June Romero lived a secluded life with her mother, but everything changed when a stranger stepped into her home. Discovering the extent of her powers and how she's not alone, June meets others like her, tasked with keeping the world safe. The Biological Research Identification and Containment agency, known as B.R.I.C. tracks down and protects the world from other unbreakable-skinned individuals like her. Some want to live peaceful lives, and others want to disrupt the status quo. What would you do in her shoes, especially when family secrets are revealed.
June Romero lived a secluded life with her mother, but everything changed when a stranger stepped into her home. Discovering the extent of her powers and how she's not alone, June meets others like her, tasked with keeping the world safe. The Biological Research Identification and Containment agency, known as B.R.I.C. tracks down and protects the world from other unbreakable-skinned individuals like her. Some want to live peaceful lives, and others want to disrupt the status quo. What would you do in her shoes, especially when family secrets are revealed.
It was a hot sunny day as pedestrians went about their lives. Over the rooftop of a run-down building in the heart of New Jersey, shadowy figures scurried into position along the edges of the five story building.
June Romero walked into her building and toward the elevator. She picked at the paint that was peeling off of the button when the doors opened with a metallic clank.
“Hi there, child. Butterscotch?” June Romero’s neighbor smiled as they passed each other.
“No thanks, Mrs. Jones, I just got my lavender tea from the coffee shop.”
“Oh, you kids and your fancy drinks nowadays. Well, be safe, dearie.”
“Will do.”
She resented her petite stature. At 5’ June constantly felt treated like a child despite turning 18 in a few days. She knew her baggy outfit didn’t help her look any older.
“I can’t wait till I graduate and get out of here.” June sighed and pressed the elevator button. “Why does she always pick places like this? I could be working at a better job. Hell, I should probably threaten her with selling feet pics online again…” She chuckled to herself as the elevator doors opened again and her elderly neighbor holding a pet-carrying case walked in.
“Hey there, kid. How was school?” the man said, smiling with deep-set wrinkles as he walked into the elevator.
“Mr. Jameson, it's okay, I can’t wait for summer vacation. How’s Mrs. Whiskers?”
“Oh, right.” He waved his hand dismissively. “The vet said I need to stop giving her ham. But she likes it so.”
“Doctor's orders, Mr. Jameson. Have a good day.” June waved goodbye as the doors closed. Her phone rang and she answered to hear the familiar nagging voice.
“Yes, Mom. I know, Mom. It’s fine, I was just grabbing some tea at the corner. No, mom, I’ll be home quick. It’s gonna be summer, can’t I just go out for a little while on my own? It’s fine, I’ll let you know if my stalker dad shows up... I’m kidding. No, Mom, you know I don’t know what my dad looks like, right?” She held her phone down and sighed deeply before lifting it up to her ear again. “Yes, Mom, I’m aware I’m insane for drinking hot tea on a hot day. Please, if you’d just let me go groc— Ugh, fine, I love you too, Mom. I’ll see you soon.” The elevator doors opened and June took a sip of her tea as she made her way down the dimly lit hallway.
She returned to her apartment and fixed the books she knocked over when she bumped into the shelf before leaving. She noticed the crack on the shelf where she bumped into it and picked up the steamy romance novels that toppled over and stood them up against the book ends. “How’d my mom let me read this steamy trash at the age of 11?” June thought aloud as she placed each romance novel on the shelf. She knew they weren’t poor, though June wondered where all the money came from. Somehow her mother always found the shadiest apartment buildings in whatever city they ended up in. She sighed and dropped off her small wallet and keys on the table and was about to take off her boots before a shadow by the window caught her eye, but before she could examine it, she heard the door.
“Mom? Is that you?”
“No,” a man’s voice answered from the living room. June's heart raced as the footsteps grew closer. She was about to scream when he walked into the hall and pulled out a badge unlike any she’s ever seen.
“William Saturnino. I’m with B.R.I.C. It’s a government agency that helps people like you.”
The tall, light-skinned man with thinning hair and an average build wore a suit so nice, June thought he might have just come from a wedding.
