Chapter 15

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Narrator-

A sun ray shining over Adina's eyelids is what prompted her to wake up. She gasped as she sat up, startling Valerie in her sleep. Her heart was forced to thump and accelerate due to her sudden startle.

Adina gulped and looked over at a smirking Jackson as she said "I am so sorry. I dozed off."

"Yeah I know, I figured you were going to when you murmured that my dimples were cute." Teased Jackson.

"I DID WHAT?!" gasped Adina as she whisper-yelled.

"Just kidding." Jackson waved a careless hand, "That's payback for falling asleep on me." He laughed.

Adina slapped his arm and whispered, "jerk."

Before Jackson could reply, Valerie stirred awake, just as Matthew yawned and the twins stretched.

"Morning." Grumbled Lauren, as she picked dry leaves from her hair with a grunt.

"Oooh, guess the spoiled princess is not a morning person." Commented Khairo, as he turned to his twin and asked, "how you doing?"

"Never better." Stated Khiran, then he looked at Adina as he said, "Thanks for keeping watch."

"Yeah, don't mention it." She replied.

"Thank you too Jackson." Stated Valerie as she sent a sharp look to the Khiran, who raised his hands as if to show that he wasn't looking for trouble.

"Alright, what's the plan?" clapped Khairo as he looked between Adina and Jackson, who both returned his gaze with clueless glares of their own.

"Why are you asking us?" Wondered Adina.

"Well you guys spent the night talking, I figured you probably came up with a plan." Remarked Khairo.

"Nah, my man Jackson was too busy flirting." Pointed Matthew, and Jackson's cheeks instantly blushed.

"What? No he wasn't." defended Adina, her own face warming up.

"Oh really? Then why do your faces resemble tomatoes?" voiced Khiran, as the boys chuckled.

"Okay, enough." Cleared Jackson, as he avoided to look at Adina.

"First thing is we need to get out of this forest." Offered Adina.

"Wrong! First, I need to take a whizz, then we can get out of this forest." Commented Khairo.

"Ugh, could you at least show some respect to the girls." Scoffed Lauren.

"Oh right, sorry Adina and Valerie." Smirked Khairo.

Lauren smiled, then disappeared from sight. The group's eyes bounced around, hoping to track the invisible member of their team to no avail. Suddenly, Khairo released a sharp 'oof' and doubled over, coughing and wheezing, when he suffered a sharp punch to his stomach. The group stared on comically.

A few seconds later, Lauren appeared in her initial spot pretending as if nothing happened.

No one chose to comment, in fact Adina simply smiled and said, "I guess it's only fair for us to use the restroom, then we can talk about getting out of here."

In silent agreement, Jackson transported the twins and Lauren down the tree, Matthew used his super speed and antigravity, and Valerie flew down in Adina's arms.

The girls used a leafy plant as their shield, while the boys hid behind the large tree trunks to take care of their business.

When everyone relieved themselves, they all avoided each other's hands, as they began to debate their options.

"I say we head north." Proposed Khiran.

"Okay, then what?" asked Lauren.

"Well we travel until we reached some type of civilization, so then we can determine where we are." Continued Khiran.

"Okay, that's not a bad idea, but what about food and water?" suggested Matthew.

"Well we're in a forest, I'm sure we'll eventually find a water source, and if we're lucky, maybe a river with fish. If we can find some berries, fruits, nuts, anything edible, I think we should be fine." Stated Adina.

"Ugh Girlfriend, this is not Tarzan's forest, get your head out of the gutter." Lauren snapped at Adina, then she turned to the rest of the group, "face it, we can't survive this place. What if we run into lions, or tigers, or bears?" snapped Lauren.

"You're quoting 'Wizard of Oz' and yet you're commenting on Adina's optimism? Come on Lauren, just chill." Matthew defended.

Lauren crossed her arms and looked away with a scowl.

"Okay, back to Adina's idea, any one object?" asked Jackson, and when no one replied, with a simple nod from Jackson, they began tracking north, with Adina flying overhead every thirty minutes, to ensure that they had no followers.

Initially no one spoke, but soon the Subjects found themselves debating various topics.

"The battlers? Really? Come on, you have to come up with something better than that." Pleaded Khairo.

