John was the first one to enter the training facility, which
was emptier than he thought it would be. The room held a few black elliptical
machines and a treadmill under a massive spotlight. The walls were bare and
looked as cold as the weather outside. A small twelve inch window exposed the
winter storm that was happening beyond the walls, snow whipping from side to
side, following the howling winds every command.
Charles ushered Jennifer into the room, followed by Cyrus
and his group of guardians. As Jennifer made her way over to join John by the
window, Charles gestured to the guards that they may leave. Once the guards
turned to leave the doorway, Charles slowly closed the door, turning the knob
until he could hear the latch close.
“So, I’m sure you guys have some questions for me.
Especially you, sweetheart,” he said, directing his site at Jennifer.
Her wings hung down to the lower parts of her legs, and were
starting to develop natural tattoos around the curves and arches. John circled
around her, inspecting each new design. He traced the most prevalent line with
his finger, following it from beginning to the twisty end in the center of her
wings.
“Ah yes, those,” Charles commented, “well, the best way to
describe it would be that their like fingerprints. Each wing has its own story,
so to speak. Think of a fortune teller who could read your palm, it’s similar
to that. It’s a natural process and is nothing to be afraid of, I assure you.
Have you been able to spread your wings yet, Jennifer?”
She responded by shaking her head negatively, and then
looking back down at the cement floor.
“Do I intimidate you?” Charles stepped over to Jennifer and
used his thumb to gently lift her chin up, instructing her to look him in the
eye. John cut in front of Jennifer, moving her back a few steps. Cyrus grunted
in disapproval, causing Charles to address the tension that was building in the
room.
“Cyrus, relax. It’s ok. He’s standing up for the girl who he
thinks is the key to it all. He thinks she’s the answer, the reason. I’m here
to tell you that you couldn’t be more wrong, my boy. You see, the only person
in this room that is not expendable – is you, John.”
John’s eyes ate a whole through the chest of Charles, who
began to circle the room, almost taunting him with the power he currently had
over him.
“You see, John, I have seen your future. You are going to
save our kind and you’re going to do it with a smile, because it is your
destiny. Cyrus will play a role in it. Jennifer will play a role in it. You
will play a role in it, and your role is savior. Do you think you could handle
that? Actually, it doesn’t matter what you think, because you’re going to do it
anyways.”
John scowled at the way he was being talked down upon,
reminding him of the way he father had treated him so many years ago. His anger
was starting to boil over, and Jennifer instinctively caught on to this,
prompting her to grab his hand and place it in hers.
“You don’t have a choice in this matter, John. Nor do you,
Jennifer. Cyrus has been with us for some time, how long have you been here
now?”
Cyrus threw up four fingers, signifying the number of years
he’d been at the facility.
“Four years now, my goodness. This is your third mission for
us, correct?”
Cyrus grunted and shook his head yes, confirming Charles’
assumption.
“Let us get down to business now, shall we?” Charles stepped
on the treadmill under the spotlight, demonstrating what was expected of both
Jennifer and John. As the three of them looked on, he flipped a switch on the side
of the machine that turned on the light above him.
“I thought we get to ask questions,” John said, growing
increasingly frustrated with each passing moment. The question caused Charles
to chuckle as he stepped off of the exercise machine.
“Today you are going to learn how to achieve your goals
under intense conditions. This light here,” Charles said, pointing to the
gigantic spotlight above them, “simulated what it would be like to deal with temperature upwards of three
hundred degrees.”
John’s tail slapped off of the floor, leaving him in
complete disbelief.
“I have a question, Charles. Why would we need to endure
that type of heat. A man can not survive that type of heat… Where the hell are
you sending us?”
Charles stood in front of John and placed an arm on his
shoulder.
“Who said anything about a man surviving those conditions? I
believe that you are under the impression that you are human, and that couldn’t
be further from the truth.”
John’s tail began to wag from side to side without intent.
He looked down at his tail and saw a dozen four inch spikes poking from all
directions. Suddenly, a 40 inch plasma
television was lowered from the ceiling, which turned on by itself once it was
stationary.
Mrs. Margot graced the screen, watching a live feed of the
room that they all currently occupied.
“Thank you, Charles.”
Charles bowed his head to the screen and stepped behind it,
removing himself from her view.
Mrs. Margot commanded that the spotlight be turned on, and
her will was realized rather quickly.
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