Book 2: Chapter 21 - God, We Have So Much in Common!

So what if there are rumors she tried to kill someone?
Your cowardice is unbecoming of your youth!

Have you seen her? She’s dangerously hot!
Or dangerous and hot.
Honestly I don’t care; that’s just dating.

Fuck it.
If they let her out, I’m getting her number.
Have fun staying single, loser.
—Chad Jenkins, Overheard

“You’re a fucking liar,” Aubrey accused. She was with Kiera and Violet as they made their way back to the dorms, and she couldn’t shake her embarrassed blush.

“Well, that’s impolite,” Violet responded. “I would never lie to anyone.”

“You said you couldn’t sing, either! And you said you didn’t know that first song you picked! You even let me go first!” Aubrey accused.

“She’s not wrong, Vi,” Kiera agreed. “Wild to fucking nail a song you’ve never heard before.”

“Oh, you’re as bad as she is!” Aubrey said. “What was the deal with the duet? With a damn dance you both knew somehow?”

“You know how limited the archives back home are, at least compared to here in Prism. If anything, it’s weird you don’t know Moonlight Densetsu,” Kiera responded.

“How to pronounce the lyrics and do a whole ass dance?” Aubrey asked.

“We are simply women of culture,” Violet answered. “Besides, my dad is a Dancer. It was one of the skills he tried the hardest to get me to learn. You know, to ‘help’ me find my calling. That was one of a few I practiced with. Also, like. It’s great, so Kiera is right. You should know it, too.”

“I guess that explains why you were so much better at it,” Aubrey grumbled.

“Fucked up,” Kiera complained. “Only say true things when they make me look good. Come on, Aubrey.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Either way, it was humiliating singing in front of everyone, only to be the only person who sucks at it. Seriously. Why is Guy so good at it? I’ve never seen him sing in my life,” she said. 

“Because he’s in touch with his soul,” Violet answered.

“Because there were a lot of pretty people to impress, and he pulled it out of his ass,” Kiera said.

“Yeah, like I said,” Violet agreed.

“You are so exhausting,” Aubrey complained.

“You sound like my dad,” Violet and Kiera answered in unison. 

Aubrey looked back and forth between them and sighed. “Are you two sure you aren’t related somehow?” she asked.

“Maybe. Ashers do like to breed and spread across the country. We’re like flowers, that way,” Violet answered.

Kiera took a moment to respond, distracted by something about the campus they were walking through. It was late, and not many people were around. Violet wondered if that was the problem. As she followed Kiera’s gaze, she realized it was more than that. This building was never crowded at that hour, but there were far fewer people around than most other nights. 

“Uh, no, I don’t think so. Dad never got along with the Asher family where we are from. Didn’t actually occur to me that it wasn’t just the same name at first, actually. But I didn’t know much about them. Come to think of it, he’d probably be crushed if he knew I’d made friends with you,” Kiera responded.

“Oh, they are probably related, huh?” Aubrey mused. “I forgot we had an Asher family back home. Haven’t heard the name in years. I think my neighbor knew one of the kids? Or wait, I think those were the Ashtons. Actually, are you sure we had Ashers back home?”

Violet and Kiera had largely stopped paying attention at this point, which became clear when Kiera changed the subject. “It’s weird that there's hardly anyone here, right?” Kiera asked.

Aubrey paused and looked around, then stopped walking. “Actually, it kind of is. What section are we in?” she asked.

“Passing through red, at the moment. There should be plenty of students here,” Violet answered. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the correct route to their dorm, but it was the fastest. At least until they reached green and weren’t allowed to use it anymore. But by then, they wouldn’t need to travel to the orange district anyway. In any case, Violet had been through it late at night a few times. Later than this, in fact. “Maybe it’s because it’s a Friday? Is everyone out?”

“Maybe… I just feel like there would be at least as many people here, right? Studying, or partying in their dorms, or something like that. At least, that’s what it always looked like in the movies,” Kiera responded.

“I don’t know if old-world college movies are super reliable in gauging how things should work here,” Aubrey noted. “They probably weren’t even accurate at the time.”

“Well, it’s probably fine. Maybe the regular red students have an assembly, or something? Wait, that’s stupid. It’s almost midnight. Uh, curfew?” Violet guessed.

“A curfew only on weekends?” Aubrey asked.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s like a closed campus situation for them? We kinda skipped the rules for everyone else in our category,” Violet defended.

