by M A Scrawl
Realizing how tired he was, Kadir went to bed. The combined efforts of Caheel as well as this wheelchair shenanigan had wore him out.
-Chapter 24-
-Same Old, Same Old-
Kadir woke up to the sound of a voice over the speaker, again summoning him and his siblings to the gym. Today however, he had decided he would not go.
He had talked to his siblings a little about it, and they had agreed it was irrational what Caheel was doing. So, they stayed inside the bunker room for thirty minutes, sitting around tending extremely sore muscles, eating a little of the food that was in the refrigerator, and talking a little. Kadir thought suddenly of the consequences of staying inside. If they were going to be trained by Caheel, then he must’ve gotten approval by Withers. So if they didn’t go-
A group of men wearing S.S.S. armor burst through the door, overriding the 'come in' command. Kadir and Katy leapt to their feet sorely, Kadir commanding electricity to spark on his arms. Electricity smothered his arm, making it hard to see anything other than light.
The soldiers stood still before the children silently, obviously wanting to reach for their guns, while at the same time not wanting to get blasted with energy.
"Can you turn that off?" asked one of the soldiers. As a show, Kadir increased the brightness. The soldier glared at him.
"What do you want?" Kadir asked.
"This is a warning. If you don't come to training again, we will have to put you in the detainment cell again, doing further tests where it'd be easier for us." The other soldiers looked at him expectantly, tapping their guns. "You might be able to take some of us out, but we'll get you eventually, and you'll be caught."
Kadir grimaced, thinking. He was gonna tell them something totally manly and intimidating, like "Are you asking for thunder!?" or something like that.
But, after one glance at Katy's fearful eyes, Kadir knew that the soldiers were right, and that they were stuck as it was.
Kadir nodded reluctantly at the men, and they backed away, leaving the three of the trapped children alone in the bunker. Kadir sighed, stopping the thrilling flow through his body. "Welp," Katy said. "I, for one, didn’t think about how much power they had over us.."
Kadir nodded. "We're in their hands whether we like it or not, and they can help us, or trap us. We're at their mercy." Quentin agreed quietly and Katy nodded.
"Sooooo, lets go to the gym and meet Mr. Grumpy Red-face," Katy said. Kadir sighed again.
-----
Caheel was waiting for them, and, as Katy had predicted, he was very, VERY angry.
"Pathetic bags of slime!" Caheel yelled, roughly pushing Kadir in the chest.
Katy laughed. "Was that supposed to be an insult?"
Caheel turned on her, grabbing her shoulders, putting his feet behind her, and pushing her. She fell, wide eyed and hit the floor roughly, letting out a grunt. Kadir yelled, coming in to punch Caheel, electricity spreading from his arm. Caheel turned, and stepped nimbly out of the way, tripping and pushing Kadirs’ back so he landed forcefully on the ground.
Quentin also threw a right-handed punch at Caheel, but Caheel easily pushed his arm to the side and hit Quentin with his elbow, knocking him off balance.
Caheel looked around at the children, examining as they each slowly got up. "That was called Hand-to-hand combat. If you had been patient and worked with me, I might have shown you." He moved quickly and swept Kadirs’ feet out from under him.
"But now I see that you are incapable of being taught anything in a kind way." Caheel turned, sitting down on a mat. "30 push-ups, NOW."
They obeyed, despite their sore muscles and accomplished the push-ups with even more groaning and sweating. Kadir wasn't feeling especially loving towards Caheel, but he knew he couldn't electrocute him, or risk being placed in the detainment cell. Withers might remove their position in their bunker.
So, Kadir gritted his teeth and obeyed grudgingly, ignoring his bruised back and inflamed muscles.
They did more running, more push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and basically anything else that ended in 'ups.' Caheel still yelled at them every time they did something wrong, and Kadir had more than one time where he wanted to smother his entire body in electricity and attack Caheel, but he couldn't. Katy would be especially discouraged to go back into that cell.
