The Newest Generation Pt. 05

I watched in horror as Dean spun, pointing the shotgun at Jane, "I said, put it down. We had a deal. You get your daughter back, I get Amber!"

"Oh, push off. It's not even loaded!" Mary snapped.

Dean's eyes went wide, "what? Now they know you fucking moron!"

BANG!

Jane flinched, Dean shook and I dropped to my knees in terror as a sharp pain lanced over the top of my shoulder. Glancing down, I could see where the edge of my shirt was torn where the bullet nicked me. "You shot me," I said softly, looking back at Jane's mother.

Mary's eyes narrowed as she took aim for a second shot.

"Mummy, please stop," Jane begged.

Mary glanced down at her daughter. "This is for your own good. You'll forgive me one day."

As the world slowed down. I thought about my life so far. I had friends. My grades were average. My parents loved me. And I had Jane. The single most wonderful person to ever come into my life. Slumping into the ground, I gripping the small pebbles beneath my fingers. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought about losing Jane... When I thought about Jane, all alone, without me...

With no time to think about what I was doing, I flung my hands up, showering Mary with pebbles. Her immediate reaction was to release Jane and shield her face from the debris. From the crouched position, I launched myself upright and into a sprint. Dropping my shoulder, I slammed into Dean with all my strength. He fell to one side in slow motion and as he tumbled, the shotgun spun from his hands. With dexterity I couldn't comprehend, I caught it by the cold, metal barrel. Sidestepping away from Dean, I spun wide, bringing the shotgun around in an arc. As Mary came into view, I could see Jane ducking, while Mary desperately tried to get the revolver pointing in the right direction. And as our eyes met, the wooden stock connected with the side of her face.

As the world slowed back to normal speed, I dropped that shattered remains of the shotgun. Not only had the stock basically exploded, but even the barrel was bent where I'd been holding it. The hollow thunk of the barrel hitting the concrete made me jump in fright. It also made me look down, where I spotted what I'd done to Mary. I didn't know if she was alive, but half her face was gone. Only the very top of her nose and eyes were visible. Everything else was a mutilated mess of red and white, splattered across the pavement.

"Amber?" Jane called softly.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, before collapsing into tears.

And it only got worse. When the first police arrived, I saw them draw guns and moved to shield Jane from them. That seemed to make things worse and more police arrived. The whole time Jane was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't for the life of me make out what it was. Right up until I felt two metal prongs hit me from the side. The electrical current that slammed into me, drove me into the ground, screaming for Jane to run away. So far gone I could only think of protecting my one true love.

***

It was four days later, I sat, shivering in the hot shower at home with Jane wrapped in my arms. I was useless, screaming and fighting anyone that came near me. I had to be tased three more times while handcuffed in the back of a police car. After I started breaking my way back out after they locked me in. I saw Jane roughly forced into a separate car and kicked out the barrier between the front and rear of the police car. In the end, I'd only been stopped, when paramedics were called and they'd sedated me with the help of a dozen men. While Jane was taken in for questioning, I was taken to the hospital to be assessed. I had no idea what happened to Mary or Dean. All I knew is they were taking me away from Jane.

Henny and Samantha stepped in once they'd been informed of my situation. I snarled viciously at the nurse who came in to relieve me during my stay. They refused to allow Jane in to see me until my aggression reduced. It took Henny the first three days and their own psychologist to argue my aggression was caused by separation. The doctor conceded when I spent several hours crying while desperately clutching Jane, while they ran the tests I'd been too violent to allow prior. At the end of the fourth day, they allowed me to come home. I was terrified the whole drive. The screech of tyres made me cry out. Loud voices made me flinch. There was an explosion sound on the radio that reduced me to tears once again.

By the end of the fifth day of crying, shaking and jumping at noises, Jane dragged me, quite literally to The Den. It was the middle of the day when we arrived. I refused to look in the direction of the attack and allowed Jane to drag me inside. Dave was waiting in his usual spot and didn't say a word, merely opening the door and allowing us inside. I stood, ramrod still in the silent room as Jane stripped, before stripping herself. Then she took my hand and walked me inside. Only, for the first time, it wasn't filled with people. Sure there were a few. But not many, and no strangers.