“I don’t know, but it’s giving me the fucking creeps. I feel like I’m exploring one of those abandoned old-world malls back home. Let’s hurry back to our rooms,” Kiera answered.

“Actually, can I stay in your room tonight? AJ said he wasn’t gonna get back until, like, four in the morning, and I don’t want to be woken up that early,” Aubrey asked.

“Then staying with Kiera, the tyrant alarm clock, probably isn’t your best bet, but sure. We’d be happy to hang out tonight. Tease Kiera about Guy a bit more. Either way, I’m with her. Let's get home,” Violet answered.

“It was funny how stubbornly he locked in on looking Kiera specifically in the eyes,” Aubrey chuckled. “After you gave her his hat, I mean.”

“Alright, yeah, that actually worked better than I thought,” Kiera noted. 

She continued to speak as the group picked up pace, but Violet heard something else that grabbed her attention. Something soft, and a bit distant. The kind of thing she wasn’t supposed to be able to pick up. The very reason someone of her category wasn’t actually allowed near the red dorms. 

“Come on, you have to tell me now!” A boy complained. “It’s been driving me crazy since they got here! And if we’re not allowed to leave until it’s handled, it’s not like I can tell anyone else!”

The voice was muffled, like she was hearing through a wall. She realized she probably was. A red wouldn’t be able to, but Violet wasn’t red anymore. And perception was—excepting bloodlust—her best attribute. More important than how she was hearing it, however, was that she wanted to hear more.

“Actually, I hate to leave you guys hanging, but I really need to use the restroom. You guys can wait here if you want, or you can go on ahead, and I’ll catch up with you,” Violet said.

“Oh, we’ll join you,” Aubrey offered. Violet gave her a slightly uncomfortable look, making it clear she wanted to turn her down without verbalizing it.

“Oh, gonna be a nasty one, huh?” Kiera guessed. “Yeah, that shrimp you ate looked kind of suspect. I’m not surprised. Sometimes, talent-made meat goes absolutely apeshit on the bowels. Come on, Aubrey. Let’s leave her to crack porcelain in peace.”

“Thanks, Kiera. Really got me out of that with my dignity intact,” Violet intoned. “But also, yeah. I’m gonna need some privacy on this one, Aubrey. It’s the price I’m paying for shrimp that you order on a machine.”

“Oh. Uh… right. We’ll, uh. We’ll meet you back at your room, then,” Aubrey replied. 

“Thanks, but I really gotta stop discussing the exact nature of my worries now, and start attending to them directly, if you don’t mind,” Violet said. She then turned, waving over her shoulder as her friends wished her good luck. Kiera offered to pray for her.

Thankfully, there was a public bathroom in the same direction as the voices in question. There were also a lot of other voices, but Violet tuned those out. Only the one conversation sounded like any of the participants had useful information. She rushed to a stall in the bathroom and focused on the voices she’d overheard a moment before.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You don’t know for sure. Now spill,” the first voice said again.

“I’m just saying, I only heard this from a friend whose mom works with the cops. I have no idea if it’s true,” the second voice answered.

“I get the picture, now spill it, or I’m telling Sandy you have a crush on her,” the first voice said.

“Fine, fine, I get it. And I do not. I just think she’s hot. That is very different,” the deeper voice replied.

“Just tell me.”

“Fine. So, you know how we got a bunch of new students this week, but one group was late?”

“Yeah, I heard their lancer fucking died. Someone told me one of the new kids fucked up and killed her.”

“Maybe that’s true… and maybe not.”

“What does that mean?”

“That’s the thing, a bunch of people died, right? And most of the students got promoted to the spectrum class. But Andy—she’s the one with the cop mom—said that’s not the whole story. Apparently, they got an emergency transmission this morning, and one of the new kids is a fucking murderer!”

Violet’s heart started to pound. Her palms began to sweat, and she strained to hear more. 

“What the fuck do you mean?” the higher voice asked. The answer was more hushed, and Violet held her breath to pick it up.

“One of the fucking girls that went to spectrum class. Andy says she tried to fucking murder someone, but she screwed it up. They survived, and she didn’t even realize it!” the lower voice said.

“What are you on about? That’s insane. Andy is fucking with you,” the higher voice dismissed.

“Is she? So you think we were all ushered into our dorms by a half-dozen cops for no reason? Cops who went straight for the green dorms? Come on, man, you must have known someone over there fucked up bad,” the lower voice answered.

“But attempted murder? I mean, I’ve met some insane women at this school, but you can’t be serious. Before even going through lancer training? There’s no way, man,” the higher voice said.

