Door 900

By Jess Eddy

1: Let's Go

2: Only Human

3: Sarah

Let's Go

What do you expect me to do about it?

It seemed I had repeated that phrase too many times tonight. All faces turned up in hope, hope that I could help them, and I didn't know what to do. So many lives resting on my shoulders and all I could do was hope with them that I would be able to help. It was giving me a headache.

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I tried to keep up with the man walking beside me, but his long legs were overtaking mine with every step. It seemed to be a struggle between my muscles and my brain. My mind told my legs to get a move on and my legs told my mind to fuck off and let them have a rest. That combined with the fact that the drugs still hadn't worn off was probably the source of my dead legs. But I didn't have time to stop, because we had to keep going and going until we could do nothing else to help.

The man broke the silence, his deep but clear voice ringing through the corridor.

"Do you think you can do it?"

Yet another dilemma. Would he recognize me? I tried to answer as truthfully as I could.

"I have no fucking idea."

Shockingly, his broad, tanned face split into a wide smile. His smile lit up his whole face and seemed like so long since I'd seen anyone smile. Well at least not a real smile. His green eyes burned into mine and I felt slightly lifted, like he was lending me strength. Then as his smile faded, I saw a flash of fear flash across his face, and I realized that he was just as scared as me. But I realized that it was in every undertone of his thoughts, I just hadn't really been paying attention to his mental voice.

James Ford was the second in charge. He had been assigned to protect me and escort me wherever I needed to go. I was glad he had been chosen. He seemed to take risks more seriously and I doubted that he would let me get hurt. There seemed to be something in his eyes that promised never to let me out of his sight…

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She had fallen behind again. I slowed slightly to let her catch up. I wasn't surprised that she had trouble keeping up with me. Her slight body did not suggest any athletic skill and I remembered her entrance to the division last night. She had stood between two of the attendants, dwarfed by their bulk and height. She had looked dead on her feet, her shoulders sagging, her eyes hardly open. Apparently she had put up quite a fight when they came for her, but she fell soon enough when they gassed her.

She did not look so tired as then; she could certainly keep her eyes open now. They were stretched wide in her face, her chocolate brown eyes boring into mine. I guessed that the drugs were still wearing off in her legs though as her feet seemed to drag with every step.

"Are we nearly there, James?"

Her casual use of my first name surprised me at first, and then I remembered. I doubted that a psychic wouldn't be able to find out my name.

"Just a few minutes," I answered and saw her shoulders slump again. I then did something I would never usually do. The words seemed to just pop out of my mouth. "Would you like me to carry you?"

I instantly regretted saying it. But hadn't seemed to be able stop myself. I glanced down to her pale face, hoping against all rationality that she would say yes.

"That would be nice, thank you." Her long dark hair swung over her face, embarrassed, as if she to regretted saying the words. Or maybe she just didn't want to show weakness. She stepped closer. I reached down for her, one arm around her shoulders and the other under her legs. I swung her up, her warm body against mine. Then suddenly it hit me that she would have heard everything I had just thought. My face flushed when my speculations were confirmed. Her smile shone out, illuminating the room. I remembered my comrades saying she was pretty but it was now obvious that she was much more than that. She had pale skin, faintly flushed, her long almost black hair contrasting strongly with it. Her chocolate eyed stared into his again and then looked away. Probably in embarrassment. It seemed that she defiantly could hear everything.

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With James carrying me, we made better time. It was 5:33 when we pushed through the door. He lowered me to the floor, and although I tried to block out his thoughts I still felt his extreme longing to keep me in his arms. He motioned me forward to the podium were a tall dark man stood.

"Welcome, Belle. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." His face remained smooth, though his thought projected an image of an old women, crouched over, a witch. It seemed he had not expected me to look like this. I plucked his name out of his head just to mock him.

