KiP - Chapter Three: The Elite

I picked Braken and Ari up on the way to school, and we were there by seven twenty. We were all talking happily, but as we pushed through the doors we walked smack into a wall of solid silence. Not completely intimidated, we lowered our voices and continued to our spot. I looked around at the groups of voiceless people as we passed, to see the only two words they dare whisper, "the Elite."
I couldn't suppress the chill that went up my back. The Elite are the 'task force' of the Knowers. They have power, not only because of their high-standing government status, but because of who they are. Their pitch black uniforms were tight enough not to get in the way, but loose enough for complete mobility, like ninjas in the movies I've seen, and around their waists were blood-red sashes, embroidered with the maze like symbol of the Knowers. Their presence made the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up, before you even realized they were in the same building, because their silent footsteps gave absolutely no indication of their whereabouts.
Being in their presence is supposed to be one of the most terrifying experiences. Their eyes glare from behind their masks, drilling straight to your heart, making it beat so fast that it has to jump into your throat. Everything about them, from head to foot, was intimidating, down to how they stood; towering above you, absolutely radiating with power. Some of them had weapons, like katanas, chain whips, and shaped staffs, on their person, ready to be drawn at the first sign of a threat or defiance. People knew what they could do, and this only let to horrible rumors; ranging from the simple traveling at the speed of light, having the eyes of a hawk, and the ability to hear anything from a mile away, to the downright gruesome. For example, it is said that Knower Edrea, the Elite's official leader and representation on the Council of the Known, would dig her characteristic claws into the wrist of her slowly dying victims and hold a vein in her hand, relishing the feeling of the steadily decreasing pulse. I don't think anyone really thought this was true, but it was enough to keep them scared.
We joined Jena, Lena, and Jeff on the floor, and Braken chose a very sensitive subject.
"Do any of you know where the Elite came from?"

From their reactions, I could tell I had just touched a nerve. "Never mind," I said when I met Lena's stony but tearful gaze. I only wanted to find out if they could add to my information
Jenna and Ari looked nervous, Jeff was staring solemnly ahead. I was about to tell them I was pretty sure I was already on the same page, probably farther along in this horrifying book than they were, but Cera took a deep breath, obviously preparing for a story rarely told. At a nod from Lena, she began to explain.
"Their team is made up of people that were taken when they showed the signs of a Knower and forced to a lower degree of power. Isis, Knower of Manipulation, knew of a way to manipulate their gift (or curse) so that they had no choice of subject."
I nodded.
"It is a painful process," Cera continued, glancing sideways at Lena, "and they're called 'the Elite' because of it. From what we know, the Council of the Known has a simulator that sort of brainwashes, and trains the new recruits (which they keep a high supply of in case one of the former Elite gets too old, or stops preforming up to par.)"
I was silent, so she continued, making direct eye contact, trying to read my solemn expression.
"As far as we can tell, it's a system that implants some kind of chip in your brain, introducing the idea of combat, along with the desire to follow orders exactly as directed. Then once those ideas have left the chip, and have become implanted in your mind, they rip it out and replace it with a new one, that only strengthens the roots of the first. This process is repeated until you have gone through ten different chips, and get to enjoy the side effects of brain blanks and ear-splitting headaches," Cera explained solemnly. "Pretty soon all that is on your mind is the desire to 'Know' everything about combat and pleasing your superiors. The desire, in short, to Know how to be one of the Elite. I guess it's that desire that gets them through their training.
The actual members of the public team need practice, and the new recruits needed to learn to ignore emotion and follow orders. Like the Spartans, as soon as they are chosen to join the ranks, the Elite team beats them down; body and soul. This continues until they stop reacting to the pain, so they won't show any weakness and they'll already know how to fight once they actually join. They, apparently, spar all of the time, and rewards are given to the victors; slowly rebuilding their spirits. This also helps former members, they get the practice so that they don't lose their ability to kick butt," Cera answered, Lena winced, and she hastily added, "As far as we can tell."
"The worst part is, we don't know of anyone that has ever been able to resist the forced change," said Ari. "There isn't a single flaw in their plan."
"I don't know if it's good news or not, but I already knew all of this," I said quietly, scared of their reactions.
"How?"
"What?!"
Their voices all bombarded my ears - shark with shock, strained, and echoing with the kind of awe that was applied to someone in a position of great authority. I held up my hands in a desperate attempt to save my ears from the painful noise as they all quieted immediately.
"First, I have a question," he said slowly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lena clench her fists, and heard Ari hyperventilating behind me. "Make it quick, Braken," I suggested quietly.
"How do you guys know all of this? Sounds like something only the Knowers would know," he said, questioning straight to the point, but his eyes were hiding something.
"Well, even if they're forced to have the Elite as their gift," I answered slowly, staring at Lena all the while, "they're allowed a lot more freedom than the Knowers-to-be."
"Who did you know?" he asked, surprising all of us.
"James and I were really close," Lena whispered, catching us all by surprise. "Then he caught the gift and was taken. We put together what we know from his letters, but we don't know if he is actually on the team."
"I'm sorry," he said as sincerely as possible.
"Who did you know?" Ari demanded.
"Do any of you remember Cam Richardson?"
Everyone but Cera shook their heads negative.
"He was your best friend, wasn't he?" she asked. "He was at your house every other day up until about a year ago . . . oh . . . well, that makes a lot more sense."
"Yeah," I mumbled, not having to try hard to look pained as I covered up the secret I had guarded so zealously up until now. Cera's eyes found mine, and I could tell she knew I was withholding information. Thankfully she kept her theories to herself, probably because the principal's voice was suddenly booming through the school's P.A. system.
"Students, the Elite have arrived," his voice quivered, "please stay clear of the class rooms so they can get the literature and leave. Class will begin when they have left."
Lena stiffened. Ari, Cera, Jenna, and Jeff snapped their heads around to the front doors. I followed their gazes, trying to look as terrified as everyone else. Seven figures, tall, dark, and almost featureless, practically glided into the school in a perfect triangular formation, their leader was at the tip. He, or she, paused once their team was completely inside, and gave the entrance hall a sweeping glare. I could have sworn his eyes lingered on our group. A hand signal, and the team split with time precision down separate halls; the leader, however, came straight toward us. I had a nasty flash back to my dream the night before.
We were already holding our breaths, but, when the leader came for us, there was a collective intake of breath. Braken shifted, placing his body in front of mine, and the Elite leader came to a stop just a step away from him. I could feel his eyes drilling into the top of my head as I studied the suddenly unique design of the carpet. Beside me, Lena gasped. I glanced at her, surprised to see that she was staring into the leader's stone cold eyes. She didn't' speak, but mouthed one word over and over again: "James."
This sight abolished any resistance I had been able to maintain against the hard glare that was beating on the crown of my head.
"Cera Minor," said a bone-jarring male voice, somewhat familiar despite the mechanical touch, "you are to come to the principal's office, for questioning."
In the midst of the burning fear that froze my veins, I couldn't help thinking 'The principal's office? Are you serious?' I just sat there and stared at him, wondering what to do.
"Now," his thundering voice echoed through my head.
I stood up, and Braken copied my actions, careful to keep himself in front of me.
One thing I could to stand was a power hungry physcopath threatening my . . . well . . . I'm not exactly sure where we are, so my - uh - my good friend. Something I feel like I should say now: there were things I had done, things I had labored for hours to learn that could have enabled me to keep Cera with me. My most precious secret was fighting to be unleashed, but here and now, when I could practically feel the rage radiating off the Elite captain, were not the right place or time.
"Only Cera," the Elite leader said, staring daggers into Braken's perfect brown eyes.
I grabbed Braken's arm and spun him to face me. Our noses were barely an inch apart, so I could see the terrible anxiety in his eyes very clearly. "I'll be back," I whispered, "don't worry." I had to clamp my teeth together to keep from crying when I saw the tears spring into his eyes. He glared at the captain and then reluctantly sat back down.
The leader turned and strutted back towards the front doors, and turned left into the main office; I was directly behind him the whole way. The secretaries seemed to shrink away as he marched me back into the principal's office, and before slamming the door he turned and barked, "I want no disruptions, only my team comes through this door."
Looking around the office, I noticed the principal wasn't present, and decided that if I was going to be tortured I might as well be sitting in a comfortable chair. In an act to counter my despair, and underline my defiance, I situated myself in the padded leather seat, earning a surprised glare from the Elite leader. Apparently, he liked to be comfortable while interrogating, oh well. He walked around the office, which was pretty much a glass case since all the windows were floor to ceiling and pulled all the blinds so that there was no way anyone would be able to tell what was going on. His hands lifted to his head, and i recoiled at once. When nothing hit me, I peeked out from between my fingers and saw that his fingers were picking at the laces that kept his mask attached. I couldn't hold in the gasp as the mask came off in his hands and revealed Jame's smooth face.
"Surprised to see me?" he laughed, a horrible mechanical laugh. "I thought this interrogation would go smoother on a more personal level."

