The Fence

Chapter 55: Funeral

"Are you insane?" I cry, leaping from my spot on the couch.

"Do you see where I'm coming from, Bena? At the very least?"

"Do you like to make me angry? Do you want to ruin my relationships?" I scream, my voice filling with rage.

"Of course not!" Ky argues, standing as well. "I don't like seeing you unhappy! The whole reason I was looking for answers was so that I could protect you! It's Grey's fault that you were shot. He convinced you to keep that Nixon boy alive. As soon as you told me that, a red flag shot up. How do you not see it?"

"I didn't ask you to protect me! It's not your decision who my friends are," I hiss, blood rushing to my face.

"As your brother," Ky murmurs, his voice level. "I have the right to worry about you."

"Don't give me that crap. Yes, as my brother, you can worry about me. You don't however, get to try to split me away from the people I care about just so that you don't have to worry. That's not what people do!" I mutter.

"If he's a yukos, he's a part of the species that killed our mother. You vowed that you would kill every yukos you saw. Wasn't that the point of coming to the military?"

"You said yourself you aren't sure what actually happened to our mom!" I yell, throwing my hands in the air. "And yes, I did vow that. Things have changed, Ky. There's more to this place then committing cold blooded murder."

"Like what?" Ky mutters, crossing his arms. I glare into his eyes, returning his exact look. "Making friends with people who hurt you? Siding with the aliens? Dying for a useless cause?"

"God!" I exclaim. "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you? You're trusting a monster!" Ky growls.

I shake my head, swiping Sutikka off the couch. I head for the door and reach for the knob. I turn around to see Ky still looking at me. "The only monster here is in this room," I mutter. "And I do not trust him."

Slam.

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I fix my hair in the mirror, making sure it looks okay for the funeral. I didn't do anything special to it, I just left it down. I need to trim it soon; it is all the way down to my waist. I won't cut much off, as I've always loved long hair. But if it got much longer, it would get in the way of training. Which, since I am now a 'test subject', will probably be much more difficult.

I dust myself off, getting rid of anything that may make my black uniform look dirty. I pin the small scythe pin on the shirt, then clip my necklace around my neck.

"Bena," Sutikka murmurs as he floats over to me. "Are you okay? I mean, with Ky and everything..."

"Since you can see right through me," I sigh. "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not okay, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Do you think it's true?"

"What?"

"About Grey, I mean," Sutikka clarifies. "Do you think he's a yukos?"

"Do you?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Nothing's impossible."

"So you're saying you believe him?" I ask, my tone raising.

Sutikka sighs. "I didn't say that. All I'm saying is, if Demi got in unnoticed, someone else could have to."

"So you're saying you believe him," I repeat, except this time it was a statement.