The halls were buzzing with excitement at the thought of training for combat. It seemed a lot of people were happy to have something to work towards, and feel like they were making a difference. It was nearly time for Lucas’s meeting, and I walked with the crowd towards the basement. I’d told Alex I wanted to sit in on the meeting and training sessions for a few days. He said he’d handle all of the communications and let me focus on combat stuff for the few hours it required of me each day.

People filed into the basement and chose seats around the break area. There were hushed murmurs from the groups as they theorized what the training would be like. Once the last few stragglers came in and took their seats Lucas walked in from where he was hovering in the hall and motioned for me to join him up front. I was mildly disappointed. I’d hoped to just sit back and enjoy whatever he had in store from the back. I begrudgingly joined Lucas and faced the group. It seemed to be about half of our total numbers.

“Why’s Angel here?” Someone asked innocently.

“Why wouldn’t she be? She’s the main reason we were able to free you all. A true killing machine,” Lucas retorted with a grin.

The group looked around somewhat confused and doubtful. I didn’t blame them. I’d been taking it slow, nursing my injury, and hadn’t brought my wings out once since we arrived. I was pretty quiet for a leader, all things considered, and didn’t share my anger and passion as publicly as Alex or Lucas did. If you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t ever guess how much I’d contributed to our total body count thus far. Not to mention the sickening ease with which I did it.

“Well go on, show them what you’re packing. It’ll help demonstrate my first point,” Lucas said, taking several large steps back from me with that same smug look on his face.

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly removed the military jacket I kept on to mask the scars. Under it was a thin tank top that wouldn’t get ripped if I needed to use the wings. I took a quick look around me to ensure nothing was in the way, and then let my wings out dramatically with an audible burst of wind. Papers scattered with the wind as I flapped them forcefully. It strangely felt good to let them out again. I hovered for a moment, to prove myself capable of doing so, then shifted the feathers around, positioning the wings as I had before to take lives. I didn’t need to say out loud what the position was for. The awe in the eyes of the group showed that they understood full well what I was capable of. Once I felt my point was proven, I sheathed the wings once more and put my jacket back on.

“That ladies and gentlemen, is power. Capable of taking down several men in seconds. Trust me, I’ve seen it. Even then, as I’m sure you’ve all come to notice, you can be injured, and killed,” Lucas said and pointed to my arm.

I grabbed at the injury on my arm. Most of them saw me on the first day. They knew I wasn’t invincible. Lucas thanked me for the demonstration and told me I could take a seat, which I took gladly.

Once I was seated Lucas cleared his throat and continued, “Unfortunately for us, most of our powers aren’t that strong. We’d have died in her place. Don’t take stupid risks fighting alone. It’s vital that we fight as a unit, and find a way to use our powers together to make them more lethal. So today we’ll go over each person’s abilities, and figure out the best pairings for you, and how to use them together.”

Lucas went over our small group in detail, using us as an example for them to grasp the concept. He told them the role we all played when we stormed the facility. Isabelle worked best alone as recon, Alex and Lucas had a lethal combination, pairing the disorienting effects of Alex’s Oddity, with the shards of ice Lucas conjured using the condensation from it. I swooped in alone because my Oddity was too dangerous to use in close proximity to my allies. Once I took out a large number of the enemies, they joined me and finished them off. It was a coordinated effort that worked well together, and was put together in less than a day.

Lucas beamed as he finished the example, “The beauty of this is that we have way more people to work with, and most likely a lot more time. You can be just as deadly, if not more so.”

On Lucas’s instructions each person came to the front and told everyone what power they had, what they needed, and any drawbacks like Alex getting dehydrated. This droned on for some time, and after the last person went Lucas gave them homework. They were to consider each person’s power, and at the next meeting let Lucas know who they would work best with, and why. With that out of the way he dismissed them all, and told them to meet back in the basement at the same time tomorrow if they wished to continue. I lagged behind and discussed a few potential pairings with Lucas. I hoped they would think carefully about their homework and come to the same conclusions.

“People are approaching!” Jake screamed as he barged through the basement door in a frenzy. “I already told Alex, gear room now!” Jake said and turned on a dime to run back upstairs.

Lucas and I shared a worried glance at each other, and rushed up to the military gear room. We were already wearing the military fatigues, most people favored them over the sweatpants. We met Alex in the doorway and started to gear up with military vests and guns. Isabelle was in the gear room hurriedly planning with Alex. We perfected the last of the gear as we listened to the tail end of their conversation.

Jake came bursting back through the door as the conversation wrapped up. Jake spoke quickly, “Sounds like a transport truck. They probably caught an Oddity and are doing another drop off. Listen, I know how these go, I hear them every time. They usually bring the new prisoners straight to the prison but it sounds like the guards here have a higher level of clearance. Can we trick them somehow?” He shifted nervously on his feet, unable to remain still.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Isabelle stepped forward and took control of the conversation. She quickly recalled some helpful information from reports she read in the lab. She detailed out a plan of action and some key phrases and mannerisms to display. For something planned so last minute it was brilliant. I wondered if Isabelle, as quick witted as she was, had already considered this possibility and prepared the plan in advance.

