Sorry!

Hey, sorry for taking a while to post the new chapter. I'm having...computer difficulties. So it might be a little while. I apologize!! Sorry!!

^_^

Entry: 6

Entry: 6
    - Training daily, making memories lazily

   “So...what now?” Finnley asked. Jay still hadn’t backed up, and neither had she.
For a fleeting moment she thought he might kiss her. But he just grinned.
   “Now, you have boot camp to get through.” He took a step back and took her baseball glove with him.
   “Come on, you had better go tell Martha your decision.”
He led her back into the old bank building and through the science lab. Walking down the hallways they quickly came to Martha’s office.
   “I don’t think there’s any reason to prolong the inevitable.” Finnley stated. Martha looked up from her salad, as did Maxxie and Kaden. She was slightly startled that the other two where here, but Jay gently touched her arm, telling her to continuing.
   “Your stuck with me.”
Martha and Maxxie grinned and Kaden made a move towards her. She held up her hand and stopped him.
   “Uh-huh. You freak me out. Just...stay.” She said as she walked up to Martha’s desk. She heard Jayson laugh.
   “Ooh, burn.” He mocked.
   “Jay,” She turned to him with a strait face and her hands on her hips.
   “Straiten up or you won’t get with in a ten foot radius of me.”
That sobered him up.
Martha smiled with a raised eyebrow.
   “I think you’ll be good for those boys. You have something they both want, and you wont give it to them unless they behave. Very smart.” She gave Finnley a wink, who couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.
She chuckled and shook her head in her hands as the boys protested loudly.
Martha waved away their noise and handed Finnley a salad.
Now, normally, Finnley would rather eat a big mac, then a salad. Of course she wasn’t a rude girl so she didn’t say anything but she wasn’t to eager to eat it.

Jay tossed her something from his backpack. Catching it she saw by the wrapper it was a burrito from Taco Bell.
She grinned and unwrapped it as she sat down on the floor in front of the coffee table.
   “You don’t look like the girl who counts calories.” Jayson said quietly as he sat down beside her.
   “Nope.”
Jay chuckled and the room went silent as everyone ate their lunch.
   "Finnley."
She looked up and saw that Martha was speaking.
   "I hope you know that the next few days are not going to be pleasant. The trainer is know for weeding out the weak. If you want out, now's the time."
Finnley bit her bottom lip and a small grin crossed Jay's lips. He knew what that look meant.
   "You're going to be feeling the fire all week. And it wont let up till you past. Then after that it's strait to work. It's tough, and everybody breaks."
Kaden piped up.
   "It's true." Martha jumped back in. "And with what's going on, you'll be burning on empty soon."
Finnley laughed, and placed her burrito on the coffee table.
   "You can't scare me away. Like I said, 'you're stuck with me.' Whether you like it or not. I'm stronger then even he knows." She jerked her head towards Jay.
   "I don't scare off easy. I may look small and maybe a little pathetic at times, but I've got a fire burning in me, no one can put out. No matter how hard you try."
She met Martha's stern gaze with an all-knowing grin.
   "You are so much like your father.
The training will only last five days, and then you will be assigned to a mentor." She went on to explain. "We believe in learning by doing. So we'll team you up with another agent, and send you out into the field. The training here will only provide you with some martial arts and how to use our weaponry. Then it's up to your mentor to teach you what he thinks you'll need, in order to survive."
Of course, at the thought of a mentor, Finn was dying to figure out who it was going to be. And Martha picked up on that.
   "And you'll know who your mentor will be after your basic training."
Finn made a face which made everyone laugh.

++++

Once everyone was finished, Martha took Finnley aside.
She led her down another hallway that opened up into a lounge room.
It held several leather couches in a square around a coffee table. There was also a few beenie bags on the right side of the room in front of a television unit.
To the back of the lounge there was several doors that Finn assumed led to rooms.

Martha led her to one of them, and opened the door for her.
Stepping into the room, she saw that it was spacious with little furniture.
   "Oh, lots of space to dance." she blurted out. Martha rose an eyebrow, and Finn tried to correct herself.
   "Uh, when ever I have the time."
Martha smiled.
   "Well, this will be your room while you're here."
   "Oh snap!" Finnley cried, jumping suddenly.
   "What?!" Martha demanded, slightly startled.
   "I need to explain this all to my mom. Or...something. I mean how do you tell your mother and only parent, that you got hit upside the head by aliens, had to get seven stitches, went on the run with a boy I hardly knew at the time, and then ended up in this secret agency that doesn't "really" exist. And now you're joining up with them?! It sounds just a little far fetched don't you think."
Martha was impressed that Finn managed to say all that in one breath.
   "Sweetie, that's what I was going to tell you."
Martha led her into the room and sat her down on the bed.
Deciding to get strait to the point, Martha took a deep breath.
   "Your mom already knows."
   "...What?" Finnley was sure she hadn't heard right.
   "Your mom already knows about H.U.N.T.E.R, and aliens, and the guns, and the high-tech equipment. The whole sha-bang. She knows about all of it."
   "How?" Finn wasn't connecting the dots. Her mind was exhausted.
   "Your father was one of us."
   "What?!"
Martha nodded. "Yes, he was one of the best. So, just tell your mother that you're with Martha. She'll understand. Now get some sleep. Jayson's just down the hall, but after curfew you have to stay in your own room. And I don't mind if you're in each other's rooms talking, but please leave the door propped open."
Finn nodded.
   "There have been some clothes moved into the closet for you."
Finnley opened the closet door and made a slight face as she pulled out a pair of green shorts, that were extremely short.
   "Do you happen to have a boy's uniform I can wear?" She asked.
Martha was a little confused by her question.
    "You wear-?"
   "Yeah, she agrees with me." Jay inturrupted rudly. Sticking his head into the door.
   "The girl's uniform is rather....revealing. Which does nothing for us guys. And for Pete's sake, get her a guy's uniform. She's better off keeping her purity."
He made a clicking noise and gave his foster mom a wink, then with a grin that made Finnley's heart skip a beat, he walked away.
Get over it girl! Gosh I hate crushes! She scolded herself.
Martha sighed and turned back to Finn.
    "He always has been pushy. Alright I'll get you that uniform. you'll only have to wear it for the several days of training, then you'll be back at your own home. How does that sound?"
Finnley smiled.
   "Sounds great! Thanks!"
Martha nodded and left, pulling the door to as she left.

Finnley found a bathroom attached to her room and decided to take a shower. While gathering her night clothes she passed the computer that sat on the desk.
   "Hmm...I wonder..." Walking over to the computer, she quickly hacked in. Just the long in screen mind you, seeing as she didn't know the password.
Realizing who she had just hacked, she quickly found the email system.
She sent an email to Martha explaining what she just did and begging her to keep the SWAT team from breaking down the door.
   Martha replied with a chuckle and a warning not to do that again, she also included the password.

With that off her chest, Finnley found iTunes. Clicking onto a Taylor Swift song, and turning it up loud enough to be heard in the bathroom, she jumped through a quick shower.

Finnley was brushing out her hair in her room while bobbing to "Enchanted". Not knowing she was being watched, she mindlessly started singing with it.

"Your eyes whisper 'have we met'?
Across the room your silhouette
Starts to make its way
To me.”
Feeling like a little girl, she held her hair brush in front of her mouth like a microphone.
   “The playful conversation
Starts,
Counter all your quick
Remarks,
Like passing notes in secrecy.

And it was enchanting to meet you.
All I can say is
I was enchanted to meet you!

This night is sparkling,
Don’t you let it go
I’m wonder-struck,
Blushing all the way home.
I’ll spend forever wondering
If you knew.”

She started to dance silly, around her room. Feeling like the little girl she use to be when her daddy would dance with her in the living room. The next line was a little silly but she sang it anyways.

   “The lingering question
Kept me up.
2:00 A.M., who do you love?
I wonder ‘till I’m
Wide awake.
Now I’m pacing
Back and forth
Wishing you were
At my door.”

Jayson chuckled quietly as he watched Finnley dance around her room.
Oh if only you would turn around. He thought with a grin.

   “I’d open up and say,
‘It was enchanting to meet you.
All I can say is,
I was enchanted to meet you!’

This night is sparkling,
Don’t you let it go.
I’m wonder-struck
Blushing all the way home.
I’ll spend forever wondering
If you knew
I was enchanted to meet you!”

Finnley stopped dancing and bounced her leg to the beat as she messed up her wet hair with her free hand, knowing if she opened her eyes, the whole dream would evaporate.

“This is me praying!

This was the very first page,
Not where the storyline ends.
My thoughts will echo
Your name until I see
You again.
These are the words I held
Back
As I was leaving too soon,
I was enchanted to meet you.”

She sang the next part like she was hoping with all her heart as she spun around. And Jayson noticed.

   “Please don’t be in love
With someone else,
Please don’t have someone
Waiting for you.
Please don’t be in love
With someone else,
Please don’t have someone
Waiting for you.”

The chorus came back and Jayson knew he had better leave before he got caught, but he couldn’t seem to pull himself away from behind the door.
So, there he stood, watching someone who knew how to be a little girl in the midst of all the madness around her.

   “Please don’t be in love
With someone else,
Please don’t have someone
Waiting on you.”