“What do you mean, people like me?” June said, eyeing the kitchen knives that were a bit too far for her to run to.
“People with, uh, unique biology.”
“So, not because my mom is running away from a deadbeat stalker?”
He blanched then sauntered toward June with his hands open. “I know you must have a million questions, June, but I’ll answer it all if you just come with us peacefully. I’ll tell you all about your past and why you never really get hurt.”
June looked at the cracked shelf from earlier. “My past, huh? Like, am I an alien that crashed-landed on Earth or some shit?”
William smirked at that. “No, no, it’s much more boring than that.”
June looks out the window to see an armed man in military gear hanging from what she assumed was the roof. “So, what am I then?” Her voice trembled.
“A genetic anomaly,” he replied in an honest tone, looking her in the eye as he walked toward her. “There are others like you. My agency has been finding them all over the world. Children who need help, medicine, and a guiding ha—”
“So, we’re mutations, and you’re here to put me away, huh?”
“Something like that,” sighed William, “but it’s more complica—”
“Yeah, yeah, more complicated. I get it!” June lost her nerve a bit. She felt her hands trembling as William got closer to her and slowly put his hands on her shoulders.
“You’re definitely your mother’s daughter.”
June pulled back and squinted at him. “Don’t touch me. And don’t talk to me like you know me! You’ve got S.W.A.T. outside waiting to just snatch me like… like… Some criminal!” June backed away and threw her hands up. “And you want me to trust you!? You’re insane; when my mom comes home, you guys are gonna hear about it! I’m calling the cops; you guys can’t be in here! You don’t even have a warrant; this is bull—”
William yells into his wrist. “Stand down. I got this.” June’s eyes widen in panic, knowing she’ll just be snatched at any moment and probably never heard from again.
William’s voice snaps her out of it. “It’ll be okay, June. I guess I should start with the truth. Melody is not your real mother. She took you from us when you were very little.”
“Wha—”
“We found you in a house explosion in California. There were no survivors except you.” William’s brow furrowed. “A newborn baby girl completely unscathed, just lying there in the rubble.”
“That’s bull…”
“When was the last time you were really hurt?” William gave her a look that seemed like he knew the answer. “Last time you stubbed your toe? Hit your funny bone? Last time you banged your head and felt anything other than a slight discomfort?”
“I…”
“You haven’t. It bothers; sometimes, a little bit of discomfort, but it never bruises or lasts longer than a moment.”
June eyed the cracked book shelf and touched the back of her head. No pain.
“I know. You’re not the only one.” William continued. “We’ve taken in many with your ability. The agency helps people like you. Lost, confused, and unsure of what to do with their power.”
“What do you want from me?”
“To help, to give you the tools you need to survive in a world that would be terrified if they knew of your existence. This is a lot to take in, I know. This isn’t my first recruitment, but it is the first time it’s taken me years to find the person I’ve been looking for.”
June gave him a confused look.
“Melody, or agent Romero, has eluded us for as long as she could because of her training, but everyone has a digital fingerprint. June looked at her phone on the shelf and cursed under her breath. We finally tracked her down because she was transferring money again into a new account. I suppose she was getting ready to move again. Didn’t help you got yourself tea and used your real name.”
June’s heart sank and she let out a loud sigh. William tried to change the subject.
“Your kind is stronger than normal. Invulnerable to most injuries and heal surprisingly fast. I need you to come with us so we can help you hone those skills and join the agency to help find and protect others like you.” June snickered. “So basically, you’re saying I’m a wizard, and you’re taking me to the fortress of mutants to fight for the fate of the world?”
William gave her a surprisingly caring smile at her intentional butchering of pop culture. “Yeah, in a way.” He said with a soft smile. “Come on, kiddo. The world is a scary place” She studied him for a moment and scanned the room. “Come with us. Leave this life of running away from place to place and help us, help you.”
June glanced again at the broken shelf and pondered for a moment before snarkily replying. “So, what you’re saying is…” she shot him a mischievous grin. “I can kick all of your asses?”
William chuckled as he backed away from June and smiled sincerely. “Yeah, kid, and I would still very much like for you to come peacefully.”
