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Chapter 2
It's getting late and I have to leave now if I want to transport those two out of here in the morning. My plan is to get a car and park it somewhere along the dirt road a little ways from here. My watch reads 11:30. They should be fine sleeping here; I set my spy cam on a branch so I can monitor their location when I'm away. If I'm fast we can be out of the forest by dawn.
It doesn't take long to get the car. I make my way out of the forest and call the highway police saying I'd been robbed. I certainly look the part, standing here by the road in my torn tank-top and jeans, covered in dirt. It takes the police 15 minutes to arrive and they start inquiring about my situation. I don' bother giving them any answers as I take them out in a few swift blows and borrow the car and uniforms jamming the signal as I get in the car so I'm off the grid. It's only 1pm now and last I checked my captives were sound asleep back at camp so I had time on my hands. Since it'd only taken the cops 15 minutes to get here I figure civilization isn't so far away. I drive back the way the cops had come; might as well drop them off at the station on my way into town. It's not far and soon I am driving through a small rural town. First stop the police station; I leave the naked men on the side walk bench a short ways from the station. Now to stock up on real food; I stop at a convenience store and pay the grocer with the cops money carrying the bags to the car. It isn't much but it's enough to feed us till we get back to my hideout.
I make my way back to the forest to pick up my passengers; half way there I check my ipad only to see that there is one person still sleeping. "Dammit, where has Brittany gone?" I increase my speed needing to find her. I keep checking the screen to see if she returns but she doesn't. I find a place to park the car where no one will see it and jump out. We had to leave soon if we want to be sure no one can follow our trail. 2pm. I have one hour to find her. I run back to the crevice and stop to catch my breath.
"Hey, 595, good timing you passed the drill". I spin around and there she is sitting on a rock comfortably holding my shot gun. "God you scared me, I thought something happened to you," I respond with heavy breath. "Please", she says, "you're not the only agent here, bet I could have done your little run to find food mission in half the time"; I chuckle because she has a way of calming me down with her sense of humor.
"777, I play along, how did you know where I went and how do you have my gun?" I thought she was sleeping. As if reading my mind she simply answers that she'd been conscious the whole time and had noticed me looking through my bag for food only to come up with energy bars which I'd thrown into the fire. It's true; I have no appetite for those things after living on them for the past three days. But that doesn't explain the gun, I'm sure I brought it with me. She shrugs and says she'd taken it from my back pocket when I was bent over catching my breath, she knows I always keep it there. I forget how sneaky she is, I swear she's so quiet, she's like a ghost sometimes; Or more like she's my angel.
It was one of those drill classes we had every afternoon. The first weeks we'd trained for stamina and physical strength. I thought I'd had this, before coming into the program I took kick boxing and karate for six months. I was going to be the best at this; except I was slightly mistaken. Don't get me wrong I beat everyone in every stage of the marathon, but 777 always beat me. I was upset but I couldn't be mad and I never let her know about it. I was always second to 777 in the 2000 meter run, the 800 meter swim, the 100 bike laps, the climbing maze, and the rock climbing challenge. Every day I vowed to beat her but she just got better and better. I knew my frustration was starting to show and she picked up on it almost immediately.
"Hey, you almost beat me today." We were getting changed in the locker room after the grueling marathon. And yeah today was the closest to keeping up with her I had ever come, but she still won easily. "Thanks", was all I could say because I knew she wasn't gloating, she was really trying to make me feel better. "Tomorrow I promise you'll win", Brittany sounded so sure. "Yeah right", it came out as a breath but she heard. "No, I promise", she reiterated, "because you can't break a promise or something bad will happen to you – like maybe grow a third eye". I found that amusing. The next day I did win, and it felt good. I know she let me and she was almost happier for me than I was for myself. Come to think of it the ten remaining days of the marathon, I came in first place. She was probably happy that she didn't have to deal with my grumpiness so she kept on letting me win.
Then after the marathon had 'run its course' pun not intended, we were given a new challenge. It was basically a game of tag; if you were caught your team lost. Each team had a tagger and a free runner. The tagger wore a glove that took out the runner of the opposite team if touched by it. The goal was to tag out the free runner of the other team while navigating through a giant jumbo gym.
