Fighting Death (part 8)

“ARE YOU READY?!” I yelled to the crowd stood before me. Looking at them all, I saw that few of them had any sort of protection covering them. They didn’t need it- they used their powers for that. The best form of defence is offence. The crowd jeered in accordance. “THEN LET’S DO THIS!!!” I screamed. “IT’S TIME WE TOOK BACK CONTROL! WE DON’T DESERVE THIS TREATMENT! NOBODY DOES! IT’S TIME WE DEFENDED OURSELVES AND OTHERS! THEY ARE PREPARING TO FIGHT US AS WE SPEAK! THEY HAVE MORE PROTECTION, IT’S TRUE. BUT WE HAVE SOMETHING MUCH MORE. SOMETHING WORTH FIGHTING FOR! OUR FUTURES!!!!” The crowd screamed and stamped their feet. Momentarily I thought back to the few minutes leading to this climatic moment. 1

I looked over the field. The two groups had managed to get outside to the fields surrounding the centre. There must have been about four or five miles of land before any sign of civilisation appeared. On the other side of the field the opposition stood assembled. They were much better prepared than us. But we did have more mutants to fight. The numbers were hard to tell, but I think we have more people. Surprisingly, in fact, several members of the staff had joined us. The staff that had powers and had been forced to join and work. Unfortunately, they informed us that there were several more mutants fighting for the other side too. But thanks to them we had some of the injection guns. Both Danny and I were in possession of one. 2

We were ready. Dawn was approaching. We had spent the evening preparing for battle, than made sure everybody slept in the night, with night watchers guarding everyone.
As the sun rose it lit the faces of the people I was leading into battle. Was I doing the right thing? Many of these people would be killed, injured, scarred for life. Was it worth it? They were willing and, after all, it was their decision.
“Hey,” I looked to my side and saw Jasper, Belle, Imogen, Shock and Danny stood next to me. It appeared that jasper was the one who had spoken. “You’re doing the right thing, you know?” sometimes it was like he could read my mind.
“I know. That doesn’t make me feel any better, though, when I think of what’s going to happen here today.”
“These people are willing to fight. They are willing because they know that life will be better for everyone if they do fight. They don’t worry about the consequences because life has already hit rock bottom anyway.” Shock walked around me to stand on the other side of me.
Yvette walked towards us. “The sun’s rising, it’s time.” She said. We walked over to the front of the crowd.
“ARE YOU READY?!.....” 3

Leaning towards the centre of the field in anticipation, I looked over at Danny. He had his gun tucked into his belt. He nodded at me and yelled, “Aim for the heart! He’s stood right near the front!” I looked to the other side, indeed, Tristan was standing right at the front of the crowd. Almost level with me. Leading.
“Good Luck!” I yelled at him
“Luck? We don’t need luck!” he laughed then pointed his hand towards the ground, brushing it with fire. The prospect of fighting had brightened Danny up incredibly.
I looked down the row of people on the front row, and then glanced behind me to where Jasper was stood. He smiled encouragingly at me then nodded his head. I turned round to face the front. I threw my hand into the air, sending a bolt of electricity high above everyone. The agreed signal to charge.
“TAKE NO PRISONERS!” I yelled. We ran forward. Forward into battle.4

