“Are you going to take me off of this?” I ask calmly.
She narrows her eyes. “No,” she answers.
I roll my eyes and begin to climb over the gate. Believe me, I want to have a assignment, everyone does – and I hate being an outsider. It would be extremely easier and less stressful, though, if Jo were to assign me to a guy, or a kid, so I don’t have to worry about having any attachments.
“William,” she snaps.
I turn around when I’m on the other side, “what?”
“This time,” she growls, “I will take care of this. Next time you endanger our people, you won’t like what I’d have to say.”
Without wasting another second, I turn on my heel and hustle into the warehouse. I can practically feel Jo’s intense stare piercing into the back of my head. As soon as I walk in younger kids wanting to know what happened out in the streets bombard me with questions.
I raise an eyebrow and hear one of the kids say that we are on TV. I roll my eyes and sigh. Of course the C.T.O. would want the world to be afraid. Even though there really isn’t anything to be afraid of. That is what the world doesn’t understand. We are people. No matter what happens to us, we are still people. Besides, all we want is to go back to our normal lives. Most of us have gotten used to our powers, and won’t ever want to give them up. I mean I wouldn’t give them up. I take these as gifts and I think it would be easy to keep up a normal life with them at our fingertips. But seriously, all of these people buried their heads in the ground as soon as the government became over obsessive with power.
I walk away from the buzzing crowd and see Alice sitting at the dining table alone with a plate that has a small amount of food in front of her. She moves the food around on her plate with a thoughtful look on her face. Her hair is tied into a messy bun with strands falling out over her face.
I walk over to her and sit across from her. She doesn’t look up at me. I don’t think she knows I am even here. “How are you feeling?” I ask.
She jumps in surprise and glares at me. “Why would you care?” She asks with a growl.
I raise my arms and say, “Just trying to communicate.”
Alice sets her fork down and sighs. She keeps her head down and her back slouched as she stares at the chicken on the white plate.
“You gonna to eat?” I ask.
She shakes her head and replies, “Not hungry.”
I chuckle slightly and say, “If you are trying to starve yourself or lose weight thenyou’re going tohave to try harder.”
Alice slams her fork down on the table and glares at me. “William, you are a piteously detestable plebeian and a wearisome, congenitally clueless, plague upon all humanity,” She snarls. “Now if you wouldn’t mind, please withdraw your presence from me,” She adds quietly.
I stare at her in shock. I know only what two of those words mean. I look away from her and think about how to respond. If she wants to be smart about it, then I shall teach her a lesson. “You wanna play the intelligent card? Fine. Alice, you’re an incalculably uncouth narcissist and a hopeless bloodcurdling malfunctioning little…twerp.”
She stares at me in anger then looks away. She keeps her face fully turned away from mine. Suddenly, her shoulders start to shake rapidly. I suck in a deep breath; did I really just make her cry?
Then she turns herself back to me, but instead of crying she is laughing so hard that there are tears slowly falling down her cheeks. Alice bangs her fists against the table and I jump in shock. I stare in confusion as she wipes away the tears and smiles at me.
I raise an eyebrow and ask quietly, “Why were you laughing?”
She cocks her head and says, “Well why I wouldn’t be?”
I pull my head back a bit from her and cross my arms over my chest, “I think I just insulted you very harshly, yet you sit and laugh so hard I’m afraid you’re going toshit your pants.”
“What you said was very insulting, but I was laughing because one: it took you a minute to think of it and two: the way you say big words is funny. But I have got to admit that you took me by surprise,” She explains.
I nod slowly and let silence spread in between us. I look away from her face and say, “If you want to see your brother ever again you’re going to need to know how to fight.”
“I’m really not in the mood to hear another one of these speeches,” Alice snorts.
I chuckle, “If you really think that ‘not being in the mood’ is going to save your brother from the clutches of the most terrible people in the government and most likely the world then you’re seriously wrong. And if you want to die, then by all means, go ahead and fight them with your attitude.”
