The Sixth Line of Defense

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The Sixth Line of Defense

Book One of the Forgotten Children Series

By Shiva Winters

Copyright 2012 Shiva Winters

Smashwords Edition

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter One: Cloudy Skies

It was a fairly typical classroom, at a fairly typical high school, and it was fairly typical day at a place that could be considered to be a common every day sight. Set in the middle of the dense urban tangle of buildings, store fronts, and slums. It was not a very nice neighborhood, filled with gangs, prostitutes, drug dealers, junkies and users. Ninety-nine percent of the homes, apartments, and buildings had once been or soon would be the scene of a crime, murder, robbery, or sexual assault. It was the heart of a culture of self destruction, violence, and death, and it was fully and completely reflected in the high school and the young adults that had grown up in those very same neighborhoods. And it seemed that they were more than ready to pick up and carry that legacy of pain into the next stage of an endless cycle violence. In terms of the school, she could be all but certain that there were prisons with a less stringent security systems. With weapons detectors on every door, bullet-proof glass in all the windows, a minimum of three cameras in every classrooms, guards patrolling the halls in full riot gear, and bathrooms that wouldn't let more than one person in at a time. She couldn't be sure, but she had a strong suspicion that most of the teachers came to school armed and some few wore bulletproof armor openly. It almost seemed like that school existed solely to prepare its' students for their future roles filling the cells and yards of the world's prisons.

At the approach of four such prime examples of future inmates, Shiva barely needed to look up to know that trouble was shifting in her direction and that she would most likely be in more trouble in the very near future. The class had already ended and the teachers would never put themselves at risk by doing something so stupid as lingering nearby to try enforcing discipline unless they had armored troops to back them up. Most of her classmates had either already escaped out into the halls or were hurrying away before they might get caught up in the trouble that was brewing around her. Shiva, of course, recognized these four in so much as she usually made an effort to know who would possibly cause her trouble in the series of steadily worsening situations that she had found herself enduring during the last two years. In a school filled with future criminals, Uru was in the running to be valedictorian of the class. The leader of one of the local gangs and a vicious individual by most accounts, only the fact that he was not yet 18 had kept the courts from letting him graduate to become someone's 'girlfriend' in a big boy prison. The fact that he was said to have left a trail of bodies along his path to glory and fame didn't seem to give him the confidence he needed to confront even one girl half his size, all by himself. The fact that their were four of them was honestly of little concern to Shiva, in truth she didn't even care enough to pretend that she noticed that she was being surrounded by the much larger boys.

Hey! Shiva looked on with supreme unconcern as Uru swept his arm across the desk and sent her school books and notepads spilling across on the floor. Listen here new girl! He barked as the room quickly and quietly emptied of the last people still lingering near the fringes. This is how it works, you live on my turf, you gotta pay me for my protection one way.. He leered at her and his cronies gave a cruel set of laughter while Shiva picked up those items that she could reach without having to move closer to anyone of them. Uru slammed his palm down on top of the partially reassembled stack pinning to the books to the top of the desk. .. or another. He finished much to the delight of the other insects that looked to him for leadership. Otherwise you don't get to see the next morning, do you get me new girl?

I hate to burst your bubbles, boys, but I'm no one's pet. Shiva murmured back to him able to see that once again she was going to be given only two choices, to either defend herself or to roll over and let bad things happen to her. Uru's hand came up and began the long sharp motion of a back handed slap, and Shiva watched it coming and wished just once that every school experience wasn't nearly the same as this one. She wished that just once she would be allowed to live peacefully and quietly through the days, and that she would not have to be surrounded by the stupid and the violent. In some part of her mind she wondered if the human race was even capable of anything else. The blow landed across the right side of her face, blurring her vision for just a moment as an easily ignored pain blossomed across her sharp senses. Uru seemed quite pleased with himself as he saw the results of his many ringed fingers making contact with her face, but as Shiva's eyes came up he knew all at once that he had just made a mistake that he would regret in the very near future.

