Armageddon

That caught him off guard. His smile faltered, and he quickly laughed nervously. “Well, duh, but you know. I’ve never really known one, for as long as I can remember anyway. And why wouldn’t I compliment someone as beautiful as yourself? I’ve seen a lot of people here and you-.” She reached forward, holding her hand just an inch away from his mouth. He seemed to freeze as she stared into his eyes.

“Whatever you’re going to say, you can forget it.” She was cold now, her eyes dark. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but you can stop with the nice boy routine as well. I don’t care for fake people, do you understand?”

Whatever was going through his head was going a million miles an hour. He gently reached up, placing his long fingers around her wrist before pulling her hand away from his face. Without a smile to his expression, he nodded twice, deliberately. As if he couldn’t even see her anymore. “I do understand. You have my apologies. I swear. I don’t know how to act around everyone here. The more I smile and be polite, the more people seem to like it. But I can see now how some might see it as being fake,” A flicker of his mouth indicated he wanted to assure her, but he kept his smile in check as he held her gaze. She tilted her head and retracted her hand.

“I study animal behavior, so I know a thing or two about how people react. I know you’re sincere right now, and I do appreciate it.” She reached out her hand with a soft smile of her own. “My name is Tia. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Vlad.”

He reached out as well, with a big grin plastered across his expression. “I’ve recently learned this greeting!” Enthusiastically he shook her hand with glee. Tia laughed and rolled to her side. The clouds overhead cast a shadow down on them, and Vladimir’s gaze ripped to the sky, something about him suddenly on edge. Only mildly catching the change, Tia leaned back and pressed her lips together, before deciding to go ahead and ask.

“So, I’m sure everyone has already brought this up, but what was it like?”

His gaze flickered back to her. “I don’t remember,” His answer puzzled her, but he shook his head before she could ask. “I was attacked. I know that much. I don’t know by what, but when I came to, I had no memory of who I was or where I’d come from.” He held out a small locket. “This is my only indication,” Tia reached forward and looked it over.

“Vladimir,” she read the inscription on the back before opening it to find an image of a baby inside. “Is this you? It’s black and white, oh wow. That’s retro,”

“I assume it’s me,” he tilted his head, his eyes exploring her face. “What is, ‘retro’?”

Caught off guard, Tia realized how close they were and leaned back, scratching at her arm. “Just a phrase, to describe something old but cool. So, but you must have some memories between coming to and being rescued. What were the plants like? Was the air breathable? Did you see any animals? What about insects? It’s springtime; they used to sing day and night trying to attract a mate. Did you hear anything?”

The line of questions seemed to catch him off guard, but he only watched her with a pleasant smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You said you study animal behavior; does that mean you wish to restore the balance?”

She hesitated, expecting answers and not questions. “Well, of course. I’ve read up on what I can on how life used to be a thousand years ago. I want to see all those different forms of life again, so many species became extinct. I always loved the idea of seeing a tiger. The ‘King of the Jungle’ is what they were renowned for,” Leaning back, she let her mind take her back to the books and videos she worshipped. “I would love to see what’s out there, to see if there’s anything we can do to bring back life to this destroyed world.” Excitement and longing reflected in her irises. “And to see if there’s anything new,” His hand on his chin, he opened his mouth to speak, but a look of sadness crossed her expression, bringing him to hesitate.

“Unfortunately,” she continued. “The Government Exploration Program is being defunded. They’re shutting it down. I’ll never be able to leave here, and on my eighteenth birthday they get to tell me what I get to do for the rest of my life and who I am to marry,”

News to him, he jerked slightly, his eyes wide. “What? What do you mean?”

“The G.E.P. is the only escape out of the system. You get to be an ‘object’ to the Government and get to be excluded from the responsibilities of being a ‘citizen’ here. But... with them doing away with the G.E.P., no one is safe... Once I turn eighteen, and I graduate from school, I’ll be forced to take a test... Depending on my highest score out of the eight categories, I’ll be relocated to the proper district. Once you’re there, they have a celebration and ceremony where people with similar interests get ‘Matched.’”

“You changed your word choice there; you were explaining the situation in the first person, but when you brought up being ‘Matched,’ you went to the third person.”

She shrugged, suddenly uninterested in the conversation. “A slip of the tongue. Well, I suppose it’s getting late. I have studying to do, so I best be off.” She stood up and dusted off her pants. She reached down and picked up her bag, her red curls falling around her face. “You should probably head home yourself, don’t want to be caught after curfew.”

His shoulders slumped, and he dropped his head before standing up swiftly himself. “Yes, I suppose you are right. I imagine I’ve frightened those men with my disappearance,”

Amused at his word choice, she smiled and reached out her hand. He took it and they shook hands once more. “It was nice meeting you, Vladimir. I’ll see you at school tomorrow,”

Like a child on Christmas morning, his eyes lit up. “You will?!”

She laughed. “We’re in the same class,” With a goodbye wave, she jogged off toward her home. He watched her go, a longing in his eyes. A black creature with a large head popped out of the collar of his shirt, a smile plastered to its face as it had no lips to cover its sharp teeth. Two beady green eyes watched her go before looking up to the face of the man it was riding.