She gives me a long hard stare and sighs. “Who exactly has my brother?”
“The Chemi-Terrorist Order. They are very deadly when a weapon lies in their hands. Don’t underestimate their tiny brains and big guns,” I explain.
She rolls her eyes at my answer. “I know who they are. But why would they want Eric? He is perfectly normal.”
“Just look at you. Clearly neither one of you is normal,” I snort.
Alice suddenly stands up from her seat and looks down at the ground. “You’re great at cheering someone up,” She mumbles.
She turns to walk away, but glances over her shoulder to say, “You might like all of this. Being different and having these ‘gifts’, but I have been the outcast for all of my life and Eric has been the only person to cheer me up when it happens. Obtaining these powers hasn’t helped me at all, so you could at least be a bit more sentimental.”
I sigh and jump upwards. She starts to walk away, but I quickly move in front of her. “Don’t you want to know what happened outside?” I ask.
She takes a step back awkwardly. “Is it exciting enough to cheer me up?” she asks.
“Uh…I went outside when I wasn’t supposed to so I got in a fight with C.T.O., but Jo had a group out patrolling at the perfect timing,” I explained.
Suddenly, Alice’s eyes fill with concern. “You’re bleeding,” she says quietly, nodding at my jaw.
I raise my hand to my jaw, and when I pull away black burning blood slips down my finger. “Oh, I forgot about this,” I say plainly. It’s funny how my back absorbed the bullet like no big deal but this cut… it’s small yet bleeding.
Alice rolls her eyes and leans forward to investigate the cut. She begins to mumble things inaudibly. I hear a, “not deep”, and then, “infection.” She then grabs my chin roughly and moves back to the table, so I sit down.
“Alice, stop. I don’t need caring from you,” I snap. She doesn’t let go.
“Don’t be stupid. It might not be deep, but it can still easily get infested,” She says.
I watch her face as she stays concentrated and cleans my cut. “How can you be so sure?” I ask.
Alice glances at my eyes and says, “When I became eligible I went to the Bronx High School of Science. Eric and…we…” her voice trails off. After a moment of silence she removes her hands from my face and sets the napkin on the table. “We both just recently got accepted to Harvard. I had just started packing…then this happened.”
I look down at the ground and shuffled my feet. “Thanks for the cleanup,” I mutter. “And I’m sorry about Harvard. You’re really lucky to have gotten accepted.”
She nods and says quietly, “I think I would’ve been even luckier if I actually got to go.” After a moment of silence she asks, “Have you been accepted to any schools?”
I stare at my hands intently and answer hesitantly, “Yes. I… I sent an résumé to Princeton University about a month ago. I knew that I wasn’t going to go, but I was curious to see if I was smart enough.”
Alice chuckles, “Princeton University? Really? I wouldn’t care about being like this, I would still go.”
“And have to worry about working out a plan to survive the monthly Terrorist Checks? Or even always covering up the marks?” I say loudly. After a moment, I continue, “Alice, the
risks are too high. I didn’t want to risk my comfort or just my body itself to the C.T.O.”
She reaches out and pats my hand. I retract my hand slightly so she pulls away. “How long have you been here?” She asks.
“A year or two maybe,” I answer quickly.
“I wanted to thank you,” she says quietly, “and apologize for my rude behavior. You’re only trying to help me.”
I smile back at her and clear my throat, “You’ve got to start training tomorrow.”
Alice raises an eyebrow and says, “Why tomorrow? Can I at least know what I am going to be doing?”
I look towards Chuck who is running around with the kids. “You’ll be training with me,” I say.
She starts to grin and then chuckles, “With you? What shall you train me to do exactly?”
I smirk and say, “Aim, control, strength. Things like that.”
Alice giggles and says, “I can’t wait.”
