Never The Same

I pull up my left hand’s sleeve and look at my wrist. Looking at it has always given me peace and today’s no different. But then I catch a reflection of my neck in the mirror and I turn away. I had bigger matters on hand and I needed to focus. Mehra could die and I needed to save her.

*************

One worried face, a plate of chocolate chip cookies, and a red-faced Sam are waiting for me inside. 

“I’m leaving to get her,” I tell them.

“Mags?” my little brother comes closer to me to hold my hand. 

“It’s okay, you’ll stay with Mr. Jones,” I ruffle his hair and he smiles.

“Maggie please eat something before you go.” Mehra’s dad asks me.

“I have everything set. Mr. Lee told me about some guy who was a tech genius and some other people. The cameras will turn off for 45 minutes when I signal. I have to leave as soon as possible.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Mehra’s dad smiles at me. That was weird. Why would he be smiling when his daughter could be dead in 3 days in the Purge.  

“She’s my best friend. It’s the least I can do. It’s my fault she’s in there in the first place.” Tears spring to my eyes as I remember that dreadful day but I push the memories aside.

I say goodbye to both of them and take my dad’s motorcycle to where the Zaid’s soldiers put Mehra. It was his most prized possession. He polished the motorcycle after every use and he treated it like it was a living thing. But now he’s gone, like so many others, and his precious Valentino was going to be in my care. If I could help Mehra, then maybe I could help everybody there. Maybe we could rebel against the Zaids. Maybe then our world, our cities, and our lives would be the same again.

I press the earpiece in my ear to make sure it’s secure, then tell Ben that I’m ready. I was hidden in the shadows right now, but to go any further I would have to make sure he had turned the cameras off first.

“Ok, I’m almost done. 7 seconds.

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1

Ok, you have 45 minutes Maggie. You better make the most of it.” Ben tells me, but I’m already sneaking up to the 2 guards stationed at this door. I come out of the shadows and take the first soldier by surprise. I get him in a chokehold but it’s too late. He already alerted the second one. I spin around so my back is to the wall and use the unconscious soldier as a shield. A dart whizzes past me landing bouncing off the wall right next to my left shoulder. I kick the second one and use the first one's head to hit the other one but he punches me in the stomach right after I do it. 

“AHhhh!” he yells in pain as I use one of the tricks I had learned in martial arts. I grab his neck and swing his head back and hit it against the wall. I see his eyes roll to the back of his head. It was time for a little break anyway. Nighty night soldiers!

I feel the adrenaline rushing through as I go through their pockets for the keys. Instead, I find a big ringlet of about 7 different keys. What could all these keys be for? But then I hear footsteps and I quickly start going through the keys. 

“Gustav? Dustan?” I hear a deep voice but then the person stops. “Look, I don’t have time for your pranks. Stop playing around and shut up okay!” I hear the footsteps grow more distant and I finally hear a click. I open the door quickly and quietly. But I just see a long corridor. I swiftly walk into it, keeping to the sides. From here it splits into two hallways. 

“Ben, how much time left?” I ask him. Don’t panic Maggie. It’s going to be okay. I look at my left wrist for support and like a friend who always has your back, the beautiful gold winks back at me. 

“You have 36 more minutes Maggie. Wait. Oh my god.” His voice is filled with defeat and surprise. 

“What? Hurry up and tell me!” 

“There’s so many. There’s no way you’ll be able to find her.” He pauses. “Maggie? You there?”

“Yeah and I’m not giving up. Stay on the line.” I sidestep into the left hall and walk over. There are three guards here but before they see me I shoot them with the tranquilizer gun the guard out in the front tried to shoot me with. I walk in but a hand fastens around my neck and another knocks the gun away. The guard has me pinned against the wall.

“Who are you?” he asks. He is way taller than me and his hard green eyes look unforgiving and cold. I’m about to kick him but he tightens his hold on my neck and my feet lift a bit off the ground.

“What are you doing? You have the tattoo of the Zaid's acceptance on your neck- hey!” It’s okay. Even if he saw the tattoo on my neck, he hasn’t seen my face.  I try to pry his hands off my neck but remember what Sensei Mark had told me.

 The thumbs are the weakest point of somebody’s grip. Force your body’s weight and focus it toward the thumbs. Now break out of their grasp, spin around and grab the opponent’s neck tightly with your elbow. And don’t forget, patience is key. 

I get his head in my elbow’s grip but I know I won’t be able to hold him for long. If only I could reach the gun. 

Your elbows are the hardest and sharpest point of your body. Don’t be afraid to use them.

But my elbow was already occupied. I bring my left knee up to hit his head but he’s stronger and bigger. He grabs it and gets out of my grip, then flips me onto the ground. 

“Your wrist! That bracelet. I-” he exclaims. How could he possibly recognize the bracelet? This was my mom’s before me, and her mom’s before her and my family had had it for generations.  

This time I use the technique of getting your enemy onto the ground while still holding their hand the opposite way to break their elbows. But I didn’t come here to break bones. While I have him down on his stomach, I take the chance to reach the gun and shoot it at his neck. Sweet dreams big guy. 

I keep going but then see a door. The door’s unlocked. That’s weird. 

I step in and see a little cot, a small table beside it with a glass of water, and a lamp. It was a relatively small room. Someone swings something at me but I duck, sidestep, and hold their face to the wall. But then I recognize her dark shoulder-length curly hair.

“Mehra?” The word is hardly a whisper. 

“Mags! Oh gosh! You’re really here!” I let her go and she turns around to look at me. I expected dark circles, sunken cheeks, and tiredness on her face but if not better, she looks the same. 

“I thought they would treat the people who didn’t pass their so-called acceptance test horribly.” 

“Um, maybe the Zaids aren’t as bad as we thought.”

“Are you kidding me?” I look at her in disbelief. “All the people here will die in about a week. Outside, they’re stealing people’s property and setting up training grounds. They’re killing rebels as soon as possible. Little kids are being left orphaned! And how are you roaming around here freely? I thought you were a prisoner.”

I didn’t even realize I had been walking backward until I hit the small bedside table. Mehra walks forward but trips on the rod that she was about to hit me with and hits her head on the cot’s metal frame. That’s when I realize that I never took my face covering off so nobody would know my identity. I had even tucked my straight auburn hair into my black hoodie. Then how did she know it was me? Unless she already knew…

She lifts her head and I gasp.

“Your blood.” Two words but her face paled. She tried to wipe it away but it was too late. It was dark red. 

“It’s not what you think Mags,” she laughs nervously. “You don’t really think that I…”

“How many people did you kill Mehra?” I ask her. 

She stops talking and her eyes go hard. A wave of dizziness comes over me. Rumor has it that Zaids have magic. I remember overhearing one of my classmates. 

“But you…I would have known if. You look the same age as me!” I say but my words start slurring and I stumble.

“Zaids don’t age my girl,” she smiles. Her voice sounds different now. It comes from every side of me, squeezing me, suffocating me.

“We were supposed to like sisters,” I choke out.

I take the glass of water and throw the water at her neck. 

Another wave of magic comes over me, stronger than the last one. I fall, but not before I see her own tattoo mirroring mine. Not before I see the shield with thorny vines with 2 swords crossing over. Not before I realized I had been betrayed. And not before realizing that her father was with Sam. Sam, my innocent little brother who was supposed to be my responsibility. I had failed.

“No,” I think before blackness takes over me.