(YAY! I still live!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHSdgJ4U2WAChapter Nine - Murder City" . . . your favorite poison . . . " The landscape shot by rapidly as Gloria watched blankly through the window without really seeing anything. The midday sun warmly hung in the sky over the empty Oklahoma fields. The vegetation on either side was beyond control and seeping onto the paved road that seemed to stretch on forever ahead. Occasionally, some form of livestock roaming freely would make an appearance in the thick grasses.
Gloria regarded her surroundings dully, having seen it all before -- the only difference being that she had been on foot instead of in a speeding SUV. The window side ledge wasn't luxuriously soft, but she couldn't help but look through the thick glass. Every mile forward was a mile closer to Airmid . . . and Antonio.
Every few minutes, Gloria would warily glance at her "reluctant companions" to make sure they were in the same position as previously. Diego was in the driver's seat, keeping the SUV at top speed. Lotus sat in the passenger seat next to him stiffly, taking glances at the back seat through the rear view mirror. Christian was stretched out on the middle row of seats, but from her viewpoint, Gloria couldn't tell whether or not he was sleeping. For some odd reason, that put her on edge. She and Rio had the entire back row of seats to themselves, and even with the plentiful elbow room, Gloria was leaning her forehead on the window instead of sitting comfortably on the upholstery.
"Y'know," Rio's voice suddenly said behind her, making her jump, "I don't think looking outside will make this trip any faster." He was perched on the ledge next to her, leaning his back against the glass with his eyes closed. How he got up there without her noticing, she'd never know. "Taking a nap would, though."
Gloria laughed dryly, aware that Lotus was glaring at them once again at the sound of their voices. "I think I have enough shock in me to stay awake for the rest of my life. Don't look at me like that, Rio. Really, I can't sleep."
"I don't know how you do it," he sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Being a teenage mutant with an uncanny sense of survival does have its perks," she said, flashing what she hoped looked like a genuine smile.
"That could have something to do with it." Rio's expression softened as Gloria looked down gloomily, unable to keep up her fake dauntless attitude much longer. "Hey," he whispered, scooting closer and draping an arm over her shoulders. "Everything will be okay. We'll save Airmid and . . . and -- what's his name?"
"Jae."
"And Jae. We'll high-tail it from Antonio, then it'll just be you, me, and Airmid again."
Gloria's heart tightened, leaving her breathless as she knew things wouldn't exactly go as Rio planned. He really believed it would be them three again . . . Oh, if he only knew it wasn't as simple as that. If only he knew the sacrifice that she was slowly resigning herself to . . . Telling him was out of the question. He'd never allow it.
But she was so tired of running from the past. So tired of putting the ones she loved in danger.
"Yeah," she lied, her throat crying out to tell the truth. Rio's arm tightened around her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Tears nearly built up in her eyes when she realized how much she needed to cherish simple moments like this one. Her days with Rio were numbered, and only she was the one to realize it. She didn't even want to think about how brief her last moments with Airmid would be when the time came to rescue her.
"So--," Diego's voice cut across the silence, causing Rio to stiffen, "--were you two headed anywhere in particular before this?" Gloria blinked, wondering if she had imagined it. No one had spoken directly to Rio or her since the drive began, save for occasional question to make sure they were going in the right direction. Her emotions were mixed, ranging between relief and wariness over Diego's calm mood.
Rio snorted, shaking his head. He leaned closer to Gloria and whispered in an annoyed tone. "Right. As if he really thinks we're gonna answer-- "
"Recently, we were just going east," Gloria answered, amplifying her voice, leaving Rio to gape at her in disbelief. "We make a few turns sometimes to throw A-Antonio off-guard. Besides, from what we've seen, the Burnouts seem to be coming more from the west than the east," she continued, hating herself for letting her voice skip when she said his name.
Everything was silent again for a few moments. Gloria heard Christian shift positions, making her question once again whether he was awake or not. "So, you really just move around to get away from this guy?" Diego asked. "Damn, why don't you just burn him up? I mean, that first night in the church, you took down one of those bastards just fine." Gloria's heart clenched once more at the very thought of that. Diego sounded genuinely curious, but it was most likely boredom that led him to speak to her at all.
