Defective

Chapter 2. Last chapter, the Silfe team encountered the supposedly dangerous Defective boy known as Zephyr. What might his motives for all of his wrongdoings be? Will they be able to catch him? Enjoy!

“Oh Mira, don’t make that face; you’ll get wrinkles” Zephyr teased, brushing her shoulder with the back of his hand “Don’t.” she warned him, and he pulled away with a disappointed sigh “I don’t understand why you’re so upset about all this. I didn’t lie to you, and besides, I thought we were having such a good time before…” he confided, and she shook her head at him grudgingly.

 

Jev moved to grab Zephyr then, but he only succeeded in ripping his shirt open, revealing an intricate, swirling black tattoo crawling down from his shoulders all the way down to his lower back; the mark of a Defective.

 

In one swift move, Jev had his SMG pointed soundly at Zephyr’s head, and Zephyr in turn had Mirelle grasped securely around the neck, a simple pistol pressed up against her temple. A deadly glare was painted on Jevs face, his finger poised on the trigger, but Zephyr knew he wouldn’t shoot. Not with Mirelle as a casualty anyways.

 

He took a few steps back, and leaned his head forward so that his lips were inches away from Mirelle’s ear “You should know that I won’t shoot you, by the way, you can be assured of that…” he whispered to her, and she thrashed in his grasp, trying desperately to escape him.

 

Turning his back to Jev in a foolish show of confidence, he led Mirelle down the street with a small smile on his lips “Come back, or I’ll shoot!” Jev yelled, an intimidating air of authority coloring his voice. “But could you kill me faster than I could pull the trigger and kill Mira too? Somehow I doubt that” he sneered, the menacing tone of Jev’s voice clearly lost on him.

 

Slowly, he stepped around the corner and loosened his grip on Mirelle’s throat, who seized the opportunity and pulled away from him, turning to run back to the others before he snagged her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him again. “Mira…” he murmured to her quietly “I know you hate me right now, but I can sense something different in you. You’re on the border of becoming a Defective, aren’t you? From becoming like me” he quipped, and she yanked away from him with an intense glare.

 

“As if I would ever leave the facility! I’m nothing like you” she growled, pulling a pistol out of it’s holster at her waist and pointing it at him as he nodded with a small smile “We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” he replied casually, before effectively grabbing the gun out of her hand and shoving her out from the alleyway.

 

Even as fast as she’d spun around and moved back into the alley where they’d been standing, Zephyr was gone, hiding once more from the Silfe that had seemed so hot on his trail.

 

Mirelle slammed her fist into the crumbling brick of the building and was met with the thankful embraces of her friends beside her, before they decided that it was time to sit back and plan out their next move.

 

Jev tapped his foot impatiently on the ground “We need a way to find him again. It’s obvious that he has a thing for Mirelle, but it’s not likely that he’d be stupid enough to come talk to her again after all of this” he motioned around him to indicate the ‘all of this’ aspect of his speech.

 

Roland tightened his grip around Brea’s waist, and she snuggled her face into his neck “There has to be some way we can track him down” Brea murmured dreamily, and Roland nodded, directing his gaze at Mirelle, who looked deep in though “You’ve gotta know something Mirelle. I mean, from the sound of it, you two spent quite a bit of time together before we met up here. Something he said maybe? I don’t know…you said you gave him something in exchange for information, maybe that…?” he tried, and she eventually picked her head up out of her hands.

 

“Roland, that’s it! There is something we can use!” she cried, jumping to her feet in excitement and pacing back and forth before her friends “Like what?” Brea asked, sitting up with a smile, and Mirelle stopped in her tracks, whipping around to face the sea blue eyed girl. “I gave him my Memreader! We can track him from the facility now! It’ll be easy!” she resolved, and at the realization, they all hurried back to the facility as fast as they could.

 

 The whole ride there, Mirelle’s mind kept flashing back to what Zephyr had whispered to her before he’d fled ‘You’re on the border of becoming a Defective aren’t you?’ he’d said. What she hated to admit was that, day by day, the idea of leaving sounded better and better. She didn’t want to be a fugitive though, and at that point, her friends would likely become her enemies.

 

“Stupid Defective” she grumbled under her breath, and Jev glanced at her briefly over his shoulder “What was that?” he asked, but she shook her head “Nothing, I’m just thinking all of this over” which he seemed to take easily enough.

