Rouge

by Isabella Modra

  “Yeah… my Uncle suffered third degree burns once. He’s a chef, cooks for-” Jack caught Hunter’s glare – the same glare she gave him last night in the library – and nodded. “Right, go away Jack. I get it.”

  As he turned, Hunter let out a frustrated sigh. “Wait, Jack!”

  He stopped. She had no idea what to say to him. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and his posture was sagging, but he still looked at her as if she were an angel that had come down from heaven on a pillar of glowing white clouds.

  Biting her lip, Hunter took his arm and led him through the throng of people towards a door at the end of the corridor. It led to an empty classroom, and so she shoved him inside and closed the door.

  “Look Jack,” she began, trying to keep her tone from shaking. “I know you saw me go into the lab last night, and I know you must think it’s impossible that I survived, but just let me explain.”

  Jack was watching her, his deep brown eyes waiting, stern and serious. How the hell am I going to explain this? Hunter hadn’t decided to tell him the truth yet. For a long time she simply stared at him with her mouth open. When she finally made to speak, he held up a hand to silence her.

  “Hunter... whatever it is that you’re about to say feels kind of rushed. So you really need to think about what you want to tell me, and what you want to keep to yourself before you blurt it out. Wait until you’re ready.”

  She shut her mouth with a snap and looked at Jack in complete surprise.

  He nodded, satisfied. “I’ll see you later,” he said, patting her on the shoulder and slumping away. There was a hint of a smile on his lips before he was swallowed by the morning crowd outside.

  Hunter spent the rest of the day walking from class to class, speaking to people only when they asked about the fire, and forever searching for Eli. She knew it was wrong to be around him, but she couldn’t keep away. Like an addict, Hunter’s thoughts were always on him and all the shit she’d put him through. It wasn’t fair, and she owed him an explanation.

  But neither he nor Jack were seen at all. She was in a particularly sulky mood when the day ended, and she dreaded going home to face Joshua. But it would seem completely rude to rock up at Eli’s house again and demand comfort. Since she had nowhere else to go, she decided to visit a friend who deserved an explanation more than anyone else.

  This hospital smells strange. That was Hunter’s only thought as she eased through the sliding doors into the lobby of the New York Downtown Hospital. With its low roof, gift shop and reception desk brimming with people, the atmosphere wasn’t as dull and depressing as she expected. Everything was cluttered, yet somehow exceptionally neat. Having never had to stay in the hospital – or visit for that matter – Hunter had no idea where to go. She asked the receptionist to point the way and walked cautiously, taking in every detail to ensure she didn’t miss the signs.

  As Hunter moved through the recovery ward, she wondered what she might say to her teacher. The last time they spoke, Hunter had lied straight to her face, completely denying she knew anything about the special drug that gave her powers. She remembered the look of hidden anticipation evaporate completely from her teachers face and bit her lip. What would Miss Smart say to her? Did she remember anything about the fire? Hunter approached the room in which she was told her teacher rested and paused for just a moment. It was highly unlikely that Miss Smart was even conscious when Hunter had called out to her and carried her through the burning lab. But intuition was obviously one of her traits, and she already had suspicions. Does she know it was me?

  Room 219 was empty but for a bed by the window in which lay her teacher, wrapped in tight bandages and smelling like strong herbal salves. Her eyes were closed, a drip running from her arm to the IV monitor. A lot of her hair had been shaved and her lips and the skin under her eyes were a dark purple. Hunter crept to the chair beside the bed, smiling at the vase of red roses and ‘Get Well’ cards. From her family, she guessed.

  Miss Smart’s eyes fluttered open and her head turned to the side.

  “Hunter,” she mumbled, smiling. “What a nice surprise.”

  “Hi Miss Smart. How are you?”

  “I’m doing fine.” She wriggled slightly so as to adjust her head on the pillow and fixed Hunter with a look that told her she was anything but fine, however well she tried to hide it. “Thank you.”

  “I thought I owed it to you to visit. You are, after all, my favorite teacher.”