I don’t reply. We sit there in silence and Alice finally finishes eating. When she’s done she stares forward at the kids laughing and playing with Chuck. A small smile is on her lips and I can’t help but stare. I keep on glancing at her with much curiosity. She is effortlessly beautiful.
Her deep, emerald eyes take over my mind and wrap itself around my heart. As she occasionally looks towards me, I long for that single moment where she looks back at me as well. And for that split second of pure bliss and perfected joy, our eyes would meet, and what I perceive in my mind is a mutual attraction becomes stronger with each and every passing moment we share our gaze.
Alice suddenly turns her head and looks at me her mossy green eyes stare at me, a defiant glint in them. As I stare gently at her she blushes, a stream of red appearing on each of her cheeks. I smile and look down at her rosy red lips… “Why are you staring at me?” She asks quietly.
I pull my eyes away sheepishly and stand up abruptly. “Sorry, nothing. You should get some sleep. Training starts tomorrow,” I say. I turn away from her before she can say anything more. I storm away from her and towards my room. I need to stop thinking of her like this.
I sprint to my room and slam the door. Go to sleep, Will. Forget about her. Sadly, you can only try so much.
I will have to resist her charm tomorrow. And it will be difficult because we will train together. There will be slight body contact at the very least.
I can feel her flame absorbing me, and it will burn me if I don’t resist. I have to resist.
How can I feel like this after what happened to May? It’s just wrong.
May… oh how beautiful she was… I remember putting my palm on her cheek and brushing her hair with the other hand. Her eyes, I remember those so well, brown depths, the deepest and the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. And they will forever be the most beautiful.
I remember holding her hands, tight yet gentle; the most perfect feeling in the world.
And her whisper… oh, her whisper…
I still remember the happiest moment of my life, and when I do, I see how she puts her lips on my ear and, quietly as the warm summer breeze in high noon, whispers, “I love you William… and there will be nobody to whom I will feel this ever again…”
I see as she pulls away from me… Alice? This can’t be…
My mind is messing with me… can’t be real…
I suddenly wake up with my body unable to move yet so tense, as if I was stretching every muscle of mine. I can only breathe and only move my eyes. Why can’t I move? What’s going on?!
I see Alice coming into my room. I want to say her name out loud, but I can’t, my body won’t obey.
She sits next to me then pulls a dagger out from behind her. It gleams dangerously at me. She says, “you impudent bastard.”
I feel cold sweat all over my body. I close my eyes. Is this how it all ends?
I suddenly regain the control of my body and start grabbing the air around me. It’s empty. I open my eyes to see my room empty and clean, just like it was before.
Damn. I must be hallucinating. I calm down, close my eyes and fall back asleep.
The Assassin
I fall to ground with oomph. I am getting beat up by Will. We are having a trainingsession, and I am numb and sore. I can barely even stand up straight after he would knock me down. I don’t even know why I said yes to this bull crap! Wait, did I even say yes?
A couple of weeks have passed since our last real and awkward conversation. The one after he came back from going outside in daylight. We don’t talk a lot anymore since then, it just becomes incredibly uncomfortable after a while. Besides, it’s almost as if Will has become my teacher, and that would just be odd.
After our nice little conversation from that night, it took a while to go to sleep. While I would be watching the kids play, I had felt his blue eyes watch me. I became uncomfortable after a while and was about to give him a snarky remark when my eyes met his. I tried so much to look away but his eyes held onto mine. I was holding my breath, and when he glanced down towards my lips I started to freak out. Then, I had mustered the breath to speak. Hoping that it would come out loud and not flustered, my voice was wimpy and very breathy. He stormed off, and I felt sad. He just sitting next to me made me feel safe. It is weird, but his presence became a usual.
Training has turned out to be more difficult than I expected it to be. Will really pushes me to the limit of skipping food, and just passing out. I’ve been forcing myself to keep thinking that this will help me get Eric, but it’s just hard to believe sometimes.
