Chapter Five

Alia 

            We walk towards the door, not sure what we are going to do, but we have to get away from the noise.  We need to think.  As Alex reaches for the door handles, two men come out of nowhere and grab us by the shoulders.   As they roughly handle us, trying to push us out the door, I catch a glimpse of the man still sitting at our table.  He smiles wickedly as he pulls something out of his pocket.  I am able to only catch a glimpse of a piece of technology before they push me out of the room. 

            We walk briskly through the hallways of The Safe, before they force us back into our room.  As soon as we are alone again my sister begins to speak to me in thought.

            There is something wrong with this place.

            I subtly nod before I sit down at the desk.  Alex begins to pace.  Yes, there is.  What was that man talking about when he said this war was about us?  I replied softly in my mind.

            I’m assuming he meant exactly what he said.  Lets focus on that other bit of information he gave us, shall we?  He said he could help us get out.  Alex glances at me for only a moment.  Everything we do is a show for those who we assume are watching us at every moment. 

            I pick up the analog clock off of the desk next to me.  I read the numbers but the time the clock shows tells us nothing.  We have no way to know if its day or night.  Time is weird in this place.  I feel the glass with little interest; again I am just playing the part of an innocent girl. 

            After a moment I think back, how would he know how to get out?  He is trapped here also.

            Alex stares at me, “Can we be sure -“ a look of confusion crosses her face and as I listen to her mind, it is buzzing with thoughts.  We both realize using her voice was an accident, a dangerous one, so we nervously look around.  Then she continued in her mind, - he is trapped?

            Her question is intriguing, and my mind begins to race as quickly as my fingers.  I picture the cafeteria; no one else had guards watching them.  In the hallways people roam freely, all except us.  My mind is just beginning to form a thought, a comment for my sister when I am interrupted.

            Alex suddenly stops her pacing and gives me a strange look, “What are you doing?”   She walks over to the desk where I am sitting and nudges the pieces of the clock with her fingers.  The clock has been dismantled and halfway put back together again, all the pieces lying across my lap and in my hands.  “Since when can you fix clocks?”

            “I –“ I look at the clock pieces in my hand in astonishment.  I didn’t know how I had taken it apart, but my fingers seem to know how put it back together.  Just as my fingers are working the back of the clock back on to cover the gears, a screeching tone pierces the air. 

Alex and I peer around the room looking for the source of the noise and suddenly our door burst open and guards file in.  They take the clock from me and bind my hands.  They tie Alex up as well and in a rush we are led out of our room and into a chaotic crowd of people hurrying through the corridor. 

Where are they taking us?  I yell through my clouded mind at my sister.  Adrenaline makes it hard to think clearly.

I think the more pressing issue here is, what in the world is happening?  Do you think someone could be attacking?

I looked at my sister in frustration and confusion.  I thought they said that this was a safe house? How could someone attack it?

Alex twists and slings the guard who is leading her against the wall; well they obviously lied about that.  Plus, I didn’t trust these guys from the very beginning so this isn’t a surprise.  The guard grunts and is instantly lost in the crowd as Alex and I push through the people.  The guard pushing me forward reaches for Alex but she ducks into the crowd.  I immediately panic as I lose sight of my sister.

Alex!  My thoughts scream as I squirm in the grip of my guard, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of my sister.  The guard’s grip tightens on my shoulders. 

Alia, I am six feet to your left running beside a man who looks like a pot roast.  He’s eyeing me like he thinks that I’m something . . . different.  This is our chance to get information about everything! Lose your guard!

Again panic rises in my mind, but distinctively I feel my fingers fiddling with the cords that have my hands tied.  I quickly pull and the knot loosens.  Before I realize what I’m doing I’ve elbowed my guard in the stomach and he begins to double over.  I grab him by the shoulders and squeeze the back of his neck until he gives up resistance and collapses to the ground unconscious. 

I lost him, now where are you?  I jump over his limp form on the ground and push my way into the crowd, listening for my sister. 

I’m waiting by the door that’s coming up on your right.  Also, not to distract you, but I believe that we are prisoners here. 

I make my way toward the door that Alex had said.  I find a little comfort when I see my sister standing by the door, but her last thought has taken away all peace.  We are prisoners.  It is much more dangerous here than I had ever thought. 

How did you get your hands untied?  Alex says as I approach her.

Without even speaking Alex turns and I untie her hands.  She rubs the burns the cords have left on her wrists and she turns back to me.  I don’t know, it was like taking the clock apart, somewhere deep in my subconscious I knew how to do that and make my guard pass out.  It all came out of nowhere but I trust it more than I trust the people and things here.

