Traitors

The sounds of the crowd are deafening. Some swear, others spit, most scream triumphantly. Out of no where, everyone falls silent. Their mouths still move as if they're shouting, but no sound reverberates. Mayor Fierce stands next to me feeling honored to slip the noose around my neck. He smells of stale cigarette and the musty smell of blood. His eyes lock onto mine as a smile creeps onto his face. He's won and he's the hero of the story. If they ever reinstate schooling, this day will be written in textbooks; the day Mayor Fierce took down the eastern divisions most wanted traitor. He shoves aside the executioner wanting to do the job himself. I stare straight ahead and notice the only person in the crowd not cheering. He stares back at me with the same eyes as Mayor Fierce. He slips his hood up onto his head turning away from me as the floor beneath me disappears.

My eyes flick open as I take in my current surroundings. The rustic smell of The Tunnel lingers into my lungs as I pull the covers up to my cold nose. I feel warm air tickling my neck which slightly confuses me. I cautiously turn my body and gaze at Fierce passed out next to me. His left arm lays across his temple while the other I notice is secured around my waist. I smile to myself as I roll over to face him. I stare at his still body. I've never seen him so relaxed and at ease.

He suddenly makes a rambunctious snore towards me while popping his one eye open to see my reaction. Laughter bubbles from my throat as he moves his arm from his face to under the covers. A smile forms across his face as he mumbles a simple good morning. I continue to stare like he is an exotic creature I've never seen before.

"How long have you been awake?" I whisper to him. He leaves a kiss on my forehead.

"Not long," he mumbles sighing, "but long enough to know you had a nightmare." I feel my face warm up from embarrassment. The room falls silent making me feel uncomfortable. "Phoe," he moves his head slightly, "you need to know -- "

"Fierce!" Gabe's voice echoes from the hallway. "Fierce, goddammit! Answer me!" Fierce runs his fingers through his short hair while staring at the ceiling. "Fierce!" Gabe starts knocking on all the doors in this hall. Fierce moans rolling out of bed and drags his feet to the door. He cracks the door slightly clearing his throat to draw Gabe's attention to him. He opens the door and steps out into the hallway. "What's going on? Why did you stay here?" Gabe waltzes up to the door only to have Fierce close it before he can look in. "Who's in there?"

"Don't worry about it, Brestion" Fierce snarls defensively.

"Who is in there?" Gabe asks annoyed.

"I said, don't worry about it." Fierce matches his tone.

There's a scuffle outside the door. I sit up, flinging myself out of bed. I go to reach for the door, but it swings open before I have the chance to touch it. Gabe scowls in the doorway crossing his arms. Fierce becomes visible behind him touching his lip and checking his fingers for blood. My eyes move swiftly between the two of them, waiting for someone to say something.

"You've got to be kidding me." Gabe turns away from me and grabs a fist full of Fierce's shirt. "You're sleeping with her now?" He spits in his face. Fierce purses his lips together grabbing onto Gabe's fist and shoving him backward. Gabe releases him stumbling over his feet. "I'm not sure what the fuck is going on with you, but I hope today's assignment cleans up your act." He turns looking in my direction before he marches toward me. "This," he wags his finger between Fierce and I, "will not happen again." He towers over me. "Do I make myself clear?" I roll my eyes. "He is a leader and you are a maggot. This will not happen again. Repeat it back to me." He commands. I glance back at Fierce who looks equally as hurt as I feel. Gabe taps his foot waiting for me to say something as I release a heavy sigh.

"This will not happen again." I mumble under my breath.

"Louder. I need to hear it." He demands disdainfully. Fierce uncomfortably shifts behind him wishing this moment was over.

"This will not happen again." I clearly state loud enough for him to hear it. He smirks down at me making me feel two inches tall. He whips around and is back in Fierce's face.

"Repeat it." Gabe barks. Fierce avoids eye contact with him by looking off to the side. "Repeat it." He enunciates each syllable. Fierce shakes his head biting his lower lip. Gabe steps closer whispering something only Fierce hears, but whatever it is, it gets him to change his tune.

"This will not happen again." Fierce releases a defeated sigh.

"She is a maggot." I can almost hear the grin on Gabe's face. "Say it." Fierce narrows his eyes and refuses. Gabe loses his patience and latches onto Fierce pinning him to the wall. His tactic doesn't work as Fierce still refuses to say it. Gabe huffs releasing him and stepping back. "You've got a half hour. I suggest you get yourself together. You look like shit." He instructs. He raises an eyebrow at me before walking away.

