As soon as I got my full dose of Cotin, I was completely incapacitated. Charlie and I were treated like sick patients with no hope. The man looked awful. His entire arm was covered in green veins, stretching across his shoulder and down his chest. The right side of his neck up to the chin was tinted green to match.

The roots of Charlie’s blond hair were a sickly forest colour, the blue in his eyes matching. He scratched at his hands, which showed a blistering rash, spreading up his wrist and forearm. The shirtless boy sat in a chair, hooked up to the IV bag, his head dropped like he was sleeping. But, I knew he wasn’t.

“It’s going to reach my brain and I’m going to go insane,” he laughed. It was hysterical. He looked up and laughed at me before dropping his head again. Did they expect us to fight like this? Sitting in wheelchairs, hooked up to some stupid serum, unable to move or even form normal thought?

The veins in my own arm had barely reached my shoulder but, I still felt like death. My vision was washed in green and I swore that my eyes were no longer brown. My breaths were shallow because breathing hurt and my swallows were thick. I was sick.

Would Cotin kill us? It wasn’t meant for humans and probably never tried on a human before Charlie and me. We were guinea pigs. I coughed a bit and just laid in my chair, waiting for the Tragedies to escort us to the training site. I didn’t know how long we sat there after that but, the doors swung open eventually, two Tragedies walking briskly to us. I was too tired to be scared and too weak to fight so I let them pick me up and drag me.

I saw them pull Charlie’s wheelchair away and disconnect his formula. The needle slowly slipped out of my arm shortly after and the relief was so sudden, it hurt. I inhaled, gasping for air and felt a weight lifted off my chest. I felt like I could run for days and do a thousand pushups.

I heard Charlie suck in heaps of air and watched his face whip up, looking around in a panic. “Where am I,” he cried, looking around. His expression shifted from panicked to confused and he glanced at me. “Annie, what’s going on?”

“We’re off Cotin, Charlie. We’re okay.”

The boy nodded slowly, looking down at his arm, which was thoroughly covered in the disgusting veins. All of a sudden, he mumbled something under his breath along the lines of, I’m gonna be sick, before doubling over and throwing up on the floor. I looked away and the Tragedies grabbed me by the arms, taking me to training. Charlie soon followed.

I watched the blisters across my arms disappearing like water droplets falling off leaves, sliding off my wrists and hands. Charlie’s disappeared as well, along with the rash. We looked almost completely normal except for the green veins on our bodies.

The Tragedies pulled us up and down hallways to reveal that we were in Isa’s building. We passed her office and continued to take functional elevators until we got down to the basement.

“Hey, they’re here!” The elevator door cracked open and I saw four other Palm Trees, standing in front of a chalkboard, our names and some fighting tactics scribbled across it. The Tragedies dropped us off and took the elevator back up. The group in front of us consisted of Pearson, Jackson, and the two pink haired girls from the meeting days before.

“How are you feeling,” one pink haired girl asked. She extended her hand for a shake and I took it. “Oh, I’m Eva, by the way. I don’t think I introduced myself at the meeting yesterday.”

“I’m fine. Nice to meet you,” I said, turning to the other girl.

“I’m Logan,” she responded. “We’re the Yumi twins.” I shook Logan’s hand as well.

I noticed that the girls definitely had differences. Eva had short, choppy hair that barely passed her chin. Logan’s hair was long and wavy, stretching down to her waist. Both were pale and had dark brown eyes, freckles splattering their cheeks and noses.

Both girls had their Palm Tree uniforms on but, with some minor adjustments. Eva didn’t wear a helmet or beret, she wore a baseball cap that said RED SOX on it. Logan had her beret on but, she had a shiny silver medallion next to a red patch on her uniform. Isa’s second in command?

The twins looked small and fragile, both sporting skinny limbs. Their faces were long and narrow, jewel-shaped eyes, and heavy dimples when they smiled.

I glanced over Logan’s shoulder to see Jackson standing at a weapon table. I could feel the cold radiating off him and I sighed, turning back to the others in the room. The twins greeted Charlie. Pearson put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. “Glad you’re back.”

“Everyone grab a partner,” Pearson shouted. I turned to the twins, who had paired with each other. Pearson took Charlie’s arm and I glanced over to Jackson, who glared at me. We approached each other and stood with a wide stance, silently challenging the other.

“We’ve got a lot to cover today. We’re going to start with locking. Person A, take one step to attempt throwing a punch at Person B. Person B, try to block. I want to see where you’re all at.” Pearson motioned for us to start and I immediately threw a punch at Jackson and he dodged it. Throwing one back, his fist hit my shoulder and I let out a curse. I tried to throw another one at him and he blocked, returning the favor. I caught his wrist and twisted it, leaving his arm behind his back.

“Careful with your partner,” Pearson barked. “They’re not toys, Patient Zero.” I let go of Jackson, who still looked mildly pissed off. We both turned to Pearson, who walked to the other pairs. She threw a punch at Charlie, who caught it and twisted it behind her back as well.

“Ow, ow, ow, Charlie, let go,” she snapped.

I glanced at the twins, who grappled across the ground. Pearson studied them, watching every move. After one girl was pinned, Pearson called for our attention again.

“Okay, let’s teach only a bit. You’re all pretty okay at self-defense. Patient Zero, come here.” Pearson motioned me over and pointed at the ground for me to stand. “I’m going to punch you but, when I do, grab my wrist. Don’t, twist it.” She went and threw a punch at my face, her fist moving in slow motion. I followed the action and in the same speed, caught her wrist.

“Now take your right hand and push my elbow. This is meant to break the bone. Do not break my arm, Zero, or there’ll be serious consequences. Now, go.” Pearson took her hand back and came with an actual punch. I grabbed her wrist but slipped, causing my hand to fall and my entire body to sway back and fall, hitting the ground. My chin hit the concrete and I bit my tongue, tasting the coppery blood. I stood back up quickly and got back into a defensive stance, my hands blocking my face.

