Black as Day (ON HIATUS)

Chapter Thirteen- There's something in the air...

"You ready?" Tallah asked, eyes sparkling. I didn't really know what to expect, so I nodded, albeit slightly nervous.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

She grinned, then turned back around and pushed open the double doors with a grand flourish. "Welcome!" She exclaimed, "To our labs."

My jaw hit the floor.

The room was absolutely massive. Machines buzzed and whirred as far as I could see, and probably farther. The ceiling arched high overhead, leaving room for some sort of structures with huge spheres on top that reached up and sparked electricity in the gloom.

I hadn't realized that I'd stopped before Tallah grabbed my wrist and pulled me along. "Come on! There's so much more to see." So much more to see? I could barely take it in as it was now!

The smooth floor gleamed under my shoes as I stumbled forward. We were walking right down the middle of the room. Glass walls rose on either side of us, giving us a clear view of the workspaces beyond. Lab benches

I slowed down in front of one room. There was somebody standing at the back of the room, facing away from me. A slight frown alighted on my face. There was something familiar about them... His black hair moved around as he gestured angrily towards the doctor in front of him. The doctor looked panicked and made soothing hand motions, presumably trying to calm him down.

All of a sudden, the temperature dropped. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and the next breath I took frosted in the air. I heard Tallah hiss something angrily and she tightened the grip on my arm.

"What is it?" I asked, sufficiently more nervous now.

"I can believe the fucking nerve of him!" She snapped.

"Tallah!" I yelped as her nails dug into my arm.

She looked away from the room. I saw her face was tight with anger, her eyes looked murderous. Then Tallah glanced down at her hand and abruptly let go.

"I'm- I'm so sorry. That just caught me off guard. Let's move on." Tallah muttered, and casting one last glare at the unknown man in the room, stalked away down the hall. I shot an apprehensive look at the man. As far as I'd known Tallah, which I admit was only three hours or so, she'd proved to be the happiest person I'd ever met. Who could this be to make her react in this way?

I slowly turned around and rubbed my arms against the cold that had sprung up. Seeing Tallah receding father into the distance, I hurried to catch up. I certainly didn't want to get lost in this place.

I still couldn't get over the immense size of this room. It seemed to stretch on for ages and ages. There were endless glass rooms filled with all sorts of varieties of people as far as the eye could see. However, eventually the glass rooms stopped and we stepped into a large area filled with the larger lab equipment. People in lab coats rushed around the structures in a way that could only be described as organized chaos. I jumped back with a rushed 'sorry!' as a cart full of petri dishes and sample bottles rushed past. Tallah seemed to have calmed down a little bit, she laughed at my startled expression.

"We're almost there." Tallah told me, a grin breaking her face. She was obviously excited, and so was I. Having powers was something that I'd always dreamed of as a kid, and now that that dream was coming true? I was ecstatic!

"Are you nervous?" Tallah continued, falling back a couple steps to walk in sync with me.

"No, actually I'm not." I breathed out. "I mean, it is a bit sudden and all, but I think I'm just too excited to care. "

Apparently my answer was a good one, because Tallah let out a peal of laughter. "I remember when I found out that I had powers. Jay had to basically handcuff me to him because I just kept running ahead!"