Chapter 4

Chapter 4               

            

It’s an innocent game of jump rope.  We are about ten or eleven years old at the time.  I hold one end of the plain white rope, and Aurora the other, while Autumn skips rope in the middle.

 I think the rope that we’re using was meant for something else.  We don’t have a lot of toys on the base.  Even though the entire property was built around and for four children, it had more of a military setting than anything.  It’s probably because the majority of the staff viewed us Alphas as little soldiers in training, rather than children.  I think maybe Espi and Autumn’s caretaker, Charlene, might have been the only two who would encourage us four to have a little fun.

It’s Charlene who gives us the rope, and shows us three girls how to play.  We must have skipped rope for at least three hours straight. 

I don’t know if he was just being mean, or if his feelings were somehow hurt by not being asked to join, but Astro finds us three girls having fun, and he looks upset.   I hadn’t noticed him sitting there on the front porch of Charlene and Autumn’s home.  He kicks up dirt as he marches right up to Autumn, leaving a trail of small, dust clouds behind him.  Autumn stops skipping when he stops in front of her.  She smiles, but he’s still glaring.  He says not a single word, and  shoves her hard, knocking her to the ground.  The poor, brown-eyed girl immediately begins to cry.

I instantly drop my end of the rope, and get in his face.  I shove him, and he shoves me back, and an instant wrestling match ensues.  Speed hears the commotion.  Suddenly he’s trying his best to force himself between us two, as he shouts for us to cut it out.  “God damn you two!  This is the third time this week!”

Aurora and Autumn help him out.  Aurora grabs a hold of Astro, Autumn of me, and the two manage to yank us off each other.  I fall backwards, and land on my butt.  At first, I think it’s just the heat of the hot pavement on a summer day, as my hands touch the ground.  But when I look down at my hands, I see that they are illuminated a faint green color.  My eyes grow wide as I see this, and then in that instant, the glowing disappears.

I look up as a shadow passes over me, and see that Speed is standing directly above me.  He’s staring down at me with a weird, almost judgmental expression on his face.  I don’t know if that look is because he is angry at me for fighting, or if it is because he saw how my hands glowed that strange green color.  He never says a word, and I’m always left to wonder:   Just what did he see that day?

***

I awake from my dream about this childhood memory, hearing voices outside my window.  I glance at my alarm clock and see that it is just a little past two in the morning.  I lay awake in bed and listen hard, trying to place whose voices I hear.

 “Why do you hate the kid so much?”  It’s Professor Walden.

 “Why do you like her so much?”  Ugh.  That’s Speed for sure.

“Have you ever stopped to think that maybe all Angel needs is a little special attention?  A little—“ 

“God dammit!  I am sick and tired of hearing people describe that brat as special!”

I climb out of bed and quietly but quickly walk over to my window to get a peak of what’s happening.  They’re walking down the open road outside, I’m guessing to their homes.  The Professor has Speed’s arm draped over his own shoulder, as he’s hunched over a bit, looking as if he’s trying to steady the guy as he walks alongside him.   Speed holds a bottle in his hand, and he’s staggering pretty badly.  It’s obvious how he’s apparently spent his Sunday off—getting completely wasted.

“Special?!” drunken Speed continues.  “Special ain’t what she is.  That’s just sugar coatin’ the truth!  That kid is anything but special.  She’s a mistake.  Something that should have been fixed a long time ago.  A waste of time, space, and money.  It’s time to cut our losses, I tell ya.  That kid is good for nothing.”

Professor Walden doesn’t say anything in response.  I’d like to think it’s because he just doesn’t want to bother with the ridiculous drunk, and not because he’s swayed by what Speed has just said.

A sharp pain hits me, and my hands erupt into flames, illuminating the room in an eerie green glow.  Not this again.  I panic and drop to the ground, sitting on my hands, trying my best to hide the sudden bright light, which I’m sure is visible to the two men outside.  Thankfully, the fire disappears within a few moments.  I hold my breath as I use my X-Ray vision to look through the wall.

Professor Walden has stopped in his tracks.  His eyes are on my window and he wears a curious expression.  Speed is still ranting about how much he hates me, and doesn’t seem to have notice the firework show.  My heart is pounding as I try to imagine what could be going through Professor Walden’s mind right now.  But just when I have convinced myself of the worst, a slight smile sweeps his face.  He smiles at my window for just a moment, before turning around and continuing on his and Speed’s path for home.

***

The next morning, I still feel sluggish.  I think I’m starting to see a pattern with the green fire thing.  One, it seems to be happening more and more frequently.  Two, when it happens, it seems to suck all the energy out of me.  Even after a full night’s rest, I’m still incredibly tired, as if I didn’t get any sleep at all.  Espi gives me a weird look when I ask for coffee with my breakfast.  I’ve only tried sips of the stuff before, and have always complained about the taste.  But my eyes feel heavy, and I’m desperate to try anything to help remedy this.

While I sit at the dining room table, downing my third cup of coffee.  Espi is leaving to do her weekly grocery shopping off base.  I walk with her out onto our front porch, and watch as she gets in her car.  She blows me a kiss before she drives away, and I return a wave as she pulls out onto the gravel road.  I stay outdoors until Espi’s car is gone and out of sight. 

As I watch Espi’s little blue station wagon disappear, I remember how I used to give her a hard time when I was younger.  She used to have to sneak away or trick me whenever she had to leave off base.  I guess it’s not uncommon for little kids to have separation anxiety from their parents when they are young.  But I have to remind myself that Espi is not my mother.  She’s just the person who is paid to take care of me.  Or at least that’s what our therapist, Dr. Diane, always reminds me that I should remember.  Still, even now while I’m older, I still feel sad to see her leave.

It’s still very early, and the sun is a bright red.  Only when the sun is low like this,  is when the base appears to actually have some color.  Every building, house and home on base is painted the same light grey tone.  But in this lighting everything shines a shade of red, orange or yellow.  The dessert sand in the distance looks a deep red, instead of a muddy plain brown.  I won’t get to see these colors again until sunset.

I go back inside, and begin to pour a fourth cup of coffee.  Before I can finish, our house’s doorbell starts to ring loudly, over and over again.  It’s twenty-something rings before I get to the door.  I open it to find Autumn standing there with an incredibly big grin on her face.  It’s a little creepy.

“I had a vision!” she exclaims with overwhelming excitement.

I motion for her to come in, and close the door behind her.  “What is it?”

She doesn’t say anything except for some weird, girlish squealing.  She grabs me by my wrist and leads me down the hallway to my bedroom.  She quickly shuts the door behind us and turns around and does more of that squealing stuff that honestly hurts my ears.  “What is it?” I repeat.

“You!”

“Me what?”
                “You!  You are going to be a hero!”

“…They’re not going to retire me?”

“No!”  She grins big, and now I’m smiling too.

“What did you see?  How do you know?”

“I saw me, you, Astro and Aurora, on this stage, with all these people and cameras, and a big banner that said: “The Alphas.”   And like Speed was there, and so were the Deltas, and the Chief announced all of us as the new heroes!  Including you!”

