“Now what are you, boy? You seem extraordinarily young.” Alex pulled his face away from her gloved hand and grunted. Her hand too, had a white glove over it but instead both of her hands were gloved and at the end of them were more fluffy white ruffles.
“Refusing to talk? That’s just fine. We’ll leave you here while we go play with those friends of yours.” The woman smirked as she stepped over the tree and walked back toward the campsite. As soon as Jaheim and Winona were gone, rain and sound returned. Alex turned himself over and, with great effort, rolled the tree off him and began running.
Alex thrust his hands in front of him and shoved the last of the branches away before tumbling onto the mud-covered ground, face-first. Alex looked up to see all of his friends trapped inside a cage that looked as though it were made of lightning. Jack was still busy fighting the monster with his Shadows. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and he was gritting his teeth. Winona and Jaheim were standing in front of the cage and talking to their prisoners.
Alex couldn’t make out what they were saying over the roar of the thunder. He ran toward them and sliced his sword through them. Both of their bodies dissipated into thin air.
“What the—?” Alex stuttered in surprise.
“I’m surprised you fell for that,” Jaheim laughed. Alex spun around to find Winona and Jaheim standing behind him.
“That was a typical illusion trick. It was a low-level one, too. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it as an illusion immediately. Don’t they teach you that in school?” Jaheim commented.
“Oh, give the boy a break. He is young,” Winona scolded. “But that isn’t an excuse for us not to hurt you.” Winona’s smile was cold and bitter as she started to slowly pull out her hand from under her cloak. “Now what should it be, Jaheim? Quick or slow death?”
“I think a slow one as punishment for his ill manners shall do.”
“I agree. But one thing I don’t know is what the cause of death will be,” she said as Winona and Jaheim slowly started to walk toward Alex. Light poured from Jaheim’s hands while the sky rumbled and flashed with lightning.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s with the bandage around the head?” Jaheim pointed a finger at Alex’s head. “Oh wait! I remember now!” Jaheim laughed.
“Don’t play games with me. Why are you here?” Alex demanded.
“No reason. We are only doing our job,” Winona replied calmly.
“And what’s that?” Alex asked.
“None of your business,” Jaheim answered in a sickly sweet voice.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Alex rolled his eyes.
Jaheim and Winona both lunged at Alex to attack. Alex fell to the ground and rolled to the side and out of the way. They chased him around the grassy field at full speed. Alex raced up the tail of the monster with Winona and Jaheim at his heels. Alex stabbed the monster and jumped off just in time for its tail to come flying up and hit the exact spot where Winona and Jaheim had been. Jack hovered in the air staring at the monster while Alex waited on the ground. When the tail finally came down Winona and Jaheim were nowhere to be found.
“Where’d they go?” Alex asked as the monster dissipated. “Did they leave?”
“Not quite,” a voice whispered from behind. Before Alex could turn around, a skinny arm wrapped around his neck and another arm forced Alex’s hand to drop his sword. Alex latched his hands onto the arm gasping, trying to loosen it but it only got tighter.
“This will all be over soon. Oh, but don’t worry we’ll still keep that promise about the slow death,” said Jaheim from behind. Alex’s vision blurred as he watched Winona walk toward him with a lightning bolt crackling and sparking in her hand.
TWENTY-SEVEN
"I wonder how a bolt of lightning straight through the chest feels.”
“I’m sure it’s quite painful.”
“Probably is,” Winona said with a smirk. A scream pierced the air. ‘“What is this?” she shouted. Alex felt the grip around his neck loosen until Jaheim’s arm fully released Alex’s neck. Alex doubled over coughing and looked up to see what had caused them to stop.
Jaheim and Winona were covered in rose vines sprouting up from the earth. There was a strange green glow outlining the vines. The thorns scraped against their skin, revealing bright red blood pouring out of fresh cuts. Alex looked back at his friends to see David’s hand outstretched toward the vines. The same green light on the vines emanated from the palm of his hand.
