Inferno---KOTLC Fanfic and Supernova Sequel

Chapter 1

NOTICE!!!! THIS IS A SEQUEL. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE FIRST BOOK, "SUPERNOVA"! If you have.... please do enjoy. ---MockingjayMoonlark

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Chapter One

Audra

Audra shook her head, trying to clear the heartbreaking image she'd seen before, of Sophie cradling Keefe's dead body. It didn't work. The memory seemed forever imprinted in her brain, a moment of utter betrayal, betrayal to her blood family.

She'd thought she was prepared, that she could kill him if she needed to, but, oh, was she wrong. It hurt, dug deep, even though she hadn't even known Keefe. Her heart, the one she thought she'd trained to turn to stone at will, had shattered into tiny pieces that she'd had to piece together to maintain a front of normalcy.

"Audra," Fitz's voice said from behind her, "are you okay?"

Audra sighed and turned around so that she faced Fitz. Was she? She knew the answer. No. "Yeah," she lied, "just shook. The battle... it was tough."

Fitz snorted. "You have no idea." He ran a hand through his hair. "The look my sister gave me... God, that was awful."

"You good, though?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Fitz asked, pleasant confusion clouding his eyes. "We won, Audra! We won. And Keefe, that snake, is gone for good! Isn't that what you wanted?"

No. I thought it would be different. "Yeah, sure," she replied instead, hiding her actual feelings about the battle.

Somehow, Fitz saw through her facade. His eyes softened. "Audra, I know that was hard... emotionally as well as physically, but you just need to rest and forget about it. Otherwise it'll drown you."

"When did you become so wise, Wonder Boy?" Audra joked, masking her emotions with laughter. "But like, I know what you mean. I'm fine though. Totally fine."

"Good. That's good. You know, if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. I hope you know that."

"Um, yeah. Okay. Thanks, Fitz," Audra replied awkwardly. "Same goes for you."

Fitz smiled, and for a moment, Audra almost forgot all about the battle that had occurred before. Almost. Even as she stared at the boy sweetly grinning at her, she couldn't erase the image imprinted in her brain, Keefe still and cradled by Sophie, Fitz angry and vengeful as he marched into combat. It all seemed so different when she imagined it, not as terrifying or sad or bloody. But everything seems better in your mind. Even war. Especially war.

"Hey," Fitz said, nudging Audra, bringing her back from her thoughts, "do you want to, like, go somewhere? Um, like just you and me—but, like, as friends or—more than friends?" He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly, face red.

Audra smirked. It was funny how bad Fitz was at this. "Whoa, golden boy, you asking me out? Like, what? Has the world exploded?"

Fitz's face turned even redder. "I totally understand if you don't want to, um, go—" he explained, rushed and embarrassed.

"Maybe another day?" Audra suggested, cutting in, "I kind of need to do something today, but I'm free another time."

"Really?" Fitz blurted out.

Audra smiled. Fitz looked so shocked that it was almost sweet. "Really."

"Um, are you available the day after tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Okay, um, see you then!" Fitz replied, still blushing. They stood there for a bit, just looking at each other, before Audra grinned and began jogging away.

"See ya, Supernova!" she yelled as she went.

~~~~~

Audra heaved a sigh of relief as she shut the door of her room. It was the one place where she could relax fully, and not worry about how people perceived her.

She kicked off her shoes, then collapsed onto her soft, fluffy bed. She still couldn't believe that Fitz had asked her out, and that she'd actually agreed to see him the day after tomorrow. She'd told herself years ago that falling in love was just a big lie, a fallacy that hid painful, everlasting heartbreak. And then here she was, about to go on a date with a guy who had killed so many people and seemed fine with it. What a terrific mess she was in.

"Gahhhh," Audra groaned, covering her face with her hands in frustration. "What on earth did I get into?!"

She removed her palms from her eyes, and glared at the gold-orange ceiling, as if it was the root of all her problems. As she stared at the bright paint, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye on her nightstand. A familiar silver disk.

Audra sucked in a breath. A Communicator. Everyone in the Neverseen had one, as it was an untraceable, free version of an Imparter. It had been developed by Gears, a Neverseen member, about three years before, and had been in use since then.

The thought crossed Audra's mind before she could stop it. If everybody had a Communicator, then Fitz would too. Joy flashed across her features. She could call the date off! She could fix whatever mistake she'd made that caused Fitz to like her, and continue living her life as normal. Alone, unburdened, and content.

But as she thought about it, the less appealing it seemed. Because for whatever unexplainable reason, Audra Reyna Sencen did not want to reject Fitzroy Avery Vacker. And she had no idea why.