Chapter 18 What I was Trained for
Mutants have a distinctive scent. It goes along with their overall wrongness. They smelled like rotten earth and industrial buildings. Depending on the type of mutant, all they had to do was be near you, and you could become infected. Only superheroes can defend from those because they have some of the mutant genes in them, so they don’t turn. If you don’t have the mutant genes in you already, you’re at risk of turning into a mutant. Those mutants are rare. It’s more common to face the ones that if they bite you or break your skin, you become infected. But it was always better to be safe, then dead.
I turned to Cindy, asking if there was a safe place for students to lay low while mutants attacked. I had to get her to safety. Fear clouded her eyes, and they darted all around; her body shook in fear. She was in shock. I slapped her across her face.
“CINDY!” I yelled her name. Grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her. She snapped out of it.
“Cafeteria,” she said. I grabbed her by the arm and began pulling.
There were no mutants yet, but they were coming. Judging by the smell, I would say 10 minutes if we were lucky and 5 if not. It all depended on the type of mutants that were coming. It’s been a while since I fought one. I had to prepare for the possibility of fighting one again.
We make it to the cafeteria, but I can’t walk in. I look at all the faces here. The fear in their eyes. Something doesn’t sit right with me. I am not one of them. I can fight. I can make a difference.
“Come on, let's get into the safe room.” Cindy tugs on my arm. More screaming and yelling is coming from behind us. I am torn. I looked at Cindy.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that with you.” I knew what I was. What I was able to. I can save people. I can help. My choice was made.
“What do you mean?” Cindy asked, confused. I made my decision amid many things at that moment. I hugged and whispered my thanks for her friendship and more. As I turned around, fighting through the swarm of bodies trying to make it to the safety of the cafeteria. I hoped I would have a chance to explain everything to Cindy later. I just couldn’t hide while people screamed it wasn’t who I was, no matter how hard I fought to hide and ignore my past. As much as I wanted to be a normal teen, I couldn’t just ignore people who needed my help. I would never be able to live with myself if I just ran away from something I could make a difference in.
As I made my way to my locker, I passed the lost-and-found by the office. It had a couple of pieces of clothing. I had no idea what kind of mutants I was dealing with, so I went through the box. Some of the items smelled like they sat here for years. I ignored some of the worst smelling items and pulled a light zip up hoodie to cover my arms. I put on a mismatched set of gloves and pocketed another pair in case I lost one. I tied an extra hoodie around my waist. Large hands grabbed me. Turning me around.
“What the hell are you doing?” Bartise yelled over the panicking group of people passing us.
“What does it look like?” I asked him. “I am preparing to fight.”
“No, you are not, come on, let’s go to the safe room.” He goes to grab me. I moved away. Hurt and anger flash on his face. “Come on, let me get you to safety.” He goes to grab me again. But someone else stopped him.
I ignore the fact that Mr. Griffin grabbed Bartise from grabbing at me again. “I can fight them. I was trained to.” I tell Bartise.
“What do you mean?” He asked, confused. “I will explain one day. But not now.” I answer, “Please trust me when I say I will be fine. I am better used out there than hiding away.” Bartise went to argue, but Mr. Griffin didn’t let him.
“She has skill. I saw her in action. Go to the safe room. I’ll be with her.” Mr. Griffen told Bartise.
I didn’t watch him go, I was too busy finding and tying as many scarves on me as possible. I found a large black one and a beanie. I put the beanie on. Tucking all loose hair from my face. Then wrapping the rest of the black scarf around my face, hiding my face but leaving my eyes out. “
You need more than clothing to fight. You don't even have weapons.” Mr. Griffen asked.
“Am I going to get in trouble?” I asked like a smart ass.
He chuckled deeply. “No”
I smiled at that. Of course, he would find humor in this.
“I do have weapons only two small daggers I keep hidden in my backpack.” I shrugged when his eyes widened a bit at my omission.
“Old habits.” I gave an explanation. He laughed again at me, shaking his head.
“Come with me. It will take too long to go to your locker. Plus, I have better weapons you can use.” Mr. Griffin gestured for me to follow him.
We went down a hallway that was empty and he opened up a secret door I would have missed if he hadn’t shown me. Now it was my turn to chuckle.
“Holy shit.” That was all I could manage to get out.
“The school has several of these spaces throughout the building for times like this.” He explained as he loaded up on supplies. I grabbed two belts of throwing daggers. Arrows and a bow.
“Do we know how many, or what kind?” I asked as I took in the rest of the wall, deciding what else to grab.
“About 30 biters and a couple of brutes at least, not sure if anymore showed up since the last report.” Mr. Griffin answered me. I grabbed a belt of the green goo stuff and looked around for something I could use to remove the brute's head.
“Looking for this?” A teasing voice said behind me. I turned to see Ezra standing behind me with a long sword. I go to reach for it. “Now, now, mouse, think you have enough. You have to leave some for the rest of us.” Ezra teased with a crooked smile.
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes. As soon as I did, I regretted it. I hissed out a breath of pain. Completely forgetting my black eye for a moment.
“Silly mouse.” Ezra laughed at me, but not in a mean way, I noticed. It was lighthearted, no matter the situation we were in.
“Jerk,” I told him, laughing.
“Can I ask why you look like a new type of mutant that crawled out of the lost and found?” Ezra eyed me from head to toe with amusement. Before I could defend my self, I heard Mr. Griffin crack up laughing.
“Because she is,” was his response between his laughter. Ezra looked me over one more time before laughing too. I felt my face heat with embarrassment.
“Jerks, both of you,” I yelled at them even though I wasn’t mad at them at all. It felt. Natural, this banter between us. I liked it more than I would ever care to admit. I wonder how they feel about how and why I was trained to fight the mutants like I am. They don’t seem to question it. I wonder if Ezra would have still kissed me if he knew I was the fox? Ugh, why was I thinking about that right now?
A loud buzzer sounded, breaking me from my thoughts and stopping the guys from laughing.
“What does that mean?” I asked, judging by the way they were standing, it meant something.
“It’s the final warning to get to safety,” Ezra said as he moved to grab the things he needed for the fight.
“We have about 2 minutes until they are on the grounds.” Mr. Griffin added.