Finnley ended the song with a twirl, but she lost her balance and was doomed to hit the hard concrete floor.
Being the hero type, Jayson sprinted into the room and managed to get a hold of her. Twisting around, he was the one that hit the floor while Finnley landed on top of him.
They both landed with an “oof”.
Finnley had closed her eyes when she fell, but now she opened them and starred right into Jay’s screaming silver-blue eyes.
Pure horror raced through her whole body.
   “Please tell me you didn’t hear that whole thing.” She pleaded.
Jay gave her a smile that told her “yes.”
She groaned as Jayson pushed himself into a sitting position.
Finnley ended up in Jay’s lap, and Jay was leaning back on his arms.
   “You weren’t suppose to see that. I never sing when I know there’s people watching.” She muttered. “And of course, I just draw so much attention to myself.” She kept talking to herself, and was seemingly absentminded of where she was. (though that’s extremely far from the truth.)
   “I just had to run off at the first sign of trouble with someone I hardly knew, and now I’m falling for- Let me guess!” she interrupted her own thoughts as she figured out how he most likely ended up behind her door.
She turned to Jay, who was just having fun listening to her ran on.
   “you were walking past the door and you just had to stop and watch. Why?”
Jay, ever so cool in almost every situation, answered with out hesitation.
   “It was cute.”
She raised an eyebrow, sensing there was more to it then that.
Jay gave a slightly nervous chuckle as his eyes darted around.
   “You were cute ok?”
Her eyebrow stayed put as a slight grin grew on the left hand corner of her mouth.
   “Now would you get off me?” Jay asked.
   “You’re kind of heavy.”
Finnley gasped and slapped his arm as she slid to the ground beside him.
   “Just remember, you’re the one who got yourself into this position.” She stated, pointing an accusing finger at his chest.
Now it was his turn to cock an eyebrow.
   “Oh, so you would have rather hit the hard cold floor?” He asked.
   “We girls sometimes, want to take the fall.” Finn shot back.
   “Why? That makes no sense.”
   “Just to prove that we’re strong too, that we can do what the big boys can, so that way we earn some respect as well. How do you think those women in the military make it?”
It took Jayson a moment to let her words sink in.
   “Well you know what?” He asked. “My dad taught me to protect town and country. That was his code of honor.” He scrambled up to his feet, and looked down at Finn with a kind, yet determined look.
   “’was’?” she asked. A twinge of pain ran through him.
   “You know what else?” He continued, ignoring her question. He offered a hand and pulled her to her feet.
   “’Protect the women and children first’”
Finnley bravely asked,
   “What category do I fall in?”
Jay gave her a mysterious grin.
   “Tell you what, next time, I’ll back off.”
He laughed at her face when he obviously didn’t giver her the answer she wanted.
   “Oh gee thanks hero.” She stated sarcastically as he walked towards the door.
   “Don’t mention it princess.”
   “’Princess’?! Do I look like a princess to you?!”
Seeing her in baggy flannel pajama pants and an old t-shirt, with her wet hair a mess, and that cute mad/shocked look on her face,
Jayson just grinned and left her hanging.

Finnley scoffed and picked up her cell phone. Dialing her mom’s number, she got her voicemail.
   “Um…hey mom. It’s me. Um…I’m ok. But I-uh-I’m with Martha. She said you would know what that meant, but don’t worry, I’m doing ok, so just…enjoy New York and go shopping. Love you mommy. Bye.”
Finnnley sighed and turned out the lights and curled up in the unfamiliar bed, and turned to fall asleep. She did, but she was chased by nightmares.

Ghostly images of her father flashed through her mind’s eye. Spinning her around on the swing, balancing spoons on their noses together, laughing at the most random things. But then he was gone. Like he had been so often her subconscious realized.
Her memories were so vivid, even in black and white. She saw small details that she had missed when she was six.
   “-no. Finn’s birthday is today.”
She remembered that really sad birthday where he didn’t show up. The one person she wanted to see so bad, never came. He let her down.
She remembered the countless times he wasn’t there for her.
In her head she screamed, and cried.

Gasping for air she jerked strait up in her bed. Her vision went blurry and her head hurt like crazy. Finding the reason why she couldn’t see anything, she rubbed the tears out of her eyes, and jerked badly when she heard someone.
   “You ok?”
Looking over, she saw Jay standing against the door frame.
   “What are you doing?” She was a little confused on why he was standing in the doorway. He gave her a duh look.
   “It’s past curfew. I’m not allowed in your room.”
She nodded slowly.
   “So…you just stood there…watching me scream?”
He sighed.
   “Which took a lot of will strength. But yes.”
She shook her head and crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom.
Splashing her face with water she took shaky breaths, trying to slow down her heart beat.
Walking out of the bathroom she looked at the clock. 4:35a.m.
Might as well stay up. She thought.
   “You ok?” Jayson repeated as she walked to the closet.
She nodded.
   “Alright. Make sure you eat a lot of breakfast. I’ll come get you when the cafeteria opens up.”
Again, she nodded numbly. Jay knew something had triggered her. And he wished he could delay her training. But there was nothing he could do about it. She was on her own.
For now.

++++

Despite Jayson’s warning, she didn’t eat much breakfast, which she knew was probably a huge mistake, but she just couldn’t get anything down without gagging on it.

Her and a few other new trainees, reported for duty on the training field. Several other agents were already out there, including Jayson who was using one of the flying skateboards.
He gave Finn a thumbs up, but she was still not at her best. The nightmare had caught her off guard. And now here she was with a whole five days ahead of her with Mr. Jar-Head.

Her first glance at her teacher she knew she was in trouble. But she knew she couldn’t back down now. Not after what she said to Martha.
Lord…your going to have to be my strength and my will through this, so please hold me close, and don’t let me go. She prayed as the wolf barred it’s teeth.

   “This is not a tea party! I am hear to break you down till there’s nothing left!”
The General (as he was called) walked back and forth with the most strait face and loud voice Finnley thought it should be illegal.
The five new trainees were lined up with their hands behind their backs and their feet apart. There was two girls and three boys. The other girls laughed when Finn showed up in a boy’s uniform. But she paid them no attention.
   The General stopped in front of her and was only an inch or so away from Finnley’s face.
   “Got that?”
   “Yes sir.” She answered gazing off at some point in the distance, trying to ignore the fact that his breath smelled like he had beef jerky for breakfast.
   “Well then princess, I suggest we get to work.” He backed off and started yelling.
Why does every one call me ’princess’??

Her first day of training was horrible.
The General drove them on till they had nothing left,…and then some!
It went from crawling around in the mud, to shooting holographic aliens from the sky.
That was not Finnley’s favorite part. She hated flying.
She forced herself to do it, though she did really poorly.
The General wasn’t helping because he was always yelling at her to speed up or to do better she thought she might punch him.

The next day didn’t go any better. She was just as bad, and just as slow.
The General’s taunts attacked her and stuck to her like glue. She tried to shake it off, but by the third day she was shaking like crazy because her blood sugar was so low and not getting enough sleep wasn’t helping her condition.
And it got so bad that Jayson started to get really, really worried for her.

   “Finnley, I want you to eat and drink all of this!”
Jayson set a Hershey’s bar and cherry Coke in front of her.
Finnley chuckled.
   “Ok you’re getting very….fatherly, and it’s freaking me out.”
Jay raised an eyebrow from a few feet to her left. They were both sitting on the same small couch in the lounge room just in front of their rooms. Finnley had already changed in to her PJ’s, and they both had wet hair from their showers.
Maxxie was also sitting across from them with her platform leather boots on the coffee table, smacking gum.

   “’Fatherly’?” Jayson inquired.
Finnley reached for the chocolate bar and noticed just how bad her hands were shaking.
   “Well ’motherly’ doesn’t work for obvious reasons. So yes. ’Fatherly’.”
She explained as she tried to tear open the chocolate bar.
Failing miserably, Jayson took it and opened it for her.
   “Well if that’s what you want to call ’taking care of you’, then sure.”
He handed the chocolate back and Finnley rolled her eyes teasingly as she slid back into the couch and pulled her socked feet under her.
   “Are you two always like this?” Maxxie spoke up.
   “Like what?” Jayson asked.
   “Like that.”
The two exchanged confused looks.
   “Like what?!” They asked simultaneously.
   “Like,” Maxxie linked the two by waving her fingers between them. “That! I mean you act as if you know each other inside and out! Like a brother and sister, or a couple, but you’ve only known each other for a couple weeks!”
Finnley decided Jay should do the talking, so she busied herself with eating her chocolate bar.
Jay gave her a friendly glare when he realized what she was doing.
Mouthful, she simply pointed to the candy and smiled. Knowing he knew exactly what she was saying.
   “I don’t know how to explain it Maxxie. It’s a God-thing. It’s as simple as that.” Finnley liked the way he put it. And it was very true!
She had often wondered what would have happened if she had never met him.
She was never happy with those out comes however. Dispite the fact that he had destroyed her life and showed her that her reality wasn’t even real at all, she knew that God had a plan for everything, and as a follower of Him, she wasn’t going to question what He put her through.

Maxxie took a deep breath and looked like she was trying to cover the boredom, or slight displeasure.
Finnley suddenly realized! Maxxie wasn’t a Christian!
With this realization, a feeling in her heart broke the surface.
She felt sorry for her. Her heart ached to show her just what God could do if she would just open her ears and heart to Him.

All of these thoughts and feelings made Finn realize what a hypocrite she was!
She realized that God, in her mind, was a distant figure that did nothing but give her what she wanted. A genie waiting to grant her wishes.
She never thought to stop and think what His dream was!
She hadn’t even asked Him wanted her to do with her life.
It was always about her.
What she wanted to do.
Where she wanted to go.
Who she wanted to see.

Tears slid down her face silently as she realized just how utterly lost she really was.
Jayson and Maxxie faded from her vision, their voices dulled out till she couldn’t hear them at all, and then everything went black.

++++

She was standing, floating, flying (or all three for all she knew!) in a tunnel of pure darkness.
At first she just thought it was her eye sight. But she suddenly noticed that it wasn’t just darkness.
It was pitch black sand! Shifting in a large circle around her. Shifting, shifting, every shifting.

At the end of the tunnel was a hole of white light as big as her hand.
So they weren’t joking when they said there’s light at the end of the tunnel. a passing thought stated.
“Am I dead?” she said out loud. She was suddenly scared of this tunnel.
The strange white light was gradually getting bigger, so logically, she figured she was getting closer.
But as she got closer, she also got lower.
Lower.
Lower.
Even lower.
Her bare feet touched the sand for a split second.
She gasped when the sand suddenly reached up and grabbed her ankles.
It pulled her down to her waist in an instant.
A scream left her lips as the quick, black sand swallowed her.
She flailed about wildly as more tears fell down her cheeks.
   “Help me!” She didn’t know why she was screaming, but at the moment she wasn’t really caring.
A sob got choked in her throat as the sand rose higher and higher. She gasped for breath as her head went under.
Her lungs screamed for air, but the sand was suffocating her slowly. Her right hand was the only thing that hadn’t been taken by the sand yet, and even that was soon to be gone.
For one bleak second, she thought for sure this is how it would end.
She had some many things she wanted to do. So many places she wanted to go.
She didn’t want to leave yet. She hadn’t lived yet. She hadn’t lived out her dream. One that had been put into her heart ever sense she was handed her first baby doll.
She didn’t want to go.
She didn’t want to leave him.
A sudden grip on her hand gave her hope. She wasn’t sure who it was. But she didn’t care. Her only hope was this grip on her hand.
Quickly it pulled her up and out of the sand. Her head broke the surface.
Air never tasted so sweet!

