XLV.
But I knew that before I even considered leaving this place, I would figure it out. No matter what it took.
I woke a few hours later, Lauren still wrapped tightly in my arms. She was burning up, even worse so than the sickness that had hit her back in Miami. Dinah had retrieved Ally, and now both girls hovered around the bed worriedly.
"Lauren, I need you to roll over here for a second so I can get a good look." The brunette requested, seating herself down on the edge of the bed. "Lauren?"
I granted Ally an apologetic glance, bringing my arms up and trying to disconnect Lauren from where she was snuggled to my chest, for as adorable as it was, the girl was still unwell. After saying her name a few times, I finally got a set of tired green eyes to peer up at me.
"Ally needs to take a look at you." I informed her, cupping the girl's cheek with my right hand. "You need to sit up and give her a hand."
Lauren just shook her head, snuggling back down and burying her nose to the hollow of my neck. I looked over her shoulder to see that Dinah was sitting at the foot of the bed with a sleepy look on her face, while Ally still stood waiting.
"Alright Mila, this time I really need to change those bandages." Shawn entered the room and pointed to the white roll on the night-table. "Oh, am I interrupting something again?"
"Lauren's sick, and being a baby about it." Dinah yawned, stretching out along the foot of the bed and earning a hearty kick from the base of my heel.
"Dinah, be nice." I muttered down at her, peeling Lauren away and helping her sit up against the back pillows. Face terribly flushed, the girl looked like she was only moments from throwing up.
"Wow, you're right, she doesn't really look good."
"Shawn." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Be nice."
Lauren grumbled to herself, bringing her knee up and using it as a rest for her elbow. "Guys, I really really need quiet right now."
"Alright honey, it's just a fever." Ally placed a hand on the girl's knee. "It could have been caused by any number of things, but most likely just a simple viral infection. Get lots of fluids, rest, and a warm shower will help as well. Stay with Camila and let her take care of you alright? There's a new fledgling in today and he needs to be treated."
"What can he do?" Lauren asked, lifting her head. "Is it anything interesting?"
"Kinda." Ally shrugged. "Normani mentioned something about iron but it was just in passing. I have to head over to the infirmary and find out more. Are you going to be alright here?" She asked, brushing Lauren's arm gently.
"I will." The girl looked over at me, and I pretended that I was focused on Shawn's precise attention to detail on my arm. Ally left the room, leaving just the four of us alone in a relatively awkward quiet.
"This is kinda nice. Its been a while since it's just been the four of us." Dinah sat up, crawling to the top of the bed and resting against the pillow next to Lauren. The green eyed girl took less than a second to slip down and snuggle against her shoulder, curling her arms around her own waist. Dinah smiled, draping an arm around her.
Shawn gave my arm a swift pat, signalling that the bandage process was finished. It was a job well done; the soft fabric secured tight around the scars and reliving the tension in the muscle . I smiled, getting up and pulling him over to the bed where we all nestled together around Lauren.
"You know, you guys never told us about your road trip." Shawn grinned, shuffling up to the foot of the bed and crossing his legs. "Did you do anything fun?"
"I'd say." I glanced over at Lauren who had her eyes only half open as she gazed at us. "I had always thought road tripping would be the coolest, most exciting thing on the planet. It turns out I was very right."
"Where did you guys leave your car?"
"Harrisburg." Lauren croaked, shuffling against Dinah. "It's safe, in an underground parking garage with a bunch of other vehicles."
"Good call." Dinah rubbed her shoulder. "Shawn, can you fill a glass of water? Lauren needs to drink."
"Got it." Shawn bounced up off the bed and scurried into the bathroom, grabbing an empty from my desk as he did. He returned a few moments later, gripping the full glass with both hands. Bringing it over, Lauren shivered, then thanked him with a smile.
"And this." Shawn added, picking a blanket up off the floor and unfolded it, draping it over Lauren's shoulders.
There was a moment when I saw a family. I saw the family that I had lost; the people I had loved and left behind. I watched Shawn tuck the edges of the blanket around Lauren's shoulders, and Dinah curl her closer to brush a few stray hairs away from her face. I smiled as the boy weaved around the other side of the bed and curled up next to me.
We talked for the next few hours. Shawn, Dinah, myself, and once and a while a small murmur from Lauren. We talked about the road trip. The journey here, and the training process. I asked them how they convinced their parents to let them leave Miami, and they explained how a life and death situation was apparently occurring on my end. I learned that when I got back, I would also have to answer to a very angry conversation with my dad, which was one more thing to look forward to.
