Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Cheater give that back!” Trixie cried out, causing Alexia to laugh in contentment.  It was around two o’clock and it had been a great day for everyone so far.  They had all woken up around ten and they had trained and worked on their plan for about two hours.  After a while, they got tired, because it was hard for them to keep up their stamina for that long.  It was very tiring for them to use their powers for so long, it drained them.  They had also had a long, very quiet, conversation about their plan, and it was almost completed.  Now they were all joking around, watching TV and just having fun in the common room.  Trixie had been reading a book, and Cheater took it from her, saying that she was a stick in the mud.

“No! You should be more fun! Talk to us!”  He yelled back, grinning from ear to ear.  He waved the book wildly in the air, and Trixie sprang up like a wildcat and started hitting him all over.  Alexia couldn’t help but giggle while Cheater cried out in pain.  Trixie was actually hitting him quite hard, and he was probably going to have bruises the next day.  The girl must really like her books.  “Ouch!  That hurts! Stop it and I’ll give you the book back! Just stop already!” He cried out.  Trixie quickly sat down on the couch next to Alexia, smiling serenely.  Cheater quickly tossed the book into her lap, moving his arms to rub the many places that she had hit him.  “That was mean, you hit really hard for a little girl.”  Cheater grumbled to her as he also sat on the couch, on the other side of Alexia so she was in between them.

“Well, that’s what you get for taking away my book while I was reading it.  I was at a really good part too!”  She yelled back at him, leaning over top of Alexia to get closer to her prey, absolutely terrifying him in the process.  ‘Ha, Cheater is scared of little Trixie, that’s great.  He’s sixteen and scared of a thirteen year old.’  Alexia thought with a wide grin.  Cheater obviously had heard her thoughts because she heard him let out a huff of air and send a dirty look towards her.

The group had about two hours until Dillenwater came to get Alexia for her next experiment and tests.  Since they had already did a lot of work for the day, they decided to take a break until Alexia got back, then they would work on it some more.  Nobody wanted her to be tired when she went in and had to go through whatever Dillenwater had planned for her.  They all knew from experience that a person needed all the strength that they could get before going into one of the school’s sessions.

One of the things that still bothered Alexia was the fact that the power that Dillenwater had mentioned before still hadn’t shown up.  She was starting to think that they were wrong about her getting a new one, maybe whatever they did just didn’t work the way they had wanted it to.  It wouldn’t bother her if she didn’t get another power though, she already had more than enough, and in fact if she didn’t have any powers at all she wouldn’t even be in the mess that she was in!

But then again, if she wasn’t in this mess, than she wouldn’t have met Cheater, or any of the others for that matter.  She wouldn’t have been able to give them hope, and to help them escape.  She wouldn’t even have known that any of them existed.  Then again, she also wouldn’t have gone through all of the pain and sorrow that she had, she wouldn’t have been tested on, and experimented on.

Through the good and the bad, Alexia was kind of glad that she had been taken there.  She hated the school, and she hated what they did there, but she loved her new family.  If she had the chance to go back and make sure that there was no way for her to go to the school, she wasn’t entirely sure that she would.  Her life would be different either way, and as horrible as it was for her at the school, she’s met wonderful people that she hoped to be near for the rest of her life.

Her thoughts were interrupted abruptly when someone landed on her, namely Jada. After sitting on her, she sprawled out with her legs on Cheater, and her head and arms on Trixie, making sure to put her legs directly in Cheater’s face.  Cheater pretended to choke on air, grinning at Alexia from behind Jada’s legs.  “Gross, you’re feet smell!” He exclaimed loudly, trying to push her feet away from his face.  All that Jada did was move her feet even closer to his face, taking the time to rub them in.

“Do you like the smell of my feet Cheater, do you?”  Jada asked loudly, cackling evilly.  It had to be one of the funniest things that Alexia had ever seen.  Jada was so tiny and adorable, and she was dong the whole evil scientists laugh.  Then poor Cheater was pushing himself back into the cushions of the couch, trying to get away from Jada’s feet.

“Ok, Cheater, why don’t you go sit in the armchair so you’re safe from the girls and the girls can both be safe from you and your antics.  Alright?”  Alexia asked, trying to be the peacemaker.  Cheater nodded and Jada moved her feet just so he could get up, then sat them back on the couch.

Adam and Jared were using light sabers that Jared had made, complete with lights.  They had staged a full-out battle; Jared was even in a Darth Vader mask that he had made for himself.  They were both making noises as they moved, trying to hit the other.  Both boys were actually about the same skill level, and they were matching each other move for move.  Adam would go to the left, and Jared would quickly block him and so on.  It was actually a very interesting thing to watch.

Damon was sitting in one of the other armchairs, contently switching his attention from the boys fighting to the TV.  He closed his eyes every once in a while, looking like he was either deep in thought or asleep.  Alexia had to wonder which one it was.  He didn’t seem to talk to the rest of them very much, at least not as much as he had when he first arrived.  But then again, he might just be getting tired from all the stress everyone is having, Alexia couldn’t be sure.

