Chapter two
The soothing sound of a deep voice brought me back to reality. My heavy eyes sluggishly opened and the first thing I noticed was the throbbing headache and the desire for water or any form of liquid.
"Hey." The voice repeated again looking towards the corner of my eye I saw a figure carefully approaching me.
Then it dawned on me everything that occurred the last time I was awake, the flashbacks held me immobilized in my body. Who exactly was this person? And how did he know my name?
On the spur of the moment I ascended out of what was a rocky bed and lunged for my jagged, silver knife that was hid in the secret pocket of my coat, that currently was tossed to the side of the bare floor. If he tried anything, I guess I had to be to one to end his life.
I used this for emergency only and I guess this would classify as one.
I looked up to see the startled look of the person in front of me, my vision was still blurry but being in the light definitely helped me see his features better. His arms shot up defensively, I guess he wasn't expecting that to be in my possession. Maybe he didn't really see me with that or maybe he was as shocked as I was at my sudden gesture. "Hey, Alexis. I'm on your side, I'm here to help you."
"But how do I know that? How do I know you're not with the military? Or part of human trafficking of some sorts."
He frowned, the very action crimping his features. "Why do you think I'd ever let anything bad happen to you? You need to trust me."
"I don't even know you."
"But you know that I saved you from that Unknown. You know that without me you would have been the next meal. You know that." Intentionally, his eyes locked with mine, peering into them, looking for answers to questions. "You trusting me, is the difference between life and death. I don't want you doing anything stupid out in the field. I'm not worried for myself, but for you."
The pressure in his gaze only confirmed it. Yet, I knew that putting your trust in people, in these times wasn't exactly convenient, that meant if they wanted to hurt you, make you suffer. They could do. "How did we get here?" Wherever here was. In the distance was the faint sound of crashing waves, but it couldn't be possible to be near a river or in a bed. We were just in middle of a forest. That would defy physics.
"Location shift." Once again the words rolled casually out his mouth.
Still, I didn't know what that meant and since I was the one currently yielding the weapon, I knew it would be wise for him to answer my questions. Yet, it seemed like he was unfazed by that fact, almost trying to make me feel comfortable. "Care to explain to me what that is?"
"It's pretty self-explanatory. Three chances. Shift your location to your liking. But I'm an agent my numbers are limited." Agent?
"Limited to how many?"
"Just two."
"A week? A month?"
"Ten years. We're trained not to be dependent on it, if a situation arose that getting out from is difficult, we're required to know how to think on our feet, not relying on the technology handed to us."
"Well then, who do you work for? You said you were some sort of agent."
His lips tugged in the corner, pulling up into a smirk. "You caught onto that? Yeah, I work for an organisation." That was it, no emphasises, not extra information or anything. How did he expect me to trust him, when he couldn't even trust me with certain details of his life.
"For military? Or?"
"Definitely, not military. Although we have our own branch, but no."
"Then what?" I pressed further, trying to pressure him into revealing more about himself, it would work to my advantage if I knew more details in his life. I could possibly figure out what he could want with me. "How do you expect me to trust you, if you can't trust me?"
The other side of his mouth, pulled up, evened it into a smile. But, by far the most beautiful smile that I had ever seen.
"Alexis, I assure you that you have my utmost trust. But for now, anything that I share with you can put you at risk. And I'm not entirely sure how you'll react. Personally, I think it's best to not reveal everything for your sake, it might be too much to handle."
"What do you mean? If you're an agent, were you sent to retrieve me or something? Because that's an odd place to run into each other at a very odd time. I guess my excuse is liable, but yours. Well, I don't know yours."
His smile only deepened, I guess it was somewhat funny to see me challenging him. "If you must really know. Then yes, I was sent to bring you, safely."
"What for?"
His mouth parted, proceeding to say something but decided against it, shutting it close. "I'm sorry, I know all of this must be daunting and strange to you. But just know, that you're safe with me. When the time comes, I'll tell you all you need to know. For now, just rest."
I trailed off lowering my voice still holding the knife out in front of me and I was prepared and not afraid to use it. "I don't know you. I don't even know your name. And I have no clue where I am and all your telling me is I'm safe with you?
"My name is Isaiah Patriot. Even though I know you're not going to use that on me, you need to put it down and avoid hurting yourself."
