Quick note- please do not read before bed! I was doing some late night translating, and this scared me to bits and pieces. I have attached a picture of what the Saber cat's (smilidon's) skeleton would have looked like, except moving around like a living being.
Enjoy, but read during the day! (Unless you like being scared!)

August 1, 2115

I walk down the dark hallway. The sound of my combat boots stepping in the metallic floor echoes around me. Florescent lights cast yellow shades into the darkness occasionally.

It takes a few minutes of walking to find and open door. I take another breath, then slide through, closing the door after me. I hear a locking sound. I panic a little, and try the door again. Locked.

The darkness fades away as lights flicker on. I find my self in a subway, underground.

The air smells of blood and rotting flesh. Rats feast on the cadaver of a hobo under a bench near a wall. On the wall, A picture of a roaring dire wolf is painted in what I hope is dried ketchup. News papers with pictures of the president are covered with feathers and tar, stuck to the filthy floor and walls. The person in the ticket booth is nothing more than a skeleton that has been dipped in tar. On my right, A lonely train car sits on a broken train rail. I can't see well in the dim light, but inside, human skeletons are sitting in the passenger seats.

I hear the sound of bones hitting against each other quietly. I stiffen, and back up to the door. I try the handle again, and it moves easily.

I immediately let go, afraid of what is in there. (skeletons in the closet?)

The sound gets louder, and louder. My hackles raise, and sweat beads on my face.

From down the railroad, Something big and skeletal is coming towards me.

I try to close my eyes, but they won't. From behind the train car, a huge skeleton of a saber cat steps out of the darkness and onto the platform. Its the size of a horse, and looks like it had walked here from the la brea tar pits. Blood stained it's claws, and teeth the size of bananas. A faint bronze light glows in it's eyes, like someone had put pennies inside those empty eye sockets.

It steps towards me, bones clacking.
Choose. It says plainly in my mind.

"What?" I say timidly in confusion.

The cat points a huge paw towards my feet, and I look down. By my right foot, lays a gun. By my left, lies a bronze sword with a leather handle.

I hear a gunshot from up above. People start screaming, and running above my head.

I grab the gun and run up the subway stairs, the saber cat following. A young boy is shot, and he falls down the stairs. I see the look of terror in his eyes as I climb farther.

The bright daylight pierces my eyes, and spots dance. It is raining heavily, and the sky is dead black. A bright sun shines in the sky. It doesn't make sense... I think.

People are running around randomly. Bullets come from nowhere, and hit people randomly. Blood covers the wet ground, and their frightened faces.

The cat roars from behind me, and I feel boiling hot spit on my bun and neck. It jumps in front of me, and grabs a boy about my age from the crowd by the arm. "Help!" He screams.

I notice that voice. His face is covered with blood, but I see some of his trimmed black hair and the sparkle of his silver eyes.

"Rex!" I scream.

"Please, Layta! Help me! Kill it!" He pleads to me. I aim the gun at the cat's skull with zero hesitation.

As I put my finger on the trigger, I hear laughing in my head.

If you kill me, you will be attacking my kind. The symbol we bring. We represent the government's failure, and as long as we live, there is no hope for the man who controls you. If you shoot me, you will be pledging your allegiance to him. Is that what you want?

His words sway me. I lower the gun, then I see Rex again. I raise it again, and say, "Shut up! You died long ago, and should have stayed dead!" I shoot the cat right in between the eyes, but It doesn't even faze him.

He jumps down the stairs with Rex in his jaws. "No!" I scream, pursuing them down the stairs.

At the end, I don't see the boy. In fact, I don't see the station either. A huge, endless pit is before me.

I hear laughing, but nothing else. The screaming above me all stops at once.

There is no trace of the saber cat or Rex.

I feel a sob in my throat, and tears steam down my cheeks. I throw the gun in frustration into the pit, but it doesn't fall. It just falls onto a black floor and shatters apart.

