Resist Read Free Page B

before Cole turns that stony gaze on me for being idle. Though he might have feelings for me, he’s our leader, first and foremost. And this is my family. I won’t let them down.
    While Lev and Cole sort through the supplies and Kyle hangs back, probably sensing his outsider status, I grab a paper cup from the motel’s coffeemaker and fill it with water. Once I have water boiling for sterilization, I check the time. The rest of my unit—the ones who made the escape with us and Kyle—have been gone only fifteen minutes since dropping us off, but it feels like ages. I don’t like being separated when we’re so vulnerable. Some people had to go shopping, however, and the rest of us needed to take care of Summer.
    She rests her head against the pillows as Lev arranges the gauze, tweezers and other supplies on the nightstand. “Lev, no offense, but are you sure you should be the one to remove the bullet? You don’t have the steadiest hands.”
    Lev looks offended for a second, then shrugs. “Maybe not.”
    â€œSev should do it,” Cole says.
    I frown at him. “I’m not HY1-Seven anymore. I’m Sophia.”
    â€œSorry, habit,” he mumbles, then he gestures to Summer.
    â€œI can help.” Kyle removes the cup of boiling water from the coffeepot. “I have first-aid training.”
    Cole crosses his arms. “We all have field medical training, far more than you, I’m sure. Aren’t you a mutant? What do you need medical training for?”
    A muscle in Kyle’s cheek twitches. “Just because I can heal myself doesn’t mean I didn’t care to learn how to help other people. I was planning on being a doctor before you guys exposed my existence. You know, that means my goal was to keep people alive, not kill them like the rest of you were trained to do.”
    I raise my hands, unable to take it anymore. “Stop. Just stop. Can we focus? Cole, why me?”
    He’s always singled me out. I used to think it was because he considered me the weakest member of our unit and thought I needed to be protected. Now I know I misinterpreted him, but still. I’m not the best at medical stuff. It’s simply too bad that the people in our unit who do excel in medical training are stuck at the RedZone camp. We didn’t have time to convince them to run away with us.
    Lev is doing his best with the boiling water and rubbing alcohol to disinfect everything. “Because as Summer pointed out, I’ve never had the steadiest hands in our group.”
    â€œAnd you’ll likely be gentler than me,” Cole says.
    I have my doubts about that, but maybe Cole’s referring to the recent way I’ve been rebelling against the violent whatever-must-be-done attitude that’s been drilled into us. He doesn’t approve.
    Or maybe, just maybe, he’s trying to keep me from being near Kyle a while longer.
    Summer smiles at me, but her face is pale and shiny with perspiration. The bandage on her arm has turned pink with her blood. “You’ll do great. Someone just get this damn thing out of me.”
    â€œWill do.” What else can I say? I’ve never extracted a bullet from a living person before. But then, the number of things I’ve never done before yet have charged full speed ahead into doing anyway in the last few weeks is astounding. That I’m not dead yet is a testament to RedZone’s sadistic training.
    I dump my uniform jacket on a rickety chair and go into the bathroom to scrub up. When I return, Cole has taken Summer’s hand again, on her good side, and Lev has the supplies ready. Kyle stands off by himself, alternately watching Summer and keeping an eye on the pile of guns that’s been dumped on the table. They’re proof that we’ve all been better trained at killing than healing, as he said.
    He lobs me a small smile as I meet his eyes. I try to return it, to take it as a sign