I could feel my features strain into a frown. I was tired of people thinking I was weak and in need of their protection all the time, I could fend for myself just as well as a grown man. "What, do you think I'm incompetence? Or just weak?" Clutching my head the throbbing was getting worst, my eyesight was clearing but the sound of the thumping waves weren't helping either. "Where am I?"
"How could I ever think that? It's just the position that hilt is being held, if someone wanted to attack you it's easier to grab and turn it until you instead. Here, let me show you." Cautiously, he approached me, holding a hand up to let me know that nothing was going to happen. His hands wrapped around, the heat encompass around, he clutched them tighter, dragging them up higher. "That how you're supposed to hold it. Then it'll really give you the advantage, they'll be less likely to challenge you for it and you'll be far more in a better position." Why was he even helping me? I was just his mission that needed to be delivered. Nothing more, nothing less. "We're off by the coast, since you asked."
That meant it would probably be secluded, if he wasn't delusional and we genuinely 'location shifted' that meant it would be easier for him to kill and dispose of my body. I just hope that my faith in him wasn't misplaced.
"Do you know which coast?"
He shook his head. "Should I?"
"Then how does the location shift work? Surely, you'd have to put in where you're heading or something."
His smirk made a reappearance. "You're smart. Yes, it does. You put in where you want to go but there's really no telling if it wanted to choose randomly or not."
"So, where did you choose? Your destination?" If I was meant to trust him with my life, anything that I could receive about him would be increasingly helpful.
A eyebrow of his shifted upwards. "Why does that matter?"
"You did say that I had to trust you. Just humour me, where?"
"Kensington. It's far from the Unknown and the soldiers tend to leave the well off places alone." I guess now, it made more sense.
There was a long pause and to be honest, he looked terrible; his shirt was thorn and his pants were covered in mud and green leaves. Obviously, our little excision last night did that. But if he looked like that, then what do I look like?
"Do you want some breakfast?"
I looked up, he seemed calm and composed, like for him there was nothing to worry about. "You know I could kill you." Still wielding the knife, standing up I inched closer, anticipating his reaction but that same state of his never left. "With this knife. Right here, right now. And no one will know."
He crossed his arms, watching me with an amused glint in his eyes." Funny, I swear that's what you were thinking I'd do to you, right? But, I know you won't use to that. You may be many things, but a killer definitely isn't one of them." I couldn't tell what he meant by that statement, but I didn't want to push further. He was right, I don't think I could ever go to the extent of actually killing someone, in spite of what happened to me, I didn't want spilled blood on my hands.
My head quickly turned from the throbbing pain to someone repeatedly stabbing my skull pain making me lose my footing and stumble backwards and for a fraction of a second my vision blanked and the cold metal that I once felt in my hand was quickly gone.
Before I could collide with the ground, his arms wrapped around me and sat me upright on the bed. "What do you want with me?" I turned to face him only to be greeted with a frown. The thumping in my temple, died down but not to the point I could even think properly. "Nothing, I just want to keep you safe. I've been assigned to do so-" "No, what do you really want from me?" It was becoming increasingly hard to believe his outlandish stories and I really couldn't tell whether it was a pure truth or simply something fabricated in his mind. He let out a deep pent-up breath. "Take this. It'll make you feel better." He fished into his pocket and unwrapped a piece of cloth offering me a pale white pill. "What is it?" "It helps with after-effects of shifting. It'll calm down headaches and dizziness." "I'm pretty sure we didn't time
Falling. I was falling helplessly passing parts of the sky in a split second. The air was too thin. Winds too harsh. Stale tears trickled down my cheeks, I was in shock, the whole world was now moving in slow motion. Every passing moment represented all the parts that made up me; Evan, my mother, my father. All the people I subsequently left behind. Maybe it was honestly for the best, truthfully I knew that surviving on my own was edging on absolutely impossible but one thing my father always managed to hammer into my head, was never stay in a place that's mentally and emotionally draining, that's how you truly lose yourself. All the aspects, the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, that make you, you. Gone. Never, ever find yourself in that situation. Stupid really thinking it was the right thing to do. But either way, I'd be free, so I couldn't r
