The Testing (The Testing 1)

I take Tomas’s hand. “Today will be harder.”

His fingers tighten on mine. “I know.”

We sit on the blanket in the living room with the list of names, the apple slices sitting on a chipped but clean plate between us. I treat my leg wound with more ointment. I’m glad when I see it is not as swollen as yesterday, and rewrap it with a fresh bandage. Then, in between bites of apple, I explain what Raffe told me about the people on the list.

Tomas takes a pencil and crosses out the names that I have indicated, leaving the other five. “These are the ones we have to find.”

“I think that Raffe’s father and Professor Chen have information we need.”

“What kind of information?”

I explain about Raffe’s sister’s disappearance and his search for her and the other students who were Redirected from the University program. “I think The Testing candidates from the first two rounds of tests were Redirected to the same place as Raffe’s sister. If we get these officials to tell us what they know, we might be able to find them.”

As much as I want to end The Testing, I am equally determined to find those who have not lived up to Dr. Barnes’s standards. My eyes glance at the bracelet on my wrist. I no longer have a use for it, but I have yet to take it off. I may have need of it again, and it reminds me of something Ian said on the day I moved into the Government Studies residence. He said the scales of justice symbolize the need for government to balance humanity and kindness with law and justice. Maybe if I find some of the Redirected students alive, it will balance the deaths I have been and will be responsible for.

Taking the recorders out of my bag, I explain, “I think Professor Chen and Official Jeffries know what happens to the Redirected candidates. If we encourage them to talk, we can record the conversation.” That evidence might not sway Dr. Barnes’s most ardent government supporters to end The Testing, but it will give us what we need to find Raffe’s sister and everyone whom Dr. Barnes sent away. “Once we record what they know, we’ll restrain them. The president and her Safety officials can be in charge of them after we have completed our mission.”

Tomas’s eyes darken. “If they are as connected to The Testing as the president believes, keeping them alive isn’t an option. Not if we want The Testing to end.”

“It has to be.”

“Because one of them is Raffe’s father?”

“No.” Because watching Enzo in agony and seeing Kerrick die has taught me something valuable. While I’m capable of doing what is necessary, I’m not Dr. Barnes. “These officials have failed their country, but it’s not up to you and me to determine their punishment. If the president and the leaders of the Debate Chamber want them to be killed for their participation in and perpetuation of The Testing, they will have to be the ones to do it.” I have no doubt that the president will arrange for them to die, but their blood will not be on my hands.

“And what about the other three?” Tomas asks. “Do we detain them, too?”

“No.” The apple feels like lead in my stomach. “For them we have no choice. Symon’s hold on the rebels is too strong. Even if the Debate Chamber voted to remove Dr. Barnes and end The Testing, the attack Dr. Barnes and Symon have orchestrated would still happen. Who knows how many would die if that were allowed to take place? Zeen could be among them. If we want to end The Testing before Symon and Dr. Barnes have a chance to cause more death, we have no other choice. They have to be killed.”

Our eyes meet. In Tomas’s I see the resolve that matches my own. “Then let’s figure out how to do it. I brought some things I think will help.”

We empty our bags and lay our supplies on the floor. The apples, rolls, crackers, and cheese we put in the kitchen. Then we assess the rest. If Tomas is surprised by the weapons and explosives I’ve brought with me, he doesn’t show it. However, while he is willing to handle the guns, he avoids looking at the knives and flinches when I touch their handles. I move them to the side so he will not have to be reminded of Zandri every time he sees them.

Some of the items Tomas brought with him I expected—clothes, food, water, and the radio I adjusted for him. But I’m surprised to see specimen containers filled with plants, a mortar and pestle, two small burners, and matches. When he sees me blink, Tomas smiles. “I wasn’t sure what we would need, so I grabbed a bunch of plants from the lab before I walked out the door.”

I pick up the containers and look inside. “They leave this stuff lying around your residence?” While I understand the need for Biological Engineering majors to have easy access to the genetic materials they are asked to work with, some of the plants, like the Purple Poppy or the Pokeweed Roots, have properties that should be kept under lock and key.

“Some of it.” He shrugs. “My guide is in the advanced classes that study the best ways to negate the deadliest of the mutated plants. He prefers to work in a makeshift lab he created in one of his rooms instead of at the stadium. Our head of residence gave him special permission to take plants out of the greenhouse and work with them there. I went to his rooms to ask a question and had Kit drop by to distract him. While he walked her back to her rooms, I grabbed a few things out of his bag.”

Tomas and I separate the samples based on properties. There are three plants that will kill when ingested, two that are used most often as sedatives, and several that will be useful if any of us are injured.

I place the deadliest of the samples in the corner of the room. Then I take a seat next to the rest of the pile to figure out how to get the answers we need and eliminate Dr. Barnes, Professor Holt, and Symon—all in the next twenty-four hours. Raffe said that he and Stacia would join as soon as they found a way off campus. If we need them to bring supplies, we have to let them know in time to retrieve the message.

“Zeen will have to eliminate Symon.” My chest tightens as I realize that I still haven’t heard from Zeen.

“Even if he does,” Tomas says, “that leaves the four of us to question two on the president’s list and eliminate two others, all in one night.” Tomas looks at the array of materials next to us and frowns as he contemplates the difficulty of the task. “I guess we need to think of this like a mathematical proof. We understand the question. Now we have to list everything we know about the subjects, our skills, and the obstacles we face. Maybe then we’ll find a way to solve it.”

Easier said than done. There are too many variables: the extra Safety official patrols; our unfamiliarity with areas we will have to visit; no estimate on how long it will take to achieve our goal when we reach each location. It’s an impossible eq

uation with our current numbers.

While Tomas goes to the kitchen to grab rolls and water for lunch, I hear a series of clicks. Zeen. I pick up the Transit Communicator, take a deep breath, and press the button.

“Zeen.”

“Cia.” Just hearing his voice brings emotions I’ve held at bay to the surface. But I cannot let him hear me sound weak or scared or he will come find me. As much as I want to see my older brother, I need him to stay where he is.

“How are the rebels reacting to the postponing of the president’s proposal?”