The Missing Piece - Chapter Eight

“We’re going to be late for our shift!” Leo complained.

“Oh be quite,” Haleema responded. “We’ll make it in time.” Leo rolled his eyes and followed her through the streets of the city. They were heading to Ryder’s house. She really only asked for Haleema to come, but that meant Leo had to come to considering they spent all of their time together.

I wonder if Ryder has forgiven me yet. Leo thought. Her memories had to come back eventually, right? It made sense that she didn’t remember anything after she hit her head, but before it? Leo never understood just how the body worked.

They had been walking for a while and Leo was getting agitated. He had no idea where Ryder lived. For all he knew she lived at the farthest point from the gate. That would be just their luck. Then he and Haleema would be late for their hunting shift.

“How much farther?” Leo asked, catching up with Haleema.

“Just through the market and we’ll be there.” Leo looked ahead and realized they were almost to the shopping market. The market was the only place in Bryok where citizens could buy food and necessities. There were a few shops drizzled along the streets of the city, but the market was where everyone went.

Leo suddenly felt a ping of guilt. This is where Ryder would be spending her days from now on; in the little corner flower shop. She should be out in the fields outside the wall, collecting food. She should’ve been named a Hunter based on her bloodline alone. But Agustos doesn’t seem to care who her father is; or was.

“Here we are,” Haleema announced. Leo hadn’t noticed that they had passed through the market. Turning around, he saw that they were only a few hundred feet passed it. He could see that the market was already busy even though it was five o’clock in the morning. The lights surrounding the square illuminated the stalls.

“Hello, earth to Leo,” Haleema said, tapping him on the shoulder. He turned his back to the market and looked at the large hill in front of them. At the very top are two houses.

“So which one is Ryder’s?” Leo asked. Haleema pointed to the one on the left and started up the hill. Leo followed with much difficulty. He wondered how Ryder was able to scale the hill everyday. It was steep and Leo felt like he was walking at a ninety degree angle. He stopped to rest, but started up again when he realized Haleema was way ahead of him.

“How can you climb this so fast?” he called out.

“I’ve been up here too many times to count,” Haleema responded. “You get used to it.”

Leo was out of breath and they weren’t even halfway up the hill. Haleema stopped to wait for him, but he waved her ahead. Shrugging, she turned and quickly made it to the top of the hill. Leo watched as she disappeared into Ryder’s house, leaving him alone. He sighed and continued to climb.

By the time he reached the top, he needed to rest. Sitting down, he gazed out over Bryok. It was amazing. He could see everything; his house, the Academy, or what was left of it, the Othir’s building, the market, the wall, outside the wall. Leo could see why Ryder had always dreamed of being a Hunter. If he had grown up being able to see what was beyond the wall, he wouldn’t want to be trapped inside of it either.

“This view is amazing,” he said aloud.

“Ain’t that the truth?”

Leo jumped and turned to see an old lady standing outside of the other house. She was dressed in a simple peasant dress and had a broom in her hand. Absentmindedly, she swept the porch of her house. But she wasn’t paying attention to the dust. She was looking out over Bryok.

She suddenly seemed to remember Leo and laughed. “My name is Gina Porter. You must be one of Ryder’s friends. She doesn’t get many visitors except for that Haleema girl.”

“Yes, we’re friends,” Leo responded. “This is the first time I’ve been up here though.”

“I can tell by the way you climbed that hill.” Mrs. Porter laughed. It was a hard laugh, more like a hacking cough than a laugh, Leo observed. He was put off at first. The old lady was making fun of him! But her laugh was funny itself and Leo couldn’t help laughing along.

“It did take me a while to get up here,” he commented.

“Well, you better go wake up Ryder. Her shift at the flower stall starts in a few hours.” Mrs. Porter leaned the broom against the side of the house and grabbed a basket that was sitting on one of the many rocking chairs she had. “Maybe I’ll be seeing you again?” Leo simply nodded as he watched the old lady leave.

