12Project HALO
-Lightening Strike-
CHAPTER 4: CINNAMON, BETRAYAL, AND SOPHIE
** Tuesday's Dream**
She was a crumpled heap on the middle of the road, choking on either the hot blood in her throat or the rising rain water on the gravel. It didn't really matter which- she was going to die anyway. With a mental sigh, the girl succumbed to the idea of death as the rain continued to drench her shivering body. Death would be an escape- she wouldn't have to feel the growing pain anymore, or even the cold.
Then again, she wouldn't be able to feel the summer sun against her skin, or the wind that blew with a thunder storm. She would have jumped at the sound of clapping thunder, but it didn't make sense to be scared when she was already going to die. Taking in what should have been her last breath, she closed her eyes with no regrets…
How had things gotten so bad in such a short amount of time? She tried to think about it, think of it harder, but no thoughts came to mind as the cold fingers of death clutched her. Maybe it was Rider, after all, he had known the extent of her powers but still forced her out into the battlefield when she really couldn't fight anymore.
She opened her eyes again, still not having enough strength to suck in a small amount of air to her oxygen starved lungs. Death would be an escape, since it would mean no more senseless killing, no more violence, no more Rider.
Just as she began closing her eyes with a new comfort, headlights splashed on her frame. She had been found. In the recesses of her mind, she knew that it was Vlad-all of this had already happened so, it made sense for it to be him. It was a traumatic moment. She was just reliving it.
But there was something off about the person who roughly scooped her up and jogged to the car, not caring that she had many broken bones.
She opened one eye and looked up. The pale face with wild grey hair looked down at her, his completely red eyes holding a slightly crazed look.
"I found you," he whispered in his rough voice, "you can't run from me, from what you are! I've finally found you, Destroyer!"
Tuesday shot up straight in the car chair. Everyone in the car seemed to notice- even that new girl, Cinnamon. Tuesday looked around, breathing heavily as sweat slid down the sides of her face.
"What?" she demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest. Di stared long and hard at Tuesday with piercing brown eyes, but after a moment held her hands up in an act of surrender.
"Nothin," Di answered, turning back around and relaxing in the passenger seat once more. Vlad said nothing, as his fists tightened around the steering wheel. He didn't have time to be dealing with teenagers who had bad dreams.
Cinnamon was looking around the car, somewhat nervously, but she seemed to visibly relax when she noticed that Tuesday was awake.
"Hello," Cinnamon greeted, a bit shyly. Tuesday blinked at the girl. She was fairly tall, being taller than Tuesday herself, but she still had a lean frame, though her face was a bit chubby. The girl was pretty. Not really anything compared to Tuesday or Di, but to an average person, she was an average kind of pretty with her doe-like features.
"Hey," Tuesday greeted, smiling broadly. "I'm Tuesday- you're Cinnamon Evans, right?" Cinnamon flinched slightly.
"Uh, actually, it's Monroe…" Cinnamon gave a meek smile. "My parents got a divorce so… name change." Tuesday nodded.
"Oh. Well, uh… you like school?" Cinnamon blinked and then giggled slightly.
"I suppose its okay- nothing is as interesting as this though." Cinnamon glanced at the back of Vlad's head. "Is it okay to ask why I'm here? And what's going on?" Tuesday looked at Vlad as well.
"Yea, Vladdy, why's Cinnamon here?" Tuesday asked, prodding the man's shoulder with her finger.
"Don't call me Vladdy," Vlad snapped. Tuesday flinched back before a smirk pulled on her face.
"PMS, much?" Vlad sighed. He knew he'd hate babysitting teenagers. Di snickered before turning around in her seat to face Cinnamon.
"Well since those two are too busy arguing to answer your question, you have incredible potential… Like you may secretly have superpowers you don't even know about."
"How is that possible?" Cinnamon asked, tilting her head to the side a bit. Di shrugged.
"Maybe it's a subtle power that hasn't awakened- or maybe it's a power that has something to do with your many, many achievements." Cinnamon blushed.
"You know about those?"
"Who wouldn't?" Tuesday grunted with a smirk. Cinnamon brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face.
"Well… what exactly do you need me for?" Cinnamon asked.
"Some secret government project- it's called Project HALO and it's comprised of girls a bit like yourself who can help us save the world. Cool?" Di asked. Cinnamon had been taking all of the news well up until then. After that was said, though, she felt uncomfortable, claustrophobic.
Suddenly, it was awfully hard to breathe, and the car seemed to be caving in towards the girl. Cinnamon swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat.
"But- but what about school? I can't leave school! And I have cheerleading practice and tae kwon do, and guitar lessons, voice lessons on Saturday-"
"You'll get all of your lessons at the headquarters," Vlad interrupted as his foot pressed harder against the gas pedal. "You can still go to school if you really want to, but it'd be most likely that you'd get schooling at the Headquarters as well."
"How? Where's the headquarters? What's going on?" Cinnamon was hyperventilating. She was freaking out. She was confused and scared and angry all at the same time.
"And to think she was taking it all so well until now," Di sighed.
"We'll give you transport to school- your mother already knows that you have been selected for a special project and she isn't expecting you home after school for some days," Vlad explained as he parked the car into the air port's parking lot. "You will spend weekends with us, weekdays at school, sometimes stay in Plano, sometimes come straight to the base after school. For the first few months, though, you will report to the headquarters after school, understand?" Cinnamon shook her head, but said nothing as she leaned back into her seat. Di looked back at Cinnamon.
"We're the good guys," Di added, with a half smile. "Don't worry."
"This is all just… too much to take in," the girl muttered, looking down at her shoes. After a moment of silence, her eyes focused on Tuesday. "How do you do it?" Tuesday paused for a moment as she thought of how to answer Cinnamon's question.
"Well…I don't have anything else to come back to."
I didn't know how to continue and I felt like updating so… heehee. :)