The Guadeloupe Squadeloupe

Chapter XXXXIII: Perry

"It is our choices who show who we truly are, far more than our abilities."- Harry Potter (Albus Dumbledore)

When I open my eyes at first I think I messed up, because I still can't see anything. For a terrifying second I wonder if I'm blind. Calm down, White, your eyes feel fine don't they? You just must be in a very very dark room.

My hands are tightly bound behind me, and I'm sitting down still. What the heck?

The familiar feeling of my pistol in my waistband is gone, and I feel panic rising in my gut. It has to be HEXA that took it.

Shifting around a bit, I recognize that one of our switchblades is still there, tucked away in the part of my letter jacket you use to put patches on.

I breathe out. You're not totally unarmed, I tell myself. But how am I supposed to get my only weapon with both my arms and feet bound?

As I struggle, my chair makes a clunking noise, sending echoes throughout wherever I am. A draft of air ruffles my scalp and I decide to fall silent, waiting for somebody else to make the noise.

The familiar sound of a scooting chair. "P-Perry?" Asks Diana.

I blink my eyes again, even though I know it won't make me be able to see through all this darkness. "Diana."

"Where are we?" Her voice sounds distressed, making me feel the same. How am I supposed to protect her if I can't even see her?

"Calm down," Ashton's accent urges. "HEXA's captured us, but we're going to be fine as long as we keep our heads."

I don't say it, but decapitating people sounds exactly like something HEXA would do. "HEXA'S CAPTURED US BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE FINE?" If I could double italicize what I say I would.

"Calm down!" Ashton repeats. "You guys are a team. Now is your time to work together." He reminds me of my tennis coach, trying to get us to bond. But my team and I were never abducted.

I don't care if Ashton's spent his entire life as a secret agent, fighting crime and such. I haven't.

"He's right," says another accent. This one's Guad's. "Who is here right now?"

One by one we each say our names, keeping our voices down. In this pitch black who knows who could hear us?

"Diana."

"Perry."

"Alice."

"Janis."

We all sit in utter silence, waiting for the same thing. Bob's name. As the seconds drag on, we all begin to breathe more heavily. Has Bob been taken into a lab by HEXA once again?

"Bob?" Janis screeches. "Bob!"

"Janis, quiet," Ashton pleads as if it will do anything. "We don't know who's watching."

"We know exactly who's watching! Human Experimentations and Alterations! And they have Bob and he's not here!" A loud metallic clang echoes around us, probably from Janis trying to stomp her foot. "This is not all right! He's spent way too much time trying to get away, you don't even know!"

"Wait," I interrupt, "how did HEXA get us in the first place? We were at a baseball game, there were witnesses everywhere."

A deep breath I recognize as Ashton's. "I believe they rigged the game for a home run at that exact moment. That allowed for the chaos they needed to sneak us all away."

For a moment the squad is silent, as if opening the stage for someone.

Alice takes the mic. "I'm glad they care about us so much," she says, using sarcasm to try and hide the obvious terror in her voice, "going through lengths like that to get us."