I couldn't make my mouth work.

I couldn't think.

I could barely even breathe.

What was happening?

I guess I managed to keep my confident expression, because he just looked at me.

"Just as strong headed as I remember," he laughed, "but I'm here on important business, so we'll have to catch up later."

"Stop pretending to care because I'm not buying it," I choked, still struggling to string a conscious thought together. "What do you want?"

"We know there are books hidden here," he said, and my blood ran cold. "It's my bet that you were one of the people who hid them. If not, you probably know where they are. Tell me where they are."

"I- I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, fighting the tingly cold feeling that crawled across my body from my fingertips.

His eyes flashed, and he took a menacing step around the desk, "I Know you know, Cera."

"Well, I 'Know' that you would have helped who ever did hide the books, only a year ago," I said, surprising myself as the shock smoldered, burning into a scarlet rage. The type that could only be caused by a deep betrayal.

"Don't answer with a lie," he countered with another threatening step forward. He placed a hand on the back of my chair and leaned in so that our faces were about five inches apart, "This could turn out a lot worse for you than it ever could for me."

His actions and words were the ice-water bucket on top of my fire. Again, I was being suffocated. One of my closest friends, a desperately needed life line, had just turned his back on me, ripping the floor out from under my feet. This couldn't be happening. I felt my eyes search the office desperately for a way out. I almost believed I had a chance when the office door crashed open. A benighted figure, with the same blood-red sash around its waste, stepped through the door and the foolish hope was forced to struggle with a knife in its back, same as me.

"There are about a hundred more of these, and they each weigh at least fifty pounds," said a female voice from behind the characteristic mask, a huge bang echoing throughout the office after she dropped a stack of fifteen, extremely thick, purple text books onto the principal's desk, "What should we do with them, sir?"

"Burn them, Shanice," James ordered looking at me for what I'm guessing he expected to be a horrified expression. Even the thick wall of shock that was completely blocking all of my senses could hold back the abrasive laugh that jumped out of my mouth. I could care less about those books, even the back stabbing captain had hated those books at one time.

This was, quite obviously, the wrong reaction.

James growled and Shanice shout out through the door of the office, closing it behind her. The abominable books were left scattered across the desk. The silence following was so thick you couldn't have cut it with the sharpest knife.

"Cera, you know what I can do to you," he threatened in a low voice. "Tell me what I want to know and the only evidence of this interrogation will be your life scaring memories."

"Do you really think you're that intimidating?" I asked, because the fiery rage had just incinerated the looming wall of shock, though, I was still concentrating on not wetting myself. "I told you before; I haven't got any idea what you're talking about."

Before I knew what was going on, I had been wrenched out of my chair and thrown across the office. I landed awkwardly on my feet, tripped, and my head collided with the wall as I fell. I heard a shriek from one of the secretaries in the office as the glass vibrated with a clear note from the impact. A low 'c,' I think.

"Don't patronize me, Cera," James said, advancing on me, "you know something."

"Oh really? Thank you for not insulting my intelligence," I growled, my voice shaking as I used the blind cord to pull myself to my feet, retracting the blinds in the process. "l'm not lying to you. I have no idea what you're talking about."

He grabbed my left arm, spun me around, and bent me over so that my fingertips were touching the small of my back. I bit back the cries of pain that were threatening to spill out of my mouth, and gritted my teeth.

"Cera, tell me or I'll break your arm, and believe me, I'm not joking," he growled, fixing me with an inhuman stare. That was when I knew my friend, James, had died long ago.

"I told you that I don't know," I said evenly, bracing myself for the pain that would come with a flick of his wrist. "Prove that I would."

I felt his hand twitch, and heard an almighty crack! Tears welled up in my eyes; I blinked them back, and bit my tongue to keep from crying out. He threw my broken arm down, jostling it painfully, "We will find the books, without your help," he snarled. "Your arm can be the warning to those who dare defy us."

Unable to open my mouth in refusal to cry out in front of the captain, I managed to feebly roll my eyes, which now had tiny amounts of tears dripping out of them. The Captain reattached his mask, stacked the ill fortuned books in his arms and stormed out of the office, denting the wall as he threw the door open. I felt my strength just seep out of me, and collapsed to the floor. Using my good arm, I managed to heave myself to the window that I'd just opened, and lean my back against it.

We were all watching outside the main office, quite literally praying to see Cera alive again, and after hearing the secretary shriek we were scared to death of what we would find. The leader came storming out, and dumped his own stack of books onto the already gargantuan pile, visible through the glass of the front doors. The other six members of the Elite came from various hall ways, supporting yet more books.

One of the team members paused next to its leader, "This is the last of them. We found no 'secret stores.'"

"Kind of ironic that they're burning Fahrenheit 451," Jenna muttered as she tried to read the titles of the books in the arms of the task force.

"Thank you, Shanice," the leader said, and Lena gasped at the exact moment I let out a sigh of relief. The leader spun on us, and, surprisingly Lena stepped forward.

"James?" she asked in a barely audiable whisper.

He turned to face us, and might have been surprised, but we got no reaction. I felt Jeff stiffen next to me, and looked over to see he had locked eyes with James. I snapped my fingers in Jeff's face, and he broke eye contact, shaking his head. James's mask twitched, giving me the funny feeling that he was smiling. Then, surprise surprise, he glared at us before turning around and leaving the school after his team. We all watched as he stood there, imposing his authority on them, watching them throw gasoline onto the pile of precious literature (for the most part). He then took a match, and dropped it on the ground next to the pile. To my astonishment, the books disntegrated within seconds; there is new technology for you. The short burst of flame was bright enough to make me close my eyes, and when I opened my eyes they were gone. I immediately turned into the office, searching for Cera. Behind me I heard Ari gasp, and doing a three-sixty I followed her gaze to the full length window of the principal's office, to see Cera's body slumped against the glass. She could have been sitting there, trying to empty the experience from her head, or she could have been . . .

Well, I didn't want to consider that option.

I pushed my way behind the secretary's desk, and ran through to the principal's office before anyone else could stop me.

Cera was leaning on the window, mosit eyes clamped shut, biting her lip, and cradling her left arm with the right. I knelt down next to her, and her eyes snapped open asking one question quite clearly.

"Yeah, they're gone," I whispered, glancing at her arm. "Are you okay?"

"He broke it," she said slowly, "he broke my arm."

"What?" I yelped, grabbing for said arm, but I almost instantly pulled back, realizing that I probably shouldn't be touching it. "Why?"

"I didn't tell him about the books," she answered, clamping her eyes shut again.

