Chapter Fourteen
I didn’t look back as I ran home. I’m there in less than two minutes. A record time. Barely out of breath, I open my front door as quietly as I can. It isn’t that late but I don’t want to wake up a potentially sleeping Jaclyn.
But when I walked in the lights were on. I go into the living room where Jaclyn is seated with two other men. They’re bulky looking with business-looking black suits. I swallow hard as I feel the uneasy vibe I’m getting from everyone in the room.
Jaclyn looks stiff and weary. She glances briefly at me and then looks back down at the coffee cup she’s clutching in her hands. “Cassidy, have a seat, baby.” She instructs quietly.
This cannot be good.
I take a quick seat on the love seat, wanting to be as far as way from the two men sitting on the couch.
“Good evening, Cassidy. I’m Detective Roberts and this is my partner Detective Greene.” The bald man spoke first and then gestured to the other man. “We work for the Federal Bureau of Investigations; Special Projects and Experiments Department, to be exact.”
I swallow hard again; feeling fear building up inside, deep down in my gut.
“We’re here regarding the case of bus crash that took place November 3rd. Do you remember that day, Miss Price?” Roberts asks. I bite my lip and nod. Roberts smiles slightly and continues. “So you know that I know you’re a special girl, Cassidy?”
My eyes widen and I shake my head quickly. “No, no, no! I’m not special, I’m as normal as they get.” I rush out. The bald man sighs and Jaclyn looks like she’s about to cry.
“Look, we’ve all seen the videos. We’ve all seen you lift that bus and save those kids. We know about your kind.” The other man, Greene, speaks this time with more sternness than Roberts.
I chew on my lip, knowing there’s no way of lying my way out of this one. But how would the FBI know about Aberrants?
Almost like he sensed my distressed, Roberts starts to speak. “We’re not going to hurt you, Miss Price. We just need to cooperate with us for a few questions and experiments.”
“I’m not going to be your be a part of your ‘experiments’! I’m not going to be dissected and prodded at. I don’t care who you are or who you’re working for!” I yell, I almost stand up but I grip my self-restraint.
“If you are not willing to cooperate than we’re going to have to take extreme measures, Miss Price.” Greene threatens. The tone in his voice almost makes me want to shrink into the love seat.
A little voice in the back of my head tells me to kill them. Then I won’t have to deal with any of this. But the rational part tells me that doing that would just cause a lot more problems. When did I start to get these dark thoughts?
“Cassidy, please.” Jaclyn says, almost begging.
I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. “Okay, how long will these tests take?” I ask. Whatever they wanted to do to me wouldn’t take more than an hour or two, right? I can handle that.
“It depends on all that takes place and how much you cooperate. But my guess is at least a few months.” Roberts informs me. My eyes almost jump out from my face. I lose the ability to speak for a moment.
“A month!?”
“Yes, that’s why we need to leave tonight.”
“Leave? Where are we going? Can’t we do the tests here?” I ask with wide eyes. I don’t want to leave Plomiting. Yeah, Plomiting isn’t the best town out there. And everyone here didn’t even know I existed until a month ago. But I grew up here and all my friends are here. Well the two and a half I have (if we’re including Quinton). Actually one and a half since I never want to Xander’s face again.
Now that I think about it, leaving wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
“The test will be done at one of our facilities, hundreds of miles away from here.” Greene says. I look at Jaclyn and see silent tears roll down her face.
“I absolutely have to go?” I ask, looking for a way around this. Both of the detectives nod.
“You can choose to come with us or we’ll force you to do so.” Greene clarifies. I narrow my eyes, not liking the attitude of this man.
“You’ve seen what I can do, what makes you think I can’t take down two men?” I ask menacingly. Greene and Roberts both look at eat other with knowing eyes. Green looks at me and sighs.
I know I’m treading on waters I shouldn’t, but I hate being threaten. And if these two guys believe that they can overtake me, then they have another thing coming.
“We might not be able to take you ourselves, but your chances against the United States Army are slim to none.” Greene challenges me almost. I really do not like this man.
“You would really get a whole country’s army against me?” I ask with a little sarcasm in my voice. I really hope Greene is bluffing. It would take days, if not weeks to gather up a whole army and march them to Plomiting.
“If you’re a threat to the US than there would be no problem getting an army down here.”
I huff and cross my arms. There’s no way he’s being honest.
“Cassidy.” I hear Jaclyn’s soft voice. I look at her. “Please, just go with them.” I sigh, realizing there’s nothing I can do to get around this. I look between the two men, at their stern faces.
“Fine, I’ll go.” I say, looking at Jaclyn.
I hope I’m making the right decision.
***
After I packed my stuff, and of course, after they inspected it, we left. I said my sorrowful goodbyes to Jaclyn, but not to Xander or anyone else.
When I was packing, I saw Xander through my window. He was at his desk using his laptop. A pain flickered through my chest, remembering the events that happened hours previous. I closed my blinds, not wanting to see him anymore.
