The Underbelly (First Draft)

Warehouse

I reacted without thinking and threw myself to the side. A sharp pain snapped along my arm and I felt a shocking inability to raise my arm. I picked myself up and began to flit through the dark imposing warehouses. I could hear my ragged breathing as I felt panic rise up in my throat. I could hear my racing thoughts breed chaos in my head.

I leaned against the rusted iron door of a dilapidated warehouse, the smell of rot emanating from the sagging wooden beams inside. A sudden thought formed in my mind, I needed to confront Chaz, I had to explain. He would understand me.

I slumped down, I pressed my cold fingers onto bleeding wound. The pain was rapidly fading, I wasn't sure if it was because I was growing used to it or if I was going into shock. My thoughts were getting muddled again, what was I supposed to do? I stared at a rusted flake of iron hanging on a spider's web for the longest time. I watched the dew forming on the silky strands, oddly fascinated. With a herculean effort, the iron flake seemed to tear itself from its webby prison and fall towards freedom.

My brain clicked and suddenly I was very aware of the moment as all of my senses kicked in with a whoosh. The pain kicked back in with a vengeance and I growled in annoyance, I remember what one of my instructors said about gunshot wounds, if there was no medical assistance nearby then you had to make a tourniquet, and fast. I looked down at my right arm and I could see that it was still bleeding, so I used my left arm to rip off my sleeve of my right arm. I knew that I had to place the fabric above the wound or the blood would continue to pour out of my arm.

I was just about to tie the tourniquet above my wound when I hesitated, if I did this it could save my life but I might also lose my arm. While for most people it would be a no brainier, I was not like most people and I still had other options. I had never used my gift like this but I had to try.

I tuned into the chaos of my body and everywhere I could see the damage of the bullet, I ignored the pandemonium of my body and search along the nerve highways of my body to get to the source of the terror. I could almost see the bullet lodged in some muscle in my arm, the brachioradialis if my anatomy classes were anything to go by. This was actually not too bad, that meant that the bullet was not too far from the surface of my skin. I quickly set to work.

I grit my teeth and I felt my gift travel along my arm, almost like a curious monkey, it reached my bullet and I tightened my grip on it and it dove into the muscles around it. The muscle was suddenly under my control, consciously. I was the muscle and my viewpoint of the world was shifted. I could feel a hole inside of me and I could feel the fibres that made me up being torn. I gasped at the sensations. I began to use the various fibres like ropes to wrap around the bullet, and with concerted effort I began to pull at it.

The pain was rippling through me but I ignored it, a sudden though illuminated my brain, since pain was a nerve cell's way of telling the brain about certain damages to the structure it's attached to then maybe I can dial it down! I sent a small portion of my gift to the nerves surrounding me, the severity of the pain went down like a dimmer switch.

I returned all of my attention to the task at hand, I began to wrap my muscle fibres around the bullet and pulled again. With a sudden scream I felt it fly out of my muscle and flay back out the way it came in. I snapped back into my brain and I was panting. My skin was pale and clammy and with shaking fingers I picked up the bloody bullet that had just fallen from my arm. I felt my mouth widen, I had never in my wildest dreams thought I could do that. Even as I looked at the bullet in wonder, I felt my gift begin to speed up my healing process, directing my body's resources towards my wound.  I could feel my torn flesh being knitted together and within moments the bullet wound was completely sealed over. I stared at it in wonder. Then I felt a slump in my energy and I was suddenly ravenous. I guessed that my energy reserves were depleted after doing that.

It was worth it.

I heard footsteps approaching me, he must have heard my scream. I grunted, I may have healed myself and lost some strength but I was still stronger than any of the banals. That included Chaz. I took a deep breath and got ready to tackle him. I crept around to the corner of the wall that he was about to come around. I felt my heartbeat begin to speed up in preparation, my breathing deepened and quickened. I felt a trickle of sweat slide down from my forehead to my jaw.

He rounded the corner.

I gave him no time to react, I mercilessly grabbed him wrist of the hand that held his gun. He grunted in surprise and fell back. Before he fell I grabbed his gun. He scrambled up and cursed when he saw that he no longer had the gun but froze when he saw that I had it. He backed away a step, "don't move." My voice did not sound like my own, it was the coldest I had ever heard it and I knew that Chaz could hear death speak through me.

Chaz's dark eyes paled and I saw him hesitate, "let's be reasonable Merissa." I cocked my eyebrow, "why should I? You shot me without giving me time to explain myself." Chaz rolled his shoulders in exasperation, "what was I supposed to do?! You were talking to Surface agents!" I gave him a pointed stare, "I was and because of that you shot me?" Chaz looked at me oddly, "did you fall on your head after I shot you?"

He looked at me and frowned, "I shot you in the arm, where's the injury?"  I ignored him and he looked at me bemusedly for a moment before continuing, "you know that we are going to war soon so that would be sensitive information that could be given to the Surface." I laughed, "you shot me for that?! Oh that is rich, you do realise that you would be slaughtered if you went against the Surface? Even if on the ever so slight chance that you manage to hold this city, you do realise that the other Surface cities would retaliate and destroy you in bodies?"

Chaz remained silent and that meant two things, either he was stupid enough to believe they could do it or that the Underbelly had a secret weapon that they were so confident in that they reckon that they could take on a city and its siblings and win. Either way I had to stick around to stop the bloodbath.

Chaz looked at me quizzically, "so what are you going to do with me?" I dropped the gun, not caring if it went off, "you're going to pick up that gun and put it back on your belt. Then we are going back to my father." Chaz looked even more confused, "you're going back to the Underbelly?" I nodded resolutely, "yes because I am going back to talk some sense into my old man because if no one does everyone in the Underbelly will die. And I've lost one family member already and I don't intend to lose the rest of them."   

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Apologies for the late update! I had just finished a month of exams for college and needed a few days to myself to recover, I hope the wait was worth it. Thanks again!

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