ECHO [Rewritten - NaNoWriMo '16]

Chapter 9: Howl

14 March 2016

Phoenix, Arizona

Wren

Echo had "borrowed" a car, a Honda Civic, and they were heading down the 51. There were little to no cars. Echo had the windows rolled down, the wind harsh against my face. I cast a glance sideways at her. Paiute had taken to being curled up in my lap. I didn't know if he liked to be pet, after all he wasn't a regular cat, so I kept my hands at my sides.

Suddenly I blurted out, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Echo asked innocently, switching lanes.

"Don't play stupid," I said sharply, annoyed with her for avoiding the question and at myself for asking the question.

Echo shrugged. "I don't know. I just do."

"Don't the screams bother you?" I asked.

Echo hesitated, genuinely thinking about it. "Their screams don't affect me, at least not in the way that they affect you. When I hear someone screaming, I measure the pain in that scream and scale it. If it's a ten, I know I need to push just one notch harder and they will shatter."

"What drives you?" I asked.

"What drives you?" Echo countered.

I stared at her for a moment before running a hand through my hair and saying, "I guess its anger. I joined the task force because I wanted to do some good. I wanted to be able to find justice and protect the innocent. But as time went on, I learned there were so many restrictions that barred me from doing anymore than saying sorry to the families of the victims. And then when my sister disappeared..." I paused for a moment. "It all became just a habit. Going to work. Like it was an average desk job. I knew that the Chief wouldn't let me look into her disappearance, so I kept her in secret. Kept it close to my chest and hidden from everyone else, hoping that one day I would be able to look for her. By teaming up with you, I not only have a chance to actually do something, but also find out what happened to Pria."

Echo nodded, "Anger is what drives me as well. Pure, concentrated anger. At first it was just anger towards people. People who I tortured because I was frustrated with how everyone was so weak and just seemed to crumble when I broke two fingers. And then I got angry as – as things changed. I began to see that ALDAR was corrupt; no agent had a mind of his or her own. And those who got thoughts of their own were eliminated."

"If you had thoughts of your own, why didn't they eliminate you?" I asked.

"They need me. They need at least one Interrogator because we can get more information for them than any other agent. And they tried to eliminate me. They had one other person who nearly finished training and tried to take my place. It didn't end well for them," Echo smiled, though it was more of a snarl.

Despite the aggression on her face, I couldn't help but wonder what other future might have beheld her. She had the blonde hair, the blue eyes, the bone structure, and even the body that anyone would find attractive. At least respect it. She could be the girl next door; she could be a Hollywood starlet. Simply by her looks alone. Yet, she had grown up covered in blood, and surrounded by the screams of people she stole secrets from.

"The claw marks on your side...what are they from?" I asked.

It was like a door slamming shut, so hard that I could almost hear it. Echo's face became blank, her voice sharp, "We're almost there."