“Show me how to use this,” she says to me, placing the gun in my hands.
“I would prefer you to have more experience with the other weapons before we move onto this one.”
“You’re kidding, right? I already know how to shoot the damn thing. The only thing I need from you is your power,” she says, as she gestures to the blue line meandering up and down my arm, all the while her tone threatening.
“You’re not ready for it,” I grumble back at her, placing the gun back and walking away.
“Meg!” Jagger screams from behind me.
I turn around in time to see the Pugio blade coming at me, so I’m forced to dive to the floor, rolling away from Kedua as she tries to plunge the weapon into my chest. Jagger picks up the Levin gun I’d been holding and aims it Kedua, but he doesn’t get a chance to fire as several guards grab him, shoving him down on his knees. They restrain him, forcing him to watch Kedua try to kill me.
“You don’t want to do this,” I tell her, as I try and make my way back around to the weapons table.
“Come on, Trea, I know you’re in there,” Kedua taunts me.
It sounds like she’s been eavesdropping on my conversations. The annoying thing is, it works.
My mind begins to distort the images around me.
I feel heat growing inside, pulsating through my veins. My right arm burns red hot, searching for a weapon to manipulate. A smile grows on Kedua’s face as she sees Trea escaping from her lair. I fight myself to keep her hidden, but I’m losing control every second. Kedua jabs at me, grazing my thigh.
I reach the table, grabbing a hold of whatever enters my grasp first. Looking down at my fingers, I notice I’m gripping a simple Beta gun, but I don’t have time to choose an alternate weapon as Kedua comes at me again. I fire the gun, hitting her in the arm and shoulder. She drops the blade to cover her wounds with her working arm. I walk over, pick up the blade as the heat grows; bright blue beams intertwine around the weapon, wrapping tightly around the metal causing it to glow intensely.
“You want this power,” I hiss at Kedua who is now crouching on the floor, “you can have it.”
I thrust the blade deep into her left arm, almost severing it. She screams in pain…a noise I’m very familiar with. I pull the blade out, drop it to the ground, and walk away, as the guards drop Jagger and immediately rush to tend to Kedua’s multiple gashes. I go back to my room and stay there for the remainder of the day.
The only person who comes to check on me is Jagger as he carries a dinner tray filled with pasta noodles covered in a thick red sauce. He sets the tray down on the small end table by my bed before he pulls the black plastic chair he normally sits on over to the bed where I currently lay.
“Artemis is restricting you to your room for the time being,” he says quietly, hands folded together as he leans forward.
I don’t say anything. I only remain laying there, staring up into the blue painted ceiling.
“Kedua won’t be released from the hospital for a couple of days. They had to amputate her arm just below the elbow and are fitting her with an artificial one.” He pauses, waiting for me to respond, but I don’t. “She didn’t heal quickly from her injuries…not as fast as you do.”
This surprises me for a moment, but the more I think about it, the more I understand our differences. Devlan injected me with Quarum after my injury from the Levin gun. Quin did the same after he was severely hurt, so he heals faster as well. But there isn’t any Quarum left. The formula for it would have been destroyed in the Dormitories, and only Devlan had some left over, so unless Artemis finds a way to synthesize it, Kedua will never heal as quickly as Quin and me.
I wait for Jagger to leave before I get up to eat my food, but he stays. I look over at him, his face drawn down.
“What’s wrong?”
“Meg,” he stammers, “I need to tell you something.”
I continue to look at him, but he doesn’t raise his eyes to meet mine. I’m not sure I’m going to like what he has to say.
“One night when Quin and I were down at the power plant, I did something.” He wipes his brow with the back of his hand as he begins to perspire. “While we were looking for some parts to repair the electrical outlets, I came across a couple of lead wires with nodules at the ends. Quin asked me to do it, and I didn’t see the harm in it at the time.”
“Do what?” I ask, sitting up.
“I connected them to the Quantum Stream in his back, then laced them just under the skin of both biceps and down to the tips of his fingers where I created tiny ports. All he has to do is touch anything now and he can transmit the energy.” He lifts his eyes, guilt etched on his face. “I didn’t see the harm in it at the time,” he repeats.
I’m too shocked to speak.
“Say something.”
I continue to stare at him, anger building inside.
How could Jagger have been so foolish? What was he thinking?
Quin now has an ability I don’t.
“Please,” he begs, “say something…anything.”
I simply fold my arms and turn my attention to the monitor as a new
