40. Blur (3)

I knock at the door, before opening it. In my other hand I hold Love-bite by the handkerchief I had tied at her shoulder.

Feeling a little something in my head, I spread the door open… and right as I do: I see everything in front of me trying to fade.

I find Skott and Toni look at me and the person with me… Black-one doesn't seem to like the idea of a fourth person and starts barking.

"Black-one, relax," Toni says, still looking straight this way.

"Who's that?" Skott asks, while holding Black-one's leash.

I feel myself gasp, and try to keep conscious… no, I had to fight this. I couldn't just randomly be going through this… I had to have control.

Speaking of control… I hear a loud sound which makes me stay connected to reality, and Skott falls from tripping on the table, and Black-one runs this way.

"No, Black-" I say, and feel myself fall forward. I feel Love-bite still in my grasp, and fallen down too.

No… it wasn't me who tripped. Love-bite had lost all her energy, like me. So we both had fallen.

"Varon! No, Black-one! What-" Toni says.

I try to look and find Black-one having gotten upon Love-bite. With a shock I get up, as I see him push his entire body on her chest.

"Black-one, what are you…" I ask, as if he could even reply.

But with few more pushes, Love-bite gets up gasping and coughing.

"Who the fu-" Love-bite says, and coughs, "thought the dog CPR?"

"Did he just learn CPR all of a sudden? I knew he was a quick learner but…" Skott says.

Black-one hops to my side and starts licking my face.

"I'm fine, thank you," I say, pushing him away.

Black-one whines and puts the top of his head to my chest.

"I don't think I'll need that… whatever that was."

"Boy... I thought you were out to bite her. What is your deal?" Skott grabs Black-one and roughly rubs his body. "Good boy, good boy."

Black-one growls and Skott just lets him go, lifting his hands up.

"He has broken his paw," I blabber, looking at his lifted paw. "He must've used all his force."

"Yeah, I think my chest too is cracked a little," Love-bite inhales deeply. "But thank you, I suddenly felt like passing out and…"

Could it be that I felt her passing out and faded myself? I didn't have much of such effects but…

"I'm Skott. You can call me Dale, the next time. You seem hurt. Who are you?"

"I…" Love-bite says and looks at Toni, standing just in a distance.

"Toni."

"Varon," I say. "And his name is Black-one."

"Love," Love-bite says. "That's my name."

"You are quite hurt, Love. Neat! That sounds fantastic out loud. Gorgeous name. But you should be in a hospital, and not getting treated by a dog. Did you get her here so Black-one could treat her, Varon? Did-"

"-I didn't know, and no. She can't… be at a hospital. Let's keep it that way."

Skott nods. "I… am part of the military. I don't think I should be… ahh-ah."

Toni holds Skott's ears. "Go with it."

"Yeah alright, jerk, get off me," Skott pushes Toni away.

Toni still seems to be staring at Love… and she awkwardly looks back once in a while.

"She's hurt. Let's work on helping her, yeah?" I ask, and Toni looks at me, then back at Love, and nods.

"If she has broken ribs, we can't just have her by ourselves and hope to help her," Skott implies.

"So, what do you suggest?"

"I know someone… not part of the normal. They might be of help. Only if you're okay, Love."

Love looks at Skott, and then at me: making me flinch.

"Your call. I'm not sure what or who… but you can trust him."

"Then I shall," Love nods.

We silently wait, as a car arrives and the three leave together, bidding us bye.

"Where did you find her?" Toni asks, right as they are out of sight.

"Why are you suspicious of her?" I ask.

"Not wanting to go to a hospital and full of wounds-"

"-that's why…" I say, and Toni pauses. "She reminds me of a certain someone. So I had to help."

I just start walking, as she just stands there. She doesn't take long to come back running.

"Who?"

"Who comes back with wounds every night?"

"You?"

"Don't play dumb, Toni. Who else but you?"

Toni snorts. "You see me in her?"

I look at her expression and she doesn't seem pleased. "As a part."

"I have my reasons."

"And her reason is Fro," I blurt out.

Toni doesn't say a word, and I keep it that way.

