Battlefield (9 page)

“
So, can you state your name for the camera?” 
It had been a couple of hours when the film crew began following Unit 121 around.  They had already interviewed four members of the Unit, and had four to go.  The first person they had decided upon using was a tall, lean man who had an English accent.  He didn’t appear capable of fighting, but if anything, he was quick.

Hugh looked at the camera almost with hesitancy in his eyes.  He had never been interviewed before, and as a result, wasn’t exactly sure how to respond.  “Erm,” he said, placing his index finger underneath his chin and glancing away.  He wished Rachel was here with him; somehow whenever she was around him, he felt a sense of calm wash over him.  “Hugh.  My name is Hugh.  But the Superiors, they’ll give you six digits in place of a name – as a name, actually – but Hugh.”  He forced a strained smile.

The cameraman and the interviewer shot each other dry looks.  This kid was definitely a piece of work.  The interviewer glanced down at the list of questions he was supposed to ask.  “
How is the chemistry with your breeding partner
?” he asked, looking up at Hugh expectantly.

Hugh had to take a moment to think about it.  “Phenomenal, if I’m being honest,” he said with a smile that hid more than a few secrets.  “I am very lucky to have Rachel as my…”  He let his voice trail off as he furrowed his brow.  Should he admit that they were actually together, as boyfriend and girlfriend?  Was that allowed?  To be safe, he concluded his statement with, “breeding partner.”

“
What are your strengths and weaknesses
?”  It was a standard question the audience wanted to know only to figure out which Unit to root for.  It also provided good information for gamblers who would no doubt use this information for their own benefit.

“Oh, that’s a tough one,” Hugh said, touching his chin once again.  He seemed to do this whenever he was deep in thought about something, and for whatever reason, he wanted to make sure he came across as likable in this interview.  “I would say that my strength is the ability to make a decision and carry it out quickly because once I make my mind up about something, you can’t talk me out of it.  And as for the weakness?  Well, it’s obvious that I’m not exactly the strongest person in my Unit.”  He smiled charmingly.

Maybe the kid had potential after all.

“
Is your Unit going to win
?”

Hugh looked at the interviewer with an odd sort of look.  He had his arms crossed over his chest, only enhancing his biceps.  When he wanted to, Hugh did appear to be intimidating.  “What kind of question is that?” he asked.

--

Next up was Rachel, only because the camera crew had just finished up with her breeding partner.  They found her leaning against a thick tree.  When she noticed them approaching, she crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her almond colored eyes, almost as though she was expecting them but they couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“Okay,” she said once they reached her.  “Let’s get this over with, all right?  We only get so few minutes of relaxation and I don’t want to waste them with you.”  She shrugged her shoulders.  “No offense.”

“
None taken
,” the interviewer said glancing at his camera man.  “
Are we ready?
”

“
We’re rolling
,” the camera man replied.

“
You’re name
?”  Yes, it was a silly question, especially when they already knew it, but it was required and necessary.

Again, Rachel rolled her eyes.  “Rachel,” she said flatly.

Now that they had that question was out of the way, they could get to the juicy stuff.  “
Tell us about your chemistry with your breeding partner
,” the interviewer began.  It was always interesting to see if couples actually said the same thing about the other when interviewed alone.  Plus, everyone loved a good sex story.

“We fuck and it’s amazing,” Rachel said, not caring in the slightest how she might come off in this interview.  Why should she care about what an audience she didn’t even know thought about her.  “They match people up together for a reason, you know.”

The interviewer hid a smirk, knowing men especially would love this woman and her attitude.  “
Your strengths and weaknesses are…?
”  He let his voice trail off as he pushed his brow up, expecting an answer.

“I’m hot,” Rachel said.  “I would use my physical attributes to distract other Units.  Simple as that.  My weakness?  I’m not as fast as other people, but I can pack a punch, whether people think I can’t or not.”  She smiled at this, as though she said something that was humorous to her.  “People underestimate me.  I actually think that’s my greatest strength.”

