Despite the
blanket, my teeth were still chattering and my body was still shaking. I
started to wonder if it was because I was cold, or because of the anger that
was roiling inside of me every time I laid eyes on Kent...was it even proper to
keep on calling him Kent? He was Kent and he was the Virus, he was someone I’ve
known since birth, except I never really did know him. He was a stranger with a
familiar face. Thankfully, he walked past me to lead the group along with the
Dragon, so I didn’t have to look at him.
Wolfgang placed
my glasses in my hands, but my hands were shaking too much for me to put them
on. He took them back, crouched down, and placed them gently on my face. His
hands were warm, and his fingers grazed along the side of my face. I averted my
eyes and stood up.
A guard escorted
me over to the hatch where the Dragon had already climbed down. At the urging
of the guard, I clambered down the hatch. The inside of the submarine was
dazzlingly black, the walls and floor of the corridors polished to perfection. The
corridors were narrow, only wide enough for three people to walk side by side. I
couldn’t see the Dragon in front, but I could hear him making small talk to
Laura.
As we walked
along the corridors and climbed up and down countless stairs, we passed by
engine rooms with workers bustling about keeping the submarine afloat. We
passed by other rooms with scientists tinkering with complex gadgets and
writing equations on a whiteboard.
Climbing all of
these stairs made my breathing laboured, and I could feel the thrum of my
heartbeat accelerate with each step I took. I had tripped a few times on steps,
but each time, either the guard or Wolfgang caught me and I would mutter a
small thanks.
The last room we
passed was the largest out of all of them, and the simplest. A large, circular
table was in the middle, with twelve chairs around. Ten chairs were occupied by
a variety of people dressed in formal, black clothing. I only caught the
glimpse of a few faces, but I recognized them all from the Justice League’s
most wanted. A man with slicked back hair glanced up from his conversation, and
watched me walk past, his teeth bared in a large grin. I shivered, and looked
away.
We descended one
last flight of stairs to where the corridors were lined with closed, steel
doors. A couple of guards opened the doors, and I was herded along with
Heathcliff, Wolfgang and Charlie into one of the steel rooms. Inside were small
cells separated by thick steel bars. The guard that was escorting me placed me
in a cell alone, while the others were together in the one to my right. The
guards locked the door of the cells and then walked outside of the entrance.
The Dragon sauntered in, and looked at Wolfgang fondly.
“Your mother and
I need to have an adult talk, along with her crew and the North heir” he said
to Wolfgang. “I hope you don’t mind being left out of it.”
Wolfgang only
stared at him with complete, unadulterated anger. He opened his mouth to say
something, but then closed it and just let his glare do the talking.
“I’ll take that
as a no,” said the Dragon. He walked out of the room, and paused by the guards.
“Make sure my son and his friends don’t make any trouble. I’d hate to show them
to Damien in less than one piece.” The guards nodded, and the steel door shut
with a clang.
Wolfgang yelled
in frustration, and pounded the wall. He said some expletives, but what he
specifically said I don’t know. My mind started to become fuzzy, with white
splotches swimming across my vision. I slumped against the wall, and slid down
to the floor.
“Theo!” called
Charlie’s voice, but it sounded muffled. He reached his hand through the bar
and grabbed my wrist. His hands were hot, so uncomfortably, burning hot.
“You’re shivering, and you’re freezing cold, are you feeling ok?”
I wrenched my
hand away. “I...I’m fine, don’t touch me, you’re too hot...” I took the blanket
off of my shoulders. “I don’t know...why everyone is worrying about me...” I
grabbed the bars and slowly hauled myself up off of the floor. I let go and
faced the others, smiling. “I’m totally fine...see?”
Everything turned
white, and the last thing I felt was the sensation of falling.
Geez, we've really let ourselves fall behind! Here's a longer chapter as my apology. School has been crazy and full of work, and I've forgotten that it was my turn to write here! Oops....
Of course, I've been working on other writing projects, so don't forget to look at Zone 1!
