The Pack (16 page)

She returned his stare, and lifted an eyebrow.
Good. I'm tired of his flirting. It was an unnecessary diversion.
She liked him to be angry at her. It was safer that way. “I think we have recruited too many already. You never really know who we can trust. How'd you know the kids we might recruit are not devotees of Monev, in line to be trained for leadership? Besides that, I don't want to endanger others,” Shamira replied.

Mitch stood up and pointed at her, “Look, you don't know a damn thing about Monev, but we do. No kid wants to stay a part of that team. In order to make it up their ranks, you have to go through
an orientation. All kids but three came out of that hell dead. The three survivors being trained for Monev's head have been with Monev since they were born. Those kids were groomed to take over, and the other kids that went through the orientation only did it to live longer. Your life span with Monev is eighteen, and we're all too close to that to risk it. Their promotion process starts when you turn seventeen. It's Monev's way of killing off kids that come to know too much about the organization. You've no idea of the evil you are playing with. If you think you can bring them down by yourself, you're a fool—a fool with a death wish,” Mitch yelled.

Shamira turned her gaze to Mitch as she conceded reluctantly. “Fine. Then Valens, you choose our recruits. I'll train Mitch and Anthony with some skills they can teach these kids so we'll survive. I don't want their deaths on my head, you got that? It's not my choice, but yours. You can get them ready,” Shamira threw at Valens.

Valens smiled. “Good. Hedi and I will come up with a list of kids we know we can trust,” Valens said with a nod.

“I know all the kids in Monev. There are also some kids that haven't been caught or recruited by Monev that have no place to go and would love to help us,” Hedi replied, then threw a saucy glance at Shamira while her hand rubbed possessively on Valens' arm.

Shamira cleared her throat. “Good. Mitch and Anthony, come with me to the training room. I have some leftover energy to get rid off,” she said and stood up.

Anthony leaned on the table and turned to her. “Wait. You
need to tell us how you did what you did back there. What the hell happened?” Anthony asked, not budging. His large frame tensed as he waited for her answer, and he studied her with his dark brown eyes.

“What happened was my anger, and that's all I'm saying about that. All you need to know is that I'm not angry with you… yet,” Shamira said before she pushed back her chair and walked to the training room without so much as a backwards glance.

“I like her. She's tough. We're going to need tough,” Anthony said. He slid out his chair and followed her. Mitch also followed but remained silent. Shamira smirked. Glad they had the guts to follow.
This is going to be fun.

Taking off her jacket, she stretched out her back like a cat and then grinned. Her back was to the door. She waited for her prey to arrive.
I really need this,
she thought, picturing Hedi's arms wrapped around Valens. The power within her slept, but she knew that one day, she would release it.
It's too hard for me to control. Sometimes I fear it will consume me. I don't want to think on that now,
she chided. She only wanted to think of her playthings that would help her push Valens out of her mind. The full skill she used during her hunt would not be tested today. Teaching was what she had to do now, and they needed it. Fast, easy moves that would help them become allies would be useful in bringing down Monev.
Trusting them is not possible, but using them is necessary,
she reasoned.

They came quietly into the room. She smelled them and heard
their calm breathing.
They're fighters within,
she confirmed, as she cracked her knuckles in preparation for their attack. Most people who were not used to trauma went into a fight with heightened breathing.
These boys have seen a lot more than I could've imagined,
she considered. They were calm, yet apprehensive. Seeing her earlier, she sensed, gave them a sense of respect of her ability to hurt them. She wouldn't, of course, because they were too useful.
If they become traitors, I'll destroy them,
but she would ponder that later.

Anthony tried to sneak up behind her, and her leg quickly shot out in a back-kick that landed just under his testicles. She didn't look back because she didn't have to. As a blind child, she could sense a person's location and the anxious and quick moves which caused their breathing to heighten. They were all dead giveaways to an unseeing person with her tuned abilities. Anthony groaned and bent over in pain just when the heel of her foot moved up and caught him abruptly in the chin and held it there. As if she were a ballerina, she turned, perfectly balanced, to face him and then lowered her foot to his chest. She briefly glanced at Mitch, who stood unmoving with his arms crossed. She figured he'd be a ruthless opponent. She remembered the calmness of his kill the night they met. Her foot pushed Anthony, power slipping through her, and he stumbled back, caught off guard at how a slight kick could pack such power—and from a girl, no less.