"We were standing outside the office," I told her, "we would have heard you cry out."

"If I had, yes," she answered with a watery smile, "There was no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much what he did hurt."

Suddenly, the tears that had built up excaped her control. She bent her knees up, and rested her head on them, wrapping her right arm tightly around them; her body silently shook as she sobbed. I scooted closer, and wrapped my arms around her, her head came up to my shoulder, and she continued to cry.

Our friends rushed in, and then practically screeched to a stop when they saw the state Cera was in. I got the impression that they had never seen her cry before. Jenna did a double take, and then took charge.

"Is she hurt?"

"Yeah, he broke her arm," I answered, and Cera realized they were there. She straightened up and wiped her eyes, taking deep breaths.

"It was James you guys," she whispered, still shaking horribly, "He must be the acting head of the Elite. Edrea must like him."

"I knew it," Lena gasped, "there is no way it wasn't him."

"We need to get you to the hospital," Jenna said, her eyes had widened at the news, but she ignored both that and Lena's comment for Cera's sake. "We can discuss that on the way."

"No, I don't want to overwhelm those poor nurses," I said. "We can't all go."

"Well, no one else can drive," said Jenna. "I'll take you."

"I want Braken to come too," I said, trying to ignore the hurt looks on the rest of my friends' faces. No one argued, though, I don't think they thought my head was as clear as it was.

Braken jumped up, and offered me his hand. Grabbing it with my right hand, I concentrated on keeping my left arm as still as possible, as he pulled me to my feet. Only when my legs wobbled under me, did I realize how truly terrified I had been. I began to fall but Braken caught me around the waist, and supported me out of the office. Jenna went to the secretary's desk and said something I couldn't hear while Jeff charged out of the office. The secretary shot a horrified glance my way, and then shook her head. We came around the counter, and Jenna exploded.

"That two-faced jerk broke her arm," she yelled, "and she has a bruise the size of Texas on her head. Neither of these injuries was there when she went into the office,and you're telling me that we can't take her to the hospital?"

At the mention of the bruise, I, naturally, reacted by lifting my hand to my face. This hurt a lot, because I accidentally used my left arm. Serious, white-hot pain shot up through my arm, and i couldn't hold the scream in; it echoed throughout the office right as Jenna finished shrieking her question. The secretary glanced at me again. Ari, Lena, Sheri, and Lori went to stand behind Jenna, while Braken was doing all that he could to make me feel better; the tears still coursed from my eyes. Jeff cam running back to the office, Jenna's keys in his hand.

"I can't give you permission to leave," the secretary answered evenly. "I'm neither your parent or guardian."

Somewhere I found the energy to roll my eyes, she's a year older than we are and doesn't turst us 'new drivers' with her life. Which I can understand, but we're not that bad at driving. She unlocked the doors manually and Braken took me up to the passenger seat door before getting himself. I opened the door and pulled the seat belt all the way out with the hand attached to my good arm. Then, I used the belt to pull myself up into the seat, keeping my bad arm clamped across my stomach. I relaxed into the seat, and took a deep breath. Jenna shot me a concerned glance, so I smiled. She grinned half-heartedly and turned her attention back to turning the car on, and I gritted my teeth as I concentrated on controlling the pain.

I watched her smile, reassuring Jenna, then caught the momentary grimace. The way she did her best to hide the pain from her friends showed how much she really cared about them.

"Cera, you said that . . . James . . was leading the Elite?" Lena asked quietly, as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah," she answered taking a deep breath, "he came to us, to me, beause he knew someone had hidden the books, and we're the most likely candidates."

I looked around the car to see hard, stony faces, this must have been a blow to all of them.

"Guys," Cera continued, still fighting to hold back the tears, "that wasn't really James though. We knew that if he was still with us, he would have helped us. The James we know is gone. We should have a moment of silence or something."

Lena nodded and Jenna turned the random music blaring from her IPod off. I glanced around the car again, Lena's eyes were closed, but her face was calm and peaceful, Ari looked tearful, Lori and Sheri looked solemn, and Jenna's grip on the steering wheel turned her knuckles white. I made eye-contact with Jeff, and he quickly turned away to look out the window, but not before I saw the tears in his eyes. I watched as his whole body began to shake with what I'm sure were silent sobs. For the first time I felt how close they all were to each other, and for probably the millionth time I was insanely grateful to be a part of it.

"Thanks," Cera said. "We'll make him proud."

We hit a bump in the road, and she winced. I reached around the seat and took her right hand, she squeezed it, hard. I saw her relax, and smiled. We sat there, holding hands, until we reached the hospital. She clamped her mouth shut, opened the door, and jumped out, wincing slightly at the impact. Everyone jumped out of the car after her. Jenna came around the car and led the way in. I took Cera's hand as the rest of our friends surrounded us, almost like they were trying to create a precautionary shield around her.

We walked calmly into the ER, and a nurse looked up from the counter with a panicked expression. I looked at Cera and saw some apprehension in her eyes.

"They are going to make this a much bigger deal than it needs to be," she muttered right as Jenna reached the desk and said, "My friend broke her arm, will you bind it up?"

The nurse gasped and hit a small red button on her counter. Two nurses rushed out of those restaurant-type kitchen doors, with a wheel chair, and plowed through our 'protective shield' and literally skidded to a stop right in front of her. Cera just stared at them like they had asked her what the derivative of a toothpick was.

"My arm is broken," she said. "I can walk."

One of the nurses walked around the chair, gently took her arm, and began leading her back through those restaurant doors. I followed, because when the nurse grabbed her arm, she tightened her grip on my hand. Naturally, despite the protests of the panicked nurse, everyone else shoved their way though teh doors, they would need more than that to split us up.

We were shown to a white walled room that had a glimmering white tile floor, a small granite counter with a sink and various containers, one of those benches with the wax paper on it, and an office chair, complete with wheels.

"The doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse said as she left us standing awkwardly in the room.

I followed Cera over to the wax paper bench. She climbed onto it, and rested her head on the wall. Her eyes were closed, her chest wasn't moving enough for me to tell if she was breathing normally or not.

"Are you okay, Cera?" Braken whispered.

I nodded, because if I opened my mouth I would barf. The anti-bacterial smell made me nauseous, and it was so thick in the air I could barely breathe. The doctor walked in, and did a double take when he saw how many of us there were.

"Who's the one with the broken arm?" he asked kindly.

"That would be me," I said, dropping Braken's hand to wave weakly, grimacing as my arm throbbed again. I took Braken's hand again, clenched my teeth, and concentrated on ignoring the pain.

"Okay, I'll be able to set that for you, but I'm going to have you x-ray your arm to make sure I do it correctly."

"Sure, just so long as you set it eventually," I answered.

"Okay, if you'll follow me, we'll get you to the x-ray room," he said, opening the door.

I followed him, pulling Braken with me, and naturally, everyone else began to follow.

"I can't let you all come," the doctor said. "Only the x-rayee can be in the room."

"We'd prefer to stick together, it's been a long day," I said, gesturing to my broken arm.

"You do realize that it is barely nine in the morning?"

"Do you?" I shot back. "Couldn't you let it slide this once?"

The doctor hesitated. "They can follow," he conceded, "but they'll have to stand outside the x-ray room with me."

I glanced around, and they all nodded. The doctor led us out of the examination room, and down the hall. We took a left, two rights, and another left before reaching a solid door.

"You guys can follow us in while I get her situated," the doctor said, "but you'll have to follow me out." He opened the door and we all trudged in. There was a large square metal telescope-like thing coming down from the ceiling directly over a table in the center of the room. The doctor rummaged in a closet for a second and came out with one of those lead vests. He draped it over me gently, carefully avoiding hitting my arm.

"If you could rest your arm on this, . . . . ?"

"Cera, my name is Cera."

