Wanted Mutants

Chapter 8

Gabriel and Kari walked through the doorway and into the compound. From the outside, it looked like a simple military outpost carved into the mountainside, but upon entering, Kari's whole world changed. They entered into a large multistory air and ground craft garage, but they seemed to be lacking vehicles and planes. She watched as Gabriel walked across the bay leading her to a hallway on the other side. His pace was quick, like he needed to be elsewhere. It reminded her of her mother’s company building except without all the scientists. She followed behind Gabriel as they quickly walked along. She stopped and looked into a room and saw four men playing some type of game with card. A strong smell of smoke hit her nose when she felt someone pull her along. She watched as many people walked around the halls with smiles and talking with one another. She felt a tad overwhelmed. 'There are a lot more people than I thought....' she began to fidget with her fingers as she silently followed Gabiel. Her nerves were starting to catch up with her, 'where is he taking me?.... Are they leaving me?...'. Kari walked past a group of guys, and they all stopped to look at her, and she instantly looked away. Their gazes were a mix of interests that made her fidget even more as she tried to catch up with Gabriel wanting to hide. Hallway after hallway, turn after turn, they snaked deeper into the compound. Gabriel never once stopped walking, even though Kari was trying to get a grasp of the layout of the complex. The soft sounds of people talking and working filled the complex. All of this was new and Gabriel had yet to explain anything. As she mustered the courage to say something, the sound of fast approaching footsteps made her hesitate.

“Hey Gabe,” a girl ran up. She was wearing military grade camo white cargo pants and a tight fitted black tank. With combat boots and matching gloves. On top of her thick wavy red hair was a barret, with a lost crest on it. “How did the team Superiors' mission to Concordia go?” she kept Gabes' pace, and she seemed not to have noticed Kari silently walking behind them. Her skin was a fair cream color and her figure was athletic,

“It went well enough. What about your team Vixen?” she chuckled and ran her fingers through her medium-length hair,

“It went well. We recovered four mutants. How many did you save?” Gabriel stopped and pointed at Kari and Vixen glanced at her. Vixen’s eyes were blue violet, and they searched her up and down, “Is she the only one?” Gabe nodded, and he put his hand on Kari’s shoulder,

“She’s strong. Don’t worry, she will make one of the teams. I have faith.” Kari looked at Gabriel, and she felt her heart flutter and ache at the same time. 'I wish they would explain what's going on...'

“Gabe, maybe she should be on your team after all. You need a fifth member. But we’ll talk at the debriefing. I got to go check on the power district. They’ve been having problems lately.” Vixen waved, and she nodded at Kari, and she ran off down the hall.

“Kari, come on, let’s get you to the training district…” Before Gabriel could walk off she ran and stood in front of him,

“Wait what for and what did she mean when she said I should be on your team.” He looked down at her,

“The trainers will explain everything, but we got to get there first.” He walked around her, and he continued down the hall. She followed behind eagerly. They made a right and Kari noticed a sign on the wall. It said,

‘training district power district >’.

Kari wasn’t paying attention, and she ran into someone,

“Hey watch it rookie,” she stumbled but managed to catch herself before looking up to see who she, had run into. He was tall and had dark skin similar to hers. His hair cut short and dark. He had a large figure and very muscular. He stood a few inches taller than Gabriel. He was holding two big sandbags,

“Devastation chill out it was just a mistake.” Gabriel helped Kari up while the guy rolled his eyes and walked off. They continued walking for a bit when Gabriel opened a door, and they walked out to a courtyard full of mutants relaxing. The courtyard had beautiful green grass and luscious green trees. As she looked up at the ceiling she noticed there was an open sky. All along the walls leading up to the opening was luscious green plant life. From flowers to fruits, the whole area put her mind at peace.

