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

Chapter 24

Adrius's POV

Just before I'm about to black out, I push my knee upwards into his groin, and he finally loosens his grip enough to release me.

I gasp for air as he falls backwards, howling in pain. 

As I summon my energy to heal the various cuts and bruises that the enemy has inflicted on me, he lunges at me once again. 

But this time, I'm not just...me. My power is activated as I grab his arms to stop him. And this time, my power is used to hurt him.

As the power hums through my veins, terrible wounds start to appear. His skin starts flaking off, then turning red as it is drenched in blood from the dozens of cuts that spiral outwards from the place where our skin is touching. 

His hair starts falling out, creating bald patches on his head. Blood starts running out of his nose and eyes, sheeting down his face. His teeth detach from his guns, and he vomits to the side. I am so disgusted by this that I decide to peel my hands away from him, hoping that the injuries will stop.

Nobody deserves to go through this, I think, as he retches on the ground.

Even if he is an enemy. Even if he serves the wrong side.

And so I deliver one final blow to his head, then bolt out of the room. I glance at my watch. I'm right on time for the next task.

The schedule says that my next job is to release a poison gas onto the guest floor where Dmitri and his friends are staying, while activating the auto-block systems on both stairwells that lead to that floor. 

I hurry to the gas room that has a wide variety of selections of poisonous gas, and check the lock twice to make sure that I'll have enough time to protect myself before someone comes barging in. 

As I sit down at the controls, I review the instructions that the Commander has written out for me. First I log into the system, and after entering yet another passcode, it brings me to a welcome page.

Choose a floor:

I quickly locate the floor that Dmitri is on, the guest floor. Floor 77.

Would you like to block the stairwells?

Yes.

Type of gas:

Gas 10A. All of these poisonous gases are used as weapons, and are released in the vents if necessary. They aren't pure gas forms or elements, they are different types of gases mixed together into a solution, with ratings ranging from 1% poisonous to 100%. The gas that the Commander wants me to use is 75% strong, just in case the gas happens to accidentally leak to the other floors through the air circulation system in the building. 

Time of release?

Since the process of releasing gas requires some preparation, my options are in 5 minutes, 20 minutes, 45 minutes, or an hour. There are also settings for a certain time during the day, but my best option is 5 minutes. I have no time to lose. 

Just 5 minutes, I think to myself as I select the option. 5 minutes of guarding the door, guarding this room, guarding the controls. 

5 minutes of nobody from Dmitri's side barging into the room and trying to murder me. 

As I sit in the room in silence, praying for the 5 minutes to go by faster, I think of the guy with blue blood. Actually, all of them have blue blood. But I can't help but wonder what it would be like if everyone from TCD had his level of loyalty. Would we function better as a community? Or would the Commander be creating a whole group of slaves? 

Is fear the only method for guaranteeing someone's loyalty? Will TCD's leader never be able to accomplish what Dmitri has?

I glance at the timer. 2 and a half minutes left. Suddenly, I hear a beeping noise coming from my right. The sound is coming from behind another door that leads to a different room. I know that I should investigate the source, but a feeling in my gut tells me that it is a trap. If I go to the other room, I would be leaving the door and the controls unguarded. 

Anyone could just come in and disable the system. Or worse, release the poison onto a different floor. A floor that has the Commander in it.

And so I ignore the beeping. I stare at the clock, willing for the remaining 2 minutes to go by faster. Once the poison is released, there is no coming back. Once the damage is done, I have nothing to be afraid of. 

1:56.