Chapter One

 I'm screaming, fighting, trying to get up.  
  "Mommy! Mommy, please! Let me up, mommy! I can't breathe!" I scream as loud as I can, choking in the process.  
  This isn't the first time she's" cleansed" me. She's done this to other times. She says I'm unclean, unwanted. I'm the devils child. This is the first time the bath was so hot, though! I can see steam, and bubbles rising to the top. My skin is red and hurts really bad.  
  I don't really understand what's going on, all I know is that mommy says she wants to wash the dirt and sin away.  
  I hear a loud crash, shouting. Lot's of shouting. Mommy let's go, and I burst out of the water. I try really hard to breathe, but just can't get enough air.  
  These men are all around the room, they look like police. They take mommy down, and I can hear so much shouting, so many voices.
  The voice that stood out the most was my sisters. Isabella was screaming really loudly, and it hurt my ears.
  She was screaming, "MOMMY!!!"
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  I wake up, gasping. That memory always came back this time of the year.  
  Yup, I said memory, not dream. My mom was a bit, well, eccentric. I say was, because she died after that last "cleansing" when I was seven.  
  I get up, get ready for training, and see Akemi, my younger sister, lying on her bed, looking angelic. I'm just about ready to go, when there is a knock on the door.  
  "Hey, Tess! Up and at 'em!"  
  My heart speeds up at the sound of his voice. Artemio was here, that meant I could get back to fighting! Training days are my favorite, especially on sparing days. I love fighting more than anything.
  Artemio walks me to the field, where I get the usual stares. The others still aren't used to my scar, stretching down from around an inch under my eye to my cheek, level with my lips.  
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  I had been attacked, my gun jammed. The attacker, a sadistic woman, had tried to cut my eyes out, but was stopped when Artemio tackled her. He saved my life, and I'll never stop owing him.  
  Oh, I guess you don't know why anyone would attack me. Was I robbed? Raped? No, no, no. You see, I'm part of a rebel army, fighting against "The Great Marrow" and his tyranny. We lost a important battle, as well as over a thousand soldiers and civilians, and the Allies think the resistance will just die out. But here we are, alive and strong.  
  You know that battle I mentioned? That was actually my first battle. I joined just after finding out my father had been executed for healing rebels. He was a doctor, and killed for helping people! I was outraged! So I joined the rebellion, wanting to avenge my father, and was trained. No one thought the battle would be that bad, it was supposed to be a small battle, barely a skirmish.  
  I guess they really wanted that coal mine, and the Allies fought viciously. That was when I got my scar, and was when I went from a middle class doctors daughter, to a lower than lower class because of my joining the rebels.  
  We get less food that even animals in shelters, and everything costs twice as much so that the vendors won't tell anyone we're training again, but we're still here. Artemio hunts, and he shares his game. I Akemi stays home, growing vegetables and herbs for the rest of the rebels. Can't build up an army if everyone starves.  
  It's a little strange, seeing how people react to me now. I used to be thought of as beautiful. Soft, shiny blonde hair, flawless, porcelain skin, grey eyes that shined, and a slight figure, which my clothes accented well. Now my hair is always pulled back, my eyes dark, nearly onyx, face scarred, and curves starved away. My usual wardrobe consists of cheap grey pants and shirts, tight, but still loose enough to move in. Not very attractive, I guess. Oh well, no time for appearances, got to go smash some skulls.