Entry: 5

Entry: 5
      - Welcome to H.U.N.T.E.R


Finnley woke up with a splitting headache and remembered why.
She hadn’t taken her pills last night.
   “Oh shoot.” She muttered as she pushed the blanket off. She was disoriented for a moment as her head spun, and she couldn’t remember where she was.
When everything finally came in focus she saw the richly furnished office and it all came crashing down on her.
   “Oh yes. I just figured out that my whole reality is a lie. Awesome.” She scoffed and shoved her feet back into her red converse. Rising from the couch she saw that no one was in the office at all. There was two guards outside the door, but no Jayson.
She caught her reflection in a mirror and scowled at herself.
Running her hand through her hair she quickly did it up in a Dutch braid that went from the left side of her head and wrapped its way around, falling across her right shoulder.
   “Well at least it looks a little better.” She said to herself. “But...where is everyone?” She turned back to the office and looked around.
Humming a Taylor Swift song she walked lazily around the desk. She didn’t touch anything, she knew she would probably trigger and alarm or something and then get arrested. (Ok so maybe her imagination got the best of her sometimes)
She found a note though, just lying there on top of all of the folders and papers. She was shocked when she found that it was addressed to her.
    “Finnley, Jayson and I (Martha) are out in the training grounds, someone should be coming a long shortly.

   “Oo-kay then.” She muttered.

    P.S. There’s a fridge under the desk with food, help yourself!

Looking under the desk she found a little black fridge. Opening it up she was shocked to see that it was all gourmet food.
   “Oh my word! This is insane! Who on earth would spend this much money on food??” She asked herself. Picking up an apple from a fruit platter, she bit into it.
It wasn’t long before she had finished that and tossed the core in the trash can. But what really bothered her was that she couldn’t find her pills. They weren’t in her pocket where she had left them and she searched high and low for them but they weren’t anywhere.
   “Ok...who’s coming along shortly?”
Just then someone burst through the doors.
Finn was a little shocked and turned to see a short woman who looked to be late teens, early twenties. She had a pixie look about her, her bleach blond hair (which had pink tips) was short and stuck out in the back. She had a heart shaped face and the most darling smile.
   “Oh!” She said with a big smile as she walked over to Finnley. “You must be Finnley. I’m Maxxie.” She said giving her a big hug.
   “Nice to meet you Maxxie.” She said with a smile. She already knew she was going to like this little lady.
Maxxie smiled and gestured to the door.
   “Should we go?”
Finn nodded. “Lead the way.”

Finnley was able to see the headquarters much better in the day light. They didn’t go through the room with the globe again, but instead went the opposite way.
Maxxie told Finn all about the places as the passed them.
They came into a big room that looked like the science lab in Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Lots of people were going around with things in their hands, shouting from one to another, trying to get things done. Finnley found it kind of funny.
   “I’m forensics, so my office is back there.” Maxxie said, pointing to a closed door.
   “I’ll have to show it to you later but I think you’d like it.”
Finn smiled as they continued right on through the science lab.
On the opposite end there was two large metal doors. She watched as Maxxie ran her ID through a panel next to the doors and placed her hand on it as well.
There was a beep and the doors rumbled out of the way.
Finnley saw a grassy incline that they both walked up. There was still a roof over their heads till they came to the top of the incline. At the top, Finnley gasped.

   “No. Way.!” She cried in glee.
   “Pretty darn cool isn’t it?” Maxxie asked with a grin of pride.
   “Yeah!”
Turning around in a circle, she tried to take everything in.
For one thing, hardly anybody seemed to be on the ground. They were either strapped to jet packs, sitting on flying motorcycles, or floating skateboards that could go insanely high!
   Most everyone was carrying some kind of weapon, mostly guns though. (However Finn did see one person using a bow.)
The whole field (which was several acres big) was set up with obstacle courses, for the most part, however there was an old building in one corner that had holographs of what looked like more aliens, some of the agents were seeing how many they could kill with in a certain amount of seconds.
   Looking up, Finn saw obstacle courses in the sky! it was insane! They were everywhere. It looked like these aliens had wings, so they would chase the agent around till the agent would find someway of killing it. The holograph would then fall, but disappear before it hit the ground.
   There was also a section of the field that had the physical training. The boxing, martial arts, running, weight lifting, stuff like that. They also had lots of people sparring which Finn found interesting to watch.

   “So she’s alive.”
Finn turned to see Martha standing a little ways off, sparring with a man. She hadn’t bothered to pull back her dark curls where were now heavy with sweat. She was also in a jogging outfit that was black.
  She didn’t keep her eyes offer opponent when she was talking to Finn, she did however, dive under the guy and give him quick jabs in his midsection. The man dove into her and brought her to the ground.
Finn cringed a little, but Martha wasn’t out.
She rolled over as the man tried to hit her again. Stopping at his left side, she used her leg to hit the back of his neck, causing him to fall forward. She quickly jumped up and made to punch him, but instead she gave him a help up and they shook hands.

   Grabbing a towel from a bench on the side lines of the mat and her water bottle she walked over to Finn.
   “How’d you sleep?” She asked with a smile. Finn nodded.
   “Good thanks. And yes you were right, that was a really comfy couch.”
Martha laughed and gestured to someone behind her. Finn noticed a boy who had been slouching on the bench beside the mat stand up and walk over. He had wind tussled brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He wore kaki skinny jeans with Sperry Top-Siders. He was on the small side, and she couldn’t tell if he had any muscle what so ever seeing as he was wearing a sweater. Not like one she would wear, a big baggy one that was comfy but wasn’t exactly good looking. He wore one that was a grey turtle neck, and it looked to be knitted. It fit snuggly, and she had a feeling he was a “pampered poodle”.
   “This is my biological son, Kaden.” Martha introduced. “Jayson’s foster brother.”
Finn smiled and shook his hand when he offered it.
   “Hi. I’m Finnley. Though I’m sure your mom’s already told you that.” She said with a smile. Kaden nodded.
   “Yeah she might have mentioned it.” He said with a charming smile.
There was something about him that gave Finn the impression that not many people said “no” to him.
There was a hum and a sudden wind picked up. Everyone took a few steps back and Finn followed their example. Looking up she saw Jayson strapped to a jet pack, he lowered the throttles and cut the engines a foot above the ground. He landed with a heavy thud and pulled the helmet off his head.
   “Jayson what did I say about not using a jumpsuit to fly?” Martha scolded.
Jayson took a controlled breath. Finn glanced at him and saw that he was just wearing his usual leather jacket and jeans. He tugged off his gloves and tucked his helmet under his arm.
   “Hey Finn, how you feeling?” He asked. She nodded and tucked her hands in her back pockets.
   “Well I’m not so tired, but have you seen my pills? I couldn’t find them anywhere.”
Jay dug into his pockets and pulled out her pill bottle.
   “Fell out of your jacket while you were sleeping.” He explained.
Finn took the bottle and looked around.
   “What do you need dear?” Martha asked.
   “Some kind of drink I can take these with.”
She eyed the pill bottle suspiciously.
   “What are they?”
   “Morphine.” Finn answered.
   “Why do you have morphine?”
Ok now she wondered if this lady was blind. Jay tugged off her hood.
Oh. That might be why she cant see the massive band aid. She thought. Duh.
She turned her head so Martha could see the big bandage.
   “Last night, yesterday, someday yesterday I got hit upside the head with the butt of a gun remember?” She asked.
Martha nodded and handed over her water bottle.
   “Thank you.”
She was a little self-conscious with everyone starring at her so she took the pills as quickly as she could. She made sure her lips didn’t touch the bottle and offered it back to Martha.
   “Back to work boys. I’m sure there’s something you can do.” Their mom ordered with half a smile.
Both boys sighed and Kaden took Finn’s hand again. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do until he kissed it.
She could hear Jay groaning beside her and she felt her self blushing all the way home.
   “See you latter.” He said as he jogged off.
Maxxie giggled and touched Finn’s shoulder.
   “Watch where you trod.” She grinned.
Finnley shook her head and mindlessly wiped the back of her hand off, trying to do it in such away that it wouldn’t draw attention.
But of course Jayson saw her. And he grew a smug smile.
   “What are you smiling at?” She asked sternly. “Go back to work.” She ordered with a playful push.
   “Careful what you wish for.” He warned with a grin as he pulled the helmet back on. She stuck out her tongue at him and turned her back. Determined to ignore him.
He chuckled and turned his jet pack on. The wind whipped her hair into her mouth and as she pulled it back she risked a glance only to see that he was still watching her. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the grin.
Sheesh girl! can you get any more obvious?? She asked herself with a chuckle.
   “Walk with me?”
She looked up and met the kind gaze of Martha.
   “Sure.” She said with a grin.

They walked off to the side of the field and onto a gravel path. Finn looked up and saw a cute little white gate and arch with flowers growing on it. She was a little shocked to see a garden in this place.
   “This is my garden, I started it when I was about your age.” Martha said as they stepped in. Finnley felt like she had been blown away to some kind of fairytale land where the roses bloomed all the time.
Martha led her to a little bench swing and they both sat down. Being in this garden, Finnley suddenly wished she was wearing a bright yellow, or pastel pink dress. (with coordinating converse of course)
   “Finnley, I understand the dangers you risked in coming here. And I am pleased you are here. I really am.”
Finnley knew something bad was about to happen.
   “But...you have to decide if this life is one you want to lead. We go around and kill aliens, and you can’t tell your family about this. Not a single soul. It’s a very hard life to lead. But...there’s another option as well.”
Martha paused and Finn took a deep breath.
   “We have an operation that will leave you with no memories of this.”
Finn looked at her with a look of horror on her face.
   “I know it sounds horrible but you would be able to go back to your old life. However...you would forget everything that’s happened in the past few weeks.”
Finn did the math.
   “I’d forget Jay?” She asked slowly as she looked out at the beautiful garden.
Martha sighed and nodded.
   “I’m afraid so sweetie.”
Her stomach grew into knots and she felt like she could throw up.
   “I know this is a big decision for you, so I’ll let you think about it. You can tell me this afternoon at lunch. We’ll just be eating in my office. I’ll let you have your space.”
Martha stood up and gave Finnley an understanding smile.
   “But Finnley, if you choose to stay, I have some thing you might be interested to hear. But the choice is yours.”
Martha then left and closed the gate behind her.
Well that’s just not nice.

++++

   “Life couldn’t be more confusing could it?” Finnley was still in the garden a few hours later. She was now pacing back and forth, looking at all the flowers while mindlessly picking out the weeds in the flower beds and shoving them into a trash can. She really didn’t know why she was doing this, but she always had to multitask if she wanted answers, and this was what there was.
   “No, instead you can either forget the one amazing guy you’ve ever met in your whole life, or you can lie to the rest of the world.” She groaned and felt like chucking something.
   “Catch!” She spun around on her heels with her hands up in front of her. Her hands met the hard baseball and she tried to ignore the momentary pain.