“Really?” I almost shout.

She nods really big, grabs my hands, and does that squealing again.  She’s jumping up and down, and I can’t help but laugh.  “OK, OK,” I say, “Relax!”

“I can’t!”

I just laugh.  “You’re way too excited about this.  I should be the one screaming, not you.”

“But there’s more!”

“…More?”

“Yes!  I had like three visions last night!”

Autumn tends to have a lot of visions in her sleep.  She’s always described them to me as chaotic.  She says their like a choppy, badly edited movie with very short scenes or random images at times.  “What else did you see?” I ask.

“Charlene is getting me these really, really cute shoes I’ve wanted for like ever for my birthday tomorrow!”

I laugh.  “OK.  That’s great, Autumn.”

“I know!”

“What was the third one?”

“You!”

“What?  Me again?”

“Yes!  You and Aurora!”

“Me and Aurora?”

“Yes!  You and Aurora!”

“OK….”  I wait for her to say more, but she doesn’t.  “What?”

“You and Aurora!” she repeats, still bouncing up and down.

“Aurora and I—what?” I ask.

She just continues to stand there, with that big grin spread wide across her face.  She’s nodding her head excessively as if I should somehow know what she means.  I’m too tired to try to figure this one out, so I just stand there with a blank look on my face.

The doorbell rings again.  I’m not used to this many visitors on a Monday morning.  Autumn and I go to the door, and it’s Aurora.  Before anyone can say “hi” Autumn lets out another annoying, girlish squeal.  Both Aurora and I jump at the sound.

“What’s with her?” Aurora asks.

I shrug.  “She’s being very vague about—Ow!” Autumn steps on my foot before I can finish.  “What’s that for?!” I shout at her.

“It’s supposed to be a surprise!”

“Then why would you tell me?  Or at least kinda tell me, or whatever!”

“Because I thought you already knew, or at least had a thought, but you don’t, which makes it even more exciting, which is why it should stay a surprise!”  She runs all the words together; I can barely understand the sentence.

I shake my head at Autumn.  Fine.  Don’t tell me then.  I look at Aurora:  “What are you doing here?”

“I thought we could walk to class together.”

Autumn squeals.

“You usually walk with Astro though.  I mean… he lives across from you, after all.”

“I know,” she says.  “I guess I don’t really have a good reason,” she says with a giggle.

I smile.  I don’t know if it’s just ego, or that I like the idea of Astro having to walk to class alone, but as soon as I show a slight smile, Autumn erupts into more squealing.  “Will you stop that?!” I snap at Autumn.  I can’t help it.  It’s annoying.

“I can’t help it!” she doesn’t even break her smile.  “It’s so exciting!”

“Well it’s annoying to me, because I don’t know why you’re squealing,” I roll my eyes.  “So either spill the beans, or stop screaming at everything!”

“OK, OK!” Autumn says. “I’ll shut up!  I promise!”  She clamps her lips shut, and slides herself through the door way.  “In fact, I’m gonna go!  You two walk to class together!  Have fun!  And, um, I guess I will go walk with Astro today!  Yeah!”

“But that’s totally out of your way.”

“Doesn’t matter!  I’m walking with Astro, OK?  So, bye!”

Aurora and I stand there confused as we watch Autumn quickly disappear into her home, grab her backpack, and zip away towards the other side of the base.  Her behavior is strange, but I choose to ignore it.  I grab my backpack, and Aurora and I head to our first class.

***

Aurora does most of the talking during our walk.  I’ve never been much of a talker.  She’s telling me some story about her caretaker, Sara.  Something about how she found an old photo album of hers that had pictures of Sara and her deceased husband back when they were young newlyweds.  I’m not really focusing on the details of what she’s saying, because honestly, I really don’t like Sarah at all.  Instead, I’m focusing on new features of Aurora, I realize I have never noticed before.

When she talks, her voice is the most expressive thing I have ever heard.  The way her words flow is almost musical.  Her tone drops soft, serious and low when she begins to retell an old war story Sara told her—the story of how her husband was killed.  Her blue eyes are soft, and glistening, and she seems so involved in her words… as if she can see the war she’s describing.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this before.  It’s strange, but impressive.  I find myself being sucked into her every word, only I don’t have the mind to comprehend what it is she is telling me, because I’m too distracted by the raw emotion she’s showing me.

“Angel?” she says it as if she’s already said it before.

“Hm, what?” I say, snapping out of my almost hypnotized state.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Uh, yeah.  Well, not the last part, no,” I lie.  I haven’t really heard most of it.

She laughs a little.  “I said, ‘I hope we never have to experience a war like that again.’  Don’t you agree?”

I nod.  “Yeah.”

She smiles, and I smile, too.  We continue walking in silence for a little while.  As we walk, I notice Autumn and Astro in the distance.  Autumn seems to have noticed us too, and she’s doing that squealing thing again.

And then I realize what she must have seen.

“You and Aurora,” is what she said.

Aurora and I.  That girlish squealing.  She does that same thing every time she shares some sappy romance story she’s read or seen in a movie. 

“You and Aurora.”  She must have seen the two of us together… as in romantically together.  That had to be it.

I stop in my tracks as this idea occurs to me.  Autumn predicts the future.  That would mean that what she saw had to be true.  Or at least would be true….

“You OK?” Aurora’s voice is soft, and concerned.  I don’t hear it though until she says it a second time, while she places her hand on my shoulder.

I jump at the sudden contact, and I can feel my face turn a bright red.  “Yeah, I’m fine.  Why?”  Her hand is still on my shoulder, and I feel as if the longer she leaves it there, the brighter red my face become. 

“Nothing.  You just seem distracted today, that’s all.”

“Am I?” I say.  I pull away from her touch, and try to laugh casually but I know I sound panicked.  I am panicked.  “I guess a little.  Maybe.”

She just returns a smile, and walks ahead of me, into the building where our first class is located.  Astro follows after her, and then Autumn, but I stop her before she can step foot through the door.  I grab the short girl by her arm, and demand a little too loudly:  “What did you see, Autumn?”

A giant grin sweeps her face.  “So you do know!”

“Know what?  I know nothing!  You’re the one who saw it!  So tell me!”

“No, no,” she says shaking a finger at me.  “You must know.  Because before you acted like you didn’t care.  That’s when you really didn’t know.  But now you know because you’re obviously freaking out!” she giggles.

“It’s not funny!”  My face is still red.  I can feel it.  “Just tell me!”

She doesn’t.  She just smirks, as if she’s beaten me in some game, and continues on her way to class.  I’m so embarrassed, frustrated, and confused.  It’s all her fault.  I could strangle her right now.

***

Monday mornings are lectures by Professor Walden.   His lectures are every other Alpha’s least favorite classes, but have always been my favorite.  My eidetic memory really helps me succeed with our studies.  I may not be the best at training, but at least I can remember any date you throw at me.

Professor Walden is our main teacher who teaches all of the history stuff.  He is also a famous, award-winning scientist, who is actually the one responsible for my creation, as well as the other heroes.

