Chapter Nineteen - Another Hole

Travis stood at the base of the ladder, taking in his dim surroundings. He had been one of the last to climb down, desperately wanting to get a moment to speak with Kat. This was not to be though for, as the last few trickled down the ladder, Kat climbed into one of the Jeeps and they all drove away, leaving Travis alone with another older gentlemen with graying hair and a permanent frown.

Now Travis looked around, noticing how dark in was, and how oddly refreshing it was after being blinded by the brightness of the scientists' white paint obsession. Here the walls were made by the carving out of dirt, and the floor was just tightly compacted dirt as well, stretching forward until it broke off into three completely dark tunnels. The people who belonged here seemed to gather in a far corner, smiling and chatting with one another. The rest, completely out of their element, stood spread out in the tiny area, the realization that they went from one hole to another seeping in.

Emma was off to one side, sitting next to Logan whom she had propped against the wall. She brushed a hand across his forehead, moving the dusted hair from his face. Taken aback, Travis found his eyes start to water. He did not understand why he felt so sad, or if that was even what he was feeling.

"It's strange isn't it." Raven whispered from behind Travis.

Clearing his throat and making sure the tears were under control, Travis half-turned to Raven. "What do you mean?"

"Her and him. Before my mother died, my father used to care for her and just... I don't know, touch her in a way that showed he loved her without making a big deal out it. Like brushing hair out of someone's eyes." Raven glanced back at Chandler who was intently watching the other group of strangers. "I guess you never saw much of that."

Travis frowned. "Tch. Whatever." He snapped.

"I know your story. You never stopped thinking about it, all of us were practically drowning in it when we first arrived." Raven calmly explained.

He looked at her over his shoulder, an overwhelming sense of unwanted vulnerability begging him to knock her out or run away. "You don't know what it's like to be number one." He said between clenched teeth.

Raven gave Travis a pitying look that a mother gives a knowing child. "We all have stories." She said, turning to walk back to Chandler.

Travis knew this, after all Raven just said her mother had died, but they still didn't understand what it was like to be the first experiment to survive, and to see so many die before the they came along. They didn't know what it was like to feel alone and isolated before even arriving to the science lab, that no amount of pleasure could stave it. Travis pushed his fingers against his temples. They just didn't know.

While concentrating on forgetting his past, Travis looked up to see one of the tunnels starting to light up and people emerging from the darkness. A tall, friendly looking man holding a lantern was leading a young woman and a fairly older woman. He had a thick red beard and eyes framed by crows feet. Travis moved closer to these new people, as did everyone else who was waiting around.

"How's it going Mr. Brown?" One of the younger guys who came in the Jeeps asked, holding up his hand for a high five.

Oh shoot, it's her dad. Travis thought, taking a small step backwards and bowing his head.

"Jefferson, I told you not to address me like that." The kid lowered his arm, and Brown smiled, grabbing a hold of Jefferson's forearm as Jefferson clasped onto his. "Glad to see you alive, kid."

Jefferson beamed with pride as everyone began to follow to two women who came with Mr. Brown. The five and Logan were left behind with Mr. Brown, looking at him with an uncertainty, but also hope.

"Are we safe here?" Chandler asked at barely above a whisper.

The man smiled, taking a knee next to Logan and checking his pulse. "You can call me Steve." He said, standing up and brushing dirt off of his jeans. "And as far as I am concerned, you can relax now. Welcome to your new underground family, kids."

Chapter Eighteen - Alarm

A red light illuminated the dark room, and a piercing shrill filled the silence. Emma jumped out of her bed, slamming into the corner of her room. She slowly slid down the wall, ignoring the pain of a dresser handle digging into her side. With a panic of not understanding anything that was happening, Emma pushed her hands to her head, as if the sound was coming form her own mind and she needed to push it out.

"I'll eat it! I'll eat it! Just stop!" She cried, pushing her hands harder against her head, unaware that she was not, in fact, being tortured. Jason kicked in Emma's door, quickly rushing over to her. The sudden motion caused Emma to turn away from him, her face pressing against the wall. "I'll do what you want... I'll do what you want..." she murmured to the wall.

Putting a hand under Emma's arm, Jason lifted Emma onto her feet. "Emma, look at me." Emma twitched, looking towards the wall. "Emma, it's an alarm, we have to get out of here." Jason glanced at the glaring red light that bounced off the walls. "This isn't torture, Emma, you're okay." He added.

