Page 82 of The Not So Super Hero
Zane’s blood curdled because Nate was right.That didn’t change the pure agonizing panic eating away at him.Bailey was gone.One way or the other, Rebirth would force them to follow.There would be a trap, and the longer Bailey was with Rebirth, the more they were going to hurt him.Rebirth didn’t give a damn about people, especially Bailey, who lacked any value to them.If he had a worthwhile mutation, then, yes, Rebirth would keep him around until they tortured him into submission.However, Bailey served a single purpose; forcing Zane into the open.They would do whatever it took to make it happen.
“They’ll torture him, Nate,” Zane said, voice shaking so pathetically that his voice was almost unrecognizable.His lips quivered and eyes were incapable of keeping still.
“Bailey’s tougher than he looks,” Nate argued.
“He won’t be once they’re through with him.”
“If you keep thinking like that, you’ll go nuts.”
“What the hell else am I supposed to think?”Zane screamed.The room shook, darkening to blindness.The pure pressure in the room was enough to make one ill.Every piece of that pressure pulsated off him like a wave.
“They took Bailey for a reason.You know they’re going to reach out to us hoping to get to you.They’ll reveal his location, and we have to wait until that happens,” Nate mumbled.
Zane let out another ear-piercing scream.He kicked the remnants of a vehicle next to him, sending it flying across the room to slam against a wall.
“Come on.We need to regroup with Chris and Natalia.We’ll come up with a plan and we’ll get Bailey back, understand?”Nate pressed his hand against Zane’s shoulder, giving it a rough squeeze.
Zane hesitated, head hanging low and hands listless at his sides.His erratic breathing grew slow, steady, though anything but comforting.The room remained dark, the shadows beneath their feet consuming and relentless.
“I’ll kill them,” Zane hissed between his teeth.“I’ll kill them all.”
It was scary because Zane had never sounded so sure of himself before.
CHAPTER 24
WhenBailey’seyesopened,he couldn’t register a thing.His head throbbed, potentially from a concussion.He smacked his dry lips and squirmed his stiff limbs.Groaning, he realized he couldn’t rub his aching head because he couldn’t move.He was stuck.He blinked the world into vision to discover someone had strapped him to a cold leather chair.Bright lights shone above him, resembling those in a hospital room.Bailey struggled against the restraints, to no avail.A strap even tightened around his neck, preventing him from sitting up from his lying position.
Remembering what happened caused him to realize the worst; Leona had captured him.He had no idea where he was or what Leona would do to him.
Bailey observed his surroundings.A row of cabinets lined the wall.They pressed against a slightly crooked desk with a computer.Nothing out of the ordinary until he gazed to his right.A low whimper passed between his lips.A silver tray sat atop a movable table containing operating tools not meant to be used on conscious people.Panic bristled beneath his skin, stretching his nerves to the point of snapping.
Suddenly, he understood how people in movies made such poor decisions in dire situations.He was so pent up that all he could do was lay there, heat screeching in his ears.His limbs shook violently enough to rattle the chair.One minute he couldn’t breathe, the next he breathed too quickly.
There was no hope.When Bailey tried to think up how to set himself free, all he could think was help, please, help me, please help.He wasn’t even sure who or what he was asking for help.Was he asking God?Zane?The universe?Someone, anyone, because Bailey didn’t know what to do.
“Look who finally woke up.”A man with insect-like eyes and ruffled hair entered through a rusted door in a lab coat.Another man with piercing blue eyes followed.Lab-Coat ran to Bailey’s side to lean over him.
“Hello, Bailey, my name is Law.I will take excellent care of you until Zane arrives.”Law had no issues with personal space, seeing as he immediately began acting like a doctor during a checkup.Bailey wasn’t sure how to respond when the man opened his mouth to inspect his teeth.Then he checked in Bailey’s ears, and even pressed his hand to Bailey’s chest, feeling the erratic heartbeat.
“Oh my, are you frightened?”Law smiled, eyes sparkling with devious intent.“There’s no need to be scared.I promise we’re not going to kill you!”
That didn’t leave out hurting him, although he kept that to himself to prevent giving them any ideas.
“I thought you were a talker.I’m disappointed that you’re being so quiet.What’s wrong?Are you uncomfortable?Would you like these off?”Law tugged at the strap around Bailey’s neck.He didn’t know what to do.He stared at Law like he was a wild animal.Law certainly felt like one, an appearance that threatened unexpected moves.
“Ah, well, if I want you to talk, then I should make you comfortable first.My apologies.I’ll take the ones around your neck off.How’s that?”
Bailey tried to nod.Law removed the strap.Bailey took a long breath, although nothing could ease the suffocating atmosphere.Then Law shoved Bailey’s chair into a sitting position.His head whipped forward, then slammed against the back of the chair.Since his head was already pounding, the assault didn’t help.
“That’s more comfortable, isn’t it?”Law’s question felt rhetorical, so Bailey said nothing.
Now sitting up, he caught a look at the second man in the room.He leaned against the wall, donning a crooked smirk.Unlike the utterly erratic Law, the stranger had a far more professional aura.He wore a high end suit fitted perfectly to a tall and toned figure.His short blonde hair was styled back from his flawless alabaster features and his bright blue eyes likely procured an endless list of compliments.Something about him was familiar, although it was his eyes that Bailey couldn’t look away from.Something cruel hid in those eyes.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Bailey,” the stranger spoke, voice calm yet frightening.His long legs carried him to Bailey’s side in a few strides.Law retrieved a chair for the stranger to sit.“We’ve had our eyes on you for some time.”
“You mean you’ve had your eyes on Zane,” Bailey whispered, keeping his eyes on the stranger because he somehow felt worse than the twitching man at his side.
Blue Eyes snickered.“Being at Zane’s side, we assumed there was something special about you, but you’re exceedingly ordinary.”
