"Maybe you should get it checked out." Des suggested as we walked towards the training area.

I shrugged. "It was just a small headache."

"It sure didn't look like it."

It didn't feel like it either. It's been two days since I had the flashback of the day my parents died. This has never happened before and I still don't understand why it did now.

"Just leave it." I said as we entered the room.

Des smiled. "I love competition days!"

I sighed. "I'm just going to sit this one out."

"But you're part of the team and we need you. We're going against the top two teams."

"Well good luck but it would be a disadvantage for the rest if I joined." I said as we approached Zoey and Rob who were standing next to Mr. Koffee and Dr. Jarson.

"Why would it be a disadvantage?" Zoey asked.

"Cause you'd win without a doubt."

Zoey rolled her eyes as Dr. Jarson said. "Kyle, you can join me and we can assess their strengths and weaknesses."

I nodded, following Dr. Jarson into a single, small room. There was a clear glass and on the other side there was a very large room that was plain white.

"That there is where they will face obstacles. It's designed to make them go through different tests. Once the tests start, they won't be able to see us."

There was a small screen that would display what they were actually seeing and going through once they put on these small devices in their ears and put on the special glasses.

I nodded, taking a seat next to Dr. Jarson. A few minutes later Mr. Koffee joined.

Zoey, Rob and Des entered the other side of the room.

"Ready to see pure awesomeness?" Des grinned.

"Where are the rest?" I asked. Just then Cory, Sofia and Angela walked in.

"We're here." Cory stated, tying his hair with a ponytail.

"Where's Damon?" Dr. Jarson asked.

"Present."

I looked towards Damon as he walked in slowly followed by the rest of his team mates.

Alex. Jack. May. The Lightings

I smirked. "It's nice to finally meet you guys."

Alex and Jack didn't reply. They were always quiet, I remembered from my research. They were also the weapon masters with Damon as their leader and, surprisingly, the tech of the team. May, the cold and harsh chick, was the combat master of the team.

Damon was too busy staring daggers at Zoey to bother replying.

"Ok guys. Today we are mainly going to focus on your hacking skills. Mr. Coronary has informed me that he had recently given you a task but most of you found it difficult."

"That dumb assignment that you made me try last time? They couldn't do that!" I exclaimed.

Everyone glared at me. I smirked.

"As I was saying, with the exceptions of Damon, Des and Angela, most of you did badly." Dr. Jarson stated.

"Which is very discouraging." Mr. Koffee grunted.

"Well, the techs got it so why should it matter anyway. It's their main job and they did it." Sofia said. Everyone nodded, agreeing with her.

"It's this kind of logic that will get you killed." I said.

"Oh please-" Sofia started but I interrupted her.

"No listen. Jokes aside, you can't think like that. You need to be perfect. When you're going against a hoard of Defenders who have eliminators and all the technology available and you have nothing but your wits, you'll understand. You can't depend on others because you'll never know when you'll be alone. And when you are alone, then what? When you need to hack into something to save your life or the lives of others and the rest of your team isn't there, then what? Or you need to fight? Or you need to disable a bomb?"

No one said anything.

"Exactly. You can't depend on others. You can only depend on yourself so get that mind set out of your mind. You need to be perfect in all aspects."

Dr. Jarson nodded. "He's right."

"Whatever. Let's do this." Sofia said.

"Don't worry Sofia. I know it sounds impossible to be perfect in all aspects but I'm living proof that it's possible." I said with a smirk.

Just then, the lights dimmed on the other side and I looked towards the screen to see what they were seeing. They were in a lab with desks and computers.

Mr. Koffee clicked a button and I knew they couldn't see or hear us anymore.

He clicked another button that was linked to the device they put in their ears. "Your mission is to save Zerians that have been captured. The only information you have is that they're being held captive in California and a reliable source has given you a hint. The hint is 20303AKL. It has something to do with how you'll find exactly where in California the hostages are being held by using these computers."

