The Burning Girl

Chapter 24 - A R R A N

The only thing I can see is the betrayal in her eyes, that something has snapped inside her. That I broke whatever trust she had in me, and stamped it into the ground, turning it into sparkling dust. I can't help but think that I've lost her now, for good. This isn't like our fights when we were little. No. This is something bigger, of course it is. How could it not be?

I turn over in bed, my eyes meet with the cold surface of concrete. I follow a small crack in the wall , as it twists and turns up to the ceiling. The dark veins seeping into the white paint, a crack in the perfect facade.

Why did I let Jim do this to me? He bullied me to bring Anna here, all because James used to work for him. What does he think she knows? Or what James might have taught her? She could certainly hold her own with a gun and in the ring. Maybe she got that from him.

But he died when she was 8... this doesn't add up.

I sit up quickly in bed racking my brains for the reason. How did Jim even know about Anna? Surely James kept all details about his family secret from his job. It would have been too dangerous.

I get dressed quickly and make my way to the Op's room, not knowing why, yet despeartly seeking an answer. I can hear someone moving around inside, so I pause and listen at the door. I hear muffled voices talking low.

"You are quite sure the serums are working?"

"Yes Sir, the subject has been responding well to her treatment."

"Good, I'm glad the effects managed to stay dormant for so long," the nasally voice says "This only proves that you can turn anyone into a soldier."

I gasp. That's Jim's voice. Who could he be talking about? I lean in closer to the door as they continue talking.

"You would think that with genetics as strong as hers, she'd be equal to her brother. You should push her Tom, to make her better. To make her our best fighter! Just think of what we could achieve is she becomes our first operative. The take over would be swift and I'll be in power, Prime Minister, in no time." Jim wheezes out a laugh. "Just think of what I, I mean, we could do. The possibilities are endless!"

"Yes, Sir." Tom grinds out. I can just imagine the dangerous glint in his eyes, the lowered eyebrows and the tense jaw.

"Very well, you may continue. I must go find my nephew. Carry on."

I hear a shuffle of feet, as Tom salutes my Uncle, and the quick footsteps coming to the door. I spring away and quickly turn the corner at the end of the corridor before Jim comes out of the room. He heads down towards our quarters, and I have a moment to breathe and process what I heard.

"Anna, they were talking about Anna."

The voice shocks me as I hadn't noticed them walk up to me. It's Cass, a sad look on her face. "How did you find me?" I whisper incredulously.

"I've been coming up here for a few weeks now, overhearing their conversations," she whispers. "There is something seriously not right going on."

My eyes widen "What do you mean?"

"I think that they're going to use Anna as a weapon. But I don't know how." She whispers back. "We shouldn't talk here, come with me." She turns to head downstairs and I follow her. We walk outside and carry on until we are on the far side of the lake. She leads me to a trapdoor set underneath a large oak tree, opening it with a small groan.

"Get inside," she whispers "quickly."

I jump down, landing on wood chippings in a dark room. The smell of earth is quite strong down here, and it takes my eyes a while to adjust. Cass lands beside me and turns to pull a lever, closing the trap door. She grabs a lantern from a small table and starts to walk down the corridor. "Follow me."

Her pace is quick and light across the wood chipped floor, barely a sound comes from her movements. I try to copy her, but small scuffs echo off the walls.

"What is this place?" I ask.

"Our base." She stops speaking not giving me any more clues. I get the feeling that this place is secret, kept from the higher-ups. I close my mouth. We come out into a small room with a large table in the middle, lit from above by a low hanging light. Alto sits at the head of it, clutching his head.

"Ahem," Cass coughs.

Alto looks up startled, his eyes focusing on me.

"So, Sparky has come to sit with the big kids," he muses. He motions for me to sit beside him, pulling out the chair for me.

"What did you hear?" He turns to Cass. She just points to me and Alto turns his gaze to my face. He raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Well, they said that Anna has been performing exceptionally well and that the serums have been working."

"Shit." Alto mumbles. "This is what I feared." He clutches his head again, and Cass places a hand on his arm.

"It's ok," she whispers "we are going to figure this out."

"Cass, you said she might be a weapon? How?"

"When she was in rehab, the doctors there were under Jim's orders to inject her with this serum to strengthen her bones, improve her endurance, basically it made her indestructible. It means she can stand a lot and not die, therefore making her the perfect human weapon."

I stood silent for a moment, looking between both of them as they waited for me to put the pieces together.

"That's why she's here then, to become their best operative." 

Cass nods slowly.

 "We've got to tell her! She could be in a lot of danger!" I walk towards them both, a fear rising inside me.

"No!" Alto yells, slamming his hands on the table. "We can't, it would put the whole resistance at risk!" He glares at me. "You need to understand Arran, and quickly, that there is something bigger than just us. What you see is the tip of the iceberg."

I give them a confused look. I look to Cass but she just shakes her head and mouths 'later'.

"What we need to do, is take our time. We don't even know how she'll react to it. And she can never know about her brother. Ya hear? Never." Alto glares at me, and I can see the urgency in his eyes. Whatever I've gotten myself into, it is bigger than I can ever imagine.

A dull thud suddenly comes to us through the entrance tunnel, the soft pacing coming forward. Alto tenses next to me, and Cass flicks her wrists producing two knives from her sleeves. I turn my eyes to the corridor and see a pair of gleaming boots coming towards us. He steps into the light, his long hair tied back, vest shirt changed to black gear and a steely expression in his eyes.

"Meeting without me?" Jules asks.

~~~~~

AN

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