Chapter Nineteen:
Ekka woke up to shouting and sobs. She tried to move, but her head was pounding and her feet burned from the slightest movement.
"Go on," a man grunted as she was dragged into a warm room.
Ekka looked around, students were sitting on the ground, either crying, comforting other students, or glaring at the men who pointed guns at them.
Ekka squirmed, trying to move despite her nausea and injured feet. The man only gripped her shirt tighter and tossed her towards the other students.
Ekka tried not to panic, she tried really hard not to think about what Xavier would do when he found her. Her throat felt tight as she swallowed down the pain, and squeezed her eyes shut.
"If I see you try to leave again, I'll shoot you," the man threatened before turning to leave again. Ekka didn't care to listen, she kept biting her lip and forcing herself to breathe steadily. If she had an incident like what happened with Vera here ― with all the students and men with guns ― it would be a bloodbath.
"Hey," a girl spoke gently, coming to her. "Hey, it's going to be okay," she said soothly, rubbing her back in comforting circles. Ekka thought she recognized the voice, but didn't look up. "What's your name? I'm Jean, Jean Grey."
Ekka practically jumped away, staring at the girl. She looked a bit older now, and her long, dark, fiery hair was cut bobbishly. Jean stared at Ekka for a few seconds. Ekka could feel the girl reach out with her mind and she flinched. She didn't want to be hurt anymore!
Ekka didn't expect Jean's touch to be so different from Xavier and her Father's. They always took, and slithered into her like a snake. Jean was soft and gently, as if waiting for her permission to see into her head. Ekka knew she could do it without asking, but the gesture made her body ease.
Ekka bit her lip and calmed down. Jean took this as a 'go-ahead'. Ekka let her look through her memories, she saw every encounter Ekka had with her the year previous. She watched the countless hours spent looking outside her bedroom window while Flutter and Brownie played inside. She heard their conversation, when Ekka used to laugh and smile.
Jean saw Ekka mourn Vera's untimely death, and how Jean talked to her and calmed her down.
Jean pulled away finally and Ekka breathed. She realized she had been clutching her oversized shirt Lucas had given her the entire time. Jean stared at her and Ekka looked away, suddenly uncomfortable, even under a familiar gaze. "Ekka? Is that you?"
"I... Yes," she answered in a small voice. Jean smiled and moved close to the girl, wrapping her arms around Ekka's small frame. Ekka jumped from the sudden embrace.
"You've gotten smaller! A lot smaller! What happened!? Where did you go? I thought Xavier said he'd help you. Why are you wearing that? Where have you been?!" Ekka felt stunned by the sudden amount of questions. Jean didn't let go of her, and Ekka realized that she didn't want her to.
"I was... Away. Xavier hid me. I-I was too dangerous. I..." Ekka suddenly felt as if she was out of words. It was strange, after months of wishing she had someone to talk to, now that she did, she didn't know what to do. She felt embarrassed to tell Jean the conditions of the cell she spent countless hours in. Ekka didn't want to remember it now.
Jean looked Ekka up and down, realizing the blood on her hands, knees, shirt, and feet. "You're bleeding. Are you hurt?"
"It-It is just glass. I... There was an accident, and―" Jean didn't let her finish.
She pulled away from Ekka, and Ekka felt a bit disappointed by the sudden chill from lack of body warmth. She held Ekka's palms out to her so she could inspect them. "I don't have any tweezers, and Isaac's working with other kids, so..." Jean held her hand out, and concentrated.
Slowly, the jagged pieces of glass that had taken residence in Ekka's palms began to rise. Ekka inhaled, the pain spiking significantly.
Soon, all the glass shards were out and hanging in the air. Jean didn't move, however, and was staring at her freshly missing pinkie. "What happened?" She asked, concerned.
"Father cut it off," Ekka explained.
"He cut it off? How?" Ekka swallowed, that story was very long and... Ekka didn't want Jean to know she was a murderer. Well, Jean already knew, but she didn't want her to know about her father.
"It is a long story," Ekka whispered. She reached down to her foot in a meagle attempt to pull the glass out there too. Jean noticed that, and her diversion at the topic of her missing finger, and decided to stop talking about it.
"I'll take them out," She promised and scooted over so she could get to Ekka's feet. She knew they were dirty ― they usually were, she didn't like to wear shoes ― but the blood must have made it much worse.
