Subject Seventeen: Wraith Among Shadows

The mist fades away and the scene of the beach is replaced by our living quarters. We’re back inside the facility. Looking up I notice all the beacons are flashing yellow which means the place is on high alert. Sanders may be expecting us.

“Talk about efficient,” Ten says while whistling. He spins around with his hands on the back of his head. “Landed us right back at home. Cosy.”

“Shut up,” Thirteen says mockingly.

“Nah, why don’t you shut the hell up?”

“Do you really want to get into this now?” Thirteen says with a small grin on his face.

“Why not?”

“Prick.”

“Fight me, bro.”

I rush back into my room without giving the rest a warning. If those two are going to act like kids now I might as well get my diary since I have enough time. As soon as I open my door I head straight for my desk and pick it up. I then stuff in inside my inner coat pocket and stroll back out.

“What are you up to?” Seven asks.

“Nothing important,” I reply.

She gives me a funny look for a few seconds before deciding to drop it. I breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t need her finding out about something as embarrassing as my diary. It is for my eyes and my eyes only. The last thing I need is the Doctor finding it and reading it or something. That would be creepy. Not to mention no-one needs to know all the things I’ve been writing, especially not Nine or Seventeen. It’s just a matter of privacy, regardless of whether or not I need it. No-one would understand that though…

“All right,” he says. “Fifteen and I will head down to the psych ward. Seventeen and Two will go get Fourteen. Nine, Five and Seven all know their jobs. As for the rest of you? Deal with anyone who gets in our way. Let’s move.”

I’m surprised by how easy it is for Thirteen to take command. Maybe it’s because he can see the future he already knows exactly what to do. One follows me and Seventeen as we head towards the training room. Everyone else has sprinted off in their different directions.

I take lead. I breeze down the winding corridor effortlessly. For the first few minutes nothing happens. We simply move forward together in silence. The next minute however, we encounter resistance. Three soldiers are waiting for us as we sprint down the corridor. All of them are on one knee and have balanced their assault rifles against their chests, ready to take aim and fire.

Seventeen reacts before I do. We’re not even anywhere near Nine but he waves his hand and tears their guns away from them. The soldiers begin yelling, all of them reaching for their pistols. I send a gust of wind in their direction which sends them all flying into the wall behind them with a sickening thud.

We pass their bodies as we turn the corner. So they definitely have been instructed to kill us. So much for our friendship, Doctor. After all we did for you over the years you could at least try bring us in alive.

We hear more shouting in front of us. This time it sounds as if there are at least a dozen or so soldiers approaching.

“They’re such a nuisance,” I hiss.

“Let me deal with this,” Seventeen says.

I give him the thumbs up. One and I stay hidden behind the corner as the soldiers approach. I’m expecting Seventeen to fry them with lightning or send them flying, but he does something even stranger. He raises his right hand and something bright red bursts out. It isn’t fire. No, this is much more controlled and beautiful. It’s almost like the sun. Whatever it is it washes over the soldiers and turns them crisp black. They all fall to the floor and remain still.

“What was that?” I ask.

“Focused plasma energy,” he says. “Imagine touching the sun,” he continues after seeing the puzzled look on my face. I dismiss his creepy newfound power and break into a run again. He and One follow me closely. I expect to meet with more resistance along the way but we don’t see any more soldiers.

“This is it,” I say. We’ve arrived in front of the door leading to the training room. “Ready?”

One is literally bouncing up and down waiting for the opportunity to get inside. Seventeen simply nods at me. I turn back to face the door. It’s supposed to be automatic but I guess it won’t open when the facility is on high alert. I begin to pry it open with my fingers. It takes a little while to open it but I eventually get there.

We all walk inside the training room. But there is already someone here.

“Glad to see you can make it,” Sanders says. I can see the pleasure in his face as he grins at us. Behind him are at least fifty men, all armed and aiming their weapons at us.

“Likewise,” I say.“ I’ve always wanted the chance to sock you in the face.”

