“Cut him some slack, girl. He has a dark past. I’m sure he’s opened up some. Just give him time. I mean, he doesn’t know everything about you, does he? We all have our secrets that we don’t feel we can share.”
Ajax was completely right. Ryder may know about my father’s death, my abilities, and some of my fears, but there were plenty of things that he wasn’t aware of. That he wouldn’t be made aware of until we had a chance to breathe and relax. Not until the war was over. If it ever ended. Yet another thing we didn’t know.
“All right, ladies and gents. Gather around!”
Famke’s voice came from behind me and, when I turned, she clapped her hands together to pull more attention to her position. My mother was behind her, holding back until it was her turn to speak. Glancing back at Ajax, my eyebrows rose with the question. He shrugged and smirked, then walked past me to join Famke. The closer I came to where she stood, the more I could see the small line of people against the far wall. Jameson was one of them along with Rayna, Doctors Devi and Aserov, as well Gaia and Cecilia and some unrecognizable faces. My heart skipped a beat when I couldn’t spot Julius in the crowd or the line of onlookers. I had expected him to be in training with me, but maybe he had a much finer control over his power than I gave him credit for.
There was a whoop and a holler that brought a smile to Famke’s gorgeous face.
“All right, all right, guys. As you can see, we have some company today, but I want you all to be on your best behavior. Horatia has something to say before we get started today,” she clarified, pushing her red hair over her shoulder.
My mother stepped forward just as I felt something brush against my shoulder. My gaze shot up to find Julius standing next to me, nudging me with his elbow now. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and hug him, but I held back. My mother began to speak, but I paid her no heed. His hands were in perfect shape as if they had never been broken at all. The miracle of modern medicine.
“You’re all healed up,” I stated.
“Yup, and better than ever. I hear the bones in my hands are indestructible now,” he chuckled.
I rolled my eyes and said, “And I can fly. How neat is that?”
He laughed, and I heard someone clear their throat. Looking toward where my mom stood, she watched me with irritation. The woman that had been so understanding and comforting in her office was gone in a flash as she switched from her role as a mother to that of a leader.
“If it’s okay with you, Miss Hunter, may I continue? Some of this information may be pertinent to you,” she edged with a condescending tone. One I had only heard her use a few times before.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. Twisting my fingers together, I straightened my back as if I hadn’t just gotten in trouble with my mom at school, and listened intently.
When she turned away from me and looked out over the crowd of Specials, her voice was authoritative and strong. Julius giggled quietly, and I shoved my elbow into his side. It was almost as if we were back in elementary school again, poking fun at one another because we could even though we would get in trouble.
“Shhhh,” I hissed.
Squaring my shoulders, I looked over the heads of everyone else around us despite the many that were at least head and shoulders taller than I was. My mother’s blonde hair glittered in the fluorescent lights overhead despite the dulling yellow that came from the bulbs. It did make her flesh slightly more pale than usual but, other than that, she looked more vibrant than ever. Like she had managed to get some sleep even though I was certain she hadn’t. Sky-blue eyes glittered when she looked out at the small crowd before her, knowing each one of us was special in our own way that could help her win this war for our freedom. Freedom of those that were different than the rest of the world. Punished because of the fact. Pink, pouty lips were set in a straight, thin line across her face in an angry slash. She wasn’t angry. Not even close. I could see the concentration in her eyes with no hint of the rage that I saw in the set of her mouth and jaw. What I spied there was nowhere near what I would’ve expected.
What I saw was pure, unadulterated determination and will-power.
The same thing I felt at that exact moment in time.
“The objective today is to assess the skill level of each person, each Special, within our walls and to assign them to a place that would best fit their abilities within the Paradigm. This means that we will need to see each of your abilities first-hand in whatever display we feel necessary whether that be a small skirmish or something else. From what we have seen in the recent days, what type of test used would largely depend on the nature of your abilities. Some work best with a specific target while others work best in battle and others work well in a private setting,” she explained.
“How will we know which testing we will be subjected to?” The words were out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them, and I knew I couldn’t be the only person to have thought them.
All eyes were on me within seconds, causing the fine hairs on my entire body to stand on end. The disturbing quiet didn’t help matters. Even Julius beside me stared.
“Well, Mila, when you were introduced into the Fallen Paradigm you were entered into our database like all of the others. The cylinder that took a small amount of your blood also happened to inject you with a trace amount of a radioactive isotope that tracks the information within your genetics, giving information about your abilities. Not only that, but the small black dot on your palm it leaves behind, is one of the few ways we have to show that you’re one of ours without being too obvious.” She held up her hand, palm facing out, and at a distance I could still make out the small black dot of ink on top of a tiny scar that mirrored my own. “Some Specials have needed further testing when it comes to their power, but this isotope was able to give us the basics. The purpose of the test is for me to see it in action to find the best fit in our ranks for you. Some are born soldiers while some are better suited to something within the walls instead of outside them.”