Rio caught onto Gloria's distress immediately, narrowing his eyes and slightly barring his teeth. "None of your business," he snapped harshly.
"Considering that your Burnout is holding my brother captive, it is very much our business," Lotus suddenly retaliated, her voice on the edge of a snarl, speaking for the first time in hours. The air in the vehicle suddenly went from tensely awkward, to tensely dangerous. Gloria sighed inwardly.
Four hours without any form of speaking, and an argument is brewing in a matter of seconds."He isn't
our Burnout," Rio stated hotly. "And news flash, your brother isn't the only one who's captive." He shifted, crossing his arms loosely and staying in front of Gloria guardedly.
"And this Airmid," Lotus continued, undaunted by his tone, "What is your connection to her?"
"Would ya look at that. Somethin' else that's none of your business." Gloria sighed, somewhat relieved. She understood Rio well enough to know the only time his Southern accent got heavy was when he was having a good time or being amused.
"I hope you know that the only thing keeping me from ripping you into pieces is your information needed to save Jae."
"And I hope you know that the only thing keepin' me from goin' up there and throwin' a baseball bat at your head is the fact that I'm so comfortably seated at the moment."
Christian laughed, a sound that made everyone flinch. He sat up, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. Diego kept his eyes on the road, but in the rear-view mirror, Gloria could see a ghost of a smile touching his lips. Lotus turned to glare at Christian as he spoke. "I say we should keep these two separated at all times, huh, Gloria?" Christian smirked in her direction.
Gloria was stunned into silence; his attitude didn't seemed forced at all. How on earth could he remain cheerful? Was he doing it to stop the arguing? Or was he trying to impress her?
Or maybe it's just one of his better qualities. Her cheeks flushed red when he continued to stare at her, expecting an answer.
Go on, say something intelligent. "Uh . . ."
"I'll take that as a yes."
~~~
By the time the first signs of sunset were beginning to spawn, a town was visible in the distance, much to everyone's silent joy. Christian gazed out the window as the town became much clearer in the horizon. There was no sign of light. It seemed Antonio's promise of increasing Burnout numbers hadn't been only for intimidation purposes.
A large, green road sign was suspended over the highway. The white lettering on top read "
WELCOME TO . . .", but the town's original name had been marked out with red, replaced with "
MURDER CITY" in the same color. The angry, crimson shade made Christian cringe in disgust.
Please let that be paint, he prayed. He knew it wasn't very probable.
"Well, that's not a good
sign," Diego joked tentatively, earning a few eye-rolls, despite the tense air.
"Just find a place to stay before the Burnouts tear us all apart," Lotus muttered in a dead, dry voice. Diego didn't answer, just slowing the van down to a crawl as they entered the bounds of the small city.
If there were any Normals around, there were certainly no signs of them. However, the marks of the rioted town seemed to be fresh from Burnouts. Windows were shattered in every direction and more red "paint" scratched on brick walls, screaming out warnings; some traces seemed to still be drying. The buildings were obviously very old, made out of wood and bricks, very unlike the durable materials Christian was used to seeing. The town seemed to be preserved in time, for historical purposes the government had claimed.
Looking out the corner of his eye, Christian could see Gloria and Rio deep in conversation once again, keeping hushed voices as she left her head resting on Rio's shoulder like before. Christian briefly wondered how long the two had known each other, before setting his eyes back on the buildings on either side of the street.
"There," Christian said suddenly. Diego braked hard, causing Gloria to nearly fall off the window-side, before Rio caught her by the shoulders and pulled her back. The place Christian had pointed it was a ground level motel. There were much less broken windows than most of the other buildings, and a visible door that allowed access to the roof; the perfect vantage point for a lookout during the night. Christian immediately resigned himself to taking the watch. After all, he'd slept most of the trip.
Diego pulled into the parking lot of the motel carefully as everyone else prepared to exit the van. Christian scooped up a handgun from under his seat. He knew the drill. Diego and Lotus would scope out the building to make sure it was Burnout-free. If it wasn't, they'd "correct" the problem. Normally, Jae would wait in the car, while Christian guarded it, just in case a Burnout or two would flee the building. The van was parked as close to the door as possible, to make a quick getaway if necessary.
