Wanted Mutants

Chapter 7

“How far out are you from the correction center?” The enforcer's voice was so commanding Kari paused and thought of something to say. “Officer, how far are you away?”

“We are 5 kilometers away from the center and your position. We should be there in a few moments.” She made it sound as convincing as possible,

“When you get here, the subjects need to be unconscious. So I suggest you stop and do that now before you get here.”

“Roger that and see you when we arrive.” She ended the call and Fire Fairy tapped on the holding cell and Kari opened the little window. “We’ll be arriving at the correction center soon and be ready for anything you guys they intend to dissect us. I think.” The closer to the center they got the faster her heart race, “Fire Fairy what’s about to happen?” Fire fairy looked at her and sighed.

“Well, when we get there I’m going to floor it. From there we’re going to get out. Don’t worry, everything is going to work out.” Kari took a deep breath and she buckled her seat belt,

“Well, if you’re going to do that, you should put on your seat belt.” Fire Fairy glanced at her and smiled,

“Could you do that for me, I can’t right now.” Kari sighed and unbuckled her seat belt, and she reached across Fire Fairy and grabbed the seat belt and buckled it. After she finished, she buckled hers and Kari opened the little window,

“It might get a little rough so hold onto something.” She closed the window and Fire Fairy floored it and Kari could see the Enforcer signaling her to stop. “Aren’t we stopping?!” The roar of the engine was the signal to Kari that they weren’t going to.

“Nope, we’re going to the wall, remember, and I don’t care if I hit some enforcers on the way.” Kari looked in the rear-view mirror, they had a couple of enforcer cars following them. Kari watched as the Wall seemed to only grow in height as they got closer. And Kari felt her heart stop as Fire fairy only sped up as the car’s distance from the solid wall grew smaller. Kari instinctively grabbed the control panel in fear as she braced herself for impact. Before the car smashed into the wall, Kari closed her eyes and she held her breath. But as she waited for the pain of death, it never came and as she opened her eyes she saw she was gripping the control panel, and she was shaking. Her head was swimming, and her body felt heavy.“Wow great job Kari. I didn’t know you could do that.” Kari sat dazed while Fire Fairy continued to drive in this hellish new world. Fire Fairy pulled over and got out and Kari sat motionless, still dazed by fear and lack of energy. As she sat she heard her door open, but she didn’t respond until she felt someone touch her hand and she jumped.

“Are you okay Kari?” she shook her head and she felt someone unbuckle her seat belt and pull her gently from the truck. Death pulled her from the car. He set her on a rock, and she sat there staring at the land. The ground was dry and petrified, looking like it was frozen in time. She looked up at the sky, and it was a bleak gray. She felt she felt her heart sink. The sky wasn’t filled with the songs of birds, it was nothing but an endless eerie silence. The air was stale and stiff and a dull breeze blew the dust from the petrified ground. She could hear Mastermind and Fire Fairy talking, and she saw Death and Gabriel pulling stuff out of the enforcer’s truck. She stood up and turned to look at the city, but all she could see was an endless concrete wall. It towered over her with a looming despair. All her fear crept into her as she realized she was giving everything up, everything she ever knew to start over. She heard Death walk over to her, and he put his hands on her shoulder,

“Let’s go. We have got a ways to go before we get to the compound, then after that you can rest.” He gently tugged on her and she followed him,

“Where’s this compound at?” Fire Fairy bounced over to her,

“It’s about a two-day trip if you’re walking, but if you’re flying or traveling by shadow it doesn’t take that long. Mastermind, you go with Gabriel.” Mastermind straightened his glass in frustration,

“I am not a child… hey, hey, hey put me down.” Gabriel picked him up and took off into the sky and Fire Fairy removed the enforcer's disguise. For a few moments, she was a normal girl. Fire Fairy has auburn red hair and brown eyes. Her skin a soft golden tan, she smiles at Kari,

"Just follow us", she then caught fire and took off. Kari looks at Death, and he summoned a shadow which picked up the pile of stuff. And then he took off through the shadows. Kari stood for a moment and tried to summon her power. At first, she couldn't feel her power at all. Her mind and body ache. She took a few deep breaths and cleared her mind. 'I'm not sure how they did it but maybe, if I imagined myself in the clouds'. Centering herself with deep breaths, the embers of her power ignited through her. From a trickle to a roar, every fiber of her being coursed with energy, and with a simple thought she felt her feet lift from the ground. 'Alright! Now, let's try to catch up. Nothing fancy Kari...' She took off into the sky a little shaky at first, but she managed to get the hang of it. The breeze felt good against her face as she flew. She looked at the ground, and she felt her heart race, 'so high....' she averted her eyes from the ground and search for the others, when she heard Fire Fairy,

