The golden trio

Trio made their way towards the main office where the higher ups were waiting for them. As they were going, many soldiers stopped at their tracks to look at them. Most of them rejoiced when they realized that Zia had finally returned. Zia was their role model, mainly because she was the one who had the guts to break the rules all the time. "Zia!" exclaimed Adam, who was just a few feet away but still came running. He halted just a few inches away from her, he looked at her strangely, starting from her shoes till her head. "You have changed a lot!" then proceeded to hug her. Josh and Avery did saw the change in her but rather then concerning about her physical well being they were more concerned about her mental well being; they noticed the change in her attitude or overall personality as soon she gave them that smile. It wasn't one of those happy smiles when you see your friends but rather the smile that was full of darkness and evil, but they knew that it was still their friend. Meanwhile Zia didn't bother to push away James when he jumped on her, first reason was that she was way to tired and second was that she didn't mind James as he always protected her one way or the other, in short he was like a elder brother. James finally released, "you came back safely, Papa is so proud" then removed his invisible tears from his eyes with his finger. Josh and Avery started laughing "Now. Now Zia is tired and as well are we, and we still need to..." before Josh could finish several more soldiers surrounded them. Most of them knew who they were but those newly recruited just stood in the crowd curiously peeking through the gaps. "Zia you are finally back!" "Zia you look taller", "OMG the Golden Trio is back" someone exclaimed in the back of the crowd. Yes, they were called the golden trio, mainly because of their mischievous but also because of their family backgrounds and their own personal achievements. Zia came from a family where her father was one of the top designers in the country while her mother was a lawyer. Josh came from the family of reputable doctors and Avery came from a military family. They collectively and personally had achieved a lot since they had been enlisted in the army. "Zia how was the mission?!" an anonymous person said from the crowd. The atmosphere suddenly chilled, everyone instinctively flinched. The deadly aura was coming off from Zia, Josh and Avery understood this was a sensitive topic. "10 laps around the campus NOW!" Avery said in authoritative voice. Yes, she was careless and friendly but not when it comes to protect someone close to her. Everyone scurried away quickly started to run before there were any more punishment. The golden trio was as friendly as frightening. The trio made their way inside the office. "Good to see you back!". Chief marshal stood up from his seat and patted her head. Chief marshal was like a second father to her, who looked after her since she enlisted in the army. He noticed the change in her eyes; her eyes were mysteriously dark and empty; there were no motion in them.

He remembered the day he found her sitting next to her father's body. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and that's when she woke up from her trance and looked up to him. Tears were still pouring from her eyes. He knelt beside her and then pulled her face away from her father's body, which was white as a piece of paper. She sobbed silent on his chest. "I didn't get to say goodbye... They just vanished away" she was muttering. Everything around was chaotic; ambulances, helicopters, soldiers were all running around trying to find if anyone was left alive. Her friends came shortly after and took her away, while he stayed there with his dead friend. He didn't know what happened and how did Zia get there. She was on mission 2 years ago when she mysteriously disappeared and now, they found her sitting beside her father. Zia disappeared again after that incident, this time because she wasn't mentally stable and wanted much needed rest.

"chief" Zia gave a slight bow. That woke him from the dreadful memory. "how are you?" he asked concerned in his voice. Zia knew that they all pitied her but that's not what she wanted; she was strong on her own, she didn't need anybody's sympathy or pity. "I am fine, thank you for asking" she replied formally. Everyone there was shocked at her formal tone because Zia before respected him, but she behaved more like gangster or a child who was a poppet. Chief himself was shocked as he was eager for her to mess around as soon as she came back, but he knew she had changed when she came back from the mission. He tried to investigate what happened to her during the mission or how her parents died but still the investigation hasn't reached a conclusion. He sighted "You all should rest as you had a long journey, we'll talk later". Zia bowed to other higher ups there and then went back to her room with her friends.

"It's going to be so much fun now that you are back" Avery tried to lighten the mood when they were in Zia's room because they decided to drop her off first. "Yes, it is" a glint passes through Zia's eyes which both failed to notice.