The Anomaly Project

CHAPTER FOUR

NOAH

"Ow!"

I can't suppress a cry of pain as a guard grabs me roughly and leads me down the hall from the testing room back to the cage. He walks briskly, whereas I can hardly stand due to the torturous "testing" that I've just endured. After I passed out, they merely revived me and continued. My limbs are still shaking.

I'm tossed into the cage, wincing as I hit the concrete floor. It's only then that I realize something is off.

"Where's Autumn?" I demand. The guard stands in the open doorway of the cage and says nothing.

I force myself to my feet despite my weak legs. "Where's Autumn?" I repeat, staring down the guard. He ignores me and begins to shut the cage door.

I see my chance and race toward him, landing a good strong kick right in the middle of his chest. He stumbles backwards, caught off guard, and I grab his arm, twisting it around behind his back, dangerously close to dislocating his shoulder. His face contorts in pain.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," I say through my teeth. "Where. Is. My. Sister?"

"They're... keeping her longer. For special treatment," he gasps out.

"Special treatment?" I spit the words out and twist his arm back further. He lets out a groan of pain. I'm not normally a brutal person, but no one - no one - hurts my sister and gets away with it.

"I didn't have anything to do with it, I swear!" the guard pleads. If I was a crueler human being, I would probably laugh at this sight; a strong, grown man at the mercy of a teenage boy. But I've always been a generally gentle person, and besides, what he says is true - he's not the one torturing her. So I release him.

He spins around as soon as I let go and punches me hard in the gut. When I double over, he shoves me roughly back into the cage.

Immediately I regret being lenient. I stare daggers at the guard, but he refuses to look me in the eye. Apparently he's forgotten that he was the one begging for mercy a few seconds ago.

He massages his shoulder, rolling it a few times to make sure it's not out of joint, and I feel a sick satisfaction at having caused him pain.

Just then, Autumn appears around the corner. Two guards literally drag her down the hallway, one guard per arm. She looks barely conscious.

I leap to my feet as they throw her in and slam the door after her. "What did you do to her?!" I yell at their retreating backs. None of them pay any attention to me.

Autumn mumbles something and I kneel down beside her. I don't see any blood, but as I inspect her body, I notice that her forearm is facing in the opposite direction than it should be.

I fight back a wave of nausea. Her arm is broken literally in half. I brush her forehead with my thumb. "Autumn? Can you hear me?"

I hate all of them, I hear in my head. Every last one. Her eyes open slowly and she lets out a low moan of pain.

Relief floods through me. Not only is she conscious and coherent, but my telepathy also still works. I reach out and take the arm that isn't distorted, helping her sit up and lean against the cage bars.

What did they do to you? You look like you got hit by a truck.

Thanks. She rubs her forehead with her good hand. Well, if you want the specifics, they tried to hook me up to this weird machine.