Grinning, I picked up a long crisp pale yellow piece of food.
‘Those are French Fries. It’s make out of potato. Try one.’
Putting the food in my mouth, I chewed. The flavour that lined my tongue made me giggle. It was really delicious. Especially compared to the dry food we had to mix with water. Artie had said that we basically got given food that astronauts and army people would have eaten way back when.
‘Try the steak.’ Jason tucked into his meal, seemingly unaware how quickly he chomped it down.
I did as he said, cutting a bit off with a sharp knife. The rich texture as I enjoyed it made me close my eyes. It was unbearably good. Almost too good.
‘Say something,’ Jason whispered after I had finished.
Speaking had been out of the question as my mouth tasted things that were out of my experience.
‘I can’t believe you done this for me.’ I couldn’t. No one had ever gone out of their way to please me. Let alone treat me like a queen.
‘I care about you. A lot.’ Jason got up, offering his hand to me.
Taking it, I allowed him to pull me into his embrace. His lips found mine, caressing gently before I opened my mouth. Our tongues danced as he swayed us. Pulling away, he struggled to get a breath.
‘We can’t have music, it’s too risky.’ He wrapped my arm around his neck, before resting his arms on my waist.
Humming, he moved us slowly in time with his tune. I rested my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. My heart pounded against his chest. No man had ever made me want to dance with him.
‘I want all of you, Hope,’ he whispered in my ear.
It was odd, dancing on the bridge with an extremely handsome man. One that was kind. One that showed me that he wanted me, even though I only had one arm most of the time.
‘I want all of you, too,’ I replied, knowing that I couldn’t pass up the experience being offered to me.
Never in time or space would I have ever imagined that I would give myself for the first time…to a Perfect. But, he was my Perfect. My angel.
Chapter Five
‘Hope, we’ve got to get out of here,’ Purple yelled.
‘It’s her, isn’t it?’ I shouted over my shoulder. ‘It’s Sandor. She’s in there!’
We hid behind a building on Upper Side three days later. Only half an hour before, a bomb had exploded in the government compound. Sirens shrieked as emergency services tried to put out the fire that had taken hold.
Sandor had spoken about doing something huge to shake up the Perfects. Only the day before, she mentioned that she would get revenge soon enough.
‘It’s got to be,’ Purple said just as a police car pulled up in front of us. His bulk blocked my view of the man getting out of the car.
‘Jason’s in there! I’ve got to get in!’ I stepped around him, glaring at the approaching guard. The man held a gun aimed right at us.
‘Hope…’ Purple started.
I swore as the gun fired and hit me in the shoulder.
A pair of arms came around me and lifted me into the air. Purple flew us over the building, avoiding the shots from below. We were getting good at dodging bullets.
‘How bad is it?’ Purple shouted over the noise as we settled on the roof of another building, local to the government compound.
‘It’s just a graze.’ I winced as I pulled my shirt away from the wound.
‘Why don’t you go home? I’ll go get Jason.’ He looked at the blazing fire.
It had been a few months since we had sat around the table at the compound. Jason worked as an administrator in the government. He was our insider.
I had tried my hardest to persuade him to stop working there, but he was absolutely adamant that he wanted to help the angels take over the Perfect government. So that we could all live in harmony.
Progress was still slow. The angels had informed us that the Perfect government was still very much in control. A few of them had managed to infiltrate into their ranks, but there was a long way to go.
On top of this, my new arm was being temperamental. Whenever I was with Jason, it came out, but whenever I was away from him, it was gone. Only having the one arm was really irritating and I wanted to know why it kept happening.
‘What about Sandor?’
Our flatmate had been behind the latest attack on the Perfects. She had been used and abused by them. Now, she taken her revenge. And she would be executed for it.
‘She made her choice,’ Purple said, taking my good arm and shoving my sleeve up. He inspected my war wound and grunted. ‘You’ll live.’
