Carter Reynolds

"Okay, try this one," said Kiara. She took a deep breath before humming a specific note.

"D#." I answered dully.

"You're really good at this." Kiara commented.

I sighed, and stared at the glass dome that had been constructed over the metal walls outlining the courtyard. The Forbidden got to be here for an hour each day, with one small group being supervised at a time. It was my only chance to talk to someone besides the agents that guarded the cells, but it also meant dealing with the malevolent sun.

For a while, Taylor, Kiara, and Mrs. Pearce were in the the same group as me. Out of the three of them, Kiara was the only one left. Taylor got lucky. From what I've heard, Mrs. Pearce didn't. I was hesitant to trust the rumors, though. Maybe Mrs. Pearce was alive and being isolated somewhere, like her daughter or Lena.

Lena.

I didn't like thinking about her, even though she was everyone else's favorite topic. I had no idea why the Forbidden felt entitled to so many opinions about someone they've never met. Kiara and I were the only ones with an idea of who Lena really was, but we agreed to keep our mouths shut.

"Carter?" Kiara asked. Her voice still sounded raspy from being in the Lab a few days ago.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You were thinking again." Kiara explained patiently.

"Yeah, I guess it's just..."

"Are you light-headed?" Kiara asked, concerned.

I knew what she was trying to ask me. The guards here were wary of the vampires, so they took extra care to keep them sated. That wasn't a problem here. The glaring sun, on the other hand, was.

During the summer, the leaves kept most of the courtyard shaded and safe. Now that it was fall, the leaves were surrendering to nature and abandoning me on the ground. The spindly branches that remained were no match for the daylight.

"Hey." said Kiara. I could barely discern her voice from the pounding in my head. "Hey." Kiara repeated.

"What?" I snapped.

"Are you grumpy?" Kiara teased.

"Shut up." I whispered, moving so the shade of the trunk could cover me better.

"Now are you okay?" Kiara asked.

"Ki, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're surrounded by a metal wall with people just staring at us."

I gestured to the large windows that lay along the walls. There were agents behind each one, wearing lab coats and observing us like we were caged animals in a zoo. One of them accidentally made eye contact with me, and I winked at him. The agent immediately pressed a button, and an opaque wall pulled up over the glass.

"Did you see that?" I asked. "That was homophobic. I'll see him in court."

"Okay, I have another one," said Kiara, ignoring my comment. She hummed a new note.

"A." I answered.

"Right again." said Kiara, as if I hadn't been right every other time. "Isn't it cool that we both have perfect pitch?"

"It's just because we're Forbidden." I replied unenthusiastically.

"I had perfect pitch before I died." Kiara pointed out. At this, I perked up. Kiara never talked about her life before Atalka, so I was actually interested.

"Really?" I asked, hoping she would elaborate.

"Yeah. I was one of the best singers in Brazil." said Kiara, adjusting the cloth covering her hair. "According to my dad, anyway."

Kiara had ripped off a sleeve from her gray jumpsuit to create a makeshift bandana, much to the Agency's annoyance. The first time she was seen with the bandana, Kiara was taken from the courtyard and returned with bruises and a new jumpsuit. The next day, Kiara had fashioned another bandana. The cycle repeated for months until the agents gave up.

"My dad got me a guitar for my twelfth birthday." said Kiara. "He'd gotten it for sale because one of the strings was missing, but he was so happy about it."

"That's nice." I said, my mind still lost in recent memories.

"The other people weren't nice. They would snicker whenever my dad and I were out in public. It's like they thought he didn't know. He knew." Kiara continued.

"Knew what, Ki?" I asked, the prospect of more gossip catching my attention.

"Knew that I wasn't his." said Kiara as if it was obvious. "You know, I guess I've been Forbidden my whole life."

"You were half?" I realized. "Like Jane-Anne?"

"Yeah." Kiara answered. "It was actually a common thing where I came from. When the hybrids in my town turned 16, they had to choose."

"Choose what? Human or Forbidden?" I asked, frowning. "How would that even work?"

"They took you to the water, and if you lived, you picked Forbidden." Kiara explained. "If you didn't, you picked human."

"Well, that sucks." I admitted awkwardly.