"Well I can't, all the cool hero group names have been taken." Shrugged Matthew.

"True, but still, I think we could have a better name." replied Khairo.

"Okay, what about 'The Test Subjects'." suggested Adina, after a moment.

"Mmh, its kind of daunting given our origin, but I like it." Grinned Khiran.

"Right, and now that we have a name, what do we do?" asked Lauren.

"We kick some Warlord ass." Cheered Matthew, earning laughter from the rest of the group.

"Matthew don't say ass, it's a bad word." Stated Valerie quietly, earning a chuckle from the boys.

"I mean it's another word for donkey, but you're right, sorry Val." Replied Matthew with a smile.

The light conversation kept the Subjects going from sunrise till noon, and just as they began to feel thirsty, they came upon a river. It was a ravine with a clear surface which allowed the subjects to see the dead leaves, branches and smoothened rocks on it's floor. The sound of the trickling water was more than music to the group's ears, it was the sound of the calvary coming to save their parched throats.

The water was fresh, it was cool, and it was welcomed.

The small group decided to sit down for a few, to catch their breath. The scent of wed earth and brown leaves entered their nostrils, making the oxygen in their lungs extra filtered and moist. The greenery which bordered the ravine and the tall trees helped keep the subjects hidden from both the sun, and any possible helicopters which may fly above them. The thick and leafy branches also made it an obstacle for any drones which could've attempted to follow them and track them down.

While sitting and gazing at the water, and movement just below the gushing waves caught Adina's eyes.

A school of fish was swimming downstream, a few feet from where they sat.

Adina tapped Matthew and pointed her head toward the water, not wanting to speak in hopes of not startling the fist away. Matthew then tapped Khiran, and eventually every Test Subject was made aware of their potential food source.

"Oh hell yeah!" cheered Khiran as he stood approaching the water.

"What are you doing?" questioned Lauren.

"Fishing, I'm hungry." He stated, then he called to Adina as he said, "want to put your abilities to the test?" and Adina nodded.

She approached the water, eyeing out the silver fish which swam through the water, then shrugged. It was worth a shot.

She locked her eyes on the first fish. She followed it as it swam along the flow of the water. When she was sure she had it, she reached out with her mind. She felt the cool water, and the slippery surface of the fish's scales. She pushed further, making sure she had a grip, and felt as though her hand grabbed it, hurling it from the water.

Matthew jumped to his feet catching the flying fish just in time, but the squirmy creature jumped from his hands and unto the ground.

Adina focused on a second fish and did the same, followed by a third, and a fourth, until there was one fish for each person. The fish splashed on the muddy ground, while Valerie and Lauren saw to dumping water over them. The bouncy creatures' mouths gaped and they squirmed and squirmed until finally, they had run out of air.

Valerie and Lauren saw to rinsing the fish off again, and the boys retrieved sticks to perched them on. Matthew found a slim with a sharp edge and was able to remove the scales. To his luck, he also found a rogue piece of glass, which appeared to have broken off a bottle. Using the sharp edge, Matthew gutted the fish.

His fellow Subjects looked his way, as if he was alien.

Matthew looked up and saw this, he smiled, "oh, I'm Moshe. My mom is from the Carib sector of the Central Western subdivision. She was Haitian, and she had my sister first. After I was born, she sent me underground with my grandma. She knew a thing or two."

"Makes sense." Adina nodded.

While Matthew kept cleaning out the fish, Khiran found a plant which resembled rosemary. He picked a leaf and squeezed it between his fingers then smelled it. It was wild rosemary. He plucked it and quickly brought it to Matthew.

Matthew grabbed the herb and smiled.

"What's that?" Lauren asked.

"It's wild rosemary." Adina said, grabbing the plant from Matthew and rinsing it in the water.

When the group looked at her strangely, the shrugged, "I'm a Moshe too. From the central subdivision. My parents were herb farmers, but when we were forced to go underground, we had to find new ways to sustain ourselves. I learned a lot about plants."

Jackson nodded, then he lifted his hands, "okay, who else here is a Moshe?"

The twins looked at each other and raised their hands. But Valerie, Lauren and Jackson were exempt from the count.

"In what subdivision where you born?" Adina asked the twins.

"Northeastern." Khiran answered.

