The misfits

40: Emma

After all that happened, the most sensible thing was to go after Goopee. Austin had joined up with the pack shortly after that, and they spent quite some time trying to figure out a plan, based on Goopee's weakness. He was talking to Clawd until Everest suddenly called him, and asked him if he knew anything.

Stupid. Think! What was one of the things that Goopee might care about? He racked his brain hard before he blurted out, "Lucinda. She died, and he's her adoptive dad. It's worth a shot if we tell him, it'll buy us a few seconds."

Everest began assigning everyone roles, and Austin had been assigned to follow the scouts. The scouts were supposed to eliminate the rest of Goopee's possible minions. It didn't take long before we found them facing the wrong way. Their backs were outwards when Dave had led the scouts over. It did not take long for them to surround Goopee's men. Austin could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body as he swung his arm repeatedly, sucker punching Goopee's men in their faces as they fumbled for their guns. "We're done here," Dave announced. He gave Everest the message of Goopee's location before he instructed them all to be on guard, but not to attack.

After a good thirty minutes, there was still no information from the hunters or the guards. Did something happen to them? "Hey, Dave. We should go find them, see if they need help." Austin told him. Dave nodded and signalled for the scouts to follow his lead. They went stealthily, checking if there was any more of Goopee's men about.

[Emma POV]

"Hey." Emma called up to Austin, where he was sitting on the rooftop wall of his apartment building, where he had asked her to meet him. Austin yelped as he turned to see Emma. "H-hello."

Awkward start much? "You jumped a lot, considering you should be the one with enhanced skills, including hearing." Emma offered him a small smile as she swung her legs up and over the wall, carefully positioning herself in case she fell off. She slowly began to move her legs back and forth, the grounding pressure giving her comfort for some reason. Austin scratched the back of his head as he replied, "Yeah, well. You're awfully quiet. Anyway, how did it go in the Latin Quarter?" She looked down, before saying finally, "I fought them off. It was the least I could do, after all the problems I've caused but completely useless at solving them." Austin glanced at her with a surprised look. If she noticed he was staring, she didn't acknowledge. He just replied quietly, "Goopee's existence isn't your fault. Neither is this whole—"

"You bet your ass it is!" She burst out angrily, as she stood up suddenly. Austin sucked in a breath as she stood up on the wall, ready to fall off any minute. "If I hadn't been born, my parents just kept their greedy plans to themselves, Goopee wouldn't be after them and we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!" She paced back and forth precariously, holding out her palm as a bright orange flame came easily to her fingertips. She threw it down the building, the ball speeding down, bursting into a larger flame as it landed into the Boy Scouts' campfire beside the block. "Emma, it's okay to be mad, but you need to chill. Everyone has their pro—" He protested. Anything to get her to come down before she got hurt. "Oh yeah? Your problems are probably just about how you and your dad got beaten by a girl!" She realised what she said as she jumped down from the wall, landing swiftly on her feet as she sank down against the wall. "Sorry." She mumbled meekly, inaudible even to herself. Austin's hearing seemed to be working by then as he flushed and replied, "It's okay. It's true anyway. Dad lost his position to Everest, so it got passed down to me and now I screwed it up because—" He pursed his mouth tightly, not wanting to admit it. "How did you mess up this time?" She asked, shaking his shoulders vigorously.

He decided it was time to change the subject as he asked, "How've you been these few years, honestly? Tell me about the humans." She told him about how she'd been living with her parents and Will, about school. It wasn't a happy story to tell, but it felt nice to share her story with someone.

"Tell me about the wolves." and they sat at the top of the building, as Austin recounted how he had grown up with Kay and his adoptive mother, the tireless hours of throwing fist after fist at his opponent, the countless daggers he threw, training to live up to his biological father's high expectations of him. He also told her about the late nights of sprinting in the wolves with his friends, as he reminisced how the adrenaline made him feel so alive.

"We have come to the end of this two-way TED talk, because my mom would kill me if I go back any later. I trust you can find your way back?" Austin said, yawning as he stretched. God, his legs felt like lead after they had been sitting there for hours. Emma nodded as she headed back home, her heart feeling lighter than ever in ages.