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Deuce

I was born during the second holocaust People had told us legends of a tiht they were just stories Nobody even lived to see forty in my world

Today was my birthday Each one added a layer of fear, and this year, it orse I lived in an enclave in which our oldest had seen twenty-five years His face ithered, and his fingers shook when he attempted the smallest tasks Some whispered it would be a kindness to kill him, but they meant they didn’t want to see their futures written in his skin

“Are you ready?” Twist stood waiting for me in the darkness

He already wore his marks; he o years older than me, and if he’d survived the ritual, I could Tas small and frail by any standards; privation had cut runnels into his cheeks, aging him I studied the pallor of my forearms and then nodded It was time for me to become a woman

The tunnels ide and laid with ht’ve been transportation, but they lay on their sides like great, dead beasts We used the party was attacked before it reached sanctuary, a heavy ry enemies made the difference between life and death

I had never been outside the enclave, of course This space comprised the only world I’d ever known, cast in darkness and curling sular blocks Once they had borne color but the years had worn theed from deeper in the warren

I folloist through theon fairl on a white cloud I couldn’t ; that part had worn away But the words in bright red, HEAVENLY HAM, looked wonderful to me I wasn’t sure what that was, but by her expression, it ood

The enclave asse day, everyone who had survived to be na that we just called all the brats Boy or Girl, along with a nunized each face shadowed by the half-light It was hard not to let the expectation of pain knotwith the fear I would wind up with a terrible na to me until I died

Please let it be soood

The oldest, who carried the burden of the name Whitewall, walked to the center of the circle He stopped before the fire, and its licking fla shades With one hand, he beckoned me forward

Once I joined hiift”

The others carried their tokens and piled therew—and a few of theht’ve served Decoration, perhaps? People in the world before seemed obsessed with objects that existed si

After they finished, Whitewall turned to me “It’s time”

Silence fell Cries echoed through the tunnels So, but he wasn’t old enough to attend ht lose another citizen before we finished here Sickness and fever devastated us and our ood, it seemed to me But I’d learned not to question his treatments Here in the enclave, one didn’t prosper by deht

These rules permit us to survive, Whiteould say If you cannot abide by them, then you are free to see how you fare Topside The eldest had a mean streak; I didn’t know if he had always been that way, or if age had made him so And now, he stood before me, ready to take my blood

Though I had never witnessed the ritual before, I knehat to expect I extended ht It was our prized possession, and the oldest kept it clean and sharp He ed cuts on my left arm, and I held my pain until it coiled into a silent cry withinHe slashed ht arm before I could do more than brace I clenched my teeth as hot blood trickled doard Not too much The cuts were shallow, symbolic

“Close your eyes,” he said

I obeyed He bent, spreading the gifts before ers were cold and thin From whatever my blood struck, so would I take my na, but they were still and reverent Movement rustled nearby

“Open your eyes and greet the world, Huntress From this day forward, you will be called Deuce”

I saw the oldest held a card It was torn and stained, yelloith age The back had a pretty red pattern and the front had what looked like a black shovel blade on it, along with the number two It was also speckled with my blood, which meant I must keep it with me at all times I took it from him with a murmur of thanks

Strange No longer would I be known as Girl15 My new na used to

The enclave dispersed People offered me nods of respect as they went about their business Now that the na day ceremony was complete, there was still food to be hunted and supplies to be scavenged Our work never ended

“You were very brave,” Twist said “Now let’s take care of your arms”

It was just as e had no audience for this part because e failed I hen he put the hot h to call ot three scars Breeders took only one For as long as anyone could remember, the number of marks on the arms identified what role a citizen played