Marked

“You’re safe here, Rachel.”

Debra had said this so many times now they’d stopped sounding like words.

The blonde woman sat across from Rachel inside the tiny white cell. Hector sat beside her with one arm slung across her shoulders but instead of a reassuring gesture, it only felt like a lead weight.

Why was Hector sitting across from a poacher so calmly?

Why hadn’t he been marked?

“What is this place?” Rachel asked, her eyes swinging up to look at Hector.

Tilting his chin, his brown-eyed gaze met hers, a sort of apology in them but it was Debra who answered.

“A safe haven filled with people like you, Rachel. In this place we all share a common goal. We seek to end the mark and free the people.”

“But you’re dressed like poachers, you look like poachers, you have marks on your foreheads!”

“It’s all false.” Hector said gently. “Their marks are not real. Charles knew this when he handed us over to them.”

Rachel opened her mouth but no words came out.

She tried to make sense of it, weigh the possibility that Hector and Debra were telling the truth but it seemed impossible.

Nothing got past the capital so how could they?

But then again, the compound had thrived for years on the outskirts of the forest so how much different could this really be?

"How?”

“They are an underground movement that has infiltrated the capital.” Hector explained. “They disguise themselves as poachers and use a fake mark that allows them to enter the capital undetected.”

Rachel still wasn’t convinced.

Her head spun with questions and nothing made sense.

It felt like someone had taken everything she knew and understood about the world and had packed it up neatly into a box and then flipped it upside down.

“But how? Wouldn’t they know your mark is a fake one?”

Debra straightened her back and her face lit up with a smile as if she was proud of Rachel for asking all the right questions.

“We have a very specific method for distributing Marks that once belonged to real people so they are not entirely fake. I cannot wait to show you all the details and answer all of your questions but right now I think it would be more beneficial to you to take you on a tour. Maybe get you back to your friends so you can see for yourself that what I’m saying is the truth?”

Her eyes slid over Rachel’s face slowly, “You still don’t look like you are convinced, honey.”

She wasn’t but she pressed her lips shut and kept quiet about it.

She might not have felt entirely safe but at least nobody was trying to force her to shoot her brother which was progress.

“So my brother...” Rachel trailed, dreading the answer.

Debra’s blue eyes cast down to the floor. “I’m afraid your brother is not here, Rachel. He was just a part of your memories that we used to create a simulation with.”

“Oh.” She said, surprised. She took a deep breath and weighed her options.

“Look, I hear what you’re saying but I think I need a minute to process all of this. Do you mind giving me some space?”

“No, not at all. Take as much time as you need. I’ll have someone escort you when you’re ready.”

Debra and Hector both stood but Rachel snatched Hector’s wrist before he could depart.

“Please stay.”

Hector nodded and Debra gave him a nod before silently exiting the cell.

“Hector-” She said as soon as Debra was gone but he made a subtle shushing motion and pointed at the ceiling.

Her eyes slowly traveled to the ceiling, her head remaining still, and she saw them out of the corners of her eyes.

Cameras.

“You look like a mess,” He said, a crooked smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

“I’ve had better days. How are you?”

“We’re all okay.” He said. “In fact, I had lunch with Juan and Simone today right before drill.”

Rachel’s tongue itched to ask more questions but something about Hector’s expression told her not to.

Suddenly, he took a few steps toward her and pulled her into a tight embrace, his mouth at her ear, partly muffled by her hair.

She could smell him, his scent of soap mixed with mints and wasn’t prepared for how frazzled that would make her.

Or why.

“There isn’t much time to talk, not here anyway. Just go along with it for now.” He whispered.

“A-are you buying any of this?” Rachel stammered in response, finding it really hard to concentrate with him so close to her.

As he shifted and his hands cupped her face, a furious blush traveled from her neck to her cheeks.

Something fluttered in her stomach and she hadn’t even known she could feel something like this—especially not towards Hector.

She ignored the wild hammering of her heart and filed the flurry of confusing emotion away to examine later, chalking it up to the relief of seeing him alive and nothing more.

“I’m not sure yet but they aren’t hurting us so let’s just go with it for now, okay? We’ll talk more when we get a chance.” He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her cheek and her breath caught in her throat.

“I’m happy to see you,” He said louder as he pulled back.

“M-me too.”

“Come on. Let’s show you around.”

He took her hand in his and together they stepped out into the corridor into what felt like a foreign world.

