Aberrant (24 page)

I spent another hour practicing before my arm grew tired. With
a resigned sigh, I put everything away and quietly tiptoed back into the
dormitory for bed.

As soon as I slipped beneath the covers and rested my head
on the pillow, I fell asleep. I was exhausted.

CHAPTER 24

I was never a morning person. Maya came into our sleeping
quarters. "Up!" she announced with only one word and a loud clap. I
grimaced and wanted desperately to bury my head under the pillow. After staying
up late last night on a secretive practice session in the gymnasium, I was not
ready for morning. My arm still hurt, and I hoped whatever we did today didn't
involve throwing knives.

Maya waited for each of us to, at the very least sit up in
bed, before telling us why she was here. "Today you will begin the second
part of your training. Each of you will be escorted to Chancellor Collins. Failure
to participate means immediate dismissal."

I glanced at Joshua, wondering how today would go for both
of us. Neither of us particularly liked the Chancellor, and the fact he would
be involved in the next stage of our training made me more than slightly
nervous. As it was, the last time I'd been face-to-face with him, I tried to
escape. It hadn't gone too well for me.

"Get dressed and into the dining hall promptly. You
have exactly one hour until names will be called," Maya informed us before
heading out.

Since our first day, our clothes had been cleaned daily and
placed in a shelf on the wall. Each recruit had their name, along with their
clothes, neatly inside a container so we wouldn't mix things up. It wasn't as though
we had much, but it was always well-kept and organized. I never saw anyone put
the clothes in, but they were always there. I assumed it was done during our
dinner hour. A typical day so far I'd learned meant a recruit gathered their
clothes from the shelf, shoes off the floor and a towel on the way to the
bathroom. Today was anything but typical with Maya announcing we had one hour
to shower, eat and be prepared for whatever came next.

The commotion in the room that followed was pure chaos. Jaxon
and Margo both rushed around to find their clothes and shoes. Cate laughed,
pointing at Margo as she searched under the bed and tore the sheets from the
mattress in search of her underwear. Cate held the clothes behind her back,
giggling wildly. I rolled my eyes and quietly stood up. Cate's bed was only
seven feet away. With her back to me I snuck up behind her, ripped the clothes
from her fingers and tossed them at Margo. "Cate was hiding them!" I
made it known to everyone that Cate couldn’t be trusted.

"You rat!" Cate glared at me as Margo came rushing
at Cate, pushing her hard as I stepped aside. Cate flew off the mattress,
landing on the hard tile with a thud. Joshua did his best not to laugh.

Mason smirked. "Cate finally got what she
deserved." He stared down from the top bunk, proudly watching the two
fighting it out. It was the first I’d seen Mason not sucking up to Cate. It was
a welcome change.

Cate was no match for Margo as she had her pinned down. Cate
desperately tried to kick and flail but didn't budge. Margo was twice her size
and no doubt stronger. "Want to say it to my face?" Margo watched her
squirm with delight. "You get a real kick out of stealing someone's
underwear? Anyone ever teach you manners? I see the way you pick on everyone. Ever
think of harassing me again and I'll kill you," she seethed as her bottom
lip snarled at Cate.

Cate stopped squirming finding it impossible to move. "Let
me go!" she whined.

Margo's face turned a deep shade of red as anger bubbled to
the surface. The force of her body on Cate squished the girl against linoleum. I'd
have felt sorry for Cate if she hadn't been an instigator and a bully. The girl
deserved what she had coming to her.

Mason finally jumped off the top bunk, resting a hand on
Margo's arm. "I think she's had enough." Margo didn't let up.

Jaxon walked over to Margo, knowing she'd listen to him. He
patted her back. "Mason's right. Let the Chancellor be the one to kill
her. Cate's so scared she'll probably wet herself on her way to
breakfast."

"Will not!" Cate piped up, grimacing when a fist
flung out at her face.

Jaxon caught Margo's arm before it had time to reach Cate. "Come
on, up you go." He pulled Margo away from Cate. "She's not worth
dying over," Jaxon reminded her. "You have what you need, let's get
breakfast. If she shows her ugly face in the dining hall we can throw food at
her or stuff her in the trashcan."

