your finger pressed firmly on the glass as if you it does not, you will have to retry."

I watched from the corner of my eye as Javier placed his on the mat immediately. After a second, his face started shaping from sadness to humiliation. It was almost as if he was trying to prove that he was tough to me. He closed his eyes hard and all of his muscles intensified as he felt whatever pain was going into his finger. I didn't want to keep watching so I moved my neck down to my mat.

I clenched and unclenched my fingers and was surprised to see that they were still mobile. At any moment, they could go back to being frozen but the tingles were still there. However, when I tried to extend my arm to reach the mat, I found it refusing to do as I asked. I looked down at it and could see it feebly shaking as I tried to urge it to go back on. I bit my bottom lip and felt the wrinkles in my forehead as I attempted again. No matter what I was doing, my mind was not willing it to go.

When a hand latched onto my wrist, I opened my eyes quickly and my mouth was ready to grunt before I realized that they were just putting my finger on the mat. Javier pressed his right hand onto my fingertip and when he let go, I was able to keep the pressure on it. I felt nothing as the laser lit up and the needle started poking into my skin. When I looked over at Javier's finger though, I realized I should have been feeling something. His finger looked mutilated and bloodied. It wasn't until the green signal was done that I knew I could move to my next finger.

Once again, Javier moved my arm for me and as I waited to get punctured in my ring finger, I stared down at the bloodied marks that were on the table. Why wasn't I feeling any of this though?

I craned my neck to see how Ladislava and Patrick were doing but they both looked as miserable as Javier too. Ladislava had her head down and covered her unused arm so that nobody could see just how badly she was reacting. Right beside her, Patrick was whimpering loudly as he continued with the tortured mutilation. It took every ounce in them to move on to the next finger.

I smiled at Javier as he moved my fingers again but I could tell that he was surprised at my reaction. The only different between all of us is that my body was still frozen. That had to be why I wasn't feeling anything. Working on the last finger on my left hand, I started exercising my right hand to see if that would make a difference. It wasn't that I wanted to feel the pain but I wanted to know what they were fighting against. I wanted to know if their pain tolerance was the same that I had. I felt like I already had the disadvantage with not getting my body's ability back so when it was my other hand's turn to reach and press my thumb on there, I only needed a little help from Javier this time.

By now, the screen was all bloodied so I had a difficult time finding the exact circle position I needed. Javier struggled to as he just wiped my hand around in a circle until it was found. However, the red liquid was now staining my skin and getting under my nails. I was about to turn to Javier to give him a nasty face when I felt the needle burst through my thumb.

I had to bite my tongue so I didn't make any grunts. I flicked my tongue around to see how lazy it was and knew that it would just sound like animal noises at this point. With Patrick's whimpering, it would be the loudest part of me. I was sure that my teeth were about to go through the useless muscle in my mouth when it was my pointer finger's time to shine. I put it on the screen by myself and waited for the pain to start.

I felt like I was going to pass out. I tried to flop my forehead onto the table but without the cooperation of my upper body, my neck just hit as hard as it could go into my chest. I tried to squirm my entire body away from the pain but knew it wasn't going to listen. When my eyes started to see black instead of the stark white room we were in, I knew I was going to blow it.

"You're almost done," Javier whispered. I craned my neck to look at him and he smiled. "You're paler than Patrick." He gently placed his hand on top of mine and moved to my other finger before I felt the sensation again. "Count to ten and then it's done."

I nodded my head and did as he asked. I just had to count to ten. That was easy, right? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. I let out a breath and watched as Javier moved my finger to the pointer. I inhaled and as soon as the pain started, I counted again. One, two, three…

From across the room, I could hear someone vomit. I craned my neck to see who it was, but Javier immediately blocked my view. When he looked back at me, he shook his head in disapproval and moved me to my last finger. That helped distract me too and as my last finger was done, Bischoff came over and dumped stuff on our table.

