Book II - ch 1: Fight or Flight

* * *

What was it about fighting losing battles that always made his mind wander?

Pegasus glanced back. Griffon and Unicorn had fallen behind at the previous junction. He would’ve preferred to slow down and wait for them, but they were already running late.

He caught Scorpion glaring at him and tried to focus.

They came to another junction.

“Left,” Cypher said over the com.

The lights went out, immersing the hallway in sudden darkness.

“Cypher,” Scorpion prompted. Her pace never slowed.

“Yeah, yeah.” Emergency lights came on a moment later.

Pegasus signaled they should ignore the other rooms and keep going. They were out of time.

Scorpion nodded.

They came to another door at the end of the corridor.

“Seventeen seconds,” Pegasus whispered.

“Really not helping,” Scorpion said through clenched teeth. “Cypher, we need that damn code.”

“I don’t think swearing will help.” Pegasus turned his back to her, watching the corridor.

“Cypher,” she growled over the com.

“Codes don’t fall outta the sky. Give me a sec.”

“You’ve had several.”

Pegasus laughed.

Scorpion slammed her open hand on the door. “You know, I find your overwhelming calm in all this particularly disturbing.”

Pegasus shrugged, perfectly aware that she might hit him instead of the door any moment now. She probably thought he was doing it on purpose.

Cypher relayed a sequence of numbers and Scorpion punched it into the waiting terminal.

The codes worked, but they hadn’t made it ten meters down the next hall before the lights came back on and a red light flashed in the ceiling.

Scorpion clenched her fists. “Second time this week!”

Pegasus holstered his gun, stretching his neck muscles. “Well, that’s that then. Off we go.”

She glared at him, only getting angrier when he laughed at her reaction. She really was too stressed lately. He should probably suggest Unicorn try to get her outside more. He should also probably stop teasing her.

“We were jinxed from the moment Cypher couldn’t get past Lore.” He made an effort to school his expression. “And the delay in getting the code didn’t help.”

“I’m gonna go have a talk with him.” She pulled out the hairband that held her hair tied into a neat ponytail. Blond hair cascaded around her face and she pushed it back behind an ear with her free hand. The other hand stubbornly held on to the gun as if she still had a use for it. She might still be deciding whether she could shoot Cypher as a means of future encouragement.

Pegasus waited until she started moving to follow her back. The game was over; they’d lost.

“Hey, move faster!” Mermaid’s voice came over the com. “We’ve got an actual job.”

Scorpion grinned, her excitement almost tangible. The game wasn’t over after all.

* * *

Books are only as good as the people who write them, Sarah thought in her best imitation of Professor Crane. And no good at all unless you read them.

Digging into her backpack as she walked, she pulled out the two books she had to return to the library. She hadn’t read either and, if she were being honest, she probably wouldn’t in the foreseeable future.

She was juggling the books and her open bag, looking for her library card, when she rounded a corner and spotted Professor Diamatto.

Like a startled cat, she froze for a second before ducking behind the nearest barrier. Her barrier, a group of laughing students, paused and stared at her crouching figure.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Sarah smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m hiding from someone.”

Thankfully, they ignored her after a few giggles. When Professor Diamatto vanished into the library, she started moving in the other direction. The books would have to wait until tomorrow.

She didn’t feel like getting scolded today—the only reaction she got from Professor Diamatto lately.

Her shrink might know how she could deal with the professor. She should ask next time.

For the past week, Professor Diamatto had been convinced that she had purposefully omitted another student’s name from their report and would berate her for her lack of professionalism and the plain meanness of her character at every opportunity.

She’d already apologized more than once. There was no malice involved, she’d simply forgotten to add the girl’s name to their report.

Well, maybe not simply. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten to add the girl, it was that she’d forgotten the girl existed.

She didn’t tell the girl that, of course, especially since she still had trouble remembering her name. It was Anna maybe. Or was it Hanna? Suzanna? There was an A and an N in there somewhere.

Whatever her name, the girl forgave her with a smile, but Professor Diamatto was still furious.

Sarah could only endure so many undeserved scowls and sarcastic remarks before responding in kind. So now she resorted to ducking into any empty classroom or the bathroom whenever she saw him outside of class.

Fortunately, the bus stop was the one place she was sure she wouldn’t bump into him by accident. Unfortunately, she got there just in time to catch a glimpse of her bus moving away in the distance. She plopped down on the empty bench. Great day so far.

Sarah rummaged through her bag for a snack—she was sure she had a cereal bar somewhere in there—and only then realized her phone was ringing. By the volume it was currently at in its crescendo, it had been ringing for quite a while.

