Fracted (Book #2)

Chapter 58: Injection

"Okay, what is it you guys are fussing about?" I ask.
"We found them," Ace said, full of hope.
"Found what? Our powers?"
"Yeah." He nodded enthusiastically. A silver tray with a glass lid full of transparent cylinder tubes containing green liquid inside. The same type of liquid I saw from where Jason got his powers neutralized. Each of them labeled with the two letters that somehow abbreviated our names.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!" I said.
"Okay. We were just waiting for you two."
A small latch clicks, and the glass lid flips open. A small amount of cold mist emerges from the tray. A dash of excitement rushes over me. We found them, and we are going to make it out alive. I will give you justice, Robert.
"Ohhh...this is really it," Sarra said, feeling incredulous.
"How do we get them back in our system?" Zach asked.
"Drink 'em, I guess?" Ace suggested.
"Dude, no!" Jackson threw his hands up wildly and slamming them against the lab table. "It's pretty much like drinking the blood that spewed out of your wounded finger--You don't drink your own blood. It's just wrong!"
"He's right," I said. "Not only is it gross, but you don't eat what keeps you alive."
"True."
"There must be some kind of syringe that--Hey look, there's some on that table right there," Alice pointed out.
Surrounded by test tubes, flasks, and beakers, there stood nine syringes inside a small case. I rush over to it and open the case. I toss them out to everyone that lost their powers. While everyone still wonders how to transfer our powers to the syringe, I went outside the lab with a gun on my hand. The silence. Unforseen silence means something fishy is occuring right under our noses.
"Should we let the other kids escape now?" I ask Jackson. I held on to the door frame just in case someone bursts in, armed with a crude weapon.
"You don't know who's out there, Jess. Let's wait until help comes."
"Why didn't the help come along with you?" I ask.
"I'm just their sniper, but now I can't get a hold of 'em since I got here. This place must have been purposely designed for no escaping. Worse than Alcatraz."
"What if this is Alcatraz?"
"Then either we give up, or we find a way out."
"I wish help comes now. We don't know if they're planning to blow up the whole place with us inside."
"He can't do that," dad said. "I'll do whatever it takes to get you guys out of here."
"Thanks, dad. But we can do this on our own, this is our fight not yours."
"Look, kids, I know André better than you guys. If I know anything he's incapable of is incapability. That man will annihilate anyone who gets in his way."
"If he annihilates another one of my loved ones again, I'll eliminate him myself."
"Jess, you don't know what he's capable of. Please, just listen to me!" I shake my head.
"I'm not gonna let him tear our family apart again!"
"Please, I beg you. I don't want to lose you either. If you want to eliminate him, then we have to do it together, you hear me?"
"Yes," I say lightly. I nod.
"I got it!" Sarra exclaimed. "I got it, I figured it out."
"Really, how?"
"There's a small shaft on the end of the tube where you can stick the needle in." She sticks the needle in and pulls the plunger back firmly. The green substance flows back inside the shaft of the syringe. "Shall we?" she said.
"Let's do it one by one. The effects may seem wild after the injection," I said.
"You've done this before?"
"Yeah. Little warning: The experience might feel a little jarring."
"It's alright."
I watch her thumb push hard against the plunger, straight to the vein on her right arm. She drops down, eyes closed, wisps of hair covering her face, and her face burning. She slowly lands on her stomach, grunting in pain and clutching her stomach. Her hair start to ignite in flames and her eyes stay dilated, her irises turn fiery red.
"Should somebody restrain her?" Ace sounded worried.
"No. No one touches her until she's done moving around," I said.
"But look at her, Jess," Eiffel said. She hasn't spoken since twelve minutes have passed. But finally her voice gave me strength.
"You stay out of this, Eiffel, okay?" Zach pointed at her. "You don't know what's going on so don't add to it. We've experienced too much already."
"Don't talk to her like that," I shot him a straight look. "I mean it."
"I'm not what you think I am," she said.
"Sure you are. This isn't the right time to talk about this, maybe after our escape, yes?" Sarra stopped at last. After hearing her heavy breathing, Jackson rushes over to her.
"How do you feel?" he asked her.
"Better." She smiles.
"Now," Jackson looks at us. "Ace and Zach, you go together, then Jess and Dad, and Alice, you do it by yourself. Okay?" We nodded.
During their panicking seizures, I watched both if them flail around like they were having seizures. But this one did not involve foaming mouths and paralyzed limbs. Zach caused a mild blizzard, so I shut the door and locked us all inside. Meanwhile, as the mild blizzard attacked us, Ace was nowhere to be found. But the syringe was left sticking out of his arm when he injected himself.
"I can't find Ace," Alice said.
"Yeah, me either," dad said.
A half minute passed, Zach stopped his seizures and Ace was revealed to be buried in a small pile of snow.
"Where'd you go, buddy?" Jackson asked Ace.
"Buried myself in the snow." He reappears, wiping off the snow from his shoulders.
"Why?"
"I just had the urge to protect myself."
Outside the lab, a destructive sound of the door blowing up caught our ears. Their footsteps vibrating through the floor and to the lab.
"They're coming for us," Alice said.