"Right, I'm Doctor Wilson, sorry we missed the introductions," he said with a smile. He put a foam square under the telescope thing. "Rest your arm on tis and I'll position it."

I nodded, and dropped Braken's hand; grimacing as the pain pushed its way to the front of my mind. I walked to the table and set my arm on the foam square.

I couldn't help shaking my hand when Cera dropped it because she had been clutching it so tightly that it had begun to lose feeling. She rested her broken arm on the foam square, and the doctor immediately went to work, adjusting the position of the square, and her arm.

"Okay, we'll leave to take the x-ray, then we'll be back because I'll need to do a couple," Doctor Wilson said.

Cera nodded and the rest of us followed the doctor out of the room. After closing the door, he opened a box on the wall, pulled out a mini remote type thing with a large red button on the top. His thumb pressed the button, and then we were back in the room watching him ask Cera come to the other side of the table. After situating her there, we left and the doctor pressed the button. We went in again, and instead of having her move, he said something we couldn't hear, she nodded then looked over to us.

"Braken, come here please," she said.

I hesitantly came over and she held out her right hand. Of course, I took it asking my questions with a glance.

"He needs to straighten out my arm for the last x-ray," Cera explained, "and I need something to hold on to."

"Right," I said, bracing myself for the intense pressure I was sure would come from her grip.

Without warning, the doctor gently grabbed her arm and straightened it. Cera's scream of pain filled my ears and echoed through my head, reverberating within my very soul. The sound tore me apart, so much so that I couldn't help a gasp of pain from escaping my mouth. Our friends took a threatening step forward in unison, but I waved them back. I turned and saw the tears well up and fall out of Cera's eyes as her grip slackened and she bit her lip.

"Sorry," Dr. Wilson said, "I would have had to straighten it sooner or later."

Unable to speak, Cera just nodded, and then shot me a watery smile when Dr. Wilson promised we'd be right back. She dropped my hand, and I followed the doctor out after everyone else.

Dr. Wilson hit the red button again, and we all rushed in to Cera, who was cradling her snapped arm at an awkward angle; probably because it would be too painful to bend again. Unable to hug her for fear of jostling her arm, we all just sort of encircled her, patting her back lamely.

"You guys can find the examination room again, right?" Dr. Wilson asked, expressing much more faith in a group of teenagers that any normal adult would have found insane. "I just need to develop these x-rays and I'll be in to set your arm, Cera."

"We'll be able to find it again," Jenna answered confidently. She turned and began to lead us back through the winding halls. Amazingly she knew the excact way back, held the door open, and stepped to the side for the rest of us to walk through. Cera got in and sat on the bench, looking utterly exhausted as she leaned against the adjacent wall.

My arm was still throbbing, quickly draining any energy I had. I relaxed against the wall, trying to conserve the little energy that was left. Everyone was quite and, by the way the hairs stood on the back of my neck, had their eyes on me. I pretened not to feel it until Dr. Wilson walked in. My eyes snapped open, and I saw Dr. Wilson sliding some black sheets of plastic into a light box on the wall, and then flip it on. The x-rays showed my arm and the clear bones that made it up. There was a gap in the white line between my elbow and wrist.

"You're lucky," Dr. Wilson said, studying the light box with one hand on his chin. "It was a clean break, which means it will heal a lot faster."

"Oh good," I answered, mostly genuine, a litte sarcastic.

Dr. Wilson got a long white foamy piece of cardboard from one of the containers on the granite desk, got it wet, and then came and started molding it to my straightened arm. I bit my lip as he gently fingered my arm, putting the bones in the right spots. The cardboard foam hardened and Dr. Wilson began wrapping it in a bright yellow cast.

"You can come back in a month and a half," the doctor said. "Then I'll do a check up and we should be able to get that cast off."

"That's it?" I couldn't help but ask. "No warnings, or 'what not to do' lists?"

"You seem like a girl that won't care either way," Dr. Wilson said with a slight smile. "Besides the cast is waterproof, so just try not to break it."

"Thanks," I said, shaking his hand.

"My pleasure," he said. "Remember to set that appointment on your way out."

"We will," I answered. I turned to the door, and lead my friends, my family, out the door the doctor was now holding open. Experimentally, I swung my arm back and forth. Almost instantly, a sharp pain shot up my whole arm, I stopped and decided it would take some getting used to.

"I don't really want to go back to the school just yet," I said, glancing around at everyone, noticing that Braken had stayed behind and was talking to the nurses. "Do you guys have any ideas?"

"We could get something to eat," Lena suggested from directly behind me.

"Yeah, but I'm broke," Ari and Jenna said simultaneously as we pushed through the doors and into the parking lot.

"It's on me," Braken said catching up with us. "We'll invade a Wendy's or something."

"Good idea, I get employee discount there," Lena said.

"Well, I have to get back," said Sheri. "I have a test that I would rather not miss."

"Me too," Lori mentioned. "There's a swim meeting I cannot miss if I want ot compete in the meet."

"You guys are boring," Ari mumbled.

"Okay we can stop by the school first, but I really don't like other people paying for me," Jenna grumbled as she unlocked the car door by hand. "It really buggs me."

"Think of it as a party," Braken said smoothly as he helped me into the passenger seat. "The food is already bought and paid for."

"That's pushing it," Jenna muttered, putting the keys in the ignition, "but it works. Seat belts please." She twisted the keys and the engine roared to life.

We all obliged, and Jenna pulled out of the parking lot as I selected the Original Cast Recording of Wicked on her Ipod. We all belted every song, in a, as Ari complained, 'very off pitch and tone deaf' manner. Once we reached the school, Jenna turned the music down so we could say our goodbyes to Lori and Sheri.

"Have fun at your meeting," I said, "and your test."

"I'll sure try," said Sheri in her falsely happy but quite sarcastic tone.

"Don't break anything else why we're gone," said Lori.

"She won't," Braken said before I could reply.

Lori nodded, satisfied and they both waved as we pulled around and went back out of the parking lot. We continued to belt the Wicked songs for the rest of the ride, until we came to the one called For Good. It started to play, and the whole car went quiet. When Galinda started to sing Lena sang along; matching each note perfectly.

"I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are lead to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return. Well, I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today, because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit, as it passes a sun. Like a stream that meets a boulder, half way through the wood, who ca say if I've been changed for the better, but because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

Then Ari supplied her voice to Elphaba's reply."

"It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime, so let me say before we part, so much of me, is made from what I learned from you. You'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.

Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea. Like a seed dropped by a sky-bird, in a distant world. Who can say, if I've been changed for the better, but, because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

By the time we got to this part of the song, Jenna had parked in the Wendy's parking lot, but we stayed and finished the song. Once it was over, Jenna killed the engine, we all hopped out of the car, and engaged in a massive group ug, because the Kodak moment just wouldn't have been complete otherwise. We all stood back and I wasn't surprised to see tears in more than one pair of eyes. I smiled at them all.

"Let's do this."

We all walked into the restaurant and stood in line. Ari debated with Jenna as to what they should order.

"I think I'll just get the chicken nuggets," said the first.

"No! Don't," Jenna replied, "It's not even real chicken!"

I laughed and looked over at Jeff, who had engaged in an intense conversation with Lena.

". . . but if I had a double saber-"

"It does not matter, Jeff!" Lena exclaimed. "Legolas would still kick your, or any Jedi's trash! Is everyone ready to order?"

There was a collective murmur of "Yeah" thoughout the group.

"Okay, then order," Lena said slowly.

"I'll have a potato, some chili, a box of your chicken strips, a home-style chicken wrap, a large order of fries and a large light lemonade," Cera said immediately.

"Is that all for you guys today?" the cashier asked pleasantly.

"No, they still have to order," said Cera, gesturing around to the rest of us.

