Chapter Eight

This chapter is dedicated to happymidas for the idea of changing the banner to reflect the audience learning what T's full name is. The banners are going to switch on and off throughout the book :)

At one point I misnumbered the chapters (always a problem, I went to school for design, not math lol) and I am trying to not end up with three chapter thirteens again XD anyone else remember that shitshow?

Chapter Eight

Another month had passed, and I still don't what Viro wanted from that building nor have I seen him since that night. The media had given him that nickname Viro after the shootout with the police. Speaking of the media, they had curbed their hatred for me but are still calling me Pyrite. The name doesn't get under my skin, but I would prefer something with a slightly better meaning.

"Zana!" T says excitedly as she bursts through the door after work.

"Thalia," I say back confused.

"Why aren't you excited?" She asks me confused. I just give her a confused look in response.

"It's March 18th?" She says as if that would clue me in. I wrack my brain to figure out what is so special about that day but come up empty.

"Okay?"

"It's your birthday?" She asks confused. It is?

"Oh, whatever," I say with a shrug before going back to cooking. I don't care about my birthday; I can never remember the date.

"You don't even seem phased," T says leaning against the counter.

"Do you think my birthday is something important to me considering I was on the streets for three years? I am happy to have food in my stomach, a place to shower, and a roof over my head. I don't need to celebrate something as trivial as the day I was born," I say rolling my eyes.

"Everybody should celebrate their birthday, even if it's something simple," T says, and I can see her excitement has been severely dampened.

"I don't know how to celebrate a birthday," I say quietly.

"Well there is a cake on the table and a few presents in the living room, it's not a lot, but I figured something simple would be more your style," T says.

Glancing at the table, I see a cake not covered in frosting. Walking over, I find a lemon cake with a whitish glaze on and I can't help but to smile. I love lemon, it is one of my favorite things to cook with and I especially love lemon baked goods. I am slightly surprised that she had remembered that. Walking over I hug T and say thank you.

T bought me some school supplies and some more clothes. She also had made me this mask that covered half of my face so that I didn't have to wear a scarf all the time. I am thankful for that; my scarf also has certainly seen better days with the number of fires I have been running into.

I have been keeping an eye out for Viro, but he seems to have disappeared for the time being. I know he will be back eventually, so now it is just a waiting game. I have finally received my scores back for my last exam and I got nearly perfect marks. I am happy about that because it would certainly help me with college grants, but I still don't know what I want to do with my life. I have done a lot of research about potential careers, but nothing seems exciting or right for me. Becoming a lawyer seems like the most practical route to take at this point.

Sitting in class I am thankful for the fact that it is finally the last day. I will spend most of the summer helping T out at the shelter and continuing to do college research. The minutes continue to tick by as everybody says their goodbyes and talks about their plans for the summer. A lot of people would be working just like me.

"Hey," a soft voice says, and my head whips up from my doodling.

"Hey," I say making eye contact with the girl with the red hair. I strain to remember her name; it starts with a 'C'.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you all year," she says almost smiling.

"Thanks for sitting with me," I say genuinely, and I almost see a sparkle in her eyes.

"See you next year?"

"I'll be here," I say, and she nods before walking out of the room.

Walking out of school, there is a pep to my step, and I am thankful to not have to go back there for a few months. People ignore me anymore and I am not complaining. Dropping my things off at home, I start walking over towards the shelter but stop when I hear a noise. Following the noise, I see a woman being pressed into a corner by some guy. Pulling my mask out of my pocket, I slip it on and dart down the alleyway. From what I can see it looks like a robbery, but I can't see the weapon. I needed to be quick and clean about this, so the woman doesn't get hurt.

Coming up behind him, I try to read the woman's petrified expression and her gaze is very low. Slinking up behind the man, I grab his head and quickly snap it to the side, knocking him unconscious. I am very thankful for the extra lessons I received in self-defense at that moment. The woman stares at me in shock and I can see her shorts had been half yanked down and that her bra has been torn. Shock and understanding hit me as I realize this isn't a robbery.

"Are you alright?" I ask her softly. She doesn't answer.

"Do you know him?" I ask her again stepping back.

"No," she says in a broken voice.

"Let's get you out of here," I say softly, offering her my arm.

She looks at me for a few moments before she pieces together who I am. She gently takes my arm and steps around the body. She pauses to fix her pants and we duck out of the alleyway.

"Where were you trying to go?" I ask her, and she sighs.

"Just trying to get home from class," she grumbles.

"Do you live far? I can walk you home," I say, and she thinks about it for a while.

"No, I don't live far," she says, and she guides us towards her home.

We stop in front of an apartment complex about a mile away and I don't leave until she is safely inside. Glancing at the building one last time, I marvel out how beautiful and new it is. It's crazy how one section of this city is practically a slum and the next is wealthy and full of high rises. I wander around for a while looking to see if anyone else needs help, but it is an uneventful evening.

Going home, I find T cooking dinner and we sit down in front of the TV and watch the news and eat. The news drones on about the wars going on and the stock market changing. I perk up when I see a familiar face pops up.

