To Be A Hero

Chapter 3: Roots

I'm a panting, sweaty mess by the time I get back to Abel.

I've been trying to get back before she gets here, because apparently talking to me over the headset isn't enough for her. No, she wants to come see me. She has the audacity to want to see me!

I look back. Veronica, Kytan and Cameo are still far behind me, but I don't care. I just keep running.

"Sam, I'm here. Let me in," I say, my voice low, almost rasping from lack of speech.

"Um, a-alright. But, Five, I think you should know-"

"Now, Sam. I want to get inside before Nicole gets here."

"Well, that's the thing. Um, she's-"

"Sam."

"Okay. Okay. R-raise the gates!"

As I hear the alarm go off, I feel my anger spike, my blood roar.

What is she doing here? Why now? Why after being gone for four years does the A.M.T.B. come for me now?

I start to head inside, but the second my foot lands inside the township, I see her, waiting for me. The smile on her face holds a politeness that her eyes are missing.

"That's what I was trying to tell you," Sam says as the gates close behind me.

She takes a step towards me, and I want to run, to get away from her, to get away from the memories of betrayal and pain, but I stand my ground. She's in my territory. Whatever power she thinks she has over me is nonexistent here.

"Hello, Singer."

"Don't call me that," I snarl, and I watch as her eyes go slightly wider.

"Ah, so you can talk. I thought I was just imaging that voice. It's pretty." Nicole smiles wickedly. "I've missed hearing it."

I lunge at her, letting out a cry of anger. But I never get the chance to make contact, because hands of other runners grab ahold of me, pulling me back even as I struggle. Through the darkness I can see both Sam and Janine rushing towards me

"What is the meaning of this?" Janine shouts.

"It's fine. It's fine," Nicole says with a wave of her hand, her brown eyes alight in amusement. "I'm sure our girl meant no harm."

"Oh, yes, I did!" I yell, trying to lunge at her again. I can't break free of the hands holding me.

"And who-who are you, exactly?" Sam sputters, eyeing the girl warily.

"Nicole Edwards, supervisor in training for the A.M.T.B. Singer and I go way back."

"Supervisor in training?" He asks, studying her. She's only about one and a half inches taller than me, but thinner. She's built much like a beanpole, although I know exactly what she's capable of. "You're like fifteen."

"Sixteen, actually. The A.M.T.B. trains people while they are young, to ensure they'll actually get to make it to adulthood. Singer almost has. You turn eighteen in what, a month?"

I simply growl at her.

"She prefers to be called Five," Sam corrects, and Nicole almost beams at this. She nods.

"Of course. Of course. She looks like a Five, unlike Forty-three, which is what Mullins called her when we let them borrow her."

Sold me. You sold me!

I want to scream out those thoughts, but I hold my tongue. The words bubble and burn in my chest. They taste sour in my mouth, but I keep them at bay. I stay silent.