“
Do you think your Unit will come out victorious in this battle
?”

Rachel was silent for a long moment, her mind racing to give an answer that didn’t make her sound arrogant, but at the same time, still maintained the confidence she had in herself and her Unit.  “I think victory is the wrong word,” she finally said.  “It’s not victory when it’s life and death, when you have to kill people that were Created, that grew up, just like you.  But I think our Unit will succeed.”

--

The most intimidating man the camera crew had come in contact with throughout every Unit was no doubt Gerard.  He was in the middle of practicing with Hugh when the interviewer ordered his camera man to start filming.  If they had one word to describe Gerard, it would no doubt be brutal.  After people saw footage of him, the crew was certain Unit 121 would be the odds on favorite to win the competition.

When Gerard saw them, he sighed, almost frustrated.  He knew exactly what they wanted, and glanced over at Hugh, as though he was telling his combat partner where he was going.  Hugh nodded, and Gerard led the cameras a few feet away, leaning against the building, a looking at them expectantly.

“
Yes, well
,” the interviewer said, tapping his fingers together as he glanced nervously at his camera man.  “
Could you possibly tell us your name?  If you don’t mind, of course.”

Gerard rolled his eyes, but he had to admit the entire situation was quite humorous to him.  It was obvious that they were intimidated by him, and could very well use that to his advantage.  Oh, who was he kidding?  Of
course
he would.

“Which one?” he asked as though they should have clarified that for him.  “The Superiors call me 111369 but everyone else calls me Gerard.”

“
Gerard
,” the camera man said, nodding his head.  “
Of course.  Now, would it be all right if you tell me about how you respond to your breeding partner
?”

“Do you mean sexually?” Gerard asked, a slight tugging of the corner of his lips causing a smirk to litter his face.  The interviewer could do nothing but nod his head.  “Oh, well, I respond very well to her.”  He stretched his hands up so they rested on the top of his head, raising his shirt a bit so some skin showed.

When the interviewer realized that he wasn’t going to say anymore on the matter, he cleared his throat.  “
Right
,” he murmured quickly.  “
And your strengths are
?”  He hadn’t mentioned weakness for a reason – did Gerard even have a weakness?

“Look at me,” Gerard said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“
And is your Unit going to win this game
?”  The interviewer was quite glad that this interview was practically over.

“Life and death is never a game,” Gerard told them.  “But yes, we are going to make it all the way to the end.”

--

They found their last interviewee sitting in the cafeteria, eating a bowl of macaroni and cheese.  She seemed indifferent to them, and only glanced up when they sat down at her table. 

“
You are our last person to interview
,” the interviewer said, pleased at the fact.  He didn’t realize how much he missed his home after being around this place.  “
Could you state your name for –
“

“Here,” Devyn murmured after swallowing her bite of food.  “Let me make this easy for you.  My name is Devyn.  If you address me as anything else, I won’t answer.  Numbers do not constitute as a name.  The chemistry I have with my breeding partner is evident and obvious, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.  My strength is the fact that I’m good at figuring out the safest, fastest routes from point a to point b.  My weakness is that I’m not the fastest runner here.  And finally, do I think that my Unit is going to succeed in attaining the freedom the Director promised?  Of course.  We have to.  There is no other option but to succeed.”

With that, she glanced down back at her food and took another bite.  When the camera crew still hadn’t left, she looked at them with a furrowed brow and hastily swallowed her food.  “Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked, wanting nothing more than to finish her food.

“
No
,” the interviewer said. 
“No, but thank you
.”  He looked over at his camera man.  “
Let’s get the hell out of here, Pete
.”

And with that, they were gone.

