"I can't believe I actually let him get to me," Alexander groaned as he followed Laurens through the complex, with Lafayette and Mulligan in tow. "I can't believe I'm doing this."
"You'll be fine," Laurens assured. "After all, you're about to prove to us all that you are a better fighter than us, right?" Alexander glared at him.
"You aren't very good at hiding sarcasm."
"Sarcasm isn't meant to be hidden." Laurens opened a large door, and the four of them were bathed in sunlight. In front of them was what appeared to be a more intense version of a high school football field. In the center was a shooting range, punching bags and dummies, pull up bars, and mats of different colors. It was all surrounded by a track, part of which was covered in hurdles. "We have a weight room inside, but I don't need to see your muscles just yet." Laurens winked as he walked away.
Was that...nope. Not even going to think about it. Alexander crossed his arms and begrudgingly followed Laurens to the field. They walked to the shooting range, which was surrounded on three sides by a metal wall. Laurens took a pistol off one of the walls, checked to see if it was loaded, then fired three shots down the range, making Alexander jump at the sound. The target at the end of the makeshift hall was the outline of a human, and the bullets Laurens had fired went through the neck, chest, and stomach. He turned around, giving Alexander both the gun and a smile.
"Your turn," Laurens said, holding the gun closer to Alexander, who refused to take it.
"What? Why? I thought you wanted me to fight," Alexander reminded him.
"Weapons are used in the fights we get into, if you remember correctly." Laurens nodded down to Alex's hand. "And, you seemed pretty confident about being able to shoot when I asked." Alexander hesitantly took the pistol from Laurens, immediately regretting doing so. Seeing the weapon in his own hands took him back too far, the weight in his chest heavier than the weight of the gun.
"I-I don't think-"
"Who did you have in mind when I asked if you could shoot?"
"Wh-what?"
"You said you could shoot a gun depending on who the target was. Who is that, exactly?"
"It's about to be you," Alexander mumbled.
"You won't shoot me," Laurens said, sure of himself. "You don't have to tell me who it is, but you should think about it. Imagine that target as that one person you would want to fight." Alexander stared at the target warily, an image already forming in his mind. "Just shoot three times, to the best of your ability. Then we can move on to-"
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Alexander fired all three shots into the head of the target, all of which ended up just inches apart from each other. For a moment, no one spoke or moved. Eventually, Alexander lowered his arm, and took a deep, shaky breath. Mulligan and Lafayette stepped up from behind him.
"How can you shoot that well?" Mulligan wondered.
"I was taught," Alex muttered.
"Why?" Laurens asked with a smirk. "Self-defense?" Alexander slowly looked at Laurens, staring daggers at him.
"No." Alexander shoved the gun into Laurens' chest, relieved when it was taken from his hands. "You said we could move on," Alexander mentioned as Laurens put the gun back on the wall. "I want to get this over with."
"Okay, follow me." Laurens headed over to a set of punching bags, and gestured to one. "Punch it."
"Huh?"
"Well, not yet." Laurens motioned for Lafayette to come closer.
"Wait, I just have to punch it?" Alexander asked as Lafayette took their place next to the bag.
"Would you rather do an unnecessarily complicated ninja move?" Laurens inquired.
"No, I just...never mind." Alexander decided to just rip the bandage off instead of questioning further. He reeled back, then punched forward with all his might. The bag rocked backwards, then forwards, catching Alexander off guard, and hitting his chest. No one seemed to notice, however, because Lafayette had spoken.
"2,704.52." Laurens' eyebrows raised at the number.
"What?" Alex wondered, stepping away from the swinging bag.
"Newtons," Lafayette stated. "It is a unit of force."
"I know that."
"Have you taken any fighting classes before?" Laurens questioned.
"A long time ago," Alexander said. "Why?"
"Because that is almost five times the amount of force as a punch by an untrained person." Alexander blinked.
"So?" Laurens opened his mouth to speak again, but shut it after a moment, putting Alexander at ease. Mulligan looked around the field awkwardly as Laurens gazed at Alexander, appearing lost in thought.
"Should we test kicking next?" Mulligan asked Laurens.
"Yeah..." Laurens mumbled. He gave Alexander one last look over, then turned and walked towards the opposite side of the field. Alex subconsciously began following him, noticing that Mulligan and Lafayette stayed behind for a moment.
Lafayette spoke up, "Laurens, that is not where-"
"I know, Laf." Laurens said, cutting them off. He stopped in the middle of an empty part of the field.
"Laurens, this part of the field is for-"
"I know, Laf." Lafayette sneered, then they and Mulligan moved back several feet.
"What is this part of the field for?" Alexander asked suspiciously.