‘She didn’t choose to be abused,’ I replied, yanking my arm out of his grip and pushing him away.
‘What do you suggest, Hope? You know you have to be careful. If the Perfects find out about you…’
‘I know, but…’ I was silenced as another blast rocked the building. My mobile rang as I stared at the new blaze in front of us.
‘Jason? Where are you?’
‘Don’t worry, I’m with the officials. If you’re here, get back to Lower Side. They’re going mad in here. They’ve just sent out an order to kill any Avoidable that’s seen in Upper Side tonight.’ His whispered words rushed from him before the phone went dead.
‘We’ve got to get out of here,’ I said, grabbing the arm that Purple held out to me.
My hand grazed the ridges that jutted out of his smooth tanned skin. He jumped into the air and suddenly we were flying. My wings decided that now would be a good time to pop out. Purple grunted and let go of me as they slapped him in the face. Flying ahead, I lead the way. Everyone below us was so preoccupied with the blast, we managed to get back to Lower Side with no more flying bullets.
‘Hope, look…’ Purple called as we neared our home. Down below, guard’s cars were parked outside. They must have known it was Sandor. Looking through my window, I swore. The guards were in my room, going through my things. Growling, I went to move forward, but Purple grabbed my arm from behind. Flapping my wings, I tried to get away from him. It didn’t work. Heat climbed up my arm where he held me. How dare he hold me back? Those Perfects were touching what little possessions I had. Their grubby hands all over the only things I owned in life. When I hadn’t even done anything to warrant suspicion.
‘Hope, don’t be crazy, they’ll arrest us. They think we’re a part of it.’ Purple pulled harder. His muscle was way too much for me. I couldn’t fight him.
Turning us, Purple dragged me with him as my wings retracted into my back. I knew exactly where he would take me. There was no use fighting, I didn’t want to drop to the ground and die.
The landscape beneath us changed quickly. The concrete and metal buildings disappeared as we climbed higher in the air. The mountain in the distance rose high above the city, an invisible hole in the side of it.
Purple flew us straight through that hole, into the cave I had taken Jason to a few nights ago.
My dragon friend tried to drop me delicately, but I wouldn’t have any of it. I shoved against him as we came in to land and fell hard. Landing on my butt, I grunted.
‘Why did you stop me from going in?’ I snarled, taking my phone out of my pocket.
‘What’s the matter with you?’ Purple stood in front of me. His muscles bulged as he crossed his arms.
‘My stuff…’ I gestured towards nothing. There was a lump in my throat at the thought of the only thing that connected me to my mum being taken away.
‘It’s just stuff, Hope, you’re better off alive.’
Purple walked away and went to get our emergency pack out of its hiding place. I dialled our neighbour to find out what was happening in the building, but they didn’t pick up.
‘They’re probably interrogating them,’ Purple said over his shoulder. He was getting into my head again.
‘Stop doing that,’ I snapped, standing up and redialling.
‘I can’t help it when you think so loudly.’
I turned away from him an
d punched the air when someone answered.
‘If you return, we’ll be kind,’ said the clipped tone of a guard.
Crap! I switched the call off, tempted to throw the phone. My neighbours obviously had my name saved on their caller identification.
‘Okay, so what do we do now?’ I asked, turning back to Purple who now lounged on a sleeping bag. Luckily, our phones couldn’t be traced anymore. The systems that were set in place had been broken a few years ago. The government were too scared to try and repair them.
‘We wait until tonight and go to the meeting.’
I huffed as I went over to the stash and grabbed a blanket. It was cold in the cave. Sitting across from Purple, I ignored him. He acted like he was my father sometimes and it really bugged me.
‘Do you think she’s dead?’ His voice was quiet.
I turned to look at him. His hair flowed around his chiselled face. His square jaw was set and his big dark eyes were hidden from me. The black clothes he wore were dark against the bright sleeping bag. His t-shirt hugged his huge frame. I always wondered why he had small ridges on his arms and back, but none on his front. I tore my eyes away as an image of Jason popped into my head.
