Young Writers Society

     The sound of boots echoed against the floor. Three people strode obliviously under the beam we were perched on. I watched as they started to unpack their technology, ready to steal every scrap of information from this site. My eyes flicked to the person on my right. He seemed ready. His pale green eyes continued to watch the intruders. I looked to the left, and connected eyes with another person. I could see the reluctance. There was no time for that. We had a mission. I activated my mask. Looking back towards the intruders, I gave the signal, and the three of us leapt off the beam.

Our enemies whirled around in surprise. One of them pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at us. As we continued to advance, he fired. But the bullet never made it. It resounded off an orange shield that now covered the three of us. The Struck agents must have decided that now was a good time to run. But they only ignited the fight. I leapt out of the safety of the shield and attacked the agent closest to me. I shot my hand forward. Gold strands flowed from it, wrapping around the man’s ankles. He screamed and struggled as he was yanked up. I let him dangle in midair for a moment before flinging him aside. He crashed into the wall before fumbling with a gun. I glanced to my right. He was fighting his own agent, but I knew he wouldn't fail me. 

The sound of a gun fired caused my head to snap back to my attacker. An orange shield formed faithfully around be just in time. It dissipated as I started to run towards the man, sending out my strands and yanking his gun from his grip. I delivered a strong punch that sent him back into the wall. I waited a moment to see what his next move would be.

He staggered to his feet once more and tried to fight back. A slow punch was thrown my way, but I easily dodged it and delivered several more of my own. He lay stunned on the floor at last. But our mission wasn't stunned. Our mission was dead. I pulled out my weapon at last, a sword. I took a deep breath before driving it into his head. I pulled it out quickly. Blood slid off it automatically, leaving it just as clean as before.

My first kill.

I shook my head before sheathing my sword and heading back towards the other two. I caused my mask to retract as I approached them, seeing as they'd already done the same. 

"Was that all of them?" I asked immediately, looking around me. 

Ethel nodded. I glanced to my left to see another body, completely lifeless. I looked back at him.

"Alright then. Warn me next time you're going to delay your shields though." I said with a small smile.

He returned the smile before speaking.

“How about you try to focus on your first real combat while shielding yourself, and your helpless brothers at the same time?”

I turned to Elliot, he hadn’t said a word the entire time. Come to think of it, I only saw two bodies…

No.

“You finished your mission. Right?”  I asked, turning my gaze towards him.

His eyes flicked to my own.

“No, I didn’t kill an innocent person,” he spat out.

I let out a sigh before glaring at him.

“So you let them escape?” I snapped.

“I couldn’t do it Lyle, you’ve got to understand how wrong all of this is!” he retorted.

I reached out and pulled back his sleeve to reveal a thin, silver band. All three of us had one.

“What choice do we have?” I spoke quietly.

He didn’t reply as he yanked his arm away.

“Come on,” I sighed. “Let’s just get back before our time runs out."