  Miss Smart smiled, and even though it was very small, it still spread through to her eyes. “I’m very flattered. How are things at school?”

  Hunter dove easily into a conversation - or a monologue to be more precise - in which she recounted the events of her school day. Miss Smart was surprised to hear that classes still resumed, and amused at Hunter’s impression of a hysterical Clare Holloway. She explained that both she, Clare and Jack were involved in the rescue.

  “Yeah,” Miss Smart muttered. Her voice was hoarse and empty and every word came out pained. It broke Hunter’s heart. “I’m... rather glad you’re… here to tell me… yourself.”

  “Do you remember anything about what happened?” Hunter asked, hoping Miss Smart saw the anxiousness in her expression as fear for her teacher’s health and not fear that her secret was in danger.

  Miss Smart frowned. “No... not much. I was… working on a new solution for class... I don’t even remember what I did. But… I do remember it going terribly wrong. I was thrown back by the explosion. I hit my head… when I woke up there was fire all around me. I couldn’t breathe.”

  Hunter recalled the lab ablaze with angry golden flames, fearing Miss Smart was already dead. It was the strangest feeling, walking through a burning room with fire encasing her and not feeling a thing. It was as if Hunter were a ghost, her spirit untouched by the flames. She shivered at the memory. It had been horrifying, if only for a moment. After that, Hunter was able to concentrate on finding her teacher and getting the hell out of there.

  “So you don’t know how you got out?” she tried.

  Miss Smart’s eyes met Hunter’s and for the first time since class the previous day, Hunter saw that same glimmer of wonder.

  “Hunter,” she whispered. “I can’t block out the… painful memories of that fire. I remember burning and coughing so much my lungs felt like a punching bag... but there is one image I see clearer than all of it… and it doesn’t make any sense.”

  Hunter was almost afraid to ask. Her heart pounded, the fire burning in anticipation. “What’s that?”

  “I remember seeing red hair. I remember your voice… calling out to me. I saw a figure jump over my desk and felt arms go around me, lifting me out of the fire, carrying me to safety. I remember… being able to breathe again.” Her eyes blazed as they regarded Hunter as though she were an angel sent from God. “I sat here after waking up in recovery in the middle of the night, telling myself I was crazy, that it couldn’t have been you… and that it was a figment of my imagination. But after I heard that you were involved with the fire... I just knew.” Miss Smart broke into a severe coughing fit. Hunter winced at the terrible sound. “I knew it was you,” she croaked. “You saved my life Hunter.”

  Those simple words echoed in Hunter’s mind as though she were suddenly in a dark hole and the sounds were ricocheting back to her, over and over. With her heart beating fast, Hunter looked away from the striking eyes of her teacher, but the image was still plastered in her mind. Miss Smart looked at her in a way no one ever had. With hope, with the possibility of salvation as if she were some sort of… hero.

  There was no point in pretending that Miss Smart was crazy or delirious from the pain and the smoke she inhaled, because Hunter didn’t think she could lie to her teacher again. Besides, the look in Miss Smart’s deep brown eyes mirrored Jack’s that morning; full of admiration and wonder. As much as she hated to admit it, it made her feel special. Like her powers weren’t a burden or evil or the reason she had killed. Like they mea
nt something.

  So Hunter reached over to the bed and gently grasped Miss Smart’s hand. The bandages itched under her fingers. It was with a thumping heart and a shaky voice that she said, “you’re right, Miss Smart. It was me who pulled you out of the fire.”

  – PART 4 –

  PROMISES

  twenty- five

  Joshua was making dinner when Hunter entered the apartment that night. She smelled chicken parmigiana - one of her favorite dishes - and the television was playing in the background. Hunter expected the apartment to be cold and prepared for more awkwardness with Joshua. She’d even thought about moving out on the way home. But something about the atmosphere seemed different tonight, as if the tension had lifted.

  “You’re just in time for dinner,” he said without looking up from the frying pan where the chicken was cooking.

