Avoidables

by Rachel Medhurst

  ‘Very good,’ Purple growled, going forward and picking the man and his chair up.

  He hoisted him in the air and hauled him back to the stage. The rebel screamed in frustration. I wondered how long it had taken him to get that far. He must had fallen off the stage and somehow got back up. Artie came out from the back. His eyes blinked as he stopped to rub the sleep away.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked, standing still as he watched Purple tie the rebels chair to the stage. There was no way he could escape now.

  ‘Good job we just came back. He was escaping,’ Purple huffed. He was not happy.

  I walked slowly up to the stage, but stayed on the floor. My eyes grew wide as Jason came out from the back of the stage. He was limping, but on his feet.

  ‘Hope, I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve got to go back, they’re getting suspicious. I didn’t want to leave without…’ He stopped when he realised everyone watched him.

  I spun away from the stage and walked back up the aisle, towards the front door. He followed me. I couldn’t believe how quickly he could walk now. He had only been shot a few days ago.

  ‘Hope, please…’ He took my cast in his hand and spun me towards him.

  ‘I’ve read the book. It’s fine. You need to get on with your life as it was planned.’ I didn’t know what else to say. The journal was so intimate. It was so trusting and understanding. A small part of me could feel it sitting inside of me. But, there was a huge part of me that was too human to be okay with him marrying another woman.

  ‘I don’t want to,’ he whispered.

  He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. His heart beat against my head where it rests on his chest. It resonated so strongly in me. Pulling my hair back gently, he looked down into my eyes. I blinked as I saw it for the first time. His soul. He was showing me his soul. Intensity started to make my body shake. The love that flowed from him and into me made my head spin. He bent and rested his forehead against mine. Our gaze was locked into place as his warm breath mingled with mine.

  ‘I love you, Hope. You’re the reason I’m alive. I don’t want any other women. You’re the one for me. I feel you.’ He placed his hand over my heart and it melted.

  A tear escaped my eye as a familiar feeling that I had never felt in this lifetime overwhelmed me. He caught me, lifting me into his arms as my knees buckled. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he walked us into the shadows by the entrance. Pressing me against the wall, he stood still. The shadows tried to swallow the light in his eyes, but they were glowing and I could see them clearly.

  ‘I love you too,’ I replied.

  It was true. The journal had opened up a part of my heart that I never knew existed. As he lowered his mouth to mine and pulled my lower lip into his mouth, I vowed to complete our mission. If we were separated, that was fine. It wasn’t just about me and my human needs. This was about love and bringing more of it to the world. The earth wouldn’t survive if we didn’t complete our mission. We needed to find a way to unite Avoidables and Perfects.

  Jason kissed me hard before trailing his lips down my neck, pulling my hair back so my throat was exposed.

  ‘We can still hear you. Can you go and get a room?’ Purple called. His tone was tight.

  Heat rushed up my neck. Jason laughed and opened the door, taking me outside to the alley.

  ‘Are you really going to make love to me in the alley?’ I asked as he pressed me against the wall again. My chest squeezed when he looked me straight in the eye.

  ‘When I make love to you, you consume me so much, I don’t know where I am.’ He breathed into my ear, making me shudder. He was right, that’s exactly what happened to me too. ‘Please, Hope, let me take you to that place?’ His breathing was laboured. My own lungs tried to get more air into them.

  ‘Yes, please,’ I sighed, forgetting about life and letting Jason take me to a place of bliss.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘Who came up with the idea?’ Artie said.

  He was sitting in front of the rebel on the stage later that afternoon. The man had shaved hair, similar to Artie’s colouring. He was small and had a huge, hooked nose.

  ‘Why should I tell you anything?’ he drawled, leaning back in his chair.

  We had loosened his ties as we questioned him. Purple stood to the side of Artie and I was on a chair, off the stage.

  ‘Because we want to help Sandor,’ Artie said.

  The man smiled slightly. From down where I was, it looked like a soft expression had come over his face. Maybe he was in love with our flatmate.

