The Freaks

chapter five

Zaire suddenly grabbed hold of my wrist and, with a complete shock to my whole system, gave me his own ability. I felt a new wound open on my back but I didn't let the pain show on my face. I must've hidden it well from the Soldier, since he didn't seem to notice.

I looked over at my best friend. "Zaire...?" I trailed off, the word harsh against my throat. The pain made his name sound like a mere gasp, almost inaudible.

He didn't look back at me. "For whatever happens," he said in a whisper. "It's yours now, Luca."

This made my heart break. Zaire said that he was waiting for a perfect time to share his ability with me because he wanted to show me how to use it properly, like he did. Leo and Dara never taught me how to use the abilities as they shared them with me, but Zaire always wanted to. He wanted me to know how to use it the moment I got the power.

Too little too late, I guessed.

In a matter of a minute the Soldier had all of us cuffed with power-suppressant restraints that completely cut off our abilities. I couldn't feel the usual energy coursing through my veins anymore. I couldn't feel the four abilities I currently own. With these restraints, it was like I was no longer a Freak.

"Out," the Soldier ordered, nudging me forward with the barrel of his gun against my back. "Don't try anything or we'll shoot you before you can even blink."

Once we emerged inside the living room, Leo was already there, kneeling on the ground with his hands clasped in front of him and the same restraints around his wrists like all of us. He looked up from the ground at our approach, his eyes widening while his mouth formed the word no, but the sound was stuck in his throat.

"I'm so sorry, guys," he said quickly, right before the female Soldier behind him knocked him on the head with the barrel of her gun, the harsh thud echoing around the room.

"Keep your mouth shut, Freak," she hissed, her voice rough and gravelly, like she was trying to talk with rocks in her mouth. "I'm sick of hearing your voice."

The male Soldier shoved us down on the floor so we were kneeling like Leo in a line and walked up to the female, replacing his larger gun with a smaller, handheld one. "Look at this," he said happily to her, tilting his head as he studied us individually. "Four Freaks at once. Who do you think we should start with first?"

The female Soldier moved in front of Leo, tilting his head up with a finger under his chin so they locked eyes. "I think we should start with this one," she replied, smiling down at him. "He's been waiting the longest."

The man, who I dubbed Scar Face in my head smiled once himself and nodded down at Leo. "Fair enough." He tapped Leo's cheek twice. "Start with him."

"No," Dara mumbled, but Leo shook his head and brushed his shoulder against hers, trying his hardest to comfort her in the position he was in.

The woman, Gravel Voice, knelt in front of Leo and pulled out a small, handheld device from her back pocket. She pricked his finger with the tip of her knife until it drew blood and let it drip onto the device with an audible plink.

We waited in tense silence until the device sprang to life with a beep, startling us.

Gravel Voice smiled as she read whatever the screen said. "Well, would you look at that." She brought the small object closer to Scar Face, watching with wide eyes as he read what it said too.

"Twenty years of age," Scar Face said slowly, his fingers tightening on his gun. "The oldest generation of Freak, if I am correct." He shook his head and turned to Gravel Voice and said, "I've been needing to do this for a long time."