Chapter One Hundred and Forty Nine
...
Warren heard a noise coming from behind a door and stopped suddenly, heart pounding in his chest as he sent a pulse through Layla's fire tattoo. She stopped and looked back at him, frowning. Warren pointed to the door and she nodded, moving to him quietly across the carpeted hallway.
Before Warren could burn the door down, it opened a crack, a small face peering up at them with wide eyes. The child waved them inside frantically, grabbing Warren's hand when he hesitated. Layla and Warren were both in the bathroom a second later, the child's finger pressed against his lips to ensure they stayed silent. A moment later footsteps from the wardens passed as they hurried to an office; it was almost ten o'clock.
Warren looked at the child - the seer, if Donny was right about the bathroom - and wondered how old he really was. He had the smaller size of a pre-teen, but his eyes... His father's eyes were like that, on his second life and still so much life to live, but stuck in a cage for another three.
"We have to go. Quick, piggyback me. It won't hurt," the seer said, tugging on Warren's hand and scrambling up his leg with surprising strength despite the sticks he had for limbs.
"What won't hurt?" Warren asked, even as he adjusted the kid on his back properly.
"Layla, lead the way. I'll tell you where to go," the seer said, thin arms wrapped around Warren's throat. "Quick, now, Warren. Now, go right," he said urgently, kicking his bare feet against Warren's ribs like he was spurring on a horse.
Layla ducked out of the doorway, Warren a step behind her, heading right down the hallway, then left, right, and another right, until they made their way to a large room filled with metal framed cots, children lying on each one. They were chained to the frames by wrists and ankles, a collar around their neck holding them prone as it connected to the metal frame behind their heads.
"Holy shit," Layla breathed, her eyes wide at the sight.
"I got the key. Here, quick, quick," the seer said, nudging Warren's ribs again, a thick metal key in his thin fist.
Warren tried desperately not to power up, to be mindful of the small child clinging to his back, to keep the flames in his body instead of stretching out across the whole damn building to burn the place down to the fucking foundation. A few flames escaped despite himself and he hurried to bring them under control as the seer scrambled off his back.
"I told you, it doesn't hurt. Layla, Warren, make keys that look like this, quick!" the seer said, holding up the key for all of two seconds before running to the far window and starting to unlock the chains.
"Did you get that?" Warren asked Layla, who nodded, concentrating on making a thick and strong vine in the same shape. Watching her key intently, Warren fashioned his own and started to help unlock the children, burning out three keys in three minutes and making a fourth in the next instant.
The children were unlocked within ten minutes, and the seer scrambled under a bed, pulling out what looked to be a mess of cogs and springs. Layla realised it was a clock and it was five minutes to ten.
The seer shuddered bodily as they looked for a vision, their blue eyes wide in a second, then running to the door. "Everyone, quick! Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve - "
Warren and Layla didn't know if he was counting children or the clock, but they grabbed as many children as they could and followed after the seer. Warren felt like a jungle gym, carrying what felt like six children, but was probably closer to twelve since they were all tiny and malnourished; he was going to kill whoever had done this to them.
...
"Kids, get back here!" Thana called, even as her twin sons jumped out of the car and ran for the apartment building. "At least take something with you, for Super Jesus' sake," she muttered when they ignored her and continued.
"Hurry up, Mama!"
Thana got out of the car and locked it on her way to the apartment building. They could find their apartment first, then get the things out of the car. It would be good to stretch after the drive and having spent most of the morning packing their belongings into her tiny car. It had been depressing to see how little they actually owned. Most of it had been spent on... well, important things, but they weren't many and varied, and she glanced back to the car to ensure everything would survive the short delay.
Walking into someone, Thana cursed softly, her eyes watering and nose sore. "Ouch."
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry. Are you all right?" a man asked, hands steadying her shoulders before letting go.
"Fine. It was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry, I... " Thana trailed off as her eyes cleared and she saw who she'd bumped into.
Oh, no. He was very, very, far too damned attractive. Even if his hair was a bright neon red that she wasn't sure existed outside of a hair dye colour. Somehow, it suited him, and the scruff around his mouth and chin was the same colour. He was smiling at her broadly and Thana swallowed hard, forcing herself to step back.
