Something snapped inside of me after seeing Jake. I had no idea why he was there, but I just pushed past him and ran out into the forest.

Shir followed me and observed curiously.

"I just need five minutes to pull myself together," I told her.

Shir turned her head as if I was a crazy person and then relaxed into a sitting position, wagging her tail playfully.

I placed my hand on her head and stroked her so at least one of us could feel relaxed.

"Pacem?" Jake's voice called from behind.

"Leave me alone!" I snapped.

"It's all over now. Everything's-"

"Everything is not okay!" I yelled. "I don't even understand why I'm here, Jake! It probably would have all been better if I'd just stayed with Alluna!"

His eyes widened. "Do you really believe that?"

"I don't know."

Jake put his hands on my shoulders and I couldn't help but meet his gaze. We stared at each other in silence for a moment and the world seemed to make a little more sense again.

"Dolly Clearwater was one of the first Karnoi activists to fight against the Mercia," he said. "They ruled before Alluna and they were set out to kill every Karnoi alive and breathing."

"Jake-"

"She used that podium." He pointed to the object cradled in my arms. "And her eyes were the same colour as yours."

He suddenly had my attention.

It all made sense to me now. People were so impressed by the red because they saw it as a symbol. I reminded them of Clearwater.

"That's how you knew that I'd be able to work the podium."

"The eyes of a leader." Jake nodded. "Someone who can lead us to peace. You're special, Pacem."

"I'm just a girl, Jake. I'm not Clearwater."

A tear ran down my cheek but he wiped it away.

"I've never met anyone like you in my entire life. You have so much hope and ambition. People around here don't even know what those things are anymore. All you have to be is yourself."

I paused for a moment studying him.

"Do you know where I'm from?" I asked. "South Africa. It was Post-Apartheid and even though it was supposed to be all rainbows and butterflies, there was still so much... tension. Both sides just wouldn't listen to each other. I've seen this all before Jake. People don't just let go of their grudges. Everyone has their own experiences that shape what they believe."

"We don't have to fix it all at once, Pacem. But even if we can make a small improvement isn't that something?"

I smiled up at him. "We?"

He paused for a moment.

"We."

We'd gone back to the cottage to fetch Veera. She was under the impression that Jake was going to take me back to Alluna, so Jake spoke to her privately while I waited on the porch with Shir.

Shir growled at Veera the moment she came out. Veera didn't even react. She seemed to be particularly pouty. I didn't know why she had to come in the first place since she clearly didn't want to, but Jake was pretty insistent.

Eventually the forest came to an end and we found our way back to the rocky pavements and polluted air.

We went back to town because I had a plan.

I kissed Shir on the head and told her to wait for me a little deeper in the forest. She seemed sad to see me go, but I could tell she understood that I'd be back soon.

"What now?" Veera asked viciously.

I clutched onto my podium and climbed onto the elevated road.

"Now we make a mess."

She didn't seem to know what I was talking about, but I ignored her and placed the podium on the ground.

I concentrated on it. Eventually paint began to ooze out and floated in my direction. Then I held out the palm of my hand to stop it from reaching me and left it hanging in mid-air.

I began to sway my arms around with the paint trailing behind. It was unusual painting without a flat surface, but for some reason I just knew actually what to do.

Jake and Veera watched me in awe.

They hadn't said a word since I'd started, and I realised that this time was different to Dante's house. I was more aware of my surroundings.

The only thing I could get lost in was the paint.

Just like any artist.

When I was finished, I placed my hands on my hips and stared at the image, proudly.

A red eye glowed back at me that resembled my own and it overlapped a normal blue eye. Underneath I wrote neatly in black paint:

One in the same.

Veera opened her mouth as if she was about to say something but I lifted up may hand (to shut her up).

The image replicated again and again with each palm flick until I was staring at about ten identical paintings.

I threw one down in the direction of the ground and it landed on the pavement perfectly intact as if I'd painted it there in the first place.

When I realised that was possible, I left my mark all around town. I placed them on the walls and windows and even in mid-air. There were eyes, middle fingers, lions; you name something offensive or threatening and I had painted it somewhere.

My last painting for the day was a parody and direct attack on Alluna. I drew her from head to hip with a wicked smile on her face and shadowy eyes. In her hands was a knife that dripped with blood and the label on the knife read,

You don't have to be Karnoi to be evil.

I expanded the image in size and left it on the biggest building I could find.

Jake walked forward and stood beside me. He hadn't said anything the whole day, instead observing me as I worked.