Alex lets a thin smile part her lips, “We are different.” She says out loud, “For better or worse . . . we are very different.”

Chapter Four

Alex

Is it morning?  I cannot tell there are no windows in this strange place, almost as if we are underground.  Never the less I wake up.  Alia is still asleep beside me and the men with guns are still at the door.  I can tell they are different men from the previous night, which means they take shifts.  This is our first step in escaping.

Alia, I think softly. 

She stirrers in her bed, Alia!

She bolts up, startling the guards, Calm down!

I am just about to speak again when the door bursts open revealing the woman from before.

“Good Morning!” she says in a happy voice that doesn’t suit her dark demeanor, “Are you two ready for some breakfast?”

Alia looks at me, Something is wrong, she’s too happy.

I give a small shrug, Lets go, she’s going to give us food, plus we need to find out more about this place.

            A few minutes later we are dressed in matching grey sweat suits and are being led down a corridor to an unknown destination.  The guards’ boots clack noisily against the concrete floor as we follow the woman down a darkly lit hallway.

            “Where are we going?” I ask.

            “To eat.” The woman replies.

            “Are there more people in this place besides us?” Alia asks.

There is no reply from the woman but I can hear her pace begin to quicken.

We round a corner and suddenly a wave of sound sweeps over me.  We stop in front of a thick door and the woman calls a guard to open it. 

            Alex, my sisters voice come into my mind, There are hundreds of people on the other side of this door.

            I give a small nod, I know, but for some reason the walls are sound proof. Somehow we can hear all the noise but they don’t mean for us to.

The large door swings open and the noise becomes overbearing.  We are shoved into the large room. The door closes behind us and locks.

The room is filled with at least a hundred people.  All of them are of different ethnic background but all are wearing the same clothes, almost like a uniform.  A few are wearing black sweat suits and hold themselves with more authority.  They must have jobs here.

I feel Alia tense up beside me and suddenly I feel it too.  Someone is watching us, but not a guard.

            Who is it?  I ask my sister.

            Not a guard, I know what their stare feels like and this is not like it.  Someone wants to talk to us.  Perhaps we should sit down and let him come to us.

            I nod, After we get food.  

Together we walk through the cafeteria line and get a meager plate of food.  As we walk around to find a table we receive strange glances and glares.  We quickly sit down at a round table and immediately the other three people sitting at the table get up and leave. 

Obviously they know something about us that we don’t I say to Alia.

Alia shrugs and begins to eat her hard biscuit and we eat in silence for a while.

He’s coming, Alia says so suddenly I almost choke on my water.

The tables weight shifts and he is sitting in front of us.

“So tell me your secret and I’ll tell you mine.”

I stare at the man, Tell me your secret first.

He doesn’t respond for a while and gives me a strange look.  Then I realize I didn’t speak aloud.

“Tell us your secret first.” I say.

The man smiles, “I am a dangerous person. Alright, your turn.”

Alia shakes her head, “Explain what you mean; we don’t just give things away for nothing.”

The man leans forward points to the wall, “Do you know that beyond those walls there is a war going on?  I know you don’t, so that was a rhetorical question but the one thing I know you know is that this place isn’t safe.  I am a dangerous person because I could get you killed . . . I could possibly get you out of here.  You want to get out don’t you?  The war beyond these walls is all because of you two, you need to get out.”  He sits back and folds his arms over his chest.

I glance at Alia, “Thank you for all you have told us.  We will meet you here tomorrow at the table four rows down.”

Together, my sister and I grab our trays and get up.

“Wait!” The man stands up,  “You haven’t told me your secret.”

Alia smiles at me, We can speak to each other without opening our mouths.  I hear her say.

“Well?” The man says impatiently.

I join Alia in her smile, “We just told you.” I say, “Have a nice day.”

  

 

Chapter Three

Alia

            The world around me is unfamiliar, no matter how much the people here try to convince me otherwise.   They also plead with me to understand that I knew them before the accident, and so I should fully trust them now.  But I do not.

            It isn’t just because I don’t remember either.  I know things that they can’t understand.  I can understand those who talk in languages I have never heard.  I don’t tell them.  I don’t trust them.   My senses tell me I cannot trust them.  I trust my instincts.

            Things in The Safe are unusual.  We are told what to do and when to do it.   We never go outside.  We are trapped behind these white walls.  We cannot make decisions for ourselves.  They don’t trust us.  Guards follow a step behind us where ever Alex or I go.  We are never alone. 

