The Freaks

chapter twenty-seven

All of the Soldiers are here when we return for dinner.

I spot Nox sitting with Diego at one of the tables in the far corner of the mess hall. They're not speaking to each other—just eating whatever it is they gave us for our final meal of the day. I bring my own tray over to their table, weaving through the throng of bodies. The Freak from earlier is still fresh in my mind, but I push it down as far as it can go. No one can know. No one.

Nox looks up when I slide my food onto the surface opposite his chair, nodding once in greeting. I nod myself, lowering into the chair slowly. It takes a full thirty seconds of trying to find a comfortable position atop the chair to realize my muscles from the fight with the Freak earlier do not feel normal. I must have been unconscious for a long time if I'm feeling like this.

Even though using my abilities against the Freak made me slightly weaker, I've never felt so powerful before.

"Rough morning?" Diego says from next to me, his spoon still in his hand and slightly dripping with the stew they gave us.

I nod once slowly, the feeling of the Freak's abilities against me and the fact that he had multiple powers still weighing heavily on my mind. Trying to push it away feels fruitless now; it's all I can think about. "To say the least," I reply quietly.

Diego agrees with a deep hum in his throat and goes back to eating, not saying anything else to either of us as he spoons food into his mouth and looks around the room at all the other Soldiers.

It's only when I turn away from facing Diego do I realize Nox is staring right at me, his brows raised in question. What happened to you? he asks inside my head. Did you find any more Freaks? Taylor and I were trying to contact you for ages.

I give the subtlest shake of my head. No, I didn't find anyone, I reply, lying, and not answering his first question. Did you?

Nox gives the faintest smile, first one in probably forever. I did, he says. The kid was a teleporter, so I told him where to go, and... He gives a small shrug, still smiling.

I nod once, my chest clenching, stopping me from replying.

That's good. It's good that Nox saved a Freak. Even though I didn't, at least he saved one today.

I push through his head again as I say, So Taylor didn't try to—

Someone suddenly slaps Nox on the shoulder, leaning down to his height and interrupting my words. It would be considered a nice gesture if it was a different person.

But not him.

"You thought I would forget what happened that night, Hayes?" the Soldier says. It's the same one that punched him at the club, I realize. He squeezes Nox's shoulder, the material under his fist rippling.

"You remember me?" Nox replies, smiling as his words drip with sarcasm. "I should feel so special."

The Soldier's hand clenches into a tight fist, dangerously close to Nox's face. "You are really asking for it now, aren't you?"

I slowly stand up from my chair, holding my hand out so he can see it clearly. "Get the hell away from him," I say slowly, calmly, even when I feel anger burning bright behind my eyes, "before I ram this spoon into your eye."

The Soldier stares at me for a few seconds before he scoffs at my words and takes his hand from Nox's shoulder to slam it against the table, the sound trying to make me flinch, but I don't move. "I'd like to see you try, Parker," he asks lowly, a wicked smirk pulling at his lips.