Shiva's movement was far faster, and many times more accurate, aimed for the soft spot of Uru's throat just above the place where his collar bones met. Almost wishing she could use the kind of force she knew herself to be capable of, she nevertheless held back and used just enough force to produce the desired effects without crushing his wind pipe and sentencing him to a well deserved slow choking death. Barely able to lift his arms with two shattered collar bones Uru nonetheless tried to clutch at his throat as his throat muscles were temporarily paralyzed by the blow and he slowly began to asphyxiate and stumble backwards out of the fight. It took the other three teen criminals a total of 30 seconds to realize that she had done something to put their boss out of commission before they were turning on her as a group. The first to react was the boy that was behind her and to the left, with the odds three to one, Shiva decided that punch he aimed at the back of her head was well deserving of a little education. The fingers of her left hand snatched up the thick math book on the top of the stack, spun and planted the spine of the book across the right cheek of the much larger boy's face. The sound of breaking bone and shattering teeth accompanied the softer sounds of the crony being spun violently away to strike a nearby desk on his way to the floor.

The second one attacked and Shiva easily dodged his slow moving punch, even as her right hand came up and around to slam into the point where they boys shoulder connected to his left arm dislodging the joint in a flash of pain as the arm all at once went limp. She took him out of the picture with a vicious stomp to the arch of his right foot that broke bones and quickly had him collapsing to the floor. That movement spun her around to the last boy even as he lunged forward to attack her from behind, with none of his friends able to back him up, Shiva caught his fist and clamped down hard. The sound of cracking bones changed his angry scream into one of pure pain as his eyes glazed over as his knees gave out. As his arm went limp, Shiva slammed his hand backwards planting the back of his wrist into his own face breaking his nose and splitting his lips before his eyes rolled back and his body went limp. Satisfied that she had made her point she gathered her remaining books even as she saw and heard the alarms sounding through the classroom and parts beyond. Shiva was calmly returning her things to her bag when the riot police burst into the room aiming their stun rifles at anyone inside. One was even bold enough to stick his weapon right up in her face as they screamed for her to get on the ground, at least until Shiva's eyes flashed upward to meet his. Whatever it was he saw in her gaze was more than enough to make him step backwards in fear.

Within the hour Shiva was installed in the waiting area of the Principle's office under the careful watch of one of the security guards and under the fearful eyes of the office staff. Amused and annoyed, Shiva sat there silently throughout much of the remaining school day, quietly doing her homework and waiting to be summoned forth so she could be yelled at for the damage she had done to the local gang members. As the hours ticked past more than a dozen other groups of trouble makers were escorted inside and shown into the inner sanctum, leaving her outside and waiting. It was almost amusing to her that they might be attempting to punish her with boredom as the final bells rang and the school quickly emptied of students. This thought held her quiet for the next hour before the outer door opened and three pairs of highly polished shoes stepped into the room, now knowing what she had been waiting for, that amusement went cold and a high level of resentment and anger replaced it.

Well, well, well.. That cool condescending drawl came a voice that was guaranteed to ruin any good feelings she might have had the moment that it touched the air, and was accompanied by the sharp strike of his heels as one pair of polished shoes cracked across the floor in slow unhurried steps that brought him across the space to tower above her. This is a record even for you Shiva, you've been here only a month and they are already talking expulsion. His snide expression fixed upon his overly handsome face ducked down into view as he hunkered down in front of her far too close for her own personal comfort.

They attacked me first. Shiva hissed at him, already feeling ready to do even worse damage than she already had. As if that was somehow amusing to him here words added a smug sense of self satisfaction to his already pompous face.

What are we going to do with you? He sneered back to her, insuring that Shiva would simply no longer care who might overhear their soft conversation.

