Instinct

Chapter 18 -- Anthony

"How cute" a voice called out from the void. All I could see was darkness. My eyelids were still closed.

I opened them to see I was in a different spot than before. Last time I remembered, I was on the floor curled into a ball. But now I lay here on some sort of fabric. Something medium sized was buried in my hair. My fake hand laced around something.

I looked down to see my head was lying on someone's thighs. It must have been Tracey. Her fingers were in my hair as though she were petting or comforting me. My fake hand was laced on with her fingers. I smiled and blushed a bit. She brought me over to the mattress and comforted me.

My eyes wandered back to the person who spoke.

My father stood there. His arms crossed, his evil grin. Those eyes, dark and cruel. His hair was shaven and his beard was bushy and scratchy. He had wrinkles near his eyes and mouth. I moved from Tracey's hold and gone on to my knees. She probably woke up from my sudden movement.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT" I screamed loud enough to startled Tracey and echo my voice off the walls. I blinked to see him disappear and be replaced by Omar. He stood there looking down at us with a big grin. He was amused by my outburst.

My dad was never here. It was my mind playing tricks on me.

"Who are you? Where are we" Tracey asked the same questions I called out.

"Ah. I'm glad to see you're awake now" Omar smiled. His crooked grin and teeth sent a shiver down my spine. "I came here to tell you two that the council and I have finally settled on a punishment for you two" his hands clapped together. He was more than excited about this.

"Punishment? For what" Tracey blurted out. Her fingers were still holding on to my fake ones.

"He hasn't told you yet? Well then I'll take the pleasure of doing so. You are being punished for trying to free Crimson from the holding cells".

Tracey stood up and walked towards Omar. She let go of my hand. Her face was inches away from his.

"You can't do this to us we're children" Tracey spoke with anger.

"Children! That's and understatement Ms. Ixx. You're both, what, seventeen? That's close enough to an adult. Besides you did your final training. But that's besides the point. What you did was an act of defiance. It's inexcusable for trying to break her out".

"Inexcusable? What about holding a teenage girl in captivity? What about holding us? That seems harsh for the rules. What about our parents? What are you going to tell them" Tracey was really testing Omar's word.

"You should have thought of that before committing this crime".

"Why do you need Crimson anyway" she snapped.

"That's private information Ms. Ixx. But we needed her. And you helped her escape. Now we don't even know where she is" he was sounding more irritated now. "You and your friend Mr. Cochrane are both responsible for this, and for that you will be punished" a demonic grin set across his face.

"Now for your punishment. Your punishment is that you two will be sent out of the city to the land beyond. Lucky for you; we won't take your eyes out. You'll get to see how you die".

Tracey looked at him with horror and disgust. Then she stared him deep in the eyes. I knew what she was trying to do. She was trying to hurt him with her telekinesis.

But it worked to no prevail.

She started screaming. Her body started shaking uncontrollably. Tracey was being electrocuted. And then it stopped as soon as it started. She fell to her side. My eyes widened and took focus on Omar.

"Silly girl. Trying to use your powers on me" he laughed. I stood up in an instant. I raised my fist and charged towards him.

A shock was sent through my body. He was electrocuting me as well, more powerful than last time. My body shook in a frenzy. I screamed in pain clutching my body from the pain. Blood started dripping from my nose.

Then it stopped. I collapsed to the ground in pain. My whole body felt like it was burning. I tried catching my breath. My heart pounded a million times a minute. Tracey crawled over to me and held my hand. My eyes pulsated along with my heart.

Omar stood there and laughed. He found this amusing. Harming teenagers.

"Your punishment is tomorrow by the way. You're going to need lots of sleep for tomorrow". He turned around and walked towards the door. He stopped and looked back. "Here's a watch, so you can count the hours until then. It'll be at ten in the morning. See you then" he tossed the watch next to us.

He walked out of the room and let the door close behind him. Pain still lingered in my body.

"Anthony are you okay" Tracey held onto my hand tightly. Her voice sounded weary. I realized it was me hearing it like that. She wiped the blood away from my nose.

"Yes" I said letting out my breath. My arms trembled as I moved them up to my chest. I looked over to see Tracey feeling more better than me. I started healing myself. Saving myself from death. My heart slowed down to a normal rate.

A smile spread across my face. I wasn't sure why. I almost just died. But looking up at Tracey; I felt a sense of safety. She smiled back at me.

"Come on, lets get you to the bed, we're going to need lots of sleep". She helped me up and walked me over to the mattress. She guided me down on the plush mat. Tracey smiled and walked over to the other side of the room. She laid down on the floor and closed her eyes.

The room seemed much more colder than before. I had no shirt and no shoes to keep my warm. My head flipped over to look at Tracey.

"Tracey" I called over to her. My voice was hoarse and quiet. Her eyes flickered over to my eyes. The blue irises were much more brighter than before.

"Yes"?

I gestured her over to me. "Come over here, you don't need to sleep on the floor".

"Are you sure" she raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want you to" I moved over a bit to give her some room. She smiled and stood up. She laid down next to me.

"Thank you Anthony" her voice tired and drowsy. I wrapped my arm around her stomach, pulling her closer to me.

"I'm cold" I said in explanation.

"Same" she said. I could tell she was smiling.

I let the darkness consume me as I went to sleep.