Chapter 5: Fly

I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive

I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise

To fly, to fly

Cora's POV

It was departure day. And I still had yet to figure out 'All is one. One is all'. I was sitting on the ground staring at the rabbit meat that was cooking over my fire pit. I'd buried the bones earlier; it only seemed right. Speaking of impending death, I saw Teacher's boat looming on the horizon. I wonder if she'll bury me after she kills me. Hmmm. Dead. Buried. Dead. Buried. Hmmm… Oh! That's it! I ran over to the beach and got into the supplication position in front of the boat.

"Well? Have you figured it out?" Teacher asked.

I thought for a moment. "When I die, I'll be buried. When I'm buried, my body will break down and become part of the Earth. The Earth feeds the plants, which feed which the rabbits, which feed me. That's all is one and one is all."

She smirked. "Good job, kid. You pass."

"Thank you! Can I get into the boat now?"

"Yes."

I got up and jumped into the boat. Mason was sitting there smirking. I wanted to slap him.

"I told you you'd be alright," he said.

"Shut up."

We got to Dublith and drove to the butcher shop. I met Mr. Curtis. I didn't think they made people that big. Armstrong was big, but this guy looked like he had his own gravitational field. After introductions, Teacher showed me to my room. It was fairly large, but it was a little dark so I couldn't tell. I got settled in. I wrote a letter to Lena.

Dear Lenny,

How are you? So much has happened in the last month that I hardly know where to start. First, Teacher dumped me on a deserted island to see if I would survive. I have a feeling that it's how our future relationship will be; her trying to kill me and me trying to survive. Anyway, what's new with you? Any cute guys around Central? Havoc seems to like you. Is he looking after you? He told me he would.

I want to slap Edward. He knew what Teacher was going to do and didn't even warn me. Though, I suppose if he had, that would've defeated the purpose. He's like grumpy from Snow White. He's cranky at first, but he does care. He's trying to do right by us.

Well, it's late and I should get to bed. I miss you more than I can say and hope to see you soon.

Love, Cora

I changed and got into bed. I stared at the ceiling. I thought about Edward. I hoped to do well. I didn't want to disappoint Edward; he'd done so much for me.

Lena's POV

I was in my room reading the newspaper. Women were dying all over Central. Murdered. The people were calling it the Midnight Murders. That's when they happened. The murders were being committed by a man dressed in black with bright red hair. No one knew why.

I was under strict orders from Mustang and Jean not to go out by myself at night. I swear, if they get any more protective, they're going to stick me in a tower and tell me to grow my hair to get out. The only people I'm with these days are military personnel. Who's going to test that? There was a knock at the door. I got out of bed and answered it. There was a man. A man in black. A man in black with bright red hair. Uh-oh. Famous last words.

"Are you Cora Ayton?"

"No," I said and tried to shut the door. He stuck his foot in.

"You're Lena, then?"

"No."

He sniffed the air. "I smell burning. Your pants must be on fire from all the lying you're doing."

He forced the door open and pulled me out into the hall. He threw me over his shoulder and started downs the hall. He didn't get very far because my foot met his face. He grunted and dropped me as we fell. I scrambled up and pulled the fire alarm. People poured out of their rooms holding their ears then stopped and stared at me and the man. He got up and ran to the exit. One of the women pulled out her gun and shot him in the leg. He went down with a screech. Another one came over and sat on him. The military police showed up ten minutes later.

"What's going on here?" the first police officer said.

"This scumbag tried to kidnap Lena from her room!" said Ally, the girl sitting on the man.

"Is this true?" he said looking at me.

I nodded my head. "Yes."

Ally got off of the man and the police hauled the man to his feet, slapping cuffs on him.

"Is there anyone we can take you to?" another police officer asked.

"Could you take me to Second Lieutenant Havoc's. He's my boyfriend."

He nodded and led me outside to the car. We drove to Jean's apartment and knocked on the door. Jean answered bleary-eyed and shirtless. I don't think I've ever turned so red in my life. He saw me standing next to a police officer and instantly came awake.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, someone tried to kidnap me, but I'm fine."

"Kidnap?"

"She said she wanted to come here, so here she is," the police officer said and left.

I turned to Jean. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course," he said and stepped back.

"I'm sorry about all this, but I didn't know where else to go."

"Don't apologize. You can come over anytime you want. What happened?"

"The Midnight murderer showed up to my room. I tried to keep him out but he pulled me into the hall and threw me over his shoulder. I kicked him in the face and he dropped me. I got up and pulled the fire alarm. The other girls came out and saw what was going on. He tried to make a run for it, but someone shot him in the leg and sat on him until help arrived. I told them I wanted to come here."

He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "You've got to be tired. You can have the bed and I'll sleep out here."

I chewed my lip for a minute then looked up. "Could you stay with me? I really don't want to be by myself."

He nodded and led me to his room. I climbed into the bed and positioned myself near the wall. Jean got in after me. I turned and buried my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and I closed my eyes, relaxing. He wouldn't let anyone hurt me.

"Goodnight, Jean."

"Goodnight, Lena."