In curiosity, I try walking on the floor. But it isn't there, and I fall.

I don't scream. I can't get a breath of air, and my arms are flailing around. I fall faster and faster till I hit a metallic floor on my stomach.

I groan, and lights flicker in the room. I remember that I'm just in the test room as a lady comes through the door.

"Your test is over. Please exit through the back of the hallway, then go back to your train." She says plainly.

I push myself up with my arms, and wipe tears from my eyes. I walk through the exit door and to the train in a daze.

I accidentally run into someone, and they say something, but I'm too dazed to tell who and what they said.

As I hop on the train, the image of Rex's face fills my mind. I can only hear him screaming.

The people on the train look the way I feel; terrible. They look like they haven't slept in years.

I sit by Khara, who is sleeping as the train lurches forward. I feel my stomach turn inside out.

You should probably know who Rex is. To save my sanity, and feelings, I won't get into details. We were mortal enemies in fifth grade. We were in the same classes since last year, so we sort of got along and became friends. He wasn't very good looking, or smart, but he was sweet to me. His parents would beat him allot, so he learned to become a bully. He defended me, but other kids thought of him as a jerk.

One day, at lunch, he got up from his seat and came over to me. He confessed that he had a crush on me since we were twelve, and he liked me. He asked if I felt the same way about him. I'm not really sure if I did or not. He had violated rules often, and I didn't want to get in trouble. So I said I didn't, and he walked out without a word.

He wasn't at school the next day. His parents said they hadn't seen him since that morning. The police searched for him, but they quickly gave up. Some people say he ran into the woods and got eaten by a saber cat, or a dire wolf. Some say he commited suicide. Some say he is still hiding.

I try not to think about it. For months, I felt terrible about rejecting him. I became so depressed, I would starve myself. That's how I'm so skinny, mostly. I'd go back and change it all if I could; I wish I could say sorry and tell him how I really feel. But I don't think he would think the same way about me nearly a year later.

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The train lurches to a stop. I raise my hand to wipe any tears, but my eyes are dry.

I shake Khara awake. She moans something about going away. "Khara! Wake up, we're back at the school. We gotta ride our bikes home."

She rubs her eyes. "Yeah, I hear ya!" She sits up and stretches. "Did you wake up my brother?"

"No." I say.

Her brother, Dylan, is sleeping across from us. He looks terribly pale. She gets up from her seat, and shakes him awake. He says something to her, but I don't hear.

A woman's voice comes over the intercom. "We are now at the school. Please go directly to your bus, ride, or bike. If you haven't arranged a ride home already, please walk. Do not chat with your friends. Please be at the school by tommorow at six. You are dismissed."

We walk out the bus In an orderly fashion. Most of the kids go to the bus, but some get rides or walk. One kid has a Retcha (A mechanical animal that you can easily ride on. They were adapted for the war, so they can protect you pretty well, but some people can afford them. They go about as fast as a car, and they use electricity instead of gas.) Waiting at the side of the school. We hop onto our bikes, and head home.

When we separate, I say goodbye, but they don't respond. When I get to my house, I put the bike at the side of the house and go through the side door. The first thing I do is collapse on the love seat in the living room.

Exhaustion hits me like a brick to the head. My head aches bad, and each time blood pumps through it, a new wave of pain spreads through my skull.

I try taking a quick nap, but I can't fall asleep. I am too anxious about tomorrow, and school, and the test. Summer wasn't fun; all I did was chores. But it probably was better than school. I don't mind the teachers; I do what they ask, and they leave me alone. It's the kids who think they can push me around that bug me. Just because I don't have Rex as a "bodyguard", or I'm tiny, doesn't give anyone the excuse to hurt me.

I sigh. I don't want tomorrow to come. The test has dug up old memories I thought I had locked away, and the tattoo they put on my hand will be a constant reminder of them. Each time someone scans my hand, or I look at it, I'll be reminded of Rex. I'll be reminded that I passed the test, but he never got the chance to take it.