Synectica

Chapter 4

        Netta awoke very slowly and tried to open her eyes. Everything dimly ached, though her head no longer throbbed. Her eyes creeked open a bit, and then gave up and closed again. She could barely move her arms. She tried to open her eyes again, but they stubbornly refused to budge. She concentrated on trying to find out where she was. There was no light where she was, so she had to be underground. That, or these people had something against electricity and windows. She smelled dirt, a hint of something smokey, and, oddly enough, pepperoni. She managed to open her eyes completely. She was in a dimly lit room with a door on one side, and not much else. There was what looked like a side table and an old wooden chair in the corner. She found she too was sitting in a chair, though her wrists were strapped down. She grew frantic at the restraints and tugged on them. An unbearable pain in her left wrist reminded her that it was still broke. She let out what was something between a gasp and a cry of pain. At this, a boy walked over - the spiky haired boy - and tried to adjust the wrist straps. Out of fear, Netta reacted and kicked him in the shin.

        "Ow!" the boy said. "Sheesh, just trying to help. I'll get James, he's better at that kind of stuff."

        The boy turned and yelled for his comrade. He then proceeded to walk over to a chair in front of Netta that she had previously not noticed, and casually picked up a newspaper. He crossed his legs, leaned back, and began to read. Netta was too tired and too weak to even think of trying to escape. Plus, there was something about this boy in particular that bothered her. He was the only one that she couldn't take down. But why? THe images of the screaming people flashed before her eyes and she started to sweat and panic. Her head got hot and the room swam before her eyes. She had tried to kill them. The realization of that thought burned into her mind. Now she was vulnerable and they were going to kill her, or worse, torture her. Netta's head burned like a fever. She tried to get out of her chair, but the pain in her wrist stopped her. She screamed from the pain of her broken wrist and started to panic even more.

        "James! Get in here, we have a situation!" yelled the spiky haired boy.

        Netta was not going down without a fight. The tallest boy rushed in with the three girls behind im. He slowly approached her, as one approaches a wild horse. He put his hand on her wrists to steady her. That was a mistake. Her left wrist seared with pain again. She screamed and kicked him, her feet being the only things not bound.

        "Careful. She's a kicker," said the spiky haired boy in an amused tone.

        "Well that would have been helpful information before she tried to kill me; again," the tallest boy retorted. "Ryan, Ella, what's her deal?"

        That seemed an odd question to Netta. Unless...unless they were like her. She recognized the same empty, spaced out look in the boy's eyes as he and the girl stared at her for a few seconds before they seemed to return to normal.

        "She's terrified," said the red-haired girl.

        "And she thinks we're trying to kill her," said the spiky haired boy.

        "Great. A defensive, scared Affliction," said the tallest boy. He rubbed his temples and then looked at Netta and sighed. "Look, whoever you are, we're not trying to kill you. I'm a healer. I'm trying to help you." He started to walk towards her. "You're injured, and from the looks of it, you have a fever as well, though that might just be an Affliction thing." He was within kicking distance now, but she remained motionless, somehow fascinated with this strange boy. "Let me help you."

        For whatever reason, Netta trusted him. So she nodded in defeat. He reached for one of her hands and then paused.

        "Which wrist did you injure again?" he asked hesitantly.