Mutant Academy
Yumoyori Wilson
This is work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright© Yumoyori Wilson, 2019
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not own by the publisher.
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Cover Design by Jennifer Munswami
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Editing by
Incantation Ink
Format: Yumoyori Wilson
Contents
Acknowledgement
BLURB
Prologue: Tara
1. Tara
2. Tara
3. Tara
4. Tara
5. Tara
6. Gabriel
7. Gabriel
8. Tara
9. Liam
10. Nick
11. Tara
12. Jude
13. Tara
14. Tara
15. Jude
16. Tara
17. Tara
18. Tara
19. Pete
20. Tara
21. Pete
22. Tara
23. Gabriel
24. Tara
25. Jude
26. Tara
27. Jude
28. Tara
29. Nick
30. Nick
31. Tara
ABOUT YUMOYORI WILSON
Also By Yumoyori Wilson
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you for purchasing Mutant Academy.
Thank you to all my amazing supporters for being awesome and encouraging me to write every day.
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Special thanks to my Elle, May, Clarissa, and Felecia, who always keeps me motivated no matter what I’m going through. Your friendship means the world to me and I’m thankful to have you all in my life.
Special thanks to my amazing Alpha Team.
Special thanks to my amazing Mom for blessing me with the gift to write and supporting me in all aspects. I pray to continue making you proud as I strive towards success.
Finally, I thank God for giving me the strength to achieve my goals. Without Him, I would be nothing.
YUMOYORI WILSON
BLURB
"If you survive this place, Tara, remember that Mutants with good intentions never forsake their own.”
Those were Tara’s mother's last words, right before she was ripped out of her grasp because they were different: mutants who prevailed in strength, psychic ability, intelligence, and skill.
From the age of eight onward, Tara lived among many other captured Mutants within the walls of The Fundamental Society. The Society’s mission: gather the best Mutants who survived their captivity and use them as lab rats to aid human science and technology. Everyone stayed because even with their superhuman gifts, escaping the Society’s clutches was futile. After all, there are things far worse than being a lab rat. Like suffering through the agony of a torturous death.
Tara assumed her life would stay that way forever, but something went wrong, giving her a few precious moments to escape unharmed. The taste of freedom was exhilarating but short-lived until she bumped into five males — right as her electrocuting wristlet turned back on and plunged her into unconsciousness.
Now awake, Tara discovers the world of Mutant Academy, a place where Mutants live and learn in harmony. The environment is competitive, but it’s also an opportunity that will allow her to leave her lab years in the past…forever.
This is Tara’s first real chance at freedom, surrounded by those she can trust, grow with, and love as a woman, rather than a living experiment. A chance to experience what it’s like to date five men while adapting to a new way of life.
At least, it’s supposed to be.
But even within the cloistered walls of Mutant Academy, not everything is as safe and sound as it seems. Darkness lurks in the shadows, waiting for its moment to pounce. In a twisted game of cat-and-mouse, Tara must figure out who the real predator is — otherwise she’ll forever be the lab rat.
Prologue: Tara
“Mommy?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
I was only eight years old and scared enough already, but hearing the echo of my mother’s trembling voice set me on edge. My mother was the calm and collected type. She never let her nervousness show, but tonight, her hand was shaking as she did her best to keep my tiny palm in her grip.
“I’m scared.”
“I know, Tara…”
My mother didn’t sound exasperated as she trailed off, but it was almost as if she were resigned to the helpless fact that the situation was out of her control.
I couldn’t see. My knees were skidding across cold puddles in a tunnel underground. I could hear the occasional drip of water leaking from the ceiling into the puddles below.
The air smelled like mildew.
“Keep moving.”
That voice was like a chant, a military drill bellowing through the tight squeeze of space we were being forced through.
I knew it was the bad men. I didn’t know much about them, but I knew that they took Mutant families like mine for testing. I had heard about them, but I could have never imagined in my worst nightmare that they would have plucked my entire family from our beds as we slept soundly in our house on the Mutant compound.
“Just do as he says, dear,” my father whispered into my ear as we continued to crawl along.
I took a deep breath and subtly reached my hand up to the blindfold shielding my face and obscuring my vision. I couldn’t see anything, and it was dark enough in the tunnel.
