Embers & Ice (Rouge)

by Isabella Modra

  Joshua’s face was streaked with tears, and Jenny’s heart was breaking very slowly and very painfully in her chest watching him crumble before her. Joshua sobbed, wiped a hand under his nose and shrugged his shoulders.

  “She thinks I killed him,” he said. “The love of her life. She thinks I’m a monster. She is out there, alone and grieving, and for the first time in her life I am not there for her. I promised her mother I would protect her, but I love Hunter so much, I lost sight of what it is to sacrifice everything for someone, because I was too selfish to let her go, to let her love another.” He looked up into her gaze and suddenly, he fell to his knees and cried.

  Jenny could not stop herself from dropping to the ground beside him. She had never seen a man cry, not since her father anyway, and to see someone like Joshua – who was usually so stiff and emotionless and formal – crumpled and defenseless on his knees before her was oddly freeing. She had been so unsure of him for the past few weeks, but suddenly she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before. Joshua was not without love. In fact, Joshua had so much love inside of him that it physically hurt him in everything he did.

  And the only thing she could do was be beside him. So she carefully took both his hands away from his face.

  “Hey,” she muttered and let joy fill her words. “I’m sorry I thought that. It turns out I was terribly wrong about you Joshua.”

  He gazed at her like a small child, afraid and helpless. Her heart ached for him.

  “But you’re wrong,” she said. “You didn’t lose sight of how to protect Hunter, because you didn’t ever stop loving her. And love is more powerful than anything in the world. You didn’t kill me because you are caring. You didn’t kill Eli because you knew on some subconscious level that Hunter loved him. And now you are sitting here, so worried about her, so angry with yourself, when you should be proud. Your love for that girl is what carries her.” Jenny lifted her hand and brushed away a tear that rushed down his cheek. “You showed her love, Joshua. She would never have beaten the fire if she didn’t have you to guide her.”

  Joshua’s thin lips spread into a smile. “Thank you,” he said, his voice thick from the tears. “I’m sorry for ruining your life.”

  She pulled his head towards her chest and held it there, stroking his hair gently. “It’s okay,” she said. “I forgive you. Now you just need to forgive yourself.”

  “I’ll try,” he whispered, gripping her arms and breathing against her chest. “I promise.”

  FORTY-SEVEN

  The fire was stronger this time. Maybe it was the probability of never being trapped again that fuelled the flame. Maybe being free of her restraint in a place where she was not confined and forced to fight another mutant made it easier to believe there was hope. That escaping was actually possible.

  Regardless, the fire had never felt more alive as it swarmed within her. It was hungry for flesh to burn and it gave Hunter a sense of power.

  The others were deactivating their restraints in secret, except Fearne who had to turn away from Steel and disarm her head brace privately. The moment their powers were returned to them, it was as if a heavenly light had broken through the oppressive storm clouds. Suddenly, her friends were glowing, pumped and ready rather than gray and sunken and full of defeat. Only Will looked the same.

  It’s time to raise hell, she thought with a grin and led the group to the door.

  Almost immediately, Steel stepped in front of their exit. He crossed his arms under his pecks and grinned down at them all.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Back to our cells,” Hunter said innocently.

  “There’s a problem downstairs. Everyone needs to remain in this hall. Doctor’s orders.”

  Hunter opened her mouth to answer back, but Chantal had moved through the crowd and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Let me handle this,” she said sweetly.

  Steel’s cocky smile dropped away the moment his eyes fell upon her neck collar. It no longer poisoned her veins and hung there like a chunky necklace. His eyes moved from hers to Fearne gathering the other children and deactivating their restraints. His hand went to his taser.

  “Not so fast,” said Chantal in the softest tone, but it was commanding enough to make Steel freeze and stare down at her as though she were a giant bowl of strawberries and ice cream and everything good that ever was. “Drop the taser.”

  The weapon slipped out of his hands and clattered to the floor. Marcus scooped it up fast and pointed it at his head.

