Hey, guys! Read all the way to the end for instructions on helping me name a new character! Also tell me if you’d like me to put together a “Character Files” page so you and I can keep all these cool people straight. 😛 

Chapter 15, Part 1

“Focus!” Kyle snapped. Mariah tried, but he was coming too fast. She’d graduated to more intense sparring in the last few days and Kyle was pushing hard. For every blow she blocked, he seemed to land two other punches. But it didn’t seem to hurt as much as it used to. She managed to land her own punch and the frown that was Kyle’s excuse for a smile creased his face before he attacked again.

“Take it easy!” she gasped.

“Why?” Kyle blocked her kick.

“Cause I don’t want to be a freakin’ ninja!” Mariah ducked a roundhouse kick to her face and retaliated with two quick punches.

He’d started pushing with a strange intensity lately. She hadn’t really complained. The lab was starting to break through with whatever chemical mumbo jumbo they spouted every time they subjected her to more blood samples and stress tests. She was filled with a sense of urgency. She had to know she could take care of herself no matter what Amelli decided to do with her.

She had no breath to continue a conversation as Kyle came at her with a new set of moves. She kicked in all the focus she could muster. Then the world seemed to drift into slow motion. His palm came up to block a blow and her fist passed right through. A frightened gasp escaped as she pulled back and saw his widened eyes. Her guard came crashing down and a split second later he grabbed her arm and flipped her onto the floor with breathless force.

“What did I tell you about missing?” he yelled, inches above her face. She stared back, seeing the same panic in his eyes that was quickly shuttered off before he stood and left her laying on the mat.

She stared at the ceiling. It was over. There were cameras everywhere in the gym. There was no way someone hadn’t seen that. Any second, Amelli’s goons would come marching in and drag her in front of him where he’d figure out some way to use her ability. But a minute passed and then another and there was no noise except for her breathing starting to regulate.

Mariah pushed up to her elbows and found Kyle standing across the room, water bottle clenched in his hand, listening for the same thing as her. Her gaze found Mason next. The friendly guard was sitting completely relaxed on the bench by the door. He offered her a smile.

“You didn’t do so bad,” he said. Mariah sat up and rested arms on her knees after catching the water bottle he tossed to her.

“Thanks,” she said cautiously, resisting the urge to glance at the cameras.

“We’re done for the day,” Kyle growled. Mariah clenched the bottle in her hands. There was an unsettling look in his eyes. She’d almost started to trust him over the last few weeks. They’d developed some form of rapport, but suddenly she wasn’t so sure what he’d do. Turn her in or keep her secret?

The lab didn’t need to see them that afternoon, so they were escorted back to their respective cells. Mariah showered and then curled up on the corner at the head of her bed. She clutched one of the newest books allowed her and stared at the open pages as if reading, trying to pretend everything was normal.

She choked down dinner and turned in early. There’d been no indication that she’d been discovered yet. She was stuck in a cell, so they could come and take her literally any time they wanted. Maybe the guards were so used to her not having powers that they hadn’t noticed. That or they just didn’t care to watch the “freaks” work out.

Mariah waited a good two hours after lights out, before melting through her bed and crawling into the space between the walls. She clutched a flashlight to her chest. An item allowed when she repeatedly mentioned how she liked to stay up late reading. She’d figured out a way to get to Kyle’s cell but hadn’t tried it yet. Tonight seemed like a good time.

A solid three feet of concrete separated the cell block from the ground floor of the building. A conference room just so happened to stretch from about her cell over to Kyle’s. And it would be empty at this time of the night. She tucked the lit flashlight into her mouth and climbed up, sliding her hands and feet a few inches into the wall as if she was using a ladder.

She flicked the flashlight off when she surfaced through the floor of the conference room. She lay prone for a moment in complete darkness, allowing her eyes to adjust before beginning an army crawl over to the opposite corner. Overkill, maybe in the deserted section of the research center, but she’d definitely err on the side of caution at the moment.

Mariah paused to gulp in a breath before sliding down through the floor and into the crawl space behind the rear wall of Kyle’s cell. She flailed for a brief moment before claiming some footholds and scrambling down. Before she could talk herself out of it, she slid through the wall and under his bed. She licked her lips nervously, hoping he would wake up without a fuss and not do anything dramatic, like electrocute her.

Here goes nothing, she thought before whispering, “Hey, Kyle!”

Mariah is turning into the little ninja whether she knows it or not. 🙂 Anyway, I’ve gotten a bit of head start on this chapter, so you can probably expect an extra post next week. 🙂

Now for the thing I said I’d post about last week on the non-existent episode. Cassie and Co. sent out the signal and a new character shall be coming. I have a first name, but I’m going to need a last name. So give me your best last name suggestions in the comments and I’ll choose one! Maybe the lucky person will get something special, I don’t know yet. 

Character File: Male. Approx. 21 yrs. From: Dublin, Ireland. Power: to be revealed. First name: Declan. Last name: to be determined by YOU! 

Looks a little like this. 😉