“I’ll ask you once, and once only,” Sanders says, ignoring my comment. His face switches to deadly serious as he glares at us. “Where is my daughter?”

“Depending on how long you stay in our way,” Seventeen says. “She may already be dead.”

I stare at Seventeen. I never knew he had such a side to him. I like it. My happiness is short-lived. I turn my attention back to Sanders.

“Kill them,” he says to his men.

I don’t have time to react. I crouch down and turn my back to Sanders whilst praying the bullets somehow miss us. It takes me a while to realise I haven’t been hit and I turn back to see why. Seventeen is standing in front of me and One with his hands up. He’s stopped all the bullets in mid-air.

“You know Sanders,” Seventeen says. “I’ve wondered for a little while now. You wear all those medals on your chest and show them off as if you're some sort of war hero. Have you ever actually been in the middle of a battle? In the middle of a shootout even?”

“Foolish child. Clearly you haven’t been trained properly. When I’m through with you I’ll make sure the next Seventeen isn’t such a failure.”

Next Seventeen? What does that mean? Doesn't he mean Eighteen?

Before I can think about it more Sanders takes out the gun which he had holstered to his waist. It’s like no gun I’ve ever seen before. It’s coloured green with strange patterns and is shaped exactly like a revolver, but something about it is creeping me out.

“Run!” I scream.

One and I begin to run back but stop when we notice Seventeen isn’t moving. Instead he takes something out of his pocket and waves it in the air. VELOCITY SIX. Now I remember. The one he used earlier had been Three’s. Both he and I still have our own vials.

“You sure you want to go toe to toe with me Sanders?” Seventeen says.

I don’t know where Seventeen is getting this confidence from but I’m liking it. This time I stay put, determined to see this through to the end.

Sanders raises the green revolver and fires. We all dive for cover as the wall behind us explodes and comes tumbling down. What the hell is that gun? He intends to get a direct shot on us with a weapon like that? He must be crazy.

“Seventeen!” I scream. “Now would be a good time!”

Seventeen injects himself with the serum whilst I unstrap my Logistic from my back and take aim at the soldiers. Without waiting for Seventeen to act, I open fire. The recoil is unbelievable. I guess only about six shots are actually fired in the direction I’m aiming before the gun flies upwards. I use all my strength to force it back down and keep firing.

Sanders is now running for cover, using his men as a shield. This only manages to annoy me more.

“Where are you running to, Sanders?” One cries out.

Looking around I see that One is also firing her assault rifle. We both begin to laugh as we’re firing. We don’t expect Sanders to fight back but we are mistaken.

Sanders takes aim at us again as he dives behind another of his soldiers. He fires. This time the bullet skims the top of my head and the explosion which goes off behind me sends me flying forward. My ears are ringing and my limbs ache. I’m finding it hard to even move. Seriously, someone needs to ask. Just what is that gun?

Seventeen starts firing bolts of lightning off, aiming at Sanders. Sanders reacts quicker than any normal person can. He dives to the left just as Seventeen fires off the bolt and evades the attack. There’s no way that he’s normal. At the same time he can’t be a Shadow. Nine said the Nanos can only rewrite the genetic sequence in children. Meaning that Sanders is something else entirely. Guess he did earn those medals after all.

“You do realise that we could just ignore him and save Fourteen now, right?”

I turn to look at One. She’s completely right. All this time we’ve been trying to fight against Sanders when we could simply break through the ceiling now.

Standing up, I raise my hands as I try to summon all the wind I can in the space. My hair flies around me and I feel the coolness of the breeze I’m summoning sweep through the room.

“A little help, Seventeen?” I yell over the screech of the wind. Seventeen raises his arms and I immediately feel the added strength as the wind circles the room even faster than before. I can feel One’s grin even though she’s behind me. At least one of us is enjoying all of this.

Sanders looks at me with disgust before pulling something small and green out from behind him. It can’t be another one of those crazy revolvers this time. This one is too small for that. I squint my eyes as I try to get a better look, but the wind we’re creating is obstructing me for getting a good view.

