Hindered Hope

Chapter 1

The descent was slow, but it was happening.

A young soldier across the bay of the jet caught Zane's eye and held it. He nodded once, and Zane's mind lifted slightly. It gave him hope that he could be appreciated for himself. And more and more people were starting to do so. But none were as influential as Joseph had been.

The mission commander, Felicity, walked out from the cockpit, her face all business. She was also dressed in the Forthrite mission uniform, black tactical gear with red stripes in abundance across the sleeves, legs, and torso. A blood-red insignia upon her shoulder, upon all of their shoulders, depicted a broken chain link, representative of their missions to burst open New Vancouver and free everyone within the steel walls.

She placed her hands on her hips, and all the soldiers turned to face her, including Zane. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun and a helmet with the same chain insignia was propped between her elbow and her stomach. Her broad shoulders and wide stature were very intimidating, and the scowl on her face seemed never to leave. "We'll be beginning our descent in a moment or two," she said, her voice holding authority. "Prepare to move out and search the city."

They all nodded and Zane twisted the sleeve of his uniform again, nervous. This was Forthrite's seventh reconnaissance mission into Japan, and Zane had hijacked five already. He shouldn't be nervous.

The missions usually consisted of a short survey of the city and then an interrogation of a couple of the locals to see if they knew anything. Zane never stuck around long enough for any of that. His only objective was finding Joseph, and he was prepared to do whatever it took.

He wished his friends were here with him. However much he credited Joseph with keeping him sane, they had a huge influence on his sanity. Daisy kept him grounded and found all his flaws and strengths. Mallory showed him rebellion amped to the max. Marcus taught him to remember and embrace his past. Jonas helped him remember the absolute terror New Vancouver caused over and over, because of Wawrzynski. And Anastasia taught him that no matter how lonely you feel, you can always find somebody to support you.

But sadly, his friends did not support him sneaking onto these reconnaissance missions. They preferred to stick behind and follow Dmitri's orders.

But Zane had bad experiences with following orders.

So he rebelled.

It was his way of coping and Dmitri knew that. That was why he pretended not to notice Zane slipping into the soldier's uniform or marching onto the jet. He was thankful for that.

The nose of the plane dipped and conversation started up again, theories of what the Japanese village below was like, wishes of what information the citizens might possibly have, bets on how long the mission took. Zane closed his eyes and focused on the words around him, letting them blend together and become white noise, which he used to calm himself. It was a method Daisy had suggested to him. He thought he knew her, but that girl was full of surprises.

The sounds mixed together inside his brain, the exact opposite of when he used his unnatural power and dissolved his body. He hadn't used the forced-upon power since the battle in London, but he remembered the intense swell of sounds, sights, feelings, scents. It was as if every single cell in his body had the capacity to sense a multitude of things he was never aware of before.

He lost track of time, and the familiar screech of the jet wheels upon the ground startled him from his meditative daze. He adjusted the belt on his waist, and felt the smooth surface of the pistol he carried with him. Ever since he and his friends had escaped Wawrzynski's facility months ago, the weapon had barely left his side. His hand also dropped lower to feel the syringe inside his pocket.