  “Should we give him a taste of his own medicine?” he asked, his finger hovering over the trigger.

  “Please make him sing,” Zac begged her.

  “We don’t have time.” Hunter shoved Steel away from the door and nodded for everyone to pass. “Hurry!”

  But Chantal hadn’t finished. As everyone ran by Hunter, she saw the beautiful blond girl slide closer to Steel. Her eyes were murderously happy. Hunter could just hear her whisper, “I’ve waited a long time for this Steel. You’re gonna regret ever taking advantage of me-” Her gaze met Hunter’s and a glimmer of understanding passed between them, “-you all are. So I want you to grab hold of your little friend down there… and pull as hard as you can until he comes off. Can you do that for me?”

  Hunter’s stomach churned as Steel – whose stoic face went whiter than his uniform – reached with an enormous struggle slowly to the zipper of his pants. The spark of justice in Chantal’s eyes was almost poisonous as she gave him a pat on the back and met Hunter in the doorway. They both watched Steel as he turned to them, his pleading eyes filling with tears, every muscle straining and his whole body shaking as he fought to disobey her. But Chantal’s power was too strong for him to refuse.

  “You were right,” Chantal said as they turned to the corridor and walked away from the breakfast hall. “Revenge is sweet.”

  Steel’s screams followed them even after they ran to catch up with the others.

  It seemed luck was on their side, because there were no guards on the bottom floor. The elevator opened up completely empty when Zac stabbed the button. They all scrambled inside, Ryo hit ‘down’ and the door slid closed.

  “Everyone okay?” Hunter turned to the group.

  Their faces were a mix of anticipation and excitement. The energy in the small elevator buzzed as they stood squished together like sardines.

  “Ryo, any way you can check ahead and see if we’ll run into trouble?”

  She peered up at Hunter with a pained expression. “I don’t know. I haven’t used my powers in years, I don’t remember how. I could end up in a different dimension.”

  “That’s okay,” said Hunter, “looks like we’re going in blind.”

  “Maybe not completely blind,” came Fearne’s small voice from the back corner. As everyone turned to her, she shut her eyes and concentrated hard. After a moment, she lifted her head and stared directly at the door. “There’s trouble in the labs.”

  “Specifically?”

  “Someone’s waiting to trap us.”

  “We have to go through the labs to the other side,” said Marcus as he stared at the map in his hands. “There’s no other way.”

  “We’ll just have to face it,” said Hunter. She stepped into the corridor and carefully peered around the corner. “It’s clear. Follow me.”

  Heart pounding, Hunter crept down the walkway followed by the others, their footsteps padding lightly on the linoleum floor. She went straight for the double doors that led into the lab. She didn’t hesitate when she opened the door, only because she was surrounded by ten super powered kids. Whatever they faced, it couldn’t stop them.

  But as soon as they entered the giant laboratory she found a greater bump in the road than she’d ever expected.

  At the other end of the room, standing before the door they needed to get through, was Jet and Mikayla, flanked by at least twenty Men in White. Their tasers were aimed and ready to fire.

&nbs
p; “Leaving without us, are we?” Jet said loudly. His voice echoed around the brightly lit room, reverberating off the glass windows and steel ceiling.

  “You didn’t give us a choice,” Marcus seethed. Hunter had never seen him with such a homicidal expression. “You ratted us out, didn’t you?”

  Jet chuckled. “Come on, bro, lighten up! I wanted to get out of here as much as the rest of you, but I’m not an idiot. You’re making a huge mistake and it’s only gonna make things worse for you in the end.”

  “Bite me,” Marcus spat. “Or get out of my way, now.”

  “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” said Jet.

  In one swift movement, he signaled to the Men in White.

  Their taser guns fired. Hunter went to duck when something incredible happened. Bright lights flashed before her eyes as the electricity from the tasers hit an invisible force field protecting them. Hunter looked around and spotted Imogen, her hands raised and shaking, her eyes focused. The others whooped in encouragement.

