The Energy Room (The Elementum Trilogy) Page 8

  “You guys are really pushing it, aren’t you?” I said as more of a statement than a question.

  “What? What are you doing?” Al asked excitedly, his dark hair wet and matted against his perspiring forehead.

  “They seem to think that I might be able to start fire out of heat. Even though it’s never even come close to working before,” I stated, rolling my eyes.

  “You had never been able to ice over a tank of water before, either. Have a little faith in yourself,” Eddie said, smiling.

  I shook my head as Eddie closed and locked the glass door, separating Al and us from everyone else in the room. I cringed, a loud crackling sound ringing through the room as Eddie enabled the speaker system. He ran through the usual procedure, ending with the green light on my Electro-Cuffs transforming into a bright, enabling red. Every time I saw that little red light, I felt like an obese elephant was lifted from my chest.

  “Now take your time, and do your best. I believe in you,” Eddie said encouragingly, leaning against the far wall next to Al.

  I sighed, moving behind the lonely candle with hesitation. I let my hands fall on either side of the small stand, closing my eyes to focus on the overwhelming heat of the room. I imagined the warmth surrounding me, condensing into a fiery ball of energy in front of my chest, and lowering itself to the candle wick. I peeked out one eye to see if my attempt was working; nothing. I whipped my head toward Al as he stifled a chuckle of amusement. Eddie looked to the man next to him with a bit of confusion, obviously unsure of what was so funny.

  I shook my arms at my sides, closing my eyes again to focus. I felt the heat encapsulate me, sweat saturating my clothes. I inhaled slowly, breathing the warmth deep into my lungs. I felt the hotness of my fingertips increase, until it seemed as though I were resting my hands on the inside of an oven. The growing sound of sizzling spread to my ears, as my body temperature continued to rise.

  ‘Focus,’ the voice in my head said. ‘You can do this.’

  My eyes opened wide, as I realized the voice speaking inside my head was not my own. I was not spouting off words of encouragement within my own mind; Al was. I could have been imagining it, but I had clearly heard Al’s voice, even though he hadn’t spoken. I looked, once again, to the men standing against the wall, my body temperature still rising. Translucent steam was beginning to churn from my hands and arms as my sweat evaporated from the heat.

  My eyes connected with the arctic forces that were staring back at me from Al’s face. A wave of overwhelming energy streamed through me, coursing outward in all directions like a nuclear bomb. The same overwhelming pain from a few days before pierced my head, but I was no longer concerned about bullets. A grimace of agony spread across my face, feeling as though my entire body had caught fire; the most intense burning sensation remaining in my fingertips. Miserable, tortured screams rang through the air, presumably from my own mouth.

  As my vision cleared a little through the red-orange light that surrounded me, I was stunned into silence by the amazing reflection glaring back at me from the glass divider. I had felt like my entire body was on fire, because my entire body was on fire. Flames licked the air all around me, searching for objects to engulf. I held my hands in front of me, inspecting them curiously, mouth agape in awe. As my body became more accustomed to being completely consumed by flame, the pain of the burning sensation subsided to a warm tickle. I wiggled my fingers in front of my face, grinning as the flames flickered excitedly around them.

  Just as I reached out a flame-engulfed hand to the candle wick, the most intense shock of electricity I had ever felt flowed through my body. I fell to the floor in a convulsion, growling in pain as I pawed haphazardly at my wrists. The room felt exceptionally colder as I lay on my side gasping for breath, the final waves of electricity diminishing. I forced my eyes open, my face resting against the cool tile. Past the green light of my shackles, I saw a swarm of bodies buzzing around the area where Al and Eddie had been observing me.

  I weakly pushed myself up to my elbows, head woozy due to the sudden relief from excruciating pain. Realization dawned on me, as the scream from a few moments before replayed in my head: it had been a male voice, not my own. I searched frantically for Eddie from my knees, finding my legs far too wobbly to stand. A sigh of relief shot out of my lungs as my eyes fell on the ginger-haired man in the corner of the room, hands covering the bottom of his face, his eyes bulging in horror.

