The Silver Bullet

Chapter Eleven: Surprise

Rachel lay in her dark, lifeless room, staring at the ceiling.  Her racing mind prevented her from  getting any sleep. She sat up, her back aching and her fingers stiff. She turned to the right to  figure out time. 6:15 AM. Groaning silently, she stood  up, only to have herself fall flat onto her face.  

'Great. Just what I need right now.' she thought to herself sarcastically. With her last bit of  strength, she grabbed onto her nightstand and pulled herself up. It took her a few moments to regain her balance, but she eventually got feeling in her legs again. She didn't bother changing into a fighter's outfit.

The halls of the CPU were lonesome; nobody seemed to be up on time. The ceiling lights were turned on,  as were  the control room and the room where they ate. Swiftly, she raced down the stairs  and went to get breakfast.

A figure was sitting in a chair in front of Rachel, an apple in his hand. He polished it off with his sleeve, completely unaware of his surroundings. He looked no older than sixteen. His sandy colored hair looked messy, but also short. His hazel eyes stayed focus  on the apple. Before he could take a bite, a shaprened dagger shot at him and snatched the apple, hitting the wall.

The figure turned to see an enraged Rachel. Her eyes glared at  him, her mouth curved into a frown.

"You have the nerve to come back here and look me in the eye." Rachel growled angerily, stomping over towards him. "What do you even think you're doing here?"

The figure stared at Rachel, speechless. One wrong move he'd regret later. Furiously, she knocked the chair out of the way, making the figure fall to the floor. Rachel grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him up to her face.

"I told you to get out of my life." she spat at him. "Why return now? You're not welcome here!"

The figure remained silent and awestruck.

"ANSWER ME, YOU FILTHY LITTLE MAGGOT!!" Rachel shouted at him, her grib becoming tighter.

"Geez, Rachel!!" the teenaged boy protested. "I thought you would be over the past by now!"

"You don't know me at all..." Rachel growled viciously through her bared teeth. "I will NEVER forgive you for what you did to me, Luke. You also have 10 seconds to give me an explanation on why you are back here before I make you body-slam a table."

"The rumours were true." Luke chuckled to himself. "You are a rather fiesty one. I seriously don't believe that you could do all of these epic moves and all the abilities you claim to have."

"Never doubt me." Rachel hissed with a smirk. "I've trained to the extreme and carry power that no one knows I possess. Five more seconds."

"Stop acting like you're all tough and crap, RIP! You try and act like you're  over-powering and terrifying, but you are really just a scared, pathetic girl! I'm not startled by your threats!"

"TIME'S UP" Rachel screamed angerily. She grabbed Luke by the neck and was about to fling him onto the table, but Riptide darted into the room

"Rachel, stop! What do you think you're doing? Put him down!"

"Why should I?" she snapped. "He shouldn't be here. I don't  want him here, and no matter what you say, I don't need him."

"Put him down, Rachel." Riptide spoke  calmly, not trying to lose his temper. "Then, we'll talk."

Rachel hissed at Riptide before turning her greyish-blue daggers back to the bulging hazel eyes she was glaring at before. She forcefully threw him onto the floor. She smiled as she watched him crack the back of his head off the floor. Luke's face scrunched up in pain.  Riptide's eyes widened as he saw  Luke turn and look at him.

"That was very stupid, Rachel!" he shouted, shocked by her reactions. 

"You're right..." she responded. "I should have thrown him onto the table, but no! You told me to put this worthless jerk down!!"

"What did he even do to you?" Riptide groaned, annoyed with her attitude.

"Hmm, let's stop and think!" Rachel sassed back sarcastically. "Oh yeah, he showed up late on a mission and allowed my father, the only family I ever had, get bit by freak of nature and get seperated from me! And to top it off, he was taken into custody so I never got to see him until my birthday! Once a year isn't exactly enough, you know!!!"

"Oh, let it go!" Riptide shouted back, still annoyed. "That happened, like, 6 years ago! I thought you'd be over this! That's why I invited him back! So, get over it!"

Rachel's glare shot straight at Riptide like sharpened daggers. Now he had done it. He had just shot her rage level out of her head. Rachel was gonna lose it. She stomped towards the door, but stopped as she stood next to Riptide. She leaned towards his ear.

"Last I checked, you weren't put up for adoption since the second you were born. You weren't adopted. You don't know what it's like to have the only person who loves you get taken away from you at such a young age. So send that  filthy maggot home before I kick his sorry rear there, you heartless animal."

She pushed Riptide away from her and stormed to the door. Before she exited the room, she stopped and turned to lay at the shocked figure, still laying on the floor.

"Oh, and you..." Rachel hissed, trying to hold back tears. "Stay away from me. You've screwed up my life enough, Luke."

She stormed out of the room and charged up the staircase. She stomped down the hall until she reached her room. She opened the door, entered, and slammed it shut. The sound echoed through the hallway.

Luke bowed his head in shame, and Riptide sighed. They both turned their heads towards the wall; the silver dagger piercing the apple had buried itself into the once strong and sturdy wood. Rachel quietly snuck behind a corner, hoping to learn more from eavesdropping.

"What got into her?" Luke asked curiously. "I thought you said she would be over this by now."

"I thought so some time ago, but not everything went right last night. When Rachel  went to visit Jack like that, he transformed and attacked Rachel. Now, he hiding in the woods, possibly going psycho, and trying to find a way to break in."

"I thought I would never be coming back here." Luke sighed sadly. "You seemed so angry with me that night when you were introduced to Rachel. Plus, that day time job as a busboy isn't much fun either. No action."

"Well, you musn't tell Rachel that I have forgiven you, which is the reason you've been invited back. I beg of you, don't go near her. Don't speak to her, unless commanded. Don't do ANYTHING with her. She is now the best hunter in the CPU. No innocent casualties or severe attacks on her. She does have authority over you. She wasn't exaggerating. Rachel is capable of much more than she performs. Even I don't know what else she can do. I will tell you though, she WILL put your head through a wall if you tick her off again, with me there to stop it or not. And just that is the most merciful she will be." Riptide explained silently.

Rachel snuck back up to her room. A few tears started rolling down her cheeks, but then her lips curved into a smirk.

"Two can play at this secret-keeping game, Riptide" she cackled to herself.