United We Stand

30. War

My heartbeat falters. Sybil punches a guy with her spiked fist, ripping his face and splattering blood everywhere. I flinch. Teenagers from outside pour inside the building. My mind stays silent, not helping me decide what I should do.

The woman sidekicks a girl, sending her flying. For an old lady she's pretty fast. Shouts come from behind me and I look over my shoulder. People. I suddenly notice they're security guards.

They take out their guns from their holsters and point them toward the teenagers. "Move aside! Move aside!" They yell at me. I scramble away from their way, forcing myself deeper into the building.

I rip open the doors to the pool and check if anyone is there. Empty. I leave the pool and run toward the apartments. Alarms blare in my ears, crashing my chain of thoughts. People run past me, not giving me a second glance. A man skids to a stop, looking at me with fear in his eyes.

"Are you a mutant?" I yell over the alarms. The man nods, his shoulders tensing. "Go to the training room!" I command. He nods feebly and runs away from me. I close my eyes for a brief moment, calling on my power. Speed, I need speed. Like a... like a cheetah. My eyes reopen.

I feel adrenaline course through my veins. I pump my legs, everything around me blurry. I check most apartments in the first floor. I look up at the winding staircase. I would never check every apartment in time. I check up to the fourth floor and decide it's enough.

I leap down the staircase, the strength and speed helping me along the way. I run to the office, looking for the Hispanic man in charge. What's his name again...?

The door is locked. I try the door knob and it stays put. "Hey! Is someone in there?" I yell, pounding against the wooden door. After a couple of minutes of yelling, no one answers. I shrug and sprint back to the training room.

I see a girl with red hair, looking lost as I begin to cross the bridge to the other building. "Hey! What are you doing out here?" I ask.

I feel my face grow rigid as I notice the girl's weapon at her side. She's one of those teenagers from outside. "Ooo, Skylar Madison. How long have we been looking for you." She says, her thin lips curling into a wicked grin.

I take a step back. In one quick movement, the girl produces a sharp dagger at her hand.

I gulp. This creepy redhead knows my name, and she is going to kill me. "Who are you? Who do you work for?" I ask, trying to put as much distance between us. The girl rolls her eyes. "I work with the same person as Josh does." She answers with a scoff.

"That moron, he should have killed you in the first place. You know what they say, it's not polite to play with your food."

My stomach clenches into a small knot. My palms grow clammy. Killed? What is that suppose to mean? The girl must sense my fear and confusion because her grin deepens.

"You don't understand, do you? Here's the thing, you have power that makes my boss very interested in you. But if he can't have it, then you ought to be killed." She says casually, glancing down at her dagger.

"W-why would he want to kill me if I'm... interesting to him?" I ask, my voice not even. I'm having a conversation with a girl who wants to kill me... how nice.

The girl looks up at me with dark eyes. "To make sure you don't overpower him." She replies. I open my mouth to ask more questions but the girl lunges toward me.

Still having the speed of a cheetah, I dodge her easily. The only bad thing? I dodge too hard, flinging myself to the side. The bridge that we stand on has no walls, only glass that overlooks the forest. I scream out as my shoulder collides with the glass, breaking it. The girl recovers from my sudden swerve and jumps toward me.