Rising to her feet she saw Jayson with out his leather jacket. He wore a Colts jersey, and aviator sunglasses were perched on top of his head.
Oh how Finnley wished she had a camera.
He was tugging on a baseball mitt and she noticed the second one under his arm.
He gestured with his head towards the gate.
Not glancing back at the garden, she walked after him as he headed out into the field, which she found was now empty.

Walking a little ways off after he handed her the glove he waited for her to throw the ball.
This was also something she could do. She wasn’t really good at most sports, but she use to toss a ball with her dad.
Ignoring the rising question of how Jay knew this was what she needed at the moment she threw the ball as hard as she could.
She was rewarded with a nice hard smack sound when it hit Jayson’s mitt.
His eyebrows rose slightly as he tossed it back lazily.
She easily caught it out of the air and heaved it back.
   “I take it your frustrated.” He stated as he threw the ball.
   “Really? I wonder what gave me away.” She stated sarcastically.
   “You’re not going to stay right?” He said it in such away that it sounded like he wanted her to leave.
   “I don’t know. Maybe.” She said quietly. He dropped his hands and looked at her. Though she wasn’t sure how he was looking at her sense he had sunglasses on.
   “You can’t be serious.” He stated.
   “Well maybe I am.” She shot back.
   “Finn, you can’t go and lie to your mom and Tanya, every time your called away to go save the world.”
Finnley sighed and looked out over at the field. Trying to figure out all these thoughts and feelings. One thing was for sure, she didn’t want to ever forget Jay. No matter how long they’ve known each other she felt like he was a treasure and she didn’t want to let him slip between her fingers.
But on the other end, she didn’t want to lie to her mom and to her best friend.
And then there was the dangerous side of working for H.U.N.T.E.R.
   “What if you got hurt?” Jayson asked. “What if you died out there. Your mother would never know. We’d have to tell her some messed up story and she wouldn’t know the truth. Do you really think that’s worth it? Really?”
He seemed really upset that she might even consider joining them. And Finn didn’t know why.
   “Jay that’s just a risk I might have to take.” She said, desperate to get him to understand with out coming right out and saying she couldn’t bare to forget him. (seeing as she would probably sound really dumb)
   “No. No it is not. You can walk the other way. You can go back to your mom, to the only parent you have left. And then everything is going to be like it was.”
   “And what about you?” She asked.
   “What about me?”
   “How would you feel if I suddenly woke up and had no clue who you were. If I woke up, starred you in the face, and asked for your name? Huh?” She had caught him by surprise she could tell.
   “This isn’t about me.” He mumbled. He wound up, and threw the ball at her. Now she knew he was upset seeing as he threw it harder then he had before.
   “Yes it is. This decision will affect you just as much as me. And to be honest, I don’t think I want to ever hurt someone like that. Ever.” She threw the ball back. Jayson stopped and took his sunglasses off. He took determined steps up to her and she was a little scared of him at the moment. The look in his eye,... she had never seen that before.
He only stopped till he was close enough that she could reach out slightly and touch him.
His breathing was heavy and his mouth was in a strait line.
Finnley took a breath and hoped he couldn’t hear her frantic heartbeat.
   “Would you hate me if I stayed?” She asked quietly. Keeping her eyes down cast to the grass between their shoes.
She heard Jay take a sharp breath and braced herself for some kind of verbal blow.
   “No.” He replied, equally quiet. “I wouldn’t.”
She was a little shocked by his response and looked into his eyes to make sure he wasn’t teasing. He was dead honest.
   “Really? or are you just saying that to make me happy?” She ventured to ask.
A smile crossed his lips. Finnley shoved her hands deep into her pockets to keep herself from doing something stupid.
   “I’m serious. I-I don’t know how to explain how I feel at the thought of you staying here. It’s like-like-”
He sighed and looked over her head. Running a hand through his blond hair he tried to find the right words.
   “Like you had the strength to do anything, possible, or impossible? Like your so happy your heart might burst into a thousand pieces, each one sparkling as bright as the stars?”
Why did you just say that Finnley?! She yelled at herself. I mean come on girl! do you know how dreamy, and completely and utterly hopeless you sound?!
She didn’t want to hear how he reacted. She wished she could take back what had just slipped out. She wish she wasn’t there.
But, then she did. She wanted to know how he reacted, she wanted to know what he would say.
So all she could do was wait.
A few seconds felt like hours dragging by, all the time she was locked in his silver-blue eyed gaze.
   “Yeah...It feels like that.”

Entry: 4

Entry: 4
      - First glance

When Finnley got back, she found that Jay had already changed and taken a shower.
She found him lying on the couch flipping through channels on the TV. He finally stopped when he found that one channel was playing Fast and Furious.
She rolled her eyes and placed a grocery bag on the kitchen counter. She had noticed the fridge had no sodas what so ever so she had stopped to get some seeing as she could hardly go a day with out a cherry Coke.

She jumped through a quick shower and quickly pulled out her new clothes.
They weren’t her first choice seeing as most of them were boys clothes (due to the fact she couldn’t seem to find a decent T-shirt in the girls part)
She looked at herself in the floor length mirror on the bathroom door.
“Oh gosh. I sure hope I’ll be able to get a new outfit soon.” She muttered. Though it struck her as funny because most of the clothes she owned at home where from the guys department in Target.
She now wore a pair of skinny jeans (from the girls department) still with her red converse. She did not plan on getting rid of those anytime soon.
But she wore a boys shirt that was a little baggy but it would do. In fact it was a vintage looking Coke T-shirt. She had laughed when she picked it up and just had to get so here she was now.
Taking out a brush from the bag she ran it through her hair and tossed it up in a really messy bun.

She let out a sigh.
   “This is as good as it’s going to get Finn.” She said to her mirrored self.
Opening the door, she tied her old clothes in a plastic bag.
Jay was still watching the movie. She glanced at it and tried not to laugh as the kid tried to drift, and just managed to hit everything he tried to avoid.
Walking into the kitchen she found that she was starving and needed something to eat. Glancing at the clock on the oven she laughed.
6:45pm. Yeah that would be why she was hungry.
Humming her daddy’s lullaby again, she looked though all the cupboards and fridge.
   “What are you doing?” Jay asked, getting up from the couch and walking over.
He was dressed in black jeans, and a Mt. Dew shirt that looked an awful lot like her Coke shirt. Only green. Duh.
   “I am hungry so I was thinking of making dinner.” She said turning back to ransacking the cupboards.
   “You cook?” He asked in shock. She laughed.
   “Yes. My dad made sure of it. You have a lot of noodles, do you have pasta sauce?” She really was just thinking out loud, but Jay answered anyways.
He reached over her and opened a cupboard. When he pulled out his hand he was holding a can of pasta sauce.
   “Yup.” He answered as he handed her the can. She smiled and pulled out a pot.
Setting the noodles to boil, she leaned against the island counter as Jay lounged on the couch again.
   “Is that from the guys department?” He asked pointing to her shirt.
She chuckled.
   “Yeah.”
His eyebrows shot up.
   “You wear guy clothes?” He asked in shock. She nodded.
   “Only because there isn’t a decent shirt to be seen in the girls department.”
He nodded.
   “That’s true. I hate what girls wear these days.” He muttered. She took that little tidbit and filed it under ’Jayson’ in her head.
   “Yeah. Most of my clothes at home are from the guys department anyway.” She added thoughtfully with a laugh. “People thought I was a little weird, but I couldn’t care less about what they think.”
Thinking of home she thought of her mom and was grateful that she was up in New York.
She suddenly gasped and scrambled for her phone.
   “What?” Jayson asked a little startled. She didn’t answer and scrolled through her contacts till she came to Tanya’s name. She was about to hit the little green button when Jay suddenly jumped up from the couch and knocked the phone out of her hand.
   “No!” He cried. “You can’t call them! Ok? You can’t call Tanya, you can’t call your mom! You can’t call anyone. Not on a cell phone anyway. Alright?”
Finn was taken aback by his sudden outburst. She had completely forgotten about all that, she just wanted to call Tanya to tell her she was ok.
She knew that Jayson was right, but it had just taken her by surprise and it had shaken her up. Not only that, but everything that had happened in the past day!
The aliens, finding out who Jayson really was, getting beaten by an alien, steeling a car, it all came down on her hard.

Jay sighed, and figured that he probably had overreacted.
   “Sorry Finn, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
She didn’t answer, her head was getting dizzy and her hands were shaking.
Sugar. My sugar levels are low. She had lived with this all her life, so she knew what to do when her sugar level dropped.
   “Finn? are you ok?”
She managed to shake her head. Walking over to the grocery bag she pulled out a Coke and a Hershey’s bar.
   “Finnley what are you doing?” He asked as he watched her try to open the chocolate bar.
   “My blood sugar is low. Really, really low.” She said slowly, trying to prevent her voice from breaking.
   “Here.” He took the bar from her hands and tore it open and handed it back, then popped open the Coke.
   “Thanks.” She muttered as she bit into the chocolate.

A few minutes latter she felt much better, the shaking had stopped and the dizziness left. She rescued the noodles from Jay and turned them off before they boiled over.
Instructing him how to drain them and then heat up the sauce, he looked pretty pleased with himself that he hadn’t burned anything.
The pasta was pretty good and seeing as he didn’t have a table
( “Who doesn’t have a dinning table?!” ) they ate on the floor. Which was fine with both of them. Finn thought of it as a indoor picnic. Just with out the ants.

   “So what do we do next?” She asked as she signaled Jay to wipe his mouth off.
   “We go to HQ.” He said simply. She nodded as she took another bite.
   “And where would that be exactly?”
   “Downtown Orlando actually.”
She rose her eyes and nodded.
   “Alright then.”
   “Yup. There you’ll have to choose though.” That seemed to slip out of him before he could get control over his tongue.
   “’Choose’?” She repeated.
He clenched his jaw and she figured out by that he wasn’t going to explain.
She let out a sigh and jumped up from the ground. Taking her bowl and empty Coke can with her she scrubbed the bowl clean and dried it off.
   “We have to go.”
She turned and saw that Jayson was peaking out the window.
   “Why?” She asked.
   “Because...He’s back.”
She bit her bottom lip as she tried to get her thoughts together.
Jayson went into his room and came back with his leather jacket and a hoodie.
He tossed her the hoodie, she pulled it on then grabbed her jean jacket. He flipped off all the lights and they walked down the stairs and went into the garage.
   “Oh. My. Gosh.” Finnley gapped as she saw a sleek black sports car with a green strip on the bottom.
   “No way! how the heck can you pay for this thing?” She asked as she walked around the car.
   “Killing aliens isn’t with out it’s perks.” Jay said with a chuckle.
She hopped into the front seat as he got into the driver’s side.
The car’s engine was a soft hum that told her that this was a really, really expensive car! She was almost afraid to move in the car, afraid she’d mess something up.
A holographic mini computer thing came out of the dash board, and Jay clicked a few buttons. The garage door opened and he drove out onto the street.

