Division Forty One

Four - Pinch Me

A few minutes later Belle was standing by the glass door at the back of the room. This door was huge and when she was about a metre from it it opened automatically and she walked through. When she stepped out she felt a wall of cool air that separated the yard from the heated room inside. As she walked out she felt the change in texture from the hard, flat floor of the hall to the wet grass, soft to walk on and still covered in morning dew even though it was almost noon. This wasn't like what she had expected the yard to be like. It was about a half acre in size and all grassy apart from a couple bits of decking. There were a few trees, and wooden benches. Some seemed to be under shelters and some were in the open. Belle guessed that it would be good for the rain.

Taking a walk around she started taking it in. That this was not the grass of 2021, the familiar grass she knew from her hometown. This was the grass of somewhere between times. Somewhere probably plunked in the depths of space, which seemed like it was straight out of some sci-fi film. Maybe this was a bit like a sci-fi film. Surprisingly, nobody else had come outside yet. Maybe the food was prepared already. But even if it was, she didn't feel at all hungry. So she decided, like she'd decided many times before, to remain alone for a bit. Walking along to as close as she could get to the back of the yard, the murmurs from inside the building grew quieter. What Belle wanted to do now was to try and find how strong these walls really were. If she actually stood a chance in getting out of whatever this place was. Yes, they'd said it was impossible. But Belle had done impossible things before. Moving objects with your mind isn't generally considered possible, is it?

As she walked, her mind turned to the people she was here with. They could maybe even be the last people she had, who knows what would happen to her here in District Forty One. Clover and Philip, the ones who seemed shy, Melody and Lucinda who seemed to fade into the background, and Eddie and Paris who tried to get as far away from the background as possible. Then there were Tansy and Will who she really thought she could befriend in some way or another.

Her mind then turned to the fact everyone here had powers, like she had. What powers could everyone have? There would surely be some more strong than hers. Some that could change the world so easily - some that could easily kill her, maybe. It seems that in a place like this you need people to trust but it's not that easy to trust people from loads of different time periods, who have supernatural powers.

Finally, Belle found the back wall of the yard. It was made of brick which seemed to not have been affected by any kind of weather. The bricks remained smooth and seemingly untouched. Well, apart from a vertical line of dust, and a horizontal one joining it at the top. It seemed like it could be the remains of a door, an entrance of some kind - however what would have been the other half was covered up by a tree. Just as she tried to find anything more or investigate further, she heard the distant noise of footsteps coming closer to her.

Soon, she made out that it was Tansy. Belle sighed in relief that it wasn't that Doctor Flores woman.
"Hello, Belle is it?" Tansy said in a friendly manner. Belle nodded.
"We were all just wondering where you were. But the thing is - you have to go to the ration hall. It's just amazing! You write down anything you want and it appears on your plate in a matter of seconds!" she exclaimed excitedly.
This seemed exciting. However much Belle wanted to carry on exploring, this seemed like something she wanted to see, before she got back out here, that is. Because, after what she saw, it was inevitable she would want to be back here again. She had to find out more about that door.

After Tansy had managed to get her to come along, Belle sat at a wooden table - right at the end of it adjacent to the window. Tansy sat down next to her, and she was already in conversation with a group of people. Belle had no intention to join in, so she looked directly in front of her, to meet the grey eyes of Lucinda who gave her a kind of death stare. So her eyes instead turned to her plate, and a small notepad and pen next to it.

Tansy turned back to her.
"Belle, look at this."
On her plate seemed to be a full roast dinner. The sight of this alone was enough to make Belle drool. Tansy took her pen and simply wrote on the piece of paper "Roast Potato". A small, crispy looking potato appeared on her plate. She cut into it, taking a bite and her expression purely showed delight.
Belle knew exactly what she wanted to write down.
A second after she did so, a plate of pasta appeared right in front of her.
This kind was the kind that her old friend Alex's mother made when she went to his house. She had no idea what the recipe was, what ingredients were even in it, but it was by far one of her favourite foods. It reminded her of the home she was now a world away from.

While eating, a cry could be heard a few seats down which she was sure came from Philip.

Belle could hear different things. Things which seemed to be about family. About his home. People seemed to gather around him, embracing him. There was Tansy, Clover too. Belle joined in, and could see a puddle of water on the floor.

Surely this couldn't be just from tears?
Upon an examination, water didn't just seem to be coming from his eyes. It was pouring out in small streams from the tips of his fingers and dripping onto the floor. It was clear what his power was now - yes, very clear! Clear as water, in fact.

Controlling water was always something fascinating to Belle. It just seemed like something cool. To create not just small ripples, but also vast waves. The possibilities are pretty much endless if you think about it.
She also cast her mind back to something Doctor Flores said about a couple hours ago. Wait, no. Hours do not pass here, she thought. Her head had still not got around this mysterious concept. There are so many other things to get your head around here - in this new place like nowhere she'd ever gone before.
But what Doctor Flores said, "The units are based on how similar your powers are".

Philip was wearing a yellow sweatshirt, and next to him was Tansy. Who wore a sweatshirt the exact same colour. So they were unit partners - and had similar powers to each other. When trying to figure out what Tansy's would be, the answer was there almost instantly. Fire. Her spirit matched it, and her hair literally looked like flames too. It all fit together so effortlessly.

Belle sat up and decided to comfort Philip like the others were. She felt really sorry for him. Coming to an unfamiliar place and having to be part of these experiments was hard enough. But it's even harder when you are from a period so far back and everyone else has been through more. Seen more technological advancements and changes than you.

"I want to go home," were some of the clearest words Belle could hear. "I- I miss my mother. I miss my four brothers. I hate the people that brought us here. I hate them so much."
"Don't we all", replied Paris sarcastically. She was in no way trying to comfort Philip at all. I glared at her, Tansy seemed to be doing the same.
"We do. We all do. It's not something to be ashamed of. I miss my family too." It was easy to see Tansy too was crying but unlike Philip she was trying to hide it from the others. In a rasped voice she heard the word, the name "Rosie".

Belle just felt so sad. These people had families back there. Families who loved them and cared for them. Sure, her parents did love her and care for her but there were people who loved her more than them. Who took her for who she was - not for the supernatural abilities she somehow had.
She all just wanted this to be a dream. Not just for her, but for everyone here. She wanted to go home safe, and for them to do the same. And this was even before whatever the Endeavours were were going to happen. Who knew what was to be in store? What torture they'd have to live through.

She begged, almost out loud, for someone to just pinch her and get her out of this rollercoaster, this weird place somewhere in space. For someone to just pinch her and for her to wake up in her bed. Her own bed, not the bunk bed she woke up in this morning. Morning? No. That's not right. Nothing's right in this nightmare of a research lab.