The Fortress

Chapter 3 - Hunting for extraordinaries

"DO YOU THINK we made the right choice?" Joanne asked her husband Bennie who didn't look bothered about their son leaving under their care as she made her way to the bed to join him in her light pink lingerie.

"Bennie," She called out facing her already dozing husband who felt exhausted from driving almost all day.

"I think he will do just fine," Bennie groaned without opening his already tired eyes. Joanne wasn't satisfied with the answer she got.

"You know, he has never been on his own before, without me and there are so many strange kids...."

"Trust me, he will be fine. Did you see the excitement in his eyes when he saw that kid with wings? I've never seen him look like that. He will have a sense of belonging and most importantly, he will be able to control those constant noises that pose as a problem for him. You don't have to worry, we made the right choice for him. Come over here," Bennie replied stretching out his hands for her to curl in with his eyes half opened.

"Did you see how the woman looked when we told her what Jared was going through? like she was scared."

"The woman, Mrs Bradley? There's nothing to worry about, you are just overthinking things, sleep it off, you will realize we made the right choice soon. You are just missing him."

Joanne was still not satisfied with all the assurance Bennie made. Apart from feeling that the kids in the fortress didn't seem pleasant to her, the owner of the institution also seemed scared when they tried explaining the situation Jared was in. She could swear that she saw the fear in her eyes, she was visibly shaken. When Jared had first opened up to her about the disturbing noises, she didn't know how to approach it.

Jared used to be a sweet kid until his father died and she got married to Bennie. He became cold and kept mostly to himself, he hardly spoke. Hearing him speak about something must have really meant he was going through a lot at the moment. Jared wasn't the type of teenager that opened up to people about his pain or anything at all.

She had taken him to the hospital but there was no reasonable explanation after several tests but still, drugs were administered to him and therapy was also advised. None of them worked. She was beginning to get mad at herself and frustrated for not being able to help her son this one time he was opening up and asking for help until Bennie spoke to her about the fortress.

At first, she doubted that something like that existed but Bennie went ahead to prove that it was real and safe after revealing so many positive search results virtually. It took Bennie a week and few days to convince her that an institution for people like Jared really existed and another one week for her to think about it and come to the conclusion that Bennie was probably right about the institution and it could help Jared. Another three days before she found the guts to talk to Jared about it. Just as expected, Jared accepted. She was used to Jared silently obeying her and heeding to her advice even if it made him uncomfortable.

He never argued with her, he never disagreed, he just does and agree with whatever she says. At this point, with everything Jared was going through, she felt more than fear. She felt what Jared was going through at the moment will either bring him closer to her or take him farther from her. And with him being far away from her, she felt restless and scared that he would get used to life without her and keep his distance. After numerous thoughts, she drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Four a.m. you've been driving all night," Ian said facing Henry looking terrific. "When are we going to get rest?". He added impatiently.

"Relax, we are almost there," Henry replied patiently with his hands on the steering wheel, without taking his eyes off the road.

Ian didn't know why he had agreed to join this roughly bearded man's team. He didn't trust him and he didn't know him either but hours ago, the man could have killed him in just a snap of a finger. He thought he was powerful but this man simply overpowered him without even raising a fist. He wanted to try pushing the man out of the car and take over the steering wheel but he was scared that before he made a move, the man would kill him. So many thoughts and ideas ran through his head but he couldn't execute them as a result of fear.

At the beginning of their journey, when he first thought about pushing the man out of the car, Henry looked at him and asked "Are you trying to kill me?"

He was startled and definitely sure he could read minds. "No, no...of course not". He had stuttered.

Since then, he had tried controlling his thoughts but he couldn't. So many ideas to kill Henry ran through his mind. He was sure Henry could see them but he still didn't seem bothered. He could probably sense the fear that gripped him and prevented him from carrying out his terrific ideas. Now, he was stuck with a brain stunner who could read minds. He felt so terrible.

The car suddenly came to a halt.

"Get down!" Henry yelled at Ian as he alighted from the vehicle. As Ian came out of the vehicle, it went out of sight.

"Whoa! Did you make your car disappear?" Ian asked in awe.

"Nah, it's still there, it's not just visible. It's nutech," Henry replied punching his watch slightly with his index finger.

What seemed to be like a flying building shot up suddenly.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Ian yelled. "Is this a nutech house?"

"Nah, it's more or less like a spaceship or let's just say a flying campervan. But it's still nutech, it's not just a house," Henry replied with a smirk.

"Words can't explain how amazed I am right now," Ian continued talking as he walked into the ship, following Henry behind.

"Ghost mode!" Henry yelled as he entered the ship.

