Avoidables 3

by Rachel Medhurst

  I laughed again and put my hand on his shoulder.

  ‘It’s not only Avoidables that can make you feel that way. You can take control of who you want to be and allow yourself to love more. The right person will invite you in to their heart and then you can feel like I do.’

  My phone burst into song and I patted my friend’s shoulder one last time before then turning away.

  ‘Hello, gorgeous,’ I breathed into the speaker.

  ‘Hey, lover, I’ve just heard from your father. The cat rebels are back in the north side. Apparently they’ve just raided a coffee shop and kidnapped a couple of people.’ Hope sounded worried.

  ‘What coffee shop?’ I felt my back going stiff. Kyle was standing beside me listening to what I was saying. He was fiddling with the belt of his skinny jeans. When Hope told me the name of the shop that I’d just left I broke out into a run.

  ‘Has this just happened?’ I panted into the phone.

  ‘Yes, a few minutes ago. He rang me because he knows you don’t want to talk to him. I told him you were in the north of Upper Side today and he thinks that the rebels might be after you.’ Hope’s voice calmed me, but my running got faster.

  ‘Hope, I have to go, I’m going back to the coffee shop,’ I said, glancing to the side of me to see Kyle running with me. I shook my head, wondering why he was sticking by me.

  ‘Why, Jason?’ she said, her voice rising slightly.

  ‘Because they’ve just kidnapped Gina.’

  Episode Five

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘Are the cat rebels here to hurt us?’ Hope was holding my hand tight, squeezing the bones together. William was speaking to guards outside the coffee shop whilst we waited down the road. Kyle had excused himself when he’d realised I was involved with the government.

  ‘They would’ve killed me if I didn’t escape. They are strong together, but that also makes them weak. When one is hurt, the other feels it,’ I replied, smiling down at her.

  ‘Just like us,’ she whispered, leaning up to plant a kiss on my cheek. As the heat travelled through me I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. I melted my lips against hers and felt a fire start in my heart when she pulled away. She was breathing really hard and I noticed my own breath mingling with hers. She rested her forehead against mine and looked into my eyes.

  ‘I think my Perfect has been well and truly toughened up,’ she whispered.

  ‘Will you two give it a break? I thought I was bad, but this is…’ Purple stuck his fingers in his mouth as he approached us. We laughed as I dropped Hope and reached out my hand to him.

  ‘You’re only jealous. Don’t worry, there’s enough of me to go round.’ I puckered my lips as Purple reached for me. He halted and shook his head, laughing.

  ‘You’ve changed,’ he said, glancing at Hope. ‘Where’s the Jason that would hardly speak?’

  ‘I left him with the cat rebels. I’m happy to let him go, but we can’t leave Gina with them,’ I said.

  We turned serious as William gestured for us to get into the waiting guard car. Hope and Purple had been allowed to come along in case the cat rebels turned up.

  ‘I can’t believe how easily the guards have accepted you,’ I said, climbing into the back. Hope followed and Purple squeezed in last. They swore at each other as they elbowed for more room. William was in the front with my father, John, driving.

  ‘It’s because they’re afraid of the rebels. They’re used to having less dangerous Avoidables to worry about. Artie said we’re one of the most forward cities when it comes to trying to live normally,’ Purple said, glancing at my father in the rear view mirror. My father hadn’t managed to hide the roll of his eyes.

  ‘Where are we going?’ I asked, distracting them.

  ‘I want you to take us into the part of the forest where you last saw them. We only have an hour. The jury has been allowed to have a couple of hours break, but Purple and Hope shouldn’t technically be here.’ William said, looking straight out the front of the car.

  ‘What if the Perfects see us? Was there no one at the coffee shop?’ I’d been so wrapped up in what had happened, I’d not noticed if there were any Perfects hovering around.

  ‘No, I closed the road and evacuated all Perfects in the north of the city just in case they felt like kidnapping more of them - us,’ William corrected, glancing at John when he realised his mistake. That was unusual; William was one of the most powerful angels. I’d never seen him slip up like that.