“Okay…” she said, looking up slowly to catch his eye “…Make me.”
“DON’T!”
As she charged, the house was immediately covered in gray smoke and shattering glass all around them. Everything went dark. June didn’t feel herself hit the floor.
Melody Romero, a woman of petite stature and lean build with tan skin, dark-hair, and dressed casually, looked up at her apartment with brown eyes similar to June’s. Her jaw clenched and her fist tightened around her shopping bags. She knew she was in trouble. Helpless to do anything, she could only watch as a small crowd formed across the street from her corner apartment. She heard the shots and breaking glass. The smoke spewed from her third-story apartment. The police had prepared a perimeter. The best she can do now is to blend in, sneak away, and find her way to her emergency stash. The grocery bags she held were now a needless burden. She regretted leaving June alone while she went to the store, but Melody knew someday this would happen. She knew June was becoming tired of being constantly questioned and followed, but it was foolish of her to think June could take care of herself against the agency and she took a deep breath, telling herself they were just two women against an entire government. It was only a matter of time. There had to be a way to save June, and she’ll find it.
She did it once; she could do it again.
June awoke strapped to a slab in what looked to her to be a medical facility. The room was white and sterile, large and padded, and the door made of metal seemed heavy. She pulls on her restraints and almost feels them breaking before a voice comes through a speaker hidden in the room.
“Don’t! Don’t do that. It’s designed to shock. Its voltage won’t knock you out, but it will be very uncomfortable.”
“So tell me again, how you're the good guys?” June said firmly as she tried to hide her fear.
“We’re trying to help, but like a lot of others, you seem to be very stubborn.”
William sighs. “I want to help you, but we have to take care of ourselves too.”
June gives a puzzled look and goes to open her mouth to speak.
“You might not know it, but we’ve dealt with hundreds like you, and at first, we tried to be civil and reasonable, only to have Bricks smash through our people like butter. We’ve lost so many just because they couldn’t control themselves or had no clue how strong they could be… or worse.” William said with a severe tone. “They know what they’re capable of and willfully, joyfully destroy us without hesitation.”
The braces on her arms and legs released with a whirring sound. June got up and sat on the slab, nursing her wrist.
“Look, I’m sorry, but you said you were gonna tell me about my past.”
The door opened with a hiss and a whirring sound. William, flanked by two guards covered in heavy riot gear, walked in and he motioned his hands to let them know they could put their stun rods down.
“You can follow me. We’re gonna have a long talk in my office.”
June looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“I’ll fill you in on all that I know. Also, I’ll give you a quick tour . Come on, we have much to discuss, Mel—” William stopped mid-sentence, looked away as if lost in thought, and shook his head. “Come, come. Let’s go.”
June followed behind, looked out the door, and realized this would be a lot to take in. The long, large hallways were encased in walls of unpainted thick concrete with metal tubes running along the bottom. The signs posted showed around fifty floors. June fell behind as she tried to read the signs but hurried to follow him.
“What is this place?”
“Base Alpha.” Said William in a matter-of-fact tone. “We have bases all around the world, anywhere we can, anyway. We’ve been trying to help so many like you. The ones we can’t, well, let’s just say it’s hard to tell the difference between a savage Brick or a terrorist explosion nowadays. A lot of the time, they’re one and the same.”
“So I’m profiled and put in a camp….”
“No!” Said William before June could finish her thought. “It’s not like that, but we need to be careful. As I said before, we’ve lost a lot of good people…” William trailed off again.
The four of them turn a corner and see a door with a glass window at the end of the hall.
“Ah, that’s us. That’ll do, guys. Thank you.”
William nods at the guards as they straighten up and turn back to the direction they walked from.
“Come in, take a seat.”
As June looks around the large office, she notices bookshelves covered in psychology and biology books, the occasional ‘World’s Best Boss’ mugs of different styles, and one small picture of an infant in a crib toward the back corner of it all. On the other side of the office was a large window that seemed to look down into an area maybe three stories deep and cylindrical. Scratch and burn marks all over the walls caught June’s attention.