“This is freedom Kari, and now you’re one of us.” The raging red color of Fire Fairy's flaming body turned the color of the clouds a deep rosy gray and illuminated the sky. Her embers flickered off her body as they flew, she could hear the sound of Gabriel’s wings beating above them. Kari turned her gaze to the ground, and she could see a black streak traveling extremely fast. “Death thinks he can beat me to the compound. I don’t think so.” All of a sudden, Fire Fairy’s body glowed brighter, and she zoomed off towards the ground like a comet. She watched as Fire Fairy and Death raced when she heard someone above her yell,

“If you want to race with them, go ahead.” She looked at the two below racing against each other, and she felt a smile spread across her face. She felt a burst of energy as she dived towards Death and Fire Fairy. Her speed increased. She trailed them as she slowly started to catch up. The wind against her face made her eyes water,

“Kari, are you in this race?” she looked at Fire Fairy but instead of answering, she just sped off, leaving both of them in the dust. She spiraled up toward the clouds as if she were playing with the sky itself. She had never felt such peace in her entire life. She had always felt a deep fear of her family. They kept her like she was a pet instead of a child and rarely ever treated her like a person, but more like a slave or assistant who they loathed. When she thought about it she felt her blood boil when Fire Fairy blasted by, “You can’t be daydreaming during a race, or you lose.” Kari shook her head and she raced after Fire Fairy. When she felt her heart start to race, her eyes turned blue and her hair whipped in the wind as she flew. She reached out with her mind and created an invisible wall in front of Fire Fairy. Fire Fairy hit it as Kari flew past, “No fair that’s cheating.”

“You never said there were any rules.” Death’s shadow streaked past them both as they argued along with Gabriel and Mastermind. Kari sped off with Fire Fairy right on her tail. They flew in unison like they were dancing. When they reached a compound, Death and the others were waiting.

“You two are such children.” Death was leaning against the wall and Gabriel had begun to grab the boxes, and he opened the door and several other mutants came out and started helping him. Kari looked around and saw Mastermind cleaning his glasses when a girl ran out of the compound.

“You’re back!” the girl ran over to Mastermind. She was at least a foot and a half taller than him. She had long strawberry blond hair that was braided into two long low ponytails. She wore a white shirt that stopped a few inches above her bellybutton and suspender shorts that stopped at her mid-thigh. Welding goggles sat atop her head and her clothes were covered in stains from machinery. She and Mastermind looked alike, like they could be siblings except she looked like she was seventeen years old. “ I missed you so much.” She clung to him as she picked him up,

“Sparks put me down and don’t baby me.” She did as he said, and she noticed Kari standing beside Fire Fairy,

“Hi, I’m called Gear Master Sparks or you can call me Sparks and this is Plugs.” She pulled out a steel sphere. With the tap on its shell, it turned into a small animal. It resembled a type of dog, but Kari couldn’t quite make out which. “And that is Benito, my mechanical butler.” Kari looked behind her and a giant machine stood behind her. It looked like an ancient golem that stood in the Concordia museum. As it moved she could hear its gears grind and squeak as it raised its arm. Kari flinched when she heard a loud screeching sound. “Ah, thanks Benito.” Kari looked at the machine, and it was only holding out a tray with four glasses of water on it. "Remind me to lubricate your gears buddy... sounding a bit ruff." Kari carefully grabbed one of the glasses, and she noticed that Mastermind and Fire Fairy grabbed glasses as well. She took a sip, as she watched everything. Still feeling like an outsider, she quietly observed. She thought to herself, 'I want to thank everyone... but I don't want to interrupt.' and she glanced over at Death, noticing he wasn't a part of their conversation, when she saw a girl with green hair talking with him off to the side. Even from a distance she could tell this girl was pretty. She looked the same age as Sparks, maybe older. But as Kari looked closer, she noticed that the girl and him were really close, and she watched as the girl kissed Death. She felt her chest get tight. A feeling overcame her. She thought to herself, ‘it would be rude of me to interrupt them... but why? Why do I feel like this?’ she sighed and finished her glass and she put it on the tray that Benito was holding. When she felt someone tap her shoulder,

“Kari, come on, I’ll show you to your room.” she turned to see Gabriel, gesturing for her to follow.