Emma looked at Jason, taking in the troubled expression of his furrowed brow and brooding eyes. "Jason..." She looked around the room, and noticing how the flashing red light glanced off of the white walls and the sound of running feet outside her door had nothing to do with electric chairs and wire, Emma began to grasp this reality. "What's going on?" She asked, distracted by the panic that seemed to be coming from the hallway.

A girl dressed in a black shirt and black pants stopped in the doorway, her dark hair falling out of a loose ponytail and a scowl on her face. Emma remembered it was the girl she presumed to be related to Mora. The girl stepped inside Emma's room, an unconscious Mora under her arm. "Go. Now." She barked.

Jason pulled Emma along. "They somehow snuck Morgan down here with the two new guys yesterday. She's part of Kat's revolution team that Travis had been hearing about with his phone calls." He explained as the girl fled the room.

Once in the hallway, Emma stopped and turned to look at the double doors that separated their hall from the super-soldier hall. Logan was just on the other side, and if Morgan could carry Mora out under her arm, what was going to stop her from saving Logan? Emma broke free of Jason's grip and dashed for the doors. Once through she could hear the frustrated yells of Jason, but she did not stop until she was met by the barrel of a gun. One of the soldiers stood poised in the hall, a riffle trained at Emma's head, and the soldier not moving a muscle as the double doors slammed shut behind Emma. She paused for a moment, and then decided to go for it, diving at the soldier's legs. He fell with a heavy thud, helmet sliding down the hall, and Emma quickly grabbed his gun. Struggling to stay on top, Emma turned the gun around, and smashed the butt of the gun against the soldier's head, knocking him out cold.

Keeping ahold of the gun, Emma then rammed through Logan's door, finding him alert and positioned to fight a few feet away his bed. "Logan, come with us." She pleaded, motioning towards the door with the gun. Logan said nothing. "I know you remember things, that you aren't completely controlled by them... please..." she looked for better words, but she was still fighting off the fog of her psychotic break moments ago.

"I'd rather die." He sneered, throwing himself at Emma. Emma slammed the gun against Logan, but he simply took hold of it and wrestled it from her hands. Training the gun on Emma, a small smile spreading across his face.

"Well, if you want to play it that way!" Jason yelled, launching himself on top of Logan and jabbing a syringe into Logan's neck. Logan yelled, whether in pain or frustration Emma could not tell, and slumped to the ground, allowing the gun to fall into Jason's hands. Slinging the gun over his shoulder, Jason lifted Logan up, and gave Emma a disgruntled look. "We have to move now, we'll be lucky if we aren't all dead because of this."

Emma nodded and helped Jason carry Logan out of the room and down the hallway into the kitchen. Inside the kitchen a hole had been blown through the roof, and series of chairs and tables were made into a make-shift stairway. More guards could be heard running down the hallway, and Jason and Emma worked quickly to push Logan through the hole. Once Logan had been shoved to the surface, they then scaled up themselves, making sure to knock over their make-shift system, buying them some time with the guards.

Once outside Emma felt the frosty air and wetness of snow as she pushed herself onto the ledge. "Snow..." She muttered, glancing up and feeling the soft, wet touch of the flakes. Morgan came over and pushed Emma to the side, placing a giant metal weight over the man-made hole.

This may have upset Emma, but this shove caused her to notice how dark and gray the sky was, and that while it may be snowing, most of the snowflakes seemed to be gray, not white. "What is this?" she asked, looking up at the darkened sky with an outstretched hand.

"Mount Cayley, a local volcano, decided this would be a good time to let off some steam." A tall, red haired girl explained, kneeling in from of Emma. So this was Kat, Emma thought to herself as Kat helped her up. "Welcome to Canada." Kat smiled. She was fairly thin, but had an air about her of strength as she pulled a leather jacket over her toned arms and fixed her sloppy ponytail back on top of her head. Kat went off to speak with Jason, Raven, and Travis.

