Agent 11

Chapter Six: Home

Agent 11
Flashes of me in the blizzard, or wandering around the hills near Allegiance base. I realized in the back of my mind, this was what Ryan had been describing. Fortunately for me, I didn't have too many traumatic memories for the Liquid Fear to draw on. Another scene. The last special mission, when Blake's voice had cut off mid-sentence, and the eerie silence had covered me. The small noises of enemies and animals had made my heart do backflips as I prayed that it would be fine. The first night in Allegiance, I had woken up from a terrible nightmare. For ten minutes, I was alone, muffled sobs filling my ears. The image cut out before it could show the heartwarming event to occur after. That didn't matter, because I remembered it. The sounds of people upstairs were getting louder. That's when the images changed. They started showing events that haven't happened. Each one was centered around my family. These ones triggered stronger emotions within me. Showing myself cast out of Allegiance, Blake yelling at me in front of everyone that I wasn't worthy of being in the A-Team. My team meant more to me than anything in the world. More followed, and soon I was crying. I was frozen by these images more than the paralyzer itself. Suddenly, I felt something grab my arm, and pull me. I barely registered the noise of a door closing and locking, of Ryan's comforting voice telling me I was okay. The feeling of the dart pulled out, and a bandage plastered over the bleeding. "They got you. You'll be okay, though. I'm taking you back. You won't feel any more pain." What I did feel was arms hugging me, chasing away the terrifying images. The noises were louder. We had to leave soon, but I still couldn't move. "Hey, I'm sorry for this, but you don't seem ready to run back to where Ash is. It'll be easier to carry you." Before I could ask him what he meant, I felt a prick of split second pain, and then my muscles started involuntarily relaxing. 'A sedative,' I thought before I passed out, 'And a strong one.'
* * * * * * *
I woke to a sharp rock digging uncomfortably into my back. I shifted around, until I was able to sit up. Balled up in my lap was my purple hoodie, and I felt a wave of relief as I pulled it on. I felt like I couldn't stand. My left leg felt rubbery, and every time I moved it, pain flared up. Ash glanced over, and smiled brightly. "Ryan! She's awake." Ryan turned around, and I could see ahead of time exactly what was going to happen. He'd be sweet, helping me stand up and stuff. Then he'd yell at me for over an hour. It was the exact opposite of Blake, who used up all his anger immediately. Ryan reached out a hand to help me up, but I ignored it. "Save your concern. I know you want to yell at me. Go ahead." He withdrew his hand and sat down next to me. "Fine. Tell me then, why'd you lie to me? Why'd you run off? Why did you think you'd be okay?" His voice began to rise with each word, until I was worried Counterattack, or even my friends back home could hear him. "Ryan, I had a mission to complete."