Jean made a pained looking face and held her hand out, as if dragging the glass out with tweezers. Ekka squeezed her eyes shut as they slid out, causing more blood to streak her feet. Jean noticed and took her school shirt in her hands, tearing it with a bit if force.
"Wait! No!" Ekka cried, but the damage was done. Jean wrapped the pieces of her shirt tight around Ekka's feet in order to staunch the bleeding.
"As soon as we figure this out, you're seeing a nurse," Jean swore.
"Where is Xavier?" Ekka asked. She had left the man in a chair beside the road. A dark part of Ekka hoped he had died in that car.
Jean glanced around, and then whispered, "We haven't seen him yet, but I know he is in the school. I felt him earlier, but then it was gone." Ekka felt her heart sink, and fear gripped her again. She needed a way out and fast. Before Xavier knew she was here, before he had the chance to keep her in the the cell again.
"Look," Jean said, and tried to smile at her. Ekka didn't try to, it was too hard to smile anymore. "I have to go to the others, will you be okay by yourself?" Ekka swallowed and nodded slowly. "Are you sure?"
"Ye-Yes," Ekka assured her. "I am sure. Thank you, Jean."
Jean nodded, straining to keep her smile together. "Stay safe. Don't look at the men, Xavier will save us." Ekka wanted to correct Jean and tell her that Xavier would save them. He didn't care for Ekka, she was just another chore to him.
She kept her mouth shut, and Jean scooted away, keeping the glass she took from Ekka's body. She didn't ask what it was for.
Ekka had only stayed by herself for about ten minutes, before the front doors opened with a grandiose feel and a tall, dark-skinned man stepped into the hall.
Behind him, they dragged Xavier, who looked a bit worse for wear. Ekka watched with fascinated horror as they dropped him on the stage. Xavier tried to sit up, but one of the men pushed him back down, jeering in a language she didn't understand.
The entire room was silent as the man who entered the room first examined all the faces. "Where is Ekka?" He demanded.
Ekka blanched, her eyes wide and her lip trembling. She immediately dropped her head began looking around, as it to find this 'Ekka' herself. Nobody else spoken a word, not even Jean, who knew she was here.
Ekka couldn't stay here. She didn't know why this man wanted her, but she couldn't stay here. She was going to die. She was going to die.
Ekka looked around for exits, desperately trying to search for something, anything. All of them were blocked by men holding guns.
"Nobody?" Not a word was uttered. The man looked unamused. "Shoot."
The students began to scream immediately, and the man on stage laughed loudly as the sound of safeties clicking off sounded all around them. A few even fired causing more screaming and crying, but she didn't see any blood. Ekka looked around in horror. They were all going to die because she was too much of a coward to step up.
Ekka felt her chest constrict and she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears. She vaguely heard the side doors quickly open and close. Ekka couldn't do this, she didn't want to die.
As it turned out, she didn't have to speak up. Someone did it for her. "Her! That's Ekka!" A girl said loudly, pointing at Ekka, making the commotion die down to a few shouts and then silence once more.
The man smiled, and stepped down from the stage, leaving Xavier with the soldiers. The crowd of students awkwardly scrambled out of his way, creating a jagged path straight to Ekka.
Ekka, who was still on the ground, tried to desperately crawl away. She bumped against a soldier, who stepped up to stop her from going too far.
The man stopped feet in front of Ekka, and Ekka curled up, her shoulders heaving with sobs and entire body shaking. "You are Ekka?" Although this was a question, the man made it sound like a demand.
"Ye-Y-Yes," she muttered into her knees. The man was displeased by this.
He yanked her head back by her hair, her head tilting so she saw every bit of him. She winced, but the pain of her hair was nothing compared to her fear. It terrified Ekka for a minute. For a minute - a fleeting minute - she saw Father in the man's dark eyes, yet his face looked like hers. As if she had become her Father.
He tugged a bit more to examine her and Ekka cried out, tears sliding off her face. "Leave her alone!" Xavier yelled from the stage, but he was forced back down by a shoe to the back.
"Hmm... You certainly are my child." Ekka was completely still, confusion rippling across her face.
"Your... Child?" Ekka said between a gasp.
"Yes," he let go of her hair and grabbed her chin, turning her face around.
"I do not―"
"I am your father, my name is Mandla."
