Hide me (The Forced Diaries)

Two hours Earlier

I watched Zeke walk in front of me as we made our way from the training room, his towering frame making me feel like an ant to the Eiffel tower. Yes, an exaggeration, but do I care? No, not really. You would not guess that we are twins, my 5'5 to his 6'4, he is built like a bodybuilder, while I have muscular arms but plumpness everywhere else, which I wish I did not but we cannot all get what we want. While we share high cheekbones, our eye colour is slightly different, he has a lighter shade of blue while mine is slightly navy at the edges. Our brown hair is the same shade of chocolate, different lengths, mine reaches about mid-back while Zeke's is short but styled.

I take the band out of my hair and pull the knots out with my fingers. "you're getting better half-pint" Zeke says over his shoulder, smiling at me, I would honestly believe him if it was not for the mischievous glint in his eye, he has always called me that, not too keen on it myself. "Ha, ok... if it weren't for that body, you ate before you sat on me, I think it would have been fine." I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling."What the hell are you on about now?" sighing, I reply. "Because you weigh a s**t tonne you nearly snapped my sternum in half." he whips around and his hand shoots out to grab me but I dodge under his arm and get behind him and kick the back of his knee, his left knee lands on the floor and I laugh, "I do believe I am getting better." he grunts an approval and his arm snaps out to grab me but he stops as the sound of heels across the cement echo in the hallway.

"Get up quick before she thinks you're about to confess your undying love." Olivia walks around the corner with drooling men in tow. I do not blame them. Her blonde hair is in a high ponytail, her pink lipstick matches the colour of her blouse with a black pencil skirt to match, and she has an angelic face that could make any lesser woman weep. "You know she has slept with nearly all the men here," I inform him as we watch her walk towards us. "No, she hasn't." he denies. Olivia is our receptionist of sorts, she deals with all the filing and all that jazz, she is more of a PA to Henry our General.

She stops in front of us and I nudge Zeke out of his daze, "Amira, Henry has sent me to inform you that you're needed a team to dispatch and head to a warehouse downtown, there has been a sighting of a clan of vamps, the objective is to kill and destroy any evidence that you find." why would they be getting closer to us? Vampires do not tend to come close to the compound, we have nearby buildings rigged with detection devices and cameras. "Which team?" I ask ignoring the feeling in my gut. Olivia gestures over her shoulder.

"Stones team are available at short notice; they are meeting in the weapons room at seven sharp." Zeke bristles next to me, the thing is with twins we can have a clue of what each other is feeling or thinking, and he doesn't like that I've been ordered to go and not him, especially with Jeremiah Stone, Zeke doesn't seem to like him that much. "What about me?" Zeke asks, his voice is a little bit more curt than usual. Olivia looks him up and down before replying. "You can help me. I've got to register all the new initiates and Henry asked if you could get a read on them." I watch a little baffled why he hasn't jumped at the opportunity, he likes her so why does he seem so hesitant. She takes a step towards Zeke, "Would you be a gentleman and carry these files for me?" she asks and gently touches his arm, ugh really? Flirting with him right in front of me, gross. His shoulders soften and he takes the files from her, "How many vamps are we talking about here?" I interrupt whatever the hell is happening between these two. "Six of them that we have intel on. Frank has been watching them the last week, he has a guy from the supernatural side that he has been getting information off" I nod and begin to walk down the corridor, hoping to catch Henry before I go and find Stone’s team. "I'll see you later Zekie" a hand on my shoulder stops me in my tracks. "Be careful, Maz, always be aware of your surroundings, I will have my phone on me if you need me." I nod again, "I know" I tap his hand that is still on my shoulder and walk further down the corridor, sensing his eyes on my back I turn and meet his blues, a simple head nod is sent my way that simple gesture said all that he wanted to say, I've got this. this will be possibly the third time Zeke hasn’t been with me on a mission, Henry had always put us together seeing as we always make a great team. I'm more surprised Zeke’s protective instincts haven't kicked in; he usually demands to go with me.

Walking down the corridor towards Henry’s office, the white walls recently repainted, black marks used to mark them, from people rubbing up against them in their uniforms and the occasional things knocking into them, the place has come a long way the last five years since Zeke and I joined the Allegiant. My favourite level in this compound is the lowest two levels, the beasties on the lowest level, nobody ventures down there unless they work there and the other has our weapons tech in there, he is an absolute genius, Wizz kid to the max, his office a mess but apparently to him an organised mess, energy drinks line nearly every shelf, the walls littered with all sorts of posters, apart from Zeke, the little nerd is the closest thing I have to a friend.

A mahogany door greets me, I stare at the letters, General Henry O'Sullivan in black writing on a sign attached to the side of the door. I smile softly to myself if it wasn’t for Henry bringing Zeke and me back here and taking us under his wing I don’t know where we would be now, happiness overwhelms me for a couple of seconds, but I have a score to settle with the old man.

