The Traitor

Chapter Thirty-Three: Not A Hero

I stood my ground, wondering if by me not responding to his inevitable ultimatum, it would set him off. But I knew where to draw the line, and I hadn't crossed it— yet.

"Teya, Teya, Teya," Savannah piped in, drawing even closer to where I stood, now in between Connor and Brandon. "You, of all people, should know rebellion and defiance gets you nowhere. You think that you will always be there to protect those you love, but look at your friend, Lauren. You weren't there for her. You're not a hero, Teya. You can't do this alone, even with your pathetic sidekicks there to help you. You can't win."

She finished her speech, and Connor leaned toward me and said, "Don't listen to her, Teya. We can still win this."

Savannah overheard and cocked her head to one side. "Well, if it isn't Teya's little Daine sidekick? End up on the wrong side of the border?" she asked mockingly, then threw her head back and laughed.

"Actually I'm here to fight for and protect the Daines," Connor refuted confidently, taking a defiant step forward.

"Oh yeah? And who's going to protect you?" Suddenly Connor was thrown up in the air and suspended about ten feet above me. Savannah cackled as she moved her hand back and forth, pulling Connor with her like he was tied to an invisible rope, which she controlled. I gasped and looked up at Connor as he was spun helplessly through the air.

"Connor!" I shouted. Then without warning, he was thrown against the wall to the left of where I was standing, then dropped down hard to the ground.

I watched in horror as he struggled to get back up after falling too hard on his back. But Jasper interfered and cut in, "Oh no you don't."

He sprinted to the middle of the large conference table and slammed his fist down on top of it, breaking it in half with ease. He then picked up one half of the broken table with strength that could lift an elephant and threw it toward the corner of the room where Connor was. Each end of the broken table half hit a part of the adjacent walls which met in the corner, trapping Connor in his small triangle of space behind it. The table was wide enough that it stood almost eight feet on its side, so I could no longer see Connor, who was trapped helplessly behind it.

"Connor!" I screamed again. Jasper turned back toward me and I too became helplessly suspended a few feet in the air, high enough that even Brandon couldn't reach me and try to pull me back down. But that didn't stop him. He suddenly broke into a full-on sprint toward Jasper, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud! I was dropped to the floor as the two wrestled and Brandon gained control over the fight, pinning a surprised Jasper to the ground. RAYs do have a weakness... I thought.

I could've jumped for joy, but my excitement was short-lived. Savannah stepped toward them and flung Brandon in the air, pinning him against Connor's opposite wall with a strong force, enough to dent the wall. She kept her hand extended toward him, pushing him further into the wall as it began to become unstable. I watched in horror as dust and small pieces from the ceiling above him began to fall, gradually becoming bigger and threatening to crush him under their weight if they grew any larger.

It was just me left. I realized then that Savannah had been right: I wasn't a hero. I couldn't protect my friends. But I was something else; something maybe even better. I was a RAY.

"Hey, Savannah!" I shouted. She flipped her head back toward me and watched as I created a large, spherical force field and flung it at her. In quick self-defense, she ducked and shielded her face with her hands, releasing Brandon from her hold and causing him to fall to the ground.

"Ah, so you still think you can win, do you? Well, how about now?" She mimicked my move and laughed as the sphere hit me square in the chest, pushing me back against the wall behind me. I jumped back up to my feet as Savannah turned her attention back to Brandon, lifting him up once again, and isolating him in the air. Wait, if she can do that, then...I thought and a smile appeared on my lips.

I focused my attention completely on Brandon and extended my arm toward him, copying Savannah's stance in order to make sure I did it right. It worked— Brandon starting following my arm movement as I pulled him away from Savannah, but she realized what I was doing and pulled back harder.

"Let go! You don't know how to work your powers like I do!" Savannah screamed at me. But I refused. There was only one way to practice using my powers and I was going to take advantage. I extended both arms toward Brandon and pulled as hard as I could, to which Savannah did the same.

Then suddenly I felt all my energy drain from my body, leaving me faster than it ever had before. Jasper, I thought as I dropped to my knees, then to my side. I felt like I had the first time this had happened in that the recharging booth, only this time, I didn't have anything to give me my strength back. I guessed the Wens had some way to control the energy the RAYs held, which was how this kept happening. Jasper must have snuck away when I was focused on Savannah.

I looked up as Jasper re-entered the room, a cruel smile plastered across his face.

Jasper pretended to be upset at me lying on the ground, completely helpless and unable to move. "Aw, I guess you've forgotten that we control you," he sneered, holding up the small remote in his hand. He whipped his head toward Savannah. "Savannah! Finish him!"

She smiled. "With pleasure," she replied happily.

She began lifting my brother even higher into the air, when I screamed, "No!"

Savannah stopped, annoyed at me for interrupting her play time. "What?!" she spat at me angrily. I watched Brandon helplessly as he floated in the air, close enough to the ceiling that he had to use his arms and legs to keep from being thrown into it. Though he was much higher up than Connor or I had gone, I could still see the sweat beaded on his forehead as he pushed back against Savannah's power.

"Wait," I said, as I struggled to stand up. With time, my energy became filling back up, but it took what felt like a hundred times longer than it had with the recharging booth. I was able to pull myself to my knees, but that was it. "Put him down. Let us settle this." I stared Savannah dead in the eyes, my glare portraying confidence I didn't feel.

She laughed. "You're serious? You want to fight me?" she asked, totally bewildered that I would suggest that. But the look I gave her told her I was completely serious. She removed the amused, bewildered look and cocked her head. "Fine," she sneered, releasing Brandon and letting him drop to the ground. He grunted as he hit the ground, as though holding back pain, and I hoped he hadn't broken a bone. "Me vs. you. May the best RAY win."

I glared in response to her mock.

Let the battle begin.