"Hi, there," the man said in what was so obviously a sultry tone that it made Thana feel like she was blushing as brightly as his hair.
"Mama!"
Shit, her sons. If they overreacted, which they were sure to do, this poor man... Well, she'd stop them before anything happened.
"Get away from my Mama!" one young voice piped up crossly, glowering at the brightly-haired man.
The man simply smiled and stepped back. "Of course. Is this better?"
Damien blinked, not used to having his way quite so easily, then glared harder. "No!"
"Well, I'd move further back, but if I remember correctly, there are stairs behind me. You don't want me to hurt myself, do you?" the man asked, a curious lilt to his voice.
Damien was obviously very confused, but by then, Diablo had overcome his initial shyness and took up his twin's glare instead. "We'll hurt you if you don't leave our Mama alone!"
"Oh, you're twins. Or are there more of you?" the man asked, definitely curious now.
"Die, it's fine. I ran into... uh, I didn't catch your name. I'm Thana," she said hurriedly, hoping an introduction might appease her sons before Damien got over his confusion.
"Aleph. I'm Decima and Barney's oldest," he introduced, then continued when he saw her blank response and realised she didn't know his parents yet, "I'm the eldest of nineteen, so I have eighteen brothers and sisters, hence me asking if you're twins. Oh, and so you know, Thana: my name means first but I promise I'm always second," Aleph added, his voice soft enough to not be overheard, and adding a wink just to ensure Thana didn't miss the innuendo.
Diablo narrowed his eyes when Thana laughed suddenly, not having heard what the man had said.
"You have eighteen brothers and sisters?" Damien asked, eyes wide as he tried to count the number on his fingers.
"Yes, I do. How old are you? My youngest siblings might be around your age," Aleph mused.
"We're eight."
"You're four, Dame. You can't add Die's age to yours," Thana corrected.
"Oh, that's the same as Storm and Rain. Would you like to meet them?" he asked, looking from the two boys to their mother and smiling broadly again.
"Can we, Mama?" Diablo asked, eyes wide and no longer glaring, far too excited about the prospect of meeting someone new.
"Uh. We have to unpack the car. And find the apartment, and... " Thana trailed off at her sons' expressions of hope. "Okay. But no running. And gloves on at all times, understood?"
"Yes, Mama!"
Diablo and Damien immediately started to run inside and Thana squeezed the bridge of her nose; one simple instruction... Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She could trust Diablo to keep his gloves on, but Damien had a habit of taking them off at the worst times, and it never ended well for anyone.
"I promise my siblings will be well-behaved. Our parents put the fear of Super Jesus into them before we came here; they were meant to be helping unpack, but found a playground inside, and that was that," Aleph said with a laugh. "I can help you unpack your car, if you need help?" he offered.
Thana bit her lip at the idea of having time with another person who wasn't one of her children, a person who - somehow - seemed attracted to her and was flirting (there was no mistaking that pick-up line, surely?). She hadn't been flirted with since... y'know what? Thana didn't even want to know the answer to that.
"I'll see how my boys go meeting your brothers."
"Brother and sister. Rain and Storm, respectively. They'll be just as excited to meet new kids their age who aren't related to them," Aleph said. "And speaking of gloves, I'd better go check they're wearing theirs. Uh... dirt, you know how it is."
Thana just nodded and followed Aleph into the building. Thankfully, Damien and Diablo hadn't made it past the foyer, both staring up at the green plant feature that cascaded from the very top of the building like a waterfall. There were several water installations, adding to the illusion of water falling, and it was like stepping into a small oasis. Weirdly enough, Thana felt safe, even as the door closed behind her and encased her in a large skyscraper with strangers.
"It's Die and Dame, right?" Aleph asked, crouching in front of them and grinning.
"Damien."
"Diablo."
"Not Dee for Diablo?" Aleph asked, looking to Thana.
"They both responded to it. Die and Dame are nicknames. But only I'm allowed to say them," Thana said with a small gesture of peace. "Aleph knows that now, and you didn't introduce yourselves properly, so once is fine, isn't it?" she asked, resting her hands on their heads and rubbing their hair until they softened and giggled beneath her touch.
"Okay, Mama," Diablo said with a nod.
"Where's the playground? And the other kids?" Damien asked excitedly.