            They have guns.  I do not feel safe here.  

           

            Now we are following each other down a narrow hallway to our bedroom.  It is night, and we are commanded to sleep.   We need to talk the words are not whispered, but sent to Alex’s mind. 

She heard my voice in her head and flinched.  She turns to face me.  I can only give a reassuring smile because using our voices is indeed too dangerous.  She looks into my eyes as she thinks.  We have to get out of here, Alia. I don’t trust any of these people.

I roll over on my bed to face away from her.  We must convince the people who are watching that we are asleep and not in fact communicating with each other.  They cannot know that we can do this.   We don’t even understand how we are capable of this form of communication, but we must use the weapons we have.   I know.  They act too suspicious, with their guns and tying us up.  Why do they say one thing and act another way?

They do not trust us!  Suspicion is in their eyes.

I wish I could see her face right now, but I can feel the anger in her thoughts.  I take a minute to slow my breathing to the steady pace that comes with sleep.  I can hear Alex breathing.   Why don’t they trust us?

They don’t trust us because we are different . . . and they know it.

My breath catches in my throat.   How much do you think they know?  There is a pause in our conversation as we are both thinking but neither speaking.  How did they find out?  Have they known all along?

I don’t know, Alia! I don’t remember anything! For all we know they could have created us and extracted our memories!   I heard the ruffling of her sheets but no further noise.  She must have been adjusting for the benefit of our spies.

But Alex, if they created us, wouldn’t they know everything we could do?  Watching them take those precautions tells me they don’t know the extent of our abilities.   Then the thought came to me, we don’t even know the extent of our abilities!  We don’t even know what we can do beyond mind communication.   Alex, what else do you think we can do?  Why would they be scared of our abilities?

I don’t know if we’ll ever know, Alia.  At least, not while we’re in here.  

Chapter Two

Alex

I am in pain. The back of my head thunders with a brain crushing headache; my hands and feet are numb. I feel that one of my eyes is swollen shut. It hurts. A groan escapes my lips and -

I bolt upright, where am I? I am in a small room with whitish grey walls, the color hurts my eyes. Why is everything so bright?

I realize that I am in a bed, or something close to a bed. It is more like a mattress with blankets; it's very uncomfortable. On a mattress beside me is someone else, I feel their eyes on me. Slowly and painfully I turn my head . . . it's me. No, not me. Only someone that looks like me, my mind begins to flash, who is this person? Then a name pops into my mind; Alia, she's my sister, my twin sister. I give a sigh of relief as her eyes slowly begin to focus and recognize me. I am about to speak when a strange woman who I do not know walks into our room, she is smiling. Strange. Her smile is fake. She messes with the mass of technical equipment on the wall. Pictures flash through my head and a word emerges, sedatives. Why is this happening? Who is she? There is no more thought, I feel a needle pierce my skin and I fall into another sleep . . .

I wake up again. Alia is still beside me but she is moving. She is thrashing around on her mattress. She is in pain. I think. My body is numb with pain. I can't feel anything. I look around and realize that I am in a different room than before. The walls are painted an ugly warn blue that makes me feel sick.

Where am I?

The hairs on the back of my neck prick up. Someone is staring at me. I look over. It's her. The woman from before but this time she is not smiling, she is staring.

Anger rises up within me. I am in the dark, the one place I hate to be. I do not know where I am or why I am beaten and cut. I need to know.

I feel myself getting up, my sister has already been put back to sleep, I will get answers.

Headache. Black.

Once again I wake up but this time I am sitting in a chair. My hands are strapped to the arm rests and there is a tube in my arm. The room is dark and only a small lamp allows me to see. I look over. Alia is still by my side, she is in a similar situation.

"I hope you won't take your bonds personally, girls." a woman's voice said behind us.

My sister and I turn our heads together.

Behind us is the woman. She is surrounded by two guards, both carrying guns.

"We have to take certain precautions with -" she paused, choosing her words carefully, "certain people."

"Where are we?" I heard my sister say. Her voice is dry and raspy.

The woman smiles "You are in La Caixa Forta."

My mind instantly translates the words.

The Safe.

I look over at my sister. She understands too.

How do we know this language?

"You have both been in a tragic battle." the woman continues, "But do not worry, we won. You are safe."

"Then let us go." I say, my voice sounds more courageous than I feel.

"Girls," she says, walking in front of us, " This is no prison, you are safe."

I try to laugh, "Then why are we tied up?"

The woman bends down and puts her hands on each of our shoulders.

