Hudson stood there with a surprised face as he inspected me closely.
Looking around, we were in some kind of exercise room. Beads of sweat ran down his face as his fists were swollen and clenched from punching the 300-pound bag in front of him. His black, short-sleeved shirt hugged his arm muscles tightly. He was alone—which only made the situation ten times more awkward. In the corner lied his helmet.
Didn't I throw my sword through it just a few days ago?
I couldn't come up with anything to say. What was I supposed to do, beg for him to come rescue us by saying the Rebels were bad?
"Mara, are you alright?" He asks abandoning his spot and walking towards me. I couldn't help but notice a sense of worry in his voice. He could probably feel the fear radiating off of me.
"I-I..." I start off, his close proximity already rendering me speechless. Jeez, if he ever rescued us in person, then I would have to get used to seeing him look this... good-looking. I have to regroup myself in order to focus. "They killed our parents, Hudson," I whisper.
He looks confused momentarily. "What do you mean? Who killed our parents?"
"Wes. The leader of the Rebels. He was the one in the ship with the star label on it. I was doing some snooping that... I shouldn't have been doing, and came across one of the old ships in an enclosed room. Priscilla and I are currently trapped in a bedroom because Wes has sent guards after us." My eyes were desperate. "Please Hudson, we need your help escaping this place, or else they're going to kill us," I say softly at the end, hoping my plea was enough to convince him.
"I need to see where your location is," he demands quickly to me. I hadn't noticed it before, but Hudson's eyes were swirling red. Was he... angry? "The bond won't let me access memories that you don't want to think about."
I hesitate. "How will I know I can trust you?" I whisper, fear evident in my eyes. "You could bring your fleet and destroy our base, for all I know. I—"
"Mara." He sighs, interrupting. "I know you don't trust me. I also know that gaining your trust will take time. But leaving this building without Capitol permission... I'm risking my life just to come and rescue you two. God, I wish I could tell you how many tracking devices I have to—"
"Okay, okay," I laugh. "I get it, silly boy." I smile.
So, I thought of the sights I saw as I came home from the night of the battle. We were just outside of Sector 40 actually, and the Plague Capitol was in Sector 52. An airship ride from the Plague to the Rebel base could take as little as 15 minutes.
"I'll be there in 4 minutes and 37 seconds. Set a timer on your watch. I'll be waiting outside in a far exit." I wasn't sure if his fists were clenched because he had just finished a workout session, or if he was angry at me. "If they lay one goddamn hand on you Mara, I'll kill Wes with my bare hands."
He begins to put on his armor once more, including his helmet as I watched him, with a stunned expression. Never had I heard Hudson care that much for a person.
He begins to walk towards me with a sly expression on his face, while I probably looked like a love struck, hopeless puppy.
His tall figure looms over me, his face just feet away from my own as his blue eyes analyze me. "Excuse me, Mara, but I have a girl I have to pick up," he brushes a strand of hair out of my face making my heart warm. "And you, my lady should be helping my grandmother fight those son of a guns. So if you don't mind moving out of my way, I have a four minute and 37-second schedule to keep here."
He smirks, walking around me as if I were invisible, and my cheeks turn a light shade of pink. I break off the bond between us, as I fall into what felt like an endless pit until I find myself back at the Rebel base. The familiar grey walls surround me, as I felt the blush still on my face.
"Were you two making out on that face-time thing or something?!" Priscilla shouts from the corner of the room, her eyes blazing blue as she was using her powers. "I had to make 27 guards forget their objective with my abilites, and meanwhile you got to relax!"
Before I responded, I set a timer to four minutes and thirty seven seconds as to when Hudson would be arriving.
"Priscilla!" I exclaim in disgust trying to erase the thought from my head. "Let's get out of here before more guards arrive," I say quickly. "Hudson should be here in just over four minutes."
"Come with me," Priscilla says, her eyes glimmering with excitement. "There is a secret path in the restricted hallway that leads to an exit. I knew one day that this might happen, unfortunately."
I nod, and in one swift motion we were out the door to our bedroom. Sirens blared through the hallways, and as I ran I expected for countless guards to be aiming their weapons at us. But only one figure stood in the middle of the hallway.
Elaine was there with a look of shock on her face.
"Are you guys okay?" Elaine asks softly, as I noticed she was holding a small device in her hand. Her face was solemn, as she understood why we were running.
I run to hug Elaine. "Elaine, we're so sorry. Wes is a very, very bad man. He killed my parents, and for that reason we have to go, for now." I say pulling away from the embrace.
She says nothing for a moment before nodding. "I understand. Take this device before you go in case you ever need some backup," she says giving me a wink. "Just know that many other troops in this base don't like Wes as well. Just a few clicks away, and you'll have access to a whole fleet of ships." I give her the biggest smile ever, as I give her one last quick hug as a thanks. "Now go, before others come. I'll hold you off by diverting the troops," she says beginning to run down a different hallway from where we were going.
I wanted to say thanks one last time, but she had already turned the corner.
"Hurry, Mara!" Priscilla exclaims, snapping me out of my trance as she waves me on to cut a corner. I run out in front of her drawing my sword expecting a shower of bullets, but instead found nothing.
This seemed suspicious...
I look down to my stopwatch quickly as it read almost two minutes. Hudson was going to be here in just a short amount of time, and I wasn't sure how to act.
Focus, Mara.
There was a four-way intersection where the restricted hallway was. I waited for Priscilla as we finally turn the corner into our destination, but freeze as I hear guns clicking behind us, as well as countless heavy footsteps.
