by Dee Benson
"That would be a good idea if not for one thing: Neither of us knows how to teleport," Serloyd said, sarcastically.
"I have recently learned how," Nigel replied. "I will teleport you too."
A moment later, Serloyd vanished into thin air. Then Nigel vanished too, taking the light orb with him and plunging the forest back into darkness.
Chapter 22
AXEL DIDN'T SLEEP FOR the rest of the night. Her relief at their narrow escape was acute. It had her too edgy to sleep.
She could tell Trojan wasn't sleeping either. But he was quiet, which wasn't like Trojan. Maybe he was thinking about their close shave, too. Or maybe he was thinking about his mom and his sister.
Angelo's cell phone alarm shrilled at seven a.m. and the dorm filled with the usual bustling activity. Axel remained on her bed.
While everyone was out showering, Desmond showed up to check her blood pressure and heart rate. When he finished, he gave her an injection and then left.
"Are you coming for breakfast?" Trojan asked her when he returned from his shower. He was wearing only his boxers. His towel was draped around his neck.
"No."
"Should I bring you something?"
"Pancakes and a bottle of water."
"If there are no pancakes?"
"Then a bread roll." There were always bread rolls.
"Do you have to return to classes today?"
"I don't know. Nigel didn't say."
Axel and Trojan were quiet for a moment as they looked at each other. Trojan looked away and wiped his face with his towel. "You know, you might be right about him."
Axel said nothing. She'd been over what had happened a million times since they'd returned to the dorm in the middle of the night. She had no idea why Nigel hadn't given them up.
"I think I'm going to try and get some sleep," she told Trojan. "If I feel better when I wake up, I'll attend the afternoon classes."
They had flight class with Nigel after lunch. Axel hoped she'd be able to get a moment to speak to him.
Once everyone left for breakfast, she began to drift off. Only to be awakened a few minutes later by Trojan patting her shoulder. "Axel?"
"What?" she asked groggily. "Just put my breakfast on the table. I'll eat when I wake up."
"Axel, were in trouble."
His tone sliced through the fog of sleep. She opened her eyes. Trojan wasn't holding a plate of pancakes or bread rolls. It must be pretty serious if he'd returned without her breakfast. "What is it?"
"Serloyd just made an announcement in the breakfast hall. He said that everybody should report to the The Dome at one p.m. for an investigation into a group of rebels that met last night."
"Are you kidding me? What's The Dome?"
"The biggest theater in the drama department. The only one that can accommodate the whole school. He said he has an idea of who the rebels are and that he's giving them until one o'clock to come forward and own up. If the rebels come forward before one o'clock, the investigation meeting in The Dome will be canceled."
Axel sat up, ignoring the way her back protested. "Have you spoken to the others? Was anyone caught last night?"
"I saw Victor. He said no one was caught."
"Then Serloyd doesn't know. He's just calling our bluff, trying to scare us into confessing."
Trojan still looked worried. "What if he was eavesdropping for a while?"
"Doesn't matter. Victor said his force field would distort our voices."
"But he might have heard us mention each other's names."
"If he did, he'd come and get us rather than wait for us to hand ourselves over. He doesn't know."
Trojan seemed to be considering that. He nodded slowly. "But they have ways of finding things out. They can use their powers to work it out. Nigel can easily do it."
"But Nigel seems to be on our side."
"He's not the only person with mind powers. There are others."
Axel stood up from the bed. "Pass me Angelo's water."
Trojan went to get it. "What are you doing?" he asked as Axel took one of her pills.
"I'm coming to class. I can't leave you on your own all morning, stressing out about the meeting at one o'clock.
Axel dragged herself to the shower. The hot water soothed her body, or maybe it was the injection or the pill kicking in.
When she got back to the dorm, she dressed. Then she and Trojan left.
Trojan looked uneasy. Axel stopped him at the door to the dorm building. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"What?" Trojan asked.
"Don't you have a marshmallow to toast?"
Trojan smiled faintly. He dug into his pocket and removed a pack of marshmallows and his toasting fork. They waited for the dragon head above the door to breathe fire. Trojan toasted his marshmallow, tossed it into his mouth and then opened the door.
"Try to relax," Axel told him.
"Yes, ma'am."
Still, he looked on edge. They managed to catch the end of the breakfast hour, and then made their way to a class with Dynamo. All morning, they drifted from class to class, one o'clock looming before them.
Axel did her best to keep Trojan distracted, but he still looked worried.
At one o'clock, everyone trooped to the drama department instead of the cafeteria.
The Dome was huge. The ceiling was, predictably, dome-shaped, and thousands of tiered seats surrounded the circular stage at the center of the room.
Strangely, nobody was speaking. Not a single person. The only sound was the scuffle of shoes on the polished floors, and the creaking of the seats as people pulled them down to sit on. The fear in the air was palpable.
Axel would have liked to sit at the very back, but all of those seats were already taken. She and Trojan found seats around the middle, which she figured wasn't too bad.
By five minutes past one, everyone was seated. Complete silence reigned in the theater for two minutes until the stage floor opened and The Firemaster ascended on a ledge. As he rose out of the floor, everyone stood up and bowed their heads.