"She saved me, she appeared out of nowhere and took the man down with one move. The hero that has been running around saving people for the last few months is not a man, but a woman," the redhead I met earlier says.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course, she spoke to me. She asked me if I was alright and walked me all the way home. She was also just in a long sleeve shirt, so I could see her figure," she says excitedly. I can't help but to snort, figure?

"Well there you have it, the gender of our elusive hero has finally been confirmed," the newscaster says before they switch segments.

"What does it matter what gender I am?" I ask T and she shakes her head.

"You know how society feels the need to assign everyone a gender. Look at the way people treat babies and how offended they get when they misgender something," T says, and I nod.

"Well everyone knows I am a woman now," I say standing up to wash the dishes.

"Does that bother you?"

"No, but I am sure it is going to bother someone who I'm trying to save, most likely a man. They won't want to be saved by a woman," I say rolling my eyes.

"I didn't even think about that," T says, and I shrug.

"Why do you think I always wore such oversized clothes?" I ask her.

"Because you would have an allergic reaction to anything that remotely fits you. I think you would explode if you had to wear a dress," T teases and I shake my head. I didn't hate dresses, I liked how some fit me, they just aren't very practical.

"I am not that dramatic," I grumble.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," T teases before going to bed.

Staring at the off television I listen closely until I hear T starting to snore. Grabbing my mask off of the table, I head back out to make another round. Something has been picking my stomach since I returned home. Climbing to the rooftop of a low building, I pause and stare at the quieted city. The hum is always less at night, this city isn't like New York, people try to get a few hours of sleep.

I pause for a moment when I hear it, an alarm. Dropping off of the building, I use the impact to propel me forwards and I take off. Arriving outside of the building that is becoming all too familiar, I hear the alarm blaring. I would bet fifty dollars I know who just broke in there. Slipping into the back entrance, I follow the path of destruction quickly.

I jump over the spilled filing cabinets and destroyed computers. Listening closely, I hear pounding on the next floor and practically rip the door off the hinges as I scale the stairwell and burst onto the next level. I am greeted with smaller glass labs and the biggest lab at the end of the hall has been completely shattered. Skidding on the glass I slide into the room and see none other Viro, cornering some scientist.

"Back at it again?" I drawl out widening my stance.

"You are such a nuisance child," he growls out and I throw a test tube at him. It shatters on his back, but I don't see any signs of damage.

"What did this man do to you that you have been hunting him for months?" I ask Viro, not letting my guard down.

"Get out of here Pyrite," he growls out slamming his fist into the wall.

"Sorry it's my job to pester you and make sure you don't hurt people," I say.

"What am I, your archenemies now?" He spits, and I snicker.

"You wish," I say throwing another test tube at him.

"Get out of here!" He rages spinning around and lunging for me.

I dodge him quickly and start trying to lead him out of the building. We make it halfway down the hallway before he gets his hands on me. And he throws me into another lab. The sensation of glass shattering all around me is strange, I can feel it trying to cut my skin, but my body responds by hardening in thin lines. Smashing into a lab table, I barely have time to push myself back up before he grabs me again and we are both going out the window.

The world spins around me and I feel his hands wrapping around my waist before my body flips and we smash into the ground. I roll off of him due to the impact and can barely see straight from the fall. The sirens are right out front and Viro takes off running, I try to get off, but my body collapses to the ground in pain. Looking at my arms, they're shaking horribly, and I can see the thin coating of crystals everywhere.

Police officers surround me, and I can't even move to look up at them. I know their weapons are drawn on me and I just carefully lift my head and look up at them. Ten sets of eyes burn into me with confusion and anger.

"Fifth floor, you'll find the man Viro was after," I say, and my voice is trembling.

"What happened?" The one officer in front of me asks, slowly helping me to my feet.

"I heard the alarm and followed the sound and when I realized it was this building, I jumped into action, I knew it was Viro, he's been trying to target this place for months. I followed the destruction until I found him cornering the scientist still in the building. I was able to draw Viro away from the man and in his rage, he threw both of us out of the window," I say.

"Which window?" I point to the now empty window frame on the fifth floor.

The police officer radios to the other cops entering the building and I hear them going back and forth until they find the scientist. They put their weapons away and start doing their jobs and I am led out of the way. They ask me a few more questions before telling me not to leave and heading to work.

My body starts to calm down and find myself able to move more easily. Watching the officers buzzing around me, I edge slowly out of their sight before completely booking through the alleyways. I didn't need any more questions or attention being brought to me. As I move further and further away, I start to slow down. I never thought I would be thankful for gym class.

Slipping in the back entrance, I finally arrive back at my apartment and drop to my knees on the floor and start releasing the energy in small soft bursts until I am back to normal. Crawling to the couch, I am thankful I made my bed earlier because I can't help but to completely pass out.

Things are heating up with Viro?! Do you think Zana will be able to ever win? What are your thoughts on him? Don't forget to like and comment, I love reading what you guys have to say!!!

XX Cc