Read The Executioner at the Institute for Contaminated Children for Free Online Page A

them until this month when I went to see a doctor. I would miscarry all the time. The doctor said because I was a minor he would have no choice but to tell my parents. And I would have to tell them the truth. I couldn’t put them through a loss, not again…” She paused. Again? What did that mean? I was about to open my mouth when she continued, “I asked the doctor to give me a month to talk to the father. Of course, there wasn’t one, but he didn’t have to know that.”
    “I’m guessing…you’re not a virgin?”
    Her hand dug into her skirt. “I thought it would make it stop. It didn’t.”
    I moistened my dry throat.
    “To prevent my family from finding out…and from getting sent to one of the Institutes…I did the unforgivable. I told them I had an affair with one of the teachers. Mr. Presley was the only one who would help me.”
    I sprang up from the seat. “How could you do that to him?! Wasn’t there someone else—?” Just then, the train turned and I swayed, knocked back down.
    “I didn’t do anything.” Eva looked down at her hands. “He suggested it.”
    “What?”
    “Nobody else wanted to help. Everyone turned from me, including my boyfriend. Mr. Presley…is a great guy. He asked me what was wrong, why I was so depressed and…I don’t know why but…I told him everything. He said his family would understand. He could find another job. But if they found out what I was, they could use me for something terrible.”
    Mr. Presley was extremely perceptive and always looked out for his students, so I could believe he’d do something like that. Although I found it more difficult to believe Mr. Presley’s wife would understand, but what did I know? Maybe their marriage was already shaky. Or stronger than anything I could imagine. I frowned. “They? Who are they?”
    Eva’s shimmering eyes nearly stabbed me. “Seems like you’ve lived quite the oblivious life. Or have your parents completely blinded you from reality?”
    “Like what? Quit beating around the bush.” I almost wanted to cry. How unfair. Why hadn’t anyone told me? What else had my parents kept from us?
    “I envy you…and at the same time, I pity you. You’ve lived an ideal life. Safe from the truth, sheltered and provided for. So did I. My family is very wealthy. But…the truth still came out.” She breathed in. “I was about to accept it. To live with the guilt. And then guess what happened? Donna Cassidy was pronounced contaminated. To leave for LeJeune first thing tomorrow morning.” Eva beamed and my chest shook. “It was like a sign. Like God told me, ‘Release Mr. Presley. He has done nothing but treated you with kindness. And I will not let you go alone.’ Now here we are.”
    I couldn’t look away from her, my breaths irregular, like a deer in headlights. Just what was so terrible about the institutes? Why had my parents done everything in their power to keep my contamination a secret? Acted like the world ended when I was getting sent away? And now this. A teacher was ready to sacrifice his job and reputation to keep Eva from that place.
    It had to be the bombings. I mean, I was on my way to a school that could potentially explode at any time! There was a chance I had seen my family for the last time. Regardless of what Von van Vaughn said, it’s not like he could guarantee an end to terrorism. But what if there was more? What if that was just the tip of the ice berg?
    Probability?
    Oh, shut up, already.
    After a few minutes of silence, I rubbed my arm. “Just a few days ago…I really wanted to meet a contaminated person. To find out if they had superpowers, sort of like superheroes, and if I might have them too. I even snuck out of the house to a state competition. Ironic, isn’t it?”
    Eva smirked, and it sent shivers down my spine.
    “Where we’re going, Donna, trust me…you’ll find out everything. More than you ever wanted to know.” She looked out the window again, all the way across the