As I said this chapter and the next one will focus on the situation in the prison. This is kinda Clay centric but the next one will be about Rai…I can't wait! ) Things are going to be interesting! Hehehe…
Updated: 29.07.2011
Redemption
"It's a prison, Clay!"
The words resounded like a mantra in his head…going in circles over and over again, never leaving or sparing him a second from the dreadful truth. As he walked, he kept his head down, blue eyes glaring at his feet as they moved automatically through the white corridor.
"They're analyzing the supernatural abilities of the beings they catch and try to recreate them in normal people!"
That was completely insane! How were these guys supposed to recreate that special something that give him his power? He didn't even know what it was himself…And normal people? Come on now!
"You know…for the greater good!"
He face twisted in a grimace. What would a 'normal' human do if he had supernatural powers? Oh yeah! Whatever he wants! That would certainly bring peace in the world. Clay took in a deep breath finally looking up to find himself in front of his cell door. The guards unlocked the hand cuffs and he stepped inside collapsing in his bed right away.
"Ain't they scared of us?"
"Of course they are! That's why they're doing this in the first place! To keep the threats in check while at the same time using us just like guinea pigs!"
Clay wanted to laugh at his own stupidity. After so many times saving the world, risking their necks for the sake of others he didn't expect that the innocent ones were actually devils with some really sharp horns ready to stab them in the back at the first sight of weaknesses.
"What about the building?"
"Leakproof!"
He placed his hat back on his eyes, not wanting to look at the damn ceiling a second more. His throat felt dry and he swallowed sensing the lump from before. It didn't go away. Not even the talk with Raimundo couldn't calm him and he had looked forward to it.
"What do ya mean they've got an elementalist?"
Raimundo answered smiling half heartedly at the cowboy. "I doubt their thinking at me as an elementalist, dude!"
Clay looked utterly confused by now making the brown haired boy shook his head. "It's complicate…well not that complicate…but it would be quite a shock!"
And a shock it was! Never in his life had he been so taken aback. Was he that stupid or was Raimundo such a good actor? Why hasn't he caught the younger teen doing something even remotely close to the theme?
"Werewolves these days have to learn how to behave in a society! After all we're not wild animals…not entirely at least!"
The whole thing seemed absurd at the beginning knowing the boy's inclination to tricks and pranks, but it wasn't meant to. Everything that Rai has told him was true…he didn't know how he could tell. Instinct maybe? The point was that he could practically feel it.
The moment the Brazilian spilled everything, something seemed to click in Clay's mind. It was something he had ignored from the very second of their meeting. Knowing the whole deal appeared to have opened him some sort of sixth sense…Clay could practically feel that need for freedom, the wildness, the rebellion which he ended up linking with the dragon of wind.
"Every kind has its own rules. We have ours. Most of our traits are related to the spirit of a wolf although that doesn't mean we can't be civilized. Honestly, back home I kinda used to eat the same as you. It was a family routine!"
Yeah…and about his family too!
"Dude, I don't really want to talk about them…not here y'know!"
And he was right! With everything under surveillance they didn't have a snowball's chance in hell to talk freely. And furthermore, they couldn't offer their enemies more information than they already had.
Rai proposed to play along. Keep a low profile and at the first promising chance of escape just go for it. Of course, that was for Clay. Raimundo meanwhile had other plans that the cowboy didn't need to know. He was sure of it. And about what the plans were, the blond was sure it involved the 'Pack' and it annoyed him not to mention he felt slightly offended.
But he didn't have the time nor the motivation to get deeper. Sure, he was curious but if Raimundo didn't say anything than he wouldn't say anything anytime soon. He wasn't going to bother him when he could very well make something more productive like paying attention to the security, the guards shifts, the normal schedule for meals, visits, interrogations and all that crap.
Obviously everything was a lot more harder when the room was soundproof. I wonder if a werewolf's hearing is sharp enough to listen through those walls. That would be quite handy right 'bout now.
