"Helen. Please don't worry. You are going to be fine." Alex reassured me.
"How? Killing someone?" I retorted, not concerned with freezing.
"I will find a loop hole." Alex turned into a small room. The room was brightly lit and kept surprisingly warm with incense still in the air. There were thick black curtains in the far left of the room and a frosted bathtub in the middle.
"You can't fix everything though." I shivered.
"I can try… Here is a bathing suit. Change behind the curtains please." Alex's face softened. A pink polka dotted bikini shoved itself into my hand.
"This is going to be a long night." I sighed. I turned around and shuffled, my moral low, to change into almost nothing. Alex took hold of my shoulder and reeled me into his arms, closing the door behind us.
"I know this will be hard. If you get caught, there is always a way out." Alex held me. I let the warmth of his heart sink into me, warming up my cold, vengeful heart. I lifted my head up to look at his forgiving smile. He lowered his head admire my eyes. Before I could process what was happening, Alex kissed me. My cheeks became red and hot. My eyes widened in surprise and I tensed up. But after I got over my astonishment, I relaxed and breathed in a sigh of relief.
"Sorry." Alex apologized.
"I would have done the same." I giggled just a bit.
"Well you should really be getting into the tub." He scratched the back of his neck, turning his back to the curtains. Nodding, I ran to the back of the curtains and changed out of my clothes to slip into the bathing suit. I cracked my knuckles, stepping out from behind the wall of cloth. Alex's tall body hadn't turned around. I inhaled a deep breath and tapped my toe on the water. I leaped backwards, falling on my elbow. I ignored my bruise and rubbed my arms. Goosebumps attacked my arm; the ice shocked me into doubts.
"You okay?" Alex asked, still facing the door.
"Yeah, the water is very cold." I got up.
"It should be, the water is a little below ten degrees." Alex explained. I shut my eyes and jumped into the tub, gasping in shallow breaths. I shook violently once again, the cold coating my lungs and veins.
"A-a-alex." I quivered.
"You can get through this." Alex turned around.
"I –I c-c-can't f-f-f-fe-eel my…my…" I stopped abruptly.
"Breath into your hands." Alex tried to comfort me. And I did so, however I was so cold that my breaths became cold. How can anybody survive hours of this?
"D-d-did you h-h-ahave t-to do th-this?" I coughed.
"No." Alex admitted. I could talk no more.
"Remember when Spud said 'brother'? He was not kidding; he is my older brother. My parents think that I am with him, traveling. That is how I got into this mess. Spud convinced me that what he was doing is right." Alex entered my thoughts.
"Oh." I thought clearly. Four minutes passed by and I stopped shaking, still just as cold as I was when I first started. My toes lost their color as well as my fingers. This is horrible. The blood mushed in my body, my heart beat slowing down.
"Helen." Alex rushed towards me.
"Mommy? I thought you died years ago." I slurred my words together. I whirled my head around, my vision lagging behind.
"You aren't mom. Imposter!" I squinted, dazed.
"How?" Alex hooked his arms under my armpits.
"My body's normal temperature is low. That is why I always wear long sleeves or sweaters." I hiccupped.
"Hello? Yes we need to get Helen out right now!" Alex yelled into a hand held radio. Alex huffed while he dragged me from out of the bathtub. My hands started to tingle and shake. He let me down very gently, holding my head up and ripping his jacket off to blanket me. The feeling came back to my fingers and toes sluggishly. Alex clamped his hands around my waist once more to drag me behind the curtains.
"Okay, I am going to change you out of your bathing suit." Alex wheezed.
"N-n-no I c-can d-do…" I was cut off by Alex.
"Fine, I will give you some privacy." He stepped behind the curtain. Shaking, I bring my hand to my back to un-do the knot on the suit, missing the string. Finally, I was able to get the top off. I threw my hand to my shirt, undergarments and shorts. Hazily, I thrust my head through the shirt. My shaking was still throwing me all over the place uncontrollably.