  ‘I don’t think they did, sir,’ John answered.

  The car came to a stop. At the end of the street, the forest started. We all got out and I recognised the place that my dad had abandoned me. He glanced at me and I saw a look that I’d never thought I’d see on the face of a Perfect. It was regret.

  ‘Jason, I’m sorry,’ he said, placing his hand on my shoulder before moving around to the other side of the car and opening the door for Will. The head of the government didn’t get out of the car. Hope went to him and I quickly followed.

  ‘What is it?’ Hope asked, taking William’s hand. She was crouched in the doorway and I stood behind her. Purple was talking to my dad so he couldn’t hear us.

  ‘This is all unfolding so quickly. Everything happens for a reason, but even I don’t know how it will pan out. Seeing Perfects die is hard. Seeing this happen when I’m supposed to be in charge is not easy,’ William wiped his eyes. Hope stroked his hand and I watched the movement, not knowing what to say. I’d never seen such a strong man be so emotionally open. It was uncomfortable but humbling at the same time. My own throat started to close as I thought of Gina. She would be petrified if she was still alive. Nobody deserved that, not even a Perfect.

  ‘You’ve always told me that whatever happens is what’s supposed to happen. These situations will lead us to where we’re supposed to go. We will achieve our mission, William,’ Hope said, letting go of his hand and putting her hands on either side of his face. My chest clenched ever so slightly at the intimacy between them, but then it vanished.

  ‘You’re right. You’ve come so far, the pair of you. I knew you’d make it,’ William said, kissing Hope on the forehead and then getting out of the car.

  ‘So what’s the plan?’ Purple said.

  ‘Jason leads us into the forest,’ William replied, patting me on the back.

  ‘Then what…?’ Hope chimed in.

  ‘Then…we see what happens.’

  Chapter Sixteen

  The woods were creaky as we made our way inside. The trees were swinging in a breeze that wasn’t there a moment ago. I led the way, my boots scrunching the leaves on the ground. Hope and Purple were behind me, with William and John at the back. I had the gun that my father had given me and I felt the back of my neck prickle as we got closer to the clearing where I’d previously been. My palms were damp against the metal handle of the gun. My chest was vibrating so hard with my heart-beat; I could feel it in my ears.

  ‘Are we close?’ Hope whispered behind me.

  I nodded and turned to them. They stopped and we listened for sound. There was none.

  ‘I don’t think they’re here,’ I whispered back.

  I carried on, looking through the trees. It was crowded in here and I noticed Hope and Purple touch the bark every now and then. Ahead, I saw a beam of sunlight shining down into a clearing. We crept forward slowly until we were standing in the middle of it. There was no one there.

  ‘They’ve either moved on or set up camp further into the forest,’ John said, lowering his gun.

  A cackle of laughter suddenly vibrated around us. It was high pitched and sunk into my brain. It was coming from above. I looked up to see my cat friends in the trees. They were sitting, hanging or standing on the thick branches overhead.

  ‘You returned to us, Perfect,’ one of them growled. It was a blonde-haired female. She was hanging upside down, her hair swinging in the breeze.

  ‘Where is the Perfect you kidnappe
d?’ William called.

  I looked around for the leader, but couldn’t see him.

  ‘An eye for an eye, although you would be a better catch,’ the female said, pointing at William.

  ‘Yes, only fair that we trade the pretty blonde Perfect for the leader of them all. Although the other one did kill our leader,’ said a male cat rebel. He was lying on the full length of a branch. His eyes went wide as he glanced from me to Hope.

  ‘It seems that we have a mixture of both Perfects and Avoidables here. That’s something I’ve never seen before. Are they your slaves? Although, they’re not tied up. How intriguing...’ A different cat male spoke.

  ‘They’re not our slaves, they’re free people. In fact they’re part of the jury at the trial we’re currently holding,’ William replied.

  We were all standing completely still. Our guns were aimed upwards, but there was too many of them to be safe.

  ‘A trial…?’

  ‘Yes, an Avoidable bombed the government and killed ten of us.’ William had taken control of the conversation.

