Evelyn POV

I woke up at around 5.00 in the morning and quietly slipped out of the room. This time was normal for me as I always woke up early as light seeped into my cave in the mornings. I glanced around and saw Kowalski's bed empty. I frowned and looked around. The door to his lab was open so I decided to investigate. I saw him working on some chemistry and decided to leave it. I wasn't good at chemistry but I preferred physics.

I quickly grabbed my armbands from my bag and climbed up the ladder to the platform. I put the armbands on and dove into the water. The water was very cold and I shivered slightly. I swam around the platform a couple of times, allowing myself to adjust to this coolness of the water. I swam some more laps until I thought I was ready to try swimming without my armbands. I got of the pool and sat on the edge allowing my feet to have a dip in the water. I slowly took off my armbands and slipped into the water. I gripped the edge of the platform tightly and kicked off the wall gently. I started kicking behind me as the sun rose behind the clock tower. I saw Skipper come up onto the platform and he stood above me.

"What are you doing up so early?" Skipper asked. I rolled my eyes in response.

"I always woke up this early in Hong Kong because the light always entered my cave first. Now, please don't annoy me anymore because I have to practice my swimming." He bent down to pick up my armbands.

"So I presume these are yours?" I nodded and he smirked. I glared at him.

"Hey, don't be mean! About 5 years ago, there was a fire in the cave and I got trapped. I got really badly burnt on my legs and feet; I couldn't walk or move my legs for 8 months. I had to have intensive training to get back to normal. I wasn't allowed to swim so I forgot how to but before the fire, I was quite a good swimmer, as my teachers said." I stopped kicking and looked down at the water below, reminded of the fire and my life after it. "It was hard for me to accept that I couldn't swim for 2 years. I really loved swimming with Chelsea and my friends but I couldn't. They occasionally visited me in the hospital and told me what was going on outside and at school. I owe them one really, because they took time off their activities to visit me. But I was lucky. Luckier than Jinx…" I trailed off, a wave of sadness sweeping over me and instantly regretting what I said.

"Who's Jinx?" Skipper asked. I shook my head.

"Leave it, Skipper."

"But wh—"

I glared daggers at him. "When I said it, I meant it."

"But who is Jinx?" Skipper persisted. I got really mad at him.

"SKIPPER! LEAVE IT!" I yelled. He stumbled back and I took the chance to heave myself out of the pool. I walked over to the fishbowl and yanked it aside angrily. I jumped into HQ and stormed across the room to Kowalski's door to his lab, kicking it loudly causing it to slam shut. This awoke the others and I turned around, noticing Skipper had just come down. I burst into tears again and ran to the spare room. I shut myself in there and hugged my legs. I heard Skipper say to Private something along the lines of 'don't bother. She needs time alone.' I cried harder remembering the fire in the cave and the aftermath.

START FLASHBACK

I was drawing in my part of the cave. I was in the middle of drawing another dress when I smelt smoke. I put my pencil and notepad down and went to have a look. When I got through the doorway, fire was rising up the bookshelf. I cursed loudly. I immediately called for Jinx.

"Jinx! Where are you?" I heard a small 'here' and turned to his bed. I ran to it and looked under the bed. He was hiding at the far edge under the bed. "Jinx we gotta' get out of here now!"

"I'm scared Evelyn. I can't." He had a slight wobble in his voice. I sighed.

"Jinx. You have to trust me. I want to get you out. We have to hurry. Please!" I begged him. He nodded slowly and crawled out. I picked him up and ran for the exit. The smoke drew thicker and I started coughing. I felt Jinx coughing as well so I crouched down lower. I quickly made my way to the door but suddenly the roof fell down in front of me. I stumbled back and hugged Jinx tighter to my chest. I crawled to the corner furthest away from the fire and sat against the wall. I released Jinx a bit so that I could look at him. He had his eyelids dropped slightly and I saw he had burns across his flippers and chest. He must have got them from the fire and ran to his bed to hide.

"Jinx, I'm so sorry. Please stay with me. Jinx. Please." I pleaded. He didn't respond and tears welled up in my eyes. "Jinx?" He didn't respond again so I hugged him close to my chest. "I love you, Jinx. I'm so, so sorry, please stay, please…" I trailed off as the smoke over came me.

When I finally came round, I was in the main headquarter hospital and Chelsea, all of my friends and Captain Lamington were surrounding my bed. Captain Lamington was the first to speak. "Evelyn, are you okay? You were passed out for 3 days." My eyes widened and I found my voice. I asked the first question that popped into my head.

"Where's Jinx?" They all exchanged a meaningful looks and I heard Chelsea whisper 'told you.' All of my hope plummeted and knew the news wasn't good. They all pointed at Captain Lamington and he sighed, sitting himself beside me.

"Evelyn. I'm so, so sorry. He… didn't make it… He passed away peacefully yesterday." I felt tears come to my eyes and hugged Captain Lamington. He welcomed me into the hug and soothed me. He pushed me up gently so that he could look into my eyes. "He said he loves you and not to mourn him and embrace life before we put him down. And he added that you should learn to control your temper. He didn't die in pain. We didn't want to but we couldn't save him." The tears caught in my throat again and this time he pulled me into a hug. I cried myself to sleep in his flippers.

END FLASHBACK

I calmed down and took a deep breath. I called them all down to the main room and made them sit down. "I'm really sorry about this morning. I really am. It's just that I've had a really complicated life and I still have to learn to… control my temper. I hope you can forgive me." Skipper stood up and came over to me. He put his flipper on my shoulder and I flinched slightly.

"Well said, soldier. Now, we've got training to do." I grinned widely. Maybe he's not so bad, I said to myself.

Who's this Jinx person? Well, you'll find later! See ya, mis amigos!