When I went downstairs, I was escorted by the two mean into a black van with dark tinted windows.
A half hour later we stopped. We were in an empty field. The stars in the night sky shined so bright compared to the night sky. We were all waiting for something but they didn’t tell me what. Ten minutes later and I got my answer.
A small helicopter entered my vision. Of course I heard it before I saw it. It landed loudly and we got on. We were on the helicopter for maybe two hours, and then we landed. Detective Roberts helped me off the thing while Greene looked at me with his scowl.
We walked to a big warehouse that looked abandoned. Greene moved an inconspicuous bush on the side of the warehouse. Underneath it was a keypad. He bent down and typed in a six number passcode. 283746—I memorized it.
A small beep sound was heard and Green opened the wide doors of the warehouse. The inside was definitely not abandoned. The inside looked like a doctor’s office or an office building. There was a receptionist desk with a smart looking lady talking on the phone. She looked as us and nodded and then went back to her conversation. I was lead down a hallway with multiple cubicles on both sides of me. People were working at their computers and answering phone calls. All of this looked completely normal, except for the fact that it was in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere.
We stopped when we reached a door at the end of the hallway. Greene opened and Roberts slightly pushed me inside the room. The door closed behind me and I was left alone with four big men in each corner of the room. In the middle of the room was a steal table and two chairs on either side of it.
One the of men stepped from his corner and pulled one of the chairs out for me. “Sit.” He ordered. I complied because I was too tired to not. I sat down and immediately felt something cold enclose of my wrist. He cuffed the other side of the handcuffs on the leg of the table.
And now here I am, sitting uncomfortable at this table. I had bottled down my angry because I knew that they handcuffed me because they’re scared. And if I were them, I’d be scared too.
In front of me is a big mirror. A one sided mirror to be exact. I know this because I can see the people on the other side of it. They’re talking about something. I can’t hear it because the room is sound proof.
Next to it is another door. And five minutes later, a man enters the room from it. He’s young, probably in his early twenties. He’s wearing a polo shirt with a tie and kakis. He carries a clipboard, tucked under one of his arms.
He sits down in front of me and smiles. “Hello, Cassidy. My name is Wyatt. I’m just in here to ask you a few harmless questions and then you’ll be showed to your room.” He greets a little too cheerfully. He’s scared. I can hear it in his voice and by his aurora.
“Relax, Wyatt. If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve snapped out of these handcuffs and done so.” I tell him to calm his nerves, but it only seems to make them worse.
Sweat starts to bead at his forehead and he swallows hard. “Well thank you, Cassidy. That’s very reassuring.” His voice trembles a little as he talks. He sets his clipboard down and pulls a pin from his shirt pocket.
“So how long have you known you were different?” He asks.
“Since I can remember.” I answer. His pen clicks and he starts to write.
“Have you ever hurt somebody, intentionally or unintentionally, because of your gifts?”
I’m not about to tell him how I almost choked Quinton to death or bruised Xander by all the sparring we’d done. Now that I think of it, I’ve hurt Xander as Toxic numerous times. How did he even escape from the cops?
My hands clench into fists and I feel myself become angry. How could he lie to me like that? For all those years? And did I never find out until now?
“Cassidy?” Wyatt snaps me out of my angry thoughts.
I turn back to him. “No.” I answer.
“Have you ever felt the need to hurt someone?”
“No.”
“So to my knowledge, you are known as your town’s superhero. What made you want to help your town out?”
“I don’t like bad people.” I give him short answers because I want to get out of here and into a bed as soon as possible.
“Fair enough. Do you know why your parents are dead, Cassidy?” He asks softly. I’m a little a taken back by his question. I stare into his eyes intensely. He flinches slightly. I know he’s already regretting asking.
“Hunters.” I respond with a monotone voice. He swallows and scribbles something down.
“Okay, thank you Cassidy. We’re finished tonight. I’ll speak with you tomorrow.” He gets up and leaves the room very quick.
One of the guards comes over to me with a key in his hand. I yank the handcuff from the table leg and break the other cuff in half. “No need, but thank you.” I tell him. He glares at me and pushes me out the door on the other side from where I entered.
The other side from the room is a lot different. I’m still being lead down a hallway by a man whose grip could be a little less tight, but the surroundings are much different. Instead of cubicles, there are labs with people in lab coats working on various things on both sides of me. I didn’t get a good look on what’s going on in the rooms because the guard was being very pushy. But I did get a glimpse of someone being tested.
I didn’t get a good look of him but he seemed around my age. He was sitting on a table and the doctors looked to be examining his body with various equipment. The boy and I made brief eye contact for a moment. Then the guard pulled me downstairs.
He leads me down through an area that looks like a bunch a little apartments or dorm room. Kind of like a mini hotel. He opens door number eight and shoves me in. He closes the door and leaves me in there.
Why do all men here have to be so rude?