“The hell is this?”
She was about to sit down, but stood up to get a closer look.
“This is the training area.”
“For what? Kaiju?”
William smirked and sat down in his chair.
“No, it’s clear you really have no idea what you’re capable of. Bricks are…”
“You keep saying ‘Bricks, what is that? Is that what you call people like me?”
“Uh, y—yeah, sorry. That’s what the agency calls your species as code, and it kind of stuck. Strong, durable, like a brick.” He paused for a second “Tough skin like Kevlar….”
“Stop!” Said June, frustrated. “Just… start explaining.”
William turned his monitor to face her.
“Okay…” he said, “get ready for the exposition dump.”
June glared at him with a raised eyebrow. William cleared his throat, and his smile became more serious as he noticed June wasn’t in a joking mood.
“This is the Biological Research Identification & Containment division, aka BRIC. We don’t know when, how, or why it all started, but decades ago, a few doctors stumbled onto something strange. A, er, a gene, I suppose, that was within some of the population.”
“It was hard to get samples since most of the skin is impenetrable, so saliva, tears, and waste were used. The subjects were people who survived an accident or a shooting or just came in for a checkup only to realize they are very, very durable. Hard skin, even the eyes are tough, though not completely impenetrable like the skin. You see here on this chart how a bullet can pierce skin with no resistance practically, and with a Brick’s skin, it just bends, and the bullet is flattened.”
June looked at the screen with furrowed brows and mouth agape. She nods slowly.
“Okay, here’s some video of a man getting bombarded with grenades filled with shrapnel. See, barely phased. And here! Here is another video. Look, look at her, she just took the bus on the shoulder, and it just threw her back a couple of feet, and she got up like nothing happened. We tracked them down, ran tests, and they became some of our first agents.” William took a breath. “And it’s been like that for years. It’s fascinating knowing there are so many-”
“William, focus!” June said sternly, noticing him rambling.
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “Uh, anyways, yes, okay, so, you were found in a small town in southern California. The whole apartment went up in flames, family, uh… deceased, but you, in a collapsed crib, crying your lungs out like it was just dinner time. Not a scratch on you despite the rubble and smoke. So, of course, we took you in, and we adopted you as our daughter.”
“Our… Um, yes, Melody and I, we uh, we tried to raise you ourselves. But she was too idealistic, or, well, I guess you can say we both are in different ways. She believed you should have a normal life, and I knew one day someone would push you a little too far, and we’d be picking up splattered children from walls and roofs, a—”
“Okay, so mom was an agent too!? Also, you thought caging and brainwashing me into a super soldier would be best for everyone?”
“Ye— No,” He sighed. “It’s complicated. Not a super soldier per se, just a….”
William struggled to find the words.
“… Just not a menace to society.”
“But don’t I have aunts or grandparents or…”
“You might have, but we needed to protect you. Melody is the one who pulled you out and took you to the hospital. After that, she got the paperwork done. She was always good at that, and then you were ours.”
June grew more and more uncomfortable with everything she was hearing.
“But we looked so alike. How— How can you just sweep all of this under the rug… also how do Bricks die? If an explosion didn’t kill a baby?”
“Poison, asphyxiation, uh, and electrocution mostly, maybe drowning, but who can hold your kind down for that long without any strength of their own? It’s almost impossible but doable.” William said proudly, but realized that June looked even more serious than before. He trailed off into the next subject. “I know this is a lot to take in, but…”
“Are you serious? You’re gonna tell me that not only are my real parents dead, I’m adopted, my ‘mom’…” she says with finger quotes. “…is a rogue spy, and you’re technically my adoptive dad, and you’ve got the nerve to tell me all of this, play yourselves the heroes, expect me to join the cause as if the world needs me to save it.”
“Well…” William looked down at his desk. “…Yyyeeesss.” His shoulders slumped as he looked up at June. “This is important; you’re a Brick, and if not us, someone would try to take you too, and with us, you have a chance to at least attempt a normal life, the alternative—”
“THERE’S AN ALTERNATIVE!?”