"This way," Aleph said, standing and leading the way through the foyer to a side corridor marked 'playground' in colourful writing.
Since the children couldn't read, the sign also included a slide and swing. Thana followed after them, wondering if there really was a slide and swing indoors.
With her sons' eagerly anticipating meeting new people, Thana had a moment of peace, and used it to check out Aleph's ass. He looked over his shoulder just as she did and Thana barely refrained from burying her face in her hands. She was only embarrassed at being caught, not for getting that very pert view.
"Don't worry. We're almost there," Aleph said, his voice warm and teasing.
...
"Are we almost there?" Terrence asked Honey, his voice soft in the tunnel around them.
"We are, and I'm sorry about this, I really am," Honey said with a wince, even as she opened the door to a blood-splattered room.
Terrence turned and puked.
"Terrence, that you?" Ry asked, looking over, covered in blood. "Oh, good. You can help with these kids, Honey. They're not responding to anything and we've gotta get out."
"Why are they all covered in blood? Why are you covered in blood? What the fuck, Honey?" Terrence groaned.
"Sorry, I didn't... It wasn't meant to happen like that; Connor lost his shit."
"No regrets," Connor called. "I'm tempted to pick them up, but I don't think they'll even respond to that. Hey, kids. Can you hear me?"
Ry tried asking the question in sign language, but didn't get a response with that, either.
Honey stepped over one dead scientist, kicked another, and stomped on one's fingers as she made her way over to Connor, Ry, and the three children. Terrence followed after her, more careful of the blood than the dead people, and eventually stopped in front of the three kids. If he'd had anything else left in his stomach, he might've puked again. They looked blank, like nothing was registering and nothing was happening inside their brains, and he shuddered, machines around them beeping in response.
The three children moved to look at Terrence in unison, not blinking and totally creepy, and he wanted to step back but there was an ever-growing puddle of blood behind him and that was worse.
"You need to get their collars off; it controls them, and I mean that literally in an embedded-in-the-brain kind of way," Honey said.
"What the fuck?" Terrence asked, seeing a thick rope of wires coming from the back of the collars and embedding at the base of their skulls. "Oh, fuck, I'm gonna puke again."
"No, you're not. Connor, Ry, we need you to hold the first child. Number 231, step forward," Honey said, one of the children taking an immediate step forward, no other response in their gaze.
"Honey... I can't. What... what if I fuck up?" Terrence asked, his voice trembling.
Honey pursed her lips. "You won't. I'm right here, okay? I hate this, believe me, I do. But it's the only way to get it out without making it worse. Ida needs to see them straight away, but they can't leave here without the collar being taken off first. The key doesn't unlock the collar, only the chains they use on the beds."
"The what?" Connor asked, his voice little more than a growl.
"I know. It's all going to be destroyed. Further than the ground, I promise. But first, we need to do this," Honey said. "Please, Terrence."
Terrence was hyperventilating; he couldn't do this. He wasn't medically trained to do this - hell, no one fucking was - and he was going to turn these poor kids into vegetables if he got one thing wrong. What would he do then? He couldn't just, what?, go to Sky High and his normal life as though hurting these kids wouldn't change him irrevocably and completely!
"Terrence, you're the only one who can do this. You can control the technology, that's all you have to do. Just get it to let go of their brains, okay? I promise, that's all you have to do. Ida's on the other side for their necks and skin grafts, hell, even Heidi's going to help. I promise, you just have to get the tech to release from them."
Terrence looked from Connor and Ry to Honey. Heidi was going to help? She wasn't even at Sky High yet, and still a kid, and she would probably be a billion times better at helping these kids than he was. He was useless and he couldn't do it.
"Hey, Terrence. You can do it. C'mon, dude. You're the only one who can do this. You've got this," Ry said, his voice gentle, even as he opened an app on his phone and sent a text.
"Who the fuck is texting you right now?" Robin called, stuck several metres in the ground and going deeper still.
"Ry. He needs help with Terrence."
"I'm good. Go. Hurry back!" Robin called, hoping their voice carried and Adam could hear.
"I will," Adam called, running back for the building, flames bursting out of the top level just as he came upon Justina and her microphone and speaker. "What're you doing? Where's Terrence?"