‘I don’t know,’ I replied.
We knew that Sandor wasn’t happy. We even knew that she had become involved with a man from the rebels, but we didn’t realise she would go as far as bombing the government compound. Her hatred for those that had hurt her must have run deeper than we were aware.
‘Do you think she managed to kill many of them?’ I asked after a moment of silence.
‘She was extremely intelligent and knew the layout of the whole place…’ Purple’s words drifted off.
‘Revenge is not the answer!’ I thumped the ground with my only arm.
‘We know that, Hope, but not everyone is an angel, remember? Most Avoidables live in the gutter with their dark nature.’
Purple was right. Avoidables had been discriminated against for so long they had actually started to believe they were gruesome. They were just ordinary people, but because some had powers or were not great looking, they were classed as a lesser man. Angels had been coming down to the earth to help since the beginning of time. I knew that they had stayed away for a while as the Perfects took over and separated themselves from Avoidables, but it seemed that we now had a mission to bring the world back into harmony. I needed to be unaware of the mission as I grew up so that I could know what it felt like to be an Avoidable.
I stood up and started to pace. Having only recently found out that I was part angel, I was still trying to figure it all out.
‘So, the plan of action is to go to the meeting tonight and then what?’ I didn’t want to get into the angel discussion right now.
‘Who knows? Maybe we go to sleep…’ Purple ducked as I threw my phone at his handsome head.
The meeting tonight would have a very different topic to what was originally planned.
Chapter Six
‘Okay, people, listen up!’ Artie called.
We were in an old theatre in Lower Side exactly four hours after the bomb had exploded in the compound. The building we stood in had been closed down since the arts had taken a backseat when the Perfects had stolen our most talented actors for their own plays. They made them play the bad guys.
Artie was a tall thin man. His scraggly blonde hair was starting to grey slightly. He had a huge scar down the left side of his face. No one knew where he had got it, but everyone could see that he was a handsome man under it. Artie was a city enforcer, in charge of trying to keep the peace on Lower Side. He had made it his personal mission to try and help the Perfects and Avoidables get along.
The enforcer currently stood on the stage, looking down at those that had gathered. Warriors, allies, and friends. We stood on the floor between chairs, or on them. The old theatre rows had been ripped out a few years ago. The room was technically a hall with a stage at the end. Any pretty furnishings from hundreds of years ago had been destroyed.
Purple had worked as a warrior for Artie for five years. He, or technically we, would track rebels, spy on the Perfect government, and keep the peace on Lower Side. I still hadn’t been allowed to officially join Artie’s ranks, but he tolerated me.
‘Today Sandor and her lover attacked the government. I don’t have much information at the moment, but it seems that the rebels decided to get the Perfects attention. This completely goes against what we’re trying to do. I’ve just been told that they’ve captured Sandor. Instead of executing her instantly, they’ve decided to give her a trial. This is out of character for William and his officials, so we need to be careful. They’re obviously planning something.’
The room burst with noise as people discussed this development. I looked at Purple with raised eyebrows. He shrugged, turning back to our leader.
An attractive Avoidable female stared at my friend. I had to hide my smile. She lightly touched the ridges on his arm, making him jump. He looked down at her and scowled.
‘Sorry, I just…’ Her voice trailed off as he swallowed and started to look uncomfortable. Eventually he just turned his back and ignored her. He had a habit of not being very sociable. Which meant he stayed very single. And miserable.
‘Don’t worry, he’s gay,’ I said, laughing when she gasped and pushed herself away through the crowd. It wasn’t true, but Purple’s rejection had to sting the poor girl.
‘Hope!’ Purple growled at me.
I burst out laughing just as the room fell silent again.
‘Is there something funny?’ Artie said, looking directly at me. Purple was the one smiling now.
