Outliers

Chapter 11: MIA

          An intense ache coursed through my body, clouding my thoughts. My arms were suspended above my head, and some kind of burning shackle held both my wrists and feet in place. The pain was worse in those spots. I must have been in a vehicle of some kind because, every so often, there was a bump that jostled my whole body. I groggily blinked my eyes open, my vision blurry.

          A woman stood in front of me, but mostly I just saw black blotches. Eventually, my vision started to clear, and I could see her better. She was tall, with light skin that contrasted the black Takers' uniform. She was carefully designed, with bright-red hair and lips whitened in the latest fashion. She stood waiting in front of me. My eyes eventually focused on her flaming hazel ones.

          Oh, plat. I was with the Takers. I started to struggle frantically against the restraints that held me, but my movements were slow and painful. Had Ariana and Xavier managed to escape? Hopefully they hadn't come back to look for me.

          "Good," the Taker said. The corner of her whitened lips turned up. "You're awake."

          I gave up on struggling; my body hurt too much to keep moving. I took a few seconds to orient myself before I replied in a raspy voice. "No thanks...to you."

          I saw the slap coming, but there was nowhere I could go to dodge the woman's hand. The impact snapped my head to the side, leaving my cheek burning and stinging.

          "Do not speak unless spoken to," the woman said. Her nose was crinkled, as if I were something bad she was smelling.

          "You're speaking to me now," I said, giving her a look full of ice and clenching my jaw. I had wondered how I would feel if this moment came. Depressed? Angry? Terrified? Relieved? It seemed that anger had won for the moment.

          The Taker whipped out an electrocution wand from her belt and jammed it into my stomach. This pain was different—intense, sharp, and burning. She held it there for a few seconds while pieces of my shirt burned off, revealing my skin to the device.

          I couldn't help but cry out in pain. I couldn't help the water that filled my eyes. I couldn't stop the terrible, body-racking convulsions that ripped across me as she stood there, satisfied. I slammed my wrists hard against the cuffs as I thrashed.

          When she finally removed the wand, I couldn't seem to get enough air.

          The Taker waited a minute or so, allowing me to catch my breath, somewhat, before speaking. This time, she got straight to the point. "I want you to tell me where those little freaks you warned are hiding."

          "I want—" I started. She would never know what I wanted because she reared her fist back and smashed it into the side of my face before I could finish. Blood dripped from my lip onto my shirt.

          I spat a wad of it into the woman's eye. I didn't care if I was making this more painful formyself. It was worth it.

          She wiped her eye. A sound, like a growl, came from the back of her throat. "I know you think you're being smart, little girl," she hissed, leaning close enough that I could smell her flowery perfume. "But you are nothing. You hear me? Nothing. I could kill you right now if I wanted to." It seemed to be personal for her.

          "If that's true," I panted, "why am I alive?"

          I struggled to read her mind, but the pain was too much for me to focus. My being alive didn't seem like it was up to her. There was probably some sort of protocol. Otherwise, why wouldn't they just kill me right away?

          "We have your friends," she said, avoiding the question. The hair bristled on the back of my neck, and it became hard to swallow. Was she lying about my friends?

          "I'll kill them in front of you, with this knife." She pulled out a blade and trailed it along my cheek, making a deep gash.

          I flinched as the knife cut into me and blood trickled from the wound, but I refused to cry out this time. I stared back at the woman with an expression made of stone. I couldn't know for certain that she wouldn't kill Xavier and Ariana. I had to stall.

          "Then what?" I asked.

          "What do you mean?" She furrowed her thin brows. She obviously wasn't used to questions like that. Most people were probably shaking with fear.

          Terror coursed through me at the thought of her hurting my friends, but I couldn't let her know that.

          "And. Then. What?" I said, dragging out my words. It was all I could do not to give in. "If you kill them...you've got nothing to make me talk." What if she called my bluff? What if she killed them and left me alive to suffer?

          "No," she said, a tight smile on her lips. "But I can certainly torture them until I have you begging on your knees."

          I hadn't thought of that. I tried not to show my fear as I searched for anything that could save my friends from that fate.

          "Wait, so you mean..." I said, making my expression falter. I let my voice sounds scared for the first time, shaky. "So, you're saying... You'll just hurt them to make me watch? I'm the reason you'd hurt them?"

          "Exactly." She smirked. She thought she'd found my breaking point. She leaned forward and whispered. "Gotcha."

          It was my turn to smirk. She blinked and took a tiny step backward. I was powerless and in pain, and my friends were being threatened. She must wonder what I had to be smug about.

          "You're stupid and arrogant," I said, erasing my fearful tone and expression. I was nearly snarling. My lip twitched up in anger. How dare she threaten the only people I had left after already destroying everyone else I cared about? I looked her dead in the eyes. "You won't torture them if I don't have to watch. You just said so."

          "Wha—" she started, then her eyes grew wide. She must have realized my plan. It might kill me, but maybe it was time. We were all going to die anyway once the Takers took us wherever we were driving. At least this way, I could save my friends some pain.

          I dipped my head down and then, with all of my force, whipped it backward into the hard wall behind me, finding my way into darkness.

~

          When I regained consciousness—again—I was on a cold floor. I shifted slightly, sliding my arm out from its uncomfortable position under me. We must have still been in a vehicle because the occasional bump jostled my now aching body. And the cuffs were still attached to my wrists, pumping me full of pain.

          I could hear other people breathing. I tensed, which only put me in more pain. A soft, pain-filled sound escaped my lips.

          I blinked, and my heart plummeted when I saw the dark figures of my friends. They hadn't escaped. But at least they weren't being tortured. My plan had worked.

          I struggled against the blazing pain and into a sitting position on my knees. I took a moment to catch my breath. Across from me, Xavier shifted, and he looked like he might be about to say something. I managed to create a faint telepathic message.

          No. They can't know I'm awake.

***Brief Note***

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