The Rise to Heroism {Loki Laufeyson} Book One

Chapter Eight

"Becca, c'mon!" The truck drove past, blowing dust in my face. Coughing and temporarily blind, I feel Blaine's arm wrap around my waist and pull me in. I rub my eyes, opening them and feeling tears roll down my cheeks.
"Thanks Jade, I've always wanted to become the human version of Niagara Falls!" I snap.
Jade, keeping her eyes on the road calls back. "You were about to get shot by Brinson. I had to do something!"
"Well, that something sprayed dirt in my face, thus making me blind!"
"Just shut up and get to work." Jade orders, ignoring me.
Pulling the gun from the holster at my thigh, I kneel down and peer outside. A bullet whizzes past my arm, implanting itself in the door behind me. I shoot blindly into the space, hearing a scream.
"Watch out!" I turn and see Blaine running toward me. He knocks me out of the truck and onto the sand. A missile hits the truck, exploding.
"Jade!" I scream and scramble to my feet. But I know it's no use, she's gone.
Turning back, the fury surges through my veins. I charge into the battlefield, shooting at everything. I hit several people, absorbing their screams of agony.
"Becca!" I see Blaine. "You need to stop this massacre. She's gone, accept it."
"No." I growl and point my gun toward him. I shoot, the bullet hitting Shannon Hunt behind him. She drops instantly.
Blaine whips around, seeing Shannon dead at his feet. Turning back to face me, he lifts his gun, placing his finger on the trigger. "Then you leave me no choice." He says and shoots.
At first, I feel nothing, but the searing pain makes itself known and I scream. My stomach is bleeding, the wound throbbing where the bullet was. I smile despite the agony I'm in. I wasn't going down without a fight. I shoot back at him, hitting him in his stomach as well. When the realization sets in, we both drop to the sand, motionless.

***

I open my eyes to a white light and as my eyes adjust, I feel my stomach. No bullet hole, no blood splatters on my clothes. It really had been a simulation.
I shiver. Dying sucks, especially when you have to kill your friend in order to get any satisfaction. But it seemed so real...
Sitting up, I regulate my breathing, looking around at all the waking faces. Everyone had seen what I saw, felt what I felt, did what I did.
"Now of course the battlefield won't be exactly like that, but you get the point." Trainer 5 says. He stands on a stage, surrounded by monitors that replay the simulation over and over. I see myself shooting Blaine and shiver once more. Again, so real...
"You know, getting blown up is not the best way to go." I hear Jade announce behind me and I laugh.
"Yeah, and getting shot by your best friend isn't all that much better either." I see Blaine glance at me in the corner of my eye.
"I had no other choice. It needed to end. Plus, if I recall correctly, you shot me first!" I retort.
"Look, I'm sorry. But you went insane-"
"Oh, I went insane? Says the guy who-"
"Enough! You sound like me and my wife!" Booms Trainer 5. "It's just the stress of the serum getting to you. Now, leave."
Nobody ignores that command.

***

As I walk down the hall, I pass Loki, who grabs my arm. "Come with me for a moment, child." He whispers and drags me down the other way, opposite of where I needed to go.
Detention Ward; I was used to seeing that by now. Two months in and I consider this place home.
He closes the door behind him, flicking on the light. He grins wickedly. "I have two words." He says. "'Happy' and 'Birthday'."
"Where's my present?" I ask.
"Present?"
"It's a Midgardian tradition to give your friend, lover or other a gift on their birthday. For example, twenty bucks, or a teddy bear. Something sentimental - preferably something he or she likes."
He nods. "Mmm. Alright, I could give it a try." He says and holds out his hand. Something appears in his palm and his expression prompts me to open it. I pull off the top to reveal a ring with a green and black stone positioned in the middle. In the center of the stone, a ring of gold surrounded an oval shaped diamond that glittered in the energy that pulsed in Loki's hands.
"Oh my god."
"I think the correct term is 'Oh my Loki!'" He smiles as I slip the ring onto my finger. Right, because he's a god and his name is Loki? Funny. Pathetic - but funny.
I look up at him. "Loki, this is beautiful. Thank you so much." I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him passionately. He smiles against my mouth and kisses back softly, just like I taught him to.
Pulling away, I stroke his cheek. "I have to go, but I swear that I'll be back at some point tonight okay?" I say and smirk. He steps out of my way and I walk out, feeling a pang of guilt for keeping the party from him.
Never disobey my orders again. I might need you, but not desperately. He had said that night.
I slip out, closing the door behind me and praying that he doesn't find out that I'm about to do just that.