Looking around frantically, Emma finally set her eyes on Logan, who was still lying in the snow next to the covered escape hole. Slowly, Emma moved over to him and knelt over him. His blonde hair was starting to gather the gray ash from the volcano, and Emma, with a sense of guilt, pushed her fingers through his hair. She wished things could be like they use to be when they were together and happy. His face seemed more familiar as he slept in the snow. A guilty part of Emma wished he would sleep forever, to never wake up and hate her again. Emma rested a dirty on the side of his face, brushing her thumb over his cheek bone.  "You'll come back to me, won't you?" She whispered, holding back to desire to cry uncontrollably.

"Cars are here! Everyone move out!" Morgan yelled, pulling her little sister off the ground, and placing her into a dark blue Jeep. Beyond the Jeep, were two more, one red, the other a dark green.

Jason came over with Travis and Chandler. "We decided to load Logan into the trunk of one of the cars, less of a chance he will kill us immediately that way." Jason explained while Travis and Chandler got into position to lift Logan off the ground. Emma simply nodded and followed the three boys and an unconscious Logan to the red car, and she climbed into the middle of the backseat. Jason closed the back and climbed in next to Emma, producing a green blanket, and wrapping it around her. "You looked cold." He explained. Travis got in on the other side of Emma, and in the front Kat was in the passenger seat, while a guy Emma did not know sat at the wheel.

After they had been in the car around an hour, Emma began to get weary. The bumps and rocking back and forth were quite unenjoyable, and an anxiety about what she was going to do with Logan began to drive Emma crazy. "How much longer?" Emma asked, pushing the blanket down and freeing her arms.

Kat turned around, taking in the situation. "Not too much longer." She assured.

Emma sighed, leaning her head back against the seat. After a little while, they finally stopped, everyone but the drivers pilling out in what looked like the middle of no where. Kat walked a few steps, and then squatted down. A few seconds later the ground shook, and Emma thought for sure the Volcano was going to destroy them all, but instead a hole just appeared in the ground.

"Welcome to our secret base." Kat said, motioning to a rope ladder leading into the dark hole.

The three Jeeps then seemed to rev up and drive away, tossing gray slush everywhere and leaving them without cars. Emma's stomach sank. She wanted to go home, see her family, enjoy the sunshine. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck underground once again.

Chapter Seventeen - Numbers Grow

Emma sat at the breakfast table, twitching at every small sound and movement. Her fingers drummed endlessly against the metal table, as she fearfully glanced back and forth. The mornings were the worst for Emma, because she was still trying to separate nightmares from reality, and the constant dose of tranquilizers did not help. She sat across from Travis, who she felt was doing something stupid, but Emma was not quite sure what. In an attempt to look normal, Emma leaned her head against her hand, gripping her hair in a fist. She took a deep breath, gripped her fork, and concentrated on picking up a small slice of sausage while not pulling her hair out.

Raven, sitting next to Travis, reached across the table, touching Emma lightly on her wrist. Emma dropped her fork, causing a loud clang, and looked to Raven. Emma could tell Raven was trying to be comforting, just as she was always trying to do with Chandler, so Emma tried to smile, acknowledging that reaching out is difficult in the tranquilizer fog.

Sitting back and releasing her hair from her clenched fist, Emma took in what was real and tangible. Hands resting on the table, she laid her eyes on the far end of the cafeteria, watching Mora shovel eggs into her mouth as she sat across from Logan. Watching Mora's right hand with a forced concentration, the black eight began to seem odd to Emma. After a moment the pieces seemed to slide together, and, with a new sense of urgency, took hold of Raven's hand.

What happened to seven? Mora's hand has an "8".

Raven glanced over, receiving a fowl sneer from Mora. Sometimes others don't make it. 

Emma's brow furrowed. She knew she should be upset by this, or feel some kind of anger at what these scientists do to children like Mora, but the haziness made it hard, and she felt the great desire to take a nap despite the nightmares.


After training, lunch, and physical exams they were all placed in the recreation room. Raven instantly pulled her brother along to the couch, examining the bruises that Logan had given. Jason went to his usual spot at the piano, watching the keys, playing tunes in his head, as Travis crossed the room to the white folding chairs. After a moment of standing and watching Logan and Mora constantly try to beat each other's time record with rubik's cubes, Emma decided to sit with Travis.

She knew he was acting strange, but could not figure out how or why she thought that. You are being strange. She told him, staring forward so it would not be obvious they were communicating nonverbally.

Travis' mouth twitched. We all are. Tranquilizers.