Jane led me straight to the nearest bath and pushed me into a seated position in the hot water. Sitting beside me, she smiled at our small group.

"Helen, Margaret, it's lovely to see you," Jane said softly. "Henny, would this be your partner?"

Henny smiled, "yes, this is Gemma, my partner."

Jane smiled and nodded at the woman, who had a distinct similarity to Samantha sitting beside her.

"Umm," Samantha mumbled. "Ben-your father declined the invitation. When I explained he'd be naked in front of you, he thought it best to skip this one."

Jane nodded.

"What are we doing here?" I asked softly.

"Amber, we're here for you," Helen said.

"Why?" I snapped. "I'm a murdering psychopath! Jane's the one you should be here for!"

The ladies before me just shook their heads, "you didn't kill anyone," Samantha said firmly.

"She will live, although she will have a lot of physical therapy to teach her to speak and eat again," Henny confirmed. "But, she will live regardless."

And while I was relieved with the knowledge I wasn't a murderer, it still didn't take away the memories. The vivid red of blood. The smell of copper in the air.

"Why'd you do it?" Helen asked suddenly.

My eyes snapped up to hers. She was smirking, like this was some kind of fucking joke. "I DID IT TO PROTECT HER!" I snapped, pointing at Jane. "AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!" I paused to take a breath and calmed down. "That's why I'm a monster."

"See this?" Margaret chirped. The tone of her voice drew my gaze and I looked at her. Her body was sleek and toned, especially when I thought about how old she really was. But right in the middle of her stomach, was a twisted mass of scar tissue. "Claymore at close range. I spotted it at the last second and turned away. Only reason it didn't blow me in half." Helen turned around, putting her back to me as Margaret continued. "See these," she gestured to a cluster of three small round scars on Helen's back. "These are from Helen carrying me away, while I bled out. She held a medical team at gunpoint for trying to triage us. Apparently they thought me a lost cause and wanted to save her."

"Cost me my pension," Helen sighed, turning around. "But it saved Margaret's life, and I'd do it again in an instant."

The two ladies kissed softly.

"They might be a little hard to see," Henny said, lifting her arm. "But the slight mottling of my skin here," she gestured. I couldn't be certain, but I could see her skin was textured there. "It was before I met Gemma, but I was working overseas. I was helping build a home for wayward youths with an emphasis on young futa. It's a different world out there for some of us. A local warlord thought we were cursed after his eldest made the change before puberty." Henny took Gemma's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "That's scarring from shrapnel from a rocket propelled grenade he launched at the wall I hid behind. He missed me technically, but the shrapnel still tore a chunk out of me. I held my ground for four hours with an m16 I took from one of his own men, before the military showed up and drove them off."

I nodded, still unsure of where this was all going. But I looked over at Samantha who nodded her head. "I worked as a field medic, when we got an incoming. One walking wounded, carrying another. When they arrived, we brought them in and pronounced the one with heavy wounds dead. The walker put a gun to my head and held me and my team at gunpoint until we changed our minds. It must have been some kind of miracle, but as we finally established a pulse, the woman collapsed and allowed us to look after her as well." She looked over at Helen and smiled, "I was there for the court martial, but I testified against a jail sentence. She was just protecting someone she loved."

Glancing at the women before me, I took Jane's hand, "why are you telling me this?"

"Because, you're one of us," Helen said softly. "We all saw the footage. How you barely reacted when Mary shot at you. It was only when Dean pointed the shotgun at Jane you moved. And girl, can you MOVE!" Helen smiled, then grimaced. "I know how fucked up things are in your head right now. But... If you want to learn to control your skills. To use them to protect others, like you protected Jane. We have an opening for a field team for this area. Margaret and I would work with Samantha in a sort of, semi-retirement to act as your trainers. You Amber, would be a representative of The Organisation, the 'face' of the team. And you Jane, will be her handler, everything from keeping Amber physically fit and healthy, to feeding her intel as she needs it."

"Why me?" I asked.

"The Organisation is looking for the newest generation of agents," Henny said. "You're strong, smart, already partnered with a woman equally strong and smart, but in different ways. And maybe, one day, you'll save somebody else."

I looked over at Jane, who smiled at me. Before I turned my gaze back to the ladies before me. "Nothing happens until Jane and I get married. Give me time to think."