Graduation Day (The Testing, #3)(55)

“We’re outside. And we need to come in.”

Raffe.

I put down the radio but keep the gun firmly in my hand as we go into the kitchen and open the back door. The sunlight is intense. I have to blink to focus my vision. When I do, I see Raffe and Stacia standing in front of me. Raffe is balancing their two bicycles, and after one look at Stacia it becomes clear why.

She has been shot.

Stacia cradles one arm to her chest. The hand she uses to protect her injured arm is streaked with blood. Her face is pale and she sways on her feet. I hand my gun to Tomas and lead her to the blanket on the floor. I ease off her jacket and use my pocketknife to cut away her shirt from just above the elbow so I can get a better look.

I see Raffe and Tomas standing in the doorway and ask, “What happened? Did a Safety official try to detain you?”

Raffe and Stacia look at each other as Raffe says, “Not exactly. Ian scouted the area and let us know the Safety patrols were concentrated near the main entrance so we could go to the north side and get around them. He gave me an idea of the best path to take and went back to our residence to keep the rebel students there distracted so they wouldn’t notice that I’d left. Stacia and I were so busy avoiding the officials that we didn’t realize two rebel students had followed us.”

“It’s my fault.” Stacia winces. “They were fourth-year medical students. Both of them were known for hazing the first years. So I didn’t think anything of it when they followed me out of the residence. I went into the History building so they’d think I went to class. When they walked away, I thought they’d lost interest in me. But they were waiting for us on the road outside the main campus exit.”

While I am fairly certain Raffe has at least one weapon in his possession, I am amazed he was able to find a way to use it and get away after being taken by surprise. When I say so, Raffe shifts uncomfortably and says, “Actually, we didn’t get away from them on our own. We had some help.”

“Ian?” Tomas asks.

“Me,” says a familiar voice from behind us.

Dread grips me as I turn toward the doorway in time to see an unmistakable figure stride into the room, wearing a wide smile.

Will.





[page]Chapter 15


GREEN EYES MEET mine. For a moment I can’t breathe as I remember the way those eyes glittered with calculation during The Testing when Will shot Tomas and turned his gun on me. I had thought he was my friend. I had thought he was on my side. I had been wrong.

I drop Stacia’s arm. My fingers wrap around the wooden butt of my gun as I stand. No one says a word as I raise the gun, wrap my other hand around the handle for balance, and take aim.

Will doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t look to the others for help. His eyes stay fixed on me. Waiting for whatever I decide to do next. My brain tells me to shoot. I cannot allow Will to betray me again. I won’t let Zeen be caught as a rebel traitor and killed. Will cannot be trusted. There is no choice but to eliminate him.

But I do not fire. Because for some reason Will saved Stacia and Raffe. Just as he saved Tomas and me on the plains when we were attacked. Why? During The Testing, Will decided to eliminate the competition in order to better his chances of being one of the twenty selected for the University. He could have allowed Roman to kill Tomas. He could have waited to see if I had the nerve to kill before stepping in to save us. He could have stood by and allowed us to die.

But he didn’t. Ever since my memories returned, that fact has haunted me. Will wanted us dead. Yet he saved us despite his intent to kill. And now here he stands, calmly awaiting my decision after coming to the aid of two of my friends.

No, I am wrong. Though there’s a lack of emotion on Will’s face, he is not calm. The grip he has on the strap of his bag has turned his knuckles white. That and the rapid breaths he takes speak of the emotions swirling beneath the surface. But he doesn’t speak. He doesn’t plead for his life.

“You remember.” The words are barely a whisper, but the way Will flinches tells me he has heard. Still, I say the words again in case I am wrong. This time my voice is firm. As is my need to understand this boy who has done good even as he has deceived. “You remember The Testing.”

“No one remembers their Testing,” Stacia snaps.

But Will doesn’t look at her. His eyes hold mine while he says, “Not exactly.”

“But you remember something,” Tomas says, taking a step closer to Will.

Despite Tomas’s obvious anger, Will doesn’t move. His voice is steady when he says, “I remember enough to know that I’ve earned whatever punishment you and Cia think I deserve. Whatever you decide, I’ll accept.”

“What are you all talking about?” Stacia asks, trying to climb to her feet. Raffe hurries to help her up, but she pushes him away. “Why would Cia and Tomas want to punish you, Will? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Yes.” His voice is quiet but firm. “I have.”

It is that calm acceptance of what he has done and the punishment he deserves that makes my finger ease on the trigger. If Will were angry or defiant or belligerent I would shoot. But I find myself remembering the boy I first met during The Testing. The one who heard me confess that I didn’t finish one of my tests. Instead of ridiculing me or rolling his eyes as so many of the other candidates would have done, he thanked me for being willing to admit the truth. I saw Will’s heart break when his brother didn’t make it through the first Testing phase. I watched as he killed the boy who was about to kill Tomas in the fourth test, and I know that it’s thanks to his insistence that I was freed from the locked metal box Damone wished me to die in during Induction.