But by the time he would be able to come up with a plan for everything he would first need to rest. And that's exactly what Clay did. With a sigh, the cowboy let himself to fall asleep, his mind beginning to think about all the things that had happened in only one day's work.
The night passed without any inner conferences. Raimundo didn't know if he should feel worried or think that maybe Damian was giving him time to gather information. He decided upon the latter and swiftly got out of bed heading for the bathroom. After a quick shower and inspecting his new scar, Rai threw the bandages and got dressed in his black clothes from yesterday.
At least they're not white.
A few minutes after, more precisely at 8:30 a.m. two guards came in with a tray of food. That's when his infiltration mission begun. Rai noticed right away that one of the guards stayed at the door keeping it open while the other one put the meal on his table before leaving. That meant that the door could only be opened from the outside which in turn left place for many possible escaping scenarios.
He also noted that the guards were others than the ones from last night. He still had to work on creating a mental schedule for the shifts but it vaguely started to form from the day before. The second thing about the guards was that they always carried guns with them, and always the one standing at the door took care to take it out just in case. That left place for many possible failed escaping scenarios.
He ate his breakfast in silence mostly munching the information in his head. When he was done he sat down in the bed once again trying to relax. It didn't quite work so he decided to take a look at the books on the shelves. With a sigh he grabbed a random book and started to read it just because he was already bored out of his mind.
It turned out universal literature wasn't that bad.
Clay burped loudly putting the napkin in his empty plate. "Hmm…for a prison those fellows know how to make good food."
He leant back in his chair sighing. A moment later the guards came in again taking the plate while another two escorted a person inside right behind Pach. The woman stopped at the door clearing her throat.
"Clay, I would like you to meet Adin Arch." The blond raised an eyebrow at her before settling his gaze on the teen behind her. He was a thin, short boy with messy black hair that fell in his blue eyes wearing a gray t-shirt and blue jeans. He looked a few years younger than him and he mostly kept his eyes on his shoes fidgeting nervously.
"What's the occasion, if ah may ask?"
"Well, socialization of course. We wouldn't want our guest to forget how to speak, would we?" She answered like it was the most obvious thing in the universe and he was a stupid for not figuring it out.
Nevertheless that pissed of the cowboy and for once he wished to actually hurt someone innocent with his powers even though he doubted Pach could be called innocent. He watched as the guards left Adin beside the table where he stood before going out on the door.
"Have fun, kids!" Clay glared one last time at the woman but had to turn his attention to the still fidgeting boy when she closed the door.
"Well, I'm Clay Bailey, Xiaolin Dragon of the Earth. Come on sit down partner."
Adin obeyed gulping inconspicuously. "Y-You can c-control the earth!"
Clay smirked. "Yeah, pretty much! Although ah doubt mah powers are useful in this place!"
"Oh!"
The older teen took a few seconds to look at the boy. He seemed so frail and scared not to mention he noticed the dark circles around his eyes. A sudden anger engulfed him making his blood boil in rage and he could barely hold himself from smashing the table and everything else in the cell.
"How long have ya been here?"
Adin flinched slightly before looking up at Clay. "I…I think it has been a week!"
Again, Clay had to control his fury and instead gripped the sides of his chair. When he answered he succeeded in maintaining a calm and kind tone. "Ya shouldn't worry little partner! Me and mah friend will take care of this guys and free everyone in here!"
The black haired boy raised his head staring with wide blue eyes at the cowboy. "Y-You believe you can do it?"
He nodded.
"But I've heard things about others trying to escape and they…they…"
The cowboy frowned at him and leant forward on the table. "Tell ya what! My friends ain't gonna stop at anything to bust us out. I assure you we'll all gonna be fine and those varmints will regret the day they were born, eh?"
Adin looked like surprised but his face right away broke into a huge smile that warmed Clay on the inside. He grinned as well happy to finally see the kid in a better mood.
"Um, Adin? Ah don't really know how to put it but what…powers do ya have?" asked Clay sheepishly. He truly felt weird asking someone such a question but at least it wasn't 'What kind of creature are you?' as he first wanted to say.