"Are you okay?" Alex asked from behind the curtain.
"M-m-mhm." My voice wavered. Taking off the bottom of the suit was the easiest, but putting my underwear and shorts on were hard. The material stuck to my skin causing me to have to kick through the shorts. My muscles were very weak, yet I overcame the fragility of my state.
"Can I see you now?" Alex wished.
"Y-yes." I granted him. He peeked cautiously around the curtains just to make sure before stepping over to see me. He held his hand out for me to get a hold of. For this, I was grateful to hold his hand. I heaved myself forwards into a coat.
"How do people survive this?" My breath became normal.
"You only have to be in it for ten minutes. If you really trusted Spud would take care of you, then you would not come out of the water even though you know you are supposed to stay for many hours." Alex helped me to the door.
"Oh…" I swallowed.
"Why didn't you say you have a low body temperature to start out with?" Alex scolded me.
` "I don't usually tell people that." I put it.
"You should start then." Alex winked. My muscles had regained their strength, no longer shivering. Alex started talking about something, but I paid no attention. Something still didn't feel right about me. Every once and a while I would catch what he was saying, then I would respond a "mhm" or "oh." My stomach felt like I had ate ice cubes without chewing. My breath, too, was still very cold and icy. Gagging, I covered my mouth. Alex seemed not to notice, or chose not to. At that moment, I knew that he knew that I still was not feeling well. No aroma of incense filled my nose; neither did the smell of the cologne of Alex. My nose started dripping snot, which never really bothered me until now. I put my index finger to my nose and sniffed loudly. Alex stopped talking and rummaged through his pockets to give me a tissue.
"You can come out now!" A high-pitched voice slammed the door open. A woman, maybe thirty years old, sauntered in with red hair. Alex whipped his head around.
"What took you so long?" Alex exclaimed.
"Spud didn't tell me until now." She defended herself. Immediately, the woman came to me and pressed her finger on my neck.
"Hey, what are you doing?" I looked at her. Heated shocks rippled through my body, curing all of my symptoms.
"Just that. I am Maddie." She smiled.
"Thanks, I am Helen." I switched to my Irish accent.
"Nice to meet you, let us get some hot chocolate in you." Maddie urged.
Now I sit down next to the other candidates for the guards/ soldiers for the compound next to Spuds throne. Matilda, Alex and many other guards are chatting about who-knows-what. The other candidates looked blood thirsty and angry. One person, a girl named Francine, started talking to me, thinking of me as an interesting mutant.
"I heard about what happened to you in the first test." She pulled out a cigarette.
"Yeah. I get cold faster I guess… How old are you?" I twitched.
"Twenty-four." Francine lit the cigarette and put it to her mouth.
"Oh okay. I am seventeen. Eighteen tomorrow actually." I sighed.
"Sweet. I am only here because I have nowhere else to go. I can't control my power when I am angry. I have sonic screaming. Gets me into trouble. Stupid humans! Their insolence and arrogance, it is infuriating! My boyfriend knew that I am a mutant, so he breaks up with me. The other guy that I was cheating on him with broke up with me too because of that. But mutant guys are so much nicer and friendlier. I see that you have warmed up to that guy over there. Alex, right? Anyway, you guys look cute together." Francine babbled on and on.
"Francine come and complete the rest of your first test!" Spud called her. She waved goodbye. I sipped the hot chocolate and thought to myself. A lot of these people don't use their common sense. How irritating! Of course her boyfriends dumped her, she was cheating on them. Which leads me to wonder why the other people are here. Maybe there were death threats involved by Spud. I took a glance at Alex. His face expressed sadness and hatred for these mutants. Veins popped out of his neck almost unnoticeably. Poor Alex, forced here to be with his brother. I would have never been able to survive, but Mike would have. Mike! Is Mike still alive? I shouldn't have screamed; I should have just flicked the body away.
