“No, thanks to you. It was your skill that did it. Well done, Neelam.”
“Come on, let’s free the others before someone comes,” Dylan said.
They raced to the other room and let Jay, Sasha, Andrew and Lucy out, then they all ran upstairs in search of the lab where their brothers and sisters were being held.
“Can you sense them, Neelam?” Lucy asked.
She shook her head. “My powers only work once I’m close to the person whose mind I want to read.”
“I hope we find them soon. I’m so worried about my brother.”
“It’ll be OK,” Neelam assured her, even though she wasn’t convinced herself.
The eight of them trekked up and down the corridors for the next 10 minutes, but it felt like they were getting more and more lost.
“Didn’t we come this way already?” Sasha said with a huff.
“I don’t think so,” Neelam said.
“Quiet,” Scarlett interrupted. “I think I heard a scream come from that direction.”
She raced off down another corridor, leaving the others with no option but to follow her. Suddenly, Neelam collapsed to the floor holding her head as though she was in pain.
“Are you OK?” Jay asked.
“The children,” Neelam managed to say through her agony. “They’re down there on the right and I can hear their thoughts – they’re wailing in pain.”
Dylan helped her up. “Good work,” he said. “Come on, try to block it out and pretend you can’t hear it, so we can go after them.”
The pain on her face eased a little. “I’ll try my best.” She smiled thankfully.
When they reached the room Neelam had pointed out, Scarlett stood at the door and telekinetically flung it open. “Let’s go!” she yelled, running into the room.
“Oh no,” Dylan muttered. “I really need to teach her about teamwork.” It was too late now though, their cover was already blown, so he chased after her even though he thought it was suicide to do so.
“Are we following them?” Andrew asked.
“Nothing better to do,” Jay mused.
He dashed in there super quickly, while Lucy raced in throwing lightning bolts and creating a commotion. Sasha flew into the middle of the room, reaching Dr Kitts in a second.
“What on earth?” he said as she picked him up and carried him through the air. “Put me down now. I’m in the middle of an experiment.”
“We know that,” Scarlett said. “We heard the kids screaming.”
“I need to finish what I’m doing,” the doctor insisted. “Or it will hurt them more. Let me go.”
Sasha did as she was told and he fell to the floor with a thud. Scarlett used her mind to lift a table and throw it at him, but she missed and hit Andrew instead, knocking him over.
“Ooops, sorry.”
“It’s OK,” he said, picking up the table and throwing it to one side like it was a light, little toy.
“Wowzers.” Lucy said. “You’re pretty strong.”
“Super strong,” Jay said.
“I am? I am!” Andrew looked shocked. He picked the table back up with one hand and threw it at the doorway, blocking the way of two guards he had just spotted trying to get in.
Scarlett mind lifted another table and flung it on top of that one for good measure.
“Now,” she said to Dr Kitts. “Free them.”
“I must wait.”
“Why were they screaming?” Scarlett asked.
“They’re not in pain anymore…”
“He’s lying,” Neelam said. “I can hear their thoughts. They’re in agony.”
“You monster,” Dylan shouted. “What are you doing to them?”
“I’m running several procedures, including electric shocks. The hope is that it will cause a reaction and release their powers,” he explained. “It sounds cruel, but I thought it was better than letting Goulden’s men beat them. I’m also investigating their genes to see if they have the potential for powers in the first place and the results are nearly ready.”
“That’s why you won’t free them, isn’t it?” Dylan said. He pointed his finger accusingly. “You need to complete the results. It won’t hurt them to stop this now at all.”
The doctor shook his head, but Scarlett wasn’t convinced. She lifted him up in the air.
“Wake them up and let them, go. Now!” She dropped him again to show that she meant business.
“I wish I’d never agreed to this,” he muttered as he trudged over to a machine a few feet away. “I had no idea super kids could be so irritating.” He flicked a switch. ”Done.”
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
The teenagers turned around to see Goulden clambering past the tables into the room. Two of his men were trying their best to move the obstacles out of the way for him, but he was obviously too impatient to wait.
“I should have known my useless guards couldn’t hold you now you have your powers.” He turned to Dr Kitts. “Any news?”
The doctor shook his head. He was staring at a printout that had just come out of a small printer attached to his machine.
“Nothing,” he said. “The experiments and blood tests all show that these younger ones don’t have the same genes as their powered siblings. I ran a full set of investigations too and not one of them forced latent abilities to manifest. I’m very certain that these children are normal, non-powered citizens.”
“That’s a shame,” Goulden said. “Kill them.”
“No!” Sasha yelled. She flew at Goulden, while Lucy threw lightning and Scarlett threw pretty much everything her mind could grab hold of.
He stepped to one side to dodge their assault, then gently brushed imaginary dust from his suit.
“Ladies, please, there’s no need to be so dramatic. How’s about I agree to not kill your little brothers and sisters and send them home to live happily ever after…”
“If?” Dylan said. He knew there had to be a catch.
“If you all stop being so stubborn and agree to be my super soldiers.”
Chapter 8
Dylan looked at Scarlett, then around the rest of the group and back to Goulden.
