At Arm's Length

Chapter 6

THIS IS GOODBYE

They walked in silence, Temper keeping an eye on the three of them. She couldn't quite read their facial expressions since none of them would meet her in the eyes. 

Temper hated herself for feeling a bit let down and left out, mostly since she knew this would happen anyway. Yet there was still an ache in her heart that was yearning to have a friend; to know what it would be like to have someone that wouldn't be afraid. 

That made her think of Daniel. He looked at her like she mattered, like she was strong. He hadn't seen her at her worst though. He would probably run if he knew what she could do. The thought saddened her even as her red hair cascaded across her shoulders. 

John was holding onto her tied hands, making sure she didn't try anything now that she couldn't use her powers as efficiently. She probably could break the ropes, but they were made to suppress power so it'd take way too much. 

As she blew her bangs out of her face, she wished she had her bandana back. It was something an old friend had given her after she had escaped. Maybe if would help Daniel along too. 

They ended up leading her to another safe house to stop for the night since it was now dark. 

Temper was pushed inside, seeing that it was just a small room with a bathroom off to the side and the little kitchen. Unfortunately that meant they'd all probably be in the same room. Though it'd be tough escaping even if they were in different rooms. 

As she sat down against a wall Temper immediately felt odd, like she was getting sick. She knew exactly what was wrong with her and it didn't bode well for her. She'd been getting this "sickness" since she'd escaped, all because of what they'd done to her. 

See the whole point of the experiments they had been conducting on her was to learn how to artificially create powers by studying hers. Back then they were in the early stages, meaning that she was one of the first test subjects. And of course this meant that they hadn't worked out all the bugs. 

Temper remembered the day they tried to change her power. By this time it had been a few years since they'd taken her. She was around eleven years old, only a year away from escaping. Part of the reason she was able to escape was because of the power they had given her, but that was only because they had messed up. If they hadn't she didn't know what she would've done, but she wouldn't have survived much longer. 

By this time she was used to having nothing to do. Her mind no longer felt swift and nimble as she stared everyday at the walls and ceilings, waiting like an animal for the next time she would eat. She no longer felt anxious when they entered the cell and didn't fear getting hit anymore. It had to stop at some point so there was no point in struggling. 

She wasn't broken, but she knew she was close. Out of habit she still watched for possible escapes, but had learned from previous mistakes. If she was too obvious she would get hit, so she learned to covertly look for openings. She'd learned to be smart about her actions. 

Temper wasn't surprised when they wrenched her up and took her to the room they always took her to. This time though there was a long metal table in the middle with wires all around it and straps on the table. 

She kept her face impassive as they pushed her towards it, strapping her down tightly to the table. She couldn't help her curiosity in what they were planning since they hadn't used the long metal table before. 

A scientist walked into the room, holding onto a large needle. He set it down and put a whole bunch or wires in her, measuring heart rate, blood pressure, and all that stuff. There was a beeping from the heart machine, going at a steady rate.