Behind the Walls. NOVEL By Claire Darcy.

19. Stuff.

SEBASTIAN.

My ears pricked up as the Cell door was opened, but I didn't move. I didn't take my eyes off the floor. I could hear the frightened Agent's panting breaths, his frantically beating heart. I could feel the vibrations of his footsteps on the ground, even if his steps were silent.

Thus were the joys of being me. I was powerful; superhuman, even. All my senses were increased, as was my strength, speed, agility, and general health and fitness. I could run faster, longer, harder, jump further, higher, stronger, and my intelligence was more than the average human, as would be the same for anyone whose Fire-Stars had been activated.
Of course I understood the whole Fire-Star concept. It was hard not to, when you were the centre of it all.

"I... Ah... Mr River?" the guard stuttered. I looked up, peering through the darkness at the shaky figure before me.

"You won't refer to me as 'The Accident'?" I asked, my voice thick with malice and dry from a long time of silence.

"I figured I'd treat you as a human," he responded.

I shifted where I was. I couldn't move around the cell because my wrists were chained to the wall with Merlonium: a metal that numbed my abilities. I could stand, if I wanted to, and I did every now and then to make sure my legs wouldn't give way. But my entire body ached, a dull, throbbing ache that never left.

I nodded slowly, lifting my eyes to look at the face across from me. He was young, probably only a few years older than myself. He had brown hair and dark eyes, his features determined and strong. He looked strangely familiar.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice even.

"Agent Bailey Lux," he said shortly. I looked at him for another moment, and we remained in a stalemate, unmoving. He didn't have to be here. Nobody had been down here in months - in a year.

"Why are you here? You know I could just kill you, right?" I threatened.

I tensed my aching muscles, and the ice that covered the walls of the Cell shuddered towards Agent Lux. With the Merlonium that lined the Cell, I couldn't control my power very well, and it took a lot of effort to move the ice, but the Agent didn't know that.

Lux closed his eyes for a moment, gulping. From here I could see the muscles in his hands tightening, and the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"I know very well what you're capable of, so I'm pleading mercy. But the thing is... I'm here to ask a favor-"

I scoffed aloud, "A favor!? You think I would willingly help Council scum like you!?"

Agent Lux winced at my raised voice, but he didn't run. He was no coward.

"Just listen, please," he begged, "You have to hear what I'm saying."

I paused. He seemed sincere enough. "Go on."

Agent Lux glanced behind him then took a small step closer before he continued.

"Well, we've found the fifth Elite, Joshua Rigby. He's somehow managed to stay in hiding at Camp Three until now, but he tried to escape. This caught our attention and we were able to bring him here."

I listened, soaking in every detail. The going-ons of the Elites did concern me, seeing how I'd been their leader long ago, before I was thrown down here. They'd been the backbone of the Rebellion, and they'd been my best friends.

"Is that all? You just wanted to 'fill me in'?" I asked, my temper cooling.

Lux hesitated. "Um... there's more. With Joshua Rigby came another: a girl. She calls herself Ace, which, I'm sure you realize, could easily stand for-"

"Amelia Cassidy Earnest - or whatever her real name is," I finished for him. "So it's true? The all-famed prodigy really does exist?"

Lux rubbed his chin, thinking. "Well, that's the thing," he explained, "We don't know if it is her or not. It certainly seems like she is. I mean, if you met the girl, you'd understand. But the Council is undecided. They have their suspicions, but there's nothing official. The President hasn't even given her a second thought."

I shook my head. Typical. If the Enigma Council really had found the girl they'd been looking for, of course they wouldn't realize it. Most of them didn't even believe she existed.

"So you just popped down here for a chat? Get to the point, Lux," I said impatiently.

That was the thing about the fs-ox serum; it sort of enhanced my emotions, too. With a shortened temper and aggravated nerves, I was easily impatient.

"I need the location of Amelia's belongings. The box that was stolen by that wretched rebellion. I know you know where it is."

I froze.
Did this arrogant soldier know I had led the Rebellion? No, of course not: I was just paranoid. Everyone knew that I had my foot in the door of the Council. I knew things the other students didn't.

"What exactly do you plan on doing with it, Agent Lux? You know it's just a box of stuff. Nothing special," I questioned.

The unopened box that had been salvaged from the wreck of Amelia's makeshift home in the mountains had been kept in a safe in the Council's care for a long time. It was stolen in an attack on the survivor's small sanctuary. Unfortunately for the Enigma Council, the Earnest family got away. The box of young Amelia's belongings was taken in an attempt to find out any information on her, but it was chucked aside and forgotten when it was brought to the Academy. It remained unopened, and the Rebellion found it and hid it from the Council. Whatever it contained was for the eyes of Amelia Cassidy Earnest, and no one else.

"I want to give it to the girl. The one I suspect to be Amelia. Giving it to her may lead to her admitting to us her identity. It may prove who she is."

I nodded. The Agent's plan made perfect sense, but I didn't trust him.

"And is this something you're doing on your own accord? You don't really have permission to be down here, do you?" I asked.

Agent Bailey Lux looked at the floor. "No, you're right; I don't. I don't know if I fully trust the Enigma Council... so I'm doing this myself."

I smirked. "Then you're betraying them?"

Lux shrugged, but said nothing. I looked at him for a long time.

Then it clicked. I suddenly realised why he looked familiar. It suddenly all made sense as to why I recognized him. I scoffed just the slightest.

"I guess the whole traitor-thing must run in the family..." I said, my voice trailing off.

Agent lux looked abruptly up, confusion in his eyes. I was on to him. "What do you mean?" he asked, but I could sense his panic.

I rolled my eyes, "Don't play dumb, Lux. Did you really think I wouldn't notice? You two look so cutely similar and yet drastically different; it's like you're hiding in plain sight. He was my best friend, how was I supposed to miss the similarities between you two?"

Agent lux stepped backward, flustered and in denial, "I don't know what you're talking about!" he exclaimed, clearly lying.

I guess nobody had figured it out before. But I did.

"Agent Bailey Lux. Huh. Lux isn't your last name. It's your middle name. You don't tell anyone your last name because your own brother was a traitor to the Council. The Council doesn't trust him, and he doesn't trust them. Just like what's happening to you. Funny that your younger brother realised they were evil before you did. But now he's an outcast. And you don't wont to be in the same boat as him. You don't want to have anything to do with him. Isn't that right, 'Lux?'"

Agent Lux froze, completely speechless, a look of horror on his face. I smirked, pushing it further.

"Do you remember him? Do you remember your own younger brother?"

"I don't have a younger brother!" he argued.

"Yes you do," I scoffed at Bailey Lux Slade, "His name is Rowan."