Professor Walden is the one man entrusted with the formula behind our super powers.  He was the man to create Generation X, Generation Delta, and Generation Alpha.  You would think that a man with such talents would enjoy spending his time in a laboratory, creating and designing more amazing things.  However, when I ask him why he’s teaching us history, he tells me that there’s nothing he’d rather be doing than expanding our young minds.

He’s definitely my favorite teacher here on the base.  He’s the most light-hearted and funny person on the staff.  He’s a short, fat man, with a messy beard and messy grey hair.   His eye glasses are thick, and I honestly can’t really tell what color his eyes are because of the heavy glare on his lenses.  He dresses very plain; always dark colored slacks, and a dark colored button-down, collared shirt.

Lately, his lectures have been about Super Villain History.  There aren’t very many super villains out there, and I find this subject to be the vaguest compared to the rest of Walden’s lectures.  I can also tell from his voice that he is not as enthusiastic about what he is teaching, like he normally is.  The whole thing is a little awkward.

Today we are reviewing everything we’ve learned since our final is next week.   He passes out a study guide for us, and begins to recover everything very briefly.  The guide is only two pages long, compared to past study guides that are usually pages thick.  Maybe he’s going easy on us since this will be our last final before the Deltas arrive.  Still, I can’t help but wonder why we’re not spending more time on villains, when I can imagine that they are probably the biggest threat to us as heroes.

He reviews the material just as it’s laid out on the page.

There are only two bad guys in the nation that can be classified as “Super Villains.”  That would be Strummer and Siren.  These two villains were once super heroes themselves—members of Generation X.  They are dangerous, insane, and hell-bent on taking over the nation.

Strummer was the first to turn.  At age sixteen, Strummer was drafted into the military to fight in the Civilian War.  The Civilian War was like that of the Civil War fought long ago in our nation’s history, in that our country was completed divided politically.  The main political disagreement that sparked the war was over the nation’s new Net Zero Law.  A law, not of the people, but of the politicians, put in place to help the nation contain its booming population rate.  Based on the population growth of one’s zone, or area in the nation where they live, that zone was designated a number.  They called it the Replacement Rate, or RR.  Depending on how overly populated your area was, would depend on how many children you were legally allowed to have.  The RRs ranged from 1.0 to 4.0.  An RR of 1.0 meant that no female in that area was to have more than one child.  After their first pregnancy was completed, they were to be sterilized.  The intent of the nation was to have the Net Zero Law only in place temporarily, until the country stabilized and regained control over the population.

The Civilian War lasted three years, and ended when the nation produced its first super hero—Sonic.  During the war, Strummer fought for the nation.  He received many awards, badges, and recognition for his heroism.  Three years after the war, and after passing a long series of evaluations and tests, he and Speed, who also fought in the Civilian War, were entrusted and enlisted as new additions to the nation’s Super Hero Program.  They would be called Generation X.  Speed was twenty-six, while Strummer was just twenty-two years of age.

Strummer was a faithful super hero up until the last years leading up to his retirement.  He began to disobey or refuse orders.  I wish I could list more details of this, but this is one of the vague areas of the lecture that Walden fails to specify.  All we are taught is that he was once a very noble and cheerful man who suddenly became very mean and hard to work with.  At thirty-one years old, on the day of what was supposed to be his retirement, he disappeared before he could be given the formula which would extract his super powers.  When he remerged, he did so as the nation’s first Super Villain.

“How long was Strummer missing before he reappeared to the public?”  Professor looks up from his copy of the study guide, and asks the class.

I know the answer, but I stay silent.  I try to let the others have a chance, first.  But when no one answers, I raise my hand.

“Angel,” he nods in my direction.

“Two weeks,” I answer.

“And what was the crime he committed, announcing his new title as Super Villain?”

“He killed Sonic,” Aurora answers.

“He was a traitor,” Astro adds with a scoff.

Autumn timidly raises her hand, and Professor Walden acknowledges her with a slight nod in her direction.  “Yes, Autumn?”

“Professor,” she starts off with a soft, quiet voice, like she’s almost afraid to ask.  “Why did he do it?”

“Because he’s a villain,” Astro interrupts, before Walden can even begin to answer.  “That’s what they do.  They kill.”

“But there has to be a reason!” Autumn persists.  “Killing is bad.  You just don’t do it for no reason!”

“Not for villains,” Astro says.  “They just don’t care.  They have no hearts!  He has no heart!  He killed a former teammate of his, and there was no reason!  He did it just because!  Right, Professor?”

Professor Walden sets down the study guide, and adjusts his glasses before he begins:  “Well, Astro, the only person who would truly know the reasoning behind the act, would be the killer himself.  We can’t very well ask him this question, so I don’t think we’ll ever know why he did what he did.”  He looks to Autumn, “That’s unfortunately as much of an answer that I can give you.”

Autumn looks saddened by this.  I don’t think she likes the idea of someone being inherently bad.  I glance over to Aurora who sits to the right of me, and she looks equally disheartened.  I raise my hand.

“Yes.  Angel,” Professor Walden motions with his hand for me to speak.

“Well,” I begin, “I think I have a theory about it,” I say.

“About why Strummer killed Sonic?” Aurora blinks at me.

“Yeah,” I say.

Professor Walden smiles a little.  He picks up his cup of coffee on his desk and takes a small sip, nodding for me to continue.

“Well, we learned that he fled the base before he could be given the formula.  I think he was scared to be mortal again,” I say.  “I mean, won’t we all be when we have to retire?  And because he left, they delayed the retirement of the rest of the heroes, right?  So that they could find him.  What I think is that maybe Sonic found him first, and I think that’s when Strummer killed him.  I don’t know if he meant to, or if he was just trying to get away maybe… but I think what it comes down to is that he just didn’t want to give up his powers.  I think that’s why it happened.”

I look to Autumn, but she still looks displeased, but Aurora is smiling, which causes my face to turn red again. 

“Hold up,” Astro says, sitting up in his desk.  He’s sitting directly behind me, so I have to turn around in my seat to see him.  He looks at me with a raised eyebrow.  “What do you mean you don’t know if he meant to kill Sonic?”

I shake my head.  “I didn’t mean that he didn’t mean it.  I just said maybe he didn’t.  Like the Professor says—we’ll never know.”

“Yeah, but to even think that it might have been an accident or something!” Astro sounds almost offended by what I’ve said.  “How could you argue something like that?  The man has killed thousands since that day, and you’re trying to argue that maybe he just didn’t mean it?”

“I’m not arguing anything!” I raise my voice now.  “I just said maybe!”  It’s just like Astro to twist my words like that.  He’s always looking for when I screw up.

“Alright, Alright,” Walden stands from his chair and raises a hand.  “Let’s calm down, everyone.”

I turn around in my chair again, to face the front of the class room.  Professor Walden looks at his wrist watch.  “That’s enough for today.  We’ll go over the second half of your study guide on Wednesday.  Please, everyone, remember to study hard and train hard.  Your training with the Deltas will begin about two weeks from now, but first you have to pass your final exams, right?  So work hard!”

