She glanced at me just briefly, a small smile creeping on her face. “You enjoyed that didn’t you?” She teased.
I blinked at her briefly. “Umm, yeah. How could I not?”
“What were you dreaming about anyway?” She wondered seriously.
“You, of course,” I admitted. She looked at me then, evaluating my gaze. I quickly elaborated when she didn’t seem to believe me. “Seriously, I was suddenly back in that interrogation room when you came to get me yesterday. Everything began unfolding exactly how it happened, at least at first. I started to wonder if I actually got sent back in time or something, but my mind was too confused to think clearly. Well…actually, it was your fault. You were a little too distracting for me to think clearly.”
“Oh I was, was I?” She said cheerfully.
I nodded and her grin widened more. I then added. “Basically, you ended up giving me that closet tour someone was talking about.” I didn’t look at Zayden as I said it. I felt awkward about having this conversation in front of them, but I wasn’t sure I would ever get her this open ever again. She had finally let her guard down, so I wanted to cover as many topics as possible while she was willing to talk in order to plug her open door with as many doorstoppers as possible. Potentially even literally if we ever got that far.
Much to my surprise Zayden didn’t scoff at me, instead mumbling “Crazy bastard” under his breath in a fairly tame manner.
I continued. “And then miraculously I woke up to find out it wasn’t a dream. I definitely can’t complain about that.”
Trinity abruptly poked me in the side. “Well, you should just be glad you can’t feel pain because that’s probably what we would have tried first.”
“Hmm…” I said, teasing her.
Her eyes narrowed. “What?”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you enjoyed waking me up even more than I did. You didn’t need to use your tongue.”
Ava abruptly laughed, and Trinity’s mouth fell open. Once she recovered, her eyes narrowed again. “Don’t push your luck buddy!” She then unexpectedly stuck her tongue out at me.
“Sorry,” I said, completely insincere, “You’re just so cute when you’re angry though.”
Zayden had finally had enough and made a fake gagging sound. “Ugh, you two are about to make me vomit.”
“Could be an improvement in the smell of your breath,” Trinity quickly retorted. But then she smiled, causing Zayden to just stare at her for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face too. Trinity was finally starting to open up to them, acting like a normal girl instead a bipolar aloof leader.
Zane changed the subject. “So what are we going to do about this girl?” He asked no one in particular.
“What do you mean?” Ava wondered.
He shrugged in response. “She was on the enemy’s side and now she’s suddenly on ours? It’s going to be really hard to turn my back to her, if you know what I mean.”
“Actually, about that,” I started to say, catching everyone’s attention. “When the General was scolding me earlier for my mishaps yesterday, he mentioned that the hypnotic ability I suffered from briefly had also been used on her. Granted, I’m not sure how, since her invisible barrier can stop bullets and most abilities.”
“Huh,” Zane replied pensively, crossing his arms. “Okay, I guess I can work with that.”
“Although…” I hesitated. “I’m kind of worried about her seeing me again. After all, I nearly terrified her to death, and then I traumatized her by dragging her around by her hair. I doubt she’s going to be thrilled to see me again, which is going to potentially make our job really hard.”
Trinity patted my hand on her knee to get my attention. “You could just wrap her up in your blood and carry her around.”
I looked at her to see if she was serious…she was dead serious. I wasn’t sure why that surprised me at this point. After a second, I grinned at her. “Terrifying indeed.”
She smirked, but then leaned forward, suddenly more intense. “You might really have to do that though. The General said she might not cooperate, and really the only reason they are including her is because it sounds like she can’t turn off her ability. It’s just always on.”
“Plus,” Ava chimed in, “we need to consider the possibility that she might try to commit suicide.”
Trinity nodded in agreement. “We need her alive to get this job done, which means you two,” she waved her hand towards me and Zane, “need to watch her like a hawk. All it would take is one slice in the right place and we fail.”
Zane scoffed. “And of course we’ll take the blame for it if she does commit suicide. Great.”
“Which means, Jake,” Trinity paused until I was looking at her again, “you need to leave your conscience at home. No more mister nice guy from you. This girl has already caused enough trouble. I don’t want to see you two get hurt because you’re too soft on her.”
I sighed and looked at her meaningfully. “I’m really sorry about that.”
She stared at me for a moment, knowing exactly what I was apologizing for. After a few seconds, she looked away and just shrugged.
I paused for a moment and then tentatively spoke. “Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer of course.”
Her red eyes met mine for just a second, before she looked away again. “What?”
“How long?” I whispered.
Her eyes darted towards mine again, before glancing at Zane, Ava, and Zayden. They all had already figured it out, but none of them dared ask her about it. Even I wasn’t sure if I should ask – if I was pushing my luck too far. Once she looked away again, she was quiet for a solid minute as she thought about answering. I was about to ask her if she just wanted to talk about something else when she unexpectedly responded in a whisper. “About five hours…”
Ava gasped and both Zane and Zayden cursed underneath their breath. I had no idea what was the normal length of time when they punished someone, but by the sound of it that was a lot. I suspected that if being tortured by the pain metahuman was as bad as everyone made it seem, then even five minutes might feel like an eternity. Never mind, five hours.