"Lotus and I'll go check it out," Diego said as he cut the power of the van and turned to look at the back seats. His eyes momentarily flicked in Gloria and Rio's direction before looking at Christian. "We'll, uh, shout if we find anything."
~
Within half an hour, everyone was inside the motel room, staking claims on sleeping areas. Lotus had insisted they all stay in one room, to ensure Gloria and Rio wouldn't run out on them, leaving them without a clue of where to find Jae. If it weren't for the tense situation, Christian would have found it hilarious that Lotus had wanted to get rid of Gloria no less than 24 hours ago and now was now going out of her way to make sure Gloria didn't leave.
Christian claimed the bed on the left side, despite the fact he was planning to take the watch for the night. As he was about to lay his head down to get a few moments' rest, the pillow as snatched away, and he hit himself on the bed frame. Rubbing the back of his head, he looked up in bewilderment.
"Oh, were you using this? My bad. I had no idea," Rio said, voice coated thick with sarcasm as he used his Power to send Christian's pillow to the other side of the room, as far away from the beds as possible. Gloria rolled her eyes at Rio, but said nothing as she sat cross-legged next to him on the pillow, shaking her head.
"No . . . problem." Christian forced a smile. He swiped the pillow from the other side of the bed, trying not to react too heavily. Rio obviously hated the entire situation as a whole, but he seemed to be saving the biggest portion for Christian.
"Alright, who's taking the watch tonight?" Diego asked, his tone clearly revealing that he wasn't up for the job.
"I'll do it," Christian and Gloria spoke up at the same time. "What?" Looking at each other in bewilderment, they both retorted, "No, I'll do it," once again speaking simultaneously. Gloria's face reddened and she looked away, eyes wide with uncertainty and embarrassment.
"Listen, I slept the whole way, and you've been awake," Christian tried to reason in a matter-of-fact tone. He should have known she wouldn't take it well.
"How do you know I've been awake if you've been sleeping?" Gloria countered hotly, stepping off the pillow and onto the floor, glaring up at him. "Besides, it's my fault that we're all in this trouble, so if anyone should be sleep-deprived, it may as well be me."
"It won't be any use for you to take the watch if you fall asleep during it anyway."
"You know nothing about me! I've stayed wide awake for three days at a time before."
Christian looked skeptical, but was cautious of the rising anger in her tone. "Even if you can, that doesn't mean you should."
Lotus cut in before Gloria could argue back. She stared begrudgingly at Gloria, obviously unhappy with having to address her directly. "I completely agree that you should be the one to be sleep-deprived, but what will keep you from leaving us during the night?"
"I won't leave Rio, especially not for a half-assed 'escape' attempt," Gloria replied without missing a beat.
"What?" Rio said incredulously, stepping around her to look her in the eyes. "I'm not letting you take the watch tonight without me there. No way."
"I'll be fine," she said, rolling her eyes while still looking seriously at her friend. Her tone suddenly took one of a concerned mother. "And when's the last time you've slept? You were awake the whole trip too, and I doubt you've even closed your eyes since yesterday night. I've gotten much more sleep than you."
"Well, of course not! How could I sleep when you and Airmid disappeared?"
"Alright, then. Gloria takes watch; she runs out on us, we'll shoot," Diego mumbled sleepily from his bed, burying his head in his pillow to drown out noise. "Now everyone shut the hell up so I can get some sleep, or we're gonna have a
real problem."
Rio and Gloria jumped back into argument in hushed voices; an argument that Gloria clearly won before Rio sighed and nodded. Lotus narrowed her eyes, unsatisfied with the arrangement. She dug her iPod out of her pocket, flipped on the solar battery, and curled up next to Diego with the music at full blast in her ears. Christian opened his mouth to argue again, but thought better of it and stayed silent.
~~~
It was near heart-breaking to see the town lay in total waste and destruction in every direction from the motel roof. Perhaps it was once beautiful and lively, but there was not even a ghost of evidence that proved it hadn't always been so depressing to the eyes. Cars lay strewn on the street, forgotten and torn apart. Door and windows were ripped off of hinges, leaving black, gaping holes in buildings that looked unnatural and just plain sad.
