Page 40 of Captured Immune

Who are these people?Better question:Whatare they? They seem to have abilities of some kind and are testing them out on me. For some reason I don’t know and am deeply grateful for, their powers don’t work on me.Why?

Maybe Javina was right about Trey being from an alternate universe. Except, it wasn’t him who was sucked into my universe; I’ve been sucked into his. It’s the only explanation I have for everything I’m witnessing.

“Gather ’round her,” Victor orders. “Let’s try all four of you at the same time.”

Derek, Craig, Pixie, and Ruby trap me against the ropes as they fix their gazes on me. I don’t pause. My body doesn’t shrink. I don’t hear anything that makes me want to cover my ears. I don’t collapse to my knees with pain either.

“Pixie, give her a splash,” Victor says. “Everyone focus!”

Pixie raises both arms as a giant water ball forms in her hands. I raise my arms to try to block her, but she wins. Icy-cold liquid drenches me.

I spit out the water and wipe at my face.

“Well, she ain’t immune to elemental powers,” Pixie says.

There’s that word again.Powers.How did these people get their powers? If they arepeopleat all.

“Do it again,” Victor orders.

The second water ball is even colder.

I shiver as the four of them continue trying to accomplish whatever it is they want to accomplish. The longer nothing happens, the more the cloud of irritation above Victor grows.

“How are you doing that?” Victor asks.

I wish they would stop asking me that as if I know the answer. My jaw quivers as I push the wet hair from my face.

“All right, let’s be done,” Victor says. “Pixie, help the girl out.”

The other three step back as Pixie waves her hands in circles. In slow steam clouds rising to the ceiling, all the water soaking my body disappears. My shirt that was soaking wet a second ago feels like it just came out of the dryer.What kind of magic is this?

“Katie!” Victor shouts, and it makes her pop out of her seat. I think she’s been typing notes on her iPad this whole time. “Take the girl back to her room. Give her the questionnaire.”

In her mousey little voice, Katie says, “Yes, sir.”

Together, Katie and Craig escort me back to the elevators. I think about running, but now that I’ve discovered they’re wizards, I don’t stand a chance.

Back on the second floor, we take a few turns down the hallways before we reach my corner jail cell disguised as a bedroom. On the doorframe is a chain lock that disheartens me. I didn’t think I had any chance of escaping before. Now it seems impossible.

Katie types a few numbers into a keypad on the door. When it beeps, she gestures for me to step inside. I do, because what else can I do?

While Craig stations himself outside my door, Katie clicks it shut. The sound of the chain lock sliding into place makes me choke up.

“Take a seat,” Katie says, pointing at the bed. She plops onto her folding chair and offers me a smile. “I’ll leave you uncuffed if you promise not to attack me.”

I stay standing where I am. “Why do you have to cuff me at all? I don’t have magic powers to fight you with. There’s no way I can get out of here. Although, if I did attack you, it doesn’t seem like your powers work on me, so maybe Icouldwin in a fight.”

“First off, the cuffs aren’t really to keep you from attacking me or to keep you from leaving. It’s more to keep someone from taking you. We’ve been having a problem with double agents lately, so you can never have too much security on your assets.”

She’s calling me an asset like I’m something they own.Am I their slave now?

Katie continues, “Secondly, it’s not magic, and please, don’t say that word out loud around here. Most Zordis get really offended when our gifts are referred to asmagic. Third, some of our powersdowork on you. It’s only the internal ones that seem to have no effect. And lastly, I don’t need my powers to subdue you. I grew up learning karate.”

I totally called that.“Zordis? That’s what you call yourselves?”

“We don’t justcallourselves that. It’s what we are. The technical term isZordinary, but we shorten it to Zordi.”

“And you’re what? Aliens? Mutants? Lab experiments gone wrong?”

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