"He went - whoa, loud, sorry," Justina said, holding the microphone away from her. "He went with Honey to the basement. How's Robin going?"
"Good; they're almost at the bottom."
"Great. Be quick, the animals are almost here."
"What ones are you getting?" Adam asked as he headed into the building.
"All of them," Justina said with a wicked cackle.
"Justina; where's everyone?" Pat called, waving to her as the car drove up beside him and the frog squad.
"Inside. Go 'round the sides; I haven't heard from Ethan and Zach for a while, and Craig's on that side with Jewel and Beau," Justina said.
Spying an ant on the ground, she grinned and held the microphone up again, starting on a new noise to attract more animals.
...
"All right. I need the machines set up over here. The theatre is ready to go, there's more gloves and scrubs than I can count, and... whoa, Jesus, when did you get here?" Ida asked, eyes wide when she saw Curt in the doorway.
"A few minutes ago. I wanted to see you at work," he said, grinning.
"You scared me, dammit."
"Sorry, Ida," Curtis replied, kissing her briefly.
Ida curled her arms around his shoulders and kissed him hard, pulling away when she felt his hands tighten on her hips. "Since you've got time to watch me talk to myself, does that mean you have time to move my machinery?"
"Uh... no. I just wanted to see you before I go to help Paddy set up the white rooms. Also, those machines are too heavy for anyone to lift, don't hurt yourself. I'll go find someone. There's a few people with broad shoulders around here... oh, wow."
Ida grinned at her husband's expression as she reached out and gently nudged one of the machines. It moved like they were in zero gravity: slow and ambling towards the wall. Grabbing the handle before it could go too far, Ida nodded down to the bottom of the machine. "Terrence built them for me; they've got anti-gravity discs that turn into lockable wheels once I've put them in the right place."
"Oh, nice! I want those discs. D'you think he'd make some for construction? We'd save a helluva lot of good workers' backs with those."
"I'm getting my medical equipment first. It's so sensitive that even Sandsapien's jealous and trying to find out who my supplier is. He's dealing with ancient technology from last year."
Curtis laughed. "Of course. You were so excited about getting Sandsapien in the hospital, and now you're handing him the paltry tech leftovers?"
"He's probably using my MRI machine right now," Ida muttered. "Better not get any of that sand in it, or I'll do something unprofessional with that damn sand."
Curtis snorted, shook his head, then kissed her again. "I love you, Ida. Put that energy into looking after these kids, okay?"
Ida swallowed hard at the reminder. Not only had Honey not told her how many patients she would have, she also hadn't told Ida what ailments or wounds or even medical history they had. She would be working blind, and she hated that feeling more than anything, which is why she'd organised Terrence to build her nearly every medical machine she could think of to help combat the unknown.
"Always," Ida said. "You go have fun decorating. Take photos for me," she said, smiling.
"I will. I'll come by when they arrive, okay?"
"Thanks, Curt," Ida said, already distracted as she moved the equipment and started to form an idea to sell Terrence's equipment. If he'd agree, of course.
...
Warren and Layla let the children down once the seer had them stop. He guided the others into a bathroom, eyes widening as he pointed behind Warren and Layla. They turned around to see the two wardens through the office window.
"You all stay there. We'll be right back," Warren promised.
The seer swallowed hard, knowing it was a promise that he wouldn't keep, then nodded and closed the bathroom door.
Layla forced herself to inhale and exhale. Those poor children were so thin and tiny that she'd been able to carry six kids on her own, and another eight with her thorn-less vines. Anger was boiling her blood and she wanted to destroy this whole organisation for doing this to children. Honey still hadn't told them if there was more than one orphanage run by the organisation, stating that the answer wouldn't matter unless they won here. She was determined to win here and if there were other orphanages run by the organisation, Layla was going to rescue every child and burn every single orphanage to the fucking ground.
Stalking over to the office, Layla could feel the intense heat from Warren beside her and knew that he'd be right there with her. Flames wrapped around Warren as vines flowed from her, reaching for the two wardens as a phone rang on the desk next to them.
Warden One reached out to the phone, his boss asking for a report, just like he always did. "There's a problem here, sir," Warden One said. "Nothing we can't handle."
"Good," their boss replied.
