Cracked, dry hands couldn't stop shaking as the paper in her hands made an audible pop with how quickly she crumbled it. She couldn't stop herself from sitting on the edge of the bathtub as she felt her knees weaken beneath her unable to support her as her brain crashed.
It can't be, maybe I read it wrong? Goosebumps rose on her skin as her heart sank.
The words on the paper echoed in her brain; she felt her nose start to itch as anger and fear flashed through her like thunder.
God, no no, no, no. Her eyes teared, as her chest ached. She was doomed, how could she possibly get out from this call? She hid for the last three years just for her world to come crumbling down like a old castle, decaying and disintegrating much faster that she could accommodate.
Wiping her nose she looked down at the crumbled paper, undoing the creases she looked at it once more, unfortunately, the words didn't magically change and she did in fact read it correctly. Her face paled and her heart stilled. Running her hands through her hair, her mind raced. Awakening. Her heart raced.
"Lord, Fuck" her elbows rested on her knees as she head lay on her palms trying to process the meaning of what she'd become.
The bathroom was small, crowded one could say with how close everything with to everything. If she moved an inch right she could bang her head into the sink or burn herself on the red-hot radiator on her left. It didn't help as panic seared through her, dread dropped from her chest to her stomach as she flinched the urge away to hurl into the toilet.
"What can I do? I had three years of peace only to end up fucked over anyway" her fate crashed into reality too quickly, her chest ached, cold sweat gathered between her eyebrows as she could not stop herself from shedding tears, she refused to cry out loud, soft gasps of left her lips as she felt disgust settle in her.
"Why am I so useless?" The crumbled paper was her last straw; exhaustion travelled up her spine as she deflated. Her chest raised slowly as she tried to breathe through her panic.
"Three years of running, of shitty apartments and jobs only to end up back where I started at the mercy of the academy" I lived up to their standards. Just as everyone said I failed. What is the point. The academy was nothing but a curse that would turn her into a murder.
Three days - she had three days to burn herself from this life and be expected to show up at the altar to sacrifice herself for the betterment of society she did not want to be part of.
Her chest restricted as she felt herself lose the battle she tried to put up. She spent those three days in bed in a trance with constant goosebumps raising at her skin.
"I'm not strong" she ran a hand through her hair. She could not run away either, not if the mark was so prominent that they noticed her. The black markings were to obvious to her kinds eyes.
The line wasn't long, not many people turned out to be part of the O class, the sup-humans there were dressed in white as per regulations. The sun shined brightly, as if it were trying to blind everyone.
"Alina Androva" her chest restricted her breathing as she walked forward, of course she was going to be one of the first to be called out. Anila's heart thundered in her chest as she felt her blood heat up the closer, she got to the signing table.
My hair is tied to tight. She thought, it was also the only sensation that was keeping her sane as she stepped foot into the white square. The hairy man asked her once more to confirm her name which she mumbled back, her voice weak and harsh from her breakdown in over the last couple days and in the bathroom before she arrived.
She did not dare to breath as the shorter man looked her up and down from his seat as if she were prey. His eyes were filled with disdain, it almost made her want to last out and pull his eyes from his ugly face, but instead she straightened her back, emptied out her brain and blankly stared at his greasy hair.
The authorities' eyes felt like oil wrapping around her feathers seeping into her pours restricting her. She stopped herself from throwing up at him as he ushered the dreaded words.
"Approved" his voice sounded too higher, defiantly higher than hers, which made her stomach trembled, but she kept herself composed whatever he looked for in her he found as she walked into the ancient looking building. The last hope of being cast aside by then was thrown away.
The cold air felt like tiny needles sown to her skin goosebumps raised.