We begin to gather our things and leave the classroom.  The Professor stops me before I can walk past his desk.  “Angel, do you have a moment?”

“Sure,” I say.

Walden waits for everyone else to clear the classroom, before he begins.  This makes me nervous.  It’s not uncommon for him to want to chat after class, but he usually isn’t this careful about waiting for everyone else to leave.  I think about what happened earlier that morning, and how it looked like he might have seen the green light coming from my room.  What if I’m in trouble?  What if he knows?

 He walks around to the front of his desk, so that he’s standing directly in front of me.  “How’s it going, Angel?  I hope you’re not discouraged from how your evaluation went this past Saturday.”

I frown.  “Well, yeah….”

“Don’t be,” he says.  “But don’t slack off either.”

“Of course not,” I say.  “Actually, Aurora’s helping me train on Sundays.  For Speed’s courses.”

“Really?” he raises an eyebrow.  He reaches for his coffee cup on his desk again and takes another sip.  “And how is that going?”

“It’s fine,” I say.  “It’s just….”

“What?”

“Well,” I hesitate.  “It’s just that she can’t really show me how to heal.   And that’s supposed to be my special power….” I frown.  “I don’t know how I’m supposed to pass if I can’t do it.”

He sets down his coffee and smiles at me.  “You just focus on the other areas of your training—the things that Aurora can help you with.  If you prove yourselves in those areas, you will be fine.  I’ve already begun to do some talking with the Chief, and he agrees that if you can improve in everything else, when the Deltas arrive, you will have Dante as a mentor to help with your healing powers.  As the healer for the Delta Generation, he would be the one to know, right?”

I smile.  “Right.”    I’m relieved that he’s not mentioning anything about the green light.   I’m also happy to hear that the Professor has gone out of his way to convince the Chief of this much.  After all, the Chief has final say over whether or not we are fit to be heroes or not.  “Thanks, Professor.”

“Of course,” he smiles.  He pauses for a moment before he starts to walk to behind his desk again.  “One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

I watch as he opens the bottom drawer to his desk.  He begins to shuffle around stacks of paper and books, before pulling out a small paperback.  He hands it to me, and I study it in my hands.

The book has a plain black cover with the title written in white: “Villain.”  At the bottom, it says that it is written by a Joseph S. Soto.  I turn it over and see that the back of the book has no information.   I flip through it quickly and see that it is only about a hundred pages long. 

“If I lend this to you, you have to promise not to let anyone else see you with it, alright?”

“Why?” I stare at him.  “What is it?”

He walks around his desk, so he’s in front of me again.  He takes the book from my hand and looks at it once more.  He sighs, “This is an autobiography written by Joseph S. Soto,” he says.  “Otherwise known to the world today as Strummer.”

My eyes go wide.  “Strummer?  Strummer wrote that?”

He nods.  “He did,” he says with another sigh.  “And as your teacher, I’m not allowed to teach you or give you any unapproved materials… such as this book.”  He hands me the book again, and I take it.  “So, nobody can find out about this, understand?”

I nod.  “I understand.”

“Good,” he smiles.

I take my backpack off from my shoulders and bury the book deep inside.  The Professor has sat down again at his desk, and begun to shuffle through some papers.  I start to leave, but stop before I do.  “Can I ask you something, Sir?”

He looks up from his work, and adjusts his glasses.  “What’s that?”

I hesitate.  “Do you think I’ll be a good hero?”

He smiles at me for a moment before saying:  “A hero is someone who sacrifices everything for the greater good of humanity.  A hero protects the weak and defends the downtrodden.  A hero has courage, and a hero has heart.”  He stops and smiles.  “You will make an excellent hero, Angel.”

***

Our next class of the day is Forcefield Training with Speed.  I wish I could say that Professor Walden’s words of encouragement gave me the self-confidence I need in order to prove myself in Speed’s class.  But, of course, it did not.

Force Fields have always been my worst subject, but today, I’m doing particularly awful.  Maybe it’s because in order to conjure, and hold a force field, it requires two main things—focus and stamina—and today I have neither.

The Alphas and I sit in an evenly spaced row.  Astro on the far right, then Autumn sits several yards away from him, Aurora is next and spaced the same, and lastly is me on the far left.  We’re in the stadium, which is a massive, empty arena.  This is where Speed teaches most of his classes.  We’re in the middle of the field which lies in the center.  The field is a rectangular space, about a thousand yards long, just short of a mile in distance, and another several hundred yards wide.

We sit at the very end of the field, and in the far distance are a dozen cannons.  They only shoot bags of sand, but at the speed they fly, they still hurt like hell when they hit us.  The sandbags travel at about 3,000 feet per second, which means that it only takes about a second before they reach us.  It’s just as fast as most bullets travel.  It would kill anyone else, but thankfully we’re built stronger than that, but they can still injure us on impact.

Speed is standing alongside the field, in a safe area, clear from the cannons’ paths.  He takes the whistle that hangs from around his neck and blows.  “Close your eyes, and focus!” he shouts at us.  The others listen, and I take a deep breath before I do, too.  “Focus hard!” he shouts again.  “Do not break that focus!  If you break it, it will hurt!”

I try to concentrate as best I can.  I can feel my hands begin to tingle, as an electricity builds in my hands.  It kinda feels like when you rub your feet against the carpet too much, and you get that light tickle just at your fingertips.  I can feel the static increase and I hold my hands in front of me, to try to conjure my force field. 

I open one eye and peak at Aurora who sits beside me.  Her ball of electricity has already formed a solid, round sphere in her hands.  The sphere grows bigger and bigger, and she keeps it steady, floating before her.  She lowers her hands to her sides, and with her eyes still closed, the sphere grows so big, it begins to encompass her.  She is completely surrounded by a protective field of electricity.  Nothing will penetrate it.

I look to my own pathetic sphere, and it’s still the size of a tennis ball.  Staring at it directly stings my eyes, and I’m forced to shut them again.  Only when I do so, I break my concentration and it disappears.  I open my eyes and see that it is gone, while the rest of the Alphas are all perfectly encased in their protective fields.

Speed begins to countdown:  “Ten… nine… eight… seven….”

I panic and close my eyes quickly, trying my best to will the electricity back into my fingers.  The light tickle returns and—keeping my eyes closed this time— I hold out my hands to form my force field.

“Six… five… four….”

Just when I begin to feel the sphere grow and shape between my hands, my panicked state is too much for me.  I’m also tired, and it’s starting to hurt when I’m focusing this much energy all at once.  I begin to feel the sphere grow smaller, rather than bigger.  I panic more.

“Three… two….”

I feel the electricity disappear, and I open my eyes to see I have absolutely no protection before me.  I shut my eyes quickly again, and scramble as best I can to force the electricity back.  Please, no….

“One!”