  She walked cautiously into the kitchen, dropping her school bag by the counter top. “You’re cooking dinner for me?”

  “Why not?” he shrugged.

  “Because you suck at cooking.”

  Joshua snickered. “I’m not allowed to try?”

  “Please don’t play this game Joshua. If you’re angry, don’t hide it.”

  “I’m not angry,” he said, and when his eyes met hers they weren’t so ice-cold. She blinked in surprise. “I’ve had the day to think about things, and I’ve realized that the way I’ve been treating you isn’t right. You’re going through hell Hunter, and all I’ve done is drive you into the ground with training, kept you from living a normal life and breathe down your neck about being who you are and showing your true colors.” He placed the spatula down and turned to the chopping board where vegetables lay ready to be tossed into a salad. “I only want to protect you Hunter. I need you to know that.”

  “I know Joshua,” she managed to say. Doesn’t mean you have to keep me locked in this damn apartment and stop me from using my powers. “You’ve just been really crazy lately, and it’s freaking me out.”

  Joshua glanced at her with a real smile on his face. “That’s what your mother used to say.”

  Hunter looked into Joshua’s calm eyes and found herself forgetting how he’d been acting these past few months. Sure, he tried to stop her from going to school and seeing Eli and drilled it into her head that she couldn’t use her powers or tell people about them, but things had changed. She had saved Miss Smart’s life. She, and possibly Jack, knew what Hunter could do. But so far, it wasn’t completely horrible. There were no Agents knocking on their door. Would Joshua understand? Would he go back to the psychotic Iceman he’d been in the beginning, or would this new, composed Joshua be forgiving?

  Hunter decided to try him. She’d lived with him her whole life. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, and nothing she couldn’t hide from him. She’d learned that the hard way.

  “Joshua there’s something you need to know about the fire,” she started guardedly.

  “What is it?”

  Shit this is hard. Beads of sweat were already forming on her hairline and upper lip. “Well… when I pulled Miss Smart out of the fire, I didn’t realize that she was actually conscious for most of it and... when I visited the hospital this afternoon, she ... knew. She remembered my voice and my face in the fire. She knows I pulled her out and she knows what I am. I couldn’t lie to her again.”

  “Again?” he asked in a hollow voice. The look of serenity in his eyes was slowly paling. They were clouding with ice again.

  This was a bad idea, the fire warned, but she couldn’t help the words that kept tumbling out of her mouth. “She’d been researching the Feucotetanus drug for a long time, and she recognized an equation in my assignment that I wrote by accident. It was the formula you showed me a few months ago back when we were looking at the theory of my powers. She put it all together. She’s very smart.” There was a great sizzling sound and Hunter peered around Joshua at the smoking the frying pan. “Joshua, the chicken?”

  He didn’t move. Hunter ran around him and turned off the stove, afraid to look at his eyes anymore. The temperature in the room was dropping.

  Finally he answered, his back to her and his hands clenching the end of the bench so hard that his knuckles stood out like white caps. “Does anyone else know?”

  “J-” His name caught in her throat, as if the fire silenced it. Joshua’s reaction wasn’t exactly surprising, but she’d hoped things would go the other way. She couldn’t go through more of the silent treatment from him after he found out she was sneaking to school. Madness would take over her. “Just Miss Smart.”

  He nodded and turned to face her very slowly. “I suppose you couldn’t help that. You saved her life, she should be grateful to you.”

  “Aren’t you... I dunno, worried she’ll tell or something?”

  Joshua grinned, but it was completely fake. “She won’t tell. She owes it to you.” He leaned over and took the pan with the slabs of black chicken. “Sorry about your dinner,” he said as he stuck the pan in the sink. “I guess I really can’t cook.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To the lab. Have a break from training and study Hunter, get some rest.” He walked mechanically to the apartment door, took his key card and disappeared seconds later.