I wanted to make it seem like I was scratching at my forehead, but I was just pretending. I was gently tugging on the edge of the blindfold, managing to lift it ever so slightly. I was able to see a narrow slit of my surroundings, but it was enough for me to get my bearings. I was afraid of bumping my body into something hard and painful.
“Don’t let go of my hand, Tara,” my mother said in warning.
I swallowed hard and diligently shook my head. “I won’t.”
“No talking,” one of the guards grumbled.
Silence filled the air again. I didn’t dare look behind me at the men in suits who were holding semi-automatic rifles pointed directly at our backs. My bones shook with fear of the unknown.
I felt my brother’s presence beside me. He was ten. He was tall and lanky and kind of clumsy. I hoped he wouldn’t do anything to compromise our situation or put us at even more risk.
Whatever happened, it was vital that we didn’t anger the men in the suits. That’s what Mommy had told me as soon as we were ripped from our beds like rag dolls, tossed down into these tunnels, and forced to crawl to who knew where.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep up,” one of the men said.
He had an accent I couldn’t figure out. I wondered where he was from.
If he had a family.
That was one of my flaws, but it could also be spun in a positive light in the right settin
g. I did my best to see the good in people, no matter what. But these men, they had wicked expressions and vile-looking eyes that leered down at me and made me cower.
Even my father appeared to be disturbed as if he couldn’t protect us, not from these bad men. My entire family was vulnerable. If only there were a way out of this situation.
“Halt!” One of the men leading us from the front ground to a stop and turned around.
He nodded to his men behind us, and they nodded back in response as if speaking a secret code to one another.
I glanced around, my eyes darting left and right. We were in some kind of circular space, and the ceiling was higher here. The walls were concrete. It was almost as if we were in a sewer, but there was no garbage or water, just the occasional puddle that had made my knees wet as I crawled through them.
Nobody moved. I waited expectantly, afraid to breathe. My mother’s hands continued to quiver, folded over mine.
“Stand up!” the same guard leading from the front shouted. His voice echoed down the tunnel.
We did as we were instructed. My mother helped pull me to my feet. “It’s okay, sweetie,” she whispered.
It was difficult for me to believe her when the sound of her voice wasn’t assertive or confident in the slightest.
“Take off your blindfolds,” a guard from the back stated flatly.
I took my mine off, relieved to be able to see once again. There was a fork in the tunnel. There were only two options going forward, left or right. I had no idea which way these men in their special suits would take us.
“You two,” the guard in the front gestured, pointing accusatorily at my father and brother.
“Us?” My father’s voice rattled and he pointed at his own chest.
“Yes.” The man nodded. “You are going down this tunnel with them.”
The ringleader pointed to two men behind my father. They looked enormous and brutish. Their hands were clasped at their waists and they stared straight ahead as if they were robots just waiting for instruction.
“No.” My father shook his head. “We want to go together.”
The leader’s lips twisted into a sinister smile and he chuckled mockingly as if what my father was saying was humorous to him.
“I am sorry,” he began. “I think you misunderstand.”
My father raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side. “Misunderstand…what?”
The man squared his shoulders as if to exude dominance. “You aren’t given a choice here.”
My father nervously licked his lips and tugged on his earlobe. “Just don’t hurt my children.”
His voice cracked, inadvertently causing my eyes to flood with tears. Seeing my father broken down like that was too much to bear.
The leader gave his men another swift nod. They grabbed my brother under his arms and lifted him up. Naturally, my brother began to wail, kicking his long legs and swatting at the men with his scrawny arms.
“No!” I screamed.
I couldn’t help myself. The force exploded from my throat and I was crying, sobbing for the men to leave my brother alone.
“It’s okay, sweetie.” My dad gently patted my head and his eyes were glazed over with tears of affection. He was trying to be brave for me when I couldn’t do it myself. “Everything is going to be okay. Your brother and I are going to go this way, and you and Mommy are going to go that way.” He pointed at the tunnel on the right.
“We will meet back up,” my mother said.
I glanced between them, trying to read their expressions. My mother’s eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, and dark circles hung under her eyes like bruises. Her hair was messy, tousled from sleep. I didn’t see any way where we could be reunited, and there was no promise etched into either of my parents’ faces.
“Kill the boy,” the leader demanded. “He’s making more trouble than he’s worth, even if he does turn out to be a Mutant.”
