Ruin - By N.M. Martinez Page 0,2

it talking, the oldest looking one standing nearly as tall as the judge's seat. I stare at him, watching the way he glares at the smaller man in front of him, waving his large hands with the sleeves rolled up and exposing his massive forearms. His hair hangs sloppily in a face etched with lines from a hard lived life. He clutches his hands as if he means to attack, but the smaller man facing him has a black suited special ops person with him who stands behind him holding a gun like the ones that had invaded my room in the night. And then I notice the others around the room. All dressed the same and holding their guns pointing towards the ceiling though I can see their hands on the triggers ready to aim quickly.

What is going on? I bite my lip and hold my duffel tightly, terrified suddenly of becoming a target. Then I hear the smaller man in front clearing his throat and I'm pushed from behind by the large-bodied woman and nearly trip over my feet.

The older man looks to me, his angry brows rising slightly at the sight of me. Behind him stands a younger man who I hadn't had a chance to really look over. His cool gray eyes are already on me and probably have been on me for a while.

From behind, my shirt is grabbed, twisted into a ball in her hands and shoved forward towards the strange men standing there. Neither of them moves towards me. I stumble but manage to stop myself and stare at the pair of them.

"I'm sure you must recognize her." The man's voice oozes from over my shoulder. "A gift from us to you. A memento to remember your spy."

The older man's eyes narrow as he looks at me, unfamiliarity clear on his face. "No, I don't."

I glance from him to the man behind him. His face seems to harden, his brows coming down again while the man behind him maintains his cool gaze. I turn a bit to look over my shoulder. The smaller man looks up at the larger man in front of me with a small, cruel smile.

"The DNA is a match for you. I don't know how Cheryl hid her from us for so long, but it will be added to her list of crimes against the state."

It takes effort to swallow as I hear his words but don't fully understand them. Crimes against the state? My mother? But she's a politician. She's done nothing but work for the state. And a DNA match with this man? What does that even mean? But I can't even ask. My mouth is stuck together.

"Take her with you. And just remember it's only a matter of time before we find the rest of them."

I hold my mouth closed, a headache starting just over my brows that blurs my vision. Both of the men look at me, but it's the face of the older one I search. The one behind him shows nothing. It's in the face of the older one I can see something. The way his mouth pulls down and his brows press together making a crease between them.

I turn towards the smaller man one last time and catch his eye. His gaze shifts from a small smile to a dark glare directed at me. "Go," he says in a low even tone directed right at me. "You're banished."

My knuckles strain as I grip the duffel bag hard, frozen in place by his cruel eyes but scared to turn back to the two men they want to take me away from here. There's only one place we can be going if I'm banished and these men are taking me away-- The Wildlands.

The woman in black steps forward with her hand on her holster. I can't see her eyes, but it's enough of a movement. I take a step back and feel a large warm hand on my arm that tugs me softly, yet still a bit roughly, making me turn. Our eyes don't meet. I can't look up at either of them again now that I know what they are.

We walk out together with a small crowd of the special ops following us to the fence that leads to the buffer zone. None of us say a word, though I do catch a glimpse of the older man's mouth, set hard in a line of disapproval. The younger man glances around as if