Tainted

Chapter 2

"Get up." A gruff voice shattered the silence. Slowly, I climbed to my feet. There was no authority in his voice but I knew it was easier to obey. I had seen what happens to those that don't obey. It was something horrible, inhumane. No person, however much they are different, should be treated like that but there was no chance of that punishment stopping. No one outside of the Taint camps had ever seen or heard of what we were treated like.

Cold metal bit into my skin as the guard secured my wrists in the cuffs. If only they were made of normal metal, I could have melted them in an instant and been on my way. Any metal would have melted under my flames, any metal but amniogle. Amniogle was a special metal that was created recently when the sick 'scientists' had discovered a way to merge our power with metal. When I wore these cuffs, my powers were cut off.

The guard shoved me out of the cell and of course another was waiting outside for me. Stumbling, I tried to jump as I knew what dirty trick he would play but my legs became tangled and I crumpled to the floor. My skull smashed into the ground and I could feel my teeth crunch. I let out a hiss of pain but I wouldn't give the guards the pleasure of seeing me hurt. A trickle of blood ran down my head. 'Great,' I thought, 'add that to the many other wounds I have received here.' Slowly, I rolled onto my back and leapt to my feet. The guards pushed me ahead of them and gestured down the corridor. My heart dropped, I had hoped I was going for an examination but clearly I wasn't. I was being taken to the Crippling room. This place was the most feared room in the camp and I had already been there three times this month. I hated this room. I hated all of the rooms but this room was truly vile.

"Halt!" The guard who had tried to trip me over marched over to the gate. I rolled my eyes; did he really expect me to keep walking? He inserted the key and turned it slowly. A grin appeared on his face and he turned to face me. Smartly, he strolled over to me and shoved his face right in front of mine.

"Have fun little buddy! We'll be waiting outside for you after you're done!" An idea formed in my head. Evilly, I grinned and hurled a huge glob of spit straight into his face. With a roar of anger, he swung his fist. I ducked and it connected with the wall I was standing by. A spurt of blood erupted everywhere and the guard gave a scream of pain. His comrade gripped my arm and led me over to the room. Without a word he flung me inside and slammed the gate shut. I could hear mutters of anger bouncing off the walls, getting fainter and fainter.

My smile faded as I turned back into the room. I swallowed and passed a hand in front of my face. I could barely see that let alone anything further away. Sighing, I crept into the darkness, my ears listening for the slightest sound. Suddenly, a spurt of gas shot from above into my face. Stumbling away, I coughed and waved a hand in front of my face to clear the air. My head began pounding and my vision became blurred and dark at the edges. My back pressed up again something hard and my hand shot out. I leant against the wall and waited for my head to stop pounding. Another cold spurt of gas sprayed into my face and I dropped to my knees. My stomach emptied itself onto the floor and I let it.

Eventually, I stood and took a deep breath of air. It was stale but better than the gas. My eyes were slowly adjusting and I could see a little further but there was nothing to see. My feet shuffled along and I kept my eyes peeled for any movement. A scream pierced the silence and I began running. The scream was familiar and I prayed it wasn't who I thought it was. The scream sounded again and I changed direction, my feet slipping out from under me and I slid sideways.

"Ma! Ma is that you?" My voice echoed around the room and I kicked up and kept running.

"Fletch help! Please!" My mother's voice sounded close and I spun on my heel. Something flashed and a bullet punched a hole into the wall behind me. I threw myself to one side and another bullet just missed my head. Awkwardly, I rolled to my feet and staggered forwards.