Barging through the door I scowl at him behind his desk looking like a king on his throne looking down at all the miscreants that walk in, his hand halts on the computer he was tapping away on, the other hand ruffles the gingery hair that sits atop his head, he needs a shave and a haircut. He opens his mouth to say something but stops as his eyes meet mine and a smile takes over his face reaching his eyes and the heat of anger slowly builds in my chest. “Ah, get my surprise this morning, did you?” I growl softly trying to hide the smirk wanting to join in with his. “I don't appreciate what you did, change it back!” I cross my arms against my chest not budging, no he will fix it and then I want an apology. He may be my boss but I will not take no for an answer, he ruined it. “I thought seeing as you are a woman that you would have liked the little pink surprise” I scoff and the light in his eyes brighten at my obvious disgust. I awoke this morning to find my baby, my car, the whole inside Hot pink, Henry has changed my sexy impala from sexy to downright horrifying. My heart pounds in my ears. Henry stands up and walks around his desk towards me, his height taller than mine, his physique good for his age, his Allegiant uniform fitting him perfectly. Since my brother and I came to America with Henry we have pulled pranks on each other some really good ones over the years but that car is the last straw. His spicy cologne surrounds me as he envelopes me in his arms, “Ok, I took it too far, I will change it back for you. I haven't seen you all week how have you been?” exhaling at his words I wrap my arms around him and squeeze softly my anger ebbing, he has been a father figure to Zeke and me, he provided for us and brought us into the Allegiant Family. “Been busy training the recruits, I just heard more have just come in.” I pull back eyeing his features a soft smile lights his lips. Nodding he lets go of me and walks back around his desk and takes a seat, I follow suit and sit opposite. “Yeah, droves of them have been turning up recently, but we have to wait for all the checks and screenings to go through so they are coming to you in drips and drabs.” Sighing he rubs a hand down his face. We make sure that the people who want to join us are who they say they are and that they are Human, a couple of times a supernatural being has tried to join us, which could help us but if they came to infiltrate us then we would be screwed, they would know everything and with their brute strength, they would probably catch us with our pants wrapped around our ankles and a spoon in our mouth. So, it was decided that no supernatural creature was allowed to join. I look to Henry his eyes switching left to right as he reads something on his computer screen, “you going with Stone’s team tonight?” he asks while still reading. Clearing my throat, “Yeah, never worked with the guy, hopefully, he isn't a complete dick.” A knock sounds at the door, interrupting Henry from replying, he frowns “come in!” he says just loud enough to be heard through the door. Sam pops his head in, the little nerd pushes the glasses up his nose and eyes widen a fraction when they see me, and then soften. “Where have you been? Trying to hide from me and my new ideas?” I walk over to him and drag him in by his collar and kick the door shut behind him, I pull him into a hug. He wraps his arms around me patting me on the back before letting go.

Sam isn't one for a cuddle or any affection, he is always straight to his geeky business. “I told you I don’t want to make something that will anger your brother and make me his next target” he visibly shivers and turns to Henry. I had asked Sam to make me a spray or something that can make things invisible, I wanted to play pranks on Zeke but he wouldn’t do it, so I am constantly coming with new ideas and asking for them but he keeps shooting me down with his pushed-up glasses and scraggly hair. He is my best friend but he is too scared of my brother, rightly so. “Ok, I will leave you to it. See you later.” I walk and open the office door, “don't forget to mask your scent and take that bloody tracker with you!” Henry shouts at me before I exit. I look at him over my shoulder, “Yeah, yeah old man, don’t get your panties in a twist.” I walk out and shut the door behind me before he has a retort.

Stones team stare at me as I walk through the doors into the weapons room. "Amira, you'll be with me," Stone says as I walk closer to him. He is around 6,1" in height with black hair and a beard, his stab-proof vest covering the top half with black combat pants on the bottom. 'What's the plan Stone?' I ask. I reach the hangers and grab myself a vest, the difficult thing with these is finding the right one for me, ugh. "We will split into two groups. Team one will go in through the front" he points to a door on the blueprints on the table, "Team two will go in through here, looks like an emergency exit, no alarms will go off since it has been abandoned for years. We will all meet here, one team on each side of this room, and wait for my signal." I nod in understanding. this will be my first time going on a mission with Stone's team, I don't know how they coordinate, or their execution.

A woman with dark brown hair walks towards us, her hair in a high ponytail and her brown eyes assess me, "Are you Thorne's sister?" she says while clipping a gun next to her hip. "Yes, why?" Stone nudges me and leans slightly closer. "Laura digs your brother, like completely drools every time he is near." he stage whispers. "Oh, shut it Stone, but yeah could totally climb that tree." I look between them both back and forth, "okay.... well, I don't even know what to say to that. Have you spoken to him?" The guy is my brother, after all, I need to get feelers out there for him. She blushes the red of a tomato.

"Are you insane? He would slip over in my drool and curse me to high heaven," she says thoughtfully. The laugh that escapes me is obnoxious, just one step away from sounding like a donkey. I never said I was classy, I never will be, my laugh echoes around the cement room we are in. "Erm, I doubt that would happen but why don't you give it a go? he's not a complete waste, we all have flaws." I tell her honestly. she watches me for a long minute trying to decipher if I am messing with her, something in my face must show I am being genuine. "Ok, I'll talk to him." I nod in agreement. "You know for being Henry's favourite I thought you would be a bit more uptight," she adds.

A smile tugs at my lips, Henry found Zeke and I after we awoke from a coma, I still don't have any memories of what had happened to us, we woke up to the blinding light of the hospital ceiling, no recollection of anything apart from who we were to each other and the love we still carried for one another, that was five years ago, I fought tooth and nail to get where I am now.

I am now the trainer for the recruits unless I have to go on a mission like I am now, then Zeke usually steps in for me. Zeke is in charge of the weapons and Beasties in the basement. "I'm not Henry's anything, we just get along, I think he just enjoys my sense of humour." I snort, the pranks I pull on him are legendary, I try to keep how close, Zeke, Henry and I are, I hate it when people look at me and think it was all just handed to us. Stone walks and turns to us all, "Right everyone, buckle up, we're on the move."