When Alex looked back, Winona and Jaheim were gone. The rain stopped, and thunder and lightning no longer filled the air. The clouds that covered the moon retreated and the light of the purple moon shone once again. The vines slithered back into the ground like snakes and the ground closed up where the vines had previously emerged. Alex stood up and walked back to his friends where they were standing in a scorched square in the grass where the cage had been.
“Are you okay?” Alex choked. A red mark had formed on his neck on the spot he was strangled. Mark was cradling his left arm while Nicole was limping. “What happened?”
“We got burned,” replied Mark.
“I should have stuff for that in my bag,” said Alex as he turned his attention to Jack, who was drifting to the ground. “Why didn’t you come back down and help us? The monster dissipated long before they left.”
“I apologize. I don’t know what happened. I believe Jaheim placed a barrier around you to prevent me from coming to your aid. I was unable to reach the ground,” said Jack as he took off his hat and twirled it. As it spun, it slowly began to shrink. In an instant it was gone.
“How’d you know his name? He never told you what his name was,” said Alex skeptically. “Or at least, you weren’t here for him to reveal it.”
“I know him from previous encounters. But I was wrong. Apparently Brooke wasn’t the only one who has an ‘ability’. David has one as well.” Jack placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder and scanned the teens surrounding him. “And he might not be the only one.”
“What do you mean he might not be the only one? What are you talking about?” Alex asked, shrugging his hand off and turning to face him.
“I need to run a few experiments, don’t worry they are harmless. It may be some well needed exercise.” Jack smiled.
“Whoa whoa whoa. I’m not going to be someone’s lab rat,” David said hurriedly.
“It’s nothing too extravagant. I merely wish to find out if any of you have powers of your own. If so, how powerful and to what extent? What type of powers do you have? Why do you have them? Sadly, I most likely will not discover all of this information all at once. After all, you are all only human, so if you even do have powers it will take much longer than one simple experiment to force them out. Anyway, we will start that all tomorrow. Today, you must rest. We have fought long and hard, and it will be a waste to start experiments so soon.”
“What do you mean by today? It’s still night-time,” noted Mark.
Jack nodded off at the cliff without a word. Everyone turned to follow his gaze. Off on the horizon, the sun had just begun to rise. They all stared in awe at the amazing sunrise for a few minutes before turning back to one another.
“Mark, Nicole. Can you stay out for a bit so I can fix up your burns?” Alex asked.
Mark and Nicole nodded and followed Alex to the smoldering makeshift fire pit.
“We’ll see you later. We’re going to bed,” David called as he and Brooke retreated into each other’s tents. Alex bent over one of their bags to retrieve disinfectant and other items needed to tend to his friends. As he pulled out the supplies, he caught Jack sneaking off into the outskirts of the forest.
“Where are you going?” Alex called after him. Jack turned around at Alex’s voice.
“I am going to scout the area, become familiar with it so I can plan for the experiments t
omorrow. Goodbye!” Jack quickly turned and disappeared beneath the leaves and branches of the forest.
Alex sighed and turned toward his wounded friends. “How did you burn yourselves? I don’t recall them throwing fire at you,” Alex asked as he mended their wounds.
“When that woman trapped us in that weird cage, we tried to get out by force and somehow this happened,” Nicole explained. She gestured toward their wounds as if they would explain all of the unanswered questions.
“That’s because those bars were made of lightning bolts. How did you not get that?” Alex asked as he wrapped the bandages around Mark’s arm tightly.
“It was her idea. She said she needed help,” Mark grimaced as Alex finished.
“Thanks. That red mark around your neck still hasn’t gone away. Exactly how hard did he squeeze your neck?” asked Nicole.
“Hard enough,” Alex said bluntly as he shoved the bandages into the bag. “Something is bugging, me though.”
“What is it?” Nicole asked.
