Inciting Events

Chapter 6

Brynleigh Pasternack

Brynleigh Pasternack walked the length of her bedroom. It was 2:00 PM. on a Monday, and she was still questioning what she saw on that Reddit site. She had tried to busy herself as much as possible so as not to let her mind wander at it, but eventually, she ran out of made-up tasks to do.

So she paced her room and wondered what her next course of action should be. She knew that she had to find him, but how would she do that? It wasn’t exactly like she knew where he lived now. She asked herself for just a second if she should go talk to his old family, but she doubted he was there and didn't want to bring up sore memories for them.

Brynleighs thoughts were interrupted by someone walking in her door. She had never seen him before, but he had a Helt uniform on, meaning that he had to be here to tell her something important. She felt her throat close up when she remembered that not that long ago, she had broken into Helt’s top secret database to search for things about the boy. Trying not to be fearful, she straightened her back and readied herself for whatever punishment may come her way.

“Braineigh, you have been chosen for a mission. Please follow me for more details.” The man promptly walked out of the room, and Brynleigh scrambled to follow him.

It wasn’t that long of a walk to the information, but Brynleigh sure did use that time to ask some questions. “Where is the mission?” “Is anyone going with me?” “Does it have to do with a missing person?” “Are we breaking in somewhere?” She knew she wasn’t getting any answers until they got to the room, but a girl could always try.

“Braineigh, before we enter this room, I have been ordered to tell you that you must put on your suit. There is a bathroom with a spare of yours over there.” He pointed to a door. How had she been there ten years and never realized that was a bathroom? Still, she pushed the door open and saw her suit neatly folded on the counter. She made sure to have a quick time putting it on.

She was not sure why exactly she had to wear this to get information on her mission. Everyone at Helt knew everyone’s identities. So what was the need for the mask and everything? Despite those questions, she hurried out of the bathroom in her suit and into the room, hoping that this would be okay.

The room was the same as Brynleigh remembered it from past missions. There was a round table with tons of chairs around it and a screen at the front of the room. Everything was in dark colors. Across the room, she saw a boy sitting in one of the chairs. He rose when he noticed that she had entered the room and walked over to her.

He was maybe an inch or two taller than her, had dark brown hair and eyes. He was wearing the normal completely black starting Helt uniform, which meant that he hadn’t gotten a customized suit yet. She quickly decided that he was a new hero and knew why she had to wear her suit to meet him.

When you first join Helt, you’re given two options. Option one, having your identity kept completely secret. This means that not even any of the other people at Helt will know you by anything more than your hero name, but you also can’t know their identities. You’ll also be allowed to continue to live with your family, as long as you don’t tell them anything, but you will also have to lead a double life. Option two, your identity is not kept a complete secret, meaning everyone at Helt will know who you used to be, and you will know who they used to be. However, you can’t ever see your old family or friends ever again, and you must live full time at Helt.

Brynleigh had chosen option two when she was seven. She didn’t actually know what it meant. She thought it would be akin to living in a boarding school but with more action. You stay there most of the time but have phone calls and go home for holidays and stuff, but that was not how it worked. She still felt guilty about leaving her family behind.