Part 4 (2/2)

”So, rich people have all sold their souls?” I ask, recalling some old saying.

”No, but many Runners are rich.”

”Oh, for a second I thought Donald Trump was a Runner,” I say, laughing at my own stupidity. Miku raised her eyebrows but refuses to say anything. Could it be? Is Trump a Runner?

Miku doesn't let me get in another question. She hits me with another one of her ”Getting to know Emmy” questions. As much as I hate talking about myself, it does keep my mind off of Marcus. Well, kind of.

I haven't seen him all day. I resist the urge to ask the others where he is. He is supposed to be in school, but I have yet to see him. Is he with Ameana? Maybe at the last minute he went with Reese to follow up on a lead they got last night. Maybe it's none of my business where he is. After all, he's just some guy; some hot angel guy who ignored me the whole time I was with him.

I feel a sharp pain of disappointment when I enter the cafeteria and he isn't there. He has to blend in with the other students right? So how will he do that if he doesn't come to eat like the rest of us? Ameana isn't here either. They're probably doing superhero couple things right now, saving the planet, fighting evil. Holding hands....

I can't take it anymore, I need to get away. So far today, I've been asked by half the student body about Jay. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks he's hot. He has yet to step out of cla.s.s without a girl faithfully in tow. He's enjoying every single moment of it. He also knows more about sports and cars than any one person on the planet, but that's not an angel thing. That's just Jay being Jay. Anyway, the guys like him. He's cool, laid-back and easygoing.

While I'm happy for Jay, it's getting a bit crowded at my table. The girls who never once talked to me before now find it nearly impossible not to. They see how Jay is with me and think that maybe if they become my friends, I'll introduce them. I'm certain none of them thought for a second that Jay and I were together. He jokes about me like a big brother would. And he's way out of my league. Well, then what does that say about Marcus? I ask myself miserably.

Before I can turn to Rio and tell him that I'm headed to the library, he turns to me and says goodbye. I guess I'm radiating whatever color means fed up and ready to bail. Miku was going to follow me, but luckily Scott, a guy in my math cla.s.s, comes up to her. Scott has been in love with her since she first came to our school. He's kind of a nerd but sweet and very polite. I know that Miku won't risk hurting his feelings, so I slip out when he strikes up a conversation.

As long as I'm in a crowd I should be okay, so I'm not worried. I walk up two flights of stairs and head to the library.

Down the hallway from the library a crowd has gathered. A bunch of students are just standing around looking inside one of the cla.s.sroom doors. I pa.s.s the library and go to take a look. I'm guessing its a couple arguing or making out, since I don't hear any shouting. Everyone always stops to look at that kind of stuff.

I head to where I see 14 or 15 of my cla.s.smates, including Sara, peering into one of the cla.s.srooms. ”What are you guys looking at?” I ask. Sara takes my hand and gushes excitedly, ”Oh my gos.h.!.+ There is the most amazing guy in the lab with this girl. She's kind of cute, too, I guess. But he's so....”

She can't finish her words. She just makes a sound that vibrates down to the rest of her body. She's positively giddy.

I peer inside the empty cla.s.sroom and see Ameana and Marcus. A stream of light radiates from her. I think it was the sun, but I don't see how it could have been that bright. Anyway, it seems to radiate from Ameana's hair. Great. She's so pretty, she glows.

They are evidently in the midst of a very serious and personal conversation. His face is close to hers. As he continues to talk, I hear some of the male students standing beside me, talking about asking her out. Some are bold and vow to get her to say yes. Other guys are just trying to figure out how they can rig the lotto so that they could stand a chance at getting a girl like that.

My face heats up and the sharp pain returns as I watch their close interaction. He says something to her and she breaks into a graceful smile. He smiles back and gently caresses her cheek with the palm of his hand. I run down the hallway in search of a place to be alone and lick my wounds.

I find a small empty cla.s.sroom and go in. I sit on the floor in the corner, wrap my arms around my knees and put my head down. I cry softly. I feel like a loser. He is obviously in love with her; they're a perfect couple.

I'm just the purple-eyed freak he has to tolerate in order to save the world. Then they'll go back to their perfect lives in the sky. He'll take her on walks around heaven, just the two of them. I feel like such an idiot. Who falls for an angel? Idiot.

Suddenly I feel a cold wind enter the room. I look up, and standing in front of me is a muscle-bound, dark-haired guy. He has a sly grin and black eyes.

”I'm sorry. I thought I was alone,” I say as I gather myself up.

”I know you did,” he says. ”That's why I'm here.”

Before I can even think about what I should do, he reaches out towards me with his hand. At once, my body goes stiff. My hands are at my side. It looks like I'm bound, but there is no visible rope.

I try to move but can no longer communicate with my body. It is as if the boy is the puppeteer and I'm the wooden puppet. I do exactly as he wishes. He laughs like an evil character in a B-movie. A chill goes down my spine, but I can't move to warm myself up. I can only stand there and pray my favorite mood ring will register my terror and come get me.

