As the Crow Flies

Chapter 4

I awaited my examination with Miss Freilin with more anticipation than before. I truly believe my powers had begun to show themselves earlier, when the light exploded. I still wasn't sure what happened, or what my power was, but seeing the sparks flying between my fingertips was shocking (no pun intended).

"Gabriel, I still don't understand what happened." I looked over at him as we both ate our nightly dinner, some sort of mash with a bread roll and vegetable.

He took another bite before responding, "I don't either, but my guess from what I saw is you have some sort of electric power. I've never seen anyone have one like that before." He looked over at me as he ate another thoughtful bite.

I once again thought back to when I was seven. I had to have done something then that made us go into hiding, and my parents must have done something to repress my powers, and my memory. It pissed me off to think my parents would have kept something this big from me. Did they not consider the danger I'd pose to others and myself, or did they not care? The latter seemed the most likely based on my history. I wondered what they were doing now. Were they worried about me? Had they expected me to go back home? I wonder if they even cared I was gone from their lives. There was no one to miss me, I concluded. I didn't have any friends and my family couldn't wait to get rid of me.

I was distracted from my thoughts as I heard someone enter the room. The creepy doctor was back, and I realized it was time for my assessment. I panicked slightly, wondering what would change now that my powers had begun revealing themselves.

"Hello again, Elora. My name is Doctor Burkins." He gathered some vials and notepads, coming to my bedside. "This will go quickly."

I looked to Gabriel, fear evident on my face, and he nodded his head reassuringly. I looked to Dr. Burkins and gave a nod of approval for him to begin. He started with an oximeter on my index finger and listening to my heart and lungs. The stethoscope was cold on my skin, and I couldn't tell if the goosebumps on my arms were form the shock of the cold metal, or fear. He prepared a vial to draw some blood, and out of curiosity, I inquired what they draw blood for.

"We run tests and try to analyze your DNA to find a cure for your condition." He remarked, without pausing what he was doing or meeting my eyes.

"We don't have a condition," I retorted. "We are just fine the way we are."

He gave me a stern glare. "You are a flaw in the evolutionary map of human development. You are wrong in this world, your kind don't fit."

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. Looking at him, a balding, aging white man with his scraggly, unkempt beard and pot belly gut, I mumbled under my breath "You look like the evolutionary flaw to me."

His eyes flashed with anger and he lifted his arm as if to backhand me. Right at that moment, Miss Freilin walked in. She saw the doctor with his had raised to me and her eyes flashed with anger.

"DR BURKINS!" Her voice rang out like a lions roar and the doctor whipped around to face her.

"She needs to learn that smart mouth will get her in trouble!" He hollered back.

"If she hasn't learned that by now from her parents, she certainly won't learn it from you." She said coldly.

Her statement surprised me. How did she know anything about my parents or how they treated me. I wondered if she may know more about me than I initially thought, and that maybe...maybe she knew about the accident.

Doctor Burkins backed off, finished his paperwork, and stormed out. Miss Freilin approached me, her tall, thin, athletic stature impressive in the black jumpsuit she had chosen.

"What's your game!?" I shouted at her. I felt played. "You' re this ice queen but then feels bad for hurting Gabriel and saves me from an asshole doctor with a superiority complex!? Who's side are you on?"

She just stared at me. Anger and surprise swirled on her face, her mouth hanging open slightly. I almost regretted my outburst. Usually in my past I could expect a slap or kick, but here, I don't know what to expect here, in this place.

