Wanted Mutants

Chapter 9

“No one’s there.” Kari took a deep breath, and she made an attempt to calm herself. After a few minutes, she saw the new guy look a little taken aback, “Wait? She can be invisible?” Her roommates nodded, and he walked over, and he held his hand out, “Well, I’m Kevin, and I’m a couple of rooms down the hall from you if you ever need anything.” Kari shook his hand. He smiled at her, but as he was about to say something, she felt Alex grab her,

“Well, we’re going to take a bath, so bye.” Alex pushed Kari out of the room while Clover followed behind,

"Bye Kevin, see you later." Clover waved and chased her roommates. They walked down the hallway until they got to a large double door. Clover opened the door into a big room with tons of little closets and girls changing out of their clothes into towels. Kari followed Clover and Alex over to three little closets. Light tiled floors and bath mats lined the floor, and the soft chattering of others filled the room. No one here seemed bothered or worried, just eager to hop in a hot bath. Kari looked at her two roommates, who had already started disrobing. She looked down at her own clothes to see the crude power suit that was given to her. She sighed as her mind started to get the best of her. 'That's right... I have nothing... all my clothes are with them...' Before her worries got the better of her, she felt someone grab her hips. Kari jumped,

“Don’t worry, it’s just me Kari,” Clover giggled, and her honey brown hair bounced with joy. Clover let her go and stalked over to Alex, who was still changing. Kari quickly took her suit of and wrapped a towel around herself. “But you do have a nice figure.” Kari blushed a bit and fiddled with her fingers while she waited for Alex to get undressed when Clover grabbed Alex,

“Clover let me go, don’t just grab people like that.” Alex pushed Clover away,

“But Alex, you’re so soft.” Kari looked at Alex’s face as it turned bright red,

“Don’t say perverted things like that, Clover.” Kari looked at Alex, who was trying to regain control over the situation, as Clover complimented her. Alex quickly wrapped a towel around her body, “Let go before the bath gets cold.” Clover crossed her arms,

“My boobs are small, and I really don’t have a figure like you or Kari... Why are some girls so lucky?” Clover playfully pouted at them before giggling. They all walked into the next room where there was a giant bath. The room was filled with girls chatting and laughing, “Alright, let's get in.” Clover removed her towel and she climbed in the water. Kari and Alex followed slowly. The water was warm and smelled of herbs and bath soaps. Kari relaxed more into the water, and she watched as other girls were playing around and washing up. The water seemed to envelope Kari as she relaxed more into the water. Her mind wandered as she slowly washed her soft fawn skin. Kari could hear Clover chatting with everyone, but she was in no mood for it. There were many thoughts she needed to work through. 'Will they ever come looking for me.... do they even care enough...' she searched her memory for anything that would give her any clarity. But nothing. Her memories of her parents are mostly the same. Harsh criticism and bouts of anger when she was less than perfect. A quick and sharp pain streaked across her mind and she winced. 'Mmm this pain...' she tried to focus on her memories but the harder she chased them the fuzzier her mind became, until she had to hold onto the side of the pool to keep from collapsing. 'What is this... I feel so...' She felt a soft hand on her shoulder,

"Hey you don't look OK." Clover's green eyes examined her, "Maybe it's the hot water you should cool off." As Kari focused on Clover, the pain began to subside.

"Yea, maybe you're right. I'm going to go back to the room." She reached for her towel and got out,

"I can go with you..." Clover was getting ready to hop out, but Kari stopped her,

"NO, I'll be alright. Enjoy your bath," She walked back to the locker room before Clover could join her. She quickly dried off and grabbed the suit. Slipping it on, and securing it, she left the locker room, and she walked down a hall to her room. But as she twisted the door knob she decided to go explore instead. She didn't want to be left along with her thoughts. As she walked the halls she started to get lost as she rounded corner after corner. She tried to find her way back to her room, but she bumped into someone. She felt herself reel back as she began to fall when a hand caught her wrist.

