March City: Land of the Gifted [Book 1 | Fantasy/Sci-fi | Complete]

Chapter 26: Dyed Bright Green

If Mina underwent the treatment, her only fate would be to surge and explode. She was too young, too inexperienced to possess something so powerful. Hine was a classic example.

Ari eased another breath. The pain in her spine had gone dull, but with each shift of position it complained again, reminding what was at stake.

The initial explosion had shaken the abandoned labs to their very foundations. Dust and dislodged rubble continued to rain from the ceiling, rattling on the surface of the cupboard Ari hid in. Footsteps rushed up and down the corridors outside, but nobody came snooping into the store room she was in.

She forced her breathing to slow so she could objectify the situation. She was in an unknown place. Nobody knew she was there. She had no idea what the map of the area was like. She was many floors down and had manoeuvred through a maze of a place. The quickest way was to blast upwards and climb. Considering how far Area Six was from Area One, she could get away before the commotion reached the Peacekeepers.

But she needed to find Mina.

The dead weighed on her stomach like lead. Her little sister was caught up in this insanity. Kidnapping high-achievers and extracting their abilities, killing them in the process, and then transplanting it to willing low-achievers to gain power? It was contemptible, yet Hine wanted it. He was willing to kill off fellow students for their own gain, only to end up in smithereens. And he wasn't the only one.

When her ribs started moving properly and her body recovered somewhat, she waited. Nobody passed for a good five minutes. She eased the wooden door open, her adjusted eyes darting in the dark for any signs of movement. With deliberation, she stood up. Discarded wooden boxes and rusted metal cabinets lined the edges. Weak light came from the corridor. The ceiling lights had all exploded when Hine surged, plunging the auditorium into pitch blackness and blowing the storage door off its hinges. The sole weak bulb in the corridor managed to maintain a little light.

Her footsteps made nothing more than light pats on the floor. A flash of pain shot across the back of her head from where she made contact with the floor earlier, and then it was gone. Hands reached out, Ari felt her way to the door, which lay on its side in a pitiful heap.

The place was eerily silent. She passed the sorry remains of the auditorium – the windows had been blasted out of their frames, and she watched her step when moving over glass pieces – and into the main corridor again. She was on the other side of the auditorium. A singular corridor ran up and down, both sides looking identical. She swallowed. This was going to be a difficult mission.

Machine whirred from her right. Ari turned and squinted. All the lights were off down that side of the corridor, running the length of the auditorium. There was a brief silence. Another whirr, closer this time, followed by a metallic thump. Another silence. And then another whirr.

Stop gates. Ari's mouth went dry. This place was going on lockdown.

She ran in the other direction, making little attempt to mask the sounds coming from her feet. If she was caught in those gates, without her phone and contact, her necklace half-empty, she would probably never be found.

The corridor was endless. Her back started to hurt the further she ran. Her steps became sluggish, loud slaps that echoed down the darkness. Her chest burned and each breath was like a knife slicing her lungs into ribbons. Shaking legs threaten to buckle beneath her and send her crashing to the dusty floor. And all the while, the thumps and gate closures continued behind.

The corridor dissolving into the darkness was all that filled her eyes.

The next thing Ari knew, she was blown forwards. Losing her balance over tired legs, she sprawled onto the ground, sliding on her stomach. Her hands scrabbled desperately for something to hold on to but there was nothing but dust within reach. Rolling over and scrambling to her feet, Ari stared, bewildered, at what appears to be a dark crater in the wall that ran along the corridor. A faint yellow light about ten metres behind her was her only light source.