It had been a few weeks since Windermere’s death and the dust around the city of Freeland was finally starting to settle again. Jordy and Sky had spent almost every day together since the two were assigned their ‘new assignment’ of spying on one another. What was supposed to be a game of cat and mouse, didn’t seem to feel that way for the two. They spent their afternoons together walking, talking and enjoying a joint or two while getting to know each other. Sky learned that Jordy’s mother died in childbirth with his brother Alex. Their father went through a series of mental issues and that’s how they ended up under Rogelio’s care. His aunt’s name was Margarette, and she also lived on the outskirts of Boro. The two would swap stories telling each other about their upbringings. Of course, Sky’s stories were a little fabricated. She learned the best way to lie is to stay as close to the truth as possible. Truth be told for her, it felt nice to talk about something other than taking someone’s life.

  During their conversations, Sky slid in questions about the surrounding cities. So much so, Jordy took it as a hint. “I have an idea,” he said one day after their shift. “How about you come with me to Boro? It’s a one day trip but at least you’ll get out of the city for a change. I have to bring someone along with me and I usually would take Ish, but he’s busy right now planning a wedding.”

  “Aww, there it is... You’re not being petty now are you Jordy?” Sky asked giving him a smirk.

  Jordy roared with laughter and replied, “Look, it’s not my fault. I’m just glad it's not me.” Both laughed together while throwing the trash bags into the bin from the lunch rush. “But first, I want to show you something. Are you available tonight?”

  “Yes... Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. LaGon?” Sky smirked as she finished throwing the bag in the bin.

  Jordy also flashed a handsome smile, showing his white teeth. “You can call it that if you like... Let’s say in a few hours? When the moon is high above the statue in town square.”

  Sky was a little taken back... His green eyes seemed to have pierced right through her. His gaze made her melt inside. Damn his good looks, Sky thought to herself. “I’ll see you there.”

  When the evening turned into night, Freeland turned into a whole other atmosphere. The lights, music and multiple parties made the city come alive. Sky told Kahree about the nightcap, and she insisted that Sky dress up. Being flashy and glamorous was not Sky’s style however with the help of her sister, she actually cleaned up really nicely. “There! See that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Asked Kahree as she put the finishing touches on Sky’s casual outfit. It wasn’t too flashy or formal but just right for a ‘date’.

  “Thanks, Kahree. I don’t think it's that deep, but I do look nice. I’ll let you know how it goes, I promise.” Sky grabbed her jacket and started walking towards her door.

  “I don’t have to have ‘the talk’ with you, do I?” Kahree made air quotes with her fingers with she mentioned ‘the talk’, insinuating Sky didn’t know about ‘the birds and the bees’. Sky’s face dropped giving her sister a sarcastic look. Before leaving she waved away Kahree’s comment then slammed the door shut.

  The walk to the center of town square was nice and peaceful. There was lots of people walking around, out and about heading somewhere fun. With the combination of the warm air and the night sky, it was perfect for a nice outing. When Sky approached the statue, Jordy was already standing there. To her surprise, he wasn’t wearing a white muscle shirt like he always wore. Sky began to believe that was all Jordy owned, a pair of ripped blue jeans, black boots and white muscle shirts. Tonight however, he was also dressed up.

  Jordy wore a light blue button-down shirt with dark blue jeans and tan boots. He shaved his beard, exposing the small slit in his chin. Jordy was a very attractive man… The guy noticeably made heads turn wherever he went. With his high cheekbones, buzzed cut light brown hair nearly matched his caramel color skin complexion. His chisel features were hard to ignore. For the moment Sky was able to keep her composure. “There you are I was beginning to believe I gave you the wrong time. Wow, you look really nice tonight.”

  Sky’s cheeks flushed a bit as she adjusted her cream color blouse. “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.”

  Jordy approached his date and gave her a light hug. Gosh, he smells so good, thought Sky as he took her hand and walked towards the statue. He smelled like a combination of fresh soap and aftershave. He smelt delicious… She had to remind herself why she was there and not get sucked in by his charm. “Since we’re calling it a date, I thought I’d feed you.” Jordy laughed at himself. “I have some food set up for us under the tree over there. I know having a picnic at night isn’t the normal thing, but I didn’t think you’ll mind.”

  Sky smiled and replied, “I can always eat. I think its lovely.”

  “Good but first I want to show you something.” Jordy stopped in front of the two-story concrete statue then let go of Sky’s hand. “I’d like you to meet my grandfather.”

  “I remember this place... This is where Trayvis killed that one woman. That was my cousin’s and I first night here. He burned her to ash from a glowing stone…” Sky pretended to act clueless. She was well aware who Jordy’s grandfather was. She’s the one who killed him after all.

  “Yea, I’m sorry about that.” Jordy rubbed the back of his head. “That’s the KFMs way of trying to recruit people to join their cause. It’s sick really and I fucking hate it, which is why I left early. That’s not why I brought you here. To recruit you, I mean. I brought you here to tell you the real story about my grandfather. Not just the versions the KFM tells. He was more than just the man who fought against the Star Counsel. Yes, he was the rebel leader who founded this city and the KFM but there is so much more to his story.”

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  Sky was truly intrigued… she never heard any back story of how these infamous rebels began. Jordy continued his story, “My uncle told me that my grandfather had met the Child of Fire long before she killed him. He said Theos was originally from a small town called Lias. A little nothing town in the middle of nowhere… In the dead middle of the night, she came to their town and burned everything in sight. My uncle told me Theos was no older than ten or twelve years old at the time.”