“Your Majesty, your heart has been racing all this time. You cannot tell me you found that Human interesting, she’s disgusting. And she smells,”

“Silence Malone. A week eating our food and she’ll smell no different than us. I’ve decided. She will be the one,” he turned and put his hands in his pockets, his tall form casting an even longer, darker shadow with the last, rustic rays of the sun burning across the land. “I must have her before she is to be ‘matched.’” The creature in his collar shivered and tucked itself away.

That night Tia dreamed of her old life. She dreamed of an open green field; of people laughing and celebrating. The dream took her to dirt patch where boys her age fought another after another. They competed in racing, swimming, and climbing. Until finally, they battled each other head one, a blonde cutting down them all, one after another. They used wooden swords, as to not kill each other. But his strength alone definitely broke ribs and wrists. She dreamt of his blue eyes, as bright as the sky that day. Her father had held up his hand high, cheering to the crowd. She remembered sitting on a throne, next to her stepmother, looking down at her future husband. He had glanced at her once then, his ears darkening.

The next day Tia looked up from her notebook as the class grew eerily quiet. The door was open, and her professor was speaking with someone on the other side of the door. The long-awaited moment of introduction was here; it was all the school could talk about. Seizing the opportunity, several girls in the class swiftly dove for their makeup, some even going so far as to adjust their breasts beneath their school uniforms. Tia rolled her eyes and dropped her gaze back to her notebook, wishing she could be somewhere far away.

Footsteps sounded at the front of the class, and the Professor surveyed the room. Before addressing the male next to him, whose gaze had immediately found Tia, he cleared his throat. “Caleb and Tia, may I have your attention.” It wasn’t a question. Tia slowly leaned back in her chair, making sure to drop her pencil with a sense of annoyance. Caleb, a boy sitting a few seats back from her, shifted in his seat as his neighbor knocked off his hood. His sleepy gaze found its way to the front of the class.

“Holy shit! It’s the new guy!”

The entire class broke out laughing. Caleb flushed and sat back in his seat. The attention quickly turned away from him, girls flirtatiously batted their eyes, while the boys were sitting on the edges of their seats. So many things happened all at once. Vladimir’s eyes widened in surprise, but his only genuine curiosity quickly drew his attention back to the dismissive girl he had met, not a day sooner. A girl whose gaze was now out the window, so far away, he feared the impossible.

“Settle down, now. All of you!” The Professor struggled to obtain control, his palm slapping against his desk in frustration. Vladimir held out his hand to the Professor and offered him a kind smile before stepping forward with a sense of authority. The entire class seemed to feel it subconsciously, and they grew quiet to hear him speak.

“It is a pleasure to meet you all; my name is Vladimir. As I am sure all of you have heard by now. I look forward to being friends with all of you...

“To answer the big question, I’m sure everyone here wants to know, unfortunately, I do not recall what it was like in the Dark Continent. I seem to be missing much of my memory, and the last thing I remember was walking to the gates with blood down my neck and back.” He nodded once, indicating he had finished and everyone started speaking at once.

The Professor waved him to the class, then sat in his desk to flip through a magazine he had laying there. Vladimir surveyed him briefly before turning to the room.

As one, a wave of students rushed to the front. A few boys jumped on top of their desks to get a better look over the crowd. Chloe slithered through the crowd and took his arm in her own, making sure to press herself against him. Their gaze met and she gave him a seductive smile.

Tia, one of only a few to remain in their seats, happened to look over just in time to see the encounter. Her heart leaped in jealousy, and she quickly stuck her face in her book, chewing on her lip in confusion.

“So, Vladimir, how about after class me and you hit up the town? I can show you all the good spots,” Chloe said, her finger trailing down his arm.

Multiple males spoke up at once.

“Don’t hog his attention.”

“That’s nasty.”

“Chloe’s already moved on to the newest target.”

“Go away.”

“Go bother someone else.”

Her face turned red as she faced the mob of protesters. “You all shut up; you don’t know what you’re talking about! Don’t listen to them, Vladimir, they’re all like, clueless.”

Unable to help herself, Tia’s voice dominantly raised over the class. Without even looking up, she drew the attention of the entire body of students. “They’re right, though. If you want a sexually transmitted disease get between her legs. Everyone knows she’ll never get Matched.”

Several guys clapped and applauded Tia as Chloe, and a few of her friends quickly surrounded the redhead.

“Say that to my face, bitch,” Chloe demanded, slapping her book out of her hands.

“Yeah, say that again. You jealous?” A brunette growled, leering down at Tia’s cold expression.

“Lady’s, behave yourselves.” The Professor warned. Chloe turned to him and waved her finger.

“No, Professor, this little cunt’s been asking for it since the minute she transferred in. I don’t care who she thinks she is, it’s time I put her in her place.”

“You aren’t Queen of the school, Chloe. I don’t have to deal with your bullying.” Tia snapped, standing up and shoving her friend out of her face.

“Oh, but you are? Little miss ‘President’s daughter’? I got news for you, cow, your father shipped you off to this hell hole so he could have his perfect little family in Central City with his new son.”

Tia snapped. Her hand balled into a fist, and she pulled back her elbow, releasing her fist with enough force to break anyone’s nose. Chloe barely parried the hit. Tia’s fist grazed along her cheekbone.