Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1)(67)

Macie tries to get away from him, but he suddenly tightens his grip on her. I start forward, automatically trying to help her, and he throws her across the room.

She hits the wall across the room with a sound like eggs breaking. She slides down the wall, leaving a trail of blood behind her, then crumples onto the floor like a rag doll.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE



ENFORCER TESTING REQUIREMENTS



In order to pass training, an Enforcer must:



1. Lift 5 times her own body weight (bare minimum)

2. Have mastered at least 100 different forms of martial art techniques

3. Be able to name, dismantle, repair, and correctly use weaponry available to them





4. Endure emotional, pain tolerance, and healing tests


5. Possess varied computer skills, including but not limited to: extensive knowledge of all operating systems (past and present), coding, and software for the express purpose of “hacking,” and forensics



I stare at Macie, her pretty little doll’s face still perfect, except for the trail of blood coming from her mouth and nose.

“No,” I whisper.

A red haze funnels in from the sides of my eyes, and there’s a click inside of me. Something I haven’t felt in so long, but is as familiar to me as breathing.

Nick growls, his eyes still flashing and rolling with madness. Gavin yanks me behind him and tries pushing me toward the door, but I won’t have it. Not from a Surface Dweller. How dare he touch me. But Nick must be taken care of first. Nick broke the law. There must be payment. And I’m just the one to exact it.

Before I can stop myself, I shove past Gavin, practically shoving him to the floor, and charge Nick, knocking him down to the ground near the kitchen door. He struggles to grab me, growling and snapping his teeth in frustration, but I don’t give him the chance. I slide around behind him and grab a hold of his head. Before either of us can blink, I twist.

There’s a sound like a branch cracking, then he lies still in my arms. Disgusted, I let go and his head hangs limply on his shoulders. He finally resembles the man he did when we first saw him at the door.

I look over at Gavin, intent on completing my duties, but I’m bombarded with so many memories that I’m forced to my knees by the tide of them. They surface so quickly I can’t focus on just one before another is pushing it away.

“Congratulations! Evelyn has been chosen for the Enforcer program … She must begin her Conditioning immediately. There is no time to waste.”

“Failure will not be tolerated again. You will do as you’re told. Do you understand, Evelyn?”

An older man refuses to bow his head to Mother as she passes on her way to Sorting. I sneak behind him, then grab him by his arm and pull him into the shadows. Although he struggles, it’s a simple matter of injecting him with the syringe of medication Enforcers use to calm the unwilling, then I place my hands around his head and twist.

“Very good, Evelyn. You’ve gotten a perfect score in martial arts. Let’s move on to weapons training.”

Bone-chilling sounds of screams and gunshots from the crowd ring in my ears, then sounds of sobbing replace the screaming in my head as the clouds of smoke clear, revealing dozens of men, women, and children lying in blood. But relief fills me as I realize that I’d kept my real father safe. He’d escaped in the confusion. Hopefully along with my real mother.

“Subject 121, Enforcer Evelyn Winters, will be undergoing yet another Conditioning session, due to her repeated resistance to previous attempts.”

“Evelyn Winters, you have been accused of failing in your mission to protect Mother, resulting in the death of an Enforcer. Mother finds you guilty and condemns you to have your memories wiped until she decides on your final judgment.”

“I was an Enforcer,” I whisper to myself, bile threatening to rise and choke me. Then I see Macie lying on the ground across the room.

I rush to her, but Gavin is already there. The expression on his face as he looks up at me tells me it’s already too late.

“No, no, no,” I moan.

I kneel next to her and pull her limp body into my lap. The face is a lie, I think. It’s perfect, giving the resemblance of life, but she’s broken. Gavin stares at me, his hands shaking where they rest on Macie’s arm, but I don’t look at him.

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. I killed Nick. Because he killed Macie. I was going to kill Gavin. And that’s what Enforcers do. I’m an Enforcer. A trained killer. I killed my best friend’s betrothed.

Everything about me is numb now. The click that had fueled my need to kill Nick is gone, leaving an empty space—and overwhelming exhaustion. The pain in my shoulder flares like I’ve been shot again, but I ignore it. Macie is gone. My best friend. Who is as close to me as any sister. Who I had almost carelessly tossed aside. The one who’d loved her boyfriend more than anything, who would never see her dreams come true. And it was my fault.

All my fault. That’s what had happened before. Why I was punished. I deserve to be punished. Innocent people are dead because of me. And now I know it isn’t the first time. How many other deaths are on my hands?

Gavin suddenly grabs my arm and tugs. “Come on. It’s time to go.”

I stare at him, uncomprehending. “Go? Why? Where?”