 

By now, Mirelle thought grimly to herself, it really would be just a matter of time before she left. When she did, would she go to Zephyr, who’d made it sound as if he’d welcome her with open arms? Or would she wander alone, like so many of the other Defectives had? The thoughts were whipped up into an angry barrage by the time they reached the facility again and purposefully entered the tracking room.

 

Determined, they punched the code for Mirelle’s Memreader into the small console by the screen, and sure enough, a red blip popped up on the screen, with the exact position the device was in.

 

And it was moving.

 

Sending the tracker to Jev and Roland’s Memreaders, they set off again in search of Zephyr, in hopes of possibly finding him before he lost use for the device and scrapped it.

 

Finally the little red dot on their screens came to a stop, to their relief and slight fears, and they were closing in on it quite fast.

 

However, when they reached the area indicated, they found absolutely nothing, not even Mirelle’s Memreader. “But, it says it’s right here…what’s wrong with this thing?!” Jev complained, shoving the electronic impatiently back into his bag with a frown, before looking around at the scene before him.

 

The landscape was the usual barren sort, but there were huge concrete and metal bunkers neatly lining the road in a checkerboard pattern. The sky was a very pale blue, with a few wispy clouds scuttling lazily by. Bits of dead, browned grass worked it’s way out of the dry ground, providing tiny bits of shade for any insect that might be fortunate enough to wander into it.

 

He approached a bunker and ran his hand along it, and, feeling something rub off into his hand, he turned to give it further inspection. “What is this?” He inquired quietly, rubbing off something resembling dusty paint, revealing a panel of sorts beneath it.

 

“Guys, I think there’s something in here!” he called, and Roland nodded his agreement from where he and Brea stood a few feet away, scrubbing paint off of another bunker until the form of a door was barely noticeable from beneath the powder-like paint.

 

It almost looked like the door of an old car, one of the big suburbans that would only drive on solid terrain, from back in the 2000s. Brea pulled it open and peered inside “Hey, there’s a ton of stuff stored in these!” she called to the others, who had surrounded the vehicle and were trying to peek in behind her.

 

But she pulled away shaking her head “Nothing we’re looking for at the moment, though” she apologized, slamming the door shut behind her. “Let’s check the ones closest to the reading; maybe we’ll find something” she suggested, and they split into pairs to check the two nearest to said location.

 

Jev set to work brushing off the paint of the one he and Mirelle were working on, when soon enough, the shape of a door handle could easily be made out. “Let’s go” Jev coaxed Mirelle, who rushed over to the door and pushed him back a little “Maybe it’d be best if I went in alone” she told him hesitantly “I mean, you did say that he’s taken a liking to me” and with that, she pulled open the door as little as she could and squeezed herself inside, looking up into the surprising darkness to find a gun pointed directly at her nose.

 

A gasp escaped her lips, and she fought the urge to back away from it “I wasn’t expecting anyone…what’re you here for?” a stern voice, that sounded somewhat like Zephyrs ordered “Zephyr…?” she asked quietly, and the gun lowered a little bit “Why do you need him?” the voice asked, and this time, she could tell for sure that it wasn’t the ignorant boy she’d met earlier.

 

Once realizing this, she did back away from the gun “I need to speak with him” she told the voice, which scoffed haughtily “Of course you do. Hey, Zephyr! Wake up!” the boy called, and she heard the sound of blankets rustling and a long, tired groan. Suddenly, the lights flashed on, and Mirelle could see that she was standing in a camper, pressed uncomfortably up against one of the walls, and the boy holding the gun with his two-toned blonde hair and odd, slate colored eyes locked onto her face.

 

Behind him, she saw a shirtless Zephyr rubbing sleepily at his eyes “Why? What’d you do now, Aster?” he grumbled, and Aster blanched “Nothing! Someone says they want to talk to you!” he shot back, and Zephyr peeked over Aster’s shoulder at her, before he smirked smugly “No need for the gun; she’s alright” Zephyr waved him off, and Aster stepped back, shoving the gun back into it’s holster hooked on the back of his jeans with a cat-like smile. “Sorry about that! I hate having to aim guns at pretty girls! Were ya scared?” he laughed, and Mirelle shook her head hesitantly, not quite sure how to handle this boy.

 

“You can ignore him if you want” Zephyr told her, offering her a bottle of water, which she politely refused and he shrugged, opening it for himself instead “Hey! Don’t ignore me!” Aster whined, looking to Mirelle with wide eyes “I’m a good guy, I swear!” he pleaded, and she smiled at his craziness. “Aster here is Silfe number fourteen. We left the facility around the same time and have kinda been sticking together ever since” Zephyr explained, and Aster nodded enthusiastically.