Ava was the one to break the silence. “Why so long?”
Yet again, we weren’t sure if she was going to answer. The minutes began to tick by as a tense silence filled the space between us. Finally, she sighed heavily and then looked up at me. “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Why do you want to know?”
I already knew my answer. “Because if there is something I can do to prevent it from happening again, then I will. But the less I know, the higher the chances I could do it accidentally. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have spared her life had I know the consequences it would have on you.” I then thought about it, wondering if I really would. And then I remembered being impaled. “You should know that’s true – that I would even die to protect you from harm.”
Trinity stared at me for a long time evaluating my expression, searching my eyes, before she finally turned to Ava to answer her question. “It was a warning.”
“A warning for what?” Ava asked quietly.
Trinity hesitated again, glancing at me, before looking back at her. “A warning to not prioritize a person over the mission.” She then looked at me meaningfully, her crimson gaze focusing in on mine. “More specifically, to not place my personal feelings above the mission.” Her eyes then returned to Ava. “They knew exactly why I let the girl live, and it sure as hell wasn’t because I cared about what happened to her.”
I gently rubbed Trinity’s leg, grabbing her attention again. “Trust me when I say that I don’t want you to ever make me a priority again. Do what you have to do. No hard feelings.”
She placed her hand over mine again. “Same goes for you Jake. You need to remember what’s most important while we’re on the field. That might very well mean choosing between me and the mission.”
I didn
’t say anything, looking away.
“Jake. Look at me.”
“Nope.” I said casually.
“Jake, I’m serious. You need to prioritize the mission over me.”
“Okay everyone, new conversation! So Ava, I noticed you were pretty good at basketball. Did you use to be on a team?”
Trinity abruptly grabbed my face in both hands, stealing my gaze from Ava, and forcefully turned my head towards her. She glared at me, her red eyes extra vibrant.
“Wow Trinity,” I exclaimed. “You are really strong. It’s kind of hot.”
“Jake, I’m serious.”
I grinned at her. “I’m serious too. Super-hot. I can only imagine what you could do to me if you really wanted to.”
Trinity unexpectedly blew her breath in my face, as she puffed out a sigh of frustration.
I faked disgust. “Although…Trinity, you definitely need a breath mint.” It was totally a lie. Her breath smelt amazing, but it did the trick.
Trinity abruptly let go of me in shock, a look of horror on her face, causing me to laugh.
“I’m totally kidding.” I exclaimed. “Your breath smells fine.”
“Not funny, Jake.”
“Hey, it got you to let go.” She abruptly tried to go for me again, and I just barely grabbed her wrists in time, causing a silent struggle between us as her hands very slowly crept closer and closer to my face. It was clear that I was almost as strong as her. But not quite. I could sense Zane leaning away, trying to avoid getting in the crossfire in case this turned any more ugly.
I smirked at her again as she finally made contact with my jawline. “So hot! Trinity you’re really turning me on!”
“Ugh!” She finally let go and crossed her arms with a humph.
I was grinning ear to ear. Then I sighed and finally answered by first asking everyone a question. “Okay, seriously guys. Be honest with me. Do you keep secrets with each other?” I looked at each of them as I waited for someone to respond. It was Zane who had the courage to answer me.
“Let me put it this way. We don’t go running around sharing unrequested information. Are we going to lie about something if asked directly? Probably not. But are we going to go behind your back and snitch on you, then no.”
I glanced at Ava and Zayden. Both of them nodded. “Good.” I faced Trinity. “Then to answering your question, let me say this. I really don’t want to get kicked off the team, because it means I’ll never see you again. However, this is literally my second day…well, actually more like my first day. That means I haven’t fully made up my mind about what’s my highest priority.” I looked at all of them again, making sure nothing in their expressions was indicative that I had said something that was too alarming. I then continued. “So, I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to force me to answer your question directly. You did say you didn’t like being lied to, right?” Trinity nodded. “Then please don’t ask me a question that will either force me to lie to you or get me kicked off the team. I’d rather wait and cross that bridge when we get there, if possible.”
I was quiet for a moment, waiting to see if she was going to respond, but then decided to add one last thing. “I will admit that it helps knowing that you’re much more durable than the average person.”
Trinity suddenly nodded, looking exceptionally vulnerable as she responded. “Actually,” she began in a whisper. “I don’t know if I could do it…prioritize the mission…if it wasn’t for the fact that you seem to be exceptionally difficult to kill.”
Everyone looked at her with wide eyes, and her expression suddenly got really serious. Her tone was ice cold as she looked at everyone else. “This conversation never happened. Are we clear?”
“What conversation?” Zane quickly said, staring at the wall next to Ava’s head.
“Yeah,” Ava agreed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t hear anything.”
Zayden just shrugged, and then surprised everyone with an unexpected comment. “You know what? It’s nice to know there’s a normal person inside that icy soul of yours.” He glanced at her briefly before continuing. “But yeah, I don’t know what you’re talking about either.”
