Present Day: Chloe's Old Roof

I took deep breaths to steady my heart rate. It was pounding inside my chest from recalling the memory, the pain only amplified with the realization of where I was. Other people had moved into her house shortly after her escape, but to me it would always belong to her. I sharpened my sense to locate the beating hearts inside the building. None of them matched the rhythmic pattern of Chloe's, which I had memorized after spending long nights watching over her. That's probably why I found myself perched on this roof, it reminded me of a time where I had a sense of purpose, where I was truly needed.

After Chloe jumped all the warriors, myself included rushed to the side, expecting to see the Uniter another life down. To our all astonishments she had very cat-like landed on her feet, even from the great height, and all we saw was a blur of blonde curls racing out of sight.

I had sprinted immediately to her house, topping the speed which I had used to get to the office building, trying to get there in time to stop her. It was no longer a matter of one of her lives, but my own. I didn't know how or even if I could live without Chloe. It hadn't always been that way, but our time together over the past five years had created a dependence on each other. At least it had for me.

But when I got there the house was dark. Much like it is now, only there weren't sleeping humans inside; there wasn't anyone inside. Chloe must have packed with lightning speed and hauled ass. Her emergency cash and passport were gone. She was gone.

Jasmin sent out every Mai within one hundred miles of San Francisco looking for her, but I knew deep down in my heart that she had vanished. I had heard it in her voice before she fled the rooftop, she had no intention of being found.

The first letter had come two weeks after that fateful night. It had curly handwriting and no return address, this I would come to learn, always meant it was Chloe. She assured us in writing that she was okay, but as Uniter this was something she had to do. She expressed remorse for leaving us all, myself especially, but this was a task the Uniter had to do alone. There were no further details, no clues to where she was, only instructions of what to do with the house and her mother's belongings.

At first the letters came every couple of weeks. Always the same vague details about what she was doing, reassurance that she was okay, and sending her love. Then the gap between them starting to increase, months went by with no response, no way of tracking her. We had checked with Amy and Paul, but they hadn't heard any more information than us.

It was about one year after she left that we received news about Chloe from a different source. A Mai pride in India reported that the Uniter had been hiding with them when they were attacked by the Order. Chloe had lost another one of her lives.

I almost choked on the air itself when Jas had given me the news. Pain ripped through me and I blamed myself for not being there. I should have looked harder for her. I should have never let her leave in the first place.

A mix of sadness and rage filled me as I recalled receiving the news. Jasmin, the good pride leader and best friend she was, had already booked us flights to India. Only, once we got there, she was gone again. The pride leader said she must have snuck out in the night, but there was an envelope with curly writing and no return address waiting for us. Its contents only confirmed the loss of her life and regret for having to give us the slip.

We returned to California defeated, and I could no longer face the city that had been ours together. Chloe had made it painstakingly clear that she wasn't coming back, so why should I have waited around? Instead I went to Colorado, to one of the best Mai training camps hidden in the mountains. San Francisco seemed dark, grubby and plain noisy in comparison. I would have never chosen to come back, but Jas had called me and there was no way I could deny her plea, which is why I was surrounded by the noise of traffic and smog of cars. Though deep down I knew my bitter feelings weren't about the city, they were about what was no longer in the city. What was no longer in the house I was sitting on top of.

I sighed again, cursing myself and the city for allowing all these feelings of abandonment and anger bubble up inside of me. I had done perfectly well burying them at camp by throwing myself into training and teaching. Part of me thought if I became the best Mai warrior, Chloe could no longer deny that the safest place in the world was next to me. That part of me was stupid. One week in the city and I was already a mushy bag of emotions. Why did Chloe, even just thinking of her, always have this effect on me? She brought out the best of me, but also the worst.

I could pinpoint the exact time all of it had started to go downhill. It wasn't Chloe's birthday five years ago. No, the turning point, when I knew Chloe would always have an effect on me, happened ten years ago, also etched into my brain by the memory of fire. I leaned back against the peak of the roof and let the memory consume me.

Ten Years Ago: Warehouse 14, Burning in Flames

Relief flooded my system as Chloe and Brian emerged from the burning warehouse building moments before the roof collapsed. Of course there was twinges of jealously that Chloe had rushed off to aid Brian as he tried to save his grandma. Plus the guy had just shot me less than an hour ago, but at the moment my mind was focused only on Chloe. Ash was smeared across her face, the ends of her hair were singed and the way she moved looked like she had just died. But considering the sharp pains I felt during battle and the slight detail that she was captured by the Order, she probably did die. The question then was how many lives did she actually lose?

But for the moment I was just relieved that she was safe. The jealously decreased by the fact Chloe's hand gripped mine as we watched the rest of the building fall to the flames. Although, Brian stood on her other side, mine was the only hand she was holding. A slight smirk played on my face because of this little detail.

Chaos was still raging around us, but her hand was a calming anchor. More Mai warriors had arrived to capture the remaining Order members who were trying to escape. I could see Chloe's mom being treated for burns by one of the many healers that had arrived. She was surprisingly collected considering the events going on around her. Jasmine was going from group to group barking out orders like the new pride leader she was. I knew that she was ready to take Valentina's place despite her own reservations; she was a natural.

A change in pressure in my hand snapped my attention back to Chloe. Pain contorted her face, her eyes rolled back and then she fell to the ground in a heap, yanking her hand from my grasp. Adrenalin coursed through my veins as my Mai senses flared and I scooped her up in a single bound.

"Chloe! Chloe! Wake up!"

I could still hear her heart beat, but it was getting fainter by the moment. I could feel Jasmine at my side and Brian on the other, but their presence melted away with the fact that once again Chloe was in trouble and this time I felt useless to help.

"Alek, let the healers take a look at her. She will be okay. We didn't come this far to lose her now." Jasmine told me. Her voice was unnervingly steady, but that was in comparison to the turmoil raging inside my head as I heard Chloe's heart slow.

I willed my arms to let go so that the healers could access her better, but my arms would not release. They clung with a resolve of their own out of the passion I had. I clutched her like I was holding onto my own life and that's when I realized that I was. Chloe was my life, and without her and her remaining lives, I would be nothing.

Somewhere Jasmine was tugging on me to let go so the healers could do their job and figure out why Chloe had fainted, but I couldn't. It was practically a tug-a-war which ended in Jasmine knocking me outside the head and Brian dragging me away. Her blonde curls were disappearing behind the bodies of the healers mumbling ancient enchantments. I wanted to return to her side and hold her close. I couldn't explain the feeling fully but every moment away from her was antagonizing, but my bullet wound and head whack from Jas was starting to get the best of my conscious. Then I joined Chloe in the blackness.