“Umm….yeah. Dude this shit is so gross.” He forced himself to swallow down more of it, he had a feeling that he might need the energy today. He kept a careful watch on the doors, in case Sterling decided to pay them another visit.
“At least it has some resemblance of flavour. Like they tried not too very hard.” Lachy, too, kept eating, however not as much as Aidan as he didn’t think his stomach could handle that much food in one go. He shifted in his seat, on edge for some reason unknown to him yet.
He nodded. He fell silent for a few minutes as he continued to eat, occasionally eavesdropping on what other people nearby were saying. “I have a feeling that something really bad is gonna happen today.” He said to Lachy. “With all these rebellion rumors going around..they’re definitely going to do something awful to all of us, to destroy our hope and our will to fight.”
Lachy looked towards Aidan again, an unreadable expression crossing his face as he nodded in agreement, "I agree. It won't be long until-" His words were cut off as the doors were thrust open with force, an angered Sterling marching right into the room.
“And so It begins.” He mumbled, staring down at his plate. He hoped that neither of them would appear to be a threat and that Sterling would leave them alone. But he doubted it. Everyone here would be hurt in some way.
Sterling stood in the middle of the room, the guards by his side heading to all corner of the room, "Everyone up and to the courtyard." He said, glaring, "Any resistance will be met with immediate punishment."
Aidan sighed and stood up, heading over to Lachy’s side so they wouldn’t be separated by the crowd. “This isn’t going to be good.” He whispered. He felt the nervousness start to pool in his chest. He couldn’t help but wonder how many of them wouldn’t make it out of this experience alive.
"Please try not to die." Lachy whispered back, sticking close to Aidan's side. He might have been too close for it to be just a friend looking for comfort but Lachy didn't seem to notice. The crowd headed to the courtyard, a large open space with grey concrete as the ground. The kids lines up, roommates together.
Aidan only nodded in response. He felt slightly better knowing that Lachy was going to be nearby the entire time. As they walked outside, his mind ran through a whole list of possible outcomes. None of them were good. But..at least they were outside. Which meant that if he needed to, he could turn into a human torch, and it’d take them awhile to stop him.
On one side of the courtyard were rows and rows of what looked to be police telephone boxes. Or they were the size of them on the outside, at least, "Now," Sterling started, "There have been some… rumors floating about a rebellion. Of course we cannot have that and would like to know where they came from. Anyone like to own up?" When no one did, the guards under Sterling's orders, pushed people forwards at random, into the boxes. Lachy being one of them.
Aidan tensed up as soon as they grabbed Lachy. ‘No, please no.’ He’d done nothing wrong, why did they have to take him of all people. He wouldn’t let them hurt Lachy, honestly, he didn’t care what it would cost him personally. He had to keep Lachy safe. But for now he’d stay in line, pretending to be complacent.
The doors were shut and deadlocked, the guards the only ones with the keys which they kept tucked away and out of sight. Then the gas came, making everyone cough a splutter. For a moment nothing happened, then the hallucinations started, ones that caused the person to experience their darkest fears. That's when the screaming started, "Anyone going to own up now?"
Aidan clenched his fists. ‘Goddammit, someone own up!’ He thought angrily. His mind screamed at him to do something, but what all could he really do? He was a nobody. Anything he would attempt to do would probably just make things worse.
After a few more moments of screaming, crying and banging, one of the older girls stepped forward, owning up to the rumors. She was shot on sight. Sterling seemed please, however wasn't done yet, "Well then, now that's sorted. Here's a test for the rest of you, if your powers are so… special, why don't you use them to defend yourselves?" He motioned to the guards, raising their weapons before they started to open fire.
Aidan’s eyes widened. ‘No fucking way.’ But it was definitely real. He felt a bullet just barely pass by him. And that was enough to get him out of shock and into action. He set as much of his body on fire as he could, which wasn’t that hard considering how angry he was. However, with the gloves on, he couldn’t produce any flames there, so he didn’t really have any offensive moves. But he could stay alive, and that’s what was important.
It might have been lucky for Aidan, but for a lot of the others who were in the same situation, they weren't lucky enough to be able to set themselves on fire. Teens were dropping like flies left right and center. The older teens seemed to have enough control to be able to defend themselves, however the younger ones couldn't, leaving them sprawled on the floor.
He spotted a group of the younger kids who’d managed to stay alive so far. He rushed over to them, stepping in front of them. “Stay behind me and we’ll all be fine.” He yelled over all the noise. He had to find a way to get Lachy out too.
The shooting didn't last much longer, luckily, Sterling seeming satisfied with the amount of kids who's died. The guards unlocked the doors to the boxes, however the teens inside didn't seem to come out. Sterling turned to the others, "Clean up this mess. Otherwise next time we might not be so kind to you all."
Aidan extinguished himself, the process taking about ten seconds. He checked on the group of kids he’d been protecting. Thankfully, they seemed to be fine physically, but were of course shell shocked. They began comforting each other, and Aidan took it as a sign that it’d be okay for him to leave. He rushed over to the box Lachy had been in. “Lachy? It’s Aidan. Are you alright?”
There was no response from inside the box. Lachy was curled up in one corner, knees to his chest as he tried to regulate his breathing and at least try and calm down. Not that it was working very well. It seemed like other teens were doing the same as Aidan, trying to get their friends or roommates out the box.
“It’s okay now, they’re not gonna hurt you anymore.” He didn’t know what his roommate had seen but clearly it had scared him shitless. “Is it okay if I come in?” He asked gently, knowing Lachy might freak out more if he suddenly invaded.
A small, muffled noise came from Lachy, a go ahead to come in. He was still so scared, petrified, even. The space felt far too small and tight and it didn't feel like he could get enough air in and he wanted out but yet couldn't move.
Aidan sat down in the box with him, not touching him though, just in case. “It’s okay now, it’s safe to come out.” He said, gently reaching out his hand in case Lachy wanted to take it.
Lachy hesitantly looked up towards Aidan and then down to his hand, "What-" He started, voice still so quiet, "What happened?" He slowly took the others hand, needing at least a little comfort.
“Some type of gas that causes hallucinations I think. I would’ve come to get you sooner but I had to protect some of the younger kids. They started shooting at us.” He gave Lachy’s hand a reassuring squeeze.