Free Hold: Hold & Hide Book 1 by Marilyn Grey Page B

squinted his eyes. “For your untimely outburst, 413, I’d like you to go next. You have two minutes to skin the cow.”
    “But everyone—”
    “Two minutes.” He pointed. “The cow.”
    I stepped forward and tripped, falling into a pancake on the ground by Elizabeth’s foot. I peered up at her as I stood back up. Obviously Emily’s sister hated me and I had no idea why.
    I walked away from her squinty eyes and looked at the poor, helpless cow, feeling a bit like the cow myself. I didn’t want to change the world. I didn’t want to do their stupid assignments. I didn’t want the headaches and confusion and boring white bedroom. And most especially, I didn’t want to kill a cow. Or anything. 
    But I didn’t want to die either.
    “Nooooo!” someone screamed.
    I turned, realizing it came from the room they took Audrey to. I didn’t want to find out what was beyond that door. At all.
    The animals looked pensive. Almost seemed as though they were sick or had been starved for days. Sir Anthony chimed, “One minute,” as I looked around at the other kids my age and imagined them standing up there next. I didn’t want to be a part of it. I didn’t want anything to do with the entire thing anymore.
    I glanced back at the two doors. My two options. What was worth more to me? Dying an honest person or living a lie?
    I raised my shoulders, turned to Sir Anthony, and inhaled deeply. “I can’t do it.” I looked at the ground. “I mean ... I won’t. I won’t do it.”
    I swear it looked almost like a smile tugged at his lips and a weird brightness glazed over his eyes. 
    Emily covered her mouth with her hand and stared at me as the two men escorted me to the door that Audrey entered minutes ago. I shoved their hands, but they gripped tighter. 
    “I can walk there myself,” I said. “Where would I run to anyway?”
    They gripped even harder. 
    “Wait!” a voice called. 
    Red ran up to us. “I’ll take her place.”
    “No, Red.” I tried to sound stern, but my voice cracked. How could he do for me what I couldn’t do for my own twin sister? My own twin sister. “Please don’t.”
    “Let me take her place.” He looked back toward the crowd. “Anthony, let me take her place.”
    Sir Anthony smiled and waved his hand for us to move on. “Take them both.”
    The door opened and we were shoved inside an empty room with another door across the way. 
    “Why did you do that?” I said to Red. 
    He coughed. Totally fake too. “I just didn’t want to see you go through this.”
    “Will they really skin us?”
    The other door opened and Victoria entered. “Oh, look who we have here. If it isn’t the valiant Red prince and his damsel in distress.”
    “I’m not a damsel.”
    Red stepped toward her while looking at me.”Let’s just get this over with, okay?”
    “We are waiting for the others this time.” She eyed me up and down. “Which part of her should we do?”
    Red blinked slowly and his eyes filled with an emotion I couldn’t figure out. Victoria motioned for us to enter the other door. We followed. The room was small and dark, lit only with a single red light. Audrey sat in a chair blindfolded. Her hands wrapped around the back of the chair, tied together by rope so tight her wrists bled a little. Another rope twisted around her chest and the chair, then another held her feet together. She sat quietly, but even if she screamed it would had been muted by the cloth in her mouth. I wiped my sweaty palms on my arms, afraid to mess up my dress, and looked at Red for reassurance. He stared ahead without blinking. It seemed like his mind drifted to another place, a place beyond this room, beyond his body. 
    I thought of my place. My room filled with books. My escape.
    Three men entered the room with ropes. I closed my eyes and imagined the books tucked away in the shelves. So many books. I ran my fingers along a row of them until one caught my eye. I pulled it out, bypassed the title, and