Chapter Four (Edited)

I walked back to the group with a smile on my face. In my head I knew that I couldn't tell them about the deal. They wouldn't go ahead with the plan.

"Hey Seth, did you get permission?" Phoenix asked excitedly.

"Yes, I did." I nodded while still smiling.

"What did you have to do then Brother? He never agrees to anything without him getting a benefit." Sarah whispered.

"Nothing I just promised that I would never be late again." I lied, I couldn't look at her when I did.

"When do we go?" Cory asked.

"Now. Get your things packed." I smiled.

This could be our chance to get out of the facility for good, we could become rouges. My sister would be safe and so would Cory and everyone else. We could be free.

"Everyone go to your quarters we will meet back here in 15 minutes. Make sure you have everything you need." I ordered.

They nodded and we went our separate ways. I wondered if my plan would really work. I had been practicing using my powers in private, my body rejected the toxin that was put into my neck. I had been pretending to drink the anti-toxin so no one would know. My powers were usable on command.

"Hey Seth?" Cory said.

I looked at him and smiled "What's up kid?"

"What happens to you if the mission fails?" He asked quietly.

I grinned at him. "Nothing will happen to me or anyone else in this group. I promise."

Cory seemed to be rather confused, but I remained quiet. If my suspicions were correct every room had a microphone and telling Cory could be a very big mistake. After 5 minutes we reached our rooms. I entered mine and began to pack my rucksack. I packed the necessities and a spare change of clothes. Cory was in charge of water and the girls were in charge of props and food. I was so sure my plan would work. My plan wasn't to complete the mission it was to get away from the facility, to get as far away as possible. If we could do that we could start a new life and blend in with civilization.

There was a knock on the door "Hey Seth, are you ready? We have to go meet the girls" It was Cory.

"Yeah I've got everything ready. I'm coming out now" I shouted.

I opened the door and greeted Cory. "Let's get this show on the road then"

He laughed, clearly exited to go outside. Cory practically ran to the cafeteria to meet the girls.

"So are you all ready for your mission? If so hold out your arms. I will put a tracker in your arm." Dr Shepard informed us.

We all held out our arms and waited for the tracker. When I was my turn I thought it wouldn't hurt as much and the one I had in my neck, but I was rather wrong. It hurt a lot. The needle broke through my skin and invaded my body.

"Right! You are good to go and face your mission" He grinned.

He led us upstairs and took us through several doors.

"Your mission objective is clear. You are to take out any hostiles in the area. Since Amber came back the army have reinforced the area with their own creations. They call them Shape-shifters. They only have 100 of them they want them to blend in. Even though that is their forte. Your goal is to wipe them out." Dr Shepard looked at me as he said this.

He opened the last door and what we saw took our breath away. Well metaphorically anyway. It seemed as though the facility was stationed in a mountainous forest. All we could see for miles was thick green foliage. Mountains that touched the sky. The sky itself was an ocean blue colour with not a single cloud in the sky.

"Where are we?" Clara wondered in amazement.

"We are in an uncharted part of a rainforest. The army and the Shape-shifters are currently trying to destroy the lab. We don't want that. The lab is your home. We want you to feel safe, but we also want you to protect it for us" Dr Shepard went on "On the other hand they want to kill you"

Dr Shepard headed back inside and was followed by a short girl. For some reason she was sweating a lot. Like she had just done something that required great effort. Maybe it was the stairs?

"Hey Hybrid, you ready to kick some ass?" Clara laughed.

"Hell yeah" I laughed.

"I need to be truthful with you all" I said hesitantly.

Once again Sarah had approached me from behind "Go on then Brother, what is it"

"I lied when I said there wasn't a deal, and I'm sorry. The deal was that I'd take Cory's place in the Upgrade experiments if the mission goes well. I agreed that I would be the lab rat if the mission goes to hell. I had originally planned to escape with you all, but we are no safer out here than we are in there" I lowered my head in shame "I am sorry I lied. If the mission fails he will use us both..."

"The question is. Why did you lie to us?" Phoenix asked.

"If I had told you about the deal none of you would have agreed" I looked at Cory. "If this mission fails they won't use you anymore Cory, they will use someone else, which is me.

