Fourteen
Phoenix and Abaddon had left me alone for now. Not their smartest move, but I'm not complaining. It gave me the time I needed to get out and think of an escape plan.
Right now, I was working on cutting away the ropes. I had thought of a knife, and once it appeared in my hand, I started hacking away at the ropes. It was difficult, but I had managed to cut the ropes from one of my wrists and I was working on the other. The knife successfully broke through the second rope, and I flexed my wrists before starting on my feet. I cut through the ropes around my ankles and stood up quickly. It was only a matter of time until Phoenix and Abaddon came back. I need to get out of here before that happened.
I willed the knife away, located a door, and strode over to it. I tried the handle, but it was locked.
"Of course," I grumbled.
I pictured a key that would fit in the lock, and one appeared in my hand. I couldn't be absolutely sure it would fit, but I hoped it would. I slid the key in, and it fit perfectly. I twisted it around until I heard a click from the door. I grinned to myself, opening the door and snuck into the hallway. I made the key disappear, and a knife replaced it. Just in case I needed to defend myself.
I advanced down the dim hallway, moving slowly and keeping my ears peeled for movement. Once, I nearly threw the knife at a mouse that happened to be living in the place. It squeaked and ran away while I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart.
Now, I heard footsteps, so I froze. These were real, and they were coming straight for me.
I looked around desperately for somewhere, anywhere, to hide. I found a door, opened it, and slid inside while quickly shutting the door. I discovered a closet, so I hid in that. My heart was beating so loudly, I was sure whoever was outside in the hallway could hear it.
I listened intently for any noise. I heard the door being opened, and I held my breath.
"You see anything?" a voice I didn't recognize asked. So, Phoenix had more people, too.
"No," a second voice said, sounding disappointed. "I was sure I heard something come in here."
The first voice sighed. "Well, come on. We've got training classes to go to, and we don't want to be late. Last time, Vivian freaked out."
"I know, I know," the second voice said.
I heard their footsteps retreating, and the door closed gently. I waited until I was sure I couldn't hear footsteps or voices before stepping out of the closet, closing the door gently behind me. I exited the room and continued making my way down the hallway, being even more careful now that I knew other people were here.
The place looked as if Phoenix had chosen another abandoned school for his hideout this time. I reached what looked like the main hall. There were doors leading outside, and an office could be seen.
I glanced around, making sure that no one was there, before running to the doors. I pushed on them and they swung open, allowing me to breathe in the fresh air. I smiled, and started to run, before I was roughly pulled back inside the old school. I yelped.
"Though you could get away?" Phoenix hissed in my ear as he held me in a headlock. I struggled, but to no avail. "Not gonna happen, saviour girl."
"Let me go," I muttered, trying to pull away.
Phoenix ignored me. "What's that in your hand?" he asked, and I remembered my knife. A little too late, though.
Phoenix wrestled the knife out of my hand and looked at it in awe. "Where'd you get this?" he demanded. "Did you find the weapons room?"
"No," I choked out, Phoenix's grip tightening.
Phoenix examined the knife. "You couldn't have just made this appear out of thin air." When I didn't say anything, he looked at me. "You made it appear out of thin air." He started dragging me down the hallway. "You just got more useful."
I wasn't going to let Phoenix win, at least not without a fight. I resisted, digging my heels into the ground. When I felt something cold go to my neck, though, I froze. Phoenix was using my own knife against me.
"Walk," Phoenix ordered.
"You wouldn't kill me," I said.
Phoenix dug the knife deeper into my skin. "Are you sure about that?" I swallowed uncertainly, and Phoenix laughed. "That's right. Now, keep walking."
I walked forward, the only other option being death, and I did not want to die. Phoenix led me to a room, pushing me roughly in before slamming the door. I fell to the ground and scrambled up, hoping to find the door and use a key to unlock it, but as I looked around, I didn't know where the door was. It completely blended into the walls, which were covered in mirrors.
I examined myself in one of them. My blonde hair was very messy. I ran my fingers through my hair, but it was so messy that I eventually gave up. There was a tiny cut on my neck. I pressed my finger to it, and it came away slightly bloody. Okay, so it wasn't going to kill me, which was good.
"Hello Callie." Phoenix's voice filled the mirrored room, and I jumped, turning around wildly. I couldn't find him. "Don't bother looking for me. You won't be able to find me."
"Where are you?" I asked, turning around in circles.
"In an examination room," Phoenix replied. I could hear the smirk in his voice. "These are special kind of mirrors. I can see you through them, but you can't see me."
I looked at the mirrors, and then glared at them.
"What am I doing in this, um, 'examination room'?" I questioned, not exactly sure what this room could be called.
"I want to see you use your power," Phoenix said.
"Nope," I answered immediately.
"Really?" Again, there was a smirk in Phoenix's voice. "We'll see about that."
That's when the water started to flood the room. I looked down, panicked. If I didn't do anything, I'd drown, but if I used my power, then Phoenix would get what he wanted, and I didn't want to give him that.
"Let's just see how long you can go without clogging the pipe," Phoenix said smugly.
