Chapter 9

Shit I'd really messed up this time. I had a horrible sinking feeling in my stomach - no choice but to go along with this. I was escorted into a large structure and up on entering I was taken aback by how much it looked like Curdan Cay. I felt light headed and nauseated, I could feel my palms were sweaty locked within this device. It was almost as if my body had remembered what my mind had forgot, I didn't like that.

"I don't feel so good," I muttered, but my complaints went unheeded and I was dragged into a little dingy room and made to sit down at desk with an empty chair awaiting an occupant. I had a couple of DUPs either side of me and I was still cuffed. I looked toward my feet, hood pulled over my face mostly covering it, I didn't look up to greet the man who took a seat opposite. My head span with panic.

"Name?" he asked.

I swallowed hard, I said nothing.

"Gonna be like that is it?" the man sighed.

I remained silent.

"So will you co-operate?"

I remained still.

"Conduit abilities?" he asked "let's not waste each other's time."

Without warning I was struck in the back of the head and my hood was pulled backwards head held in place I was forced to take notice of my captor.

His eyes wide he faltered for a moment "you!?"

What? This guy knew me? No use - I didn't have the faintest idea about who he was.

The man sighed again he looked toward the DUPs, "you may leave."

"What?"

"He's cuffed, I'll be fine – just wait outside."

"With all due respect..."

"Outside. Now."

The DUPs did as asked and it was just the two of us.

"Aiden Miles," he smirked "Heh, I didn't know you were that eager to talk to me that you'd get yourself caught, you can quit the act now."

"Who are you?" I asked, I was as confused as ever.

"Are you serious?" the man was not amused "I'm insulted," the smirk fell from his face, "you really don't remember me?"

I certainly recognised his voice come to think of it but from where I had no idea.

"I don't remember anything," I admitted.

The man eyed me suspiciously but I think he believed me, "what the hell did Augustine do to you?"

"Tell me who you are," I said.

"You wouldn't know my name even if I told you – I'm Troy Mason."

I was confused by his statement and he was right, his name meant nothing to me.

The door knocked and a DUP entered, he signalled for Troy's attention.

Troy nodded, "could you escort the bio-terrorist to a cell?"

That would be me then, he knew that I was a conduit at the very least. The DUP grabbed me by the arm. I wanted to know who Troy Mason was, I scrutinized his face willing myself to remember as I was dragged from the room but he paid me no mind and I was taken away down the corridor and into an elevator. The DUP and I exchanged no words and upon exiting the elevator I was confined into a cell that looked no different from where I'd awoken in Curdan Cay. I was instructed to slot my cuffs into a gap in the wall, I did so and was released and now the door was locked firmly but at least my hands were free, I slowly rubbed sensation back into them.

The lights went out, leaving me in the pitch dark. I felt around the room, located my bed and I sighed and took a seat, the mattress was just as hard as my past cell. Although I couldn't see what I was doing I summoned a small lump of concrete into my hand – just to check I still could – I was successful, so I was right - it was the cuffs after all that had prevented me from summoning my powers.

The sensory deprivation was forcing me to retreat within my own head - I was left alone with my thoughts. My powers? I still didn't get it fully – but the way I understood it was - I can take the powers of other conduits just like Delsin but unlike Delsin, when I do it - I sent their powers crazy somehow. The gravity conduit, Delsin, Celia – are they all dead? Why did I feel such heart break at this notion when I thought of Celia? Who was Celia? So much I don't yet understand. I thought back to the recordings from the black boxes that Eugene was having me retrieve, that final one, it said "stay away from other conduits and you gotta stay away from Delsin Rowe." Whoever the guy behind the recordings was – he definitely knew more than I did.

I lay down starring into the blackness, alone with a big black hole where there should have been memories, my brain attempting to fill it with ideas about what my past may have contained, it felt like torture. I clutched my head and wanted nothing more than to remember who I was.

… What the?! All of a sudden, I'm sitting in a chair - I was locked into it. I wasn't strapped into the chair – I was impaled into it with concrete.

This isn't a dream, it's a memory, I've seen this before – it's clearer than the last time I recalled it –

There's a woman standing over me, mid-forties with a smug expression. It's her, Celia knows her too - Her name is … Augustine.

"I'm told that hurts," she smirks "I can put an end to this as soon as you tell me what I want to know."

Urgh the memory is fading – NO! I need to concentrate, I need to remember. My head pounds.