"But we migrated underground and moved from sector to sector. We had made it to the southwestern subdivision just when we turned eighteen, then we were free to move around." Khairo gave more context.

As the group settled back on the ground, Matthew cleared out the scales and guts, while Adina stuffed the fish with rosemary branches and lathered the skin with crushed leaves. Then Jackson and Khiran impaled the fish. Using his firepower, Khairo roasted the fish, and avoided making a fire, while Jackson and Khiran held on to the sticks.

Once the fish was ready, the group dug in, and surprisingly though lacking salt, the rosemary did the fish justice. When Matthew tasted his handiwork, he smiled, knowing his mom would've been proud.

Khiran was he first to finish his meal. He stood up and rinsed his hands, then he returned to the patch where he found the rosemary, and just as he suspected, he also found a few lavender plants. Khiran picked the lavender, then returned to the group.

"Hey guys, wanna try a little experiment?" He baited the group.

Adina and Jackson shared a glance, while his twin smiled, "Oh yeah."

"Okay, Lauren, make a water ball, as big as you can." Khiran instructed.

Lauren, though never partaken in a group project, decided to give it a try. She made a globe of water from the river, and expanded it using the flowing, liquid source.

"Now." Khiran muttered, while popping the lavender branches into the water ball, "Adina, make a sphere around the globe."

Adina nodded and stood next to Lauren. She lifted her hands towards the globe of water and created a sphere around it. Adina smiled when she felt her power encase the water in.

"Okay." Khiran nodded enthusiastically, "Now Khairo-"

"Hold your breath baby brother, I already know what to do." Khairo cut his twin off.

"It was a two-minute difference." Khiran argued but laughed all at once.

Khairo didn't light a fire in his palms, but rather ignited around his digits, making his hand resemble heated iron. He carefully hovered his hands above the sphere, moving it about to warm the water inside the globe. Adina felt the heat radiate inside her skull.

"Now we don't have much time." Khiran expressed, and with Jackson's and Matthew's aid, he retrieved large leaves and folded them in cup-like shapes. Then he flash-froze them.

"Khiran!" Adina said sharply, feeling as if Khairo's heat would melt her temples.

"Yeah, yeah." Khiran hurried to the sphere and poked a small hollow stick into it.

The tea began to drip from the sphere. Khairo turned off his palms, and Khiran quickly filled the cups one by one, until finally the liquid was done.

Adina sighed and the sphere disappeared, the hollow stick falling to the ground.

Khiran handed Adina a cup with an impressed smile, "cheers." He said.

"Cheers." Adina sighed, and the group drank the lavendered water before the ice melted from around the leaves.

After the Subjects were full and satisfied, they washed their hands, then they were once again on their way.

The boys took turns carrying Valerie whenever she became too tired to walk. The group tried to walk along the stream for as long as they could. It was a source or fresh water, and it was valuable.

At some point, Adina flew above the group, and over the treetops. As she scanned the area, she noticed a slim road northwest of their position, and if they hustled, they would probably make it by nightfall. She informed the group, and with no opposition, they made plans to head that way.

Meanwhile, back at the lab, Archer was reviewing the Subject's abilities based on Joel's report and comparing it to the data they had collected when the Subjects were here.

What the Head Scientist missed was Valerie's ability to turn the air toxic, and Jackson's telecommunication skills, and Khairo's cloning power.

As he studied the lines of the report, Michael one of the head doctors, a short elderly man with a balding spot and thick glasses, approached Archer and quietly cleared his throat.

"What is it?" questioned Archer, not even bothering to lift his eyes off the paper which laid in his hand.

"Dr. Glass, excuse the interruption, but we have figured out a way to drug the Creatures." Stated the man.

"I don't need all of them, I only need the original four that were first transformed." Archer explained.

"And the others?" Michael wondered.

Archer drew in a breath and pursed his lips forward in a pensive manner, "the others, drug them, and shoot them in the head, since it seems that that is the only easy to really kill them. Once you have the original four, I need to see if they still have basic human skills such as talking. If they do, you must then figure out a way to train them to hunt those Subjects. Then-"

"Sir, I'm sorry, you have a call from the Warlord." Cut Vivian, as she warned Archer.

"Alright, get to it Michael." Dismissed Archer, then he turned to his escorts, and using the air ducts, Archer headed to his office.

