Mutant Academy (The Fundamental Society Book 1)

by Yumoyori Wilson

  I turned around once to glance behind me, but after that I didn’t look back. I refused to bring my past into my present. I would never make it out alive unless I lived with that mindset. I powered through my anxiety, full steam ahead. There was nowhere else to go but up.

  9

  Liam

  I was walking alongside Tara as we continued to trek through the woods. There was a chill in the air, but inside I was ignited with a fresh flame that warmed me from the inside out. There was no doubt in my mind that I was attracted to the spunky young Mutant woman with the vivacious smile. She was slender, yet she also had curves in all the right places. My fingers ached to feel the softness of her porcelain skin and explore the depth she had to offer.

  I had a magnitude of questions to ask her that continuously brewed in the crevices of my mind. I knew she could feel me staring intently at her. She gazed my way and gave me a curious smile.

  “What?” She chuckled. Her silvery hair shimmered elegantly under the light of the moon.

  “Nothing,” I quickly said and shook my head.

  She cocked her head to the side. I could tell that she was also intrigued by me. There was unspoken mutual attraction pulsing between us.

  “Tell me something,” she said.

  “Okay…” I trailed off, trying not to sound guarded.

  “You guys are twins, right?” She pointed to Nick.

  I glanced over at my brother, who appeared to be lost in his own little world for the moment.

  “Yeah.” I nodded.

  “Are you identical?” she asked.

  I chuckled. “You can’t tell?” I teased.

  She shrugged. “Not really. I only knew one set of twins when I was growing up, before I was taken by the Fundamental Society. They were identical.”

  “Oh,” I said, happy that she felt comfortable enough around me to share that tidbit of her background. “Anyway, no. We’re fraternal twins.”

  “Fraternal?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” I laughed. “The opposite of identical.”

  Nick was tuning into our conversation at this point. “Trust me, there’s nothing identical about us.”

  “We are polar opposites,” I admitted with a nod.

  “But you still look like twins to me,” she observed.

  “That’s about where the similarities between us end,” I said and playfully punched at my brother’s arm.

  He reciprocated with a slightly harder dig at me. I gave him a playful glare and then focused my attention back to the beautiful silver-haired delight walking alongside me.

  “I have a question for you too,” I said in a flirtatious tone.

  “Yeah?” Her expression and response were guarded.

  I glanced at Nick and gave him a mischievous smirk before turning back to Tara. “Who’s cuter?”

  Tara’s face instantly relaxed. I noticed even through the darkness of the forest that her cheeks were blushed a rosy color. She looked stunning. My attraction to her intensified in that moment.

  “I…uh…” she stammered.

  “It’s okay,” Nick interjected with a lighthearted chuckle. “You don’t have to answer that. My brother is just a moron.”

  I gave him a sideways glare. “Hey now, I resent that.”

  Tara appeared to be visibly relieved to be let off the hook about answering my question.

  “I was just curious,” I said with a laid-back shrug.

  Tara seemed to contemplate after that. “You’re both cute.”

  “That’s a very diplomatic response,” I said and gave her a saucy grin, which she returned.

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  I looked at her face, and though it was shrouded with shadows, I could tell she was smiling.

  It was my goal to make her feel as comfortable as possible around us. I wanted her to be able to trust us wholeheartedly. We weren’t going to hurt her. We were going to do whatever it took to protect her, because she was one of us.

  By the tortured way she flinched if anyone made a slight move in her direction, I could tell had been through hell and back. It was going to take a lot of effort and initiative to get on her good side, but I was up for the challenge.

  A few seconds’ pause went by before Tara’s curiosity chimed through the night again.

  “What kind of studies do you do at this school?” she asked and peered over at me and Nick as if she couldn’t wait to find out.

  “We’re training to be Brutes,” I told her.

  She frowned and appeared to be puzzled. “Brutes?”

  “Sorry.” I chuckled and exchanged a glance with Nick. “I keep forgetting that you wouldn’t already know what these things were, having been, uh…” I trailed off as not to offend her.

  “It’s fine,” she said with a resigned sigh. “You can go ahead and say it. I’m just a naïve girl who hasn’t been living on the outside.”

  “That’s through no fault of your own,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah, I know.” She gave me a look of chagrin.

  “Way to make her feel bad, you jerk,” Nick whispered in my ear as he gruffly nudged me with his elbow.

  “I didn’t mean to,” I whispered back.

  “What are you guys discussing?” Tara asked and raised her eyebrows as if she were assuming she was the brunt of a joke.

  “Uh, nothing.” I looked at Nick, who shrugged. “We were just marveling at how pretty you are.”

  “Really?” She looked doubtful.

  “Yes,” Nick said. “That’s right. You are very pretty.”

  “Thanks.” Tara gave us wary glances, but I could tell that she was starting to glow from the compliment. “I didn’t get to interact much with the opposite sex when I was on the Home Base camp,” she confessed.

  “It must have been hard for you,” I said and resisted the temptation to stroke her hair.

  “Yeah,” she said and gazed ahead dreamily. “But enough about that. Tell me what Brute training entails.”

