If you really need to read the disclaimer again, then refer back to the first ten chapters.
Ch.14
At first the group was looking forward to the prospect of training. No more painful tests and even more agonizing procedures. Instead they were going to start something they could actually do. However, they were sadly mistaken for thinking things were going to be easier, for the training was as grueling as everything else they had been through so far. After being awakened by the blinding lights of the room, like they were every time, they were given a meal, another dose of the healing mixture and hustled out of the room.
This time they were taken through a door directly opposite the room they were staying in. The door led to a long hallway of even more doors. Seth and Christian, not having any powers they needed to develop had been whisked away to whatever it is they went through while the group was split, so only the eleven were led to the hall of doors.
Without so much as a word or a command, Korran took them one by one and shoved them into specific doors until they were all divided.
"What the hell," Yami gasped as she looked around her new surroundings. She was in a room with a dark wood floor and grey cement walls; one entire wall was taken up by a large cabinet. Other that that the room was bare, save for the large screen that was currently being lowered from the ceiling. It flickered on and a very familiar, if not irritating, face appeared.
"Now everyone, we are going to begin your training," Korran's voice boomed over a speaker that was nowhere in sight. "The rules are simple. Just follow everything your trainers tell you and there will be no need for needless pain. I designed them specifically for this task so they do know what they are doing." At that the screen blinked off and two figures walked through a door in the corner that Yami could have sworn hadn't been there before.
The first one to enter was a woman. She had long red hair that was in a loose knot at the base of her neck. She was also wearing the white coat the seemed to be uniform here, but underneath it she was clad in a suit of form fitting black spandex. She was obviously not afraid to show off her flawless features. The person behind her was a man that appeared to be made of all muscle. His coal black hair was just long enough to cover his ears and he had abandoned the white coat to don a red tank top and black pants. The pair had matching storm grey eyes that offered no merci. Not that Yami was expecting any. She was starting to get used to this work till you drop routine.
"Alright twerp," the man spoke up. "You heard him. You're to do exactly as we say." His voice was a bit gruff and grated on Yami's already taxed nerves.
"And what if I don't," Yami protested. She knew it was probably the stupidest thing she could do, given her circumstance, but she could not help it. She was a natural rebel. In answer, the woman took out a rod from her pocket that looked like it belonged in a Star Wars movie. Only instead of producing a light saber it sprouted some sort of energy whip that made painful contact with Yami's left shoulder.
"Then that happens," the woman sneered.
"Yeah, got it," Yami's hissed between clenched teeth. Little did she know that all of her friends had been placed in identical rooms as hers and were faced with identical trainers that put them through their own training.
The so called training lasted for ten hours strait. The humans actually started to catch on to their new found abilities fairly easy. Partly because every time they did something wrong they were painful punished, and partly because it just seemed natural. Eventually the ten hours ended and all of them were herded back into the main room where they reconvened with the two missing members of their group. More food was pushed through the slot in the door, along with some healing drink, for those who needed it, and were given nine hours to eat sleep and heal. After the nine hours they would be woken up to repeat the former pattern of training and healing.
When they finally woke up, after a few hours of sleep, they barely felt rested, and the prospect of the task still ahead of them didn't make them anymore cheerful. However the first thing they had to worry about was getting across the land. Luckily the night of rest had given Kurama a little extra energy and he could force the bramble out of their way for the fest of the field. Once they managed to get to the end of the wild plain they found themselves faced with an overgrown jungle. The going was slower than they expected and it took them a good twenty-four hours to navigate it. However they were eventually rewarded with the fruits of their labor. They came across a small building, though it was only a storage house, it meant that they had reached the right place.
It was the end of another grueling ten hour training session and like usual they were dead tired. Korran, like usual, was escorting them back to their room when Mike randomly burst out against the demon. Something none of them had been willing to do for a while.