"Helen, what is wrong?" A cat looking boy looked at me.
"How do you know my name?" I settled down in my seat.
"The bathtub test." He purred.
"Is that really a big deal?" I asked.
"Very. No one in the history of this compound has ever almost died because of that." He replied.
"Well then. Okay… What is your name?" I continued the conversation.
"Jimmy. I am nine years old." He squeaked. Aw, poor thing!
"Nice to meet you. Why are you here Jimmy?" I had to question him.
"My parents are guards here so I joined too. It took me forever to persuade them to let me at such a young age." He licked his bloody claws.
"Renee! You—" A familiar voice hit me. A chubby girl about my age shoved her way to me.
"June? You aren't a mutant, and didn't I kill you by accident?" I cocked my head.
"I am not a mutant you freak!" She yelled. Everybody stopped talking and stared at me.
"No this is Helen." Spud grunted.
"No no no. This is Renee who hurt my boyfriend. You are going to die Renee!" June tried to choke me, but Alex stopped her.
"Renee is dead." Spud's right hand man stepped forward.
"No, see?" June took a glass of water and dumped it on my head, washing away the mud from my hair. Spud gasped.
"So? A lot of people have curly blonde hair. How did you get in here when you are not a mutant" Alex argued.
"You liar!" Spud came nearer to June.
"Stop. Don't hurt her. This is between me and her." I objected. That is when my cover was blown.
"So you are Renee!" Spud looked hurt. I stood up and stomped my foot, signaling Alex to let my guard down. Spud took one step forward and slipped. His nose flared and jumped to me, despite his weight. A small panel sizzled and sparks flew into the air. A smirk formed on my face and Alex gave me thumbs up. Waves of mutants started towards us with pure hatred and mixed emotions. I backed up to Alex, who was with Maddie. I tensed my hands up ready to battle her.
"Renee, I am with you guys." Maddie informed me.
"Over here you guys. Block the entrance." Alex sprinted down a hallway. Maddie followed, but I stayed back, pushing Maddie forward with the power of air.
"You are going to die if you stay behind!" She fought me.
"No I am not!" I talked back. I stopped in the middle of the hallway, seeing in horror the people out to get me. At least fifty people were charging at me. Some with fire, ice, water, some like animals, some shape shifters and many more. Shards of ice came towards me, stopping abruptly at the barrier of wind. I thought to myself that there was a sure fire way to stop these people temporarily. I let my hands form into fists and turn my head away. Massive amounts of air entered my lungs, giving me a headache.
"Renee we need you!" Maddie yelled.
"NYA I am coming." Tears flowed out of my eyes. Snot dripped out of my nose, agitating my skin. I opened one eye, and everyone was lying on the floor, yet they were not dead. I let go, breathing hard and coughing up blood. I stumbled running to Alex and Maddie.
"What happened to you?" Maddie walked over to me.
"Nothing, nothing. I think I just over exerted myself." I coughed.
"Is your nose bleeding?" She took a silver hankie from her purse.
"I am fine. Just fine. Alex what are you doing?" I blinked. Alex's face reflected the lights from the computer in front of him.
"Come here." Alex ordered. Inhaling a deep breath, I slumped over to him, still recovering from the inner wounds.
"I am going to print this page and then print the map to this place. Your dad must be important because his cell is marked on the map." Alex pressed a button on the machine next to us. Lights flashed off of this monstrosity of a machine.
"What is this?" I took a closer look.
"A printer." Maddie said plainly. Two pieces of paper were zapped out into my face. I squeaked a tiny bit, ducking. In an instant, I brought the papers to myself. I rubbed my eyes to look at the paper, which said:
INVENTOR: Theodore Thomas
DATE OF CREATION: October 9, 1998
INSTRUCTIONS: The knobs on the right are for those who have goodness in their heart. On the left are for those who have evil in their heart. If the left knob is turned on, then those with evil in their hearts will no longer be able to use their abilities, and visa versa. This panel absorbs their powers harmlessly. The higher the frequency, the higher the absorption. To absorb the powers of a certain person, that person must place their hand on the panel and go through four shocks. Each greater than the shock before them. To let one person of the group of people whose abilities are absorbed be able to use their ability, that person MUST be scanned by the panel.
