Powers

Chapter 33

I feel like I'm going to throw up now. "You...you mean that everyone's powers came from people you've either killed or people in general that have died?" I ask, horror ever present in my tone. "Why of course! Once again, powers aren't just something you can come by," Henley says as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

I feel this awful pit in my stomach at her answer. "You evil, sick, ruthless, heartless, soulless, despicable, low, power-hungry, no good MONSTER!" I scream as I try to tear myself away from them. "Stop struggling," Henley commands, and my body goes rigid against my will. "James, could you kindly leave us alone so I can have a word with her?" Henley asks, even though her voice suggests it as more of a command than a question. "Of course," he answers. Then, he disappears into one of the rooms in the hallway.

Suddenly, Henley turns her attention back to me. Without any hand motions, she uses her control over the mind to slam me against the wall and pin me there. "One would think twice about insulting me," she warns. "What do I have to lose? I'm dead anyway!" I fire back. "Oh, you have everything to lose in fact. Don't think that I don't know about your friends' plan to rescue you. All I would have to do is reschedule your execution date a few days earlier, and that's it. No second chances for you," she snarls at me. "How did you know about the rescue plan?" I question. "I didn't until now," she says with an evil look in her eye.

"Dammit!" I scream, so angry with myself that I have probably sealed my fate. Nice going, Julia. You're definitely dead now. "Oh, don't be so hard on yourself; it was only a matter of time before we found out ourselves," Henley says with false sympathy. "Now come on, we're wasting time," she orders and drags me along until we come to a door that reads "Extracting Room."

Henley opens the door and throws me inside, then she walks over to a computer to start up the program. You forget that I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. I immediately turn transparent, and my handcuffs fall to the ground. Then, I reappear and begin to use the elements against Henley. She dodges my first few attempts of shooting fire at her, but I successfully hit her with a blast of air. "Enough! Stop it!" She yells, and my hands go slack against my command. Then, I feel myself go rigid as I am levitated off the ground and over to this chair where I assume the extraction will take place. "No...you...don't!" I yell as I manage to free myself from her control.

However, the few seconds I took to relish in my accomplishment were enough to give Henley enough time to recover. My body goes rigid again, and she slams me into the chair before I can try to stop her. Then, she runs over and grabs each of my arms to put a metal restraint over them. "You won't win this fight," she says to me, absolute rage and hatred in her eyes. Then, she puts metal straps over my legs as well, rendering me completely helpless.

Angry and out of breath, Henley hobbles over to the computer again, presses a few more buttons, and suddenly, I hear a machine hum to life. I look up, only to see a claw-shaped piece of machinery lowering itself close to me.

Regaining her composure, Henley says to me, "Don't worry, it won't kill you; death would be kinder than the emptiness it will leave you feeling." I begin to panic as it gets closer to me, and suddenly, a spike shoots out and touches its point right over the spot where my heart is. The panic consumes me, and I begin to yell. I yell for my powers and my ungratefulness to them, for my family, for my friends, and for ruining the rescue mission. "I'm sorry!" I yell out load, the guilt consuming me. "I'm so sorry!" I repeat, wanting so badly for my friends to hear my apology when they find out what I've done, but they can't hear me.

Suddenly, I see this bright white light begin to get ripped from my heart, leaving an empty feeling behind. I see all of my best memories with my powers played through my head as the light becomes less and less. I see myself using my power of senses to find Adam with a blindfold when I was first learning. I see myself using my power of control to smash James into a wall. I see myself using the power of healing to nurse Peter back to health when we rescued him. I see myself becoming transparent to go through the wall, shooting water from the water fountains to then freeze Henley and Tatum, and finding my way into Peter's dreams. All the best moments that were made possible with my powers.

And finally, when the light coming from my heart is gone, I am left feeling nothing but an empty pit, a hole in my heart that was once filled. Emptiness.

"Do you feel that? The emptiness? Well enjoy it, because that is all you are now. Nothing but nothingness itself," Henley taunts me as she releases me from my restraints. Then, she walks back over to the machine where the white light of my powers is sitting and takes the light off of it. "See this?" She asks as she tauntingly waves it in front of my face. "It's what you used to be," she laughs. Then, she takes the light, puts it in a little box, and hides it away in one of her drawers.

I don't try to stop her, I don't even try to move. Instead, I just let a steady stream of tears fall from my eyes. I don't make a sound, but I instead cry silently. Henley walks back over to me, kneels down, and smiles cruelly at me. "Look at you. You used to be such a strong person, willing to break rules to get what you wanted. Now look at yourself, and relish in it," she snaps. Then, she gets back up and heads for the door, leaving me on my own. "I'm going to send James to take you back to your cell. Not that you need one, since you're no longer a threat," she says as she leaves.

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After James takes me back to my cell, I crawl into one of the corners and stay there. I glance down at my palm on my right hand, only to see that my tattoo is gone as well, causing my heart to ache. Henley was right about the empty feeling; death would be kinder.

Suddenly, I feel this defiance rising up in me once more, becoming angry at myself for thinking like that. What is wrong with you? Since when have you let yourself be defined by something that wasn't you? You survived just fine the first seventeen years of your life without powers, and you can survive just as fine for the rest of your life without them as well! They may be gone, but your fight is not over yet! I think to myself.

Gathering my strength, I stand up and walk over to the door. "Willa?" I whisper through it. "This may not be a good time to mention this to you Julia, but they've moved up your execution date. It is now in three days," I hear her whisper back to me. I begin to feel panicked, but I quickly ignore it as an idea hits me.

"Willa, I need you to do something for me," I begin. "Of course. What is it?" She asks. "You do realize what I'm about to ask you to do is treason in its most punishable terms," I warn. "Julia, I think you've noticed from your time in here that I don't do what the Council tells me," she answers. "Very well. I need you to take off work tomorrow, travel to the woods, and tell my friends about the rescheduled execution. Make sure no one follows you, and make sure no one sees you when you come back," I tell her.

"Got it," she says. "So you'll do it?" I ask. Even though she's always been kind to me, I'm still shocked that she's agreeing to do this. "Of course I will. If it's all in the name of a better society, I'm all for it," she answers. "Willa, I can't thank you enough for this!" I exclaim. "Shhh, don't let the other guards hear you. And you're welcome," Willa responds.

Smiling to myself, I back away from the door and sit back against the wall. The empty feeling is still there, but it's getting better. My friends will know what happened, the plan will still go how it's supposed to, and we can still win this war. We still have a chance.