Earth: Book One (Elemental Series) (10 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Day Two: March 28
th
, 2020; 10:55 am

Their ears rang from the gun’s bang being so close.

Their eyes to adjust to the darkness that surrounded them. The gun slipped from Forres’ shaking fingers.

I can’t do this. I can’t kill.
Forres thought shaking with fear.

“Don’t worry, lovelies. I came well prepared,” Bex said, shrugging off her bag and digging through it to find a flashlight. When she found one, she flashed the light around the elevator. Most of the group covered their eyes.

“Where to now?” Eleanor questioned, covering her eyes from the harmful rays

“Up and out,” Austin suggested, pushing Bex’s flashlight up to the ceiling where a vent was. “Help me get Chyler up there.” Austin and Zander cupped their hands together and Chyler put her foot in the hand basket. She got boost up and pops the vent out so she could get through it. She shimmies herself up on to the roof of the elevator.

“Next. Forres?” Zander spoke

Forres looked up from her shaking hands.

“You okay?”

She gave a small nod and his softly jerks his hand to motion to go next. She walked over and put her foot in the basket of hand. She got up pretty easily. She seemed to have arm strength that she never knew about. Yet again, she didn’t know much about herself only the stubborn voice in her head did.

Chyler helped her to her feet then gave a small smile.

Eleanor was next then Jackus who seems to need no help. Next was Bex then Sargent.

Sargent started to climb up from the boost but the elevator jerked. His hand slipped and his jaw hit the bottom of the elevator roof pretty hard.

Forres grabbed his hand before he could fall back down and hurt his legs. He panicked a bit. Forres pulled him up with no help. “I got you,” she reassured.

He looked at her with fear then reached up and pulled something out of his mouth.

Bex gasped. “Is that his…?”

Sargent had bitten off his tongue.

“WE NEED TO GO!” Eleanor shouted to Zander and Austin. She pushed Sargent to the ladder on the side of the elevator shaft.

“Why?” Austin climbs up then helps Zander.

“He bit off his tongue and is in shock,” Eleanor took the flash from Bex. She shined it in Sargent’s blank eyes.

“Start to climb gang!” Zander ordered and started on the ladder. Austin pushed Sargent ahead of him and helped him climb. The girls followed close behind.

Half way to their destination, Jackus’s bag slipped from her shoulder and started to hurtle to the ground.

Forres reached out and grabbed it because she was the last one. She gave the bag from Jackus but not before she saw the words: “Lady Liberty” written on the bag.

“Thanks,” Jackus muttered and started to climb again after putting on the bag.

Do you think…?
Forres thought before getting interrupted by Austin yelling, “Keep up ladies!” She started to climb again.

When they reached to their destination – a few levels from where they were –, Zander tried to pry open the door. He couldn’t do it by himself. Austin had shocked Sargent to hold up. Before Zander could yell to one of the girls to help, the door open quickly.

A boy stood there with two others. He pulled out a walkie-talkie and says into it: “Got them, Felix. Meet at base.”

Zander put on a smirk.

“Roger that, Dean,” The other guy said on the other line. “Over and out.”

*****

Day Two: March 28
th
, 2020; 11:01 am

Forres didn’t know whether to trust them or just kill them.

She didn’t want to trust the three boys that were running in front of them. They lead the way to the top floor. Once reaching the top, out of breath, the boy named Dean gave a secret knock that wasn’t a secret anymore. They then again were let in then lead to a suite. Again Dean did the “secret knock” and was let in by an oddly familiar looking guy.

As soon as they got in, Eleanor started on Sargent’s mouth with another boy.

The guy, who let them in, smirked at Forres.

Forres glared and felt the urge to wipe the smirk off his face.

And she did.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Day Two: March 28
th
, 2020; 11:04 am

Max stumbled back from the head-butt that Forres gave.

Forres didn’t care about the guns that were now to her head. That smirk was off of his face.

“You okay, Max?” Felix asked. His pistol was closest to her head. His keen eyes on Forres and Forres only.

