When Jonathan yells Sham abruptly wakes up. He hops out of bed almost stumbling over his feet and hurries to Jonathan's side.
"Dude what happened?" Sham inquires, anxiety tinting his tone.
"Damn!" Jonathan shouts more grasping the side of his head where he collided with the wall. He grimaces, shutting his eyes tightly.
"Are you okay?" Sham inquires.
Jonathan meets his gaze. "Am I looking alright?"
Sham coughs slightly awkwardly flashing a thumbs up. "Yeah you're not alright. Absolutely not good. So what's going on?"
"I had a dream " Jonathan says breathlessly dropping his hand.
Sham's gaze shifts to Jonathan's neck. He stiffens. The metal band that had been a constant in their lives, for weeks is gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
The term reverberates in Sham's thoughts.
"The gadget, around your neck is missing! Holy freaking crap!" Sham yells, his eyes bulging open.
Jonathan's hand shoots up, to his neck. He senses skin. He hurries to the little gleaming steel mirror fixed to the wall.
His mirror image looks back. Bare neck. No crimson glow. No ache.
He is free.
"Dude you're able to use your abilities ! We can get away!" Sham says, trembling with enthusiasm.
Dawns glow seeps through the secured window. Chloe rests on her bunk legs folded. Sophia walks back and forth puzzled by Chloe's tale.
Sophia places her hand on her collarbone. It remains there chilly and weighty. Yet gazing at Chloe's exposed neck fills her with a surge of hope she hasn't experienced in weeks.
"Sophia whispers, 'We can get away now.'"
"But I'm unsure how to manage these abilities " Chloe says, her voice grave. She gazes at her quivering hands.
"Simply repeat what you managed at the chow hall " Sophia encourages, leaning closer. "Only… you know, grander."
Chloe's thoughts whirl, like a hive teeming with bees. You've got this she reminds herself. I must locate our parents.
She shuts her eyes. She grasps that sensation, inside her the cozy pulsating buzz.
Her eyes suddenly open. They shine with an Orange light.
Chloe's feet rise above the ground. She suspends a few inches above the floor her form enveloped by a flickering orange radiance. The brightness grows stronger flooding the cell with a dazzling force.
"It's functioning!" Sophia shouts, blocking the sunlight with her hand.
THE VOID.
Inside her head, Chloe isn't in the cell anymore.
She is in the Void.
The darkness extends infinitely. She anticipates spotting the mirror away yet all she finds is darkness. She moves forward her feet silent, against the unseen ground. Her legs shake.
"Mirror, is that you?" Her voice reverberates into the void.
The atmosphere, before her ripples. Dark shapes. Merge until a full-sized mirror appears.
Her Reflection remains there clad in the hospital gown. The Reflection grins,. It's not a kind smile. It's ravenous.
Chloe does not have a smile. She requires assistance.
"Assist me in mastering my abilities " Chloe murmurs nervously. She moves nearer placing her palm on the glass pane.
"Are you seeking my assistance?" the Reflection inquires, tilting her head.
Chloe nods urgently.
"Release me and I will grant you command " the Reflection declares, her tone hoarse and low.
Release her? Chloe pauses uncertainly. She lacks the knowledge to release a reflection.. Even if she possessed it this entity seems perilous. Perhaps it's a deception.
"I'm unable to release you! I have no clue how to!" Chloe yells at the glass.
The Reflection's grin disappears immediately swapped for an annoyance.
"Then wake up and figure it out."
The Reflection lifts a hand. Clicks her fingers.
SNAP!
REALITY.
BOOM!
Chloe gasps, snapping awake as her body crashes back, into reality. The orange glow surrounding her doesn't simply dim, it bursts outward.
The thick steel door of the cell is no match. It rips off its hinges bending like a sheet of aluminum foil. It hurtles down the corridor. Slams into the opposite wall with a loud metallic bang.
The tiny space is filled with dust and dirt.
Sophia yells, shielding her head. She glances through her fingers at the devastation.
"Wow, Chloe! You smashed the door!" Sophia shouts, choking on the dust. "That was seriously awesome!"
Chloe gazes at her hands. They are emitting smoke. Orange embers shimmer beneath her skin, like glowing fireflies. She senses a change. More powerful.
"We need to leave " Chloe states. She dangles her legs over the edge of the bed her bare feet landing on the floor decisively. "Immediately."
At the end of the corridor Jonathan startles at the noise of the blast.
"What, on earth was that?" Sham shouts, backing quickly against the wall.
Jonathan gazes at his hands. They glow with a red hue, veins throbbing as though the power, within is vibrant.
"There's something off, with the girls " Jonathan remarks. He gazes at the door.
"Step aside " he commands.
"Dude, what are you—"
Jonathan wastes no time. He charges ahead snapping his knuckles. He swings his fist. Strikes the air just shy of the steel. He never actually hits the metal.
A surge of energy crashes, against the door.
CRASH!
The door tears off its hinges whirling down the corridor.
Alarms sound immediately.
"Code Red! Theres been a containment breach!" a guard yells into his radio close by.
Jonathan bolts into the hallway Sham behind him. Down the passage Chloe and Sophia dash toward them, through the drifting dust.
"The guards are approaching!" Sophia shouts, gesturing over her shoulder.
Three men clad in armor wielding batons are rushing toward the girls their boots thudding against the concrete.
"Hold it!" a guard yells, lifting a rifle.
