I rolled over, and the mattress squeaked underneath me. Something touched my shoulder. I stirred, and groaned.
I was allowed to sleep in one of barracks for the last few days rather than the med-bay. I ended up shuffled into the room that Arrow, Taiga and Jenette shared. Which I originally felt bad about, but they did have the room, and they made sure I was welcome. The barrack was a large rectangular room, with stone walls, celling and floor. There were four cheap metal framed cots that lined the walls, though they could easily fit two more in there. Other than those the room was empty, but I didn't mind. It was much easier falling asleep knowing that there was someone nearby; it was always safer to sleep with someone rather than alone in the war.
"Hey, come on you got to get up," someone said to me.
I looked up, my eyes still blurry, "What?" I mumbled.
"Come on we got to go."
I rubbed my eyes, allowing me to see that the person who had woken me up was Arrow, "Where are we going again?" I yawned.
"It's moving day remember," Arrow said.
My eyes snapped open. I had almost forgot. Today was the day that we left this small outpost and started heading towards their HQ. Everything had been in order and ready to go last night; these guys were really fast packers. It seemed like almost anything that was brought to the base was gone over night. Not that there was much to pack in the first place.
"Right," I mumble, "Give me a second, to get my wheel walker."
Dr. McClain, and Taiga had fitted me with, something…I forgot the what it was called, but I called it a wheel walker. It was basically a special kind of boot that had wheels on the bottom, but it attached around my knee. Allowing me to stand up without putting pressure on my injuries. In all honesty I was just glad to be out of the wheel chair. Sure, my balance was still all out of whack, because of my missing arm, but it was a step in the right direction.
"Alright," Arrow nodded, "You need a hand?"
"Very funny," I deadpanned, but I wasn't really mad at her. Both her and Christin loved puns.
Arrow giggled, "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist."
I finished clipping on the wheel walker and slightly stumbled as I got to my feet, well foot. Arrow was at my side ready to catch me if something happened. Which was something I was thankful for and embarrassed by.
"You good?" Arrow asked.
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Good, now back up," Arrow said.
She walked towards the bed I was previously sleeping in, and I stepped back. When these people said to back up, I listened. Arrow, flipped her wrist upward and with a blast of wind the bed flipped over too. She was quick to do it to two of the other beds leaving only one standing.
"Why you do that?" I asked confused, as we walked out.
"To make the place look abandoned," She answered.
I raised a brow, "Why I thought this place was hidden?"
"It is, but you can never be too careful. Remember we've kept our people mostly hidden for millennia, if there one thing we know it's how to cover our tracks. We leave the place like this, so if in the highly unlikely possibility of someone outside of our inner circles were to get in here, they wouldn't find much."
"You guys are really serious about not being discovered, aren't you?"
"We do have our reasons, Bucky."
My thoughts drifted back to the kids, "I know, but don't you think that there is a chance you guys might not need to hide one day."
"That's what Dad hopes for, and I do hope with him, the thought that kids won't have to go through what they do now. It's something I couldn't wish for more. I just don't think going to happen in my life time. I mean, for centuries we've been like this, and only in the last few decades we've been brave enough to leave our dens to save our peoples abandoned young. I don't think that much will change in the, at most, 80 years I'm going to live."
Arrow suddenly stopped and turned towards the wall on the right. She pressed two fingers on the wall, revealing two buttons as they slid down into the stone. How did I not notice those? There was a clicking sound coming from the other side of the hallway. I turned around confused.
Arrow, turned around and walked straight through the wall! Not into! Straight through! My jaw dropped and my eyes were clearly about to pop out of my head. Could she ghost through things too?! I carefully stepped towards the wall, only to have Arrow's head pop out to meet me. I stumbled but thankfully didn't fall.
"What in the world?!" I yelped.
"You, okay?" Arrow's head said.
I didn't answer her.
Arrow's head looked around for a few moments, before realization lit up in her eyes, "Oh, right! Sorry I didn't warn you. It's a fake wall. You'll get used to it. Come on! It doesn't hurt!" the head went back into the wall.