‘No, it’s not funny,’ I said. ‘Sandor was my flatmate and I know that what the Perfects did to her was messed up. She deserves a trial. The only problem is there needs to be a few Avoidables on the jury.’
Everyone gasped in horror. They probably thought I was mad. Why the hell would the Perfects let any of us in on the trial?
Artie nodded at me.
‘Excellent. So you’ll volunteer to sit on the jury if we can somehow get in on it?’ he smirked.
The man was an extremely clever one. He knew the government and their ways well. He had started his movement to get Avoidables to recognise that although the Perfect government made out we were dangerous, we weren’t the ones in the wrong. Unfortunately we had to stop acting dangerous to prove it. Then, maybe the Perfects would see that we were not a threat and treat us better.
‘Yes, I think I have a way to get in,’ I said.
The crowd started to mutter between them. Purple took my good arm. I fought the urge to rip it away. A buzzing sensation suddenly hummed in my back. I was about to turn to escape when the leader spoke again.
‘See me after the meeting then,’ Artie said, his gaze questioning as he watched me squirm. I nodded and the meeting resumed.
Spinning away from Purple, I pushed my way through the crowd as Artie spoke over them. I managed to get outside the building just before my wings and arm burst from me. Grunting, I fell over at the force. This was getting weird. It happened at different times and was becoming more powerful.
‘Your wings are getting bigger,’ Purple said.
He helped me up and pulled me into the alleyway next to the theatre. I rubbed the shoulder where my new arm now rested. Even after a couple of months, I wasn’t used to switching from having just one arm to two.
‘Really…?’ I said, trying to put my hands behind me to feel. It didn’t work.
My phone broke out in a tune, making us jump. It was Jason.
‘Hope, are you safe?’
‘Yes, are you?’ I answered. My wings started to hum whenever I heard his voice.
‘Yes, I’m at home now. I dealt with the aftermath of the explosion. They managed to kill ten people, including Nick Thompson.’
I froze when Purple gasped beside me. He could hear Jason. I closed my eyes as Jason told me the names of the other officials.
‘Hope?’
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I swallowed my sorrow before I spoke. ‘We know about Sandor. We need to get some Avoidables on the jury.’
‘It’s already being spoken about. The angels are having a bit of influence on them and they’ve agreed to let two Avoidables in. You can’t be one of them though. You were her flatmate.’ Jason’s voice was gentle.
He waited for my backlash, but it didn’t come. He was right. They were never going to let me go on the jury.
‘I know,’ I sighed.
‘Good. Find two people you trust and tell me their names. I’ll load them into the system and make sure they’re picked. This could be the turning point. Keep your head together.’
My feathers bristled at his fatherly tone. Purple stifled a smile when I looked over at him.
‘Jason…’ I started.
‘Just remember that I know you,’ he laughed.
A door banged and people’s voices brought our attention to the front of the building. My wings instantly retracted and my arm disappeared.
It had been only a few months since Jason had come flying into my life, but he was already important to me.
‘I’ll go and speak to Artie now,’ I said, ‘See you soon.’
‘Hope, remember to read that book I gave you. It could save us.’
‘Yes, okay,’ I replied. ‘Oh, and by the way, we can’t go home. I’ll let you know where we are. Stay safe.’
Clicking the phone off, we went back into the theatre. Artie sat on the side of the stage talking to a few hangers on. He saw us approach and waved them away. They stared at us as they went past.
‘Don’t mind them. They think you might have been involved in the bombing.’
Standing on the stage, he held out a hand to me. I took it and he pulled me onto the platform beside him. Purple climbed up to join us. Not saying anything, Artie turned and walked towards the back of the stage. We followed him through a corridor and into a small room.
In the room there was a big mirror with lights around it. On the mirror there were lots of photos. I went and took a closer look as Artie poured us a drink from a tin bottle. The pictures were of Artie before his scar. He was in all sorts of costumes, acting in lots of different plays. I hid my surprise as I realised that he must have been a Perfect.
Avoidables Page 4