  “Oh, right.” I flicked the top of my forehead. “I completely forgot to finish that sentence.”

  “He’s a scatterbrain,” Nick said.

  “Shut up,” I said to him through clenched teeth and then smiled at Tara. “Our ultimate goal is to become part of the force of protectors and guards for the school. They’re called the Iron Clads.”

  “That sounds interesting.” Tara’s expression was earnest. “And you certainly look like you would be well-suited to that kind of occupation.”

  “Really?” I flashed her a kindhearted smile.

  She nodded. “Yeah. You both appear to fit the physical description, that much is certain.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “I must say, a lot of demands go into the work, but it can be rewarding for those who practice it the right way.”

  “The training is grueling,” Nick added, “but we are up for the task. We want to make sure that all Mutants out there, no matter their backgrounds, feel like they have a safe environment at the school.”

  Tara’s eyes flickered with a mixture of awe and inspired wonderment. “Good luck to you both,” she said. “I hope I find my calling that easily someday.”

  I gave her a genuine smile. “I have no doubt in my mind that you will. You seem like a strong woman with a good head on your shoulders.”

  Truth be told, Nick and I hadn’t exactly grown up in a bed of roses ourselves. We had seen the world fall at the hands of the Fundamental Society. We weren’t exactly trusting of other people, even other Mutants that we didn’t know well, but there was something special about Tara.

  I had been instantly attracted to her, but it was about so much more than that really. There was something pure and genuine about her aura that drew her to me in a way I couldn’t explain.

  “Have you—"

  Before I could finish my sentence, I heard the sound of a male voice yelling behind me. It didn’t sound like it was coming from anyone in our group, and I didn’t recognize the voice either. I swiftly turned and shift
ed into a guarded stance. I exchanged a look with the others, who seemed to be as alarmed as I was.

  Nick and I were naturally much larger than the average human, or Mutant, for that matter. And thanks to our Brute training, we had packed extra muscle onto our big frames. We each had a silver buzzcut and I knew that we were intimidating, but as I glanced over at my brother, I could tell that he was just as unnerved as I was by this aggressive male voice bellowing through the woods.

  “What the hell?” Jude’s eyes darted around.

  “Who is that?” Pete’s voice was laced with fear.

  I picked Tara up bridal-style so that her arms were draped around my shoulders and her legs over my arm.

  “Do you trust me?” I glanced down at her.

  “What?” she asked me.

  I desperately needed to take off running from whatever predator was out there and hurtling faster in our direction.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked her again. I locked eyes with her and refused to look away.

  “I…think so,” she said in a wary tone, as if she didn’t really have a choice in the matter and was questioning her own decision-making skills. The unknown threat was edging closer even though we couldn’t see anyone yet.

  Just then, I glanced up and noticed flashlights bobbing along through the darkness. My heart stopped and then immediately began pounding again. Adrenaline rushed through my entire body as my survival instinct kicked in.

  “We need to run,” I roared to the others. Whoever was coming knew that we were there, and a chase was about to ensue.

  “Come on,” Nick said and began sprinting in the direction of the ocean.

  “Can you tell me what’s going on?” Tara asked in a frantic voice as I continued to jog with her in my arms.

  I stared straight ahead. I didn’t really know for sure who was out there, but I had to guess that it was a guard from the Fundamental Society. One thing was certain, I wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

  “Is it the guards from the Home Base camp where I lived?” Tara asked as if she were reading my thoughts.

  I glanced down at her and then shook my head. “I don’t really know,” I panted.

  She wasn’t difficult to carry. She probably weighed one hundred pounds soaking wet, if that. She had a petite frame but my dread over the situation was hindering my physical capabilities.

  Not to mention, I was working hard not to trip over a tree branch or fall into an unseen hole or something. I had to be alert from every angle. My senses needed to be raised to their maximum height.

  Doing something foolish like twisting my ankle wasn’t on my agenda and we needed to get the hell out of these woods as fast as we could. There was no room for carelessness if we wanted to make it to the boat in time.

  “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” Tara began to wiggle in my tight embrace. Her voice was a shriek, ringing panic through the night.

  “We will tell you as soon as we get to safety,” Nick reassured her, even though the look he gave me let me know he had no idea what to tell her because none of us knew who was chasing after us.

  I glanced behind me. Jude, Pete, and Gabriel were trailing right on our heels. At least we were all still together.

  “I know those guards from the Home Base camp are looking for me and Maddie, and anyone else who might have escaped,” Tara whimpered. “I’m sorry for pulling you guys into this.” She sounded ashamed.

  “Don’t talk like that,” I told her. “We are happy that we found you. We want to help you.”

  I could feel Tara’s heart beating next to mine. It was sensual and thrilling even under the threatening circumstances.

  “I don’t want you to risk your lives for me,” she said. “Just put me down and let them take me. They’ll never stop trying to catch me.”

  “I am not putting you down,” I said. “You are coming with us. This is what Nick and I have been training to do. We are fully equipped to get you out of the woods and safely onto the boat.”