I glanced around. Questioning if I wasn't actually killed in the rocket explosion. I took a deep breath, and slowly crept through. I didn't feel anything really, but the sudden change of light, from the well-lit hallway to the unknown darkened room did shock my eyes; I could barely see in there. Which did beg the question; where was there?
"You good?" Arrow, who was now thankfully, a full human body, asked.
"Yeah," I breathed, turning back to the wall I just walked through, "What was that?"
"I told you a fake wall."
"H-how?"
"Oh, holograms. They're basically light being produced by a hidden 3D holographic projector."
I looked at her, eyes wide with confusion.
"Think it's like a movie, just smaller and without the screen."
I nodded, "Okay. Where are we?"
I heard a few snaps, and the room was suddenly a-lit with a small flame that rested on Arrow two first fingers. My eyes didn't widen as much this time, but I still couldn't help but stare in awe. Her face was so calm, so peaceful. I know for a fact I would be screaming if I was on fire.
"What does it feel like when you do that?" I asked.
"Do what?" Arrow said.
"The fire thing. Does it hurt?"
"No, not really. It doesn't feel like pain, not even heat really. It just feels like energy. Like my soul is just flaring out of my fingers. Does that make sense?"
That didn't make any sense, but I nodded anyway. Realizing that I probably will never fully understand it.
Arrow motioned for me to follow her. I didn't really have a choice; she was the only light source. She led me down a short dark hall. At the end of it, was a small square room, with some kind of circle pattern in the middle of the floor. Arrow stepped onto the circle, gesturing for me to do the same.
There was a loud clicking sound, and the circle began to lower. The ride made me stumble but Arrow was quick to support me. We were lowered down some kind of tube. I could tell it was made out of glass or some kind of clear material with the way Arrow's flame reflected off the walls. Though, I couldn't really tell what was beyond the wall. There was no other light, except for the small flame.
Suddenly the glass tube vanished, and we entered into another room. At least I thought it was a room. The platform stopped and allowed me and Arrow to get off. All the walls were made with glass and at odd angles. The floor seemed to be strangely metallic and faint voices could be heard nearby.
"Dad?" Arrow called.
"We're down here, Firecracker!" I heard Christin shout.
Arrow, grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. I was about to question why, and then the floor became stairs. The wheel walker, while it gave me the ability to move around, it didn't give my leg much traction. Making stairs difficult, but Arrow allowed me to hold on to her shoulder so I didn't fall. We went down in to a larger room, that was dimly lit with torches. Modern torches were smaller and had white light apparently.
"Arrow, put out that flame before it hits the oxygen tanks," Nico ordered, to which Arrow quickly blew her fingers out.
Metallic footsteps rang from behind the stair case. Jenette quickly walked into the room.
"Everything secure?" Nico asked.
"All supplies firmly tied down," Jenette said.
"Who's with the kids?" Christin asked.
"Taiga, and Aunt Amelia; they just gave the all clear," Jenette answered.
"Alright, let's get this fish swimming," Christin said.
The Clan Leader stepped over to what looked like a tilted counter and placed his palm on it. His eyes suddenly lit up light grey, and silver lighting crackled from his hand and a across the counter. The whole room we were in seemed to come alive. Lights turned on, weird glowing blue…plates?...appeared over the counter, and I could feel the faint rumble of an engine below us. Was this some kind of plane?
Christin, pulled his hand away from the counter and looked up at Jenette, "Pilot get to your cockpit."
Jenette smirked, and leaped towards one of the front seats, by all the floating blue plates. She touched a few of them, before she said, "Ladies, and Gentlemen, if you will please take a seat."
Arrow, pulled me to a row of black plastic and metal seats. She sat on the outside, and left the seat closest to the wall open, "You're gonna want the window seat, trust me," she said, as I took mine.
"Are you going to buckle up?" Arrow asked, raising a brow and pointing to some straps on the side of the seat.
