Defiance.

3

The panel and the robot head slammed down on the desk, leaving a puddle. I was soaked, straw hairs were sticking to my neck and my shirt stuck to me like glue. Worst of all my socks were wet, which is something I despised.

"What the fuck was that Santos?" He looked up from the expensive equipment I destroyed on his desk.

"What was what, kid," he replied. No way.

"The simulation. You almost killed us. If it weren't for me that little pansy would be dead," I yelled flailing my arms as I paced in front of his desk, "and the gills, what the hell was that? since when are the training programs like that? You left us with no one controlling the simulation at all."

Santos stood up at my accusations. "Now wait a damn minute, I left you with a guard. Rodgers I think it was. I had business to attend to. Now it seems I have more because of all the equipment you broke."

He couldn't be serious.

"To hell with the equipment. We almost died because you neglected your post. You know guards can't be trusted and you know how they treat the Haz's. You're lucky I don't report you now," I finished. The throat was sore from all the yelling and coughing I had done.

Santos slammed his large hands down on his desk. "You will do no such thing. Nothing will happen. They would never listen to you over me. You're just a Haz. I am the leader of the facility, and I will be treated as such. Besides there's nothing to report."

I scoffed and headed toward the door. "Unbelievable." I slammed it behind and made a beeline straight to my room ignoring the calls from people asking me what happened.

I was angry. Angry that my life can be put in danger with no regard, just because I'm different. I wasn't considered human. If I had died it'd just be one less Haz in the world. I wondered how I could be doing what I do with this being the treatment I get in return. Every month I'm pitted against my own kind to save the Normies. I've killed many of them including some Normies who fought with the rebels. How could they be the bad side if there were normals fighting with them? Surely no human would fight alongside their soon to be oppressor, right?

It just didn't make sense that I risk my life everyday to get treated like shit by the supposed good guys. I was just a weapon to them, not a living, breathing human.

No, that's not true. You're doing the right thing. You're not a horrible person.

I groaned and sat down on the edge of my bed with my hands over my head, not caring if the bed got wet from my soaked clothing. I was constantly faced with the question. I feel like my mind thinks it's the right thing but a small part questions it.

I got up and started pacing. I couldn't get my heart to stop racing. I was spiraling into uncontrollable rage. The lights flickered and the room shook, but this only furthered my episode. My cuffs beeped and sent light shocks into my wrists and up my arms. I grabbed my head trying to make the thoughts stop. Things in my room slowly started floating.

"Stop," I yelled to no one but myself. I accidentally let out a burst of energy I was trying to hold in and everything in the room repelled away from me, leaving me in the center of the disaster I caused in my room. I felt angry tears fall, no matter how hard I tried to hold them back.

"Takoda?" My eyes flew to the closed door which Micah was standing in front of. He must have just walked in. I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Don't call me that," I raged, sending a mug that managed to survive my outburst soaring through the air quickly. Micah ducked just in time before it smashed against the door splintering into tiny pieces.

He looked at me in bewilderment. I realized what I had done and my face softened. "I'm sorry, I—I didn't mean to. I just can't control them when I'm angry."

Micah released the tension in his shoulders and walked over to his bed. He was also still soaked from our little swim. His black curls glistened in the warm light of the side lamp. Droplets of water were making there way down his neck disappearing when it reached his shirt. He look drained. I'd never saw him look this way. His eyes drooped and his usual smirk or smile was gone.

"I'm sorry about today. It wasn't your fault. I know that. I was just angry at the situation. I don't want you to end up freezing in real fights. Believe or not I don't want you to die fighting this fight."

Micah just looked forward with his eyes glazed over. "I've fought the Gifted before. I don't freeze. I'm not a newbie, I'm a trained soldier. It's just that——" he cut himself off. Feeling sympathy I moved to sit next to him. I hesitantly raised my arm and awkwardly patted his back in attempts to console him. I wasn't used to dealing with other people's feelings. Only my own.

"What."

He exhaled heavily, "when I was little we had a house fire. I think it started from a candle I lit in the bathroom, but it spread quick. I didn't know what to do. My parents told me to run outside and that they would get my little sister. By the time they reached her nursery they couldn't even get through the door. I saw a small hole that wasn't on fire and I crawled through it to try to save my baby sister. I got her and we all got out. I thought everything was fine, but I was wrong. She had already inhaled too much smoke and——and she was dead. I can't help but think if I hadn't wasted time running around aimlessly I would have been able to save her. Ever since then I've been afraid of fire. Not like camp fires or fire pits, like the huge full on raging fires that destroy buildings. So when I saw the fireball coming at me I froze. I'm sorry," he finished, his eyes still wide with fear.

I didn't know what to say. He couldn't blame himself for that, he was young.

"You didn't know any better, Micah. You were just a kid."

His head shot up to meet my eyes and I saw a look of anger on his face that I had never seen before. "Exactly. That's all I've been told. 'You're just a kid, Micah' or 'it's not your fault you were too young,'" he mimicked a high pitched voice.

"That day I vowed to never 'Be too young'. I grew up quickly and decided saving people, no matter how many, would be enough to honor my sister. So that's why I'm here. I've devoted my life to helping to save people."

For the first time I looked deep into his eyes. I saw the emotion he had hidden behind his happy facade. I felt like I could see him. Who he was. His personality, morals, actions, all of it.

That's when I quickly averted my eyes. I was starting to let him in. I couldn't do that. I couldn't handle being so open with someone after the death of all my partners. The closer he was to me, the more likely he was to die. But still, I couldn't leave him with nothing after he just confessed his biggest tribulation to me.

I stood up. "I blew up an empty building. That's why I'm here. I tried to hold my powers in for so long then I got angry. I ran away to a place I always went to, like a secret hideaway, I blew up the whole building. That's when they found me. I had passed out after in the building that was burning. I should've died, but we both know I'm not normal. Sure I had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing severe I should have had from the explosion. They deduced from that that I was one of the Gifted. They studied the blast marks and surveyed the area and discovered that right where I was found was where the blast originated from. Then they figured out I was a Haz, the one that created the explosion. The force was so much that it also took out part of the building next to it. I didn't know at the time, but several people were injured from the fires my blast caused. Some were life threatening. What I'm trying to say is, I hurt people too. Everyone does. I'm trying to do the right thing by staying here willingly. I hate it, but I deserve to be here after what I did. I deserve to be here for the people I hurt. So I'm embracing it and trying my best to help the cause. I want to help prevent people from getting hurt like that. That's all that matters. You're trying."

Micah looked up at me and smirked a little. "Thank you. For telling me that, I mean. It's nice to talk to you when you're not insulting me. You're actually really wise."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't get used to it. I had to or else you'd be cowering in a corner for days. Now go take a shower you smell like a wet dog and it's gross."

"There it is. You had to ruin it." Micah chuckled before getting up and making his way to the shower.