My Sister, Skylar

Twenty-six

While they waited, Six and Leigh talked. She could tell he was trying to calm her down, so she let him. They talked about what Leigh wanted to do when she grew up, her family, his family, what his life was like before he was taken, and so on. She had to explain to him what a meme was. She would have to show him one when they got back. When silence fell between them again, Leigh felt reassured, and closer to him somehow. Six seemed happy, in that moment. He seemed to smile more now, and his eyes lit up. 

"Can't wait," he grinned. Leigh copied him. 

"Same." 

"Six?" Hundred's voice shouted over all the kids milling about. They glanced at each other, but Six didn't look scared. He pulled her into one last hug. 

"Leigh!" Ten's voice sounded. 

"Don't die," he whispered to her. 

"Of course not. You should worry about yourself, not me," she responded. 

The two pulled apart, walking backwards towards their group so they could see each other. 

"Leigh?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." 

Then they were gone. 

Leigh's group was assembled in the darkness. She recognized them. There was Eight, Forty, Sixty Seven, Two Hundred - or rather One-Oh-Two- and Ash. Ten fell into line, nodding at Leigh reassuringly. Leigh nodded back. Ash looked determined, her red hair tied back into a sleek ponytail. She nodded. They waited tensely for the signal. Each group had Electric Twists so they could disable the humming fence. Then, they would be able to get in. A column of white fire lit the night sky, and the kids knew it was time. The sound of battle quickly filled the silence of the night. 

"Move out!" Shouted Leigh, looking at Eight. He nodded, sticking out his hand to disable the fence. 

One-Oh-Two helped him, and so did Leigh. There were plenty of hidden Electrical Twists around, to help disable small portions of the fence to get them in. Ash, Forty, Sixty Seven and Ten made it in safely, then One-Oh-Two, Eight, and finally, Leigh herself. The other group had made it in with no trouble. All the Electric Twists split from the group, running up towards the control tower. Group Two spilt up, some of them going with the Electrics, some of them staying behind to guard the towers entrances. Leigh's group ran along the edge of the Facility. 

"One left, one right!" She barked. The team obliged, splitting into two groups. Leigh ended up with Ash and Ten. 

All of them had studied the layout of the Facility, so they knew where to go. 

"Cabins One and Two!" Leigh shouted over the din of battle. 

A guard stood in front of them, tendrils of electricity zapping out of his fingers. Leigh mimicked him, making a ball of electric light appear in her hand. Ten teleported herself behind him, confusing him momentarily. Leigh took the advantage, hitting him. It wouldn't be fatal, but he would be out of it for a while. Ash had run ahead to the cabin, using the key card Skylar had left behind. The door buzzed, opening like a vault from a movie. Most of the kids were moving, trying to see what was going on. All of them wore the same uniforms, all of them had their hair shorn down to their scalp, and numbers inked into their skin. None of them were Skylar. 

Ten and Leigh ran ahead, leaving Ash to group the kids together and explain what was happening. It wasn't hard to convince them, and it was easy to herd the kids to the meet spot. Ten took the next cabin, and Leigh took the next. Still, she couldn't find Sky. Terror mixed with her anxiety. Could they be too late? Once they got all the cabins on the left, they met up with Forty and Sixty Seven, who had the kids from the right. There were was one more row of cabins, and Sky's face still wasn't in the crowd. The fence and lights blinked once, twice, and then it was out. The Electrics had done it. Shouts came from the front of the fence as more guards ran to defend the Facility. 

A group of guards stepped towards the kids. Hundred's kids and Leigh stood in front of the Facility kids, displaying their powers. 

"Don't worry!" Shouted Leigh. "We'll keep you safe!" 

One of the guards shot out a silver chain from his palm, wrapping it around Leigh's waist. She gritted her teeth in pain as it burned her. She called to her own power, feeling columns of lightning at her fingertips. Ten teleported herself behind a few of the guards, stabbing them. Leigh broke the chain with the lightning, sending another volt after the guard. He fell helplessly to the ground. Ash let out a guttural cry. One of the guards had used his Twist to pin her to the ground. Leigh turned around, punching a woman in the face as she ran to her friend's aid. She threw herself at him, blasting him backwards with her hand.

Ash got up shakily, nodding in thanks. Leigh's eyes grew wide as another guard tried to stab Ash. Leigh built an iron wall between them quickly, pushing Ash out of the way. Ash was hitting someone behind Leigh, defending her. Leigh broke the iron wall, sending it crumbling over the man. Then she turned, blasting Ash's attacker off with fire. A volt of electricity arced through the air, hitting Leigh right between the shoulder blades. Ash screamed, or maybe it was herself. The pain was intense, the current zipping up and down her body. She fell to the ground, everything growing to nothing more than a silent ringing. Someone ran next to her. A girl. Skylar? No, this girl was different. A little brunette. 

She stuck out her hand, a white glow emitting from her palm. 

Healer. Thought Leigh. Sure enough, the pain lessened and soon Leigh could hear and move again. 

Blue tendrils burst through the air, hitting the brunette healer in the chest and killing her instantly. Leigh screamed, but there was nothing she could do now. Instead, she turned her attention to whoever had sent to killing blow. Her eyes found him, a weedy looking boy. His eyes were cruel, his mouth turned up into a smirk. Leigh didn't care if his blood would stain her hands. He deserved it. He. Needed. To. Die. Purple flames spewed out of her left hand, electricity out of the other. They mixed, creating a deadly weapon. She fashioned it into a spear and sent it straight for his heart. It hit its mark, and he fell to the ground with a cry, dead. 

She turned, full of anger. These people were disgusting little roaches. They needed to die. Roots crept up from the ground beneath them, strangling a few. Ten nodded at her. Their order had changed. Shoot to kill, not wound. Some of the kids they were protecting helped too, sending out arcs of electricity or water or illusions. It was almost amazing, in a morbid sort of way. Ash charged forward, executing a perfect judo flip on one guard, using some sort of complicated Karate move on another. Her silver knife flashed, and blood spurted. She was lethal, mowing down the guards one by one. Someone created a mini earthquake, cracking the ground like a crystal vase. 

Out of the cracks, Leigh made lava boil. It came up and burned a few, swallowing others. A new power bubbled at her, and it seemed almost familiar, like a warm hug. Pure gold power shot tendrils out of her hands, bursting at her seams. It exploded out of her from every pore, sending out arms at each guard and incinerating them. Leigh dropped to the ground, exhausted. Then, a word was shouted over the whole din. Five letters, and it changed everything. 

"Sissy!"