The Fatal Price

Chapter 3- Up In Lights

The spotlight bears down, almost blinding, yet I can't help but love it. Admist the roar of the crowd, I feel powerful, unstoppable. I am somebody.  Staring out at the sea of phones and excited faces, I know that this is where I'm meant to be. This is me, Amia. I think I could get used to that name. It's different and  strong. Fits me perfectly. 

I adjust my microphone and earpiece, waving to the thousands before me while giving my band the cue. I start singing, and it all fades away. The lights, the sound, the crowd. It all dissapears as I pour my heart and soul into my music. It is as if I was back at the training base, during my down time. Nobody around me- just my voice, my guitar, and my thoughts. I feel a strange feeling come over me, unlike anything I have known before, or for a very long time. Could it be... peace? Here in a crowded room, in a hectic life, have I truly found peace? The thought strikes me as impossible; me, at peace. But nevertheless, I relish in the brief moment, as the calming wave passes quickly. 

"Encore, encore! We love you Amia!" my fans screamed at the top of their strained voices. It's almost over. This escape from reality, my safe haven, is almost gone from me. I don't want it to end, not yet. So i decide to have someone from the front row come up and sing with me. I know that's supposedly a big deal, although I never got the chance to idolize any artists during my previous life. So I tell my band to follow my lead, and point to a young girl with dark hair. She looks around, then yelps excitedly. We sing, and afterwards she thanks me about ten times as she walks offstage. But the thing I will always remember is the look on her face. It was a mixture of surprise, happiness, anxiety, and gratitude. In my line of work, I don't see that much. I see pretty much every other emotion. Mainly fear, disgust, hate, anger, sadness, and regret. I end the show with a small inspirational message, and prepare to receive my assignment from Boss. After all these years, I still don't know his actual name. As far as I can tell, no one does. 

That's the thing with my job, it's very secretive. Which means no outside relationships, no family ties, no letting anyone in. Every day is a battle to avoid getting too attached, to avoid the one weakness that could ruin me, undo the training I've spent so much time perfecting. That would be... love. I've been taught to hate the word. After all, my parents "loved" me, and look where that got them. Gone, probably dead, and no longer in my life. I've never been close to a single soul, nor has anyone attempted to get to know me. Love failed me, so why should I ever believe in it again? However, this next assigment, like all the ones before, has the potential to change my life. So I'll see.

In two minutes, the meeting will begin. Anticipating the unexpected, as I was taught, I hold my breath. Please don't let this be the mission I cannot complete. Please, let me get through this. I repeat the same heartfelt words, almost prayerlike, for an incomplete mission means termination. And this is a life I don't want to lose. There are no more second chances for me.