The Gemini

29. Gunpoint

Lena Matthews

I never thought I would see the barrel of a gun. I had always assumed that I would be on the other side of it, holding the cold metal within my own fingers and drinking in the fear in the eyes of a Forbidden on the other side.

But here I was, fear contorting my insides and making my vision blur. I could feel an invisible iron weight slowly wrap its way around my chest. 

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice barely managing to make a sound.

The agent cocked his gun, the click sound resonating in my stomach. "That isn't your concern."His voice sounded a lot more confident now. This was a completely different person standing in front of me.

"If you're going to kill me, I think it is." My hands were shaking unsteadily, but my voice had managed to calm down. My face remained expressionless, but my knees were ready to give out. "Can I please just get a name?"

"Do names even matter to you?" the agent asked.

"Yes." I stepped forward, ignoring the way my legs were shaking. The agent stepped back, mirroring my movements. He kept the gun pointed toward my chest, but something was off. The gun was trembling in his hands, and I realized that he was scared too.

"You killed Lena Matthews."

"I am Lena Matthews," I responded. My feet inched forward, the gun getting eerily close to my chest. The agent didn't move. "I didn't change or go away when I died. They lied to you."

"I know better than to listen to things like you." the agent replied, but there was no animosity in his voice.

"Okay," I replied calmly. I silently hoped that the staggered way I was walking wouldn't give my nerves away. I tried to take a deep breath and clear my thoughts. The agent had a gun, sure, but we weren't in Atalka. He wasn't anywhere near my tree. Destroying the tree was the only way I could die, and he didn't know that. It wasn't like there were special bullets that could kill every Forbidden.

So logically, I wasn't going to die today.

I kept walking until the cold metal of the gun pressed against my chest. The agent and I were inches apart now, the trees around us holding their breath.

"If I'm lying," I said softly, "then do it. Do what you came here to do."

The agent didn't respond, his knuckles clutching his gun like it was his last lifeline. His eyes said nothing, but the hesitation told me everything I needed to know.

I wasn't going to die today.

The cold metal pressed against my chest reminded me that the gun was still there. I suddenly threw my weight out of the way, my right hand flying up to catch the gun. The agent noticed what was happening too late, and as he tried to keep the weapon in his hand, it flew to the ground and clattered against the roots.

The roots of the trees twisted, trapping the gun against the soil before I could even spare a thought to command the forest to my will.

"Just some advice for next time, try not to pick a fight with a dryad in the woods," I commented, unable to stop the sly smile that spread across my face. The feeling of triumph didn't last long as the agent lunged in my direction, pinning my body against one of the trees.

A hollow pain exploded across my spine and I tried to break free from his grasp. When it became clear that I wouldn't escape, I let myself relax. The agent just made one grave miscalculation.

He pinned a dryad to a tree.

I forced myself to relax before a comforting darkness overtook my vision. I sank into the familiar network, the embrace of nature gently lulling me back to where I needed to be. When I blinked in the new sunlight, I realized that I was still close to the school. I didn't bother to turn back as I sprinted back into the building.