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by Emery Hale

  That was all the news was filled with these days: murders, missing people, new terrorism safety protocols and the odd piece about politics.

  The sound of cars driving through puddles echoed around the streets, music blaring through an open window while the chatter of passers-by created a buzz in the air, but suddenly it grew heavy, weighing down on my shoulders. I took in a breath, trying to focus on Allie in front of me. As the people around started to close in, I felt like a sardine squished into a can.

  I’ve always had a fear of getting lost in a crowd, a fear that I’d be pulled under by the ruthless current of people, unable to push my way to the surface.

  Then through all the noise, I heard Katie gasp in shock.

  ‘Allie, Jennifer!’

  The two girls sped up the pace and in turn so did I – had a dog appeared or something? The three of them were frozen, observing the gasp-worthy sight ahead. Although when I stood beside Allie, I didn’t see a dog or any form of adorable animal. I saw a group of girls sitting outside a small café. They were all dressed similarly: a slim-fit white shirt, plain deep navy skirt, sheer black tights, black stiletto heels and a fitted navy blazer with a crest I couldn’t quite figure out.

  I didn’t take much notice of the other girls at the table, I only focused on one.

  We had a tendency to spot each other in a crowd.

  It had been nine months since I last saw her properly. Her fiery red hair ignited in the early evening sun but it exposed her porcelain skin, which seemed paler than before. Her cold blue eyes were cast down at the table, hands clasped neatly. She had long thin lips, her cheekbones naturally carved out. Her shoulders were broad but her figure was slimmer than I remembered. A sombre look pressed down on her like the weight of a hundred men – what had happened?

  ‘The Reign girls have come down from their ivory towers to grace us with their presence,’ Katie mocked, shaking her head.

  She scanned the group up and down, her eyes green with envy, before she seemed to come to some conclusion. Even people walking past us stared at the group, like they were zoo animals. Who could blame them?

  The Reign Academy had a reputation to envy; it was the most prestigious school in the entirety of Europe, offering any course you could dream of. If you were accepted you got a full scholarship and lived in the halls of residence, free of charge. No tuition fees, no living costs, nothing. From what Jessica told me when she started, things such as food and water got delivered to the individual houses each week, it sounded amazing!

  The students who went there were apparently stuck-up and snobby, entitlement drilled into them from year one. I knew for a fact that wasn’t true, since the girl with fire for hair had been my best friend growing up. Jessica.

  We’d met in the sixth year of primary and been inseparable for a good portion of high school – but then Jess got the scholarship of her dreams.

  Now, she sat with the Reign girls.

  ‘That’s like, the third time this week apparently,’ Jennifer added, looking up to Katie for approval to continue. ‘Josh saw them yesterday, then Mia the day before.’

  ‘They must be getting bored,’ Allie joked.

  ‘I know, it must get terribly tiring going to your en suite bathroom and then taking a lift to all of your classes, while you get served breakfast by your very own butler,’ Jennifer said, her voice getting irritably higher.

  En suite bathrooms? Butlers? I knew the Academy was luxurious, but wasn’t that taking it a bit too far?

  ‘Where did you hear that?’ I asked her, ‘Cause I don’t think that’s right.’

  Jennifer, for some reason, looked extremely offended at my challenge.

  ‘My sources are never wrong, Naomi,’ she told me. ‘Never.’

  ‘Yeah, but the thing is –’

  ‘Yes. We all see Jessica over there,’ Katie snapped, and once again I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. ‘We all see your precious friend. Who could never be stuck up or think she’s above us. Can’t believe she got a scholarship for jumping about a stage.’

  I stayed silent after that since there was no use arguing with Katie. I’d learned that it’s too much effort to fight back.

  ‘She’s not even that good of a singer,’ Jennifer muttered.

  ‘God, shut up Jen, neither are you,’ Katie stated, before turning away from the group and strutting in the direction of the train station.

  My eyes were drawn back to Jessica, who now talked quietly to the blonde girl beside her. Then she noticed me.

  The sombre look was replaced with relief. As she stood up from her seat, the taller, slender, brown-haired girl across from her glared, but Jessica didn’t seem to care.