Gloria had given up her defensive stance an hour ago. She'd been nail-bitingly nervous when the sun escaped from the sky. Below, she could see the Burnouts running amuck, calling out in unintelligible cries as they destroyed anything remotely whole. It was a wonder they hadn't perished from starvation, but Gloria guessed that in checkpoint town like this, there were plenty of small grocery stores stocked with enough food pump with Elixir to last for years.
The round full-moon provided the only sign of light, for which Gloria was silently thankful. Lighting a fire was out of the question, and she preferred not to be in total darkness. Thankfully, the Burnouts seemed very uninterested with the small motel. The door to get back down to the main hallway was still wide open, ready for her to jump down and alert the others if she needed to. However, the need to do that didn't seem very probable.
As she sat at the ledge of the brick roof, she let her legs swing over the side comfortably. The fall didn't daunt her; she was much too balanced from the Change to even begin to slip. Resting her elbows on her knees, she leaned her chin onto her hands tiredly. The impact of so many sleepless hours was catching up with her . . . Shutting away the world around her, she wondered if she could just close her eyes for a few seconds . . .
"Good evening."
Gloria bolted up to a standing position, nearly shrieking in alarm, but covered her mouth just in time to muffle it to a stop. Adrenaline still coursing through her veins, she looked behind her in the direction of the voice. All fear and defense came to a screeching halt when she saw who it was.
"You! I told you I could handle this on my own! Why do you insist on being so protective like this? I can take care of myself perfectly fine, you know," Gloria scolded hotly while trying to keep her voice to a minimum volume. Unfortunately, it didn't have the desired effect. Christian stood where he was. She turned back to stare over the side of the ledge. "Go. Away."
"No," Christian replied bluntly in a light tone. Gloria heard (and felt) shuffling as he sat on the ground behind where she stood on the raised ledge so that they were nearly eye level. She refused to look at him as she walked her six inch frame to the corner of the ledge to provide as much distance from him as possible. "Lotus wouldn't shut up after you left about you trying to escape or something. Besides, you almost fell asleep," he accused. "I saw you."
"I was just resting my eyes. I'm just fine."
"No, you're not. Mutated senses or whatever, you still need sleep as much as the next person, especially after . . . you know, everything. No one should have to deal with this and not even get any rest."
Once again, Christian caused her face to redden. Why was it that it was only him to do that? His soft, caring tone made her want to turn around and reason with him. But his daunting size still frightened her, no matter what sort of good intentions he had. Her natural defensive attitude was spawned from fear.
"I'm not going to argue about this with you," she said in a soft, broken voice. "Now leave."
"Alright, I'll make a deal with you," Christian pressed on stubbornly. Gloria groaned, exasperated, but he continued. "Trust me, it's not that bad. Okay, I'll stay outside with you tonight, whether you want to or not --"
"--I already don't like this deal."
"Noted. But, if you stay awake all night until the sun rises, I'll leave you alone forever, and I swear to God that I'll never bother you again."
"Deal."
"You haven't even heard what happens if you fall asleep and I win . . ."
"I don't care. Deal."
"If I win, you can't complain about me being around you anymore. I can talk to you without you rolling your eyes. And you have to at least pretend that my presence doesn't completely disgust you."
Gloria finally turned to look at him curiously. He was sitting with his legs stretched out, knees bent with elbows leaning on them. "Who said that your presence completely disgusts me?"
"Well, it's just the way you act . . . sometimes," Christian muttered, scratching the back of his head as he refused to look her in the eyes. Clearly embarrassed, he avoiding her gaze.
"Well, excuse me, but we've only known each other for a few days. And the biggest fraction of those few days I spent in captivity, while my best friend was worried sick over me." Gloria's tone nearly reach hysterical when she mentioned Rio, but she calmed herself.
Christian was now the one gazing curiously. "Sounds to me like you're more worried over Rio than yourself."
"Well, like I said: he's my best friend."
"How long?"
"Well . . ." Gloria thought back. It'd been so long since she'd really reminisced in the 'old times'. Sometimes, it simply felt as if Rio had simply been around her whole life. "Since we were six or seven years old, I guess. I remember . . . We were in first grade; he had just moved to Arizona from Texas, and our teacher sat us at the same table." She laughed at the memory, suddenly relaxed. "We had to draw pictures of our families, and we started fighting over the same crayon, because his mom had brown hair and so did my little sis--" She cut off, shocked at what she'd just revealed so easily.
