Chapter Four

The instant her fist hit his chin, he fell back. He had a look of surprise and shock on his face but she wasn't even done with him yet as she lunged forward. She was going to give him years worth of a beating but as soon as she sprinted she felt arms around her as she was held back and the once relatively quiet lunch room broke out in chaos as she fought against her restrainer..

"let go of me!" she yelled out as she kicked and tried to move her arms but it was useless, whoever had her, had her in a vice grip..

"your crazy you know that!" Bryan yelled out as he wiped the blood from his mouth..

Rex had a horrified look on his face as Natalie locked eyes with him and then she fought some more against the person holding her..

"thats enough!" a loud voice yelled in her ear and it was at that moment that she realized that it wasn't just any person holding her, it was John.."i will take you to the ground if you push me" he barked at her..

Bo was there in a flash as he broke through the chaotic crowd.."what the hell is going on here" he said as he looked at Natalie and then at Bryan..

"she hit me, she just came up and hit me" Bryan said still in shock..

"Let me go" Natalie yelled angrily at John but he didn't budge..

"My office Now young lady" Bo snapped at her..

"I'm on it Bo" John said as he forced them to turn around as he kept his arms locked around her. She was so mad that she literally saw stars..

"I can walk on my own!" she continued to fight him, embarrassment now washing over her as everyone stared at her and whispered..

"this wont end well if you go crazy again" John warned her as he promptly let go of her arms and she yanked herself away from him, she didn't even look at him as she stormed out of the lunch room and into the hall.."what the hell were you thinking back there" John demanded an answer from her..

She spun to face him."the next time you lay your hands on me you will be sorry" she warned and then stormed down the hall and towards Bo's office even though right at this moment she wanted to get the hell out of this complex and far away from everyone..

Natalie found the office with little trouble and she was boiling hot as she paced the large room. She couldn't believe Bryan was there and she couldn't believe that John had restrained her like that and in front of everyone!

"there is enough violence in the world then to bring it here" Bo said as she spun and faced him, she went to talk but he cut her off as he shut the door.."i will not tolerate that behavior here" he walked up to her now and he looked pissed.."Now do you want to tell me what would possess you to just walk up to someone and hit them" he asked angrily..

Natalie couldn't help but roll her eyes as she stood there.."he had it coming" was all she said..

"Ive known Bryan for five years, he is a good man" Bo continued..

"yeah well then your a fool" Natalie snapped and then she stormed past him.

"How long have you known him" his question shocked her and it wasn't just because he was asking but it was how his voice sounded. It was almost as if he knew already.

She turned and faced him now.."i wont stay here with him, I wont" she said angrily..

"Natalie have a seat" he finally said, his voice lower now but she just stood there as he walked over to his desk and sat down. She crossed her arms over her chest.."do you just want to leave, is that it?" he asked as she looked at him."you just want to take the world on by yourself, is that it?" he raised an eyebrow..

"he stole from me, he almost got my brother killed" she finally yelled out..

"well now were getting somewhere, please Natalie have a seat" he gestured towards the chair, his voice calm and even.

"do you even know any of these people you have under this roof? Hell for all you know they could be worse then what is out there" she snapped as she stood there..

"let me tell you a story, one you may relate to" he began as she huffed loudly.."there once was a girl about thirteen, she witnessed something horrible, something so horrible that it changed the way she looked at the world and yet no one believed her" he began as she began to look at him in shock.."she was just a child when she was thrown into a bad and tough world, the kind of world that no child should have to live in" he stared at her now..."you've been doing this for a long time Natalie, you have been through a lot, everyone here has and everyone has lost someone due to evil"

"how do you" she began in shock as she looked at him, she was literally speechless now..

"How do I know about you?" he said as he laid his hands on the table, his eyes never leaving hers.."i know about everyone who steps through these doors"

"then you know I don't belong here" she said honestly..

"actually I believe that you belong here the most, maybe more then some" he said seriously as he glanced at the chair again but this time she walked over to it and sat down in a huff.."motivation is what gets the job done Natalie, whether its seeking vengeance or trying to better ones life but sometimes its better to be the bigger person, to let bygones be bygones"

"he took everything I had, he used me, he used Rex and now he is living here" she said angrily..

"we all have made choices in life we don't like and I'm not as stupid as I look Natalie. We all have our demons, some more than others" he said honestly.."i wont make you stay, I cant but I do promise you this, if you stay you will not regret it"

"i get your offer ok, I do but this isn't me, I'm not like everyone else, I like being on my own" she said quickly..