Her house looked much like Ryder’s. Both houses looked like they had been around since the creation of Bryok. They were old and large enough to be classified as a mansion. Ryder’s family must have a lot of money if they could afford to live on the high hill and in a huge house. Leo was impressed.

Figuring that Haleema and Ryder were worrying about him, he stood and entered the house. The first thing he noticed about the house was how open it was. Directly when he walked in was the kitchen. It was all open, no doors in sight. Instead there were archways cut into the walls, leading to additional rooms. There were four tables in the kitchen that could seat four or five people. It reminded Leo of a restaurant.

He could see the living room from where he was standing and was equally impressed. Walking closer, he realized that the furniture was all plush, something that wasn’t common in Bryok. He was slightly jealous. How couldn’t he be? His house was like a hut compared to Ryder’s.

“How nice of you to finally join us,” Ryder said. She and Haleema were sitting on the large couch near the middle of the room. Leo ignored her comment and sat in one of the chairs facing the couch. It was very comfortable. So much that Leo didn’t want to get up. Ever. If this is what Ryder’s house looked like, Leo wondered what Mrs. Porter’s looked like. She didn’t seem to be like a person who would have fancy furniture and open rooms like this.

“Look at you,” Leo said, ignoring her comment. “Sitting high and mighty in your house on the hill. Do you really have to rub it in our faces?”

Ryder’s face flushed. “I didn’t ask to be born into a rich family, okay? I didn’t choose this life. I’d rather live in a smaller house and actually have a family.”

“Okay you two,” Haleema cut in. “Stop fighting. We’re here to talk about Elle, remember?” Ryder perked up and began her story about how she found Elle the night before. Leo wasn’t paying attention. At least not completely. His mind wandered, landing on a particular memory of him and Haleema the day of the Hunter’s Test.

The Academy was full of secret passageways and abandoned classrooms. It wasn’t hard for Leo to find an empty classroom to pull Haleema into. Just to be safe, they stayed in the corner in such a place where no one could see them when looking through the door.

Leo sat on the floor, knees touching his chest, staring at the floor. He was barely aware of Haleema sitting as well, snuggling up against him. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

“They’re going to pair me up with Ryder, aren’t they?” he asked. Haleema nodded. She knew. Being the first powerful Healer to pass through the Academy since Dameon himself, Haleema was given special treatment. The Othir invited her to their meetings, the teachers told her secrets. She knew everything about what was happening in Bryok and the Academy especially. Which meant she had an inside scoop about the Hunters Test.

“They think you two will make perfect partners,” she said, smiling sadly. “I know that’s not what you want, but it’ll most likely end up happening.” Leo nodded. He knew he would definitely win if he was paired with Ryder. Between her determination and powers and his observational nature, they would be hard to beat.

But he didn’t want to be a Hunter. He wanted to be part of the Othir. But not because of the power they have. He wanted to change them; change the way they look at Bryok and its citizens.

Leo hadn’t told anyone this except for Haleema. Of course he’d tell her, she was his girlfriend. She would listen to whatever he had to say. His parents were out of the question. They didn’t pay him any attention and would shove him to the side and tell him his dream makes no sense. That he’s better off getting a job at the shopping market.

“What will become of us when we graduate?” Leo asked quietly. He always wanted to know the answer to this, but he’s never been brave enough to ask.

“Well after the test you’re either going to be a Hunter or go work in the market. As for me, I’ll become a Healer and hopefully work with the MPF to help them –"

“No. I mean us,” Leo interrupted. “What kind of future do we have?” Haleema didn’t respond for a while and Leo feared he had asked the wrong question. Was he wrong to think about what the future held for them?

“I hope that we can…” Haleema trailed off and sat up straighter. “Did you hear that?” Leo listened closer. He heard footsteps and doors being opened and shut. Before he could comprehend what was going on, the door to the room they were in flung open.

