Abnormal {Book 1: Completed, Book 2: Ongoing}

Chapter 31

It's a desert. Sandy dunes surround us from all directions, and a heavy wind is blowing in our faces.

Then suddenly, I detect a slight change in the air. A strange, bitter scent hits my nostrils, and the majority of the Abnormals, including me, start doubling over and coughing. I'm wheezing as I try to take a shallow breath, but the dusty air and the poisonous gas are constricting my lungs, making it impossible to breathe properly. 

Adrius is coughing loudly beside me, his face scrunched up in discomfort. But he still manages to tear off a piece of his shirt, motioning for me to cover my nose and mouth. He makes sure that I've secured my face mask, then does the same for himself. I look around at my fellow Abnormals, and see that some of them have already collapsed to the ground, unable to stop their fits of coughing. Soon, the coughing turns into retching sounds as the wind picks up speed. A few of the Abnormals disappear on the spot, being pulled out of the simulation as their lungs are unable to handle the poison.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around to see Adrius pointing towards the distance, where I can see a small wooden cabin with the lights on inside. This must be the only way we will be able to escape the gas.

He pulls urgently at my arm, and we starts walking slowly in the direction of the cabin, struggling against the strong wind and the uneven sand underneath our feet. The rest of our group start to follow suit, automatically acknowledging Adrius as the leader. 

As we trudge across the desert ground, someone shrieks loudly, and we all stop in our tracks to watch. It's a girl with jet black hair, and she's rapidly being sucked into the desert ground. 

Quicksand. 

We all watch solemnly as her shrieks gradually transform to whimpers as her legs disappear, then her upper torso, then her head. Nobody reaches out to help, for fear of suffering the same fate. 

After the first girl "dies", dozens of Abnormals are lost to quicksand over the course of ten minutes. There is simply no way to skirt around the quicksand or find a way to avoid it. We can only hope that we don't become victims ourselves. 

All of the sudden, I hear a high pitched scream coming from behind us. Somehow, the voice sounds familiar. Adrius and I both turn around to find Heather being pulled down by quicksand, the sand burying her up to the waist. In a panic, she had even let go of her face mask, so her only option is to breathe in the polluted, poisonous air. She looks pleadingly towards Adrius, begging with her eyes for him to help her out. But Adrius shakes his head and turns away, putting his arm around my shoulders to guide me towards the direction of the cabin. I can still hear Heather's desperate shrieks as we move away as swiftly as possible. 

Soon, we arrive at the door of the cabin, and astonishingly, there are less than a dozen of us left. Adrius tries opening the door, and to nobody's surprise, it's locked. His brow furrows in frustration, and he stands in front of the door silently and unmoving. Then abruptly, he starts running his hands along the wood surrounding the door. His face lights up as his hands stop at a spot to the right of the door, and he slides open a small wooden panel triumphantly. Underneath the hidden panel is a key pad. 

The small group of Abnormals crowd around the pad immediately, and suddenly Adrius slams his thumb onto the screen. Five small LED lights flash white at the top of the screen, and then after a moment, one of them glows green. Before the others can react, Adrius grabs my hand and puts my right thumb on the screen until the second light glows green, too, earning me the second winning spot of the second task. I breathe a sigh of relief as the remaining Abnormals start fighting each other to get a spot, while Adrius and I slip inside the cabin to rest. 

We pull off out face masks to get some fresh air, and Adrius takes a seat opposite me on the couch. 

"You okay?" He asks, peering at my face with concern. 

"I'm...I'm fine," I mutter, refusing to look him in the eye. He's making me guilty for being mad at him by helping me so much throughout this whole task. 

We settle into an uncomfortable silence while listening to the others fight outside. There's a lot of yelling, and I can even hear thump thump of someone being punched. I wince, then notice that Adrius is staring me with a tired expression. I realize how much of an effort he has put in to ensure both his safety and mine.

I clear my throat, and manage to get the right words out of my mouth. "Umm...thank you," I say in a small voice, unsure of where to look. 

He raises his eyebrows at me, then his gaze wanders away to stare at a spot behind my head. "For what?" He asks. I grit my teeth. He's toying with me.

I sigh exasperatedly. "For...helping me. During the task." 

"Oh!" He feigns a look of surprise, his eyes returning to my face. "No problem."

Then he gives me a smile, and the smile is so bright, so genuine, that I start to believe that things between us will be all right after all. That it's possible for our "relationship" to return to how it was before.

If only it were so simple.