"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Caroline interrupted, shaking her hands in front of Julia's face. "That Matthew guy snuck into your room, hid in your closet, knocked you out, and drew those markings on your wall? You guys lied to us!" She cried, furiously pointing at her and Red. The two gave them sheepish smiles before taking a sip of coffee in a guilty manner.
"It was classified information." Julia stated pathetically, looking at them with sad eyes. "I've wanted to tell you guys since before this started, but I was afraid that you would be dragged into this."
"Or they might have gotten their memories erased like everyone in your classroom." Red pointed out, drinking her coffee happily.
"What?!" Sydney and Caroline both screamed, jumping out of their chairs. "What's going to happen to us when your parents find out? The same thing?"
"I won't allow it." Julia promised, shaking her head. "I've been talking about this with my parents for as long as I could remember. They said that when the time comes, they'll let me make the decision. I won't let them remove your memories." They sighed in relief before flopping back onto their chairs.
"What happened after we left?" Sydney asked, her hands pressed tightly together and resting along her chin. "We left as soon as you had him pinned."
"He head butted me in the face."
"Shit."
"He told me something about Zane, too." Julia shared, clearing her throat so she could mention it quickly without choking up. "He's been with the enemy the whole time. His agency is the one that's after mine."
"Holy crap." They muttered, staring at her with wide eyes. "Doesn't that make Marianna an enemy too?"
"She's in hiding because she told me about them. If you betray their agency, you get the death sentence."
"I don't know whether I should hate Zane or feel bad for him." Caroline mentioned, shaking her head slowly. "This probably doesn't mean anything to you now, Julia, but I think he seriously liked you. Do you think he wishes for things to be different?"
"He told me a long time ago that he did," she whispered, nodding her head. "He hates the life he leads."
"How are you so sure that Matthew wasn't screwing with your emotions?" Sydney piped up, watching Julia carefully. "Aren't agents good at that type of stuff? Pick things out that are fragile to you and use them against you?"
"Zane left last night, telling me that he had a mission that he couldn't abandon." Julia pointed out with a frown. "At this point, I won't say it's just a coincidence." Exhaling through her nose, Julia leaned back into her seat. "Anyway, Matthew is still out there somewhere waiting for me, and I'm afraid that you both are in danger."
"We'll send agents to their houses." Red informed, placing her empty mug in the sink. Sydney and Caroline went for their cups, which were still full due to their attention being on Julia and her story. As they started drinking, someone's cell phone went off.
"Hold on, I need to take this. They need to know about Solaris' betrayal." Red announced, digging through her jeans pocket to get her phone.
"You should get some sleep, Red. You've been awake for over 24 hours."
"I'll think about it." She murmured before answering the call, walking into the living room. Julia motioned for her friends to follow her into her room, and the two brought their drinks along as they trudged up the steps. Julia shut the door behind them, watching them gravitate to her bed so that they could stare at the carvings that Matthew left behind. Their gazes glided over every detail of it, and as they did so, Julia took the opportunity to dig into her drawers for some clothes.
YOU ARE READING
Manhunt
Teen Fiction(Previously known as Secrets and Codes) Young, agent-in-training Julia Evans finds herself being targeted by an enemy agency, throwing her into a multi-decade feud where she shouldn't belong. As time runs out, her very life hangs by a thread, where...