 

He wiped some of the water off of the corner of his mouth, watching her with cool amusement “So, I thought you wouldn’t want to see me anymore. What brings you all the way over here?”  he asked, and she scrambled to think up something before he got suspicious, if he wasn’t already.

 

Finally, she looked up at him hopefully “Before, you said that you could tell I was thinking about becoming Defective. I…if I did decide to do that…could I--” she stammered, but again, he interrupted her. “Ah, and you so adamantly denied it before! Silly Mira, you shouldn’t lie to people!” he taunted, and she glared at him “I didn’t lie! I’m not going to leave! I’ve thought about it, but that’s not the same thing!” she argued, but he simply nodded “Mhmm, of course it’s not” he agreed sarcastically, and she sighed heatedly at him.

 

Aster then cleared his throat “I think you should. The facility isn’t a good place, you know…they’re even worse than us Defectives to tell the truth” he told her, and she shot him a disbelieving look. “No, I’m telling the truth!” he squabbled, grabbing his upper arm gingerly “Those guys are really bad news! I mean, their cause is good and everything, but…have you ever heard of a dictatorship? They had those when earth was younger, I guess. It’s a lot like one of those” he explained, and Mirelle brushed him off “I know what a dictatorship is! And we’re nothing like one!” she growled, and he gave a small smile that threw her off “You might not be, but they are. If you were like them, you would’ve killed us both already” he murmured, and her eyes widened at the comment.

 

“Are you done with my Memreader?” she asked suddenly “I’ll cover for you two this time, but if you cause any more trouble for us, then I’ll tell everyone where you’re hiding!” she threatened, and Zephyr held something out to her, dropping it into her open palm. “You can have the tracker. I assume you can make due with that, since you’re such a smart girl, Mira!” he crooned, and she glared at him, stuffing the tracker into her pocket and moved back to the door, shoving it open and stepping out in exasperation.

 

Jev stared at her for a moment “You look…upset.” He commented, and she nodded angrily, shoving the tiny tracking device at him “He was here earlier, it looks like, but he’s long gone by now. I found this in one of the drawers, so he must’ve wanted us to find this place…maybe if we come back another time he’ll be here” she informed him, and Jev nodded solemnly “We can do that. But for now, let’s head back to the facility and give the general our report” he replied, waving Roland and Brea over before the three headed back to where the FairRiders sat in wait.

 

Mirelle stayed back for a moment, turning to look at the camper once more, when the door opened a crack and Aster poked his head out “Thanks Mira! We owe you one, okay? See you around!” he whispered, and in panic, she waved him hurriedly back in the door “Yeah, sure. Go back inside Aster!” she told him, and he grinned as he obliged and shut the door once more.

 

She jogged over to where the others waited for her, when she felt a strange sensation at the back of her neck, though she ignored it to the best of her ability.

 

“Mirelle! You’ve been acting strange ever since you came outta that thing! What’s wrong?” Roland yelled over the engine and wind as they sped back to the facility, a look of concern in his deep brown eyes

 

Casting a glance at him over her shoulder, she gave him a tiny smile “I’m fine. Just a bit tired is all” she replied, and he raised his eyebrows at her doubtfully, but kept whatever he was thinking to himself, leaving the rest of the ride in a heavy silence.

 

Returning again to the facility, the quartet strolled down various hallways leading deeper and deeper into the imposing building, down to where the human military’s quarters were.

 

The first room in the area was of course, the general’s, and they hesitantly knocked on the door upon approaching.

 

“Enter!” the general barked, and Jev opened the door and stepped in with a salute. “Oh, you’re back. Has the Defective been taken care of?” he demanded from where he sat at his dinner table with a glass bottle of beer in one hand and a plate of food in front of him.

 

Jev shook his head “We have information on his whereabouts though. Now it’s just a matter of when to strike” he informed the general, who grinned. “And where might this be?” he inquired, taking a swig from his bottle before slamming it down on the table and standing up abruptly.

 

For a moment, Jev and the others watched the general as he grabbed his hat off its hook on the tan wall and pulled it onto his head. “It’s easier to show you, Sir” Jev responded simply, and lead the way back to a conference room, where the group sat down around a long table, while three Silfe explained what had happened earlier that day.

 

Mirelle sat with her hands in her lap, eyes cast downwards in trepidation while the scene was pieced together for the general, whose face became more and more pleased with each passing second.

