The Potentials

No Longer One of Us

Chapter 15

I wake up remembering the horrors of yesterday. It is the middle of the night. Autumn is asleep in Donavon's arms and I am alone sitting in the cold dark area of my room. I don't know what to do. So I sit and think of a plan to save Ben. What I went through in those hours can't compare to what he has been through in these past few days. He must feel so used. So worthless. So hurt. I can't let them drain him. So I start to form a plan. At least from that visit, I have some information. He is being tortured and held in a cell. He is broken, probably not able to walk. He needs us. There are guards around each main entrance, and if our group was to separated, we would not make it. The guards are in it for personal gain. They do believe in the king, but they find their personal goals much more appealing. If we all attack one entrance, we might get in.

No no. That won't work. We will cause a ruckus. The guards will all attack once they hear what is happening. And then we will be out numbered by a lot. They are very skilled warriors which doesn't help us. We wouldn't stand a chance if we did a frontal assault. We need to stay quiet. Maybe, if we can attack and kill some guards in the woods, we could take their uniforms and sneak in as guards. Although killing would not be necessary. They would need to be knocked out and tied up at least. There is no guarantee that there are guards patrolling the woods. We would need to draw them out to us. We also need to make sure we cut their communications.

The plan is starting to come together in my head. We will all dress up as guards and sneak in. We will try and locate Ben before being discovered, and then let him out of his cell. Once we do that, the guards will surely think something is up, and we will be reported. When they discover we aren't the guards that we are posing to be, they will all ambush us. By this time we need to be out of the base. Ben will be very tired, so we will carry him slowing us down. If we do not make it out of the base, we will need to escape through the airways/air ducts or put up a good fight. We need to rescue him. At all costs.

My heart pounds out of my chest. We can do this. We can. I know it. The sun is beginning to rise now. Autumn and Donavon are stirring. I take a deep breath. I don't want to talk about yesterday. It was just a scaring experience. I walk outside and wait for them to fully wake up. I climb up to the top of the cave. The flowers on the roof seem a little brighter. Hopeful. The moss is soft under my feet and the breeze is cool against my skin. I just want Ben to survive. I heal my wounds up using water as I wait for the others to wake up.

"Corinthea" Autumn calls. I climb down and see her eyes staring back at me. They are filled with fear. "What happened yesterday?" I take a deep breath. I don't want to say this but they need to know.

"I snuck out to save Ben. But they tried to hurt me. To use my body. They are in it for personal gain. But I escaped. Ben is in danger. They are going to 'drain' him. Take his powers and kill him in the process. We need to save him before it's too late, but I have a plan."

I tell them the plan I came up with earlier that morning and they are happy to help.

"I'm so sorry." Autumn tells me. Donavon says nothing, but my story seems to fuel their hatred. It's time we saved Ben.
...

We sneak through the woods surrounding the base. It takes about an hour to get all the way to the base. Donavon seems to know the way. We travel as fast as we can and soon we arrive. There are even more guards now, and all I am thinking about is yesterday. I am scared. We wait for some guards to come away from the base so we can knock them out and take their guard outfits. Lucky for us, 5 guys take a stroll with in 20 minutes.
The leaves crunch beneath their feet as they get closer too us.

"Ben dies tonight men. Let's celebrate!" One of the says. That's it. I thrust my arm and shoot ice spikes at him, then freeze his body. I don't freeze him head though. I put a water ball around it so I can drown him. Autumn lights the ground around two of them on fire, and Donavon seems to just stare at the guys. What is his deal?

"Donavon we need your help!" I yell to him.

"Oh, sorry." He pulls his arms up and the other two guys are trapped within earth in seconds. We knock them out, tie them up, and take their uniforms.

"Well that wasn't too bad." I laugh.

"Yeah I wish it went like this every time." Autumn says. Donavon seems preoccupied. Our armor is light, and we cover our faces with rags. Getting in after that is genuinely easy, which usually isn't the case. We split up to look less suspicious. Donavon guards the hallway Ben is in. Autumn is grabbing the keys. I'm breaking into the cell from the air vents to see what I can do for him till we can unlock the cell door.
...

I find the nearest air vent and wait for the guards to walk away. I try to climb in, but the armor is too big. I leave it behind and scamper inside, pulling the vent closed behind me. It's a tight fit, but I can manage. My brown hair is all in my face. I crawl quickly, army style. That's when I see Ben through a grate under me. He looks awful. I mean he's handsome but he is in bad shape. He has bruises covering his body and his body looks crushed and dismantled. Barely held together. He is simply lying there awaiting death and torture. I open the grate, and fall in.

Autumn should be here with the key soon. So that's good. The plan is going, well, as planned.

"Ben" I say in a hushed voice. "Ben it's me, Corinthea. It's time to go home." His head turns toward me. He can't see me but a smile seems to cross his face. And then it disappears.

"Please. Not another trick. Don't make me. Please go away. I don't want to go through it again. Don't PLEASE!" He is begging. He is screaming. He thinks I am one of their tricks. That I will hurt him. I hear the pain in his words. Tears stream down my face again.

"Ben, it's me, Corinthea. Autumn and Donavon and I are here to save you. Keep your voice down or you won't be able to get out."

"Corinthea!? It's really you?!"

"Yes Ben. Of course it's me."

"Prove it. Please. Prove it Corinthea." I run over to Ben and hug him gingerly so I don't hurt him more. I cover his body with water and begin to heal him. He sighs in relief. "Thank you."
...

Autumn arrives a couple minutes later holding the key. Her bright red hair is flying everywhere. A smile is wide on her face. She unlocks the door and tosses us some uniforms. I get dressed quickly, then I hold Ben and help him. His body is against mine as we lye on the ground and I gently help him get the outfit on as quick as I can. He turns and kisses me on the cheek. I can't help but pause and blush and butterflies fill me. Then I begin again.

We are soon ready and me and Autumn start to carry Ben toward the nearest exit. Donavon is waiting for us at the end.

"Ben is escaping. There are frauds among us. Come quickly we need to stop them!!!" Donavon yells. Autumn stops in her tracks. I am filled with disbelief and anger. WHAT IS HE DOING?!?!!!?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!!?!!!!

"There are things you don't know about me. Autumn. My sweet innocent Autumn, you were so in love yet you knew so little about me."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE DONAVON AND WE BOTH KNOW THAT. I KNOW U BETTER THAN ANYONE."

"Autumn." He laughs. I am ready to punch him. "I am not the original Earth potential; I am an experiment. The real one was found early on in life and drained. They injected the blood into me and found out that the blood has special properties. I work for the king. When he needs my power I will give it to him gladly. King Solomon is the rightful ruler of the land, and potentials are a threat to his rein." Anger explodes within me. That explains so much. Why he knew the way to the base. Why he didn't help save Ben. Why he wasn't hurt in the battle. Why he hesitated to hurt the soldiers. I have seen him sneak off alone before too. I always knew there was something not right with him. He lied to us. He tricked us all and we fell for it. I thought he was a friend.

"Autumn we need to get out of here." I pull her. Guards are closing in. Donavon turns his back on us and walks away like he could care less for us. Were he stood is now filled with guards. We stubble out the door and run into the woods. We can't go home. Donavon will take them there and have us killed. We have no home now. Autumn is crying as we run.
...

We climb up a rock ledge and rest at the top, far from the base. Ben is safe and we completed the mission. But we also lost an important piece of our team. This is harder than I ever could have imagined. I wish I could have my normal life back. I wish we could all be safe. I wish I could see my family again. But I can't. I've lost all that. At least Ben is okay. At least I have 2 people in this world I can count on.