“Soooo Angela…” said Priya arrogantly as she cautiously put on her pants. “How long have you been standing there?”

      “Just long enough to realize what a terrible friend you are.” replied Angela amusingly, her normal casual smile being replaced by a smug sense of self-satisfaction.

      “but Angel…”

      “No Priya I don’t want to hear it!” said Angela while pointing to the door. “Just, go… please”

      “Oh my god, you have to be kidding me.” Said Priya who at this point was begging.

      Angela did not even attempt to reply; she simply pointed her hand at the door and waited in silence.

      “Angela please, you know this has to be done for both our sakes” reasoned Priya.

      “All I know is that you were about to break your promise to me. I’m seriously hurt Priya, I thought we were together on this.” Said Angela, this time she was very serious and even took several step towards the already shocked Priya.

       Priya’s fists clenched with rage at the site of Angela’s defiance. She hated the fact that the only person she could never beat is her. No matter how complicated of a lie she span or how thoroughly thought out her arguments were, Angela always came out on top in situations like these. And worst still she knew it.

       “Angela. We were given orders not just by our parents, but from the very top of the organization to kill Josh Maybury. Whether you like it or not it’s our duty to kill him.” Reasoned Priya who for once in her life seemed to be emotionally invested in something.

       “Unlike you Priya I don’t kill unless I have an actual reason. Now go, I have to take care of my property.” Said Angela.

       A terrifying silence followed as neither side knew what to do next. Angela noted that Priya could very easily crush the frightened and severely injured man at her feet, but of course at the cost of her friendship. Realizing this she decided to play off of Priya’s desire to continue their friendship.

       “If you hurt him I will never speak to you again.” Said Angela who stared down the young Indian girl like a predator would its prey.

       The impact Angela’s ultimatum hit Priya like a sack of bricks. She soon realized that she had clearly lost, and that there was nothing she could do to turn the situation around. For once in her life she felt helpless as Angela exploited one of the few things she genuinely cared about.

       “Some friend you are, youuu burnt half of his little face off, and now you’re betraying me!” Said Priya with a wicked smile in a last ditch attempt to turn the tables on her.

      Angela said nothing to her; once again she looked her dead in the eyes and pointed towards the open door insisting nonverbally that she leave.

      “Fine! Be that way. But, when everyone finds out that Josh is alive and Kevin is not with us they’re not going to buy into all that friendship bullshit you gave me.” Said Priya as she stomped out of the room.

      “You better not tell anyone and break your promise Priya.” Said Angela condescendingly, as though she was lecturing a child.

      Priya was far past the point of rage; she no longer had the patience to deal with her and simply left the room in silence.

      “Now what to do with you?” said Angela to the small broken man at her feet who at this point resembled a partially crushed bug stuck to a piece of gum.

      Kevin was in what felt like the most intense pain in his entire life. As far as he remembered neither he nor Josh ever did any kind of athletics, as a result his body was not used to either exhaustion or injury. It hurt him to breathe, it hurt him to move, it even hurt him to blink.

      Of course mentally he was hurting far worse than physically. He had been betrayed and nearly killed several times now, and in addition almost everyone he has met has had no concern for his rights or well-being. Even people who claimed to be nice used him relentlessly, and in a bitter irony the one person who treated him with respect was once his most hated enemy.

      In the end however, it was the simple fact that he didn’t even know what the fuck was going on that really caused him pain.

               Angela paced around him like an investigator at a crime scene; her footsteps were soft so as to avoid jostling him unnecessarily. Carefully she fell to her knees, and positioned her head as close as she could to him; to the point in which he could feel her warm breath on his skin. Then with one finger she carefully peeled away the thick slobbery layer of gum and rested her pointer finger on his chest.

               “Hey? Are you alive down there? Because I can’t feel you breathing.” Asked Angela who’s sweet but cold hearted voice at this distance vibrated his entire body.

               “Why the fuck does she care?” thought Kevin. “She burnt my damn face off, and now she wants to protect me? It makes no sense.”

               “Your mad about what I did to your face aren’t you.” She said indifferently.

               Kevin caught a glimpse of her face and the feeling of awe he felt towards her surged through him, but just before it overtook him he managed to turn his head away. Kevin refused to become permanently ensnared by her; this time he would face her as a person and not as a slave hopelessly blinded by her beauty and power.

               “I hope you realize I only did that to hide your face, right? All the drama was just for show.” she explained to the badly broken man on the ground.