  It was amazing to see her again, and she wanted to talk to me! I needed to talk to her. Just as I was about to, a hand with a harsh grip grabbed my arm, yanking me back, Katie’s disapproving stare glowering down at me. Oh great, here we go.

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she asked quietly, and I looked away for a second to get my bearings. ‘Naomi?’

  ‘I was going to talk to Jess,’ I answered cautiously, looking up to her towering figure.

  ‘Naomi, are we gonna have a problem?’ Oh, now she was pissed.

  ‘I’m allowed to talk to other people besides you, Katie.’ As soon as the words tumbled out of my mouth, I realized what I’d done. ‘No, Katie, I didn’t mean it like that.’

  She scoffed.

  ‘Fine, go be with the prissy Academy freaks.’ She took a step towards me, then another and another until her body nearly pressed against mine. ‘Just know that from now on you’re on your own. Good luck,’ she spat.

  I shrunk back.

  ‘High school is over, that doesn’t matter anymore,’ I tried, but my voice betrayed me, shaking like a frightened mouse.

  How did she have this much power over me?

  ‘Yeah, but Josh knows where you live. It would be a shame if there had to be a repeat of what happened at the party,’ Katie warned, sending shivers down my spine.

  My shoulders and head caved as Katie ran her fingers through strands of my hair. I tried not to think of the party, but she was doing the exact same thing he did. The horrid stench of alcohol was still fresh in my mind.

  ‘Katie Danvers.’ The smooth confident voice of Jessica spoke from behind, and relief flooded through me at her nicely-timed arrival. ‘I wasn’t aware you were still in the country. I thought you were supposed to be in Milan, but no . . . you’re here.’

  Jessica casually moved to my side as Katie took a step back, looking into my friend’s eyes with uncertainty, arms crossed. Jess, however, didn’t seem the least bit bothered by Katie, her eyes bright and ready for anything. Ready for what?

  ‘I go next week.’

  ‘Oh, really?’ Jessica asked, feigning confusion. ‘Cause I was under the impression you’re still unemployed with barely any qualifications. Didn’t you get bumped from the applicants for Milan because of – well, your face?’

  Allie burst out into fits of laughter, struggling to cover her mouth, and Jennifer’s jaw nearly hit the ground in disbelief. No one ever spoke to Katie like that; no one had the balls to.

  Jessica slipped an arm round my shoulder, a smirk on her face. I’d forgotten how forward she was – it was shady, but still, how did she know?

  ‘You can’t just walk around the city like you own it. You think you’re so great,’ Katie countered, but it wasn’t a strong argument.

  I felt Jessica’s arm slip down my back as she straightened it, her black heels smacking loudly as she stalked towards Katie. It mirrored our predicament a minute ago, but this time the pair stood toe to toe.

  Katie crossed her arms.

  ‘You’re nothing but a prissy stuck-up little girl with no real meaning or purpose except to look pretty. You’re never going anywhere in life. You’re nothing, Jessica-Grace Winters, you hear me? Nothing.’

  That’s when Jessica’s whole body language changed; hands propped on her hips an
d head lifted that inch higher. Then she stepped forward looking like she was going to push Katie but instead, lifted the back of her heel and spiked it down into the front of Katie’s shoe!

  Katie cried out in pain, her whole body jerking as she tried to get away from Jessica. Eventually she wormed her way free, but not until the heel had left its mark, blood visibly dampening the fabric.

  What in the holy poop just happened?

  Katie’s eyes were fixed on Jessica’s as she stumbled back to Allie, who took her arm in support. Jennifer had already left, dashing to the train station. Jessica, however, remained completely calm, stepping away.

  Why did she do that? She used her heel like a frickin spear!

  A couple of people threw looks our way but they kept their heads low, not wanting to get involved. Would anyone call the police?

  ‘The thing is, Katie, I’ve been searching for many years, around the school, around this street and under my Louboutin heel, but I fail to find where I asked for your opinion.’

  ‘Jess – Katie, are you alright?’ My voice didn’t sound like my own. ‘Why did you do that?’