Cory had tears in his eyes which confused me. Was he upset that I had done this to him? Cory wrapped his arms around me "Thank you Seth!"

"Don't thank me yet. I'm still deciding on whether we run or complete the mission." I replied wondrously "if we complete the mission we go back and we are there forever or, we can run away and deal with these shapeshifters an the army on our own terms"

"Did any of you notice that girl? She seemed like she had just done something huge..." Phoenix pointed out.

"Yes I did notice. Maybe she has asthma? The stairs could certainly lead to her being out of breath" Cory wondered.

I looked at the group "I don't trust her..."

"I propose, we complete the mission. Go back to The Lab and convince more people to come with us." Phoenix suggested.

"And if they refuse?" Clara asked.

"Then they are fools." She replied as she looked Clara dead in the eyes.

Taken back Clara backed off. "Okay then"

"Quit yapping and let's get on with this mission. The sooner it's over, the sooner we are free" I muttered.

The gang nodded in unison, and we set off looking for the opposed enemy. In front of us was a vast thick forest or a jungle. I really wasn't sure, but I was sure on one thing. It was beautiful, quiet and people free. A safe haven for anti-social people like me.

I looked all around me and I whispered "I could live here. Away from humans. Away from the world."

"You'd go insane Brother. No one can still be sane if you live like this" Sarah replied shaking her head.

"Who said I was sane in the first place" I looked at her with a grin on my face.

She nodded her head and turned to Cory "Point taken. What about you Cory? Could you live here?"

He turned to Sarah and laughed "I could live here forever, humans disgust me, and there are only a select few that I don't mind"

"Haha, same goes for me, only there are more than a few that I don't mind." My grin widened into a smile and Cory and I burst out into laughter.

"Are you quite finished?!" Sarah shouted.

"Sorry, it's ironic how similar Cory and I are. All jokes aside. Let's get on with this mission that we should have started thirty minutes ago" I said trying to keep a straight face.

This time was more serious. It was my fault we we're here so I had to protect them. My main priority was Cory. His power was weak. His 2nd power was hardly useful in battle neither was illusions. In battle he was the weakest link. The others had powerful abilities. Phoenix's power was not the best but she had practiced using them in these conditions. However Cory was just a Lab Rat. He wasn't meant to be in battle, but yet here he is against all odds. If he gets killed, his blood is on my hands.

"Hey Seth, you're freaking me out. You're just muttering under your breath" Cory pointed out.

"Sorry, I was deep in my thoughts." I shook my head and smiled.

Somewhere ahead a twig snapped.

"Shhh! Someone is here." Sarah whispered

During my time of being a human I learned how to move about without being spotted or having attention drawn to me.

"Let me go" I insisted. "Keep Cory safe. This mission is useless without him alive."

Sarah nodded and Cory made a noise that sounded like a growl. I wished I could read his mind. I wanted to know what was going through his head.

"Okay I'm going to sneak up to the thing that made the noise, if its danger I'll signal for you to come. Remember your weakness is another person's strength." I felt like a leader.

Sarah opened her mouth and I felt less like leader instantly. "I order you to come back Brother, if you die I will kill you"

"Ha! Same goes for you! See you all on the other side" I smirked and walked off into the thick foliage.

The foliage was amazing, it was like the forest was alive. Everywhere I turned there were wild flowers bursting with life. Wild animals chirped, chattered and called to each other.

The leaves around me were a brilliant red and orange, indicating that the season was autumn. The scene was captivating. My voice lay speechless and my mind blown.

I grew close to the source of the noise, ahead of me was an opening, it was rather dark though. The leaves were no longer bright due to the lack of light. The happy feeling vanished and was replaced by fear and anxiety. My head felt like it was going to burst, something wasn't right. Could it be a shapeshifter? Maybe it was the military personnel. My head began to hurt as I attempted to lift a large rock. After a few seconds of trying I was able to lift it without any negative physical affects.

"Either you come out and show yourself or I will launch this rock at you. Which will surely end your life." I warned, trying to peek through the gap in the foliage.

What I saw next was horrifyingly scary...