Born To Die Part Two - The Charm Of A Conflict

Never Tell Niall

Alexis transforms into an oversized hawk. She scoops Ashton onto her back and swoops down the nearly endless corridor. How the tables turn, I guess. He holds onto her feathers for dear life. She finally spots an exit after a few seconds which feels like hours. She lets Ashton off and turns into her regular self except with incredibly strong arms, rippling with muscle. She begins to bang on the metal door with her fists, her pure rage strengthening her. An alarm begins to blare, making the two grip their heads in pair. Alexis shakes her head, almost like she's trying to shake the noise out of her ears and continues ripping at the door with newly shifted claws. She shreds the door in a matter of seconds, littering the white floor with titanium metal shards. The sounds of doors exploding open surround the corridor. Niall knits his brows together in determination, cocking his gun at the frozen pair. An evil smile spreads across his face.

'Go, come on!' Alexis hisses, grabbing Ashton's wrist like a child and making him trail behind her as she runs furiously away. The sky is dark, the moon shining in the sky . The smell of poisoned London air hits the two, making them cough with the smell of petrol. Ashton looks back, seeing Kristoffer staring at them, eyes full of guilt.

He hears Niall yelling at him faintly, 'You idiot! You can't even go after the people you captured literally yesterday? You're useless! Strangelove's gonna go ballistic...' He smacks Kristoffer in the back of the head. Alexis and Ashton turn a corner to a darkened side street with no lamps. The following agents run past, splitting left and right.

'That bloody Kristoffer,' She murmurs, pulling her phone from her pocket, 'We aren't letting him back in to our house. That's for sure.'

Ashton grabs for words, but it only makes tears prickle in his eyes, his heart beat fast, his breathing get faster, his brain go fuzzy.

FIVE THINGS YOU CAN SEE

A fence. Overgrowing vines. An AMI agent with his gun at the ready. Alexis. His own hands. It scares him more every time his eyes flick away.

FOUR THINGS YOU CAN HEAR

The AMI shouting. The alarm. Alexis tapping on her phone. Alexis grumbling.

THREE THINGS YOU CAN TOUCH

The fence. His skin. His jumper.

TWO THINGS YOU CAN SMELL

Petrol. Burning.

ONE THING YOU CAN TASTE

Blood.

'Ashton?' Alexis places her long nailed, bruised, scratched hand on his shoulder. He sucks in a deep breath. His pulse returns to normal, 'Panic attack?'

He shrugs. She looks back down at her phone, 'We're pretty far from home. Shall we get the bus or get Yen to pick us up?'

'Don't bother Yen. It's late, and she has kids. Let's catch a bus.'

*

Somehow, the pair has snuck themselves onto a double-decker bus without any strife. They were at the back, and the only people on the bus. 11 pm isn't the most popular time for public transport. They sit in silence. Thick, sad silence. Alexis takes a sharp breath in.

'What did they do to you?' She asks, putting her hand on his.

'What?'

'You know what I mean, Ashton. He hurt you. How?'

He shudders, but shows her his wings anyway. Alexis shakes, tears forming in her eyes. She covers her mouth with her hand in shock. She reaches out softly, grasping as if she could grab something. Alexis suddenly flings her arms around him, enveloping him in a suffocating embrace.

'Alexis, I will literally die if you don't let go,' Ashton croaks after a minute. Alexis sighs and lets go of him, delicately wiping her tears by placing a finger under her eyes and rapidly blinking.

*

Kristoffer sits cross-legged on the top of the AMI. The disgusting city lights pollute his brain, fizzing and frothing with the thoughts of his friends. He hears the door click open. He flicks his head around to see Eudora, focused on lighting a cigarette. She looks up, the flame of the lighter reflecting in her brown eyes. She smiles softly at him.

'Didn't know you smoked, Kathlyhan,' He comments. She ambles over to his side, finally lighting the cigarette.

'Didn't know you cared,' She laughs, taking a puff. She offers him the open box, to which he shakes his head and returns to looking at the city below, 'Also, don't call me Kathlyhan. Just call me Eudora.'

Kristoffer chokes on the suffocating grey smoke as a gust of wind blows it in his face. Eudora sighs, 'You don't deserve this, Kristoffer. You're too good for us.'

'What?' Kristoffer turns to look at her. She continues staring down at the cigarette between her pointer and middle finger.

'You're a naturally kind person. So was I. I got this job because I was vengeful. But you're not that kind of person,' Eudora combs through her fringe with her long fingernails, 'I'm staying here because I feel like I haven't done my revenge.'

I did a case on a man called John Kelli. Before I worked with Niall. You weren't here yet. I'm guessing you were about ten when I did it. Isn't that ridiculous? You're so young. I'm turning thirty-six this year. Anyways, he was my boyfriend. I loved him. He loved me. But I was scared when I found out he was magic. He took away the things I loved when I took up this job. My house. My money. My son.'

'You had a son?' Kristoffer interrupts. He fiddles with the sleeve of his hoodie.

'Yeah,' She sighs, 'His name was Jamie. I miss him. He'll be thirteen this year. I killed John Kelli. It was my biggest regret ever. The revenge didn't feel good. I took revenge for the revenge. Does that make sense?'

'It does,' Kristoffer can't contain his words in his brain, 'I understand how you feel. I don't have a son or anything, but I know how it feels to love someone magic and be scared when you find out.'

'Really?' Eudora throws the cigarette on the floor, crushing it with the heel of her boot. She places her arms on the ledge Kristoffer is sat on, resting her head in her hands, 'Do you know how it feels to kill them?'

She doesn't ask rudely. A genuine question. Kristoffer sighs, 'I know how it feels to get close to killing them.'

'You poor thing,' She says, 'It hurts. A lot. To see them with the look of betrayal on their face.'

Kristoffer nods. He feels his spirits lift slightly. He decides to change the subject slightly, 'Niall doesn't deserve you.'

'He's hateful. Full of spite. I know he doesn't. But if he doesn't have someone loving him, he'll destroy himself,' She looks at her lighter meticulously. It has an interesting pattern, ' He hates himself, Kristoffer. He doesn't want to be rude. He hates hurting you. But he sees someone kind and vulnerable, like you, and decides to hurt them. I don't know why I fell in love with him. But love's complicated. I'd hate to see him destroy himself. He'd hurt himself, he'd disappear. He'd become even more of a shell of a human than he is now.'

'Thank you, Eudora,' He smiles, turning his body around to the solid ground and hopping off the ledge. He makes his way back to the door.

'Kristoffer,' Eudora stops him before he can leave. He turns around to see her with a caring smile on her face, 'I know who you were in love with. You made the right decision to free him and the other. I'll never tell Niall. Go home. Get rest. I'll see you tomorrow.'