When I woke up the light was too blinding for me to open my eyes and my head still spun. I faded in and out of consciousness as I heard voices. "Dammit Emma, you need to wake up. Please wake up. This is all my fault,"
The voice faded out.
"I swear just wake up, I'll make sure you stay safe this-" I faded into unconsciousness again.
The next time I woke up the same voice was arguing, but I couldn't make out the words. Whatever it was, they didn't like it. I faded out again.
When I opened my eyes I was in the nurse's office. The taste of metal was still in my mouth and I remembered what had happened. I looked around and saw Kyle standing in the corner. The nurse came in and began checking my vitals.
"Oh, I've got her from here, don't worry about it" Kyle said with a heartbreaker smile. The nurse surprisingly left.
"What?" I began, but he clamped a hand on my mouth. I smelled morphine and tried to fight.
I heard the voices before I opened my eyes, I couldn't make out any particular voice but the words were clear enough.
"I don't care, I don't think this is a good idea. She's still just a normal person. You never know what she's going to think. She's friends with bloodsuckers too. Plus it's too dangerous for her."
"I'm sorry, we have absolutely no choice. She has to be introduced to the idea of us before they take control of her or brainwash her."
I opened my eyes in an unfamiliar room. It was brightly lit and full of computers and gadgets. Everywhere I looked were more machines. That may be why I didn't notice the man sitting across the room from me.
"Hello, My name is Jeremy, agent Jeremy of the code red organization." He must have seen the confusion on my face, he continued quickly, "Oh, please don't be alarmed. I know this is all very strange right now, but it will make sense."
"You're probably wondering where you are," Jeremy continued. I just stared. Honestly, I hadn't even gotten that far. "Well, this is the base of the old A-team, now known as the Code Red Organization."
Why did you bring me here? And what about the knockout gas Kyle used on me, are you and Kyle working together? A team? Like Kyle's parents? The questions jumbled together in my head but nothing came out of my mouth. I still felt like I was in a stupor.
"Kyle-" was all I could say.
"Okay, Kyle is part of Code Red. What you may not realize is that your power is the most powerful in the school."
"I hate it." I cut him off, "I won't use it."
"Alright , I suppose that would change things but we have seen you use it twice now. Once against a group that was threatening you and once against one of our own spies."
"How-" I paused, "Plus, why does my power matter?"
"You have a very important power. You see, many political matters are in unrest and we are on the edge of some major conflict, we don't want that as it's going to lead to the loss of innocent lives. The other side plans to kidnap you for your power. They already have you under surveillance as well and have managed to get you into their system. Mr. Drake is one of them. That's why you have been under his control for so long."
"He doesn't control me, I could leave if I wanted." But even as I said it I wondered if it was a lie, I hated Mr. Drake. Everything fit into place just too perfectly.
The next person into the room was Kyle himself. "Hey, sorry about knocking you out, and um kidnapping you." He sat down in the chair opposite Jeremy, closer to me."So, anything you want an answer to? We kinda owe you that."
"I don't know, it's all so insane." I said.
"Yeah, well, we are actually under the school right now, one of many bases under and inside the school. This is the biggest branch, aside from primary control."
"Okay, Jeremy already tried to tell me but why am I here?" I asked, my mind was still reeling, none of this made sense.
"Jeremy thinks we need you. Your power, yeah, but also you. I'm sure a war is about to break out and they want you. I'm not sure how much you heard of that conversation, the one before you passed out, the other side is trying to keep you under surveillance and eventually restrain you. We don't know anything about why."
"It doesn't matter I won't use it anyway"
"You're going to have to. But that doesn't matter right now. Come on, we have to go talk to Andy."
"The shop teacher?"
"Yeah, as well as one of our leaders. He was actually part of the A-team. He will tell you the story"
I followed him down a long hall. He flipped a switch hidden between two tiles on the wall. We stepped out into the hall, I looked around. We had just stepped out of a locker.
"Um, what the heck" I looked around, seeing the school for the first time. Full of hidden traps and secrets.
"Yeah, every locker that has the number 3 in it has a secret door to one of our bases. Three through 33 lead to the main bases. We just left thirteen. The rest of them lead to assorted safe spots, some are just passages and a few lead to artillery rooms."
"Holy- and all this just goes on while everyone is here? All the innocent people and the bad guys too?"
"Yeah, speaking of that, you were right about Ryan of course but Ben is with us. Only Jake, Jason, and Evan have been confirmed to be on or supporting the other side. Most people don't know about this."
I wanted to ask what this even was but I was still reeling from the morphine and all the changes.
We had arrived at the shop class, Kyle held the door and followed me in. The room always had seemed mysterious and strange to me but now it seemed more so.
"My boy, you brought her again? What's going on down there? You should really keep me in the loop."
Kyle explained the situation, the big man listened intently.
Andy turned toward me, gesturing to sit. "Well, I suppose you're going to need the rundown of all this. All these folks give you are the little pieces of the story. Can't even keep me in the loop." I nodded and glanced at Kyle, he had slouched down in a chair and was busy with a piece of metal. "Well, I was a part of the original group. We were the most powerful group of heroes to ever live. I had super strength and I could change sizes depending on my mood." He chuckled at some memory and continued "Now Kyle's parents, his dad had energy control like him, and his mother had air control. I think that took the form of a force field in Kyle's powers. Then there was Raina. She had weather control and natural powers, earth and plants, she was always a little crazy but we loved her." From the way he said it I wondered if it had been more than a companionable love. He picked at the blade of a small knife. "The first ones to go once the first war started were Grace and Vincent. They were some real powerful heroes. They left to stop the first attack without telling us and were killed. They couldn't fight the innocent people that Drake's cronies mind controlled."
"Wait. Grace and Vincent. What- what did they look like?" I fumbled for the picture in my pocket. Andy and Kyle leaned toward it.
"By Davy's locker. That's them. Where did you get that?"
"That's my mum and dad. They died when I was six and Mr. Drake took me in to be safe at the school."
"Well that changes things." The big man looked at me as though for the first time. "Grace, well- your mom and dad were killed. Many of the others were killed fighting to avenge them. Only me, Kyle's mother, and Tom lived. Now Tom, that's Mr. Drake. We didn't find out till after he sabotaged us and sent your parents on that suicide mission. We were all sentenced to lose our powers but Drake used his influence and his daddy's position as principal here to keep his. Then his brother came to us with evidence that Tom had lied and used us. We already knew he had been the one to send your parents to that battle. We confronted him and he admitted to it, but claimed his brother had made him." He shook his head. "Of course, his brother was the one who told us. He hadn't been making Tom do anything. Sure, he hadn't been guiltless but Tom was the evil one."
"Wow, I- I had no idea about how my parents died." I tried to imagine them surrounded by innocent people, all of them controlled to kill my parents. They would have known it was their end. Refused to fight the innocent and succumbed.
"I'm sorry Emma. I know it's a lot to take in. Luckily, at this point you shouldn't have to do anything. Hopefully, you can continue as before, just now aware of what to avoid and who is safe to come to if you need." The big man wrapped me in a hug. "I miss them too, they were like family to me too. I always wondered what happened to their child. You were so young."
That night I thought over everything. My parents' death was finally not a mystery. I couldn't believe that Drake had been involved in their death. It made me hate the man more than I thought humanly possible.