"I think this might be worse," said Kiara, looking at our dismal surroundings.

I laughed drily. Now that Taylor wasn't here, I didn't mind being around Kiara. I actually enjoyed her company, but I wasn't about to admit that.

Kiara fell silent before looking at me expectantly. I knew that this was the part where I shared something personal, but I didn't want to.

"-and she's lucky she's not allowed to be with the rest of us. If I see her, I'm going to make her wish she was never born." I looked at the group of Forbidden on the other side of the courtyard, huddled by the wall.

"What?" Kiara asked, seeing the expression on my face.

"I'm pretty sure the guys over there are talking about Lena again." I replied.

"Really?" Kiara asked, rolling her eyes. "They don't even know her."

"She got us here." I pointed out.

"And she's suffering with the rest of us!" Kiara exclaimed. The Forbidden group turned to look at her.

"Nice job, Ki." I whispered.

Kiara stood up, noticing that she had the attention of the entire courtyard. Even the guards were focused on her, their gloved hands reaching for their firearms.

"Can we stop pinning everything on Lena?" Kiara asked her captive audience. "I mean, seriously, Lena this, Lena that, all the time! Don't you have someone else to blame, like-"

"Ki, don't do it." I already knew that she was about to mention the Agency.

Kiara stopped, but only for a second. I should have known better than to think I could tell her what to do.

"We're all here because of the Agen-" I yanked Kiara to the ground before she could get herself executed. Kiara yelped, causing some of the onlookers to laugh.

"You're going to get yourself killed." I muttered.

"You say that like we have something to lose." Kiara replied.

"Now who's the grumpy one?" I teased.

Before Kiara could argue, an alarm suddenly went off. Flashes of white assaulted my vision, somehow making the sun feel worse. I could already tell that my eyes were bright red, trying to compensate with the overstimulation.

My eyes chose to focus all of their energy on the towering courtyard doors as they slid open. A girl tumbled outside and sprinted across the grass. I could hear each desperate gasp for breath, and each frantic heartbeat.

"Is that-"

"Aaliyah." I realized.

Kiara dashed headfirst into the chaos, which I expected. Trying to fight against the searing pain of sunlight and scream of the alarm, I sped ahead of her, my entire surroundings melting into a blur until I was by Aaliyah's side.

"Aaliyah? Are you okay?" I asked, wrapping my arms around her. I had no idea when I'd see her again, or if I'd see her again.

"I'm fine." Aaliyah assured me. I could sense a gunshot fire from the west corner of the courtyard, and shoved Aaliyah to the ground. The bullet whizzed past my ear and lodged into one of the walls.

"What is it with you guys trying to get killed today?" I asked. Aaliyah got back on her feet, scanning for an exit. I could see the hope drain from her face as she saw that she had hit a dead end. There was only one door, and escaping back through it looked impossible. Several agents were flooding the courtyard, dressed head to toe in black combat gear.

"Hide me!" Aaliyah whispered. "I just need a few minutes and I think I can summon something."

I stared at the barren courtyard in confusion. There were only a couple of trees scattered across the dying grass, and more guards were entering by the second. The Forbidden were doing their best to keep them back, acting on an unspoken alliance.

Kiara was already taking action, gathering black clouds above us. One of the agents in the booths switched on the lights, but a yeti in its Forbidden form punched through the glass, causing him to flee. The lights shut off, along with the flashing alarm, blanketing the entire courtyard in darkness.

"Step on my hands!" I hissed.

"I can't see you!" Aaliyah whispered back.

I sighed and guided Aaliyah's foot with my hand. Even though I'd never done this before, I had seen a couple of cheerleading movies that made this look easy. I cupped my hands together, prepared to launch Aaliyah into one of the trees. Hopefully, no one was going to look there.

"On three." I whispered.

Aaliyah placed her bare foot on my flattened palm as I tried to pretend like I knew what I was doing.

"One, two..." I spotted a low hanging branch that looked like it could hold her weight. "Three!" I thrusted my arms upward, careful not to use all of my strength. Despite the chaos, I could hear the rustle of branches as Aaliyah pulled herself up.

"How long do you think the storm will last?" I asked, looking at Kiara.

