Setting
INK
Katrina looked to the girl on her left, eyes quickly drawn to the blood now seeping from her chest through her white shirt.
“What happened!” she yelped, almost uncontrollably. She cursed in her head, realizing she just spoke up when she wanted to stay silent the entire time. Obviously with this happening, that wouldn’t be the case. Kat’s eyes gazed intently at the cut, seeing the shiny blade that was exposed from her chest. It was fascinating, and made her curious as to how exactly that happened. It was clear that this girl was in serious danger. A whole 24 hour trip to Mars would surely be her death at the rate her blood was pouring. The pain alone might knock her out. Damn these cuffs... she thought to herself as she listened to Tildy ask for help. There was nothing any of them could do. They were all locked to their chairs, and with their feet grounded, no one could reach her.
“There isn’t a way, I’m so sorry,” Katrina cooed, trying to warm her voice. It was the only thing comforting she could do for the stranger. With any of their powers, they were completely useless.
Back on Earth...
“Where is my coffee, Henricks?” Jay Brown, head of overseeing the technical department of ShipX, asked to a lower intern engineer. The intern, a perfect human and fresh out of their university lab, nodded compliantly as he got up to get the coffee for Jay. As he was gone, Jay continued to watch the Ship’s monitors. There was a visual on the front powering station, as well as a hidden camera placed in the room of circles. Jay zoomed in on the particular cluster of circle chairs that locked in place each of the six malformed humans. He shuttered in a superior way, disgusted by their sudden “abnormal look”, though none of them looked any different than before. Popping in a handful of chips in his mouth, he went about his routine, zooming in on each one to make sure they were properly locked in place.
Each one appeared locked in place. Yet upon further watching of the six, his eye immediately attuned to the red haired woman. Some of the chips well out of his mouth as his eyes rose in surprise. This was the first time anyone had ever bled on ship. He zoomed in farther, close up on the entry wound. The sharp glare of the slick silver blade was easy to notice at this range.
“Son of bitch... she really got a weapon on board?” he spat as he rolled back in his office chair, getting to his feet quickly. It was at this point that the intern returned into the room.
“Sir, what’s going on?” he asked quickly, noticing the shock upon Jay’s face. He walked over to the screen he was staring at, then handed Jay his coffee. The intern’s eyes grew double in shock, perplexed at how she would have been able to get to this point. Not only was there a weapon snuck on board, but as well she was managed to be stabbed? Jay grabbed his coffee, taking a few concentrated breaths in.
“Before we jump to any conclusions, we have to be rational about this,” he muttered, instinctively reaching for the files he had on each of the six malformed humans. He shuffled through them until he found the image of this red haired freak.
“Tildy Bedwyr,” he stated, then continued to read her file out loud to the intern, the only other person at the moment that knew of the situation on board the ship. “Ah, ha! Son of a gun, she is the metal wielder! No wonder she got that on ship, she was hiding it in her chest...” he grinned quite coldly, laughing at her stupidity. “Must have not thought of the cuff’s own ability to cancel hers.”
The intern frowned, rolling their eyes at Jay, but not to where he could see. For this perfect human was more neutral when it came to the malformed humans. His name was Richard, known to those in the program as Richy and to those of Jay’s status as “intern Rich” or just “intern”. His goal one day was to fill the spot of Jay, become the new technical director. There was one flaw though that would be his downfall... his compassion.
“I’m informing the rest of the crew on this development,” he said calmly, sipping on his hot coffee. “You know, she is gonna die like that the way she is. Keep an eye on her while I get everyone,” Jay then directed, exiting the room’s door. There was no care of emotion in his cocky voice. That fact pissed Richard off more than anything. His eyes locked on the woman, clearly in obvious pain as she bled quickly mid-torso. From where the blade was sticking out, he was surprised it hadn’t cut her heart yet. His fingers nervously clicked on the steel desk frame, gazing at the flat monitor screen that showed Tildy in full color, blood and all. Richard’s heart went out to her, not wanting to see someone die in such an inhumane, cruel way.