I smile sheepishly, before trying to clip the straps the way Arrow did. A little difficult with one hand but I managed. Though, having to strap myself in did make me wonder what exactly were they about to do.
"Welcome to the Current Glider. This is your captain speaking, please stay strapped in your seats until we reached our cruising speed. If you feel any sort of motion sickness, please see the medics on board. In case of emergency escape pods are available. Snacks will not be served; you have to get them yourself. We know you have no choice, but thank you again for choosing Mutant Travels," Jenette said.
Christin and Arrow chuckled. Nico took a seat next to Jenette.
Jenette pressed what I guessed were buttons, on the glowing counter, and lights on the outside of whatever were in switched on. My eyes widened, were in some kind of hanger. A very large hanger. How big was this thing?
"Air Pressure?" Christin said.
"Stabilized," Nico answered.
"Boarding tube?"
"Detached and retracted."
"Tanks?"
"Sealed and ready."
"Power core?"
"Charged, thanks to you."
"We ready?"
"Jet take us out."
Jenette nodded, and took a deep breath, "Open the gate."
Gate? What gate? I soon got my answer. The wall in front of us, suddenly split into two and began to slide over. A rush of cold dark sea water suddenly flooded towards us. It was only moments after the gate opened that the window I was sat next to was fully submerged in water. I could feel what ever we were in groan as the water hit us. I gripped the edge of my seat, and the few memories of being trapped underwater slowly came back to me.
Arrow put her hand on my shoulder, pulling my attention away from the window. She smiled at me. Her being so calm with this did ease my worry, if only a little.
"Pull up supports and engage rise propellers," Jenette ordered.
The room around us lurched, and we suddenly dropped. Though the fall quickly slowed and we began to rise back to our previous condition. I could hear some kind of machinery rumble and moan, from below.
"Propellers online. Pilot move ahead," Nico said.
Jenette grabbed what looked like controls to me, and pressed them forward. The sub, or whatever this was call now, groaned as it began to inch forward and slowly increase in speed. We exited the hanger in to what looked like a cave.
The sub twisted and turned through the undersea tunnel; going faster and faster. I could see the rock formations and even a few fish rush passed us through my window. I couldn't help but laugh, with child like wonder. This had to be dream or something. We burst from the mouth of tunnel into the deep ocean waters. I could see nothing around me but blue; beautiful blue ocean.
"Levels?" Christin asked.
"Stable," Nico answered.
"Alight, Jenette, drop .25 miles to make sure that were out of normal sub territory. Then level out and plot a course back home."
I couldn't believe what I was riding in. The sub, or Current Glider as the others called it, was truly something out of dreams. While it was compact and physically smaller, it still had more room on it than the subs from back in the forties. There was the bridge, a small med-bay, barracks that could hold all of us, and even an observation deck on the roof. Not to mention all the supplies and food this thing could hold in its storage.
Like back at the safehouse, I shared a room with the other teens. The barracks on board, consisted of four rooms. Each one with four beds, a little storage for each, and a very small common area; which was a small sofa and some type of entertainment device. All of it in a 6 by 10-foot room. The beds were like bunks just hollowed out of the wall, two on each side. The girls stayed on the two top beds while me and Taiga got the bottom ones.
It wasn't all that hard to adjust to life under the ocean surface. The Current Glider, once we reached our cruising speed and height, was quite comfortable to live on. The days usually consisted of meal times, checking the instruments, and teaching the little ones.
Of course, it wasn't without a few problems.
Jenette, despite being the pilot, ended up getting seasick for the first couple days. Arrow wasn't doing so great either, claiming that she felt trapped, but she never got sick to her stomach. Though, they both adjusted after a few days.
There was one other major problem too. Boredom. There was very little to do on this boat. I started sitting in on the kids' lessons, but they only lasted for so long. Arrow and Jenette when they had gotten over their issues, had tasks to do around the ship. Taiga spent most of his time either studying his medical files, or teaching the kids. Dr. McClain was busy with something I wasn't smart enough to understand and, Christin and Nico were usually doing some secret Mutant Clan stuff. So, the others didn't really that this problem.