"It seems the pleasure is mine, Jebadiha." Snickers echoed up from around them and she realized that they were not alone. Around the podium, stretching out in rows were about fifty people. They seemed to be working on screens hovering in the air. A type of hologram, she decided. They must be the people that control the city. My eyes flicked back to the Jebadiha. He gestured to the people around us. "This is our control base. These people control everything in the city. But you probably already know that." He chuckled but it did not reach his eyes. Everyone was so stressed.

"Just because I could know, doesn't mean I do. I try to respect people's privacy."

"A psychic that believes in privacy? You're in wrong line of business, woman…" the chuckles rose around us again. I smiled kindly, but in James's head it looked more patronizing than gentle. This made me actually smile, and I saw the picture change into something I didn't really need in my head. I backed away, blocking him out. He tried to stifle his thoughts and I saw his face get redder and redder.

"What do you need me to do, Jeb?" I used his first name again, even shortening it to what his friends called him. This irritated him but at least he would take me seriously. He seemed very sceptic of my skills. He motioned for me to come with him as he strode across the floor and down an aisle. I followed him and felt James walking behind me.

"We'll need you to talk to him for at least two minutes. This allows us to trace his voice pattern." Jeb had reached the end of the row. He turned and slipped through the door, not bothering to hold it open. I darted forward and caught the door before it closed. Jebadiha was already striding off down the hall. I sighed and ran after him. I was feeling better now, the drugs were all but gone, and I caught up to him in a few seconds.

"I understand there is quite a risk in this operation?" I asked. No one around me had been told about this, apart from James. I hadn't been able to get much from him though; he had other things on his mind.

"It's quite possible that he won't like you…" He chuckled, but then I saw the image of a man with his head turned all the way around, one of the commanders from his unit. "Things could get quite ugly." He wasn't laughing anymore.

James seemed quite anxious behind me. We were approaching the end of the corridor. I realized that he seemed to be worried about me. "I'll be fine, James," I said. He nodded but he didn't seem convinced. His head was full of images of men that had failed before me. I shut him out again, not wanting to see the bloodshed.

We reached the door now; I saw the iron bolts that fixed it to the wall. They looked thick but would they hold? "How strong is he?" I asked. Jebadiha frowned. It obviously hadn't been measured. "Too strong," he finally answered. "Stronger than anything we've ever seen."

I nodded. I could a faint projection from him on this side. That door must be darn thick.

"When things get to dangerous, press this button." He passed me a small remote, pointing to the red one. There was a clock on the remote to, set to 2:00. "Good luck, Belle." He seemed to mean it. He was worried about me. He shouldn't be. I could look out for myself. I smiled in thanks, and turned to hug James. "Thank you, it was nice to know you guys." James was overwhelmed, partly because of the worry, partly because I just hugged him. "Oh, and Jeb?" Jeb looked up, eyes still worried. "Yes?" he asked.

"See you in two minutes."

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The door opened. A girl slipped through. She was pretty. But not for long. Death was not attractive.

"Hello, Jay. Long time no see." My eyes opened wider, disbelieving. How could she be here? Her voice was still ringing in my ears, the voice of an angel. How had I not recognized her before? She looked so different.

"Belle?" I was still confused. Shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to save you, Jay." She knelt before me, her hands reaching out to me. I took them, bringing her closer. My eyes filled, spilling over. "What do they want from me, Bell?" I asked just to hear her sweet voice.

"They want to know what you are." She frowned, angry. "They want to know where you came from." She stroked her smooth hands across my face, soothing me. "How did this happen, Jay? Did they do it?" Her voice broke. "If they did, I'll find them and rip they're black hearts out!" She was crying to, now.

"No, they didn't know. I did this to me." He flinched remembering. This would convince her more than any words. She flinched with me.

"But why would you do that?" She held my face between her hands, her eyes questioning. "You hated them, why would you experiment."

I sighed. This bit would be the hardest bit to explain. "I thought… I thought you were going to leave…. me." My throat seized up, refusing to say anything else. I cleared it, continuing. "I wanted to be as strong as you. I wanted to come with you." I looked up at her, hoping. She couldn't leave me now. We could travel the world together, superheroes, together. But her face… I doubted she was happy with me. She buried into my chest, and I gathered her closer, holding her together.

