Embers & Ice

Chapter Forty-Five

The demonstrations were over. They electrocuted Marcus in almost every way possible. He took a day to recover in the infirmary; the moans Hunter had heard the other night were from him. Jet’s was a little trickier; to test the limits of his Telekinesis, they threw knives at him from every angle at impossible speeds. He dodged many with his mind, but came out with a large slice in his arm and on his forehead. Fearne was last, but her demonstration was different from everyone else’s. Instead of putting her life at risk, Dr. Wolfe did nothing at all to harm her. He simply asked her to read the mind of a volunteer scientist and that was it.

“It was seriously spooky,” said Zac at the breakfast table the morning Hunter returned. She sat beside Will – whose eyes filled with warmth when she appeared beside him – and Sammy, who disappeared in the early hours of the morning back to his own cell.

“But it’s over now,” she said. “It’s time to talk about the plan.”

“Yeah, uh, about that,” murmured Zac uncomfortably. “Are you sure we’re actually ready? I mean you just got out of the hospital and-”

“It has to be done today,” she snapped, looking at each of them in turn. Their eyes were filled with uncertainty. How could she assure them that everything would be okay when even she didn’t know? “I know Dr. Wolfe probably has wind of our escape plan, hell he might have even blocked the way out.” Chantal made a small whimper of panic and some of the others exchanged fearful glances. “But hey, we’re super-powered freaks of nature. We have power here that none of them can measure up to. If we can’t do this, how do you expect to survive in the real world? What’s the point in being special if we don’t even try? It’s now… or it’s never.”

There was silence at the table. Hunter caught a small smile from Fearne and knew she would follow them all to the ends of the earth. Marcus and Mosi were nodding – they already had their game faces on. Chantal was with Hunter long ago. But the children were still unsure.

“First thing I’m gonna do when I get out,” whispered Benji suddenly and everyone stared in surprise at the quietest member of the group, “is go to the zoo.”

“Hoping you’ll find your family there?” Zac chuckled.

Chantal whacked him. “You’re a douche, you know that?”

He glared at her. “I suppose the first thing you’ll do is walk into the nearest Chanel store and buy yourself a season’s worth of shoes, huh Barbie?”

“Why would I do that when I can just ask for it?” she replied, batting her eyelashes devilishly.

“I’m going straight to the nearest fast food joint, because this shit-” Marcus shoved his tray of food away, “-is horse piss.”

“I want to watch a movie,” said Ryo. “A really good one.”

“Oh yeah?” Zac nodded. “Watch Die Hard. The first one, not the others.”

Chantal scoffed. “How the hell would you know that, you got here when you were seven.”

“I happened to be a very young movie buff,” he replied. “And I watched them with my older brother.”

“I dunno, I prefer-”

“Guys,” Hunter interrupted. “As wonderful as your excitement is, we need to be focused. Can you do that?”

They nodded.

“Now, when I give the signal – or whenever the distraction begins – deactivate your restraints. Marcus, do you have the key?”

He nodded and patted the pocket on his hip. “I don’t take it off me.”

“Good. You all have very useful, very defensive powers. I’m sure you can figure out a way to run from the guards. Hell, some of you will be gone in seconds-” she nodded to Ryo and Benji, “-but what’s more important than anything is this: to stick together. I don’t want to lose any of you in this escape. We’ve already lost some.”

They grunted complaints and even Hunter had to admit she didn’t give a rat’s ass whether Jet the snitch and his psycho girlfriend came with them or not.

“Please, please, I’m begging you not to run. There’s a place we have to meet if something goes wrong. It’s the safest place I know.” She pulled out the address and started passing it around the group. “Memorize it. It’s our rendezvous.”

“How do you know it’s safe?” asked Ryo.

“Because the person who’s providing the distraction gave it to me.”

“You trust this person Hunter?” asked Chantal.

“With my life,” she nodded. “Mosi, you have the way out right?”

He shot a glance at the door. A few of the Men in White moved around the room and Hunter felt jitters in her stomach. We have to hurry, the distraction could happen any minute now.

“It’s a little complicated, and we’ll make ourselves known as soon as we hit the elevator, but we’ve got Marcus to shut off the security and get the elevator running. If we can find the right exit in the labs, there’s a staircase that leads above ground. If not, there’s a sewer system directly above us. After that, I’ve got no idea what’s up there.”

“I’ll take care of that,” she said to reassure them. “Remember to stick together, okay? Use your powers in any way you possibly can, even if you have to use them offensively. Do everything you can to get out.”

Slowly and unsteadily, they agreed. She tried smiling in encouragement, but it felt like a grimace, so she put her game face back on.

“We’d all better eat, who knows how long it’ll be until we get a decent meal like this.”

Zac snorted, and some of them chuckled at her sarcasm, and the mood was lifted. Uneasiness still flowed between them, but the thought of what awaited them in the outside world was well worth the gamble.

“Can we get our powers back now?” Zac moaned. “I’m itching again.”

Ryo and Benji nodded in agreement. Hunter glanced around at the older ones. Will gave her a nudge at the table, and she turned to the door.

Steel had just stationed himself by the entrance. He muttered into his earpiece as his eyes shot daggers at their table. He raised two fingers to signal to the other Men in White, who immediately sped to the door and were out in a flash.

Something wasn’t right. Hunter waited, feeling the gazes of the others burn into her skull, but she wasn’t sure it was time yet. Dr. Rosenthal said she would know when the opportunity arose.

Then it happened; a rumble beneath their feet. The trays and cutlery on their tables started quivering.

And from somewhere deep down in the pits of the Death Caves, there came a tortured, infuriated, hair-raising roar.

Hunter looked at the group, nodded to Marcus, steadied her beating heart and smiled, feeling more alive than she had in months. “You heard the dinosaur,” she said. “Time to go.”