As much as she wanted to believe that they were safe, distrust lay ingrained deep in her veins and she could not forget Charles betrayal so easily. Even if he had thought he was doing them a favor by turning them in, she hadn’t known it at the time and she’d convinced herself it’d been the last time she trusted anyone.

As they exited the room they found poacher, or rather a person (though it was hard to think of them this way) waiting just outside the cell.

“Name’s Tom.” He said. His jerked his chin at the air.” It sure is a lot to take in but you’ll get the hang of it. We all did.”

Rachel nodded.

Tom lifted his fingertip to a door and with a beep the door swung open to reveal a long, white corridor lined with windows.

As they made their way across, she could see that each room was a training facility of sorts.

On the other side of the glass, people were engaged in battle. None of them wore the grey, city police uniform, Rachel noted, and that at least humanized them a little.

Lights reflected off the glass windows in undulating waves So many fluorescent, she wondered how it didn’t bother the gym-goers but no one on the other side of the rooms seemed to know they were there and if they did they sure didn’t care.

“What is that?”

“That’s where we build our soldiers,” Tom explained, sounding proud. He shot her a crooked smile and swiped his finger along another door at the end of the walk-way. This time a throng of people greeted them, all going about their business, up and down several hallways.

“Debra’s office is this way. She wants you to go there first.”

Her hands were balled up into fists at her sides and she tried to not clench them. It had been a while since she had been around so many people and the mere thought of being surrounded by strangers whose intentions she didn’t know, rattled her nerves.

Laughter erupted behind them a shiver traveled down her spine.

Hector took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze.

“Breathe,” He mouthed.

When they rounded the corner, Rachel let out a long breath.

Debra’s office turned out to be a small room with a singular desk, cluttered high with stacks of papers with the poignant smell of flowers and tea filling the air.

She sat behind the desk, typing away at a slim screen, perhaps the width of a piece of paper. Her short blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her fingers whizzing madly over the surface of the strange contraption.

She looked up as they arrived and gave a small whoop of delight.

“Rachel! Thank you for joining us! You must have so many questions and I promise we’ll get to them all.”

The blonde woman turned to Tom. “You may be excused, Tommy. I’ll take it from here.”

She stood, gathering something from a drawer in her desk.

“So Hector, you know the drill. Feel free to pipe in with anything you think might help Rachel...adjust.”

“She doesn’t need too much explaining,” Hector replied. “She’s a smart girl.”

“Great! Well then we had better get started with the tour if we plan on finishing on time, my loves.” The woman clapped her hands together and stuffed a watch into her pocket, before ushering them out the door.

This strange woman who Rachel had injured on several occasions did not seem to hold any grudges as she pulled Rachel in for a sudden, awkward hug.

“You’re going to love it here, Rachel. Come on, let’s get started.”

But Rachel remained still, as if rooted to the floor.

Hector placed a large hand over the small of her back and gave her a push.

“Come on, Saint Rachel. You’re gonna love it here,” He mimicked, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips.

First, Debra lead them back down the way they’d come, into the long hall that held the rooms full of people behind glass windows.

“These are the training rooms. This is where you’ll spend most of your time if you’re chosen.”

“Chosen for what?” Rachel asked, swiping one fingertip over the glass window, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Immediately, the board lit up with green and blue letters and Rachel pulled back, surprised.

Dozens of names flitted across the screen in green, robotic letters.

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Debra said. “It’s just showing you who is attending the training session.” Debra smiled. “If you’re chosen as a soldier, this is where you will train to help you prepare.”

“Who determines if we’ll be soldiers?”

“It’s a variety of different factors, really. Your simulation results , your physical exam and a series of emotional and mental tests will all determine if you have what it takes to be a warrior. But don’t worry, dear,” She mused. “If you’re not the soldier type, there are plenty of other jobs to be done around here.”

Rachel wrinkled her nose at the way Debra made it sound as though Rachel was too delicate or too dumb to be a soldier.

Maybe she could hardly throw a punch but with the proper training, especially if it was Hector training her, maybe she’d make a decent warrior.

“They made you a soldier, didn’t they?” Rachel’s eyes swung to Hector, a thought occurring to her.

If anyone had what it took to be a fighter, it was definitely him. He was just naturally good at it.

“Yeah,” He shrugged. “No big deal.”

“Oh don’t be so modest! Hector here has been one of the highest scoring trainees we’ve ever had. He’s been here three days and he’s already leading the scoreboard!”