“I thought we didn’t have much choice in that matter anyway. You’ve pretty much made it clear that we have to be your ‘super soldiers’ as you call it. In fact, you’ve even changed the law to make it compulsory for us.”
“True, true,” Goulden said. “However, it is becoming apparent to me that you lot are very – how should I put it? Difficult.” He started to do that stalking the room thing that gave Dylan the creeps. “I’m worried that you’re all going to rebel against me and escape or, even worse, turn against me and I don’t want that now, do I?”
He stopped pacing and stared intently at the whole group one by one.
“So… let’s do a deal. I let your siblings live and return to your parents and you agree to stay here with me and obediently do as I say. No more little shows like the one you just put on, no running away, just 100 per cent commitment to serving me and your country. What do you say?”
The room fell silent as the teenagers awkwardly looked at each other, then at the youngsters who were strapped to beds at the other side of the room, and finally at the floor. None of them wanted to look Goulden in the eye or give him an answer.
“Well?” he asked. “Mr Nicolson? You seem to be acting like the leader of this group.”
Dylan shuffled his feet. “I don’t know,” he said. He looked over at Sophia and thought about how much he wanted to save her from all this. “I want to say yes, but I don’t think it’s fair for me to speak for everyone.”
“I reluctantly agree with you,” Scarlett said. “But only because I want to save my brother.”
She looked around at the rest of the group.
“Me too,” Neelam said, then Lucy, Jay, Andrew and Sasha all gave a nod. With Alex and Ethan still out of action, that only left Toshiko to provide an answer. The rest of the group
stared at her in anticipation.
“Sign up to working for this guy?” she said. “I’m not so sure.”
“Please?” Sasha begged. “It’s the only way he’ll free my sister.”
Toshiko shook her head in dismay. “Oh alright. I agree.”
“Excellent,” Goulden said. He clapped his hands together with malevolent glee, then turned to his men. “Take the children away.”
“I’ll do it,” Dr Kitts said. “I need to wake them properly, then I will personally see to it that they are returned to their families.”
The determined look on the doctor’s face suggested that he was developing a good deal of mistrust in Goulden, which reassured Dylan somewhat. Hopefully, it meant that he would be good to his word about seeing all the siblings home safely.
“Right then,” Goulden said, turning back to the group. “On with your training. I have uniforms for you all, which I would like you to wear from now on.”
Toshiko and Sasha wrinkled their noses in disgust.
“Uniforms?” Lucy said. “They’d better not be all cheap and starchy like the school ones.”
“Or brightly coloured Lycra,” Jay quipped quietly.
“Ben!” Goulden shouted. One of the guards dashed to his side. “Take the super soldiers downstairs and get them kitted out, then meet me back up here within the hour.”
“Yes, sir. What about the other two – Connor and White?”
Goulden moved his eyes from side to side as he pondered the question.
“How is Alex Connor, Dr Kitts?”
“I’ve completed his investigations and he’s recovering well in a room downstairs.”
“Any powers?”
“Not yet.”
“Very well. Ben, locate Connor and include him with this group. Leave White where he is until I’ve figured out how to stop him using those bombs against me.”
“Yes sir,” he said as he bowed sycophantically. He turned to the group and adopted a more gruff voice. “Come with me.”
They were all solemn as they followed Ben out of the room, through the seemingly infinite white corridors and down the stairs to the ground floor. Three twisty turns later, Ben came to a stop outside one room. “In here,” he said whilst unlocking the door and flinging it open.
Dylan walked in first, followed by Scarlett, Neelam, Jay, Lucy, Andrew, Toshiko and Sasha.
Ben rifled through a row of charcoal-grey uniforms that were hanging on a clothes rail at the side of the room.
“These are your uniforms. Grab a shirt and pair of trousers each in your size, then put them on. You can change over there.” He pointed at some navy blue screens that were positioned at the far end of the room. “There’s one side for the boys and one for the girls.”
He took a seat in the corner, then picked up a newspaper and started flicking through it.
“These are disgusting,” Scarlett said as she held up one of the fitted, boring shirts. “Do we seriously have to wear these?”
“Yes, sadly,” Lucy said. “I don’t want to risk crossing Goulden now he’s threatened the kids. I agree though, they’re horrible.” She stared at the formal trousers, which had a horrible crease down the front of the legs, with disdain, then looked down at her own Levi’s and floral top sadly.
Soon, they had all picked out their uniforms and changed into them.
“Gross,” Sasha said as she stared at her reflection in a full-length mirror that was propped up against the wall. The snug, fitted outfit actually flattered her curvy figure, but it was nothing like what she would wear normally. It was far too stuffy and dull.
Dylan adjusted his collar as he checked out his own appearance. He was so uncomfortable in his new attire, he felt like it was choking him and making him itch. He just wanted to rip it off.
“Ben,” a voice whispered loudly at the door. “Another one for you.” The other man pushed Alex through the door.
“Alex!” Andrew said. “You’re OK.”
The eight teenagers walked over to greet him.
“Hi,” he said meekly. He didn’t look too great. He had a huge bruise on his face and his soul looked as crushed and beaten as his body must feel.
