Group Z

Chapter 13

'I saw you the other day, what were you doing Z-1?!' Z-2 immediately confronts me.

'It's not what you think.' I plead, my hands out in front of me, backing away slowly as she advances, the daggers still held in her hands. The shadow the day before must have been her I realise.

I think of my own daggers back upstairs in the bedroom, but I know I wouldn't use them even if I did have them on me. This is Z-2, my sister in arms, I couldn't kill her.

'I came here for you.' She says, her hands starting to tremble slightly. 'We heard the Master talking about you, we all talked it over and agreed we needed to tell you. I'm supposed to be on a hunt right now... But I'm here to warn you Z-1.'

'Warn me about what?' I say lowering my hands, she no longer seems poised to attack, her hands fall to her side although she still doesn't let go of the daggers.

In my mind I'm panicking at the fact that the Master somehow knows my intention not to follow through on the mission, despite him giving me practically unlimited time to complete it.

'The Master said that he needed to eliminate you, that you had gone soft, failed the mission. We have a week before he gives the order to come for you, but I know that's not true-'

'It's true.' I say, cutting over her. 'The people in this family are truly kind-hearted, they don't deserve to die, no one ever did. I have a life now. With them, they've given me one with no questions asked.'

'But... We're your family too. You'd just leave us behind like that?' She says looking away from me.

To anyone else she would seem emotionless, but I can tell how hard she is fighting to keep her emotions bottled up, through the way she bites her lip and clenches her daggers tighter. I know how much I've just hurt her.

'We can live this life together, all of us.' I promise, trying to save her feelings by being sincere. 'I always had full intentions of bringing you into this. I mean, I have a name now, not just a number. Zi.'

Zi?' Z-2 whispers as if tasting the word. She looks at me, her green eyes finally fixed upon my face. 'Is... is it nice? Having a name?'

'The best.' I reply. 'I want it for you too, and everyone.'

'You know.' She says, lost in thought. 'Of all the people I've killed one always stuck with me. Her name was Elizabeth and even though I've tried I haven't been able to forget her. The look on her face as she died. There was just... Something there that I can't explain. I always really liked that name Elizabeth, Lizzie.'

'Now that suits you. A good homage.' I say with a nod and a grin walking towards her. I reach out my hand, a question in the movement and she contemplates it for a second before grasping it. I pull her into a hug. 'I worried about you.' I admit, holding her tightly. 'I realised the Hub is truly a horrible place.'

'Pft.' She huffs derisively. 'All this time with normal people has made you so emotional.' We pull away from each other, but I know I've been forgiven for leaving them behind.

'So.' I begin straight to business. 'What's been happening since I've been gone?'

'Things are weird Z-... Zi. People keep coming into the Hub and having private conversations with the Master, we are forbidden to speak to any of them, or even look at them for too long, I mean look at this.' She pulls up the hem of her shirt to show me a healing cut on her lower back, it looks like a whip mark and my fists tighten in anger. 'One of them bumped into me and I apologised.' She tells me, pulling her shirt back down. 'Something big is coming and I had to let you know.'