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Day starts to turn a sickly shade of green as she looks at the needle

The next student goes up and takes the test It’s another fail It goes on like this for thirty ative, negative By the tiory Thohtily strides up to the machine, rolls up his own sleeve and confidently inserts his arory punches the air and joins the other Trackers, who all pat him on the back His twin brother, Chris, saunters up to the lee at his brother’s failure, a wide s under his breath and stalks over to the rest of the rejects

"Looks like I’ froht help with my Fast-Track application"

She nervously sits down and screws her eyes shut as the needle sinks into her ar her away

She seeaze on et this over with," Imy arm in theattention His focus is solely on hts blink on the machine as my DNA is tested I roll my eyes This is so dumb

"Pass," Kurt says

"What? Are you sure?" I say

Sebastian grins at h me, which is odd Why should I care if I’ I should want? Ash holdsheartbeat as I’m bundled toward the rest of the Tracker cadets

Beetle’s ushered up to the machine, and Sebastian barely looks at the result before he announces, "Fail"

Beetle grins, giving Ash the thumbs-up, and saunters over to the rest of the rejects Ash is next He doesn’t even attempt to take the test and instead walks toward the rejects

"Where are you going, nipper?" Sebastian sneers

I furrow my brow He can’t be serious

"Everyone needs to take the test, including you," he says

They coolly eye each other, the tension palpable between the," Sebastian drawls

Ash mutters a curse and walks up to thethe needle down on Ash’s arhts blink and flash as his DNA is analyzed, and a moment later, Kurt checks his results He frowns and reads the results again before turning to face Ash, his expression curious

"Positive," he says "Welcome to the Trackers, Mr Fisher"

Ash Fisher is the topic of conversation on everyone’s lips for the rest of thebe a Tracker?

"He’ll never hunt his own kind," I say to Day as alk to art class, my least favorite subject, since I have all the artistic skill of a rabid squirrel

"He doesn’t have a choice," she replies

"It’s such a sadistic thing toShe doesn’t need to It’s not exactly the first ti has been forced to hunt its own kind; it was cos to collaborate with Trackers in return for food and protection

Ash is already outside the art roo quietly to each other He looks up atelse to say

He gives me a sad smile

The art class door opens, and Mrs James, a frumpy woman ild brown hair, ushers us inside The roos on the walls and wonky-looking clay sculptures spread along the shelves My sto a plinth in the center of the roo next to the one beside her, watching Ash out of the corner ofhi hiht out of otten into me?

He heads to an easel on the opposite side of the circle, and Beetle takes the seat next to him

"Hey, babes, is this seat taken?"

Chris Tho into his hazel eyes There’s a faraway look in theory, hovers behind hi

"Er, no," I say

Ash’s head turns ever so slightly in our direction

Chris sits next tohis narrow nose up at her as he sits down

"Swap seats with ory waxing lyrical about my mother and how he hopes to "follow in his father’s footsteps and work for the govern

"Sorry," I et our attention "Right, class, ants to be our victi at ery scar over my heart Mother always has it airbrushed out of photos, and I don’t blaly

"Day, why don’t you model for us?" Mrs James says a little desperately

Day reluctantly takes her place on top of the plinth Her glasses uncereory laughs Chris leans across me and punches his brother in the arm

"Don’t be a dick," he says

Beetle hurries out of his seat and hands Day’s glasses back to her She gives hio pink, the way they always do around Day Ash teasingly rolls his eyes at Beetle when he sits down

I stickmuch care over it A familiar chill creeps overratulations onthe squad," Chris says to lad I didn’t make the squad," Chris says quietly "I don’t want to hunt Darks for a living"

"Sauy, that’s gotta suck Fragging Sen--" He catches hi to "Sorry"

"No probleuilty even though it’s not my fault Ash has been enlisted to the Trackers A few h and inspect ray Oh, well If Mrs James asks, I’ll tell her it’s ithe lean muscles of his toned arms The tiny red pinprick is still visible on his left forear me jump

"What?" I ask, le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>