The Race

007 | Naomi

My face was very messed up. Anyone who told me different was a liar. I had seen my face, bloody and broken, and it was not a pretty sight. No makeup could ever fix the scars it would leave.

I loathed The Race.

People could do anything to me. I'm practically invincible, but if they messed up my beauty, they better run. Heck, they better fly if they want to get rid of me.

The girls on my team were so beyond annoying. Harper with her terribly dull wit. Asia with her need to speak so quietly. Maybelle with her stupid stubborness, not to metion her ugly pink hair... I could talk for hours about how awful they were.

But I wouldn't do that. I would need to talk about myself some too.

I used to be beautiful! My luscious black hair, cut short to frame my lovely face, complimented my eyes so perfectly! And my tan... it was perfectly perfect.

Was perfect. I was perfect.

Key word: was.

"Hurry up," Cami called from in front of me. I looked up to see all the girls, even Lark, who was carrying Aralee, meters in front of me. I walked quickly to catch up with them.

I was used to uncomfortable outfits, but jogging in a tight, hard bodysuit was beyond me. I loathed each and every step.

"Stay with us," Cami said. "You can't just sulk in the back."

"What if you lost your stupid computer knowlege?" I shot back. Maybe then she would see how I feel. How painfully this really is.

"Then I would still have my job," Cami said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

All the girls' skill didn't have much to do with their true interests. Lark is a heavy lifter when she was usually a music protege. Aralee was a singer, yet here she was, wielding guns and bows.

Honestly though, if I didn't have a photographic memory, I wouldn't remember anything about these girls. They had achieved nothing compared to me.

I remember everything since I was about twelve years old, but I still remember bits and pieces of times before that. I started my modeling career when I was very young. At around one or two years, I already had found my love for beauty and attention. School was a breeze thanks to my memory, and I graduated when I was fourteen.

Then I was a full time model! It was a perfect life...

"There it is!" Aralee said excitedly. "The Hagia Sophia!"

I could see it was beautiful, even from afar.

"How do we get in?" Asia asked.

"What do you mean?" Maybelle asked. "It's supposed to be a museum, right?"

"Used to be," Asia said. "Before World War Five... Now it's just an old building."

"We can still get in," Cami said confidently. "We can make a plan and use our skills."

The planning stage passed by in a blur, mostly because I wasn't paying attention unless Cami mentioned me. But since my face was messed up, I basically didn't do anything but hide in the shrubs with Aralee.

"Okay, remember. We don't know where or what the clue is," Cami said. "So you four need to be on the lookout for anything."

"Got it," Harper said.

"We'll go at night for stealth, so we can eat now," Cami said. "There is a gas station... Asia, if you could kindly borrow some food..."

Asia nodded. "Let me quickly change." She walked over behind the bushes and trees, bringing her bag. She came back in her black outfit and sunglasses.

"I will be right back. Stay safe," Asia said. Cami nodded and she ran off.

"Okay, let's just go into the forest for a bit and wait for Asia," Cami said.

"Great idea," Harper said. "Let's go into the dark, creepy forest with radioactive spiders." Can that girl say what she means? Would that be so hard for her? People always seem to do the opposite of what I want. Peasants.

"That's just a myth," Aralee said kindly.

"Yeah, don't worry about that," Lark added.

"Wait. Are there really radioactive spiders?" Maybelle asked, pulling out one of her many knives as we walked deeper into the forest.

"There are very few in Turkey," Aralee said. "I think..."

Lark set Aralee down on the ground. We all sat in a circle besides me.

"I'm changing out of this bodysuit," I said, taking my bag and walking out.

"Stay safe!" Aralee called with a kind warmth in her voice. I didn't respond. Instead, I hid behind a cluster of trees.

I attempted to take off the wretched bodysuit, but it kept getting stuck at my head. It was impossibly stiff. After many tries, I finally got it off by shoving it down my legs.

When I returned, everyone besides Cami had taken off their bodysuit. Asia had not returned.

"I hope Asia knows where we are," Cami said to the group, not yet realizing that I had arrived. "If you see her, call her over. I'm going to- oh hi, Naomi. I was just heading out to change."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care," I said, sitting down. I opened my bag and took out my pocket mirror. I made sure my bandages were in place and lightly moisturized my skin.

After about a half of an hour, Asia arrived with two plastic bags filled with all sorts of food. Chips, candy, beef jerky, hot dogs, and more, along with some drinks as well.

"I got enough that everyone gets two things," Asia said with a smile.

Cami, now wearing her orange hoodie, grabbed the two bags. "Asia gets first pick, then I'll just go around the circle."

Asia nodded. "Okay, um... I will have the water and the mega pack of dried seaweed." I was going to get that...

"Asia, could you pick something else? I wanted those," I said. Asia began to nod.

"No, Naomi," Harper cut in. "Asia took the time to steal the food so she gets first pick!"

"Yeah," Cami agreed, handing Asia the seaweed. I groaned. Now I would probably get stuck with a fatty hotdog or a few bland chips.

This would not be good for my complexion.