  Jessica then turned, her hands falling with a prideful smirk.

  ‘Come on. I’ll get you a coffee,’ she said to me.

  Then she tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked away, swinging her hips, every step brimming with purpose. I, on the other hand, turned back to Allie but all she gave me was a shake of the head before she helped Katie limp away.

  ‘You’ll regret that, Winters!’ Katie yelled back over her shoulder, but Allie hushed her until their conversation was out of earshot.

  Jessica didn’t retort, not like she needed to.

  When I looked to the street behind me Katie and Allie were gone. I just caught a glimpse of Katie’s purple jacket as it disappeared round the corner.

  When I glanced to the group at the table, Jessica had her back to me, the girl with the brown hair glaring daggers at her, while the blonde simply looked down. The other girl whose black hair bathed in the dimming sun, looked confused at the sight of me. Her eyes scanned my entire body before she turned to Jessica, smiling proudly.

  Well, this was just great.

  CHAPTER 3

  Nepenthe

  Something that makes you forget grief.

  JESSICA-GRACE WINTERS

  12 June 2015, 16:58

  Scotland, Glasgow, Buchanan Street, Quick Brew Café

  My arms rested on the cool steel table, the cup of hot camomile tea failing to bring me any warmth or comfort; in fact there was little comfort in any of this. The four of us had been sitting here for over an hour and a half but no one had broken breath.

  What could we talk about that wasn’t her? How could we not discuss the mission?

  As Team Lead I should have been starting the meeting off, seeing how the other team members were feeling and, more importantly, taking charge of the situation. That’s what I’d been taught and now, due to the circumstances, I had to put those skills to use. However, one thought dragged any words back into the depths of my mind.

  Willow Mae was dead.

  It was meant to be a simple mission; a secluded area deep in the woods where an old, burned house sat proudly in its own ash and rubble. All my team had to do was get the information from the laptop stored in one of the vaults and get back out. None of us expected an ambush.

  It shouldn’t have been possible; it shouldn’t have happened, but it did

  anyway.

  The persistent tapping of Grace’s finger on the rim of her coffee cup made me look up from my bruised hands. The tapping mimicked the pounding in my head, the pressure slowly building under and behind my eyes, exhaustion riddling through me like a disease. The glaring sun sent sharp shooting pains through my head and I bowed to avoid its glares. I needed to breathe.

  The growl of revving cars made my muscles go stiff.

  I was ready to make a break for it. Ready to run.

  The chatter of passers-by grew louder as they came close.

  I was ready to hear any information they had.

  The sobs of Quinn crying caused me to turn.

  I was ready to let her cry on my shoulder.

  But in reality I needed her to keep quiet.

  ‘We shouldn’t even be here.’ Grace spoke quietly, breaking the agreed silence, a hard look set on her face as she tucked her long brown hair behind her ear. ‘I don’t understand the point he’s trying to make.’

  ‘Who understands that man, honestly?’ Lily muttered, taking a sip of her drink before her eyes returned to the horizon. ‘He’s probably testing us, to see how we hold up under the pressure of . . . this place. It’s the first death we’ve ever had.’

  ‘It’s to be expected,’ I added coldly, looking away from Quinn who I knew wouldn’t talk anytime soon.

  I needed to be the Team Leader, I needed to state the hard and crucial facts, then we could figure out the next move. Only when we returned to the dorm house could we mourn in our own sanctuary, never in public.

  ‘We should have been more prepared, I admit – we weren’t counting on an ambush. He sent us here because he wants us to have time with one another. We’re here because in this line of work you need to –’

  ‘Move on like nothing happened?’ Lily cut me off sharply, her glare slicing through my formal façade as anger boiled to the surface. ‘You mean disregarding Willow like she didn’t matter? Or are you talking about the fact that straight after it happened, you grabbed your laptop and wrote a report.’

  I knew she wasn’t mad at me; Lily was just looking for someone to blame.

  ‘It’s procedure,’ I told her, trying to keep my voice calm as possible.

