Author's Note: The excuses for not updating this are as follows: I graduated high school, started college, was focusing on a lot of other stories, I've been working, and I've also been trying to have a social life. But here is an update- finally. I've read Gould's novel Griffin's Story, but in that Griffin is American and that's different in the movie so I'm making Griffin's story semi-different in this fic. Hope nobody minds too greatly. Also, hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter Twelve

Electric Twist

When Griffin goes to Bristol he jumps right into a puddle that soaks half of his pantleg. He swears loudly and stumbles away from it, shaking out his soggy sneaker as he regains his balance. A dog barks nearby and he suddenly remembers to be on guard again, and he looks around nervously. A woman is just getting groceries out of her car nearby and a truck is turning a corner up the street, but other than that, everything is quiet and calm. He checks over his shoulder once before stuffing his hands into his pockets and heding down the drastic slope of the hill, going toward home.

He's not sure why he's back here. He shouldn't be, he knows. After his parents were killed he jumped away quickly. He didn't need the police taking him in and handing him over to his bitch of an aunt or to some fucked up foster parents. He didn't need anyone. He could handle everything well enough on his own. And he has, so far. He went to Egypt and found a lair to protect himself and he set out to kill ever goddamn Paladin he came across. Aside from the slight wrench in his plan- also known as David Rice- he's been doing pretty well for himself.

But now there's this girl. Barely nineteen. Messy brown hair. Tiny little thing. Skinny enough to break. And she wants to play both sides. She doesn't want to hurt anyone. She just wants to save mum and live happily ever after with Paladin mummy and Jumper brother. She wants to tralala along, believing in God and thinking things have happy endings.

This makes Griffin laugh to himself.

This is real life, he thinks. There are no happy endings, sweetheart.

And as much as she drives him crazy, withholding the address of the Paladins' headquarters he can't help feeling bad about something.

Without warning, he sees the sad look on her face when he said 'See ya' and jumped away. He sees the anger burning behind her eyes as he dragged her mother through the proverbial mud. He still feels the sting of her slap just underneath his eye. He sees her surrounded by a dozen Paladins who have found out her plan and are going to kill her now, not caring whose daughter she is or what she believes or what she wants out of life.

Serves her right, he thinks to himself.

There's another family living in his old house. As he walks past he sees a little boy playing on the lawn, jumping around with a dog on a leash.

Griffin ignores the lump that rises in his throat.

He sees his mom laying at the bottom of the stairs at an odd angle, he sees the blood soaked through her clothes. He sees his dad with his eyes still open, though all the life is gone from behind them.

Griffin presses at his eyes and walks on.

Inexplicably, he sees Sophie lying on a cold cement floor, blood pooling around her, her eyes lifelessly open.

"Fuck," he mutters to himself.

We don't save the girl.

Maybe we do this time, he reasons.

"Fucking hell," he says again, and then, before he can convince himself otherwise, he's jumping back to New York.

I'm sitting on the beach behind David's house- my toes digging into the soft, warm sand. Everything is silent, but I hear the sound of seagulls and the waves crashing against the shore. The water stretches all the way to the horizon, and I wonder briefly how long it would take me to swim all the way across it- to Europe. As the thought flits back out of my brain, Griffin is suddenly kneeling beside me in the sand.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

He takes one of my hands- buried in the beach as well- and wraps his own fingers around it, dusty sand trailing down our forearms. I watch them fall back to the beach, and then look up and meet his eyes. He's staring at me intensely- in a way no one has ever looked at me before- and it makes me feel as if I'm suddenly made of a flimsy material- as if I'm about to float away entirely.

"David won't like it," he finally replies.

I shake my head, completely and totally aware of his hand still in mine- his fingers tracing the lines of veins and tendons under my skin. "Won't like what?" I ask.

Suddenly, he's kissing me- angrily, passionately- and his hands are in my hair, and he's easing me backward, so that he's lying on top of me in the sand. And, while I've kissed boys before, it was never like this. I can feel his whole body against mine- can taste tongue between my lips. And it's wonderful and confusing, and I'm not exactly sure when it happened.

And then we're suddenly on the cold floor of his cave, and he's pulling away. "You'll have to kill someone."

"What?" I ask, because my knees have gone weak and I don't understand.

"She won't like it- your mum," he says. "Nobody will like it."

Finally, I demand, "What are you talking about?"

But a huge, imposing black man with white hair is stepping between us, picking me up by my neck and throwing me backward.

"Where's your loyalty?" he screams at me, and suddenly, Griffin is gone. "How can you turn against God like this?"

I'm shaking, weak and hurting as I lie on the floor. "I'm not!" I shout, my voice cracking. "I'm trying to save my mom!"

"There's no use! You've lost!"

