by Cheree Alsop
“Hey!” I said and he chuckled.
Nikko gave a thoughtful frown. “You know, they do need someone for security at the city center since they let Bode go for spray-painting the library.”
“He must have had an overdue book he didn’t want to pay for,” Jayce replied. He laughed at his own joke.
Dr. Ray groaned. Nikko rolled his eyes and turned back to me. “But the job would be perfect. It’s night patrol, and you could wear your coat. Plus, it’s only a few blocks from here, so you could walk.”
It actually sounded promising. “I’d just walk around and keep things safe?”
“Exactly. I doubt they’ve filled it yet and you’re more than qualified to handle a few drunks wandering the grounds at night.”
Dr. Ray nodded. “I’m on the city council. It shouldn’t be too hard to get you on. I’ll talk to Mr. Mason at the security office. I’m sure we can swing something.”
“Perfect.” My stomach growled and I gave a half smile. “Did someone mention dinner?”
Allie giggled from the doorway. Nikko and the doctor left to the kitchen to help; my body still ached with exhaustion, so I sat on the couch by Jayce.
After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, he turned to me with a slightly annoyed expression. “What’d you have to go and do that for?”
Surprised, I stared at him. “What?”
He looked up at the ceiling again in mock despair. “Why me?” He turned back to me and rolled his eyes. “Being so gung-ho to get a job. You’re making me look bad!”
I fought back a grin. “I’m indebted to all of you. You’ve kept my secret; it’s the least I could do. Besides, I’ve never had a job. It sounds like fun.”
Jayce shook his head and settled more comfortably on the couch. “You don’t owe us anything. You brought Brie and Allie back safe. That’s more payment than all the money in the world.” He glanced up and I followed his gaze. Allie peeked at us from the kitchen door. I smiled and she jumped back out of sight. Jayce nodded again. “More than enough. If you want a job for the heck of it, go ahead. But remember, you’ve paid whatever dues you feel you owe here.”
The thought made me smile. “Thanks.”
He pushed up from the couch and slapped my shoulder as he went by. “Don’t mention it.” He paused. “And the less you talk about the job, the better for all of us. Me specifically.”
I laughed and he disappeared toward the scent of food.
***
At dinner I caught Brie looking my way, but whenever I met her eyes she dropped her gaze with a flush of embarrassment. My thoughts were tangled after the bridge and then rescuing Allie. I couldn’t fight the heaviness in the pit of my stomach when I thought of the look on Brie's face when I realized she expected me to kill her step-father.
I took a breath to calm my thoughts, then called her name before she could leave with everyone else after dinner was over.
She glanced at Allie who sat on the couch with a pink stuffed animal puppy which she was wrapping in different rags from the kitchen. Brie turned back to me and her voice quivered. “Kale, I’m so sorry.”
The tears began to spill down her cheeks and I forgot what I was going to say. I fought down the urge to dry her cheeks with my fingers. “Brie, you don’t have to cry.”
She nodded and, wiping at her tears, pulled a chair close and sat so that our knees touched. “Yes I do. I was wrong about you, terribly wrong. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
I whispered the truth that pounded with my heartbeat, “You could never hurt me.”
She met my eyes and hope and pain warred on her face. “How could you forgive me? I thought you would kill him. I thought-”
“That killing my enemies is so ingrained into who I am that I couldn’t control it?” I finished.
She dropped her eyes and looked away. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I shook my head and touched her hand. “You saved my life, Brie. You helped me start over when I thought it wasn’t possible. You believed in me.” She looked away but I brushed her fingers with my own. “You make me better just by daring to be near me.”
She looked back at me and the shadow of a smile touched her lips. “You’re an amazing guy,” she said quietly. She wrapped me in a hug and buried her face against my chest.
I ran a hand down her soft hair and closed my eyes, taking in the scent of her flowery perfume. My heart pounded and I wondered if she heard it. When she finally sat back up, her face glowed despite the tear tracks down her cheeks. I wiped them gently away with the backs of my fingers and she smiled a soft smile that warmed my soul.
***
“You’re the new kid Dr. Ray sent over?”
I fought down a sudden rush of nerves and nodded.
The man behind the desk glanced at the papers in front of him. He was a head shorter than me but was stout and solid in the shoulders. He wore a red hat with thick brown hair poking out around the edges and had a nose that looked like it had been broken more than once. His hands were strong with thick, beefy fingers, and he twirled a nightstick as he read through the papers like he knew how to use it.
“Says here you’re from California?”
I nodded. “Dr. Ray’s my uncle. I’m staying with him to finish up the school year while my dad looks for work.” The story Dr. Ray had come up with sounded false to my ears; I hoped Mr. Mason didn’t catch it.
“Times are tough,” he said with an understanding nod.
I waited silently and watched his eyes run down the paper, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Says here you’re proficient in martial arts.” He glanced up at me again. “We let the cops handle the major stuff, but it’s good if you can take care of yourself in sticky situations.”
I nodded and fought back a wry smile. “I can take care of myself.”
He finished reviewing the résumé, then set it on his desk and rose to his feet. “I’ll give you a two-week trial; if things work out, you have a job.” He held out his hand.
