I•C•E// r.s.l.❣

3.0

go check out my new story 'thanks for the memories' because it's bomb, yeah 😏

There is a tiny room to the left of where the children were put to hide by Ross. He was nowhere to be seen in the millisecond glance I had over the hall before entering and locking myself inside.

To my luck, there was ammo; two guns and a few grenades. I shoved what I could into my pockets and fitted on a bullet proof vest in the corner that smelt like mouldy body odour. "Jesus Christ."

There was silence the other side of the door, and I moved to the very corner of the room, holding the gun to my chest. It was strange that even through a vest, I could feel my heart hammer against my ribcage.

My Good Vibrations bracelet lit up, catching my eye.

We got one each a few days back, and if you press a button, the other person's bracelet vibrates, no matter where they were.

I pressed mine, hoping for a response. Nothing happened, even two minutes later. The moment I decided to move, a vibration coursed through my arm. That put my heart at rest for now.

I opened the door just a crack, revealing an empty hall. With reluctant steps, I made my way out of the room and ran outside, gunshots in the distance. My first idea was to go into the 'sports' area.

It was the place I knew best; I did spend my life there when I arrived here.

Being alone with my thoughts whilst having my hands tight on the gun made me feel less powerful. Memories from my time in London flashed back to me, and I had to double over to regulate my heavy breathing.

It simulated the feeling I had in my chest when I had water in my lungs. They said it was normal, but it hurts.

"You can run but you can't hide." The words echoed, grabbing my attention. I fell back into my focused mindset and yanked the top off the grenade, making a run for it as that sector suffered the explosion and lit into flames.

I was in the car park at this point, a white van opposite me. Inside sat Matt, two men either side of him.

They began to shoot at me, so I took out the two guys first, as Matt went ahead, driving the van in my direction. It was a miracle I wasn't hit one time.

But I hit him, on the shoulder.

I ran as fast as I could go the back of the van and opened it. "Taking a nap."

"Haha." Ross helped himself out. "The dude's bat shit nut-"

"Stop!" A very bloody Matt appeared with a gun in his hand. "The game isn't finished."

"Screw the game. I found you first, and I found Ross, I win." I smiled. "Say hi to Hades for me."

I aimed the gun at him, but I couldn't bring myself to shoot him. He pulled that innocent look on, and I have a major weakness for stuff like that.

"I can't. Just take him away-"

The innocence was replaced by a cunning look, and brought his own gun up, shooting my shoulder. I cried out in pain, instantly crumbling to my feet. "This hurts more than I can remember."

People poured out to come and collect Matt and I.C.E. spies who were caught attempting to raid our weapons. In my case, I was rushed to the nearest hospital.

It was strange. I was dying in pain, and could barely articulate words to describe it, but I couldn't care less.

It was over, and that was all that mattered.

+++

We bowed down at the same time, the fifth medal put on us both. David crushed me with a proud hug and the Governors copied.

It was the Awards Ceremony, and so far, except from one other guy, Ross and I are the big winners.

It felt weird. It could be possibly the last time I went through one of these ceremonies and retired, becoming a mentor rather than a spy. To my left, Ross wasn't close to retiring at all, as he saw 'spying' as therapeutic (he only really enjoyed the thrill).

To be fairly honest, not even I wanted to give up being a spy. Not yet at least.

Not ever.

The ceremony drew to a close with David receiving a medal. My boyfriends first instinct was to draw me closer to him. From his pocket, he produced two plane tickets. "Two weeks in France at a hotel with a view to the Eiffel Tower, for two. Run away with me."

I drew a breath, preparing to accept the offer, when my Dad came jogging in my direction. "Ross, Athena.."

"What's up?" I smiled.

"Duty calls." He said. "I know you had plans to take a holiday but-"

I looked to Ross. "Meet you at the reception in 10?"

He laughed, walking away. "Sure thing, babe."

There's no day off for heroes.

We were both very tired, but we loved our job; go is the only word we know.

if you watched The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and know the main song for it (on the side), you'll recognise the last few lines 😊 It isn't a total wrap yet babes, we still have the epilogue book to go 😏