When they finished, Caheel watched them leave, Kadir allowing Quentin to carry him and Katy back to the Bunker Room. Quentin made some Chicken soup he'd found in a cabinet, which improved their mood somewhat.
Kadir took off his shirt, displaying the bruises on his back. His chest felt like fire every time he moved his arms, and his thighs were ablaze with pain. His arms and legs weren't too good either.
So, basically every part in his body was burning. Quentin probably felt bad about not being sore, but he made up for it by cooking for them. Katy almost passed out on the couch, but she managed to stay conscious.
"Does anyone want to go back out and do wheelchair stunts?" Katy asked, weakly. "I think I found a good place to do a backflip."
Kadir shook his head, smiling tiredly, slurping at the hot soup bowl in his hands. He was still hungry, so he asked if Quentin could fill it again. Quentin obliged, picking up the metal bowl on the stove and pouring some into his bowl.
"No Katy, I don't really want to go outside anymore," Kadir said, receiving his bowl back from Quentin. Katy nodded, rubbing her arms and wincing. She pushed aside her hair, and it fell back on her face. She pushed it back harder this time, but again it came down on her face.
Kadir put down his bowl, thinking. He groaned as he realized they’d probably be doing the exact same thing tomorrow.
-Chapter 25-
-Confrontation-
Kadir, Katy, and Quentin went through the same torture for two more days, running, pulling, and doing tons and tons of push-ups, not to mention doing them all with the glowering Caheel, as well as being sore all the time.
Kadir tried his best to not shock Caheel, knowing fully that he'd be punished if he tried anything. Still, Caheel didn't help Kadirs’ efforts to resist hurting him by yelling at him.
It was another day, and Kadir was down on the ground doing push-ups. Caheel scowled, and placed his foot against his back. "Go faster," Caheel said, pushing down slightly on Kadirs’ spine. Kadir groaned, but gritted his teeth and pushed against the ground, following Caheels’ direction.
Kadir had learned the hard way not to defy him in any form. He yelled at him to do more push-ups if he did one incorrectly. Kadir was sore all the time now, his muscles inflaming whenever he even touched them, let alone move them.
Kadir finished the push-ups with Caheels’ foot on them, and he crumpled on the ground, groaning in pain. Caheel of course, had no sympathy and frowned upon any kind of weakness.
"Get up and follow me," and he turned, walking the other direction.
Kadir really wanted to stay there. The floor was feeling every so much more comfortable. Katy's face appeared in his vision. "Come on Kadir," she said softly, her face sad. "I know you’re just doing this for me."
Katy helped him up to his feet, even though she was probably feeling as worse as he was. Following Caheel, he led them to a corner in the gym where some mats surrounded by a ring of posts lay. He put on some boxing gloves, and waved towards Kadir.
Kadir groaned inwardly, but he grabbed some boxing gloves and put them on, grimacing at each throb his aching body made.
"Today, I'm going to start teaching you a little boxing. This might teach you some self-defence." Caheel leaned on the wall of the gym. "Plus, it'll be really entertaining for me."
Caheel stood up, putting his arms up in a boxing stance. Kadir had no idea what he was doing, but thought it was wise to do the same. Caheel grinned wickedly, and came in with a right hand punch. Kadir threw up his hands to protect himself, but witnessed as Caheel quickly and expertly switched his swing, coming in from the left.
Kadir felt a searing pain as the gloved hand slammed
into his side, aggravating any nearby sore muscles and leaving him winded. Kadir fell to the side, groaning on the ground.
"Get up." Caheel said. Kadir slowly and painfully rising off the mat. He put his hands up again, and decided to take a punch at Caheel. He knew it was no use, but there wasn't much to do but obey him. Seeing the sloppy fist come, Caheel easily stepped to the side, about to do the same move he had done with Quentin before.
He could see in his mind's eye, Caheel pushing away his arm and slamming his elbow into his chest. Caheel had done the exact same move against Quentin before.
Expecting the move, Kadir tucked downward, missing Caheels’ elbow by a foot. He quickly scrambled behind Caheel, and the man turned, grinning.
