“Whatevs.” Synthia rolled her eyes and walked away while bitching under her breath.
Gaia flicked her finger on Priyam’s arm and followed Synthia. “Wait, I really meant it when I asked about the mark,” she explained. Synthia stopped immediately.
“Nothing, ok!? He found nothing,” she squeaked. “Not one of your stupid planet’s plants can fix this.”
“It’s the same planet as yours,” said Priyam, who was also following them, mostly for the gossip.
“Duh! The name of their planet is Terra not Earth…I mean, hello!?” Synthia tapped her head with her fingers. “How stupid can you be?” she said and Priyam bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing.
“Isn’t Terra, Earth in Latin?” Priyam whispered towards Gaia and she nodded. “Should we tell her?”
“Sure,” Gaia joked. “Try explaining that to her.”
“Never mind, then.”
For a moment Gaia felt bad for Synthia. Her annoying attitude and her constant whining reminded her of one of the orphan kids.
She remembered Miss Brown explaining to her that when people are lonely or scared, they tend to be aggressive in order to protect themselves. She remembered how Miss Brown used to say, ‘Sometimes the worst people are the ones most in need of love.’ Gaia couldn’t help but wonder if it was the case with Synthia. “Want to hang out with us?” Gaia asked Synthia.
Both Synthia and Priyam cringed. “What?!” Priyam screamed at the same time Synthia screamed, “Gross!”
Even though both girls were looking at Gaia like she was a lunatic, she still thought it could be a good idea. “I’m serious. We’re the only ones here. Instead of being all alone in that creepy room, why don’t you come with us?”
Priyam’s jaw fell open. “Ha! Over my dead body,” said Synthia.
Priyam turned to Gaia and lifted her eyebrow. “Can we count that as her permission?” she asked with hope in her eyes. Synthia once again flicked her messy platinum extensions that had almost three inches of brown roots and walked away.
“No.” Gaia refused Priyam’s question and followed Synthia. “Wait Where’s Hunter?”
“The weirdo who likes to sign with his hands?” asked Synthia, as she took out from her back pocket a vanilla scented hand lotion Willow made her and applied some to her arms.
Gaia clenched her fist to prevent her hand from punching Synthia. She knew that besides being ignorant of many things, Synthia had a tendency to criticize everything and she wasn’t going to let that comment get in her head and start a fight. “He doesn’t like to sign, that’s how he talks,” she explained to Synthia thinking it could help her understand he wasn’t doing it just to bother her.
“Then un-mute him!” Synthia whined and dropped the lotion back into her pocket. Gaia’s body shook with anger. “It’s so annoying trying to figure out what he’s pointing at.”
Relax... thought Gaia. Ignore her before you do something stupid.
Gaia managed to calm herself down when she noticed Priyam’s nervous stare. For a second, Gaia thought her skin was on fire or that she’d done something to Synthia without realizing it. But then she saw Priyam’s stare wasn’t on her, but behind her. Gaia turned around and saw Hunter right next to them. He heard... she thought. Her heart clenched with pain. “Hunter!” she called out trying to make sure he was ok, but the kid turned around and left.
Hunter’s expression tormented Gaia. She tried to hold it down but her control over her emotions snapped. “Enough!” she screamed as she pushed Synthia against a tree. “You can mess with us as much as you want but I swear if you talk badly about him ever again, your chest isn’t the only thing that will be burnt,” she said and her left hand, lit in flames, lifted towards Synthia’s face.
“Gaia…” Priyam placed her hand on Gaia’s left arm and lowered it. “Don’t,” she said and Gaia regained consciousness.
Slowly, the fire consumed itself. “You, your needs and your dumb personality are not the universe.” She stopped pushing Synthia against the tree. “The sooner you understand that, the better it will be for you and everyone else,” she said, then ran in the direction Hunter had gone.
Synthia bent over to pick up the lotion. “Did I say something bad?”
“Only every time you talk.”
* * *
As Gaia ran towards Hunter, fear and sadness crawled all over her. After all this time spent together, Gaia had grown to love Hunter like the little brother she never had. She couldn’t stand to see him hurt.