I keep my eyes shut tightly as I try my best to conjure something.  Anything!  But nothing happens.  I instantly feel a hard smack to my forehead, and I begin to get pelted by the sandbags shooting at us.  I throw my hands up in front of me and try my best to shield myself that way.  I know better than to get up and run away.  I’ve tried that before, and all it gets me is an extra hour of “after class tutoring” with Speed, which translates to just another hour of being assaulted by bags of sand.  The pelting lasts for a good minute before Speed blows his whistle again, and his assistant shuts off the cannons.

I look to the others, and they’re completely unharmed.  Whereas, I look like I was just mugged.  I touch my lip and see that it is bleeding, and I’ll probably have at least one black eye by tomorrow.  I can feel a hard knot forming on the left side of my head, where I had turned and received most of the blows.  But most of all, my hands now ache terribly from where I tried desperately to deflect everything as best I could.

                “You OK?” Aurora frowns from where she sits several yards away from me.

                I just nod, but don’t look at her.  I feel embarrassed, especially with her sitting next to me.  Speed has made his way over to us, and of course, he stops in front of me first.  He glares down at me, and, even with the sun in my eyes, and one eye beginning to swell, I can tell that he’s pissed.  He doesn’t say anything directly to me, but mutters to himself:  “Just give it up.”

That’s the end of class, and I don’t hesitate to rush out of there.  It’s our lunch period, and I need to get home to clean myself up before our last class.  Aurora is shouting after me, as I leave, but I don’t stop until I’m outside of the arena. 

“Angel!  Wait!”  she shouts again and again.  Finally, I turn and face her.

She stops before me, and tries her best to smile.  “We’ll work on force fields next, OK?” she says.  “Don’t worry about it!  We’ll work on it until it’s perfect!  I promise!”  She pauses for me to say something, but I don’t.

I keep my head lowered, with my hair in my face, and my hand held over my lip.  I don’t like that she’s seeing how beat up I look, and I’m trying my best to disguise it. 

“And, you shouldn’t worry,” she adds.  “Because, you see, everything is like riding a bike.  It’s hard at first, but once it clicks, it clicks!  And then it will be easy!  Remember?  Just like Sunday!  Once you got it, you were on a roll!” she grins big.  “We just gotta get you to that point with this, OK?”

I try my best to smile, because I know that’s what she wants to see, but I just can’t.  I’m in pain, I’m tired, and I just want to go home.  “Sure,” I say simply and start to walk away.

I don’t know why I expect her to chase after me again, but I do.  It’s only when I’m halfway home, that I realize that she hasn’t.  And I don’t know why, but this makes me feel a little sad.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Church picnic is just as boring as it sounds.  There isn’t much to do, and it’s more for the older crowd than anything.  There’s food, and talking.  That’s about it.  Despite it being boring, it still is what I looked forward to every week.  It isn’t that it’s church or church picnic.  I could really care less where I am, or what I am doing.  There are two main reasons why I look forward to every Sunday:  First, that I am off base.  Second, that I am with my best friends Gabriel and Rosie.

The base is a cold, empty place.  It is a caged community, resting on dirt, gravel and concrete.  Color is almost nonexistent.  Everything is painted in some shade of grey or off-white.  It is a deserted place, with a society of less than one hundred people.  And that tiny population is scattered throughout this vast, desert land.  Those who live on base, live there to fulfill a purpose.  They always have some job to do, and are always busy.  Because of this everything is structured and scheduled.  It makes me feel lonely and lost.  I feel isolated.

The outside world is so much more interesting.  Although sometimes overwhelming, it is so much more inviting.  There are people everywhere you go.  It’s a hectic, noisy and crowded world.  The streets are filled with people, and vehicles packed with people, and buildings filled with people.  And those people come in so many different varieties and cultures.  It amazes me.  And even though my albinism sometimes gets me unwanted attention, I would much rather be here than on the base.

As Espi drives the car, I sit in the back seat with Aurora.  Her eyes are wide with excitement, and she’s visibly bouncing up and down in her seat.  I know that her happiness stems from the same place as my own.  She is also amazed by the outside world.  And because this is just her third time ever being outside of the base, she is even more in awe of it all.

 I can’t help but smile when I see how excited she is.  It reminds me of a time when the two of us were younger.  The first time the four of us ever left the base.  It would be the one and only adventure in the outside world that Astro, Aurora, Autumn and I shared together as a group.

 I was probably about five, which makes Aurora about six at the time.  It was Speed and Professor Walden who took us all out on a “fieldtrip.”  I remember Speed lecturing us a lot on everything being our responsibility one day, and to take it seriously.  Mostly I remember how beautiful everything seemed.  I never knew that so many colors existed, or that there could be so many people in the world, let alone one single city.  It was the most wonderful thing that we had yet to experience.

When the four of us stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk, I remember Aurora just suddenly erupting into tears.  She threw her arms around Autumn, who stood beside her, and just started to cry.  Naturally, Autumn asked her what was wrong, and she said that she was scared.  Everyone took turns trying to cheer her up and encourage her to take just one more step forward, but she refused.  The little girl grew more and more hysterical, the more Professor Walden and Speed tried to convince her that everything would be OK.

That day, Professor Walden had to stay behind with Aurora in the car, while Speed gave the rest of us a tour of the outside world.  I guess everything was just too overwhelming for her.

But today she seems a lot more optimistic and brave about venturing though the outside world.  And I guess remembering that scared, sad six-year-old, and comparing it to the bright-eyed sixteen-year-old she is today is what causes me to smile. 

Aurora is practically jumping out of Espi’s car while it’s still moving.  Before she can open the car door to her right, I grab her by her wrist and give her a serious expression.  “Remember.  No super powers.  No mention of who we are or where we live.  If anything slips out then me and Espi are forbidden to come back here, so take it seriously, got it?”

“Got it!”  She’s out of the car and skipping across the church parking lot.

Espi stops me before I can start catching up with Aurora.  “You did a nice thing inviting her, my Sweet,” she hugs me tightly.

I guess it’s true, but I’m already regretting this.  For some reason, I think Aurora’s going to have a hard time keeping her mouth shut.  This is the first time she would be interacting with and talking to people on the outside.  Everyone at this picnic has known me as Espi’s daughter, who is homeschooled.  The Chief and Speed give Espi a hard time for taking me to a social setting like church and church picnic.  They don’t like that we’ve built relationships with people outside the base.  They view it as a risk of spoiling my true identity.  The only way we’re still allowed to attend these events on Sundays is if we remain extra cautious, and keep everything secret.

Church picnic takes place in the park found behind the church.  There is a small playground for the younger kids, and several rows of picnic tables filled with food for the adults.  There are a few trees, but not many, which means the church people roast on hot summer days.  On those hot days, the kids usually abandon the playground and instead entertain themselves by playing in the water fountain.   It is by the water fountain where I find my best friend Gabriel, quietly reading a book, and probably waiting for my arrival.