I search the dark room walls for a light switch. I find one and the room lights up.
It isn’t too bad. It’s small but not too small. It has a twin bed and a dresser, along with a closet and a bathroom.
My suitcase that I had previously packed was already on the bed. I sit down on the bed and yawn. It’s been a hella long day and I’m so tired.
From making out with Quinton, to finding out Xander is Toxic, and to be kidnapped by the FBI—there’s only so much a girls can handle.
I get up and unzip my suitcase. I take out my shower necessities and toothbrush and toothpaste. I pick out my clothes and go into the small bathroom. There’s already shampoo and face and body wash waiting for me in the shower. I move them out and stuff them under the sink. I grab a towel from the closet and start up the hot water.
I take at least a twenty minute shower. I needed it. I feel so much better after showering and brushing my teeth. I lie down on my new bed and sigh.
My eyes close and I start to drift off.
My eyes dart open when I hear my door handle jiggle. I get up quickly and stare at the door.
The handle moves.
I position my body, I’m ready to fight whoever is about to break in. The handle turns and the door opens. I run to attack the person who’s entering my room. But before I can lay a hand on the trespasser, the person grabs my arm and pushes me against the wall.
“Whoa there, Speedy.” He says with a chuckle. My eyes widen to see the boy from earlier.
I push him off of me and back away from him. “Who are you and what do you think you’re doing?” I ask with my voice raising a little. He shuts my door quietly.
“Shh. Don’t raise your voice.” He shushes me quietly. I roll my eyes and cross my arms.
“Who are you?” I repeat again.
He smiles widely and holds out his hand. “I’m West.” I stare at his outstretched hand. I shake it reluctantly.
“Well, West, what are you doing breaking into my room?” I ask.
“I couldn’t have knocked and expect you to answer the door. It was locked anyway.” He says like it’s the simplest thing in the world to understand.
“I don’t remember locking the door.” I say with my eyes narrowing at his grinning face.
“Oh, the doors can only lock from the outside.” He says nonchalant.
“So I was locked in?” I ask in shock. This place is so messed up.
“Oh don’t worry. They always lock your door the first few weeks.”
“How did you even know what room I was in? Or that I was even down here?” I’m so very confused by all of this. It’s too late and I’m too tired.
“Because the first seven rooms were taken and I saw you earlier. I wanted to meet the new girl. We haven’t had one in months.” West says cheerfully. I furrow my eyebrows and stare at him.
He has a mop of almost bleach-blonde, curly hair on his head. He’s super tall, at least 6’4 or 6’5. I can tell he’s very muscular by his arms. And when he smiles, he has two, deep dimples on both cheeks.
“New girl? So there are others?”
“Of course! You didn’t think you were the only Aberrant in the world, did you?” He asks the question like I’m crazy. My mouth drops open. There are others here like me? I thought they were all dead, besides my great grandmother.
“There are other Aberrants here?” I exasperate.
He nods his head. “Yup, six others, including you and yours truly.”
I’m surprised. He’s the first Aberrant I’ve ever met besides myself and my great grandmother. “You’re an Aberrant?”
He nods and I’m in shock. I thought I was the only one left. And he doesn’t look like anything special, but I guess I don’t either. If I have all these special ‘powers’ then why can’t I have spidey sense when I see other Aberrants?
“What do they do here anyway?” I ask because I’m curious to know what I’ve gotten myself into. Or more like what I was forced into.
“They do a bunch of test and experiments on us. It’s not too bad but it’s not pleasant either. Then we have training which can be fun. And now that you’re here, I have a partner.” He explains.
“Honestly, it’s not that bad. They’re only trying to help us, really. And I know that sounds like I’m working for them, but I’m not and it’s the truth.” He continues on. It’s hard to believe that the people who forced me to come down here only want to help me. But I’m too tired to protest.
“And the classes are sorta interesting.”
“Classes?”
“Yeah they’re on controlling our powers and history of our kind, just things like that. So this place is basically like a boarding school.”
I curl my lip at the thought of school.
“How long have you been here?” He seems to know a lot about this place.
“Maybe a year. It’s hard to keep track.”
“A year!? How old are you?” I ask in shock. The detectives only said a few months. I can’t be here for a year!
“I’m nineteen. I know, I look younger.” He answers smiling. His baby face makes him seem around fifteen or sixteen, but definitely not nineteen.
“You’re so old.” I say, scrunching my nose up.
“I’m old? Well how old are you?” He says in a challenging tone. I think he’s actually offended.
“Fifteen.” I answer, crossing my arms again.
He makes an ugly scowl at me. “You’re just a child.” He says and ruffles my hair. I grab his wrist and grip it tight.
“Yeah, well this child can kick your ass.” I challenge. I push him away from me by his wrist. He almost tumbles into the door, but he catches himself before doing so. He laughs at me and probably at the expression on my face.
“Oh, I’m going to enjoy you being here.” He remarks and then leaves my room without another word.