Ekka stared at him, her fear mingling with confusion. That... Didn't make sense. "You are not my father," Ekka said slowly, confused. "I... I killed my father." The words slipped out of her before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened and she looked around, everyone was staring at her, stunned. She even saw Jean several meters away, her mouth open wide in shock.
"You did not kill your father ― you killed my brother," Mandla eyes narrowed, bringing her attention back to the man before her. "But, you will be punished for that later."
Ekka tensed at the word, her heart racing and brain reeling. She was going to be punished. He was going to take another one of her fingers. She couldn't deal with that, not again. The pain of the blade slicing through her nerve ends, the bone being sawed in half. It made her stomach twist and her eyes burn with tears.
"Stop the tears," He ordered sternly, but Ekka couldn't help it. She couldn't do this anymore. She was tired ― so tired. Ekka didn't want to be punished anymore, she didn't want to be hurt anymore.
Ekka wanted to live.
"Get off of me!" Ekka screamed, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She batted his hand away and tried to crawl away. She could feel her mutation flaring out, rapidly gaining control of the students around her. They began to snarl and growl at each other. Growing razor-like fangs and sharp claws, all bloodthirsty and ready to kill ― ready to die.
Mandla stood straight and looked around, amused. He reached for his head, where a silver band was stretched across his temples and eased it off. "So this must have been what he was talking about," Mandla commented. One of the students pounced at the man behind Ekka. They were both on the ground, and gunfire rang through the air, but the student had already torn out his throat. He gurgled on his own blood, trying to move away, but it was no use.
The gunshot sprung everyone into action. Shouting and more guns sounded around her.
"No!" Ekka cried, staring in horror at the commotion. Both men and students fell to the ground, dead. This wasn't right. She was causing this. Everyone was going to die because of her! "Stop! Stop fighting!" Ekka's order made the enter body of students halt where they stood. It was as if she froze time. Even the men with guns had stopped firing at them, and stared in wonder.
Mandla watched Ekka, a fierce kind of hunger in his dark eyes. "Amazing," He said. Ekka moved to her feet, and stepped away from the frozen students. She tried to calm herself down, but with this man who claimed to be her father coming far too close to her, it was getting hard. "You will come with me."
Ekka stared at him, "Wh. . . What?"
"Do not make me repeat myself," He warned. "Come."
"Where are we going?" Ekka asked, and did not move. She glanced behind her at the dead man with the student still poised over his body, ready to feast. She swallowed hard, and took a step away. "No. I-I do not want to go with you."
Mandla stared down at her, his eyes narrowing, "You do not have a choice." He motioned to the other man standing near the door. He reluctantly stepped forward, a gun held awkwardly in his hand. Mandla turned his back to motion at the other set of doors, and Ekka looked up, fearfully. Then, her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.
Adrian stood behind her, he was looking straight ahead, but Ekka could see the hint of a smile on his face. She wanted to ask him what he was doing her ― how he even was here in the first place, but didn't have time to ask.
Mandla turned back around just as two huge cats bounded into the room. Ekka gasped as she stared at the first one, it was a lion ― Ekka hasn't seen a lion in so long. She wanted to walk up to it and caress it's mane, but something told her it was a bad idea. The other cat was jet black with dark eyes and a lithe body. Ekka stared at it in awe and wonder, it was so beautiful, she didn't know what to do.
Ekka reached out with her mind, as she did with all the other lion and animals at the circus, but for some reason, these seemed to be. . . closed off. Ekka looked up at Mandla, who was smirking confidently. He was controlling them, but Ekka could still slightly hear their thoughts. They were not happy, and they were tired, sporting several injuries. Ekka could see the sharp canines of the black cat's teeth stained with the rusty colour of blood. "Walk," Mandla ordered her, "Now."
Ekka stood straight, the thought of having Adrian here made her a bit more confident. Ekka was tired of being taking advantage of. She has always been locked away, either with her lions, or in her room, or in a cell. But now, she had a inch of life - of freedom. She met Adrian and Lucas, she could live and be happy, something she never believed was possible, not for someone like her.
Ekka couldn't have that taken away from her ― not when she was so dangerously close to freedom. She could feel the freedom in her hair, the wind blowing loudly, whistling in the trees. She could hear it in the animals, taste it in the brisk air. Ekka wanted to hold into this freedom and never, ever let go. She wanted to discover more, learn more, and feel more. Ekka wanted to live, she was going to live.
And no one else who acted like her Father was going to stop her ever again.