  All of a sudden, the Men in White’s tasers were jerked from their hands and launched around the room. Petrified, the guards did nothing until, one by one, they were knocked down with their own guns by a force strong enough to send some of them into unconsciousness. A blur of papers blew up around them and a second later, Benji appeared beside Hunter. He gave her a grin.

  “Nice work, Benji!”

  The Men in White scrambled to their feet and stared searching the room for their tasers, looking back at Jet for instructions.

  Marcus had suddenly had enough. He shot his hand out and Hunter expected to see a bolt of electricity shoot from his fingers, but nothing happened. Marcus frowned, stared at his palm and turned back to the group.

  “My power is gone,” he whispered.

  “Technical difficulties, Marcus?” shouted Mikayla. “Guess my power isn’t as useless as you all think.”

  Marcus’s rage consumed him. He clenched his fist and started charging straight down the walkway towards them. But Jet wasn’t going to let him get that far. Marcus took no more than three steps before he was flung five feet into the air and crash-landed on a desk, glass from test tubes shattering around him. He groaned and rolled over, slowly getting to his feet.

  Hunter wished more than anything that she could throw balls of flaming fire at them, but it seemed her power – and those of everyone else around her – had vanished too. Benji could no longer move fast. He gave Hunter a panicked look.

  I underestimated Mikayla’s power, she admitted to herself. But this has to end now. We don’t have much time.

  “If you’re not coming with us,” she called to them, “why are you stopping us?”

  “Because you’re an idiot,” Mikayla snapped back. “You’re all idiots. You can’t win this fight, and I’m not just talking about getting out of here. I’m talking about the fight of good and evil.”

  “When did this get so freaking biblical?” Zac whispered from behind her.

  “We just want to be free,” Hunter called. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “You’re making the wrong choice, that’s what,” said Jet. “Sometimes it’s not about doing what’s right, but doing what’s necessary. You go against Dr. Wolfe, there’ll be consequences. There’s always consequences for people who break the rules.”

  “Well I think we’ve made our choice,” she replied, sick of the banter. “Now let us go.”

  “We’re trying to help,” Mikayla pouted. She turned to Jet and said, “why don’t they understand that?”

  “Cut the bullshit Mikayla,” said Will. Hunter shot him a glance and suddenly realized one of them was missing. She turned slowly, her eyes darting everywhere, and panic rose in her when she spotted a small head of blond hair ducking behind the desks, making his way towards Mikayla and Jet.

  No. Sammy, no!

  Desperate to keep their attention on her and not the small boy who was growing closer and closer to the opposition, Hunter stepped away from the group and raised her hands.

  “Fine. You guys want to stay here and kiss Dr. Wolfe’s ass for the rest of you lives?!” she shouted. “Go ahead then!”

  “Easy there, Hot Stuff,” Jet chuckled. “Dr. Wolfe will be here any moment now to set things right with you, and then everything will be back to normal.”

  “Isn’t he a bit preoccupied with, oh I dunno, a giant prehistoric monster?”

  “They’ve developed a way to stun the queer long enough to sedate him,” said Mikayla. “I just hope that this time they’ll learn their lesson and put that fugly creature down.”

  A rumble of rage rippled throughout the group. Most of the younger ones looked ready to pounce. But Mikayla and Jet were grinning, completely confident. Unaware of what was going on around them.

  That was their biggest mistake.

  Sammy’s power was beautiful. He could radiate a blinding white light from his body, making his appearance completely angelic – if you had a long enough look at him before your eyes started to burn. Mikayla’s power seemed to act as a force-field against whomever she directed her gaze at, because suddenly Sammy had leapt out from behind a desk and dove on her. It was like seeing a shooting star flash by in slow motion. Mikayla screamed and the moment she broke concentration, their powers returned.

  Sammy wrestled with Mikayla and Jet threw his arm up to shield himself the light. Benji disappeared and zipped to the back of the room, attacking the Men in White from behind. Hunter charged directly down the walkway, the others right on her heels, and Marcus recovered quick enough to direct a lethal current of electricity at Jet from a power plug a few feet away from him. Jet seized up and every muscle clenched as he twitched to his knees.