"Sparring," Laurens answered.
"You want me to fight you?"
"Yes," Laurens said matter-of-factly. "You seem-" Alexander launched forward, aiming his fist directly at Laurens' face. He had expected to catch Laurens off guard, but the older boy shifted into a fighting stance faster than Alex could comprehend. Laurens grabbed Alexander's wrist, lifting his arm in the air. Alexander was spun around, felt something hit the back of his legs, then watched the ground speed towards him. His face hit the dirt, hard, and a knee landed on his back, pinning him down.
"What the hell?" Alexander shouted into the ground.
"I was going to say that you seem promising." Laurens got off of Alexander, giving him a chance to flip over. Laurens reached down to help Alexander up, but Alex just glared at him, standing on his own.
"Stop sucking up to me," Alexander demanded.
"What are you talking about?"
"You keep saying I'm doing everything really well, just so I'll feel more inclined to do what you tell me to." Laurens tried to speak again, but Alexander stopped him. "No. Don't even try to deny it. I understand psychology." Alexander took a few steps away from the people in front of him, his body shaking from the incoming breakdown. "And you don't even give people time to process the fact that they're stuck here, probably for the rest of their lives. You just bring them out here, tell them to shoot and punch, and then beat them into the ground. You're all completely crazy; they-" Alex pointed at Lafayette, stammering, "I don't know what's wrong with them; and you..." he then looked at Laurens, "you keep acting like I'm the closest friend you've got, and it's incredibly annoying, considering you kidnapped me." Alexander huffed, running his hands through his hair as tears stung the corners of his eyes. "I should've gone down the other street..." he whispered. He moved his arms down to put them into the pocket of his sweatshirt, then realized: "Where's my sweatshirt?" When no one answered, Alexander asked again, "Where is my sweatshirt?"
"You just had a panic attack, and now you're upset about your outfit?" Mulligan wondered.
"I just...do you have it?" Alexander worried.
"Uh..." Laurens answered eloquently.
"I believe one of the girls might have it," Lafayette mentioned.
"I need it back." Alexander said, feeling angry and anxious at once.
"Okay, we'll go get it," Laurens groaned. "You need to meet my sisters anyways."
Alexander saw his precious sweatshirt before he saw the girl holding it. He ran up to her, and snatched the clothing out of her hands. He put it on as fast as he could, sighing from the comfort it brought him. When he put his hands in the pocket, his fingers brushed against the patch that was sewn on the inside, and he smiled slightly in relief.
"Nice to meet you, too." Alexander finally looked up at the girl in front of him. She had dark hair, and brown, almond-shaped eyes.
And she's cute, too, I guess. Alexander caught himself thinking. But not as cute as...nope. No, no, no. This is your problem, Alexander.
"This is my sister, E," Laurens said, bringing Alex out of his thoughts.
"E? Like, the letter?" Alexander wondered. Everyone around him nodded in exasperation.
"I'm the head of the medical staff here," E explained with a sweet smile. "You've spent quite a bit of time with me, though I'm sure you don't remember."
"That's not creepy..." Alexander mumbled.
E ignored him and continued, "I also washed that sweatshirt you're so fond of, and I had Mulligan sew up the holes in it." Alexander almost smiled. Almost. "And..." E hesitated to speak. "I had to take everything out of the pocket." It took Alexander moment to catch on, and his eyes widened when he did.
"Give them back," Alexander pleaded. E shook her head.
"We don't allow...those kinds of things here."
"Oh, I'm sorry, is it one of your stupid protocols to steal the personal belongings of the people you kidnap?"
"When you say it like that..." Alexander rolled his eyes.
"Some rule doesn't give you the right to have all my stuff!"
"And you don't have the right to yell at my sister!" Another voice called out from behind E. Two other girls appeared, intimidating Alex just by the sassy way they walked. The one who had spoken was the same glassy-eyed girl from earlier. Alexander shrunk underneath her dull stare, glad when she turned to Laurens. "Fluffy, she's your sister, too. Why didn't you stop this kid from being mean to her?"
"A, I'm fine," E groaned. The first girl stopped chastising Laurens, flicked her eyes between him and her sister.
"Are you sure, Mouse?" E nodded. "Okay..." The other girl suddenly faced Alexander with a wide smile."My name is A," the girl said, reaching out her hand. When Alexander refused the greeting, she grabbed his hand and shook it on her own. "What's your name?"
"I'm not telling you that." Alexander tore his arm away, and scowled at her.
"I'll figure one out," A said nonchalantly, chewing her lip in thought. Alexander was about to ask what she meant, when the third girl stepped up to him.