His words make the world tilt frighteningly beneath me, and I break down on the cave floor. I'm sobbing, faintly aware of the sound of him taking something out, and suddenly electricity is shooting into my back and I'm-

-jolting up in bed, panting.

Looking around me, I see that I'm in the same small, dark room I fell asleep in, but for a moment I don't understand why I'm here- why I fell asleep here to begin with. And then it falls around me and I understand. The Paladins. I told the Paladin trainer, Marijke, after signing some kind of statement with my fake signature and getting a brief rundown of my duties as a new recruit, that I would need to leave before it got ridiculously late so I could go find a hotel to stay in since I was away from home. She then proceeded to tell me that they had spare rooms below the ground level and that I could have one of those until I got myself situated. And while I had been hoping to get out of the headquarters so I could get in touch with David, I guess it's also good that they trust me enough to house me.

God knows how badly David must be worrying though. Though I was given my things back, I'm afraid getting in touch with David will arouse suspicion- especially if they're watching me at all times, via cameras or something- so I haven't spoken to him since yesterday.

Marijke said she'd come get me for breakfast and the start of training, so I settle back into the small military style bed and pull the scratchy blankets up around me.

A flash-bulb image of Griffin with his hands on my waist suddenly pops in and out of my brain, and I'm startled by it- my breath escaping me as I remember the vividness of my dream.

What was that?

Griffin? Oh, God. Never. He's a whiny, little pain in the ass. He's a jerk. He's... Apparently a good kisser, if my dream was any indication-

Stop.

I stop that train of thought before it can go any further and, instead, get out of bed and look around the room. It's plain- white walls, a gray bed, a desk, and small dresser. I fell asleep so quickly last night that I didn't get a chance to fully get a look at my surroundings, but now I know that there's not much to look at.

Quickly and numbly, I make my bed, and then I get dressed and sit down on top of the covers. I hug my legs to me and look around the room. I'm cold. And I've never felt so unsteady in my entire life. I've never had anything to really feel unsteady about. But here it is, the rug pulled out from underneath me and my world rocked to its core. So, I bow my head 'til my forehead is leaning against my knees, and I pray.

Please, Lord God, please help me please help me through this. Lord God give me the strength I need to do the right thing and to know what the right thing is. God, please guide me always please Lord God. Please keep Mom safe Lord God please keep her within your embrace always but please keep her here with me Lord God I can't lose her. I'm not strong I'm not sure I'm not capable of anything but you can do anything God. Carry me, carry me through this. Keep David safe. Help me. Please Lord God helpe me help me help me help me-

My head snaps open at the sound of a quick knock at my door, before it's thrown open.

"Time for breakfast," Marijke says.

Downstairs in the cafeteria, I meet the other recruits. There's Sara, who is quiet and small and serious, who avoids everyone's eyes. There's Chris, who's huge and angry and intimidating. There's gorgeous Ellie and awkward, gothic Alan. Liam, Frank, Joy, and Nathan. They all look so relatively normal and it leaves me surprised. Underneath all of their 'normal' exteriors are people who are willing and ready to kill for God. I know I look like I could fit in with them, but I'm not here to kill anyone. I'm not willing to kill people just because they can jump. I'm not here to pretend I know who deserves to live and die in this world. I'm just here to find out about Knox, to save my mom, and to get back to my normal life.

Marijke leaves us to eat our breakfast together and awkward conversation is made.

"You're new," Chris barks at me, his brow low over his eyes, reminding me of a neanderthal.

I nod, remembering my faux British accent. "Yes, I am."

"Where are you from?" Ellie asks, her glossy blonde ponytail flipped over her shoulder.

"England," I reply dumbly.

Chris snorts, as if this is hilarious. "And you came over here to join the Paladins?"

"I came over here to go to school," I tell him, my tone sharp and my voice bitter. I have no patience for these people right now. "But now I'm here to kill Paladins."

They all look up at this and regard me carefully, silence falling around us for several long moments.

"That's good," Liam finally says, his red hair falling into his eyes messily. "Because you'll be killing someone by the end of the week."

This makes me stop short. "What?"

"After the first week of training they have you kill a jumper to see if you actually have it in you," Ellie says, flashing a dazzlingly white smile at me. "If you really have the balls to kill for God."

I'm going to have to kill someone by the end of the week? I mean- I thought I was ready to kill to save my mom, if it came to that, but I don't know if I'm ready to kill someone to get information to save my mom. Oh my God. What does this mean? Can I get the information I need by the end of the week so I can just leave before I have to kill anyone? Or will it take longer than that?

"You do have it in you, don't you, new girl?"

Swallowing, I set the pretty blonde with a fierce look and say, "I do."

But, I'm not so sure that's the truth.