  My heart sank, comprehending that the only other person in the room had been—

  “OW! OWWWWWW!” Al called out from the center of the mob that had formed around him.

  I hoisted myself to my feet, swaying slightly as I inched closer to the swarm of hysterical medics and scientists.

  “I’m fine! Just sto—OWW! STOP TOUCHING IT!” Al shouted, causing the horde to jump back a bit.

  Through a small crack in elbows, I caught a glimpse of Al’s bright red face, an unhealthy gloss shining from his skin. I attempted to push my way through the crowd, but mostly just fell on top of people until I was on the ground next to my recently singed therapist.

  “Al! Oh my god! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?!” I shouted, taking in every bit of his excruciating appearance.

  Al’s head had taken on the likeness of a desert prairie, small tufts of crispy hair strewn about in random places like tumbleweeds. All that was left of his eyebrows were patches of red, gooey skin, matching the rest of his face and neck. The backs of his hands were blackened, large boils covering his knuckles; apparently he had tried to shield himself.

  “I’ve been better,” Al said, wincing in pain as the skin around his mouth pulled tightly with the motion of his lips.

  “Turn my Electro-Cuffs off!” I shouted hurriedly to the blank glances surrounding me, “Someone, turn my Electro-Cuffs off, NOW!”

  I was met merely by unresponsive stares. Eddie paced in the corner of the room, mumbling to himself about something or another. The medics fumbled with their first aid kids, pulling out salves and gauze, only to have their helpful attempts batted away by Al’s mottled hands.

  I sighed in exasperation, grinding my teeth as the electric current returned to my body. Pain pulsed through my arms as I closed my eyes to focus. I snarled, the pain growing more intense as balls of white light protruded from my palms. The healing light disappeared quickly, like a turtle inside its shell, as the electric waves halted. I gasped for breath, feeling faint.

  “SOMEONE TURN THESE DAMNED THINGS OFF!” I bellowed angrily.

  With wide eyes, Dr. Helmsworth rushed hesitantly to a computer on the other side of the divider. He eyed me nervously, before the little red light returned to my shackles. My eyes sparkled as I quickly forced streams of soothing light onto Al’s hands and face. Spider webs of healed, pinkish skin trailed out across the shiny redness that covered him, relieving the pain as it grew.

  Al looked quite odd, covered in new, rosy skin. I couldn’t do anything for his eyebrows or hair, but at least he was no longer in agony. I rested next to him, back against the wall, as my body twitched with diminishing tenseness. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little green lights return to my wrists.

  “Thank you,” Al sighed, examining his hands with a childlike fascination.

  “For burning your eyebrows off?!” I huffed in embarrassment.

  Al gaped at me, raising his hands to his face. His laughter surprised me, as he navigated the vacant paths of his hairline. I was incapable of understanding how the man sitting next to me found humor in the situation; how he wasn’t attempting to strangle me in burning rage, no pun intended.

  The crowd dispersed with a morbid air, allowing a pair of shiny black shoes to come to a stop before me. My eyes migrated upward, filling with terror as they took in the image of a strict-looking man in a pristine black suit, salt-and-pepper hair slicked back with eerie precision.

  “Come with me, Angela,” William commanded, not bothering to acknowledge the existence of anyone around us.

&
nbsp; William’s stern tone worried me, but I did not protest. After all, I had just caught my new psychologist on fire; I highly doubted that this sort of behavior would have been acceptable in any situation. Even though I hadn’t purposely scorched Al to the point of eyebrowlessness, I was sure to be reprimanded.

  I followed William out of the room, which had fallen deathly silent, except for Eddie’s panicked mumbling. I remained in his quiet, towering shadow all the way up to the third floor, where the elevator doors opened to a view that was quite different from the other levels of The Facility. The floor was a dark, spotless hardwood, polished enough to see your own self-doubt. The walls were papered in a fancy, black and gray Damask pattern, giving the slight resemblance to an old funeral home. Covering the entire left wall was a royal-looking bar, filled with every type of fancy wine and liquor a rich old man might be proud to own. In the middle of the room was a lengthy, professional-looking mahogany table, black leather rolling chairs lining each side.

