Delirious || Bozari

Chapter Seven: Atomic

Atomic was getting really tired of these vans.

She was sitting in one identical to the one she'd shared with Psycho, except this time there were more girls. Not that any of them were talking to her. In other words, there was just more noise.

Truth be told, Atomic didn't really know what was happening. Vixen had shoved one of the files she'd taken on her mission, a file that had her face on it, into her arms and ushered her into this van seconds before it took off. In other words, Atomic didn't know where they were going, why they were going there, or what they'd be doing once they got there.

Not that she minded. A little anticipation and curiosity was just what she needed to spice up her day.

Up until this point, all she'd been doing was sticking by Pamick's side, learning a bit more about the Compound and Vixen's organization. She'd met a few of the girls, which had been fun, but Pamick had spent most of the time giving her a rundown of the rules, what was expected of her, and her role as a brawler, which Atomic already knew. It had been incredibly boring.

Not that this van ride was proving to be any different. None of the girls in it were ones that she'd met. She felt isolated and alone, wishing that they'd reach whatever their destination was quickly.

The file in her hands served as a bit of a distraction. It was heavy and bursting with papers, all covered in words and pictures. None of the other girls in the van's files were as big as hers. It had a fading yellow cover, with the words Mariko Takahashi written in the top lefthand corner. Her deadname.

Something about it scared her. One part of her felt the overwhelming urge to open it, the other a terrible fear. She had a feeling that this was her history. The parts of her history that she'd forgotten.

Atomic knew that parts of her memory were missing. It never bothered her much. She remembered her entire relationship with Silver, which was all that was really important. And she had glimpses of her past; childhood memories of eating snow, her first ballet class, getting dressed up for a date with an unknown person, sitting in the lecture hall of a psychology class, getting hired, watching a movie with Courtney, small things. Like a puzzle with pieces missing. She could collect them, sort them, but never form the whole picture. Somedays, she'd wake up with new memories, and lose old ones. But they were never important ones. She could feel that.

But this file; this file might contain them. That thought was equally tantalizing and terrifying. Because there was a chance that knowing her past might change who she was. And Atomic loved herself exactly the way she was. She was Silver's dream girl. Why would she want to change that?

The van rolled to a stop, breaking off her thoughts. A tall girl with blonde hair and caramel upturned eyes opened the doors. Atomic was the first to jump out.

She found herself in what looked like a campsite. It was a small clearing, surrounded by trees. The only way out was a dirt road, which they had come from. It was empty, besides for a raging bonfire in the middle of the gravel-covered ground, crackling and waving in the night sky. It was a pretty sight, all orange and red and yellow and destructive.

Girls had already surrounded it, holding their files, talking and giggling excitedly. Apparently, they got a memo that Atomic hadn't picked up, because all of them seemed to know exactly what was going on.

Atomic walked up to the bonfire and took her place among the circle of girls. She stood there awkwardly as more vans arrived, bringing more and more girls. Eventually, when there were at least a hundred girls there, Vixen arrived.

She certainly made an entrance. After all the vans arrived, she came speeding down the road on a sleek black motorcycle, dressed in a pristine leather jacket that shone in the firelight. Everyone shut up at the sight of her. Vixen usually had that effect, but she had it even more so here. With her outfit and perfect makeup, she looked like a goddess.