Embers & Ice

Chapter Thirty-One

After passing out, Hunter woke up in her cell under her rug, afraid to move. She knew there would be more pain, so she wanted to avoid it as long as possible. She turned her head to the glass door and saw that the lights were all on. It was still day.

She stared at the corridor for minutes, thinking about the fight. When would the cruelty end? When would they stop being victims? Would she ever be able to walk the halls without fearing the presence of the man who was so addicted to her, to her body? A cold shiver passed through her. She felt dirty and wanted a shower. She wanted ten showers.

As she watched the lights flicker in the corridor, nothing happened. No one passed. Where is everyone?

Hunter told herself to get up. She had a lot to do. She wanted to find the others, to make sure they were all okay and that the fight had ended with her unconsciousness.

When Hunter finally willed herself to stand, she felt as though someone had jabbed her with a stick in random spots all over her body, and they were all aching like giant bruises. Her head swam. She caught her reflection in the glass and cringed. Why, why do I always look like a beat-up ghost? She told herself it was just the lighting and stumbled out of her cell.

An empty corridor stretched before her. She glanced behind her, but no one was around. This is just too weird, she thought. Hunter started towards the stairs when a cell door opened up ahead and little Sammy hurried out. He caught sight of Hunter and his face immediately lit up.

"Hunter!" He sprinted towards her and, for the second time that day, he nearly bowled her over with a hug. She would likely never get used to the contact of the small boy, but she dared not refuse.

"So things must have calmed down after what happened with Jamison," she smiled down at him. "This place is dead."

"Not exactly," he murmured, his pale face devoid of color. "Everyone's in the Orb."

Hunter's heart dropped. "What? Who's in the Orb?"

"It's not a fight," he replied. His eyes swam with fear, fear of the unknown. "They told us to go there now. Something's happening, I don't know what. We have to go or the guards will get us into trouble."

He tugged at her hand and Hunter followed him to the stairs, instead going up. Hunter's stomach was slowly twisting around and every step they took was a step closer to whatever horror lay inside. She kept thinking please don't let it be Will in there again, or Fearne. Hell, don't let it be anyone who doesn't deserve it. Which, come to think of it, was none of them. But Sammy said it wasn't a fight. Then what fresh hell did Dr. Wolfe have in store?

Sammy dragged her to the next floor, and they ran down a corridor longer than the cell block to a double gray door. It opened into a dark room with two doors on the left and right that read 'Seating 1' and 'Seating 2'. She had no time to stop the nausea from creeping up into her throat before Sammy pulled her through door number one and she found herself in an enclosed room much like a theatre, with rows of metal benches on a slope, all looking down upon a giant glass screen. Through that screen, they had a clear view of the inside of the Orb.

It was strange seeing hell from the outside. It appeared much smaller from their view. But the people down below looked like little dolls walking around in the blank space where she had unleashed her flames. Hunter was shocked to see that they weren't kids. They were scientists.

"Hunter!" Sammy scampered to a seat down the front with the others. About five Men in White sat up the back with arms folded over tasers, ready to fire. Jet and Mikayla sat close together a few rows down near the other wall. Hunter sidestepped through the isle and squeezed in beside Will and Marcus near the front.

"What's going on?"

"Don't know," said Marcus. "About five minutes ago we were all ushered down here. The guards said nothing, and there was an announcement over the speakers that we had a special screening in the Orb. But no one's in trouble."

"Benji is missing," said Will.

"What?" Hunter looked around and counted faces. He was right; only Benji was missing. Something was wrong, and her stomach didn't agree with it. She hated being there, watching the horror down below.

"He wasn't at dinner." Marcus leant forward and tapped Ryo on the shoulder. "Hey, when did you last see Benji?"

When she turned, Hunter saw that her usually mischievous and glowing expression had fallen completely. Tears streaked her face. "The guards took him from his cell. They didn't say anything. He never did anything wrong!"

Hunter leaned over and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay."

"I wouldn't bet on it," said Zac. He was pointing to the glass window, his voice empty. "Look."

Inside the Orb where the scientists were gathering in the center, they could see some sort of machine being rolled out. It was a long black platform rather like a conveyor belt, with two sturdy poles on either side. Behind it was a more lethal device; a wall with silver spikes decked out all over it. Anyone who ran into that would be staked in over twenty parts of their body.

"What the hell-" Zac whispered.

"I don't like the look of this," said Chantal uneasily.

Hunter was literally on the edge of her seat, straining to see who was being dragged out behind the machine, even though she already knew. Two Men in White carried a boy with blond spikey hair, skinny as a runt. He was struggling madly between them. The scientists - about four of them - set up the machine and stepped away. Benji was placed on top of the conveyor belt, his wrists attached to long chains that snaked around the poles. He was heaving, and she wondered if he might faint. He kept twisting his head around and looking at the wall of spikes directly behind him. It was all starting to click together, in his mind and in Hunter's. She turned and glanced at Will, whose face was a mask of hatred, his hands clenched together, his jaw jerking from side to side. He knew as well.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of The Advanced Genetics and Human Exploration Institution, to our first demonstration." Dr. Wolfe's voice rang loud and clear over an intercom. All of them turned to each other with the exact same panicked expressions.

"The Advanced Genetics and Human Exploration Institution? Who the hell are they?" asked Marcus.

"They must be some sort of science company," said Mosi. "Like this one, only they probably don't imprison kids against their will. They must be watching."

"What does he mean by demonstration?" asked Zac.

"I think we're about to find out." Hunter wrapped her arms around herself and wished she could take her eyes off the sight down below.

"Today, we'll be starting with subject number 0895," Dr. Wolfe continued. "Benjamin Given, age twelve. Subject has the ability to run at outstanding speeds. Our research thus far has driven this subject to a speed of ten times the speed of sound. We're attempting today to test the subject's limits using a specially designed treadmill. This will determine exactly how fast the subject can run when faced with certain peril."

"Certain peril?" Zac shouted suddenly. "There's a goddamn porcupine up his ass!"

"Shut up!" one of the guards yelled.

Benji was looking around at the scientists who were getting ready their clipboards, their cameras and the controls for the machine. He was shouting something at them, something that they couldn't hear over the sound of a buzzer. On the glass, they could see the reflection of a timer counting down from ten in large red numbers.

Hunter wasn't sure why she did it, but she needed some sort of support before she slipped into panic. She reached beside her and gripped Will's strong, warm hand in hers, lacing her fingers between his. As the buzzer reached its final count and everyone held their breath, Will wrapped his fingers tighter in hers.

And then, Benji began to run.