Des nodded. "That seems pretty easy."

"As always the rules are the first one to finish the task wins but there is a little twist this time." Mr. Koffee said with a small smirk.

Dr. Jarson nodded. "You need to eliminate each other."

At that everyone stood up straighter. "What do you mean?" Zoey asked

"You must sabotage one another and once you locate the place where the Zerians are, you have to kill each other."

Everyone started talking at the same time.

"That's ridiculous." Angela objected.

"Why would we do that?" Des questioned.

"Bring it on." Damon laughed.

Mr. Koffee rolled his eyes. "Ready. Get set."

Everyone stopped talking, suddenly looking more alert.

"Go."

They all raced towards a computer. Damon and his team decided to all have a go at cracking the code as they all sat down on different seats.

Cory and his team decided to all work together as Angela sat down and they crowded around her.

And lastly Zoey and her team took a different approach. Des sat by himself and started typing away, trying to crack the code by himself while Rob and Zoey decided to work together.

This was going to be interesting.

Time went by and no one cracked the code. I started to get bored. I clicked the button so I can say.

"The Zerians you are trying to save are probably dead by now."

No one replied.

I turned towards Dr. Jarson.

"What are usually their weaknesses during these games?"

Dr. Jarson scoffed. "As if you don't know."

"I'm glad you know me well."

Mr. Koffee got up. "Well I have class so I'm leaving."

After he left, Dr. Jarson said. "Cory is too soft. He wouldn't hurt his own team mates which is great but I'm not sure if he has the heart to kill a human unless they are a Defender."

Why was that bad? No one needs to kill a human unless they were trying to kill us.

"Same with Des. He is too nice. Zoey would do what needs to be done no matter what and she makes sure her team mates make it back safely but she would also risk the entire mission to save one person."

"Hmmmm."

"Angela is pretty good at what she does but she has a tendency to get distracted easily. And Sofia, she's hot headed."

I scoffed. "Tell me about it."

"Damon doesn't like cooperating in any way which makes him hard to work with. May is like him so those two clash a lot. Alex and Jack are very useful but too quiet to the point where it's like they aren't there. When it comes to weapons, those two are deadly. But that's about it."

I nodded as I looked at everyone.

Finally Zoey smiled. "We got it!" She exclaimed as her and Rob high fived.

Angela gritted her teeth. "Almost there."

Des laughed. "I'm done." As soon as he said those words, all the computers went off.

"What the hell dude!" Angela said, angry.

"How did you even have time to do that?" Cory demanded.

Des shrugged. "It's a little hard so we decided that I would work on doing that and they can crack the little code."

I had to admit that was smart, impressive.

"See you later." Zoey said as they left the building.

Suddenly the screen split in two as Rob entered the code they cracked and the surrounding scene changed.

I looked back at Damon and Corys team.

May cursed. "Damon, do something."

"What can I do?"

"You're the freaking tech, figure something out."

"Can you just be quiet. You're not helping."

Sofia sighed. She looked at Angela who was busy looking at all the circuits connected to her computer.

A few minutes later her computer started.

May looked at Damon. "She managed to fix it."

Damon cursed her under his breath.

A few minutes later Damon's computer started running.

"Ugh that moron put a virus!" Angela complained.

I looked at Damon and saw him smirk. Less than five minutes later, he said. "Done."

His team quickly got up and they left. It took Angela exactly 30 more seconds to finish.

Suddenly the split screen became three different ones.

Three of the teams were in different places in California.

The hostages were placed in Mojave Desert.

As the teams hurried to find the quickest way to get there, with Zoey's team in the lead, I looked at Dr. Jarson.

"It's a trap."

Dr. Jarson glanced my way before returning his attention back on the others. "And why do you think that."

"It just is."

Zoey's team was first to get there. They scouted the area and after Rob managed to assemble some deadly weapons, they found the underground location and entered.

"Guys, watch out for Defenders." Zoey said.