I saw the family that I had, and knew very well that I couldn't let it go this time. For some undeserving reason, I had been given another chance, and I was determined to do whatever I could to not screw it up.
***
I did a patrol on my own that evening. Dinah and Shawn remained with Lauren and let me sneak out to get some filtered air. Letting my mind move my feet, I traversed past the scene of the invasion and ventured deeper into the forest, looking for any potential trouble. The soil had softened with the rising temperatures, and with spring came sky to floor foliage that was bright green in colour.
I found myself over the last few days doing less and less thinking before I acted. This was another instance, where my fingers drifted to my neck to remove Lauren's necklace and hold it carefully in my palm. The charm was simple; two triangles that were interlocked at a single point and fused together.
Triangles.
There were a very limited number of options my brain could manifest without any access to society, a library, and most importantly, the internet. The first thing I went to was a love triangle. Three points left space for three people. One boy, two girls. Two boys, a single girl. Three boys? Three girls? The last would have to be the most likely.
The second thing I went to was the holy trinity. The father, the son, the holy... ghost? Spirit? I looked up to the tips of the trees and remembered when my parents would dress me up in a little yellow sundress and bring me along to church. Naturally, my tiny, sundress wearing brain didn't remember squat. The only thing I knew about church was that after the service some lonely grandma brought homemade cookies that were to die for with a glass of apple juice.
Shawn came to mind next. I recalled the conversation the four of us had back in my kitchen, when he grew overexcited about the prospect of his three favourite women dressing up as a powerful trio. Something about Lauren being born with images of the powerpuff girls, or Gotham city's most fearful female trio seemed a little farfetched. It had to be something more mythical.
Mind, spirit and body? The past, present and future? Peach, Daisy and what was her name... Rachiellina? Rebecca? I found myself thinking aloud as I moved, assuringly attracting the attention of stray goons that were no doubt littered throughout the area. I wasn't sure how far I had ran, but judging from the slow burn in the back of my legs, it was definitely far.
I hit concrete a few minutes further, and every cubic centimetre of my body began to scream at me to turn around and return to safety. But I didn't. I pulled my knife out and gripped it tight in my right hand, and formed a shield of lightning around my left. I stepped out onto the overgrown road and nearly jumped three feet in the air when a massive puff of white hot steam shot out of a crack a few feet away and burst into the air.
The road was surely abandoned. There was no discernible white line that denoted lanes, and instead large, protruding cracks created a rather unique topology along a surface that long ago would have been used for cars. A few steps in, and I had to dodge a few more unexpected bursts of steam before I saw colour in the distance. Making it my target, I trotted over and stepped back in surprise when I saw it was graffiti.
This is hell. We're all in hell.
Turn back.
There is nothing but death beyond this point.
I shivered. It wasn't exactly what I thought to be an artists typical expression of their freedom. Rather than heeding the graffiti's advice, I stepped clean over it and headed further down the road. I walked for a few minutes, keeping every muscle in my body as tight as I possibly could and dipping into the bag of tricks I had acquired over the past month or so.
It took all of three minutes to realize that I was being followed. And not the fun type of followed like at the Halloween horror events where a bloodied and bandaged zombie would jump out of the shadows only for your best friend to sock him in the face. Gripping my weapon harder, I slowed my pace to a stop and looked around.
"I know there's someone there." I muttered, loud enough for a mutated teenager to hear. "Whatever you're going to do, just do it now so both of us can move on with our day."
There was a rustle in the trees a ways away, and a figure landed some feet down the road. Whoever it was showed no sign of definitive appearance, and instead was covered in a black armour that looked identical to all the others we had seen thus far. They turned around slowly, and I saw something that shot more dread through me than the graffiti.
Human eyes.
"Put your weapons down and I won't hurt you." The voice was raspy, low and sick with what was likely the result of breathing in recycled air for years on end.
I let the electricity on my arm grow larger, sighing at the way that it crawled along the black, high collared windbreaker that I had found in a ball on the floor of my new carpet. Tugging the left sleeve up, I exposed the bandages, and started to tug at the edge. When it didn't budge, I cursed at Shawn and brought my arm up to my mouth to yank at the fabric with my teeth.
"Put your weapons down!" The male voice shouted, pulling at the mask over his nose and mouth as his eyes locked on the lightning that was starting to fly off my arm and illuminate not only the road around me, but the sky.
"Who was it that wrote this?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice level. "All that writing on the road, the graffiti...? Was it you?"
The man's black, beady eyes widened.
"You... and all the people who work for that place? All that writing on the roads are cries for help, aren't they? You're a person..."