All of a sudden I felt burning in my skin. I looked at her hands and saw her tell tale light; she was using her powers. I looked at her wide eyed, knowing in my gut this would be a punishment, not an examination. As the heat increased, instead of just a burn, it became a blood-boiling pain. I screamed out, my head slamming the bed as I thrashed in agony. My ears began ringing and my eyes felt like there were on fire. The air escaped from my lungs and I couldn't seem to take a breath in. Hot tears dripped down my face as even my nail beds began to flare in the onslaught of torture. I could hear, as if from a distance, Gabriel telling her to stop. I forced myself to look her in the eye and all I could see was disgusted rage. I accepted in that moment that I would die here today. I screamed again as somehow the pain increased another impossible level. It felt as if every cell in my body was being crushed one by one, like every bone was breaking. I still couldn't breathe and as my tears poured out, I felt myself letting go. I used the last of my energy to look at Gabriel, saw him jump from his bed, and rush towards Miss Freilin. She turned a palm towards him and began the same torture she was doing on me, and had unleashed on him countless times.

I couldn't let him get hurt, not for me.

I pushed myself up against the excruciating pain, screaming in agony as I did. I willed the sparks I'd seen in my fingers to show themselves again.

Nothing was happening. I panicked. What if I couldn't do it again!? I yelled in pain and frustration, willing the electricity to flow through me again. Still nothing...

His yells of agony filled my ears, and more tears filled my eyes, soaking the fabric around my face.

Please!!! I begged my body to listen to me. As I heard his cries fade to mere moans, I knew we didnt have much time left. As I looked at him on the ground, twitching and shaking as her power coursed through him, I felt the tingle in my palms again. I craned my neck to see my hands as they became bright red. The lights began to flicker and I could feel static in the air. As the fluorescent lights grew dimmer, the static in my hands grew stronger. With one final cry, I shot a bolt of electricity out towards Miss Freilin and the lights exploded. A scream pierced my ears as the lightning strike connected with her.

It all went dark after that.

...

I woke to a dark room. At first, I wasn't sure I'd actually woken up until I was hit with a putrid smell. I lifted my head and found I was no longer in my hospital bed, but bound by chains in the corner of a large, pitch black room. I felt along the wall closest to me, finding rough, wet stone.

"Hello?" I called out to the darkness.

"Elora, you're finally awake." Gabriel's voice answered with relief from somewhere on the other side of the room and a small wave of comfort passed over me, now knowing I wasn't alone.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"The dungeon." He responded. "After you shocked Miss Freilin, the guards came in and took us both down here, chained you in the corner and me here against the wall, and left us here in the dark. It's been a few hours, I was worried you weren't going to wake up after what Freilin unleashed on you."

They had a dungeon? What kind of hell did we end up in here at Tenebris Locus?

...

We remained in the dungeon, the days of darkness beginning to blend together. Gabriel's breathing was my only reminder I wasn't floating in some sort of purgatory. The smell of the dank room and the cold, wet stone of the floors and walls weighed on my senses until I was numb. I no longer felt myself. The hunger that pained my stomach had long since faded into a dull ache. After what felt like weeks, but was sure to only be days. The door opened.

"Elora." There was her voice. What did she want with us now? She tortured us until we blacked out, and then starved us in pitch blackness. Maybe she wanted to finish the job.

"Elora." Miss Freilin called again, the harshness evident in her voice.

"I'm here." I whispered out. I hadn't spoken since I awoke in here and my throat ached at the effort.

"You're coming with me." She said as I heard heavy footsteps approach me. I was yanked by my chains, my skin tearing against the cold steel of my binding. As the cuffs fell to the floor, I was lifted to my feet and led towards the tall silhouette in the doorway.

"Where are you taking me?" The scratchiness of my voice highlighting my weak state.

"You'll be introduced to general population today, to begin your containment." The way her voice came out was like the sound a slithering snake makes as it hunts its prey, slow and sly.

We entered a long, grey hall with heavy metal doors lining either side. I was marched up nearby stairs by the heavy handed guard that had released my chains. We went up several flights before coming to a less prison-like landing, a large double door taking up almost the entirety of one whole wall. As we approached it, I saw through the windows that it led out into the same yard I saw the lines of fellow captives on my first day here, the long walkway I had arrived on leading to an empty dirt road. The desert landscape reflected the sun's bright rays, causing me to squint heavily after my days in darkness.

