Frank:

I don’t know how long I was out for, but all I know is it wasn’t nearly long enough. I woke to the sound of my front door banging shut. Groaning, I turned over in my bed to face whoever my unexpected guest was, barely pulling together enough strength. My lava lamp provided enough light for me to make out the sharp bone structure and bleached hair that was Jared.

“Wake up, you lazy fucker.”

I buried my head in my pillow, mumbling incoherent curses to no one in particular, before I felt myself being roughly grabbed my the scruff of my shirt and dropped to the ground.

“Get dressed, we haven’t got time for these games.”

“Jared, I need time to regain power.” I pleaded, “I used up way more than I intended on using last night.”

“Not my problem. You’re in this Legion, you don’t have a choice, you have to do what you promised to do.”

“Please, be cool for once and let me off for tonight. I can barely stand up.”

The second the words slipped my mouth, I knew I had crossed an unspoken line. Jared’s eyes glowed blue and I prepared myself for what I knew was coming next.

I was lifted from the ground, and floated there for a second or two before I felt and incomprehensible pain begin to pulse through my veins. My healing powers could do nothing to stop this, at least not when he was this close to me. It felt like it lasted for hours, but I suppose it lasted for a few seconds, ten maximum. Eventually, it stopped, and I dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

“You know the rules by this stage Frank. Do as I say, or you will be eliminated.”

I nodded, clutching my stomach to try and get rid of the pain that still lingered, to no avail.

“Good. Be ready in five minutes.”

He strode to the door and stepped out, slamming it after him. I knew five minutes with Jared meant 300 seconds exactly, so I stood up and flicked on the light.

The floor where I was standing was dry.

Good, I thought, at least I didn’t wet myself this time.

***

Approximately 254 seconds later, I stepped out of my house to meet a small group of about five people waiting for me.

“So, what are we doing today?” I asked, trying to sound as cheerful as I could muster.

“Delayed awakening.” one said, “The doctors are injecting her in an hour and you are going to be the interrogator.”

My heart missed a beat in my chest. Did I hear correct? I was being instigated today? It took all of my willpower not to start jumping up and down and clapping my hands. I had waited nearly 4 years for this day.

“Cool.” I said, nonchalantly. I didn’t want to sound too immature in case they changed their minds.

“Let’s start on her background.” said Jared. “Sarah Markmond of Belleville. We hadn’t been observing her, we didn’t even know she had the Gift until I found her in a park in 1953, age 16, half dead. I don’t know how she survived that long, but I’m guessing she’s just late for everything because she was scheduled to wake up two years ago but she didn’t. We’re giving you this one, Frank, because according to our records, she knew you, and it will be a comfort to her if she sees a familiar face.”

I nodded, taking it all in. I didn’t know a Sarah Markmond, but I was going to try my best.

We got into a familiar black Audi van and made our way to the storing compound in a suburban part of New Jersey. It wasn’t exactly my idea of an enjoyable day, it tended to creep me out, but I knew I had to. Walking through rooms and rooms of unconscious teenagers isn’t exactly my favourite pastime.

Luckily, today, I was led straight to the “wakening room,” as they called it. I stood behind a sheet of one way glass as I watched them inject the girl with a clear serum. At first, there was no response. Then she began to twitch, and her eyes opened. I was too far away to see much, but I could almost taste the fear that I knew was pulsing through her veins at that exact moment. She tried to jerk up, but was held down by metal restraints that hadn‘t been there in my day.

She struggled visibly against the cuffs, trying desperately to break free. I felt so sorry for her then. If only she knew the world that awaited her, being drop-kicked into a crazy futuristic life is not easy in the slightest. I felt a little better knowing that at least she would have someone to guide her, because I planned on sticking by her.

She eventually stopped when Jared gave her the first taste of his power. After that she did exactly what he told her to do, turning her back to me and pulling on the clothes, even the hoodie. She followed Jared out of the room and into the streets of Jersey. We, as in myself and the 5 others, left through a back door and watched the black Audi drive away. It did a circle of the block and stopped again, to let me in. I jumped in the open door, and took a seat beside Jared.

I raised my eyes from the floor to be met with the biggest shock of my life. Sitting beside Sarah, was a face I never expected to see again.

“Anthony?” said Charlie breathlessly.

“I didn’t believe him… when he said you were here… they… they found a body, Ant…”

I immediately silenced her by almost jumping on top of her in a hug. She was the one thing I missed from my past, I mean, I missed my parents too, but what I really needed in this new world was a true friend.

“Hold up. They found a body?” I asked.

“They said… they said you were murdered. Raped by a man and thrown into a cement pit. They found a body Ant, I was the one who told them it was you. I mean, they were your clothes.”

“Well I’m sure as hell not!” I choked, “I’ve missed you so much!”

I hugged her again, and we just sat there giggling like we used to do in old times until Jared coughed, signalling he wanted attention.

“We’re not here for a reunion Frank. Now get over here and do your job before I fail your assignment.”

I regretfully stood up and sat opposite her, but a smile never left my face. Jared left the van, and I began to explain the whole Legion thing to Sarah. I tried to keep it short, and dropped her off at her new apartment, promising her I’d be back to check up on her.

Once her door was closed, I sprinted back to the van and slipped my arm around Charlie’s waist. I gushed to her about how I’d missed her so much and how I didn’t know how I’d survived without her. She babbled almost as much to me, wondering how the hell she had become part of the Legion and been at the same school as me without noticing me.

And that’s when it hit me; this was my Charlie, not a middle-aged one.

“What?” I squealed. “What can you do? Show me!”

“Nothing major,” she giggled, “heat.”

I felt a spot on my arm begin to warm up until it became almost unbearable, then it stopped, just like that.

“Oh, and…”

Then, she vanished.

“…invisibility.” she whispered, and I felt her warm breath on my neck.

She soon popped back into view, though and we made small talk until we reached my apartment. The van dropped us there and drove off to God knows where.

I invited her in and she made herself right at home, plonking down into my lap once I sat down, and plonking a kiss onto my lips. Seriously, I thought, what is it with people and kissing me recently?

I had to stop her and gently explain to her that I was gay. To say she was deflated after was the understatement of the century, but something in her eyes told me she’d guessed it.

She told me all about my “death” and how some poor guy got put in jail for life because of it. My father died just five hours after I was taken, my mother only days before she was taken. It kind of shocked me to find that out, because I was pretty sure they were still alive somewhere in Jersey. Her new name was Alicia, but she had kept her old surname of Simmons.

And I told her all about my life in Monroeville. But most of all, I explained to her about Gerard. I hadn’t been able to get our kiss out of my mind since it had happened, and even before that, I had found him totally enthralling when we had been paired together in English class. She told me that Mikey, the kid who’s house I slept over at, was actually Gerard’s brother. She was kind of dating Mikey, but she told me she was planning on breaking off whatever they had going because the Legion was against it, and that something had happened last night that was the perfect excuse for a break up.

“I gave him the whole lesbian speech, and the poor dude got so flustered he tripped over his tongue and called me all kinds of shit. It would have been pretty funny, had it not been so heartbreaking. I really liked the guy, Ant… I mean Frank.”

I was about to tell her to go for it, but then I remembered what Jared had said about not telling anyone about the second golden rule. Also, from my memories, Alicia couldn’t keep a secret for the life of her.

We basically bitched about the Legion for the whole night, and had a quite unnerving conversation about who were the hottest boys in our school. She said she’d stay the night, and so we settled into a cuddle on my sofa and fell asleep watching black and white reruns at three o’clock in the morning.

Notes

Title credit: All I Wanted - Paramore