It all made perfect sense and, even though I wanted to object, I didn’t truly have a reason why. I couldn’t argue for or against it.
Ryder, Famke, Jameson, and Ajax all came to stand at the front of the room before the group, hands firmly behind their backs with feet spread shoulder-width apart. Just like how King’s men stood within the Spartan Compound. I shivered but suppressed it before I felt Julius could notice.
“I want each of you to file into a line in front of your representative, each person before you the link between myself and you. Basically, they are your liaison and, once I evaluate you along with Rayna, Doctor Aserov, and Doctor Devi as well as a few other chosen and anonymous individuals, you’ll be given your assignments by your liaison. After this, we will begin to move against King and his regime.”
I looked around the room, not seeing any of the medical team besides Gaia in the room. I hadn’t noticed her move into the room at all. She stood quietly behind my mother, watching her with pride as a daughter should. Being on my side of the tracks, I couldn’t be as proud as she was no matter how hard I tried. At that point, I was an ability and an ID, but that was the extent of it as far as I could tell. The moment between myself and my mother meant nothing in these moments where I was a valuable tool. Alone in the privacy of an office, we were mother and daughter.
I decided that would need to change or the shift in our relationship would cause an irreparable rift between the two of us. One much larger than the current.
“Each individual at the front of your group represents a different class of abilities. Ryder will be the liaison for those with physical abilities. Basically, those whose power is within the tangible realm of acid production and the like,” my mother started.
“Looks like this is where we part ways.” Julius grinned as he shifted to stand in the line that formed in front of Ryder.
Ryder�
�s eyes met mine and he shot me a playful wink, smiling.
“Those with abilities of the mind are to form a line in front of Famke.” Another shift of bodies and I still stood with my feet firmly planted, unsure of my place. “Anyone with an ability that can affect the physical realm, but does not manifest as such are to form a line in front of Jameson.”
Those around me moved again, leaving a select few behind. I looked around and spotted Genevieve. She looked just as confused as I did, neither one of us truly knowing our place when it came to the gifts granted to us.
“All that are left that possess multiple facets are to come to stand before Ajax. Single-file line as well, please.”
“I guess that’s us,” Genevieve said with a look toward the large blond man.
“I guess so,” I responded with a shrug, and took the first tentative step toward the line that began to form in front of him.
I had never truly realized how many abilities were within the Fallen Paradigm, or how much they varied from person to person. While we waited, I chose to stand there in silence and watch as each person closed the few centimeters between them and the person in front of them before finally making it to the front of the line. They would take one person from each at a time to a room just off the labyrinth, and then they wouldn’t come back. The only ones to come back to the labyrinth were those we stood before. I had no idea how this worked, or what they had each of us do, but I was willing to bet I wasn’t going to like it.
Of course, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about being thrown in with the general population of Specials either.
“Are you scared?” the smallest hint of a voice muttered beside me.
I looked up to see Genevieve carefully watching me, ready to jump back if I did something that garnered a reaction. And, for the first time since all of this began, I wasn’t.
I shook my head. “No. Are you?”
She didn’t speak for a second but then nodded almost imperceptibly.
“A little.” She held her hand out palm up toward the ceiling, a tiny trickle of purple current flowing over her olive-toned skin. “I don’t like hurting people. I’m not a monster, you know? Even if we look like we are.”
I chewed on my bottom lip and thought for a moment, trying to think of the right thing to say, almost coming up empty.
“Remember, you’re only what you think you are. And you’re not a monster, okay?” I placed my hand in hers and squeezed it. “None of us are. The only monster is King. You have to remember that. He kills because he wants to. To take something that doesn’t belong to him.”
“Why do we have to kill? Doesn’t it make us the same?”
Her violet eyes stared at me, waiting for a response to the question I had nearly asked myself on multiple occasions. What was the difference between them and us? Did I even know what that was? Did I have the answer to her question?
“No, that doesn’t make us the same.” I took a deep breath and pushed it from my lungs in the harsh whoosh of desperation. “We are saving the world. King only wants to destroy it. That’s the difference.”
A smile played at the corner of her lips.
“Mila?” Ajax’s voice came from behind me. “You’re up, girl.”
I hadn’t even heard him enter the room despite his size and the massive boots he wore. Turning around, I felt Genevieve stiffen and then loosen next to me, my hand still gripped in hers. A zap moved through my hand, but not enough to be painful. Just enough to remind me she was there. It was enough to remind me that I was in the presence of great power. One besides my own.
“Yup, let’s do this.”
Letting go of the young girl’s hand, I shot her a quick glance and a grin, making certain it was sincere. She needed to know that everything was okay and there was no reason for her to be afraid. Not within these walls.