No, that's not it. 

Did you know it's Sunday?

Sunday? Emma glanced at Travis, eyes wide, before realizing she should not do that. How do you know that?

I stole a phone. I stole a phone and I've used it every morning since we were tortured. 

Emma shuttered, rubbing her hands down her arms, pushing the memory of pain out of her mind. You're going to get in trouble. They're smarter now.

I know... but I can't help it.

Emma allowed herself to look at Travis. He twiddled his thumbs as if thinking, but beads of sweat hiding at his hairline suggested he was quite nervous. Emma got the strong sense that Travis needed to talk to this girl, the one he was tortured by up until recently. He wanted redemption.

You're obsessed. Emma said. You're going to get yourself killed just trying to talk to her.

Oh, and you would never do such a thing. He remarked, just as two guards walked in a new person dressed in black. I suppose seven made it after all... He noted, forgetting their conversation.

The new girl seemed timid, hiding behind the guards and glancing around anxiously. It reminded Emma of her first day here, and she felt perhaps she should stand and introduce herself, but the girl's temperament quickly changed when she saw Mora. She looked to be Mora's sister, older and a bit taller, hair long and braided nicely. She wore a smug look, just like Logan and Mora. Two boys then emerged from behind Mora's assumed sister, a tall Brunette with a pointed nose, and a fit, but thin boy looking about fourteen and with lightly tanned skin and dark eyes.

The five were now quickly looking amongst each other, and a feeling of immanent death stared them right in the face as the new three joined the other two. They've never had this many at once before. Travis stated. We're dead meat. We are literally dead. meat.

Chapter Sixteen - Night Patrol

The five could no longer get away with sneaking to the kitchen, or plotting against the scientists. After being dropped off, two guards were positioned in each end of the hallway, making sure no more issues would occur. It did not matter to most of them, because the torture and questioning left them completely exhausted. The hallway was filled with the hushed voices of the two guards as they spoke to one another.

Travis sat against his door, listening to the soft chatter. He was not as lucky as the others who slept the hours away. Hugging his knees to his chest, Travis waited out the hours listening to the guards talk of the best kind of gun until the early hours of the morning. There was a long lull in the on and off discussion outside the door, and then he heard the guard by his door say to the other, "It's almost breakfast time. The caretakers will be here in an hour, let's go get something to eat." The other guard grunted, and then Travis heard the opening and closing of a nearby door.

Waiting a few minutes to make sure no one was going to replace the two who left, Travis stood and leaned against the door. When he was sure no one else was coming for a while he pushed the door open quickly and, as quietly as possible, dashed down the hallway to Jason's room. Busting inside, Travis quickly closed the door again, finding Jason out of bed with wide eyes.

"What-?"

"We don't have long." Travis rushed, fumbling with something in his pocket. "I did something bad, Jason."

Jason calmed down and furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean, Travis?"

Travis pulled out a cellphone, his hands slightly trembling.

"Where did you..."

"I don't know, I just had it." Travis shrugged. "I must have taken it when they were taking me back to my room." Travis rotated the phone in his hand. "We have to figure something out."

Jason reached for the phone, and looked it over. "It's locked." Handing it back to Travis, Jason sighed. "Unless you have someone's number memorized we can't do anything. And I doubt the police would do anything here."

Travis held the phone again, feeling heavy inside. "I only remember one number..." He said.

Jason instantly saw what was on Travis' mind. "The girl's number? The only number you remember is the girl who got you here?"

"It's not her fault i'm here!" Travis blurted. "She does hate me though." Staring at the numbers, Travis sighed. "I have to try. I should at least apologize to her."

Before he could chicken out, Travis punched in the numbers and held the phone up to his ear. The phone rang three times before a timid voice answered. "Hello?"

Travis froze.

The voice asked again, "Hello?"

"Hi..." Travis said, biting his finger.

"Who is this?"

"It's uh... Travis." There was no response. "Travis Peterson? I know I'm a jerk but your number is the only one I have memorized and..." Travis teetered off at the strange gasp across the line.

"Travis?" Kat croaked out. "You're alive?"

"Oh... yeah, everyone thinks I'm dead, huh? Well, I'm not, I guess."

There was a long pause, and a subtle sound of someone trying to breathe could be heard. "I'm so sorry." She cried. "I didn't know... but it worked?"