The group stayed like that for a while longer. Trixie read, Jada and Alexia watched the TV and the boys fighting, both were very entertaining for her.  The two boys fighting continued to do so, acting out different scenes from movies.  Cheater sat on one armchair, also watching the TV and the boys, moving his head to see around them when they stepped in front of the TV.  Damon was sprawled out on another armchair, with his feet resting in a beanbag chair. His eyes were still closed, but he would open them every now and then to see what was going on.

Around three-thirty, the group became anxious, there was only thirty minutes left until they came for Alexia.  They were all worried, except for Alexia that is.  She was strangely calm and collected, not even moving while the others were fidgeting in their places, the boys having stopped their fight to sit near her.  The same thought was going through the mind of everyone in the room. ‘Just a little while longer until he comes for Alexia.’

By three-forty, the couch was full of children.  Cheater was sitting on Alexia’s left side, with Adam on the floor at his feet.  Trixie was still on Alexia’s right side, and Jada was still sitting on top of both Trixie and Alexia.  Jared sat on the arm of the couch next to Trixie, leaning on her while she smacked at him, still trying in vain to read.  Damon stood silently behind Alexia, looking like he was afraid to come any closer to anyone else.

The time passed quickly, and soon it was already four o’clock.  Everyone turned to look at Alexia, who calmly stood up, sitting Jada in her seat.  She gave all of the younger children a hug, and Cheater patted her on the back lightly.  The door opened, and Dillenwater poked his head in, looking at all of them.  Alexia turned to smile at everyone, and then she walked slowly to the door, Dillenwater pulling it shut behind her.

This time, she didn’t get knocked out, or tied up.  Instead, she was pushed into another wheelchair, rather roughly, and Dillenwater started pushing her down the hallway.  “Wait, so not only do I not get drugged this time, but I don’t get tied up either?  Is it Christmas coming early?”  She asked sarcastically.  She might get in trouble for it, but it might just be worth it, in her opinion.

“I’m being nice to you, so either shut your face or I’ll tie you up.  Which would you rather?”  Dillenwater asked, grimacing.  Alexia quickly got quiet, she wasn’t willing to let her opinion be known and get tied up for it, she liked her freedom.  All of the sudden, she felt angry.  But it wasn’t her own anger, because she knew that she wasn’t actually angry.  She almost instantly knew what it was.  It had to be her new power, but what exactly was it?  Dillenwater was glaring down at her, and that’s when the answer hit her.

She could feel other people’s emotions!  She felt Dillenwater’s anger, almost like it was her own.  She could feel the rage coming off of him in waves, kind of like when something is hot, when a person can feel the heat coming off of it.  That’s how it was for Alexia.  She wondered what this meant, what she could do with this power.  Could she only tell a person’s emotions, or did it involve other things as well?

The entire time that thoughts were swimming in Alexia’s mind, Dillenwater had still been pushing her down the hallway on the way to the lab.  But the time that she arrived at her conclusion, they were already at the door to the lab.  Dillenwater unlocked the door, and pushed the wheelchair in quickly, shutting the door behind them.  They were in the same lab from the day before, and there were already two scientists inside, the same ones as the day before as well.

“Sit on the bed.”  Dillenwater ordered.  She quickly did as she was told, sitting down on the bed.  She noticed that the bed was more comfortable than the last time, and that it also had a new pillow.  She couldn’t help but smile at him.  Now Alexia could feel his annoyance and his enjoyment at the same time as he searched through the cabinets in the room, probably to find some drugs to knock her out with.  So he was annoyed at her, and he enjoyed doing this stuff to her? ‘Wow, he’s weirder than I thought.’  Alexia thought to herself.

“Lay down as well, you might as well get comfortable, you’re going to be in the same spot for quite some time.”  He told her with a smirk.  Alexia nodded slowly and settled down onto the bed.  She moved the pillow behind her head, and made herself as comfortable as possible.  She knew that he wasn’t kidding when he said that she would be there a while.  One of the other scientists came over to put the fire-proof straps over her, effectively strapping her down.

Dillenwater turned back towards her, nothing outwardly betraying his emotions.  But, Alexia could feel them even if she couldn’t see them.  He was feeling content, and still very excited.  She could tell that he really wanted to see what they could do to her, and he probably wanted to see her test results.  He was very excited about the whole thing.

“So, are you ready for us to put you to sleep so we can test and do experiments on you?”  He asked her with a smirk, moving closer to her.

“Not really, but since I don’t have a choice I’m going to go ahead and tell you yes, cause it’ll make you happy.”  Alexia said right back, also smirking.  She might as well make it interesting for her.

“Works for me, let’s get you drugged up and asleep.”  He said with an evil grin.  He brought his hands out from behind his back and showed Alexia the needle that he was holding.  After showing her, he quickly found her vein and sent the needle downward into it.  Within seconds Alexia found herself growing tired and her vision growing blurry.  Soon, her vision went away and she passed out.

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So, I'm going to try and finish this by the 30th so it can be eligable for the Watty Awards, which it has now been entered in.  So if you really like this story, or me as a writer, you should go back and vote on the chapters that you haven't voted on yet.  And please vote on this chapter while you're at it. :)