“Hey, you’re the one who begged me to tell you what I heard. You don’t have to believe me. But apparently, the victim survived. They’ve just been waiting until the train came back so they could tell the Prism police about it.”

“Fuck. Why do they want us in our dorms, then?”

“Probably don’t want anyone warning her that the fucking cops stormed through here and are waiting for her, is my guess. Or maybe they think she’ll fight when they come to pick her up. Andy said this might happen. Callings make arrests pretty messy sometimes.”

Violet was done. She’d heard enough. Her plans for the night would have to change, and she was pissed. She was lucky she’d overheard what she had. She rushed out of the stall and looked in the mirror. She was sweating too much. She had to police that. Anyone would think she was suspicious if they saw her like this, and she didn’t want to attract any attention. She had to get away from campus without being stopped.

How did they find me? Who the absolute fuck survived?

The thoughts raced through her mind as she carefully patted her forehead with a paper towel. It could have been Caitlyn, perhaps. Or Alex. Everyone else seemed unlikely, but… there was a reason no one questioned her about her made-up first talent. Talents did weird things. And Stephanie had come back as a hedron. She’d even had some level of sapience, still. Violet’s mind raced.

It didn’t matter who survived. What mattered was that it had happened, and she’d been made. She’d need to go by a new name. Dye her hair. Her wig was still hidden in her dorm, so she couldn’t risk getting it first. She’d hide in the red district. Grow stronger over time. She just had to get off campus. If she could get off campus, she’d be okay.

She washed her hands and forced herself to take deep breaths. It was alright. It was okay. She hadn’t been caught yet. Until she was in cuffs, she was still in control. Slowly, being careful to control the tremor in her hand, she reached up and pulled the ribbon from her hair. Finally, she walked out of the restroom as calmly as she could.

“Violet! There you are!” Kiera greeted. “We decided to wait for you! Aubrey said you chose the furthest bathroom for some dumbshit reason, and that made her want to check up on you? I don’t know, I only understand sane person logic.”

Violet froze. She allowed a look of panic to flash across her face. A moment later, and it was a look of rage. These girls had no goddamn boundaries! But that last thing she needed was to make them suspicious so they could go and sell her out. So she forced it into a smile.

“Well, I’m glad you stopped there! After I specifically chose one that was further away from you, too. I swear, a girl can’t get any privacy around here,” Violet answered. “But you didn’t have to wait for me. In fact, I realized I had to swing by the admin office before the dorms, so you’d better go on ahead anyway.”

“At midnight?” Aubrey asked. 

Violet opened her mouth to respond. With what, she didn’t know. She didn't have time to think of a better lie. And before she could double down on the poor excuse she had given, she heard something that made her blood run cold.

Boots.

And not just from one direction. In the direction of every exit from the current building. She had nowhere to go. She was going to need to hide in someone’s dorm. If she found someone who lived alone, maybe she could dispose of them and leave campus under their name? But she had to get rid of Kiera and Aubrey first. 

Should I just… she thought. She liked Kiera. Aubrey was fun in her own way, too. Like Alex had been, once. But if she had no choice…

“There she is!” a voice shouted. It was too late. There were too many of them. Violet couldn’t fight her way out. She’d have to hope she could lie. Maybe she’d be believed instead of whoever had survived. It depended on who, but it was possible. Still. It wasn’t ideal. But it was her only option left. 

“Freeze, all three of you!” the voice ordered. “Put your hands in the air!”

All three of them complied, but Aubrey looked at both of the more resigned women in a panic. She didn’t dare speak, but it was obvious she had no idea what was happening. Not that that would stop the police. They finally revealed themselves. They were all clearly too high a category to be in this area, but apparently cops could do that sometimes. Something to keep in mind, if she managed to talk her way out of this.

It wasn’t looking bright, as the angry men circled around them and pointed guns in their direction. Violet had never seen a gun in real life. They were strangely unintimidating.

“That’s her, alright. Impossible to miss,” one of the men murmured to another. Violet cursed her obvious hair. It apparently wasn't a natural color in the old world. Something about the mist and crystal made it more common. And something about the Ashers made it even more common for her family. But she was fairly easy to spot in a crowd.

The men approached. Violet closed her eyes. She would get out of this. She was apparently valuable to the Asher family. The headmaster needed her. She had options. It wasn’t the time to be reckless. That was what had gotten her here in the first place.

“Kiera Mulberry!” the man in front said, his voice loud and commanding. “You’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Samuel Mulberry.”