Chapter 7 – Compelled

Aurora stood in the middle of what looked like some sort of training area. She glanced around the place, seeing the various forms of equipment set about the room. Above her there were fans blowing chilly air, causing goose bumps to appear on her bare arms.

Her fingers tapped her spandex-clad thighs. Doctor Aaron Reed had instructed her to get dressed and wait for him in here. Now she was staring at the many—and slightly terrifying—tools available to her. She didn’t know the purpose of any of them, but one of the parts reminded her of an obstacle course, complete with rings hanging from the ceiling over a pool. Small air bubbles rippled to the surface of the water, and Aurora narrowed her eyes, trying to spot what was causing the motion in the pool. Did they have something down there?

A door opened, and she jerked around to meet the new arrival. Dr. Aaron came in with two women following closely behind. Her gaze went to them, causing her to drop her jaw a few moments later. While all of the equipment was extraordinary and new to her, it didn’t measure up to what was right in front of her. She couldn’t believe her own eyes, and when they walked closer, she found herself studying their faces of the two women.

No... she thought. That can’t be…

Everything from their eyes to their height could fool anyone into thinking they were just regular, ordinary humans. Aurora inhaled deeply, sniffing slightly. Those two weren’t human though—they were Immortalias. Aurora could feel it. Her skin buzzed all over, yet she felt at ease. This was her kin. She had so many questions, but found herself unable to form a single coherent sentence. Raising a hand, she waved carefully, causing them to smile.

“Ah, Aurora, hope we didn’t let you wait too long,” Aaron said. “Let me introduce you to your trainers. This is—“

The redheaded Immortalia rushed forth and circled Aurora as if she were some sort of exotic exhibit at a foreign zoo. “I’m Milada,” she said, coming close, inhaling deeply. She smiled and gestured to the other Immortalia. “That’s Valeria.”

Aurora glanced between the two of them. Milada had deep red curls flowing down her back, framing her head in a seemingly artistic way, while Valeria had short black hair. Even their body type was different. Milada’s red hair covered a round, curvy body while Valeria had long, slender limbs.

“I-I’m Aurora,” she stuttered. “Nice t-to meet you.”

Milada and Valeria were invading her personal space. If they came just slightly closer, their skin would touch. For some reason, Aurora felt uncomfortable by the thought of making physical contact with these Immortalias. She’d never socialized with her kin before, and while she wanted to get to know them, she didn’t quite want them to touch her. It didn’t help that she saw how fit both of them were. Compared to these two Immortalias, Aurora felt like a fragile old woman with no positive qualities, and she wasn’t fooling herself in the slightest. If it came down to an athletic contest between the three of them, she wouldn’t come out of it with a victory.

Her eyes roamed around cautiously, until they finally settled on Aaron, who was watching with interest. “You didn’t say I’d be working with other Immortalias,” she said.

Aaron widened his eyes at her remark, then chuckled. “Don’t be silly, Aurora. You have absolutely no control over your arms or the power they wield. I’m not going to set you up with someone who doesn’t know how to heal themselves once you’ve let loose on them.” He shrugged. “And so far, only Immortalias have the ability to heal if injured.”

Aurora could see the sense in that, but it still didn’t lessen the shock of finally standing face to face with another Immortalia. “Errh.” She coughed. “I guess we’ll be working together then, right?”

Milada nodded. “Yes. Is there anything you want to know? About our research project, I mean.”

Aurora averted her eyes once more. She didn’t know where to start. Personal space was whatever, but personal questions weren’t good—it made no sense. She sighed and ran a hand through her white locks, scratching her head. “Well. How do we do this?”

“That’s a good question,” Valeria shot in. “The thing is: we don’t know yet.”

“You don’t know?” Aurora widened her eyes, taking a step back. “You got to be kidding.”

Valeria giggled. “We’ll try out a few ideas at first, but nothing is set in stone yet.”

“What will we start with then?”

The two females shared a look. Then Milada began stretching her limbs. Aurora looked confused between them until Valeria spoke. “We’re gonna find what ticks it off,” she said with a wink.

“I’d better step away from this,” Aaron said.

Aurora watched as he walked over to a small bench and sat down. He had a book with him, and a pen was nestled behind his ear. She still found it hard to believe that he was an actual scientist, but he seemed to know what he was talking about—she couldn’t argue with that. She turned around and found Valeria just a few inches from her face.

