The Energy Room Page 9

I walked slowly to the elevator at the end of the hall, unable to erase Lakin from my mind. I had eventually been able to talk to everyone in the Room about the fiasco, but very little was made in the way of progress. Lyla had given a thoughtless ‘You go, girl!’ when she witnessed my encounter with Eric. Joseph hadn’t said anything at all, instead ignoring me for the rest of the evening; the reaction I had most expected from Lakin. Bryant and Nadia had discussed possible methods of apology, from chocolate and flowers, to proposals of marriage. I knew there was very little I could do to make up for what I had already done.

  I leaned against the wall of the elevator, the number ‘28’ shining at me from the button module. I stared unblinkingly, as the lift came to an unexpected stop at floor eleven. Al walked through the doors hesitantly, issuing me a sideways glance.

  “Did you get some sleep?” he asked, keeping his eyes forward as the elevator continued its trek downward.

  “Yes,” I droned.

  “How did that work out for you?” he questioned curiously.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped, unable to control myself.

  “Nothing,” Al was quick to respond, very obviously trying to avoid a confrontation. “Do you feel better?”

  “I feel worse,” I huffed.

  “Well, I wouldn’t worry about it. These things have a way of working themselves out,” Al stated wisely, patting me on the shoulder.

  I wondered if he was referring to my fight with Eric, or to my situation with Lakin. At that point, I didn’t care much about whether my new psychologist was a mind-reader. I just wanted to get the fire lab-run over with, and retreat back to my sanctuary of solitude. I thought if I slept all day, maybe I would be able to catch Lakin and try to apologize.

  The doors opened to a large room not unlike the one where I had conjured the ice-towers. The only difference was that there was nothing on the other side of the glass divider, except for an unlit blue candle sitting on a small metal stand. All of the computers and gadgets were conveniently placed far away from the nearly-empty room, and all of the employees were wearing white, fire-proof attire.

  Al looked around curiously. His expression reminded me of myself as a child, when I was first introduced to the labs; curious and amazed. Eddie, typing something onto a computer I probably wouldn’t understand if I tried, waved us over with a smile.

  “How are you doing, Angie? You haven’t come down for dinner in a while,” Eddie asked, searching my face for some sort of explanation.

  “I haven’t been feeling well. Better now, though,” I said, forcing a grin.

  “I thought maybe you and Eric had an argument, or something. He’s been sort of testy the last few days,” Eddie prodded, eyeing me suspiciously.

  “He’s stubborn,” I admitted, leaning against the white desk Eddie was working at.

  “He gets it from his mother,” Eddie said unthinkingly, staring at his computer.

  I snorted, nodding my head at the truth Eddie had just stated. As kind and warm as Emmy was, she could certainly be stubborn at times. Eric was like his mother in other ways, too. He often emanated the same caring aura as Emmy, especially when I was particularly upset about something. I suddenly realized that, even though Eric had been acting a bit like an idiot, I hadn’t been a very good friend to him recently. I had been treating him as though he was unimportant, and as if I wasn’t fond of him. I had mislead him and flat out lied to him; lied to the only person within the walls of The Facility who truly knew everything about me. My heart fluttered with sadness.

  “Alright, I think we’re all set. Are you ready?” Eddie asked me, standing from his seat to look me over.

  “What am I doing?” I asked, as Eddie led me to the glass door.

  My question was answered without words, as a wave of intense heat billowed out from behind the opening door. Droplets of sweat instantly trickled down my face as I entered the muggy room behind the glass divider.

  “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 child-like 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.

  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. Stei
n. 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