"While assassins usually do not need to clean up the crime scenes, sometimes they do. If you get hurt before you complete your mission, you would need to make it look as normal as possible. Control each other's bleedings and then clean the space. Once you finish that, you will wait for further instruction."

We both nodded our heads as Bischoff walked over to Ladislava and Patrick. I waited until he began talking before I looked back at Javier. He was already hard at work finding the bandages, tape, and medicated balm. Despite having bloody hands himself, he reached out for me and began wrapping before I could sterilize or flinch away.

"Don't move," Javier whispered. "I bandage, you clean, okay?" he asked. I nodded my head despite looking at the mass amounts of blood piled up on the table. That couldn't be clean and what happens if I got my cuts, in his blood? "You are not my competition," he said randomly. I looked at him as he concentrated on my open wound and could see a small smile appear. "We are already assassins; I do not need to hate you. I like being nice."

He paid close attention as he carefully wiped the tip of each finger off. After one was done being cleaned, he held onto it tightly as he opened the cap to the medicine. He quickly exchanged the paper towel and the medicine for bandages and tape. He secured each at the tip by scrunching it and moving onto the next one. None of his taping or bandaging was too tight and I was relieved when he finished up. I watched him try to do his own bandages and while he struggled, he still was able to proceed with the procedure.

I chose not to watch as he did his fingers. Instead, I faced the table and had to wonder how to clean this up. My legs weren't exactly working right now so I couldn't stand up to start at the top of the table. I attempted to reach my left hand out and while it was tingling, it still was not obedient to my brain. My right arm was a little more sluggish bur it did as I asked. Slowly, I wiped the table down but even as I used up the entire roll of towels, there was some that I could not reach at the tip top corner.

"I am going to let you head to bed early," Bischoff said. "Any questions you have can start tomorrow. We will be having our first lesson and with each lesson comes homework and a field trip. All must be completed before we return to your rooms."

"Where are our rooms?" Ladislava asked.

"Good question," Bischoff said with a smile. He walked to the right of the chairs and hit the walls. The walls came crumbling down and revealed four beds, an open kitchen, and a place for what I was assuming to be the bathrooms. "Any garments you had collected during your trials are also here."

As soon as Bischoff left the room, I felt Javier, Ladislava, and Patrick rush to the other room. The wind that they had showed that they were desperate to get what they wanted. I craned my neck to see Ladislava immediately stripping of her gown into more comfortable clothes. I wish I had that confidence but right now, I needed to focus on getting up to go to my bed.

My right arm was now movable and I was glad that I had movement in all of my fingers. Although, the pain that I was feeling from them didn't seem to help me. I twisted my left wrist until it started listening and when it felt warmer, I jerked it suddenly. It listened but it cracked as I did it.

"You can do this," Ladislava said as she came back over. I looked at her and was stunned to see she was just as beautiful in pajamas as she was in the ballgown.

I didn't understand how she was in her thirties. She looked so vibrant and young. There were no wrinkles on her face except one on her smile line. Even that wasn't prominent though. I could see that her hair wasn't dyed blonde either. It was shining from a bit of grease and hairspray but I knew she was probably too tired to do anything. She smiled brighter as she watched me lift my left arm in the air for one second before dropping it back down. She clapped in delight and then encouraged me to do it with my legs. They were instant stops.

"Lad, can you—"

"My name is Ladislava!" she bellowed. Instant fear appeared on my face and I stopped concentrating on moving as I watched the interaction between her and Patrick. He yielded his speech and was left with his mouth hanging open. I didn't know anyone could get that loud. "Say it with me, Lad-is-lava." She put her hands on her hips and waited. "Come on, say it with me. Lad."

"Lad?"

"Is."

"Lava."

"Lava."

"Now one more time faster: Lad-is-lava."

"Lad-is-lava."

"Ladislava."

"Ladislava."

"There you go," she said. She nodded in a mocking tone and patted the top of his head gently. "You will not disrespect me by shortening it."