It’s only after Sanders throws the object straight at us do I realise what it is. He knows that the wind Seventeen and I are creating will add to its strength. I don’t have enough time to warn Seventeen or One. I try to redirect the wind to push it away but the wind that Seventeen is controlling is still in effect.

The grenade goes off. Flames spring into life and swiftly spreads around the room like wildfire. I despair as the fire reaches out to me, promising to burn me to ashes. Just as the fire reaches me it begins to retreat. Or rather, it begins to head in another direction. I gawk at Seventeen as he the fire rushes into him and he begins to absorb it like Ten. Bloody hell. The VERTIGO SIX has turned him into an even bigger monster.

“You know I’m not supposed to kill you, Sanders,” Seventeen says. “Thirteen thinks that taking your life will negatively affect the future. The funny thing is that I’m slowly beginning to disagree with him. I think with you gone we can save a lot more people. What do you think?”

My spirit rises when I see how infuriated Sanders has become. His eyes are practically on the verge of popping out of their sockets and his hand trembles as he takes aim at Seventeen.

“You ungrateful brat,” he says. “I knew you, Thirteen and Nine were defective from day one. I warned Noah to put you down. This is what happens when fools ignore my warnings. Now I’ll teach your place too.”

“Enough stalling!” One says. She raise her boot and brings its crashing down into the ground. A small crack forms before it spreads like a disease, growing bigger and bigger with every passing second. It races from One all the way across the ground and even up to the ceiling. The ground begins to shake violently and I can no longer keep my footing. I begin to stumble all over the place, desperately grabbing at the air in an attempt to keep myself upright. After I realise how futile this is I give up. One has wreaked complete havoc and destruction.

Turning my head amidst all the chaos I see One laughing, her arms folded into her tummy as she keels over while laughing in her usual high shrill voice. Her short blonde hair bobs up and down and there are tears forming in her brown eyes.

I don’t know whether to be pissed at her or grateful for creating distance between us and Sanders. Looking up I realise that that isn’t all she has done. She intends to bring the entire room down. Bricks and huge boulders begin to break apart from the ceiling above us and start crashing into the already broken-up ground. Whatever footing I had before is now gone. I’m tripping over myself in an effort to escape. I fling my arms over my head in an attempt to protect myself as one flying piece of stone rockets past my left ear, leaving a small graze which begins to bleed. I wince at the pain but force myself forward.

Just as I’m nearing the door I lose my footing again as the ground begins to shake even more violently. One has already dived to safety through the exit. I try to pull myself up but my foot is stuck in some of the ruins. Fear begins to take over me as I notice a piece of the ceiling above me coming loose. Everything around me slows down as I watch the huge chunk of rock fall towards me.

I’m waiting expectantly for it to hit me when it suddenly changes directions completely and flies into the wall on my left. When I look around I see Seventeen with his arm raised. He saved me.

Seventeen is running through the ongoing destruction of what used to be the training room. He heads towards me and grabs my arm to pull me free. My foot slides out and I’m thankful for Seventeen’s help. Together we both head towards the exit; our arms are flung above our heads in an attempt to protect ourselves from the destruction One’s tremors have caused. We both dive forward through the exit to where One is waiting for us.

I take a deep breath and let it out in relief. My body slowly begins to release all the tension in my muscles. I turn my anger towards One now.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I scream. “We could have died you idiot!”

“Well, you were taking too long,” One says. I’m about to flare up even more when she smirks and points upwards towards what once was the ceiling of the training room. “And it was so much quicker to get Fourteen out.”

“No…” I say, my voice just a whisper. “You’ve buried him idiot. We don’t even know if he survived the bloody fall.”

Seventeen stands up from the position he was in when he dived. I take notice of the blood pouring out of his ears. He may not be able to use his powers as much from this point onwards. I turn to look at One. She has still got a cheeky grin on her face. Her eyes is taking in all the destruction that she caused and she is revelling in it. Now she reminds me too much of Ten. Hell, she’s becoming exactly like Ten.

