Through the Ghost

His heart pounded in his chest, his legs burned as he made his third lap around the facility. Shortly after his confrontation with Anna he found quite a bit of pent up aggression remaining. As a result, he’d decided to go for a run in the hopes it would release some of that steam. By the fifth lap around the twenty-kilometer base he was out of breath.

Sweat crawled down his face as he stood in the courtyard. The sounds of his labored breathing and the trickle of the fountain filled the air. Most of the operatives on base were indoors by this time. A few night owls like himself were out and about exercising their own demons via the pores on their faces. For the moment, he found himself alone. A situation that forced him to do the one thing he wanted to avoid, think.

He remembered the day he woke to find Anna gone with a note explaining her disappearance. He’d tried to catch up to her, figure out where she’d gone; all the while fearful she’d been taken captive or worse. But she hadn’t missed, and despite the Council’s reluctance, she was thusly awarded the moniker The Avenger of Azariah in remembrance of the colony Swann had decimated.

He thought about the past because he was anxious about the present. In his heart, he knew Anna to be the hero so many saw her as. Yet that was always the problem with heroes, eventually the world turned on them. It changed them. Nothing stays good forever, he thought, recalling a quote he’d once heard.

He was so caught up in his own memories he didn’t react in time to dodge the young woman that was exiting the building in front of him. They collided, causing her to fall backwards onto the floor.

“Sorry, you okay?” he asked, reaching a hand out to help her up.

She was dressed in Orothros black exercise attire, post workout sweat covered her brow. Her dark hair had a bluish sheen and was pulled back into a ponytail. More unique were her eyes, they were a feral yellow with a dark orange center, and while it could have been the lighting, but he could have sworn her skin had a red hue to it. He felt like he’d have remembered seeing someone so unique before now.

“I’m so sorry about that,” she apologized frantically. She reached out to grasp his hand. A frightened look came over her face the moment she touched his palm. Her irises turned bright red. An electric sensation shot up his arm, stimulating the back of his neck.

Before he could even process what had just happened, her eyes returned to their “normal” yellow. Her breathing came in ragged gasps, as if she’d been the one circling the base.

“What the thirteen hells was that?” he asked.

She shook her head clear and looked at him, a startled, almost fearful expression on her face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I-I’ve got to go.”

“Wait,” he pleaded, moving to grab her shoulder. She instantly pulled away as if his hand was on fire. Her body contorted in an effort to angle herself through the doorway without touching him. Before he could stop her, she raced off into the night.

Perplexed, he continued on through the courtyard careful to avoid any further confrontations. He exited onto the east side of the facility where he saw Jaya sitting pensively overlooking the jungle that lined the boundaries of the facility. To their left was the obstacle course where Jaya broke Anna’s previously held record.

“What brings you here?” he asked, taking a seat next to her. Her legs were folded up to her chest as she turned her gaze to the stars above.

“Just thinking. You?”

He laughed. “Trying not to. How’s Griff?” he asked with polite interest.

She emitted a short chuckle. “You’re still not keen on us being together.”

“I’ve acclimated to it. Like a weird smell that you stop noticing after a while.”

“Well he’s doing just fine, thanks for asking. Though he’s really not a fan of Anna. What happened between them?”

Tal shrugged. “They were a competitive group, he and Anna went back and forth on the leaderboard until the day of our final evaluations.”

He gazed out at the overgrowth of trees and foliage. He remembered being sent out there on their final training run. Most memorable of all was the sticky sensation of being covered in blood, both his, the creatures of the jungle, and that of the other recruits that had attempted to survive the trial. None of them had died, but there had been no way of knowing that in the moment. They would have to spend at least another year of training and recovering before being allowed to pass again. Certainly, there had been some that had suffered severe injuries in the past, to his knowledge it was actually few and far between thanks to the level of training to get to the final test. If anything did happen it was the result of the participant’s poor judgement, normally. Anna and Griff’s rivalry had taken things to a greater level during the exercise.

He turned his head to look at her. “Still think she’s a hero?”

Jaya looked solemnly down at her feet in response. “I guess it’s true what they say about meeting your heroes.”

Tal took a moment to compose his thoughts before continuing.

“Do you ever regret it? Joining Orothros?” he asked.

“No,” she answered instantaneously. The speed of the response surprised him.

“Really?” he pressed, even he’d had doubts about joining in the past. He loved it, but he’d be remiss to say everything was rosy.

Jaya shook her head. “I feel like I’ve found a place to call home. We were always on the move growing up. I can barely remember Mom and Dad. Once I got here though, I felt like I had the family I always wanted.”

Silence settled over the siblings. “What about you? Any regrets?” Jaya inquired.

“Just one, think I can fix it?” he replied

“There’s always a chance,” she answered optimistically.