“I’m fine. Put the guns down,” Max ordered, touching his lip that was bleeding now. The guys slowly put down their guns and Felix hesitated before giving in. “She just needs to be tamed… I can do that,” Max reached up and brushes a piece of her black pixie cut hair behind her left ear. He leaned in putting his mouth next to her ear. She tried not to shutter when she felt his hot breath on her neck. “I can and will hurt you, Princess. Do
not
mess with me. Okay?” Max saw a small birth mark behind her left ear. He paused, scowled a bit then leaves.

“Intense,” A familiar voice came and Forres didn’t need to look to see who it was.

Rayne…

“Need some help in here,” Eleanor yelled out from the kitchen. People started to go in and help.

“Help with what?” Rayne asks as Forres sat down next to Bex.

“You okay?” Bex whispered to her. Forres shook her head slowly. She was feeling hot and still dizzy but also numb. Not a lot but still numb enough that she could feel it. “Come. Let’s go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up. Maybe you’ll feel better,” Bex guided her to the bathroom and as soon as they got into it, Forres gagged over the toilet. Forres couldn’t even remember the last time she ate.

Bex rubbed Forres’s back. “Why are you helping me?” Forres coughed.

“Because we are best friends,” Bex stated.

Forres sat back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hands. “We just meet.”

Bex stared blankly at her, mouth open a bit. She slowly shook her head. “No, Forres we’ve knew each other since birth…,” Forres stared at Bex as if she just told her that she had more than one head. “In the foster home? I was there when you passed out and had to first go to the hospital. I wouldn’t leave your side until you woke… You don’t remember any of that?”

Forres shook her head and Bex looked down. They stay silent for a couple of second which felt like minutes. Then Forres felt her stomach go up her throat and she hovered over the toilet, throwing it up.

Suddenly the bathroom door opens and Zander stepped in. “You okay?” He asks when Forres sat back and wipes her mouth. “You’re not going to die or whatever?”

“Who’s going to die?” Rayne asked, popping her head into the bathroom.

“You,” Bex snapped at her. “If you doing get out of here!” Rayne looked at the pale girl on the floor and left.

“No,” Forres chuckled a bit then it turned into a cough. She covered her mouth and felt something on the palm of her hand. She pulled back to see a pool of red blood in her palm. She looked up at Zander then over at Bex. “Lady Liberty? Isn’t that the nickname of the Statue of Liberty?”

“Yeah,” Bex nodded. “Why?”

“I think Jackus is Lady Liberty…,”

“And?”

“She might have the case…”

“Full of your medicine?” Bex asked. Her head tilt to the side as if she was a curious dog. Forres nodded and started to wonder if Bex really was her best friend since birth. “Yeah, she has that.”

“And you never told me?”

Bex raised a brow. “It’s not something you fit into a conversation. ‘Oh no, Sargent bit off his tongue but hey, it’s all good: Jackus has the case with your medicine.’”

Forres turned to Zander, not liking the sarcasm that she just got from her “best friend”.  She opened her mouth but before she could talk, Zander read her mind. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get it for you.”

*****

Day Two: March 28
th
, 2020; 11: 34 am

Zander left the bathroom and began to walking to the living room where Jackus and some of the others were siting. He was stopped mid-hall by a four man group led by Felix. Rayne was behind them, examining her nails casually. “Where you guys going?” Zander questioned.

“It needs to be done,” Felix replied.

Felix tried to pass him but he stepped in front of him. “What are you talking about?”

“We need to kill her before she infects everyone and kills us,” Felix slowly explained as if Zander couldn’t comprehend him.

“Who?” Zander’s brows came in together.

“Forres,” Dean said.

“You’re kidding?” Zander chuckled a bit then realized that they weren’t kidding. “Forres isn’t bite.”

“Then
why
is she dying?” One of the guys said. Zander didn’t know him but he sure in hell wanted to rip his head off with his bare hands.

“She’s
sick,
not dying,” He replied using the same annoying tone with him that he had used.

“But she can die?” Felix asked. His hand has moved to his gun as if he had to use it, he could get it quicker than Zander could.

“It depends…,” Zander narrowed his eyes on Felix.