Finn couldn’t help but constantly glancing in the side mirror to see if the weird zombie dude was following them again.
The city passed by quickly, lots of clubs and their rather disturbing signs were all lit up with lines going all the way out the door.
She tried to ignore the uneasy feeling she had in the pit of her stomach as she sunk a little into the seat.
She also tried to pretend she didn’t notice Jay’s constant staring at her.
But at one point she just couldn’t take it.

   “Would you stop that?” She said, keeping her eyes out the front window.
   “What?” Jay asked all cool like he had no idea what she was talking about.
   “You keep starring at me when you think I’m not looking.” She said, rising back into the seat her full height.
She saw Jayson blush a little. Which made her chuckle.
   “Why do you do that anyways?” She asked. “Just curious.” She added when she saw him hesitate.
   “I don’t know. I guess it’s just years and years of trying to see through an aliens disguise.”
   “Ok that I get, but you don’t do it to everyone. Sure maybe an alien but you do it to me the most.” She pointed out in a low voice. This was all new waters for her. And she admitted that she has no clue where she is, or where she’s going.
Jay didn’t say anything, and Finn was hoping that she could take that back.
You just should have left it at that Finnley! But no, you can never leave well enough alone can you?!
She cupped her chin and starred out the window.
   “Probably because your the only girl who’s ever given me a second glance.” Jay said slowly after a moment. She was surprised by his statement. Glancing over at him she couldn’t believe that.
He was the typical surfer guy who every girl wanted. So what was that about?
But she didn’t know that Jason had thought the same thing about her when she said that she was usually invisible to everyone else. (Besides Ryan Stevens apparently)
   “Well I guess that goes for both of us.” She said with slight smile.
He glanced over at her as she fiddled with her purity ring. She had to remind herself of the commitment she made several years ago. And once she did, all the butterflies flew away and she felt just like...her. Which was odd because she felt like she could never truly be herself for anyone. Even Tanya.
   “Have you ever had a friend who knew you through and through?” Jay asked.
   “Someone you could be yourself around no matter what’s going on?”
Finn thought it was just a little freaky that he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. (Though she knew he really didn’t, but it felt like it.)
   “Not really. Not before now anyways.” She said quietly. “Everyone always expects something out of me. Either to be quiet and not exist to the world, or to be a tough girl that doesn’t show what’s going on the inside. Or just to be the track runner, or dancer. Nothing more nothing less. It’s quiet tiring actually.”
   “I know what you mean. That’s the same with me. I’m the youngest field agent in H.U.N.T.E.R and as such I have to keep a reputation. If I slack I loose respect. Respect I’ve worked extremely hard for. But no one ever wants to really know me. They just all think I’m some kind of super solider. But....”
   “You have feelings just like everyone else.” Finnley finished for him.
He glanced at her and grinned.
   “Yeah. Apparently we more a like then we knew. But lets see, I’m going to say that we’re also way more different then the same. Seeing that you fight aliens, where as I am just a dancer or a track runner, or what ever. But mainly just the ordinary girl next door.” She rocked back and forth in her seat and started humming again.
   “To everyone else.” Jayson added.
she smiled. At the moment she didn’t connect it. At the moment she wasn’t really thinking either. But she felt the bond between them grow stronger. And she wondered if he felt it too.
   “So when are we going to get there? Where ever ‘there’ is?” Finn asked.
   “Do you ever stop asking questions?” he asked. She could hear the teasing note in his voice and just grinned.
   “No. I don’t. Now answer please.” She said snapping her fingers a little impatiently.
Jay shook his head.
   “I don’t think so Ms. Leavenworth. You’re going to have to figure it out just like the rest of us.”
   “Rest of us?” She questioned. “How many kids are in this...this agency?”
   “Um....” he pulled up into an old bank building that looked to be run down and abandoned.
   “well, one that actually does something? Uh one. Me.” He got this Doctor Who grin on his face that made her burst out laughing.
   “What are we doing here?” She asked. He gestured with his head and they both hopped out.
   “Now I have to warn you. You might not get a warm welcome. Their a little....stingy.” He explained.
That didn’t exactly make Finnley feel comforted.
He chuckled and squeezed her hand.
   “Don’t worry. I won’t leave your side.” He said quietly. Only loud enough for her to hear it. Not that there was anyone else to here it though.

Jayson didn’t let go of her hand, and for that, she was more grateful then she could find the words to express.
He opened the rusted looking door and they found themselves in what would have been the lobby.
There was cobwebs everywhere and dead plants. There was no lights in there except for the moon light.
Jay led her over to the front desk and bashed his fist on the desk.
   “What are you doing?” She whispered, not really wanting to break the heavy silence. He put a finger to his lips and she bit her bottom lip.
There was a sudden hiss and two people came out with guns and they were pointed at her.
Her grip on Jayson’s hand tightened and she held her breath.
   “Hey, don’t get trigger happy.” Jay said as he starred them down. “Martha knows she’s here.”
The lady in the expensive suit motioned for the two armed men to put their guns down.
   “Long time no see Jayson.” She said, clasping her hands in front of her.
He didn’t look particularly happy to see her.
She frowned and made a ‘tsk tsk’ sound. Then she snapped her fingers. One of the men put away his gun and pulled out a tablet. Coming up to Finnley, he grabbed her right hand and forced it down on the tablet.
She quickly figured out that they were taking her finger prints.
   “You could have just asked you dolt.” She muttered.
Jayson chuckled beside her and the woman rose an eyebrow.
   “Well, well. You always attract the wild ones don’t you Jayson?” She asked.
Jay rolled his eyes and the agent let go of Finn’s hand.
   “She’ll be processed,” the other lady said. Finn didn’t like the sound of that. “After, Martha sees her.”
Jayson didn’t wait for his escort, he shoved past the lady and Finnley followed him.

They walked through another door that looked like a wood panel and soon she found herself in the rest of the building. Only it was extremely high-tech, there was lots of people, no cobwebs, and it looked nothing like the lobby. But she had kind of guessed that. She chuckled as they walked past rows of computers and tons of people talking on headsets. A big holographic globe was the center piece in the room. There was red blinking dots all over the country that she couldn’t figure out what they meant.
   “They tell us where our agents are.” Jayson whispered in her ear.
   “Oohh. You know that’s just plain freaky.” She whispered back.
   “What? how we track them.”
   “No. How you know exactly what I’m thinking.” She answered. “How do you do that? your not some kind of mind reader are you?”
He just grinned at her. Leaving her with her mouth hanging open. She rolled her eyes as they left the big circular room and into a series of hallways. He led her into a huge, huge office.

It was all richly furnished with expensive wood furniture and leather. Paintings filled the walls and livened up the room. But what Finnley was shocked to hear was Mozart playing in the back ground.
Standing in front of the antique record player was a woman with short dark brown curled hair. She wore expensive looking slacks and a pretty blue blouse.
But when she turned around, Finnley was shocked to see how young her face looked.
She smiled at the two of them and walked over to Jayson. Giving him a hug.
   “Oh it’s so good to see you Jayson. It’s been to long. Really.”
Finnley felt a little awkward, until the woman gave her a hug as well. She was completely shocked that she was stunned.
   “And yes, you must be Finnley. It’s good to meet you. Seeing as I’ve heard a lot about you.”
The woman walked back in front of her desk and pulled out a file. Finnley saw a flash of her latest school picture on a page and couldn’t control the slight anxiety that ran up her leg, making it bounce.
   “I see you’re quiet the dancer. And no criminal record so that’s always good.”
Finnley let out a small sigh and tried to act interested. But to be honest her head was hurting again and she was exhausted.
The snooty lady came back in and reported that she hadn’t been processed yet. Finnley was tempted to stick her tongue out at her.
   “Don’t.” Jayson whispered.
She took a deep breath and tried to control the urge.
   “Darling how are you feeling?” She realized the woman was speaking to her.
   “Um....” She was having trouble processing the question. “Honestly?” She asked.
The woman shooed the nasty lady away and nodded for Finn to continue.
   “I’ve got a splitting headache due to the nasty blow I got from the butt of a gun that was held by some freakin’ alien who turns out to have blue blood. I’m freaking out because I just stole someone’s care, so there goes my spotless record. I find out that...he’s some kind of secret agent,” she made a sweeping gesture to Jayson. “And kills aliens for a living. And frankly I can go on a little longer but soon I’m going to turn into a zombie.”
She stopped her rambling and waited to see how she would react.
Martha (Finn assumed she was Martha) turned to Jayson.
    “Well I see you held nothing back.” she said. Finn scoffed.
    “Oh he’s held tons back. Which is a good thing because my head is about to explode.” She muttered.
   “What’s this about a zombie?” Jay asked turning to her. Finn looked at him as he should know this.
   “She’s tired Jayson.” Martha said coming up and putting a hand on Finn’s shoulder.
   “And you should be. You can sleep on the couch, it’s actually rather comfortable.” She gestured over to the only piece of furniture that wasn’t made of leather.
Finn was a little hesitant to let go of Jayson’s hand. And Martha noticed.
   “Oh don’t worry, he’ll be here in the morning I can promise you. And as a matter of fact, he’ll probably stay right outside that door. He’s real good about guarding the people he loves. Now go. You’ll need your rest.”
Jayson nodded and let go of her hand.
Martha handed her a blanket and she sighed. The couch did look awfully welcoming. Kicking off her shoes, she curled up with the blanket and fell fast a sleep.

Entry: 3

Entry: 3
     - On the run from who knows what!


Halfway to the hospital Finnley felt herself slipping. Black splotches were crossing her vision and her head felt like it was about to split open.
   "Jay." She said quietly. But the wind was to loud for him to hear. "Jayson!" She said louder.
He heard her that time and looked at her. With just one glance she knew she could probably tell him everything she wanted to. Just by a look.
Well that's....weird. A passing thought stated.
   "It's getting worse." She said. "You need to hurry before I pass out."
He nodded. And sped up, weaving in and out of cars in the intersection.
   "Just hold on there Finn. We're almost there." He said quietly.
She tried to remind herself how to breath and took closed her eyes and rested her head against Jayson's shoulder. At the moment she was unusually tired.
She realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to close her eyes. Opening them quickly, she watched the cars pass by. Most of the drivers only gave her one glance, the kids in the back seat were arguing or playing a game.
Taking in a shaky breath, her eyes were drawn to a silver Toyota that was keeping up speed with them. Weaving in and out of the lanes just as they were.
Meeting the gaze of the driver she gasped.
   "What?" Jayson asked. Hearing her gasp.
   "Um....I don't want to pressure you or anything but...their back." She stated in a tone a little higher then she wanted. But she wasn't worried about that. Jayson gave the bike more gas and it went faster then Finnley thought possible. She held on tight and she sure hoped she wasn't hurting Jayson. Not that he cared at the moment.