We finished the brief meeting and the three of us rushed into the hallway, geared to the teeth and looking the part of a military unit. Alex ordered everyone away from windows and to be ready to attack on Jake’s word if he heard the conversation go south. People dropped what they were doing and ducked behind walls near the door. Some of the younger ones ran to the basement in fear but most sat silently in wait for the possible fight to come.

Lucas, Alex, and I made our way outside just in time to see one of the members of Jake’s team wave the armored truck through the guard station. It was the only way into the base, and I was thankful he’d chosen to keep watch from the station today. It would only raise suspicion if the point was left unattended. The armored truck slowed to a stop on the gravel road just a few feet from where the three of us stood, shoulder to shoulder.

The doors opened and two men got out, dressed in the same gear as our own. The man from the passenger side looked badly burned. The skin from his jaw down to his collar bone was bubbled and had a sickly color to it. They came around to the back side of the truck and unlocked the barred doors. Inside was the third soldier of the unit, and an Oddity. The soldier had a rifle out and pointed directly at the girl, as if he was daring her to move. He didn’t break eye contact with the girl when the doors opened. It was like he was afraid to so much as blink. The girl had her hands cuffed behind her back, and a towel duct taped around them.

She stared back at the soldier angrily. She was covered in dirt from head to toe, and had clearly been on the run for some time. I could smell her from where we stood several feet away. Her hair was dyed a venomous green, and her roots had long grown out exposing the natural black color. She was stick thin and probably malnourished. I wanted nothing more than to free her then and there, my wings itched for the chance to unfurl. I willed them to stay put and kept focused on maintaining an uninterested facade. Acting as if this was just another day.

Lucas, being the most intimidating of our group, stepped forward to address the soldiers. “At ease,” he barked at the two soldiers who were standing in salute.

They relaxed their arms and the one who was driving stepped forward to meet Lucas. “This freak is a lively one,” he spat out with disgust. “She’s got some sort of acid Oddity. Burned my man pretty good.”

The guy with the burns looked ashamed and reflexively put his hand up to cover his neck. “Sorry General Miller,” he said to Lucas, as he read the badge on his uniform. The symbols adorning the badge he wore must have portrayed a higher rank. Isabelle likely picked this one for him on purpose.

“Good work soldiers. We’ll take it off your hands,” Lucas said, feigning a look of disgust when he looked at the girl.

The man in the truck finally moved to unload the girl. He grabbed her arm roughly from behind and pushed her forward, causing her to stumble and hit the ground. He yanked her back up without giving her time to react, and she screamed angrily at him.

“Watch your mouth terrorist bitch,” Lucas said, flaring his nostrils and grabbing for her arm. He took hold of the prisoner and thrust her arm towards Alex, giving him control of the girl. “You go lock her up. Isolation for now. You know the drill,” Lucas ordered Alex.

He made a quick salute and barked out a convincing, “Understood General,” before turning to escort the girl inside.

“General we need to stop by the infirmary before we return to post,” The driver said while gesturing to the burnt man.

“That’s a negative, soldiers. Strict no-entry orders at this time,” Lucas replied, keeping his strict tone.

“All due respect I don’t think that order applies to us General Miller,” the man retorted, becoming annoyed.

Lucas took a step closer to the man. He towered over him and talked down at him, “Above your security clearance soldier. Don’t press the issue,” he growled.

The man took a step back and glanced around, raising an eyebrow. “What the fuck is so important in there we can’t even get medical attention? Also what’s with the trees? Looks like you’re one of them,” He said accusingly as he gestured to the tree barrier June and the others set up.

Thanks to Isabelle we were ready for these questions. I stepped up to play my part, letting out a laugh, “Y’all are insane. You know what it took to even get stationed as Sergeant here instead of out there with the terrorists like you? You sure as hell ain’t getting stationed here with a mouth like that.” I spat at the ground and cackled, gloating my cushy position as Isabelle instructed me to do.

“Enough soldier,” Lucas said to me before turning back to the men. “As for the trees, I already said this place is above your security clearance. If you must know, I can tell you it was one of the freaks. Part of the experiments, but I’d have thought that would be obvious. You maggots wanna question me further so I can report it to your commanding officer, or are we done here?” Lucas questioned in a threatening tone.

The men muttered an apology and swiftly locked the back of the truck, before returning to the road. We stood at attention silently as we watched them leave. I didn’t dare talk until I knew for sure they weren’t coming back. I had sweat pooling down my back and my wings were aching to escape during the entire tense encounter. After a while Jake came outside and gave the all clear. They’d driven far enough away that he could no longer hear the truck.

I finally relaxed my posture and took a deep breath. We’d done it. Lucas laughed and a grin slipped onto his face. “Hell ya that was badass. Those idiots had no idea,” he continued to laugh as he walked happily back inside. I shook my head at his typical behavior. He was overjoyed to have the opportunity to mess with any type of authority, so duping the military had him riding a high. I followed him inside to deal with the next order of business, our new arrival.