The Freaks

chapter three

The Ghetto is a lot larger than I expected it to be.

We walk through a couple of small tunnels, heading for the main room where everyone was as I arrived here. They are all still arm wrestling and playing card games, but there are a couple of more people this time. Some are just wrestling, trying to push the other down. A couple of them are using their abilities—mostly just to move things around or make electricity balls larger and larger until the Freak can't handle it anymore. By the look of the female and male spectators' faces alike, it seems like they're showing off.

I'm watching all these Freaks have fun so intensely I almost walk into a wall.

Nox pulls me away from it with a small tug of my arm. I snap my gaze away from the Freaks to stare at him. I open my mouth to mumble an apology, but Nox beats me to it by saying, "There are more walls in this place then there are people." He turns to look at me, a bored half-smile forming across his lips. "Watch out."

I don't say anything back; I just give him a small nod and keep my eyes on the floor and the walls around me. The voices of the other Freaks dissolve as we enter a couple more tunnels. I keep my eyes on Serena's back as we follow her, not realizing when we enter a platform with another train, unattended, in front of us.

"Why don't they work anymore, then?" I ask Nox as Serena stands in front of another door. It's very much like the one we were at a few minutes ago. This one has the ∑ scratched on it like the other door.

Nox turns to face the train next to us, and then me. "The trains?" he asks. "Yeah, they stopped working years ago."

I remember hearing stories about how the radiation that plagued the earth many years ago made the Underground too hot and dangerous to visit. Therefore, people were unable to use trains for transportation. The public were restricted from entering because of the dangers. Then the radiation got worse, killing off the children and adults, leaving the teenagers in its wake.

I must've been staring at the trains for too long because I almost miss Nox continuing, saying, "There's no power for them anymore."

I stare up at the ceiling, at the lights surrounding us. "How are the lights on if there's no power?"

"The lights run on a different set of generators," Nox explains, keeping his eyes fixed on Serena's back as we wait at the door with the symbol on it. He slowly turns his head to look at me. "It takes too much energy to run the trains. Plus they are so loud, it's ridiculous."

I don't have time to react to what he says as the door swings open, revealing who I'm going to assume is Winston. He's a tall guy, easily clearing six foot, with long curly brown hair that falls over his eyes so much that I can hardly tell who he's looking at. He moves a few strands of his thick hair away from his face, a light sheen of sweat visible on his dark skin.

"Serena," he says, a large smile spreading across his thin face. Then his eyes glance over towards Nox and his smile fades slowly. "Nox." He smiles again, but it looks fake. He nods once, a greeting. "How can I help you guys?"

Nox moves out of the way as Serena slowly grabs hold of my arm, pulling me in the line of Winston's sight. The restraints rub against my skin painfully, and I cover up a wince as I stand in front of this tall boy. He stares in my direction for a moment like he doesn't know what to make of me, then over at Serena, a question written clearly across his face.

"This is Luca," Serena says, lifting my hands up to show it to Winston. "Do you know what you can do with these?"

Winston slowly takes my arm in his loose grip, moving it this way and that, inspecting the restraints from all angles. As I continue to stare up at his face, I can almost see the cogs moving in his head. What kind of Freak is he?