I looked at her again, shocked that she hadn't stormed out herself. It was evident that she didn't like me and she could have easily left me here all alone by myself.
"I can just wait for Kane. It's no big deal, really." I told her. Niko just glared as she looked at me.
"I said I would show you around. So just take my offer." She growled. I quickly looked away from her and nodded.
"Good. We're on the same page. Now this house. Remember it. If you pass your trials then this place will be your home. This is where you will be staying." she said to me.
"Where does everyone else stay?" I asked.
"The few doctors that we have stay in one of the other houses here while most of the people in the town stay in the main building. This is the Runners House. Runners are the only ones who stay here. Follow me." she said as she walked down a hallway. She opened a door and then turned around to look at me. This is where you will be sleeping for the time being."
"There's an actual bed in here." I said. I looked at her in surprise. I haven't seen one in so long.
"Come on." she said as she walked away and to another door. This one was a bathroom. Once again I was shocked that it actually worked, and she explained to me that it was because of them doing things old fashioned here that they managed to get things running. She even told me that the shower works as well and that I would be able to bathe when we got done looking at things. Once we got done looking around the house she took me outside and showed me where the doctor's stay. They actually have two houses to themselves. One they stay in and the other one is where they work. Then she took me into the main building. I met many people and was shocked when I saw there were a few kids staying here as well. She took me to this one place where a bunch of people were working on things. The things turned out to be clothes.
"Can we get her some runners gear?" Niko said as she walked in. The ladies in the room looked up and went back to work as if they hadn't heard her at all. Soon though, a lady walked up to her with clothes in her arms. She handed the clothes to me and then walked away.
"Is this all the clothes I'm getting?" I asked. She shook her head no and then walked out of the small clothing store. She walked into another one but this one had racks of clothing in it.
"Get you a few outfits. At least a week's worth." she told me. I nodded and went to look at all the clothes that were available to me. I was taking my time looking when I realized that Niko was still waiting for me. I felt embarrassed that I forgot she was here so I quickly picked out some outfits and walked over to her. I didn't know what to do next. She looked at me bored as she rolled her eyes. "Finally." she murmured as she turned on her heels and began walking away. I quickly followed her with my arms filled with clothes. I was almost running at how fast she was walking. We walked all the way out the main building and then to another building. It was wide and open. There were guns on the walls along with blades and anything that could cause any damage. There were also punching bags which just so happened to have Kane at one of them. He looked angry still, as he was swinging nonstop at the bag.
"Wait here." Niko said as she walked away from me and to Kane. She stopped a short distance away from him and was talking in a hushed tone. Eventually he stopped punching the bag and looked at her too. They were both talking in hushed tones which I'm pretty sure was French once again. Kane looked at me and then continued to talk to Niko. I saw Kane nod and then he began to walk towards me. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I prepared myself for whatever was about to happen. He gave me a small smile as he finally stood in front of me.
"Look Belle, is it alright if I call you Belle?" he asked as he looked at me. I gave him a small smile as I nodded my head and then he continued. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to be the one to show you around today and I failed miserably. Niko has allowed me the opportunity to take over from here." He said to me.
"Nothing funny Kane. I have to go and talk to Astrid now and pray she doesn't hate my guts. No thanks to you." she said and then she walked out of the room.
"Yeah I'm going to have to apologize later on. Anyways, you have your runners gear. Please go through that door over there and change into it. I need you familiar with it before we go out on runs." he told me. I nodded and made my way to the room. There were no windows or anything. Just the door. It was the only exit. I put down my other clothes and began to change into my runner's gear. Now that I think about it, Astrid and Niko did have on similar outfits when they barged into my home. It was leather and black. It clung to my body and made me feel exposed. I had to admit that it was very stylish though. I walked back out feeling more exposed than ever before.
"You look like a natural." he said as he looked at me. I felt my cheeks get warm and I immediately looked away.
"Um, thank you, I guess." I replied to him. I didn't know what to say to his remark.
"Now what kind of weapons do you usually go out with when you would go out on runs?" he asked.
"I usually took knives mostly and a gun just in case." I told him. He smiled as he took me to the wall of weapons.
"Here, a handgun of course. Now do you want throwing knives or something else?" he asked.
"Something else." I replied to him as I looked along the wall. Then one in particular caught my eye. It was an AvaLittle 13" tactical survival Rambo full tang fixed blade knife. It looked dangerous to say the least.
"You want that one?" Kane asked. All I could do was nod my head. It was an absolutely beautiful blade. He smiled at me as he grabbed it from off the wall and handed it to me. It was sharp. Really sharp. I was so happy and excited to have it in my hands. I gave it a little swirl and liked how well balanced it was.
"I like this one." I said to him as I looked at him.
"You seem to be pretty handy with it at least." he said as he was observing me the whole time. All I could do was smile.
"So when do we go on a run?" I asked. I was dying to maybe use this as soon as possible.
"Next week. You'll be going with me and Niko, then after that you'll go on runs with one of us only. It used to be only Niko and I going on runs every week but my father insisted on us trying to get more people to join us. Astrid was the first one we tried out but she failed as you know. Maybe your trial will be a success. There is a rule though, as I'm sure you remember. Trust each other. Out there, if there is no trust between us we can die. It can ruin a run. We need trust. Niko and I trust each other. We are the only ones here who speak French. I knew it before all of this happened. I always had a thing for learning languages so when we became the only runners, I taught her. It's how we communicate when we're out there." He said. He was serious as he spoke to me.
"Are there any more rules?" I asked. He nodded his head and then he continued.