"Put your weapon down." The man repeated a third time, sheathing a pistol from his belt. "Come quietly, and we won't have any problems."
"Oh we're going to have problems." A pang of fear surged through me when I saw the gun. If history said anything, then I had a matter of seconds before he was sure to pull the trigger.
When I was shut out in that room thinking that I was in a prison... I released lightning like a nutcase, I had no control. When it hit the candle... it exploded. Candle... fire... mine fires... the steam. The thoughts raced through my head like a trail barrelling down its tracks. What if I was to...
All rational thoughts vanished as I grabbed the knife in both hands, and lit it with electricity, plunging it down into the pavement as deep as the blade would reach. The man aimed the gun, and I swore before a massive roar of sparkling flames exploded from the weapon's contact, burst open the road and followed the trailing crack towards him. The inferno blazed up through the ground, knocking the gun out of his hand and swallowing it up whole. When the man himself howled in pain, I yanked my knife back out of the ground, spun around, and ran.
My blade slid back into its holder and I immediately took to the trees and flew back the way I had come. My silent prayers to not get lost were quickly replaced with the feeling of dread when I realized that he was following me.
And not the good following.
Every movement of my body stemmed from terror. Something about the way the man talked, and his eyes. The way his eyes were so human. They could see, they could move and shift as he gazed around and widened when he shouted at me. The eyes might have been windows to the soul, but whatever was in that soul had clearly died a long time ago. I swore to myself as the markings on my wrist began to burn.
***
"Camila." Lauren's eyes shot open, her wrists turning red with heat. Sometime through her nap, Dinah had been replaced with Shawn, who was doing a great job at being a human pillow. Normani had also stopped by the room, and was now perched in Camila's desk chair leafing through a magazine.
"What?" Dinah looked up from the other side of the bed where she was stretching her limbs.
"Camila." Lauren pressed against Shawn to hoist herself up. Her arms shook, weak with fatigue and whatever hellish bug was streaming through her system. "She's in trouble. Something's wrong."
"What do you mean, can you just tell?" Normani looked up. "Like, when she's in trouble and stuff?"
"She can tell." Shawn helped Lauren into a proper sitting position, adjusting the blanket around her lap. "What's going on?"
"I don't know." The green eyed girl shivered, gripping his arm. "But it's not good. Normani, where's Camila?"
"She went out on a solo patrol a little while ago." Normani placed the magazine down and got to her feet. "She insisted that a little time away was good, I know she's more than capable of taking care of any trouble within the borders..."
"If there's one thing you need to know about Camila, it's that she's a serious flight risk. She takes off a lot." Shawn informed the girl, hopping off the bed. "We should go out there and find her."
"No." Normani stood up next, holding her hand out and preventing Dinah from moving. "The two of you aren't going anywhere."
Dinah frowned. "What? Why?"
"You aren't facing any type of danger until Camila tells me it's okay."
Every sound in the room stopped, and Lauren shifted as all eyes turned to Normani. Waiting for an explanation, Shawn was the first to speak.
"What do you mean when she tells you it's okay?"
The girl across the room was already throwing her jacket over her shoulders and forming a sleek sword-like object from ice in her hand. "It may have been Lauren who brought you here, but the two of you are Camila's responsibility. If anything happens to you, she's the one who shoulders the blame. So until she gives me permission, the two of you stay underground and train."
"Enough talking." Lauren threw the blanket off her lap and tried to slide off the bed, only to be stopped by Shawn's hand on her knee. "Camila's in trouble, we don't have time for this."
"You're not going anywhere, typhoid Mary." Dinah shot Lauren a look. "I can see your wrists heating up from here."
"She's right." Normani nodded, heading towards the door. Before she could reach the handle, it burst open on its own, revealing a younger boy with tussled orange hair and a exhausted look on his face.
"Miss Normani!" He panted. "There are some medics sensing movement on the borders!"
"Shit." A look of dread passed over Normani's face, causing Lauren to wrench herself forward and get caught by the shoulders. Shawn shook his head again. "I need you and Ally to assemble a team." She told the boy. "Five people maximum, I want at least two of them to be medics."
"Right." The boy nodded before dashing down the hall and leaving the room in stunned silence. Lauren grabbed Shawn's arm, trying to push him out of the way and failing miserably. She was at less than half of her normal strength, and he, despite the avid collection of comic books back at home, was still a man.
"Let me go." Lauren muttered, looking up. "I have to find her."
"No." Shawn restricted her movements. There was a momentary flash in the boy's brown eyes, and Lauren saw something that was hauntingly familiar. "You're staying here and regaining your strength. They'll handle Camila."
