CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Luke tried breaking his handcuff by smashing it onto the cage's bars but it did nothing and every time he tried to use his super strength, the handcuff would glow bright green and make him go weak.
Ara, Emmarie, Katelyn and Rebecca were still planning.
"Think of anything yet?" Emmarie asked.
Katelyn just shook her head wearily.
"I know! Luke! Luke will be the one to help us! Luke can help us! He's got superpowers." Rebecca said.
"Yeah but look at him. His hands are cuffed and he's in a cage with glowing bright green bars. We all saw what happened to him. When those bars went green, he went all weak." Ara said.
"But the bars are inactive." Katelyn suddenly joined in and they all looked at her. "The bars only go active when the bar from the machine is on top but right now, it's at the bottom. That means, he can use his super powers."
"How? He can't even break that handcuff on him." Emmarie said as she pointed to Luke who is still trying to break the handcuff.
"I'm sure he's got more powers than super strength." Katelyn said.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Eye lasers." Ara and Rebecca both said.
Katelyn thumped the glass and Luke looked at her direction. "Hey Luke! We have already figured out how we're gonna get out of here." Katelyn said.
"Really? How?" Luke asked in return.
**
The Collective were lead into an office and were surprised to see Mr. Caldwell, Luke's principal in it.
"Mr. Caldwell?" Trent said.
"Mr. Bell. I knew you would come." Mr. Caldwell said calmly.
Trent walked hastily up to his table and grabbed him by the collar, "WHERE IS LUKE?! WHERE IS MY NEPHEW?! And my friends? Where are they?!" he asked angrily. Mr. Caldwell just smiled.
"Don't you fuckin' answer me with a smile or you'll borrow a face from a dog's gum." Trent hissed.
"Mr. Bell, if I were you, I won't say those words because it would make a bad reputation for my band." Mr. Caldwell said.
Zach patted Trent's shoulder, signalling him to stop yelling at the old man and let him go. Trent let him go, still not taking his eyes off of him.
"Where are they?" Trent asked again.
"Mr. Bell, I called you here because of your so-called nephew, Luke." Mr. Caldwell said. "You see, Luke has this abilities that a normal human doesn't have and the board and I considered it as dangerous. He doesn't know how to control it yet."
"Yes he does." Julian said. "He always knows how to control them."
Mr. Caldwell turned to Julian, "Mr. De Vizio, if you cannot even control yourself from sucking people's blood when you were infected, how can even Luke control his powers?" He said.
"Irrelevant. Julian's case is different from Luke's case." Zach said.
"What the hell do you really want from us?" Trent asked.
"Leave Luke here and I'll set your other friends free." Mr. Caldwell said.
Their jaws dropped instantly and then the boys looked at each other, knowing that they have to think about it carefully.
**
"Use your eye lasers." Rebecca said.
"I can't. I can only use them when I'm upset or angry or something like that." Luke said.
"Oh my goodness! Aren't you upset right now that you're locked up in that shitty cage?" Katelyn said.
"Girls... Come!" Emmarie said as she and the other girls huddled together. "We've got to make him upset."
"How?" Rebecca asked.
"We'll tease him. Call him names. Anything!" Emmarie said.
"Isn't that bullying?" Ara said.
"I won't call it bullying if we did it just to save all of us from this place." Emmarie said.
"Okay but what if he tells Trent about this?" Katelyn asked.
"We'll deal with Trent later, alright? For now, let's just follow Emmarie's suggestion." Rebecca said then they turned to Luke.
"Hey meteor freak!" Emmarie said and Luke looked at her.
"Excuse me? Did you just call me a meteor freak?" Luke said.
"Oh don't act like you didn't hear me. Of course I did! Meteor freak." She said.
"Emmarie, if you're trying to make me upset to make me use my eye lasers, give it up. I can't use it now." He said.
"You know what? You always say that! You always say 'You can't do it' 'You're too scared to do it'. For your information Luke Hopkins, we are locked up in BellReef's laboratory and our lives are at stake and we have no time for chickening out!" Rebecca said. "So just do what we fuckin' tell you to do, you little meteor piece of shit freak!"
"Whoa... That's too much." Katelyn said.
"Hold it right there Bec." Ara said.
"Maybe that's why your mother left you to Trent, because she can't handle a little weakling like you! Always depending on other people!" Rebecca added.
Luke turned to her with anger, "Don't you ever dare to bring up my mother here because first of all, you don't know what she's gone through and second, you don't know the whole story so shut your mouth up!" He said.
The girls fell silent.
Just then, the three men came back. The guy with a beard and studs on his left ear looked eagerly at Luke and noticed the cracks around the handcuffs that they put on him.
"I see, you tried to break your handcuffs." He said then he pushed the bar on top, making the cage bars go green and make Luke weak as expected.
"Stop it! Why are you guys doing this to him?! Can't you see? He's just a kid!" Ara said.
"And can't you tell? We don't need your opinion." The guy said then he pulled the bar down and then he pushed a red button from the machine and she got electrocuted as she screamed in pain.