  “Have a seat,” William ordered nonchalantly, taking a seat himself in the largest chair at the far end.

  I did as I was told, sitting a few seats away from the stern man, so as to hopefully prevent being spat on out of anger. I fiddled indifferently with the arm of my chair, avoiding making eye contact with William.

  “Can you tell me, honestly, that this was not another one of your ridiculous escape attempts?” he asked drearily, interlacing his fingers on the table in front of him.

  I looked up, bewildered. The thought that catching Al on fire could have been perceived as an effort to escape hadn’t even crossed my mind.

  “What? No! It was an accident. We were working on a new ability. I couldn’t control it,” I explained, almost offended.

  William eyed me diligently, struggling to identify any hint that I was lying. He remained silent, apparently expecting me to confess to something. I pushed myself back in my chair, crossing my arms heatedly. My forehead wrinkled in irritation as my ears began to burn.

  “If I had been trying to escape, don’t you think I would have, Oh I don’t know… tried to escape?!” I asked irascibly. “Don’t you think I would have actually tried to get away while everyone was preoccupied, instead of stepping right into the middle of the crowd to help Al?”

  A gutty laugh made its way out of William’s throat, bouncing adamantly off the walls. I glowered at him, scoffing at his jolliness.

  “I only wanted to be certain, Angela. Calm down.” William’s gray eyes glistened, much like the eyes of every villain I had ever seen in movies.

  “So, am I in trouble? Or can I go?” I snapped impatiently.

  “You’re not in trouble, no,” William began professionally, rising to his feet to pace the room. “However, this is the second lab-run within a week that has produced unexpected and potentially hazardous results. It would appear that your abilities, for whatever reason, have advanced. I think it is best that you do not participate in any more experiments until we have renovated the labs to be more secure. Also… we will be raising the standby voltage of your Electro-Cuffs, effective immediately. It is obvious that they are not strong enough to prevent you from attempting to use your abilities while they are activated.”

  “What?!” I objected, outraged. “I was trying to help Al! I couldn’t even manage to heal him with them on!”

  “The reason is irrelevant. The purpose of the Electro-Cuffs is to protect the residents of The Facility, as well as yourself,” he explained. “It is not up for debate, Angela.”

  I eyed William furiously, gritting my teeth to keep myself from saying anything I would regret.

  “Can I go, now?” I asked, jaw sore being clamped with all my strength.

  “You may,” William replied, waving his hand as if he were a king sending off a peasant.

  As I waited for the elevator to return, I kept my back turned to William, teeth still grinding in rage. The doors opened with a ding, granting me my escape from the office I hated so much.

  “Oh, and Angela… You may want to make amends with young Mr. Stein. He has shown an interest in his father’s line of work, and I’m sure it would be less than pleasant for you if your future head researcher had ill feelings toward you.” William’s voice echoed at me, as the elevator doors closed between us.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Lava

  I fell quickly into a deep slumber. I was grateful to see two of the other five seats occupied in the grand, white room. My hopeful glances rapidly determined that Lakin was still avoiding me.

  Bryant and Nadia swiftly scooted their chairs next to mine, detecting the massive amounts of stress that filled my head. Without thought, I laid my head on Nadia’s shoulder, tears strolling down my cheeks.

  “What’s wrong, Angie?” Bryant asked, patting me on the back as I sniffled into Nadia’s neck.

  “Nothing. Everything. I don’t know,” I cried.

  I wasn’t much of a crier, but I felt completely overwhelmed by everything that had happened within the last week. It was as if all the emotions I had suppressed throughout my entire life were pressing in on me all at once. I wanted to scream, and to smash things. I wanted to blow things up. I wanted to cuddle a puppy. But the only reaction that my body felt was appropriate to display was crying.

  “Tell us what happened,” Nadia said in a calming voice.

  “I… caught Al… on fire…” I choked between sobs. “I… didn’t mean to… it was… an accident. And… I even healed him.”

  “Everyone makes mistakes. It’s okay,” Nadia cooed.