In the matter of weeks, my arms, legs, and chest are filled with white and pink scars. It’s not as cool as people might think. At least the fire burning in my body has now become a new instinct for me, it feels more normal too. I’m not saying I love the idea of fire erupting from my hands, but I don’t have to hate myself about it anymore.
At the moment, Will and I are over by the target mannequins training. I’m trying to hit him with flaming balls of fire, which might sound easy, but it’s worse than it sounds. He jumps around like a grasshopper without stopping, and it’s incredibly annoying.
“Come on, princess! You can do better than that!” Will shouts at me.
“I’m trying! Jesus, can we start at like a lower level or something? Please!” I whine.
“You want Eric don’t you?” He yells. I just nod. “Then we are starting at a higher level! Besides, this isn’t some stupid TV show! There are no such things as levels, princess!”
I roll my eyes. Most of the other Conduits are watching, and I can hear them murmuring things like, “Will never helps anyone!” Or, “Will has changed, don’t you think?” The one that makes me really angry is, “She is HOT!!” or, “Is Will helping her just to get her in bed?”
“PAY ATTENTION!” Will yells at me when he sends a fire ball at me that almost hits me in the calf.
“Sorry, PRINCESS, but I can’t when EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS BUILDING WON’T SHUT UP!” I yell, turning to all of the watching people. As soon as I lay my dagger eyes on them, they all scatter. I am on edge this morning from barely sleeping last night.
Two weeks have passed since Will first brought me here. Most people just look at me and don’t say anything.The people here know each other well, apparently. Will told me that lots of the people here are scientists who got infected. Others, like Will, have the blood of a Conduit. He pesters me over and over trying to tell me that my parents were Conduits. It is impossible.
“Will, I am taking a break. Pushing me to the limit isn’t going to help at all,” I shake my hands and the fire disperses, leaving smoke curling out of my fingertips. I decide I need some fresh air, so I turn to exit the warehouse.
I really need to see the sun. It has been a couple of days since I have been outside. I am getting tired of these people being so close to me and only seeing the sun through tiny oval windows is driving me insane.
I guess you can say that I am like superman because his power comes from the sun. Geeky, I know.
“Alice, you know what I said about going outside. Especially in broad daylight,” Will says sternly. Right now, I really just want to punch him.
“It’s ok. I have my gun,” I just shrug and walk towards the door. He really thinks that I cannot protect myself!
“Alice, don’t you dare open that door!” He yells. I turn my head slightly to see him pointing at me and his is face turning red by the second. Why the hell is he so angry all of a sudden?
I stop and turn my whole body to face him. “I can do what I want. You really think that all of this training has taught me nothing?”
He crosses his arms over his chest and says, “Training has been slow. You need more practice.” Will takes a few steps to me and continues, “You’re weak. Lousy. Your aim is terrible, and you never hit the gold ring. You suck at keeping control and having patience. You’re pathetic when it comes to lying and atrocious at keeping your petty emotions at bay. I push you to the limit because if I don’t, you and brother will die.”
I stay silent. I’ve been pushing myself, trying as hard as I can to keep up with him. This has never happened to me before, how can he expect for me to suddenly be an expert? Since he first met me, he hasn’t said anything about Eric dying – he knows that I’m extremely sensitive when it comes to that subject.
Will points at the people training behind us. “These people work their asses off and they don’t give up so easily like you, princess. Do you really think you’re going to get anywhere with this attitude?” He says slowly.
I clench my fists and glare at him. Trying to not cry like a baby, I snarl, “I think that you were pushed to your limit and you gave up. You lost something and you want someone else to feel the same way that you did.”
Will ignores what I say and growls, “Don’t. Go. Outside. And that’s an order.”
“And since when do I take orders from you?” I ask loudly while crossing my arms over my chest.
Will takes a few steps to me, and spits out, “Because you are below me. You have no idea how to live in a world like this now that you’re free from The Mist. Someone has to keep order and help the people like you stay alive.”
Alice: The Leader Page 7