Free Kill School: Slice by Karen Carr

Regulator’s children, I expect them to be snobs, but
they seem to be genuine. I make a mental note not to kill Demi’s father. I like
her and she would never forgive me.
     “These help.” I drop the last grape in my mouth. “Why do
you have to go to training camp? I thought all of the Regulator kids hired stunts.”
    “Stunts.” Lilly curls her lip in a frown. I notice a small
tattoo of a crescent moon and a star above her eyebrow. “You know they are
illegal.” She glares at me. I get the feeling that I have to be very careful
about what I say around her or else I’ll end up with a black eye.
    I nod. Stunts are illegal, but Regulators can do what they
want.
    Demi gives her sister a sweet glance, which breaks Lily’s
tough stare.
    “Dad was going to hire stunts for us,” Demi says.
    “It doesn’t seem right. You know?” Lily says. “Having
someone kill for you. I prefer to do it myself.” The glint in Lily’s eyes gives
me the chills.
    Rich people hired stunts to kill for their children. Most stunts
don’t last more than two or three kills before the police catch them and send
them to control for their crimes. If I had a choice, if my family could afford
one, I would hire one. Blood on someone else’s hands, not mine.
     “We still can hire one,” Demi says. “We’ll go to school
and try it out. If it’s too much for us, we’ll quit. Quads stick together.” Demi
taps Lily’s knee and looks on to her brothers, Matthew and Jack.
    “Aren’t you afraid someone will terminate you?” I ask.
    Demi and Lily both nod, but I don’t think they really
understand what it all means. I’ve seen people killed. I’ve felt my brother’s
pain after he comes back from an overnight raid.
    “That makes it more exciting,” Lily says.
    “No one would really chose us,” Demi says. “With my dad in
charge. Imagine what he would do to the family.”
    She is right. No one would want to kill a Regulator’s kid.
    While we are talking, the Vactrain carries us through
mountains and forests. We shoot through a grassy field speckled with cows and
sheep, all of us looking out the large window, before the conversation picks up
again. We talk about our families, comparing mothers and fathers. The
conversation turns back to Kill School.
    “Your dad let you go?” I ask. I can’t imagine any parent
wanting their kids to go to Kill School if they had a choice.
    Demi shrugs her shoulders.
    “He sorta doesn’t know we’re here,” Demi says. “We snuck
out after he left for morning debriefings. Those things take up so much time. I
wish he’d delegate more to the other Regulators.”
    “He sure will be surprised when he sees us,” Lily says.
     
    “Who was that woman with you?” I ask. “I thought she was
your mother.”
    “Our nanny,” Demi says with a sly smile. “She’ll do
anything for more credits in her account. What do your parents do?”
    “My mom is an obstetrician and my dad is a music teacher.”
Mentioning their names makes their loss fresh in my mind. Sure, I’ll see them
in a few weeks, but I miss them dearly already.
    “Wow,” Demi says.
    We are back in the woods. The trees are taller here than
any other place I’ve ever been. We pass over and then under a wide and deep
river. I get chills thinking of how wild the land is way up here.
    “My mom told me we were all in the same hospital together,”
I say.
    Demi and Lily look at me, puzzled.
    “How can that be?” Demi asks. “We were born in Clarkhaven
House.”
    The train slows as we approach a tunnel. I catch my breath as
the dark surrounds us again. My answer is lost in the sound of the train. By
the time we reach the other side, we are all agape at the building before us.
We have arrived in training camp. All other thoughts leave my mind.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    We pull
into a small station with a long, narrow platform. In the distance, I can see a
building both more ancient and more modern than I have ever seen. Most
structures in