  Memories started flooding Sky’s head. In the moment however it was critical she didn’t react like she knew what he was talking about. Jordy continued once more, “Ro said, people were tripping over charred bodies while trying to escape from the attack. They were completely blindsided, and most didn’t make it out alive. Some tried to fight back but failed miserably. Fire shot from hands like water does from a fire hose. Theos somehow got separated from his parents and ended up in a house that wasn’t set ablaze. While trying to find a place to hide, Theos found a group of other children who also got lost. Instead of abandoning them to save his own life, he vowed to protect them and get them out of there. He told my uncle the Child of Fire looked like a demon that night… Her eyes were filled with fire like she could cry magma. When she got to the house Theos was staying in, she kicked in the door then stopped. For that split moment, she snapped out of her blood rage trance. She then did something no one would have ever expected… The infamous Child of Fire let them go. My uncle said Theos stood up to her, telling the Angel of Death he was protecting the other children. He stood in front of the other children as the rest of them huddled in the corner. Instead of ending their lives, she told them to run… she let my grandfather and all those kids live that night. Because of her, I wouldn’t be here today.”

  The story hit Sky hard… harder than she was prepared for. She felt lost for a moment when she came to the realization all of the current events happened because of her. Sky was the Child of Fire... The thought made her feel numb inside, but she couldn’t show any reaction around her date. Jordy may be looking for that… “But this is where things get really interesting Sky,” Jordy wrapped up his tale. “My grandfather said that night he took pity on the her. He noticed she was crying and laughing at the same time. He said that night he realized that they too were slaves to the Star Counsel just like everyone else… Theos just wanted to set everyone free.” Jordy turned to his date and once again took her hand. “Come this way...” This time however Sky looked a bit dazed or rather lost in thought. “Hey you, ok? I didn’t scare you with my story, did I?”

  Sky shook her head snapping herself out of it, “No. That was an interesting story.” She followed behind her date as he led her to the picnic that was near the trees. Sky was still trying to shake off the memories and didn’t see a large rock sticking out of the ground. She tripped over it falling into Jordy who happened to turn around and catch her right on time. The force of the fall made them both fall to the ground with Sky landing on top of him.

  She was inches away from Jordy’s face. She could feel his breath on her nose. “Are you ok?” Again, Jordy asked. He looked into Sky’s eyes and said, “You’re so beautiful…” He slowly caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

  Wanting to feel anything but what she was feeling at the moment, Sky leaned down and kissed Jordy softly on the lips. Sky’s conscious was running wild, and the pain of that night was trying to resurface. All she wanted was to not remember... To forget the past, to forget who she was and all she’s done.

  The kiss went on for a few minutes until Sky felt Jordy’s hand softly go up her back. She sat up and got off of Jordy’s lap. “I am so sorry... I usually don’t do anything like that on a first date.”

  Jordy raised his hand and replied, “No, don’t apologize. I think we were both in the moment. I care about you, Sky. I would never do anything to hurt you.” Looking for any scrapes and bruises, Jordy noticed a few dirt stains on Sky’s ankle. “Here let me help you with that.” He brushed the dirt and grass off her bare leg as she stood up. Sky had a jean mini skirt on which had lifted up almost all the way up when she was straddling Jordy’s lap.

  “Thanks, Jordy. You really didn’t have to do that.” Said Sky as she finished adjusting her blouse.

  “If it makes you feel any better, everyone trips over that rock. I trip over it all the time.” He gave her a big smile. “Besides, if you tripping into me results in a kiss like that, then trip on me all you like...”

  Both burst into laughter at Jordy’s comment. “Cute, cheesy but cute.” Sky replied as she couldn’t help but smile. His charm was almost irresistible...

  “It sounded better in my head. Come on, let’s eat... I asked Miles to make us something special so we’re both in a real surprise.” Jordy said while straightening out the wrinkled blanket. The rest of the evening was smooth sailing with the two enjoying small talk and laughs.

  As much as she tried to drop it, she couldn’t get Jordy’s story about his grandfather out of her head. When the date was coming to an end, Jordy walked Sky back to the tavern then upstairs to her room. They hugged before parting ways and said, ‘until next time’.

  Sky stood there in the doorway for while staring into space. Kahree stayed up waiting in Sky’s place for her to return. She stood up when she saw the expression on her face. “Hey, is everything alright?” Kahree noticed her numb demeanor and asked, “You didn’t kill Jordy tonight, did you? If he tried something stupid, then fuck him.”

  “No, Ree. It’s not that at all. He told me the background story of his grandfather, Theos LaGon. All of this shit happened because of me.” Kahree gave Sky a confused look before asked what she was talking about. “Some years ago, the Counsel set me on what they called ‘leveling missions’. I had to go to these cities and burn everything to the ground. It was supposed to send a message to the rest to stop trying to rebel. Well, at that time I was starting to lose it. I was tired of the killings and that night I got shitfaced drunk. I couldn’t even tell you what exactly happened that night, but I do remember letting a bunch of kids go. I couldn’t kill them Ree. I couldn’t kill the kids. I killed everyone else though. Everyone... One of those kids I let live was Theos LaGon, Ree. All this shit is happening because I couldn’t go through with it.”

  Kahree embraced her sister and hugged her tight. “It’s not your fault we were just following orders. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Neither Luna nor I could do the same. There were many times we decided to let people live because we felt like they didn’t deserve to be assassinated based on the Star Counsel’s judgment.” Kahree lifted her sister’s head and said, “However, we can’t lose focus to why we’re here. We have to save those Star Children and Arkaminus. It’s up to us now to set this shit straight.”