Revolution

- 02 -

"Hey, Isabelle," I say casually, stretching on my grey training uniform. She walks in from the other side of the room, flanked by a half dozen guards, but manages a sly grin regardless.

"Paige. How've you been?" A guard slams an identical uniform to her chest a little harder than necessary, and she spins around, lips drawn back. "Watch it, fucker. You only work here."

The guard scoffs, which only makes Isabelle angrier. She draws a fist back before hesitating. Everyone in here knows both of us are controlled so long as our collars are activated.

Whatever she was going to do, she holds her tongue and composes herself, although there's still rage in her eyes. She slips off her pajamas and slides into the training uniform, rolling out the kinks in her shoulders. I wait patiently, eyeing the guards against the walls. There are too many guns. Too many cameras.

The automated voice cuts off my thoughts. "We will now begin with hand-to-hand sparring. No super-abled abilities are to be used in this round."

I hiss in displeasure. I hate sparring, especially against Isabelle. She picked it up naturally, boasting that where she came from, she boxed with her family all the time. She hops around on her feet for a moment, giving me a look that says I'm sorry, but I'm going to enjoy this. I try to mimic her movements; loosening up my muscles, rolling my neck. Even if I got beat solidly, I was out of my cell; that alone was an improvement. It had been weeks, and I was itching to fight.

A horn sounds, and Isabelle launches forward with the look of a battering ram. I only barely miss her first right hook before getting hit square in the jaw with her left elbow that was practically waiting for me. I stumble backward, holding my face. I spit blood, hoping it makes me look fierce. Isabelle gives me an impressed look when we lock eyes again before racing towards me.

This time, I see it coming and duck, swiping the back of her knees with a decisive kick. She gasps in surprise as she falls. I'm inches away from her foot as she propels her leg backward, but I dance out of the way just in time. I spin around to her side and move to knee her in the throat, but she grabs my leg and flips me over her back, forcing me to the floor and driving upward at the same time. I use my hands to flip back to standing quickly, blocking a fast jab with my elbow.

She grabs me by the arm and flings me around, slamming me against the wall. I fall to my knees and hold my stinging elbow, knowing she won't hit me with a cheap shot while I'm on the ground. I force my feet under me and stand, knuckles waiting to do more than just graze her, but she's only a blur to my left. I turn just in time to see her launch off the wall and tackle me. We collapse in a tangle of limbs on the ground but she rolls off me with a yelp of pain. I pull my limbs in tighter and glance over, wondering if she landed wrong, but her hands are at her collar, clawing at the tight metal.

Oh. Oh. Isabelle's a wallcrawler; she must've forgotten.

I roll to my knees and slide closer to her limp form. She's on the ground, eyes unfocused as she stares at the ceiling. Her ragged, heavy breathing and twitching fingers tell me she's still conscious, just stunned.

"You can't do that," I murmur, and she nods.

"I... didn't... mean..." So it was an accident. I understand; I used to try to take control of the guards in my sleep, and be startled awake with enough electricity to almost paralyze me. She must have the same thing, and I guess it's sticking to walls when she doesn't mean to.

"I... can't... control it..." she pants out, and I nod. One of the guards shoves off the wall lazily and I glare up at him, forcing all my anger into my look. He hesitates before continuing closer, and I push to standing, balling my hands into fists. I step over Isabelle, blocking his path and baring my teeth. For effect, I wipe the blood off my lips with my knuckles, staring down the guard.

"You're only human, you know," I growl. I put all the hate I can into the word human, because my very life here was implying I was something less than that. "A little gun won't do anything when we really come for you."

He shoves me aside roughly and my head slams to the ground.

I force myself into a half-sitting position as he kneels next to Isabelle, shining a bright light in her eyes. She flinches away from it, and he sighs. "She'll be fine."

In a blur of motion, Isabelle shoves a knee up, deep in his abdomen. He's forced backward and I'm on him next, kicking his ribs and twisting his wrist backward at the same time. Other guards rush forward, but they're not fast enough, because I hold his arm still while Isabelle goes about breaking it. His screams pierce the air and I let his shattered limb hit the floor before lunging backward, twisting in midair to grab a guard by the neck. I take him down with me and force the gun out of his hands, slamming an elbow down viciously across his face. Across the room, Isabelle barrels into a guard, forcing him against the wall. Her battle cry mingles with the disabled guards' screams, and I whirl around in time to catch a foot aimed for my head. I wrench it backward until the toe of the guard's boot is practically touching his shin before yanking him forward with full force, slamming him to the ground.

Fire races through my veins and I shriek, falling to the ground. All my muscles clench up as I'm electrocuted just as violently as before, and seize amongst the fallen guards. I'm dully aware that Isabelle is doing the same a few feet away and my vision starts to darken. My body is overwhelmed with pain, but the last thing I can think is karma.

It's a small victory with a painful price, but a reminder to myself and others that these monsters don't have complete control over us. Not yet. Not ever, if I can help it.