“That was a bit too easy, don’t you think?” Alex asked. “Trap them with thorn-covered vines and suddenly, Poof! They’re gone? They seemed extremely powerful. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I see your point. Maybe we just caught them off guard? They didn’t expect it? I don’t know but at least they’re gone now,” Mark said. “Let’s go and get some rest now. Who knows what Jack has in store for us tomorrow.” They walked back to their tents, and Alex threw the bag in, not bothering to try to avoid hitting David.
The heavy bag smacked David in the head and he grabbed blindly at it. Once his fingertips found the canvas, he latched onto it and tossed it on the other side of the tent before curling deeper beneath his blankets.
“See you tomorrow,” said Nicole with a laugh as she walked into her own tent.
The next day Alex felt a cold presence hovering over him, and he opened his eyes. He found one of Jack’s Shadows hovering over the trio at the top of the tent. The cold eyes stared back at Alex as he made eye contact. Once Alex’s sluggish brain processed what he was staring at, he bolted upright, and the Shadow disappeared out of the tent. Mark and David were both sitting up, and they looked at each other with questioning and confused expressions. Before they could say a word, they heard a scream from the girls’ tent. They were all out in time to see Brooke and Nicole run out of their tent with another Shadow close behind. The two Shadows took off toward the cliff before disappearing.
“I apologize for the rude awakening,” said Jack as he tipped his hat in greeting. “Time to see what you can do. Alex, please leave your sword in the tent.” Alex looked Jack in the eyes without blinking.
“I never part with it,” Alex said, his voice hoarse.
“That’s a lie. You were without it all the time back on the mainland.” Jack gestured with his eyes from the sword to the tent before meeting Alex’s gaze sternly. Alex sighed in annoyance from how much Jack knew and unstrapped the buckle that held the sheath against his back. Alex tossed the sword inside the tent. It felt strange to be without his sword. After all that had happened, he felt completely naked without it.
“So, I had my Shadows examine all of you. I am still unable to figure out what your main abilities are or if you even have any. That sort of area is not in my expertise. However, I do know that you all share one main power. It is very common among the citizens of Equelibreiangeria, so it was quite easy for me to locate,” Jack explained. Jack took a step toward Brooke and leaned in, staring into her eyes as if he was sizing her up.
“What are these abilities we all have?” asked Brooke, leaning away from Jack awkwardly. Jack stood upright again.
“Oh, I’m not telling you,” Jack smiled wickedly.
“Why not?” asked David.
“Because you need to figure out what they are for yourselves,” said Jack. He turned around, hiding his smile. “And I know just how to do that.”
Suddenly, three Shadows shot out from behind them and knocked Mark, Nicole, and Alex to the ground, pinning them to the dirt and grass.
“What was that for?” Nicole shouted angrily.
“Your abilities manifested when your friends were in danger,” Jack said casually as he slowly walked away.
“This is not going to help!” shouted Brooke.
“We’ll see.”
Six more Shadows appeared and started to charge after them before Jack disappeared.
“Come on! We have to try to get those Shadows off them before the other Shadows reach us!” Brooke told David. Mark, Nicole, and Alex thrashed about wildly in an attempt to escape the Shadows’ cold and firm grip, but the Shadows only closed in on them the more they moved. That’s when Alex came up with a quick solution.
“Stop moving!” Alex shouted. “Just relax!” David and Nicole stopped moving at Alex’s commands. Gradually, the shadows stopped moving and began to loosen until they dissipated into the air. A few seconds later, they came back diving for them again. They scrambled to their feet and took off running into the trees.
“Split up!” Alex shouted. Mark and Alex ran off in one direction, while the others ran off into the other. Five of the Shadows went after David, Brooke, and Nicole, while four of them went after Mark and Alex. They didn’t have to run for long before something sent them tumbling back through the air and sprawling to the ground.
“What was that?” asked Mark.
“I don’t know,” said Alex, He stood up and reached out his hand. The air rippled at his fingertips before something sent him flying backwards.
“It’s called a force field,” a voice echoed.
