Embers & Ice

Chapter Thirty-Three

In his sixteen years imprisoned in ICE institution, Will couldn’t remember ever being more furious. There was a time when he saw one of the Men in White beat down a young girl who told him he was ugly, and she was locked in the infirmary for a week to heal. That made him pretty angry, but it hardly compared to his exploding rage at that moment as Benji – sweet, silent Benji – was chained to a treadmill and forced to run.

‘Run’ was actually a very tame word for what Benji was doing at that moment. Even if he did trip up or stop sprinting, the speed of the treadmill would send him zooming back five feet into the wall of spikes, killing him instantly. There was no way of stopping it. No panic button, no safe word, no hand-up-if-it-hurts. If he made one slip, Benji would be dead.

That’s why Will found himself so livid with rage that his grip on Hunter’s hand caused her to gasp and tear it away. He turned to her and saw the same look in her eyes. The same agonizing fury. It was easier to stare into the golden, warm depths of her eyes than it was to watch the horror below. So he took her hand back again and held it a little more gently, and when she turned to watch the demonstration, he simply stared at her hair instead.

He could tell by the expression on her face – and the hisses and gasps from the others – that Benji was tiring. He’d been sprinting at an impossible speed for at least five minutes now. Will forced himself to turn his gaze to the race below where Benji had become a blur of white and the scientists were chatting to each other and recording every second. On the glass, there were giant red numbers displaying the speed of the treadmill. Will almost lost his breath.

“I believe we’ve reached a new record Benji!” came Dr. Wolfe’s voice over the intercom and the moment Benji started to come into focus again and the treadmill slowed down, each of them let out a long breath of air. The scientists became jittery, like ants that were afraid of being squished, and when Benji finally slowed to walking speed, his legs were quivering and twitching and his body was drenched in sweat. All of the color was drained from his face, giving him more of a skeleton look than any of them. He collapsed on the treadmill and his body rolled back as far as the chains would allow, and then he was simply being grazed by the conveyor belt until it stopped and he was unchained and dragged out of the Orb.

As Dr. Wolfe spoke up over the announcement – something about the company’s goal to test limits and further increase abilities – Will could feel darkness twisting and brewing inside of him. He’d always been a quiet, tortured soul. But seeing this and fearing what was to come made him that much more desperate for freedom, and to free the others as well.

“I can’t believe how sick that was,” said Chantal through her teeth. “I honestly feel like I might vomit.”

“Who else has to do that?” asked Zac, genuine fear in his tone as he pointed to the scene down below. “They can’t put me on a treadmill, I can’t run at all!”

“They’re probably going to test all of our powers in different ways,” said Marcus. He wiped a hand over his mouth and shook his head. “There’s no way they’re testing me.”

“Or me,” said Chantal. “And who would watch that? Where do all these awful scientists come from, is there some other institution like this in the world? Has everyone turned evil?”

Will listened to them argue, sensing the fear that underlined their anger. Hunter remained silent by his side, and after a few more minutes, he could feel her shaking. He knew she was about to explode. If she didn’t have her power restraint, he presumed they’d all be burnt to a crisp.

“Are you okay?” he whispered to her.

Her teeth were clenched so tightly that she didn’t answer him. But she said it with her eyes.

Then, Hunter got up and stormed to the door, disappearing behind it.

Will gazed down at the Orb, the others following Hunter’s lead and clearing out of the theatre room, but he felt as if his butt were glued to the bench. He was so afraid for the others, dreading the next few days and who would be up next. Most of all, Will wondered if he’d ever get to see anything good in his life. What if he died there? Suddenly, Will wanted more than anything to find happiness. To know that there was something more in his life, something to look forward to. A happily ever after.

Enough of this misery and torture, he decided. We need to get out of this place.