The Gifted: New York

The Chamber

It wasn't a few minutes later that I find myself awake abruptly, to be chained on all four limbs and finally seeing the blinking light of the bomb on my left arm. A painful prick on both wrists of my left and right arms and ankles reminded me of the last time I had an IV, but this case would be much worse. In front of me, a camera was lingering, hung around a few metres away, the lens shining under the dim light. The Phoenix and another man stood below me on a plateau. Erwin kneeled in front of them with a gun pointing from the hands of the other man next to the Phoenix. The Phoenix's hand fidgeted around with a controller. 

I looked down to distract myself from the thought of whatever that controller would be. Below, I could hear groaning and screeches of seemingly otherworldly beings that were beyond saving.  At my eye level, a sort of control room displayed all the health status that I had and control the dosage of a clear, yellowish liquid. A glass sphere in the control room was connected to the pipes that came from some sort of gigantic structure that supported the tensions coming from my chains on all four limbs that felt like they were about to rip apart.

The speakers announced: "SUBJECT 3601 clear for injection. You may now proceed."  

"Alright, Joanne, you can do this. Just try to control yourself and your emotions. Let energy from the outside course through you. If you use your energy from the inside, you'll exhaust yourself. You can do it. Lives of the innocent are at stake. You really don't know where your friends are because you really don't. " 

That pep talk instantly failed when I looked down at the Phoenix's face. The pathetic use of playfulness to hide his perverted thoughts did nothing other than inciting fear. Cold beads of sweat ran down my face despite the fact that I was stripped off my winterwear and changed to thin, white prison-like jumpers. Humongous air vents blasted the cold air that penetrated to my skin and lungs. 

"Oh, you're awake!" The Phoenix stood there quite comfortably in his snuggly winter clothes. "Looks like you had quite a nap."

"Listen here you dunderhead. I'm sick of your games and tired of you. So why don't you begin asking me your dumbass questions which you won't have an answer for? If you just want me, all you have to do is to release Erwin and those civillians!" I boldly spoke in vain hopes that he would eventually relent to let them go. Needless to say, I knew he wouldn't.

"Hehehe... You're so cute when you're angry, don't you know that?"

OH, I WON'T BE FOR LONG. I'm tired of playing it nice, I thought you would change, but after our first conversation, I'm afraid you don't stand a chance for it.

"Alright," he continued as he was pacing back and forth right in front of Erwin. "Tell me where the rest of your friends are and I might release your brown-haired friend here."

"I swear to God I really don't know where there are you dumbass. They left me right before I could catch up with them. There has been a change of plan I wasn't involved with, and neither are the elites. It was sudden."

"Alright, so I'm going to count to three, and you're going to tell me where you think they are, otherwise, I'm going to put a bullet in his head." He coldly stared at me and took out a glock pistol. The trigger was pulled and he put the snout on Erwin's bleeding forehead. "Go on, your choice. I'm going to start with one..."

"No Stop! I swear to God I don't know!" My voice bellowed and echoed throughout the cave walls. The zombies below me started screeching and screaming louder. 

"Two..."

"Alright, Alright!" Being unable to contain myself, I screamed and sobbed. "I tell you what I know, but spare him and the rest of the New Yorkers and let them go safely, no shooting and chaos. I know you wouldn't want to draw attention with bodies in the forest, right? Let all the healthy ones go. Send them out, disable their bombs and you can have only me here."