I wondered if Jaxon really had it in him to be mean or he
was just trying to calm Margo down. It seemed to work. Margo let go of Cate,
climbed off her and glared as she grabbed her clothes, underwear included, and
took them to the bathroom.

"Wow," I breathed, unsure what else to say.

Joshua climbed down from his vantage point on the top bunk
of his bed. "Yeah, no kidding. Let's get showered and ready for
breakfast."

I couldn't have agreed more. I grabbed my own fresh change
of clothes, shoes and a towel before heading for the bathroom. I waved at
Joshua, a brief see you later. I called to him and walked into the girls’
bathroom.

The bathroom had three shower stalls and one was already
running. I assumed Margo was in there. I didn't say anything. I shut the first
door to the stall, dropped my clothes and a towel in the second part and closed
the shower curtain as I turned on the water. The spray was hot, but it felt
good. I hadn't realized how tired or sore I was until my body started relaxing
under the hot stream. I lathered up, washed my hair and turned off the shower.

Pushing back the curtain in the stall, I rolled my eyes as
my clothes and towel were missing.

"Cate!" I screamed, knowing she was the only one
capable of such a stunt.

Cate cackled, "Looking for these?" She waved my
clothes from above the other side of the stall. "Have fun trying to get
dressed and ready on time!" She dashed out of the bathroom with my clothes
and towel trailing behind her.

"That's just great," I muttered. "Is anyone
else in here?"

The bathroom was oddly silent. Margo must have already finished
and left for the cafeteria. Apparently, the others had gotten the memo to avoid
Cate at all costs.

I pulled the shower curtain down, grateful for its pale
beige color as I wrapped it around myself. I headed out of the bathroom, seeing
Mason give me a strange look as he came from the opposite side of the bathroom
fully dressed. "Cate did this."

Mason gave a strange look and laughed, "She wrapped you
in a shower curtain?"

"Shut up!" I retorted already growing annoyed as I
dripped a trail of water into the cafeteria. "Give me my clothes,
Cate!" I called at her.

Margo stood as she approached Cate. After helping her today,
it was no wonder she tried to be supportive, "Give her the clothes, or so
help me God I will beat your brains into this bench!"

Cate rolled her eyes. "It's not your fight,
Margo." She showed me the clothes. "You want them?" She glanced
me over. "You know you could just wear that today? Suits you well," Cate
smirked proudly. "I bet Adam would love it," Cate snickered.

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Give her the clothes,
Cate." He stood up, approaching Cate as she sat on the bench, staring up
at him. Joshua loomed over her, snatching the material from her tight grip.

"Feisty boy," Cate smirked, as her fingers
released their grasp and Joshua fell back a step, walking over toward me.

"Just ignore her," Joshua told me, handing me the
clothes as he tried his best not to stare at my attire. I was thankful he
wasn't thinking anything inappropriate, considering I could read his mind.

"Don't worry. I intend to," I breathed, taking the
clothes and turning for the bathroom. "Thanks."

"I'll come with you," Joshua offered, following
behind me.

"Why's that?" I frowned. "I don't need a body
guard." I could take care of myself.

Joshua nodded in understanding. "Maybe not, but we've
got about five minutes before they start calling names. I don't know what would
happen if you're not ready in time. But if Cate steps in once more, it's
possible we'll find out."

"Yeah, fine." I knew he was right. He stood
outside the bathroom door as I quickly dried off and got dressed into the
recruit uniform.

Together we headed back to the cafeteria when Maya came in. "Our
first recruit for training this morning is Elsa."

Elsa stood and I breathed a sigh of relief. Jaxon approached
Joshua and me as we headed further into the cafeteria. "I grabbed breakfast
for you. It's on the table."

"Thanks." I nodded, heading for the long table as a
meal sat all alone. Everyone else had already eaten. I grabbed a seat, grateful
it was on the opposite end of the table from Cate. I really didn't want to have
to deal with her again today.

I sat between Jaxon and Joshua as I ate everything I could
manage.

"Slow down." Joshua patted my shoulder. "Don't
make yourself sick."

I knew he was right, but I was starving and didn’t know if
my name would be next. I was beyond nervous and just hoped my breakfast would
stay down.

Before Elsa was even back from seeing the Chancellor,
fifteen minutes later, Maya came into the cafeteria. "Mason you're next.
Come with me." He stood up and followed Maya out of the dining hall.