Axel rose but didn't bow her head. Beside her, Trojan was trembling.
The ledge flushed with the rest of the stage floor and The Firemaster stepped forward. "Please, be seated." His voice echoed around the theater.
Everyone sat down.
Nigel, Desmond, and Serloyd stepped onto the stage.
"Please stand up if you have mind powers," The Firemaster said.
Immediately, people stood up all over the room. They were projected on the walls all around the theater, which Axel realized were screens. She counted. Six people. There must be at least five thousand people here, and only six had mind powers? Mind powers were that rare?
The Firemaster invited them to the stage.
They looked nervous as they went.
Once they were all onstage, they stood before The Firemaster, heads bowed.
"Scan the whole campus and project before us an image of anybody who is not present at this meeting. Nigel, double check their work."
Soon, holograms popped on the stage. Each of the six people with mind powers had located the same three people. Jasper, Stacey, and Victor.
Jasper was in a private study room at the school library, Stacey was in a bathroom stall, and Victor was crouched in a cupboard full of balls, baseball bats, and other sports equipment.
"They should have known better," Trojan whispered.
Axel was so glad she and Trojan hadn't tried to hide.
"Are they correct?" The Firemaster asked, looking at Nigel. "Have they missed anybody?"
"No," Nigel replied.
"Can any of you use your mind powers to bring them here?" The Firemaster asked the six students.
They all shook their heads. Their faces were apologetic.
The Firemaster nodded at Nigel.
Nigel's face filled one of the big screens. Axel sucked in a breath at the look in his eyes. His eyes were beyond cold today. They looked dead.
&
nbsp; A moment later, there were three thuds as Jasper, Stacey, and then Victor landed on the stage from thin air.
They looked shocked. And intensely afraid.
The Firemaster walked around them slowly. Axel's heart lodged in her throat.
"So," The Firemaster said softly, his voice whispering around the hall. "Who else is in your little cohort of traitors?"
None of them responded.
"Stand when The Firemaster is addressing you," Serloyd snapped.
They scrambled to their feet.
"He asked who else is with you," Serloyd said. "We're waiting for an answer."
Jasper was visibly trembling. Victor's face was a deep red. Axel couldn't tell what Stacey was thinking. She had to be terrified, too.
"Read their minds," Serloyd told one of the six students. "I give you permission."
Soon, the student was projecting a new hologram onto the stage. Axel's blood turned to ice as the hologram materialized. It was a campfire. Sitting around it was everyone who'd been present during their meeting last night. Axel stared at her own image, and then at Trojan's.
"Double check," Serloyd snapped at Nigel.
Nigel's eyes glazed over slightly. A moment later, he nodded.
Serloyd began to reel off the names of everyone in the hologram. Trojan twitched when his own name was called.
Axel's heart rate accelerated when she was called.
"Please come to the stage," Serloyd said when he finished naming them all.
Axel's legs felt like jelly when she stood up. She should have listened to Trojan. They should have confessed.
When she got to the stage, Axel noticed that Stacey no longer looked unmoved. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Axel stood beside her. Trojan stood on Axel's other side.
Jasper was trembling harder. Victor looked a moment away from keeling over.
Axel wondered what was going to happen. The punishment for rebels must be serious to get them so upset.
Are we going to be tortured?
The thought brought tears to Axel's eyes. She didn't think she could take anything traumatic today. Not when she was still recovering from the scorching.
"Let me see their minds," The Firemaster said softly to Nigel.
Axel wanted to take Trojan's hand as they waited, but she didn't dare.
The Firemaster nodded after a moment. "Kill them."
What?
Axel barely had time to process his words before a gun appeared in Nigel's hands. He pointed it at Victor and fired. Victor dropped with a thud. Next, he fired at Stacey. She slumped to the floor.
A scream tore up Axel's throat.
Nigel pointed the gun at Axel. There was a crazed, ruthless look in his eyes. He looked stoned.
The Firemaster raised his hand. "Hang fire."
Nigel lowered the gun.
Axel's relief was overwhelming. Tears filled her eyes. Her knees buckled. She stiffened them to stop herself from dropping to the floor.
"Since she was coerced to go by Trojan, I will give her another chance."
Nigel nodded once. Stiff. Curt. He lifted his gun and pointed it at Trojan.
No!
He fired.
Trojan's blood sprayed onto Axel's shirt. He dropped to the floor.
Horror washed over Axel. Was this really happening or was it some kind of sick nightmare?
"No!" Axel yelled. "No!"
She flopped to the floor and grabbed Trojan by the shoulders. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't be.
A pair of hands clamped down on her shoulders. Axel looked up. Serloyd.
He dragged her to her feet. "Stand up and shut up," he hissed. "We won't tolerate such a disruption."
Axel gulped in a breath, her head spinning.
That did not just happen. Nigel did not just kill Trojan. And Stacey and Victor.
"Take them away," The Firemaster said softly.
People rushed forward from the front row to carry Trojan, Stacey, and Victor away. Soon, all that was left was a small smear of blood on the floor. The only evidence of what had just happened. And it would soon be wiped away.