  ‘Tell us your name.’ Purple scratched the stubble on his chin.

  I had always thought stubble suited Purple. It made him look even more intimidating. He reminded me of the men I had read about in history books. They were brutal and rough, but loyal to their families and friends. Not that Purple was so tough; he had the softest heart I knew.

  ‘My name is Leon,’ the man replied.

  ‘Thank you for telling us your name. Please tell us who came up with the idea to bomb the compound?’ Artie asked.

  ‘Again, why should I tell you anything? You think that Sandor means anything to me? She was a tool in our rebellion. Did you know that my parents are Perfects? As I grew up, they noticed that my nose was big, so they brought me over here and basically dumped me.’

  I swallowed hard. It was what happened with most Avoidables. My mother had risked being caught as a Perfect living on Lower Side so that she could be with me. I realised that now. However most of the Perfects were able to dump their children as if they meant nothing to them. This left a huge amount of scarred adults. No wonder we were all so messed up.

  ‘They didn’t even bother with the test.’

  ‘Oh, woe is you,’ Purple grumbled.

  He stepped forward and stamped on Leon’s foot with his huge leather boot. Leon sucked in his breath but didn’t make a sound. This man was used to pain. Purple went to do it again, but I jumped up.

  ‘Wait!’ I came forward and clambered up onto the stage.

  I always had my new arm out whenever we were in the theatre, but I had to hide it in front of the rebel. Purple stepped back and looked at me. His eyebrows rose as I came up to them. Artie rubbed a hand over his face.

  ‘This is why we don’t have females around when we question people, Purple,’ Artie sighed.

  ‘You think I can control her?’ Purple shrugged.

  A thud on the theatre door made us spin around. Jason was out back. I hoped he would stay there. The doors burst open. All three of us stiffened. Purple moved to stand in front of me, always my protector.

  Artie jumped off the stage but stopped when we saw who walked down the aisle. John, his brother.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Artie said.

  The man went still when we saw us. Sighing, I stepped out from behind Purple.

  ‘You must be her,’ the man spat, pointing at me.

  My heartbeat increased when his eyes narrowed on me.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Artie moved towards John.

  His brother lifted his gun and levelled it at me. My eyelids stretched as Purple stepped in front of me again.

  ‘Move...or I will shoot you!’

  ‘Dad, don’t even think about it,’ Jason shouted from behind us. He had obviously heard his father’s voice.

  ‘No, it should be you that I shoot!’ The gun swung to aim at his son.

  ‘What is your problem, John?’ Artie stepped towards the man.

  ‘My problem is that my son, who is engaged to one of the highest government official’s daughter, has been seen fooling around with an Avoidable with one arm.’

  I gasped as Purple sucked in his breath. My best friend still stood in front of me. We both looked over at Jason. He wouldn’t look at us, his eyes stayed focused on his father.

  ‘You need to leave,’ he said.

  ‘That’s why I’m here,’ John replied, lowering the gun. ‘You’re coming with me.’ />
  Jason didn’t look towards me. His chest swelled as he took a deep breath. ‘Know that I’m only coming with you to prevent a scene.’

  John shrugged, not caring about his son’s reasons. He obviously just wanted to get him back to Upper Side.

  My Perfect boyfriend walked past Artie. He squeezed his shoulder as he went. Purple reached back to hold my hand. I went to step forward, but he squeezed my fingers tight. I watched as Jason jumped off the stage and joined his father. It would cause too much hassle if either of us tried to defy John. He was a Perfect, not an angel. He would not have his son involved with an Avoidable.

  ‘Sorry, Artie, but I had to get my son out of here.’ The man nodded and turned.

  They both started to walk away. I had to physically bite my lip to stop myself from crying out for him. It was the way it had to be. We had signed up for this, and if I loved him, I had to let him go.

  ‘John, you may be a Perfect, but one day you’ll see, that no one is perfect, including you.’ Artie’s tone was bitter. I was surprised that he said what he did. Usually Avoidables were punished for insulting Perfects.

