Free Blemished, The by Sarah Dalton

them.
    “I can maybe give you time,” I said.
    Billie nodded sincerely. “Thank you.”
    “Run,” I said.
    Billie wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight. Then she turned back to her sister and grabbed her under her arms. With a loud sob Emily managed to straighten and Billie coaxed her into walking. Mrs Murgatroyd picked up her pace. Her sharp, eagle-eyes turned and I saw that the realisation of what was happening hit her. There was no time. I had only seconds to do something to give Billie and Emily a chance. Mrs Murgatroyd only needed to reach into her pockets to call the School Enforcers to take them away. My only hope would be to use my gift, but I didn’t know how to direct it properly.
    I thought back to the moment I flipped the tray at Elena. Like my dad said, I had to get angry. I thought about Mrs Murgatroyd calling Emily fat and telling us all that obesity would die when we died. I thought about how the Enforcers would take Emily and her baby away. I thought about how unfair it was that Billie would lose her sister and Emily would lose her baby, maybe her life. I thought about living in a world where innocent babies and young girls were killed unjustly. I thought about all of the rage inside me and before long I felt heat running down my arms and tickle my fingers.
    Mrs Murgatroyd approached us and I knew exactly what to do. Using every bit of energy in my body I channelled all of that rage into flipping the table. I closed my eyes and concentrated on just that one thing. It rattled. Next to me Angela tensed. More heat seared through me and with the last burst it pulsed through my mind, as though all of the synapses, the lit tle filament things my dad talked about, exploded all at once and I opened my eyes to see the table flipping, tossing seed trays  as it did so, and knocking Mrs Murgatroyd to the ground. Gardening gloves, soil and trowels rained down on top of her.
    And then I was hollow. I fell with my legs collapsing beneath me. Angela knelt by my side in the damp grass.
    “Are you all right?” Angela asked, crouching.
    I looked behind her at Billie and Emily. They were approaching the gate. Emily waddled, holding her belly while Billie dragged them along.
    “Please make it,” I whispered. “Please. Please.”
    Mrs Murgatroyd got up. She kept her distance from Emily but she knew exactly what was going on. She took out her Plan-it and tapped into the screen. I tried to focus more of my energy and whipped the Plan-It out of her fingers. Mrs Murgatroyd frowned and dropped to the ground, searching for it. Emily screamed out in pain and collapsed to the ground halfway between the lawn and the school gate. Before I could do anything else the Enforcers were dashing around the corner. They brought a wheelchair with them as though it had been there waiting for something like this to happen.
    Billie sat on the ground next to her sister and their foreheads touched. I saw their lips moving and knew that they were saying their goodbyes to each other. It was over.
    “They didn’t make it,” I whispered. I put my head in my hands. I’d failed.
    “At least they got to say goodbye,” Angela said. “Are you all right? What you did was amazing.”
    I frowned. “I just wish it was enough.”
    Angela squeezed my shoulder. “You did what you could.”
    Billie screamed and lashed out but it was pointless of her to try. Emily grasped hold of her sister’s hand until the end, tears raining down her cheeks. The Enforcers had to pull her onto the chair and Emily clutched her belly, screaming. As they took her away she turned back and I swore that I would never forget the sight of her face; red, blotchy, pained, tiny, young.

12
     
     
     
    S chool finished in a blur. The other Blemished carried on in silence, some quietly weeping. Later, the Enforcers came back for Billie. They took her away for questioning.
    After school Angela and I walked to her house. It was supposed to be the night of our first slumber