Rue’s Perspective

I stared at the syringe lodged onto my skin. The liquid inside was red, but not yet injected into my blood stream. It was not transparent, it clung to the barrel thickly, viscous, almost alive—like blood.

My stomach lurched.

“What…what is that?” I demanded, pulling away.

Veronica wickedly smiled as she moved her thumb against the plunger, aiming to push the contents of the syringe into my bloodstream.

I reacted on instinct.

I twisted sharply, and the syringe flew ...