Powerful

Chapter 1: Turned

I knew something was wrong the moment the man claiming to be my mother's friend turned up to take me from school. Yet for some reason I went with him. Mom was always making strange friends from the many classes she took at the community center. At least this guy, who identified himself as Gary, wasn't sporting blue hair, like the last "friend" Mom brought home.

Gary led me to a limousine driven by a very skeptical-looking chauffeur with an ugly scar running down his left cheek. Nervously, I slid into the car. Gary sat across from me; I scooted farther away, staring solemnly out the window. The car started to rumble. Roads flickered by in an instance. Soon we would be back at my house, and everything would be normal. I told myself this again and again as houses sped by. Just ahead, I could see the familiar sign for Garden Drive, waiting for the limo to slow down and make the usual turn. My road was gone in a flash of color.

"You missed my street," I said nervously. Gary looked up from his iPhone. His dark hair was flecked with gray, and his face seemed dark and scarred in the shadows. He smiled cruelly, revealing several gold teeth.

"Oh, we're meeting your mother somewhere very special," he said. My stomach flipped anxiously, and my doubts began.

We passed through the town, store names and street names flashing by a blur. Eventually, the town disappeared and were replaced by sprawling fields and farmhouses. Soon the houses became fewer, the fields more wild. Forests cropped up, and the sun started to set. The sky darkened. I tried to open the car door, but it was locked.

"Where are we going?" I spat. Gary turned to me and smiled his cruel, evil grin.

"You'll see," he replied silkily. I shivered. The car continued along until the sky was as black as ink, and no light shone, save for the headlights of the limo and the dim glow of the moon. Where were we going? Who was Gary, if that was his real name? I wanted to ask all these questions, and more, but I somehow knew that they would be answered only with a vague reply, and an evil smile. The car pulled to a stop. I glanced out the window. A large building stood on a hill. Gary got out of the car and looked at me, foolishly expecting me to get out.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Get out," he hissed, leaning over me.

"No!" I yelled, tears stinging my eyes. Gary firmly grabbed my arm and forcibly yanked me out of the car "No!" I shrieked, kicking and screaming, struggling to get out of his grasp. He dragged me up the hill and into the building. We entered a brightly lit lobby. A woman with platinum blonde hair didn't even look up from her computer as we passed, as if girls were dragged against their will here all the time.

Gary pushed me into an open elevator. He entered as well, and pressed a button. "B" for basement, I assumed. The elevator began its descent. Gary's hold on my arm never loosened, yet I didn't stop struggling to escape. Thousands of possible explanations raced through my mind, but I couldn't address any of them; they were all too gruesome.

"Where are you taking me?" I questioned, abandoning the pointless struggle.

"You'll see, all in good time. All in good time," my captor murmured, to no one in particular it seemed. His eyes darted about, an eager smile illuminated on his face. The elevator dinged to a stop and the doors opened. Gary tugged me down a long hallway. Square, cage-like cells lined the walls, each containing a boy or girl around the same age as me. But they weren't exactly like me.

One boy was punching holes in the metal walls with his bare hands, while another was darting around his cell faster than was humanly possible. A girl with white-blonde hair was crying, her tears freezing before they passed her cheeks; meanwhile, another girl with flaming red hair was punching the walls with her hands, which were on fire. Some stared as we passed, screaming "Help!" in fearful voices. Others just looked at us blankly, as if they couldn't comprehend what they were seeing. I stared in horror at these trapped children. I nearly cried as one girl, seemingly younger than the rest, rocked herself back and forth on the floor, humming "Twinkle, twinkle little star" loudly to herself, as she flickered between reality and the background behind her. I wanted to help, wanted to do something for these poor kids. This wasn't right, this wasn't possible...but then Gary pulled me through another door, and the horrific scene vanished.

We were in a lab, a laboratory like from a science-fiction movie. Larger-than-life screens were hung on the wall, all blank. Large, silver instruments stood around the room, and 10-foot-tall test tubes lined the walls, glowing an electric blue. There was a squeak of wheels, and a chair turned, to reveal a young man with curly brown hair and glasses.

"Finally," he sighed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He moved across the room to a cabinet and extracted a large syringe. He then began to fill it with a glowing green liquid.

"Hold her steady, Gary," this new stranger replied, holding the syringe menacingly in front of him. He rolled up my sleeve, his fingers ice cold. I squirmed, but to no avail.

"What does this one mark, Walsh?" Gary asked casually.

"An even 20, Gary," the man called Walsh said, placing the needle against my skin.

"And.. what will this one be?" Gary asked again, smiling his golden toothed grin.

"I guess we'll just find out," Walsh replied, smiling. And although he lacked gold teeth, his smile was every bit as chilling as Gary's. They laughed. He pushed the needle into my skin and the world faded to black, their haunting laughs echoing in my ears.