The Doubt

Jonathan rested a hand on Jürgen’s side as coughed into his palm, a wicked shiver passing through his body. He averted his eyes as silver fluid slipped between Jürgen’s fingers.

He met eyes with Morena, who was perched on the other side of the bed. She had helped Jonathan drag Jürgen back into bed after their last training session, where their handlers wanted to test the limits of Jürgen’s new powers.

“Where are we?” Jürgen murmured, each word sounding like a struggle.

Jonathan tried to force a smile. “Back at the dorm. Do you feel a little better?”

Two glassy eyes stared back at Jonathan. “No.”

Jonathan’s smile faded as he watched Jürgen’s sullen expression. Morena suddenly grabbed his hand, grinning.

“You guys wanna know what we should do when we grow up?”

“Sure,” Jonathan said, aware she was trying to brighten the mood.

“We should all get married!” Morena said, balling her fist, “Then we could all be together forever! You and Jürgen can stay at home, and I'll be a mercenary or a policewoman or something!”

“Are they gonna let us leave?” Jürgen asked, propping up his head with his hand.

“Yeah, I've seen the older kids leave when they grow up.  And if you get bought you get to leave too.”

Jürgen’s eyelids began to droop as he settled back onto the pillow, pulling the thin blanket over his head.

“That sounds nice.”

----

Jonathan shoved a magazine into a gun, handing it off to Jürgen. “Everyone remember the job?”

Morena tugged at the collar of her shirt. “It's not a big deal. Just get rid of everyone in the house. I'll get the windows open and go on ahead.” She brushed past Jonathan, pulling him aside, “Make sure Jürgen is okay.”

Jonathan squeezed Jürgen’s hand, giving him a reassuring smile. “This shouldn't take long at all. We can go home and eat after this. Wanna play cards after dinner?”

Jürgen shook his head.

“That's okay. You're probably tired, right?”

A flashlight beam shone through the ground floor window, lasting only long enough to catch Jonathan’s eye.

“Morena’s ready. I guess we should get going.”

With Jürgen in tow, Jonathan slipped through the window, coming into a broad sitting room. He gingerly stepped over a man’s body, the clean headshot a trademark of Morena’s excellent marksmanship. Jonathan still found the head the hardest place to hit on a moving target.

Bang! Jonathan flinched, but Jürgen didn't reach. Morena appeared through a doorway, gesturing to the stairwell. Taking the hint, Jonathan darted up the stairs.

The stairs funneled into a tight hallway, only lit by a sole lamp. Jonathan turned a corner, nearly running into another man. He was wide eyed, clutching a baseball bat.

“What's going-” he paused, as if he finally got a good look at Jonathan, “A kid? Then where were the gunshots coming from?”

Two cracks rang out over Jonathan’s ears, a pair of bullets lodging themselves in the man's chest. He dropped to the floor, eyes wide open.

“Let's go, Jonathan,” Jürgen whispered, taking him by the hand.

A quick check ensured that the bathroom and master bedroom were empty, which only left a bedroom at the end of the hall. Jonathan pressed his back to the wall, taking a deep breath. Finally, he nodded at Jürgen and slipped inside.

At the first sign of movement, he fired, a woman dropping to the floor. He crept across the floor, heart sinking when he saw what she had been standing over.

An infant was tucked in a bassinet, gurgling as it stirred from its sleep. For a moment, Jonathan felt like he had traveled out of his own body, observing the corpse on the floor, the blood on his shirt, and the baby in front of him as an outsider. His fingers were paralyzed on the trigger.

He felt Jürgen’s breathing on his shoulder. “We can't kill it. The baby didn't do anything,” Jonathan rasped, his face paling.

“Our handlers said to get rid of everyone,” Jürgen reminded him, “We get in trouble if we don't do it right.”

Jonathan’s heart was beating like crazy. “I can't-I-”

Jürgen stepped beside him, shoving the muzzle of his gun into the bassinet. His face was emotionless, less human and more robotic. The energy he had when Jonathan had first met him was gone, stomped out by their handlers.

“We can play cards when we get home, I guess,” he murmured, firing the gun.

Author's Note- oh noes!!
plus all these wattpadd glitches r killin me and its hard to update ughshd