The whole motorcycle and car chase was something Finn had only seen in movies. Never in her wildest dreams would she ever think she would actually be in one!
Jayson was pretty good at keeping the bike balanced, and also really good at taking such sharp turns Finn cringed at the sound of metal meeting pavement.
Jayson quickly took a side road that lead to the hospital and quickly pulled up into a tight alley. Turning off the bike the two kids turned around in silence and watched the silver Toyota race past them.
Finnley had let go of Jayson's waist and sat up strait. He touched her hand and she noticed that he was already off the bike. Jumping off he took her hand again.
   "Ok we need to get to that hospital." He muttered as they silently and quickly, walked down the street.
   "But we need to make sure they don't see us. Alright?"
Finnley nodded and knew now was not the time to ask 'what happens after that?'.

The two of them made it to the hospital emergency entrance. Jayson quickly turned Finnley over to a doctor, they both weren't to happy to be separated but he let her go as soon as he knew what room she was in.
Finnley couldn't keep still as they gave her a shot of morphine for the pain. She hated needles too. She closed her eyes as they started to stitch up her head. All she felt was a gentle tugging but she knew she might throw up if she opened her eyes.
Time went by quickly and the doctor was soon done and had put a square band aid on it.
   "Let me get you those pain killers for you little lady." He said kindly. She nodded and watched him leave.
Sitting at the edge of the bed and in an empty room she fiddled with her hands while her leg bounced up and down. Her hoodie was now covered in blood which was not good, and it made her a little sick to think about it.
The doctor came back in and handed her the pill bottle.
   “Thank you.” She said quietly.
   “No problem. You should take one of these every morning and night to keep the pain and swelling down, alright?”
She nodded.
   “Well your brother seems very anxious to see you so I’ll let him in now.”
At first she wasn’t sure who he was talking about seeing as she had no siblings but she then remembered Jayson.
   “Oh. Sure.” She said a little slowly.
The doctor smiled at her and opened the door. He said something to Jayson and then left. Jason walked in with a glance behind him.
   “Do you think your up for more running?” He asked quietly.
Finn chuckled.
   “Well seeing as the morphine hasn’t worn off yet. Why not? But why do I have the feeling that we’re going to be spending a lot of time running?”
Jason sighed and nodded.
   “Yeah. Look I know you want answers. And I promise I will try to answer them as best as I can, but not right now.”
Finn met his gaze and Jayson noticed that when she bit her bottom lip it was like a sign that she wasn’t going to back down so easily.
   “But we really need to go.” He said tugging at her hand and pulling her up off the bed. Finnley slipped the pills into her pocket and followed Jason through the hospital.

 
They spotted the guys in the lobby and quickly ducked and went the opposite direction.
   “Ok how on earth are we going to get back to your bike?” Finnley asked as they opened a door and came out into a parking lot.
   “No clue. Go. Go. Go!” Jayson shoved her in front of him as he saw the men burst out of the door.
   “Go where?!” Finn cried as she ran strait. Not really knowing where she was going.
   “Get back outside!” Jayson called after her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw him several feet behind her. She also saw the two men behind them licking the chops like they were some kind of animal.
That was enough to strike fear through her to her core.
Turning ahead she did the one thing she knew how to do well. Run.
Pretending to be back home on the race track was pointless, so she selected a dance song from her head and played it all the way through.

Running as fast as she could she figured that if she was in a desert she’d kick up dirt. She was going to fast to think of what was going on behind her. But she sure hoped that Jason was going to be able to keep up with her.
She didn’t see the car till it was too late. Letting out a scream, she forced herself to jump onto it’s hood. The car came to a screeching stop. She ran up the windshield and across the hood, flipping off the roof she landed on her knees and groaned.
She heard a sudden wail and looked around the car.
The two men were crying out holding their ears like the noise was of the screeching tires was too much.
What the...??
Jayson caught up to her and snapped his fingers in front of her face.
   “Keep going!”
She spun around and dashed off down to the ramp that led up to the upper levels and the lower levels.
Running around the circular ramp got her dizzy, so she starred at the ground and tried to ignore everything else.
   “Keep going Finn. Don’t stop!” Jason yelled behind her.
   “What the heck do you think I’m doing?!” She snapped. Glancing behind her, she noticed that Jayson wasn’t with her anymore. Running to the banister she looked up and saw the two men again. One yelled at her in what she guessed was another language.
   “Dang it.” She muttered. Pushing away from the wall, she kept going. Though she was still worried about Jayson.
There was a sudden yell that froze her in her tracks. Looking back up the spiral ramp she suddenly saw a flash of light and more yelling. A flash of blond hair clued her in.
She turned around and got off the ramp and into a parking lot.
She scanned the rows and rows of cars and found someone just pulling up.
She ran over to the 20 year old guy and smiled kindly.
   “Hi, um I need to use your car for a moment.” She said once he had rolled down the window.
The guy hesitated. “Why?” There was another scream from higher up. Now she was getting really worried.
   “Ok look. My brother is in huge trouble and I really need to get to him now, so would you mind? I’ll return it I promise!”
She practically dragged the poor guy out of the car and jumped in. Before she drove off she stopped and looked at the guy. “What’s your name?”
   “Stephen Moore.” She nodded.
Not even bothering with the seat belt she stepped on the gas.

What the heck are you doing Finnley Leavenworth?!?! She yelled at her self as she spun around and around the spiral ramp. She was getting closer to the yelling and she jerked when there was a sudden burst of light in front of her. She saw a figure and slammed on the brakes, only too late. She rammed right over him and let out a small scream. The light disappeared and she couldn’t make sense of the scene before her.
One of the guys that had been chasing them (the fat one, Jon) was now on the ground with what looked like blue blood poring out of a chest wound. And Jayson was running over to the car with what looked like a gun in his hand!
He jumped into the passenger seat and told her to go. She shook her head but not before something under the car moved.
   “Ok what the heck was that?” She asked as she drove the car in reverse.
   “That would be the guy you just ran over.” Jay answered.
Just on queue, the guy rose from the ground. His face looked all wrong, half of it was blue, one eye lid was swollen shut, the other half of his face look like it was just a piece of cloth gone limp.
   “Go, go, go!!” Jayson screamed. The guy made a low moan and tried to walk to them. Finn stepped on the gas and turned around in the seat to see behind her. Down, down, down. She then found the level she had left Stephen at but she knew that if she went back in there they most likely wouldn’t get out.
Giving a loud groan, she kept going down.
Coming out into the day light she swung the car out and quickly shifted it to ‘drive’.
She let out a startled cry when the zombie dude suddenly jumped out of no where.
   “Step on it!” Jayson cried louder.
And she did, leaving the dude with blue blood eating their dust.

++++

   “What, the heck was that?!” She cried as she pulled up onto the interstate. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel she quickly put on her seat belt.
   “What was what?” Jay asked.
   “Oh don’t you start with me Jayson Stone. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” She glanced over at him and he sighed.
   “Come on! I’ve come this far with out having a mental break down, but right now my head is about to explode and no!” She cut him off before he could say anything. “It is not because of my stitches.”
He starred out the window and rubbed his head. Running his hand through his blond hair.
   “What do you want to know?” He asked.
   “What was that? why was he bleeding blue blood? and why the heck do you have a gun!!?? your seventeen! that is not old enough to carry a gun!”
He waited patiently for her ranting to be over before he tried to explain.
   “Alright that thing was an alien. Yes I know sounds absurd and yes it was real. That particular alien was called a Hyven. Their from Sector 5.”
Finnley was stunned into silence. Of course the sane side of her said: ‘Don’t listen to this boy he’s probably high on some kind of drug and has no clue what he’s saying.’
While the other side said: ‘Well it does account for the blue blood, and though I have no idea what Sector 5 is, it makes for the weird things that happened.’

Taking a deep breath she tried to keep her hands from shaking too bad that Jay might notice.
   “So...you’re saying that...their aliens and their not even from earth right?” She asked. She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye.
   “And let me guess,” Everything was now making sense. The pieces were falling into place. The karate, the cryptic phone calls, the gun that laid on his lap. It all made sense. “You’re part of some sort of agency that hunts down aliens to save the rest of us with the headache that their real right?”
She grinned at the shocked look on his face.
   “How did you...?”
She laughed.
   “It’s not that dificult to figure out Jay. First off your a freakin’ ninja. No boy that I’ve ever met knows how to do karate. Secondly, that cryptic phone call? Agent number, clearance, ya de ya de ya. Dead give away. Thirdly, you have a freakin’ gun! again another give away. Do I need to continue?”
She saw Jayson chuckle and pointed to the exit coming up.
   “Turn here.” She put on the blinker and moved across the lanes and down in the exit ramp.
   “Figure all that out on your own huh?” He asked.
She nodded.
   “Yup.”
   “Well your practically spot on. But we only kill aliens if they’re causing trouble in our Sector. Which is pretty much....all the time. But yeah.”
   “So what agency? CIA? FBI?” She didn’t know any others besides MI6 but she doubted he worked for the British. Though she guessed it was possible.
   “It’s actually called H.U.N.T.E.R.”
She rose an eyebrow in a questioning look.
   “Don’t ask, it stands for some ridiculously long name so everyone nicknamed it H.U.N.T.E.R.”
   “Fitting.” She muttered.
   “That’s what most people thought. Anyways I’m actually the youngest field agent they have. Most of the others are adults. We operate some what similar to the CIA or FBI but we’re all trained in the most high-tech stuff and we all know a hundred ways to kill aliens depending on their race and Sector.”
Finn was mind-blown that he talked about this all like it was normal!
But she quickly moved on to something that was bugging her.
   “Why were they after me?” She asked quietly. Forcing her eyes to stay on the road. Jay didn’t answer for a really long time and she thought that maybe he hadn’t heard her.
   “Because....you were a bargaining chip.” He answered finally.
   “For what? or who, which ever works.”
Again he was quiet.
   “Take a right.” He said as she came to a red light. Taking her hands off the steering wheel she turned to him.
   “For who?” She repeated.
He tried to look every where but her. But it didn’t work very well.
   “Me.” He answered honestly.
Her eyebrows furled as someone behind her honked. Turning back to the road she quickly turned right.