Why don't you try sticking me back in a freeze for another 100 years? She hissed back at him as her anger released her tongue from the reins that would have normally kept it in check. His own anger rolled up to the surface of his face well aware that there were many now watching this little scene quite closely. His arm surged forward to grab at her arm angrily, but Shiva was not in any mood to humor him that day. With a movement far faster than his own, her arm surged upward and her much smaller hand viciously grabbed two of the reaching fingers twisting them almost to the point were the bones would snap under the pressure if given just a little more of a twist. You forget yourself too easily Hornton.. She growled at him in low dangerous tones as his eyes widened in pain and surprise. .. maybe I should break two of them this time so you don't forget the rules so quickly in the future. To his credit he made neither a pained sound, a protest, or movement to free himself from her painfully sharp grip.

Keep this up and they won't have any other choices but to shove you into that freezer once and for all. He hissed back at her angrily, but after two years of being put into the same bad situations over and over again that hardly amounted to much of a threat in her eyes.

They assaulted me first. Shiva reiterated before shoving his hand away, bruised but otherwise undamaged. He backed away as Shiva shoved angrily out of her seat and crossed the floor towards the outer door of the office.

I am not done with you yet, young lady. The Principle barked somehow certain that he still had some kind of authority over her as her hand clamped down around the handle.

Yes, you are. Shiva snapped back at him as she shoved out into the hallway.

Watch her, Ceasa. Hornton snapped just before the door slammed closed. More angry in that moment than she had been back in the classroom, Shiva's quick steps carried her through the now silent hallways almost too quickly for the one assigned to watch her to follow. She practically lunged outside onto what was laughingly called the 'garden' at the side of the school. It more or less amounted to a swath of concrete walkways scattered with litter and cigarette butts overshadowed by sickly looking trees with tufts of grass growing everywhere except where it supposed to be growing. With a temper that was surging dangerously and a landscape as bleak as just about any other she had seen in the last two years, Shiva dropped down onto a half broken bench with a frustrated noise. In her background the man dressed in a business suit conducted a quiet conversation on his cell phone that was too quiet for her to overhear at a distance.

* * *

Lieutenant Hornton was almost surprised to leave behind the Principle's office and find Shiva still waiting around out in the unappealing landscape set to one side of the school. She must have known by that point that she was fast approaching that time when another black mark would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. In many ways he almost felt as if it might be better for her if she was indeed removed from this existence like a package marked 'return to sender'. It might somehow be considered a blessing as much for him as it might be for her. He knew without question that she was repeatedly getting a raw deal even as his command shrank day by day as it was undermined and under funded right to the edge of extinction. It was not a new thought that occurred to him that day as he stepped outside with an angry voice barking in his ear. Ceasa almost stood at ease as he watched the silent angry figure as she sat close by staring out across the bleak sight of the open patio and the city scape beyond. There had in fact been many days when he had thought that he and his command were being set up for some sort of spectacular failure, and this day in particular this fact seemed all too glaringly obvious.

On any other day he might have been convinced that the fault of this was resting squarely on Shiva's small shoulders, as if she had consciously been trying to sabotage him right from the start. On any other day he might have resented being summoned away from the base and sent across a few hundred miles to deal with yet another incident involving that contrary, angry, and mean-spirited young woman. Far too many times he had received calls to do that very thing disturbing what was supposed to be a quiet existence pushing papers across a desk. But on that day he had seen something that had made him question every other time that summons had come, made him wonder if he hadn't really been seeing what was happening.

No, sir. Hornton murmured back across the phone to a question he had barely heard. I have it on good authority that four boys involved were members of a local gang. When he looked back at the formidable shadowy figure at his back, Gregor nodded reasserting his opinion once more. When Shiva had been placed at this school, he hadn't been aware that his second in command had lived in this area through his childhood, and the tattoos they had booth seen on the security tapes had provided enough evidence for his second in command to to recognize the symbols and problems of his youth.

Did the Principle confirm this? The Colonel demanded in annoyed tones. In truth the Principle had vehemently denied this fact, but their had been fear in his eyes when he had done so as if he was trying to cover up those facts. It would not have been unprecedented in that day in age for the authority figures of some schools to court allies from the criminal elements inside their domains.