"I'm not a bio-terrorist," I say through strained agony "even if I was I wouldn't tell you shit!" Arghhh, I'm impaled by another concrete shard through my thigh this time.

"Mr Miles," Augustine pauses "you've tested positive for the conduit gene, you are a conduit that much we've established – come one now I'm a conduit too, we're on the same side. Tell me about your power and about Delsin. These aren't difficult questions - This misplaced loyalty you have –"

"Misplaced?" It hurts to laugh but I do it just to see the smirk fall from that bitch's face "forget being a conduit – I'm Akomish. I've told you I don't know Delsin and even if I did – Akomish stick together."

Augustine was furious several concrete shards pierce me in various places – missing vital organs and then she grips me by the arm. Shit – what the hell is this!?

She screams.

The memory abruptly comes to a halt… I can't remember anymore - I'm exhausted and my mind quiets down into nothing. In my state of mental exhaustion I must have fallen asleep.

Some time later, I was awoken by the lights and a loud bang on my reinforced cell door – A DUP. I squinted and rubbed at my tired eyes.

"Akomish? I'm Akomish." I muttered to myself – I don't remember.

"Get up!" the DUP commanded.

He was masked and fully armoured. I stood weakly and almost stumbled – what the hell was this feeling? It was almost like hunger but not quite. It was more like a need to drain power from somewhere, I guess having no elemental stimulus to feed my power had brought on my current feelings of weakness, who knows how this worked?

"I won't tell you again!" The DUP called, voice masked – I hadn't even realised he'd been talking.

I looked at him still dazed, my vision softly swayed and I couldn't quite focus it – urgh I hadn't felt like this before – not that I could remember.

"Put your hands in the cuffs!" he yelled impatiently.

I almost fell forward into them but did as he asked, I felt my hands locked in and pulled it from the door and my cell door opened. I walked out, my arms attached into the device that prevented my powers manifesting and the DUP gripped me by the shoulder and began to escort me down a corridor.

My head still pounded. Where was I being taken now? I was thrown through a door and landed into a small room with another door but there was also a familiar looking mechanism. I pushed the device locked to my hands into it and was released. I flexed my fingers and rolled my wrists, the cuffs were really uncomfortable I felt relief to have them removed. Suddenly, the other door pulled itself open and with seemingly no other options and nowhere else to go - I entered.

I took a moment to look around. I had no idea what this was? An arena? An assault course? It was pretty huge, I wondered into the centre – there were large blacked out windows spanning the whole room from above – I was probably being observed.

Suddenly the door on the opposite side of the room, from the door I'd entered through, opened and someone else was thrown in, the door slammed shut behind him.

"I'm not a bio-terrorist!" the guy got to his feet and immediately started hammering the door with his fists.

I simply looked on, my mind was clearing and I was starting to feel better.

The man gave up his futile attempts and turned surprised to see me – great, this guy – Morris.

He immediately turned to face the door once more and hammered it more frantically "Let me out!" he yelled.

I sighed and sat down and continued to look on, "I'm not going to hurt you!" I finally told him, his incessant banging wasn't exactly doing wonders for my headache.

"Aiden," came a voice from over a speaker – I think it was Troy. I looked toward each window not knowing which one he was looking through, "Morris," it spoke again.

"You let me out of here, you let me out of here now!" Morris screamed, he turned to face me- he looked terrified.

"You have both tested positive for the conduit gene," the speaker again.

"No!" Morris yelled "I'm not one of them!"

What?! Was Morris really a conduit too?

"Please, don't be alarmed," came the voice once more "please comply with the experiment and everything will run along a lot smoother."

Experiment? Just what the hell was all this?

"Aiden, Morris - your instructions are simple." The speaker said "simply approach each other, calmly, and shake hands."

What?! Shake hands – wait, so Troy must have been aware of what I could do – a simple touch of another conduit and I'd absorb their power, but it was more than that – I caused their power to amplify beyond control – the gravity conduit had been swallowed up, Delsin burst into flames and Celia became nothing but shreds of paper, it was my doing – it must have been my doing … A lump born of guilt lodged in my throat, I didn't know if Morris was a conduit or not but I had no intention on inflicting this fate on him.

Morris spat and glared at me, "I don't care about your freak powers!" Morris spat pointing a shaking hand in my direction "come anywhere near me - I'll kill you!"

I backed away, I wasn't a threat to Morris, I wouldn't hurt him.

