Free MEMORIAM by Rachel Broom Page B

I were friends. That should have been enough.
    “You know, it’s not your fault if they catch her. You can only help a person so much before it’s out of your hands.”
    “We promised we’d look out for each other.”
    “Still, it’s not your fault if she gets caught.”
    “You are acting as if she’s already been caught.” Sam raised an eyebrow. “Do you know something I don’t?”
    “I was about to ask you the same question.”
    “What?”
    “You’re planning something, aren’t you? That meet-up with Mary wasn’t just a friendly visit. Why else would she sound so worried?”
    “It’s nothing.”
    “Sam.” I looked at him. He knew that of all of the things I wanted, the biggest one at this point was honesty. “Please tell me.”
    “It’s nothing, really. Mary had talked about escaping and I was going over the logistics with her.”
    “You are going to escape?”
    “Nothing’s set in stone. This place is locked up like the Head is in his mansion. We have to be careful if we’re going to be successful. Bad things happen to people who try to escape and fail.”
    “There has to be a safe way out.”
    “Mary and I are working on it. For now let’s keep it under wraps, okay? If word gets out then we’ll be caught.”        
    “But you’ll tell me if you find a way out?”
    “Of course.”
    “How long do you think it will take?”
    Sam smirked. “You have a deadline in mind?”
    “No, but the sooner the better. I only have two days left of training before I have to start hunting.” The red-eyed Trux version of myself popped up in my head.
    “You’ll be fine.”
    “I have nightmares every night about killing Pax; I can’t sleep. Once I kill I won’t want to be around you anymore.”
    “Are you saying you actually like spending time with a healer who technically doesn’t have the proper education required for a healer?” Sam grinned, nudging me. The selfish me wanted Sam to tell me that he wanted me around no matter what, but right then a skryer interrupted us.
    “Violet Hansen?” I froze.
    “Y-yes?” I stammered. It was hard not to notice the whip on his belt.
    “The Secretary of the Head would like a word with you in her office.”
    No one knew who the secretary was, but everyone knew she existed. Some people called her the Head’s right hand, others called her his puppet. She watched over most of the bases. Although I was terrified to become a hunter, I was more scared about this request to meet the secretary. I wasn’t going to punished, was I? I hadn’t done anything wrong. Unless she just wanted me dead. That was always a possibility.
    “Why?”
    “You don’t ask the questions. She does.”
    Sam’s face hardened. I tried to manage words but none came out. I reached out and wrapped my arms around Sam’s neck, whispering in his ear, “see you soon,” then letting go. I didn’t to let go.
    “Be safe,” he said. His breath sent shivers down my neck and into my core. “Don’t be a stranger.”
    I stood up and walked over to the skryer. My whole body shook. Thoughts of never seeing Sam again and being locked in a cell ran through my mind as I left the healing center with the skryer, glancing over my shoulder at Sam, who watched me leave. Stares followed us as we walked down the hall leading to the hunters’ division, past my eating facility, the training hall, and the living quarters, past any point that I knew of. The air was colder here. The ceilings were taller, hollow and empty.
    The skryer stopped by a metal door. It parted and revealed a circular white-paneled room with a large skylight overhead. There was another metal door at the opposite end of the room.
    “She is waiting through that door.” The skryer jerked his head. I tried to calm my racing heart as I scanned my tracker against the door, holding my breath as they parted.
    The room was small, but the ceiling made up for it. Three story ceilings with skylights poured in natural light, casting