Ian turned round to check the effect of what Henry had said. He was gripped with fear as he thought it was a word meant to destabilize him or kill him. And just as if Henry read the tension in his mind, he replied his thought as he clicked a red button to reveal a door that opened automatically as they approached it.

"Relax, it's just me telling the ship to go invincible."

"Ooh, the ship listens to humans too, like it has ears?"

"Don't be dumb, it's regular technology and it doesn't listen to humans, it listens to me."

As the door opened, it revealed an enclosed space with two people in it.

A lady putting on glasses that kept punching the keyboard of a computer without paying attention to the whirring sound of the opening door and the presence of Henry and Ian. Another man was standing behind her. He reacted to the presence of both Henry and Ian by reaching for something in his hip Ian couldn't get a proper glimpse of but relaxed when he saw the person coming in was just Henry accompanied by someone else.

"Who is he?" The man asked.

"Someone we need. His name is Ian. Ian this is Michael."

"Ooh, welcome," Michael said, stretching out  his hand to Ian

Ian quietly shook his hand. He looked at Henry and looked back at Michael. Their hair gave them a striking resemblance as Michael's hair also hung down his back and he looked actually like Henry except that he looked younger with no beards.

"Umm, you've got a very tight grip". Michael intruded Ian's thought with a shaky voice and a fake smile.

"Ooh, I'm really sorry about that," he apologized as he realized he had been gripping his hand for a long time while he was lost in his thoughts of comparison.

"So you don't recognize him?" Henry asked Michael resting his hand on his shoulder.

"No, I don't think so. He doesn't look familiar except that...... Oh! He is the man from the news!" Michael yelled with excitement after properly scanning Ian.

"Hey man, you are doing great! Totally loved how you sent that police car spinning with just a kick. I was watching the news fam, you were amazing."

As Michael spoke, Ian realized he was a British and wondered the trouble Henry must have gone through finding him. It must really be worth it, he thought it.

"Thank you." He replied Michael with a faint smile.

"Hey! Henry. Didn't realize you were here already," a lady's voice suddenly captured their attention.

Ian turned to face the woman who was walking up to Henry ignoring the rest of them in the room.

"If security was breached, you wouldn't know?" Henry asked, smiling at her.

"The ship recognizes you," she replied smiling back in a low seductive tone.

Ian looked from one face to another, he could feel the chemistry between them. The woman looked beautiful than he had expected and at the same time looked Asian.

Ian coughed.

"Ooh, Zoe, that's Ian. Ian this is Zoe."

Henry quickly gave a proper introduction realizing he had drifted off for a moment.

"Nice to meet you Zoe." Ian took her hand, consciously handling it softly.

She smiled and bowed her head a little without saying a word. She turned suddenly to Henry.

"I found something that would interest you."

"Okay, I'm all ears," Henry said, following her behind as she made her way back to the seat stationed in front of the computer system.

"I've been going through every security footage and Surveillance camera I can get my hands on in the city and I found this. He has some sort of super speed. You wouldn't really notice he moved over there," Zoe pointed at the monitor and took a quick peep at Henry. It looked like he wasn't concentrating even though his eyes were fixed to the monitor.

"We could make good use of him. Someone with speed as fast as that, very good. What's his name?" Henry asked hardly completing his statement.

"Evan Meyer."

"Where can we find him?" He asked again.

"He should be east of the city, can't tell where exactly."

"Don't bother, I will find him,"

"Here's a beer for you my friend," Michael tossed a beer at Ian.

Ian caught it and smiled. "Thank you".

"Men, we move at dawn. We have to get to that boy before anyone else gets to him," Henry addressed Ian and Michael.

"Someone is coming for you Ian. She is an extraordinary and she will be very useful, be prepared."

"Me? I don't have anybody looking out for me or anything like that," Ian replied obviously confused.

"She's not looking out for you, she's just curious. And she's not someone you know but she would be very helpful,"  Henry said as  sohe walkeduth to a door at the far end of the enclosed space.

"Wait, you see the future too?"

"I see everything Ian." Henry slammed the door behind him. "You can ask Michael to show you your room". He yelled behind the door.

* * *

Sarah had woken up extra early even though it was the weekend. She was really bent on finding the robber and probably have a little chitchat with him. It could help her writing in several ways and she could get to know how he felt about being an extraordinary, perhaps, a feeling she could relate with. As she got into her car, her stomach rumbled. Then she remembered she had not taken her breakfast. It could trigger her ulcer. She didn't want to experience terrible stomach aches on her way, she rushed back into the house and realized she had forgotten her mobile phone. "Thank goodness I didn't eat before leaving," she heaved a sigh of relief.