"Jay… I could never leave you. I was devastated when you were taken. I had no idea what was going on… Never do that to me again." I sighed relived. At least she didn't want me to go. She looked up into my eyes. Then something started beeping.

"Darn it. They're coming… We have to go!" She lurched to her feet, slipping away from me. I frowned. "Come on, Fatty, It's time." She smiled, teasing. I jumped up, realizing that I was now a head taller than her. I smiled too.

"You want to get that?" she asked, motioning to the door. "My pleasure," I grinned. I braced, and then smashed into the door with all my strength. The bolts ripped like paper, the door falling to ground. I reached across, taking her hand. "Lets go."

Only Human

I was worried. We had only been in this place for a day, and Jay already wanted to move on. "Nowhere is safe," He had told me, sounding quite depressed. I personally didn't understand why we had to hide. We were the strongest people on the planet, and we were crouching in a hole, praying that no one would find us. It was stupid.

Jay was curled up, asleep, but still he looked anxious. I went to his side, curling to fit his shape. I shook him gently, trying to wake him. He was disorientated for a second, but soon he came to. He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What?" He already knew that there was no one else around. His mental skills had improved drastically since I'd started teaching him. He could already sense people, if not their actual thoughts.

"Just wanted to hear your voice…" Anyone else would have been annoyed, but not Jay. He stroked my face.

"I know you want to go out. But we can't," his eyes begged me to understand. I didn't get anything from his mind; he had learned to guard it too well.

"But I want to see the sky!" I rolled away from, wanted to stand up, but there was no room in this cave. I felt almost claustrophobic in this enclosed place. "We should be able to walk about, shouldn't we? It's not like we look any different to them!" I was truly frustrated now. That was probably my body talking, leaking into my usual calm mind. My body just wanted to stretch and run and fly. But not much chance of that happening…

"You know it's too dangerous, Bells! Why do you keep asking?" His eyes were pleading again. I dropped to my knees, pleading now. "I just want to stand up for once," I said softly. I felt a small break in his mental armour. Through it leaked his intense longing to give me what I wanted. It seemed that he wanted to go out to.

"Belle…" He was pleading, but I knew he would give in. "Okay, fine. But only for a bit."

I smiled widely, and saw him smile in return.

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I walked beside her, holding her hand, in the warm sunshine. I was glad we had gone out. Of course nothing would happen.

We didn't feel the need to fill the silence, her being there was enough. So I knew at once when she said something, it was a bad something.

"James…" she mumbled. I froze. Someone was coming. I fought to control my emotions and my too strong body.

"What?" I hissed, drawing her behind me. "What is it?" My eyes darted from side to side, trying to determine where the danger was.

"Oh, my God." She seemed totally absorbed in whatever was happening in her head. Her forehead creased, concentrating. Then she turned to me, still preoccupied. "No, it's okay," she reassured me, though she didn't seem to believe it herself. "He's alone." She turned to end of the street, and I saw a figure, approaching fast. I focused in that direction. I flinched back. I could hear his thoughts. How loud he must be yelling?

He was close enough to see now, and I realized I recognized him. He was the commander.

I scowled, then reassessed the situation. Belle had said everything would be okay, but this guy was on the other side. Why was he here.

James slipped to a stop, looking only at Belle. His face split into a grin. "Just the two I was looking for. I hoped you guys would be around here somewhere!" He was still smiling. Belle for some annoying reason was smiling to. Didn't she realize the obvious danger we were in? James turned to me. "We've met but I never introduced myself. James," He offered his hand.

"I wouldn't do that if you want to keep that hand," I scowled at him. Belle nudged me in the ribs, projecting to me. Be nice, he comes in peace. I instantly relaxed. If Belle didn't know what was going on inside a man's head, no one did.