  “But… they’re increasing security… and they’re raising… the voltage… on my Electro-Cuffs. They think… I was trying to escape,” I hiccupped, sitting up to rub at my puffy eyes.

  “Did you explain that you didn’t scorch him on purpose? I feel like they should have realized that when you healed him, but people are stupid,” Bryant said quietly, drying off my cheeks with the sleeve of his sweater.

  “William doesn’t care,” I said, voice cracking a bit as I tried to pull myself together. “He doesn’t trust me. I don’t think anyone does.”

  “Does it matter if they trust you or not? You’ve never cared about that before,” Nadia said, raising an eyebrow.

  “I know, but… I don’t know. I just feel like things are going to get a lot worse,” I explained, lowering my head into my hands.

  “Is Al alright, though?” Nadia asked.

  I jerked my head up, suddenly remembering what had happened before I was engulfed in flame. I had clearly heard Al’s voice inside my head.

  “Yeah, he’s fine. I need your opinions on something, though,” I said quickly, holding out my hands to both of them. “I heard something, just before everything exploded.”

  Nadia and Bryant cautiously placed their hands on mine, allowing their eyes to fog over as they relived my day. I tapped my foot anxiously, waiting for them to finish their visions.

  “So… that… is, er… interesting,” Bryant said, eyes shiny with intrigue.

  “I knew it!” Nadia exclaimed, almost bouncing out of her seat.

  “Well, hold on Nad. Just because she heard his voice in her head, doesn’t mean he’s connected to us. None of us are telepathic,” Bryant said, attempting to calm the excited girl next to us.

  “We don’t know that for sure, do we? It might just be between our own kind, and none of us have consciously met another of our kind,” Nadia rambled, bursting at the seams with hope.

  “But why couldn’t I hear him until today?” I questioned.

  “I don’t know! Stop tearing apart my dreams!” Nadia bellowed jokingly.

  “Sorry,” I chuckled. “Are we agreed, though? I’m not crazy. Something is up with him.”

  “I still think you’re crazy,” the most amazing voice I had ever heard spoke up from behind me.

  I stood as fast as my legs would allow, attacking Lakin in an encapsulating hug. A feeling of despair flooded me, as I was not met by welcoming arms. Lakin stood quietly, as rigid a
s stone. I looked up to his face with my watery eyes, releasing him from the grasp he did not return.

  “Do you hate me?” I asked quietly, looking to my feet in shame.

  Lakin remained silent for a moment, intensifying my feelings of guilt. I wondered if I had ruined everything between us, if he could, ever again, feel for me the way I would always feel for him. Finally, his soft hand met my chin, lifting my face to meet his eyes.

  “I could never hate you. I’m just upset, and dealing with it the only way I can,” Lakin explained, sweeping a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  “I know you are. I just can’t accept it, right now,” Lakin said honestly, brushing a stray lock of hair away from my forehead.

  I leaned my face into his warm palm, unsure of what to say. I knew there was nothing I could do to make the situation any better. When Lakin wanted to talk, he would confront me. The scab would never be able to heal if I kept picking at it.

  “I know that I can’t keep avoiding you. But things can’t be the same as they were, at least not for now,” Lakin said, searching my eyes for understanding.

  I nodded, forcing a feeble smile across my chapped lips. I shifted my eyes back to the floor, returning to my comfortable blue chair. I glanced from Nadia to Bryant, both of whom had been pretending not to listen. I cleared my throat, brushing off the stream of tears from my face with one final sweep of my hands. The weak smile of false acceptance remained on my face, as Lakin scooted his chair over to join us.

  “So what happened, exactly?” Lakin asked, void of any emotion.

  “I, uh, I heard Al’s voice in my head,” I said. My throat felt swollen, and unwilling to speak.

  “Are you sure?” Lakin questioned.

  “One-hundred percent,” I said, trying desperately to sound as detached as he was.

  “So I guess you have a way to communicate with him, now. Right? There aren’t any microphones or cameras in your head,” Lakin observed, elbows on his knees.

  “That’s right! The next time you see him, you can just ask him what he’s doing there and if he knows anything about us. Inside your head, I mean,” Nadia beamed.