               “But… Goddess Angela. Whu… why did you cry then.” sputtered Kevin.

               “You’re arm. It’s broken isn’t it?” She said blankly and completely ignoring his question.

               Kevin didn’t want to waste what little energy he had left speaking, and so he simply nodded his head.

               “That fucking sociopathic whore, honestly I didn’t expect her to go this far.” Said Angela in an annoyed tone.

               “Your one to talk psycho bitch.” said a voice in Kevin’s head.

               “I guess I better take you to Heather, since I have no freakin clue how to fix your arm.” Said Angela aloofly before grabbing him by the torso and ripping him from the piece of gum.

               “Let’s make sure you stay sane.” She said, carefully placing her thumb over his face to prevent him from looking at hers.

               The warm touch of Angela’s skin soothed his broken body. Strangely he felt safe when he was at her mercy. Perhaps it was just Josh’s fond memories at work, but he honestly felt as though he could trust her entirely; she was his goddess after all.

               “I am not Josh Maybury, I am nothing but a pathetic slave who owes his entire life to the mercy of Angela, my divine goddess. And I will obey Angela, and anyone else who she deems appropriate without question”. Said Kevin softly to himself.

               “I still can’t believe I almost lost you.” Mumbled Angela to herself as she opened that familiar wooden door from the room.

               This time down the hallway there were no distant voices or the sound of the television; merely the faint noise of Angela’s breath and the muffled thuds of her powerful footfalls which supposedly had killed Josh.

               “Heather? Heather are you there? I need some first aid here.” Shouted Angela while descending the stairs.

               “Angela?” said Heather from the kitchen. “you’re not with everyone else outside, but Priya said…”

               “Never mind that, I need first aid NOW.” demanded Angela as she darted into the kitchen.

               “Woah girl, calm down and tell me what happened.” Asked Heather suspiciously

               “Kevin was injured. Pretty badly.” Said Angela whose voice bore a hint of sadness.

               “But Olivia said she had… It was Priya wasn’t it.” said Heather who after many years of dealing with these people could predict the source of every problem.

               “Yes.” Said Angela shamefully, her hands delicately cupping Kevin against her chest.

               “Not again.” Said Heather who then put on a pair of blue medical gloves. “Now tell me what his injuries are?”

               “One broken arm, and… maybe a couple of ribs?” Answered Angela while handing the tiny crippled man to her.

               “That’s it? Give me five minutes and I’ll have him doing handstands.” Said Heather proudly as she placed a thin line of duct tape across his face.

               “what’s that for?” asked Angela suspiciously.

               “He seems to have a problem making facial contact with someone far bigger than him, a common symptom with tinies born from internally unstable people, this blindfold will help keep him sane throughout the operation.” explained Heather with the enthusiasm of someone directing traffic.

               “It’s true what they say about you Heather. You really are a genius.” Said Angela.

               “Which makes it incredibly ironic that I have to pretend to be a stupid, angry, party-going, preppy girl at school, just so I don’t blow the cover on our organization.” Answered Heather as she created a tiny cast with nothing but a pair of tweezers and her fingers.

               Kevin felt strange as the two girls discussed things above him. It was as if they didn’t even care that he was there. Then again he was just Angela’s property now, so there was really no need for them to hold back anything around him.            

               “There! Done.” Said Heather happily.

               “Is he going to be alright? What about his ribs?” asked Angela who was showing a surprising amount of concern for her property.

               “Completely fine. And, his ribs weren’t even broken. Talk about luck. Also I left the blindfold on I figured if you cared about his safety you wouldn’t want his little brain to be blown every time he makes eye contact with you.” Said Heather amusingly.

               “Thank you sooo much.” Said Angela whose hands shot down like lightning to embrace the still recovering Kevin.

               “It was nothing. I’ve dealt with worse. ” Said Heather casually. “You should see what I have to deal with when one of the middle school kids gets a hold on somebody his size. Hehe its… not pretty.”

               “Just remember, don’t push him to hard from now on we still need his genes to complete the project.” Lectured Heather cautiously as she walked out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of what appeared to be potato salad. “Oh and by the way we’re all having a cookout out back so if you want to join us…”

               “It’s fine, I think I think owe him some explanations first.” Said Angela blankly.

               “The door to the widows walk is unlocked. That would be the most private place, I’ll see you later Angela.” Said Heather who walked out onto the porch.

               “Were going upstairs, I need to talk to you.” Said Angela returning to her cold demeanor.