Rebel Young

Part 8

"Another dead end," Jack grumbled.

It felt as if we'd been walking for a small eternity at this point. The surroundings hadn't changed at all. We were still enclosed within a tube of worn, cracking concrete.

"What are our coordinates?" I asked.

"I don't know, something's blocking my transmitters."

I checked my own equipment - it was exactly the same as Jack's, completely unresponsive.

"What do you think is happening above ground?" Jack asked tentatively.

"To be frank, I think the war has finally caught up with us," I answered.

"You mean..." Jack responded gravely, unwilling to finish his sentence.

I nodded in reply, "a full scale invasion."

"We need to get back to the Lab, now!"

"I know that Jack, but how?" I reasoned.

"I don't know, you're the one with the amazing, spectacular, Talents April!" Jack unexpectedly snapped.

The confinement and stress was finally getting to both of us. It was only a matter of time until one of us lost it at the other and Jack had been the first to crack.

"Well sorry Jack,' I retorted, "but aren't you in the exact same Talented boat."

"I am nothing like you April," Jack yelled, "I had to work hard to gain my recognition! I didn't get respect handed to me on a silver platter!"

"I didn't choose this path. Fate chose it for me. I can't go back to before, not now these stupid Talents have become my defining feature!" I yelled back, "I didn't ask for anything like this to happen! If I could snap my fingers and make my Talents disappear, I wouldn't hesitate!"

"Then you're a spoilt brat! Do you know just how many people would leap at the chance to have Talents like yours?" Jack argued.

"They can take them, I don't want the responsibility!" I barked back.

"Fine!" Jack spat, "have it your way then."

"I will," I responded.

Jack brushed past me and continued the search for a way out of the tunnel system. I stubbornly waited a few seconds before following him. He carried our light source.

***

Jack had remained silent after argument. I could tell that he was no longer angry, but neither of us felt like initiating a conversation. This area of the tunnels was in a remarkably better condition than many others. The walls were freshly plastered and the floor was neatly paved. We had to have entered into one of the richer districts bordering the city centre. Out of nowhere we were met by a wall.

"That's weird," Jack muttered.

"Scan the surroundings for hidden switches or pressure plates," I ordered.

The smooth plaster of the walls left very few options for hidden switches. I ran my hand up and down the flat surface of the wall. There was definitely something different about this new obstacle. I knocked against the wall and was met with a resounding thump.

"I think this wall is hollow," I turned to Jack.

"Do you think we could break through it?" Jack asked.

"Probably, but do you really think that is the best option? We have no way to see what is waiting on the other side."

"What do you think there's a wall in place here?" Jack asked.

All of a sudden the floor beneath our feet began to shake violently.

"They've started to bomb the city!" Jack shouted over a second explosion.

A piece of plaster chipped from the ceiling and shattered on the floor between Jack and I. Soon enough the air around us was filled with the steady rhythm and vibrations of explosions.

"How many bombs do they want to drop on us?" Jack complained.

"Enough to reduce the city to rubble," I replied grimly.

Jack slid down the wall to sit on the now dust-covered pavers of the floor.

"I'm sorry about the stuff I said before," he apologised, "I was completely out of my mind."

"It's fine, I know you didn't mean any of it."

"That's the thing though," Jack smirked, "I think some deep down part of me meant what I said. Jealousy does some weird things to a person."

"Won't argue with that," I muttered.

"I'm going to try and break through this wall, I'm sick of waiting around for something to happen," Jack declared.

He stood up and steadied himself. Bringing his left fist up and driving it into the wall. His hand went straight through, leaving a sizeable hole in the false wall. Jack pulled his hand back through the hole and stretched out his fingers.

"Didn't know you were left-handed," I smirked.

"You learn something new everyday," he replied, "come over here and help me pull this thing down."

"Yes sir!" I laughed.

Jack just looked at me with a shake of his head.