"I suggest we talk about this at my place. I doubt your place could hold us all." James smiled, motioning with his hand down the street. He set off, his long legs taking off. I strode after him easily catching up with him. He was only human after all.

Sarah

It was good to have a proper shower and clean clothes. I felt more like myself, not a dirty little girl, in clothes that were full of holes. My face was finally clean and my hair was it's normal colour, the black dye gone. I had taken out the contacts now, confident that no one was looking for us. My normal face stared back at me from the mirror.

I walked out of the bathroom, and into James' living room. I didn't anticipate James reaction. His eyes popped open, taking in her new appearance. I couldn't get anything coherent from him, so I turned to Jay. "You like?" I asked. He nodded and I could tell he liked me the way I used to be.

James had seemed to come to. "You look… different," he stammered. I laughed. "Is that a good thing?" He smiled but he still seemed shocked.

My hair, which I had died black for disguise, was now its normal light gold, straight and untangled. My eyes had gone from chocolate brown to their proper light green-grey. I could see that he would be confused by the difference between the dark women he had met, to the pale, bright women that he now saw.

Jay was projecting to me. James is getting really annoying, he thought, his thoughts are better kept to himself. I could see his point. James fantasies were also getting on my nerves. He hadn't realized that Jay and I were together, and wasn't as if we had made it obvious. I projected back. Me too. If it gets to out of hand, you're welcome to tell him to back off. I imagined Jay trying to explain that I was already taken. James would end up so red. Jay seemed to have a more forceful image of his fist slamming into his jaw. I grinned.

I sensed James annoyance. He always got angry when Jay and I had these kinds of conversations. But he was better off not listening. He also seemed impatient and a little nervous. I seemed he had something to say.

I settled on the couch ready to listen to whatever James wanted to say. I was a little worried but I fought to control it.

He cleared his throat. "So, guys, i've booked us a shuttle out of here. It leaves in five hours." He paused, remembering that we already knew that. "Thing is though," he paused, worried this time, "There will be someone else coming with us…" He trailed off looking at me, hoping I would understand. I guess I did though.

"What?" Asked Jay, his voice angry. I could tell he was trying hard to control it, "Who!?" He had a little more trouble with his control the second time.

"Well," James started to explain, still anxious, even though he knew I understood. "My sister she… found out. About you guys. She came over before and saw your things and it's not like she didn't know I was looking for you." He swallowed. "She promised not to tell… as long as she could come with us." He looked up hopefully at Jay. I quickly projected what was going on in James mind so he would understand. He can't do anything else, I said, and she will help our story. Jay accepted this, agreeing. I turned to James. "That's fine," I said speaking for the both of us, "She will be welcome."

James was relieved. "She's coming over in a few minutes." I checked the area. There was a girl approaching James' door. "She's here now," I warned him. "She's about to ring the door bell." The bell echoed just after I stopped speaking. James looked a bit freaked but got up to get the door. I went with him. I told Jay to stay. He could be quite intimidating sometimes. Well, most of the time.

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I pulled open the door glancing back at Belle as I did so. She seemed excited, a wide grin spread across her face, her pale eyes burning. I looked away focusing on my little sister. She didn't seem scared, she looked as excited as Belle.

"You're here!" I embraced her, happy that she was here. She was more of a friend than a sister. I beckoned her into the house. "This is Belle." I said pushing her forward. Belle was still smiling. Her beautiful voice rang through the air, "It is so nice to finally meet you, Sarah. I was wondering when you were going to come over." She smiled again and it was like they were old friends. Sarah smiled back and I could tell she liked her. Belle slipped her arm through hers, pulling her through the house. Sarah didn't seem to mind.

We reached the living room. "This is Jay," Belle said. Jay stood up, towering over the two women. He reached out a hand and Sarah shook it, a little more cautious. "It's nice to meet you, Sarah." She didn't seem shocked that they all knew her name. But then, I should have told them already.