TO DISARM: Break it or stop the flow of the electric current running through it if the knobs do not work. If the knobs work, turn them in the off position.
TO TRANSFER THE POWERS ABSORBED TO ONE PERSON: Open the back of the panel. Switch the wires. Red with white, blue with black, purple with yellow. DO NOT CUT THE WIRES! Put your hand on the panel until you have experienced four shocks, then place panel on person's chest and turn both frequencies on.
AUTOR OF THIS DOCUMENT: Theodore Thomas
"My dad is the inventor of this panel." I said in awe.
"We have to go." Maddie hissed. I gulped and looked around. There was no way out and the mutants are waking up. Frantic, I scooped up two brand new panels just in case.
"How are we going to get out of here?" She asked Alex. He scratched his head and looked to the map for the answer.
"Okay, look. The room we are in is the outer room. It is surrounded by traps in the rooms next to us, but if we can break down this wall that leads outside we are safe." Alex laid the map on the floor.
"Maddie, can you melt the metal?" I spoke up.
"Yes, but do you think it will work?" She doubted.
"We have no choice." Alex intervened. The red headed woman slid to the outer wall and slammed her hand on the cold surface. Metal bubbled and dripped like a lit candle down to the floor. Just enough space opened up for all of us to go through.
"We need to cool the metal or it will keep dripping." Maddie hollered. Alex snapped his fingers and I blasted the opening.
"Go go go !" Alex shooed us.
As we got outside into the darkenss, I ran the fastest to Mike, praying that I am not to late. Blurred grass passed by me, revealing Serenity still holding Mike. Once I got there, the sight of Mike terrified me. Serenity stopped the bleeding on his leg by tying part of her sweater tight on his thigh. His brown eyes half opened themselves, but his eyes were rolled to the back of his head. Only the white of his eyes showed. His skin had become a ghostly white, the cuts more noticeable and scarlet. Tiny cuts branched off of the main scrape. Serenity's black hair became grey with dust and her clothing was torn. No longer did her eyes dance.
"Renee!" Serenity announced. Her brown eyes perked up, but she stayed still in fear of hurting Mike. I halted and slumped down beside Mike, blood still trickling form my nose. I dipped my hand into my back pocket and jerked the instructions for the panels out into the open. I set one of the panels down. Flipping it over, I clasped my hands on a twig to use as leverage to pop open the back.
"Okay… Red with white… Blue with black… And purple with yellow." I instructed to myself. At last I clicked them into place and flipped it over again. Afraid of putting my hand into the wrong place, I moved my hand back and forth to determine where to put it. Alex and Maddie caught up to me, panting.
"Just put your hand down." Serenity pressed. Murmuring words of encouragement, I slapped my hand down. The first shock was not that bad. The second shock was still hardly felt, but the shock following that jolted my arm. Trying to keep my hand from moving, I pushed my hand down harder. Number four swept through me like bolt of lighting. I could utter no word, not even a sound.
"Are you okay?" Alex sputtered. All of the people surrounding me (except for Mike) were fixed on me.
"That woke me up." I answered him. Before I was able to get to the panel, Serenity acquired the panel and placed it on Mike's chest. Moments passed by, no one dared to breath. A sudden intake of air shattered the silence. Mike's chest rapidly started to move. Color flushed his face, covering up all of his cuts, bruises, scars, and bullet holes.
"We did it you guys!" I laughed. Everyone else crept up to Mike to see how he was doing. What did I do? I toppled over onto the grass to recover from my pain. The darkness still hovered over us for it was now the night that is befriending our journey.