I let out a shriek. My mother held me close so that I couldn’t move.
“I don’t want to leave my family,” my brother roared. He was out of control.
“What if the Fundamental Society notes that we killed the boy and we needed him—”
“Quiet and pull the trigger.”
The guards were arguing amongst themselves.
The men in the back let out a sigh of contempt and then raised their guns, aiming them at my writhing brother. My heart dropped and my stomach churned in an angry sea of nausea.
Everything happened in an instant. In the blink of any eye, my father scuffled with the guards and tried to step in front of them to save my brother. The guards pulled their triggers. The sound of gunfire ricocheted off the walls, bouncing through my ears. I thought my ear drums might shatter.
I was still screaming, but it took me a second to realize that it was my voice making that noise. My father dropped to the concrete ground with a thud. His eyes were open and lifeless and there was a single gunshot wound in the center of his forehead. Blood began to leak from the wound and trickle down his temple.
My mother was sobbing. I looked at my brother’s tear-stained cheeks. His eyes were hollow and empty as if he had given up. His arms went slack and those dull eyes met mine.
I watched as the guards dragged him away in the opposite direction, knowing that my brother’s face would haunt me for the rest of my life, regardless of whether I ever got the chance to see him alive again. I knew those odds were slim at best.
My mother lifted me up and held me as we continued to walk along, quicker than before. I burrowed my face into her nightgown, inhaling the scent of her body and her perfume. I never wanted to forget that smell for as long as I lived.
I never lifted my head, too afraid of what I might see. I only moved my face when my tears wet her nightgown and became uncomfortable against my cheek.
We entered a bright room after several minutes. I finally allowed myself to glance up. There were fluorescent lights above our heads and the room itself looked like a scientific lab of some sort. Everything in the room was extremely clean and sterile and white.
“Put the girl down,” one of the guards ordered.
My mother did as she was told. I whimpered, but I didn’t protest because I didn’t want them to hurt us. I naïvely thought that if I obeyed their commands, we would be all right.
I was foolish, at best.
A couple of men wearing white lab coats and glasses entered the room. They had wiry straw-colored hair and wild expressions on their faces as if they were excited about something.
“This is them?” One pointed to my mother and me.
“Yes, doctor.” One of the men in the suits nodded and gave the scientist-looking man a respectful bow.
“Come with me,” one of the scientists said, beckoning to my mom with an outstretched arm.
My mother crouched down to kneel at my level. She held my arms in her hands and met my gaze, looking me stoically in the eye.
“I want to tell you something, Tara,” she said.
The scientist behind her cleared his throat impatiently.
“Just give me a moment with my daughter,” my mother said swiftly.
He rolled his eyes in an exasperated way but obliged. My mother turned back to face me. Her eyes were swimming in tears and her breathing was shallow and rapid.
“What’s happening, Mommy?” I squeaked.
“I just want you to know how much I love you,” she began. I could tell she was trying her best to be strong, so I sniffed and did the same. “No matter what happens, you need to be strong and never trust humans. If you survive this place, remember that Mutants with good intentions never forsake their own.”
I didn’t understand. I shook my head and frowned. “Mommy?”
My mother let out a soft sigh and a single tear dripped down her cheek. I watched it, mesmerized by it until it fell off the crest of her chin and plunged into oblivion.
One of the scientists tugged my mom on the shoulder and lifted her up.
“Bye, baby.” My mother’s voice was a hushed whisper at this point.
She blew me a kiss. I caught it and pretended to place the invisible kiss on my heart like I always did.
“Mom?” I cried. I didn’t understand what was happening.
Where were they taking her?
The scientists placed my mother in a giant pod that had a clear, tempered glass seal that closed and locked my mother inside. The scientists pressed a couple of buttons on a control panel beside the pod. They were all business, their features expressionless now.
“All right,” one of them casually said to the other. “Let’s see if she’ll float.”
The pod began to quickly fill with water.
“Mom!” I shouted.
It felt as if my insides were being ripped into a million pieces. I tried to get to her, to help her, to save her. The guards held me back. I struggled against their grips, but I was no match for them. I felt as if I might vomit. My stomach churned.
My mother started banging on the glass. Her eyes were huge with shock and desperation. Tears were pouring down my face. I couldn’t choke back the sobs any longer.
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