"Is that all for you?" the cashier asked, the pleasant tone was slightly more forced this time. Which was an all around bad decision on his part.

"I might have to come back later," Cera said, with a straight face and a sarcastic smile.

Without another word, the cashier turned to Ari. Cera looked at me with a triumphant expression and I had to hold back a laugh.

"I'll jsut have your kid's meal cheese burger, no pickles, onions, or mustard. It comes with a Frosty, right?" Ari said enthusiastically.

The cashier just stared at her for a second, I could practically hear him thinking, Could these kids get any stranger? Then he answered, "Um. . . yeah." I couldn't help thinkming it was his own answer to the question he never voiced.

"Sweet add another one on, will you?" Ari asked, bouncing.

The cashier nodded and had apparently forgotten the 'final order' questions, because he turned to Jeff before she could say anything else.

"The triple stack," Jeff said quickly. "Largest drink and fries."

I saw the cashier's face light up with a hint of relief, but he still turned to Jenna before Jeff could add anymore.

"The original burger," Jenna said. "No tomatoes, onions, or lettuce. Please."

"I'll have the original as well," I said. "Every thing on it though."

"And for you, Lena?" the cashier asked, surprising me. I thought he had lost his voice after Cera's order.
"I'll take the Chef Salad, Brian, thanks," Lena answered, pulling out her wallet to pay. I grabbed her hand to stop her.
"My treat, remember?" I said, shoving a twenty from my wallet into her hand.

"But I get employee discount," she countered, trying to force me to take the money back.

"So I'll give you my money, and you can handle the transaction," I insisted, hiding behind Cera.

Lena turned to the cashier, after giving me one of her choicest death glares. The cashier, Brian, took the money and then handed Lena the change saying, "Your orders will be out in about five minutes." We all shifted to the side, and Lena forced the change into my hands.

After we had stood there for about five minutes, one of the cooks from the back came out calling Jenna and Jeff's orders. They slid back into the line, and took their trays back to reserve us a table. Lena's was called next, right before Ari's. Another cook brought up two trays and arranged the placemats on them. Since I had only ordered theoriginal burger, I figured Cera's order would be occupying a lot of the space. The cook brought out my burger and I decided to wait.

"How do you eat so much?" I asked, realizing how rude it sounded after the words were out of my mouth.

She shrugged, "I always get really hungry when I'm scared."

I honestly thought I had misheard her. Cera wasn't ever scared, nothing ever got to her. When the other girls were running away from a spider shrieking at the top of their lungs, she was the one ushering it onto a piece of paper so that she could move it to a less dangerous spot. However, with this being said, I only had to rack my brain for a second to guess what had scared her so bad. "The Elite captain?" I asked, and she nodded as a shudder ran down her back. "Is it really as scary as everyone says?"

"If you can believe it, it was worse," was her solemn reply. "I know most people have thought 'I'm going to die,' but it has probably only been because of a failing grade, or a mess up of some sort. Have you ever thought that, and known, with every fiber of your body, that it really could have happened?"

He gulped and shook his head.

"It is the absolute worst feeling a human being can ever experience," I continued quietly. "Your brain freezes up, so that you can barely think of anything to do, your hands go all clammy, and find yourself super-glued to the spot. For me, everything shuts down except for my mouth, which isn't really a good thing. I would do anything to avoid being that helpless again."

"Cera, the only people who have any hope of contending with the Elite, would be the Elite," Braken said with concern, and maybe a little bit of guilt in his eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a cook bring up the first half of my order. "You don't want to have to go through that process."

"Maybe I would," I answered seriously. "It would be worth it to me if I knew I would be able to protect myself. I never, EVER, want to be that helpless again."

There was pin in his eyes, "You wouldn't be thinking like that after the process."

"I think I could," I said seriously, making direct eye contact with him.

He nodded in understanding, and the pain slowly morphed into fear as his gaze remained on my face. I hated that I was making him feel that, I had to think of something to relieve the idea. "The chances of me having the opportunity are about 100 to one, though," I said, praying he would agree.

"I- I guess that's true," he said, breaking out into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He slid into the line and grabbed the two trays. He reached me, and I tried to take one of the trays. It was all my food after all.

"I won't let you take it," he warned sarcastically. "How very un-gentleman like that would be."

"Oh how very chivalrous that is," I said, smiling. "I'm glad I was lucky enough to get you as a boyfriend."

"So we are boyfriend/girlfriend then?" he asked, an amost mischievous smile on his lips.

"I think so," I answered quietly as we walked back to join the others. I couldn't suppress a smirk when I noticed the other customers staring at all the food Braken was carrying.

When we reached the table, Lena got out of the booth so that we could sit. I slid in, and Braken followed after he set down the trays. I realized for the first time how truly ravenous I felt and grabbed the potato and a spoon as soon as the trays hit the table. I don't know whether I should be proud or ashamed to admit that by the time Lena was situated again, I had been through the whole potato and started on the chili.

"So if the Elite banned all the books, how're they going to collect them?" Jenna asked. "The ones from our houses."

"If they can find anything," Ari said triumphantly. She and Lena high-fived.

"They'll probably just come around and search," I said evenly. "Exactly like they did it at the school."

"Every house?" Lena asked in awe. "That will take them ages."

"Not if they use all the 'recruits'," Braken said. "They must have hundreds. And with how fast they can move and thier ability to execute orders instantly, I wouldnt' be surprised if it only takes them today."

"He's right," Jeff said. "There are a lot of them."

"Well our books are safe, and they aren't going anywhere," I said firmly. "Can we talk about something else please."

"Okay," Jenna said as I reached across the trays to grab my chicken strips, "where do we go from here?"

"What do you mean?" Ari asked.

"We've pretty much mad an open rebellion to the rule of the Knowers," Jenna pointed out, Jeff shifted uncomfortably in his seat but everyone else nodded, "They'll probably be keeping tabs on us, especially Cera after the whole thing with James."

"They have no reason to," Braken said, and I began the chicken wrap, "Cera denied everthing he accused her of, and didn't give in when he broke her arm. They probably think that if she had anything to say she would have."

I glanced around, seeing everyone's half eaten food and thoughtful expressions, "James came to me, to us, because he knew that out of anyone, we would have been the ones to hide the books."

"You mentioned that already," Lena pointed out, taking another bite of her salad.

"Yeah, but my point is that he knows us," I said, putting a couple fries in my mouth after discarding the wrapper for the wrap. "He knew how overprotective I am of my books, so he must have known that I'd lie to cover for them. Even if it meant, well, this," I finished holidn gup my broken arm. They all winced.

"We'll have to be on our guard then," I said. "We can take precautions, so long as we stick together we might have a chance."

"Us against the Elite?" Jeff asked in awe, thumping Lena on the back as she choked on the bite of salad in her mouth. Jenna spit out the sip of soda she had just taken and Ari dropped thehamburger she was about to bite. Cera calmly offered me the rest of her French fries, I accepted (noticing the confusion in her eyes) and she started on her drink.

"I think it's a good idea," she said, looking around at us all seriously. "We'll have to take a stand, and we all know that the Knowers have the Elite to do all of their dirty work."

"You are officially insane," Lena muttered. "The both of you."

"And you're just deciding this now?" Cera muttered under her breath with a small smirk.

"It was just an idea," I said quickly, we had scared them so badly that even Jeff was looking pale.

"Yeah, a really cruddy one," Jenna said.

"Agreed," Ari and Lena mumbled.

Cera didnt' say anything as she sipped the last bits of her Lemonade out of the cup. She looked around the group, "So are we ready to leave?"

"Does it look like I'm done?" Jenna asked sarcastically, holding up half a cheese burger.

"You should be done by now, especially if I am," Cera teased.

"Just because I'm not a pig like you doesn't mean you have to make fun of me, Cera," Jenna said. "Lena, Ari, and Jeff aren't done either."