It was 777's and my turn. I naturally wanted to be the tagger first and 777 didn't mind. The game started and I quickly chased the other free runner leaving 777 to fend for herself. It took about 15 minutes but we won. The second round we traded gloves and positions. Now I was running. The other tagger was fast but I was faster. Every so often I would watch 777 chasing down her target, each time she got closer to winning the game for us. I must have lost focus because I was slipping on some bars and my hunter was catching up I steadied my grip but realized I had come to the edge of the maze and would have to scale the larger and farther set bars. This was going to be more difficult, I had to get back to the inner rings but did I have enough time before the tagger got to me? I had a split second to decide before I started moving towards the tagger hoping to get in deep enough and change directions right before impact. We met halfway and were nearly face to face. I used every ounce of strength to grab the left bar and swing my body out of the way of her hand. I wasn't going to make it. I waited to hear the beep that signified the end of the game but it didn't come. I kept moving to the left, deeper, just to make sure I was out of harms way. I turned to see how I'd managed to escape and saw 777 was all tangled up with the other tagger who looked really mad. The tagger had been chasing me for 20 minutes and 777 had saved me by pouncing on her. But how did 777 get there so fast? She came out of nowhere. The next thing I knew the other tagger had punched 777 in the face. The game terminated immediately.
That night I held ice to 777's face; she'd earned a black eye for saving me. I thanked her many times but told her it wasn't worth it because it was just a stupid game. Her face was serious when she replied that she had to because one day a real bad guy would be after me and who would watch my back if she didn't?
And she did watch my back until the day they took her away from me.
I remember telling her once that she was like my guardian; she only scrunched her nose and questioned "like an angel?"Yeah, she's been my angel ever since.
Well apparently my back is still my weakest area and she's exposed it again. "Here, keep the gun and grab my backpack, I've got a car 500 meters east. You'll see it there", I instruct her. "Meanwhile I'll carry him". I point to the sleeping boy. She looks at Artie for a second like she doesn't trust him with me but quickly starts towards the way I've pointed out. She may be able to read me like a book but I can read her just as well.
"Unless of course you want to carry him; I might hurt your boyfriend" – I emphasize the last word because I need to know where we stand. She looks undecided for a moment before she drops my stuff, picks up the boy, and trudges down the hill.
I of course get to the car first carrying the lighter stuff. I 'm beyond pissed, I know I don't have the right to be because we hadn't labeled anything the last time we saw each other; and that was 10 years ago. Of course she had forgotten me and moved on. It's what I should have done too, except that the last ten years I spent looking for her; not finding someone else to love. Last I recall, she said she loved me. I only got to return the words yesterday. But it looks like I'm too late. She puts the guy who I don't even bother calling Artie, into the back seat and she takes the rider's seat uninvited.
At least we are on schedule. It'll only be two more painful hours till we reach my hideout. Only two more hours of them asking each other how they are doing and using words like "baby" and "darling"; meanwhile no one has said a word to me except to ask "how much longer?"
While they are sweet talking I have time to think of my plan. I guess things will have to change now that she doesn't feel the same way towards me anymore. The original plan was to bring Brittany back to my hideout alone – without baggage – and call in the guy who helped remove my agent tracker. He would remove hers then after 2 weeks of recuperation I'd fly us out, maybe to Hawaii or Paris, somewhere romantic like that and we'd begin our happy life together the way I've always dreamed. I'll have completed my life's mission –finally having the only thing I've ever wanted and no one will take her away from me ever again. But now I guess there will be a very different ending. I'll still have her agent tracker removed but then she's free to leave. I'll even fly her and her crippled boyfriend out to wherever they want to go as a parting present of good will.
As for my life, well it'll be complete. I'll die in peace and with a broken heart.
I park in my garage; and lead the way into my two-floor town house; home sweet home for the last three months. It's right in the center of the city and not like a hide-out at all. I've learned, growing up, that hiding in plain sight is the best place to hide. I show them the house. It's not much because I'm hardly here but it's furnished and doesn't stink like a Chinese restaurant. There is a small kitchen that I never use, and a living room with a couch and a television which I've never touched. Upstairs there are two bedrooms. I live in the master bedroom which holds a queen size bed and a few shelves and cupboards. The other bedroom has two single beds and similar décor. The bathroom in the middle can be accessed from both sides.
"That's it I say", coming to the end of my grand tour. "I'd give up my bedroom since there are two of you but since you're together I guess you can share the room with one bed". Brittany just looks at me in defeat. If she expected better of me she isn't getting it because this is my best welcome. She puts the boy on the bed I used to sleep in and starts to walk towards me. I know she wants to tell me something but I don't want to hear it.
"I'm going to get some food" I tell her, "the stuff I got this morning won't be enough for your stay". Then I leave before she can reply, slamming the front door.