When Devyn looked at herself in the mirror, she felt silly.  She had never worn an actual gown before in her life, and now here she was, standing in front of one of four mirrors in a fitting room she shared with the other members of her Unit.  It was the evening before the competition began, and apparently the Director wanted to throw a big gala in order to celebrate it.  Since a camera crew was going to be present, Devyn had a sneaking suspicion this might be a big ratings push.  She didn’t care; she just wanted to get this over with, get to bed, and try and get some rest in order to prepare for tomorrow.

A whistle behind her caused her thoughts to vanish, if only temporarily.  Devyn glanced over her shoulder only to come in contact with Rachel’s mischievously sparkling almond eyes.

“Damn, sweetie, you look hot!” she exclaimed.

Devyn tried to hide a smile, but as usual, failed at it.  “You don’t look too bad yourself, Rach,” Devyn said, giving her friend an obvious look over.

“Thanks,” Rachel said, grinning.  It was true, but then again, Rachel looked good in everything she wore.

Currently, the young woman was wearing a magenta colored gown that tumbled down past her ankles.  It was strapless, with a wrap-styled ruched bodice, emphasizing her chest tastefully.  The sleeves were full, but off the shoulder, leaving her slender shoulders bare.  A long brooch pinned on the left side of the dress just added to the design of it, and there was a long slit as well, revealing what Devyn thought was Rachel’s best asset – her legs.  Her brown hair was pulled from her face with matching barrettes, on her feet was a pair of matching heels, and her face was tastefully done with the perfect amount of makeup.  To top the outfit off, she had long gloves that went perfectly with her dress.

Devyn, on the other hand, was wearing a stunning maroon dress that reached the floor.  It was styled with only one shoulder occupied by beaded straps, and the bodice appeared pleated.  It cinched at the waist, but didn’t poof out.  Instead, it traced along the curves of her thighs before finally decided to scream downwards, until the hemline touched the floor.  The bodice cut was sweetheart style, so while her chest wasn’t as emphasized as Rachel’s, it was still noticeable.  Her hair was left down, natural, and her face, besides some makeup here and there, was the same.  On her feet was a pair of maroon shoes that were quite painful, and Devyn hoped above all else that she wouldn’t trip in them.

“So,” Rachel said, an enigmatic smile touching her face.  “Are you ready to go?”

“Rachel, I don’t even know how to dance,” Devyn pointed out.

“No one’s going to care with you looking like that,” Rachel said, playfully slapping Devyn on the butt.  “Now come on.  This is ample opportunity for me to practically have sex with Hugh in public without people questioning my reputation.”  Vibrations filled their ears, causing Rachel to squeal in excitement.  “Oh, come on!”  She grabbed Devyn’s wrist.  “The music’s playing!”

And with that, she led Devyn out of the fitting room.

--

Gerard was picking at the tuxedo he was forced to wear, sitting at his designated table, refusing any and all dance offers because, quite frankly, he didn’t see the point in this whole shindig whatsoever.  People were being distracted – hell, members of his own Unit were being distracted by glitz and glamour.  And Gerard didn’t like it; he didn’t like it one bit, and he didn’t understand why other people bought into all of this bullshit.

Gerard played with his tie – a maroon color.  At least he was lucky considering each male had to match their breeding partner’s dress color.  It was like prom for genomes.  He glanced over at Hugh, who had an anxious look on his face, and Gerard was certain that if he had a watch on, he’d be checking it constantly.  The Scot couldn’t help but smile at his eager friend; though he teased Hugh constantly about it, it was obvious he was crazy about Rachel.

And just like that, she appeared.  Luckily for Gerard, Devyn wouldn’t be wearing a purple – whatever color that dress was that Rachel was wearing.  If he had to wear purple – or pink, for goodness’ sake! – he’d feel like an absolute fool.  Not that he didn’t already but…

“Wow.”

Gerard couldn’t stop the word from coming out of his mouth if he had tried, and for good reason too.  Devyn looked like…  Well, he wasn’t sure what to compare her to.  To be honest, he had never seen anything as beautiful as she was, standing there next to Rachel, and he realized that even though he hated to dance, he wanted some sort of excuse to hold her in his arms.  To be honest, he wanted to kiss her again, but he’d take what he could get.