He reminded her so much of herself when she was younger, a strange girl without a past and no way to know who she truly was. She knew the pain behind Hunter’s life. She knew how hard it was to live half a life where you don’t know your own identity. “Hunter.” she screamed again the moment she spotted him walking in the distance.
Gaia ran towards the teen and hugged him. Hunter’s body went rigid as if it was the first time someone had ever hugged him. “Hunter! I’m so sorry.” She took a step back without letting go of his hands. “She’s alone in her way of thinking. None of us think you’re annoying.”
Hunter let go of one Gaia’s hands “She’s not the first,” he signed.
“Not the first?” She guessed the sign. Hunter nodded as he made another sign. “And she won’t be the last?” she asked making him nod with a sad smile.
Gaia placed both of her hands on Hunter’s cheeks. “I’m sorry for those small minded people. I think you are brave, funny and the nicest one of all of us.”
Gaia felt like breaking after seeing Hunter’s lips tremble. He never showed his emotions, especially not like that. He shook his head and bent his arms in front of his chest. Nervously and not knowing if it was his place to do what he wanted to do, he moved his left arm, placed it on her left shoulder and mouthed the word ‘Agnosco.’
Gaia felt butterflies in her stomach; she’d seen this movement before. It was in her dream. Hans placed his hand on Nobu’s shoulder just like Hunter did to hers. She knew this was a symbol of ultimate respect and honor on Terra, and she couldn’t believe Hunter was doing it to her.
Gaia felt happy to return her respect so she mimicked Hunter and smiled. “Agnosco,” she said out loud. Hunter’s face lighted up with happiness she’d never seen on him before. “What do you say we get out of here?” she asked.
As they walked back to the camp, Hunter signaled his ear and his hand, then he made a flame symbol and pointed at Gaia while making an angry face. “Oh!” Gaia blushed. “You heard me get angry?” she asked. Hunter smiled and nodded.
“You threatened her face.” He signed but since Gaia was still learning ASL,he pointed his ear and his hand again. He moved his hand forward and made as if he was burning Synthia’s face. Gaia felt like disappearing from embarrassment. “Yes... I did threaten to burn her face if she messed with you again.”
Excited, Hunter clapped and pointed at his face. “What was her face like?” Gaia guessed, Hunter nodded and she smirked. “Pretty damn funny.”
Hunter stopped walking. “You are like a protective big sister.”
“You’re going to shoot her?” Gaia asked confused by the movement of his hands shaping two guns hitting each other.
Hunter laughed and made the gesture again, taking one of his hands to his chin and down to the other hand but Gaia was clueless so he kneeled down and wrote it in the dirt.
Gaia read the phrase and felt like crying. She finally felt part of a family. “Protective big sister?” she asked and Hunter agreed. “I like how that sounds.” She offered Hunter her hand and he took it.
* * *
Edan walked out of the storage room. “Excellent, I’ll check with Hunter to see how low we are on provisions and then we can decide when to form the search team,” he told the rest as they all walked outside. Edan walked towards the camp but he couldn’t find anyone except Priyam, who was typing on her computer next to the kitchen area. “Where is everyone?” asked Edan.
“Psycho Synthia is in her ca
ve. I did you guys a favor and locked her in there. No thanks needed. And Gaia went after Hunter like ten minutes ago,” she answered without looking away from her computer.
“Went wher-?” Edan asked when he heard Gaia’s voice in the distance. “Never mind,” he walked away towards her voice.
“I never do,” said Priyam to herself as she hacked into a government site looking for tips regarding Him.
Edan heard Gaia as she walked to the camp. “No way!” she said with a happiness Edan wasn’t personally familiar with. Bothered by it, Edan walked faster towards them. “Where are you coming from?” he cringed when he saw Gaia and Hunter holding hands. He felt like punching someone. “What is that?” he pointed at their hands guessing his sudden anger wich Gaia assumed it came from them being reckless enough to wander around the forest.
