ECHO [Rewritten - NaNoWriMo '16]

Chapter 11: Too Sweet To Be Here

"I've noticed that," R ran a hand through her long, wavy hair. "It's concerning. I mean, with everything that we are going through, it would be nice to rely on someone here."

This stunned Echo into stillness. What R said was right; it was something that she herself had thought of quite often. Especially after the Test. But it was also not something Echo ever expected to find or experience while she was breathing. ALDAR was not a place for comfort, love, or peace. It was a place to train, to kill, and to become a weapon. Not to learn how to be human. Yet, it was the one thing that Echo longed to learn. How to be normal. Normal like one of the people that she tied to a chair. Who screamed when she dug nails into their bones, revealed their worst fear to them. One of the people who cried, actually cried in terror and agony. She wanted to be someone who would be missed when she took her last breath.

R watched her with steady eyes, as though reading every thought that was flashing through Echo's mind. It made her feel vulnerable. Echo snorted, slipping on the mask of confidence that she had learned to wear around Thorn. "If you wanted that life, why did you come here?"

"I didn't have a choice," R said quietly.

"You always have a choice," Echo snapped before slipping back under the blanket.

Silence met her words, and Echo shoved down the guilt of her words. As Paiute curled against the crook of her neck, she realized that the young girl didn't have a familiar.

7 July 2014

"Echo."

The blonde bit her lip to bite back her groan of frustration. R had been trying to talk to her since she had gotten back from her latest mission. But there had been no success. And for good reason. Echo was already uncomfortable around the girl, for reasons she didn't understand. And talking about her missions, which held details that she couldn't divulge, and what she could make others exceedingly uncomfortable. It was best just to be avoided.

So, in order to solve the problem, Echo ignored her roommate. But it was quite hard to do that when said roommate never left one alone. Echo found herself more often than not going to the gym to try and relieve her pent up frustration. Or she'd find a dark, momentarily abandoned room, and set up camp. Occasionally, she would get so desperate that she'd find Thorn and beg him to send her on a mission. And Echo never begged.

She tried to ignore the soft whisper of her name in the night. She thought about Eliza Fitzgerald. Her last mission, only forty-eight hours prior. The woman had been quite tough for a civilian, lasting longer than some seasoned agents. Echo closed her eyes as she walked through the scene; so realistic it was, she felt as though she were going through those moments again.

"Echo."

And crack. The illusion shattered. Just like that. With a sigh, Echo rolled over and opened one eye to see R sitting cross-legged on the bed, "What?"

"Do you mind if I talk to you?" R asked softly. Her familiar – Zeph, a small black bear – huffed in response.

"Yes," Echo snapped, "But you're already speaking to me, so what the hell do you want?"

"Why are you always so fucking cranky?" R snapped back, her blue eyes flashing.

"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" Echo retorted.

""No, but you're just so goddamn pleasant that I don't even want to have the conversation anymore," R replied.

"Oh, I am so sorry about that," Echo rolled her eyes, "Do you want me to go get a band aid for that? A Barbie band aid?"

Paiute had his back arched, his fur standing on end. Zeph kept his head on R's lap but was growling softly. R hissed, "No, I want you to fu – just listen to me without any judgments or that condescending tone that you have."

Echo looked at the ceiling and waved a hand in the air. "Well, go on then. Have your little conversation>"

"God, you are infuriating," R snapped before sighing and adopting her usual soft tone. "Do you remember what it was like before you came here?"

Echo sat up immediately and glared at the other girl, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Asking a question like that?"

"I just want to know," R looked so much younger than she really was. Her enormous, round eyes seemed to grow bigger as they glistened with restrained tears.

"It's a stupid question, one that can get you killed if the wrong person heard you," Echo flopped back onto her pillow. "But luckily for you, I'm not one of those people."

Silence.

"I try not to remember, but yes, I do." Echo sighed. "I had two sisters, one older and one younger than me. I don't really much of my parents, but I remember them with perfect clarity. We were playing one day, out in the streets. We were rebels and always played with the boys. We were exploring and we went further than we should have. Something was happening, I think a hostage situation. But next thing we knew, there were police everywhere and these loud popping sounds. We panicked and scattered, we were just children. But I got lost. Helplessly lost. I didn't know my address, or really where I lived. The school was across the street from where we lived so I had always been in a bubble. And I had gotten outside that bubble and had no idea what to do.

"I remember some men findings me. They gave me clothes, food, and a bed. I felt safe. Such a stupid thing. I woke up on a plane, and later found myself in Paris. I was drugged regularly; I believe they were going to sell me. That was when Thorn found me. You?"

"I lived in a fancy house, with beautiful dolls as parents. Everything was perfectly perfect. On the outside at least. My parents found constantly, my dad would beat my mother bloody. And when he was especially angry or drunk, he would turn on me. I ran away, and ran right into Claw." R shrugged. Echo winced.

They laid there in silence for a few minutes before R spoke again, "Do you miss them, your sisters?"
"Yeah."

"Do you remember their names?"

"Mm," Echo blinked and whispered, "Scarlet and Viola."

"Do you remember your name?"

"Yes."

"What was it?"

"Liane," Echo closed her eyes.

"It means 'daughter of the sun', right?" R asked gently.

"Yeah. What was yours?"

"Annie."

It meant prayer. Which was ironic. The entire thing was. Two girls with such innocent names were now trained killers.

"Would you mind if I asked you another question?" R asked quietly, her voice so low that Echo could've easily pretended she didn't hear it over the heater.

"No," Echo said warily.

"Just between us, can you call me Annie?"

This was a dangerous line that they were both treading. If anyone heard Echo calling R by her civilian name, she would end up dead in a matter of seconds. And that was just not something that Echo was interested in the slightest. But it was also a chance at something completely new, something that she would never again have a chance at experiencing. She inhaled deeply, holding it, and slowly exhaling. "Alright. And you can call me Liane."

"Goodnight, Liane," R said and it sent a spark straight through Echo.

"Goodnight, Annie," Echo said quietly. The girl smiled before curling next to Zeph. To herself, Echo said, "You're too sweet to be here."