"Jonathan!" Chloe shouts.
Jonathan moves on impulse. He positions himself before the girls his eyes shining red. The guard shoots a taser dart. The missile strikes Jonathan's chest. Prior, to the prongs attaching they liquefy into molten residue and fall to the ground.
He is too scorching to handle.
"We have to remove those from them!" Jonathan shouts, gesturing towards the collars fastened around Sham and Sophia's necks. "They're unable to defend themselves!"
Chloe scans the area urgently. The corridor features industrial metal piping stretching across the ceiling.
She recalls her thought.
"Water!" Chloe shouts.
"What? What are you saying?" Sham yells, dodging as a baton comes down close, to him.
"Water! We utilize water!"
"No way, in heck!" Sham shouts back. "If we apply water the collar might blow up on its own! Then we're doomed!"
Chloe hadn't considered that. However they have no alternatives left.
"Please just believe me on this!" she pleads. She gestures upward. "Jonathan! The pipes! Shatter the water pipes!"
Jonathan glances upward. Startled he seizes a metal pipe positioned overhead. He clenches his jaw, his muscles tensing and pulls with every ounce of his strength.
CREAK… SNAP!
Water bursts, out of the pipe.
A high-pressure icy cold mist is sprayed throughout the corridor. Visibility reduces to nothing.
The guards lose footing on the floor struggling to remain standing.
However the genuine response arises from Sham and Sophia.
Soon as the collars absorb the water the devices begin to emit a loud violent hissing sound.
Please function! Please don't explode! Sophia pleads, closing her eyes.
ZAP! ZZZT!
"AHH!" Sham yells, gripping his neck while blue sparks cascade, from the metal.
"It stings!" Sophia shouts, dropping to her knees and splashing in the water.
"Wait!" Chloe shouts. She rushes toward Sophia but halts, she can't make contact. She'll be shocked.
The white lights on the collars flicker rapidly. Green. Red. Black.
CLICK.
Both collars snap apart. They drop onto the ground with a metallic clang.
Sham inhales sharply massaging his crimson neck. He glances upward droplets of water falling from his nostrils. His gaze sharpens towards the guards, who are clumsily rising to stand.
A dark grin forms on Sham's face.
"At last " he murmurs.
He lifts his hand.
Jonathan inquires, "What are you up, to?"
The guards abruptly rise from the floor. They float suspended in the air powerless, like pages blown around by the breeze.
Sham snaps his wrist.
The guards are forcefully slammed into the wall. They descend slowly losing consciousness.
"Cool," Jonathan states.
"My turn " Sophia declares. She rises, drying the water off her face.
In an instant she disappears. Totally unseen.
One of the guards moans, attempting to rise. "Hey you weirdos get ba—"
Abruptly he bends forward grasping his groin and falls forward onto the floor.
Sophia took the wind out of him and then some. She strides back, to Chloe. Instantly reappears.
"That was awesome. We need to leave RIGHT NOW!" Chloe shouts.
They dash along the corridor rounding bends forcefully pushing open every door blocking their path.
WOOP! WOOP!
Red warning lights rotate, casting shadows that flicker, on the walls.
"The way out!" Sham yells. He gestures, toward a pair of double doors situated at the far end of a lengthy hallway. "Those go outside!"
"Increase the number of guards!" Chloe alerts.
Five armored officers stand guard at the exit shields held up. They appear menacing.
"DOWN ON THE GROUND! NOW!"
The four exchange looks. Jonathan and Chloe appear drained. Sham advances.
He gazes at the five guards. Starts to chant.
"Aka mi, mola to di fa bo lati!"
The phrases are odd, rhythmic uttered like a witch's enchantment.
The impact is immediate. The five guards halt abruptly. Their eyes flick upward. They collapse to the ground simultaneously snoring heavily.
"How did you find that out?" Chloe inquires, astonished.
"It came from a book that Sophia and I used to own " Sham answers, moving past the slumbering figures.
"Let's move now!" Jonathan whispers urgently.
The four adolescents rushed out of the building. Into the open air. Their lungs ached.
They end up in a rear lane of the city. Upon reflection the X-Prison isn't a stronghold it's camouflaged as a rundown, warehouse.
"They're still arriving!" Sophia shouts, overhearing yelling from, within.
Sham grasps his side. "We must find shelter. A place shadowy, packed… I'm not sure!"
They rush toward the bustling avenues. They spot the looming figure of the City Mall.
They dart into the throng. Bystanders gaze at them four youths wearing soaked, hospital gowns.
"Did they get away, from the hospital?" a woman murmurs to her companion.
They disregard the murmurs and dash toward the escalators.
"There!" Chloe indicates the bright neon sign of STARLIGHT CINEMA.
They sprint by the ticket counter entering Theater 4 right as the usher looks away.
"Hey! Where did you put your tickets?!" a security officer shouts, realizing it a bit late.
But they are already inside the dark room.
"Ugh! This isn't worth the pay I get " the guard snaps, looking away.
Within the cinema the screen is showing Fantastic Four.
They spot a line of chairs at the rear and sink down. Chloe struggles to breathe, clutching her chest. The rest mirror her actions as the adrenaline gradually ebbs into fatigue.
"Alright what's our next step?" Jonathan inquires, his voice trembling.
"I don't know yet," Chloe says, watching the movie flicker on the screen. "But we'll figure something out."