The Freaks

chapter twenty-eight

"I can't believe you killed them," she suddenly whispers, like she's trying to convince herself of the truth. She digs her hands into her hair and shakes her head, her eyes wide. "I can't believe it."

I want to reply to her, to scream or shout or say anything, but something in my mind keeps my mouth shut.

"If your whole mission was to be some kind of hero," Brianna continues, her voice breaking, "then tell me: do heroes do something like this?"

"I thought I was the hero in our world. I guess it turns out I'm the villain."

Brianna nods, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes, you're right," she agrees. "Because heroes don't do something like this." She shakes her head like she can't bear the sight of me anymore. "And you're no hero."

I've never seen so much red before as I take a step forward, my teeth clenched hard around words I want to scream at her. I raise my hand in the air to throw her backwards or electrocute her with lightning or burn her with fire—

But nothing comes out.

I try again but I feel nothing. No power coursing through my veins. The familiar electrical charge that comes when I form lightning is no longer there, just a buzz where there was once something.

I just feel nothing now. Numb, like there should be something there.

"If you were curious," Brianna says, no fear visible on her face or in her voice, "that was how I survived this whole time."

"What?" I lower my hand and no longer see red.

She nods at me. "That little thing you were going to do to me?" She smiles wickedly. "I stopped it, just like that."

I stare down at my hands, curling them into fists until they hurt. I still feel nothing, even when I focus hard enough to put a thought into her head. It's the same feeling when the Soldiers put the power-suppressant cuffs on me. I relax my tense muscles when I know I can't do anything.

"You can shut off powers," I mumble, looking up at her.

"Correct."

"And now I've got yours?"

"Yes."

"Wait a minute." I shake my head. "How did you get past the Soldiers when you first arrived? I heard that they do blood tests on new Soldiers."

She smirks, looking down as she curls her fingers into a fist. "I turned them off, then back on."

"You can do that?"

She nods, smiling still. "Practice really does make perfect, right?"

Training inside the Ghetto flashes across my vision, but I push it away quickly so I don't see the faces of the Freaks that I've come to know so well.

"How did you know that I was a Freak?" I ask, to change the subject and to distract my wandering mind.

Brianna shrugs slowly but a little laugh escapes her lips. "I wasn't certain." She tilts her head at me. "But when I got paired with you for Freak hunting, I got to see how you were as a Soldier." She pauses. "And you were a terrible Soldier."

I clench my jaw, feeling it pop under the pressure, but I don't feel the pain anymore. I just feel numb—from everything. "The moment you turn my abilities back on," I say slowly, keeping her eyes on mine, "I will kill you."

Brianna just continues to smile. "And that's why I'm not going to yet." She crosses her arms again, and stares me down. "Until we come to an agreement."