"What? What do you mean you didn't know?" Kat said nothing. "Well... I was calling to apologize for being such a jerk and to let you know me and a few others are being held captive against our will. Also, we will soon be made into military-robot food."

Kat's voice lowered as she responded. "Listen, it'll be okay. There's a plan."

"A plan? Kat, what's going on out there? What do you know?"

"It doesn't matter, just be smart, like I assume you're not being since you stole a phone." Kat paused for a moment. "Can you trust me?" She asked, her voice dripping with concern and eagerness.

"Yes... I think so." Travis replied. "Kat?"

"Yes?"

"What day is it?"

"It's a Wednesday." She said, a smile peaking through her words.

"Wednesday." Travis repeated, rolling the word around in his mind. "I think I like Wednesdays."

"I have to go." Kat said. "Be safe."

Kat hung up and Jason and Travis stared at one another for quite awhile. Finally, Jason stated, "You're about to get in a lot of trouble if you don't leave now."

Travis nodded, heading for the door.

"Also, delete your calling history." Jason called, as Travis retreated to his room.

Chapter Fifteen - Dr. Blohm

A pair of cold fingers gripped Emma's pale arms, pushing her into an uncomfortably stiff, silver chair. Emma's mind was racing, and her pulse felt like it was going to burst through her skin, as she felt cold leathers strips stretch over her wrists and ankles. A bright light then glared into her eyes, enhancing her feeling of panic as the room filled with fuzzy spots. Her fingers gripped so tightly that the white of her the knuckles reflected the white on the walls.

It had only been two days since the group had stopped eating meat, and after they had all refused once again to eat it at dinner, consequences were threatened. Sticking their ground with a fake-religious fervor, the scientists grew red in the face, and without realizing what was really going on, each of the five was taken up by the guards that lined the cafeteria walls, and thrown into their own private, silver-chaired room.

Trying to get rid of the sound of her panicked breathing, Emma forced her mind to listen to the beeping that now echoed in the room, using the regulated beeps to help her breathing appear normal. She did not know where the beeps were coming from, and she fought off the memory of her first night here, trying to stay in control as the cold eyes of the blonde, steely woman took a seat on a silver stool. For the first time, Emma felt genuinely angry at this woman and what she had done. Perhaps it was the lack of tranquilizers, or perhaps the knowledge that she controlled Logan, but Emma felt her insides start seething. Looking this doctor up and down, Emma sized her up, noticing an embroidered "Dr. Blohm" on her coat, for the first time realizing these people have names too. Dr. Blohm also had a fairly feminine stature about her, very similar to Emma's own build, only taller, and more slender where Emma was more fit due to training. If for not being super-human, Emma felt almost certain that the two could pass as family, and somehow that calmed Emma a little bit. Given the chance, Emma could take her out in seconds.

"Five..." the woman sighed, seeming highly inconvenience as she shuffled some papers on her lap. "Why are you not eating the food we have so graciously provided?" Her fingers gripped the papers tightly, showing that while her voice was calm and even, Dr. Blohm was quite frustrated. When Emma did not respond, Blohm sighed again, harsher this time, and pulled her blonde hair away from her face, causing her sharp features to be more noticeable in the bright room. Keeping her eyes on Emma, the doctor motioned at the two guards who stood to left of the room, and, as they moved closer to Emma, Dr. Blohm leaned forward, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side, and said, "You will give me answers whether you like it or not, Five."

Emma glanced at the two men, who were now messing with a few wires, and the realization began to hit Emma. She was going to be tortured if she did not speak. "My name is Emma, not Five." She squeaked, hoping that she could buy time by just speaking.

"I did not ask about your name. I need an answer as to why you've been skipping meals, or other methods will be employed."

Emma cleared her throat, trying to avoid the squeakiness that sometimes came when she spoke nervously. She explained how the group was participating in the Daniel Diet, and that it was because they felt led to show how they can beat these seemingly stronger opponents by simply following God. It was not a speech filled with the passion and fervor a very religious person may have spoke with, but Emma did the best to explain how her mother was religious, and that it was in tribute to her that she followed her mother's faith in this place.

Emma was then starting to ramble on about her mother, and Dr. Blohm had had enough. "I do not care about your faith, or your mother. It has no place in this facility. You have been given everything you could need, and you and the others should not push your luck. Do you understand?"

