Luminescence

Five.

There was the news I had expected. I was a mutant, and somehow not even a stupid Plague test could confirm it.

"We brought you here to train and learn defense in case of attack," Lana starts off. "Right now Commander G-R72 is probably searching the ends of the Earth for you. Whatever you do, you cannot leave this facility unless permitted. Also, your friend Alex was knocked unconscious by the machine explosion. He is currently under treatment and is in stable condition."

A wave of relief washes over me as at least one piece of good information was given to me tonight.

Wes clears his throat to talk once more. "We are the Rebels, Mara. Our lives are dedicated to fighting off Plague forces. Everyone in this underground base has some kind of grudge against the Plague. And one day, our goal is to rid them from our country."

After hearing all of this, I knew one thing, and one thing for sure. I couldn't trust these people, yet, especially when they were treating me with fresh meals and hospitality. You don't trust anyone in a cruel world like ours. They could be planning my murder for all I know!

"If I'm a hero mutant, how come I don't have a superpower? And why haven't you killed me already? Don't you hate hero mutants too?

Wes was walking out the door, until he processes my words. He sighs and turns back around. "Mara, believe it or not, people like us don't hate hero mutants. Only the Plague despises them. You may have heard of the Mutant War. Decades ago mutants started a rebellion against the Plague, but were absolutely decimated by the weaponry the Plague had. Then, Order S-287 was put into place. Any hero mutant was to be exterminated. Normal humans were in shock, because for years mutants had provided peace before the Plague took over. To us, your kind is a hero, Mara. Don't ever think for a moment hero mutants are hated."

He gives me a small smile before turning around the door. "And by the way," he adds on, and winks. "The superpower discovery comes later."

Wes and Lana waved goodbye to me, as they claimed they were going to 'give me space' for a while, which was slightly sketchy.

I try to take in all the information that was just given to me. If I was a mutant, that would mean that one of my parents had altered genes as well. Or both...

The small room I was in seemed as if the walls were closing in rapidly. My claustrophobia was getting worse by the second, and a feeling of rebelliousness arose in my chest as I knew I had to get out of here.

As I counted down from sixty, I waited for Wes and Lana to fully clear out of the hallway before I explore the place a bit. As I attempted to open the door, of course I was locked in. They didn't trust me enough to wander around on my own, and honestly I didn't blame them.

The lock next to the door was a keycard lock—the easiest lock to pick from what I've learned from the junkyard. Almost every airship required a keycard override and it was as simple as finding a hard object and a firm piece of metal.

With one hard punch from my fist, the keycard slot was knocked out with the wires aggressively sparking at me. I looked down to my hand in horror. Imagine if that had hit an actual face. Someone better call a plastic surgeon, because even the amount of plastic on the past celebrity Kim Kardashian couldn't top the amount of plastic you'd need to look normal again after my punch.

The door was now unlocked, but technically it was still locked from my side. My eyes averted from the door to my satchel, which laid next to my bed. Dumping out the items inside, I scored lucky as I pulled out a single metal shard, a remnant from one of the ships Alex and I had scavenged just yesterday.

I swiped the thin metal through the door latch, and suddenly I was free. My first thought was that I needed to find Alex.

I had no clue which way to go or where to run, because at the end of each corridor lied another set of branching hallways that looked exactly the same. It was like a labyrinth, designed so that I couldn't get out.