Page 50 of Dangerous Deviance
“Naked,” Edward added. I closed my eyes and pulled down my underwear too. I shivered, though I’m not sure if it was from the temperature or the situation.
“Shirt,” Edward said. I sucked in a breath. A gut instinct told me Edward did not like waiting. I took it off, and since they hadn’t given us bras there, I was finally naked.
“Face the wall,” Edward said. “Hands behind your head. Legs spread. Knees straight.”
I stood as I was told.
A tool slid from a pocket. Then footsteps crossed the wooden floor. A shadow on the ground of a hand being raised.
The whip crashed down on my back, like a lighting strike electrifying my entire body. I yelled out, stumbling towards the wall.
“Don’t move,” Edward said. “Every time you move, we start from the beginning.”
I stared at him, but there was nothing to see. No soul. No heart or mind. No light in his eyes. Only pure violence. I turned to Dr. Bates, who was now standing at the back of the room, but that Cheshire cat grin was still there, fixed on his face.
“Dr. Bates?” I asked.
“Please resume, Edward,” he said. “Ellie will adjust accordingly. She is one of our top students.”
This wasn’t right.
“Dr. Bates, what is this?” I asked. The line on my back throbbed, making my muscles shake. “Beating someone as part of training? How does that align with a flight toward the horizon?”
“The enemy,” he said curtly, “They enjoy this kind of sexual act.”
“But this isn’t sexual,” I said, bringing my chin forward. “This is punishment.”
“Oh, Ellie,” Dr. Bates said, his grin growing. “This is hardly a punishment. This will make you stronger. It is simply an endurance exercise that’s been listed in your contract. Like I said, Ms. Jordan, your sister survived it. And I have great faith that you will too.” He winked. “Now, show me how capable you are.”
I shook my head. “Dr. Bates,” I said. But I didn’t know what else to say.
The smile drifted from his face. “This is part of your contract, Elena.” His voice was stern now, his aggravation growing. “If you want to see your sister again, you will complete the program.”
I held my breath. It was just an exercise. Nothing more. All I had to do was survive it, and I had gone through a lot already. I couldn’t be that far off. I kept straight, waiting for the sting, and when it came, I bit my tongue. Another strike lashed across my back. I squeezed my eyes shut. I would have taken those mind-numbing videos over this.
“This is for your own good, Ellie,” Dr. Bates said.
Soon, the pain became so great that I was completely numb. I couldn’t feel another strike, because my brain had taken me elsewhere. I thought of those videos, the mantras they spouted:They killed innocent children. Children who had no way to defend themselves. And they will kill you too, if you don’t end their torment.
End their torment. This beating was just another way to be closer to those children. I had to survive this, to survive what they hadn’t. And then I would defeat the enemy.
When I woke up, I was lying on the floor. Edward was gone. Dr. Bates looked into my eyes, his teeth gleaming. Somehow, his smile comforted me. He stroked the hair out of my eyes.
“You did well, Ellie,” he said softly. “Your sister would be very proud.”
“When can I—” I stopped, then coughed into my elbow, my back shocking me with searing pain every time I moved, my skin slippery on the floor. Was I sweaty or bleeding? I didn’t know. Once I could breathe again, I started, “When can I see her?”
“Soon,” Dr. Bates said. “Very soon. But first, you must complete your training.”
The days passed in one long blur of videos and beatings. All I wanted was my sister. I looked at those video clips of the enemy, men with families, men with business enterprises, men with angelic smiles when they had committed so much evil. The man with the salted gray hair at his temples stuck out to me, and I made sure to memorize his grown sons’ faces: lines around his eldest son’s eyes, a scar on one son’s lip, and the angular jaw of the youngest. I stared at them and thought of Julie’s face, knowing that if she could survive this, I could too. And once we were done, the Skyline Shift would give us a large paycheck, and we would plan a trip together. Maybe Hawaii. Or a Caribbean island. Somewhere different from here.
As I walked between the buildings one day, a flash of blond hair caught my eye. I did a double-take, stopping the line of women. Everyone shifted to a stop. But I had seen her. It was Julie’s hair. A glimpse of the same blue eyes. I opened my mouth, but another woman lurched forward.
“Izzy!” she screamed, her eyes locked on the woman behind me. “You have to get out. You have to. They’re trying to—”
But a man ran towards her, ramming his gun into the back of her head. Edward came forward too, then leaned down, picking the woman up by her ponytail. Her eyes widened as Edward’s knife slid across her throat. The blood pooled out of her like a thick fountain, mucking the dirt underneath her.
A speaker clicked on, and a voice came overhead. “There arerules, students,” Dr. Bates said. “We obey the rules because the rules keep us safe. We do not speak to other students unless we are given express permission from one of our leaders. Jan was breaking the rules. She chose to resign from the program,” he paused, giving a moment of silence. “This program runs on efficiency, and we expect the rest of you to be proper examples. Now, please, continue to your studies.”