"What do we do? There might be hundreds of them outside right now," Sarra said. Alice looks at her, her face filled with excitement.
"I've got an idea."
"Yeah, well, spill it or we get killed immediately right on this spot" said Ace.
"Okay, so I inject myself with my powers while Benjamin and Jackson hold me back. You two aim me towards the door, and when I start to have seizures, you let go of me. Is that clear?"
"You sure this would work?" I said.
"Well I ran out of ideas so yeah, I'm very sure."
"Then let's get this over with."
Jackson chained his arm to Alice's while dad held on to her shoulder blades and forearm. In one push of the plunger, Alice trembles uncontrollably. Her legs flew in seven different places, kicking the equipments off the table. Little shards of glass make a cluttered mess on the floor.
"I think it's time to let her go," I said to them.
"No, not just yet."
I stare at the door, waiting for the clones to bang on it. But instead, a couple bullets puncture the strong metal after a few gunshots go off. I cover my ears and wrap my arms around Eiffel. I push Ace away from the door as well.
"Let go of her now!" I shouted as more bullets fly around. Jackson winced to his left, his shoulder bleeding.
As they let go, Alice bolts towards the maimed door, detaching it from its hinges. The gunshots stopped after the door landed on the shooters.
"She did it, let's go," Zach said.
A few eyes stare at me as I head out with them, four or five maybe. Their guns pointed, their eyes filled with anger and hatred. Alice was no longer seen, a huge number of her footprints mark a long trail throughout the hallway.
"You shouldn't have tried to shut us out, Jess," the clones said in a unison. "Trust me, you are vital to humanity's existence," the one in the middle said.
"Wow, how random," I said. But it did make sense for a second.
Then it hit me. André stole everyone's powers, examining them and testing them. He hopes to find the most powerful one, but for what reason would it fit in for humanity's existence? He wants me, just me. But why hold a thousand children captive if you got one sticking out conspicuously? They can't be just baits, right?
"Hand him over."
"No, never," said Benjamin. He stands infront of me, a gun on his hand.
"Well it's good to see you again, old friend." But the voice did not come from any of the men infront of us, it came from behind. Benjamin kept his gun stretched out toward the clones.
The entire portion of me shouts that he's the real one. Without any hesitation, I agree.
"You shoot me, you shoot the kid, and you don't want to happen," he said.
"Same old Benny." He walks infront of the clones, completely exposed. "You can shoot me if you want, but my men would retaliate and take your son. You don't want that to happen right?"
"Just wait until the whole world knows about your true colors, and then we'll gain justice upon our names. The things they said on the news...they should be brought upon you, not us. You are the monster, not us."
"You said so many things, I--I'm just letting you know that I surrender. C'mon, shoot." His voice sounded threatening, but this wasn't the time to commit aggressive acts. But how do we get out of this situation?
Benjamin's sweaty hand made the gun's handle shine after rearranging his grip. His lip quivers in regret, eyes twitching. He slowly lowers his gun.
"Wow..." André grinned. "I didn't think you were stupid enough to do that. Now, hand over Jess."
"Never!" Benjamin shouted, quickly lifting up his gun and pulling the trigger.
Instantaneously, André dodges. The next thing we know, he lunges towards dad, throwing multiple punches and falling hard on the floor.
"Get the boy!" he commanded. The clones come for me, armed with huge guns.
"Run, Jess!" I hear Sarra shout as I run around the two middle-aged men fighting.
I am powerless, but that doesn't mean I can't run as fast as I can like before.
I have to get to somewhere I can lock myself in so I could get my powers back to my system. Like a closet or something. But that's the thing about these types of situation--We get trapped until there's nothing left to do but think of a solution. Life is a closet filled with solutions.
My feet shuffle against the floor, I leap as high as I can and swipe my foot against the clone's neck. Bullets fly past me, I was too fast for them.
"Come on, Jess, go!" I hear Jackson's shouts occupy nearly half of the hallway. The gunshots resume, and I hear the clones' groaning not far away.
As I run past the disabled magnetic trap from earlier, indistinct gun-cocking went off in my ears. Dang it, there's more? I said inside my head. I sighed in disgust. Why point the guns at me if you want me alive for examinations?
"Put your guns down, I know you won't shoot me," I scowl at them sarcastically, raising both my arms up.
One of the three men shifts his gun downward. Before I could look at what he was aiming at, a sharp pain devours my shin. Dark-colored blood washes out of the large hole. I cry in pain, falling hard on the floor and my hand pressed against the wound.
"We could use this as a blood sample," he said.
The two other men held my arms as they carried me across the hallway, my blood leading a disgusting trail across the hallway. I watch every inch of metal that crafted the walls out of boredom. For a couple seconds I am running for my life, and now I'm captured again?
A disruptive sound of an explosion goes off ahead of us right before we take the next turn. A twister of dusty smoke envelope the hallways. Pieces of rubble fly out everywhere. Strong ringing in my ears. The two clone guards almost lose their grip on my arms.
"Take the next left, disable the security system. Go, go, go, move it!" The voice of the not-so-old-but-not-so-young woman made my ears tingle in familiarity.
Iris.