Warden One set the phone down, ending the call, and Warden Two took the taser off their belt.
"Come on, then. What are you waiting for?" Warden One asked with a grin.
Warren and Layla glanced at each other at the warden's posturing.
"All right. Bring it," Warden One said.
Flames wrapped around the warden, screams of pain ringing in the air. In the background, the phone started ringing again.
"Hello?" Warden Two said, eyes wide at the sight of their colleague on fire.
"Leave," their boss said. "I'm changing Warden One's settings; if the problem isn't resolved in ten minutes and confirmed by phone, your settings will be changed as well."
Warden Two swallowed hard through the heat and haze in the air. "Yes, sir."
Warden One's screams cut off suddenly, and a laugh echoed in the flames.
Warren and Layla glanced at each other in confusion, even as the shadow in the flames began to change.
...
Wendy watched as Donny touched or stroked each fluffy toy and stuffed animal before placing them on the kids' beds. Most of the apartments had one or two beds to a room, and so far, he'd put every single toy onto the bed with the most longing expression she'd ever seen on his face. Apart from sex, of course. "Do you want one?" she asked after the eighth apartment and twentieth stuffed toy.
"What?" Donny asked, blinking and looking at her, his cheeks turning pink when he caught her thoughts. "No. I... "
"Donny, don't you dare lie to me. There's nothing wrong with liking stuffed animals," Wendy added, handing another stuffed toy to him; she grinned when she saw it was an elephant.
Donny laughed and patted the elephant's head before setting it on the next bed. "I never had them as a kid. I just... like them. I don't need them though, they're for kids."
Wendy rolled her eyes and threw the next toy at his head, the giraffe's neck snapping painfully and probably fatally if it had been alive. "Just admit you want a stuffed toy," she said, ditching another toy at him. "Super Jesus, Donny, you're old enough to like what you like and want what you want!" she said, another toy a victim to her pitching arm. "Who gives a fuck if it's a stuffed damn animal or some... pointy-haired penguin or whatever this thing is?"
"Badtz-Mari. It's a character from Hello Kitty."
"Holy shit, it's cute. Screw you, I want this one."
Donny snickered and, figuring his girlfriend was no longer going to throw poor defenceless stuffed animals at him, he picked them up to place them on the right beds.
"Oh, hello, dears. I didn't know you were in here; is everything okay?" Frieda asked, seeing the lopsided giraffe in Donny's hand and the penguin that Wendy was cuddling.
"Fine, Ms. Olgestein. We're putting the toys out. What are you doing?" Wendy asked, looking at the box Frieda was carrying.
"I found a divine little wool shop in the Maldives and spent some time knitting blankets for these dears. Or shawls, it depends what they want to use them for, of course. Can you put these two on those beds for me, Donny dear?"
"Sure. Thanks, Frieda. Ooh, these are so soft!" Donny said, barely refraining from sticking his face on one. Wendy grinned and moved closer to touch the blanket and determine its softness for herself.
Frieda looked pleased as both Donny and Wendy petted the blanket she'd made and knew she had her Christmas presents for them sorted.
...
Ethan's eyes widened as he realised he knew who the person across from them was. "Indigo!"
"Huh? Oh. Oh, shit," Zach said, eyes wide as he glowed brightly, just as Indigo used her power against them.
Light is faster than sound, and Zach felt like he was even faster than the speed of light in that moment. He glowed so brightly that he blocked the sound vibrations from Indigo's power and even the sun dimmed in comparison.
Ethan slid over and melted Zach down alongside him, moving them along the side of the building towards the edge and hopefully without alerting Indigo of their presence. He felt like he moved a millimetre in a minute, Indigo's echolocation trying to find them seemingly every single second of that minute.
By the time Pat and the frog squad arrived, Ethan was less than a metre away from Indigo. He couldn't move closer without revealing their location, but their arrival distracted Indigo. Ethan reformed, lunged forward, and melted Indigo down in the space of a second, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Eth, what the hell just happened?" Pat asked, jogging forward and stopping short of the puddle on the ground.
"I melted Indigo into a puddle. I'll let her out when we're done," Ethan said, glancing around the corner to ensure they weren't going to be attacked again. Not seeing anyone there, he stepped out onto the pavers slowly.
