No Time To Bleed

Part 1: The Arrival

Our feet made contact with the hard highway; sticking heat was all that held the air and that feeling of something surreal, something other worldly.

Aliah rested on my side at the right. Cece was on my left.

This was Lexicon; the people who had caused this whole entire tragic ordeal. They’d tested on babies and children for selfish purposes and hidden the truth from the world. Now the consequences were being faced by innocent people.

Who knew how many people in the world had the Rogue gene in them or the virus or the immunity, if there was a true immunity to it. Ryant or Max supposedly had that, Uncle Trevor’s daughter as well.

“Are you infected?!” The voice shouted from filtered speakers.

Fences opened and Aliah was screaming. “Don’t let them take me! Don’t let them take me!”

Cece was clawing against a white suited man, kicking and punching. Clarissa was shouting for her to calm down.

“Are you infected?! Why are you covered in blood?!”

The duct tape had been ripped from Kevin’s mouth. He was blabbering away about how we were murderers.

“ARE YOU INFECTED?!” The spit hit the interior of the man’s clear mask. He had been screaming at me.

I shook my head, his hands deep into my arm. “No. I’m not.”

He almost chuckled. He had to be in his mid twenties from the arrogance of his words.

“Well, we’re gonna test you anyway.”

Aliah was hysterical now. “Let go of me! Alex, don’t let them take my baby! Don’t let them take my baby!”

South Western Airport was a large and old compound of cement and thick glass. Most walls held heavy plated glass that led out to clear views of the outside. Cement adjoined the ceilings and foundation for long living support. From what I knew, the airport was one of the oldest in the U.S.

Now the outer extremities were shielded by twenty feet high barbed wire fences like in prisons, the fences went in three rows. Each one buzzed as we were forced through. Barricades and make shift towers with snipers and gunman were directly behind the stealthy fences along with abandoned and smashed in cars. Men in white suits were on both sides of us as we were led closer and closer.

“Don’t hurt my baby! Please don’t hurt my baby!” They had to be rough handling Aliah or she wouldn’t be screaming so much.

Cece was busy kicking and screaming, doing anything to boil some blood. And Alex was silent as I was, taking in everything as some sort of note.

Hundreds, possibly thousands of people were pressed against the airport’s glass, watching the spectacle of new arrivals to their refugee. We were dragged through automatic doors, the air conditioning a great difference from the scolding outside heat. Carpet smacked against our feet as we were dragged further.

People gawked in silence: mothers clutching their children, lone men standing off to the side, teenagers in huddles, and kids with toys.

“Don’t hurt my baby! Don’t hurt my baby!” Aliah was sobbing now.

“Shut up! We’re taking you to testing!”

We were all heaved through metal doors and I hit the floor hard, nearly crying from the cold impact. I had enough of being thrown around today.

Alex helped me up and I gave him a thankful glance. Alex, Clarissa, and I seemed to be the only true calm ones in here. Clarissa held Aliah to her side. Aliah was clutching her stomach, breathing heavily and raggedly.

The hall they’d thrown us in was clear white with matching linoleum. The portion of the floor we’d been thrown on was now stained various reds and dirt from our bodies and clothes. I stepped forward, the bat still firmly in my grip. I hadn’t budged my fingers from it, not even in all the arriving mayhem.

Speakers hissed and whined to life.

“Six Subjects ranging from age five to mid thirties. Caucasian male- age five. African American female- age sixteen. Caucasian male- age seventeen. Racially mixed female- age seventeen. Hispanic female- age eighteen. Caucasian female- age thirty five.”

A loud hissing went over the intercom and hissing smog came in the air. It was a discolored gray, wet and clinging to the skin. My hand covered the portals of my breathing.

The mixture leaked into my mouth and nostrils. Coughing took all over our systems. Tears stung eyes and some fell to the floor. I propped myself against a wall.

“Initial Respiratory Cleansing Complete. All Subjects Appear Devoid Of Infection.”

I tried to curse through the rasping coughs taking me. Those fuckers had caused this infection.

Another tool churned to life and scolding water began to rain from above. It showered so loud and low, even with Aliah’s mouth wide open in gaping screams, no one could hear her. I rolled into a ball, the heat stung and pounded against my cuts and bruises. Nerve endings of my body went off. Despite it all, I knew my hair would be hell if I didn’t get a hair dryer in due time.

The shower lasted a goof number of minutes and the drains along the floor gurgled when the liquid left us. Our clothes stuck to our skin. I guess Cece got the shower she’d wanted.

At the end of the hall, a clear white door buzzed and popped open.

“Subject Ready For Full Examination. Step Through.”

We all froze in place, silence took our bodies. Kevin’s shoes squeaked against the floor as he stood first and walked ahead. His little hand pressed against the door as he stepped all the way through.

A white suited figure came and propped his hand on the little boy’s back. Kevin murmured some words upward and the figure took the little boy away. Clarissa and Cece went next. Cece punched the white suited guy before he dragged her way by force.

“Jasmine.” Alex was trembling now. The room’s temperature had obviously been dropped after such a warm treatment to drive us out. I still leaned against the wall, just breathing. “Jasmine, I’m sorry.”

He stood not too far from me. Black hair sticking to his scalp and head, shirt and pants clinging to every muscle, and sky like eyes searing ahead with intensity.

“Sorry for what?” I muttered.

“About Eli.”

I almost wanted to break out crying and laughing. This whole place seemed like an entire world from Eli. Another universe maybe.

“It’s okay.” I replied, easing myself up the wall.

I wasn’t sure whether or not I felt my own words. I was numb inside at the prospect of what was happening right now.Numb.

My approval seemed to be all the courage he needed to walk ahead. I still didn’t understand why he needed my forgiveness whether real or fictional to walk ahead, but he did. And eventually I was the last one out that door as it clamped shut behind me. I was lead down that cement hallway. No one was visible in front of or behind us and that scared me.

I hoped we’d made the right choice coming here.