“Come on love birds. Time to get this show on the road. The Test is starting in thirty minutes.” Ryder stood in the doorway, arms crossed, a small smile on her lips. Haleema immediately jumped up and ran out of the room. I go to follow her, but Ryder pushes me back.

“Let her go,” she said. “She’s gotta go mingle with the delegates before all of this starts.”

“Delegates?”

“My nickname for the Othir.”

“Oh,” Leo said sadly. He wanted to see her once more before the test. Kiss her softly. Tell her that even when he came out a Hunter, they’d still be close. Forever. That would all have to wait until after the Test. It wasn’t like anything would change afterwards. Except for the fact that he would be a Hunter.

“Are we going or what?” Ryder asked. Leo glared at her and stalked by, leading the way to the Dome. He didn’t want to be paired with Ryder. She was the last person he wanted to be paired with. And he knew she felt the same way.

When they reached the Dome, it was chaos. Students were scattered all over the place, teachers trying to pair them up. The Othir stood at attention, guarding the entrance of the Dome. Agustos was there as well. It’s not uncommon for him to attend the Hunters Test, but he usually doesn’t. It’s actually quite boring unless you are actually taking place.

“Leo Cisera and Ryder Electa. You will be entering fifth.” A teacher called out. Ryder groaned. Leo spun around and glared at her.

“You know, I’m not too happy about this situation either.”

“Just watch you’re back, Cisera,” she retorted. “Because if you ruin my chances of being a Hunter, you’re life will become a living hell. I swear on my life.” Leo didn’t respond. There was no way he could top that. Ryder had gotten the last laugh. Again.

Scanning the crowd, he found Haleema and locked eyes with her. She motioned for him to come over. Leo slipped out of line and hurried over to Haleema, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Promise me one thing,” she whispered into his ear, her breath tickling his ear as she spoke. “Promise me that you will do whatever is necessary to bring Ryder out a Hunter. Do you understand?”

Leo pulled away and stared at her. “Are you choosing her over me? What about what I want? You do understand that if she comes out a Hunter, I will too.”

“That’s obvious,” Haleema responded. “And I’m sorry. But Ryder is my best friend. I’m the sister she never had. And you can’t just turn your back on family.” Agustos suddenly called for all the participants to line up and prepare to enter the Dome. Haleema pulled Leo close and kissed his; a soft passionate kiss. “I love you. Remember that.”

“I love you too,” Leo smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “And I will do everything I can to help Ryder. I promise.” There was a sour taste in his mouth as he said those words. He raced back to his place in line next to Ryder and couldn’t help feeling anxious. What if they didn’t win? What if some other pair snuck out before them? And what if he and Ryder couldn’t get over their differences and learn to work together?

He had a promise to keep.

“Um, Leo, are you even paying attention?”

Leo shook his head and pulled himself away from his daydream. Ryder and Haleema were staring at him, incredulous looks on their faces.

“I’m sorry, what were we talking about?” he asked. Ryder rolled her eyes.

“I’ll go get Elle. She’ll be a lot more help than this bozo here.” She got up from the couch and headed down the hall. Haleema and Leo sat in silence for a while.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Haleema asked, clearly caught off guard.

“For not keeping my promise during the Test.” Leo responded. He expected Haleema to start yelling at him again, but she simply raised her eyebrows.

“What brings this topic up all of the sudden?”

“I was just thinking about that day,” Leo responded. “And about how horrible I was to Ryder and everyone else, and how I didn’t keep my promise. I know you’re upset about it and that’s partially why things ended up the way they did. But ultimately, it’s my fault that we’re sitting here so far apart. I should’ve never ended it between us. Will you give me a second chance? I know we can work it out.”

“What about the law?” Haleema asked, her voice steady and indifferent.

“Screw the law. We can find a way around it. Please?” Leo begged. Haleema was just about to answer when they heard a scream coming from the back of the house.