The Powered People

Chapter 18

Soaked to the bone, Nolan ran through the charred remains of the forest. Blackened tree trunks laid defeated on the ground. Specks of ash danced with the wind. Nolan hopped over sharp, charred remains of plants as he wandered through the terrible wasteland. A spurge of terrible thoughts filled his head. Where was everyone? Did anyone die in the fire? What about Imani?

Nolan ran around a corner and spotted the green stone house right in the middle of the wasteland. All the plants the covered and camouflaged it was burned away. It stood on its own, completely out in the open. Nolan looked to his right to see that the lab wasn't too far away from the house at all. Less than half a mile, it seemed.

Were we that close the whole time? Nolan thought as he turned left again and ran to the house. Burned branches crunched under her boots. When he reached the door, he realized it was knocked in. mattresses were strewn all over the room. The small kitchen was in disarray. A burn mark was right above the door. The table was flipped and pushed against the wall, and chairs broken against the walls.

Anxiously, he ran up the ladder to the bedroom. It was mostly the same, save for yet another burn mark right above the ladder. A curved, jagged lightning strike ran down the farthest wall. But everyone in the house was nowhere to be found. Nolan climbed back down the ladder to the last place they could be: the basement.

The basement looked untouched, with Greg sitting on his mattress as if nothing ever happened. Sighing in relief, Nolan rushed right up to Greg and asked, "Where is everyone? What happened?"

Greg had a blank look on his face, but his eyes had flashes of shock. But he seemed...calm. Or...at peace. Not the "at peace" that alludes to accepting your death, but the at peace that just screamed, "Life as it is."

Nolan went on his knees to get down to Greg's level. "Gre, you gotta tell me what happened. Did the people from the lab come? Did they take everyone?"

Greg stared at Nolan, blankly. The older man's hands were shaking. Slowly, he bobbed his head up and down.

"T-they were? Where did they take them? Did they hurt anyone? Did-" Nolan blurted out.

"M-M..." Greg mumbled, anxiously, Nolan waited for his response. "M-mack."

Mack...Macabre, Nolan thought, springing back up. "I...I...thank you!" he blurted out, running back to the ladder and through the one room. He burst out of the doorway and sprinted into the wasteland. He didn't think of a thing, he just ran, keeping his eyes right on the lab. He dodged the spiky remains of the woods. He yanked away fallen branches and anything getting in his way.

All he could do while on the run was hope. Hope that they hadn't controlled anyone else. Hoping that they would let him in. Hoping that they wouldn't think that he was a powered as well. I mean, hope for the best is the best you could do when you improvise.

When he got close enough to the lab, he realized that the only way into the building was through the front door. Exactly where the security guards were. He pressed his back against the iron walls tried to think of what to tell them. Would they even recognize him? Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned around.

The security guards wore their familiar white uniforms and were immediately confused when they first looked at Nolan. He wore the same clothes he'd ran away in (except they were now exceptionally torn). Awkwardly Nolan said, "I-it's me, Nolan. Remember me? I was one of the apprentice scientists back when..."

The security guards looked at each other confused, then shrugged.

"I know, I was kidnapped by powers," he lied. "The ones you just captured..."