  “Really?” Tara’s eyes glistened as she gazed up at me.

  “Yes,” I said. “It is my honor and pledge to save other Mutants when I can and protect my school when I can.” I took a deep breath and pressed forward even faster. “And that’s what I intend to do.”

  Tara stared at me as if she wanted to take my word for it but was having trouble actually believing in my abilities.

  At that moment, a few gunshots sliced through the air. Tara screamed. I instinctively ducked down but kept running, as did the others in my group.

  “Shh…” I told Tara. “I know it’s hard not to be afraid, but if you scream, that will give away our position.”

  “I’m sorry,” Tara whispered.

  “It’s okay,” I told her as I spotted the stretch of sand along the beach. “We’re at the boat now.”

  “And it will take us to your school?” Tara asked.

  Before I could respond to her, another gunshot sounded behind us. I raced full steam ahead, relieved to see our boat on the shore. We were so close to the finish line. Only a few more steps and the Fundamental Society wouldn’t be able to threaten us any longer.

  10

  Nick

  The guards from the Fundamental Society continued to rapidly fire rounds of ammunition directly at us, trying to prevent us from reaching the boat. The guards and scientists were human, which meant that they would die if they got too close to the beach or water, and fortunately for us, they knew of the dangers.

  Our headmaster and his team of associates had placed enchantments over the sea to protect our school from the wretched scientists. It was only a matter of seconds before we would be tasting the sweet glory of freedom.

  Tara was still panicking as we tried to delicately place her in the boat, but it was more like a frantic toss than anything. I wanted to be gentle and not cause her harm, but the Fundamental Society was right on our heels and if we didn’t pick up the pace, their bullets were going to be within range of hitting us.

  I glanced at my brother, who met my gaze and nodded. We had this special kind of telepathic connection as twins and the ability to read each other’s thoughts.

  We were both thinking the same thing in that current moment. We needed to get all of us on this boat and out into the water safely.

  If we make it out of here without any of us getting hurt, then everything will be all right, Liam told me through his mind.

  I nodded. I know. We are so close to getting the hell out of here. We just have to hold on a little while longer.

  In that moment, a bullet whizzed past my ear just as I was climbing onto the boat.

  “Shit!” I roared and ducked down into a crouch.

  Tara screamed again.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I told her and pushed her as swiftly as I could to the bottom of the six-seater Jon boat that we had taken across the water from our school.

  Tara desperately cradled her arms over her head and curled herself into a protective little ball.

  “Move!” Jude shouted as I took an oar and began paddling us away from the shore as rapidly as I could.

  Everyone except Tara took an oar and we used our Mutant manpower and strength to get us the hell away from the beach.

  “Keep going!” Liam shouted.

  I grunted and felt the pain in my arms as I pushed as vigorously as I could. The Fundamental Society and their guards continued to hammer shots at us, but they were hitting the water at this point and plummeting under the sea.

  “We’re widening the gap,” Pete shouted. “Just keep pushing!”

  Gabriel glanced behind him. He was too far away to exercise mind control over any of them, and he hadn’t been able to use it while we were on the beach either because we had been blindsided by the attack in the first place.

  The water was warmer than the air. Tiny plumes of steam began to rise from the surface, emulating a fog that crawled across the surface of the water like a rug. Once we’d paddled far enough away, I took a
break to catch my breath and give my aching muscles a little rest. I was a brawny guy, so I couldn’t imagine how Pete, who was rather lanky in comparison, was faring at the moment.

  “How is everyone doing?” Liam asked, tuning into my thoughts again.

  I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took a gigantic breath. “Alive.”

  “Same here,” Jude and Gabriel said.

  “I’m going to make it despite the odds,” Pete panted.

  I glanced below to feet to see Tara still curled up in a little ball. I gazed to the horizon behind me. All was quiet. The scientists and their guards looked like tiny pinpricks at this point. We were in the clear.

  “You can sit up now, Tara,” I told her in a coaxing tone. “The threat is over.”

  “Are you sure?” Tara’s voice was muffled as she spoke to me through her arms.

  “Yes,” I told her. “The humans can’t go across the water. They’ll die.”

  “They will?” Tara bravely peeked her head up slightly, like a turtle bobbing its head out of its shell.

  “The waters are enchanted with Mutant magic,” Pete explained. “Humans will immediately go into electric shock if they touch it.”

  “Oh, wow.” Tara unbent herself and sat up straight on the bench beside me.

  Her knee rubbed up against mine in an involuntary movement caused by the rocking of the boat. In response, a massive swell of desire began to brew in my belly and spread throughout my entire body.

  “So, the scientists and their guards know they can’t enter the water?” Tara asked in a hopeful tone.

  “That’s right,” I told her with an encouraging smile. It was my bottom line to make her feel as safe with us as possible given the circumstances.

  Tara’s features flooded with relief and I saw her shoulders relax. “Well that’s good, but that was pretty scary back there.”

  “I’m just grateful that we were close enough to the shore to get ahead of them,” Pete said. His eyes still gleamed with nervousness through the reflection of his glasses.