  ‘Don’t you think I know that, brother?’ John hissed, stopping dead still, but not turning around.

  ‘Funny way of showing it, brother,’ Artie spat the last word and spun on his heel.

  He jumped onto the stage and went out the back. Jason and his father, John, carried on down the aisle and out the theatre doors. They didn’t look back once as the door slammed shut behind them.

  ‘You okay?’ Purple turned to me.

  I nodded. I couldn’t trust myself to speak.

  ‘Well, that was a great show. You consort with Perfects and expect me to tell you about Sandor. Her death will be on your hands and you won’t even care.’ Leon’s sneer was like a kick in my gut. He was right. It certainly looked like we were working with them.

  I had to get out of there. I squeezed Purple’s hand before I pulled away.

  ‘Hope…’ he started.

  ‘I just need a moment.’ I jumped off the stage, ran down the aisle and out into the sunlight. The guard car drove down the road, away from me. I fought the urge to run after it. Instead, I turned and started to walk to a place that I had not been for many years.

  My mother and I had lived in a high-rise building for ten years. It only took ten minutes to get to it, but once I arrived, I stood and stared at the place I had called home.

  There had been no test for me. The minute I was born with just one arm, my mother had escaped to Lower Side.

  ‘I’ve not seen you around here for a while,’ a voice said behind me.

  I turned to see a woman standing in the shadows of the alley next to the building. She was a similar age to me, staring up at my former home.

  The buildings were grey and made from cheap metal and concrete. I squinted at the woman as she stepped forward.

  ‘Don’t you recognise me?’ she asked, laughing.

  I knew that laugh. I hadn’t heard it since the day my mother had…

  ‘You’re looking good, Hope. You’ve aged well.’

  The girl had been our next-door neighbour. We had played together in the hallways between the rooms. She had laughed a lot when we were young. I had always found it infectious. Her long blonde hair was braided, although matted in places. Her blue eyes were haunted, her figure very skinny.

  ‘Nicole?’

  She nodded and smiled at me, revealing bright white teeth. I was surprised how clean they were considering the rest of her.

  ‘It’s been a while.’ I stepped towards her.

  ‘You broke your arm,’ she said.

  The smile still hovered on her lips. I wondered if she was stable.

  ‘Yes, I was…’ I let my words trail off as a beast of a man came out of the shadows behind her.

  He had dirty blonde hair that fell down his back in one thick braid. Dirt was smudged on his fair skin and stubble grazed his chin. His blue eyes were striking. The corner of his lip lifted in a sexy grin as his gaze met mine. Nicole glanced behind her and let that gorgeous laugh bubble out of her again.

  ‘Don’t worry about him, that’s just Noland.’ She threaded her arm through his.

  He wore the same style clothes as Purple. My gaze trailed his chest, travelling over the contours of muscles that showed through his t-shirt. I looked him up and down, I couldn’t help it.

  When our gaze met again, heat rushed onto my cheeks. I had just openly appraised his body, looking for what made him an Avoidable. Probably giving him the impression that I was attracted to him. To be honest, if he had a wash, he would easily get away with being a Perfect.

  ‘What are you looking for, exactly?’ he purred, taking his arm away from Nicole.

  His voice was the deepest I had ever heard. It sent vibrations down my spine and made me swallow.

  He was pure male. I couldn’t tear my gaze away. He was no longer smiling. He was assessing me the same way I was him.

  ‘Nothing,’ I replied, lifting my chin slightly and looking straight into his eyes.

  That quirk lifted the corner of his lip again. I struggled to stare him down.

  ‘Hope used to live here,’ Nicole said, smiling up at Nicole.

  He didn’t pull his gaze away from mine to look at her. In fact, he had ignored her the whole time. My chest squeezed for the girl. She was attractive. Her skin was marred by burn marks. She had been in a fire when she was a baby, her Avoidable parents not taking much notice of her.

  ‘And, where do you live now?’ That drawl made me shiver again. I blinked, ripping my gaze away from him.