"Where is the pipe?" I asked, the water soaking my sneakers.
"At the very top of the room," Phoenix said. I looked up, and sure enough, there was a pipe jutting out of the wall. "Are you going to use your power?"
"No," I said, trying to sound firm, but I knew I sounded weak and undecided.
"Mhm," Phoenix said. "Well, I can wait."
The room filled up surprisingly quickly. Soon, I was treading water, and the ceiling was dangerously close to my head.
"Well?" Phoenix pushed. "Are you going to use your power or drown?"
"Well, when you put it like that," I said, spitting water out of my mouth. My head bumped the ceiling, and my heart started pumping against my chest. Dying wasn't worth not showing Phoenix my power.
I thought of a cork. One instantly appeared in my hand, and I shoved it in the pipe. Water stopped coming from it immediately, and I let out a breath of relief before remembering that I'm still up here, treading water, my arms and legs exhausted.
Thankfully, the water started draining from the room. Once it was all gone, I laid on the ground, soaking wet and tired.
"So," Phoenix said, sounding surprised. "You can make things appear out of thin air. That's useful."
"I'm not going to help you," I got out, breathing quickly.
"I'll find a way," Phoenix said cockily. "In the mean time, I'll let you have some time to yourself." He turned the intercom, or whatever he was talking through, off, and silence filled the room.
I need to find a way out of here, I told myself, but the only thing I could do was just lay on the ground, curled up in a ball, shivering.
Get up, Callie! I screamed. Get up! Get up get up get up!
I groaned but forced myself to stand. I felt as if I weighed as much as a sack of rocks.
"Okay," I said to myself. "First things first: find the door."
I moved around the room, checking one mirror panel, and then the next. None of them seemed to have a doorknob or something on it.
Next, I started hitting my fists against the mirrors. I wasn't sure why I thought that would help, but it didn't.
Then, I thought about smashing the mirrors. I summoned a hammer and had it raised above my head. A metal hand appeared out of nowhere and snatched the hammer from my grasp. I whirled around to see the hand disappear into the ceiling.
Before I could think of another hammer, something was forcing my arms together. I tried to pull out of its grip, but it was strong. Something cold clipped around both of my wrists, and then I was released. I tried my best to look behind me, and saw dark red handcuffs around my wrists. I thought of a key and expected it to appear in my hand, but it didn't.
"Don't try anything with those handcuffs. "Phoenix's voice once again filled the room. "Those handcuffs block powers. As long as you have those on, your power won't work."
I groaned. "What do you want, Phoenix?"
"At first, I just wanted the Powers not to have a saviour," Phoenix explained. "Then I found out about your power, and now, I'm keeping you, because you can be useful."
"Like I said, I'm not going to help you," I said, putting extra emphasis on not.
"And, like I said, I'll find a way. Now, you're going to come with me to another room, and-"
"No!" I yelled.
One of the mirror panels swung in, and I whirled around. Phoenix stood there.
"Sorry, but you don't get a say in this," he said, smiling cruelly. He walked into the room, and I backed up as far away as I could. I ended up backing into a corner, and Phoenix pulled me up. He held the knife at my throat again. "Walk," he commanded.
I did as he told. Before we left, though, I rammed my elbow into the mirror that I knew was the door, hoping to make a mark so I could tell which one was the door. Phoenix slammed the door shut before I could see if I made a mark. My elbow throbbed, but I told myself it was worth it if I could have identified the exit.
Phoenix led me to another room. He pushed me in, following after. Abaddon was standing in the room, waiting for me.
"What now?" I asked as Phoenix unlocked the handcuffs from my wrists. He held them in his hand, though, ready to put them back on it necessary.
"I want to test your power again," Phoenix said. "Give me a map of the Powers' school."
I raised my eyebrows. "There is no way I'm doing that."
Phoenix smirked. "I thought you'd say that. Eddie!"
Another boy joined us in the room. I eyed him suspiciously. What was his power?
"Do your magic," Phoenix ordered.
The boy, Eddie, turned to me. He stared at me for a while, and I wanted to move, but I found that I couldn't. Suddenly, I turned to face Phoenix. What the heck?! That wasn't me that moved.
"It worked, boss," I said, and I felt confused. That was my voice, and my mouth opening, but not my words. I would not say something like that to Phoenix.
"Good." Phoenix grinned. "You see, Callie, Eddie here has the power to take control of people. He has currently taken control of you."
My eyes would've widened if I had been in charge of my own body. I knew what Phoenix was trying to do.
"Make her think of a map of the Powers' school," Phoenix instructed.
An image of the Powers' school filled my head. I tried to wipe it away, but it remained. The map was then transported from my head to my hand. Eddie made me hand it to Phoenix, and then once Phoenix had clipped the handcuffs back on my wrists, he released me.
"Thank you, Callie," Phoenix sneered. "You helped me greatly." Laughing, he left, Abaddon and Eddie by his side.
Once they left, I sank to the ground and put my head in my hands. What had I done? I had just given Phoenix the exact layout of the Powers' school. Granted that Eddie had taken over my body, but I had still been me that gave it to Phoenix.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered to no one.