Wild Things - The Gifted

eXposed [part 1]

"Eira! Wake up, we're getting out of here!" Clarice whispered to the teen who was in the cell next to her. 

Eira shook her head at Clarice, her eyes opening, having heard what Clarice said, "How?" She whispered, pointing to the collar around her neck, the one that prevented her from using any abilities that she had. Eira looked at Clarice, eyes widening as she saw that the collar Clarice had on was broken, cracked. It was night, the guards on duty today were slackers, it was well known by all the mutants in the detention center, if you wanted to risk getting out, or if you wanted to fight, when these guards were on was the time to do it. "Okay, but how are you going to get me out? I still have this damn collar, they'll track us if you take me with you." 

"Damn it Eira, don't fight with me on this! You're just a kid, and I'm getting you out of here. You said you have connections to the outside world, to the underground, didn't you?" Clarice angrily muttered as she started forming a portal to get into Eira's cell. "We'll get your collar off once we're out. They won't hurt you anymore." With that, Clarice jumped into Eira's cell, forming a new portal as the alarms started going off, before they vanished into thin air. 

...

The radio chatter was loud, "Clarice, they know where we are. You have to leave me!" Eira shouted as they ran down the intersection, the rain soaking them.  She followed Clarice as they turned, running to the end of the alley way, the dead end. They were cornered. "Clarice, you need to go, leave me, they'll be happy with one of us!" Eira exclaimed, knowing how portalling used up Clarice's energy. 

"I told you before, I am not leaving you to those monsters!" Clarice yelled, bring her hands together in front of her chest, concentrating. "C'mon, c'mon! Eira, follow me!" Clarice shouted as she made the portal, jumping through as the cop car sped up, telling them to get on the ground. 

...

"Clarice, are you okay?" Eira asked, looking at where they were, some type of station or something that had lockers filled with clothes. 

Clarice just nodded in response, opening up one of the lockers to change into new clothes when Eira heard something

"Are you sure she's here?" The voice was male, it sounded familiar, but she couldn't be sure, for all she knew it could be the police, sentinel services, a gang. The possibilities were endless, and almost all lethal.

Eira cast a glance at the mutant beside, her, a blush creeping up her neck and ears as she noted that Clarice was changing clothes. "Yeah, this is where their trail ends," That voice was different, she knew it, knew him, but why? How? Why was that voice so familiar that she felt safe, a feeling that could get her killed in mere moments.

"But how do you know for sure? I mean you said it yourself, you were having trouble tracking her." Why did all these people sound familiar, like she knew them. Her mind was probably playing tricks on her, all the people she knew from the past were gone, hunted down like animals. Then the second male responded again, "That was before. But she got sloppier, more desperate. That made it easier to track them, and she's not alone, two people together are easier to track than one." The voice brought fleeting memories of home,  of the reservation, of family. "They're here, inside."

Eira cast a fleeting glance at Clarice, "Clarice, someone's here..." She whispered, ducking underneath the counter as her collar started beeping. "No, no, no" Eira muttered, the shock that filled her body causing her to scream in pain, clawing at her throat as her body twitched, the shift starting as a reaction to the pain, only making it worse. 

"Eira! Hold on, I'll deal with them and get you out of the collar, just hold on!" Clarice said as she whirled, picking up a coffee pot and throwing it at the intruder's head. 

"Whoa whoa whoa, okay hold up!" That voice, Marcos, her brother's friend, the underground. "We just want to talk." Clarice picked up a the mug that had been next to the coffee pot, throwing that at him to. "Whoa, wait a minute!" He was getting angrier now. 

Eira managed to keep her screams in, the sounds of bones cracking and reforming filling the air, "Clarice, they're not here to hurt us..." She muttered, her bones snapping back into place as the collar turned off. Eira panted in pain, as Clarice picked up the stapler, ready to throw that too, when Lorna told her to calm down. 

"You with the cops? We can't go back." Clarice said, shaking as Eira managed to pull herself up slowly, composing herself, as she got ready to stand up. 

Marcos shook his head, getting a little closer, "We're not cops, okay, we heard you broke out of the mutant detention center with another prisoner and we came looking." So they didn't know that Clarice got out with Eira, Sentinel Services didn't make that public then.

"I don't understand, who are you?" The question was scared, but Clarice would be damned if she let them know that, her voice stayed strong, shock on her face as the stapler flew out of her hand. 

Lorna caught it, as Eira leaned her back against the counter, her head foggy. "Just a couple of freaks, same as you and your friend." Clarice glanced down at Eira and Eira put out her hand, asking for help to stand up. 

Eira pulled on Clarice's hand, using her as support to get up, "He's Marcos, and she's Lorna," Eira said, making eye contact with them, "and they're with the mutant underground. They can help."