I don't want to go back yet, but I know I have to face her sometime. Better get used to it now. I've already spent more time than necessary buying groceries from the store on the corner. I stop to smoke, only one I tell myself but I don't feel ready to go home so I smoke another. By the end of the hour I've finished half the pack. I know I have to get home. Brittany will be pissed at me for smoking but somehow I don't care.
Sneaky Saturday, we had it once a month. Training had progressed and now we spent less time physically fighting and more time learning how to outsmart the others. It was stressful for a very different reason. Every day we had classes on cracking codes, hacking systems, building fake images from numbers, assembling/dissembling all types of high technological equipment. So it was bound to happen, one of the kids had a break down and the teachers decided to allow one Saturday a month for relaxing activities. We could do anything as long as we didn't break the rules. That's when I came up with Sneaky Saturday.
The usual 'relaxing activities' became boring; sometimes we'd play board games or watch a movie. But just because we were fourteen didn't mean we were kids. So I made up a game. Whoever could do something that broke the rules and got away with it would be a legend until the next Saturday off. I was the first to do something sneaky. I broke the 'no contact between males and females' rule and kissed a boy in the library where I had a few witnesses. I was the first legend.
One Sneaky Saturday, I was really out to impress everybody. It'd be the worst thing anybody had done yet. Friday afternoon, the day before Sneaky Saturday, was visitation day. I got a bag from my parents with a bunch of stuff. Most of it was nice, we were rich so I got a lot of good things, but the best thing I got was a box of cigarettes. I don't know how it got overlooked. I didn't even know how it got in the bag because my dad didn't know I smoked. But now I had them and I was going to show them off. On Saturday morning I bragged to everyone how I would earn diamond status legend after I did my sneaky thing. All day I heard about the sneaky things others were doing. One of the boys had put rotten garlic under the behavior monitor's pillow, everyone hated him. I thought that was pretty good but it still wouldn't beat mine. By late afternoon, before our free Saturday was up I told everyone I'd do my sneaky thing. A small crowd gathered around me and I already loved being the center of attention. To everyone's surprise I showed them my pack of cigars. I told them I'd smoke one but I had to do it in the bathroom. All this time my roommate 777 watched without saying anything. She never did anything sneaky, and even though she told me she didn't think I should do them either, she never stopped me. This time though she did.
"That's really bad" she said. "I know, that's why I'm totally going diamond with this". She didn't say anything else so I told ten people they could come with me and watch me smoke. 777 didn't volunteer. I was slightly disappointed because she was there every other time I did a sneaky thing, but never mind her now. I took my followers to the bathroom; the ventilation would ensure I didn't get caught. I went to open the bathroom door when a hand stopped me. 777 had followed after all.
"Look, I'll be her proof" she told my line of followers, her eyes pleaded for me to go along with whatever she had in mind. "Fine", I told everyone I'd go in there with 777 and smoke the thing with her as my witness. We entered the bathroom and I sat on the toilet, lid down, and took out a single cigar, I lit it and was about to take a drag. A hand grabbed mine before the cigar touched my lips. "Please don't", 777 took the cigar out of my hand and held it up studying it for a second before looking back at me. "Look, I'm going to be the coolest girl in this place if smoke it", I reason. "Besides it's not a big deal, I've done it before plenty of times". "But it could hurt you", she said. I rolled my eyes because this was going nowhere. "Please", she said one more time as I snatched it out of her hand. I hesitated to put it to my mouth before I decided to put it out. Let's go, I dragged her by the hand and walked out the bathroom door defeated. Behind me I heard her say "She totally did it." That day I achieved diamond legend status that meant I was the legend of all legends.
The first thing Brittany says to me from the time I parked till now when I get home from grocery shopping is "you smoked."
"Hell yeah I did and guess what? I don't care if you don't think I should smoke because you have no right to say anything about how I live my life". My reply might be harsh but I can't control my emotions right now. Usually I can control them because Brittany has a calming effect on me, but right now she is the one causing me to explode.
"Hey what's going on out there," I hear the crippled say from the dining room. I didn't mean to shout at Brittany because in my right mind I would never do that, but here with my dream crumpled and no reason to continue living, I can't stop myself from becoming the monster I try hard to hide from Brittany. I can't stop myself now because I don't matter to her anymore and it hurts like hell.
"Foods in the fridge, I'll be upstairs in my room if you need me", I say with a voice of finality as I leave Brittany at the bottom of the stairs.
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