Zach glanced out after him, walking a step behind him, and Pat and the frog squad followed. No one met them, no one tried to fight, and the back door slid open easily.
"Hey, guys, wait up!" Craig called, looking from around his corner as well.
"We caught this kid; can you melt him down, Eth? The collar shocks them if they don't fight," Jewel said, a young child in her arms, the collar jewelled to stop the control for the moment.
"I've got Indigo, she's safe," Ethan said, seeing the boy's eyes flick around and try to find her.
The anxious expression lessened and the boy was melted and added to his arm a moment later.
The building was oddly quiet, even with the fire raging in the top floor above them. It was contained and they knew neither Warren nor Layla would let it drop while they were still inside. Still, the building was creepy and silent and white everywhere to the point that Ethan found himself looking at the frog squad just to see a different colour.
"There you are! Quick, this way, quick!" a young voice said, peering down from the staircase landing on the floor above them. "Yes, I'm the seer. Hurry," the boy said, scrambling to his feet and running down the hall.
They hurried upstairs, the child's urgency infectious, and made it up the stairs in record time. They followed through flames and over broken furniture to get to a bathroom where a large crowd of children were waiting patiently, seemingly not worried by the fire outside. They looked to the seer as though he was their leader, even though he was probably younger than most of them, and Gemstone stepped forward to help however she could.
"A slide, please. From the window to the car. Nigel, move back a metre, please," the seer's high voice called out through the bars on the window.
Several of the children stared at the frog squad with wide eyes, faced with more colour in the four people than they'd seen in years. One of the children stared at Najair for so long that he grinned and took out his braid, shaking his hair until it stood on end. Tugging out a few strands, he twisted them together in a loop and held it out to the kid. The kid took the ring of hair with a look of awe and some suspicion, but before anyone could do or say anything, the kid ate Najair's hair.
"Not how I thought that was gonna go," Najair admitted to Lorcan, who just shrugged.
"I thought... whoa," Maleah exclaimed, seeing the child's clothes starting to change to a bright pink colour, the same shade as Najair's hair.
"Is that your power?" Craig asked curiously, the kid tilting their head at the question. "Okay, dumb question. Cool power," he said with a grin.
"Conversation later; we need to get out before the building collapses. Terrence is going to help 231. I think."
"Slide's done," Gemstone announced. "Craig, get these bars off, would you?"
"My fucking pleasure. Uh, sorry for swearing, kids," Craig added, stepping around them and wrenching the bars off the window one at a time, ensuring there was enough room for everyone to get down without hurting themselves.
"All right, you know the order to descend. Quick," the seer said, slipping around the others to get back to the door. "Warren, Layla! Quick, quick!" he called loudly.
The group of children started to go down the slide, one after the other, a few tugging on the teenagers' hands to get them to go with them. Craig waited and looked between the seer and the children going out the window. Jewel was coerced to slide with one child, looking somewhat frustrated at leaving her boyfriends in the collapsing building without her. Zach and Ethan were next, Najair already on the ground and helping to get as many kids into the car as possible. Nigel had changed the interior to remove the seats and put in a giant mattress that spread from door to boot. The young child in pink clambered over the others to get to their desired spot, while the rest laid down straight and barely moving. It made Lorcan a little nauseous to see them lined up like matches and so silently without a protest. By the time all of the kids were loaded in the car, the fire had reached the bathroom door, and Craig was holding the seer away from the doorway so the kid wouldn't lean out into the flames.
"It won't hurt, let me go! Put me down, quick!"
"You're damn right it won't hurt, 'cause you're not going into it!"
The seer made a noise of frustration and pinched Craig with sharp fingers, the surprise making his hold loosen on the child. The seer darted out of the doorway before Craig could grab him again.
"The fuck? Get back here!" Craig called loudly. His calls attracted the wrong people, and Craig's eyes widened when he saw two wardens walking through the flames towards him. "Uh, Beau, Grant? We've gotta go," he said, backing towards the window and slide.
He didn't make it more than three steps when the wall was punched, bricks crumbling, and the two wardens stepped into the small space.
What the fuck had happened to Layla and Warren?
...
End of the hundred and forty-ninth chapter.
Thanks for reading; I hope you liked it!