Not in so many words, sir. Hornton stated diplomatically, far more inclined to trust the large dark skinned male in his background that the recriminations of a scared little white man eager to side with four dangerous individuals over one small girl. There were four of them sir, all of them twice her size. It seemed self-evident that she used only the force necessary to subdue them. She would have had plenty of time to kill all of them before the school's security forces arrived if that had been her intent.

And what about this report that she made threatening gestures towards you? This time Hornton found himself glaring over at Ceasa who was the only one who would have had time to speak with anyone since their arrival. The much younger man had the good sense to look extremely guilty under that gaze.

That was a misunderstanding, sir. I forgot Shiva's rules and she was subtly reminding me of them. Hornton stated calmly while inside his mind he was already devising terrible punishments for a certain junior officer under his command.

And what was the school's decision. The Colonel demanded, clearly upset that Hornton choose not to back up the accusations.

She was expelled, and before you ask, I do not believe that it was by any means warranted, sir. Hornton had to work hard to keep that 'sir' polite and feeling almost ready to pull a page out of Shiva's book and making that word an insult. I believe our best course would to be remove her from the city and find a better place for her to start over.

Oh.. really.. The man on the other end drawled back to him, clearly thinking that Hornton was somehow overstepping his authority in that statement. Fine then.. This was growled across the distance, as if he couldn't quite bring himself to render the decision he truly wanted to make without Hornton to back him up. I will leave her resettlement in your hands, but this time its' your head on the chopping block Lieutenant. Another incident like this one and we shove her back in Anslaw and you will be up in front of board of inquiry soon after.

Yes, sir, I understand, sir. This time he couldn't quite keep back the burning dislike from shifting those words into something less than respectful and ended the call before he could get called on the implied insult. With his temper nearing its' limit, Hornton practically slammed the phone closed and tossed it back to Gregor before he was tempted to slam it on the ground in front of him. Ceasa almost seemed to back up a step as Hornton turned his eyes on him, and he tried very hard to keep his tone even and light as he spoke the words that followed, lest Shiva see some kind of weakness and become even more uncontrollable than she already was at times. You do not report an incident until I do, is that understood?

Yes, sir. Ceasa muttered back to him. Gregor made a soft sound of annoyed agreement, a hint of a reprimand for his own junior officer. Hornton turned away and forced a calming breath through his lungs as he moved towards the small still angry figure in the distance.

Let's review, shall we? Hornton murmured as he lowered himself down onto the bench. Shiva almost growled as she shoved herself away to the far end of the bench absolutely refusing to let him get close. If it had been anyone else he would have thought that this was a curious gesture of defiance, but for her it was just the sort of reaction he had come to expect.

Save it. She hissed back at him, her expression was angry, her small body was tense and she clearly thought that her very limited amount of freedom was coming to an end. Hornton wished deep down in that moment that he could return to the past and start over with her. A long silence stretched out between them as he again thought about all the other times when he had been summoned away to deal with this small figure. After some time that head turned away from the distance and those sharp silver eyes shifted to look at him as if wondering if she had finally managed to break his stone like exterior.

Let me show you something.. He murmured out of instinct deciding right then and there that anything that might break the repeating patterns of these reoccurring encounters was worth any price. As he slid closer she almost moved to draw further away until her eyes caught the movement that drew up the sleeve covering his right forearm revealing the bar coded tattoo that had marked his skin for a very long time. Her eyes crossed it almost out of instinct and that sharp gaze seemed almost to soften by an imperceptible amount in the seconds that followed.

Series 3.. She whispered across the short distance, almost as if she didn't quite believe what she was seeing.

Yes. Hornton agreed watching her closely as he drew the sleeve back down to hide that marking. This time we are going to try things a little differently, all right?

What do you mean? She asked with deeply entrenched mistrust as she shifted to the extreme end of the bench to avoid sitting directly next to him.