"I wasn't, I didn't, I—" He looked over at me to try and save him but he knew I couldn't. "I'm sorry."

"You should be." Ladislava turned to me and smiled sweetly once again. "Do not let these boys torment you. Break a bone if you have to." I just watched her as she smiled. "Break their ego. They're nothing without it." She smiled once again at me but when she turned to Patrick, she gave him a face before going back to her bed.

"I think I just made an enemy," Patrick said. I nodded my head in agreement. However, he didn't seem mad about it. In fact, he continued to keep his back to me and just focus on what she was doing.

She was untucking her bed and crawling into it. When she was ready to fall asleep, she leaned over to touch her bedside table and pulled out a sleeping mask. She laid on her back and spread out her hair so wildly that she looked like a princess as she slept. When her breathing became normal, I would have sworn she was royalty. Maybe she was. She was an elitist after all.

"Uh, uh," Patrick stammered. He turned back around and looked at me. "Do you want help getting into your bed?" I nodded my head as I looked at him. "Just, uh, let me know if you're uncomfortable." He paused. "You look older than seventeen." He kept his arm on my back as he swooped the other one underneath my knees. "I had a sister who was about your age." I looked at him as he scooped me up and walked me to the last bed. This one seemed to be in the worst spot as it was directly near the bathroom, but it was tucked away more. "We were always in competition with each other but she was jealous that my bid won, despite just joining the preparatory school. However, she never did so I wasn't sure how she thought she would get in as an elitist." He popped his eyebrows up and stared at me as my head landed on my pillow. "That was just a stupid inductee move though, right?" As he let go of me, he towered over with me but kept a sweet smile on his face. "You would know, wouldn't you? After all, you are an inductee?"

I didn't say anything as he nodded his head and turned. He headed back over to his bed before waving at Javier who just continued to stare at both of us. He cocked his eyebrow up but didn't say anything directly to me as he plopped back in his bed.

"Goodnight everyone," he said out loud. Nobody answered him though.

I listened to all of them sleep: Ladislava was peaceful as she breathed in and out rhythmically, Javier only tossed and turned before I knew he was asleep, while Patrick occasionally snored. It wasn't too loud but it was definitely distracting me enough to keep me up. If I had fallen asleep before him, it wouldn't bother me at all.

But now I was by myself and still immobilized. I rotated my ankles to try and get my movement back but after five minutes and my legs still didn't want to work, I gave up and just stared up at the ceiling. These three gave no bad vibes to me but they weren't Colt. I wanted to know the whereabouts of Colt. Even if I was just told that he was fine, it would make me feel a lot better.

I didn't even know how I felt about him. It felt like something stupid to think about now. There was no way for me to know if he was dead or alive. If he was caught or had escaped. There was nothing to tell me how he felt about me either. I joked with him a couple of times about it. I couldn't tell if he actually liked me or just went along with it. However, him trying to bring me with him and coming back for me once I lost my grip on his hand, showed that he felt something. Were we attracted to each other? I have no idea. I felt like it was appropriate for me to start wondering about this. We both survived now. We were assassins and assassins were allowed to date and marry.

I just wanted to do that with Colt. I didn't want to have a relationship with Javier or Patrick. Patrick was too old and wasn't my type. Javier was closer to my age and he was definitely attractive, but I felt like there was something off about him. Nobody was that nice, right?

I huffed as I heard Patrick's snoring start again. I closed my eyes to try and sleep but was now just trying to match up how I was breathing with his. I would definitely die if I breathed like him for a long period of time. I shook my head and closed my eyes anyway.

"Happy birthday to you," I whispered to myself. It came out scratchy at first but I could feel it getting warm in my throat. I smiled as I thought about my dad and mom celebrating with me. Now, I allowed my imagination to take over and wondered what it would feel like to kiss Colt. How would he celebrate my birthday? "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday Bridget, happy birthday to you."