"We need to keep moving." He kept his eyes on the painting.

We'd been very careful not to be followed. The sun was shining and it was easy to get spotted in the day. Especially considering the amount of security Alluna and Dante had sent out. We'd seen the occasional police car or watch guard, but Jake and Veera had both been very alert and we'd easily dodged them.

"I'm finished."

Veera hadn't shut up so I'd been so relieved when she'd gone to Ernie's to get a drink because Jake told her too. She generally did everything Jake told her to do.

"Anything's better than watching this," she had said.

Jake hadn't argued and simply agreed to meet her there later.

"I'm starting to get tired." I nodded.

"We'll go get Veera and then start going to-"

"The cult?"

He grinned. "Soon to be rebellion."

"Yeah whatever."

Jake had convinced both of us to go back there. Wherever he went, Veera would follow and he'd lured me in by saying Malvin wasn't safe there.

He thought that I could make the Karnoi there follow me. He said I could make a difference. And having someone believe in me like that kind of helped me believe in myself.

"What was that thing you drew earlier?" he asked. "The necklace."

I stared down at the floor. "It's a St Christopher's. It's supposed to give you luck on your journey. My gran gave it to me when I was little and I never took it off. I guess it's gone now."

"Do you ever wonder about them?" he asked. "Your family."

"Every day." I admitted. "I wonder what happened to them all. I had a little brother, you know, his name was Caleb. I can't imagine what he'd look like grown up. And my parents..." I trailed off.

Losing a kid would have made them sad. I thought to myself.

"Maybe it's better not knowing what happened to them," Jake said sadly.

"Either way they are gone," I shrugged, but noticed the sorrow in his words. It was almost like the statement was personal.

We had walked down to the street into another alley that I'd recognised. If I was correct it would lead us back to Ernie's.

To my surprise, Jake stopped in the middle of the alley and put his hands in his pockets.

"Show me."

I grinned. "Show you what?"

"How to paint."

"Seriously?"

"What's the matter?" He smirked. "Afraid I might turn out better than you?"

I kept the pathetic smile on my face.

"No. I'm just afraid you won't be able to handle it." Jake snatched the podium from me and held it up in the air.

"Try me."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes. "Put it on the floor."

He did and with one solid stare paint floated up towards us.

"It's not all about skill," I told him. "It's something you have to feel. You have to let it control you for it to work."

I pushed the red paint directly onto the wall this time and moved my hand rhythmically in circles. Jake came up from behind me and his arm followed mine. He was so close to me that I could feel the warmth of his body.

I look at him quizzically as his eyes followed the paint on the wall.

Then I reached for yellow paint and gently let it loose onto the wall. This time, Jake took control and led my left hand up and down in a different pattern.

His breath touched my neck and I couldn't concentrate.

My lack of awareness only meant I couldn't be doing this on my own.

It was both of us.

The blue paint came next without either of us leading it. It sunk into the wall and we worked with it similar to the other colours, this time extending it out of the tiny boundaries that we had been using. Once we'd used every one that I could think of, Jake stepped away from me.

We were both breathing heavily.

"See, I'm not so bad," Jake ran his fingers through his hair.

"Not at all." I bit my lip. "Maybe... we should go find Veera."

Jake nodded, eager to escape the awkwardness of the situation.

He'd already started walking away, but I took a moment to examine our work. It certainly wasn't like anything I had painted before. It reminded me of abstract expressionism with its immediacy and intensity, but it was unique in a way that made it beautiful.

I smiled and ran to catch up with Jake.

"You know..." I began, "We could just ditch Veera."

Jake chuckled. "You really don't like her."

"She doesn't like me," I stated. "You know when I was getting fed to Shir for dinner she didn't even twitch."

"Seriously?" He faked dismay. "What a bitch."

I glared at him. "It's not funny. Why does she hate Karnoi so much anyway?"

"She was a part of the cryonics program and when she grew up wasn't exactly a good time. People probably forced the concept into her brain that she was worthless or something."

"Things seemed pretty bad in the past." I said.

"They're not much better now," Jake confessed. "Why do you think people stay in their houses and only come out when they have too? There're a lot of people out there like Phyllis and Billy."

I flinched at their names.

"So... You're defending Veera."

"I feel bad for her." He nodded. "When you look at people you've got to remember that their past made them the way they are."

And I had a feeling he wasn't just talking about Veera anymore.

Everyone has a past...

Keep reading to find out about Jake and Veera's ;)