  A sick feeling formed in her stomach, and it didn’t go away, even when she’d eaten, showered and fallen into a stiff sleep. Her dreams were disfigured images of Joshua chasing her with a frozen frying pan and a man leaning over her as she lay on one of the steel tables in the lab, whispering to her. Then she was encased in flames, peaceful and alone.

  When Hunter opened her locker the next morning in the busy corridor, a small piece of paper fell out. Feeling like she was experiencing the biggest cliché ever, Hunter grinned, scooped down and retrieved the note.

  ‘We need to talk. Meet me under the bleachers. I have PE. Mozart.’

  She wasn’t sure why she suddenly couldn’t wait to meet Eli. Last night she would have dreaded looking into his perfectly innocent face and seeing the reflection of herself in his square glasses, her red hair a dead giveaway of her true self. But suddenly... she needed it. Amid the chaos of her life, Eli was her peace.

  But they hadn’t spoken since the night she ran from his house. Was he still upset that she’d bailed without an explanation? Was he offended, hurt, maybe even a little peeved?

  He deserves your attention, said her subconscious. You owe him that much.

  She raced through the corridor just beginning to thin out. Usually her day began with physics, but since the accident with Miss Smart a substitute had taken over the lesson, and everyone knows substitutes don’t know shit about what the students have been learning in class, so it was basically a dud lesson. Hunter didn’t care either way as she sprinted through the gymnasium and came out onto the oval. Eli’s PE class was running circuits on the opposite side of the grassed area - clipped to perfection - and she squinted around the bleachers, searching for the blonde-haired boy, imagining him sitting on one of the benches waiting for her.

  Instead a soft hand closed around her mouth and her stomach and she was yanked backwards, under the bleachers, where the hands lifted her up and over a metal bar. They were sheltered from view under the slanting seats, invisible.

  Hunter ripped the hand away and turned to see Eli. His curly blonde hair was damp from sweat and his green eyes lit up like stop lights, a lopsided and beautifully dorky smile on his face.

  Without thinking, Hunter threw her arms around Eli and pressed her lips to his. He froze in shock, then relaxed into her touch, his mouth moving on hers, eager to be close to her. She didn’t feel the fire rage inside her, and maybe that was because the kiss was so unexpected that it didn’t have time to respond until she was knotting her fingers in his hair and he was gently tracing his hand down the very center of her back, the touch making her quake at the knees.

  They pulled away at exactly the same time and Eli gently twirled a stray lock of her red hair away from her eyes,
tucking it behind her ear.

  “God I’ve missed the color of your hair,” he whispered.

  Hunter laughed. “Eli, it’s been three days. I was away from you longer when I had laryngitis.”

  “I know,” he said, his eyes scanning her face as though fearing he would lose the clear image in his memory. “But it felt like months.”

  She wished she could explain everything that had happened to her in the past thirty-six hours. Even though her secret was slowly seeping out into the public, she still felt completely alone, as though she were hiking up a hill surrounded by people with a large sack of rocks and no one would help her lift it. Eli would happily carry the sack for me, she thought. But was it worth him getting hurt for it?

  Hunter put a hand to Eli’s cheek. “I’m so sorry for skipping out on you the other night Eli, I... there have been things in my life lately that are changing me. I can’t handle it, but I don’t want to burden anyone. And I know I said some things the other night-” she stared ashamedly at their shoes, “some of it was true and some of it not. But I want you to know that you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. No matter how horrible a person I am, I don’t want to lose you.”

  Eli’s whole body seemed to sigh in relief. He lifted her chin gently, a lock of curls hanging over his glasses. “Is that all? I thought maybe I’d done something to-”

  “Eli.” She brushed the curl away from his glasses and looked deep into the tortoise shell eyes. “You are the one good thing in my life at the moment. Nothing you do will ever change that.”

  His eyes lit up like glowing stars, and his arms wrapped around her again, tight as though he didn’t want to let her go. She wished he wouldn’t. His forehead pressed against hers. They were so close, she could feel his breath tickling her nose. His face was so full of love that her heart ached. How did she have someone so perfect in her life when she had done such terrible things in her past?