Diverse (The Darkest Minds)

Chapter 8

We all hit the dirt. I mentally got myself prepped in case it was a group of PSFs that somehow found us. Thinking about how they broke into my family's hidden fortress and murdered my parents once again brought forth a burning fury. My hand burst into flames while the other had electric sparks streaming all over. 

"Stay on your knees!" someone shouted, "Head to the ground."

They're all in for a big surprise. I thought ready to strike at them like a venomous viper. Once I glanced up discreetly, the group in front of us armed with rifles with kids in their mid to late teens. I mentally calmed myself by picturing the serenity of the woodlands and sitting by the fireplace with my family during the cold winter months. The flames and fury died down within and literally. However, my hand still had electricity flowing as a precaution.

"Hey, we're not armed," Liam tried to reason with them.

"Save it!" a kid grabbed him.

"Hold on," another kid pointed out as he approached us and looked carefully at Liam as if he recognized him from before, possibly from the camp they were in, "Liam Stewart?"

"Mike?" Liam wondered seeing his old friend.

The electricity on my hand fazed out, making it safe for anyone to touch me.

"Everybody, stand down," Mike called out to the others and they pointed the rifles to the ground.

Mike turned to Liam once again, "Jesus. I'm sorry, Liam. I didn't know it was you."

"It's okay," Liam assured him and both of them greeted each other.

"I get it," I nodded seeing that they were just protecting the secret camp from PSFs, Tracers, and any adult out to harm any enhanced kids, "Y'all were taking precautions."

"Wait, I thought you were with Josh?"

"I was," Mike explained, "I made it through the fields." He smiled at Liam, "Thanks to you."

Liam had told Ronnie, Azel, and me of how he met Chubs and Zu. They were all held in Caledonia, one of the camps until Liam and some other Blue kids managed to break everyone out. Several of them were killed in the escape process. Liam carried Zu as they got away. Somehow, I was able to visualize the events as if I were the bare witness of it. It all confirmed to me that I was able to read other's minds without them realizing it. I didn't dare to try and read Ruby figuring since she would be able to block me out, and second, I felt it would be invading her privacy.

"Wait, are you looking for--" Liam wondered but stopped at mid-sentence.

"You found it," Mike grinned at all of us, "Oh. Welcome home."

"Finally! I told you, man," Chubs remarked at Liam and hugged him, "Told you."

One of the armed kids close to my age stepped forward. I saw that it was another kid with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked familiar like I had seen him somewhere before.

"Ember?" he wondered as he approached us and examined me before turning to Azel, "And Azel?"

My memory started jogging up to hyperspeed. 

"Ben?" I asked as I was beginning to recall things.

A couple of years back, Ben who was a Gold, and his younger sister, Savannah who was a Blue, had managed to escape from a camp and found their way through the woodlands. Dad and I were out hunting for game since it was almost winter. Ben and Savannah attacked Dad thinking he was a Tracer but I was able to stop them and explain things. The siblings calmed down on realizing that Dad wasn't a Tracer and that he and Mom faked mine and Azel's deaths not trusting the government's methods.