That wasn't a pleased or proud grin, but one that showed Kadir would pay for escaping his punch.
Caheel started punching Kadirs’ defensive arms repeatedly, striking not at his hardest setting, but his fastest. Kadir grit his teeth and felt the fists batter against his arms. Caheel threw a final punch and knocked Kadir over. In the corner of his eye, he saw Quentin take a step forward, arms out. Katy held him back weakly, not wanting Quentin to get himself hurt by Caheels account.
Defeated, embarrassed, Kadir found a spark of red-hot anger flare towards Caheel, one that had been kept low for days. They'd been trapped, captives inside a cell for what seemed like an eternity. Coming out, they'd been expecting asylum, not torture. They didn't want, nor need this. Why was he doing this?
Kadir jumped up, yelling. He could already feel the anger in his mind fueling the energy through his body. Electricity crossed across Kadirs’ chest. Surprisingly, Caheel grinned as Kadir came and punched him. Caheel blocked his fist with the boxing glove and smiled, amused at Kadirs’ obvious idiocy.
"Non-conductive boxing gloves," Caheel said, a vicious tone lacing his words. "Had them ordered specially, just for you."
Caheel abruptly swung around and striked Kadir hard in the face, knocking him over yet again. The blaze of pain across Kadirs’ face left him seeing stars, and feeling shameful tears fill his eyes. Kadir stood up wearily, took off the gloves, and collapsed outside the mat.
Caheel grinned. "Let that be a lesson to you Kadir, for not doing as I ask and improving.
"Whos next?" No one offered, so Caheel pointed at Quentin. Quentin shrugged off Katy's protests and strode forward, staring with heavy fiery hatred toward Caheel.
Quentin got onto the mat, not bothering to put on the gloves. He got into the defensive boxing stance. Caheel grinned, and threw a punch. Quentin glanced at it, and caught the punch with one hand. Caheel tried to pull his hand back, but Quentins’ grip kept him from moving.
Fury displayed on his usually blank face, Quentin pushed on Caheels’ chest in a jerking manner, letting go of his glove and throwing Caheel back four feet. Caheel landed off balance, and somehow managed to not trip.
Caheel roared, his face a mass of anger. He tried an uppercut, then a side-punch, but Quentin, unnaturally quick, easily stepped away from them. Then he punched Caheel in the stomach. Caheel doubled over, and Quentin kneed him in the face, and then kicked him in the arm.
Caheel stumbled backward, trying to staunch the blood that dripped from his nose. He collapsed, groaning, clutching his probably broken arm.
Quentin narrowed his eyes at the defeated man. "Let that be a lesson to you Caheel, for being the worst teacher in the world." Quentin turned and picked Kadir up, carrying him over his shoulder as Katy followed behind, glancing at the man who had blood flowing from his now-broken nose.
-Chapter 26-
-Kirby-
Kadir, Katy, and Quentin were in their bunker still, and it had been about an hour since Quentin had beaten up Caheel. Katy kept relaying to Kadir about what had happened while he had been unconscious, and somehow the story got grander and grander as she repeatedly relayed it.
"-then he just gave an uppercut," Katy shoved her fist upward. "Then he kicked him!" she lifted her leg. "Then-uh....He-he...Oh! He pushed him backwards!" She pushed with her arms at the air, miming what Quentin had supposedly done.
"I think I may have broken his arm," Quentin said, standing.
Looking to the left, Kadir could see that at some point someone had come in and taken the wheelchairs from where they'd been parked. So, no more joyrides.
Kadir was absolutely certain that they would be punished. Caheel would have to go to sick bay, and then have to tell how he'd gotten his wounds. Quentin was great, and Kadir was glad Caheel had gotten what he'd deserved-but it might have put them back in a prison again. Caheel had deserved what he’d gotten.
They had been boxing, and Caheel had hit first. Would Quentin get in trouble for breaking his arm? It was training.
But at the same time, what Quentin did could be called ‘unnecessary roughness.’ But Caheel also was rough with them. Would or would they not get in trouble?