"Well, at least my boyfriend can keep up with me," Cera retorted sarcastically.

The general reaction to that statement was hysterical just because it was almost exactly the same as their reactions to our 'horrible' idea. Jenna dropped her burger, Lena's mouth fell open but quickly closed, Ari spewed the drink she had just taken all over the table, and Jeff's stunned gaze shifted between me and Braken uneasily.

"Sorry," Ari said, stealing everyone's napkins to clean up her mess.

"Can you say, 'unexpected?'" Jenna asked.

"What do you mean unexpected?" Lena asked sarcastically. "We all know she's liked him for ages."

I felt my face grow hot as Braken beamed at me.

"Good point," Jeff said, smiling deviously at me.

"Since when?" Ari asked, still looking slightly shocked.

"Right around when we started hiding the books," Braken answered, before I could say anything. "I guess you could say we just clicked."

I smiled at him, and then leaned back against the booth bench, "Hurry and eat you guys."

They all grumbled at me and began eating once again. Suddenly, the kind of exhaustion that comes from stress and intense fear (and maybe overeating) caught up with me, and I was more tired than I can ever remember being. Even though I was with all of my best friends, I couldn't help it triggering the feeling of loneliness that had begun to grow in the back of my brain. I rested my head on Braken's shoulder and closed my eyes. His hand found my casted one, and the overwhelming feeling that I had someone that I could tell anything to without being judged cascaded through my system. I sighed, and the sound of his barely audible voice reached my ears.

"Are you okay, Cera?"

"I'm fine," I whispered back. "I am just completely wiped out all of the sudden."

"Do you want to get home?" he asked.

"I can wait until they're done eating," I said. "It shouldn't take too long. Do you want to come to my house with me? I don't think I can take being alone today."

"Anything you need," he answered, and though my eyes were closed, I could practically see the smile spreading across his face.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew Braken was coaxing me awake with his mellow voice. "Cera, they're all done, let's get you home."

"Yeah, okay," I said, using my unoccupied hand to rub my eyes. Since it usually takes me at least thirty minutes to fully wake up, I just followed as Braken led me out of the restaurant by the hand.

"How did he do that?" Lena asked Ari quietly behind me. "Last time I tried to wake her up I had to use a hairdryer and a water bottle."

I couldn't help smiling, and Ari laughed.

"It's true!" Lena cried indignantly.

"Yeah, it is," I said, relinquishing my shotgun privileges as payment for my 'bad behavior.' Lena took it without objection and Braken handed me into the the middle of the back seat. Luckily for me, Jenna upheld the tradition of blasting her IPod as loud as possible because I would have fallen asleep again. I concentrated on keeping my eyes open as Braken and the others belted the lyrics too loudly for me to sleep comfortably anyway. Jenna pulled up in the school parking lot, and I followed Braken and Jeff out, as Lena hopped out of the front seat.

"Ari, don't you need a ride home?" I asked.

"Jenna said she would take me," she replied. "She lives closer to me than you so I thought it made sense."

"It's okay, that's fine, I'm kind of tired anyway so it's better if I get home," I said.

"You're taking Braken home then, right?" Jenna asked, looking extremely worried.

"Don't worry, I won't kill him," I said. Jenna didn't look reassured.

"I've had my permit for just about six months, I'll get us home," Braken said from over my shoulder.

If I had had the energy I would have smacked him, but Jenna looked reassured so she let us on our merry way. I fished my car keys out of my pocket and unlocked the doors to my car. As I opened the driver's side door, Braken took part in the epic battle of the dented passenger side door. I couldn't suppress a chuckle as he heaved the door open and fell into the seat.

"Haven't you ever tried to get that fixed?" he asked, still panting.

"My cousin, Josh, did the best he could," I said with a proud smile. "He's the best mechanic I know."

"Well I can give you the number of one that could get this door fixed better-"

"It's fine, Braken, I like it the way it is," I interrupted, my voice a lot harsher than it needed to be, but nobody insults my cousin (or his work) in front of me. The comment sent an adrenaline rush through my body.

"Okay, sorry to press your buttons. . . .?" he said, more a question than a statement.

I just nodded, reminding myself that he had no idea as to why I would get this angry over a dent in the side of my car. "He's pretty much my older brother slash role model. I get kind of defensive. Seeing as you didn't know that, I shouldn't have overreacted." I breathed when I thought I had control of myself again.

"Hey, you had every right. Don't worry about it," he said slowly. "Why do you look up to him so much?"

"There were very few times in my life that my sister wasn't there for me," I said, solemnly. "He was always there just in case. We always got along really well because he is only a year older, and we have a lot of the same interests. He's the one who has really taught me to how to give advice, and the reason I joined the stage crew. It's hard to explain, but it means a lot to me to be able to follow in his footsteps."

"What is he doing now?" Braken asked. Which, I know he didn't know but, was the wrong question to ask, especially since I was completely worn out physically and emotionally.

"THOSE TYRANTS TOOK HIM TOO," I yelled, suprising myself as I burst into tears. "ON THE SAME DAY AS MY SISTER!" I took a deep breath and failed to hold back more tears, but was able to control my voice. "Do you want to know the best part? I didn't even find out until about three days after! No one bothered to tell me, and he had the worst case of senioritis I've ever heard of, so it wasn't unusual for him to be gone from school. I can't even descrive how much I relied on him or looked up to him, and I never got to let him know!" My head fell into my hand and I sobbed, emotions I didn't think it was possible for me to feel were literally pouring out and there was nothing I could do.

Braken put his arm around me, "How come you never told anyone about him?"

"I can barely think about him wihtout tears spilling out of my eyes, let alone hold a civilized conversation with everyday people while bawling my eyes out," I answered between sobs. "I just can't talk about it without reopening one really deep and painful wound."

"How come you're opening up to me then?" he whispered.

"Because I've always seen you as someone who would do their best to understand," I answered, wiping the still streaming tears off of my face. "I know everyone else has felt the same things I have, so anyone would understand, but for some reason I feel like you're the only one I can talk too. I depend on you as much as I ever did on either of them, my sister or - my cousin. I figured that gave you the right to know, and the whole door episode kind of forced that out of me."

"Well, I guess I can apologize for that last bit at least," he said with a small smile.

"There is no need for that," I said taking a huge gulp of air, and forcing myself to stop the waterworks. "I'm happy I told you now, I don't think I would have gotten around to it otherwise."

"All I can say is that I'm glad you're comfortable with me," he said, cupping my chin in his hand an dgently pulling my red face so that I was looking at his. "Are you going to be able to drive, or would you like me to?"

"I can do it," I said with a sniffle. "You might want to buckle your seat belt though."

"I did that as soon as I sat in the seat," he said, smiling widely as he pulled on the belt to prove it.

She laughed a sad, watery laugh and then started the car. I was amazed at how much we had shared when we had only really been talking to each other for just about two days. She already knew more about my opinions of what happened to my dad than my mom, and it sounded like I knew more about her than she had ever told anyone in her life. Was it really possible for a relationship like this to spring up out of times where people avoided others at all costs? Right then, in her car, I said a silent prayer hoping that it was, because I found myself needing her as much as she said she needed me.

"What will we do when we get to your house?" I asked, trying to search for a happy topic of conversation.

"We could watch a movie," she answered. "I honestly don't have the energy for much else, and we've got all the latest releases; it's the one thing my parents still keep up on since Trina, well, left."

"Sounds great," I answered. "Which movie?"

"I'm pretty easy going, we can choose when we get there." She paused, and glanced at me hesitantly. "One more thing, ignore anything my parents say. They're not really what you would call 'welcoming.'"

"Yeah, sounds easy enough," I answered, wondering what was in store.