"You can't keep us here forever," the spiky haired boy blurted out. "Something's bound to bring this crashing down at one point or another." Of course Korran's response to this was as expected. After sending the boy to his knees with the electricity through his collar he grabbed the boy's hair and yanked him up till he was at face level.
"Trust me. You will be here until I say so, and let me warn you. I don't plan to ever release you," and he let the boy topple back to the white floor before bustling out of the room and shutting the door. All of the kids waited a heart's beat before rushing to their fallen friend. After realizing he was perfectly unharmed they were put at ease; however that did nothing to ease their curiosity.
"Mike, what the hell were you thinking," Travis practically spat at him. "Do you want to get hurt?"
"Yeah Mike," Aryn commented. "What was with the sudden outburst?"
"I'll tell you after the lights go out," he whispered to them before falling silent. There was a squeaking as the usual meal was delivered and the humans readily devoured along with the green potion to heal their newly acquired injuries. Once they were finished the lights went out and the dim lights came on. Usually the group would try to sleep now but they were too interested in hearing Mike's explanation.
"All right so what's up?" Elizabeth asked. In answer Mike held up a small black box witch turned out to be Korran's remote.
"What! How did you get that," Jordan gasped.
"I'm not so stupid as to act up without reason." At this he started to laugh at himself. "I guess my years of robbing convenience stores have pain off."
"Ok, so what are we going to do with it?" Yami asked him.
I was hoping to find a way to deactivate these things around our necks," he answered. "Hey, Seth, you're a computer guy. Come help me with this," so the two of them began to tinker with the small device. At one point they messed up, accidentally shocking the entire group, but eventually they figured it out, or at least they thought they did.
"So who wants to be the scapegoat?" Seth addressed to the group.
"What do you mean?" Jamie asked him.
"Well we really need to find out if these things have really been shut off." After a long pause of people waiting for someone to volunteer so they wouldn't have to, Stephanie spoke up.
"I guess I will," she answered, none too eagerly. She was a bit of a masochist but even so those electrical shocks were not enjoyable. Mike pointed the remote at her, adjusted a dial and pushed the button. Nothing happened.
"So these things are dead?" Sam asked, pointing to her own through.
"Yes but we should keep them on so no one will get suspicious. Now even if he has more than one remote he won't be able to control us." There was a general uplifting of the group at the thought of that sparse freedom.
"So tell me," Cristian ventured. "Why did you have to wait until the lights were off to tell us this?"
"Because they watch us through that window," he answered. "I convinced one of my trainers to tell me that they don't observe us when the lights go out, so I had to wait till then."
"I guess that leaves the universal question," Yami spoke up after a moment of awkward silence. "What are we going to do now?"
"Isn't it obvious," Aryn gawked at her. "Now we find a way out of this hell hole. I don't know about you but with all the training we've been going through I've gotten a pretty good handle on my new abilities. Well, on the basics anyway. But the point is now we now have a way to fight back."
"My thoughts exactly," Mike agreed with her. "At the end of that corridor, where all of our training rooms are, there is a door that I have never seen anyone use. My guess is that it's the best bet to the outside."
"Aren't you forgetting that there is an exit at both ends of the hallway," Jamie put in. After a long discussion, and debate, on what to do, the group finally came to a conclusion. They would split up into two groups and each group would take a door. Sense the sisters had a mental connection they decided that one would go with each group and whichever group found the way out first, that sister would send the directions to her sister. Also Cristian and Seth had no abilities so they were put in different groups. The rest of the positions were decided by abilities and skill level. Although it took a while to decide the groups eventually stood as such. Erika, Jamie, Sam, Mike, Yami, Seth, and Jordan would make up the first group and take the door at the left end of the hall. The second group consisted of Stephanie, Jessica, Aryn, Elizabeth, Cristian, and Travis, and they would be taking the door to the right. The rest of the night was spent planning exactly how they were going to execute their escape and it was eventually decided that once Korran came to get them he would be in store for a well deserved shock of his own.
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