“Wow, this is amazing. I thought the world was completely barren.” She bent down, and she felt the grass between her fingertips. It was soft like a carpet and it had a crisp fresh smell,

“Yeah, some of the people who live here have the power to heal the land. I'd thank them” she stood up, and she looked at him. His brown hair shook as he stretched. “Come on I need to get you settled, so I can go to a meeting.” They quickly started off to the next building, and he opened the door and he down the hall just a little way, and he stopped in front of a door. “Okay here’s your room you’ll have two roommates and just follow your trainers instructions, and you’ll be fine okay I got to go.” She tried to say something, but he had already walked off. She turned and slowly opened the door and walked in. There was a girl sitting at a table with a flower pot and another girl reading a book that looked older than them. Kari sighed, and she cleared her throat. The girl with the book looked up and the girl sitting in front of the flower pot turned and looked at her.

“Oh hi you must be our new roommate.” The girl sitting by the flower pot got up and walked over to Kari, and she shook her hand. “My name is Clover and I can make plants grow.” her bright green eyes and fair skin were framed by short honey brown hair. She was petite and shorter than Kari by a bit,

“Oh, really? Can you make them move?” Clover scratched her head and she sighed,

“Well, I’ll show you.” She picked up the flower pot, and she set it in a vacant corner, and she closed her eyes and a green aura surrounded the soil in the pot and a giant tree sprouted up instantly, and it sprouted fruit. She picked one of the fruits, and she held it out to Kari, “You want an apple.” Kari gently took it, and she smiled, “Well what’s your name and what can you do?” Kari cleared her throat,

“My name is Kari and I can do a lot of things, but I'm not quite sure how....right now my powers just kind of are... i can fly and that was pretty fun.” Clover grabbed Kari’s hands and she smiled,

“It's OK, I'm not the greatest at using my abilities either, but at least we can learn together.” The other girl closed the book, and she stood up. She wore a long black coat, it was buttoned, making it hard to tell what she was wearing underneath. Her hair was red, and her eyes were hazel blue,

“My name is Alex and I have deadly accuracy,” she pulled a pencil out of her pocket and she pointed at the apple in Kari’s hand, and she flicked the pencil, and it went through the apple's core perfectly. It startled Kari at first, but she looked at the apple, “I always hit my target, no matter what, with anything from guns, to knives and small objects. If I see it I can hit it.” she brushed her hair out of her face and she sighed. “But I’m only here because I didn’t want to stay with my family in Valo.” She crossed her arms and sat down on her bed,

“The only reason I left Celi was because there were no plants. It was nothing but buildings and artificial plants.” Clover pulled a chair over and sat down,

"What about you ?" Alex looked Kari up and down,

“In Concordia…”

“You’re from the big city. That’s so cool.” Clover's eyes widened with excitement threatening to bust from her head, while Alex sat there staring uninterested,

“That would explain why you stand so proper and even speak properly.” Kari looked at Alex,

“Well, yeah... in Concordia everything was perfect. The only reason I left was because I had to, or I’d still be a slave to my parents.” Kari walked over to her bed and she moved the covers back, and sat down when she heard someone knock on the door. A flash of old memories sparked old fears. She knew she was miles away from the city, but her parents still haunted her. The sound of the knock echoed off what felt like her bedroom walls and her heart stopped in her chest, she held her breath. The door opened and a boy with light brown hair walked in. He looked their age.

“Kevin, what do you want?” Alex stood up, and she was holding a small blade in her hand,

“Hey don’t throw that at me Alex. I was just coming to tell you that the bathhouse is clear of all boys, and it’s time for the girls to take their baths.” Kari noticed he had a towel around his neck and his short hair looked damp. He looked directly at Kari, and he scratched his head, “I thought you guys said you were getting a new roommate?” He walked into the room and he looked around,

“We do, but she must be shy towards new people, and she was in bed a moment ago.” He glanced at the bed, her mind still processing there was no threat. She tried to calm herself. 'I'm safe... they can't hurt me anymore.... I am free.'