We go by for a few days, and my dizziness doesn't really go down. Just a couple days and it feels like a way of life which was killing me.

"Thank you for coming," I say, randomly finding myself here... finally. "We sure have our differences, but I want you to hear me out for the sake of having come here, at my request. Somebody told me once that some heroes fly, some run, some teleport, etcetera, but… we all end up at one place… for good or bad."

"You saved us," one of them says… they were quite a bunch out of the ones I saved. "Me personally have nothing, and am already dead… might as well die for a better cause."

That makes my heart sink.

"Let's not want that," another one says, while staring at the sky. "Death isn't a pretty place to be."

"With people like Fro out there… where even is a pretty place?"

"Ugh, that arsehole."

"Fro," I say, getting their attention. "Which one of you knows Love-bite?"

I lift my hand: and more hands rise…

"Oh… all of you?"

"Quite the popular talk there."

"Has her tits out and all."

"Really? I thought she was a complete sadistic bi***."

"Only to guys actually."

"Well, she didn't go easy on me."

"Thought you were a guy."

"Can you guys…" I say, feeling a little frustrated… I see their expressions sink. "Sorry. I have this… well, we'll get to Love-bite. Any idea who Blur is?" I ask, and they don't seem to recognise the name. "Some kind of a voice-screaming lady. Flies too."

"Mosquito's babe."

"Yeah, no, according to what we have heard: anybody who has a fight with her would die."

"Well, I… didn't."

"You are way senior to us, you don't count, man."

"Right. Sorry. It is quite confusing to be seeing you talk and not knowing who you are…"

They all exchange glances and I see smirks light up on the lips which were visible to me.

"If you don't have a name," they say together. "We don't either. We are part of you."

I wish I could tell Antonia… the thing I wanted to feel from Rem, the thing I couldn't feel when with her… was right here. The opposite of losing my mind. Goodness and hope.

"Now putting the small talk to later… tell us."

"Love-bite is being seen as a traitor, by Fro. Quite a twist. I'll personally get to getting information on Fro and everything from Love-bite. But people like Blur are out there to haunt people: and find Love-bite. I can't stop everything by myself."

"Don't have to anymore."

"Shush, let him finish."

"Well, I'm almost done. I have put one of the heroes who was with you, on watching over Love-bite for now. You… should stroll the city at night. Make sure no one ends up in places which you were put into."

"What about Blur?"

"She's gone but… there might be more like her," I say and feel a little tension. "Be in pairs for now. And if you are up for it… we can start training, effective from tomorrow. Sound ok?"

"Depends… do we get to fight you, big shot?"

"For now… I'm the only one available. This is my second attempt on expansion. The first was a rejection."

"Well, I'm in, I'll be the first to agree then."

"Second."

"Third."

"Fourth."

…

"Eighteenth," I hear from the last of them.

"Nineteenth," I hear a familiar voice. "Sorry I'm late. Are we doing attendance?"

"Did you miss the 'secrecy with a suit' part, girl?"

"Oh no… I'm just me. No powers. I'm more of the… financer. What exactly is happening?" Antonia looks at me.

"Team building."

"Good. Somebody else can babysit Rahma."

"Ooh, babysit? Count me in."

"Only difference is she's no ordinary kid. Kind of a pain in the… head. But you're appointed, I'll remember you," Antonia pats on the guy's shoulder. "So… all of this?"

"Sorry."

"No… no one has so many heroes under them. No one. In the world."

"We should try asking help."

"I knew that someday you'd go on and do this… I've some contacts ready."

"Thank you."

"Where are we training by the way?" someone asks.

"Somewhere nice."

---

(Speed) Pack fact 7:-

A missed part of the story is how Rahma was one of the people Varon saved. She was sent back to her place, far away, like the others. But her parents were nowhere to be found. So Rahma keeps traveling around, with the help of the Arab hero organisation. Varon is given the responsibility for the most part… so Rahma became the reason for Pack and the Arab organisation to become partners. Which eventually became the reason for Einya King's brother, Nathaniel, to be able to join the Arab organisation over Pack.

See you next chapter!