“You good,” Pearson asked. I nodded and noticed everyone watching critically, wondering what my next move was. Pearson threw a punch again but, this time I was able to catch it and gently her elbow, pretending to snap it. Pearson grinned and let me go, sending me back to sit with my partner. “Alright, everyone else try it with your partner!”

I spat out a fair amount of saliva and blood before turning towards Jackson, who walked around me, guarding his face. I threw a punch, and he caught it, hitting my forearm rather than my elbow. I still hissed at the pain. My leg came up and swung across his side, forcing him away from me. Jackson brushed his chin before coming at me, throwing punches. I blocked most of them with my forearm, some whacking me in the face.

“Alright, stop,” Pearson called, getting the attention of her small class again. “We’re going offensive now. Charlie, come here.” Pearson motioned for Charlie to come and stand in front of her. “Now, Charlie, hit me.”

Charlie hesitated, his green eyes glancing around the room. Pearson sighed and grabbed his hand, forming it into a fist. A blush spread across Charlie’s face and Pearson simply scoffed.

“Don’t flatter yourself. Now, hit me.” Pearson let go of his fist and he punched at her lightly. Letting out a groan of frustration, Pearson rolled her eyes. “Hit me! I’ll pump you more of Cotin if you don’t right now,” she commanded. In a flash, Charlie’s fist smacked into the middle of Pearson’s chest and she stumbled backwards, a pained smile across her face. “That’s more like it, Charles. Now, everyone else practice on their partners. Gently.”

I turned back to Jackson and we threw punches furiously, hitting each other and blocking. Pearson continued to teach the group before everyone was bruised and sweaty.

“You can’t get tired, guys! In a battle, you don’t get a break! You have to keep your stamina up! Again!” I turned back to Jackson, who panted heavily.

“Ready,” he asked me. I nodded and wiped my forehead before beginning to grapple with the man once more. He threw a punch and I ducked, coming back up to pack a punch in the face. He groaned in pain but hit my gut, causing me to double over. He paused, giving me the opportunity to get up but instead, I swept my leg under him, causing Jackson to fall against the concrete with a loud thump.

“Alright, everyone. We’re done today,” Pearson announced. “We have one more week until Isa decides to deploy us or not so, rest up. These next days are going to be hell for you. Leave.” She picked up the belt she had discarded hours ago and entered the elevator, leaving the rest of us to pack up and get out of there. I turned to Jackson and helped him up before walking over to Eva. The girl’s short hair was stringy from sweat. She took a swig from her bottle of pashel juice and looked at me, breathing heavily.

“Hey, Zero,” she greeted. “Nice work today.”

“Thanks… You too,” I replied. Compliments were weird. I never knew how to respond to them. I turned around and noticed Eva and Logan leave, Jackson behind them. I guess I had to close up and leave then.

-

“I’ve decided that we’re informing you on how to infiltrate the Capitol Building. Also, a bit of a history lesson,” Isa started. “The Governor was the first to split Civils and Recluses. He thought of the Recluses as the dangerous and inferior race, although most of us are all the same. We’ve given Patient Zero and One the Cotin serum in hopes that they survive so we may use it on other Recluses.” Isa continued to brief us on the battle plan but, I couldn’t help but be distracted by Charlie.

It had been six days and he looked so much different. When we had first met, he was small and pale. The formula hadn’t just changed his mental state, it changed his physical appearance. As well. He was at least four inches taller than before and sported muscle and actual body fat. His skin was darker, his eyes had gone back to blue, and his hair was normal blond, just like when I met him. The only weak looking thing about him was how tired he was.

Charlie had told me repeatedly that he felt like he could demolish a city or run hundreds of miles but, he looked exhausted. His eyes had large dark circles under them, he never smiled, and he was so tired, his expression was cold.

The green veins had stretched across his chest and over his torso. Charlie wasn’t happy with what had happened to him. Isa was confused, he was strong and fast and buff but, he didn’t want any of that. I looked similar. The green had run across my shoulder and down my sides, spreading across my stomach. The worst that the veins had done was run up our necks, curling around the ears. I still had bags under my eyes but, I didn’t look any more tired than him.

“Does everyone know the situation?”

“Governor bad,” I said. “Palm Trees good.”

“Alright, let’s discuss tactics. I’m sending the entire team into the Northern Forest with your weapons and a scout team for booby traps and guards. As soon as you get to the Capitol Building, you’ll see a lake. This lake is extremely toxic. Do not touch the water.” Isa pointed out a map and the lake sat in the middle. Don’t touch the lake. Cool.

“There will a spot that some previous scouts have found, which has a tunnel that leads into the main building. From there, it’s whatever your leader has decided to plan. Hopefully, she’ll successfully brief you before you leave. Unfortunately, she’s never here.” Isa sighed.

“Isn’t Pearson our leader,” Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. “She’s the one who trains us.” We all watched Isa as she glared at Pearson.

“You said Reid was already here, Pearson.”

“Reid hasn’t been here in months,” Pearson sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Someone had to step in-”

“Pearson,” Isa cut in. “You’re on probation, you’re in no right to train this team.”

“I don’t see Reid here,” Pearson said, throwing her hands in exasperation. If you wanted her here, you could’ve gotten her by yourself. She never listens to me. She’s always partying like a normal Civil,” Pearson complained.

Isa groaned and slipped into her chair, closing her eyes. “If she’s not her tomorrow, she’s resigned. Make sure you tell her that. Maybe then, she’ll get the message.”

“Trust me,” a new voice said. “I don’t need your message, Isabel.”