  ‘You never mentioned her name, you used her ID number like that’s all she was, some number.’

  Lily was like a burning fire: stay back and she’ll keep you warm but move too close, you’ll get burnt.

  ‘Lily.’ Quinn spoke from beside me but her voice cracked, her eyes didn’t look up from the blue polish on her nail.

  She focused on it like it was the only thing left of Willow that she possessed. That wasn’t true. Willow’s room was still full of her belongings: her duvet, pillows, make-up, clothes and photographs. Everything sat waiting for her but she wouldn’t come back for it, not this time. We would have to go through it, pick stuff that we wanted and then send the rest to storage. Her parents would get a couple of things but most of it would become classified.

  Even though I’ll be the one to deliver the news, her parents will never know the truth.

  ‘No, come on.’ Lily’s voice rose in volume as she edged forward in her seat, her eyes void of any emotion apart from rage, her nostrils flaring. ‘Come on, let’s point out the obvious – Jess here thinks it’s acceptable to do all this like she didn’t live with Willow, like she didn’t spend nearly every day with her. Jess wrote her report and then filed it away. You can’t just file a person away.’ There, right there, Lily’s voice lost all power as she came to the inescapable conclusion.

  If any one of us died on a mission, it would be written up then locked away in a drawer. To them, all we ever could be was a number.

  ‘That’s not what I’m doing,’ I said, trying to keep it professional. ‘It is protocol that after something like this happens it’s written down. I didn’t want to do it but I had to. I wanted to use her name but I couldn’t because of confidentiality.’

  I needed to shut Lily down before someone heard; this conversation shouldn’t have been happening here.

  ‘You lived with her for fuck’s sake.’ Gradually, as Lily spoke, her voice was overwhelmed with rage and heartbreak. A dangerous combination.

  ‘Lily, if you want to be Team Lead, be my fucking guest,’ I snapped. ‘I spent the past three years with Willow, don’t you think I’m hurting too? Or are you so focused on finding someone to blame? If you want to blame anyone, blame Harkness, he’s the one who sent us there, not me.’

  Hypocrisy, that’s what
was running through my mind, because in actual fact I didn’t feel anything towards Willow. She was dead, that’s it. Nothing more to say on the matter.

  It was harsh but I wasn’t going to take shit from anyone, it’d been too long a day.

  I let out a sigh. trying to calm myself down; no one needed Lily and me to fight. Everyone needed time – it felt as if the smallest thing would set them off, snapping like a mousetrap. I needed to stay in control, of myself and this team.

  Then, simultaneously, our phones let out a sharp ping, the notification we’d all been dreading. A sharp breath around the table sliced through the quiet as we read the headline.

  YOUNG STUDENT KILLED IN HIT AND RUN

  I quickly locked my phone knowing there was no need to look at it – the article was a piece of shit anyway, nothing in it was true. It was a cover story to give her parents closure. Fuck, what was I saying?

  Would they want to know the truth?

  I could tell them she felt no pain, that she looked peaceful.

  I couldn’t tell them that Willow was shot straight through her head, that a small trickle of blood dribbled down her small forehead. They didn’t need to know that her body fell like a rag doll to the ground. I won’t tell them that Willow died with fear in her eyes and a scream in her lungs.

  Another ping sounded around the table but I had a feeling it wasn’t my mother asking for the real story.

  Harkness Report back

  Outside duty was over; now we could go back to school with looks of shock on our faces, as if we’d only just heard the news. Pretend we weren’t there, pretend that I didn’t find Lily unconscious or discover Willow’s body.

  It was all a game and we needed to play along.

  ‘We were out for the day when we saw the news, we headed straight back to school to see if it was true and were honestly shocked to find out that it was. It’s a shame, I didn’t really know her well, wish I could have.’

  We saw Willow at her worst moments, we saw her at her best. We knew Willow Mae. She loved her camera and would go around taking random candid pictures of everyone. She’d been scared of the dark ever since our first mission years ago, so she bought a nightlight. Willow loved to dance around the kitchen to Amy Winehouse as she baked. She was the person everyone liked but, for some reason, she loathed me.