Chapter fifteen

“Oh Ivan” Jessica whispered, swooping onto me and wrapping me in a hug that was almost as bad as the gun shot “I’m sorry I left without telling you what was happening but I didn’t want to get you hurt by...” She blushed and looked away slightly; I could guess what she meant.
“Jessica, what’s going on here? Who are these people? How... how can you even recognise me?” I asked desperately, trying to stare into her eyes. She gently sat me down; I didn’t resist, I was too battered, bruised and possibly bleeding by now.
Sighing she started to speak “I joined as a local group to... though I hate to admit it, take out freak-“ she stopped and started again “To take out dangerous mutants in our area. When I had joined however I soon realised that we were setting fires to disguise disappearances; nearly every account on the news was a ruse. It was bigger than just a local group as well because we had weapons and armour, let alone the trucks that took away the ones we had captured. We sedated the mutants with our weapons, took them back to our local base then handed them over to the people who came to collect them. There were accidents though; soon people outside the organisations began to hunt down mutants, there was an incident where a mutant’s house was burnt down and another one came out and saved him.”
“That incident nearly broke my neck” I growled, rubbing my forehead and hardly believing what I was hearing “It was me, saving the one that looks like a bee.” I opened one eye just to see the look on her face; she couldn’t have gotten more shocked if I’d slapped her with a haddock.
“You were the one?” She asked amazed “you gave this place a black eye you know, saving that mutant by yourself.” She sighed and sat next to me, gazing up at my face as if worrying I was angry at her. I tried to hide the fact I was by covering it with layers of romantic images of me and Jessica, from the look on her face it wasn’t working very well.
I sighed and covered my face with my hands, trying to calm myself “What’s going on here?” I asked quietly.
Jessica stared at the floor again “I’m not sure exactly what is happening here myself, I only recently arrived. All I know is that when mutants arrive we test them to see if they are useful; then set them to work around here. The collars are only to make sure no one goes too wild.”

Jessica looked up at me with a worried look on her face “I’m sorry Ivan; I didn’t know this had happened to you.” She laid a hand on my knee; I didn’t pull away “Why didn’t you tell me hun? I would have never joined this place if I’d known you were...” she looked away again, she found this hard to talk about with someone who had been changed.
“I was worried you’d be afraid of me” I admitted, staring down at her as I smoothed her hair with one bone white hand “Look at me; I’m a dragon without the fire.” Jessica glanced up; I could see the loss and confusion in her eyes. “Don’t show them you know me” I whispered to her “You’re my only chance of escape.”
A shiver ran through Jessica’s ever so seductive frame “Ivan” she whispered back “I don’t know what to do. Please don’t press me into anything.” There was a rap at the door and both of us looked up at once.
“Please, pretend” I whispered so low I was unsure she even heard as she pulled on her helmet.
Right before she opened the door she turned to me and stared at me “I recognised you from your eyes Ivan; the moment you looked up at me I recognised you.” She placed her hand to the place on her helmet where her lips were and blew me a kiss. She opened the door slowly, rubbing his knuckles “His shell’s too tough. Just throw him into the cell with the others.”

A large man came into the cupboard, grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me out into the main hall with difficulty. Someone was wheeling Trapper out and another black clad guard was heading for TNT’s door. I coughed as whatever seal on the door broke and black smoke wafted out from the room.
“WHEEEEEEEEE!” TNT yelled as he dashed from the room, burn marks over his hands and arms. He got two feet from the door before several burly guards piled onto his chest. His legs flailed in effectively as his arms were pulled behind his back and he was lifted bodily upwards. People were running from the source of the smoke, coughing and trying to get the smoke out of their eyes. I saw it as a chance; at least up until the hand came out of nowhere, grabbed a large spine on my head and dragged me out the door after the spluttering people and struggling TNT.
“How the HELL did he make the rope explode” a doctor yelled as she adjusted her mask to cover her face more “It took out half the equipment in there.”
“DAMMIT!” TNT yelled, trying to squirm away as the guards held his burnt arms “I was trying to take out the entire room!” There was a bang and I flinched back; it was TNT that had been hit though. He groaned as he collapsed into a heap on the floor. Trapper was fighting against the person pushing him away down the corridor; someone carefully took my hand and twisted it behind my back. They weren’t forceful and the way the squeezed my hand told me it was Jessica again.

We were marched down the twisting corridors, well I was. Trapper was forcefully pushed and TNT was dragged across the floor by his collar; I marched because I was the only one still on their feet. We left the sounds of panic, coughing and loud curses behind as we were kept moving through the strange complex; it seemed to take less time now that my mind was buzzing with questions. I stroked Jessica’s hand with one finger slowly, thinking about what was going on. I still had no idea what was waiting for us outside these concrete walls; Jessica was the technically the enemy, people ran around sedating mutants and shipping them to here and I still had no idea where my sister was.

I looked up as I heard TNT slam unceremoniously onto his bed, we were at the cell already and TNT’s slightly drooling body had been dropped hard. Trapper had to grab his wheels to stop himself from hitting into the opposite wall, just managing to keep his balance as he stopped. I stumbled as I walked in; trying to make it seem like Jessica had shoved me. I sat on my bed and just stared at TNT until the guards had left, Jessica stared at me for a moment before leaving.
“Trapper” I mumbled, he looked around at me slowly “Have I got a story for you...”

Ebony and Ivory Collection
Ebony and Ivory chapter sixteen