Neither of them said anything for the next several miles. Finnley was confused. They hardly ever talked, besides the day they had to do that English paper. After that he didn’t talk to her unless he had to. Which wasn’t much.
   “But we’ve barely talked to each other. I hardly know you. Then. I mean I do now but then I didn’t.” She couldn’t help but ramble a little. That’s what she did when she was nervous.
   “Yeah I know and that’s what I wanted. Because I was trying to prevent this.” He groaned and pulled at his hair like it was all his fault. Which...if she really thought about it, it was. But she didn’t think like that.
   “It’s not your fault.” She said gently. Jay was to distracted to tell her where to go so she pulled into a parking spot just outside of a McDonalds. Turning off the engine, she turned in her seat.
Jayson let out a shaky breath as he gazed out the window.
   “Yes it is. If I hadn’t done anything, if I had just left you alone, you wouldn’t be in this mess.” He argued.
   “Ok lets get this strait mister.” She said in a stern voice. “What’s done is done. There’s nothing you can do to change any of this now. So now I know about aliens. Big deal. But you cant go around regretting every decision you make.”
She turned the car back on and turned forward.
   “And besides,” She said with a cocky grin. “It’s because of me you lived a little.”
She laughed at his shocked face and drove out of the parking lot.
   “You are one crazy girl.” He said with a grin.
Well at least he’s smiling again. She thought.
   “I know.” She said with a wink. “Now where are we going?”
 
Jayson didn’t tell her where she was going, just directed her what streets to turn on.
   “Ok seriously Jay. Where the heck are we going?” She demanded.
He just laughed.
   “Jay?” He asked suspiciously but with a hint of teasing in his tone.
   “Yeah. You spell your name with a ‘Y’ anyways. And besides you call me ‘Finn’. So we’re even.” She retorted with a cocky grin as she turned onto a street that had an empty lot and then two apartment buildings across from each other.
   “Pull into the drive way here.” He said gesturing to the apartment building on the right.
   “You don’t like that nickname?” He asked as they climbed out of the car.
   “You don’t like yours?” She shot back.
   “I didn’t say that.” He said as he produced a pair of keys and unlocked the door.
   “Well neither did I.” She stated as she walked in after Jayson.

Inside they came to a spacious apartment that had only two rooms and a small bathroom. Which she figured was ok if it was just him living here. She wondered what they were doing here.
   “Home sweet home.” He muttered as he tossed the keys onto the counter.
   “Why am I not surprise that this is your apartment?” she said quietly as she noticed that the only thing that actually hinted that somebody lived here was the punching bag hung up to one of the beams. There was a leather sofa in the living room facing the TV. A desk with a computer on it against the far wall. The punching bag was in a corner surrounded by windows. She looked in the bathroom and saw that there wasn’t anything in there other then a few bars of soap and some shampoo.

Coming into the kitchen she saw that at least the fridge was stocked with food, that looked to be put in there recently.
   “Once I called Martha, she told me to go home so she probably had someone put the food in there.”
   “Hmm...” She muttered as she shut the fridge again and turned to Jay. “What now?”
   “There’s a thrift store down the street. You need to get rid of those clothes.” She was about to ask what about him but he seemed to know that was coming. “This is my apartment remember?” He said with a grin.
duh. she thought. He would have his own clothes here.
   “Alright, be back in a few.” She checked to make sure the cash was still in her pocket. Running down the stairs to the door she stopped when a hand tugged at her shoulder. Turning around, Jay dangled a key in front of her face.
   “You’ll need this then.” He said. She smiled and took the key.
   “Yeah. Probably.” She then turned around only to get pulled back again.
   “Don’t use your cell phone ok?” She nodded.
   “Because they’ve probably got a tap in it right? I know all this Jay. Stop worrying. I’ll knock three times before keying in, so don’t shoot me on the spot.” She waved bye and opened the door.
   “Dang she’s good.” She heard Jayson mutter before she shut the door.
She chuckled and walked off to the thrift store.

Entry: 2

Entry: 2
     - Trouble,....HUGE trouble!


The next week went by rather slowly. At least for Finnley.
Jason didn’t talk to her except when he really had to. She racked her brain all week trying to figure out what the heck she did wrong.
And then her mom was scheduled to go a business trip to New York for half a week. Maybe even the whole week.

   “Honey are you sure you don’t want to come?” Finnley’s mom asked as she ran around her room packing franticly, seeing as her plane was leaving in a few hours.
   “No. It’s fine mom. I’ve got lots of homework to do anyways.” Finnley said as she helped her mom pack.
   “Well...” She stopped what she was doing and looked her daughter in the eye.
   “Alright. Only Tanya can come over. No boys! What so ever!”
Finnley nodded solemnly. She knew better then to point out that she had never done that in the past. Her mom was worried enough, so she didn’t need to add to it.
   “Yes ma’am.” She said, watching her mom zip up her single suitcase. She grabbed her purse and slipped her feet into her high heels.
For a moment they just looked at each other. Finnley saw her mom’s eyes begin to weld up with tears.
   “Mom. You’ll be alright.” Finnley said with a smile as she placed her hands on her mom’s shoulders. She waved a hand at her daughter and scoffed.
   “Me?? Honey I’m worried about you!”
Finn laughed. And glanced at the clock.
   “Mom you have to go or you’re not going to make it to your plane.”
She picked up her mom’s luggage and the two made it down stairs just in time to hear the taxi honk it’s horn.
   “Alright, I’m leaving you the car keys, but just be extremely careful!” Her mom handed Finnley the keys. She doubted she’d drive it. She had only had her driver’s license a week or so.
   “You have the number of my hotel, and just don’t call me between 1:00 and 4:00 because I’ll be in meetings. But if it’s an emergency then leave a message, or go strait to my cell phone.”
   “Mom. Mom we’ve gone through this at least a dozen times!” Finnley said as she tossed the bag in to the taxi’s trunk.
   “I’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. Now just get going would ya?” She asked teasingly.
Her mom took a deep breath and nodded.
   “Alright. You’re right. Ok. I love you. Be safe. And keep the alarm on.”
Her mom gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and slid into the seat.
   “Will do. Love you mom. See you in a week.”
   “Half! Half of a week.” Her mother corrected.
Finnley nodded.
   “Right. Bye!” She called as the taxi pulled away and she shoved her thumbs in her pockets as she watched the taxi take her mother away.
Taking a deep breath she gazed around the street and noticed the boy with a black hoodie and a leather jacket. His blond hair was it’s usual fohawk and stuck up in the front.
She thought it was a little funny that he was in the same position she was in. Feet apart, thumbs in pockets and starring each other down. Not really.
They were just trying to figure the other out.
She couldn’t figure out why he looked so torn, and he couldn’t figure out why she looked so curious.
Simultaneously, they both walked into their own houses with out a glance back.

Leaning against the door she sighed. This was beginning to get really annoying.
She dashed up the stairs and into her bedroom. She shoved her feet into a pair of red high top converse, and she grabbed a hoodie and a denim jacket.
Yes it was Florida. But it was also winter time. So in other words, it was freezing outside.

Grabbing some cash just in case, she walked out into the garage and pulled out her bike. She hadn’t ridden it in a while, but it was still in great shape. Pedaling down the lane as fast as she could, she got a little cocky. Taking sharp turns where she had to put down her foot in order to get around it, she found her way to the local park.

Buying herself a hot pretzel she sat down on a bench and watched everyone else in the park. She was just content to watch people pass by with out anyone second glancing her. She didn’t mind being invisible to others.
She always considered it a gift from God. Because she was always the one to take a step back and recognize the problem.
And that’s what she decided to do right then. She uncovered the feelings that had started the first day she met Jason and tried to figure them out with the guidance of the Holy Ghost.
What she found confused her. The feelings were ones of deep caring, but she wasn’t sure if it was love. (seeing as she had only felt that once and that was a very long time ago)
There was also a mix of some kind of need. She wasn’t sure what that meant. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
She let out a deep, shaky sigh and realized she had finished her cinnamon pretzel.
Closing her eyes she tilted her head to catch what little sunshine had made it’s way through the grey overcast sky.
   Lord....what ever this feeling is, good or bad, please don’t let me break the most important promise I made to my daddy.
Silent tears rolled down her cheeks.
   I want to keep him proud of me. I don’t want to let him down. So Lord, if it’s your plan for Jayson and I to....to be together or what ever please let him be right for me. Let him know already the right way of doing things, because I won’t teach it to him. That is one of my requirements. Which you know. So...just help both of us with this, bring us together, or let us drift apart, but please do it soon because I’m not sure I can go through a close relationship with a sudden break up again.
Please Lord....

   “What are you doing?”
Her blood curled and her fists clenched. Reluctant to open her eyes she found Ryan watching her with a look in his eyes that made her want to spit in his face.
   “Nothin’.” She said as she rose to her feet and made to get back to her bike.
   “Hey!” Ryan caught her arm, making her turn around. She tried to look anywhere but his dark green eyes.
   “Why is it that you always seem to hate me?” he asked in a low voice.
She let out a short sigh. “Because you don’t know when to stop Ryan.” She said as she looked down at her shoes. “Because you don’t know when to give up.”
   “I thought girls didn’t like it when we gave up.” Ryan pointed out with that cocky grin Finnley hated.
   “Yes. Most girls. But not me. So go find some nice cheerleader and leave me alone.”
She twisted her wrist, breaking his hold on her, but he didn’t give up that easy.
   “Finn.”
No that feels wrong! She thought. But before she could do anything, Ryan pulled her close. Everything happened in slow motion, and in her head she was screaming.
Just before her vision was blocked, she noticed the one boy she didn’t want to see at the moment. He was off by a tree right behind Ryan, watching with what looked like shear horror on his face.
Then Finnley received her first kiss. From the one guy that she hated with her whole being.
This is not happening! She screamed. She couldn’t do anything. She was utterly paralyzed. Though she refused to kiss him back. She knew that was the one thing he would hate.
But it was the combination of Jason’s shocked face, and Ryan’s slow moving hand down her back that got her moving.
Jerking away she stumbled backwards. Gasping for lost breath and running her jacket sleeve across her mouth.
Ryan wasn’t winded at all and was just looking at her with that cocky grin again.
   “Wow. You’re a lot more then I expected.” He muttered. Which was his mistake.
Anger boiled up in side Finn so hot she marched up to him. Her fists balled up. Brining them up she gave him a right cross across the cheek, along with one in the gut.
Blood spewed out of his mouth as he hit the ground hard.
Finnley’s hands hurt like crazy but she ignored them for a minute.
   “Don’t you ever think of even talking to me again!!” She shouted at him in a controlled tone, pointing an accusing finger at him. “You come with in fifteen feet of me and I swear you will be back in the dirt before you can blink.”
She spat at the ground by his feet and marched off. Forgetting about her bike completely. Her anger always got her cocky, so she walked right past Jayson who had watched the entire showdown with shock.
   “Thanks for the help.” She growled with out even looking at him.