  ‘You’re giving an Avoidable a trial instead of executing them straight away?’ The male lying in the tree sat up and blinked at us. His white and black eyes changed shape and I had to hide my shudder. Hope glanced at me but all I could see was the memory of the leader’s eyes as they came towards me, his teeth bare and his energy choking me. I coughed and they all looked at me.

  ‘Our friend is glad to see us,’ the original female said.

  I fought the urge to disagree by ignoring her.

  ‘Where is Gina?’ William asked.

  ‘She’s safe, Mr Government. I wouldn’t worry about her.’

  They all laughed and the vibration started again. My head was tingling and we all clasped our hands to our ears. The cat rebels jumped down as one as soon as our guns were not aimed at them. They were scared of getting shot. They landed in a group directly in front of me.

  ‘Our leader liked you, Perfect,’ the female stood at the front. She was almost as tall as me. Her thin wiry body was encased in the same black cat suit that they all wore.

  ‘Well I didn’t like him,’ I replied, lifting my gun towards her.

  ‘What are you doing with these Perfects?’ She took a piece of her long blonde hair and twiddled it between her fingers as she looked at Hope.

  I grinned as Hope came to stand in front of me and put her hand on my chest. She ran it up and over my shoulder before leaning up and kissing me hard. My chest vibrated as I closed my eyes. The danger of not seeing if the cat rebels would attack only added to the sensation.

  ‘Okay, that will do,’ William said.

  ‘I was quite enjoying the show. I’ve never seen an Avoidable willingly kiss a Perfect that they didn’t hate before,’ the first male cat rebel said. They all had their heads cocked to the side.

  ‘You’ve seen them kiss a Perfect that they hated? Why would they do that?’ Hope chimed in, stepping forward.

  ‘Revenge…and some people like playing with their dinner before eating…’ The blonde female was eyeing up William. I felt a shift in the energy around us and knew that they’d had enough of talking. I raised my gun at the same time as pulling Hope behind me. She squealed as I tugged her by her only arm, but I ignored her.

  ‘You eat people?’ Purple said from behind me. I cursed him inside my head and knew that he’d heard. I didn’t want to keep them talking about food, I wanted to talk about Gina.

  ‘Of course, all animal Avoidables do. Do you not then dragon?’ a little female cat rebel came forward. She had short red hair, pixie features and must have only been about fifteen. I could just imagine Hope’s expression right now, but I didn’t dare turn around to look. Her gaze would be softened as if the girl was her sister. I’d noticed that she always got that look when we saw young people or children.

  ‘No, I’ve never eaten people,’ Purple said. His tone was curt, and he barely disguised the fact he thought it was disgusting. I didn’t blame him; it was the same feeling I got when the original leader had looked like he was going to devour me.

  ‘Well you’re missing out on a good healthy meal,’ the young girl replied.

  ‘Come away,’ the tall blonde girl said, pulling the younger one back.

  ‘Where’s Gina?’ I asked again.

  ‘Why are you so worried about her? She’s just an ordinary Perfect. It seems you like your women a little exotic.’ The blonde came towards me and I held still. I felt a brush of air behind me and wondered if Hope had tried something. A grunt confirmed that Purple had probably grabbed her away from us.

  ‘Don’t try and fool us. Where is she?’ I ignored her comment, there was no use in trying to defend myself.

  ‘I’m intrigued by this little love triangle. You’re clearly in love with this Avoidable, which is something I’ve never seen, yet you care enough about this Perfect that you’re willing to come here to face us again.’

  ‘I’m not scared of you,’ I said loudly. I realised it was true. My hands were steady as I aimed the gun directly at her chest. She stopped coming towards me when she glanced at the barrel. My finger was on the trigger and I would pull it. I needed to bide my time until I started shooting though or we might never find Gina.

  ‘No, I can see that Perfect. I can see that the others admire you and are following your lead. Like me…’ A crack in her voice had me looking directly into her cat’s eyes. ‘He was my mate.’

  She lowered her gaze and I could see that they’d all weakened. Each one of them had their head bowed as they remembered the man I’d killed.

