Leaves crunched beneath his feet as Fin walked the forest path. He had no practical reason for choosing this route. It was longer, steeper, and had plenty of hazards strewn across it. But he liked the nighttime ambiance. Most of the annoying animals had long since gone to bed, and a nice breeze filled his light clothing. He wasn't walking this trail purely for the enjoyment of its contents, however. He was walking it to get a safe distance away from people, cameras, or anything else that could witness him. He wasn't sure why he had to do this in secret, but his parents always insisted.
The path he was traveling ran through an abandoned shipping warehouse, and its door creaked as he gently swung it open. The enormous aluminum building echoed his footsteps back to him as he walked its grandiose hallways. Curiously, he could also faintly hear some other, more unexpected sounds reverberating off the walls.
That's weird, he thought. There shouldn't be anyone else here. The workers left hours ago.
Fin slowed his walking and took care to silence his steps. As he approached the source of the noises, he could gradually make out the finer details. It sounded like a man, yelling at something with an odd vigor. As he approached the corner of a container, the voice became clear.
"-a catch this is! Geode's best operative, the elusive Loki, tied up in a neat, little, basket!"
As the voice emphasized the last word, Fin heard the sound of flesh meeting flesh, then flesh meeting the cold concrete floor. Considering his options, he could simply turn around and go a different route. He hadn't alerted anyone, and he doubted they would hear him leave if they hadn't heard him come in. Or…
Fin drew his spear from his back and slowly peeked his head around the corner. It was then that he got a good look at the situation. Facing away from him was a tall man in black combat gear, with a visible earpiece attached to his helmet that quietly buzzed every now and then. He was standing with his foot on a girl, who was lying prone on the floor. She seemed much less prepared for the situation. Fin thought her fancy streetwear belonged further north, where you would find highschools with kids whose parents quite literally couldn't spend all their money if they wanted to.
"I nearly thought you'd wiped us out," the man said. "But then I remembered this little thing the egghead gave us. It really is amazing stuff. All it takes is a little turn."
The man pulled a spherical device from his pocket and turned a dial on it. All of a sudden Fin felt a slight pressure in the room tighten, which he hadn't noticed before. It was apparently rather unpleasant to the girl, as it made her convulse and grab at her head as she screamed in pain. Strangely, her appearance now seemed to flicker, occasionally glitching to a taller, more casually dressed form that disappeared as fast as it was shown.
Fin was horrified. Why would someone be doing this? What could they possibly be gaining? His legs and hands were shaking, and his body refused to respond to any of the desperate pleas for escape his mind asked of it.
"Oh and to our little friend there," the man called out, turning his head slightly. "I do know you're eavesdropping. Come on out, will you?"
Fin pulled his head back and quickly looked around, before meeting the man's gaze in a rounded mirror attached to a pole behind him.
"Yes, I do mean you. Come on, I haven't got all day."
Fin locked further in place, mentally and physically. He shouldn't have gone this way, he shouldn't have left so early, he shouldn't have-
"Chop chop now, I really don't want to have an extra body to clean up."
Fin gripped his spear tightly with both hands and slowly turned the corner, pointing the tip at the man's face. He was now looking directly at Fin, with a gun pointed at him in return.
"Get your foot off her," Fin said, his voice and body quivering.
Fin talked like he could save her, but that was far from certain. He hadn't learned enough restraint yet, he would probably kill the man. He'd never killed anyone before. He didn't think he could live with that on his conscience. But what was the alternative?
"Unfortunately for you young man, I've got a gun, and you've got a toy. So I'll do the talking."
The man took his foot off the girl and began walking towards Fin with his pistol steadily trained on Fin's forehead. For whatever reason, the simple shape of a rectangular barrel with a rounded hole managed to inspire the most primal fear throughout his whole body, pinning his very soul and yet making him shake more than ever as he stared at the weapon.
"You know, I took special care to make sure nobody would be here tonight. Checked schedules, paid off workers, even set up a construction fence. So tell me, mister hero, why are you here tonight?"
A construction fence? Fin didn't remember passing one. This man didn't seem the type to lack motivation, so perhaps he simply wasn't aware of the path Fin took. That would make sense, his parents purposely made sure he took the road less traveled.
But that was the least of his problems. The man was now standing just out of Fin's reach, making sure to never falter his aim. Out of the corner of his eye, Fin noticed the girl started to slowly get up and shuffle along a container wall towards them.
"Well? I haven't got all day."
He gulped. He needed to stall.
"My name is Fin."
The girl slowly made her way towards the man and grabbed a stray pipe that was lying on the floor.
"And I, uh, walk this route to um, train in the woods."
The girl pushed herself off the wall, barely catching herself and managing to lumber towards the man, weapon in one hand and head in the other.
"Very interesting, I'm sure."
The man paused for a second and squinted, looking closer at Fin's face.
"Come to think of it, you seem rather famil-"
The girl struck the man in the side of the head, letting out a resounding thunk as the metal hit his hard plastic helmet. He collapsed to the floor and dropped the device and gun he was holding. The girl quickly smashed the device to pieces with her new weapon, and the pressure that Fin now realized the device had been generating lifted from the room. The girl's appearance settled on the streetwear form, and she appeared to visibly liven up as if she had just come out of a long shower.