Following close behind, I watched Ajax lead the way through the door that would either condemn me to a life of servitude underneath my mother, or to the freedom we all were desperate for. Within mere moments, everyone here would know exactly what I was capable of there would be no question as to what I needed to do. I was a fighter whether I wanted to be or not, and everyone could see it.
Chapter
EIGHTEEN
In the end, as soon as I entered that room to the shocked faces of the doctors as well as Gaia, there was no need for anyone to have to experience my ability. They had seen enough on the island as well as off in the forest of South Carolina for a lifetime to know exactly where I would be most useful. My mother made the decision, and the others agreed while my sister had evidently fought them as best she could, tears welled up in her eyes and threatening to spill over.
“What the Hell is going on? Gaia?” I had asked.
It took her all of a second to scuffle from the room, wiping the tears away with the heels of her palms. I didn’t even have time to ask after her before my mother spoke to me in such a way that there was no rebuttal.
“We have made the decision that you are best suited for the field. You’ll be training out there with Ajax and Ryder.”
And there was no choice in the matter.
Now I stood in the labyrinth, the first of many places I would ready myself for the battle ahead when we finally moved forward with whatever plan my mother plotted for our final stand. I had been special for what seemed like a breath but was no longer her little girl. I was a Special. An individual engineered by eons of evolution for one purpose.
To kill.
Those I would train with inside weren’t just Ajax and Jameson, but Ryder and Famke as well. All of whom I had experience with outside being chased by what always seemed like all of King’s men. I knew better than that, but that was how it felt. As if all, or at least most, of the world was against me and every Special in existence. It didn’t matter that I was the initial target, the most dangerous when it came to King’s plans. It only mattered that I even existed, to begin with. Without our existence, the war between Specials and those around us wouldn’t be an issue.
Everyone was working with another Special that would be going out into the field to fight, Genevieve being one of them along with Howard and the young boy from before. All three of them had dominated in the spar they had taken part of, but the girl was the best of the three of them by far. She would be either an amazing partner or a formidable foe. I just hoped we could keep her on our side of the war.
Julius, one of my best friends, stood just a few spaces away from me, Jameson at his back speaking rapidly. Julius’s power seemed one of the easiest to control, but Jameson seemed to have a hard time getting him to use it. Was it because it was painful? I was willing to believe that was the case. The little I had seen of his ability led me to believe that. Above all other reasons for his seeming unwillingness to do so. When he produced the acid to use on his enemy, it ate his flesh away until it came spewing out from within his body. If that didn’t sound like pure agony, I didn’t know what did.
Alone, I stood twenty feet from my target. A red and white bullseye on the far wall that served as a training tool to aid in my learning to better control my ability and what it did when I wasn’t terrified for my life. That was the only time I seemed to be able to do anything with it. In the face of the enemy or my inner demons, which was my Achilles heel.
Calm control.
The only person I hadn’t seen in what felt like ages was Caius, but I assumed he was busy doing whatever it was he did in the Paradigm. He had been a constant presence for so long that just a day without him was odd, but it was something I was getting used to the more immersed in all of this I became.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, his uneven gait and slurred words floated through the air toward me.
“What the Hell’s taking you so long?”
Nearly the same words he had said to us when we arrived at King’s Fo
rge after our long trek in the forest and the unexpected wolf attack. In an instant, I felt him at my back, not touching, but his energy pulsed in my neck and shoulder blades. Kind of like a small amount of his power was still present somehow. Something I hadn’t noticed before.
“I take it you don’t remember what it’s like to do this, huh?” I asked without taking my gaze or focus from the target.
“I would say so, but I wasn’t telekinetic. Or atomic. So there’s that.”
“Then what were you?” I asked, raising one eyebrow as I attempted to push my power into the center of my palm from the heat licking in my gut.
It wanted to pool there but resisted me. The energy moved up and through my arms, into my fingers, but refused to move into my outstretched palms without either anger or fear. I was becoming frustrated, but I tried to swallow it down. To keep the momentum without it.
“Well, it wasn’t so much what I was. More like what I could do,” he replied. I could hear the grin in his voice.
My eyes flitted to him, seeing the way he beamed as he came to stand beside me, and then back to the target in front of me as I worked that much harder to push the energy inside of me into my hands. The warmth moved up my back and into my shoulders, but stalled.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What could you do?” I probed.
Heat and energy moved in increments toward my hands, finally reaching my wrists. I dared not take my attention from the target. At least, not my visual attention or my focus of power. With a deep breath in, I forced it from my lungs and the heat began to move again in the desired direction. That much closer to the desired effect and my heart hadn’t skipped a single beat.
“I used to have the power of persuasion.”
“And that means what?”
Power flowed into my hands and centered in my palms. Now I only had to focus on my target and project it to control it. Move it.
The Scorned (The Permutation Archives Book 3) Page 20