After a while Morris had retreated to the furthest corner away from me and he hadn't taken his eyes off me once. Was he a conduit? He'd displayed no abilities and his hatred towards conduits said otherwise. Still perhaps his powers hadn't manifested yet? Maybe he possessed the gene so the potential for powers but hadn't unlocked them yet – oh wait - maybe, if I touch him – I'd unlock them? Is that how it worked? shit wait - the gravity conduit, had I awoken his power?

"What the hell did you do to me!?" his arms flailing as he was sucked in further as if he was submerging in quick sand, "what the hell did you do?"

I unlock his power? He claimed he wasn't a bio-terrorist but at the time I just assumed that was a sensible thing to shout out in the face of several armed DUP - but maybe he really didn't know and it was me. Urgh - I don't understand my power at all, my head pounds again.

"We've got all the time in the world," the voice over the speaker "but neither of you will leave the room until you comply."

I stood but didn't advance, Morris flinched and gripped the walls behind him.

"Troy?!" I yelled "you don't understand, if I touch him – it will…" I swallowed hard it hurt to admit "it will kill him."

"Aiden, explain yourself."

I took a long drawn out sigh "my power…" I tried to find the words to explain something I didn't understand "when I touch another conduit I take their power - but that's not all."

"Demonstrate your power and we can talk." Troy spoke over the speaker "no harm will come to Morris, I just need to see your power in action."

I fell silent, I looked toward Morris who looked very afraid, "no," I shook my head and left for the other corner as far away from him as the constraints of the room would allow.

Sometime passed in silence but Morris must have found his courage again and he began to laugh "I knew you were one of those freaks from the moment I set eyes on you."

I remained silent

"I should have shot you in the head," he said.

I smirked, "you're a bio-terrorist too, remember?"

He grimaced, "I'm not one of you freaks!"

"Why do you hate us so much?" I sighed.

His eyes narrowed "I have my reasons."

There was vague laugh delivered over the speaker, had Troy been observing this whole time? "it was more than 7 years ago now wasn't it?" Troy said.

"How do you know about that?!" Morris yelled "you go to hell!"

"Your daughter would be 14 or 15 now wouldn't she?" Troy said.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Morris screamed up at the windows as he marched into the middle of the room.

"Aiden, are you familiar with Empire city?"

"Let me the fuck outta here!" Morris had completely lost any composure.

"Morris' daughter was killed in an explosion several years ago in Empire city brought about by a conduit."

I had no idea about the events that Troy talked about but I could see how worked up Morris had become.

"What a cruel twist of fate that you yourself turned out to be a conduit," Troy said.

"I'm not! I'm not a fucking bio-terrorist!" Morris spat, face flushed with anger and the veins in his neck protruded, he was enraged.

"Prove it," Troy said "simply walk up to Aiden and touch him and if nothing happens you're free to go, you have my word."

My eyes widened.

Morris looked to me, still panting with rage.

"Don't," I said firmly.

He screamed loudly, "let me out of here you bastard!" he ran back to the door and started swinging his fists into it "I have rights! I have rights!"

He finally calmed down and retreated to where he had sat originally, deflated - defeated.

How long would this go on? How long had we already been in here?

The lights flickered before dimming completely and the whole building shook.

"What was that?" I said as I shot to my feet, "Morris?"

The room shook again and an emergency generator must have kicked in as the lights dimmed but were steady.

"Something's wrong, we gotta get outta here!" I said.

Morris glared at me but luckily set his animosity aside in favour of escape.

"Open the doors," I could tell he begrudged every word he spat at me.

I nodded, I threw my hands forward and tried my best to prize them apart pulling each outwards with gravity, they didn't budge. The room shook again – was this Troy's doing?

"Move back," I instructed Morris.

I bombarded the doors with concrete, what the hell were these doors made from?! I barely dented them. I was running low on energy I hadn't drained a single energy source in quite some time.

Paper –was it really worth a try?

I outstretched my fingers unsure what to expect of paper – a large roll of thin paper shot out from my index finger and I guided it through a small crack I'd managed to make within the door – this was my way out unfortunately for Morris I'd have to leave him behind for now.

I felt my body melt down and traverse the gap and on the other side I became whole again.

Outside, the corridor was in ruins, it reminded me very much of how Curdan Cay had looked when I escaped there. I looked back at the door – how the hell was I gonna get this thing open?

"Miles!" came a familiar voice carried from the end of the corridor.

Holy shit - I couldn't believe my eyes.