"More than one person has said that," she retorted. "They were all proven wrong; just as a warning, you know."

I nodded and let a tentative laugh escape my lips.

"Nothing they say will change anything between us," she said. "I gave up on their opinions a long time ago."

I could tell this would be an experience to remember. Trying to concentrate on not thinking about the encounter, I turned the volume on her radio up a few notches. A shredding guitar came blaring out of the speakers, accompanied by a rock-solid drummer and a kicking base.

"Is this a CD?" I asked.

"Yeup," she answered. "This song is called 'Elevation' by the band U2. One of the only things I have in common with my parents, we're all huge fans."

"Ah, aren't they old though?" I asked. "I think I remember my mom talking about loving them in high school."

"Yeah, I was brought up on my parent's music, so it kind of stuck with me I guess."

"What's your favorite song?"

"Of theirs or just in general?" she asked.

I thought about it and then answered, "In general."

"'So What?' by Pink," she answered immediately. "It does a great job of depicting my attitued toward so many things."

"I guess I can see that," I said with a laugh.

"I'm guessing yours is some amazing piano piece, written by some guy that I've never heard of," she said eyeing me.

"Well, actually, I have the sheet music for 'With Or Without You' at home," he answered. "I'd have to say that is my favorite."

"That is a great song, one of the best U2 songs actually," she agreed, turning the steering wheel to pull into her drive way. She parked half way down, and hit the button on the garage door remote in her cup holder. "Let's just go in and straight down the back stairs.."

"Sweet," I said as I literally kicked my door open.

She grimaced, and got out of the car. Once both doors were shut, she locked it using the remote, and then took my hand and led me into her garage. We walked up some stairs to a door and she hit the console on the wall to close the garage once again. She took a deep breath, and then opened the door and pulled me inside.

"Who's there?" said a paranoid female voice from inside the house.

"It's just me," Cera answered, "and Braken from up the street."

"Braken who?"

"Braken Haven, mom. How many other Brakens live up the street?" Cera answered.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I left early," Cera said quietly, leading me down a hall to her kitchen. I saw someone sitting at a counter, gaze glued to a computer.

"Left school?" the person at the computer, her mom, shrieked. "What on earth is wrong with you?"

"The Elite came by the school," Cera answered, obviously fighting to keep her shaking voice even. Her grip on my hand tightened.

"What does that have to do with anything?" her mom cried indignantly. "Trina would have stayed, she wouldnt' have been afraid to sit in class while those monsters were walking about."

"They weren't just walking about," Cera explained. "They were collecting the books."

"I heard they were doing that," her mother muttered. "I went down to your room to get yours ready for them, but they were already gone."

"I would die before they get their hands on my books," Cera replied, venom in her voice now. "I got rid of them earlier."

"That still doesn't explain why you're home early."

"The Captain had to talk to me," Cera said, lifting her casted arm.

"Well, you got what was coming to you," her mom answered cruelly, not even looking away from the computer screen. "Always with your nose in those blasted books, it's about time someone brought you up to speed on what has been happening in the real world. In case you haven't realized, my beloved Trina is gone, so I'd rather not have to sit and talk to you. Let alone any stupid boy you bring home. Who would want to be here, especially with you?"

I stared at Cera's mom in furious awe. She didn't even care! It was like Cera was a flea ridden beast, like she didn't even deserve the time of day!

"You say that like I enjoy listening to you talk to that computer," Cera said, surprising me with the volume and venom that dripped off each word. She turned around and led me down a flight of stairs, we turned into a dark room, with another door that must have gone to a closet, and she slammed the door.

"Sorry about that," I said sheepishly as I reached over and hit the light switch. "It happens every day."

"She didn't even look at your arm," Braken said, his voice shaking with anger. "How do you live with this?"

"Let's just say that I've become pretty independent," I answered and a smile spread across my face.

"How can you be happy here? Your own mother practically called you worthless just now and you're smiling?"

"I'm just not used to having someone care that much," I answered, making eye contact. His brown eyes were literally burning with anger. "Thanks."

"You shouldn't have to thank someone for treating you like a human being," he said, still shaking, though his eyes had softened.

"But I do, and it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I've got you," I answered firmly.

"Yes, you do," he said pulling me into a comforting hug. "I won't leave you alone, I promise."

"I know," I said, relaxing in his arms. "I trust you."

His face was literally millimeters from mine, I bit my lip and pulled away. His brown eyes searched mine, confused and questioning. "Your sister, and cousin still?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I just wish I knew what they'd think of you."

His eye brows raised, as if he were offended.

"No, not like that. I know Trina would just love you! She'd be all happy and bouncy when I bring you over, but she'd be watching you like a hawk. Once you left, she'd sit me down and pick apart the last couple of hours like every word you said was a puzzle. Josh would have gone for the intimidation factor, he'd pull you aside and say 'Now, Cera here, she's my cousin - practically my little sis-"
My monologue was cut off as he took a determined step forward, grabbed my waist and pulled my body to his. Before I could react, his lips were on mine and my eyes were closed. Something in my head broke - it felt like a 200 pound weight had just been lifted off of my shoulders. I don't know why or how, to this day, and I don't think I ever will, but the weight took all of my doubts with it. He broke it off, and stepped back.

"Cera. . . if I've learned one thing since you stopped me at my locker its that the past is there to teach us, but we've got to make our own decisions. I'd apologize, but I'd be lying."

"No, don't," I said, allowing a small smile. "I should have about that. You just needed to wake me up a bit."

He smiled that smile that melts the edges of my heart and his hand reached out and grasped mine. "Which movie should we watch?"

I reached over and opened the closet door, and pulled Braken into it behind me. I hit the light switch and he gasped in surprise. I didn't blame him, my dad's movie collection was certainly a sight to behold. We had two floor-to-ceiling book cases and one half size book case full of DVDs. I haven't seen all of them, and probably never will, but I had my favorites.

"You expect me to choose?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," I answered with a laugh. "Anything you want, though I prefer something with explosions."

"Don't normal girls usually force their boyfriends to sit through the chick-flicks with them?" he asked sarcastically.

"If I was a normal girl, I'd be dragging you from store to store in the mall," I answered. "I can arrange that if you'd like."

"I'm good here," he said hurriedly. I laughed and he reached out to the shelf and pulled a case out.

"What about this one?"

I took the case from him and read the title aloud, "Pirates of the Caribbean. How'd you know it was one of my favorites?"

"I just guessed," he said laughing.

"Okay, I'll put it in, do you want any popcorn, soda or anything?" I asked.

"Well you can't have a movie without popcorn," he said laughing.

"That makes sense," I laughed. "The sodas are in the fridge, I'll get the popcorn."

"And the fridge is . . . where?"

"Right out here," I said, taking him out of the theatre room. Directly out the door there was a small secondary kitchen with a microwave, stovetop, oven, dishwasher, and fridge. I pointed at the fridge and wrenched open a drawer that I kept the bagged popcorn in. I pulled out a bag, unwrapped it, hit the popcorn button on the microwave, and opened the microwave door.

"So I know how you feel about your parents, I know where your books are, and I know your quite passionate opinions of the Knowers, but I can't put my finger on what your soda preferance would be."

"Last time I checked there was some Fresca," I said. "I got hooked on it and then my mom started liking it. She'd buy it and drink it all to spite me. I'll take some of that if there is any in there; if not just grab me a Diet Coke."

"Ew, you drink that stuff?" he asked, way disgusted, a little suprised.

"Kind of my way of getting back at my mom for the Fresca," I said with a shrug. "Besides you're here so I want to be able to stay awake."

"If you need sleep you should get it," he said. "But I can't complain."

"Ha ha, whatever," I said, thowing the popcorn bag into the microwave and hit the start button. "Grab the drinks."

He laughed and grabbed a bottle of Diet Coke for me, and a bottle of water for himself.