Fierce stares at me with pained eyes. He opens his mouth to speak to me, but gets interrupted by Gabe yelling for him to follow. He hesitates, but follows his order and walks away. I collapse onto the bed throwing the blankets over me. I curl up wrapping my arms around my knees. My thigh starts throbbing forcing me to release my legs from captivity. The warmth in the bed has faded away which feels unbearable and lonely.

I sigh throwing the blankets off of me becoming exposed to the frigid air once again.Goosebumps run all along my body as I shuffle out into the hall. I pass the room which was occupied last night and notice the door is now open. Belongings are scattered about the room and a fragrance lingers in the air. I continue down the hall trudging my way passed the training room. I peer in as I notice Hunter is the only one there.

He forces his fists against the sandbag sending it whirling in circles. He strikes it with quick and repetitive jabs keeping it from swinging into him. He turns to give it a good kick on the side and sends its momentum in a different direction. I lean in the doorway watching him move swiftly. His footwork is agile and his punches are aggressively fast. There's no doubt in my mind he's one of the best fighters we have. He suddenly brings his hand up to stop the bag and turns to face me. He cocks his head and crosses his arms giving me a wandering look.

We stare at each other in silence. Part of me wishes he'll say something, but instead he walks away from the bag and over to the bench to grab a drink. He slides onto the wood chugging down water until the bottle crackles. He tosses it over his shoulder as it flies directly into the trash can. He glances over at me still standing in the doorway. He gestures his hand to the open spot next to him and I accept his invitation. I plop down next to him resting my elbows on my knees. He nudges me and points to my thigh.

"I'm doing better." I whisper, but even that didn't sound convincing to me. "Fierce suggested I see you about some stretches I could do. Plus, Quela told me awhile ago you know a lot about the human body. So could you help me out with this?" The corner of his lips rise as he nods his head.

He pops up from the bench motioning me to follow him over to the closest mat. He points down at the mat as he kneels. I sit down unsure if that's what he wanted me to do. He rolls his eyes as he places his palm onto my forehead pushing me onto my back. I sigh staring up at the ceiling.

"You could of told me you wanted me to lie down." I pout.

"Where's the fun in that?" He says quietly.

He situates my right leg down flat and focuses on my left. He puts pressure on my hip as he grabs my calf and slowly lifts my leg into the air. He watches my face to know where the pain begins. He pushes my leg as far back as my body will allow. I scrunch my face as the muscles in my leg yell at me. He ignores my pain stricken face and muffled grunts as he pushes my leg back a little more. My hand swats at his involuntarily and he backs off. I press my palms onto my forehead running my fingers through my hair.

"You're tense." He says loud enough for me to hear him clearly. "You're the only thing standing in the way of your own recovery." He sits down and leans against the wall.

"How do you know that?" I ask sitting up.

"You stopped me from pushing you further. Your muscles are tensed up from stress and denial." He rests his arms on his knees. "I can't help you until you're ready to want it."

"I do want it." My voice leaks desperation. "I can't keep going on like this." I growl. "They said my leg should be healed by now, but it still hurts. I have a weak spot and everyone knows about it. How am I supposed to do my job when it hurts to walk?"

"Detope," Hunter sighs, "you got shot. You can't expect to be healed over night. Sure, this was a step back for you, but I've seen you bounce back from things far worse than this." There is a long pause in the room.

"I'm scared." I admit to him. He nods already knowing that.

He removes the workout glove on his right hand and flashes the back of it to me. He has the words "You can't be broken" tattooed on the back of his hand. I stare at it remembering hearing multiple stories about how he broke his hand, but I never heard the true story. All I know for sure is while he was recovering, he decided to train Quela. Afterward, he pushed himself over his limits even when everyone told him to take it easy. I know he showed this to me for a reason. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Let's go again." I whisper.

Hunter works on my leg for another hour. He continues to tell me to let everything go. My fear and vulnerability will be my downfall if I don't accept what happened and move on from it. By the time he finishes, I feel a little better. I spend time in the plant reading up on the event Mayor Fierce is throwing at the capitol building in a couple days. After the events which transpired today, I don't think I'll be allowed to attend with Fierce. I just hope they don't send him there alone.

Once the plant empties out, I take a quick shower and head back to my room. The other occupied room is still empty making me believe it belongs to Quela. I crawl into bed resting my aching muscles and fall asleep with ease.

I've had a nervous feeling in my gut all day, but it suddenly fades knowing he's back as I'm stirred awake when Fierce slips his way into bed. I'm not sure what time it is, but I know it's late. He releases an exhausted sigh before wrapping his arm around me. He falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. I smile to myself knowing he didn't mean what he said earlier either. I'm quickly lulled to sleep as I feel his breath on the back on my neck and the bed becomes warmer.