As they crawled through the dark duct, Archer's mind was troubled. This was not going to end well, and he already knew it.

The moment he dropped into his office, the Warlord greeted him via the web conference.

"Archer my friend, how is everything? How is my serum coming along?" questioned Warlord, getting straight to the point, and completely oblivious of the fact that his trusted right-hand man did not use his office door but instead entered through the air vent.

"Sir, it appears we have run into some complications." Started Archer calmly, seeing that there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

"Complications?" muttered The Warlord, his friendly demeanor gone, and instantly replaced with a scrutinizing mask accented by a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I- well actually, rather than explain it all, I'll just show you." Stated Archer, as he pulled up the collection of videos starting with Frank's quadrant, their transformation, followed by the Subjects developing their powers, to the battle that started in the lab, and ended in the forest.

Archer stood with his eager heartbeat reflecting in his neck, his fear logged in his throat, his head on fire, as the Warlord's eyes attentively watched the video, without a word slipping from his closed lips.

In the presence of the Warlord, Archer was an ant. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, and it only worsened as the minutes went by, and the warlord continued to watch the past events unfold.

Back in the forest, the team kept a steady pace, occasionally indulging in small conversations, other times each person found themselves engulfed in their personal thoughts, but Adina was right, by nightfall, they reached the road.

The Subjects decided to start moving again first thing in the morning, so while still hidden in the forest a few feet away from the road, the subjects found an American Beech tree, where they were able to rest. They followed with the same routine of having Khairo clear the area, before they settled in once more.

Just as they settled for the night, a bear made its way to the bottom of the tree where it laid for the night. The moon shined down over the forest, and the chatter of the night life came alive. A soft wind blew through the trees, and everyone seem to sigh in a relieved bliss.

The scenery was quite relaxing, which was just what the subjects needed after the long journey they had.

The small group sat in silence, but for once it wasn't tense or uncomfortable. Valerie sat next to Adina, who was next to Jackson. Matthew found a spot between Jackson and Lauren, who sat next to Khiran, and Khairo sat on the opposite side of Valerie, next to his twin brother.

Valerie was the first to fall asleep, and when she did, her older companions began discussing their next move.

"Okay guys, now that we are here, what happens tomorrow?" asked Khairo, trying to keep his tone quiet.

"What do you mean?" asked Adina, her light tone matching his.

"I mean, Khiran and me, we're gonna head home, and we'll drop Matthew on the way. I'm pretty sure once people know Lauren, she'll be able to get home ASAP, which leaves you, the kid and Jackson." Explained Khairo.

"Well no, we can't just leave Valerie in Adina's hands, not that she can't take care of her, but because Valerie is the youngest one." Pointed Matthew after hearing Khairo's words.

"True." Agreed Jackson as he nodded.

"Can we at least drop her home first, then we can all go home. Come on guys, be considerate, we have to take care of her." Pleaded Adina as she looked between her companions.

"Oh come on, I mean she barely even speaks English; for all we know, she might not even know her address." Argued Khairo, wanting nothing more than to get home and forget that all this ever happened.

"All the reasons to make sure we're the ones to drop her home." Replied Jackson logically.

"Well, you and Adina can drop her off, the rest of us don't need to be there." Pushed Khairo.

He was already over this argument. He had already made up his mind, and he had no intention on being swayed.

"Oh okay, I understand." Clipped Adina as she nodded and looked away.

Selfish, inconsiderate jerks.

"Wait, it's not like that." Stated Matthew, as he noticed Adina taking offense, "look I'll go with you guys." Volunteered Matthew.

Then after a moment of silence Khiran addressed Khairo as he said "bro, come on, we've all be through the same thing, we can't turn our backs on them now, they're right, she's the youngest, we should all escort her home, we've made this far together, and Valerie has saved our butts a few times."

Khairo looked at his brother, then at the sleeping child, and finally at Adina and Jackson. Everyone else stared back at him. Seeing this Khairo gulped.

"Mmmh, ugh fine!" ceded Khairo, then they all turned to Lauren who remained quiet throughout the entire dispute.

"What? She doesn't need me to be there." Replied Lauren, but when she noticed that the glares were not subsiding from her fellow mutant members, she threw her hands up

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