"Listen to him Lauren." Normani added, and Lauren lifted her head to see that her friend was halfway out the door. "We'll bring her back, I promise."
With that, the green eyed girl succumbed to the sinking feeling in her chest, letting Shawn move her back to the bed, and Dinah close the door behind Normani. When she closed her eyes, lightning flashed behind them. Both brilliant and deadly in it's most natural form, the electricity brought to Lauren a sense of comfort, and a sense of dread.
***
The man's manic screeches were growing closer, and much of the forest was beginning to look the same. I could have sworn I had passed the same log forty times before starting to gather my bearings, and at that point the muscles in my legs were growing frustrated. Contemplating the ramifications of turning around and facing him, I tested his wit by grabbing my left wrist in my right hand and releasing a generous web of electricity around my body. As I ran, the network of bright blue sparkled and weaved around me before leaving a rather menacing trail of current against the damp ground.
Despite hitting him head on, the distraction didn't seem to phase my attacker, and instead seemed to be edging him to move faster. I swore, pounding across the forest floor and releasing a short sigh of relief when I saw home. Then, a sickening feeling hit me upon realizing that I had led a deadly enemy right to the underground base.
With a mutter of dissatisfaction, I turned on a dime and weaved around a nearby tree, catching the man off guard and starting off in the other direction. As expected, he followed, and I gasped when a razor sharp throwing knife sailed inches left of my head and landed in the ground some ways away. The simple glimpse of the blade that I received told me that it was identical to the one the attacker in Miami held. The similarity couldn't have been coincidental.
Running was becoming futile. With a deep breath, I found myself a semi-wide clearing, screeched to a halt and spun around to see that he was dashing at me with his black eyes wide and hungry. I let the lightning feed out of my system, and surged forward to just barely dodge his outstretched blade, close my left hand into a fist, and connect directly with his stomach. Silence fell, and the only sound that touched my ears was a sickening gurgle. Blood erupted from his mouth, spraying across the ground a few feet away as the man backed away from me while holding his torso.
"This is hell..." He growled, dropping to his knees and coughing more blood out onto the ground. A series of sharp throwing knives came sailing my way, and without time to dodge the projectiles, I resorted to curling in on my body to protect my vital organs. There was no impact, and when I opened my eyes I saw that the knives had been sealed in a block of crystal clear ice.
"Thank god." I breathed, dropping down and succumbing to the ache in my legs.
"Not god." Normani's voice wasn't far away. "Just me. Ally?"
There was a rustle behind me, and I looked up at the man to see that his arms were being bound by thick, smooth looking vines that began to crawl out from the soil below. Winding up his arms and around his torso, the roots solidified into a thick dark wood, hoisting the man up in the air and covering his body like a cage. Meanwhile, the ice in front of me became smaller, shrinking down until the knives landed in a pile on the ground.
I looked behind to see that Normani had not only Ally, but three other ex-fledglings all had black hoods over their heads and gas masks covering their noses and mouths. With all the gear, I was unable to see their faces, but could tell that they were watching the brunette with a keen interest. Ally was moving her arms, controlling the wooden protrusions and summoning more.
"I told you she could control nature." Normani glanced at the shorter girl. "She's pretty badass."
Ally was quiet, stepping around Normani and walking up to the captured assailant. She rose up off the ground with the help of a network of roots, coming eye level with the man and placing one hand on her hip. "Why were you chasing her?"
"This is hell." The man replied, the last few words coming out in a raspy, choked manner as Ally tightened the vines.
"Answer the question."
"We're all in hell." Came the weak, broken response.
Turning around, Ally shook her head. "We're not going to get any information out of him Mani. He's dying."
"Just get rid of him." Normani stepped in front of me. "Actually, Jason? Would you like to do the honours?"
I whirled around to see the taller of the three figures remove his hood. His face struck me with familiarity, short brown hair, a lanky frame and big blue eyes. "Jason." I breathed, instantly seeing the Harrisburg capitol building come forward in my mind. "It's you...?"
"Hey." The boy smiled. "It's good to see you again Camila."
I watched in shock as he rubbed his hands together, stepping in front of me and lifting a palm. My beady eyed attacker was no longer a problem as I watched the boy close a fist, and the man's body erupt in an inhuman spasm. From his torso then protruded a black, spiked object that looked solid to the touch. He coughed, produced a sickening gurgle, then went limp as a steady stream of blood dribbled from his lips. I stepped back in shock, bumping into Normani who placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
Ally then released the vines, letting them sink back into the ground as the body dropped lifeless to the soil. Normani lifted a hand next, and the corpse was sealed up in a block of ice, then sunk down into the ground. All traces of his remains were gone.