Gaia and Hunter looked at each other and smiled. “We just understood each other,” said Gaia without letting go of Hunter’s hand.
Edan choked at the stinging pain in his chest. “Understood each other?” His green eyes darkened and opened wide. “What does that mean?”
Enjoying whatever Edan was going through, Gaia smiled mischievously. “Why do you care?” she asked. Edan took a step back as if he was being attacked.
“I… don’t,” he lied.
Ignoring Edan, Gaia brushed her fingers through Hunter’s messy dark hair. “See you later,” she said and walked away.
Once Gaia was out of hearing reach, Edan turned towards Hunter. “What happened?” he asked in a very intense manner.
“Stop getting angry and tell her.” Hunter signed Edan’s crazy expression.
“No,” said Edan.
Hunter smiled at him in disbelief. “Have it your way.” The teen signaled.
“How are we on provisions?” Edan asked, changing the topic.
“Very low.” Hunter moved his hand on a low level.
“I’ll tell the others,” Edan said walking back to the group. His hands clenched into fists. His body’s reaction confused him even more than his irrational feelings. Feeling jealous of Hunter… If only she remembered... he thought.
Edan arrived at the storage room where The Six were still talking amongst themselves. “We need provisions.” Edan leaned down against a tree while the rest looked at them. “According to Hunter, there’s a town a few miles away from here. We can go and gather everything from there.”
“Great!” Priyam jumped with excitement and hi-fived Gaia. “Let’s go, then.”
Edan moved away from the tree and placed his hand in front of Priyam preventing her from passing him. “Exactly who do you think is going?” Edan blurted out.
“We are all going,” said Gaia who was now leaning against Priyam.
“No.” He pushed them softly to the place they were sitting before. “You, Priyam and the Marked One will stay here with Shui and Pink.”
“Ha! The Marked One can stay here. I’m going,” said Gaia. Edan wasn’t buying it. “Look, we need time outside of here! If I don’t have a fun trip to release all my stress, I’m going to go crazy”
“Oh, no.” Edan tilted his head. “I’m absolutely gutted.”
“Well, you better be. Because if I snap I’ll make sure I take it all out on you,” Gaia warned him.
Edan scratched his long Greek nose and shook his head. “The Marked One will stay with Shui and Hunter; the rest will go to the town. Step one foot farther away from me and this will be your last ‘fun trip’.”
“Way to go, Fireball!” cheered Priyam and everyone secretly smiled at the nickname.
“Go get ready,” Edan ordered.
Gaia couldn’t help but think Edan was acting strange when he made Hunter stay in the camp the moment he agreed to let her go with them.
Chapter 16
Time Out
GAIA COULDN’T HELP GETTING EXCITED at the sight of new faces all around her. “People!” She smiled at Priyam, who was smiling back at her.
Any other day, her best friend would’ve been complaining about how crowded the street was, but not that day, their first day outside the camp. “How exciting is this?” she hugged Priyam. She felt free and normal, like a regular teen who didn’t have to train with fire, animals or any other type of craziness. Her only thoughts were on going out with her friends, eating and having fun.
“Remember-” Edan walked at the back of the group like a protective father, “-no matter what, always blend in,” he commanded everyone as if they didn’t already know the plan.
Walking down the sidewalk, Gaia noticed all the girls staring at them. They all kept pointing while whispering and making girly sounds. She looked behind her and saw Donovan with his sleeveless shirt that showed his eagle tattoo, his gorgeous electric blue eyes contrasting with his golden skin and a charm that would disarm any woman in the world; walking next to Donavan was breath-taking Edan, tall and gorgeous with his usual serious face; and Veter with his half-naked muscles covered by something that looked like a Viking’s choice of pants, crazy hair bun and his cigar.
The three men were completely oblivious to their effect on their stalkers. “Yeah, we are totally blending,” Gaia said between her teeth.
Stop it… Don’t care, not today, she scolded herself. Just enjoy the day with your best friend and your new family.
While investigating the town, Gaia and the rest took time to shop for all of the supplies they needed and more. The sun was bright, there was still some trace of snow on the trees, but the day felt warm and perfect to be outside.
