V.I.R.A.L

Chapter 111: It’s Coarse and Rough, and It Gets Everywhere

The points shot up as Alton stared at his card blankly. He eyed Jinx uneasily as Jinx disposed of the final group of streamers. His points were now at 4500 enough for any low-ranking item and not too far off the higher more sought-after prizes. Flipping the card around, he pushed back down into his pocket, seeing the sandstorm rapidly racing in on the two streamers. Jinx slapped her hands together, letting out a satisfied hum. "Well, that deals with that. What do you say, hunt down the other streamers and make them beg for mercy?"

Alton was glued to the sandstorm not hearing Jinx clearly. "What?"

Jinx walked over, leaning on his shoulder, staring into the distance. "You worried about a little bit of sand? We could catch the streamers off guard. Come on, it will be fun."

"Or they could do the same to us. I think finding shelter is better."

"Of course, you would say that you boring killjoy. Always have to act like the grownup… Mister poopy pants."

Alton glanced at her with a judgmental look not even bothering to comment on the words spoken. He turned around looking, noticing a bunker in the not so far distance. Wagging his finger forward, he mumbled to himself not caring too much if Jinx heard or not. "I'm going to take shelter there. You do what you want, I'll respect this little treaty for saving my skin by not attacking you."

Jinx pouted, tapping her foot in a four-beat rhythm before huffing. "Fine, we'll hide out like a bunch of school girls. We can set up a fire and tell camp stories and play spin the bottle."

Alton scoffed at her childish endeavours marching ahead as Jinx skipped up next to him holding a shotgun over her shoulders. He began picking up the pace as the storm roared through the region, catching them in the eye. Pulling up the hatch with help from Jinx the two crashed into the bunker closer the door behind them safe from the onslaught outside. The lights flickered on revealing a small bunker with only one room and a few boxes. Giving the room a quick look over, it was clear no one had been here yet leaving him a chance to take a breather. Squatting down, he crashed onto the floor, flicking the sand from his boots. Jinx scavenged through the boxes finding a few points and a set of sticks. Throwing them into a pile, Alton stood up sighing. "Suppose you don't have a lighter?" Jinx pulled a flamethrower out of thin air setting the campfire alight blowing into the weapon with a smug look. "That works, I guess."

The two sat around the fire as Jinx was a lot more active legs constantly shaking, unable to really sit still for a while. "This silence is driving me crazy."

"Would you relax? Can't you sit still for more than five minutes?"

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Jinx stood up hopping on the spot agitated. "Why would I want to sit still when there are streamers out there to hunt down…"

"You're really taking this contest, seriously aren't you? You got a wish or something?"

"A wish? Oh, you mean that phoney winning prize? Eh, I don't care for such silly goals."

"Then why did you enter?"

"Hmm, you know what I forgot."

"How the hell do you forget something like that?" Alton argued, sitting down, shaking his head. "Better yet, why did you help me back there?"

Jinx leaned against the wall sliding down to the floor, shrugging her shoulders. "Not sure. I just felt like it. I think. Everything is a bit fuzzy at the moment."

"This got to do with the trials?"

Jinx sighed, leaning her head back eyes closed. "Who knows, I must admit I haven't been feeling myself since your girlfriend destroyed the gateway. It's strange since then I can't help but think back to the past. A forgotten time…"

Alton slouched down poking at the fire, shaking his head. "Don't want to hear about its thanks."

"It all started with my birth!"

"Here we go…"

Jinx threw a bullet into the fire as she looked up. "I guess I should start off with something I haven't told anyone outside the Montague family. My real name. My actual name is Holly."

"Holly? Holly… Nothing wacky or over the top? Holly is a surprisingly normal name for you."

"Ha, I know, right! That was meant to be my name as a child, that's what I found out anyway after being called Jinx my whole life. You see, I never knew my mother. She died giving birth to me. My older siblings Monty and Butch, took it hard. Especially Monty, when she died, it affected him like nothing else, but that wasn't all. Throughout my entire life, I just brought on bad luck and misfortune. The manor caught on fire three times all apart from my own room. Everyone came down with a nasty sickness six years back, and three maids died all apart from me, to little things like broken vases, or dead animals. Raining on days it shouldn't and many other stupid things. I gained the nickname Jinx a while ago for this very reason. My ability to give people all around me bad luck stuck that name on me like a cloud sitting over my head. Eventually, I just accepted the name and used it for my own."

"So that was your power or something. A bad luck charm?"

Jinx leaned forward, staring at her hand, forcing a fake laugh. "Sounds stupid when I say it aloud. But it's true. When the time came to take that trial, I didn't think twice. I wanted to throw away the weak and defenceless Holly. The girl who made anyone she cared about to suffer, the girl who could do nothing but cry and stand there helplessly doing nothing. I vowed to come out of those trials someone else. I became Jinx Montague; I became strong and let no one bring me down for who I am."

Alton shook his head, standing up, walking away. "Are you even hearing yourself? Building up a persona so much that you actually believe you are that fake identity. Burying who you really are will bring nothing but pain to others."

"Like what you are doing Dauntless." Alton turns around as Jinx was lying on her front, eyeing him down with a playful look. "I've noticed something about you; you're very quick to judge other people, yet you are just guilty of such sins as I am. We saw who you really are back at the hideout. How you took care of my brother and Revert was nothing less than chaotic. It sent shivers down my spine it really did. You get me, don't you? I saw it, you enjoyed it. Letting loose, not being held down by other people or their opinions. You for that short moment were free."

Alton stormed up to her wanting to retaliate but stopped himself turning away grunting. "It's not like that."

"You deny your true self. Why deny it?" she prods. "You see, because of her, because of Zinnia the old me is starting to poke it's ugly head out. It's like a fucking weed unless dug up it will always be there. I can't go back to being like that. The Jinx they all saw me as. Why should I?"

Alton walked over to the bunker seeing the sandstorm see roaring on. Stepping back, he eyed down Jinx meeting her demands. "That isn't for me to say. I don't care."

Jinx jumped up meeting Alton head-on smiling looking down on him. "And that's just how it always is, isn't it? Pretend you don't care maybe people will stop asking. Maybe the past will stay there if you just stop caring. Admit it, Alton, you see me, and you are jealous."

"Ha! Jealous, oh, trust me sweetheart all of this is nothing to be jealous of." Alton barks stepping backwards. "A Montague is nothing but scum."

"Think what you will about me, about Monty, but everyone is moving forward, and you are still at the starting line."

Alton stopped looking slightly lost. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jinx walked around him, running her fingers across his shoulders. "It's exactly what it sounds like. Look at your friends around you. Zinnia became a Montague, the very same scum you claim us to be she is one now. She awakened to her own powers and is rallying to her future. Emil faced his past and was accepted for who he is. Gale is still trying to find his purpose, but his family encounter I was told has set up an open path for him. And then there's Scarlett against all odds she is becoming a streamer among a household of people who are opposed to the idea. She is making history. They are leaving you behind, Alton. What are you looking to achieve? The way I see it, you're just too scared to make a name for yourself to actually take a risk. You're more than happy to be where you are at for the rest of your life."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, to some people that's good. You don't have to worry about complicated things like that. You can drown in your own pity. Never going forward but also quite possibly going back. If you could have had it, you would still be fixed up at that gas station working nine till five for minimum wage. You're quite happy to be forgotten. You claim to be the leader of this group, but all I see is a follower one who will be left behind when the time arrives."