"We need to hurry before the others catch up." Des said.

"Did you guys hear that?" Rob asked, stopping.

"Hear wh-" Zoey started but before she could finish her sentence, three shots went off.

Their half of the screen turned black.

Cory's team managed to arrive before Damon's.

"Ok guys, listen. According to the information we were given, the hostages are placed in the second floor below, inside the fifth cell." Cory said.

Sofia nodded. "I think we should split up. Divide and conquer. That way we get to cover more ground."

Decision made, they entered different ways.

Sofia entered through the same way that Zoey and her team did so she was attacked by the same fake Defenders that attacked them. Luckily, she was alert and since her expertise were in combat, she managed to "kill" them all.

She smiled at her handy work. "That was easy."

She walked towards the only door available and barged through. Her screen went black.

Cory and Angela both made it to the first level. They ended up meeting half way.

"Where's Sofia?" Angela asked.

Cory shrugged. "No idea."

That's when Angela was no longer there.

Cory cursed and ran behind the single tire that was placed against a corner.

"Did you really need to shoot her?" Cory complained.

"Rules are rules brother." Damon laughed.

Cory chuckled. "World War Three son!"

That said, they started firing at each other.

Cory managed to kill Alex and May. At this point the mission had been forgotten and they were all just laughing.

That's when the bomb went off.

The whole screen went black.

I looked into the room and everyone was sitting there, a little disoriented.

"All of you failed." Dr. Jarson said.

"Well ya but we got really close." Cory replied.

"But you died."

Everyone suddenly kept quiet.

Dr. Jarson walked into the bigger room. "Kyle. Come here and tell us their mistakes."

I smirked. "Gladly."

I turned towards Zoey. "What you guys did was really smart but you got too cocky at the end. And you forgot your mission. Your main goal was to save the Zerians and you got so caught about being first that you forgot that."

Before anyone else could say anything, I moved on to Cory. "You were slow when it came to getting the codes so you need to practice a little on that but you also managed to beat Damon's team although they were ahead so that was good. When you entered, you were fine. Sofia you got too cocky and just barged in instead of being cautious. Danger always lurks around the corner so don't forget that. As for Angela and Cory, you two shouldn't have just decided to  carry a conversation in broad daylight. Take cover first."

"Damon, you and May need to stop wasting time arguing. Damon, your skills are impressive-"

"Obviously." He interrupted.

I pretended like he didn't say anything. "But you fell behind although you finished before Cory and his team. You need to work on your time management and stop wasting precious time."

Dr. Jarson nodded. "I second that."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "As if you would have done any better."

I chuckled. "Actually I wouldn't have done anything at all."

Everyone looked at me, confused.

I sighed. "It was a trap."

Dr. Jarson nodded. "It was but how did you know?"

I shook my head. "Let's start from the beginning shall we. One thing you can never forget is to never trust anyone. So you guys should have been suspicious with this so called reliable source."

Angela looked at me, her eyes filled with curiosity. "But it was part of the instructions and it clearly states that the source is reliable."

"That is true but once again, you can't trust anyone. Defenders might be humans but they aren't completely stupid."

Angela nodded.

"Second was the location. California doesn't have a strong base for Defenders. If you've noticed the patterns, they tend to locate some place small, some place where there won't be a lot of people so no one asks too many questions."

"But it was in a desert." Damon argued. "There isn't anyone living there."

"Ya but you didn't know that at first did you. You should have realized that this was a trap." I objected.

No one argued because they knew I was right.

"Then there was the fact that when you arrived at your destination, there was no security. No guards, no cameras, nothing. If the Defenders really had been keeping Zerians in there then it would have been next to impossible to enter."

Dr. Jarson nodded. "This is why he is one of the best."

***********

"I can't believe you couldn't complete such an easy mission."

Sofia glared. "We weren't taking it seriously."

"Sure thing." I replied sarcastically.

"We weren't."

"Uh-hu"

"We weren't!"

"I said sure!"