Walking towards their next checklist point, the wind blew strong and lifted a girl’s long skirt. “Ahh!” she cried, her panties flashing for a moment before she pulled her skirt down.
Bothered, Willow turned around and punched Veter with all her might. “Could you be any grosser!?”
“What?” Veter laughed as he rubbed his arm where Willow smacked him. “You can’t prove it was me.”
“Damn childish…” she hissed and walked towards Edan.
For some unknown reason, Veter and the guys slowed down their pace. “Hey...” Veter whispered in order to test if she was still listening. “…Blondie,” he said a little louder but she didn’t react to it. He then turned to Donovan and Floyd. “Who said French cut panties?”
“Yes!” Donovan clapped and extended his hands towards his friends. “Pay up, losers.”
Floyd took out a bunch of crumpled bills from his back pocket and gave them unwillingly to Donovan. “That wasn’t fair.”
“How was that not fair?” Donovan said as he snatched Floyd’s and Veter’s money.
“You’re Donovan. Knowing women’s undies is like a gift to you,” he said and stopped walking as soon as he noticed Gaia looking at them.
Veter turned towards the direction of whatever Floyd was looking at and froze. “Moja Princeza!”
The three guys smiled at Gaia like a bunch of deer caught in the headlights which made Gaia grin. “At ease, gentlemen; I won’t tell it was you.”
Veter bowed down and took his cigar off his mouth. “Appreciate.”
Still embarrassed at being caught in the act, the guys walked in silence while Donovan, out in the open and not caring one bit, counted his new bills. “French cut?” asked Gaia with a hint of amusement and a lot of curiosity. “Seriously? How do you guys know their names?”
Veter took a big puff of his cigar and stared at Gaia in an inquisitive way. “How do you know their names?”
“What do you mean how? I wear them.”
“Well… We enjoy them,” added Donovan with a radiant smile to which Floyd was childish enough to high-five for.
Edan, who managed to hear the last part of their talk walked towards the laughing group. “What do you enjoy?” he asked. Everyone, including Gaia, froze without an answer. They all knew Edan was terribly stuck up and this was definitely not a topic to discuss with him. Willow, seeing this as an opportunity to mess with Veter, leaned against Edan and winked at Veter.
“Yes guys, w
hat do you enjoy?” she asked with a victorious smirk on her face.
“Food, Kapetan,” blurted out Veter, gladly returning the same smile to Willow, who much to Gaia’s surprise, gave a small nod at how well Veter deviated her attack.
“Yes,” Gaia said taking Edan by the shoulders and turning him around to face a cottage-like family restaurant. “We were thinking about going to eat in there,” she said without letting go of his shoulders.
Keeping his body still, Edan moved his face towards Gaia. “You are always eating,” he said.
“You can wait outside.” She patted his back and walked toward the restaurant with the rest following.
The restaurant was smaller than it looked from the outside. It was made of mostly wood and it had little white twinkle lights everywhere. The smell of crunchy bacon and delicious french-fries filled the air, making Gaia actually hungry. A tall hostess with a long sharp nose, walked to her with a smile so wide and weirdly stretched that Priyam couldn’t help but chuckle.
Noticing the hostess was now glaring at Priyam, Gaia stepped between them and forced a smile of her own. “Table for seven,” she said, elbowing Priyam to knock it off.
“I’m sorry, we only have two separate tables of fo-fo-” She stuttered the moment she saw the guys walking in. “Of four, and a table for two,” she said as she stretched her pose and moved one of her spidery long legs forward.
“We’ll take that last one.” Gaia pushed Priyam to the only empty table at the other side of the restaurant, but Edan stopped her by grabbing her wrist. Gaia gave a small slap to his hand, something the hostess and Willow clearly resented. “You’ll be right there,” she said and pointed at another empty table a few feet from hers. She made it sound like she was complaining to an overprotective parent.
“Try not to choke to death,” he said, letting go of her hand and following the hostess.
“I’ll try.”
Seasons Within Box Set Page 17