  ‘Not far. I’ve got to go. Nicole, it was good seeing you again.’ I smiled at my old friend as I turned to go.

  ‘Hope,’ Noland called, ‘tell Artie that I’m back and I want to help.’

  I swung my head towards him. He grinned, his eyes grey sparkling. He had caught me off guard and he knew it. Nodding, I turned and walked away from the most handsome man I ever seen. The funny thing was, he was an Avoidable.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘Who’s Noland?’ I asked Purple.

  He sat on a patch of dirty ground outside the theatre, resting against the brick wall. The building was one of the only ones made from bricks.

  ‘One of Artie’s old warriors,’ he replied, keeping his eyes closed.

  ‘Well, he’s back.’ I sunk to the ground next to him, adopting his pose. The sun was warm on my face as the tension drained away from me.

  ‘What?’

  I heard Purple’s head move. He grabbed my cast, making me yelp in pain.

  ‘Sorry, but he’s been gone a while. We didn’t think he’d be back.’ Purple’s tone made me open my eyes and look at him. He ran a hand through his loose hair and glanced at me sideways.

  ‘That’ll be why you have such a dreamy look in your eye.’

  I laughed and he joined in. There was no denying it. I was attracted to the hulking warrior with dirty blonde hair, pale skin and a voice deep enough to drill a hole into my heart. Something about his darkness resonated with me.

  ‘He’s no Jason, that’s for certain.’ I cringed at the bitter tone in my voice.

  ‘No, he’s much worse than Jason. Don’t even think about getting involved.’ He took my hand gently and leant his head back against the wall.

  ‘Don’t you have work to do?’ Artie’s voice floated over to us from the open doorway of the theatre.

  ‘Okay, okay,’ Purple said, standing.

  I got up and pushed my straggly hair back out of my eyes. My mouth screwed up as I encountered my greasy locks.

  ‘And you met Noland looking like that?’ Purple smirked.

  I couldn’t even punch him. My broken arm was still sore, but it was getting better as the hours went by. I wondered if being an angel meant I healed quicker.

  I glanced at Artie. He had frozen still, staring at Purple.

  ‘I saw him, Artie.’ I assumed his shock was because Noland was mentioned. ‘He told m
e to tell you he was back and wanted to help.’

  Artie nodded once and went inside.

  ‘What is it with everyone knowing everyone else and me not knowing anyone?’

  Purple raised his eyebrows at me. ‘If you didn’t keep sneaking off with lover boy for the last couple of months, you’d be more focused on what was going on. You’ve completely missed the bigger picture.’ Purple almost spat the words at me.

  I frowned at his sudden change in mood. ‘Well, why don’t you enlighten me? You’re supposed to be my boss.’

  We stood in the street. The sun was sinking as Avoidables made their way home after a day of trying to make their life better. Some of the jobs they had were making products, teaching or just dragging up their children.

  ‘You’re supposed to be the enlightened one, angel,’ he whispered.

  ‘What’s your problem?’

  Purple had gone from warm to cold in the space of a few minutes.

  ‘Nothing. Noland is a dangerous warrior. He was good for a long time, but then his parents were killed and since then, he’s gone off the rails a bit.’ Purple looked down at the ground.

  ‘Why is he an Avoidable?’ I couldn’t help but ask. I hadn’t been able to see any mar of imperfection on him.

  ‘Because his parents were Avoidables. He was born here, but has nothing physically wrong with him. In fact, one Perfect female government official tried to get him to go over to their side. He refused. He’s always seen himself as one of us. He’s the perfect advocate for us really. A man that’s not only handsome but has a soul and is conscious too. Unfortunately, that consciousness has been a little absent recently.’

  ‘Where has he been?’ I had to know about this man.

  ‘After he got a bit trigger happy at one of the Perfect’s summer events, Artie sent him on a mission. He was to go and check all of the rebel camps over the wilderness. It should have taken him years to do, but he’s only been gone nine months. He’s not stupid. In fact, that’s half the problem. He knows Artie was trying to get rid of him.’ Purple looked at me and shook his head.