INCAPABLE - BOOK I: THE FALLEN

C H A P T E R 9

"GET up! Val, we're going to be late.

"What?" I asked sleepily.

"It's 4:57 and if you don't get up now we're going to be late!"

I sat up, startled and hoped from my top bunk, and landed, stumbling on my feet. My head was still throbbing and it almost pained me to try and walk straight. But I ignored it. I had a mission and so much to take care of. Slipping into a pair of black pants and a tank top, I pulled Jack, already dressed, out of the room. "C'mon!"

***

I looked around as soon as we arrived in the Cave. Immediately, I was intimidated. I looked around at Specials doing things I didn't know even Special's were capable of. Slowly, I walked up to a girl imprisoned in a glass room. I could see through it. Inside were hills of snow and a man stationed on the other side. He stood poised, ready to attack, whereas the girl, appearing only ten or eleven, stood meekly, almost buried in the snow. I glanced on either side of me and noticed that a crowd had gathered. I looked up. At the top of the down was a screen with a countdown.

10, 9, 8.

Why is a little girl in there with a man, appearing dangerously strong?

7,6,5.

She can't be more than eleven years old. What if she gets hurt?

4,3,2.

What can she do to protect herself in a room full a snow flurries?

1.

Instantly I was scared for her. The buzzer sounded, loud in the Cave. As if on cue, the snow stopped flurrying around in the dome and halted, lifeless on the floor. The girl took three steps towards the center. As she put her last foot down, the snow in the vicinity shot up in the air, alongside the girl. I abruptly taken back as mounds of snow came crashing towards the man at a lightening speed. He dodged some, shooting them back at the girl, but they came darting at him before he could. I noticed that the man couldn't formulate any his own. It became seemingly clear that he was no match for her. She flew over to him, with a snake of snow trailing her. She flew circles around the room, faster and faster each time, until it was impossible to even see her anymore, just a blurring white streak. Then she halted, above the man, hovering every ounce of snow in the dome above her head. Then it dropped, and so did the man.

Terrified, I stared, as I could only see his feet peaking out from other the thick mountain of snow. The dome's foremost wall dissolved and the girl easily walked out. As she did she received high-fives all around and dozens if cheers.

"Nice job Alexa" I heard Jack say. She slapped her hand in congratulations as she passed us. "What about the man?" I questioned, worried. Alexa laughed and walked away with he head thrown back, still giggling, clearly amused.

"What?" I asked Jack.

"Val" she started, talking incredibly slow, as if I were three. "That was a robot. Do you really think that they would put a real person in the snow dome with a Special as dangerous as Alexa?"

I stood there speechless, something I have been doing often, as the "man" stood up straight and walked out as the snow flew off of him. He didn't speak and he didn't blink. He didn't even breathe.

"It's alright" Jack said, "You're just new and you have a lot to learn." I nodded and turned away. I was already embarrassed.

"Shut up!" I heard I heard an unfamiliar voice break through the crowd congratulating Alexa. I turned and saw a man, shorter, but strongly built, standing on the ledge, along with Cole, Director de la Cruz and another darker man I failed to recognize. The entire ground shifted and faced the makeshift stage. "Alright listen up!" I heard other unrecognizable man yell over the still humming crowd. "After seeing Alexa's great performance of physic element bending, I expect nothing less from the rest of you. You will be ranked and scored on a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest score and ten being the highest. You will be scored on the lethalness and stealthiest of your abilities throughout many tests over the course of the next month. Your averages will then be taken. Anyone with a final score less than six will have to prove him or herself in order to stay. Those who fail will be exiled from our protection."