"Way to make me feel like a junkie," I said. "Water? What kind of soda is that?"

"For your information, it is 75% of this earth, and most of your body," he said seriously, struggling to keep his straight face.

"Ha ha, thanks for the science lesson!" I laughed. "What do you have against soda?"

"Wendy's," he said. "After eating deep-fried amazingness I felt like the water."

"Ugh, now I feel disgusting. You saw how much I ate there, right?"

"You can always choose water too," he said smiling.

"Fine, you talked me into it," I said, pulling the fridge open and replacing the Diet Coke with a water bottle.

The microwave beeped and I pulled the bag out. Braken found a large bowl, relieved me of the bag, and dumped it in. I took my water bottle, mumbling how I couldn't be more help with my broken arm as he picked up the popcorn bowl and his drink and led the way into the theatre room.

Except the lack of stadium seating and the carpeted floor, this theatre room Cera had could have sold tickets. They had the projector hanging from the ceiling, a huge screen on the wall, and surround sound. Their DVD player could hold 301 discs, and was connected to a speaker system that went through out the house if you wanted to turn it on.

In the very back there was a three person couch, the middle level had a loveseat and the bottom a recliner. Since there were two T.V. trays set up by the love seat, I set the popcorn and my water bottle down and situated myself on the right side as Cera ran around putting the movie in the player, turning the screen and sound system on and dimming the lights. Still clutching a black remote, she fell into the left side of the seat and I beckoned her over to me. I was seated comfortably against the arm rest, with my legs out in front of me, so she rested her back against my chest, her head on my shoulder, and her legs across the rest of the couch, as the movie roared to a start.

"You know, it's hard to believe that we're just sitting here watching a movie," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it," she said as the movie played on. "Yesterday, we sepnt all day in the vent system, building boxes for books. Today I was in the ER before nine o'clock and then we went to Wendy's when we should have gone back to school. Sitting here watching a movie just seems so, I don't know, normal."

"Okay, I get your point," I said with a laugh. "Do you want to do something else?"

"No, no. For once, I think I actually prefer normal to anything else for right now," she said in an airy, tired voice. "Don't let . . .me. . .fall. . ."

And she was out. Her eyelids fluttered and then closed, and even though I was pretty sure she would finish that sentence with 'asleep,' I had no intention of waking her. Ignoring the movie completely, I studied her face in the dim lighting. Her smooth skin was relaxed for the first time I could remember; no wrinkles around her mouth from her beautiful smiles, no creased forehead from her 'thinking face.' Her eyes were closed, not dark with anger or squinting in confusion, she looked authentically peaceful. I found her un-casted hand and clasped it in mine, and her thin, straight-lined mouth curved into a smile that I could have stared at for days.

I rested my head on the seat behind me, and closed my eyes, letting the happiness that was pulsating through my very veins fill every cvell of my body. Being completely relaxed, I must have fallen asleep there because one second Jack Sparrow was stepping from the mast of his sail boat onto the Port Royal dock, and the next he was bing marooned on an island for the second time.

I shook my head to clear the usual build up of cobwebs, and then checked that I had not disturbed Cera, who was still sleeping peacefully on my shoulder. I blinked, willing my eyes to focus on the screen in front of me, when an earsplitting crash came from upstairs. Remembering that the Elite would be coming around and collectin gbooks from the houses, I instantly hit the stop button on the remote to eliminate the noisy distraction of the movie. Cera was still snoozing on my shoulder, and wondering how she could have slept through that crash, I suddenly understood Lena's 'hairdryer and water bottle' comment.

"Cera, you need to wake up," I said, not bothering to keep my voice down. "I think the Elite just demolished your front door."

"Huh?" was her half-conscious and high pitched reply.

"I think the Elite just demolished your front door," he said, again.

The words he said reached my still yawning brain and slapped it across the face. The Elite, in my house? I honestly couldn't move for a couple of seconds, fear had frozen everything.

"Cera, come on," Braken whispered encouragingly. "We don't want them destroying your house."

I nodded and then got up from the couch. He stood up, and I grasped his hand before exiting the theatre and walking slowly up the stairs. I looked up and saw two figures, wrapped entirely in black staring down at us as we walked up the stairs; my front door lay behind them in ruins. I walked up to the top of the stairs and stopped right in front of them, still clutching Braken's hand as if life depended on it. I didn't know how my 'run in' with James affected the Elite, but I twisted slightly so that the neon yellow cast was the focus of my image. Of course, being the Elite, I got no reaction except an order.

"We are here to collect the books, please present your boxes," the one on the left ordered, he was male.

"I don't usually take orders from people in my own house," I said, cursing my mouth inwardly. "Especially after they make mulch out of my front door."

"Hand over the books, Cera Minor, and we shall leave in peace," said the one on the right, she was female, and there was a piece of blonde hair hanging out of her mask.

"The books are gone," I said. "Search if you don't believe me."

"I will," said the male, and shivers ran down my back. "Tai, keep an eye on them."

With that he was gone, scouring the upstairs level. I watched him for a second, and then turned my attention to our 'guard,' Tai. She was standing in the classic Elite power stance with her hands folded behind her back, and had perfected the glare, which she was now using on me. Shivering slightly, I studied the uniform: black, loose, and intimidating. The blood-red sash was tied tightly around her waist, over a thick black cord from which a pair of sleek and menacing twin hook swords were hanging, obviously ready for her to grab at a moments notice. The piece of blonde hair that stuck out of her mask mostly covered her right eye, adding mystery to the terror and doom that radiated from her deadly stare.

Deciding that I would rather be sitting, I turned and began to walk towards the small living room that is just inside my front door, pulling Braken with me. Tai's eyes followed us as her neck slowly turned. I couldn't keep the chills from running up and down my back. We were almost to the couch when Braken decided to resist.

"Cera, let me go," he whispered.

I saw the slight reaction in Tai's unblinking eyes, was it curiosity or shock? "What are you going to do?"

His face was white, and he was shaking a little, but there was pure hatred in his eyes. "Get rid of them."

"You know you can't," I said in a horrified whisper. I pulled on his arm again and he refused to move.

"I can."

There was no mistaking the interest in Tai's eyes that time. I didn't look away in time and I received a shock as her eyes connected with mine. I felt like I was being x-rayed again, there was no doubt in my frozen mind that she could read my soul like an open book. I blinked, and heaved, Braken moved this time and we made it to the couch. I chanced another glance at Tai, which was a mistake since she was still staring at me. If looks could kill, well, you wouldn't be hearing this story, and I'm not even tryin got be funny. I swear we were there, on the couch, for days. Every minute stretched on and on, the snds in the hour glass were falling one

at

a

time.

Finally the male Elite member came up behind Tai with now shock in his eyes when he saw us in an almost completely different room.

"Trouble?" he asked in a smiling tone.

Tai's glare intensified, "Nothing I can't handle, Kano."

"There were no books, just as James expected," said Kano. "They must have hidden them somewhere."

"So we'll have to see if they ever turn up," Tai said slowly, though you could see the gears in her head starting to spin.

"I guess so," replied Kano, shifting his glance to lock eyes with me. His stare broke through my eyes and sent ice through every vein, freezing every cell. I could have sworn he read my thoughts. I realized then that my brains had turned to mush and I was hyperventilating.

On that note, Tai patted her swords, almost affectionately, and they simultaneously turned and glided out of my house. I noticed a three-section hanging loosely from Kano's belt, and a shiver went down my back when I thought of what that weapon had done.

"Cera, calm down," Braken said slowly and quietly. "They're gone and nothing happened."

It took me a minute to even register that he was speaking.

"Cera, I mean it, calm down," he said. "You're starting to scare me."

"S- sorry," I managed to say before collapsing on his shoulder.