“What?” She held the phone up with a shoulder so she could focus on the wrapper. The cereal bar had been hiding under the phone.

“Did you leave yet?” a sleepy voice asked.

“Leave where?”

“The house.”

She took a bite out of the cereal bar. “I’m at school, heading back home. Class was canceled.”

“Why?”

She shrugged, almost dropping the phone. “Power’s out in the new building.”

“Okay, so does that mean I shouldn’t get up?”

“You’re still sleeping?” She squinted against the sun. “Ooh, another bus, gotta go.”

“Was my classroom affected too?”

“I have no idea. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She laughed. “Oh, and Robyn? Wake up.”

* * *

Wake up.

As if the words had some sort of magical effect, Sarah’s surroundings changed. The first thing she noticed was the darkness, then the feeling that her body weighed more than it should. Her eyes fluttered open, and she struggled to make out shapes. Light was sneaking its way into her world through every slit along the window and even from under the door. Sarah struggled to disentangle herself from her bed sheets.

Just a dream.

She should be used to the disappointment by now.

Sarah noticed the sound then. Someone was knocking—rather loudly—on her door. She cursed under her breath. The knock came again, louder, more like pounding now.

“What?”

“You’re late—again,” Clay said.

Yep, that’s what she figured. She groaned loudly, forcing herself to sit up.

He laughed. “It’ll be over soon.”

No, it won’t. No matter what she did, she didn’t think it would ever be over.

“I thought the power was out,” she said, raising her voice. She ran a hand along her face, wiping the last of sleep away.

There was a burst of laughter. He probably had his face scrunched up against the door by the sound of it. “Why wouldn’t there be power?”

Sarah stopped herself before the answer came out. This was not the place with the power outage. She forced out a slow breath. Just a dream.

“Are you awake now?” Clay insisted. “Tell me you’re awake so I can go bother someone else.”

“I’m awake.” She sat up, sounding more confident than she truly was. “I’m awake,” she repeated after he’d walked away. If she said it enough times, maybe—she hoped—it would be true.

Sarah stared at the dress she’d laid out earlier. It reminded her of the green one Robyn wore to her high school graduation. Maybe that’s why she chose it.

One of the girls had offered to come over and help her do something with her hair, but she didn’t feel like being fussed over.

She plastered on a smile to test it out in the mirror. She pulled it off well enough, but she looked away before she could see it wither.

What was one supposed to say on such occasions? Happy graduation? Congratulations? That felt weird, but it was the closest thing she could think of. Everyone else was happy and excited, but she wasn’t sure how she felt.

How was she supposed to feel?

Her hairbrush was nowhere to be found. It would be just like her to have packed it already. Most of her things were packed. Hell, she’d had her bags packed and ready for weeks—though she hadn’t known where she’d be going until today.

Nervousness and a little fear churned in her stomach, but in a way, it was natural to go back to a familiar place, even if she’d never truly belonged there. Everywhere else had carried on without her.

While tossing things around to look for a comb or brush, she almost missed her phone ringing. A knock came on her door as she grabbed the phone. She opened it while answering the phone.

Clay stormed into her room, pulling his own phone away from his ear. He’d been the one calling her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He grabbed her jacket, pushing her out the door. “Graduation’s canceled.”

* * *

“How’s it looking, Griffon?” Pegasus asked over the com. “I don’t like being this close to Scorpion when there’s no one else for her to shoot.”

She glared at him.

Griffon ignored him—as expected. “Cypher?”

“All quiet.”

“Mermaid?”

“No movement here.”

“I’ve lost visual on my target,” Unicorn said before Griffon could get to her. “Who’s got the south wall?”

“Echo 1 here,” an unfamiliar male voice replied.

Scorpion groaned without muting herself. “What? Were we all out of techs and lawyers?”

Pegasus shrugged. Reinforcements had to come from somewhere.

“Could you repeat that?” Echo 1 requested.

“Do you have a visual on the target near the south entrance, Echo 1?” Pegasus tried to keep the amusement out of his voice.

“I see him, sir.”

Scorpion rolled her eyes. “I’m serious.”

He muted his com. “I know.”

Scorpion had little tolerance for beginners, even their own recruits. She’d only ever taken one under her wing, and she’d begged Zeus never to ask that of her again under threat of quitting—and maybe throwing someone out a window. He was fairly certain the latter was an empty threat, depending on the day of the week and how angry she was, but everyone figured it was better to not put it to the test.

“Move in.” The finality in Griffon’s tone, more than the words themselves, brought him back to the moment.

After exchanging a brief glance, Scorpion took the lead. He hoped she’d have the chance to shoot somebody. It was that sort of day.