Double Agent

Chapter 12: Allie

Allie felt like a horrible person; she should probably help Reina out. But she barely even knew the girl, so the chances of Reina betraying her were... about 90 percent, Allie decided. She could inste--

"HEY! A LITTLE HELP HERE!?"

Reina. Allie had somehow forgotten about the two tigers, and Reina was outnumbered now. She kicked the first one in the leg, only for it to redouble its attack. The second one noticed Allie lurking in the shadows and growled. It advanced.

"Good tiger," she said nervously, hoping that the ferocious animals would go away. But, of course, stuff like that never worked.

It pounced.

"Ahhhh!" Allie yelled, dropping the whistle. She'd never fought any animal--not even a chicken--before, let alone a super tiger! She delivered three swift punches to its face, but it wasn't even fazed. Instead, it pushed her to the ground and swiped at her with exceptionally sharp claws. She rolled out of the way just in time for the tiger to scratch the ground where she'd just been... and where her hair currently was.

Allie's long hair had been clipped to shoulder length. That was kind of upsetting, but Reina had it worse. She'd been cornered by one of the tigers. She jumped over it and narrowly missed becoming a tiger snack. Meanwhile, Allie's tiger was getting ready to jump again. Instead of letting the ferocious animal finish its move, she kicked it in the stomach--then stumbled back, clutching her foot.

The only good news was that the tiger seemed hurt as well. It limped away from the cave as fast as it could go... which wasn't really that fast, now that it was injured. "They're vulnerable if you kick their stomach!" Allie shouted, then winced. "Just don't hurt your foot like I did."

Her foot was really starting to burn. She tucked her head into her knees and breathed hard.

But, in doing so, she let her guard down.

"WATCH OUT!" Reina screeched, just as Reina's tiger ambushed Allie, slamming into her side. Allie's vision blurred. Her left side now hurt even more than her foot. Reina yelled and charged the animal, but Allie could barely hear her. She just needed to... to...

Everything faded to black.

*****

Allie woke in the cave... or rather, she didn't. She recognized a dream when she saw one. But for now, it was easier to just pretend it was all real.

Reina was not in sight. Allie stood up, discovering that she wasn't in pain anymore... but she was sure that would change soon enough, once she woke up for real.

She tried calling for her sort-of friend, but there was no reply. Fine. It was easier to just go back to the ASO anyway.

There was a low growl in the darkness. A pair of glowing eyes appeared in the far corner of the cave. It was the tiger from before--but, like her, its wounds seemed to be fully healed. It actually looked... scarier than the last time she'd seen it.

"It's just a dream," she told herself.

Then the tiger started to speak. "Stupid girl! Reina just saved you from dying, and now you're going to leave her!? DO SOMETHING RIGHT, FOR ONCE!" Allie was about to argue, but she realized that the tiger might be correct. She'd apologized to Reina, only to turn her back on her when she needed help. She'd failed several missions because of how nervous she got under pressure. And then she'd totally messed up her escape from the UA dungeons.

Nevertheless, she said defiantly, "Leave me alone."

The tiger growled again. "No." It drew closer.

"You're just a dream."

It growled.

"You're JUST a dream."

It pounced--

"YOU'RE JUST A DREAM!"

And everything shattered.

*****

"Allie!" Reina shouted as she came to. "Are you okay? I don't know what to do..."

"I'm fine," she said, although her right foot still felt like there was a car balanced on it. "Really. How long was I unconscious?" Worry crept into Allie's voice. If she'd been asleep for a few days and Mr. Sancoy had a chance to get the remote...

"Relax," Reina laughed, although she sounded a little bit concerned. "It's only been about ten minutes." Allie, though, didn't feel like relaxing. "We have to get that remote!" she said, scooping up the whistle from where it lay and tucking it into her pocket.