The water fountain is my personal favorite spot.  It’s a pretty grand structure for the small, simple park.  It’s very old, and an oddly dark piece to be found on church property.  Well, at least it looks dark to me.  The marble was probably a pretty white at one point, but now the stone is a dirty, grimy green.  I have seen them try to clean the fountain before, but even though they clear it of moss and dirt, and the water is actually clear, the stone will always be stained a permanent green color.  The basin is a giant circle.  In the circle are six little waterfalls, directly in the middle is a large pillar, and at the top of that stands the Virgin Mary.  Her arms are lowered and outstretched, as if welcoming your embrace.  At her feet, there are always many candles and flowers.  Depending on the weather, and time of day, I find that her expression changes.  In the right light she looks to have a very slight smile.  Her gaze somehow follows you wherever you stand.  Some days it comforts me, but usually it just creeps me out.  Especially with that sly smile of hers.  However when the sun begins to set, or it is a dark day, her smile is not so recognizable.  In fact, she looks outright miserable.  Those days her gaze looks less creepy, and more desperate or pleading.  I guess most would find that uncomfortable, but it seems to have the opposite effect on me.  I guess it’s her that makes the water fountain so interesting though.  And I suppose she is what makes it my favorite spot.  Maybe her realistic features cause me to relate to her on some level.  She rests so high above, surrounded only by water, and totally isolated.  I know that if she were real, she would probably  feel so lonely.  And that loneliness is what I can relate to.

Before I reach Gabriel at the fountain, I glance over my shoulder at Aurora.  She has found her way to the first table of food. Her eyes are wide as she observes the large party trays of potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, green salads and fried chicken.  I see her turn to an old woman beside her and she extends her hand for a handshake.  “Nice to meet you, I’m Aurora,” she beams.  The old woman is Sister Ruth.  She’s usually the one yelling at the kids to quiet down, and usually the one that Gabriel and I hide from throughout the day.  I cringe, imagining what sort of cold-hearted comment she may make to Aurora, and that having to be Aurora’s first encounter and impression of the outside world.

Sister Ruth takes Aurora’s hand reluctantly and shakes it.  She looks Aurora up and down, and I bet she is thinking to herself about how disgusted she is by how short Aurora’s shorts are, or how thin her blouse is.

“This is my first church picnic!” Aurora continues with excitement.  “It’s so beautiful!”

A small smile crosses Sister Ruth’s face.  I can’t believe it.  Aurora has managed to charm the most judgmental, rude hag I’ve ever known.  “Thank you for saying so,” Sister Ruth replies.  “What did you say your name is?”

“Aurora,” she says proudly.

All of a sudden a group of nuns and church women are surrounding Aurora and they all seem delighted to be talking to her. 

“Who is that?” Gabriel asks me as he approaches.

Gabriel and I have known each other since we were about seven.  He’s the same age as me, and the two of us were pretty much considered the weird kids out of the other children at church.  He was a tall guy with messy dark brown hair.  His favorite things were pretty much everything the average church-goer considered taboo.  You know, serial killers, ghosts, witchcraft, and anything gore.  The more forbidden, the more fun for him.  I guess I am kinda the same way, which is why we’re so out casted from the rest of the goody-goody teenagers.  While the rest of the older kids spent their time in prayer circles and planning charity events, Gabriel and I were usually somewhere else, “off to no good” as they called it.

“Aurora,” I answer his question.

“You know her?”

“Yeah.  She’s my neighbor,” I half-lie.  She was my neighbor, after all.

“Wait.  Is that the neighbor girl you always talk about?  The one you hate?”

“I never said I hated her.”

“Yeah you did.  In fact, I think you said it at least fifty times just last Sunday.”

He was probably right.  When I talked about my life at home, the story I told everyone was that I am homeschooled.  I live outside of town, in a very small community with about three other kids my age.  One of them is Aurora, another homeschooled kid, who constantly annoyed me.

“I don’t hate her,” I shrug.  “She just annoys me sometimes.”

He’s watching her as she giggles with all the old church ladies, allowing them to load her plate up with their horrible pot luck dishes.  “Yeah, she looks pretty annoying,” he laughs.  “Why’d she come with you to picnic?”

 “I dunno.  I invited her.” 

He raises a suspicious eyebrow, and I know I owe more of an explanation.  Which is hard, because I don’t really have one.  Why did I invite her?  I don’t know.  It just happened.

 “I guess I just felt bad because she never gets to go anywhere,” I finally explain. 

My eyes drift back over to where Aurora is and I notice that the other teenagers have found her.  Of course.  She’s exactly what those kids liked—beautiful, outgoing, and perfect.  She would fit right in to their super model clique.  I don’t know why it angers me to see her walk away with them, but it does.  Maybe because those are the group of idiots that think it’s fun to throw wads of trash at Gabe and I when we have our backs turned.  Maybe because it was me who invited Aurora here to begin with, yet she has seemed to prefer hanging out with the better looking group of kids.  Whatever the reason, it infuriates me to see her leave with them, looking so amused and happy by whatever they were chatting about.

I force myself to look away and Gabriel and I return to our usual spot by the fountain.  “So how are things?” I ask.

“Same.  You?”

“Same.”

“Ah, so we’re both still miserable.”

I laugh.  “Yeah pretty much.”  I think for a moment.  “You wanna see a movie later?”  We aren’t supposed to leave church grounds, but we usually sneak off somewhere for a few hours.

“Nah, there isn’t anything good out.”

I frown a little.  Rosie was usually the one to go and see a movie with me.  If there wasn’t a horror flick out, then Gabe usually didn’t care to go.  I like the movies because it’s like sitting at a magical window that shows me even more of the outside world that I never get to see.  I don’t care what genre the film is.  Rosie never cared either, and if she were here, she’d have no problem with going to see something with me.

I haven’t seen Rosie in about a year.  I do the math again in my head, because it seems like too long of a period of time, but I’m right.  11 months ago, she left without saying goodbye.  It was pretty bad timing, too.  I mean, I pretty much confessed that I was in love with this girl, and then she disappeared.  Maybe it wasn’t bad timing.  Maybe it was intentional.  All I know is I showed up to church the following Sunday, and she was gone.  Her brother said that she moved about a two-hour drive down south, to live with their father.  Something about having a better school for her.  I’d like to think she meant it when she said she felt the same way about me, and that this whole situation is out of her control.  But… there’s just a weird feeling about it all.  I can’t help but question it.  Gabe doesn’t even mention her anymore.

But who knows?  I bet she just didn’t want to hurt my feelings.  She probably left because she didn’t feel the same way about me.  That’s probably it, and I’m probably just a fool for trying to think otherwise.

I try not to pay attention to what Aurora is doing across the park, but I can’t help but stare and watch.  The other teenagers have recruited her into helping with one of their charity events—beading some cheap home-made rosaries to sell at some fundraiser.  They seem to be in love with her, and she seems to be enjoying their company.  The whole thing is infuriating.

I’m so mad that my hands begin to pain instantly.  I have to force them into my jeans’ front pockets, so that Gabriel doesn’t notice the weird green glow that they emit, once they begin to heat up with that malfunctioning, mystery super power of mine.

“You alright?” Gabriel asks as he notices my pained expression.

