School For Lost Children – Part 2

 

Vincent struggled against the bindings that held him strapped to the table. He cursed as he thrashed around to no avail.

Suddenly, Vincent felt a tingling in his muscles, before receiving a painful shock. “Experiment 098, please stop your resistance,” a voice said over some hidden loudspeaker.

Vincent lay on the table, gasping for air, face filled with pain. “You sick, crazy psychos!” he yelled. “What have you done with the others? What have you done with Oria!?”

“The others are also in solitary confinement,” replied the monotone voice. “I’m afraid Experiments 404 and 049 escaped capture.”

That’s Oria and Asher, thought Vincent, with hope growing in his chest. They’ve managed to escape.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” the voice said, almost as if they could tell what he was thinking. “We have ground patrols and task forces searching for them everywhere. There’s no way to avoid the inevitable. They’ll soon be cooperating with us.”

Vincent smirked. “You have no idea.”

“Enough chit chat,” the voice said. Vincent heard a door slide open, and four scientists wearing long lab coats strolled in. Vincent’s blood turned cold, but he refused to show emotion. One of the scientists held a syringe filled with a foggy liquid.

“What is that?” Vincent snapped, determined to not show fear.

The doctor didn’t answer him, and just inserted the needle into the teenager’s arm.

In the rooms next door, Toby, Lia, and the rest of the Specials could hear Vincent’s blood curdling scream. 

* * *

You know how people say to never let your anger out all at once, and that you should slowly think through it?

Yeah . . . not for me.

I paced back and forth across the room, multiple plans formulating in my mind. I’m not going to tell you any plans in detail, because I’m pretty sure that you’ll never sleep again if you found out what I was thinking at that moment.

It’s been about a week ever since the attack, and I was getting desperate. I have had no ideas of how to break into the Facility, and every minute when I’m not doing anything, my friends are spending another minute in their prison. 

“So, how exactly are we planning on drawing them out?” asked Ronan, twirling his cane.

“Well, we need to make those scientists notice us,” I said, stopping in front of the criminal mastermind. “Maybe some sort of flashy explosion or crime?” I grinned. “Bet they’ll be surprised when they find out Asher and I are now part of an underground criminal kingdom.”

“I think it suits you,” said Ronan. “Besides, you’ve been committing crimes ever since you escaped the facility, right?”

“Well, yeah,” I said, “but only to survive. You do crimes for pleasure.”

“Because it’s exciting,” he said. “You said it yourself. You want to be the villain.”

“To the wack-job scientists who are torturing my friends,” I protested. “I don’t want to be a villain to the whole world.”

“You’d make a great protagonist turned antagonist in a book,” Ronan said, putting out his cigar. “You could write a novel about your life. It should be called Partners in Crime, or how about The School For Lost Children? I bet that you’d make some good money off of it.”

“Biographies can wait,” I said, rolling my eyes, although the idea appealed to me. “Right now, we need to decide how to draw them out.”

“How about some sort of theft relating to one of the Facility owners?” I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Asher’s voice. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching me with predatory eyes.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, still trying to calm my nerves. 

“We steal from one of the Facility owners,” Asher calmly repeated. “Make a big scene out of it. And, if it’s any consolation, I’d prefer if we steal off Dr. Buler.” His voice went quiet. “He’s the one who stole our friends from us. He’s the one who stole my sister from me. He’ll be the one to pay the most.”

I shivered. Ever since that night last week, he’s been acting more hostile towards the Facility. I can’t imagine what he’s gone through, but he’s taking it a little too far.

Before I could tell him how risky that plan was, of course Ronan stepped in. “That’s an excellent idea,” he said, patting Asher on the shoulder. “Steal from the one who started it all. Make a big show of it. We’ll be mocking him. That’ll draw the others out for sure.”

I was about to explain to the two how many things could go wrong in that situation, when suddenly I had an idea. I smiled. “Yes, we should steal from Dr. Buler,” I said, to their surprise. “He’ll realize messing with us will cost him. But, I do have some things to add,” I said with a mischievous smile.

The two leaned in close, hungry for knowledge, and I described my plan.

You’ve caused quite the mess Dr. Buler, I thought as I explained the scheme. It really will cost you everything to fix it.

* * *

Nighttime really was the best time to commit a crime. It’s dark, foreboding, and has plenty of hiding places. If you wanted to, you could kill someone in a shadowed alleyway, and their corpse wouldn’t be discovered until morning.

Nighttime was my time.

I stood on the roof of a nearby building, a com in my ear, waiting for Asher to give me the all clear. Through extensive research and preparation, we’ve finally made it to the moment. We found out where Dr. Buler’s residence was in the City, and we made sure that his security system was down. 

A voice came over my com. “We’ve taken out all the cameras in the area. You’re all clear.”

It was time to commit a crime.

I took a running jump and leapt gracefully on the roof of Dr. Buler’s residence. Careful to make no sound, I slipped through the skylight in the bathroom and carefully crept over to the master bedroom.

I surveyed the room. It was too neat to my liking; everything was too clean. Crisp white curtains, folded blue blankets, pressed suits hanging systematically in the closet.