Leaning on the desk and visibly agitated, she seethed and stared at William.
He searched for a subtle way to say what he was thinking.
“There are groups, small for now but growing. Made up of Bricks that are, for lack of a better word… Dangerous.”
June tilted her head with a face that made William regret his choice of words.
“I’m scared. The world is changing, and as much as I want to trust you, you can join one of these groups because you like what they’re selling, and there isn’t much we can do to stop you.”
He looked around searching for the words as June stared at him with narrow eyes.
“It’s Armageddon. Melody and I found you and tried to raise you to be a good person. She just couldn’t bear the fact that someday we would need you to fight this war for us. She took you from us using all her training. She hid you in plain sight.”
William gave a long sigh. Both of them looked down, processing the information.
“I held you as if you were my own, fed you, changed your diapers, but despite it all, where Melody and I differed is she wanted you to have a life, and I needed you to save lives.”
June’s gaze shot up. Her eyes watered from rage.
“My life was stolen from me, and you want me to be your savior? A stupid weapon to point at to protect you from people who were born different... Special or….”
June’s eyes started darting around as she found the words. “Better than you?” She stared at William. “You wanted a baby orphan to go out into the big bad world and fight for you? Are you insane?! I mean, how the hell else do you explain this? I can’t with this, I just want to go home. I don’t care if she was a rogue agent, Mom, my mom cares for me.”
“She’s a criminal…”
“She’s my hero.”
June stood up abruptly and unintentionally. As she was standing, she glimpsed the doors of the arena downstairs open. A group of six armored people walked in. Dressed in what looked like riot gear and faces covered in something resembling scuba gear, June could see them making formations as one of them made hand gestures.
“Team Alpha.” William said with a sigh of relief. June looked up at him as he continued. “The team we send out when we know there’s a dangerous Brick out there.”
“You mean your own black ops team.”
“How do you know—”
“I watch movies. You—” But before she could finish, large sliding doors opened above. “MISSILES?!”
“Well, RPGs and—”
“AND? There's more!?”
“and live ammunition.” William smirked.
“What…”
June panicked and stared at William. Her heart raced as she looked down at the group.
“I don’t want to see people get hurt or die! What is this shit? You’ll kill them!?”
“Relax, This isn’t their first rodeo.”
William walked around his desk and stood next to June. He looked out the window and glanced at her panicked expression with a smile.
An alarm buzzed as the sound of a timer went off. They made a formation using themselves for cover, almost like a triangle, three stood in front with two in the middle and one in the back. They took the rain of bullets as if it was simply raining. Then the two on each end spun around and pulled the person behind them up, throwing them into the air about twenty feet into the air to block the incoming missiles with their bodies. The one on the right attempted to punch it, but at that moment, June could notice him missing and getting a face full of rocket. They stopped the rockets midair while the others used their bodies as shields and to protect from the hail of gunfire.
“This is the training exercise we do. Keep civilians safe, avoid heavy damage, and bring everyone back alive.”
June looked out the window, mouth fully opened, and let out a low curse.
“So when you say we’re invulnerable…”
“I mean it.”
“The world really is screwed….”
June looked up at a smiling William. He seemed so much taller than her. June felt small, as if the world around her just grew exponentially.
“Yeah.” William put his arm on her shoulder. “Unless people like us make a difference.”
June looked away from the window and toward the picture of the infant on William’s shelves.
“I’m here for a reason, then. I guess psychology isn’t in my future.”
William gave her a soft smile.
“I don’t believe in Destiny, but I believe in people. They can let you down, but they can also make things right.”
He sat down in the chair next to her.
“Let me make it up to you. You’ll train as a handler, I’ll tell you about that later but, it’s worth it, trust me. That’s what I do. You’ll serve with us for a couple of years, hopefully until you retire or…”
June suddenly felt both hopeful but also a sinking feeling.
“…or we find a cure.” William said, snapping both of them back from the deep thoughts in their mind.
“A cure?” June said surprised. “Is that even possible? Would anyone want that?”