I've been put in charge of finding your new school, this time.. He told her, no longer trying to decrease the distance between them. I am as tired of giving you lectures as you are tired of hearing them. If I told them how you were really behaving, I don't think I would have to tell you what would happen to you. Her eyes narrowed knowing exactly what he meant by those words.

You'd have to take me down first. She whispered with the dark words of a very real threat. In truth, hearing that was easily enough to make him smile. Her unrestrained honesty had become something of a hallmark to him since he had taken command over the rapidly shrinking group, and it served to remind him of just when things seemed to have made their turn for the worst.

I have always admired that brutal honesty Shiva. Her eyes again snapped up to his as if that was the last thing she had expected to hear from him was something even vaguely complimentary. In truth, it is quite refreshing considering the others that I have to deal with on a daily basis. And I believe I have always known what would be the result if that day actually came. Her surprised expression was one he had never really seen from her before, and for a moment he almost let himself believe that he had managed to find a chink her thick emotional armor. Tell me, did you encourage those bullies in any way? Her expression quickly hardened once again.

If I was going to encourage them I would have done it out past the parking deck. She hissed back at him as her eyes snapped back to the distant scene.

Off.. of school grounds. He murmured back to her, there was a cold humorless smile at that.

I'm not stupid. She growled back at him as her bad mood seemed to return in that moment.

No, you're not. Her shoulders jerked with surprise and she almost turned to meet his gaze once again, and deciding to drive his point in a little deeper he continued. Do you think I have been misjudging you all this time? This time her true emotions rushed up to the surface as she snapped around with a look of unrestrained surprise, she corrected that expression within a heartbeat and looked away just as quickly.

I make a point of never correcting someone when they are right. She growled back at him not exactly answering his question, but not about to deny him either. He felt almost encouraged by her deeply ingrained adversarial attitude and nodded as his thoughts turned towards what exactly he needed to do next.

Let's go get your personal belongings, before they start locking up the doors. As if eager to get away from him and still more than a little angry, she thrust up to her feet and moved towards the doors that would take them inside. Almost like a child on the cusp of a temper tantrum, she stomped her way through the silent halls and past the great many lockers that surrounded her own. With an evil little smile and a glance that could almost be described as defiance as she reached the locker she had been assigned the door was ripped from its' hinges. Extracting the lock forcibly from the frame and sending that crumbled mass of steel flying across the hallway to dent the lockers on the far side. It would have taken very sharp eyes to note that as the framework of the locker door dented outwards and the door was thrown away her fingers never actually touched it. She sorted out her things in silence leaving behind her textbooks and gathering what little personal items and notepads that were contained in the interior. As she moved to leave a group of armed security guards came rushing down from a side hallway.

And that is what she could have done to those boys. Gregor rumbled across the distance as the three of them passed by the stunned looking men, and Hornton caught the tiny fringe of Shiva's backwards glance that could almost be seen as moment of gratitude as just a touch of the tension in her body seemed to leave her.

Ceasa, return to the base, I might need you there in a few hours. Hornton murmured as they left the scene behind and moved towards the front entrance of the school in Shiva's wake. Still more than a little annoyed with the Private's well intentioned betrayal, Hornton knew without question that his continued presence would only encourage Shiva's darker instincts if he stayed. Realizing that he was in no position to complain, the younger man ran off ahead giving Shiva a wide berth as he passed out ahead of her. Shiva you will not break anything when we leave this school, is that understood? Knowing this would perhaps only encourage her into further destruction, Hornton decided that he was just angry enough to offer her a more cathartic action if it would make the next hours easier on all of them.

Stop right there!! Perhaps only too unwisely the Principle was there in the lobby of the school when they arrived. He came prepared for a confrontation as there were at least 20 armed men standing behind and to either side of him. As ill advised as it was to even think of confronting Shiva, it was even less intelligent to bring armed men into the conflict. Additionally, the Principle could not have picked a worse place in that building to choose to have his showdown. With dozens of bullet proof glass display cases packed full of generations worth of achievements and trophies he could not have picked a more 'target rich' environment for her if he had seriously tried to do the dumbest thing possible. We aren't done with this matter and I am not going to let..