“Hey, you must be new?” his voice was playful and warm, he pulled her to her feet and she stared at his face. He had short black hair and gray eyes, he was tall, and he looked at least a few years older than her. He flashed her a soft smile and his handsome face caught her off guard. “I’m Ragnarök, leader of team Alpha, and you are.” She stared at his face, she began to feel nervous, “Well.” he looked at her with kind eyes, “It’s okay if you’re shy.” He chuckled a little at her. She felt her face get hot, and she began to stutter,

“M-My name is Kari Summers.” he soaked in her words,

“Well, Miss Summers, I will escort you back to your room and I will see you in training tomorrow.” He kindly smiled at her, and he held out his arm. Without hesitation, she took it. As her arm laced with his, a soft sizzling sound filled the space between them, he cleared his voice, "Sorry, if I'm too warm, my powers are fire-based, so if I burn you I apologize."she nodded, but she never felt the heat he was referring to. They walked arm and arm through the halls, and she felt her heart racing the entire time and all she could think about was how nervous he made her feel. He looked at her, and she felt her face blush, “You know I’ve never seen someone with white hair and blue eyes…” she looked at him ,

“I get that a lot.” Their eyes locked for a moment,

“ Its unique and very beautiful.” Her eyes opened wide with shock, “tell you what. I’ll compliment you every time I notice something new.”

“Why?” she tilted her head and her hair fell in her face,

“Because,” he softly lifted her chin and brushed the hair out of her face, “Everyone deserves to feel special.” She wanted to believe his words, but she felt her heart ache, and her chest tightened and she looked away. 'Why is he playing with me?...'

“That would be nice, and I appreciate it, but I think we’ve made it to my room. Thank you.” She quickly turned and walked into her room and closed the door before he could say anything else. She heard his footsteps linger outside her room for a while. Before his steps faded off, she could faintly hear,

"Smooth one Eric, you used to be better at this..." Clover and Alex were already in bed, fast asleep and Kari just quickly slipped into bed and fell into a hollowed sleep. When she woke she heard Clover and Alex talking and the morning light flickered into their window.

“Alex, do you think you’ll make it into a team?”

“Yeah, I probably will, since my ability is more for fighting than anything else, but what about you?”

“No, I know I won’t make it onto an exploration team. I’ll most likely end up in the forestation comity.” Kari sat up slowly, and she stretched, “Oh good morning Kari.” Clover grinned and bounced over to her,

“Good morning, what were you two talking about?” Alex walked over and sat on Kari’s bed and Clover pulled a chair over,

“Well, training starts today, and we were talking about where we might end up.” Alex sighed, and she began to brush her red hair,

“We’ll probably get split up since our abilities are so different.” Kari felt her heart sink,

“I wish we could stay together. I mean you two have been really kind to me and I feel like we would become great friends…” Clover grabbed Kari’s hand,

“No, we are friends no matter what, even though we just met I know we will continue to be great friends, right Alex?” Alex stopped for a moment, and she sighed and stood up. She turned,

“Just because we get separated doesn’t mean we’ll stop seeing each other. Though leaves fall from a tree, be it in different ways, they all float to the ground, only to give life back to the tree they came from.” She paused, and she turned to Kari and Clover, who sat staring at her, “Meaning we may go our separate ways, but we will never forget each other.” Clover began to smile and so did Kari, “However, after today I highly doubt that we will be together in this room, so say your goodbyes now.” Her tone was so dark and heartless that it made both her and clover shake,

“What are you talking about?” Kari quickly stood up and Alex turned so quickly it startled Kari,

“Today is when they separate us into training groups. Those with abilities that are better suited for fighting go to exploration training. Those with trivial abilities who are suited for trivial things get training from the Districts they are assigned to. Then there are the others who can carry out normal lives. They get some training but not much. We won’t be together after today. And I won’t be stuck with either of you, so I’ll say goodbye now and good luck.” Alex grabbed her black coat, and she put it on and left the room. Clover’s face turned red as her eyes watered and she quickly began wiping her eyes.

"I don't care what she says... we'll still see each other. I can feel it."