"and where did that get you Natalie? John told me what happened, you could of died not once but twice in the matter of one day" he said honestly..

"I had things under control, I did" she said defensively..

"there are easier ways to do things, you have a lot of courage and a lot of heart, don't waste it all on being bitter because there is a huge difference between that and trying to make the world a safer place" he leaned back in his chair..

"I just want to stay alive long enough to know Rex will be ok" she said honestly..

"now that is a bunch of bullshit and I don't have time for it, so lets be honest with one another" he began as she went to say something and he cut her off.."i wont let you throw your life away because your stubborn"

"I've been doing this for a long time and I ain't dead yet" she said spitefully..

"but with that attitude you will be, when was the last time you had someone you could count on, someone you could trust?" he asked her..

"i trust no one" she said honestly..

" starting tomorrow your going to be training with John" Bo said as if he wasn't even listening to her..

"what!?" she said in shock.."i just said" she began..

Bo cut her off.."and I just said your training with John, your got a mean right hook I will give that to you but when it comes to defending yourself its a sad sight"

"excuse me" she stood now.."Ive been taking care of myself for years!" she snapped at him.

Bo stood now too.."and you couldn't even budge when John grabbed you" he walked around his desk.."now what if that was something else, someone else, you would be dead before you even knew what happened"

"i was caught off guard" she said defensively again..

"and you think the things out there are going to give you warning?" Bo shook his head.."tomorrow you start your defense training" he said matter of factly..

"i don't take orders from you ok" she spun around and gasped in shock as Bo stood there. She couldn't believe her eyes as she backed up some.."how" she couldn't even finish her sentence..

Bo didn't say anything for a long minute.."tomorrow, five am, be well rested" he said calmly as he opened the door and stood there..

"Your... your one of them aren't you" she said in shock..

"I expect a full report tomorrow" Bo said in response.."get some sleep". She went to say something but he cut her off.."Now Natalie" he said more demanding and she couldn't even find any words as she walked past him and down the hall. She knew she looked shell shocked and that was because she was. Bo was one of them, he was one of those monsters.

Natalie made it past the dining hall and she stopped as she peered inside, it was completely empty..

"still looking for a fight" she heard John say from behind her as she spun around to face him.

"I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm" she snapped at him.

"why'd you do it?" he asked dryly..

"I don't owe you an explanation" she snapped as she spun around and began storming away down the hall, he didn't say anything else and she was glad. She had too much to digest and she honestly felt sick to her stomach..

John ran his hand through his hair as he watched her walk away, she was gonna be a huge pain in his ass he could already tell.

"Hey John can you come here for a sec" Bo called out from the hallway as John turned and looked at him and sighed..

"you know we really need to start doing background checks in here" John said with a shake of his head as he walked over to Bo..

"I've been hearing a lot of that lately but then again where would you be if I did that" Bo smirked.."come inside, we need to talk" he finished as he walked over to his desk and began to pour two glasses of whiskey.."you handled yourself well back there John"

"yeah well I'm sure it wont be the last time, remind me again why we took them in?" John said as he walked over and grabbed a glass from Bo..

"because thats what we do" Bo took a long sip and so did John..

"well you may of just over thought this a tad bit, the girl is a liability" John said as he continued to sip his drink..

"that may be so but that is where you come into play" Bo said as he put his glass down and John just looked at him.

"i hope your not trying to say what I think your trying to say, because I ain't no babysitter" John said as he looked at Bo..

"i never said a babysitter, I would like to call it a mentor" Bo smiled..

"Oh no no no... I'm not" John began but Bo cut him off..

"she's a good fighter, a good ally to have, she is just a bit rusty" Bo smiled some more..

"your joking right? She's a damn loose cannon not to mention she nearly got killed twice already" John began to pace nervously now..

"yeah well that was because she didn't have the right training or trainer" Bo raised an eyebrow..

"Bo Listen"John began as he shook his head..

"i wasn't asking John" Bo said seriously.."you will train her, your the best man for the job"

"I'm not the man for the job Bo, you cant make me do this, I wont do this" John said anxiously as he stared at him.

By the time Natalie had gotten to her room it was already dark and the girls were already sleeping. She didn't know how she would sleep at all. She was livid and anxious, there was no way in hell that she could stay there and no way in hell that she was going to have that cocky son of a bitch teach her the ropes!

She collapsed onto the bed as she stared up at the top bunk. She would have to have a talk with Rex tomorrow because they were leaving, like it or not.