"Can you both cut it out, you're giving me a headache." Zoey said, irritated.

"Whatever." Sofia muttered.

Cory and Angela were engaged in a fierce discussion and Rob was just staring at his lunch as Des talked to him.

"I have a question for you emo boy." I said.

He slowly looked at me, a small smirk in place. "Yes?"

"Don't call him that." Zoey snapped.

I ignored her. "Why is it you're always dressed like that?"

"Like what?"

"All dark color and almost every part of your skin is covered."

He shrugged. "I have an amazing sense of fashion."

I smirked. "Cracking jokes huh, I like that. Keep it up and I might change your name."

Zoey scoffed but I spotted a small smile.

"I have a question too." Sofia stated.

"No one cares Sofia." I said, sighing.

"Why don't you ever show up to classes?"

I noticed Rob slightly stiffen. No one else noticed because it was slight. But I noticed.

"I'm also curious about that actually." I said.

"That's really none of your business." Zoey snapped.

"But what are you hiding. We're a family, are we not? Why keep secrets?" Sofia pushed.

"Sofia. Drop it." Zoey threatened.

"Guys guess what I heard." Des said, trying to change the subject.

It didn't work.

"Come on Rob."

"Sofia, that's none of your concern." Cory said.

"But don't you want to know."

"He isn't a part of this team so it doesn't concern you or me. I'm your leader and I'm telling you to drop it."

Sofia pouted. "But Kyle is. He deserves to know."

"What I deserve and don't deserve is up to me so you can mind your own business." I said. I didn't know why but I could tell Rob was highly uncomfortable.

Zoey gave me and Cory a thankful look before getting up. "I have class."

Rob got up too. "That's my cue to leave."

They both left and Angela said. "She is so protective over him. Does she like him?"

Des shook his head. "He's like her brother. And she is our leader so of course she is protective."

Angela nodded before looking my way. "Anyway Kyle, thanks for the tips today. They were really useful."

"Everything I do is useful." I replied.

"Forever the modest person." Des said.

I chuckled as I felt my phone vibrate. I looked down at it and saw Max's name. She sent me a text.

I ignored it. Ever since the day we went to the movies I have been avoiding her.

I didn't know why.

"Is that human girl still trying to talk to you?" Des asked.

I glanced up and everyone at the table was looking at me. I shrugged but didn't reply.

"Humans are so clingy." Sofia said.

"Max isn't."

"Max? Why does she have a boy's name?" Angela asked.

"Ya that's pretty dumb." Sofia said.

"I like it." I said. Everyone just stared at me and I shrugged.

"Anyway." Cory said, giving me a look. "How's human school?"

I sighed. "They are so dumb. I can't believe people find school hard. They learn about the easiest things."

"Really? Like what?" Sofia asked.

"They're learning about Pythagoras theorem and trigonometry and all."

Des started laughing. "You're kidding me right!"

I shook my head. "I'm dead serious."

Cory shook his head. "I remember learning that when I was 6."

"Why are they so.....behind?" Angela wondered.

"Sad." Sofia said.

I felt my phone ring again but this time it wasn't Max. I looked at the called ID and got up.

"I need to take this." I said before leaving.

I walked to the bathroom and looked around. When I was certain that no one was around, I picked up the phone.

"Hey Kyle, miss me."

I rolled my eyes. "Did you find it?"

"Dude, when you said you wanted me to trace something, I didn't think it would be so hard."

I looked around. "Come on Gabe, I thought you were the best." I mocked.

"I am. Which is why I did trace the location."

"Ok. Go on."

"It's a small town in Colorado called Telluride. I'm sending you the exact location right now."

"Thanks Gabe. I mean it."

"What is it anyway?"

"Remember how I told you they sent me to school to spy on the generals son and find their location?"

"Ya?"

"Well the information about the fact that Roy was his son and would be attending that specific school was anonymous."

"And they didn't bother to stop for a second and consider the possibility that it's a trap."

