Deviants

Chapter 87

Jesse

I watch Raevon walk away, standing tall amongst her fellow I.O.E. agent and, who I can only assume, Jacob. I have barely under an hour before both Raevon's and Johnny's abilities leave me. I need to move fast.

I follow the halls that I had memorized all day, teleporting past any closed doors until I reach the cold, foul hall with the ten prisoners. My heart beats fast no matter what, but I find myself breathing easier when there are no guards standing on the doors outside of this hall. When I come to the first cell, the reason is clear.

Inside is a ragged boy around the age of 17 who smells as if he hasn't showered in a year and looks as if he hasn't eaten for months. He lies on his worn cot, staring up at the ceiling, looking half dead. Why guard someone like this? He's not going anywhere by himself anytime soon. When I teleport inside his cell, I'm not sure what to say to not startle him.

"Psst," I whisper. At first, I question whether he heard me, but slowly he lets his head fall towards the door, staring straight through me. "How'd you like to get out of here?" I mutter. His eyes suddenly become confused and slightly shocked.

"Who's there?" He mumbles. I inwardly groan, knowing we don't have time for this.

"I'm a Deviant like you, and if you want to be free then hold out your hand," I whisper. He stares blankly at the door for a moment.

"I've cracked," he says to himself. I silently curse before revealing myself for a split second. The boy pushes himself onto his elbows, not without groaning in pain, his eyes wide with unbelief. "What the hell-" he starts.

"Shh, we're running out of time," I whisper, before grabbing his arm and teleporting us to the chopper. He gasps, glancing around wildly. "Get in the chopper." I demand. Clarity is right there, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from me before I teleport to the next cell. The next nine Deviants are about as eventful as the first, but I try to shorten each interaction as much as possible, glancing at my watch often. Amee's time is limited as is mine. The longer I take, the closer she is to her death. So, when all Deviants on 0D are safely in the chopper, I race back to the elevator and travel to level 0C.

These Deviants have only been here for a little over a day. They haven't given up hope and are much more responsive. Each one I recognize by face but the first one I come across that I'm truly relieved to see alive and well is Kate.

"Jesse?" She whispers when I mumble her name. I have to whisper right in her ear as these prisoners are strong enough to require guards at the doors.

"Quite," I say, smiling. She stands from her cot and glances in the general direction that I whisper from.

"Where are you?" She mumbles. I then remember that she has no idea about Johnny's ability. I'm not about to be the one to break the news to her.

"We're getting everyone out, but you have to help Clarity, we don't have much time left," I whisper.

"Clarity? What-" I grab her hand and teleport her to the chopper. Clarity greets her with a warm hug before I continue my part. It's when I get to Shad's cell that a sharp, almost knife-like pain cuts through my skull and I have to close my eyes against the seemingly bright light and wait until the pain turns into a dull headache. When I open my eyes, Shad is looking around his cell.

"This isn't exactly Brazil, is it?" I whisper to him. He jumps with a start before a sly smile appears on his face.

"I don't know whose ability you're using but I want to meet them," he whispers. I smile.

"You already know him," I mutter, before teleporting him out. When I land in the next cell, the headache becomes more determined. Eight more left, I tell myself, only eight more.

Seven... six...

"Jesse," Kate calls, hearing my heavy breathing. I open my eyes, my head splitting, to see that Kate and Clarity stare in my general direction. The wind has picked up due to the chopper running and Kate has to shut over the noise. "Are you alright?" I stand up from leaning on a tree.

"Smashing," I shout back before teleporting in the next cell. This time I'm met with a surprise.

Two guards enter at the exact moment I land, one of them bumping into me. I jerk the nightstick from the nearest one and whack it as hard as I can in the hand of the one that holds a syringe of the Evolution, breaking the guard's hand. I grab my gun and knock it into the same guard's head.

The physical strength it takes to tackle the second guard causes the feather light feeling of Johnny's ability to disappear. I ram the guard's head into the cell door across from the one I just left. He stays limp but the door to the exit the prison hall nearest me opens and I'm faced with a third guard.

"Jesse?!" I hear a guy call as I stand and fire my gun at the guard. I miss, but it gives me time to race towards him and throw my fist in his face. He recovers immediately and knocks the wind out of me when he lands a punch straight to my gut. As I double over, he knocks me to the ground. Seeing him tower over me, my death near, I fight through the agonizing pain in my head and turn invisible. Through the guard's shock, I'm able to aim my gun in his general direction and pull the trigger.

The guard staggers backwards, but I don't allow myself to think of what I just did. I still have people to teleport out of here. I stand and slam my fist in his face. He is somehow still able to put up a struggle and I shove him to the ground, giving me the opportunity to hit him again and again until he goes limp, and my arm will no longer function right.

Completely out of breath, I shove myself off the guard and lean against the wall. I look up to see Irene in the hall, watching me with a pale face.

"I can't..." I gasp, looking down at my bloody hands, mostly because I can't believe what I just did and what she just witnessed. "I can't go on." With shaking hands, I pull my phone from my pocket and message Raevon, who is still programed as May Eve. Four left. Too weak. I groan, looking away from the overwhelmingly bright screen as I send the message, my head throbbing as if someone's whacking a sledgehammer to it. I feel Irene crouch next to me, touching my shoulder.

"Jesse, I got my ability," she says. I force my eyes open to look at her. "All you need to do is get the others out of their cells and think of the way out," she says, touching her temple as she says the word think. "I can get us out." I take a deep breath and nod my head. It should be easier, right? I'm not using Johnny's ability.

"Jesse?" I hear. I glance up at a cell door as Irene helps me stand to meet Clint's gaze. "What's going on?" He asks.

"We're getting out of here," I breath.

A/N:

How was the action scene in this? Do I need to improve anything?