“Seventeen,” I say. “Sorry; I know you are tired. But can’t you do something about this mess? If Fourteen fell through we need to find him and heal him; he may have survived the fall.”

“Alright, I’ll try,” he replies.

Seventeen tucks a few strands of his hair behind his left ear and cracks his neck. He has a haggard look on his face and his eyes show how weary he is. We really need to put an end to this soon.

“Wait,” One says. “Sanders?”

“He escaped through the other exit,” I say. “The coward just keeps skulking about. We’ll find him soon enough.”

Seventeen lazily raises his arms and closes his eyes and begins to walk back inside the ruins of the training room. The rubble decorating the room begins to rise gently into the air. It rises at a steady pace till it reaches a distance of about two and a half metres above the ground where it simply hovers. I begin to move forward into the room, but when I step forward with my right foot I almost fall. Putting pressure on my right foot seems to cause massive pain for me. Maybe I injured my foot when it got stuck. I grimace as I drag my right foot after me and push myself forward.

Dust begins to fill the air as the rubble rises; causing me to cough. I pound my chest and wave my hand through the air, summoning a gentle breeze to push the dust away. The breeze is cool and gives me a brief moment of relaxation when it washes over me.

“You two should start searching for Fourteen,” Seventeen says.

I nod and signal to One to take one side while I take the other. I struggle to keep my footing on the uneven surface – especially with my injured ankle – and nearly face-plant myself several times. My entire face and neck is soaked in sweat and my body feels incredibly hot.

My eyes travel over the ruins of the room and I continue searching for Fourteen. Seventeen hasn’t lifted all the rubble from the ground. I assume this is because he is trying to conserve energy. If this is the case then we need to search harder and find Fourteen faster.

I continue walking through the gigantic training room and begin to lose hope. Even if we find him there is no guarantee that he is still alive from the fall. What if he didn’t even fall through and is still up there somewhere? Or what happens if Fourteen was never in the room above this one? Then all our efforts and endeavours will have been in vain. I doubt we could all go through another battle so easily.

I pull myself over a few boulders piled on top of each other and trip as I descend. I force myself into a roll so I don’t hurt myself as I fall, and eventually come to a stop on a bed of small rocks that has an abnormally massive rock sticking out. I wince at the impact but hold the pain in.

As I get back up to my feet I notice something. The bed of rocks I had landed on shifts ever so slowly. Almost as if someone is breathing; it gently moves up and down. I get down on my knees and knock away handfuls of the small rocks to try and see what is underneath. Soon enough I see what seems to be a hand.

“One!” I yell. “A little help over here!”

I’m pretty sure that I’ve found Fourteen. It does look like his hand. I keep pushing aside the small rocks in an attempt to dig him up but I feel as if I don’t have enough energy to completely get him out.

One is already by my side helping me. She frantically pushes away the rocks until we can finally see his right leg and torso. The torso is bare; the person is clearly not wearing any clothes up top. Examining the body more I can see the familiar muscular build of Fourteen. Blood is slowly pouring down from his torso. This immediately worries me. Why is he bleeding so much?

“Seventeen?!” One says. “A little help over here?”

I hear Seventeen’s footsteps as he hurries over. When he sees the scene before us he uses telekinesis to push away all the rocks covering the body. What I see makes me shudder.

It is indeed Fourteen. He lays on the ground unconscious, his chest naked and wearing only cargo pants and black laced boots. His sleek hair is wet and spreads out across the floor. His face is turned away from us but his hands are spread out on the ground; both lay open and motionless. What I see in his chest is what worries me. A monstrous jagged shard is sticking out of the right side of his chest. It has not pierced all the way through but has done enough damage to cause an intense bleed.

“Seventeen!” I scream. “Bloody do something about this already!”

I can’t help but watch with my eyes wide open in shock. Fourteen’s chest is slowly heaving up and down, getting slower by the second. My eyes remain fixed in horror as a few seconds later his chest gets slower and eventually stops moving.