The girl heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thanks. We need to get out of here," the girl said, inspecting the man's person and taking his rifle and pistol, both of which she strung across her person. Fin noticed her voice sounded rather rough and low, not like he would expect for a girl of her stature and appearance.
"What? Why? Who're you? Who's he?"
"He's a SWAT officer. I'm a known fugitive. I doubt they only sent one guy. Follow me."
The girl attempted to start running off to the other door. She had an obvious limp, causing her to promptly trip over a rock. The girl winced, evidently holding in a number of profanities.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it might just take us a while to get to the car."
"Car? I can't just leave, I need to get back home!"
Fin suddenly realized the situation.
"Oh God, what am I gonna tell mom? Why am I even concerned with mom, I just harassed a federal officer! I'm gonna have to run, I need to pack my things, I'll have to leave Oisin!"
The girl picked herself up from the floor and planted both her hands on Fin's shoulders, staring into his eyes with a cold, yet empathetic intensity.
"Look, I've been in your situation before. Trust me, you'll end up fine. For now, I really need you to come with me."
The girl took her hands off Fin's shoulders and turned her back to him. She started limping towards the other end of the warehouse, motioning with her hand for Fin to follow. At a loss for what else to do, Fin easily caught up and began walking alongside the girl. She was using the pipe as a walking stick and was managing a fairly brisk walk despite being heavily injured. Well, Fin assumed she was heavily injured. Her body and clothing looked like she just walked out of a Hollywood set, and yet she limped and winced like she'd been through all the earthly trials.
"Are you really ok?" Fin asked.
He knew it was a stupid question, but he felt compelled to ask. His question seemed to fall on deaf ears, as the girl kept on walking. Fin didn't like her type, people who chose to shut out the world. But right now she was his best chance, so they'd have to get along.
Okay, they'd been walking for minutes now. That typically wouldn't be much time, but the government operates on a different timescale. Which meant they probably had hours. But Fin was still worried they were taking too long. He could reduce the journey significantly, but did he really trust this girl that much? Not even his closest friends knew he was a Gemstone. His parents were very clear on that front, nobody outside them and Oisin were to know, and even Oisin was only drip-fed the details because it was simply too hard to hide it from him. But then again, this girl had recently saved his life. The longer they took, the more danger they were both in. It would be risky, he'd never practiced with another human before. But a few broken bones is much better than getting sniped in the leg, or maybe even head. Fin wasn't sure exactly how wanted this girl was. After weighing the options, he made his decision.
"Where exactly is the car?" Fin asked.
"It's just a bit further, down this road," the girl replied.
The road they were travelling led to a parking lot behind the local grocery store, which hardly any people knew about. If this girl wasn't from around here, she'd certainly done her research. Luckily, Fin happened to be one the people who knew it well. He wouldn't have to risk his secret after all, because he knew what to expect as they passed the apex of the hill they were walking. Below them was an obviously run-down parking lot, connected to only two roads. One which led further into the forest, and the other which led back to town. The only car parked was a dull gray pickup truck, which had a secured tarp covering something square in its back.
"Here we are," the girl said. "Hop in."
The girl walked around to the left side of the truck and unlocked the door, then heaved herself into the seat with her arms. The passenger side unlocked with a click, and Fin climbed into the seat with an urgency the girl seemed to be lacking. He noticed the interior was remarkably well maintained as opposed to the outside. The pleather seats were smooth and spotless, as was the wooden dashboard.
"Nice ride," Fin commented.
"It's nothing special. It'll get us to where we need to go."
The girl pulled a decorated set of keys from her pocket and used them to turn the ignition, which elicited a low roar from the vehicle. With lightning speed she slammed the car in reverse and pivoted towards the street leading back to town. She immediately pulled the stick around and the car sharply stopped and started speeding in its new direction, pulling Fin back into his seat. Fin struggled to finish putting on his seatbelt, which looked like it posed more danger to him than this girl's driving.
"Where do you live?" the girl said. "I'll drop you off nearby."
"Oh, it's-"
Fin paused. Should he give her the exact address? No, just the neighborhood should be enough.
"It's uptown, in the suburbs near the hills."
The girl slammed on the brakes, and Fin struggled to keep his face from meeting the dashboard as his body pushed against its confines.
"Are your parents named Erin and Conner?" the girl questioned, staring directly into Fin's eyes once more.
"What? Uhh-"
How did she know? Fin had never seen this girl before in his life, how did she know all about him?
"They are, aren't they? Well, that makes things easier."
The girl looked away from Fin and stomped down on the gas. She violently turned the wheel, and the truck responded by doing a complete 180 and bolting down the path that led deeper into the mountains.
"What the, where are we going? Who are you?" Fin asked, panicking over the sudden change of plans.
"You can call me Cyll," the girl replied. "And we-"
She paused, taking a moment to glance up at Fin with her hazel eyes. Fin noticed they seemed to shift their color slightly depending on how he looked at them, like a DVD in the sunlight.
"-are going home."