++++

Finnley wasn’t usually angry. She always let things go and didn’t take them personally.
But this? This was very personal!
And she couldn’t just let it go. Though try as she might, she was too hyped up over it.

She was running as fast as she could she had no idea where she was going, what she was doing. She was just trying not to let the tears take over her.
Before the tears cleared up, she found herself in the outskirts of town.
I ran out this far?!
Rubbing her forehead she turned around to make her way back to the park and her bike.
Humming to herself a lullaby her father use to sing to her, it calmed down her nerves enough to clear her head most of the way.
She walked around and her mood lightened up as she saw the windows full of things she could dream of having but of course she could never have.
The holograph signs changed from their names to advertisements some even talked, though most didn’t, which Finn liked because then it wasn’t obnoxious.
   “Ms. Leavenworth?”
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw two men in expensive suits who had a look about them that gave her the chills.
Now she didn’t stop moving mind you. She didn’t slow down, she didn’t speed up.
   “Finnley Leavenworth?” They asked again.
   “Yes?” she asked, running across the street. Forcing them to follow her.
   “Could we stop for a moment?” The heavier one asked. She turned and jogged in place.
   “Why? You don’t work out?” She asked with a smile. They were too solemn to take a joke.
   “Who are you may I ask?” She asked. Stopping her jogging and wiping the sweat from her forehead. She placed her hands on her hips.
   “FBI, we have a few questions for you Ms. Leavenworth.”
They flashed their badges and she only had a few seconds to see the ID, but she saw something hinky in them. Something was off about it.
   “Um...alright.” She said a little hesitant.
   “What’s your association with Jayson Stone?”
   “Jayson?” She repeated. What...is up? “Um....I’m not sure I’d even call us friends. I haven’t known him very long so...”
   “Do you know where he lives?” The skinny one asked.
She realized now what was bugging her with the ID’s. The printing was smudged and slopping like it had been quick. It was fake.
   “Uh.....” she may not know Jayson all that well, or why fakes calling themselves the FBI were after him, but she wasn’t about to go and give him in. And once she decided this, a surge of peace and strength ran through her, and she knew immediately she was doing the right thing.
   “No. I can’t say I do.”
   “Well if you would please come with us Ms. Leavenworth, we’d like to take you downtown to ask you a few more questions.” The fat one said. Finnley rubbed her hands together and sighed.
   “No, sorry that wont work for me. You see I have an extremely busy schedule, and I’m afraid I have no room on it for a trip to the FBI. Sorry.”
   “Oh I’m sure you can cancel those.” The tall one said, both men started to approach and she started to back up. They opened their coats slightly and she spotted a dark form of something.
   “No,” She prayed to God that he would giver speed. “I really can’t.”
She then turned around and sprinted off with the men cursing behind her as they took off to keep up with her. Boy it's going to take some kind of hero to get me out of this mess!!

Being a dancer, and a track runner, Finnley had really high stamina and the other guys were obviously not use to chasing kids.
Finnley dashed through crowds, trying to blend in several times, but they were to close. She had no idea what to do! She had no clue how to defeat guys who probably had guns hidden under their coats.
It hit her like a sledgehammer.
   “That’s what that was!” She cried angrily as she skidded around a corner. The alley way was blocked off by a fence, surrounded by garbage cans. Jumping up on one and walking on them till she got to the fence. She saw a taller garbage dumpster that had the lid close across the alley. Giving it all she had, she jumped up from the last can and pushed herself off the alley wall. Flying towards the dumpster she rammed into it and had to bite down on her lip to keep from screaming.
She tried to get her feet under her but one of the guys grabbed her ankle.
Letting out a shriek, her grip slipped.
She jerked as the man pulled her farther off the dumpster. Finally getting enough room she pushed her foot down as hard as she could and hit the guy square in the nose. He cried out and let go. She scrambled up and ran across the dump and jumped over the fence.

Hitting the ground a little too hard for her liking she tried to ignore the pain. She could hear the men behind her walking across the dumpster. Glancing down both ways of the alley she ran right.
The alley broke off into a deserted street.
   “No. No. No. No!” She cried. Grabbing her hair with her hands. “You just had to come this way didn’t you Finnley?!” She dashed off but skidded to a stop before she even made it out of the alley.
The fat guy was standing in front of her. Blocking her shot at the street. Backing up, she found the other one behind her.
They advanced and she was soon cornered with her back to a wall.
Lord this can’t be how it ends! She cried in her head.
   “Jon.” The tall one ordered. The bigger one grinned and he cracked his knuckles.
Oh no you don’t!
Bringing up her fists she tried to remember what little moves she knew.
Ducking Jon’s blow, his hand met brick and he cried as Finn ducked and gave short jabs to his midsection.
The other one grabbed her shoulders and threw her backwards, then hit the side of her head so hard the lights went out momentarily. Reaching up she felt blood pouring down.
Looking up with fear rising up in her throat as she stared down the barrel of a gun.
Her breathing came in short gasps as she stared death in the face.
   “Now.” The taller one with the gun started. “We’ll give you one more chance Ms. Leavenworth. What is your relationship with Jayson Stone?” He demanded. Tears started to weld up in her eyes.
But the last thing she expected was his eyes to suddenly roll up in his head as someone shoved him to the ground.
The fatter one was shocked but quickly went into karate mode.
He attacked the mystery guy with sluggish hits and pathetic moves. The younger one was quick and wove in and out of his hits quiet easily.
And before Finnley knew what had happened they were both knocked out cold.

She let out her breath and realized she had been holding it.
For a split second she was scared the mystery dude clad in black would come after her next. But when he turned his head ever so slightly, she was caught up in his odd stare that usually would have made her uncomfortable. But at the moment it gave her relief and security.
Before she knew what her body was doing, she dashed forward and threw her arms around his neck.
She felt him take in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. She felt his arms on her back as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.
   “Boy am I glad to see you.” she muttered into his shoulder. Her body started to shake because of what had just happened. He squeezed her a little harder.
   “I’m right here Finnley. I’m right here.” He whispered into her hair.
Those were the sweetest words she had ever heard anyone say to her.
She let go and wasn't sure what to do next. But Jayson did. Taking her hand he pulled her out into the abandoned street.

Finn had thousands of questions she was dying to ask. But her fast moving brain was quickly putting the pieces together.
Two men who were posing as FBI with guns, Jayson and his ninja moves, but why were they after her?!

Jason led her back into the busy part of the city but never did he let go of her hand.
   "Jayson who were those men?" She finally asked as they slowed down.
He glanced at her and seemed to be deciding on what to tell her. That was another thing Finn was really good at doing.
   "And don't try to keep things from me because I can guarantee you that I'll figure it out." She warned.
His lips grew into a tight line, and he let go of her hand as he walked over to a pay phone.
She let out a sigh and held her head.
   "Man." She muttered.
He glanced at her as she pulled her hand away and saw the blood. She closed her eyes and dropped her hand trying to keep the crowd from noticing. She pulled her hair all onto one shoulder and tugged her hood up. Cramming her hands into her pockets she rocked back and forth, trying to keep the pain off her face.
   Jayson seemed to be take the phone apart. Finn stepped closer and had to stand on her tip toes to see over his shoulder. He had unscrewed the bottom piece you talk into and slid something in it. Then screwed it back on.
She stepped away and pretended to be interested in the shop behind them.
What is going on?! She asked herself.
   "Jayson Stone, number: 0073, clearance B."
His cryptic talking only made her head hurt more.
Clearance? Number?
   "Martha,....they've found me....No I can't I have a civilian with me..."
Civilian?!?!
Her quick thinking brought all the pieces together.
Agent number! Clearance is what it says, civilian meaning he's not. Trained to be a freakin' ninja. He's a spy! Or...something like that anyway.
She kept her revelation to herself as Jason kept talking to...Martha. Who ever she was.
   "....Yeah I know a place I can take her.....Yes her name's Finnley Leavenworth....No she doesn't have a criminal record." Now he just sounded annoyed. "Stop babying me!" He growled.
Finn's eyebrows rose. Yeah he was annoyed.
   "Fine." He hung up and took the phone apart again.
   "Who's Martha?" She avoided asking the real questions seeing as there was practically steam coming out of his ears.
He glanced at her and seemed to calm down.
   "Foster mom."
That just gave her more questions instead of answers.
He took her hand again and pulled her through the crowd.
   "How's your head doing?" He asked as he glanced over his shoulder.
   "It hurts. Really bad." She answered honestly.
He pulled her behind a store and turned to her.
   "Here let me see."
She froze as he pulled off her hood and looked at the head wound. His hands were cold but she wasn't really paying attention.
After a moment he dropped his hands and took several steps away from her.
   "I'm going to take you to a hospital. It looks like you might need stitches."
Oh how she wished he hadn't told her that. She hated doctors. And hospitals. And the smell of hospitals.
She sighed and pulled the hood back up.
   "Come on." He said as he led the way back out into the street.
She had slight trouble trying to keep up with him so she dashed forward and grasped his wrist. he glanced back at her and pain washed across his face.

He led her into a parking lot that was in front of Target.
   "How do we plan on getting there?" she asked as they walked past dozens of cars and people.
Jayson didn't answer her, instead he stopped suddenly causing her to ram into his back.
   "Oof." She muttered. Standing again on her tip toes to peak of his shoulder she couldn't believe what she was looking at. Walking around him, they both starred at black and red motorcycle.
   "This is yours?" She asked in shock.
Jason shrugged. "Um...yeah." He said as he pulled the keys out.
The motorcycle was a sporty one which Finn thought, definitely suited Jason's style. What ever that style was of course.
   "Are you just going to stand there gawking?" He asked with a grin.
   "Um...I might." She answered.
He laughed and tugged at her wrist.
   "Come on. You need to get to a hospital before that headache gets any worse." He ordered kindly as he swung onto the bike and balanced it out.
She took in a deep breath and knocked down the second footholds in the back of the bike. Jumping up and landing gracefully in the seat she noticed that with the way the bike was built the only place to hold on was Jayson's waist.
Lord I'm really going to have to use that will strength right now. She prayed. Leaning forward she locked her hands around his waist and tried to touch him as less as possible.
   "I suggest you hold on." He warned. She was about to ask why when he revved the engine and took his foot off the brake. She understood what he meant and had to lean into his back in order to keep from getting thrown off.
Talk about insane! Ok when I said I wanted adventure in my life, this was not what I had in mind!
But at least she was doing something other then lying around the house and watching stupid TV shows.
Well it's got to be a step in the right direction.