Exceptional

The Rates

        Did I really just hear that? No way. It couldn't be! I kept listening, hoping for something to contradict what I'd just heard.

        Frost's voice piped up, saying "Only 80% survival rate on your new procedure, sir. Are you certain we should continue the experiment?"

        "Don't doubt like that, honey," said another voice. "It doesn't suit you." Oh, God. Gravity. Was this his famed girlfriend? I shuddered. What a perv.

        Calmly, another voice interrupted. "She does have a point. Continuing with this new treatment after so many deaths would be illogical. Maybe we could alter it-"

        "Silence, Hobbes!" Bones roared. It was terrifying to hear him angry. I dared not look up, too terrified to even think of what would happen if he caught me. Bones continued shouting, saying "I'm going to succeed! I don't care if we have a 1% survival rate, I will create this new drug! It's what Marie would have wanted."

        Mutters from all around followed the last statement. Who was Marie? i'd never heard of her. I leaned my head closer to the wall, trying to hear more. I slipped, which made my head hit the wall hard, making a noise that could be heard from the inside of the room. I froze.

        "Did you hear that?" asked Frost.

        "I'm going to check it out," Hobbes volunteered.

        I swore under my breath, looking for a place to hide. I crammed myself into the small closet and closed the door.

        Hobbes stepped out of the office. I could hear his footsteps coming closer and closer...

        And further and further away. The office door slammed, and there was silence once more.

        I quietly crawled out of the closet, sneaking one more peek into the room. The teachers were discussing their "procedure," whatever terrible thing that was. At least they hadn't noticed me. But one thing that stuck out to me was the small door on the far side of the room. It looked just like the one in Bones's office. I was too shaken up to keep looking. I grabbed the shirt I had taken from the closet, and sprinted back to the dorm.

        "It's funny how a guy can get used to his roommate always bursting in, out of breath," said Arthur as I entered, closing his book without even looking at me. When he did glance up, he immediately asked what had happened to my shirt. Hello to you too, Arthur. Of course, I couldn't miss an opportunity to show off again, so I demonstrated my abilities once more.

        When I was done, I realised I had never asked what Arthur's exception was. I didn't know anyone's exception at all. I asked him, and he said that he didn't know Safirah's, but Kira's was a healing power.

        "So, what's yours?" I asked.

        "So, what's yours?" he said, in an exact mimicry of my own voice.

        Arthur grinned. "I screw around with sound, is all. I can imitate voices, send my voice across distances... even create mute zones, where you can hear everyone else, but they can't hear you. It's like a cloaking device," he explained, since my confusion about the mute zones must have been obvious.

        "So, what was your hurry today?" Arthur asked. Oh, that's right! I was so excited about exceptions that I completely forgot. I told him everything that had happened to me, and surprisingly, he believed every word.

        "We've got to tell the girls," was the only thing he could say after my long explanation. I looked at the clock. It was almost dinnertime.

        I repeated the whole story to a shocked Safirah, a confused Marvin, and an indignant Kira.

        "I knew my brother wouldn't lie," she said, with a huff.

        It was Friday, though. I hadn't noticed much before Truman's story, but near the end of the meal, a short announcement was made, and a tall girl was escorted quietly from the dining hall. She had been taken to B School, and nobody even understood the severity of what had just happened. She could be one of the 20% that doesn't make it! And who knows what will happen to her if she lives?

        But I kept a straight face, turning to Safirah and whispering "We need to see Truman."

        "Agreed."

        After lunch had ended, our group- including Marvin this time- headed to the History room, hoping that we wouldn't have to use our lame excuse of "homework questions" to answer to why we were going there. We knocked on the solid door, hoping he'd be in there. The door opened, and a confused face looked down on us all.

        "Hey... What are you doing here?" he asked.

        "...Homework questions, just please let us in." I responded nervously.

        He shrugged, then opened the door for us all to come in. He was a little confused by Marvin's prescence, but he didn't seem to care much.

        "We have to talk." I said, trying not to burst with questions.

      "You're always talking," Truman said, spinning completely around in his office chair before settling down. "But what's up?"

        I repeated, again, what I had heard through the office walls. When I was done, I caught a glimpse of pure sadness on his face before he turned away to sort some papers, getting a papercut in the process.

        "So why tell me?" he asked, quietly.

        "We want to stop this!" Safirah yelled. "We can't stand that this kind of stuff goes on here! We want to find a way to end all this, and we need you to help us!"

        "Why me? Because I escaped? Because I know what goes on there? What makes you think I'm some sort of hero that can solve all your problems?!" he shouted back.       

        "We don't know." I said. "We don't know." I got up to leave, and the others followed me. "Sorry for wasting your time."

        We were just about to leave, when we were interrupted. "Wait. Come back." We did, of course. "At least let me see what I'm working with. Show me your exceptions."

        I went first, because, come on! A third chance to show off? I'm being smiled upon by heaven today! Arthur went next, while I put my shirt back on after taking it off to demonstrate my gift. i am not burning another one of these. I paid close attention to Kira, who healed Truman's papercut by transferring it to herself. Marvin went next, and his power was pretty straightforward. He grew clawlike talons from his hands first, then giant wings came out of his back, not dissimilar to mine. But mine are cooler because fire. Fire makes everything neater.

        Safirah was last. She held her hand, dramatically, out in front of her. Slowly, it bagan to dissolve away, until i couldn't see any part of her arm at all. I think we all started freaking out when it didn't reappear, but then we saw it walk across the desk on its fingertips, and we knew she was a teleporter. She grabbed the blue scarf on the back of Truman's chair, and both her arm and the scarf disappeared as Truman tried to retrieve it. Her arm soon reappeared, attached to her body, with the scarf safe in her hand. Truman snatched it back, muttering something about how special it was or whatever, but we were all abuzz about each others' exceptions!

        Loud clapping calmed us back down. Truman grinned and looked around the room.

        "Guys, I think we can make this work."