She felt conflicted, she just found out she could punch a rocket and survive, but that power in the wrong hands can be terrifying. June missed the times when she would think a gun was the worst thing an individual could have. She noticed William pulling a key ring from his pocket and placed it on his desk.
“It was my panic switch. I press it, and the entire room gets knock-out gas.”
June looked at him with a nervous smile.
“I want to trust you, kid. Now, let’s show you around.”
The next day, June, awoke with a sense of bewilderment, and sat up in her bed. She looked around at people climbing out of their bunkers in what seemed to be a parking garage with all the thick concrete pillars and gray walls. It was a rough first night and the bags under her eyes were proof of that. She felt she just had to go with the flow and try to keep a low profile. In the morning, everyone got up, made their beds, boy and girl locker rooms with bathrooms and showers for some time to freshen up, and then it’s out into the hallways to pile in with the other hundred or so people making the cue for the mess hall to get some breakfast. June saw easily about 100 people filling in this massive mess hall that opens up to rows of squared metal benches all illuminated under even more fluorescent lighting. She still doesn’t know how far down underground they are, miles if yesterday’s really loud, very explosive training was anything to go by. She waited about twenty minutes in line before she was able to grab a tray with a plate and see what they had in store for her. Fast food breakfast sandwiches and juice boxes.
“Thanks.”
She reached for the fruits and yogurt, noticing there’s some tater tot and orange slices also being served. She gave the server a weak smile and finally got a good look at most of the kitchen workers. Some are middle aged but all seem to be retired military with the way they carry themselves and arms still muscular enough to crush an apple with just their bare hands. June gives a small chuckle to herself as the image amuses her. She walked toward the dining area and looked around. She felt like the first day of school again. With a sigh, June looks around to find the least populated table to eat her meal.
“Yo! Newbie!” Says a deep voice from across the hall.
June keeps looking down, hoping it’s not her they’re calling, but no such luck.
“Mighty Mouse! Over here!”
June gives an exasperated sigh and looks up. The voice belonged to a handsome guy with thick, curvy eyebrows, deep hazel eyes, a strong jawline, and very unkempt curly hair. June snickers, but she walks toward him. June looked and thought he was cute. She gave a weak smile as she made her way toward his table.
“Have a seat with us, we haven’t been formally introduced and William seems to be out on business. I’m Ken, Ken Bennett, this is the crew. William wanted us to show you the ropes.”
The six sitting at the table reminded June of the type of friend groups she saw in every teen movie.
“This is Zoe, she’s the heart of the group. She’s only been here for a year.”
Zoe raised herself up slightly off the chair to shake June’s hand. June smiled and looked around the dining bench with a wary smile.
“Hi, don’t mind him, he’s just excited to meet someone new who isn’t trying to kill us.”
June raised an eyebrow and noticed Zoe seemed to be a little older than her and roughly a few inches taller. mocha-skinned and even darker hair kept short with the burgundy highlights giving her an interesting contrast that June found pretty. June admired her outfit and noticed a cute tattoo choker that seemed to have faded with time.
“Like our fearless leader here said, I’m Zoe Creed, been in the company for over a year now. They found me in Jersey. Long story short: I’m a brick. Yes, I like it here, no I don’t like what we do, and don’t exactly know why we’re like this. No one really does, but we do our best here to get along.” Zoe smirks and turned to the young man sitting next to her, who seemed to be staring at June’s clothes. “With no help from this one.” Zoe quickly pointed at the guy next to her and sat down to take a bite of her sandwich.
“You know you need me! I’m the glue of the group!”
Zoe laughed and the young Japanese man stood up. He didn’t reach for June as he gave a slight nod with his head. A tall light skinned man with spiky, dark hair. He dressed in what looked like a designer shirt and pants, with a large brand name belt buckle June couldn’t recognize but she couldn’t look away until he spoke again.
“I’m Jin Kurosawa. Japanese descent raised in Cali. My family thinks I’m becoming a doctor in Oxford U. Also, girl, what are you wearing?”
He points at June’s oversized long sleeved plaid shirt over a black T-shirt and black leggings tucked into combat boots. June was wearing the same comfortable outfit she had when she got her tea. She looked down at her clothes then back up at him and shrugged.