This was too much neatness, and I had the urge to mess up the room just for fun. But, sadly I had to keep my mind on the mission.

“There should be a desk in the corner,” Asher said over the com. “The bottom drawer has a fake bottom. You should find the classified information there.”

Quick as a flash, I dashed over to the small desk in the corner and opened the bottom drawer. Sure enough, it had a fake bottom. I lifted the floor of the drawer, and found a small manila folder. I knew in my gut that I contained files on every Special. If this got out to the public, the Facility would be shut down.

“Hey!” I jumped as I heard an alarmed voice. Pivoting on one foot, I saw the silhouette of a forty-year-old man, wearing a pressed suit. Dr. Buler. 

“You snooze, you lose!” I shouted to him. I tucked the folder under my arm and dashed to the bathroom window. I jumped and landed on one of his fancy cars in the driveway, denting its roof.

Just another part of my lovely revenge, I thought as I began running. I quickly ducked into the alleyways of the City. They were the blood vessels that ran throughout the living organism, giving me quick access to different areas.

I heard pounding steps behind me and took a quick glance over my shoulder. Helmeted officers followed me, quickly gaining. These weren’t normal officers; these were Dr. Buler’s private officers. I scowled and ran faster, determined to be unscathed. I turned a blind corner and kept running.

My downfall was not looking where I was going.

It was a dead end. I stopped, and looked for any alternative route of escape, but there was none. I cursed as I turned to face my fate.

An officer slammed me into the wall of the alley, pinned me, took the folder, and cuffed my hands. I kicked them where it hurt, but was apprehended by two other officers and forced to my knees.

“Experiment 404, or more commonly known as Oria Nightshade. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” I stopped my struggles and looked in the direction of the voice.

It was Dr. Buler. He was out of breath, but smiling wide triumphantly and majestic. 

“Look who arrived,” I said, trying my best to sound bored. “If my hands were free, I’d probably be applauding your amazing skills. If I didn’t turn down this alley, I’d probably be long gone. You’re just lucky.”

Dr. Buler’s smile faltered and his eyes turned steely. “It’s almost sad the way you fight. You know it’s all for nothing.”

I smirked. “My other choice is to join a power-crazed mad scientist in his quest for world domination. Yeah, no thank you.”

“Enough.” I could tell that I made him pretty mad, and was truly proud of my work. “You have so much potential. It’s sad that you waste it on useless resistance. I put you into this world. I can take you out of it. Understand that, you failed experiment?”

“Oooh, ouch, such an insult,” I said. “Let me know when you come up with something creative you monstrous packaged piece of horse crap.”

His face went red. He nodded to the two officers holding me. I felt a sharp prick in my neck, and the world went dark.

* * *

When Vincet saw Oria rolled into an adjoining cell across from his own, his heart stopped. 

NO!

Oria was probably the only one who had the abilities and brains to get everyone out of a place like this. And now she’s as helpless as he was. He struggled and screamed, fighting to break free, only to be met with a high-voltage shock. The pain was overwhelming, and he screamed even more. 

This truly is a living nightmare.

* * *

I woke up strapped to a table, a blindfold over my eyes, and wires connected to almost every inch of my body. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was trapped in some sort of giant spider web that Elliot and Angel made as one of their little pranks.

I didn’t try to resist; I couldn’t even move. I cursed myself for getting caught. 

Dang it Oria, I thought to myself. You can’t ever do things right, can ya?

Oria?

I blinked and my heart leapt. That was Vincent’s thought! I closed my eyes and concentrated. Vincent?

Oria! Oh thank goodness! I saw you wheeled into the Facility, and I freaked. Are you okay?

I could be better, I thought. How is everyone else? 

Terrible, Vincent replied. Angel and Elliot are being held in rooms that cancel out their powers. I know that Toby is being held in some sort of room that has only plastic materials. Lia and I are both in normal cells because our Abilities aren’t that harmful. I think that’s the case with Jenna too. But we’ve all had a rough time. I’ve been chemically tortured twice in the last week. I don’t know really what’s happened to everyone else. We only got thirty minutes of contact time in total. 

How long have I been out? I asked.

I dunno. Maybe two hours? It’s hard to tell the time here; everything is the same.

I thought about it. Two hours. That’s a lot of time.

Where are you right now? asked Vincent. What’s in the room with you?

I’m not sure I replied. I have a blindfold on. But there are wires strapped to my body, and I’m lying on a really uncomfortable table. Now would be a good time for a rescue mission.

You can say that again, said Vincent. I smiled. 

“You can stop smiling you know,” a voice suddenly said. I jumped. Without warning, the blindfold was ripped off of my head, and I squinted in the bright light. 

A man stood over me, a white mask covering his mouth and nose.

“Oh, hello,” I said as annoyed as ever. “You really aren’t making me feel better every time you show up you know.”

Dr. Buler smirked. “That’s the point.”

“That’s a really lousy reason,” I replied, taking in my surroundings. I was in a white room, a single door to my right and an observation window to my left. Bright lights hung from the ceiling, and medical equipment surrounded me.

Dr. Buler ignored me. “We’re starting your tests today,” he said, picking up some sort of headgear. “We’re going to measure your powers of telepathy to see if you’re not completely hopeless.”