Adin on the other hand didn't seem to mind as he kept the smile while answering. "Well sometimes when I get angry I can hear something talking to me a-and when I listen to it I can make the shadows do whatever I want."
"That's kinda cool…beside the voice in the head thing, I guess."
"That wouldn't be all!" His voice was barely above a whisper but Clay managed to hear it. Adin bit his lip uneasily when his eyes found Clay's blue ones. "I had…have these dreams and I don't know what they mean."
"What are they about?"
"Um…I dream of myself…flying…"
Clay chuckled. "Ever'one want to fly. One of my friends actually is able to fly by controlling the wind."
"No." Adin shook his head resuming fiddling with his fingers. "I mean, I'm flying with wings and there are others like me…and everything is so bright…it's beautiful!"
The blond tipped his hat raising an eyebrow. "Did you tell anybody else about this?"
"No…I don't want them to mess with my head. It's already bad enough."
Clay nodded in understanding. "I get the picture." They sat in silence for a while before Clay suddenly thought of something that may help him in devising an escape plan.
"Hey, Adin! You've been here for a week, right?"
"Yeah!"
"So how much of this thing have you seen?"
The boy thought for a moment. "Only the medical centre, the cells and the interrogation rooms."
The cowboy nodded. "On which floors are they situated? There are six in total, right?"
"Mm-hm! I think the medical wing is on the third floor, our cells on the fourth, and the interrogation rooms on the fifth. The rest are probably for the personal."
"If the first two are for the guards and the ones in charge what is on the sixth floor? Ah don't see any reason for the residential areas to be so distanced from each other."
Adin shifted in his seat, movement that caught the older teen's eye. "What is it on the sixth floor?"
"I-I just heard some guys talking about it. They called it the Hunting Zone. I don't really know what is it but even I realize it isn't a pretty place."
"Hunting Zone!" Clay repeated like the words would bring him some answer. The simple name gave him chills and a bad feeling like he was about to find out something he dreaded to know.
"Pach mentioned that someone will be taken there today for a test…whatever that means."
Clay felt an ice cube rolling down in his stomach. "Did she said who?" His fists clenched tightly and he could perfectly hear every beat of his racing heart. That bad feeling intensified and he leant forward trying as best as he could to keep a straight face.
Adin rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. "Um…they weren't talking that loud but I think I heard something about a wolf. Why do you – "
Clay shot up not without smashing his fist through the table and making the younger boy jump out of his skin in fright. "C-Clay?"
The one in question was swiftly pacing in the room swearing under his breath completely ignoring the stuttering boy still sitting on his chair. "D-Did I say something wrong?"
"You didn't!" Adin cringed at the growl, gulping down anything else he wanted to say. "But I'm gonna sent those bastards straight to hell if they do something to Rai!"
"Here we are!" Fackler said happily as they walked out of the elevator and into a wide corridor with a huge window on the other side.
One of the guards pushed Raimundo forward and he stumbled for a second before he just as quickly regained his balance and followed the man toward the window. "Y'know, you could have at least let me finish the chapter. It was getting interesting!"
"Don't worry! You'll have enough time to finish the book when we'll be done here!"
Rai raised a curious eyebrow and shifted his gaze to the window. On the other side there was an immense chamber with white walls surrounding a dense forest. His jaw dropped at the sight in amazement, not only at its size but also at the idea of growing a forest underground.
"What. Is. This?"
Fackler smiled satisfied. "We decided to give you some space!" He turned to look in Ramundo's wide green eyes. "Up for a chase?"
Rai instantly frowned moving his stare at the forest on the other side of the window. And who exactly is gonna be the one chased, huh?
Okay now, first of all Adin wasn't supposed to be like that…but I think the nervousness and the constant fidgeting is making him cuter! Secondly…the next update is planned for Saturday and it'll have action as you have probably already guessed.
Till then…Sayonara! ;)