  The others went into fight mode. Zac, Chantal, Ryo, Will and even the younger ones applied the skills Mosi had taught them in their gym session. The Men in White put up a good fight – ignoring the fact that they were fighting children and using their most brutal methods – but against super powered kids, the Men in White didn’t last very long. Zac found a taser and started firing at random. Hunter didn’t have time to ensure that they were winning; she had to get them all to the exit before more guards arrived.

  Sammy released Mikayla from his blinding light and smiled at her cowering form beneath him. She was sobbing and groping around for Jet beside her with her eyes squeezed shut. Hunter slid to her knees besides Sammy and held her arms out to scoop him up.

  “Did you see what I did?” he grinned at her proudly.

  “You were so brave, Sammy,” she whispered into his hair. “So brave.”

  Then, a scream came from behind her.

  “No!” Fearne shrieked, but it was too late.

  Jet was on the floor just feet away, his arm outstretched, a psychotic look in his eyes. Sammy jerked and went limp in her arms. Time slowed. The room fell eerily silent.

  Hunter pulled Sammy away and felt his body slide to the floor. She lifted the boy’s head – his neck loose like a spaghetti string – and rested it in the crook of her arms.

  Sammy’s one lifeless blue eye stared up at the ceiling, the other glassy iris just as blank. His mouth hung limply open, a line of blood dripping from his lips. And the light, the beautiful, heavenly light, around his body faded into oblivion.

  Oh God. Not Sammy.

  Hunter grit her teeth and whipped her head around. Carefully, she lowered Sammy’s body to the floor. Jet chuckled softly but said nothing as he glared at her. Most of the Men in White were out for the count, but even the ones left standing stopped fighting. The entire room was still.

  “Oh no,” Chantal sobbed, putting a hand over her mouth.

  Fire burst from Hunter’s wrists. Jet’s smirk hardly faded, but Hunter was all too happy to burn it off for him. Screw doing the right thing, she thought with poison clouding her mind. The fire can have this leech.

  “You killed him.” Her voice shook with rage. “YOU – KILLED – HIM!” She screamed so loudly that she felt as if her throat might fall a
part. Will snatched her around the waist before she could tackle Jet as she continued to yell, “YOU’RE DEAD, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

  “There’s no time Hunter!” Will shouted in her ear.

  “No, he deserves it Will! Let me go!”

  Jet didn’t stop laughing, not until his face suddenly screwed up in intense pain and he began to shriek. All of them froze in shock, even Hunter.

  “Stop it!” Jet squealed. When he looked up, his eyes met Fearne’s. “Stop it please!!”

  Everyone looked at Fearne. Her face appeared hardly human. Her hands were shaking by her sides. Her eyes were wide, her pupils nearly as big as her irises. The corner of her mouth twitched. She looked demonic and Hunter knew it was her torturing Jet’s mind, just as she had tortured the scientists.

  Will’s arms fell away from her and she stumbled weakly against a desk. He ran to Fearne’s side and shook her, trying to break her eye contact with Jet whose ears were bleeding through his clenched fingers. Even his nose was dripping red. He rolled around on the floor in agony.

  “That’s enough,” called Chantal. “We have to go!”

  Hunter was so transfixed by Fearne’s power and the intense aura she was protruding that she didn’t hear shouts coming from somewhere in the distance. The Men in White were almost upon them.

  “Fearne!” Will clutched the young girl’s chin and squeezed, forcing her gaze to his. Drops of red were falling from her nose. “Listen to me, you have to let go. Come back to me okay?” He shook her harder. “Fearne, please!”

  “Make – her – stop!” cried Jet.

  “Will, hurry up!” called Zac.

  “Will!”

  “Fearne!”

  “ARGH!”

  And finally, Fearne’s eyes rolled back into her head and she fell into Will’s waiting arms. Will whispered into her ragged hair, rocking her back and forth like a baby.