The Eccentric

CHAPTER FOUR

A schedule begins. Each night at precisely 12 o'clock three guards come and take me away to become a human lab rat. Doctors sit and watch as I am required to lift objects with my mind, open locked mechanisms or explode items as they monitor my vitals and record. I follow the doctors' orders after some struggle when I decide to be a moody teenager who doesn't go down without a fight.

I often overhear them discussing my results whether it be by using my mental abilities or by merely listening as I am dragged out of the room by rough guards. They say I control all matter at a molecular level to the extent that I am able to manipulate it by command though I am limited in that I cannot create only control, unlike the other Eccentric.

Little is said about my mind abilities. Other than the occasional thought which drifts into my unmedicated mind, I have not used my telepathic abilities since my examination day and don't plan on using them any time soon. Even I have the common decency not to jumble up someone's brain no matter who they work for.

Each test gets more extreme as they begin to explore the applications of my abilities in a combat setting and I often find my self counting down the hours until I will be taken away again. Tate helps keep my mind busy with his constant chatting, but each time I come back battered, bruised and mentally drained, it adds fuel to the fire that is his temper. Even after the Ones come to use their biokentic abilities and heal the physical wounds with their gentle touch and delicate fingers, he still isn't happy.

"I can't believe this," he exclaims one day out of the blue as I come back from a test covered in fresh cuts and grazes. Perfect slices run up and down my limbs, face and chest but with the blanket pulled around me, Tate is only able to see some of my wounds. Heat ripples through the room as Tate glares at the guards who watch emotionless.

"How can you sit there and watch!" He shouts at them, but they stay still, immune to his comments.

I drop onto my bed, wincing as the cuts reopen at my sudden movement, but I don't call out. This pain is nothing compared to what the others I have faced. A healer is let into the room by a warden and gets to work mending the perfect cuts that run up my arms, only adding to the uncomfortable silence. No matter how many times they fix the physical components of my wounds, the memory of them lingers. I don't need a physical reminder of the pain Dr Mann has caused me. It will stay in my mind forever.

"What did they do to you this time?" Tate asks when he notices the extent of my wounds. I pause not wanting to give in to his pity but end up falling for his blue eyes full of concern as always.

"They shot tiny shards of metal at me out of a machine until I couldn't hold up a shield any longer," I say weakly but don't look up to see his reaction.

"I didn't last long." I confirm, remembering the feeling of the metal slicing through my skin as I fell to the ground in defeat. I sigh in frustration and roll over to face away from the Healer as she finishes up her job.

"I'm sorry," she whispers then leaves the room without another word.

***

Twenty-four hours later and I'm back in Dr Mann's hands.

I'm in the testing cell alone, but this time an empty tank sits in the middle of the room that looks as though it is big enough for one person to fit comfortably inside. Before they can instruct me to, I stride over to the tank, climb inside and slam the door shut. No point in putting off whatever they have planned for me, I might as well get it over and done with, so I can get a couple more hours of sleep.

"That's good initiative, but if you knew what was coming I doubt you would be as keen," says Dr Mann's voice over the speaker.

"Bring it," I say simply, knowing that it can't get any worse than what has happened in the past. Water starts to pour out of a tube on the bottom of the tank, soaking my shoes and socks and I scoff.

Maybe I'll slip and hit my head on the glass, and they will lose their precious Ten forever. I laugh at the thought but pause when I notice the water rising fast. Once it reaches mid-thigh, I realise that it isn't going to stop.

"Very funny," I shout out to the empty room, "now you're going to drown me?"

"We both know I would never let that happen. I wouldn't want to lose my only subject so early in the testing," she laughs and the speaker crackles, turning it into a much more menacing sound.

"So can you please stop the water then?" I pled as it continues to fill, but I already know the answer.

"Why don't you stop the water?" Her voice sounds through the room, "We both know you have control over the elements, why don't you give it a try?"

"Why don't I just explode the tank and leave this damned place," I mumble and cross my arms across my chest.

"If you do that, we will just get you another tank but this time give you some of those pills you like so much and see where that gets you," she pauses, her breathing heavy in the speaker indicating her anger.

"Why don't you do me a favour and put me out of my misery," I shout but am met with silence.

My powers tug at the back of my mind and an overwhelming need to explode the tank overcomes me, but I decide to wait it out and see. Bringing out my inner rebellious teenager, I choose to stand in the tank and see how long it will take before they stop the water to save their test subject, suddenly sick of her games.

As the water rises to my chest, I begin to find it hard to breathe and panic when no guards enter the room to save me. As the water splashes into my face, I spit out the salty liquid and rub my stinging eyes. With my face pressed against the top of the glass, I take one last breath and am plunged into darkness.

As I begin to run out of breath, my sudden panic causes my powers to resurface, and the case starts to shake, creating small fractures in the glass. Once I realise what is happening it is too late. Instantaneously, the glass smashes sending shards into every direction, a large fragment lodges its self into Dr Mann's upper thigh as she enters the room and she cries out in pain.

I fall to the ground with the water, landing on the tiles with a thump and roll over in pain. Dr Mann struggles to move away from the water that runs toward her, but the jolt causes more blood to ooze out of the wound. A small movement behind her catches my attention, and I realise she is calling out to a team of guards that wait behind her.

I try to stand on the slippery ground but fall on the first attempt. Glass wedges into my bare feet and hands, but I feel no pain. Instead, I focus on capturing the water before it escapes down the drain as my powers kick in. She wished to see my water manipulating abilities, so I decide to give the women what she wanted.

I raise my hands and water packed with sharp glass comes up in multiple balls behind me. I struggle to control the orbs but manage to throw one at the nearest guard. It hits him square in the face but causes little damage, and I realise the flaw in my plan. Water isn't exactly the best-attacking material, but as the liquid splashes to the ground in defeat, the shards of glass stay stuck in his skin, and I realise I may have been wrong.

He screams in pain as he claws at the glass wedged in his skin, producing more blood and agony. I try to throw another toward the group but miss, smashing the orb into the wall behind them sending more shards to rain down on Dr Mann who struggles against the door. By the time I throw the third orb, I can feel my power depleting although it does hit a target. Another guard screams out in pain as the sphere smacks his chest sending him flying back.

I thrust my hands forward to send the last orbs towards the guards but nothing moves, I turn around and see that there is no water left. I almost turn to the guards to face my defeat when I notice the drain. I sense the water travelling up the pipes before I see it but by the time it reaches the surface it is too late.

A guard grabs me by the arm and throws me to the ground as I continue to pull the water through the pipes. It shoots through the vent spraying over the group of guards and drenching my hospital gown, or at least I think that is what is happening as the man above me has my face pressed firmly against the ground. I then sense the familiar prick of a needle on my arm and immediately begin to feel drowsy as the sedative kicks. I continue to bring the water up through the drain until my powers drain. The water pressure decreases at the same rate of my heart beat before I'm out cold.