“Completely hopeless is what I usually am, so don’t have hope,” I replied.

Dr. Buler slipped the head gear on my head, and turned it on. Almost immediately I had the worst headache in the world. My vision swam, and I started gasping in pain.

“That is level one,” Dr. Buler explained. “This device forces your Ability to manifest on command and measures it. Why don’t we try level two?”

The pain increased drastically, and I started screaming. It hurt. It hurt so much. 

“Let’s try level three.”

As the pain increased even more, my senses started slipping from me, and I started to black out. The last thing I remember before I passed out was the overwhelming urge to kill that man.

* * *

That’s basically how my life was for the next three days. I was constantly tortured with that device, barely given any time to rest, and worse, the food tasted like medicine. I mean, let’s be real here, no scientist understands what fruit tastes like.

But, throughout all of it, my friends were with me in spirit. They talked to me with their minds, telling me the awful things they’ve been through. I don’t want to tell you. It would probably make you scared of doctors and scientists for the rest of your life. 

I had just finished another session with Dr. Buler, when I heard Vincent talking to me. 

How was it?

Crap, I replied. I feel sick and tired. I want a twelve hour nap, and then an all you can eat buffet once this is all over.

Don’t we all? asked Vincent. I swear he was smiling in his cell.

But, seriously, don’t you think it’s about time for a rescue mission?

It does, a quiet thought whispered.

I felt a giant vibration, and suddenly alarms started going off.

What’s going on!? Vincent’s thoughts raced through my mind.

It’s what you’d call a rescue mission, I explained. 

What?

This entire adventure was staged. I purposely got captured. I got some help from some . . . allies. They followed me here, and set the entire mission up. Though, they did take their sweet time.

I could tell that Vincent was stunned, because I couldn’t hear his thoughts anymore. 

Without any warning, I felt the straps holding me down to the table loosen up. I wriggled out of them and sat up, taking off the blindfold.

“Sorry we’re late,” said Asher, helping me to my feet. “We had a bit of a setback. The bombs took longer to make that expected.”

“It’s okay,” I said, ripping off the wire. “It’s not as if I’ve been tortured five times while you were on holiday.”

“If you want to blame it on anyone, blame it on Ronan. He was the one who went on a drinking spree at one point. It slowed down the entire operation by a day.”

“Oh, I’m blaming him alright,” I said, stretching. I walked calmly to the door and kicked it open, revealing a bright hallway. Doors stretched from one end to the other, each containing one friend. “Let’s blow this joint!”

Asher and I started busting down doors with a passion. Vincent smirked when I got to his cell.

“Took ya long enough,” he said as I undid his straps. He shook his arms loose then got up and gave me a big hug. I melted into his embrace, feeling his comforting heart beat. 

“Okay, enough of that,” I said. “We have a Facility to break out of.”

Elliot appeared in the doorway, hands blazing bright. “You got that right!

In a few moments, my entire family was freed. Everyone looked tired and beaten, but each had their precious determination.

“Come on!” shouted Asher. “Follow me!”

We raced through hallway after hallway, taking out guards left and right with our Abilities.

“Ronan should be in a car outside,” explained Asher as we ran. “He’s our getaway driver. Every good escape needs one.”

I gave him a questioning stare. 

“No, he’s not drunk if you were wondering.”

I smiled.

Suddenly, twenty guards appeared in front of us, holding very large, very scary-looking guns. Dr. Buler was at the back of them, holding his own pistol. We skidded to a stop, unsure what to do.

“Ah, Experiment 049, how nice of you to join us,” Dr. Buler drawled. “Your little resistance group is quite cute. What, with one member?”

“What now?” I asked Asher. He looked nervously at the guns, but then saw Dr. Buler’s face, and his eyes turned cold.

“We do this,” he said, and pulled out a handgun, firing it in Dr. Buler’s direction. Gunshots were heard, and a body fell to the ground.

And it wasn’t Dr. Buler’s.

“ASHER!” I cried, but it was too late. He was already gone, his hair splayed across his face, his sad eyes open and faded. I hugged his broken body close to mine, shutting his eyes tenderly. I screamed, and cried until more guns were turned on me. I held Asher’s body protectively, hatred filling my mind.

“What a shame,” said Dr. Buler. “But he really was the funny one. I guess one dead experiment never hurt. We still have many more. At least he’s with his sister now.”

“H-how could you?” Jenna said, crying tears of fury. Elliot and Angel screamed into Toby’s shirt, and Toby looked away, tears streaming down his face.

But I wasn’t crying.

A new fire was lit inside of me. A fire that will never be extinguished until justice is served. I set Asher’s body down on the ground, looking at it with pity, before bringing my gaze up to the guards and Dr. Buler.

“You just made one too many mistakes,” I said, my voice quivering. “And now, you’ll pay dearly.”

I stretched my arms forward, closing my eyes. I don’t normally like to use my Ability to control people; it’s just too much power. But power is what I craved right now. Power was my ally. 

I took a deep breath.

“I command you. Now all of you.”

I opened my eyes and gave the final command.

“Die.”

 

To Be Concluded. . .