I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!! Shiva screamed twice as loud as him and with a force that nearly drove the frightened security guards back towards their hiding places. As her voice snapped across the room every cases inside the sizable space went from clear to opaque as the impact resistant glass shattered into crazed mosaics. The sound of that much breaking glass in one enclosed space was quite something to hear first hard as it echoed like the sudden crack of thunder throughout the halls of the school. How dare you.. Shiva's low voice growled in that shocked silence that followed and instant before all that cracked glass literally exploded outward filling that large space with fast moving cloud of glass shards that obscured the view between their two parties. As that cloud fell away to cover the tiled floor with a wash of sparkling shimmering iridescent shards Shiva finished her rather bold 'statement' in an even more spectacular fashion as all the previously untouched trophies lunged up from the open cases and were fired with tremendous force out through the bullet proof wall of glass that made up the front entrance to the school, shattering all the windows and sending another cloud of shards out across the sidewalks and steps outside.

I understand, Lieutenant. Shiva growled back to him as more of her inner tension seemed to flow out of her as she began to walk with slow silent steps through the sea of broken glass now spread in every direction. One of the armed men jerked his weapon in her direction as she moved towards the shattered doorways and Shiva's head snapped around towards that half seen movement. With another sharp snap the mens' stun rifles exploded into a cloud of parts, disassembled all at once and in a heart bit before the now useless pieces fell harmlessly to the floor around them. Shiva almost seemed to giggle as she jumped through the broken frame of an empty window at the last second before reaching the nearest doorway.

Come along Shiva. Gregor rumbled in a low soft voice as he started moving while Shiva shifted about as if unaware of anything being wrong as she picked her way through the broken glass and scattered trophies. She stopped for just a heartbeat to scoop up one of the scattered statues, from the distance Hornton could just make out her name carved in the stone base while the metal plaque told of her accomplishment of achieving the highest honors in the freshman entrance exams. As Hornton moved to follow in Gregor's wake and leave the school under the stunned statue like gazes of Principle and his men. As Gregor stepped past her, Shiva crushed the stone base of the trophy into a sprinkling of dust leaving behind only the beautiful statue that had once been at it's peak before following along in his wake. Hornton was well aware that this incident was mild compared to the level of destruction Shiva could produce but was pleased enough that both of them had been given some measure of revenge as he followed a much calmer young woman down the stairs and towards their waiting car.

You'll hear from me when I start making my arrangements. Hornton called over to a stunned motionless Ceasa nearby as Shiva climbed into the back of the car without being told where to sit. He received an acknowledgment and a salute as Hornton moved towards the open rear door where Shiva had entered.

Feel better? He asked her as he interposed himself in the open doorway while Shiva settled there with the golden statue almost posed in her lap, smiling with deeply satisfied amusement.

A little.. She mumbled, trying hard to not look pleased by the wake of her destruction.

Good, because this is going to be a long trip. He stated back to her as he closed the door and was a bit surprised to look down and find her smiling up at him through the window. Gregor was already starting the car as Hornton slid into the front seat and with Shiva glaring out the window they pulled away. Behind them he was pleased to see a taxi arrive to take Ceasa away from any confrontation that might follow from the security forces of the school.

