Electric

chapter seven

I walk until I'm so lost I feel like no one will be able to find me. I'm in a hallway that looks exactly like the rest of them. Cement walls and gold decorations. Sometimes there are pictures and sometimes there are tables with little chocolates on them. I find this strange since this is an army compound.

Why would you have little chocolate decorations for an army compound? Chocolate is a weird concept for me to grasp at the moment. The last time I ate chocolate was when my dad gave me some for getting one hundred percent on one of his pop quizzes.

    I remember the chocolate melting on my tongue. I'm sure there was caramel in the middle, and it got stuck on the roof of my mouth. We laughed because I wouldn't use my tongue right so my words were slurred. Mitch made fun of me by saying things funny too and that's one of my last memories of us all.

At least we were laughing.

    Slumping against the wall now, I stare up at the ceiling. This ceiling is neither white nor padded. It's cement. I press a piece of chocolate on my tongue and almost laugh. It's weird how my life has turned out. Who would have guessed that after being taken from my family and to an asylum where I would live for seven years, I would become a soldier in the Prominence's army? But this may be the last time I'm allowed to roam free without red lines to follow. The last time I'll be able to look at a cement ceiling. 

    I don't think Parker approves of my outburst.

    He'll probably send me back to the asylum and I'll be stuck with red lines and padded cells for the rest of my life. It wouldn't matter. It's all I've known and probably all I'll ever know. I don't remember what the sky looks like or what the grass feels like between my toes. What does the sun feel like against my skin? How fast does the wind have to blow to rid my hair from my shoulders? Does rain hurt when it pelts against my skin? I wouldn't know.

    "Are you done yelling at me, love?" Parker's voice is forgiving, but there's a hint of hesitance in it. He probably realized that shooting at me is crossing the line.

    "It depends." I reply. "Are you done shooting bullets at my head?" He smirks at me a like he knows he deserved that response.

I stand up and I'm suddenly hyper-aware of the chocolate clinging to my breath. I lick my lips and wait for him to lead me somewhere. He opens his mouth like he's going to say something but then he shuts it and pivots on his heel. I follow. He weaves through the hallways like he built them, and, after a few minutes, we're in a gym area with lots of people in it. When Parker walks into the room they all stop what they're doing and stand at attention.

    "Men, this is Riley." He introduces, wasting no time to begin. "If you are intelligent, you will not mess with Riley. She is not interested in any of you so do not attempt anything. She is clearly a female, but that does not make her different in training. You will treat her like any man in here and will not go easy on her by any means. You will show no mercy just because she is small and puny. Because when it comes down to it men, she will not hesitate to turn you to a pile of sad ashes at her feet if you upset her. So, try not to."

    Parker looks down at me and I raise an eyebrow. I notice the corner of his mouth twitches and I know he's trying not to smile at me in front of his men. So being nice for a change, I look away before he can show emotion

    "Dismissed." He shouts and they all scatter around the gym like marbles hitting the floor and rolling everywhere. Parker turns to me. "We're going to be training your mental strength for right now, love." He informs and I nod my head. "Instead of every time you get mad you explode something, we'll train you to control when, where, and how you use your power so you can defend yourself without getting mad since anger will blind you."