A feeling of relief washed through me and I stood and shook his hand. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”
He gave me a thoughtful look. “No, I don’t think you will.” He held out the nightstick he had been twirling along with a flashlight and a utility belt. “Put these on and I’ll show you around.”
I followed him through the city grounds, enjoying the easy familiarity he had with the buildings. He showed me a few tricks, like where to look for students who wanted to hide out and party, which locks were the most often picked, and where a family of raccoons had made their home in the hollow of a tree near the old city building. He tossed a few pieces of dried bread on the ground at the foot of the tree and winked at me when a pair of eyes peeked out, shining in the setting sunlight.
I appreciated the amiable silence while we walked the beat. When we made it back to the main building, he tossed me a spare set of keys to the grounds. “Good to have you with us, son.”
***
Moonlight lit the grounds in a peaceful glow, illuminating the buildings that lined the sidewalks like watchful sentries. It was my third night of the watch; I had one more tomorrow, then three off with the rotating schedule. I truly enjoyed security duty. Walking the city center grounds at night was like watching ghosts of the day’s commotion dance themselves out through the shadows. I imagined I could still hear the laughter and conversations that bounced between the great halls at noon, and see the students sprawled out studying and families eating picnics on the lawns. I wondered if the Arena echoed in the same way with the cries of the dying; the thought made me somber.
The city center was made up of the new city building, the new library, an old mill building that had been converted into a museum, a handful of smaller buildings grouped in one corner and preserved as the first settlers’ dwellings, the old, towering city building for which the demolition plans kept getting pushed back, and a three-story parking garage. It was a good-sized beat checking doors and making sure no
one was using the parking garage to make out, and I enjoyed the solitary time to remind myself what I was here for and to try to figure out a plan to stop the Arena battles.
I turned the corner of the library in time to hear a panicked shriek.
“Stop, please!” The cry came from the direction of the parking garage.
Memories flashed through my mind of brown and white feathers drifting toward dirty cement. I put a hand against the cool brick to steady myself. Healed wounds ached with the surge of adrenaline that filled my body. I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to close it out, but the cry sounded again, filled with terror this time.
“No, don’t!”
I shook my head to clear it, reminding myself that this was a job and I was in charge. I pushed off from the wall. Following the sounds, I ran around the corner, through the alley between the city building and the old mill, and up the ramp to the top level of the parking garage.
A lone truck sat in the garage just out of reach of the lamp light. I crept through the dark around the edge of the lot to the source of the commotion.
Two young men I recognized as seniors from the high school had a girl pinned in the bed of the truck. Another student jumped up into the truck beside her. “Hold still, honey. We’re just havin’ a bit of fun.”
The other two students laughed drunkenly.
“Let me go, Bryce. This isn’t funny.” She struggled and their grips tightened around her arms. “You’re hurting me!”
“Then stop struggling.” Bryce reached down to caress her face and she turned away from his touch. His jaw clenched in anger and he grabbed her hair.
Fire filled my veins along with the frustrated fury of that night not so long ago when I had almost died saving another. I stepped into the circle of light. “Let her go.”
The two students dropped her arms and backed up in surprise. Bryce whirled and glared at me, his eyes flashing with anger. “Get out of here.” He glanced at my nightstick and flashlight and gave a mocking smile, “Security.”
“Leave her alone,” I growled.
The girl backed up in the bed of the truck until she huddled in a corner near the cab. Bryce looked at her and a dark chuckle escaped his lips. “You want in on this too, hot shot?” he asked. He gave me a knowing smile.
Bile rose in my throat. “I don't want in on anything. I want her out of it and you three miles from here before the cops show up.”
Bryce's chuckle turned into a growl. “What are you gonna do, tell on us? Cry to the police like a little girl? You security guards can't stop us anyway. You're supposed to report it and let the cops deal with it.” He said the last sentence in a whiny sing-song tone that made my hair stand on end. He leered down at me from the bed of the truck, confident in his superior position.
By that time I had reached the truck. Rage filled my chest and I couldn’t control it any longer. I reached over the lowered tailgate and grabbed him just above the knees.
He cried out in surprise and made a lunge for the side of the truck but I threw him with a twist of my shoulders. He flew over the side and landed on the pavement with a thud.
“What the?” one of the other students said in surprise.
I levered myself up into the bed of the truck and they backed up near the girl. “Get on the ground.”
“Okay,” the one on the right squeaked before he scrambled down the side and backed up near Bryce.
The second man took a step forward, his knees bent. “You don't know who you're messing with.”
A surge of vicious glee rose in my chest. “You don’t either.”
He lunged, attempting to catch me off guard.
His shoulder caught me high in the chest, but I had already sized him up and knew my center of balance was lower than his. I grunted with the blow, and he barely moved me back inches. He slugged at my stomach and I rolled to the left, pulling his fist along. The force of both our efforts threw us off and we fell over the side of the truck.
I rolled when I hit the ground and came up with fists raised in time to block my own nightstick levered by Bryce. I threw it to the side, jabbed under his raised arm and felt his ribs give, then caught him across the jaw with a quick left.
