Day 60:
I woke in a cold sweat. The air in the room musty. I didn’t know where I was. I glanced around to find I wasn’t alone, there were teens sleeping peacefully in lined cots. I sat up abruptly taking in my surroundings. The room was lit by a half dozen candles graciously spread out on small night stands. My eyes darted around the room until they found Silas. He was sleeping in a cot a few down from mine. I found my way to him and put my hand on his chest to make sure he was still breathing.
“Layla,” a deep voice called by the door.
I got up and walked over to find Quinn and another man I hadn’t met waiting.
“I’m glad to see you are awake. It has been over a week and we have all been worried,” Quinn mused.
“Have you given any of us water? It helps us recover sooner,” I said.
“Yes, lots and lots of water. All of you did an amazing job but it drained you greatly. It seems sleep has been needed as much as water this time,” Quinn explained.
Doctor Nickels made his appearance when Quinn finished speaking.
“Layla!” Dr. Nickels sounded excited.
“You were incredible. I would like to meet with you in my office to do some minor tests.”
“I didn’t do anything. It was everyone in there,” I stated pointing to the sleeping teens.
“Layla. You shined so brightly you cleared the gate and fence. We saw it all unfold from the roof. Yes, the others are indispensable too but they only took out a few at a time. You somehow managed to wipe them all out,” Dr. Nickels stated.
I listened to his words but felt confused. I had fought extremely hard not to take any of the energy from anyone there. If what he said was true then I had no idea what I was doing or how I was doing it. The doctor must have noticed my puzzled expression.
“Don’t fret we will figure everything out and hopefully get the world in order. The way it was meant to be,” he added.
I frowned listening to Dr. Nickels words made me feel uneasy but I didn’t know why. I turned in the direction of the sleeping teens in time to see a few stir. A couple of them had sat up and were getting adjusted to their surroundings. I glanced to where Silas lay but he was still sleeping. Greg was the first to join us in the hall.
“That was so epic!” Greg gushed.
“There were dozens of them and we took them all out. Was anyone timing us? I know that was some kind of new record. The strange thing was at the end I felt my energy being pulled out of me. It was really strange,” he added.
Everyone talked while the remainder of the teens woke. I found my way to Silas and watched him slowly enter the world of the living and dead.
“Good morning all, I hope you slept well. I would like to first thank all of you for your masterful no, kick ass performance! It was by far the most successful night we have had. Why don’t you all go and get cleaned up and hydrated. I would like for all of us to meet in the cafeteria, let’s say 1 pm,” Quinn rejoiced.
Soon everyone went their own ways and I found I was alone with Silas.
“Are you alright,” we both asked, simultaneously.
I laughed and it felt strange. I hadn’t freely and openly laughed in weeks. It felt odd in my throat but in the end it was fantastic and I laughed again. Silas smiled and laughed too. I probably appeared off my rocker.
“We should get cleaned up and join the others,” I chimed standing up and stretching.
The warehouse had a fully functioning gym with locker rooms. The men’s and women’s locker rooms had a hot tub, sauna and steam room. The place reminded me more of a resort than a warehouse. The shower felt wonderful on my skin. There was an endless supply of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors and any other personal hygiene items you could think of. I didn’t want to leave the shower. I could have stayed standing under the steady stream of water for the rest of my life but I heard female voices enter the locker room. There were six total shower stalls. I wanted to stand in the shower all day but I didn’t want to use all the hot water. I exited the stall and much to my disdain I watched Lucy strip down in front of me. I averted my eyes not wanting to see any more of her perfections.
“Hi, Layla,” she cheered, “What a night we had! I did feel useless just standing there, while all of you kicked ass.”
“Do you mind me asking what your ability is?” I asked.
“Oh sure, I can change my appearance, watch.”
I stood stunned as I watched Lucy shift from her beautiful self into me the resemblance uncanny. She then shifted into Silas and then back to herself. I found myself tightening the towel around myself when she shifted into him. It was silly because I knew it was Lucy but she looked so much like Silas.
“Wow, that is crazy cool,” I said.
“It’s ok but not really all that helpful when it comes to fighting the screamers,” she sighed.
“It would be neat if you could change into a screamer and walk amongst them. That would prove to be an invaluable ability,” I added.
She perked up at the idea and seemed to drift away in her own mind for a moment. The next minute Lucy was transforming in front of me. She was still Lucy but her skin was ashen, her eyes a dull grey, she even had blood drip ever so slightly down her nose, ears, eyes and lastly her mouth. I found myself involuntarily taking a step backwards, afraid of getting too close. Unlike the screamers, she smiled brightly, then laughed. She turned and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
“Oh my,” she muttered.
“I wonder if this could work? I look the part. I guess the question is are the screamers smart enough to know the difference,” she added.
I watched her transform back to herself. I could see she was drained I took her arm right before she fell. I could feel her energy was completely depleted.
“Let’s get you in the shower, the water will help,” I insisted.
The clock stated it was ten after one, Lucy and I entered the cafeteria. All heads turned in our direction.
“We are gracefully late,” Lucy stated leaving my side and making her way to Quinn.
Quinn did a quick scan over Lucy and then addressed the gathered crowd of teens.
“Today I’ve asked you here because I would like to properly introduce our new arrivals and hopefully get some work in,” Quinn said enthusiastically.
Everyone in the room except Quinn and the doctor appeared to be around my age or close to it. I saw Gabe sitting in a chair only half engaged in the conversation at hand. Silas stood with Greg and Hannah. I found myself standing alone by the closest exit.
Quinn continued, “Layla and Silas have found their way to us. We are happy to have them here and we have all seen that they have special abilities; like the rest of you in this room. If everyone would make a circle we will introduce ourselves.”
The Group formed a big circle and introductions began. Gabe however did not join the circle. He remained in his seat glancing up every once in a while.
“Hello my name is Quinn and I am the unofficial leader here. I do not have any special gifts or abilities. I was ill but did not wake up with any kind of cool super power. To be honest I am a bit jealous.”
He winked at nobody in particular and then tapped a petite girl on the shoulder standing next to him.
“Hi, my name is Addy and I am sixteen. When I woke up from the sickness I found I had the ability to run fast. Like super fast! I can run faster then the things out there. She pointed to a boarded up door. It’s how I am still alive, I outran three of them.”
I remembered she was one of the teens that jumped off the roof. Her red fiery hair was engraved into my memories
“Hi my name is Sally and I am also sixteen. I have the ability to make myself invisible”