"You . . . You had a little sister?" Christian asked, tilting his head. Gloria looked down, dismayed and wide-eyed at how she was speaking to Christian so at ease, as if she'd known him for a long time. "Hey, don't sweat it. I had an older brother; now we're even. Go on . . ."
~~~
"Long story short, we were both put in time-out and ended up being friends."
"And . . . when did Antonio come into the picture?"
Gloria's head whipped up to glare at Christian. He put up his hands to show peace, trying to play it off coolly. "What harm is there in just telling me? Besides, we're stuck out here all night . . . It'll give us something to do . . . You tell me about you, and I'll tell you about me."
She thought about it fretfully for the entire span of three minutes, creating a silence that Christian hoped would end quickly and in a good outcome. A few times, she opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. Finally, she came to a decision.
"Use any of these words against me, and I'll personally make sure you live to regret it, Christian."
He nodded silently.
And she told him . . . everything.
Gloria and Rio lived in a big city called Paradise Valley. The name matched the place perfectly. Gloria's parents were doctors, and Rio's mother was lawyer. Gloria's younger sister, Maria, had been three years younger than her. Gloria and Rio stayed close all through elementary, then met Antonio in middle school. He was two years older than them. His father had just transferred to the hospital where Gloria's parents worked. Gloria, Rio, and Antonio quickly got along with each other, turning the duo into a trio. It was a rare moment when they were apart.
It wasn't until three years after they met that Gloria and Antonio discovered deeper feelings for each other. Though it was extremely odd at first, they began dating. For the first few months, Rio admitted to feeling like a third wheel, but the three of them learned to live with the different situation. Rio even got himself into a few relationships, but they never lasted because he claimed he never found "the one". For nearly four years, even after Antonio when to college, Gloria and Antonio were "in love".
"I should have noticed something was wrong," Gloria practically whispered. During her story, she'd slowly gotten closer and closer to Christian, away from the corner, until they were right across from each other. "I knew Antonio had been taking raw Elixir from the hospital to inject . . . I confronted him once, but that's all. You know how the government kept the Burnout problem hushed up. So many wealthy people around where I lived, so many people using the best illegal Elixir money could buy. We all knew they got addicted too . . . That a black van came to take them away when it got too bad . . . but we pretended everything was fine." She buried her face into her hands despairingly. "We were goddamn idiots."
The raspy tone immediately told Christian that she hadn't even said the worst yet. It seemed the waterworks were coming . . . As much as he wanted to comfort her, wouldn't it be better just to not let her say it at all? He still wondered how Gloria and Rio had come across Airmid, but he felt he'd already pried too much.
"The town where Antonio is hiding Jae and Airmid . . . It's Rio's hometown. I won't tell you the name of it, obviously. We were there two weeks ago, hoping to find some of Rio's surviving relatives. We kept putting off going there because . . . Rio was afraid of what we'd find. The place is dead, worse than this town. So many Burnouts . . ." She shook her head, holding back the tears as she remembered Rio's despaired face when they'd searched his relatives' houses, only to find the remains of his family.
"I think . . . you can stop now if you want," Christian said softly, after not uttering a word since she'd started. Gloria wiped her eyes, looking up at him. "My story's pretty simple, really. I lived in Los Angeles My mom got in a bad car wreck when I was ten and my brother, Rob, was thirteen. We were emancipated from Dad by the time I was thirteen when . . . well, bad things happened." He coughed, trying to hide the pain in his voice. He'd shared this with so few people . . . Perhaps the only living people that knew any of this was Lotus and Diego. He'd kept it from Jae, just because there was no reason for him to know. But, fair was fair. Gloria had opened up, so he had to. "Then, you know . . . the Static Age . . . My brother couldn't handle the Change . . . I don't give a damn where my dad is, and I never will. I met Diego and Lotus on the road. They'd already been going out for years. Then, well, we all just kinda stuck together."