“Yeah,” I lie through gritted teeth, as I try to shake off the power.  “Just got a bad headache, that’s all.”

“Well if I had to ride with someone like her in the car all the way here, I’d probably have a killer migraine, too.”  He sits on the ground with his legs crossed, and his back leaning up against the fountain basin.  Thankfully he buries his nose in his book again.  Which is a good thing because for some reason, I haven’t been able to shake away the power.

 I force myself to laugh at what he’s just said, and try my best to sound casual:  “I need to use the bathroom.  Be right back,” and disappear before he can look up from his book.

I rush into the women’s bathroom inside of the church, and quickly into the first stall, locking the door behind me.  I take my hands out from my pockets and hold them in front of my face for closer inspection.  Usually, I just notice a faint green glow before the panic sets in, and the power disappears.  But right now, they’re completely engulfed by green fire.  I hold my breath as I watch the flames crackle back and forth.  My hands are growing hotter and hotter by the second, and my head begins to throb painfully.  My chest aches, as if the fire in my hands has crept up and spread to my lungs and heart.  It becomes hard to breathe, and I’m suddenly dizzy.  I feel myself growing weak, and I find myself falling onto my knees without realizing it.

Just when I think I’m just about to slip into unconsciousness, I’m snapped out of it by a sudden jolt that shakes my entire bod.  This is when the pain seems to intensify by ten times what I was previously feeling.  I don’t mean to, but I cry out loud in pain, as I clench my hands into hard fists, trying my best to bear it all.  I close my eyes tightly and plead in mind for my body to just stop whatever it was doing.  The pain is unbearable, and it takes everything in me to keep myself from screaming out again in agony.

I hear someone enter the bathroom, and I jump back onto my feet.

“Angel, is that you in there?” Aurora says from the other side of the stall.

“Yeah,” I say through my teeth, trying to disguise the pain in my voice, but I know it’s obvious.

I don’t know if it was instinct, or she if used her X-ray vision to see what’s happening to me, but Aurora immediately uses her super strength to rip the door open, breaking the stall’s lock.  She stands there with wide eyes as she stares at my fiery fingers.  “Wh-what’s happening, Angel?”  She sounds scared.  “I heard you scream and so I came straight away!”

“I can’t get it to stop!”  I shout, but I don’t mean to.   I’m fighting back tears, and trying my best to keep standing as my knees begin to buckle again. 

“Should I go get Espi?”

“No!” I shout again, causing Aurora to jump a little.  “You’ll just cause a scene!  You probably already did leaving everyone else behind suddenly!”

“Everyone else?  No, I was by myself looking for you!”

I look at her, and suddenly the pain seems to lessen.  I glance back down at my hands and the fire is suddenly gone.  I blink at my hands in confusion and so does Aurora.

“…Is it over?” she asks quietly.

“I… I guess so….”

The pain is gone, but I still feel weak.  My forehead is sticky with sweat, and my muscles feel shaky.  My voice shakes too, but I think that’s from being so freaked out by what just happened.  I’m still dizzy, and I need to sit down.  I walk out of the stall, past Aurora, and sit on the floor with my back against the wall.  I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying my best to calm my nerves.

Aurora takes some tissue paper and runs it under the bathroom sink faucet.  She kneels down in front of me and begins to wipe my oven-hot forehead.  “It’s never been that bad before,” I share with her.

“Have you thought about telling anyone?  Maybe the Chief or—“

“No!” I interrupt her.  Her eyes are wide, and I realize that I scared her.  “There’s no way,” I say again more calmly.  “They’d make me retire for sure if they found out about this.”

She frowns but doesn’t say anything else.  She stands again, and I watch her as she throws away the tissue in the trash bin, and goes to wet another napkin.

“Please don’t tell anyone about this,” I say.

She looks at me, and tries to smile.  “Of course I won’t.”

She kneels in front of me again and pats my forehead one more time with the cool, wet paper.  I close my eyes and try my best to ignore my heart pounding in my chest.  What just happened to me?  I didn’t want to tell anyone about this, but what will I do if this happens again?  What if it’s getting worse?

I open my eyes and watch Aurora as she sits down beside me.  She stays quiet as I close my eyes for a few minutes, taking a moment to rest.  I glance at her and she’s staring at me with deep concern.  “What?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she says and looks away.  “Are you OK now?”

“I think so,” I say.  I pause for a moment, as something else crosses my mind.  “I thought you were hanging out with the church kids.”

“Who?” she raises an eyebrow.  “Not those stuck up group of teenagers.”

“Yeah, I saw you with them last.”

“No way!” she almost shouts.  She’s wearing a look of disgust and she stands on her feet again.  “I thought they seemed nice at first, “ she begins to explain.  “They were teaching me how to make those rosary things.  But then they point to Gabriel sitting by himself and begin to call him all sorts of bad, mean things.”  She shutters.  “I recognized him from your photo at home and I told them: ‘Hey!  He’s my friend’s best friend!  So I don’t appreciate that!’  They started to laugh at me and asked if I meant you.  I said ‘yes’ and they laughed at me even more.”  She frowned and her big blue eyes grew soft.  “They called me a freak, because you’re a freak.  Because we’re friends….  They don’t seriously call you that, do they?”

I nod, and she gasps, which makes me laugh.  “It’s not that big a deal, Aurora.  They’ve called me worse.”

“But it is!  Why would they call you that?  It just isn’t… isn’t….”

“Nice?”

“Right!”

“Well, they’re not very nice people.”  I finally feel steady enough to stand again, and I climb onto my feet.  “I know it kinda goes against what our teachers say, but a lot of the people out here can be pretty big assholes.”

She frowns, and I can tell this bit of information has broken a tiny bit of her heart.  I don’t think she’s quite realized how cruel the real world can be.  She looks a little devastated by this real world experience, and I feel guilty.  I try my best to smile at her:  “Look, I’ll introduce you to someone who isn’t a jerk, alright?”

She smiles, too, and the light has returned to her bright blue eyes.  We leave the church and I lead her over to the water fountain where Gabe is.  He’s walking in our direction before we can get to the fountain.  “There you are!” he says.  “Woah, you look pale as hell!  Even for you!  You alright?”

I laugh a little.  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Not really, but I don’t want him to worry.  I’m tired, and still feel pretty weak.  Whatever just happened… I hope it never happens again.

 Gabe is staring at Aurora.  Before I can introduce her, she beats me to it.

“Hi!  I’m Aurora!  It’s so nice to meet you!” she takes his hand and shakes it, whether he wants to or not.  He looks a little confused, but manages a small smile.

“Gabriel.  Um.  Nice meeting you, too, I guess….”

“This is so exciting!” Aurora exclaims as she bounces up and down.  “I’ve always wanted to meet Angel’s friends, and now I am!  Where’s Rosie?” she asks curiously.

I frown.  “She’s not here,” I say simply.

“Why?” Aurora asks.  Of course she has to ask.  Why does she have to be so nosy?

“She moved back with our Dad almost a year ago,” Gabriel explains indifferently.  Aurora looks confused, and so he adds:  “Our parents are divorced.”

