The Absolutely Insane Life of a Completely Normal (not really) Girl

The room was...

 ... complete chaos. Once the agents found out that shooting us wasn't an option, they switched to knives. If they weren't trying to kill me, it would be kinda funny seeing these buff men in suits trying to wield knives. But they were. So it wasn't.

Maria wasn't able to fire arrows in such close quarters, so she was fighting the agents on the side with the cells with her dagger. Jane was blasting everyone towards the stairs with her machine gun. Our friends were stuck in a tight circle in the center, and Aaron and I were guarding them. Anyone who came over was going to get a flaming sword to the face. Ash was going on a free for all. They were running everywhere, fighting anyone in their path with their bare hands.

Sophia was sprawled out on the floor, soaked in her own blood. I wasn't close enough to tell if she was breathing, but I silently hoped she was. Sure, she was a lying, bratty little female dog, but... gah, why do words have to be so hard? It's like... on one hand, it would be easier for all of us if she was dead, but on the other hand... she would be dead.

"Snap out of it, Lydia," I thought, "Just focus on protecting the circle."

It didn't take long for one of the agents to make his way to the circle. He came running straight towards me, and I jammed my sword into his arm, and that's when something truly awful happened. The Scream. The agent let out a scream of agony that no human or paranormal should be capable of. It wasn't just the pain of being stabbed, but also the pain of being burned from the inside. I felt like I stood there for hours, but it was probably closer to a minute. A gunshot snapped me out of my trance. I pulled my sword out of his arm. The agent crumpled to the floor. I checked his pulse and found myself sighing with relief. He was still alive. I turned around and saw where the gunshot had come from. Apparently, Aaron still had his gun on him. He had shot the agent that he had been talking to not one hour ago in the abdomen. I forced myself to remember his name. Alex. Aaron turned to me, and we made a silent agreement. This was going to end soon.

"Lydia!" Katie shouted. I turned and saw her being dragged by the leader.

"Katie!" I shouted back. I ran after them. I didn't worry about the others, Aaron would keep them safe. The only thing on my mind was Katie. I just got her back, no way was I losing her again.

I followed the leader down a dark corridor. Or maybe it was well lit, I'm not really sure. The only thing I was paying attention to was Katie and the leader, who was dragging her behind him. They went through a door that had a sign on it that said "experimentation room". A sinking feeling grew inside my stomach as I realized what he was going to do. He was going to inject Katie with the serum. I ran faster than I had ever ran before.

I got inside and saw Katie chained to an operating table. She saw me and suddenly there was a look of fear in her eyes. She tried to scream, but there was a gag around her mouth. I stopped, now worried. Katie wasn't normally serious, but when she was you knew it was bad. Before I could figure out what was wrong, I felt a sharp pain in a side. I fell to the floor, seeing the shoes of the leader appear in front of me.

"Isn't it fascinating," he started, "what we do for the people we love? We don't stop to think about the consequences. We just do whatever it takes." He dropped a syringe that still had little droplets of a green liquid inside it. A blanket of fear and realization covered me.

"But why do we do it?" he continued, "All these people ever do for us is cause pain and misery. And look what it's done for you. On the floor, writhing in agony, about to have who-knows-what happen to you. All so you could save some girl?" He tilted my head up so I was looking in his eyes. They were dancing with glee. "Now, Lydia, was it? Tell me. Was it worth it?"

I felt the numbness come over me once again. I thought about all I've done just get some children back. Every worried thought. All the back breaking work. It was all going to be for nothing. I was probably going to die, right here on the floor. Maria, Jane, Ash, and Aaron didn't stand a chance against the hundreds of agents in the cells.

I turned to look at Katie, fully prepared for it to the last time. I stared into her green eyes, relishing my last few moments on Earth. Katie... All the memories came flooding back to me. All my times with Katie and Trust Squad, hanging out. I remembered my talks with Eli and William, trying to work out my feelings for Katie.

I forced the numbness to leave. These weren't just random kids, these were my best friends. I would gladly die right here if it means that they survive. I faced the leader, his smug expression still on his face.

"Yes," I answered, "It was worth it. It was worth every ounce of pain that I am feeling to save my friends." I closed my eyes, and embraced what was to come. Suddenly, the pain went away. I felt something spring out of my shoulder blades and break through my armor and rip through my shirt. A long... tail fell down one of my pant legs. The bits of hair that were in my face were bright red-orange. I suddenly knew what just happened. I held out my hand and concentrated. It burst into flames. I found myself grinning with delight.

"So that's what giving the serum to a human does," the leader said. He talked as if this was just a mildly interesting experiment in science class, "Well, I suppose I have to go to plan B." Before I had time to react, he slammed a big red button. Why did it have to be a big red button? Alarms blared and red lights flashed.

"Warning. Self-destruct initiated. Evacuate the building in five minutes, or you will be incinerated," a robotic female voice said. The leader left without saying a word.

I ran over to Katie. I melted her chains and untied her gag. I tried to get her to stand, but she refused. I hadn't noticed before, but Katie's legs were bent in the wrong directions. He must have broken them.

"Get out of here," Katie shouted.

"Not without you," I shouted back. There wasn't enough time to carry her out. I looked for something, anything that I could carry Katie out on, but there was nothing. I sighed. There was only one option. I had heard stories that in times of crisis, draconas could use fire as a force field. No better time to try.

I set Katie down on the floor. I closed my eyes and concentrated with all might. Apparently I'm a fast learner. I opened my eyes and there a force field surrounding me and Katie. At the same time, my earpiece buzzed.

"Lydia, where are you?" Jane shrieked.

"Katie's legs are broken. I can't carry her up fast enough. I'm have a plan. Are you guys safe?" I asked.

"We're fine. But Lydia... I went to get Sophia... she had lost too much blood," Jane explained.

"We'll deal with that later. Look, if this doesn't work... tell my mom I'm sorry. Tell her that I'm sorry that I caused her that grief."

"Lydia..." Jane whimpered.

"Promise me," I shouted, hot tears streaming down my face.

"I promise," she said. I turned off the earpiece.

"15 seconds till detonation," the robotic voice said.

"Katie, if this doesn't work, there's something I want you to know," I said, "I love you."

I didn't know what I was expecting, but I didn't expect Katie's lips to be on mine. There was a blinding flash of light and I heard the two most powerful words I've ever heard.

"I know."