What have I done?

What have I done?

What did I just do?

You just agreed to remove the serum, another voice in my head answered.

I did not mean to, why would I?

Both ways result in the serum being taken out, there was not much of a 'choice'.

The next few minutes were spent trying to calm myself down with positive thoughts, but the best case scenario was that I would be able to go back to my old life, but would most likely have to live through the chaos that would follow. I winced. Doesn't sound good at all. Torture in another form.

Definitely don't need that to happen.

Then what do I need?

A plan.

Using my powers will be difficult, since as the man mentioned earlier, he blocked off water for quite a distance. Unless I have water, but would such an intelligent kidnapper be so stupid to pass me even a glass?

I traced the mark on my feet made by the ropes earlier. The man decided to release me from them before rushing off. Having my legs tied for several hours had blocked the flow of blood, causing my feet to fall asleep.

Standing up from the metal chair, which was now warm, I circled the room, analysing exactly what kind of cage the man had placed me in. To my dismay, there were no windows nor drains of any sort. Even if I was powerful enough to manipulate water from far distances, it would be useless.

A quick glance at the clear glass opposite me told me that the coast could potentially be clear, but a simple touch of my finger sent up an electric current up my hand, and I jerked it back. My heart sank.

It must be similar to the ropes.

I need to get out of here.

I thought about our supplies and weapons from DEflayte, but shook my head upon remembering how we abandoned the heavier items in the hotel room.

Suddenly, another current jabbed me in my wrist. I flinched for a second, before frowning. Why now?

Just moments after that thought, two tiles in the floor in front of me parted, splitting open to reveal a third tile rising from below. Several smaller tiles followed to support the tile, which held a single plate of food.

Food!

A poke around the food with the spork – they really couldn't risk me using a fork as a weapon, couldn't they – informed me that the meal comprised of mushy broccoli and carrots, some tinned meat, mashed potato, and a huge slice of watermelon that seemed overly large to feed a teenage girl.

I sighed. No water, I bet the assassins figured my power was related to that.

Then, it occurred to me. They gave me such a large amount of watermelon to get enough nutrients, but I can't absorb and control watermelon juice.

The food was tempting, but before I could spoon some broccoli into my mouth, a new plan surfaced into my head.

Don't eat anything, maybe they'll give you water.

Multiple scenarios started to pop up in my mind.

If I escape, I might collapse from exhaustion and lack of nutrients. If I don't eat, they might wait till I'm almost dead before they extract the serum.

As if sensing I was hesitating, several tiles separated to reveal a clock with five minutes. The timer had already started.

I continued eying the plate of food, weighing the pros and cons as I stared at it. Some part of me worried that it might be poisoned, but then again, they wanted me alive for my power.

Part of me yearned for the water. Maybe I should just eat.

I scooped up a spoonful of carrots and rice and took a bite. Not bad for prison food.

Not wanting to fall sick, I wolfed down whatever I could from the plate of food and grabbed the watermelon slice off before it lowered back into the floor.

I thought back to the last time I had ate. We had planned to eat the hotel breakfast after practising our powers, but then the trap from Scover distracted us.

How are Denisse and Christopher?

I was not worried about Christopher, as he could certainly handle himself, but I stood up at the thought of Denisse. Last time I saw her, she was unconscious.

I really hope the man does not hurt her.

Another part of my mind assured myself that she could think for herself, but I was more concerned about whether the kidnappers would take advantage of her vulnerability and give her a deal. Just like me.

My mind wandered off to Christopher. Did they give him the same deal? Probably, but more importantly, did he accept?

Figuring that pacing around the room did not help clear my thoughts, I sat down onto the chair.

My eyelids started to droop. Did they put something to knock me out...?

No thoughts answered that.

The next time I opened my eyes, the first thing I registered was the ache in my back, and I immediately regretted sitting in the chair.

The second thing I registered was the man sitting opposite me.

"It is time," he announced, and he pulled me up from my chair.

Time to remove the serum, I realised, dread dripping from that statement.

The man walked me outside, and I was surprised by the lack of guards.

For someone so smart to set a trap and capture us, I'm shocked he doesn't have multiple guards flanking the compound.

The entire pathway was covered in a grey paint, or perhaps it was metal. Either way, there was no windows of any sort, so I still had no idea how long I had been sleeping. My stomach grumbled, and I took it as a sign that it had been at least a few hours after the sleeping-pill-infused meal I had taken.