"So that's what you do when you aren't fighting our battles?" Wes questions with a lace of humor in his voice. "You snoop around the base like a mutt, discovering things you should have never found?"
Wes holds his arms out with a triumphant smirk, expecting others to laugh. But as I looked around, most of the guards looked as if they didn't want to be there. I could even sense some tension in others, probably afraid to go against someone with higher power. He shakes his head, annoyed by the fact nobody laughed at his joke.
"It didn't have to be this way," Wes says with an angered look upon his old face. "We could have built a new empire with you two at our aid!" He rages, as he loads his gun.
But Wes didn't anger me, nor scare me. He may have taken my family away, but I wouldn't let him get to me.
"No, Wes. You used us for our powers this entire time, and on top of that you killed our family?" I question, my hand clenching my sword with intense strength. "I hope one day when the Rebels move on, they won't remember you. I hope you rot in the deepest pits of hell, because that's where you belong," I spit. "You will never be a leader to me or anyone else in this base."
He simply chuckles maniacally. "Silly Mara. Look at yourself. You're raging with evil, something that us humans have always feared in your genetic destruction. All mutants are bound to go evil one day, and that's why us humans want to kill you all. Mutants were born to die. And with the last two out of three mutants standing before me," he says clicking his gun into place. "I might just make history."
"Nonsense," Priscilla interrupts, speaking up with a calm posture. "You were just in it for the throne, you damn bastard!"
I almost cheer Priscilla on for using a swear word, but it was short lived as dozens of guards began to fill the halls around us, guns locked and loaded. Fear began to spike through both of us as we were surrounded, as the restricted hallway was our only way out of here.
"Fire on my command!" Wes shouts, his voice echoing through the the hall. Priscilla grabs my hand as she takes me through the long restricted hall, and I noticed the hidden exit was too far away before everyone began firing.
"Three!"
A bead of sweat drops down my forehead. "Priscilla, we aren't going to make it!" I shout to her, but she keeps pulling me.
"Two!"
"Keep going!" Priscilla shouts.
"One!"
We were just about ten feet from the exit. Priscilla reaches for the door, but it was too late as the one word I dreaded was shouted.
"Fire!"
Priscilla and I both braced for impact, yet nothing came. Not a single shot rang throughout the hallway, as I look back to see something I never expected.
All of the guards were literally levitating off of the ground, as it looked like gravity had been turned off inside the base. Their guns were flying away from them as well as Wes looked around in confusion.
"What is this madness?" Wes roars, as he attempts to reach for his gun that was currently floating just feet away from him. But his small, fat arms couldn't reach it as he literally had a hissy fit in midair.
I turn to see Hudson's figure at the end of the hallway, his fingers slightly stuck out as he was using his powers to give us extra time. He was the reason why the guards were levitating. My eyes widen as not once did his eyes break contact with mine, and I notice his lips curled up in a smirk.
"You're freaking amazing!" I whisper to him with a big smile on my face.
"Yeah, I know." He shrugs and smiles. "Would you hurry up? You've already exceeded your time limit by eleven seconds."
I roll my eyes, before climbing up a ladder through the dusty, small vent that led to the top of the base. Priscilla already had an eager head start on me as she crawled her way through multiple tunnels and ladders. But in no time at all I had already caught up to her.
"Let me go first Priscilla, in case there are any soldiers waiting outside," I say to her. "That way I can deflect the bullets while you run to Hudson's ship."
She nods before moving to the side as I inch by her. Looking up, the exit was just feet away as natural light spewed in through the edges of the fake door to the exit. I could feel the bond between Hudson and I growing stronger, meaning he was nearby.
"Ready?" I look down to Priscilla and her facial expression read that she was somewhat... nervous. She didn't make eye contact with me once, as she looked as if she were deep in thought. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't seen Hudson in years, and she was going to have to converse with him somehow.
"Let's go."
Using my jump ability, I burst through the exit expecting hundreds of guards to be outside, but instead I found... absolutely nothing.
I turn to see Hudson waiting in his ship, and his expression is absolutely priceless. As he saw my figure come into view, a small smile grew upon his face, and with each further step took it seemed to grow even more. A smile. Not a smirk. And in that moment, I realized just how beautiful this man was.
Helping Priscilla out, we both began to run towards Hudson's ship, as his eyes couldn't leave me once. We were just twenty feet, ten feet now, as I give Priscilla a hand and help her onto the ship, Hudson giving her a hand as well.
But just when I was about to step foot into his ship, a gunshot fired from a distance.
"No!" Hudson roared, as I felt nothing for a second. But then, an indescribable amount of pain shot up my arm, as I fell to the ground in horror.
I had just been shot.
I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second as I began hyperventilating. I could feel the blood begin to trickle down my arm and a gasp fall from my lips as my vision becomes blurry. I couldn't think straight or move, as pain completely clouded my head.
I couldn't do anything until two large arms scoop me off the ground as I felt Hudson holding me in his arms. He removed an arm from me momentarily, as I look to see him drawing a mini pistol from his pocket, firing and killing the man who had shot me.
"An eye for an eye," he growls, putting his pistol back in his pocket and running towards his ship.
But I couldn't see anything, as my vision slowly began to fade to black.
__________
Queenofbooks252007 JUST POINTED OUT THAT MARA AND HUDSON'S SHIP NAME IS MUDSON HAHAHSHAH
Also tysm for reading wow this is almost at 700 views🥺 never in my wildest dreams did I expect my book to take off like this