The Innates (Book #1)

Chapter 23

I stare at the same wall as Sarra carefully plucks out the cinder block pieces of the forehead with twizzers.
"Well, that's the last of 'em, I guess." She said, wiping off a few patches of dried blood with a moist towelette. "There you go, Jess, good as new. What a handsome face you got there." "Eww, stop." I said, detested.
"What? There's nothing wrong with vanity if you love yourself."
"Get out of my room, Sarra." I said.
"Okay, okay." She said with both of her hands up with the first-aid kit on her right hand. I fixed the bandage on my chin as she exits my room.
"You too, Ace, Robert, Jackson, Zach." I added.
"No way, Jess, we're sleeping here."
"No, you're not."
"Why?"
"A. we all can't fit in the same room, B. I don't want to cause any harm, C. I just want to be alone, and D. get out!" I said.
"Zach, cuff him." Alice said. I leaped out of my bed like a joey as fast as I could. Zach stood up from the carpeted floor and grabbed my waist before I could even get close to the door knob. He swivels me 90 degrees away from the door. His hands were more frigid than a corpse's, I tried scraping his hands off my sweater, but they were stuck like frostbite.
"Let me go, dude!"
"Never!"
"You can't pass through ice, Jess, it's liquid."
"No fair! You're a Freezer and I'm a Passer!"
"And you just kicked out a Burner out of your room!" Alice said.
"Sarra's a Burner?"
"Yeah, and I'm a Dasher." She said.
"I'm a Flyer." Said Robert.
"And I'm a Vanisher." Said Ace.
"How come I didn't know that?"
"Jackson sent you here for a reason, this is it." Robert said.
"He wants to lock me in my room with a bunch of other Innates? Charming." I said.
"Okay... now, Jess, promise me won't try and escape...? Oh, who am I kidding? You run like a cheetah."
"Hahaha..." I laughed wryly.
"He sent all of us here because--" Zach takes out an oblivious pair of handcuffs from his back pocket and cuffs my right wrist on my bed's leg. I lay myself down on the floor and sighed.
"Okay... he's cuffed." He said.
"Yay..." I said. "I feel violated."
"That's how you should always talk, no filter." Ace said.
"Ace, you failed P.E., do you want to be open about that?"
"Uhm..." Robert and Zach snickered.
"So what am I supposed to do now? I'm supposed to be in class, you know, and so are you."
"It's Sunday."
"Oh."
"Okay, I got something that I think you'd like." Robert said. Alice, who was sitting on the other bed, hands Robert a purple plastic bag.
"What is it?" I asked.
"A dartboard..." He said. "so you wouldn't feel left out on the training." He hangs it above where Alice sits.
"That's nice but... I don't really wanna go back there again."
"Come on, Jess, just try it. You are one of the top students in Mr. André's class. And you know, when you came to this school, I thought you were just gonna be an ordinary smarty-pants. But you're something, Jess. It's like being a Seeker is in your blood or something." Alice said.
"First, you guys handcuff me--" Zach shrugged. "Then, you force me to play games with you? I'm not in fourth grade anymore."
"It appears so." Ace laughed.
"If I do this, will you guys go away?"
"Not unless you try it." Zach said.
"You, guys! You're so annoying!" He yelled.
"We won't let you go unless you try."
"Oh fine, just give me the darts." Ace tossed me three and I pointed the first one effortlessly on the tiniest red dot at the center of the board." I relaxed my forearm and flung the dart with a strong force on my wrist.
"Red dot, Jess! Is this your first time?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, guys, guys, you know what Jess really needs?" Alice asked. "Something fun that can occupy that big brain he has. I mean, look at him..." They stared at me like rabid viciousness.
"He looks like roadkill." Zach said.
"Hey, guys!" Sarra bursted through the door and greeted us with her sugar-shock eyes. "Guess who's back from returning the first-aid kit!"
"A dumb blonde!" Robert jokingly said.
"Shut it, fool!" She punches him on the shoulder. No whining involved. But Robert's arm turned red.
"Guys, Jess needs a ton of help." Ace said.
"Hello, I'm right here!" I said.
"As I was saying, Jess needs something to occupy his mind with." Alice continued.
"How about flying across the mini-city?" Robert said.
"You're probably just gonna drop me from the rooftop again." I said.
"Ice-skating?" Zach recommends.
"Let's go to the arcade!" Ace sounded proud, but I wasn't. I'm not really into video games and gadgets and stuff like that, I like to keep it simple, but not too simple.
"Why don't you come up with ideas, Alice?"
"Hey, I came up with the idea of having fun with this loser right here, I did part already."
"Okay, Jess, what are your favorite things?" He asked.
"Eating raw chocolate, coffee, sugar-free ice cream, snow and, uh... sometimes heights."
"Easy! We'll sneak out the barrier and we'll hang out a little while in the snow, how bad can that be?"
"Sounds great!" Zach said.
"Yeah, sure. I'm down." Sarra said. "What could go wrong? I'll make a bonfire to keep us warm."
"Uhm, hypothermia?" I said
"Stop thinking! You're starting to get too smart that you're beginning to become an airhead!" Said Robert.
"Yes! I know right?" Ace said.
"Okay, I'll do it! Let's go outside the barrier!" Everybody clapped and shouted my name triumphantly.
"But first..." Sarra started. Alice groans in fury. "haircut."
"You know, Sarra's right, guys." Zach said. "Roadkill, here, looks like a shrub."
"Hey!" I yelled. "Actually, she does make an excellent point." I say calmly.
"So, Alice, you're in charge of hair dye, Zach and Ace, you get the supplies, and the very artistic Robert and I will make you look, appealing!"
"Those are never good words." I said.
A massive gust of wind rushes in and out of the door, the next thing I know, Alice was prepared. She's very skillful with her feet, but not with her patience.
"I'll get the scissors." Ace said.
"I'll get the mirror, the razor, and the brush." Zach sprints out, leaving Ace behind.
"Wait for me!"
"Wait, wait a minute, Zach! You're just leave me here handcuffed to my bed?! Unbelievable!"
"Don't worry, I'm here, Alice is here and Robert's here." My eyes widened as I heard those words come out of Sarra's mouth.

The sound of Zach and Ace exhilarated shouting woke me up from my short slumber.
"What took you guys so long?" I yawned.
"Sorry, we had to get ready for the snow."
"Al right, all right, people! Let's do this!" Sarra shouted with a hysterical cackle.
"You guys, are insane. Especially you, Sarra. And I can't believe Alice agreed to this."
"Just wanna see you suffer, Jess." She said. "Slowly and painfully..."
Zach unlocks my handcuffs, I sighed in relief and stretched widely.
"Okay, sit and stay on that chair!"
"I'm not a dog!"
"You kinda' are." Robert ties a bandana around my forehead.
"What's this for?" I asked.
"No one wants to get shocked." He said. "Don't move."
"Unless you wanna get your ear slit." Ace said.
"Take off your jacket and your glasses, this is gonna hurt a little bit."
"Vanity hurts, which is why I don't own a mirror at home." I sighed and slouched down.
"Better get used to it, my friend!" By the tone of her voice, I can tell that she really cares about what's outside, but I know deep inside her that she owns a sparkly, golden heart. I did not mean that literally.