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

Chapter 27: The Underdogs

"Get on the bed."

Mina did as she was told. Her limbs shook under her body weight but she bit her lip, determined not to make any more weak noises. Ari was here. Ari would come save her soon.

Vexi drew the metal straps across Mina's upper arms, wrists, thighs, and ankles. She even lashed one across Mina's stomach, tugging it so tight that it dug into the skin. Mina maintained her silence, watching Vexi with resentment.

"Don't look at me like that." Vexi's voice was cold. "It's not my fault what this has come down to. We need Ari's powers and she won't give it to us. This is our way of ensuring we get what we want."

Two cuffs went over Mina's upper arms and stickers went across Mina's chest and wrists. The monitor near the wall flashed up, showing Mina's vital stats. Her ability metre was on the side, very close to the bottom. Mina strained over the straps. They were dense and heavy. No way she could phase through them.

Vexi tapped her fingers across the screen. It bleeped three times before something lowered onto Mina's side. It was a vial and a suspension of light blue viscous liquid swirled inside.

"When your sister gives in to us, her powers will be extracted by the leader." Vexi's voice held a trace of excitement. "Once it goes through the machines, it will merge with one of the stock abilities we have and it'll go in this vial. Then we'll transfuse it into you. You'll feel the difference immediately. Then you'll see what I'm talking about."

"I don't want it!"

Vexi stopped, an eyebrow raised. She brushed a hand through her side ponytail.

"Don't be stupid. We all want power."

"I don't!"

The girl reached over and unwound an infusion tube from the top of the cylinder. She popped off the lid, exposing a shiny grey needle. Mina squeezed her eyes shut when the metal pierced the skin on the back of her hand, swallowing a cry. When she opened them again, Vexi was taping the rest of the tube to Mina's hand. Liquid coursed along the tube into her hands.

"You only shun power because your sister provides everything, but let me tell you this." Vexi stooped, placing her hands on the bars on either side of Mina's bed. Her eyes burned into Mina's. Mina never noticed it before, but Vexi had what looked like a small pellet gun attached to her hip. Vexi never struck her as a toy-playing girl. "I was just like you, once. I had an older brother. Ziko, his name was. He was a high-achiever, like Ari. He didn't need to put in much effort and ranked tenth, like Ari. And like Ari, he thought very little of people who don't score well, including me, his little sister who looked up to him."

She leant back, dusting her hands off and adjusting her hair. Mina's hand throbbed where the needle went in earlier.

"He was ashamed of me, see. He sees me as the malformed screw in a toolbox, a rusty chip that was good for nothing but shorting the circuit. And he was right, in a way. I didn't fit in. He was a Rank A. I was a Rank E. Even when I worked hard, slaving away at work and assessment and practicals, I only moved up to a Rank D. I wasn't even worth his spit.

"And you know what he did? He cut me off his credits. Disowned me. He said he wasn't going to bring up a rat of a sister who had no contribution to society. He said I deserve to be purged for being so weak, like all the other low-achievers in the family. I was wasting his credits. I was wasting his time. For me – I was eleven at the time – it was like the world had broken into pieces. He didn't want me. Nobody wanted me. I tried to commit suicide by jumping off our building but it was such a pathetic short thing the Medics managed to revive me. The credits it costed Ziko! It got him raging. He didn't care I'd punctured my lungs and shattered both my legs. He didn't care I suffered such severe bleeding I required several litres of blood just to stay alive."