Storm

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"You ready?"

I shrugged my bag onto my shoulders and turned to the door. "Yup," I replied to May.

We left the hospital and walked out to the parking lot. Instantly, we were swarmed by paparazzi. 

"Any word on the kidnapping?"

"How did you escape?"

"Can we see the scar?"

Their voices echoed in my skull. My head pounded from the incessant chaos. They were surrounding me, everywhere I turned. 

I nearly got lost in the sea of flashing light, if not for May's steady grip on my arm. It was an anchor, pulling me to towards the safety of our car.

The door slammed shut, separating the raucous atmosphere of the car park with the cool solemnity of the car. Said car, was apparently a limousine.

I waited till we started driving before speaking.

"What the hell was that?"

May winced slightly before replying. "Sorry, should've warned you. You've... uh... been on the news. A lot."

I sank down against the leather seat and rested my head in my hands. How was this my life?

"Why are we in a limousine?"

"The deal has gone through. We're now, officially, the biggest tech company in London, maybe all of England. Dad insisted on a limo."

"Any other changes happen when I was away?

"Dad has also insisted on us getting bodyguards and taking up defence classes again."

"Bodyguards?" I asked incredulously.

"One of them's driving the car now."

I looked towards the head of the limo. In the driver's seat, was a heavy-set guy in a suit. He raised his hand in a small salute.

"I don't need this, May. I can take care of myself."

May raised an eyebrow. "Like you did this week?"

"I got out, didn't I?" I said hotly.

"After a week."

"I got out before a w-" I stopped short realising what I was just about to say. But it was too late. From the expression on May's face, she knew exactly what I was about to say.

"What do you mean, before a week? Why didn't you come back? Was there something else?"

I inwardly groaned. Now I had to tell her about the demon and the Wild.

"I'll tell you later. Not here." I hissed, sending an icy look the way of the driver.

May glared at me before her expression softened. "I missed you, you know. Our parents did too, more than they think they did. So please, don't go out and get hurt again. Promise, for me?"

"I promise." The lie slid easily off my tongue like butter. I would try, but not forever. Even for May, promises were hard to keep.

~

It was late when I found myself gazing out at London's skyline. I had told May about my little trip, excluding the parts about Carol. I didn't think I could say it to someone else. That would make it real, and I desperately wanted it to not be.

May had left soon after with the book to translate some more of it. I knew she was probably making notes right now.

But I wasn't. I couldn't do anything, not even sleep.

My hand ghosted across my scar as I remembered the demon. There could be more of them in the city right now. The Wild could be running after them, hunting them down. Carol could be out there.

I shut my eyes tight as a single tear ran down my cheek. This was not supposed to be how it was going to go. She was not supposed to be alive. 

My eyes flashed open as I realised what I needed to do. I needed to hit something. I always felt better when practising.

Of course, I didn't have to practise. I had the whole city to explore. Fighting against the  TechWizards had been better than just a punching bag, and I had the entirety of London to fight with.

Of course, my promise to May would be broken, but this was necessary. Therapeutic. She would understand if she even noticed from all the note-taking she was doing.

My plans made, I stuffed pillows in my bed to disguise the fact that I wasn't there, pulled on my trainers, flicked my hood up and for good measure, tied a black scarf around my face. I grabbed two more (I had too many scarves, but my mum liked to force them onto me to try and give me some sense of fashion) and wrapped them around my hands to protect them when I would find someone to fight.

I smiled dangerously at my reflection in the mirror and leapt over the edge of the balcony.

~

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