"Stop!!! Please! Don't kill her!" Rebecca said. The guy pushed the red button once again and Ara stopped moving from all the electricity she received.
"Ara, can you hear me?" Emmarie asked as she turned her head so that she was facing her. "Ara?"
"I wanna see Jayden..." Ara said and then she passed out.
"Oh my god... Is she dead?" Katelyn asked. Emmarie checked her pulse, "She's still alive." She said. "She just passed out."
"Let us out of here! We don't want to be here!" Rebecca said.
"Aw... Why? You scared now? Whatcha gonna do? Call your prince charming? That Trent Bell guy?" He said. "He won't save you anymore. You mean nothing to him anymore!"
"That is not true!" She defended. "Let us out of here!!!"
**
"No... This is bullshit. You can't have Luke!" Trent said.
"Then I won't release your friends." Mr. Caldwell said.
Trent bowed down his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew that he's gonna lose either way. "Think about it Mr. Bell." He said.
"I don't need to think about it." He said and then he grabbed him by the collar and smashed him towards the filing cabinet beside him and then he found the gun on the table and pointed it at him.
"Trent! What the hell are you doing!?" William asked. "Put that thing down!"
"Shut up Will. I don't need any opinions right now. I need everyone to trust me on what I'm doing." Trent said to William and then he turned back to Mr. Caldwell. "Where are they? Answer me properly or I'll blow your head off."
"T-They are at Basement one... Where the old laboratory is." Mr. Caldwell said while shaking.
"You better be telling the truth." Zach said.
"I- I am! I am telling the truth!" He said. "They are down at Basement one, where the old laboratory is located."
**
"Don't make me get pissed at you." Rebecca said. "Let us out of here!"
"Will you shut up? You're voice is very irritating!" The guy said.
"But your face is more irritating, you know." Katelyn chimed in and the guy turned to her and in his anger, he smashed the glass and dragged her out there by holding her neck.
"Let me go! You're hurting me!!!" Katelyn protested.
The guy slapped her a few times until the left corner of her mouth was already bleeding. "Stop it!!! Don't!" Luke said. "She's a girl!"
"Shut up!" The other two guys said and eventually joined in and started hurting Katelyn as well. The two guys then turned to Emmarie and Rebecca.
"Don't you fuckin' dare to touch both of us." Rebecca said.
Just then, a quick pair of red light shoot the two guys on their left chest. Emmarie and Rebecca turned to Luke. "Sorry, took so long. I guess I couldn't live off of girls being hurt." He said then he turned to the guy who was beating the pulp out of Katelyn and shoot him with his eye laser and he collapsed dead on the floor.
He then used his laser to break the handcuffs and he managed to do it. And then, using his super strength, he pulled the cage bars apart, making a wide space for him to get out.
When he got out he quickly set them free from the chains around their wrists and feet.
Just then, the alarm for the whole building went off.
"We have to get out of here quickly!" Luke said and then they headed for the door and went out. Red lights are everywhere meaning there is an emergency.
"Luke!!!" A familiar voice called out to him and he turned around and saw Trent, William, Jayden Jayden, Zach, and Julian. The boys came to them and when William saw Katelyn, he cried. He had never seen and would never want to see her like this. She was covered with cuts and bruises.
"The guys got pissed at us so they took it all out on Ara and Katelyn." Rebecca said as she carefully handed the unconscious Katelyn to William. He got her and gently carried her in his arms and then, she opened her eyes, "William? Is that you?" She asked.
"Yes. Yes. It's me. Don't worry, I won't leave you. I'll be always here for you." He said then he kissed her forehead.
"What happened to her?" Jayden asked Emmarie who was then holding Ara by her shoulders.
"She got electrocuted by those jerks. She's still alive. She just passed out after that." She replied and Jayden quickly got Ara from her and carried her in his arms. "She was looking for you before she passed out."
A tear dropped from Jayden's left eye, seeing his girl to be involved in all of these just seemed too much for him. "Don't worry, I'm here now Ara. No one's gonna be able to hurt you anymore." He whispered.
"I'm so glad that you're alright." Julian said as he hugged Emmarie tight.
"Me too... I'm glad that you're safe too." Emmarie muffled on his neck then they kissed.
"Uncle Trent!" Luke said and then he hugged him. Trent hugged him back and then Rebecca. "Thank goodness, both of you are safe." Trent said as he hugged them both.
"Trent, we need to get out of here already." Zach said and he nodded. They started to leave, taking the emergency stairs to get out of the building and then they all went to their car and started to drive to the nearest hospital to heal Ara and Katelyn.
"Jayden..." Ara mumbled.
"Yes babe, I'm right here... Holding you tight." Jayden answered as he wrapped his arms around her, failing to prevent the tears to fall off from his brown eyes. "I won't leave. I promise. Just live for me. For me, please."
Then relief washed over them as soon as they saw the hospital a few kilometres away from them.