Scary Spies

Chapter 5 - Break Through

Doctor Mallory has been pushing Cierra, Marissa, and I for a month now. Mallory has told me to stop feeling to control my powers, but Cierra tells me the exact opposite. They both agree that our powers are tied into our emotions. Cierra says there is strength in how people feel. I remember her saying that when you cry, it's because you have too much of a certain chemical in your brain. That to get rid of it, your brain pushes all that extra out of the tear ducts. Cierra believes it takes a strong person to show their true emotions. She talked about how when she uses her fire powers, she feels more passion and drive within herself than she thought possible. When she uses her ice powers, she says shes never felt more confidence within herself. She believes her powers are deeply tied in how she feels and she uses that strength to better herself. In school, everyone talked about how she was just a dumb slut. She's honestly so much more than that. It's awful that that's only how people view her. I've seen so much kindness in her to last multiple lifetimes. Marissa... not so much. You'd think she was the one given ice powers considering the cold shoulder I'm always given. Especially when I'm around Cierra.
I still don't have a full grasp of my powers. The scientists so far have told me that because of my fusion with Spooky, my body has become enhanced. I'm faster, stronger, smarter... basically all around better. Nothing super human, just above average. They are things that Cierra and Marissa didn't get. I think because of my fusion, I'm given special treatment. I've noticed the differences between how I'm cared for and how Cierra and Marissa are treated.
Cierra and Marissa have full control of their powers. Cierra discovered she can use her fire to fly. She pushes the flames from her fists and blasts herself foreword. They've been trying to see how much Cierra can hold while she flies. They strap a bunch of different weights on her when they do that. Last time I heard, she can fly while carrying the weight of a small child. Then Marissa can jump into electric currents. Needless to say, they shut off the wifi... not that we could use it. But Marissa has been tested with multiple objects and has been times on all of them. She's stopped a bomb, pulled information from a computer, and even destroyed a computer from the inside. I still wobble when I fly and when I try to pick up things with my darkness, I drop them almost immediately. I can't shoot or manipulate the darkness and I can only keep my shield up for ten seconds at a time. Not to be confused with my social shield, which is up twenty-four seven.
“Okay, Spooky,” The scientist says, “Lets try to fly again.” I want to ask her what it's like to get paid to lie to me about being good at this.
“Well, we all float down here,” I laugh. She does not join me. Her patience with me is honestly the real experiment here. I sigh and lift myself into the air. She gives me a few words of encouragement like “nice form!” or “remember to breathe!” Sometimes I forget to do that out of training. I guess I can't even win someone who's standards are “girls who breathe!” I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I picture myself floating and soon begin to feel weightless. It's usually around this time I hyper focus on what I'm doing instead of staying in a meditative-like state. After that, I worry about falling. Then, I actually do.
“You'll get it next time!” The woman sheepishly says. I won't.
A scream is heard from behind us. I turn and see Marissa on the ground, clutching her head. All of the doctors in the room rush to her side, trying to get her to speak about her pain.
“I need you to fly,” Cierra says, suddenly behind me.
“What? Why?” I ask.
“In three... two... one...” Cierra counts. This time it's different. I don't think about flying. I jump into the air, adrenaline pushing me, and have to keep myself from propelling into the ceiling.
The room comes alive with sparks of electricity. It glows with a powerful energy and I'm relieved I was warned before it happened. When it ends, Cierra and I land on the ground. The room is dark and without power while the scientists lay unconscious on the floor.
“What just happened?!” I ask.
“We're leaving,” Marissa says, standing up.
“Don't you want to go home?” Cierra asks. I look at my hands, then at Cierra.
“Don't you think I deserve to be here?” I ask. Cierra takes my hands into hers and looks me in the eye with more compassion than I've deserved.
“No,” Cierra replies, “If this is because you're darkness, you need to remember that it's not always a bad thing. Just like light isn't always good.”
“The light is going to come back on if we don't leave soon,” Marissa says, “If we're still in here when it turns on, we'll be barricaded in.”