Aurora blinks at him, and then at me.  I know she wants to keep on pestering for more information.  After all, Autumn apparently unveiled my secret to her that Rosie and I used to have a thing.  Even though we Alphas are strictly forbidden from developing any sort of romantic relationships until our retirement, I still had one with Rosie.  Even though it wasn’t ever “official,” it was still as close to a boyfriend or girlfriend than any of the other Alphas had.

“What’s the book, Gabe?” I ask, just to change the subject.

We start walking again towards the fountain as Gabriel starts off on an angry rant about whatever paranormal literature he was reading.  As we’re approaching the fountain, Aurora’s eyes fall on the Virgin Mary statue at the top of the fountain, and she rushes ahead of me with excitement.  She practically pushes Gabriel out of the way, to get a good look at her.  She looks like a five-year-old who’s just met Santa Clause.

I join her by her side and she glances at me.  “She’s beautiful,” she breathes, and returns her gaze upward towards the statue.

I can feel my heart sink to my gut, as I’m instantly reminded of Rosie.  Rosie was pretty much the only other person in church who seemed to admire the statue as much as I do.  I probably shouldn’t be as bothered by her memory as much as I am.  It’s just something I can’t help.  And seeing the way Aurora looked staring up at that statue just like Rosie used to… it is pretty heartbreaking.

Memories tend to haunt me more than most.  It was a part of my design to have eidetic memory.  None of the other heroes have it, but me.  I can recall virtually anything in my past with total accuracy.  The memories play like a movie.  I can remember every detail—what I saw, tastes, smells, sounds—everything.  Because of my inability to forget, it’s hard to not be affected emotionally.  When people hurt me, I tend to hold a grudge against them.  This is probably why I despise Astro so much. 

But because of my eidetic memory, I cannot forget Rosie, even though I wish I could.  I feel so strongly for her, and that feeling is like no other feeling I’ve ever had for anyone else.  For her to leave so abruptly and without saying goodbye, with those feelings still being so fresh and new… any memory of her becomes a painful one.

Thankfully, Aurora becomes preoccupied by Gabriel’s book, as he begins to share with her all his theories about ghosts, and hauntings and such.  The supernatural isn’t something the people on base ever really talk about, so Aurora’s is completed fascinated by every bit of nonsense Gabe is spewing.  I’m relieved to be left alone so that I can recuperate from my recent freak accident.

 I sit with my back against the fountain, and let my head fall backward so that it rests on the surface of the fountain’s base. The cool temperature of the marble feels amazing against my skin.  I let my eyes close, and quietly listen to their conversation.

***

The sun begins to set, and the picnic is officially over.  Aurora looks pretty heartbroken as we get into Espi’s car to start driving back home to the base.  She stands outside the car with her eyes fixed on the church in the distance, looking as if she is on the verge of tears.  “It’s time to go, girls,” Espi announces as she gets into the car.

I open the door to climb into the backseat, but find Aurora still standing still.  I’ve  never seen her so depressed looking before.  “We have to go,” I tell her.

“I know,” she says with a sigh, and reluctantly gets into the car.

As we begin the drive home, Aurora still looks sad.  It bugs me.  “You know, you can always come back next weekend.”  I finally say after thinking it for a while.  I don’t know why I hesitated before saying it.  I guess I just couldn’t really believe I was seriously considering something like that.  In fact, the idea of spending Sundays with Aurora actually sounded pretty nice.

The invite works and she’s instantly smiling again.  “Really?”

I shrug.  “Sure.”

She unbuckles her seatbelt and stretches across the empty seat between us to throw her arms around me in a tight embrace.  “Thank you so much!”

“No problem.”

I don’t know if I’m so tired because of the incident that happened earlier, or because of all the training Aurora and I did earlier.  Whatever the reason, I find myself drifting to sleep during the hour drive home.  When I sense the car slowing down, as we pull into the base, I begin to wake myself up.  As I open my eyes, I’m startled as soon as I realize that Aurora has moved to the seat directly next to me, and I realize she’s fallen asleep, too.  Her head is resting on my shoulder, and I can feel her breath on my neck.  I can see Espi’s eyes on us through the rear view mirror.  She’s smiling a weird smile, and it embarrasses me more than anything.

I debate with myself whether to leave Aurora where she is, or if I should wake her up, or move her.  We’re almost home, so I decide to leave her be.  I try to ignore how close she is.  Her skin is soft against mine, and I can smell the sweet, fruity scent of her perfume.  I try to keep my gaze out the car window, and not on her, but I keep glancing back, anticipating when she will wake up.  I wonder what she will think when she awakes and realizes how close she has gotten to me.  Or maybe she meant to?  I mean, she was sitting one seat over before I fell asleep.  She had to have moved intentionally, right?  It’s kinda far to have accidently drifted over in her sleep.  But if it was intentional, why would she want to cuddle up against me?

We’re finally home.  As soon as the car comes to a stop, I gently place a hand on Aurora’s shoulder and lightly shake her until she wakes.  She sits up and rubs her eyes sleepily.  I get out of the car, and she follows after me. 

I’m not standing there for more than three seconds, before she’s thrown her arms around me again in a tight hug.  “Thanks again, Angel!” she sings cheerfully.

I timidly pat her back until she finally releases me.  I’ve never been much of a hugger.

“See you in class tomorrow!” She says with a wave.  “Bye Espi!” she calls out to Espi.

Espi smiles and waves back.  “Bye, Sweetie!”

With a quick flash of light, she disappears as she begins to fly to her own home.  Once she’s gone, I turn around and see Espi still standing there and smiling that same weird smile she gave me in the car earlier.  “What?” I blink at her as I walk past and into our home.

She hurries after me, closing the door quickly, and looking very excited.  The last time I saw her with a look like this was when….

“Oh no,” I say out loud.  “What are you thinking right now?”

“Thinking?” Espi says innocently.  “I’m not thinking anything.”

“Yes you are.  You’re acting just like the time you drove Rosie and me to the mall.”  I shake my head, remembering how embarrassing she was that day. 

“No, I’m not!” she begins to walk away, towards our kitchen.

“Yes!  You are!”  I chase after her, zipping in front of her path.  “There’s nothing between us, Espi,” I say with as much seriousness as I can force.  “Got it?”

Espi grins and pinches my cheek.   She obviously doesn’t buy it. “Everyone loves my Angel, because she is so cute!” she says lovingly and continues past me and into the kitchen.

I roll my eyes, and then follow her into the kitchen to help prepare dinner for us two.  Her behavior may be a little irritating, but I guess I should be grateful to have such a supportive caretaker.  After all, dating or any sort of romantic relationship is supposed to be forbidden until our retirement.  Espi doesn’t seem to care.  In fact, she actively encourages it.

Espi doesn’t say anything more on the subject, and I try to push the idea out of my mind.  But forgetting has never been easy.   While I help Espi in the kitchen, I find the scent of Aurora’s perfume still lingering, while the images of her girlish smile and bright blue eyes seem to haunt my every thought.