Fifteen minutes later of speechlessly walking and mostly blending into the shadows we arrived at our destination, to be honest, I was still trying to grasp what Isaiah told me, yes I mean it's his mission to protect me but I never actually thought he really cared. Maybe I really should put my trust in him.But then how many people have screwed me over, the people I thought I trusted the most. I shouldn't be so naive to fall for his tricks. You're better than this, sternly I had to remind myself.You get nothing from putting your faith in others.The vast change of environment slightly stunned me, coming out from the vast busy, crazy streets into the somewhat quiet green area, the complex more like a skyscraper which merged to appear as a single mansion without a doubt looked out of place with the rest of the greenery. But this couldn't possibly be our destination."We're here."I
Chapter four It was weird really, I mean I saw myself, I saw a reflection of me. Tell me why did it feel so unusual, it didn't seem like me, I swear. Having had a long-needed shower I was gifted the tight attire I was currently wearing, the figure-hugging dress, black as night with even darker boots paired with a leather jacket. Everything pronounced my curves, but I was covered. I knew I was but I couldn't help but feel so naked. I guess I was too oblivious to notice that almost all of them wore black and dark colors. Was that a requirement or just a choice? Presentable. I looked presentable. Zee helped me pack my hair into a tight bun, it was a two-person job. They weren't allowed makeup, I knew that itself was a must, but it didn't even occur to me why they would, they were agents wouldn't it just be a huge waste of time? Nevertheless, they were both naturally beautiful, I would be lying if it didn't make me a l
"Alexis?" I recognized that voice. This was a dream. "Alexis!" The voice strained, unsure what to do. Another series of footsteps charged through, followed by another and then another until I lost count. Wet. I was wet. My cheeks felt unbearably damp. The paralysis slowly drained from my systems. A dream. It was a dream. Forcefully I snapped my eyes open the smell of sulfur disintegrated and sweet chocolate filled my senses instead. Instantly I locked my eyes onto Zee, her expression screamed everything, fear. Absolute fear possibly the overwhelming thought that I was the key to fixing the world, I could remember what she said about me being the 'savior' and Isaiah agreed with her, my mind flowed back to him saying he didn't know why they wanted me and he seemed surprisingly honest. Did he lie to me? If he did, how, why would he choose to slip up like that, right in front of me? Could I trust him?
With the boys already explaining to us that there was no one around for miles, I think it really dawned on everyone that this was deadly serious, eradicating the threat of an intruder instead was something we all could cling to, even hoped for, anything was better than the truth. But to our dismay, the boys extinguished our hope. My hope. Privately they chose to talk from earshot away from me, probably what they thought was for my own good. As if. They practically had to pry Isaiah away from me, he was so reluctant to go that when he left his fire and warmth died with him, at least I had Zee still by my side she thought it was best for me not to be left alone. I couldn't help but agree with her, silently of course. If they were nervous, how should I be feeling? Fearful? Scared? After their private get-together, all the boys stormed back into the room, Veronica still lingered in the hallway like she was anxious to come close to me, not sc
Chapter five My eyes felt heavy, my breath hitched, my body weak and despite it being morning since the sunlight ripped through the curtains I was still undoubtedly finished. Sleep didn't seem enough for me currently, maybe it was because I couldn't get enough of it or maybe because I didn't want to. Stress does extraordinary things to your body. I felt his presence before I heard his voice, "Good morning." My eyes flickered to him, Isaiah, standing towards the door fully clothed, holding a bottle of purple thick liquid, his eyes traveled down to the bottle too, "Oh I made a smoothie for you, you were fast asleep I thought you needed all the rest you could get, " Smiling he handed me the bottle, "Apples, grapes, and strawberries. I thought you'd prefer that over the protein-packed one we're required to drink, doesn't taste as good." Gratefully I accepted the bottle with my non-injured hand, his eyes glazed over to my bandaged one, "How's
It was hard getting ready with one damaged hand, but Zee being the type of person she is, helped me with everything. The pain was slowly subsiding and the pain killers seemed to be doing their job well enough. The soft fabric clung tightly to my skin, I guess they didn't wear anything loose-fitting. Tight black athletic wear pants and a sleeveless top. It looked relatively normal, nothing overly fancy like yesterday, for that I was grateful. Veronica insisted on wearing makeup and edged on forcing me to, when it was clear that at least for now nothing particle-filled will be even touching my face she dropped the subject. We were about to 'train', that meant physical activity, right? Wouldn't she just sweat the makeup off? Or was it so easy for her that she didn't even break a sweat? But weren't they forbidden to wear makeup or were those rules just a 'guideline' meant to be there but not meant to be fully followed?