I picked up our tickets from the coffee table and picked up my bag. "Shall we?" I asked. Jay had somehow got everyone's bags and was leading the way. We filed out of the room and down the corridor. The door was still open, so we slipped out, ghosts out into the sunshine.

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We touched down in Jamaica at two in the morning. The sky was full of clouds, the light of the airport reflecting back down to the ground. It felt wrong. In Germany the sun would be shining, here it was the black of night. I somehow felt tired, which I hadn't thought possible. I was way to excited. I watched Belle bounding down the stairs of the shuttle, all smiles, not looking at all tired. "We're here!" She laughed, relieved. She hadn't enjoyed the flight. She had told me that everyone else's fear was leaking into her mind, rattling her calm. I hadn't realised that she was a psychic, but know it seemed obvious. I wondered if she could hear what I was thinking now?

She smiled. "Yes, I can hear you. But sometimes I'm not listening, or I block you out. Sometimes what people are thinking is unmissable or they have a naturally loud mind." As she was finishing I saw James blush. I had already guessed that he liked her, and I felt sorry for him, having his feelings out there in the open.

I turned and realised that Jay was standing next to me in one of his super quick movements. I almost flinched but got myself under control just in time. Jay and Belle's power and grace were getting on my nerves. "So where are we staying?" I asked.

Belle danced to Jay's side, slipping her hand into his. I hadn't been able to quite work out the relationship between them. They seemed like a couple, but I had never seen them kiss. Maybe they were related in some way.

"We're going to a little place out of the way," replied Belle. She looked away from me, and to James instead. "James found it for us just in time," she said, smiling. James smiled back, leaning toward her without seeming to think about it. She danced away from us, towards the the bags, leaving James looking a little dazed his mouth hanging open. I saw Jay scowl a little at him, and this brought me back to their relationship. I promised myself that I would ask Belle later.

CHAPTER: four

The house was... small. I frowned at the yellow walls. At least it was next to the beach...

I pushed up off the bed and strode through the folding doors. The blinding sun flooded my vision and I paused for a second so I didn't bump into anything. I felt James on the other side of the trees and I ran off in that direction.

I broke free of the trees and I slid to a stop on the hot sand. James was asleep on the sand, his hat covering his face. I knelt down, pushing his hat back, touching his face.

"Haven't you heard of cancer?" I asked, shaking him awake. He squinted against the bright light and mumbled something that I didn't catch. He pushed up onto his elbows, smiling.

"You want to go for a swim?" he asked still smiling. I grinned and stood up again, stripping down to my bathers. Dropping my clothes into a pile on the ground I skipped off down to the beach. I turned back to James, beckoning with one hand. "Come on then!" I shouted back.

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She slipped into the water, leaving me behind. I quickly jumped up, yanking off my t-shirt and ran after her. She dove into the waves, heading for a group of rocks just a few metres from the shore. I quickly dove into the waves, trying to catch up.

I pulled myself up onto the sharp rocks, scrambling up next to her. She smiled up at me, then looked away into the ocean. Her blond hair glimmered with little water crystals shining in the sun. I took a deep breath. Now was a good time as any...

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"Belle?" James voice rang through the air. I looked over at him. He looked like he was going to say something... I found his mental voice, and then I frowned. I had guessed that this was coming. I turned my body towards him. "James..." I started. I looked into his dark eyes. "James, I like you, but as a friend... nothing more. I..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. He nodded, absorbing this information. "Belle," he said, totally unfazed by what I had just said. "I really like you. And I don't see why we shouldn't be together. I think that you truly do like me, but you don't want it to end badly. Neither do I, but I think that we have to make the most of life!" He smiled, proud of his speech. He paused, waiting for me to speak, but I was way too shocked. Then I heard his mental voice and it brought me back to my senses. "Jay told you to say that, didn't he?" I gritted my teeth, angry. James looked a little taken back for a second then nodded. I slipped off the rock into the cool water. "I'll be back in a second."

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