* * *

Despite that satisfied smile he had given her, Shiva had expected to get reprimanded the moment that the car had left the school behind. She had all but expected some sort of confrontation during the ride through the tiny trash covered streets. She had expected another pointless lecture back there in the garden, she had expected some reprimand filled with veiled threats at some point during the interim. But she honestly had never expected Hornton to say things were different this time and when those words had touched the air she would never have expected him to actually mean them. For as much she might find it odd when comparing this most recent incident to all the others, she hardly expected things to really change this time. Hornton might be trying different tactics but she would never let herself be fooled by that, she had spent far too many days and months being bounced from one horrible situation to another to ever let herself think that anything would ever change. It had seemed perfectly clear that she had lost her one good chance to an accident and she would just be continually put into slowly worsening situations in the future just as she had been for the past two years. The bleak landscapes flowing past her window were like so many other scenes of desolation and desperation that her senses were becoming so very jaded from those long ago days when all of them had dreamed of a life on the outside free from the lives they had been forced to live.

The car drew to a halt a short while later pulling up in front of the half ruined brick building with dirty windows that had greeted her home almost every day for the past month. Tiny filthy rooms, walls infested with rats and insects, the front steps littered with drug addicts and trash, hallways filled with graffiti and carelessly discarded items, and roofs that leaked foul smelling water every time a polluted rain started falling across a city that had long since stopped caring about the people packed into its' borders. When Shiva reached for the car door to get this repeated scene of departure over with yet again she discovered that the door had been locked. Hornton seemed almost amused by the fact that she was trapped inside, but his smile disappeared the moment she raised her fist to punch out the glass.

Don't you ever. He growled as he hastily pulled open the door.

And don't you ever test me Hornton. She drawled back at him with a glare as she extracted herself from the back seat.

You're right.. I'm sorry. Those words were a bit surprising, but she covered that reaction and started up the stairs.

Whoa.. She heard the dark stern man murmur in her wake as they both turned to follow.

That was her being playful the last time someone did that to her, she punched out the window and went right through the hole after the man who thought that was so funny. Hornton murmured back to him as they entered the dingy entrance of the aged building. Pay the landlady next month's rent and tell her that she can list the apartment as open. He added as Shiva waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive. With the two of them inside, it started its' ascent up towards the top floor. Sorry to see this place go? He murmured as if he actually might want to start a conversation with her.

It's just a place.. She hissed back to him darkly.

I would have thought that anything would be better than that tube. He commented in return.

Not when you are shoved from one bad situation into another every couple of months because someone else got you into trouble with your keepers. She growled back at him as a small piece of her bad mood loomed up once again. She didn't give him a chance to make any sort of retort as the elevator drew to a halt and she practically launched through the doors before they were completely open. Just this once and for whatever the reason he didn't try to argue her out of her point as he followed her in through the open door of the dark apartment. In truth she had never even really bothered to unpack this time, most of her few things were still packed away in her luggage and within a dozen minutes she was moving back to the door almost before Hornton could find some light source to illuminate the dirty floors, water stained walls, and half broken furniture that were packed into the tiny space. As she neared the outer door he reached for her again and out of instinct her hand snapped up to grab his wrist in a grip that could snap his bones like dry sticks.

Let me help you the bags. He murmured down to her seemingly perfectly calm. Almost grudgingly she let go of his wrist and passed over one of the pieces of luggage into his keeping. With the keys dropped on the entrance table and the door shut firmly behind them, the elevator doors at the end of the hall opened almost as they reached them with Hornton's subordinate waiting on the far side.

Took you long enough. Shiva half growled at the figure as he stepped back to let them get inside.

Leave him alone, Shiva. Hornton reprimanded gently as the button was pushed and they were soon descending back towards the streets below. Almost against her will, uncertain, and off-balance with the sudden change in his behavior, Shiva shifted just a little closer to his side to slide her free hand under his arm and half leaned into his side. Not entirely sure why she did it, Hornton gave no outward sign that he was even aware of the tentative gesture as the metallic box dropped down.

Where are you taking me this time? Shiva whispered up to him as her eyes drooped half closed and her head moved to lean against his upper arm. Another rat infested slum filled with junkies and the criminally gifted?

I would not have put you in any of these schools had I been given a choice. He murmured back to her seemingly somehow calm in those somewhat surreal moments.

Prison Academy? Shiva half joked, feeling far out of her