"Well I'll make more research and see who sent it."

"You do that. If you need any more help, let me know."

"Thanks Gabe. What about you?"

"I'm good. I have a new lead."

"Well, be careful ok."

"Well, well. Little Kyle caring about my safety."

I chuckled. "Shut up."

He laughed.

"Ho-how are you doing?" I cleared my throat awkwardly. "How are you holding up?"

Gabe sighed. "It's hard."

"It is."

"We'll be fine."

"We will."

"At least we have each other, bro."

"Ya. I'll call you later."

"See ya." I hung up.

I sighed. Other than my sister, he was the only one I trusted with my life. I didn't at first, I hated him. I saw him as someone who was trying to take my sister away from me. But she trusted him and over time, I did too. And I knew he cared about us.

And she loved him. Of course she did, he was her boyfriend.

And he was probably the only one who understood how much it hurt losing her.
**********

I was in physics class, trying to find Roy when Max came.

"Hey Kyle, how are you?"

I carefully looked at her, waiting for her to ask me why I had been ignoring her but she just stared at me, waiting for a reply.

"I'm good."

She smiled. "That's great. Well, I'll talk to you later then."

I frowned as she left to take her seat next to Uena. How come she wasn't mad at me. Weren't girls supposed to get mad over nothing.

A while later, the teacher walked into class closely followed by Roy. I looked at him as he slowly made his way towards the back of the room, trying not to stand out but failing. He sat down at the back and started to look out the window as always.

As class went on, I kept an eye on him but he didn't do anything other than look out the window except once when he glanced towards Max and Uena.

Why did he look towards them? Did he know Max?

When class ended, he was the first one out the door. I quickly got up to follow him but ended up colliding with Max. I saw the look of surprise on her face as she was about to fall but I grabbed her hands and pulled. She was about to bump with my chest but put her hands on it to steady herself.

"Wow, that was a close one." She said, slightly laughing.

"You should be more careful."

"Ya that-" she started but frowned. "Your heart."

"What?"

"Your heart, it's beating so fast."

I quickly stepped away.

"Are you ok?" She asked, concerned.

"Ya I'm fine."

"Are you sure? That isn't normal."

I put on my famous smirk. "Nothing about me is normal. I'm special."

She rolled her eyes. "So modest."

"I know. Look I have to go now, I'll talk to you later."

Max nodded. "Sure. See you."

I hurriedly got out.

How can I be so stupid! I should have been more careful. Of course my heart beat was fast. Zerians had faster heartbeats. Everything about us is enhanced. Our DNA, blood, everything.

I need to stay away from her.

Just as I was about to make my way to class, I heard whispering. It was very faint and no human would have been able to hear it but I did.

I walked towards the sound and I found the janitors closet. At this point I could hear what the person was saying. It was Roy.

"I think I found what we're looking for."

There was a slight pause as the person on the other side was talking.

"No I haven't found the address yet but I'm looking for it."

Another pause. "Ya, he's here."

"Ya ya, I'm positive it's him. He-he stands out."

I knew he was talking about me. They know who I am. They know what I am

"Ok I'll call you later."

I quickly left before Roy could spot me. He was talking about me and I bet the person on the other end was his dad, the general.

What address was he talking about? What are they looking for?

🔸🔸****🔸🔸

(A/N). Hey everyone. I have a special announcement. I've decided to join the 2016 wattys. I hope you guys will show your support by commenting and clicking that little star! It would mean a lot!

And here are the ship names:

Kyle and Zoey
🔹Koey
🔹Zyle (read as Kylie)
🔹kyley

Kyle and Maxwell
🔹Kaylax
🔹Kax
🔹Myle
🔹Kylex
🔹Maxle

Comment your favorite!

Special thanks to shellylovesfood @raekeshlyrakiera and _ash_28

This chapter is dedicated to @raekeshlyrakiera. Thank u for never losing faith! Love u

Until next time, take care❤️