Ascendance

26

"Stop antagonizing him!" Heather shouted at the Founder. He looked at her, annoyed.

"He's going to end up killing you." I looked at him. "If you keep provoking him."

"It'll be considered self defense, we both know that." The founder looked annoyed that he even had to consider him human.

"So you're just provoking him into attacking you so you have a reason to capture him." Heather crossed her arms. The Founder looked at us like he wanted us to choke.

"This is not over." He then walks away. The Leader looks back at us.

"I can't believe you did that for me." He looks at us.

"I know the Founder is trying to get you back. I don't want you to go through the same thing again." I told him. We don't need another fight, I might not actually survive it.

"We can only stave him off for so long, he'll be back with fancy papers soon." Heather looks at us. She is clearly worried, twiddling her thumbs and bouncing her legs.

"I know. I'm trying to think of something." I responded back, rubbing my temples. I had to think of something to get him out of this. Two weeks ago, I would have happily turned him in and now I'm trying to protect him. Well, not really, I was trying to prevent something worse from happening to us.

The door opens to reveal Brendan and Kyra.

"Hey, Erika. Apparently, they want us all to meet at HQ." Kyra was holding her car keys in her hand.

I worried if this was the Founder's way of getting back at me for interfering in his plans.

"Fair enough. I'll catch up to you later, Heather." I wave her and the Leader goodbye.

We walk out of the room.

"It seems like you're interested in that girl and the Leader." Brendan looked at me. But judging from his tone, it was not a random comment.

"I'm just trying to make sure Heather doesn't get hurt." I replied. "I don't think it would be healthy for me to be romantically interested in the man that tried to kill me. Besides, I'm only interested in one person."

Brendan's face lit up. Kyra was pretending to be on her phone.

"Are you? I wonder who it could be." Brendan smiled, eyeing me.

"I'm looking right at him." I smile, brushing my hand against his.

"I'm glad you feel that way." He looks at me lovingly. I look back at him, smiling.

"I agree." Brendan walks closer to me.

"What do you think will happen with them?" I asked him. I'm assuming only certain people are allowed to know all the shit the Agency does or about this kind of thing in general.

"I have no idea." He shrugged. "Normally they wipe out the memory of humans who happen to find out about them which would mean that both you and Heather would have to get your memories wiped."

"Pardon me?" My eyes widened and my lips pursed.

"Well, they're having a meeting about that." Kyra says, looking up from her phone. "To decide what is going to happen to you guys. I think you should join us."

"You think so?" I asked her.

"I mean you're the one who defeated the Leader, not us. You also rescued your parents with our help. I think you would make a great addition to the team." An Agent to a mysterious organization that tries to protect humanity. That's a career path I certainly never had in mind for myself.

I don't think it would be bad. From the looks of it, they get paid pretty well and they're in great shape. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. I definitely don't want to get my memories erased. I wouldn't remember Brendan or Kyra or even meeting my own birth mother. The thought of that makes me want to hurl but I restrain myself.

I see someone walking down the hall. It's Karenina.

"Hey, Kara." Kyra waves at her.

"Hey, did you guys see the Founder?" Karenina looked at us. "He was angry. Like someone really ticked him off."

"Yeah, that might have been me." I sighed. Great, what did I just do?

"What did you do?" Kyra asked me.

"I told him off for trying to throw the Leader back into the lab." I sighed, shaking my head. What a fool I was for that one.

"Jesus Christ, Erika, you have to be careful with that man, he is one vengeful motherfucker." Kyra shook her head.

"I can tell. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to order for my memories to be erased." I sighed. God, I have really done it now.

"I wouldn't worry too much about him. I don't think he would want to disown the last scion to his line. Well, second to last." Karenina crossed her arms on her chest.

"So, Karenina?" I asked her.

"What's up, honey?" She asked me.

"How much do you know about my father?" I crossed my arms.

She looked down and sighed.

"He was a very kind man. I was not kind to him but I'm sure he would have loved to have you around." Karenina said in a sad voice. "He was also one of the most feared werewolf hunters back in the day, after you were born."

"Wow, that's pretty cool." I responded. "What was his name?"

"Ivan." She sighed. "Ivan Gutierrez."

"Hey, you guys are needed in the meeting area in HQ at 1 pm." What looked like the receptionist at the Agency hollered from across the hall.

"Thanks!" Karenina shouted. "Did you want to ride with me?" She looked at me. I nodded and we hopped into her car. She's got a kind of messy ride, with receipts and change stuck to the cup holder and some letters on the co-pilot seat floor. She turns around the radio, which seems to be country music, down some.

"I'm glad I got to meet you. Even if I forget you." I tell her. She looked heartbroken and grabbed my hand with her free one.

"Me too, honey. Me too."