"Rule number two. Never split up. We work better together. Rule number three. Always communicate. We have to know what each other is doing. No running off without the other knowing. Rule number four. Never use your gun unless absolutely necessary. The sound will cause too much attention and that's something we can't risk. We can't lead a herd back here. Rule number five. If we get split up, you come back here. You find a way to get back here, no matter what." He said. He looked me sternly in the eyes. "Do you understand and accept these rules?" he asked.
"Yes." I replied as I nodded my head. I looked him in the eyes as I said so. All he did was look me in my eyes. I guess he was searching for any sign that I wouldn't agree with these rules. Finally he nodded his head and then looked away. He grabbed the knife from my hand and put it back on the wall.
"I need the gun too. You'll get it when we go for a run next week but as of right now we can't trust you with a weapon. After your first run Niko and I will decide if we can allow you to keep your weapons in your room." He said. Once again I nodded my head and handed him the gun.
"Do I have to wear this get up?" I asked and he started laughing at me. He shook his head as he smiled at me.
"Yes. It's what we wear. Sometimes we get stuck overnight and the black helps us hide in the dark. Not like we need to hide but it helps us stay hidden. Especially if there happens to be other people in the area. Until next week Niko and I will be in this room everyday working on your fighting skills. It's not going to be easy to get you up to our level in a week but it'll give you some experience." he told me. I handed him the gun and he put it back on the wall along with all of the other weapons.
"Now look. You have a gun holster right here on your side. On your other side will be where your knife goes. Eventually you'll have a belt with more ammo for your gun, but we'll give that to you before we go next week. Now why don't you go change and we'll head home." he said to me. I gave him a small smile as I nodded and walked back to the changing room. I quickly changed back into my normal clothes and felt more relaxed now that I was fully clothed. I grabbed the other clothes that I had and walked back out. He was waiting for me when I came out and grabbed my clothes from me.
"I would hate for a lady to carry all these by herself. That wouldn't be very nice of me to allow that. My father wouldn't be proud of me if he saw me walking empty handed." he said to me.
"Thank you Kane. That's very nice." I told him as I walked beside him. He was actually very nice to me. It shocked me to say the least. I hadn't expected anyone here to be this nice to me. He has to be the nicest person that I've met. We spent the rest of our walk in silence as we made our way to the house. It didn't take long which I was glad for. I was looking forward to a nice shower. We walked into the house together and I immediately regretted it. Astrid was in the house with Niko. Not in the way you're thinking but she was crying. Crying as Niko comforted her. Niko looked up at us and she motioned with her head not to say anything and leave the area. Kane grabbed my arm and pulled me with him quietly. I assumed he pulled me into his room because this one wasn't mine.
"Just relax. It'll be over soon but for now we're camping out here." he said to me. I just nodded as I stood awkwardly in his room. "Come on. Come chill with me. I won't bite." he winked. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him where he was laying down on his bed. Although I didn't lay down. I just sat there doing nothing. This was awkward. Why couldn't I have gone to my room? Why did he drag me into his?
"Astrid don't let him get to you. You know how he is." I heard Niko say.
"Kane this is wrong. We shouldn't be listening." I whispered to him.
"Shh be quiet." he hissed. He looked like he was hard in concentration.
"How can you just let him say things like that? Especially to me? I'm your friend Niko. Why didn't you say anything to him?" she asked.
"I couldn't Astrid. You shouldn't have let yourself get out of hand like that. It was uncalled for and irresponsible of you to do." Niko replied to her. Her voice showed no emotion at all what so ever.
"How can you just say that! So this is all my fault. It's my fault that he outed me in front of his father and Arabelle." she said.
"Kane please let's just talk about something. It's not right to listen to them while they're talking." I said as I pleaded with him. He sighed as he nodded his head.
"What do you want to talk about?" he asked. He seemed like he wasn't interested at all about talking to me right now. I thought about anything that I could talk about. Then it hit me.
"What were you and Niko arguing about in that language?" I asked him. A small smile grew on his face as he shook his head and looked back at me.
"You. We were arguing about you. About how she could try to kill you. Your special. I know that just by looking at you." he said as he stared at me intensely.
"I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing." I said to him with a small laugh.
"Once I figure it out myself I'll let you know." he said with a small smile of his own. I nodded as I looked down at my hands. Suddenly the door burst open and in came Astrid with Niko right on her hills.
"Apologize." Astrid said as she entered the room with tears still running down her face. Niko tried to grab her wrist but she pulled away from her.
"Get out of my room Astrid. You have no place here." Kane told her. He stood up off the bed as he glared at her. They didn't look like they got along at all.
"No. Apologize." she said again.
"Get out. You wouldn't have ever made this house your home. You belong with the civilians. You would have never been a runner. I was going to fail you myself but Niko did it before I did and she wanted you to be a runner more than anyone. Yet you still failed. That just proves that you will never be one of us." he hissed. He didn't stand down. I looked at him, Astrid and Niko. Niko showed no emotion like always.
"You're not going to defend me?" she asked as she looked at Niko.
"Of course she's not going to. You don't belong here. You don't belong in this house. Now get out." Kane said.
"You don't tell me what to do. Tell him Niko." Astrid said as she turned to look at Niko. Yet, once again Niko said nothing. She kept her eyes stone cold and she didn't look at Astrid either.
"Astrid I think you should go. It's getting late and the three of us have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Niko said. Astrid looked hurt. I saw more tears run down her face as she walked out of his room. We all just stood there in complete silence.
"You should go to your room and shower. Dinner will be made soon so hurry up. It really won't be that long." Niko said as she looked at me. I nodded my head as I grabbed my clothes that I had. I walked out of the room making sure to keep my head down. I didn't want to cause any more tension than there already was. I walked into my room, closing the door behind me and sighed in relief. What is going on with these three? I don't know but I sure hope that I never get in the middle of it.