“Damn it,” he whispered to himself, knowing he was in a touch situation. Under any circumstance was one ever allowed to uncuff any of the six while they were on ship to Mars. But it was possible. Yes, very, very possible. His eyes darted in the direction of the faint red glow of a button across the computer lab, along with a number pad. It was the one device that had the power to unlock each cuff automatically. There was a certain code given to each individual. Richard knew what had to be done, even if it meant he would be punished beyond imaginable. Yet, he couldn’t help it. His compassion won over his rationality once again. He had only seconds to find Tildy’s code before Jay and more would come back in, ruining his plans. To free Tildy from the cuffs, giving her power back so that she could work her magic, whatever that was. He ran to the extra papers on each passenger. Her code was #28463. Taking in a silent gulp, he paced forward to the unlocking device, hitting the red button and keying in her code. Enter.
Richard jerked his head around, eyes jumping to the video monitor of Tildy and the rest of the group on screen. His lips trembled as the cuffs fell loose from her wrists. “Oh shit, I can’t believe I just did that,” the young intern mumbled, gripping the side of his temple tightly. Seconds later Jay entered the room again, with fellow colleagues of his. The coffee he was holding in his hand dropped to the floor, Jay’s body stiff in utter devastation. All eyes were on the monitor, silent as Tildy was now free of restraint, ability fully returned and then some. Jay creeped his attention viciously over to Richard, whowas now cowering with guilt over by button device. He knew we was in for it. But he saved her life, and that was all that mattered.
********
Katrina’s jaw dropped, eyes alive with amazement. It had not been 10 minutes after she made her comment and now Tildy’s cuffs had dropped, clinking to the chain on the seat. Her feet were still locked in place, but the power restricting lock was off. She was free. Katrina was speechless, wondering what was going on. This was a dream, it had to be. But... no, she established this was her reality now. Someone was watching them. Her head darted to the top corners of the walls, searching for a camera. She couldn’t find one anywhere. It didn’t matter any more though, Tildy was free to save herself. Maybe she could held them get free too, once she got the blade out of her chest. Anything was possible now.
“What happened!” she yelped, almost uncontrollably. She cursed in her head, realizing she just spoke up when she wanted to stay silent the entire time. Obviously with this happening, that wouldn’t be the case. Kat’s eyes gazed intently at the cut, seeing the shiny blade that was exposed from her chest. It was fascinating, and made her curious as to how exactly that happened. It was clear that this girl was in serious danger. A whole 24 hour trip to Mars would surely be her death at the rate her blood was pouring. The pain alone might knock her out. Damn these cuffs... she thought to herself as she listened to Tildy ask for help. There was nothing any of them could do. They were all locked to their chairs, and with their feet grounded, no one could reach her.
“There isn’t a way, I’m so sorry,” Katrina cooed, trying to warm her voice. It was the only thing comforting she could do for the stranger. With any of their powers, they were completely useless.
Back on Earth...
“Where is my coffee, Henricks?” Jay Brown, head of overseeing the technical department of ShipX, asked to a lower intern engineer. The intern, a perfect human and fresh out of their university lab, nodded compliantly as he got up to get the coffee for Jay. As he was gone, Jay continued to watch the Ship’s monitors. There was a visual on the front powering station, as well as a hidden camera placed in the room of circles. Jay zoomed in on the particular cluster of circle chairs that locked in place each of the six malformed humans. He shuttered in a superior way, disgusted by their sudden “abnormal look”, though none of them looked any different than before. Popping in a handful of chips in his mouth, he went about his routine, zooming in on each one to make sure they were properly locked in place.
Each one appeared locked in place. Yet upon further watching of the six, his eye immediately attuned to the red haired woman. Some of the chips well out of his mouth as his eyes rose in surprise. This was the first time anyone had ever bled on ship. He zoomed in farther, close up on the entry wound. The sharp glare of the slick silver blade was easy to notice at this range.
“Son of bitch... she really got a weapon on board?” he spat as he rolled back in his office chair, getting to his feet quickly. It was at this point that the intern returned into the room.