"A lot of good that did you! I guess the fantastic Agent 11 isn't so invincible after all!" I flinched. His words, in such angry sarcasm, stung, because most of the time I felt the opposite of invincible. And after being so rattled by those images, I was feeling less invincible than ever. I looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "No. You don't get to avoid this. Look at me." I glanced back up at him reluctantly. At that moment, I realized how alone I felt. Surrounded by two people I knew almost nothing about. My eyes burned slightly, my vision fracturing with tears. I missed the A-Team. I wanted to go home, as childish as it sounded. I just wanted to go home. A hot tear traced a line on my face. "Ryan, you made her cry!" Ash chided. I glanced up to see a guilty look on his face. "N-No. I just-" I stopped. How dumb did it sound, that this strong agent felt lonely. "I'm ready to go back to Allegiance. That's all." Ash nodded, and met my eyes. I had a feeling she knew what I meant. "Hey, what did you see? The images from the Liquid Fear?" I paused. "It's alright, you don't have to tell us-" I shook my head. "No. Even if it hurts to remember, you shared your experience. I should as well." They waited while I collected my thoughts. "Well, I don't have a lot of bad memories, so it just started showing me my worst fears." Ryan half smiled reassuringly. "Whatever these fears are, you looked absolutely heartbroken. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He held out a hand to help me up. I considered the apology, and took it, smiling back. We had to walk at a slow pace because Ryan's leg was still weak from the fall, and mine sent sharp pain running through my body with every step. We started discussing what I was going to tell Blake. I told them more about the A-Team, and the great things we do. Just thinking about them made me happy. Though it brought Ash and Ryan comfort to hear such funny stories, I think everyone knew it was for my benefit. I ended up describing the last April fools, and the catastrophic results. Lucy had teamed up with Michael to form a terrifying duo bent on beating everyone in our prank war. I had set up a recording of music night on a loop. That in itself should have made me win, because no one on the A-Team was musically capable except Blake, who I was teamed with. That embarrassed everyone, but since I had filmed it, and Blake had won, my team was unaffected. Sam had also set up recordings, but of everyone's normal voice, so the whole day, if I were looking for someone, I'd have a hard time with it. She won in the end, for buying a puppy version of each member of the A-Team that was trained to act like us. We donated the dogs to Allegiance children, but having an animal copy of me was enjoyable. I felt the ground getting softer under my feet, and looked up to see the river knowing that we were almost there. I smiled, and started moving north, towards the bridge. I spotted it, the light brown material shining in the starlight. A laugh of pure joy escaped my throat as I sped up my pace to get there faster. Ryan gave me a strange look that faltered when he too saw the bridge. We crossed half no problem, then stepped lightly across the Allegiance half. Walking slowly on the shaky wooden beams felt like a gift, because soon I would be with my family. Once we were all the way into Allegiance territory, all of my fear and paranoia vanished. We were safe, back where I belonged. The ankle length grass that took constant mowing just to make a path felt so familiar. Suddenly, Ash stopped walking. Instantly Ryan was next to her, asking what was wrong, if she was okay. She forced a weak smile on her face. "Yeah, my head just hurts again." I stared at her face. One pupil was slightly more dilated than the other. "Guys, I'm fine. It's just a headache." I watched as she stumbled slightly while trying to get us to continue walking. "Ash, would your vision happen to be blurry?" I asked, suspicious. "No." It sounded like a lie. "And do you hear any ringing in your ears?" Another false sounding denial. "Well, Ash, you have a concussion." Ryan turned his head to look at me. "What?!" "She'll be fine, we'll just have her checked out at Allegiance. As for you, show a bit of concern for yourself. You'll have to walk on a questionably working ankle. Seriously, don't sugarcoat your situation. I want to know if something is wrong to help you." Ash nodded, but Ryan raised an eyebrow, skeptically. He fake coughed. "Hypocrite." I looked down at my bandaged shin. "Oh shut up. I'm an emotionless machine." I gave him a deadpan expression. Ash laughed in the background as we started walking again. The moon was just falling under the horizon, when I saw the tops of the highest lookout towers. I remembered how it feels, seeing it for the first time. My two companions were in for a shock. They suddenly stopped, and I knew each one had a full view. On the hill is the beautiful city of Allegiance, a palace of cobblestone streets, neat rows of white stone houses and shops decorated with gold lining. I saw my apartment in the A-Team building, overlooking a lovely part of the town's many gardens. The only difference between regular buildings and my own was the arched roof above mine, while others had rounded or slightly triangular ones. My large balcony had a single cushioned bench on it. Finally, right in the heart of the town, is the incredible meeting hall. A tall, circular building with a dome roof, made entirely of glass. Inside, velvet couches, a fireplace, displayed weapons in frame. Very fancy, though it makes sense. Allegiance has hundreds of minor workers who live actual lives, bringing in income for our community, and most of those people earn a good deal of money. A gold door finished the obvious color scheme. Inside, voices ring like bells, ideal for delivering one of Blake's famous speeches. My companions gasped at the architecture of this place. We stopped at the A-Team building, but there was a piece of paper taped to the door. "Currently in the meeting hall'. Sighing, I led the pair further into the town they'd been raised to despise. As I looked around the city, I felt my usual joy in seeing the bright place tainted by guilt. I hadn't completed the mission, I had instead brought back two weakened amateur soldiers, all of us coming back injured. I was sure a lecture would be prepared just for that, about taking care of myself, and 'not taking on too much action at once'. It was unavoidable, getting a scolding. I might as well get it over with. I held open the heavy doors for Ash and Ryan, and led them inside.