Crouching into fighting stance, she motioned for Mitch to join in on the fun. She sensed no hesitation and his desire to hurt her. He
didn't like her, and she knew it, felt it.
I don't like him either. He's just too unstable, and Valens should not trust this one,
she contemplated.
Time will tell which side he'll take,
she thought, and then ducked his punch. She dropped to one knee and kicked him in the shin, causing him to slide. Anthony charged her, and she smelled his anger.

She met Anthony with a slice of her hand to his neck and then grabbed him and held him there. Squeezing her hand closed while puncturing his pressure points, she waited for him to gurgle in response. He held it longer than she thought he would before his protest slipped out in a grunt. She was barely winded.

“Fight, don't give up! Push through it and never hesitate. It'll kill you!” she yelled. She wanted them to learn not to be intimidated. They needed to learn to fight through fear. It was a lesson she'd learned herself -a hard one. Anthony growled and punched at her. She easily swayed out of harm's way and ducked to land a light punch at his neck. Mitch took the opportunity to punch down with doubled fists to the back of her head, but she shook it off and head-butted his chin. Mitch recovered quickly and snaked an arm around her neck. Anthony came forward and landed a punch to her stomach. Air rushed for her lungs.

Yes!
she thought.
This is it. They're doing it. No more playing. Now that they have confidence, I can challenge them to push further.
The pain she felt could not stop her. She'd fought through pain all her life. She pulled her knees up, giving the appearance of protecting herself, waiting for Anthony to get cocky. It didn't take long before
his features relaxed a little. He thought he had the upper hand and grew arrogant, but she was quick to take it back with a swift kick to his chest. Mitch's arms grew slack, but he didn't hesitate. He pushed her to the ground and climbed onto her chest.

She was starting to like him. He was a fighter, as she suspected. She let him punch her only three times because she wasn't going to make it that easy for him. The angry look on his face showed he was digging into the pit of his soul for inner strength, summoning up his deep anger and hate. She felt it as each punch grew stronger. She smiled at him, as she elbowed him near his privates to draw his attention. He didn't feel it and kept punching.

She moved her head quickly away from his pounding fist. He had no control, so she punched upward, hitting her palm up his nose and forcing his head back. Jerking her hips up to throw him off balance, she flipped to stand. Then, she quickly turned around and climbed on top of him as Anthony tried to pull her off Mitch from behind.

Her legs were wrapped tightly under Mitch with her knees pressing down his arms tightly. She asked, “Can I punch now?” then laughed at the scowl on Mitch's face.

She punched lightly at his neck and head. She didn't want to hurt him but rather to teach him. Anthony didn't give up. She sensed his fist lifting to land a heavy blow. He was stronger than most his age, she figured, and she quickly moved out of the way of his punch as it landed on Mitch's chin.

“Enough!” Shamira yelled. Anthony stopped and was breathing hard. Mitch's heart beat fast underneath her, and she laughed. Hesitantly, Anthony and Mitch followed.

“Girl, you can kick ass and take names. I'm glad you're on our team,” Anthony said and helped Shamira up.

“Well, I hope you guys learned your lesson well enough to teach the rest of the recruits. Remember… go for the opponent's weakness. Push through your pain and don't give up,” she said. She walked over to her jacket and picked it up off the floor.

“I learned mine. Don't trust you,” Mitch spat out. Slowly getting up off the ground, his angry gaze stared at Shamira.

“I hope you don't plan on being a problem, Mitch. If you go traitor on us, I'll make sure you pay. No one is going to risk me losing my brother. No one! You got that?” Shamira warned, her eyes frothing with anger as she glared at Mitch.