Felix took a step closer and looked Zander in the eyes. They were the exact same height but nothing alike. Felix had messy, dirty blonde hair with dark brown eyes that looked brown. His face was keen and alert. He had to be in his early twenty’s like Zander was. Zander had crew cut chic platinum hair with tiger green eyes. “Then how about we put a bullet into her skull and save the trouble of her dying.”

“You can’t do that! That’s inhuman!” Zander barked at him.

Felix passed and pushed him to the side, muttering, “Watch me,” As Dean passed, he gave a small shrug and followed Felix and so do the other two.

Zander quickly goes out into the living room. “Jackus!” Jackus stood. “I need the case!”

“Thought you’d never notice,” Jackus picked up her bag and throws it to him.

Zander caught it, turns on his heels and goes to the bathroom. He goes in to see Felix pointing a gun at Forres who was on the ground shaking violently.

“Make it stop or I’ll shoot,” Felix stated.

Zander looked at the shaking Forres on the ground. He didn’t know if what was in this bag could save Forres or kill her…

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

Day Two: March 28
th
, 2020; 8:35 am

“The medicine is wearing off so quickly and at different times,” Tracy muttered behind Doctor Greene.

“Huh?” Doctor Greene turned, not knowing she was there and looked back at her. “Oh um... Yeah. I noticed. She only has seizures when she doesn’t get her medicine in the proper days she needs it…”

“So…,” Tracy started and put her clip board to her chest. “What do we do?”

Doctor Greene rubbed his stubby chin, watching the computer.  “Make it stronger…,” He whispered.

“Sir?” Tracy questioned as if she didn’t heard it but she did. She just doesn’t understand it.

“Make it stronger!” Doctor Green yelled with excitement. He pushed back his chair and stood. “Make it stronger!” He chuckled and started for the door.

“Sir, we can’t,” Tracy said, pushing up her glasses and following him out the room. “If we make the medicine stronger than her…,” Tracy’s voice trailed away when people passed her in the halls. She lowered her voice for the next part: “powers are going to get stronger too.”

Doctor Greene glanced back at her frowning. “What are you talking about, Tracy? What powers?”

“She can’t die or get hurt. She heals herself. She’s basically a super mutant,” Tracy stopped in hall and gave a shrug. Then she noticed that Doctor Greene kept going and she ran to catch up.

When she was by his side, he said: “Why aren’t my ‘super mutants’ out in the domes yet?”

“They aren’t stable enough,” Tracy explained. Doctor Greene stopped and looked at her. She quickly added: “… Sir…”

Doctor Greene reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How many are stable?”

“One out of three,” She replied.

“We are only sending in three?” He barked.

Tracy jumped and pushed up her glasses, clutching the board tightly to her chest. “That’s all we made, sir. The rest went a bit… insane… and you destroyed them, remember?”

Doctor Greene thought for a moment. “Oh yeah…”

He started to walk again and Tracy scrambles to keep up. “When’s the last time you slept, sir?”

“I don’t know. Can’t remember…,” He shrugged as they enter the café.

Tracy followed him to the coffee stand. “Sir,” She said with concern. He doesn’t seem too hear her. He just kept on making his coffee. “Sir,” She put force in her tone and even touched his arm. He turned to her and looked at the hand on his arm then at her. “Get some sleep. You need it. Let me take care this one.”

“B-but I have to do this. She just found the case,” He protested. He tried to turn and walk away but Tracy softly touched his shoulder. He stopped as she rubbed it a bit, feeling the tight muscles in his shoulder.

“You are stressed and have knots. Get some sleep and I’ll take care of this one then you could have the rest after,” Tracy said.

Doctor Greene let out a small sigh and relaxed, “Fine. This once but I’ll be watching you, Tracy…,” He reached up and touched her hand then left.

Tracy goes back and marched into the lab room with all the televisions for watching Forres and took a seat in front of the main one. “Everyone out…,” She waved her hand over her shoulder. The workers looked at each other. “Get out!” The workers shuffled to get out.

Once the last worker was out, Tracy sat back and watched.