 

“I’ll put together a squad, and we’ll head out in the morning. By the sound of it, there might be even more Defectives hiding out back there. We’ll take them all out in one fell swoop!” he exclaimed with a grin, slamming his fist down on the table and pulling Mirelle out of her reverie. She stood up as the others did, and exited the room “All right, Mirelle! You did well today, finding out where he’s hiding out and everything! Just be ready tomorrow, okay? Don’t want you to get hurt if something goes wrong…” Jev trailed off, placing a hand firmly on her shoulder with a proud smile.

 

It hurt her to smile back at him as if nothing was wrong, when all she really wanted to do was to throw herself into his arms and tell him everything, just as she’d always done.

 

But this was one thing she couldn’t share with even Jev, who had been her older brother since the two of them were created.

 

And it hurt.

 

So she gave a tight smile and nodded at him “I try my best” she replied tersely, and his face suddenly fell “Of course you do” he agreed, and thy started towards their rooms in an extremely tense silence.

 

Upon reaching her room, she opened the door and turned to say goodnight, and was taken by surprise when Jev grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her into her room, shutting the door swiftly behind them. “Wait, what’s wrong?” she inquired as he shed his jacket on her desk chair and crossed his arms at her sternly.

 

“No,” he returned “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange ever since you met that Zephyr kid. He didn’t do anything to you, did he? You know you can tell me anything Mirelle” he half pleaded, and she had to try hard to keep herself from breaking and telling him everything.

 

But she couldn’t so that, now could she?

 

She sank down onto her bed with a blank expression, and he quickly sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her “I promise I won’t tell anyone” he murmured soothingly, and for a moment, she almost believed him.

 

Slowly, she looked up at his ice colored eyes that one would be surprised to find could hold so much warmth, and shook her head “He didn’t do anything to me Jev, don’t worry” she told him, and the relief was visible on his face. “I have a question though” she prompted, and he smiled down at her “So shoot” he told her with a smile, unknowing that he probably wasn’t going to be smiling in a little while.

 

“I…you can’t be mad at me okay? Umm, alright, so…if…if I were to become a Defective…would you still…would you still kill me too?” she stammered, her face red with determination.

 

Jev, on the other hand, leaned away from her with an incredulous expression “Why do you ask?” he replied suspiciously, but she wouldn’t answer him “Just tell me” she whispered instead, her fists clenched in her lap. “If you were to become a Defective, huh? Maybe I would…I mean, if you were to become a Defective, wouldn’t that mean that you don’t care about us enough to stay a Silfe?” he replied, turning the questions on her this time.

 

Taken aback by his comment, her eyes locked with his “Of course not! You’re not helping me at all!” she exclaimed, pushing herself off of the bed and pulling her deep red tank top over her head with a glare, turning her back to him as she moved towards her dresser to pull out a sleep shirt “I’m not helping you with what? You aren’t seriously thinking about this, are you? Mirelle!” he demanded, looking up at her agile frame with an intense fire in his eyes.

 

A harsh gasp escaped Jev’s lips as his eyes met with the back of Mirelle’s neck, and she whipped around immediately when he grabbed for her “Hey! What’s wrong with you?” she cried, but he waved her off, holding her so he could stare at her back in disbelief “Jev…? What’s wrong?” she pleaded, her voice coated in an almost heart wrenching desperateness “Jev?” she tried again, but wouldn’t get any reply.

 

Finally, he pulled his hand away from her and shook his head, grumbling something to himself seriously “We can fix it. We can still fix it.” He repeated again and again, only adding to Mirelle’s building nerves.

 

Suddenly, he looked up at her “You have a Defective’s mark on your neck. It’s really small though, so maybe I can fix it…and if it’s only that big, it should be easy enough to hide, right? I think I’m gonna sleep in here tonight, is that okay?” he asked, pacing around the room in a panicked fashion, before taking note of Mirelle’s expression from across the room, and moving swiftly to her side.

 

“I didn’t want this.” She murmured in despair, allowing Jev to steer her towards the bed, where she lay down with her head in his lap, her mind racing furiously as he ran his fingers stiffly through her long hair, until she finally drifted into a restless sleep.

Author's Note

Long chapter is long. Anyways, yeah; I really like how this story is working itself out in my head. The characters and the plot are starting to come to me in big chunks, and I'm thinking that I'm on quite a roll with my writing lately! Reviews would be a big help for me if you have time!