"I'm P." Alexander looked the girl over, and made a noteworthy observation. Besides the fact that much of her body was probably permanently stained with grease stains, she was young. As in, she looked like she should still be high school, instead of at this strange place. Alexander was still thinking when he realized that P had begun talking again. "And if you make fun of my name, I swear to whatever god you might believe in, I will make your hand explode." Alexander just looked at her in confusion for a moment.
"Excuse me?" P pointed at Alex's left hand.
"I fixed that," P told him. "Which means I can break it, too."
"P, stop threatening people," Laurens sighed.
"I can do what I want, Bro."
"No, you can't."
"I have some questions," Alexander announced, interrupting their argument. Everyone faced him, silent. "Why are your names just letters?" Alexander asked the girls.
"We're sisters," E pointed out. "We all share a last name, and since most people go by their last names here, it would be pretty confusing, don't you think?"
"You don't look like sisters," Alexander commented.
"Adopted sisters," P clarified, rolling her eyes. "And Laurens is our adopted older brother. But he uses a different name."
"Why?"
"Why do you need to know so bad?" Laurens questioned, glaring at Alex.
"Geez." Alexander raised his arms in defense. "Is that what I sound like?"
"Yes," Laurens, Mulligan, and Lafayette answered together.
"I'm just calling you 'Kid' for now," A said all of a sudden. "I don't know enough about you yet to give you a proper nickname. Although, kids ask a bunch of questions, so I guess it fits."
"Which leads me to my next question," Alexander went on, turning to A. "I've heard you calling people everything but their names, Fluffy and Mouse, for example. What's up with that?"
"It's just something I do," A shrugged. "Laurens is Fluffy, because that's what his hair is. E is Mouse, because she's quiet. P is Magnets, because she kept trying to eat them as a kid. Mulligan...I call him Dumplings 'cause he made them for us one time. And Lafayette is Potatoes; they tried to eat a French fry one time, and it got caught in their throat."
"Oh, well, it's good that they're okay," Alexander mumbled.
"Yeah, seriously, that fry was such a bitch to get out," P grumbled. "I had to take out every little piece in their neck, meticulously clean each one, put them all back, and then they still had to take 36 hours to reboot."
"Wait, what?" Alex cried. P just stared at him as if he was an idiot.
"Laurens told you about your hand, right?"
"Yeah, it's some weird prosthetic or something. What does that have to do with-"
"Alright, shut up, and let me explain properly." Alexander reluctantly closed his mouth. "So, long backstory short, I learned how to make these crazy awesome prosthetics, and also bring people back to life. Don't question it. Laf here ended up being a fully-fledged, badass robot, and the only one of us like that."
"What do you mean, 'one of us'?" Alexander questioned. P groaned.
"You have a fake left hand; E has two fake hands; Mulligan's whole right arm was replaced; A's eyes aren't real, but that's pretty obvious; I had to fix my own left leg below the knee; and Laurens...well, he's hard to explain."
"Explain anyway." Alexander surprised himself by actually being interested.
"Okay-"
"Actually, don't explain that." Laurens butt in.
"Uh...okay..." P glanced at Laurens in disbelief, then addressed Alexander again. "Any more questions?"
"I...I don't think so..." Alexander blinked several times. "That's a lot of information to take in...and none of it should be possible."
"Why do you think that?" E wondered.
"This...I just...all my years of advanced education are telling me that this can't be true. Yet, here I am. Talking to a secret army of people with superpowers."
"Just a heads up, no one cares about your education here," Mulligan said bluntly.
"Well, if you did, you sure wouldn't treat me like that," Alexander grumbled.
"Oh, you really think you're someone special, huh, Schoolboy?" Laurens smirked. A snapped her fingers.
"That's it! Schoolboy!" A cheered.
"Don't tell me you're actually going to call me that," Alexander whined.
"You know I am."
"You really are crazy..." Alexander gaped. Maybe I did die...this certainly feels like hell. "I feel sick..." Alexander moaned. "Is there somewhere I can lay down?"
"Do you need some medicine?" E asked. She took a step towards Alexander, and he stepped back.
"No...I just need some space." E frowned.
"I'll take you back to your room, then," Laurens said. Alexander nodded quickly. They walked away, the group murmuring behind them. When Alexander was returned to the room he woke up in, he ran inside, slamming the door before Laurens could follow him in. "Do you need anything?" Laurens asked.
"No," Alexander shouted back at him. "Leave me alone."
"Okay..." Alex heard a few footsteps, then a soft, "Sorry, about...everything..." The footsteps got further away, then faded into silence. Alexander sighed, and slid down the door, sitting with his head in his hands.
I have to get out of here...