Shatter

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Chapter Seventeen

“Two,” the guards called.

I took a deep breath, trying desperately to calm my nerves.  I cast Jaison a nervous glance, one that he returned with a reassuring nod.

“Ready?”  He asked softly.  I nodded.

“Here,” I said, my voice wavering slightly.

The two guards shuffled forwards, unaware of the fate that Jaison- along with the other gifted children- have given them.  They shoved my suit through the rectangle that was carved into the solid metal door.  I watched as the odd material fell to the floor.  Letting out a shaky breath, I scooped the suit off of the floor and placed it on my bed.  Jaison turned and I started to change into the black body suit with two bright green stripes running down each side of my body.

Chills rose to my skin as I thought that this would be the last time I left this cell.  These clean green stripes (the only clean thing I had) would become muddied and damp from rain and sweat.  I thought about how I would never sleep in that bed again and how I would never carve another tally into the wall.  Maybe I would start a new wall where ever it was that we were going.

“Hurry it up in there, Two!”  One of the guards yelled.

With a sigh and a hidden glance at Jaison, I slipped on the gloves.  Jaison stepped back against the wall, just as we had planned.  He turned with his hands up and made himself look inconspicuous.

The guards rushed in unwavering, steadfast in their purpose.  One took hold of me while the other pressed Jaison against the wall.  I gritted my teeth, waiting for the signal and hoping it would come sooner rather than later.

The guard pushed me out into the hallway, and just as I was starting to doubt the plan, I heard shuffling and the sound of cracking bone.  The guard holding me turned to see what the sound was, tightening his grip ever so slightly.  There was only one of them though, and my other hand was free.  I brought my glove up to my mouth and used my teeth to slide the glove off.

My hand connected with his flesh.  Just as he realized what was happening, it was over and all that lingered was the twinkling sound, like glass shards hitting the ground.  Jaison stepped out into the hallway and slid his hand into mine, the same hand that I just used to kill a man.

“You need to do the other one,” Jaison said softly.  I glanced back into my cell to see the other guard laying there, his neck twisted at an odd angle and his limbs sprawled out across the floor.  “What if someone sees?”

I nodded, seeing his point.  My feet carried me robotically back into the cell.  I felt like a true monster as I inched forward to the already dead man.  I knelt down and placed my open palm on his still warm flesh.  A moment later, it was done and I left the cell feeling sick.  Jaison slid the door shut behind me and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Remember the plan,” one of the other male gifted children called out.  I turned to see that for the first time, everyone was at their cell doors, watching and waiting to see what would happen.

“We won’t leave you here,” Jaison said, leaving no room for doubt.

“Jaison, we have to go,” I said quickly, glancing around to see if more guards were coming.  Jaison nodded and started down the hallway.

We ran as quickly and as quietly as we could.  My heart was pounding in my ears as I turned right at the end of the hall.  Jaison cast a frantic glance at me as we took our positions in front of the boss’s door.  I nodded, letting him know that I was ready.

Jaison slammed his foot into the door causing a rippling echo to vibrate down the halls.  He rammed his foot into the wood again and a splintering crack reverberated in my ears.  The door collided against the inside wall with a loud bang.

"Sixteen, Two," the boss said cheerfully.

I burst into the room to see the boss sitting behind a large wooden desk with a calm expression and a small black gun pointed at Jaison.

"Did you two honestly think you could outsmart me?"  The boss asked, rising from his leather chair.  He used his gun to slide open the door to a large case.  Inside sat a television with a view of the cell room, aka living room.  On the screen I could see the other gifted children anxiously pacing back and forth, waiting for our return.

"I want you to run," Jaison said in a low whisper while the boss's back was still turned.

"What?  No," I hissed.  "Jaison, I'm not leaving you."

"You have to," he commanded, his confused grey green eyes forceful and demanding.

"Neither of you are going anywhere," the boss insisted.  He turned back to us with a triumphant grin.  “As a matter of fact, neither of you will be leaving this room for a long, long, time.”

Jaison stepped in front of me and started pushing me slightly towards the door as if to tell me to go.  I grasped his hand in my own and offered a slight squeeze in response.

I couldn’t leave him.  I couldn’t leave the other gifted either.  I was tired of living this way, constantly losing people, constantly losing myself.

So in one moment of excruciating bravery, I stepped around Jaison and surged forward, my hand extended fully in front of my.

“Melinda, no!”  Jaison yelled behind me and I heard the deafening ringing of a gun going off.

My hand connected with the boss’s flesh and I watched as his eyes went wide.

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Cliff.  Hanger.

Muahahahahaha!!!!!  Will the boss die or will he be like Jaison????  Who (if anyone) was shot????  Will they escape????

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All joking aside, the deadline is in two days and I have one or two chapters left, but they must be up to my standards.  In all honesty, I didn't think I would make it this far.  I thought at like day three I would get writers block or something and have to stop.

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