Emma nodded, pressing her lips tightly together.

"You will eat what we give you, or matters will grow worse for you." To this Emma said nothing, and Blohm gave her a questioning look. "You will do as I say, won't you?" Emma simply stared at the doctor, and a fury took over Dr. Blohm at once. "I've had enough of you!" She barked, causing Emma to shrink away as much as possible. "Children are always so ungrateful." Blohm growled, and Emma felt this woman had a very questionable past. Walking towards the door, Dr. Blohm looked to the guards, and with a cold look ordered, "Give her the therapy until she gives into what I have said, and then drop her into her room for the night."

Dr. Blohm left the room, and Emma cried out, "No! No! You don't understand!" But everyone understood very well what was going on, and the wires were quickly placed on Emma's skin. Emma was then forced to give up what felt like her last freedom in this place, and with the smell of burning hair, and the constant streaming of tears, the two guards dragged Emma down the hall to her room.

As they took her down the hall, Emma looked around to see if the others were around, but her vision was hazy with tears and pain. Only when the guards walked past the showering area did Emma's vision begin to clear. Exiting the shower area, Logan ran right into one of the guards. Logan was wearing his uniformed black shirt and sweat pants, rubbing his hair dry with a towel, but the moment he ran into the guard and noticed they were dragging Emma he stopped with a furrowed brow.

Emma tried to reach out to him the way she spoke with the others, mentally and unheard by the guards. Logan, you know me, she whispered to him. Come back to me. Logan's eyes narrowed at Emma as she was pulled around a corner, and she felt the impression come back from him, saying, They won't keep you very much longer.

Chapter Fourteen - Diets

There was a soft hum emanating from the refrigerator, filling every silence filled gap, accompanied by the trill of rhythmic breathing and darting eyes. The five sat against the white painted cabinets, twiddling their thumbs and searching for some kind of answer to their question. The humming continued to grow louder, as if the fridge was threatening to fly away, giving them and their scheming away to the scientists and their monsters.

"So... we can never eat again?" Chandler finally squeaked, startling the rest of the group. Raven pulled her brother closer to her, causing Chandler to look at her instead of the fridge that sat directly in front of him. Raven made no sound, but tried to give Chandler a reassuring smile as she wrapped her arms around him, keeping him near, a protective mother's embrace.

"That would be too suspicious." Jason sighed, crossing his arms and leaning his head back against the cabinet handle. "This is why I have never brought it up before..." He remarked in an agitated and gruff tone. He knew Raven felt negatively toward him, and keeping this secret put another notch in the wanting-to-kill-Jason bucket of feelings she carried around with her. But by now, he realized, as he noted Raven's maternal tendencies, that it was not so much himself that Raven disliked, but the danger constantly surrounded her little brother that put her in a constant nasty mood.

Jason glanced over at Emma, who sat to his left. She was someone he wanted to protect. Yet, even in the midst of this serious conversation, Jason felt Emma's mind fixated on Logan. She was supposed to be the damsel in distress, and yet she is so determined to be the one playing the hero when it comes to the military robot that is her boyfriend.

With the beginning of a headache, Jason reached his arm to his right, punching Travis right in his shoulder. "Ow." Travis said, now looking at Jason instead of his tapping sock-feet. "That was a little rough."

"You said you had ideas."

"Ah..." Travis, now fully aware of what was going on, felt his face grow warm. Even though he had a nearly spotless track record for winning everyone over, and carrying the kind of charisma that would shock the president into a standing ovation, he had changed. In this place, he constantly dreamed and relived the ways he hurt others, sending him into a desperate spiral of self-hate and self-doubt. Something about being number one just was not fun for him anymore, and, as the old song says, one truly is the loneliest number.

"Travis..." Jason snapped his finger in front of Travis' face. "We need something... anything."

Everyone turned their attention to Travis, eyes trained and hopeful. "It's okay, just breathe for a moment." Emma soothed, reaching past Jason to lay a comforting hand on Travis's arm, a reassuring smile playing at her lips. Travis' mind grew gentler, and Emma withdrew her hand. She did not know she had this affect on others, but everyone else could see she was the kind of girl everyone fell in love with, if at least for a moment.

