Limitless

Chapter 6

Arnav's POV

I can't name one place on my upper body that doesn't hurt.

My partner, Siya, doesn't look like he's doing any better than I am. I wouldn't be surprised if we had internal injuries as well.

I look at the healer in front of me and wonder if letting her mend my injuries would be wise, given how I got them. Maybe it would be better if I would let my injuries heal on their own.

"You have a fractured rib." The healer announces grimly, and I groan. The cut on my lip stings and I regret the action immediately. I close my eyes and lay down on the bed.

I hear people moving in and out of surgery, attending to Lisa Hale's injury. I never liked her, to be honest, but that doesn't mean I want the girl to die. I listen to the rush of people move in and out of the clinic as I appreciate the silver linings.

We successfully completed the mission.

I want to get up to boast about my team's personal achievement to Zahara, but the moment I try to get up my rib puts me in my place. I grit my teeth as I settle back into the bed.

"Hey man -" I glance at Siya on the bed next to mine, "We did good back there. Even if we might have got caught." He chuckles before grimacing, most likely from the pain, before lying on his back.

Siya is one of the burliest guys I know, obsessed with going to the gym. He's quiet on his feet though, which means he is stealthy and great for any mission. His umber-black skin is now shaded darker with a few bruises across his face. His most intimidating feature - dark eyes - are concealed under his closed lids.

With my power of phasing and his super strength, we destroyed dozens of machines and those hellish devices. My favourite part of the mission was knowing that we could delay others from being caught. It wouldn't be for very long until they just uproot and start over somewhere else. but with Khalida and her team destroying their main servers, we have probably bought ourselves a week.

I'm hoping we'll able to rescue more people. The academy has become a safe haven for more than a thousand refugees from all over the world. That number only including those from the ages of 15 to 19. Imagine how many more people we could help if we went on missions like this more often.

"It's okay, Jakub. I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Two little boys cling onto each other as they look around the clinic with apprehension. A healer breezes by them, covered in blood and the older one covers the little boy's eyes before he can see. My heart clenches when I see no reaction on his face. This boy can't be any older than twelve and he's also accustomed to violence.

"Hey kid."

His head whips around to look at me. They come to sit onto the edge of my bed after I pat the open space to them. His black hair is disheveled, with his brown eyes looking zoning out at a distance. "What's your name?"

His name comes out in a stutter. "Xander."

I've heard that I can come across as intimidating to those who don't know me, so I give him a smile of reassurance.

"And yours?" I tilt my head to get a better view of his companion who is half shielded around him.

"Jakub." he whispers, hiding behind Xander a little more.

"We're looking for a pretty lady. She said she would come back to get these." He shows me a small, silver marble. "May you please help us, mister?"

My brows furrow as I look at the marbles that both boys hold up. "There are a lot of pretty ladies here, you're gonna have to be a lot more specific. Can you describe what she looks like to me?"