The Freaks

chapter twelve

All my days seem to blur into one.

I train harder each day, either with my abilities or physically, it doesn't matter. My life is on the line here. If I don't train properly, if I don't take it seriously, then it could get myself and the other Freaks killed. I can't have that. If I push myself hard enough, then what happened to Zaire and my friends will not happen again. Never again.

Never again.

Nathan's training sessions are difficult. Serena's one-on-one with me is a good refresher. Learning about the history of the Soldiers is simple.

But training with my abilities is tiring as hell.

I half-listen to what Sigma is saying to the whole group, though she's directing her voice at me. I don't need to listen, because what she's saying is easy: I'm going to use my powers against something other than the Freaks today. I'm not fake-fighting with them; we're doing this to make my abilities as strong as possible.

As soon as Sigma tells him to, a Freak wheels a large dummy into the room, pressing it next to me on the wall I'm leaning against. Its head lolls to the side like it doesn't have any support in its neck. There are no features painted on its face, which I'm glad for. Whoever made this dummy didn't make it look like a human; they made it look like a makeshift doll a child would possess.

I lean forward to see it better. A large red X has been crudely painted on its chest and a smaller one has been painted on its head, the mark on its chest dripping down its stomach, even though it has long since dried. It looks like it's bleeding. The male Freak locks the wheels into place and walks back to the left side of the room, where Sigma and the rest of the Freaks are.

The first Freak in line in front of me steps forward, pulling my shoulders so I'm standing in front of the dummy. He moves me to the left slightly despite trying to shake him off, and I watch as he goes to stand in front of it, next to me. Then, without warning, he uses his power to create wind from his palms. He swirls his hands in a circle pointing towards the ground, creating a small tornado inside the training room. I feel the wind whip my hair and clothes all over the place, the urge to step back kicking in when the force becomes too much.

Then I look over at the dummy and notice how it's moving. It's spinning around in a clean circle, despite the wheels being locked into place. Its arms are flailing around madly, turning around and around like it's ready to take flight. When the dummy starts to lean heavily to the side, the Freak creates another, smaller wind and holds it upright again.

The Freak spreads his arms out quickly, the wind stopping completely.

Someone hollers, causing the wind Freak to grin and laugh. He steps back and gestures for me to step up, which I do. "Show me what you've got," he says, going to stand in the line with the other Freaks.

As I stare at him with a confused look on my face, I vividly remember his ability being transferred to me, how it felt as the power coursed through my veins, the feeling ending in the tips of my fingers. He didn't know the name of his power, so he just said he was able to create strong winds.

And now I believe him.

I copy what the Freak was doing, concentrating on creating the wind and nothing else. It's easier than I thought it would be, because I create enough currents of air to make the dummy move. To create wind is much easier than telekinesis, I realize. There's no strain to my mind like there normally is when I use my abilities. It quite literally is like a breeze.

In a matter of a minute, I have the dummy spinning. It's not as fast as it was when the other Freak did it, but it's enough for myself and the others to feel satisfied.