Gloria stared at him kindly, leaning a little closer with an odd look on her face. "Seems we're not so different in some ways . . ." she said softly. Blinking, as if she was coming to her senses, she shook her head. "Maybe this isn't the best thing to talk about."
~~~
Christian laughed shakily. "Yeah, you're right. How about . . . what are you and Rio planning to do once you get to Airmid and escape Antonio again?"
Gloria felt as if the entire world suddenly darkened and froze, and the only thing that mattered was her and the Normal sitting right in front of her. What he had asked her made her insides collapse in sorrow. Could she possibly confide in him what she couldn't tell Rio? Perhaps if only one person knew it wouldn't be so hard to keep the secret from others . . .
She had to . . .
Someone had to know, and Christian had promised to keep her words secret.
She just had to . . .
"Christian . . . It's really up to Rio and Airmid for what they want to do . . . because, well, I won't exactly be in the picture anymore." She shut her eyes, waiting for the onslaught of questions, hoping he wouldn't try to change her mind. However, he only whispered one single question.
"What the hell . . . is that supposed to mean?" He obviously already knew exactly what she meant. The tightness in his voice said it all.
"When we get to Antonio . . . I'm going with him." Christian tried to interrupt, but she held up her hand to stop him. "I know what you're thinking . . . I don't
want to go with him, I really don't. But dammit, I'm tired of running away all the time. I'm tired of putting Rio and Airmid in danger every second of the day. Life already sucks enough without having a crazed Burnout chasing you, and Airmid's just a little girl. She deserves better than this . . . And
you . . . Now that Antonio's trackers know about you, Diego, Lotus, and Jae, they'll never leave you alone if I escape again. So please,
please, try to understand my decision, because I'm not about to change it."
Christian seemed shocked into silence. In the moonlight, Gloria could see his brow furrow as he struggled for words. He wanted to argue, but obviously knew that no amount of reasoning would change her mind. He shut his eyes, covering his face with a hand. "Are you
sure this is what you really want?"
"It's what I want for Rio and Airmid."
"You have no limits, do you?" Christian asked, almost sounding amused. Gloria stared at him blankly. "What I mean is, you'll do anything to make sure that everyone else is happy, even if it means you can't be."
"I don't matter as much to me as they do. I know it sounds stupid, but even in the darkest of days, I can still find some light knowing that they're happier than they would be with me . . . even if they'll be far away and I can't touch them."
"That doesn't sound stupid at all," Christian whispered. A night chill ran through the air before Gloria could even think of what to respond. She shivered, curling into the leather jacket tighter and pulled her skirt lower. It seemed Christian found the perfect opportunity to change the subject. "Where did you get clothes that size anyway?"
Gloria laughed, throwing her head back as she remembered. "Well . . . it's a little embarrassing, but . . . You know how me and Rio lived in a rich town?" Christian nodded. "At the time, some of the designer clothing stores had come out with these machines that let you put together an outfit and choose what size you needed it in; that way, anyone could where what they wanted without having to worry about it not being in their size. Rio and I thought it was too good to be true at first . . . but it turns out, when they say the machines can make any size of clothing, they
mean any size."
"So, I'm guessing that everytime you go to a big city . . ."
"Yeah, we go to the mall to get something new to wear," Gloria laughed. "Oh, you should have seen the look on Airmid's face when we told her she could get whatever clothes she wanted." She shivered again, realizing the chilly air wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon.
"Maybe you should have invested in some pants, instead of a skirt . . ." Christian said, a soft smile on his lips.
"Hey, shut up, it was really hot at the time. I just got this jacket as a precaution. Besides, you know I look good in this outfit." Gloria laughed again, Christian joining in, though she was immensely startled on the inside. She was speaking to him the way she'd speak to Rio, which disturbed her deeply.
"You're still cold, fashionable or not. Come here," Christian beckoned, stretching his arm out with he palm facing up. Gloria flinched, scooting away in fright of the approaching hand. Christian frowned, looking injured. "Haven't I proved that I'm not going to hurt you?" he asked softly. "I just don't want to you get sick from the cold."
"Changed don't get sick."
"Either way, you're still uncomfortable. Has it ever occurred to you that you're not the only one that hates seeing others in pain?" Gloria dared to look at him again, this time more curiously. Could he possibly be like her? Could he ever understand what she'd been through? Probably not . . . but why not give him the benefit of the doubt. "Just . . . trust me, would you?"