”She's been looking for you, all this time thinking you were a boy. But I knew the council would play tricks. So, you're a girl. Not only that but a pretty plain one. So, how does it feel to be at the center of this whole thing?”

He waits as if I can actually answer his question. ”Well, I'm sure it's been a real pain. Speaking of which, I have not yet introduced myself, I'm Agony. I know it's a little on the nose but I like for people to know what they should expect when they see me coming.”

Where are they? What's taking so long? Then a thought occurs to me that rocks me with panic-maybe they're all dead. Maybe Lucy figured out a way for Akons to appear in front of humans and now they're all at her mercy.

Agony continues with his hateful speech. ”She wants information from you so I can't outright kill you. But I can try and convince you to tell me what you know. Are you going to cooperate?” He made me nod my head ”yes.” I had no say-so in the matter.

”Where is the Triplex?” His words are dripping with contempt. He frees up my tongue, lips, and jaw. My voice cracks with fear.

”I don't know.” He holds out his hand again and he somehow ”tells” my right pinky to stretch back until it snaps. My pinky complies. It bends back until I hear it snap. The pain is unbelievable. Tears run down my face but I am silent as he has put my lips back under his control.

”Now let's try that again. Where is the Triplex?” He frees up my mouth gain.

”I'm telling you, I don't know!” I scream at him. ”Please, stop! Please!”

He raises his hand once again, this time giving orders to my ring and middle finger. They follow directions. I scream so loudly inside my skull, I'm sure I'm going to explode. I can't take the pain. My body is being made to break itself.

”I'll do you a favor. I'll kill you right here. It'll be quick and painless. That way you won't have to go before Lucy, deal?” He frees my mouth gain.

”Go to h.e.l.l!” I cry out. Who the heck said that? I realize it's me. I guess I'm more than in pain, I'm fighting mad. Well, verbally at least.

Agony shrugs his shoulders and says, ”Okay, we'll do it the hard way and take you to her. But before we go....”

He raises his hand a final time and snaps my index finger, thumb and wrist in one swift motion. I don't call out. Not even in my head. The pain is so severe my body doesn't know how to process it. My mind shuts down. I see a wave of darkness headed towards me. I greet it eagerly, close my eyes and pa.s.s out.

I see blurry shapes as I open my eyes. They move closer. I hear voices but they sound like they're underwater. I try to move my mouth but can't. I feel as if a ton of weight has been placed on top of me. There is no way I can move. I watch the blurry shapes mingle with each other. I think someone is calling my name, but I can't be sure. Even if I were, I am unable to answer. The only thing I can do is let the weight pull me under. Just as I slip out of consciousness, I hear a voice whispering in my ear. It sounds soft, pained and lovely. It keeps repeating the same phrase over and over again. ”I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

”She's gonna be a bit hazy when she wakes up. She has to take the pain medication I prescribed every four hours.”

”But she's okay?”

”Please tell her to be more careful. She took a very bad spill. It's lucky she only broke her hand.”

”Thank you so much Doctor.”

I can tell by my mom's voice that she's worried. I want to tell her I'm okay, but my tongue feels heavy. I slowly open my eyes. Thankfully the shapes are coming in to focus. It's my mom and the doctor; he looks to be in his fifties, wears gla.s.ses and has a rosy face. He smiles at me. ”How are you feeling, Ms. Baxter?” I blink a few times to get him into focus. He pushes a b.u.t.ton on the side of my bed. The bed slowly rises, allowing me to be in a slightly elevated position. My mom pours me a gla.s.s of water. I drink it gratefully.

”I'm okay,” I say, when I've swallowed. My mom isn't satisfied. She wants a point-by-point bulletin on how I'm feeling. How's my hand? How's my head? Did I want more water? I let her fuss because I know it's the only way she can get the worry out of her system. She's finally a bit calmer when the doctor informs her that I can be released as early as tomorrow.

She goes out into the hallway to call my uncle Max and tell him everything is okay. Uncle Max is my favorite and only uncle. He lives in Connecticut and comes down to see us for birthdays, and we go up to him for holidays.

He is the complete opposite of my mom: he's reliable and practical. But we get along great. He and his wife, Tracy, always go out of their way to make sure we're having a good time when we come over. They can't have kids, so when I was little, they'd encourage me to tear up the house and make all the noise I wanted. They complained the house was always too quiet without kids in it.

My right hand isn't in as much pain as it was before, but a dull throbbing ache radiates through my hand. I would ask for more pills, but I don't want to feel foggy. I think that's the trade off: no pain, but you feel like you live in a cloud. The door opens and I think it's gonna be my mom but it's not. It's Miku and the others.

”How are you feeling?” Rio asks.

I smile weakly. ”Isn't it your job to know?”

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