Ark (#Wattys2016)

The Ground Floor

"Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die." 

-Herbert Hoover 

I felt sick to my stomach as we ran through the hallways. Every time we passed by an agent who was being carried down to the infirmary, I couldn't help but think, This is my fault. I killed you and you and you. My fault.

There was fighting everywhere. Men dressed in black suits stormed through the halls, their guns constantly firing. The seven of us stayed huddled together, forcing our way through the chaos. We had no idea where Zane or Perch were, but we did know that they had taken the ground floor. Out of nowhere, as we passed by the door to the training room, the door was yanked open and I was pulled inside by the front of my shirt.

I was thrown to floor, my head bouncing against the practice mat. I winced in pain, my attacker grabbing me by the front of the shirt once more. He jerked me up and I recognized him as my eyes finally adjusted to the change of light. It was Christian. His face was twisted into an accusing scowl as he jabbed a finger in my face. "This is you're fault, Hayes! Everything was fine here until you came along and screwed it all up!"

"Chris, calm down!" Peter grabbed at Christian, pulling at his arms but the bigger boy just shook him off. Bitter hatred was clear in Christian's eyes. I kept my gaze steady, glaring back at him. The others had followed us into the room, shutting the door after them. I saw Micah start forward, a pissed off look on his face, but Reese and Theo held him back. I shifted my focus back to Christian, who looked like he wanted to rip my head off.

"Look, I know you're pissed and you have every right to be. Whats happening right now is my fault. I know that but I'm also trying to fix this. But to do that, I'm going to need you're help." I told him calmly. Christian's bottom lip shook in anger, his face red. He shook his head and scoffed, dropping me and jumping back up to his feet. Dylan was by my side, helping me up.

I looked around the room and saw a group of about twenty Ark trainees huddled together. Some where injured while others clutched at wooden training weapons. They varied in age and race, the oldest looking maybe fourteen and the youngest looking eight. Most were probably just kids that Ark had taken in; children that had been rejected by the world because of their powers. They all looked on the verge of tears. Peter and Christian ran over to them, trying to calm them and trying to treat their wounds.

"Hey, Ice Bitch, freeze that door shut." Christian called behind his shoulder gruffly. Jasmine narrowed her eyes but placed her hand over the door, creating a thin barrier of frost over it. We walked over to where the children were sitting, while Jasmine stayed by the door, adding layer after layer of ice to the wall.

"What happened?" Theo asked Peter and Christian, kneeling in front of a small blonde girl who was maybe ten years old. She had a tear streaked face and she was clutching at her bleeding arm; it looked like a bullet had grazed her. He gave her a brave smile and shrugged off his plaid over shirt. He tore off one of the sleeves with his teeth and tied it around the wound. He continued ripping his shirt into strips and handed them to Raven and Dylan. They went about the group, bandaging wounds as well as they could. None seemed fatally hurt but a few needed to be in the infirmary and treated for shock at the very least.

"We were in here teaching basic defense to the kids when we went into lock down. A few of the intruders managed to get in but we took care of them. We've just been trying to keep the kids safe until this all stops." Peter replied.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Christian asked, his voice booming and accusing. Reese walked over to the weapons rack, looking for anything we might be able to use. All of the real weapons that could actually be of help to use were locked behind a glass case for safety reasons. Reese turned his face away and punched through the glass, making a few of the kids shriek. Raven and Dylan whispered soothing words to them as Reese began to empty out the case.