Putz12 Plus One

TWO | MEETING IZA

She couldn't be faster if she tried. The torn boots still had a great ability to absorb shock. And in her hand was the gift she'd never thought she'd get: a weapon. Her jacket unzipped and she shoved it in the inner pocket. Grand dad would be proud.

Lights met her eyes, neon pinks and blues reflected in the wet streets of the city. Wait 'til Kaylee and Marcus hear about this. They're gonna be so proud, and finally, finally they'd believe her. It would be hard to hide her smile in a city so dim. But just up there, just around by skyline's end was where hope was.

She turned around, hoping to find him. "Geesh, he's slow, or he just doesn't know the swim route too well..." She gave him a few minutes. "Aw, I probably killed him..." She sighed, closing her eyes and giving a moment of silence for the fallen squid. "Well... good thing I didn't know him that well!" Brushing off the likely squidslaughter that just occurred, she headed down the alley to her people's hideout. From there, she could give them hope, from there... hopefully they were serving dinner by now.

"What's up my peoples! I'm starving!" Open arms greeted the greyish room, her pink tentacles standing out against the dreary atmosphere.

"Great. Where were you? We've been waiting for hours!" The octoling got up, his tentacles a curly mess. This one was Marcus.

"I finally found it, I finally found hope!" The entire group stared at her, as Marcus hushed her down.

"Not this again, look, I know you mean well but you really have to stop getting our hopes up."

"Years! Years have gone by and she's still on about this!" The octoling girl with the long ponytail was none other than Kaylee Greene, reading one of the lost magazines tossed out by the elders.

"I, I have proof this time!"

"Proof?" Steps creeped up behind her, carrying a weight that was unmistakable. Pheobe. "Iza."She already knew that was her call to turn around and pay attention. Staring right at her, she saw the flame settling in her iris. How badly she wanted to clench onto the gun in her jacket, how badly she wanted to tell her everything.

"I know you're not defying Them." Iza gulped in between the interrogation. "So, what is this about?"

"She's on and on about it again."

"It?" Pheobe asked.

"It, y'know. Hope, defeating The Order, all that speak." Marcus finally answered. Cold drips of sweat rushed down from Iza's forehead. With a tremor it was obvious she was more on-edge than normal.

"You're hiding something."

"I'm not! I just have a lot of hope, that's all!"

Screeching sounds pierced their ears as a steel chair's legs scraped against the surface below them. Pheobe sat down, staring right at her sister's height, being the tall octo she is. Her tentacles now a flaming orange trailing down to her thighs. Iza knew that look anywhere. She was angry. "I've grown up with you. By your side. I took care of you when you were a baby. I know you well enough to know when you're hiding something."

Frozen, she didn't respond with a face. She just kept as neutral as she could. With no thanks to her friends, she wouldn't be defended even if she asked.

"So what is it? What stupid thing did you do this time, that we have to relocate?"

"Moving, again?! We just got everything set up! It was a week ago we finally got rid of the moving boxes!" Marcus called out from the edge of the room.

"Zip it, Twirl Curls." Pheobe commanded, moving her focus on to her sister once more.

Iza instinctively touched her jacket, right where the gun was and let go sharply. She didn't mean to, and hoped she didn't notice.