Free MEMORIAM by Rachel Broom Page A

This is what the simulation room looks like when it isn’t being used.”
    “Why did that cabin show up?”
    “Each simulation is personal to the hunter who creates it. I don’t know why your subconscious chose to put you there.”
    I shuddered. The red-eyed version of me, the one with the Trux tattoo, scared me. Was that what my future looked like? It was what I was most afraid of: losing myself to become a killer. I wanted to be better than that.
    “You seem pretty upset. I’d go get an emotional relaxer from the healing center.”
    “I’m not upset,” I snapped at Trent.
    “Trust me, you need one.”
    Trent did not say a word when I walked out of the room. No future training sessions, no nightly run, nothing. Trent said nothing.
    I wondered what Sam would say. We hadn’t talked since the night I had met Mary and accused him of knowing more about me than he let on. I wasn’t sure how Sam was going to react when he saw me again. When I reached the healing center he was in the corner tending to someone. Bronte was putting new sheets on a bed.
    “Violet, what are you doing here?” She asked.
    “My trainer suggested I take an emotional relaxer.”
    “You do look pale.”        
    “Well I’d like to be a different color, but that’s not the way the world works.”
    Bronte rested her hands on her hips. She must not have recognized my joke. “Take a seat. I’ll be with you in a moment.”
    I went over and sat down on the bed she’d just made, keeping an eye on Sam. Would he be mad when he saw me? Bronte went over and rested her hand on Sam’s back, whispering in his ear. My legs swung back and forth, skimming the ground. Next thing I knew Sam was coming my way, his hand grazing my shoulder as he sat down.
    “You look pale,” he said. His hand pressed against my forehead. “Fever. Are you sick, too?”
    “I had a simulation. Trent insisted I get an emotional relaxer.” The expression on Sam’s face was unreadable. Was he still mad at me?
    Sam shook his head. “The things he puts you through…”
    I closed my eyes as Sam bustled around. It was easier to stare at the backs of my eyelids rather than Sam’s unreadable face. There was a sound of metal scraping against floor then warm skin against mine. Sam’s hand was against my forehead, rubbing some kind of ointment on my temples. 
    “Thanks, Sam.”
    “It’s my job.”
    We were quiet for a second.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “For what?”
    I opened my eyes. “For getting mad at you the other night. It was rude to assume you knew anything.”
    Sam’s eyebrows were strung together as he stared at my forehead.
    “Please tell me I don’t have a stain on my forehead from that ointment you just put on me.”
    Sam’s mouth twitched. “I hate to break it to you, but you’ll have this stain for the rest of your life.”
    I grinned. “Shit.”
    “My thoughts exactly. Hold on, let me get an oral relaxer.” He passed me a thin green square the size of my fingernail. “Let this dissolve in your mouth. It should kick in within minutes.”
    I stuck the pill in my mouth. A hot sensation filled my cheeks and burned my gums. I stuck out my tongue.         
    “I know, it’s not the tastiest thing in the world, but it will make you feel ten times better.”
    “So what have you been up to since I last saw you?”
    He leaned back in his chair and rested his hands behind his head. “Not much. A couple of new healers came in. One of them is incredibly tall.”
    “Really?”
    “Too tall, actually.”        
    I smiled. “And how’s Mary?”
    Sam seemed surprised that I mentioned her. “She’s well.”
    “The skryers didn’t catch her the other night, did they?”
    “No, they didn’t. I keep telling her she needs to be more careful. The idea of her getting caught by a skryer is too painful to think about. She deserves better.”
    A flame of envy lit in my chest but I pushed it away. I didn’t need to be jealous of Mary; Sam and