“Good,” Trinity finally said, before sighing and leaning back in her seat. “Then let’s go get us a Shield Maiden and rescue this military bastard.”
Chapter 9: Shield Maiden
When we arrived at the airport, I was focused on my sixth sense to scope out the place. I found the girl almost right away, which was odd since I had barely felt her the previous night. Trinity had thought that her shielding ability was blocking my own. However, that clearly wasn’t the case now. I could feel her loud and clear, and what was even more weird is that I was getting some strange vibes from her.
“Guys,” I said urgently as we felt the vehicle pull to a stop. “There’s something not right here. It’s the girl. Something’s off.”
“What do you mean?” Trinity quickly asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know how to explain it. Literally, I can’t put it in words. It’s just…” I looked up at all of them, taking my time to look into each of their eyes. Finally, I sighed. “Follow my lead?”
They all nodded immediately. Trinity voiced their agreement. “Yes. We won’t do anything unless you tell us to.” Everyone nodded again.
I was surprised they trusted me so much already. I guess life and death situations could do that – accelerate trust. I quickly got up and opened the door. The moment we got outside I saw her with my eyes. She was dressed in black military clothing like we would be soon. The military had a couple of duffle bags in the van with black gear for all of us. We would be taking turns changing in the bathroom on the plane.
I looked at the girl and finally really saw her for the first time. I hadn’t paid attention last night. She was looking down at the concrete in front of her. However, while I could see that she really did look young like I remembered, I realized that it was the look of innocence on her face that gave me that impression. And not just that – the vulnerability. She was fairly short – no more than five feet tall – and exceptionally thin, although it was clear she hadn’t been starved while under Weaver’s control.
Her blonde hair blew slightly in the light breeze, catching my attention. It was shoulder length, and I was surprised I had barely noticed it, even now. I guess I didn’t want to think about my hand in that hair, dragging her along the floor like an animal. I then focused in on her face and body language trying to understand what I was sensing from her. Why was it so strong? So powerful?
The soldier at her side nudged her, and she looked up locking her blue eyes with mine. And then I saw it. It was so clear now, as a multitude of emotions crossed her expression – fear, panic, anger, pain, confusion – and she dropped her gaze, her entire body beginning to tremble. Violently tremble. I realized in that moment what I had to do. She was standing on a cliff in her mind, barely hanging onto sanity, and she needed someone to either push her off or pull her back in.
I quickly turned around and walked up to Ava, locking eyes with her as I slid my hand up to her hip. “Trust me?” I asked.
She nodded, and I was surprised again to see that she really did. I then slipped my hand down to one of her blades and slid it out. “I want you to walk in front of me halfway, blocking her view of me. Then, I want you to stop and wait. I’ll do the rest.”
Ava looked down at her dagger in my hand, and then looked back up at me and nodded. She stepped to the side and began walking slowly toward the girl. I locked eyes with Trinity, and she nodded as well. Turning around, I followed after Ava, making sure that she was in between me and the girl.
When Ava stopped, I took a few more steps until I was right behind her, hunched over while testing what I felt from the girl. I suspected she was still looking down, still trembling violently. In a whisper, so quiet even I barely heard myself speak, I gave Ava instructions. “Ask the soldier to back away from her.”
She did, and
the guy looked extremely confused, but complied when he saw her serious expression.
Still in barely a whisper I continued. “Now, ask the girl if she wants to live. Use her name.”
“Elizabeth,” Ava called out, catching the girls attention. “Be honest with me. Do you want to live?”
She mumbled something that neither of us could hear, so Ava told her to speak louder. Finally, in a broken voice, we heard her say yes. The terror and panic in her words was almost painful to listen to. I indicated to Ava that I was ready to take it from there, and I slipped past her, walking at an exceptionally slow pace.
Elizabeth was looking down again, still trembling. After a moment, she noticed my movement and abruptly looked up, her eyes widening in panic. I could sense she wanted to run, but her body was locked down in fear. She saw the knife in my hand, which is what I wanted, and immediately looked straight down and shut her eyes tightly. Her body immediately began trembling even more violently, which I didn’t think possible. I closed the gap between us more quickly, now that her eyes were closed.
She heard me coming. I wasn’t trying to be quiet anymore. The moment I was close to her, I dropped down to my knees and crawled the last few feet. I then sat in front of her, and held the knife up towards her with it lying across both my hands, palms up, bowing my head as far down as I could.
“Take it,” I whispered. I then waited for ten seconds, unsure if she had even opened her eyes. When she didn’t move, other than her shaking, I whispered again slightly louder. More demanding. “Take it.”
I felt movement then, and suddenly her hand was touching it, her fingers barely brushing my palm as she wrapped them around the hilt. The knife slowly lifted out of my hands, and once it wasn’t touching me anymore I lowered them to my lap.
I whispered again. “Even if you try to kill me, I will not harm you. I promise you, I will not hurt you.”
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