Chapter 51 The Demonstration

Chapter 51 The Demonstration
Emma Stone - POV
I shoved the auditorium doors open. The bond hit me hard, Blake's defeat like ice in my veins, Cole's fury a tight knot in my chest, Ryan's quick thoughts flickering like half-seen shadows, Kai's colors swirling wild and dark. Sweat hung in the air, thick with too many bodies, too much hope gone sour. Students crammed the seats, staring at the stage where Vance commanded everything, her voice slicing clean through the noise. Sign-up sheets passed hand to hand at the back, names stacking up fast. Fifty-three, Blake had whispered earlier. More now, I could tell from the scramble. My pulse thudded uneven, Kai's fingers brushing my elbow for a second, Cole slipping in beside me quiet as breath.
"Emma," Blake's warning hummed inside, sharp but frayed at the edges. I felt his pull to turn back, but my feet kept moving.
Vance caught my eye right away, her mouth twitching just a touch, like she'd waited for this. "Miss Stone. Good. Come up. Bring your friends. We're showing what real chances look like."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, heads swiveling. I took the steps slow, wood groaning under me, lights buzzing hot against my skin. Vance's guards spread out, hands hanging loose, eyes flat. Dean Mills lingered close, her smile thin, fingers picking at her ring like it itched. "Colonel, maybe we could."
Vance didn't even glance her way. "Everyone, before we start those one-on-ones, let's see Project Ascension work. Safe stuff, just for today. No strings. Who wants a real taste of being more?" She signaled her team. They rolled in carts, syringes lined up, that blue liquid shifting lazy inside. "Volunteers. Step up. Feel sharp, strong, focused for twelve hours. Then it wears off. Easy."
Hands flew up. Jennifer Chen moved first, sleeve pushed back, her gaze hitting mine hard, full of old hurts. "Me." Daniel Torres right behind, then Sarah Kim. The ones I'd sat with, shown how to quiet their minds, block the noise. Now they picked this over what we'd built. My throat tightened.
"Stop." My voice cracked out, louder than I meant, grabbing the mic Vance shoved at me. "You don't get it. I've seen what comes after. Bodies breaking. People gone."
Vance let out a soft laugh, steady, no edge. "Seen. Your visions, right. But that's not proof, Emma. This is tested. Temporary. Who picks progress over scared stories?"
The room cheered ragged, uneven. Jennifer dropped into the chair, arm out, tech wiping her skin. I stepped closer without thinking, but Cole's grip landed on my shoulder, warm and firm. I felt his steadiness flood me, holding me still. Ryan's mind brushed mine, cool facts tumbling. Kai's spark jumped, ready to break something.
The needle went in. Jennifer sucked air sharp, eyes going wide. Quiet stretched. Then she stood, hands opening slow, and hefted that big table one-handed, like nothing. Gasps rolled through the seats. "I feel it all," she said, voice even but brighter. "Clear." She stared at a balled-up paper far off, and it drifted to her, hanging in air. The crowd leaned in.
Daniel next. Shot in, wait, then he pulled thoughts from a kid up front. "Your chem test tomorrow's on your mind." Laughs broke out, clapping scattered. Sarah followed, calling out questions before anyone spoke. It worked clean, no hitches. Sign-ups rushed the back, feet scuffing, papers crinkling.
I stood there, stomach twisting slow, watching more line up. Vance's eyes shone quiet. "This, Emma. What your group keeps locked away. Power for anyone, not just the right names."
"You're twisting it." My words came low, but they carried. "This ends bad."
"Show me." She waved at the empty chairs. "Sit down. Or watch it change without you."
The afternoon blurred. Demo dragged on, twenty shots total. Each kid changed. Quick moves, sharp reads, things bending or floating. The room turned loud, objects hovering, feelings spilling out unasked. Jennifer dodged Daniel in a mock fight, their laughs echoing hollow to me. I paced the stage lip, bond pulling tight with the guys' strain. Blake edged near, his touch grazing mine, a quick flash of what he saw in her.
We hung on. Vance called a pause, crowd thinning, but the twenty stayed, wired and talking in clumps. Mills came over, words hushed. "Emma, it's cleared. Government stamp. You can't fight this."
"Cleared doesn't make it okay." Cole shifted behind her, his presence heavy, making her step back quick. Kai doodled on a scrap, reds bleeding into shapes that twisted my gut.
Dark came slow. Lights flickered dim, volunteers slumped in chairs, still chatting high. Twelve hours gone. My phone glowed 11:45 PM, same as her morning arrival. Ryan's caution hummed faint.
Jennifer grabbed her head first, a small sound slipping out. "Something. Wrong." She jerked, body folding wrong, blood dotting her nose, then ears. Daniel hit the floor next, shaking hard, mouth foaming white. Sarah cried out, back arching stiff, blood welling red from her eyes. They dropped one after another, fits and blood, screams mixing with wet gasps. The stink hit, iron sharp, mixed with fear-sweat and worse.
The leftover crowd bolted, but guards pushed them in. "Easy now," Vance snapped into her mic. "Just a bump. It passes." Her glance darted to the cameras, lenses turning, catching every shake, every drop.
"Fix them." My shout broke, knees hitting floor by Jennifer. Her skin scorched my palms, flashes hitting me, nerves sparking out. The guys surged. Cole shoved bodies aside. Ryan called steps, voice clipped. Kai blocked the way out. Blake scanned her for breaks.
"You caused this." I glared up at Vance. She just curved her lips slight.
"No. You fix it. Show what you really do." Her camera guy closed in as I pressed down on Jennifer's chest, power rushing out messy. The bond tugged hard, warmth from Ryan's know-how, focus from Blake, solid from Cole, wild from Kai. It flowed into her, easing the jerks, patching what burned. But it pulled from me, head throbbing dull.
Daniel after. I crawled over, hands shaking now, energy spilling in, his blood slowing to trickles. Sarah whimpered softer as I reached her. Twenty scattered, though. Pulses fading. Vance murmured close. "All of them, Emma. Or it's on you." Cameras hummed steady, framing my sweat, their pain, her calm win.
I lurched to the next kid, sight blurring at edges, bond fraying thin. Kai's colors dimmed in my head. Vance leaned nearer, breath cool on my neck. "The world watches now." My arms trembled, power sputtering, and I felt myself cracking, the drain too deep, too fast.