Before Gerard could approach her, however, the camera crew managed to catch his attention, hoping for some sort of interview, and when Gerard glanced over his shoulder to get one last look at his partner, she had disappeared.

--

They hadn’t even gotten to their table when Stewart Hall placed his hand on Devyn’s back while simultaneously grabbing on her wrist, stopping her from continuing on with Rachel.  “Would you like to dance?” he asked her, his lips much too close to her ear for her to feel comfortable.

“Do I have a choice?” Devyn retorted through gritted teeth as the Director began to lead her towards the center of the room to the dance floor.

Hall chuckled at her, his eyes glancing at her no.  “No,” he replied.  “But I wanted you to think that you did.”  With that, he turned her and got into a formation that was decidedly too close for Devyn’s comfort, but then again, being in the same room as he was disturbed her to no end.

Devyn ignored anything Hall said, but he didn’t seem to notice.  In fact, Hall probably preferred his women to be quiet and submissive, and even though Devyn was clearly not one of those things, she didn’t want to fight at the moment.  She didn’t want to piss him off to the point where he might hold her back, keep her from fighting for her freedom, or worse, refusing to let her leave if her Unit did manage to win.  So she allowed him to move her around the dance floor, but she didn’t like one minute of it.  His hands on her made her feel cheap, the way he accidentally caressed her backside, the way his smile was so arrogant and condescending.  She needed to get out of this somehow.

And she managed to find her means of escape in Gerard.

Without saying a word, Gerard managed to snag Devyn at just the right moment.  Hall knew he couldn’t say or do anything – not with the cameras rolling – so he chuckled like it was quite amusing to him, but in reality, his eyes were already calculating just what to do in return.  It wasn’t long before he disappeared into the dancing crowd, but Gerard had already forgotten about him once Devyn was in his arms – where she should be.

“Thank you,” she said, obvious relief tainting her voice.  Gerard glanced down and saw the brilliant smile eclipsed on her face, and he couldn’t help but smile back, though his eyes had a slightly possessive sparkle about them.  “For saving me.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, tilting his head down so she could hear him clearer.  That was his excuse for it anyways.  For some reason, he felt compelled to continue.  “You know, I don’t like seeing you in any man’s arms, especially Hall’s.”  Just the picture of her dancing with him caused Gerard to tighten his grip on the woman.

Devyn hid her utter delightedness upon hearing such words being admitted by Gerard no less, but grinned.  “You’re jealous,” she stated, as though it was a fact rather than a question.

Gerard rolled his eyes at the mere notion of such a silly thing.  “I’m not jealous,” he told her flatly.  “You’re mine.  I’m yours.  It’s as simple as that.”  He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.  “It’s not right for us to be with anybody else.  Not that I
want
to be with you, or anything,” he added hastily, clearly avoiding her eyes.  “I mean, I don’t make the rules.  It’s not like I specifically chose you to be mine or anything.”

Shit, he was babbling. 
Stop!  Stop!

Luckily, Devyn didn’t seem to notice.  “You like me,” she taunted in a song-song voice.  “You like me!  You like me.  Gerard likes Devyn.”

Gerard abruptly stopped dancing and leaned closer so his lips were drawing closer to Devyn’s.  His eyes were looking longingly at her lips, and Devyn felt herself inhale, the teasing smile suddenly fallen off to make way for him to kiss her.

He was going to kiss her, wasn’t he?

“I like…” he whispered, his hot breath caressing her sensitive skin.  Suddenly, he smiled.  “Your smile.”

He pulled back, chuckling at her reaction to his ministrations.

Devyn rolled her eyes, but even her frustration couldn’t stop the blush even if she wanted it to.  “You’re a jerk,” she snapped.

This insult didn’t seem to bother him.  “Tomato, tomatoe,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.