“Jin’s also our resident stylist” Zoe said without a hint of irony.
“Girl, I’m fabulous and I need everyone around me to be too!”
June gave a dry chuckle, but she knew deflecting when she saw it. She’s done a lot of it in her life with school counselors and teachers when she really didn’t want to talk about herself.
June looked around and noticed the others staring at her as well. June felt her face becoming flush.
“Anyways!” yelled Jin “You’re next!”
He pointed at the guy at the end of the table who seemed shy and seemed as interested in this interaction as June was.
“Fine.”
Said the dark-skinned man in a letterman jacket with broad shoulders built like a linebacker, wearing fitted jeans, and a sports team T-Shirt June couldn’t make out. He stood up and towered over the others as he rubbed his shaved head. June figured he must have been almost, if not, over six feet tall. His voice seemed higher pitched than June would have imagined and he spoke shyly, but with a hint of pain in his voice.
“Name’s Isaac.” He cleared his throat. “Brown. My life sucked ‘till I got here. I’m from Texas and…” he trailed off, lost in thought for a moment, “Will helped me before I did something stupid. It’s nice to meet ya.”
He sat back down after forcing a smile at June and crossed his arms looking at Jin and Zoe with concern until the woman next to him nudged him with her elbow.
“You damn lucky he did!”
Pale skinned, ashen hair, blue eyes, and possibly as tall as Ken when she stood up, She gave Isaac a big hug and turned to June with a serious face. Her flowy outfit resembled a retro hippy style with a modern elegant take. June wanted to admire it but then she pointed up and down at June with a stern look and pursed lips.
“I’ve been here the longest. They call me Queen, but my name is Freya Solberg. You gotta earn our trust. We’re a family here and we’ve been through some rough times. I know you got the welcome spiel from William and he awed you with our display.” She stopped to analyze June. “You have to be careful around here. Because, if you turn on us or threaten any of us, I will personally beat your ass and have you sent to the Block.”
June was about to form the words but was stopped by the sixth member.
“Yeah, she’s our matriarch, you’ll have to forgive her.”
Freya stared daggers at the nonchalant man as he placed his book next to his meal and looked back up at June. He was clearly ignoring Freya and smiled like he was about to ask June on a date.
“William said someone important to him was coming and we should take you in.”
“Yeah, something about him wanting you to join our team.” Ken concurred.
“But, he never elaborated.” Freya said with a huff.
“Yup, so anyways…” The tanned skin man dressed in a V-neck shirt and tight jeans stood tall, but a few inches shorter than Isaac and much narrower shoulders. His hair combed back with copious amounts of gel, and a scruffy stubble lined his chizled jaw. With a strong handshake June noticed he seemed to work out his arms quite a bit.
“I’m Hector Ramirez. The block is a prison where all the bad ones go and never come out and I hail from the far away land of Florida. Yes, to answer your question.” He bowed sheepishly, “I may have wrestled an alligator or two.”
June wanted to laugh but she could swear Ken was shooting daggers at Hector as he continued.
“How ya feeling being brought into the circus?”
June smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders thinking of what to say.
“I’m okay, it’s nice to meet all of you.”
She felt awkward with everyone staring at her.
“But, um, I don’t want to be a bother so I’m just gonna…”
She points with her thumbs away and tries backing away from them. Ken stood back up and puts his hand on her shoulder
“Nonsense. Join us, we wanna know all about you.”
June feels her cheeks flush. She wasn’t expecting him to be so forward.
“Um, sure, what’s the harm?”
June sat down at the end of the table next to Ken,
“So, I’m June. It’s nice to meet you all. I’m from California too… I guess. My family died in an accident and, apparently, I was raised by a rogue agent… until they found me.”
The group grew silent and attentive. June felt flustered as she felt all eyes on her.
“I, er, so, I traveled a lot and it never occurred to me that I was different, I never had time, trying to always catch up at schools and stuff, um, anyway, yeah, nice to meet you guys, I’ll just get out of your hair—”
“You’re her?” said Freya. “The lost kid?” Freya looked concerned. “The lost kid who survived the building explosion then was stolen from the agency?”