Bryce stumbled back, the nightstick discarded between us. Footsteps announced an attacker behind me, and a spin kick sent the first man who had jumped out of the truck crashing back into its side. He crumpled to the ground with a whimper.
The third student let out an angry growl. He dove at me with his arms out like a linebacker attempting to drive his opponent into the ground. I moved to the side at the last second and elbowed him in the back with a simultaneous chop to the back of the head. My foot caught his leg and he landed with a thud on the pavement. He pushed up to his hands and knees and stared at the ground like he wondered what had hit him. It would be so simple to crush his windpipe or snap his neck. I had to fight the urge to eliminate him as a threat. I shook my head to clear it of the violent desires.
I backed up so the truck was behind me and glared at them. “As much as I'm enjoying this, I wasn't lying about the cops. They should be here soon and I'm guessing you won't want to be.”
“Who are you?” Bryce growled, a hand clutched to his ribs.
“Kale, Security Guard.”
He glared at me. “You’ll pay for this.”
“I look forward to it,” I replied. I backed around the truck, careful to keep them all in sight. I offered the girl a hand. “Let's get you out of here.”
She glanced back at Bryce, who glared at her and wiped a trickle of blood from his lip. She took my hand and I lifted her over the side of the truck. I watched Bryce and the other guy help their friend into the vehicle.
“You're not worth it, Krissy,” Bryce spat out. “You were barely worth it when it was easy.” Her hand tightened on my arm, but Bryce merely spit on the ground and climbed into his truck. We backed up and his tires squealed, leaving black rubber on the pavement as they sped away.
I watched them to make sure Bryce didn't have any sudden, vengeful feelings about running us down. He left the parking lot and squealed around the next corner and out of sight. It was then that I felt her hand tremble. I turned and saw that the girl had tears running down her cheeks.
“You okay?”
She took a deep breath and nodded, but I suspected that she kept holding my arm for more than just nerves. “Do you want to sit down for a minute?”
Her eyes widened and she dropped her hand. I knew she second-guessed my intentions and shook my head. “I really will call the cops if you'd like. I probably should anyway. Protocol and all. I just-”
She shook her head quickly. “No, please. They're gone and I'm okay. I don’t want to make an uproar.” She brushed her disheveled blond hair back from her face and straightened her shirt without looking at me.
“Okay. Then let me at least walk you home. I don't want Bryce getting any ideas.”
She studied me for a minute before nodding. “Thank you. I don't live far from here.”
“I’m Kale, by the way.”
“Kristina,” she replied with a small sniff. “But everyone calls me Krissy.”
“Well, Krissy, let’s get you home safe.”
I offered her my arm and she took it again. I picked up my flashlight and night stick, and we walked quietly down the ramp to the street.
“You’re new here?” she asked. “I haven’t seen you around before.”
I realized she was trying to keep her thoughts off of what had just happened. “Visiting,” I answered, hoping it didn’t sound forced. “I’m staying with Nikko Ray.”
She gave a small smile. “He’s Dr. Ray’s son. Dr. Ray teaches my anatomy class. He’s great.” Her voice tightened. “Bryce and I signed up for the class together, but then he dropped it for P.E. because his grades were too low.” She fell silent again.
“You’re a brave girl,” I said quietly. Our footsteps echoed against the houses on either side of the road. “You don’t deserve to
be treated that way. No one does.”
“Bryce isn’t usually like that.” Her voice quivered. “He gets around his friends and he has to be all macho.”
I frowned. “That wasn’t macho. That would have been-”
She stopped walking and cut me off with a hand on my arm. “Don’t say it.” Tears trickled down her cheeks. “Bryce isn’t a bad guy, but I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up.”
She shook like a leaf. I lifted a hand to comfort her and she leaned against my chest and cried. I froze, uncertain what to do. I patted her on the back tentatively. “He’s gone. He won’t hurt you anymore.”
“Hey, get away from my sister!” The angry shout from a porch made us both turn.
“Zach, I-” Krissy started to explain.
I turned at the sound of a shoe on gravel behind us in time to avoid a haymaker to the head. I pushed Krissy behind me for protection. The adrenaline that had finally faded from the previous fight rushed through my bloodstream. I landed a straight jab to the attacker’s mouth, splitting my knuckles open on his teeth. I slugged him in the stomach, then elbowed him in the back when he doubled over.
Two more young men came from either side. A roar filled my ears and at that moment, I wanted to hit someone, anyone, more than I ever had in my life. I had been trained for this, and my body relished the chance to finally lash out.
“Zach, no! Leave him alone!” Krissy yelled, her voice hysterical.
I ducked under another punch, then swung again but barely missed the guy. The other man kicked at my stomach. I blocked the kick with my forearms and grabbed his knee. I took out his other foot with a spin kick and he fell to the ground. A painful grunt escaped his lips.
“You’ll pay for hurting my sister,” Zach growled. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I faced the last guy standing. Zach strode down the porch steps past Krissy.
She grabbed his arm. “He didn’t hurt me. He saved me from Bryce.”