Fugitives《Book 3》

A Chess Game

Smii7y was released from his mind control and the cell door closed behind him. His leg throbbed from the gash Tucker had given him a day ago. Neo wasn't too fussed about it and just made Dr. Egan wrap it. Now that Byze was captured, he felt hopeless.

"Smii7y? That you, bud?" Grizzy's voice asked. He was a little shocked to hear his voice but it must have been so everyone could eat. It was hard to hear but since the cell block was so quiet, he could hear them under the door.

Smii7y's shoulders relaxed. He really missed their voices. "Yeah. It's me this time." His voice was hoarse and raspy.

"How are you doing? Neo's been busy with you." Droid asked.

Smii7y sat down on the floor and started to eat the leftover bread that was left a day ago. It was stale and tasted like sawdust but he was so hungry that he'd start eating the dirt off the floor. "I won't lie. I've certainly been better. It's nice to hear you guys again, though. Keeps your sanity up, y'know?" Smii7y responded.

"I don't know how you're still you. You're a trooper." Anthony forced a chuckle.

"Hopefully you're still strong when Aytrix captures the others." Eli added with distaste.

"Hopefully it won't come to that. What is Aytrix's plan, Smii7y? Do you know?" Byze asked.

Smii7y shook his head even though the others couldn't see him, "No. He's been so vague. Even to Neo. They are just as trapped as we are." Smii7y's hand went to the back of his neck where the three amplifiers were. They constantly gave him a splitting headache.

"Pft. Yeah right. Those shitheads sure seem as miserable as we are." Droid huffed sarcastically.

"I'm serious. The amplifiers are just another way for Aytrix to control us, and them." Smii7y said.

"Aytrix needed Neo to control abilitors and so if you control the controller, you control them all. He's quite the genius." Byze admired.

"Maybe next time he drops by to plant amplifiers into your spine, you can ask for his autograph." Anthony groaned sarcastically.

"If we have to work with them to defeat this Aytrix guy, I'm gonna find the nearest cliff and learn how to fly." Grizzy complained. A few giggles echoed around the cell block.

Smii7y smiled but it quickly faded. Was there a way to defeat Aytrix? Neo made it very clear that Smii7y shouldn't get any ideas. Maybe Neo had a plan of his own. That made Smii7y shudder. Neo wanted his revenge after Aytrix was finished with them. "Are the others doing okay? The ones that aren't prisoners." Smii7y asked. He tucked his knees up to his chest.

Byze sighed, "They are probably in just a bad situation as us."

"The whole world hates us. Shade framed us and we were on the run." Eli explained.

"I saw that. It looked rough." Smii7y said.

"You saw that? You talked to Nogla?" Byze asked.

"No. I keep having these dreams. I don't know if they are real or not but I've seen the abandoned town you guys camped in after Anthony and Droid were taken." Smii7y explained.

The silence that followed was deafening. "That almost sounds like Nogla's ability but not quite." Grizzy said.

"I don't think it is. Nogla's dream hopping is private and he can't bring others into the dream. Just himself. This is something different." Byze pointed out.

"Is it bad?" Eli asked.

Smii7y shrugged, "It's only happened once. Neo didn't say anything about it the next morning either." He didn't want to tell them about the first odd dream he had. That one was a bit personal.

"Strange. Nogla is the dream expert." Byze said.

"Why hasn't Nolga dream hopped yet?" Grizzy asked.

"He is afraid that if Neo controls one of us and goes through our memories, he may be able to track the others." Eli answered.

"Neo can really do that?" Droid asked, surprised.

"They don't want to find out." Byze responded. There were multiple snaps as the masks snapped closed, ending all conversations. Smii7y sighed heavily and laid his chin on his knees. He hoped that seeing the others in his dreams was a good thing. It didn't feel or seem bad. It felt welcomed. He missed his friends. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Smii7y stood on a beach. Billions of stars twinkled above his head. A fire crackled in the darkness. Inky black water swayed back and forth in a never-ending motion. Willow, Nogla, Blarg, Tucker, Puffer, and Kryoz all looked longingly at the fire. Willow had tears in her eyes. She wiped her nose on her jacket sleeve.

"It isn't fair. How do they keep getting us separated?" She asked with a croak in her voice.

They took a while to respond. "I don't know, Willow. It's hard for us to stick together when we are all being hunted." Blarg replied with a sigh.

Kryoz snapped a piece of driftwood that he had in his hands. "So why aren't we doing anything about it?" He asked sharply.

"How are we supposed to go up against Neo and Smii7y? That normally doesn't end too well for us." Puffer stated.

"Our greatest strength is that we work together as a team. We always had each other's backs. Covered each other's weak points. The enemy keeps winning because we aren't working together. They are, and they defeat us every time." Kryoz replied.

"He has a point. They have us on the run constantly. That gives them the advantage." Tucker agreed.

"They went after the strongest abilitors first. The ones that help to cover our backsides when our weaknesses show." Puffer pointed out.

"Can't we do something about that?" Willow asked.

"That's what Byze and I tried to do. It backfired." Nogla sighed.

"That's because you tried to take them on alone. We've only beaten them as a team. Why stop now?" Kryoz asked. He threw the broken pieces of the driftwood into the fire a lot harder than what was necessary.

"It's hard when we are all tired and hungry. Anywhere we go is a trap thanks to the Talon bitch. Neo has the others and who knows what this Aytrix guy can do. Is he even an abilitor?" Tucker rambled. They sat in silence after that. Kryoz couldn't argue with that. Smii7y wanted to yell at them to not give up hope. He wanted to tell them to work together and maybe they could put an end to Neo for good.

"Not all is lost yet, Smii7y." A voice chimed in. Smii7y woke up in a cold sweat. The cell was dark and cold. His body ached and his leg throbbed. That voice didn't come from his imagination. There was another piece at play.