Talking more to herself than the group, Frey looked up at June.
“That was you!?”
Jin’s eyes dart back and forth between Freya and June.
“Girl, there are rumors that the agent who stole you wants to eliminate the Bricks and used you to figure out effective ways to kill us.”
June blinked and became defensive.
“No, she was my mom, she took care of me.”
The group looked at each other.
“Stick with us.” Said Freya “I’m sure she’ll be back for you.”
June felt hesitant with them. Ken looked at Freya who seemed to soften up while he had a concerned look on his face.
“You think she’ll try to take her again?”
“Maybe, but why?”
June felt conflicted. She loved her mom, but the way they talk about her. She questioned if she really knew Melody at all?
Ken holds June’s hand and looks her in the eye.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. We act tough but we stick together,”
June couldn’t help herself, she squeezed his hand back and then they all started talking, but it all sounded distant to June.
“If William thinks you’re okay, then I guess we can trust you.”
Freya’s eyes darkened and she grew quiet as she finished her meal. June looked around at the group and did her best to join in their conversations.
After learning that her new friends were all just around her age. June didn’t see any recruits that looked much older than Freya; everyone was around twenty or under. At least from what she could see in the sea of about a hundred people.
“Are there any other people that are older than us?”
The team nodded and looked toward Freya as she finished her drink.
“Yeah, this is the young adult ward, younger ones are a few floors below, and older folk go up, though depending, some might get sent to other bases to live or work until they’re retired. I’m still not sure how that all goes about yet, I’ve only been here for a couple of years and still learning something new every day.”
Freya said with a hint of spite in her voice before looking up and seeing William rushing into the hall, panting. He spotted June at the table. June noticed he was dressed in a more casual suit than yesterday, but he seemed much more stressed. He hurriedly made his way toward them.
“Morning, troop.” He said, exasperated and out of breath.
“Morning, boss.”
The group said in disorganized unison. Catching his breath, he turns to June.
“Sorry, I was supposed to help you with your routines today, but I couldn’t. Something came up. Follow me, I’ve got stuff for you.”
June put down her cold, half-eaten orange slice and got up to follow him.
I’ll clean up for ya.” Hector said, grabbing her tray.
Ken raised an eyebrow and looked at June as she stood up and waved goodbye to them.
“See you in class, Mouse.” Said Ken.
June’s eyes tighten with cringe as she loathes being called that, but she forced a smile.
“How do you like the team?”
William asked as he opened the door for June.
“They seem… nice.”
Glass Hearts hooks readers in from the very first chapter, perfecting the YA "chosen one" trope in an original and page-turning way. June Romero has lived her entire life moving place to place with her mother, Melody, as the only constant. When she returns home one afternoon, everything changes. She learns she is part of a group of individuals known as "bricks," individuals unsusceptible to most forms of harm. With her new team of friends, and an adopted father she didn't know she had, June must decide if she is ready to accept her new reality.
There are so many twists and turns in this novel that make it so exciting to read. One in particular occurs during June's first mission with her new friends, altering the entire course of the rest of the book. June, despite her lack of social experience, handles her emotions beautifully, especially during this plot twist. It is so refreshing to see a main character stand up for herself and acknowledge her emotions. Some young adult characters have the tendency to be impulsive, petulant, or "angsty," and while June has to experience many harsh things, she handles them very well. This is a big highlight.
Another positive of this novel is the relationship development. June has bonds with Melody and William that are nuanced; while she implicitly trusts her mother, she also comes to understand her father figure's side of the story. Again, June does an amazing job not falling into the usual story beats of not believing the truth from William, then blaming her mother for lying about her identity. Her handling of this situation, while emotional, is new and interesting to read as it subverts expectations.
Overall, this is a great read that introduces a whole underground world of special individuals while avoiding the tropes of the genre. While it was a little long, one could easily see Glass Hearts popular on the bookstore shelves.
For these reasons it is rated 4/5 stars.