Try Learn Destroy (Book One- Try)

THREE- An Ambush:

As Hawk and I pass through some sort of membrane, my eyes cloud and I cling to him in a way that resembles a baby gibbon holding onto it’s mother. When I connect my body with solid ground, I let go of Hawk and black out, not even considering where I am.

I can only see the darkness but can smell burning embers and taste a cloud of smoke. I hear the faint cracks of snapping ashen twigs. Fighting my heavy eyelids, I open my eyes. I see that Hawk is sat almost casually, cooking some sort of bird over an indoor fire. He looks almost at home here. I remember what Coach Trent told me once, “notice a weakness”, her words only intended for self-defensive purposes. I look for a weakness in Hawk, failing with misery, he’s just too comfortable! I gulp, he’s holding my PSPL! I walk toward him, narked that all of my emails could be on full display. Fortunately, he is merely watching the video that I took from my helmet camera of my gliding through the sky. I pause the clip just as I soar above the lake. Hawk peers over my shoulder and looks at the image.

“Who is that?” he asks, pointing to my face, refracted in the rippled water.

“That’s me.” I reply.

“No it’s not! That girl is smiling!” Hawk teases.

“It is!” I protest with a laugh, I wonder whether all Church Forbidders are like this, genuine and misunderstood, stereotyped, especially since if the rumours were true wouldn’t I be laying naked on a mattress, on a lake, dead. Obviously if that’s going to happen to me it will be done by someone who is more threatening than Hawk and potentially more physically intimidating. I shudder at the thought.

“It can’t be, you’re smiling.” He smirks. I feel my cheeks burn crimson as I peer at the shot, I am in fact smiling, I can see it in my reflection.

“It has to be Hawk; I am the only girl in town with that eye colour.” I point out matter of factly. He rolls his eyes at my comment, beginning to study the screen and each detail of the paused clip.

“Who is that?” I’m asked. Hawk is pointing to the warped face of Cyrus on the water. Aware that I will be shunned by society for leaving town with a violet haired boy, I feel a stab of searing pain pulse through my veins.

“Cyrus.” Is my reply. I try to think of something else to occupy my mind, instead of my memories questions arise.

“Who’s Cyrus?” Hawk asks.

“My best friend.” I sigh.

“Oh.” He replies. “I’m not too social.”  I nod; we have a lot in common.

“Hawk, have you ever had a person in your life that you are so close with that your synchronicity isn’t even planned. You can just communicate with facial expression and know every thought in their head with just the look in their eyes. Without them you are alone, lost almost. You don’t feel whole.” I ask. Hawk surprisingly nods, as if he knows exactly how I feel.

“Yes Darcy, I understand. I have two brothers; you met one of them in the shopping mall.” Hawk begins. I cut him off.

“How did you know about the shopping mall?” I demand.

“I had an earpiece in, you ran into my brother Raven, he was in all black clothing.” I blink, recalling my meeting with Raven.

“And you heard everything through the earpiece?” I ask.

“Whatever he heard I heard too.” Hawk confirms, I blush, recalling all of the insults that Sophia and her gang threw at me and Raven. “And I don’t think any of that rubbish that those girls said was true.” I turn redder, smiling.

“What about your other brother?” I ask.

“Oh that’s Harlem. He was a natural leader and can do almost everything that I can do but better.” Hawk replies, sounding slightly resentful toward his brother.