Travis stood up, brushing down his arms as if dust had collected upon his grey, long-sleeved  shirt. "Well, what we first need to do is find a way to switch our food around with their new super-humans', that way they will be the ones who eat the tranquilizers, not us." In a professorial kind of way, Travis pulled open the fridge, and was met with a series of vegetables, fruits, and meats.

"It's not like we can just switch some labels around..." Jason remarked, feeling superior by his knowledge of the refrigerator, even though no one really took note of it.

"That's okay, I have a back-up plan." He said, nosing around in the fridge until there was a short click and Travis turned around, holding a tray full of tubes that held beige colored slime. "We eject this stuff into all of the meat, and at meals we simply won't eat meat."

"Still suspicious." Jason retorted, growing annoyed in his growing exhaustion.

"No, it's not." Emma chimed in. "From now on, we will be on the Daniel diet." To this, no one spoke, and instead gave Emma a strange look. "You know, Daniel from the Bible? Didn't eat meat? Beat everyone who did?" Still no response. "My mother is very religious." She confessed, no longer interested in defending herself.

After a moment of awkward silence, Travis took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Exactly!" Travis looked at the others, his head bobbing up and down ever so slightly. "We are all very religious, aren't we?"

The other three looked amongst each other and slowly nodded their heads, accepting this plan as their last hope.

Chapter Thirteen - Numbers

Jason knew this was his chance to say something. Everyone had been severely beaten down by Mora and Logan. As he had predicted, Mora and Logan were told to go against the five of them, and the five of them were easily outwitted and out-powered. The "doctors" were ushering their non-elite patients to the showers, keeping them all in a single file line. Jason held up the back, while Emma was at the very front holding a hand to her head, no doubt in pain from being kicked in head by Mora, who was able to jump much higher then expected for someone just let out of the surgical process. Glancing back at the white-cloaked doctor behind him, Jason concentrated on the four in front of him, passing along a mental message he hoped they would receive.

"Don't eat dinner." He tried to tell them. "They will think we are just too exhausted to eat after training."

"And why should we?" He felt Raven snap. He knew he had always been offensive to her, but he also knew he had to help her. Personal vendettas can come after they all get out alive.

"They put tranquilizers in our food." Was all he said, fearing to even mentally speak due to the burning stare of the doctor close behind.

Raven, who had been behind Emma, glanced back to Chandler briefly, but no one said anything else. Emma and Raven were then split off into their side of showers, and the rest took their place on the men's side, each door being guarded by two doctors in their lab coats, who usually just wrote in their little booklets that they kept in their breast pocket.

Jason was trying to think of a way to save everyone, while in fact trying to look like he was not thinking at all. He knew already that Emma would plead to take Logan along with them, but she should also notice how he had no reserves at practically trying to kill them all. This truly frustrated Jason. He felt he could never understand her dedication to Logan, especially when he was so brutish and uncaring. Then again, it could also be why up until now Jason had never really had friends. Maybe everyone needs an Emma in their life.

Everyone was allowed a seven minute shower, to the second, and then commanded to dry off and dress. Jason pulled on his assigned sweatpants and a black t-shirt, frustrated that he hardly had anytime to think of a plan, and that when he did he just thought about his frustrations with Emma. If he could punch something and get away with it, Jason felt he would probably do it. Reluctantly, Jason followed behind Travis, who was behind Chandler but seemed to keep a little distance as they were ushered to the cafeteria.

Travis took a deep breath as if he was simply enjoying his walk down the hallway, but at the same time Jason heard him say, "If Logan is an issue, I know how to drug him." Jason stared hard at Travis' head, confused by what he just heard. "When you gave us your warning." He went on, "You opened yourself up to us." He said.

This surprised Jason, but more than anything frightened him. His vulnerability seemed to rush over him just as the pack of dogs that seemed to bring him here.

"It's all right." Travis assured. "Control your breathing or they'll get suspicious. You don't have to let us know everything, I just couldn't help myself. It's the way I am." He explained.

Jason knew this, for even though Jason was not letting others into his mind, he could still see into theirs. Travis' history was always at the tip of his consciousness, and his nosiness and need for people, while he rejects it here, was apparent. "Meet in the kitchen tonight after you're sure the doctors are gone." Jason said to both Chandler and Travis. "And pass it along to the girls."