“What was that?” exclaimed Mark, suddenly up and in a fighting stance. “You really don’t recognize my voice? Wow… I’m disappointed, Mark. That’s a force field made of all of my Shadows connected together reflecting light in such a way that you only see a mirror image. And that force field circles the entire outside ten-mile radius of the campsite. Can’t escape now!”
“It’s Jack! Run!” Alex urged. “He exists in the Shadows. Climb up that tree and get to the top. Hopefully the sun will block out any Shadows close by.”
Alex and Mark ran to a nearby tree and began climbing as fast as they could. Alex bounded up the tree in seconds. He looked down to Mark, who wasn’t too far behind, but was far enough. The Shadows started to fly up the tree right behind him.
“Hurry up! They are right behind you!” Alex shouted. Mark looked down as a Shadow swept by him. The Shadow flew up in between Mark and the tree trunk, startling him. With his surprise his grip loosened and he slipped off the branches, falling through the branches. Alex jumped after Mark and grabbed his arm.
He flipped himself upward and tried to grab onto one of the passing branches but the Shadows grabbed them and brought them high above the canopy. Then, they let go. Alex and Mark continued to fall seventy feet. Alex swung himself and Mark around so that Alex would be the first to hit the ground. If they were going to fall, Alex would take all of the impact. Mark had his eyes closed and his arms up over his face protectively. Alex closed his eyes as they plummeted to the ground.
Alex felt the air whipping past his face until it stopped for a second. Alex opened his eyes to see that he hadn’t gotten past the canopy and was still high up in the air. The Shadows ripped Mark out of his hands and then let go again. Alex tried to grab him, but he was too far away. Alex ripped through the canopy. Branches and leaves hit them on the way down, causing him to lose focus. The world became nothing but a brown, green, and blue blur. Alex watched as the ground came closer and closer.
Alex pulled his arms over his head to brace for impact like Mark had but the impact never came. Slowly, Alex pulled his arms back down to see the ground had stopped zooming toward him. He was upside down, feet facing the sky and head facing the earth, only a few inches above the ground. Alex looked up to see if the Shadows had caught him by the ankles,
but they were nowhere to be found.
In front of him, Mark was lying, back toward the ground in mid-air with his face still covered by his arms and his eyes still squeezed shut.
“Mark?” Alex watched as Mark slowly brought his arms down and he opened his eyes.
“Are we dead?” Mark asked.
“Nope, not that I know of. I have no idea what just happened.”
“We are still in theeeeeeahhh!” Mark was cut mid-sentence when he shot up into the air. “Whaaaaa!” he screamed. Mark stopped right before his head could come in contact with a tree branch.
“How did you get u—?” Alex shot up into the air without warning before he could finish. “What the—?” Alex stopped next to Mark.
“Well, look what we have here!” Jack stepped out of a Shadow on a trunk. “So… both of you can fly? Interesting,” Jack grinned.
“Are you doing this?” Mark demanded.
“Nope. You’re doing all of this on your own.”
“We can’t possibly be doing this. How would we be able to? We don’t have powers!”
“When you think about going up, you go up. When you think about stopping you stop. That’s how you stopped yourselves from hitting the ground. It really is that simple.”
“I wasn’t thinking about stopping when we were falling,” Alex claimed.
“But that was what you really wanted, wasn’t it?” Asked Jack. “Think about flying.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
Alex rolled his eyes doubtfully and thought about flying above the canopy. Alex darted up toward the canopy and Mark followed.
“This is defying the laws of gravity!” Mark shouted with glee. Alex, still unable to believe that he was causing himself to fly, continued to fly, refusing to stop. He only stopped when Mark screamed at him to wait for him.
“Don’t go so high.” Mark struggled to catch up. Jack followed.
“I’ll have to have my Shadows check the others and see if they can fly as well,” said Jack as he opened his hand and pointed to a patch of trees and simply murmured the word, ‘go.’ Three Shadows flew up from the other direction before zooming off where Jack was pointing. A few seconds later, the Shadows were flying up above the trees carrying Nicole, David, and Brooke by their ankles. They were all screaming their lungs out.
The Abnormals: Book One Page 18
