Survivors

Chapter 12: Jada

Chapter 12: Jada

 

          I stare at Xain Austin. He looks a mixture of astonished and overwhelmed. I have never seen this look before. Almost half a minute goes by as we stare at each other. I take a step forward, but next thing I know, I’m lunging quickly at him. I throw my arms around his neck and close my eyes, hoping not to cry. As soon as my arms wrap around his neck, I feel my feet leave the ground and a pair of arms encase me.

          I hear a strong exhale, and then quietly, “Hi.”

          “Hi,” I manage to get out. My first words to Xain. We stay in an embrace for about a minute, then he puts me down. I let go of his neck, but I still hug him around his chest.

          “They have finally met,” Melissa says as she rubs my braided hair. Abi did my hair this morning. She wanted it to look nice for the big day.

          “Did you know about this?” Xain asks Melissa.

          “Partly,” Melissa continues to stroke my hair as she answers, “Jada asked if she could see Isabelle, but I told her that she needed her rest, so she asked for Abi. I brought Abi to her and left them alone, and when I returned, they were gone. I knew Jada was safe, and there was nothing wrong so long as she rested, so I just signed her out of the infirmary.”

          I look up and see Izzy standing along side her sister just a couple of feet away and let go of Xain for the first time and walk over to her. I throw my arms around her and lay into her chest plate.

          “I’m sorry you have to fight Vice for me,” I say into her chest. Izzy just hugs me and rubs my hair away from my eyes. I look up at her and she smiles.

          “Don’t sweat it, kid,” Izzy says with a smile, “You’re young. You should be enjoying life while you can, not worrying about fighting someone as big as Vice.”

          I smile a little. “But still...”

          “Kid, I mean Jada,” Izzy interrupts me and places her hands on my shoulders. She’s now looking me square in the eyes. “Please don’t make this fight be in vain. You have much to offer other than being a fighter, show them that you are more than that. Show them that you could never just be a part of their control.”

          I nod and tell her I will, and then reach in my pocket. I pull my hand out and try to hand the phoenix necklace to Izzy. “You need it more than I do.”

          Izzy closes my hand around the necklace, “No, you keep it. I want you to have it.” She hugs me close and whispers, “You’ve already proven that you could never die.”

          Those words echo through my head. What does she mean by that? Before I can ask, there’s a guard in the doorway instructing Izzy to follow him. When all of us start to move, he shows no objection, but tells us that we must exit immediately after she’s lifted on the platform.

          We follow him and another guard down the hall to a gray-ish color room that houses a couch, a table, and a weapons cache. Izzy immediately goes to the weapons cache and opens it, pulling out a sword, various knives, and two shorter and thinner daggers.

          “Fighters aren’t allowed to have weapons until they enter into this room,” Xain explains to me and Melissa, the only two people who have never been here before. “It protects everyone incase a fighter goes berserk.”

          His face looks so—maybe it’s stern or stolid—as he says those words. I don’t know if he’s angry, thinking about what he would do if he were allowed weapons outside of the fight, or if he’s just trying to hold onto Izzy’s face for as long as possible.