The Changed

Chapter 5- Tess

This chapter is dedicated to  sizewell for giving me such a great comment. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

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After the fire episode, I was in the state of shock. All I remembered was me feeling boiling hot as soon a Frost came in. At first I thought it was just because I was angry but then I had started to feel overly hot. It wasn't uncomfortable but I knew it was way too hot for any normal person. My head started buzzing but then the buzzing shimmered down my arms to my hands. That's when the fire exploded in my palms. I was scared, as anyone would be. I was trying to pat the flames out because I thought they were burning my hands but I soon realised they weren't.

On the edge of my vision I saw Ed fall out of his bed onto the blonde haired guard that was about to grab me. The other guard pulled out his drug gun and Frost shouting at him to shoot me. Ed's warning gave me a little more time when the dart came flying out of the gun. I instinctly raised my arms to protect myself but I didn't realise that that triggered something. As soon as I did it flames shot out from my palms, intercepting the dart in mid air.

 I fell to my knees, all my energy depleted. I didn't really notice Ed hugging me, or the guards pulling me up and dragging me out the room. I was in a complete trance. I didn't even seem to notice that we were walking. I heard the hiss of a door and the light switch flick on and the blonde haired guard guided me to the bed in the room. Before he walked out I whispered "What's your name? You always seem to be the one dragging me around."

"Nick," the guard grunted. "Good night," he then added more gently. I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

***

In my dreams I had a birds eye view of a big grey ocean in a violent storm. I saw a little boat with Edward in it, fighting against the wind to something in the water. I was startled when I saw it was me. Somehow, I was tapping into Edward's nightmare and watching it as he dreamt it. I watched as dream me was pulled under and a gigantic wave of water crashed on top of Ed. I could see what he was so scared about. If it was me in the boat trying to save him, I would be scared too. The dream faded into blackness and I woke up with a start.

***

How did that happen? I shook my head to shake the dizziness from it. I had no idea how I had managed to get inside Edward's nightmares but it had shaken me up pretty badly too. I pushed myself to my feet and studied my surroundings.

In the bedroom there were two black leather armchairs and an ensuite bathroom with a shower. The walls were snowy white with no pictures on them and there were coal black tiles on the floor instead of carpet. In the bathroom there was a fresh set of clothes identical to the ones I was wearing. I sighed. Why the weird outfits?

After a long shower, I got changed and sat on the bed waiting. There wasn't a hair dryer so my long black hair was dripping onto the bed sheets and the floor. It wasn't long before the blonde haired guard, Nick, and another guard came and got me. The door slowly slid across and Nick and the other guard marched into the room. "Hold out your wrist," Nick said gruffly.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Just hold it out!" he shouted. "I haven't got time for your arguments." I shakily held up my right wrist. As quick as a flash Nick clamped a thick white bracelet with a red light on it around my wrist. Nick held red disk from a chain around his neck. "This is the only key for that security bracelet. You go outside the perimeter then zap. You'll have more then a couple of volts down your spine. Got that?" He said. I nodded slowly, staring at the red light. Whatever kindness Nick had shown me previously was now gone.

"Let's go then," the other guard said to Nick. "Chancellor Frost won't be happy if we're late." They both grabbed my arms and pulled me out the door.

***

This time as I stumbled down the endless maze of corridors there was no one about at all. It was all quiet. This gave me an uneasy feeling that something bad was going to happen. We came to the end of the corridor but instead of junctions to other corridors, we came to a massive set of black double doors. They are proper doors, not the sliding ones that seemed to be everywhere. This added to my growing feeling of fear. Something was going to happen. Something bad.

Nick held onto me while the other guard went to open the doors. "Listen carefully," Nick suddenly whispered furiously in my ear. "On the other side of those doors you will face a test. Everyone will be watching. You have to get to the other side of the room as quickly as you can."

"Why are you helping me?" I whispered back. "Aren't you on their side?"

"Because I-" he was cut short when the other guard called at Nick to get through the doors with me. He shoved me through into the room, gave me a determined nod and closed the doors behind me.

It was the size of a big warehouse but you couldn't see the end of it. The only light came from small dull lamps on the walls that only gave off a dim light. The floor was polished red floorboards and the walls shimmering blue. I couldn't even see the ceiling, instead a dark gloom hung above. "Tess!" I heard Edward cry from my left. I ran to him and hugged him tightly. "Ed, listen,' I said as I pulled away. "They're going to test us. We have to-" I stopped short when I heard Frost's voice booming in the massive room but I couldn't see him.

"Welcome to the test room," he said mockingly. "All you have to do is get to the other side...without getting killed of course. Your powers are allowed but this room is flame proof so you can't burn it down, Miss. Halister. Good luck then and try not to die." He fell silent. I looked at Edward.

"Get to the end of the room. I bet it isn't that easy," he said. To prove that point, he took one step and we heard a click. I yelled: "Look out!" as a fireball fell from the ceiling. I dived in the way and took the hot flames full on on the face. I was expecting it to burn me, or at least feel hot but I felt nothing at all. It was almost like a breeze and surprisingly (but to my relief), my clothes didn't burn either. Edward stared at me from the floor. "What?" I said.

"Nothing, just you took a boiling hot fireball to save me," he mumbled. "I'm the older one, it should be the other way around." I laughed. It felt good to do that again.

"Come on then," I said more seriously. "Let's see if we can get out of this alive."

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