Young Writers Society

“Get up!” commanded a loud voice.

My eyes shot open and I sat up, hitting my head. Hands grabbed me and wrenched my hands behind my back and cuffed them together. I blinked my eyes rapidly and saw guards also getting Linnea, who was also still waking up. I was shoved forward and stumbled, but didn’t fall. I saw two more boys being led out, and another girl.

“Now, you are being taken out to see everyone. Can we trust you to unchain you?” the lead guard shouted. I heard one of the boys snort and I smiled; either way I would get out. “Well, we are testing you. Do good, and you may live. Disobey us, and, well, you won’t see anything ever again.”

I looked at Linnea and she shook her head; we couldn’t scare everyone, but now was the perfect time. I smiled and the metal started slowly sliding down my arms.

“What are you smiling at?”

“This,” I said pointed my palm at him.

A piece of metal flew at him and hit him in the head. At once it was mass chaos. I spotted the four other gifted and their chuffs hit the guards in the heads. Once they were free, they turned on the other guards. One of the guards pointed his gun at a boy and a ball of light hit him. Soon, all was quiet, and all four gifted turned to me.

“What are your powers?” I asked.

“Read minds,” Linnea said.

“Control light,” said a boy with golden eyes.

“Teleport, but I can’t do all of us,” said a girl with dark hair.

“Fire,” said the last boy with dark hair.

“Ok, I can control metal, if you haven’t noticed,” I said.

“Metal? Never heard of that before.”

“Wait, we are missing my brother,” said the boy with blonde hair and golden eyes. “He can control the weather.”

“No, there were and are only five,” Linnea objected.

“I’ve seen him do it; he made lightning hit the City Hall once.”

The girl with dark hair laughed. “That would have awesome to be able to do that.”

“What do you mean, ‘would have’? He is still alive, right?”

“He is,” Linnea said. “He is being held on the other side of the building, with another girl who is a shape-shifter.”

“How is there seven?” The boy with dark hair asked. “Last year there were-”

“Two that everyone was told about. There were actually five, but three were orphans and they bribed the owner of the orphanage not to tell.”

“That’s harsh.”

“Life is harsh,” said the boy with dark hair.

The boy glared at him, eyes blazing.

Knowing that it wouldn't be good if we fought, I said, “Why don’t we go free them and tell each other our names?”

“Who put you in charge?” the dark haired boy challenged.

Ignoring him, I said, “I’m Alice.”

“Dylan.”

“Zack,” said the boy with blonde hair and golden eyes as we started walking.

“Linnea,” Linnea said.

“Ilia,” said the dark haired girl.

I ran my hands along the wall and metal wrapped up my arm, then I went to the other arm and did the same.

“Why do you do that?” asked Dylan.

“I have to have some metal,” I explained and a chunk flew into my hand. “How do you get fire?”

Dylan held out his hand and a flame leapt from it. “From thin air.”

I stared at the metal and it became a ball, and then spun in my palm. “I have to have it with me to control it. It can’t be made out of thin air.”

“Guard,” Linnea called out from ahead of us; she was leading.

I pushed my palm out as a guard came out and the metal ball hit him in the temple, and then shot back to me.

“I have to kill when I use mine as a weapon,” Dylan said.

My ball became a sharp knife, and I clutched it. “Mine can too, I just don’t think about killing.”

“Two guards!” Linnea called and ducked.

I brought my hands back, and then pushed them forward and two chunks of metal hit the two guards running toward us.

“See? Still not dead,” Dylan said.

“Zack!” Linnea called again and moved against a wall.

Dylan and I ducked, and five balls of light hit the oncoming guards.

“We are close; only a turn away.” Linnea turned to face them. “There are almost twenty guards hidden in there, and more ready to come at the slightest call for help. Also, they knew we were coming.”

“How?” I asked.

Linnea gave her a sad look. “You’ll see.”

I stared at her as she walked away, but forced my self to follow her. Linnea stopped outside of a door and paused.

“We can’t go; they know everything we are going to do…” Linnea’s voice trailed off. “They… they have someone that knows the future; we can never win. Let’s go.”

I grabbed Linnea’s arm as she walked away. “We can’t.”

“You don’t understand, Alice, I can see what they know. If they catch us-”

“They won’t,” argued Zack. “We have to save my brother and that girl.”

I looked at Linnea. “Either way we will most likely not make it out. At least we can try to free these two gifted,” I said quietly. “Let’s take a vote. Who wants to go in there?”

Zack raised his hand right away, and then Ilia, and I. Only Dylan and Linnea stood with their arms at their sides.

“Out ruled. Let’s go, now,” Zack said.

“Are you guys coming?” I asked, one hand on the doorknob and the metal on my arms wrapping around my hands. “You don’t have too.”

Dylan raised his eyebrows. “You aren’t going to make us?”

“No,” I said slowly; confused.

“You act like you are our leader already.”

“Oh, you want to be the leader? Go on ahead; it is open. Lead us into the unknown, Dylan.”

He narrowed his dark eyes at me and I smiled.

“Why don’t you go first? That is what leaders do, right?”

“At least I can fight.”

I was so confused. Why did Dylan start acting like this all of a sudden? I stepped back. “Go on ahead.”

Dylan stood still, and then reached for the door. He opened it, and we stepped into a huge, dark room.