  ‘Stop it, Inca!’ the male cat rebel snapped. The blonde shook herself and lifted her chin up. She looked at Hope and my stomach rolled. I knew instantly what she was planning and just as she lowered herself gently, ready to pounce forward, I pulled the trigger. The shot boomed, someone pulled me back and then the vibration started as the cat rebels started to moan. The bullet had gone into the blonde’s shoulder. She lay on the floor, writhing in pain. The others were grasping their shoulders too.

  ‘How did you do that? No one has ever been able to tell when we’re going to pounce, not even other Avoidables,’ said the young girl, who was the only one unaffected by the pain that the new leader was going through.

  ‘I felt it,’ I replied, keeping my gun aimed at her.

  ‘Jason, we need to get out of here,’ William said from behind me. I knew he was right, but my gaze had locked onto the young girl’s. I noticed her cat’s eyes were not as prominent as the others. She wasn’t a full cat Avoidable, she was a mixed one.

  ‘I think you’re something different. You’re not a simple Perfect,’ she whispered as she came closer. The other rebels were starting to regain their strength. I stepped back as I felt Hope’s hand on my back.

  ‘Go now. We will request our ransom for the female Perfect when the time is right. Until then, if you want her to live, stay away and we promise not to come into the city again.’ The red haired young female spun and walked away. The others picked up the injured leader and left the clearing.

  ‘So was the redhead actually the leader?’ Hope said.

  ‘Yes, I think she’s the heart of them. If she’s killed, they all die,’ I said, not knowing how I knew that.

  ‘So how do we get Gina back?’ Purple asked. It was weird having the tough Avoidable asking me how to do anything. I noticed William was silent. When I turned, I saw that he was staring at me in a bit of a trance. When our gaze’s locked, he nodded once.

  ‘We kill the young female.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  ‘Surely there’s a better way?’ one of the female angels said.

  ‘These Avoidables are not like the local ones. They have no interest in trying to make their life better. They take what they want, when they want.’ William said adjusting his tie.

  I looked around at the gathered angels. Some of others were in with the jury. The verdict would be announced in an hour’s time. My stomach was rolling at
the implications of this trial. No matter how the jury found Sandor, history would be changed today. I noticed some of the Perfect audience filtering into the courthouse. We were standing in the gardens nearby, waiting to see if we’d achieved our goal.

  ‘Won’t we be as bad as them if we kill the girl?’ the female asked. I glanced around and saw that she was wringing her hands together. Some of the angels seemed to struggle with the harshness of life and the emotions that came with it.

  ‘It depends. If they intend to kill a lot of Perfects, we have to do something. If we capture them, instead of driving them away, it may encourage the Perfects to torture them for kidnapping Gina.’

  I glanced at William and saw him wiping his forehead. The sun was beating down on us in our smart suits. William was a great leader and I wondered how he could concentrate on both the trial and the threat from the cat rebels.

  ‘I have an idea,’ said an older, gentler male.

  William nodded at him to go on.

  ‘Why don’t we enlist the help of the Avoidables?’

  My eyebrows shot up and I looked closely at the man. He was a bit shorter than me with grey hair and a cheeky handsome face.

  ‘I’m not sure the Perfects would accept that,’ I said, trying not to glare as my mother walked past. ‘What’s this then? A meeting without me…?’ Catherine said, noticing us milling around.

  ‘No, we’re just waiting in the sun until it’s time to go in,’ William said. ‘Will you join us?’

  Catherine’s nose rose into the air and I had to fight the urge to tell her to leave. I was supposed to be accepting her as she was. The mission was to unite us all together, but the more I was around the Avoidables and angels, the less I wanted to spend time with the Perfects.

  ‘Sorry, I must decline, I’m determined to get on camera one last time.’ She burst into trilling laughter as she rushed off. I shook my head and had to smile at the look on the angels’ faces. They were all thinking the same thing as me and they were meant to be more forgiving. I was only part angel, born into this existence. The angels around me had formed into bodies and come to the earth somehow.