“You’ll make a great soldier.” Rachel mused. “But even a better leader.”

Hector laughed and her cheeks reddened, realizing she’d just word vomited her thoughts.

“I’m honored you think so highly of me.”

Her voice dropped down an octave. “You did keep us alive out there.” She said. “So thank you for that.”

Hector’s smile crinkled his eyes, and he tipped his chin in acknowledgment, and though she wasn’t sure because he turned away, he’d even managed to look bashful.

As they rounded a corner, they arrived at a floor that made Rachel recoil with fear.

For several moments, she felt like her world had stopped.

The walls rose up around her like tombstones in a cemetery- walls that were were the same gray shade as the last time she had seen them, all lined with blue fixtures that emitted a soft, white light.

Across the polished floor, where the doors read ‘Simulation Room’ she recalled the horrible things they had made her do in that room.

“Down here are the simulation rooms. I know you might not like being back here so soon but it is important for you to know why we put new recruits through it.”

“You mean there’s a reason why you torture the new people?” She retorted.

Bitterness turned her tongue into a whip.

Try hard as she might, she still couldn’t find a reason to be kind to the people who had made her put a bullet hole through her brother and forced her to let Hector die even if it all had been fake.

Debra continued as though she hadn’t heard Rachel’s jibe. “You see, Rachel, not everyone wants to eliminate the Mark. Some would even risk it all in order to receive it. This place,” She gestured with her arms. “We can’t have a few bad apples ruin what we’ve worked so hard for years to create. So we filter out those that are loyal to the capital by placing them in these simulations. To see who would choose them over their own people.”

“The simulations are torture.” Rachel forced a laugh and she was sure this was the moment that proved she was no longer entirely in control of her sanity. “If you torture those that are not like you, how does that make you any different than a real poacher?”

“Oh, Rachel, honey the simulations are not meant to be torture. They are only harsh when you fail to convince us that you will fight for our cause.”

This statement took Rachel by surprise.

“What does that mean?” Hector asked, sounding a little angry. “Are you saying you guys thought she was working for the capital?”

“No, no- not at all. It’s just- her results weren’t like yours or Simone’s or Juan’s. Rachel hesitated at every turn. We just had to be sure- that’s all. I hope you will forgive us.”

What a joke, she thought.

Like she’d ever be loyal to the capital.

Glancing at Hector, she swallowed down a lump in her throat, remembering how she’d let him die.

He’d taken on the role of leader and protector when they’d been out in the woods and she’d just abandoned him...how could she ever face him knowing that?

“Is there anything else you would like to know honey before we take you to get your physical done?” Debra shot her a big, blue eyed, earnest gaze.

Rachel shook her head, tearing her eyes from the double doors.

“Where are we? I mean what is this place?”

“This is a secret underground military bunker created during the war. Only a few select people knew of its whereabouts or even had clearance to find it and they all came here to escape the mark.”

Rachel and Hector shared a look.

“And the capital didn’t come searching?”

Before Debra could answer, there was a beep.

“Damn,” Hector said, looking down at his wrist.

“Oh, would you look at that? It’s already time for drill.” Debra announced.

Hector pressed his fingertip to the surface of his watch and an automated voice told him he was to report for training.

A panic, similar to hysteria rushed through her chest at the thought of being separated from the only familiar thing in this strange, new world.

“Hector--”

As if sensing her fear, Hector gripped the tops of her arms and ducked his head so his eyes would be level to hers.

“It’s going to be okay. You trust me, right?”

Rachel nodded. “Then I’ll see you again tonight for dinner and the others will be there too. You have my word.”

Rachel swallowed hard, her hand going to clasp his.

She squeezed and he squeezed back and she realized she’d never been so comforted by someone’s touch before.

“Okay,” she said. “Okay, I’ll see you tonight.”

He patted her hair, smiled, and with that oath, he departed, leaving Rachel to watch his retreating figure until he rounded a corner.

After a moment, Rachel’s attention was drawn back to Debra who stood by an open doorway.

When a large, circular room appeared on the other side, bustling with people all sat around long, white tables, Rachel wasn’t sure which she felt more strongly at that moment- fear of the unknown or relief that they all looked like normal, human people.

Debra spread her arms wide and announced with enthusiasm.

“Welcome home, Rachel. These are the renegades. They are people like you and your friends, all fighting for the same cause. You are one of us now and I’m so sure that you’re going to love it here.”