I looked back over my shoulder to Miss Freilin, trailing behind the guard and I. A large, red scar spiderwebbed across her neck, disappearing under her clothes.

It must be from my strike on her. I met her angry glare, and asked, "What will you do with me now?".

Her response was merely a wry smile as the door was buzzed open. The heat from outside washed across my face, the desert weather sharp against my sensitive skin. Without warning, a boot hit the small of my back and I landed face first in the hot, white sand. I heard the door slam and lock behind me as I picked myself up off the sun soaked ground.

As I brushed myself off, I looked around me, noticing a crowd gathering nearby. They were all eyeing me suspiciously, unsure if I was foe or friend, and I as equally unsure of them. After a few moments, one of the young girls approached me. She was around my age with a short, curly red bob, bright green eyes, and freckles splattered across her cheeks.

"What's your name?" She asked, as she slowly walked nearer.

I hesitated before replying, quietly, "Elora. You?"

"Winifred, but you can call me Winny, everyone does." She held out her hand for a shake, and I reached out to meet it.

As soon as our skin touched, I felt this rush of pressure in my head. It felt as if someone was digging around in my thoughts and there was another presence in my mind. I ripped my hand away, remembering that these people all had powers.

"What the f**k was that!?" I cried out, immediately defensive.

"I read minds, just wanted to know what kind of person was joining the herd." She answered with a smirk.

"Don't you people ask permission for that crap?" I spat at her.

She rolled her eyes and replied, "No harm, no foul. It's not like I can hurt you."

"I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself, thanks." I sneered back at her.

She laughed light heartedly and gestured for me to follow her. "C'mon, meet everyone. Ben! Come here and introduce yourself!" She yelled towards the group.

A middle aged man with brown hair and average features creeped out of the center of the crowd and edged our direction. "Hi...I'm Ben. I talk to animals."

As if his introduction was an invitation, more people came our way, giving their names and powers. There was Sarah, she could also talk to animals, Harvey, the energy vampire, Justin, super strong, and Maggie, an older woman who could heal herself and others by drawing upon the energy of living things around her. I wondered if maybe that last one meant she could live forever because she looked ancient, but had more energy and pep than I think I've ever had in my life. That comment brought a laugh from the group, and a smiling shake of the head from Maggie.

"So you're all just locked up here, huh?" I asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." Winny answered. "Ben was one of the first here, and has been here the longest. Next is Maggie, any questions about this place, you should ask them. I came here about four months ago, and Justin and Harvey got here last week. What about you?"

I began my tale of arriving here at the beginning of the week, several remembered seeing me walk by. "Took you a while to make it out here, didn't it?" Harvey stated.

As our introductions went on, and our stories shared, the light began to fade. A loud bell rang out, and everyone began to head towards a small bunker-like building at the far side of the arena.

"I'll show you your bunk." Winny lead me in the same direction, and we reached the small metal building. As we entered, I immediately recognized there was no air conditioning, the air heavy and sticky with the sweat of the dozens of people inside. She showed me to a bed at the other end of the long building, the top cot of the last bunk bed in the row. I clambered up, as everyone began settling in for the night. From my vantage point, I looked at the long lines of bunk beds, twenty five on each side, meaning one hundred prisoners slept in this one building. Each bed was exactly the same, black metal and white sheets. It looked like what I imagined boot camp barracks looked like. Guards were stationed at either side of the room, and without warning, as another bell rang out, the lights cut out. Bed time. I laid back, staring up at the tall ceiling barely illuminated by the outside lights gleaming in the windows at the top of the walls.

I thought back to Gabriel, wondering what they were doing to him. He hadn't come with me to general population, and I couldn't help but worry he was being further punished for helping me. A worm of guilt swam in my gut and I curled onto my side, willing myself to get rest, unsure of what the next day promised.