"You are tied up because we want you to be safe, and you are."

I look into her eyes and one word emerges in the darkness my mind.

Lies.

Chapter One

Alia

My eyes fluttered open to a blinding whiteness. The pain echoing throughout my body and bones assures me that I am not dead. If I am not dead, then where am I?

I manage to blink, for a moment the whiteness seems to engulf me before it fades to the white grey color of the walls. I am in a small room lying on a bed. The lights around me are reflecting off the walls, but they no longer blind me. A few feet from me, lying in her own bed is another girl. There is a sensation that I know her, but I cannot see her face.

We are alone in the room, so I slowly rise into a seated position, the room spins but only for a moment. Now that my eyes are focused on the girl with me I recognize my sister, Alex.

I continue to peer around the room, but I only find our two beds, a clump of odd machinery embedded in the wall and a small bedside table. Nothing looks familiar. There is a shrinking feeling in my stomach as the realization comes that I am hurt and nearly alone in a room I have never seen before.

How did I get here?

The scratches, bruises and burns tell me that something isn’t right. Something bad happened. But I don’t remember anything out of the usual. Wait. I don’t remember anything. Panic seizes my body. What has happened to me?

Alex has opened her eyes or one of them as I now notice that she had one black eye that is swollen shut. Her face slowly begins to register her surroundings, and she slowly becomes confused as well. She finally turns to me and manages a small smile, she knows who I am. This is a comfort.

The doorknob jiggles. We both turn to the door as it opens. In enters a woman dressed in all white. She has a soft smile on her face. She is glowing, happy. But who is she? Would I recognize her if I did know her?

I come to the conclusion that I would recognize her if I had known her, like I had recognized Alex. This woman holds no familiarity. I recoil up against the back wall as a wave of fear drowns my senses.

The woman avoids me and my sister completely as she goes to adjust the machines on the wall. We watch in interest as she works. What is she doing? I become somewhat aware of a drowsy feeling beginning to flood my thoughts. Before I completely lose consciousness again she uses a needle to inject something under my skin.

The next time I wake the scene has changed, the room is still small, but the walls are now a calming light blue. The machines are gone, but Alex is still beside me.

Her presence makes the pain bearable. There is a burning through my blood and my whole body hurts. I feel alert.

In pain, I thrash around on my bed, but this does not help. The burning begins to dull, but the pain makes me wish I was dead. I am still alive when I notice the woman standing over us. She is watching me intently. I still my body. How long has she been standing there?

A groan escapes my lips as the burning fades. The pain grows. The woman in a black suit continues to watch me, but there are no words exchanged. She’ll glance at Alex every once in a while, but she continues to scrutinize me.

My memory has not returned with the clarity I feel in my mind.

What have these strangers done to me?

Welcome to our story.

I am not human. I am superhuman. My senses are heightened and my reflexes are faster than any human on our planet. But I am not the only one. There were more of us and one time but nothing ever lasts. I do not remember what happened and I barely understand why but there is one who does. I will speak through what he has shown me of that day. That day of reckoning . . .

Light travels faster than sound but to me everything moves at the same time. Others do not hear the storm before it comes, but I do. First come the bombs, destroying our land. Next come the guns, destroying our people. It’s all chaos, homes burn, women and children lay where they hit the ground, and blood melts through the dirt creating mud. Soon, our men attack; moving faster and quicker than the humans . . . and we fight. We fight like dogs, sliding in the blood mud and slaughter our brothers. Desperately, I try and save the ones who cannot defend themselves. As I go I try to refrain from killing, but I am still part human and with that comes the greatest curse of all . . . bloodlust. It takes over me like a disease and suddenly I feel anger and hate. I can smell the blood and hear the screams as if they where on an amplifier. How could they do this? How could they commit massacre? Questions I could not answer and soon questions I couldn't care less about. I do not know how many I killed but I remember every face.

As we fight I see my leader, Kaiden, atop a small rise defending our people. I also see him die. His wife, Mariah, rushes to his side, but is killed. The next five minutes was the end of my people and my home. It all ended as quickly as it began. I hid from the human solders as they pilled up the dead to be burned; when they left I watched the bodies of my fallen people burn to ash. Around me stood skeletons of homes and buildings, white snow began to fall, turning red as it hit the bloody ground. Although my body adjusts to climate change quickly, I felt cold and alone. I was now the only superhuman left, the last of a great people.

Humans and their machines, they all think they must own the world.

I AM NOT HUMAN. I AM SUPERHUMAN