Valens stood in the doorway. “Hey, cut it out, you two. Remember trust? We're a team. We're all fighting for the same cause,” Valens said and walked in the room.

“You just make sure the kids you recruit are really on our side. I'm out of here,” Shamira said, then rushed past Valens and Hedi. Walking as fast as she could to the door, she kicked it when she couldn't get into the garage. Her hands outstretched on the door as if she planned to push it down to get out.

Valens came up behind her. Touching her shoulders with both hands, he came up closer to her and whispered in her ear. ‘You can
trust me, Shamira. I would never hurt you or put you and your brother in danger, but I'm patient. I'll earn your trust—the hard way if I have to,” he said. Slowly, he stepped back and leisurely slid his hands from her shoulders to the middle of her arms. He moved aside and put his hand to the wall to scan his finger. The door opened, and she walked to her motorcycle, not looking back.

She sat on Pearl and pretended to let it warm up in case he was still watching. The ceiling opened, and the ramp extended. Her body still tingled where he had touched her, and part of her wanted to trust him so badly. But trust had only bought her pain, and she was done with that kind of pain. Physical pain was easier to deal with because it only got her angry. The pain of trusting Valens would tear her apart. With a shake of the head, she drove home, and a tear fell from her eye. Now there was regret, yet another emotion she didn't have time for. It was just something to remind her that Valens would bring her nothing but pain, but she couldn't help remembering how good his hands felt—almost so good she was tempted to think he was worth the risk.

Home, her place of refuge, was the only place she could be free to laugh, trust, and play. She sat outside and stared at her home, drenched in moonlight. Home wasn't the same now, though, at least not until David was back.
Funny, David was always my best friend.
He loved her just the way she was and had no expectations. These other kids had plans for her. They wanted her to be part of their team for the purpose of getting their revenge, their freedom, and regaining their families. She didn't think their relationship would go
any farther than that, and she wouldn't risk believing that.

“Pearl, park yourself,” she said and slid off her motorcycle. Walking up to the door, she realized no one was home waiting for her. For once, that made her sad. She missed her parents, her brother, and her life before Monev started their campaign to take over Mars. This had changed her. It had made her unleash the power within her that she fought to keep hidden. Now all she craved was revenge.

The lights came on when she walked through the door. She didn't stop but went straight to David's room. Grabbing his picture of the two of them as she lay down on his bed, she kissed his face on the miniature video screen. She held it to her heart and then fell asleep.

“Shamira. Shamira, get up,” her father's voice vibrated through her mind.

“Um,” she groaned and snuggled deeper in the covers that smelled like David. She smiled and played through the dream of the tickle game of hide-and-seek they would play when her parents were working. She dreamed of picking him up from school. They would race home to chase and play through the house before their parents got home.

Warm hands lifted her upper body, cradling her in warmth. She inhaled and thought,
Daddy.
She snuggled deeper. Home hadn't seemed this good in a long time. Their family was ripped apart with grief.

“Shamira, I'm so sorry. We'll find him. David is coming home,
I promise you. I promise,” she heard her father's broken voice soothe. He laid her down gently and left the room.

It seemed as though a lifetime had passed. She jumped up, in shock that she had fallen asleep. She looked around the room for her father and saw no sign of him.

“Computer, is Dad in the house?” she asked.

“Negative. He left a message for you. He said you can reach them at Headquarters. They'll be there for two days straight working around the clock. Stay put,” the computer stated in its usual happy female voice.

“Go in secure mode,” she commanded. Then, she quickly got out of David's room. She had to meet the gang that night, but she wanted to do some research first on Cal and some of the members of Monev. There was this nagging feeling that something wasn't right with him, and she just couldn't shake it. Walking to her room, she got on the computer and searched the Security Force databanks for anything about Cal, Thor, or Monev. She found nothing.

“C'mon! What are you hiding? Why are all these files hidden so deeply? Every other Security Force member's file I can access, but not Cal's. Hmm… let me try something else.” She left the Security Force files and started searching the Earth birth records.