I glanced at Jaxon. "Thanks for getting me something to
eat."

Jaxon nodded. "Sure. They were closing the cafeteria,
and I figured you might be hungry."

He seemed like a really nice guy. "Thanks." I
smiled, having another bite of breakfast.

"Can I ask you guys something?" Jaxon kept his
voice down. "Have you noticed anything weird from the procedure?"

I glanced at Joshua wondering how much to say. "Like
what?" I asked curiously.

"In the bathroom, I–-" Jaxon paused, shaking his
head, unsure he felt comfortable telling us.

"It's okay," I said, resting a hand on his arm. "We
won't tell anyone."

Jaxon nodded faintly. "I don't know how I did it, but
when the water got really warm, I just kept thinking about fire and then my
hands," he showed me his palms. "They were engulfed in flames." Nothing
seemed to happen now as he showed me.

I shook my head. "I don't see anything."

Jaxon lowered his hands beneath the table so no other
recruits could see what he was doing. One hand then two glowed together with a
ball of fire. He closed his hands and it disappeared.

"Wow," I breathed, my mouth hanging open. "Do
you think everyone is capable of that?" I asked Jaxon curiously.

Jaxon tilted his head to the side eyeing me. "Try
it?"

I took another bite and glanced at Joshua as he held his
hands under the table and tried. "Nothing." Joshua shook his head as
he was unsuccessful in his attempts. "Maya had said it was fine tuned for
each of us. Maybe you're the only one capable of fire."

Jaxon nodded, "Maybe, but did you see how red Margo got
when she was fighting with Cate? I kept thinking that if she got any angrier
she would have burned her!" Jaxon laughed softly. "It's stupid. Probably
not even possible."

"Most of what's going on here seems impossible," I
reminded Jaxon.

Joshua spoke up, "Jacqueline and I can share each
other's thoughts telepathically."

I wondered why he divulged that bit of information with
Jaxon. It wasn't as though I didn't trust him, but I wasn't sure he wouldn't go
run and tell the Chancellor.

"Really?" Jaxon was intrigued. "That is pretty
cool," he laughed. "Better than these." He held up his hands.

"Maybe you have to learn to enhance the fire? Be able
to control it?" I offered. "You could talk to Chancellor Collins
about it," I suggested, wanting to gauge his reaction.

Jaxon glanced at me, cocking one eyebrow. "You trust
Collins?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know," I admitted with a shrug. "This
place, everything, it's still pretty new to us." I glanced at Joshua.

"I think he has his own agenda," Joshua remarked. "No
one has been incredibly forthcoming about the recruits, why you chose to volunteer,
given the risk of it all."

Jaxon smiled. "You really aren't from one of the five
cities, are you?"

I opened my mouth unsure what to say. "I don't know,"
came out, but it sounded lame. I glanced back seeing Maya enter the cafeteria.

"Jaxon you're up next," Maya called, gesturing for
him to come with her.

"Good luck." I waved, briefly wondering and
desperately hoping that all our questions and curiosity wouldn't get us both
into trouble. Jaxon was off to see the Chancellor – that worried me.

Joshua and I would be next.

CHAPTER 25

Joshua and I were the last two in the cafeteria as the other
recruits had all been called to see the Chancellor. Sitting had only made me
more anxious, wondering what was taking so long and why no one had come back to
the compound yet.

"Jacqueline, you're next." Maya gestured for me to
come with her.
See you in a bit.
I smiled faintly towards Joshua, hoping
it wouldn't be nearly as bad as I feared. I followed Maya out of the building
and walked with her outside. "We're going to Chancellor Collins
office," she explained.

"Maya?" I asked as we slowly approached the
building. "Is it possible to acquire all the talents from the procedure
that each recruit has?" Maya glanced at me curiously. "Some of the
recruits have been talking," I didn't want it to be known that Joshua and
I had figured out our ability.

Maya laughed softly. "Don't rush things, Jacqueline. They'll
come in their own time." I wondered if she knew we were supposed to be
capable of reading minds. "Come along." She opened the door, leading
me up to a room decorated to feel comfortable. "Have a seat. Chancellor
Collins will be with you shortly."