One evening, I think it was our 7th day. I was laying on my bed with one of Arrow's books, I figured out how to hold them by now, when all of my roommates suddenly walked in.
Jenette came in groaning, and flopped onto Taiga's bed, "Why are we doing this again?" She mumbled.
"Because, we haven't gotten a chance since we've been on board," Arrow said, as she walked over to the small sofa in the back of the room.
"But I still have work to do," Jenette said, "I need to make up for the time I lost in the first few days."
"No, you don't. What you need is break," Taiga said walking in, "And get out of my bed. Unless you want to make it again."
Jenette mumbled something in Chosen Tongue, that I guess meant something similar, to "clean freak". Though, judging by Taiga's glare it was probably something much dirtier.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"It's movie night, and Jet doesn't want to join in," Arrow said.
She was looking at a self in the back of the room that had things that I had thought were books on them. Though, after I looked, I had no idea what they were. They opened like books, but on the inside, there was nothing but a thin plastic-y disk.
"It's not that I don't want to join in. It's we don't have full authorization. We're on a mission, not a vacation. We should be focusing on our work," Jenette said getting up from Taiga's bed.
"Dad, said we could. That's all the authorization I need," Arrow said.
"I have to agree with lili floro," Taiga said, "All work and no play isn't good for the mind."
"Says the guys who became a medic for mutants," Jenette said.
"Okay, that's enough, so what are we watching tonight?" Arrow said.
"Anything, just nothing too fluffy, I can't handle sunshine and rainbows right now," Jenette said.
"Really? I think you could use some," Taiga said, "Just not one of your horror flicks."
"So, we shouldn't watch anything then," Jenette said.
"I didn't say that, I just want to be able to sleep tonight," Taiga said.
"You get scared watching the Lion King," Jenette deadpanned.
"The death of a parent, is a difficult thing to watch…"
"Okay, that's enough," Arrow said, "What about you, Bucky? You got a preference?"
"Uh, I don't really understand what you guys are talking about," I said, uncertain.
"Oh, wait did they have movies in the forties?" Jenette said.
"Yeah, they did, banana! The first cinema in the U.S was opened in 1905 by John P. Harris and Harry Davis," Arrow said.
"You know I failed history," Jenette said.
Arrow rolled her eyes, "Anyway, Bucky do you have an opinion?"
I just stared at her blankly, complete confused as to what was going on, "What?"
"Do you have an opinion on what movie we watch tonight?" Arrow said.
"No, not really. And how are you going to watch a movie? There's no room for projector in here," I said.
"Through the power of DVDs!" Arrow said, turning back to the wall.
"Wait you're using DVDs? Those are ancient. Where did you even get them, Blockbuster?" Jenette said.
"Some of them," Arrow said, turning back to the wall of weird plastic disk holders, "Okay, I've got, 'Wall.e', 'Kung Fu Panda', 'The Transformers the Movie: 1986'…"
"We can't watch 1986," Jenette interjected, "Taiga will cry through Optimus's death scene."
"I will not," Taiga said, slightly offended.
"Okay, so out of the other two I said which one will you watch, Jet," Arrow said.
Jenette sighed, "Well, 'Kung Fu Panda' is a bit goofy for my taste, but I'm to tired to care right now."
"I'm also good with either," Arrow said, "Taiga?"
"My answer is same as your little sister," Taiga said.
"Okay, Bucky it's down to you. Disney, or Dreamworks?" Arrow said to me.
I raised my brow, "Disney? As in Snow-white?"
Arrow's eyes widened, "Snow-white? Soldier get over here, you need a crash course in movie history."
A/N:
Okay this took me a little bit. But I hope everyone enjoys!
And yes, the first cinema in the U.S was opened 1905, who knew!
Well, next Chapter Bucky arrives at the Mutant's main base. See you there!