“Oh my goodness.” Scarlett said. “You look awful. What did they do to you?”
“Well, they started by tending to the injuries I suffered during the beating. One broken rib, a dislocated shoulder and more bruises than I can count…”
She winced.
“Then they ran all kinds of experiments on me. I don’t know what they found though and I still don’t have any powers.” He looked gutted.
Ben coughed and looked at them sternly. “Sorry to break up your little reunion, but I need you to get dressed, Alex. The boss wants you back up there ASAP.”
Alex hurriedly changed, wincing from his bruises as he did so, then the nine of them made their way upstairs, with Dylan explaining to him what had happened to the younger children along the way.
When the group stepped back into the large, white room, they saw that it had been transformed. Industrial-sized bins, piles of boxes and ladders lined the room. It looked like a dirty, old alley had been recreated on a low-budget film set.
“What is this?” Andrew said quietly. “It’s weird.”
“Welcome back,” Goulden called as he re-entered the room. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place? I thought it would be a bit boring to fight in a plain, old room, so I’ve added a few obstacles to make things interesting.”
Dylan looked at Scarlett, who for some reason was looking very pleased with the latest development. “What?” he whispered.
“You’ll see.” She smiled.
Luckily, Goulden didn’t hear them – he was far too busy posturing and getting excited about the battle ahead.
“Ready!” he shouted into the corridor and 15 guards marched in. Some of them had riot shields and others had guns. “Right,” he said, spinning around with his arms outstretched to show he was addressing the whole room. “Let’s pretend that my guards over here are trying to capture you kids. I want you to use your powers to do everything you can to evade them. Be experimental and try new things – this is a platform for you to train and become truly excellent super soldiers. Give it everything you’ve got.”
“Gladly,” Dylan said under his breath.
“OK, go!”
The men instantly began to charge at the teenagers, but Scarlett blocked them all by flinging several bins in the way with her telekinesis.
“Nice work,” Dylan said. “Lucy, let them have it.”
The blonde girl summoned all the energy she had and fired out lightning bolts. This time, they were more ferocious than anything she had done before and she took out three of the men with one blast. “Nice,” she said as she glanced at her hands, then she let rip again with more awesome blasts.
Four of the guards were running towards them, so Toshiko somersaulted over and performed a perfect spinning kick that floored two of them. Meanwhile, Jay speedily ran rings around the other two until they became so confused that they shot at each other. They fell to the ground with a shock.
“Stun guns,” Andrew noted. “Well, at least they’re not bullets.” Just then, one of the guards threw a bin flying at him, but Andrew easily withstood the assault and flung it back twice as hard.
“Impressive stuff,” Dylan said.
“Thanks. It’s weird, it felt like being hit just then made me even stronger.”
“Maybe it did,” Dylan said as he ducked to dodge a ladder that was flying through the air. “We still don’t know the full extent of our powers.”
“These guys are tough,” Scarlett said as she ran towards them. She looked a little short of breath. “I’ve thrown everything at them and they still come back for more.”
“At least you have powers,” said Alex, who was hovering near the edge of the group, looking unsure what to do.
“Watch out!” Scarlett yelled as a bin came soaring towards him. She didn’t even have time to
telekinetically react to help. “Alex!”
Suddenly, he vanished, then reappeared about a metre to the left of where he had been stood.
“Oh my God!” Scarlett said. She looked around quickly. “Did anyone else see that? Did Goulden spot you?”
Alex shook his head. “What happened?”
“You teleported. Not very far, but you did it.”
“Awesome.”
“Yeah, well, don’t do it again.”
“Why not?” He looked disappointed.
“Because we don’t want Goulden to know you can do it. He might lock you up like Ethan and his bombs. However, if we keep your power secret, you could be the key to us getting out of here.”
“She’s right,” Dylan said.
“Oh, OK then.” Alex looked pleased with himself. He quite liked the idea of being the potential saviour of the group.
Scarlett ran back into action and started throwing all the bins, boxes and ladders she could telekinetically grab at the guards. When that didn’t work, she grabbed the guards and flung them hard at the wall instead. She had soon taken out six of them, Lucy had defeated five, while Toshiko, Sasha, Jay and Andrew were battling the final four.
Dylan looked on and wondered how he could help, then he remembered the ice lasso Scarlett had encouraged him to make. He quickly tried the same trick again and captured a man chasing Jay with a frozen chain. “Yes!” he thought, before punching the air. He swiftly trapped the final three guards the same way.
“We win,” Sasha shouted. “Wahoo!”
Goulden stepped forward, then walked around the scene surveying the sight of all his men beaten and fallen. He looked equally annoyed and delighted at the same time.
“Super soldiers, that was absolutely fantastic. Guards, not so much. OK, that’s it for this morning. You can all go and have some lunch – the guards will take care of you. I have some meetings to attend to elsewhere in the building, but I will be back to ensure your training is still going well in a couple of hours.”
“Great,” Jay said in a hushed tone. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter 9
Five guards marched the group back to the room where they’d had breakfast.
Out Of Time (Book 0): Super Unknown Page 5
