Nightfall comes, everyone else has gone off to sleep and we are the remaining two. Leon was right, those herbalists will be staying up all night just to meet the deadline, panicking and rushing from side to side with no subjects to test on other than themselves—they put the drugged ones in a corner until they sobered up enough to be injected again, like children in timeout.
Antonio and I climb into our tent, finding an array of personal and private items, such as sexual protection and outfits for arousal; they appeared to have had a student-teacher kink. Scandalous.
"Check this out," Antonio mumbles, finally able to take his head scarf off, he's drenched beneath it, his dark skin wrinkling and many scars moist. I know I'm certainly happy to take off that mask, it's starting to smell, perhaps some face cream would help. I kneel next to him on the thick, but breathable, sleeping bags; he hands me documents and a newspaper article that had been cut out. The article reads: "Dima Faya and Jik Anzie, Next Genius Power Duo or Tortured Case to be?"
So that's the name of the woman I am acting as then, huh? Jik Anzie. Jik Anzie. Jik Anzie.
Where do I know that name from?
"You recognize it too, right?" He speaks quietly, his voice barely reaching me.
"Yeah, but I can't remember where," I grip the newspaper harshly, like it owes me money when Antonio passes the documents back to me. Setting down the article, I open the first file, Jik's file, and begin reading.
Jik Anzie. Born Yuin 41st, 593 at Aadrun Corrections Hospital in Duthious. Mother is Angie Anzie and father is Kite Anzie. Had a twin brother Blix Anzie, deceased shortly after delivery; body left unfound.
I skim through her education and medical finding nothing suspicious really, switched schools every two to three years, had a few x-rays that always resulted in nothing. Until I reach the bottom of her file: Yuin 40th, 608; a blood test had been conducted that had revealed her to be part Sortian. Yuin 42nd, 608; Jik Anzie had officially been reported missing, presumably dead.
I grumble, annoyed by the simplicity, "So that's it then? Her body couldn't handle the demon and angel blood which frequently led to her having to be rushed in for check-ups until they finally did a DNA test and found out the truth, the backlash leading to her having to fake her death and run away."
"Now read his." Antonio orders, and I set down Jik's file and open Dima's, my eye immediately catching it.
"Married to Jik Anzie on Yuin 39th, 608."
"Not just that, he was forty-two at the time of marriage, she was fourteen."
"And he ended up dying at forty-five and her at seventeen." What a shame. It seems she was a target from the start, perhaps it was her genetics that had led to them getting married. Maybe she was one of the many people they tested on, until she got too old. I continue to scan through, though a majority of the information presented were things I was already aware of, so what's left was not of as much use to me.
When I finally set down the file, Antonio meets my eyes, now dryer than before, though still moist, his lips parted slightly like he wants to say something but doesn't know how.
"What is it?" I finally ask him, my nerves standing on end due to his unblinking stare.
He's silent for another long moment, gazing at me with wide eyes until something finally snaps him out of it and he gulps, "Oh, um, what are your thoughts on marriage?"
"Well I can see why the average person may choose to get married, though I don't believe I've ever seen a couple happy after tying themselves together. Sometimes I find it to be a waste of money, other times I think there might be benefits, only to see a bickering couple out in public and be reminded that—oh, truly loving someone does not exist—there are always strings attached whether the people who chose to stick themselves with another see them or not."
"So not into romance then?" He speaks slowly, still staring at me though now his eyes appear more curious.
I can't help but laugh softly, "Why would I be? We're trained from birth to avoid that sort of stuff at all costs, otherwise, we die."
"I see." He mumbles, eyes thinning as he begins to silently examine me.
This silence is gruesome, and why the hell is he staring at me so much? "What about you?"
He finally breaks eye contact, turning away from me carefully as he lies down, cradling the pillow close, mumbling, "Same."
"Alright," I grumble in response, laying down on the itchy, rancid pillow next to him, our backs touching. Fuck he's broiling. Can I just sleep in the office?
"You see, her development is going well." A male voice speaks, chipper and confident. "She's even numb to the sight of blood and murder again, the reset is going well."
"Yeah, but she still saved that child and risked her mission," Karma retorts bitterly, voice cold and mannerisms distant. "We should send someone to keep a closer eye on her, that boy clearly isn't doing enough."
"Not so fast-" A spark, two hands colliding and creating a brilliant light, it lasts only a moment, not long enough to see anything else, but it was truly beautiful with its magnificence. "Didn't you see how much progress was made when she finally started doing things her way? It's clear the guy is holding her back, adding another to the mix will just lead to her having to babysit. And you know it."
"Fine." Karma mumbles stubbornly. "But you know if we add someone it can't be another girl, the damn assassin would probably end up fucking her anyway."
"Enough of that, it was one time."
"The damn chick just appeared out of nowhere! I never approved of her having that mission, it was supposed to be given to the guy, and then she just goes around and completes everything else for her? Ridiculous! We spend millions, perhaps even trillions to train each individual assassin, and one of them has their job completed by some random traveling sex slave?"
"We had her forget her name, isn't that enough?"
"She hadn't forgotten her memory though."
"Because it ended up being an important part of her development, keep in mind, she turned eighteen a little over a month ago, her brain is still forming. We can't just erase everything that disagrees with our teachings, it's better for us to implant consequences than have them repeat their mistakes every goddamn time."
Silence ensues, long and strained, nothing else takes place within this space of vast darkness. Not until she speaks again, "I hate it when we argue."
"Yeah, me too."
"She's driving a wedge between us."
"We'll learn to adapt and live with this situation, we can discuss together what we can add or remove. I do care about your thoughts and opinions, just as much as I care about you and our mission. But it's important that we find common grounds instead of going behind each other's backs just to make sure everything runs smoothly."
"Why can't we just replace her with someone more agreeable?"
"Because people who agree all the time can't think for themselves, they're slow and easy to manipulate."
"I still think throwing someone else into the mix would be the next best course of action, maybe even reawaken her assassin side so she's not always thinking about escaping."
"We can continue to take the man in for testing, control him if we have to."
"This is a waste of time and money."
"I believe in this path for our cause, which means we need to continue on this route for however long it takes."
"She should return to school."
"She doesn't have time for that."
"You see? That right there! You're disagreeing with me again without even taking a moment to think from my perspective!"
"You're doing the same, Karma."