The Firemaster stopped before Axel, Jasper, and the other three rebels. He faced them. His eyes were like blue lasers, bright and penetrating. "I will give the rest of you a chance to redeem yourselves. You will pledge your allegiance to me tonight at midnight."
His gaze dropped to the necklace around Axel's neck. Her mom's necklace with the pendant containing a family photo.
"Axel, bring your mother's necklace. Jasper, bring your father's letter…"
As The Firemaster told the others what to bring, Axel wondered what he knew about her necklace, and how he knew about it. Her fingers closed around the heart-shaped pendant.
Her name was mentioned again, and she snapped to attention.
"Nigel will monitor you," The Firemaster was saying.
"Jasper, Serloyd will monitor you."
Axel looked at Nigel as The Firemaster continued. He was staring into space, his eyes vacant. A bulge in his pocket told her that was where the gun was.
"Please go straight to your afternoon classes," The Firemaster announced, addressing the auditorium. "Lunch time is over. Meeting dismissed."
Chapter 23
AXEL AND THE OTHER rebels were herded away by Desmond and taken into a backstage room where people were waiting with injections.
Axel didn't even flinch at the prick of the needle. She was getting used to it. Soon, the horrific events that had just taken place on stage were pushed to the back of her mind.
After everyone had been injected, their Super suits were thrust into their hands and they were ordered to change.
Once they were all ready, Desmond escorted each of them to their classes. Axel felt numb, disconnected from reality, as she followed Desmond and the other rebels through the hallways. Soon, only Axel and Jasper were left.
Desmond took them outside to the sports fields for their flight lesson with Nigel.
Nigel was opening a large container full of sandwiches. There was a pile of water bottles on the ground.
"Where's Serloyd?" Nigel called to Desmond.
"He's teaching a class right now, but he'll pick Jasper up when he finishes. Don't let Jasper leave."
Desmond left and Nigel gestured for everyone to help themselves to the sandwiches and water.
Axel joined the stampede. Breakfast had been so long ago it seemed like another lifetime.
Where was Trojan?
She remembered Nigel shooting him and horror washed over her for a brief moment before subsiding.
Trojan was dead. Gone. Forever.
She reached for a bottle of water.
Nigel thrust one into her hands. Axel looked at him for a moment as she accepted it. Then she went to get a sandwich.
"You have five minutes to eat," Nigel called.
Everyone settled on the grass in clusters, unusually quiet. No flirting. No fooling around. Candy walked past Axel, not making eye contact.
Axel considered going to sit with her but changed her mind when she saw that Candy was sitting with Amanda, Gladys, and a bunch of other people. She looked for Angelo. He was looking at her. He quickly looked away.
Axel frowned. She was about to go over when he moved to sit with Prince Drake and his buddies.
Axel sat by herself. She smiled at Jasper when he joined her.
Jasper grinned back.
They ate in silence. Axel gulped down her water when she finished and then went to throw the bottle in the trash bag Nigel had laid on the ground near the bottles of water.
As she walked back to Jasper, something seemed to click in her mind and the numbness vanished. Grief hit her. Anger followed close on its heels.
Nigel had killed Trojan.
Nigel or The Firemaster? Who should she blame?
Did Nigel have a choice? She remembered the crazed look in his eyes. The ruthless expression on his face. Had she caught a glimpse of his true colors or was something more going o
n?
She glanced at Nigel as she sat down beside Jasper. All of a sudden, she knew what he'd done. The water bottle he'd given her. It must have contained something. He'd neutralized the injection she'd been given backstage.
But why?
She didn't understand.
She needed answers.
Tears filled her eyes.
Trojan.
She covered her face with her hands.
"Are you okay?" Jasper asked cheerfully.
Nigel hadn't neutralized him, obviously.
A sob escaped her lips. Her body was trembling.
"Finish up, everybody," Nigel called. "Put your garbage in the garbage bag and let's start."
Axel could hear everyone moving around.
"Axel?" Jasper asked.
Axel lowered her hands. Everyone was standing. She dragged herself to her feet, tears still streaming down her face.
"Now that most of you can fly," Nigel said, "we need to work on speed. To warm up, fly around the field ten times. Then we'll begin to race."
Everyone took off into the air.
Axel jumped, wondering if she'd fly this time. Nothing happened, just like she'd known nothing would happen. She landed on the ground, unable to defy gravity like everyone else. Did the scorching mean she'd given up only her healing power, or that she'd given away her ability to have powers?
She didn't know.
And she didn't care.
She watched everyone fly away, keeping her gaze firmly away from Nigel. Soon, they were all specks in the distance.
She heard Nigel approach. She still didn't look at him.
"Not all Supers can fly," he said quietly. There was something in his voice. Something sad.
Axel looked at him. His expression was much the same as ever, closed, guarded, cold. But there was a hint of something more in his eyes. Sadness? Defeat?
Pain welled up in Axel's heart. Before what happened in the auditorium, looking at him was a guilty pleasure. She always noticed his chiseled features. She was a sucker for his rugged appeal.
She hadn't been able to admit it to Trojan or Angelo but yes, she'd had a crush on him.
Now...she was just scared.