Natalie eventually fell into a restless sleep and was awoken abruptly to the girls talking amongst each other. She was quickly reminded why she didn't like having other people around..

"Hey Nat wake up, you'll be late" Marcy said as she came over and shook Natalie's arm some..

Natalie groaned some and rolled over..

"Not a morning person? I hear ya" Ariana groaned herself.."but Marcy is right, we cant be late"

"i hope I get to have a match today, ive totally been working on my upper cut" Kelly said as she stretched her body on the floor..

"come on Nat, its gonna be fun" Marcy continued as Natalie rolled back over now..

"just go without me ok, I'm not... I'm not feeling well" she lied..

"well I hope your not coming down with something" Marcy said with concern.."I could get Michael"

"No I just... I just need rest " Natalie said as she rolled back over..

"come on girls, if she isn't feeling well then she isn't feeling well" Ariana said quickly as they all walked to the door. Natalie pretended to fall back asleep and she stayed like that until she heard their foot steps head down the hall.

Quickly she jumped out of bed, fully dressed as she pulled her hair back in a pony tail and quickly shoved her knife into her boot. She was getting the hell out of there but she had to get Rex first whether he liked it or not..

The hallway was empty as she looked left and right quick then headed down towards Rex's room. She looked in about every room as she went down the hall, they were all empty but then she heard the sound of voices as she froze in the hall and quickly darted into the first available bedroom. Hiding behind the door, she could hear the voices talking as they neared. She spun around as her heart raced and Immediately noticed that this room wasn't like the others. There weren't bunk beds in here, only one single large bed and dressers. The sound of the voices got closer and she had to think fast and so she ran to the nearby closet and Immediately got inside just in time for the sound of the door opening..

"I'm just saying that if I talk to Bo then we could do this one together" a familiar female voice was heard and Natalie Immediately knew who it was. It was the girl she had seen John talking with the day before. Her name was Vange and she quickly stiffened as realization hit as soon as she heard his voice..This was his room.

"it's not a good idea Vange, you need to just take care of things from here" John said as they entered the room..

"why? We use to hunt together all the time John" Vange said with increasing annoyance and Natalie quickly backed up into the closet some more..

"Vange your a great friend ok" he began with a sigh..

"oh so now were back to the friend thing" she said sarcastically.."why do you always do this John, were good together"

"don't ok" he said quickly as Vange went to touch him."there's a lot of shit going on right now if you haven't noticed" he said quickly..

"theres always shit going on John, thats never changed things before" Vange huffed.."what is it this time, huh? Or maybe I should say who is it"

"Oh lets not start this crap, I need to get ready" he began as Natalie could see their shadows outside the closet and she quickly moved to the left as she hid behind shirts that were hanging..

"I heard that Bo is having you help that half wit" Vange snapped angrily and Natalie tightened her fists by her side. She didn't like this chick not one bit.

"and there you go again, you just cant help yourself can you" John huffed.."i need to get ready"

"You know its people like her that will get us all killed" Vange snapped as her footsteps could be heard heading over to the door..."this conversation is far from over" she snapped as the door was heard opening and closing. Natalie heard John take a deep breath as his shadow was seen walking across the room and then another door opened and closed at the far end of the room. Seconds later she heard the shower turn on.

Natalie quickly pushed the closet door open and ran from the room and into the hall, she Immediately banged right into someone and nearly fell..

"Hey you, what are you doing roaming around" Cris said as she looked up and swallowed hard..

"I um... I was looking for my brother, I uh" she said nervously as Cris looked at her..

"Rex, right? He's down at the gym with everyone else, come on I can show you" he smiled softly at her..

"yeah um... actually" Natalie began to ramble. How the hell was she going to get Rex now. Why did he have to be so damn adamant about fitting in!

"come on, I know it can be nerve wracking for the first day" Cris grinned.."but by the looks of your mean swing yesterday I would say you have it in the bag" he shook his head and laughed some.."between me and you I cant stand the guy, Bryan is always talking shit"

"yeah well, I'm not fond of crowds" Natalie said dryly..

"your in good hands, I promise, come on we'll all be starting soon" Cris smiled and she just gave in. She would have to head to the gym and at least there she could find Rex and talk some damn sense into him. They quickly headed down the hall and to where the group had gathered..

Meanwhile John got out of the shower and came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his eyes Immediately saw the open closet door and he walked over to it, peering inside. It was empty but a lone piece of red hair caught his attention as he pulled it from his blue shirt and he inspected it quick. Considering that there were only two red heads in this entire establishment, he had a very good idea who had been snooping around in his stuff..