“Sir, what’s going on?” he asked quickly, noticing the shock upon Jay’s face. He walked over to the screen he was staring at, then handed Jay his coffee. The intern’s eyes grew double in shock, perplexed at how she would have been able to get to this point. Not only was there a weapon snuck on board, but as well she was managed to be stabbed? Jay grabbed his coffee, taking a few concentrated breaths in.
“Before we jump to any conclusions, we have to be rational about this,” he muttered, instinctively reaching for the files he had on each of the six malformed humans. He shuffled through them until he found the image of this red haired freak.
“Tildy Bedwyr,” he stated, then continued to read her file out loud to the intern, the only other person at the moment that knew of the situation on board the ship. “Ah, ha! Son of a gun, she is the metal wielder! No wonder she got that on ship, she was hiding it in her chest...” he grinned quite coldly, laughing at her stupidity. “Must have not thought of the cuff’s own ability to cancel hers.”
The intern frowned, rolling their eyes at Jay, but not to where he could see. For this perfect human was more neutral when it came to the malformed humans. His name was Richard, known to those in the program as Richy and to those of Jay’s status as “intern Rich” or just “intern”. His goal one day was to fill the spot of Jay, become the new technical director. There was one flaw though that would be his downfall... his compassion.
“I’m informing the rest of the crew on this development,” he said calmly, sipping on his hot coffee. “You know, she is gonna die like that the way she is. Keep an eye on her while I get everyone,” Jay then directed, exiting the room’s door. There was no care of emotion in his cocky voice. That fact pissed Richard off more than anything. His eyes locked on the woman, clearly in obvious pain as she bled quickly mid-torso. From where the blade was sticking out, he was surprised it hadn’t cut her heart yet. His fingers nervously clicked on the steel desk frame, gazing at the flat monitor screen that showed Tildy in full color, blood and all. Richard’s heart went out to her, not wanting to see someone die in such an inhumane, cruel way.
“Damn it,” he whispered to himself, knowing he was in a touch situation. Under any circumstance was one ever allowed to uncuff any of the six while they were on ship to Mars. But it was possible. Yes, very, very possible. His eyes darted in the direction of the faint red glow of a button across the computer lab, along with a number pad. It was the one device that had the power to unlock each cuff automatically. There was a certain code given to each individual. Richard knew what had to be done, even if it meant he would be punished beyond imaginable. Yet, he couldn’t help it. His compassion won over his rationality once again. He had only seconds to find Tildy’s code before Jay and more would come back in, ruining his plans. To free Tildy from the cuffs, giving her power back so that she could work her magic, whatever that was. He ran to the extra papers on each passenger. Her code was #28463. Taking in a silent gulp, he paced forward to the unlocking device, hitting the red button and keying in her code. Enter.
Richard jerked his head around, eyes jumping to the video monitor of Tildy and the rest of the group on screen. His lips trembled as the cuffs fell loose from her wrists. “Oh shit, I can’t believe I just did that,” the young intern mumbled, gripping the side of his temple tightly. Seconds later Jay entered the room again, with fellow colleagues of his. The coffee he was holding in his hand dropped to the floor, Jay’s body stiff in utter devastation. All eyes were on the monitor, silent as Tildy was now free of restraint, ability fully returned and then some. Jay creeped his attention viciously over to Richard, whowas now cowering with guilt over by button device. He knew we was in for it. But he saved her life, and that was all that mattered.
********
Katrina’s jaw dropped, eyes alive with amazement. It had not been 10 minutes after she made her comment and now Tildy’s cuffs had dropped, clinking to the chain on the seat. Her feet were still locked in place, but the power restricting lock was off. She was free. Katrina was speechless, wondering what was going on. This was a dream, it had to be. But... no, she established this was her reality now. Someone was watching them. Her head darted to the top corners of the walls, searching for a camera. She couldn’t find one anywhere. It didn’t matter any more though, Tildy was free to save herself. Maybe she could held them get free too, once she got the blade out of her chest. Anything was possible now.