The Girl Called Red

Chapter 18.

"Anastasia. Do you remember your role?" Her head bobbed up and down as she shook out her arms.

"Stick behind and East. Knock out as many as I can with a mental blast." A brief glance at Joey caused him to nod and open his mouth.

"Then as soon as the child is secure I get Ana out of there." His face had become serious. Yet there was still a little glimmer in the back of his eye.

"Promise me that you will leave if the Ambush comes in too quickly. Anything goes wrong, you both leave immediately."

We all stood in a circle in the middle of the safe house. My body felt heavy from the small arsenal I had strapped to me and Joey looked similar.

Even Anastasia had her own gun and was briefly taught basics.

With any luck, she would not have to use it.

I seemed to be the only one between she and I whose psychic abilities gave a sense of foreboding.

Despite all that still laid yet before and behind me, my stomach felt heavy, my bones frozen to the marrow.

It feels just as it did before. 

At least now there is no cage. I am free.

As the three of us were as ready as we were ever going to be, I placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

Warmth flowed from the centre of my core and spread out, strengthening and disrupting the air around us as it spread all the way to my fingers.

I could feel the fabric of Anastasia's bullet proof vest as I dug my fingernails in.

I was going to be vulnerable without it.

The warmth was now a burning fire in my veins as it travelled through my veins and into my eyes.

In an instant we were in the rain on top of an old abandoned warehouse surrounded by other dark gloomy warehouses, hunched together in the cold rain.

Opening my eyes to look at them, my red vision faded for a moment.

"Ready?" I called over the sound of the heavy rain.

They both nodded. As they turned around and started walking, a part of me spoke up. "Joey?"

James turned around and I jumped at him, wrapping my arms around his neck as I smashed my lips into his.

They were still chapped and soft. His face was beginning to lose its temperature from the rain as I moved and held it between my hands.

Breaking away, I leant my forehead against his. The shadows of the past had not come this time. I wasn't going to have this kiss haunted by them.

"Thank you." Barely a whisper, I doubted he heard it.

I moved over to where Anastasia was, my vision turning red and burning my eyes.

She was scoping out a fire escape that would take us in the direction we wanted to head in, but I motioned for her to wait.

I do not know how long we stood in the rain.

All I knew was that with each coming moment my stomach acted stranger and stranger.

Until there were lights.

Cars began arriving in both directions as if choreographed. They were dark in colour and ran almost silently in the oppressive rain.

Anastasia and James both watched me. It was likely they were unable to see.

The rain began to lighten a little as the intruders stopped. One of the vans reversed so that it's rear faced the headlights of another groups car.