“We're going home to our families,” Cierra says, “Don't you want to see yours?”
“More than you could ever imagine...” I say, looking away. Cierra lets go of one of my hands and pulls me to the door. Marissa and I follow her outside to a long hallway. The power turns back on and my heart is filled with dread.
“Which way do we go?” Cierra asks. Marissa concentrates, then looks to her right.
A small team of people armed with tranquilizer darts find us after a few twists and turns. As they shoot, I put up a shield between us. The darts deflect off of my darkness, some hitting their fellow comrades. With each hit, it becomes a struggle to keep a shield up. This building is so big, I wonder if we'll ever make it out of here.
We run up a flight of stairs and burst through a pair of doors once we reach the top. On the other size, at least fifty guards have positioned themselves. They've been waiting for us to leave the lab, their guns pointed right at us. Those standing in front with shields hold firmly onto their thin protection, hoping it can save them from anything we may do to them. I spread my shield around us, enveloping us in a small purple bubble. A pit forms in my stomach and I wonder how long until they burst our bubble.
“We are leaving!” Cierra yells.
“Go back into the hole you came from and we won't shoot!” One of the guards yells back.
I whisper to Cierra and Marissa, letting them know that we don't have long to leave. Marissa agrees and the two stand in a fighting position. We slowly inch our way to the exit across the room. One of the people in uniform demand that we halt. My heart is racing. I don't know if I should go with them or stay here. Cierra all too easily reads my expression.
“Remember,” Cierra whispers to me, “You control your destiny. You will not harm others if you don't want to. There is no more evil in darkness than there is in light.” I nod to show I understand her words. If anything, I want to make sure she's safe. Cierra and Marissa don't deserve to be locked up here. Especially if it's me that they want.
Our awkward shuffle reaches the shielded men in the front. They don't budge, even when Cierra demands that they move aside. They've been told that we are a threat to society and under no circumstances are we to leave the building. The men close to us are sweating, their eyes dilated in fear.
“Drop it,” Cierra quietly orders.
“What?” I ask.
“Drop the shield,” Cierra repeats, “I need you to do exactly as I do.” I stare at her, feeling nauseous at the thought of dropping my bubble. Cierra looks at me and gives me a small smile. There's a cool fire in her eyes that I immediately trust.
The second I release my darkness, an immense weight is lifted from my chest. I gasp for breath and fall to my knees. Cierra uses her fire and forces her high towards the ceiling. I curse under my breath, and push myself into the air. Cierra grabs me and tells me to to protect us. I follow her orders as the people below begin shooting at us. Marissa smirks, having charged herself from the energy of the rest of the building. Her eye twitches and she leaps into the air. Marissa slams hard onto the floor, creating an electric pulse that knocks everyone back.
Cierra and I land on the ground safely. We pass looks among each other. Around us are the unconscious bodies of all those people. They believed that we were a danger. I kinda wonder if they were right.
Marissa opens the doors in front of us. I'm not exactly sure how it feels to see the sun again for the first time in months, even if it is setting. The sky is filled with thousands of red and orange hues that make me believe I am going to be safe. It's the fresh air the reminds me that I am going to be free.
Marissa holds on tightly to Cierra and the two fly away together, ready to finally be home with their families. I step outside, feeling the soft grass between my toes again. Wind wisps my hair in all directions, a feeling I'm not use to.
A curious question pops into my mind. Should I rejoin my friends, or should I go somewhere else? Should I lay low for a few days and think about it? I wouldn't have to be the orphan, Luna Smalls, anymore. I wouldn't even have to be Spooky. I lift myself in the air and hover for a moment. What do I do?
A sharp pain seeps into the back of my right shoulder. I look over and see a lone woman with a tranquilizer gun. She's physically exhausted and breathing heavily. I pull the dart out of my shoulder and look at it. It's small with a pink feather sticking out of it. Something so small can make my world spin and vision blur.
“Don't move,” The woman demands.
“I'm sorry,” I say, then launch myself into the sky.