Gloria took a deep breath, daring to take a chance. He obviously bared no ill will. If he really had wanted revenge for the scar she'd given to his face, he would have carried out in one of the plenty opportunities he'd already had. She stood, walking slowly toward the drop off of the ledge and his hand. She cautiously stepped onto his flesh, keeping her balance while hoping her face didn't reveal how terrified she was.
Christian brought his hand closer to his chest, and she immediately felt warmer. "You know, our second deal still stands," he said. His voice was much louder now that she was closer, and she worked hard not to flinch. "You've told me so much about you, and I don't even have much else to say . . . How about a secret, then?"
"I guess that'll do," Gloria said through a yawn. The warmth was making her sleepy all over again. She sat in his palm cross-legged, leaning against his chest cautiously. "Tell me."
"Okay, well . . . sometimes, I wish that I had Changed."
A sentence so simple made Gloria nearly lose it. She felt the anger, the rage, burn up inside her. "
WHAT? Don't say that! Don't you
ever say that again!" She scooted forward, trying to look him in the eyes. "Trust me, you don't want this life, Christian . . . I'd give anything to be Normal again."
"And I'd give anything to Change." Gloria was about to erupt in rage again, but Christian pressed on. "Don't you get it? The Changed are adapted to this world;
you're adapted to this world. Do you ever see dead Changed covering the sidewalks? No, you only see Normals;
fresh Normals. I mean, what am I gonna do when a pack of Burnouts is attacking and I run out of bullets? I'll die, that's what I'll do. But you . . . you'll never run out of fire." He looked down, almost shamefully. "If you had wanted to kill me that night, you would have been able to ten times over."
"But . . . I didn't want to kill you, and that's what makes all the difference," Gloria said softly. "It's much more complicated than you think. The humanity left in me makes me just as vulnerable as you." She paused, finally asking a question she'd been wondering for days. "Would you really have killed me if Antonio hadn't shown up that night?"
"I . . . I don't know, and that's what scares me. I guess in some ways, you're more human than me. I know that you think you're dangerous because of you're Power . . . but
I think you were meant to be more than fire. You're also a guiding light. You're good." Gloria blushed, extremely annoyed that Christian was able to accomplish that for the third time in one night. She'd misjudged him gravely, she realized. He knew more about her than she did.
"Wow, Christian. That . . . really means a lot more than you think it does. Thanks," she said sincerely. She bit her lip, trying to come up with words of comfort. "In my opinion, I don't think you would have killed me. You're too good. We're both alive for a reason, and it wasn't to destroy each other." She paused, making a split second decision. "Bring me closer to your face. I need to show you something," she lied.
He complied, lifting his hand away from his chest and bringing it higher. Gloria ignored his questioning gaze as she leaned as much forward as she could. Balancing herself, she stretched her body out toward his right cheek, where the fire scar was. Without hesitating, she brushed her lips on the scar in a quick kiss. Christian flinched, staring at her in disbelief. A slow smile came to his lips as he lowered his hand back to his chest, where Gloria curled comfortably, not nearly as nervous as before.
For hours afterward, they spoke in quiet conversation of nothing particularly important. Gloria realized how grateful she was that he'd come out to be with her, though she still teased that she would win the first deal they'd made. As she suspected, talking to him was nearly becoming second-nature . . . the way it was with Rio . . . the way it had once been with Antonio.
~~~
Finally, the first rays of sunshine revealed themselves. The conversation had died down about an hour ago. Christian blinked, feeling drained from the all-nighter. The Burnouts had already gone to bed, leaving their destruction thrown across the streets, as if it were a nightly ritual. Despite his exhaustion, Christian didn't regret it one bit. Getting to know Gloria had possibly been on the most interestingly enjoyable nights in a long time.
Looking down at his hand, he grinned. Gloria was curled tightly, fast asleep. He could see the faint trace of a smile on her face. She looked less burdened than she had been for days before. After letting loose all of her feelings, she seemed almost . . . happy. Christian stood, walking to the door that led downstairs while smiling contentedly.
"I win," he whispered.