Katy smiled, then warped, a red afterimage left of her body leaving the only indication that she used to be there. Kadir lurched to the side, his ears popping again as the air rushed to fill her empty spot. He regained his balance as Katy appeared with a bright-red flash in the kitchen.
Katy's power was very unique. She could teleport, although they hadn’t had much time to test out her powers. In fact, there hadn’t been much time to test much of anything.
Kadir looked at his hand while Katy searched the refrigerator. Energy started running through his body, and it appeared on his finger in the form of electricity. Why did he have this? It seemed strange as to why he and his siblings had powers, and nobody else did.
Katy could teleport, how far? How high? Could she and Kadir do other things?
Kadir cocked his head, curious. He stopped the flow to his hand. Then, wanting to find out if something was different, he let the flow go through his hand. Just underneath the surface, not allowing any electricity to be seen on his hand.
He waited for something interesting to happen.
Nothing happened. Sighing, he put down the metal spoon he was holding. Quentin had made some soup for them to eat, as everyone was too tired to go to whatever cafeteria they had. He opened his hand, but the spoon was stuck to him. Eyes wide, he shook his hand, increasing the flow in it, but still not letting any electricity come out.
Surprised, he stopped the Flow, and it clattered off the couch from his hand. "Hey guys," Kadir said, drawing the eyes of his two siblings. "I think I’m magnetic."
-----
Abby Kirby walked down the halls, headed toward a different destination than where she usually went. She'd already heard of the incident that the soldier, Caheel had with Quentin. He had a broken nose, as well as a broken arm. He'd reported that he'd fallen down one of the ladders, but the cameras in the gym threw light into his lie. Apparently he was more embarrassed than he looked.
Quentin had attacked him, and from what Abby knew, he quite deserved it. They knew that he was being extremely rough on the children, but other soldiers had explained that they had gone through the same brutality, having to tone their muscles before they did any kind of training.
Still, they were children. And not only children, but children with strange abilities. Kirby was fascinated by that development, and she'd have to order a study on them, assuming they would let themselves be tested on.
These clones could avoid the soldiers and beat them up any time they wanted. The only thing the soldiers could really do was place them in a detainment cell, where they would no doubt escape with their powers.
That was another thing. They were in a satellite, and the guns they had were specially made to only shoot as hard as possible in order to break the skin. That way then, no accidental punctures were made in the hull, and the atmosphere of Facility C was not dissolved into the vacuum of space.
Abby had no doubt that their powers could somehow damage this satellite, crippling it into not working and maybe killing a lot of people.
She sighed, pausing a moment to get her thoughts together. She
was going to the bunker rooms....why? She wasn't there for tests, she wasn't there to examine them. So why was she going here? Why did she suddenly need to come here to meet them?
For whatever the reason, Kirby continued on, her shoes lightly tapping against the steel grey floor.
After a long walk, she made it to the gym, and moved to the bunker room. Checking her work-pad, she confirmed the number bunker they lived in, and entered, bypassing the permission code.
She found two of the children on the couch in the bunker room, talking. Another was standing, eating some food which was held in his metal arm. That one noticed her first. He sighed for some reason and tapped the other boys shoulder, pointing at Kirby.
The conversation ceased immediately, and they all stood. Kirby nervously closed the door behind her. She glanced at the girl called Katy. Her hair? What was wrong with her hair? It was all splotchy, brown colored. But it looked as though she'd put it in a blender. The other boys hair was very long, and Kirby came up with an idea.
"I am Ms. Kirby," she said, standing up a little straighter.
Katy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I noticed."
An awkward silence covered the four of them for a brief moment, each side wondering why on Earth Kirby was here. "I know you are tired of being here," began Kirby after she had gathered her thoughts. "I am sorry for your current situation, but it really can't be helped."
Kirby found herself actually feeling sympathy for these children. They had been lied to, not being told they are clones, being kept inside a detainment cell for days on end, as well as being subjected to the torture of Caheel.