Every single step I took triggered a thought. Each was more terrifying than the last.

What do I do?

Will it hurt?

Will it kill me in the process?

What if they kill me after getting what they need?

The corridor soon joined with an identical corridor at an intersection, and two middle-aged guards, a man and a woman, were pushing a teenage boy along.

"Patrick," they greeted the man.

Patrick. His name.

When they stopped to nod at the man, I looked at the other kidnapped person. The tousled black hair was unmistakable.

Christopher?

We can use his telekinesis to escape!

Hope glimmered in the darkness, but its flame flickered with doubt.

Christopher was wearing some sort of VR goggles. My heart sank upon realising its purpose.

They stuck the goggles to his head so that he can't use his power.

"Move on, let's go," the man ordered, pushing Christopher and I forward. I contemplated trying to kick the guards, but stopped at the sight of their intimidating array of weapons hanging from their belts. The last thing I need is torture or worse, a painful and slow death.

Soon, we reached a plain white wall with a single holographic keypad on the right. The man signalled us to stop, while he typed in some numbers into the password pad. The blue numbers split into tiny dots, which spread out across the wall in a straight path, before stretching to form a single line. The line dropped to the bottom, and a hidden door slid upwards. Upon walking through, I looked back, and the door had lowered back down.

There goes my escape route.

Turning back, I took in each detail of the room before me with awe and fear. I could hear murmurs from the sides of the room. Looking around, I noticed that there were several rows of people surrounding the centre.

Most of the tables at the side of the room held scientific equipment, but one of them contained a single computer screen. Glancing over, I noticed that it was the DEflayte chat, and it seemed like they had been notified about our capture as message after message popped up. Uh oh.

In the far corner was a teenage boy with straight blonde hair, two guards standing at his side.

Scover!

I made contact with my eyes with from across the room, as if staring could convey all my thoughts to him. Can your powers set us free? What is your power? Why aren't you trying to escape?

He simply shook his head.

"Watch over them," the man cajoled to the guards, and they placed a firm hand on Christopher and me.

He strolled towards the centre of the room, right next to the focal point of the layout: two chairs, which reminded me of dentist chairs.

That's the technology supposed to remove the serum cell!

The man beckoned us forward, and Christopher, Scover and I shuffled to the centre, right next to the machine. As I walked past the front row, I heard a female voice muttering, "Look, they are wearing handcuffs and the boy is wearing goggles. Bet the power is dangerous."

That's right, Miss. I'd love to show you, if only these silly ropes were removed.

Standing in the centre gave me a bird's eye view of the whole area. There were three rows of people in total, standing behind several glass panes, which I guessed were part of the viewing area. Many of the people were snapping pictures. Others were bubbling excitedly to their partners. And several were drinking from water bottles. Must have been standing here for a long time.

Wait. Water!

I stared at the water bottles, my entire being yearning for those objects.

"All of you came today to view the removal of a serum that can grant its user immunity to all illnesses and superpowers," the man announced. The silence that had originally enveloped the room shattered and excited murmurs rippled through the crowd that had gathered.

Did people from DEflayte actually come here?

My eyes scanned the small crowd. They did look like they had come from different parts of the world. A group of blonde-haired men were already beginning to argue over the serum; even though it was still inside me. A middle-aged woman was excitedly telling the people behind her that she was going to be the highest bidder.

The DEflayte auction bid... and I can't prevent it.

Can I?

"Alright, any questions before we get started?" The man quizzed.

A spiky-haired man in the middle row raised his hand. "Mr Weaber, How do you know the machine will work? If it fails, the host bodies will be killed and we can't get the serum."

He doesn't care whether we die. No one cares if we die, they just want the serum.

"Well, sir, I'm surprised," the man remarked, looking down at the three of us. I quickly snapped back to the spiky-haired man who asked the question.

"This machine is created by the same creator of the serum," he continued.

I need to blast this guy for creating this machine.

"His name is Dr Jerydonn."

~

An almost-forgotten-but-not character from 10 whole chapters ago is mentioned! Who didn't think Dr Jerydonn would make an appearance here? What do you think he was doing for the 5 years?

Another update! This chapter is the longest so far, but was it as exciting as the previous? Was the plot twist shocking?