"We're going to find out." Kiara replied breathlessly. I noticed that cracks of sunlight were already seeping through Kiara's clouds. I cursed under my breath and hoped that Aaliyah could summon a miracle soon.

This was the closest we had come to rebellion in months. I wasn't going to throw it away.

Countless gunshots echoed across the courtyard. The agents weren't concerned about killing their subjects since bullets would only be enough to stun them. One of them almost hit my shoulder, but I jumped out of the way.

In the darkness, I could make out the silhouette of an agent breaking from the crowd. His eyes were targeting Kiara, who was trying desperately to maintain the storm.

The agent took stepped forward, the light sound of boots against grass echoing like thunder in my ears. Before I knew it, I had slammed his body into the ground, my eyes glowing a vicious red. My elbow was locked over his neck, with my other arm pinning his gun to the ground.

I could hear the agent's pulse hammer in terror, the sound drowning my other senses into oblivion. I could feel a familiar soreness in my jaw that told me my fangs were out. I probably looked terrifying to this guy. And he probably expected nothing less from me.

The red that was starting to flood my vision slowly withdrew as I realized that all I was doing was proving this random person right.

What if this was Lena before she became Forbidden?

It was a stupid to see a random agent as redeemable, but I couldn't help it. Lena had completely broken the way I understood the Agency and the people who worked for them. They weren't soulless automatons to me anymore, and I didn't know how to deal with that.

I was distracted, and the agent used it against me. He spun out of my hold and slammed my head into the ground. I could feel the sensation of cold steel as the agent pressed his gun to the back of my head.

A loud hum resounded across the courtyard as the lights buzzed back into vitality. Forbidden and agent chaos was exposed under harsh fluorescent lighting.

"I'd hate for you to end up like your friend over there." the agent behind me whispered, jamming his gun into my head again. I was starting to regret my philosophical debate from earlier.

I turned my head slightly to the right, the stench of death reaching me before I saw the lifeless yeti. I stood up slowly, and the agent stood with me.

Kiara had given up, and her storm retreated back to the heavens, defeated.

The Forbidden shuffled away from the yeti, their heads bowed in mourning. Killing someone in their Forbidden form was a sign of disrespect. It was also a haunting reminder that they were cursed to die fighting. As Forbidden, our lives could only end at the hands of another, and the agents were more than willing to take up that mantle.

"It's just a gunshot." Kiara whispered quietly.

"It's not." I realized aloud. I could smell the toxicity in the air. Like a mixture of vinegar and coal. "Basilisk bullet."

"That's right." said the agent from behind me. "And you'll never guess what I've got here." He cocked his gun, sending chills down my spine.

I didn't turn around, but I could tell that Kiara was trying to get closer to me. I could already picture her petite fist poised in midair, ready to attack.

"Ki. Don't." I said flatly.

"I wasn't even going to do anything." Kiara lied.

I didn't speak, trying to keep my body as still as possible. I could feel the agent's gaze boring into my skull, ready to take my life at a moment's notice.

I stared at the chaos in front of me hopelessly. There wasn't much of a fight happening anymore, and the agents were sedating as many subjects as they could. A griffin who had been trying to break the glass dome above us fell from the sky violently, his feathers painted scarlet.

The yeti lie eerily still, his white body barely visible. An agent leaped on top of his corpse to get a better aim at the Forbidden that surrounded him.

Ugly thuds sounded across the courtyard as more Forbidden fell unconscious. From somewhere, I thought I heard an angry growl.

A foreboding chill filled the dome, unsettling the agents. A thin outline danced in the air, tracing the distinct shape of a towering wolf. Silver fur bloomed out of nothingness as the old spirits of Atalka prepared to fight back. Aaliyah's meditation was working.

It wasn't over yet.

A/N: Our first Carter POV, and a full on revolt in the Atalka Experiments! I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, and being able to catch up with some more characters. This next dedication is going to mia-carmen , who was the fastest reader of The Gate. Seriously, I was impressed with how fast she managed to binge that book. Thank you so much for your support of the Forbidden Novels and Cultural Ambassadors, it means so much to me!

QOTD: What do you guys think about Carter and Kiara's new friendship?