Imogen called the winds to aid our speed. It’s easier to run with the wind at your back. Shock knocked down anyone who crossed his path with a fatal voltage of electricity. Danny set fire to the ground in front of people before he reached Lucy. Belle sent people backwards telekinetically, I ran invisibly forward towards Tristan. He was battling Angela and another boy called Tim who could control earth. But they were no match for Tristan. I saw now that we had underestimated Tristan. He wasn’t just telepathic. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was. I sprinted the last few metres, then skidded to a halt in front of Angela and Tim, “GO!” I yelled as I appeared, then threw up a force field before Tristan could hurt them.
“Finally, some serious competition.” Tristan smirked.
I threw myself towards him, he dodged sideways. I spun around and shouted,
“So what exactly are you? Aside from indestructible.” We walked in a circle, surveying each other.
“Well, I have most powers- but I’m not empathic”
“How is that possible?” I threw fire at his feet, but he just stood there and lowered his hand, making the fire go out. I trailed fire on the ground in a circle around us. This way no one could interfere. Danny had done the same with Lucy, we had planned it beforehand. I glanced behind Tristan and saw Danny battling with a lioness. He was only fifty yards away.
“I’m dead.” Tristan said simply.
“Wait- what? You’re dead?” I jerked back to Tristan with a snap.
“Both me and Lucy were killed in an experiment at another centre. They pumped us with as much medicine as they could invent, most created with the blood of other mutants. Apparently the mutations are in the blood. It brought us back to life, but there were a few changes.”
I was shocked. They must have been the two mutants I had read about in the article.
“Like your eyes?” The realisation dawned on me. Tristan nodded.
“Very observant of you, Chlo.”
“so, if you only survive because you are pumped full of powers, then if you lost those powers- you couldn’t survive, right?”
“The theory is there. Yes. Why do you ask?”
All the time this conversation had been taking place, we had been circling each other, occasionally taking a shot at the other. Now I darted forward then spun round as he dodged sideways, expecting the move, and shot him in the back with the injection guns.
“That’s why.” I said vindictively. “Didn’t see that coming did you.” For good measure I shocked him with a fatal voltage of electricity.
I looked around and saw Danny and Lucy, now a huge King Cobra- the world’s longest, venomous snake. I quashed the ring of fire around Tristan and I and ran towards the fighting pair. Lucy’s tail was curled around Danny, avoiding the fire ring around the two of them. Danny pulled the gun from his belt, Lucy lunged, poisonous fangs bared, for Danny’s neck. Just as her fangs made contact with his skin, he pulled the trigger, injecting Lucy. She became a lion, a beetle, normal, blonde haired, tall, then to her usual appearance with her eyes turning blue instead of green. She fell to the floor, clasping her throat where the needle had gone in. She reached towards Danny, whispering, throatily, “Thank…you.” Danny stood there for a moment as Lucy’s hand dropped to her side, eyes still open but no longer breathing. He rested his hands on his knees then collapsed onto the floor.
I ran forward, “DANNY!” I screamed. I ran through the fire, extinguishing it as I went. I threw myself onto my knees next to him. “Danny! What happened?” I asked
But I saw what had happened. The fangs had broken the skin and poisoned Danny. the wound didn’t look very deep, but appearances could deceive you.
“Danny, we’re gonna get you a vaccine, okay? You’re gonna be fine.”
“I feel….like….I’m…dying..” Danny answered me breathlessly.
“Danny, don’t you go anywhere! Stay with me Dan, listen to me! You’re not dying! You’re going to be fine!”
“CHLOE!” I heard a voice yell from behind me, I turned and saw one of the staff pointing a gun at me. I threw out my hand and knocked him sideways, then created a force field around us. I looked to see who had shouted, it was Jasper. He was fighting, physically, with two staff, punching and kicking for all he was worth.
“Chlo…go...fight. They…need you.” Danny said, gasping for breath
“I’m NOT leaving you Danny.” But as I said this, I knew I had to. I couldn’t sit here safe knowing others were losing because of it.
“Go.” I put my hand on his cheek.
“I’ll be back. We’ll get the anti-venom, I promise.” I said, then I stood up and ran out of the force field, leaving it up to protect Danny. He was too weak to defend himself.
I went and stood next to Jasper, “Let’s win this.” I shouted to him.
We ran forward together, punching and pushing our way through, taking down any of the opposition in front of us. If we thought one of our side was losing, e took down who they were fighting against. Imogen joined us half way across the field and then Shock and Belle ran forward. The five of us ran through the crowds, blasting people then gone before they even knew they had been hit. We made a formidable team and nobody could touch us. Then the unthinkable happened. Someone leaped from the crowd in front of us, tackling Jasper. The four of us turned but it was too late. The attacker had electrified Jasper. He was dead. The shock overcame me, everything seemed to move in slow-motion, I ran forward but it barely felt as if I were moving forward at all.
“JASPER!!” I shrieked, I pushed the attacker off him and heard the others catch him. “Jasper!” I looked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. I knew tears were running down my face but I didn’t even feel them. I twisted round to see Belle holding the attacker still in Shock’s arms. It was Tristan!
“You’re supposed to be dead. Why didn’t the injection work on you? Like it did on Lucy?” I screamed at him, tears streaming down my face. My sorrow showed by the very fact that I hadn’t lost control.
“One of the staff found me and provided the cure.”
“I don’t know how you could do this.” My comment wasn’t a question. “You can’t be happy living this life? Lucy THANKED Danny-with her last breath!”
“Of course I’m not happy! How could I be? I owe my life to the people who killed me! They control me! While my eyes are green I have no other purpose in life than to do exactly what they tell me. This time it was to hurt you. Before, it was to learn your plans. The easiest way to hurt you was to kill him.” Tristan pointed to Jasper, lying on the floor.
I finally sobbed, it was a pitiful sound that I didn’t even recognise. I crouched over Jasper. “I am so sorry. This is all my fault.” My tears ran down my face and landed on his.
All of a sudden there was a huge explosion behind us, making me look up- tears still running down my cheeks. Belle’s concentration was broken by this and Tristan took his chance. He struggled free of Shock and threw fire towards me. I deflected this, sending it back towards him. I stood up.
“Get away from me.” I said quietly, but none the less viciously. Belle, Shock and Imogen formed a wall around me.
Tristan saw he would lose and turned to run. Like the coward he is I thought.
I collapsed on the ground. The others left me sitting there, they knew comfort wouldn’t help- I just needed to cry.
The fight was over. The bomb had won the war- I heard it in people’s minds. WE had won the war. But not without many casualties. I choked out a few words.
“Find Danny. Lucy bit him in a King Cobra form. He needs the anti-venom.”