"How..." I looked at Jason, who opening and closing his fist. "How are you here? Why are you here? I thought you were a security guard?!"
"That was a lie." Jason turned around, his eyes bright without the glasses. "Sorry, I saw you that night and I knew that you were different, so I decided to have a little fun. When you mentioned that you wanted to take a tour of the building, I decided it wouldn't hurt to break every rule and take you on one."
"But..." I blinked at him, unable to find the right words to express my confusion. "I don't— how did you... huh?"
"Let's head back." Normani had started to walk back through the trees, gesturing for us to follow. "Jason can explain himself back home, and I think we all should get out of here before we attract more unwanted attention. Camila, you've got some explaining of your own to do."
***
"Camz." Lauren was on her feet and heading towards me, her face pale. "God, what happened out there? Where have you been?" I let her pull me close, closing my eyes as her arms wrapped around me and squeezed tight. "Wait, forget all of that. Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm not." I gave her a meek smile, directing her back towards the bed and sitting her down while Shawn went to work on my arm for the second time that day. "I'm really sorry I scared you, I thought it would be good to get out on my own for a while. I should have known better."
"You should have." Lauren's eyes were tired, her gaze weary as she played with my fingers. "Normani never should have let you leave."
"Oops." Normani was leaning against the doorframe while my friends had still scattered themselves throughout the bedroom. "That's the last solo patrol you do. There's a border there for a reason, we set it up not long after we established this place."
"How did you set it up?" I asked, thinking back to the point where I had reached the graffiti covered concrete. "I didn't see or feel anything when I crossed it."
"We keep a low profile." Normani shrugged. "We hide really well, and there are a number of people who work with Ally who can sense abnormal movement through the forest. It's how we track down wandering fledglings. It's actually how we found the two of you."
"Oh." I nodded. "Well thanks."
"No problem" Normani grinned. "Actually this time it was Lauren. She could tell right away that you were in trouble. Her wrists turn red."
I looked down to see that Lauren was peering up at me, her eyes large and still full of concern for my wellbeing. I brushed her chin with my fingers before moving my hand up to cup her cheek. "Of course you did." I said softly, smiling. "Thank you."
"No need." Lauren placed her hand over mine, and I could feel the heat Normani was referring to. "I'm just glad you're alright."
There was a soft knock, and I looked over to see Jason standing next to Normani by the entrance to the bedroom door. He had removed his jacket, and stood in a standard black v-neck. "Hi." The boy spoke timidly, his eyes widening when he saw the number of people in the room. "Ally told me that I should drop by to visit... Camila, I think I owe you a little bit of an explanation."
"You do." I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Lauren's forehead before heading to the other side of the bed. "C'mon, let's find somewhere less crowded to talk."
All eyes were on me as I began to head towards the door. Jason held a hand up, stopping me. "Um, before we do... I was wondering... if maybe you still had that thing that I gave you?"
I blinked. "The pendant? I might, let me check." I turned, heading over to where Dinah was lying on the carpet and retrieved my tattered knapsack from under the bed. All eyes turned to me as I unzipped it and reached to the bottom, retrieving the black box that housed the gift shop souvenir. I held it up, showing Jason. "It's here. Why?"
"Bring it along." The boy nodded with a satisfied smile. "It's going to help in my explanation."
"Camz, what's going on?" I straightened up to see Lauren was looking at me with a frown, her gaze shifting subtly from me to the boy standing in the doorway. Shawn stood just over her shoulder, an equally as puzzled look on his face. "Who is this?"
"It's a long story, I'll tell you when I get back." I said with a soft smile in her direction. There was a deep red flush rising in her cheeks, and I hated to think that whatever sickness she had come down with was only getting worse. I then headed back to the doorway, the box safely in my hand.
Without another word exchanged, Jason and I stepped out of the room, and I led him down the hall to seek out a vacant one. Wanting to take an innocent peek at the pendant, I lifted the lid of the box and gasped when I saw that the entire ornament had become coated in a thick, black material. It was the same substance that had sprouted from the man's body earlier, and the image flashing in my head was sickening me all over again.
Snapping the lid closed, I grasped the handle to an empty room and pushed open the door, letting Jason file in before me. The world was changing. People I had thought were nothing but innocent nerdy security guards were revealing themselves to be tube bred mutants.
A world where no one is the same. Where two minds clash in a flurry of blood and anger. That wasn't hell... was it?
***
A/N: Reversal is a year old tomorrow 😭