“Ehm… Hi?” Aurora said

“Answer me one thing, Aurora: when your powers came out earlier … what did you feel?” Valeria tilted her head.

“I was scared, confused, and maybe a bit angry.” Aurora tried to answer, but she couldn’t actually recall it.

“Don’t you have something more concise we can work with?” Milada cut in.

“N-no.” Aurora took a step back as they both came closer. Apparently, personal space wasn’t something they respected.

“Come on… you must have something.” Valera smirked. “Just try to stop thinking about the hottie in the corner, and remember.”

Aurora widened their eyes. She didn’t know they’d noticed her staring at Aaron. “I’m not thinking about anything.”

“You should, though.” Milada was on her right side now.

She stared between the two of them; their expressions promised nothing good; Aurora could feel her body tense as both of their eyes took on a wicked, mischievous glint. “Hey, ah … not to be rude,” Aurora said, “but could you both please take a few steps away? You’re getting awful close.”

“Why so?” Valeria chortled. “Are we making you nervous?”

“It’s just that I really don’t want to hurt you guys on accident,” Aurora admitted. “You probably would do well to stay a good few feet away from me.”

It was the truth, of course, but Aurora also wanted them back so she could breathe without them being right in her face. It wasn’t that they smelled bad—they smelled of nothing, really—but Aurora never appreciated this kind of closeness. Not with anyone but him—whoever he was behind the darkness.

“Don’t you worry about us, honey.” Milada stepped out and blocked Aurora’s path. It didn’t take long before Aurora could feel a wall behind her—she was cornered.

“Are you going to hurt me?” she asked.

“We’d like to avoid that, but if you don’t get your powers to work, we can’t promise anything.” Valeria reached out and circled a strand of Aurora’s hair around her finger. With a small tug, she grinned. “Just make us stop—you know you can.”

“This really seems counter-productive, guys. The last time I used my powers, I almost turned a woman into an ice cube. Couldn’t we settle for something else? Anyone here play poker?”

“Sure,” Milada said, “we can play poker. All you have to do is show me your hand.”

Aurora groaned as Milada yanked on her hair then jerked back. The sudden pain caused her to wince. Valeria kicked out at her legs, and Aurora’s knee buckled from the impact. She reached out to support her fall, but Valeria caught her wrists in a strong hold.

Milada was picking strands out one by one. Painful, but Aurora had been through far, far worse. She gritted her teeth and swallowed any outburst. She refused to let them win; she refused to cry out for mercy.

“Mil, this ain’t working. We need something more,” Valeria said. “Maybe we should contact her owner?”

The thought of Zachary made Aurora’s blood boil. Who knew what state of mind he was in after such a long time? Being away from his shop must have put a dent on his sanity, or at least whatever sanity he had to begin with.

Fear rose from deep within, and Aurora looked between the two girls. “Don’t! I’ll do my best.”

She closed her eyes and focused on her arms. At the same time, Valeria’s nails dug into her flesh, making it almost impossible for her to concentrate. Milada still pulled at her hair, and their chitchat about Zachary didn’t help, either. Still, the pain was far from unbearable. Compared to scarification, this was a late-night massage at a high-class spa—maybe. Aurora wasn’t sure. She’d never been to a spa.

I just wish her nails would stop digging into my skin. If it stopped, I’d be able to focus.

“If you don’t do something soon, we’re calling your owner,” Milada said. “And we’re Immortalias, too, so we know how much you’d hate that.”

“You wouldn’t,” Aurora begged, “please.”

“Try us and see.”

Aurora swore under her breath. She realized these two were serious. But what could she do? She’d been overwhelmed the first time she’d activated her powers. But this? This was nothing. Did these two girls have some sort of dreamlike life, where hair pulling and a bit of scratching were acts of torture? Hah! Aurora has been cut up so many times that she trembled every time she saw a knife.

A knife! That’s it. I need to remember.

For the first time in Aurora’s life, she escaped from pain into even deeper pain. By now, she’d learned fully well how to send her mind elsewhere to flee from the agony. Yet the problem here was simple: the agony wasn’t enough. So, with a rueful chuckle at the irony of her situation, Aurora did her best to recall her memory of scarification—the times she’d been lucid while Zachary cut her up.

Immediately, she felt the pain in her skin, as real as the nails digging into her now. No, even realer. She remembered the times he’d rant about this convention or that expo; all while slicing into her and sending lightning bolts of pain coursing through her body, her skin feeling as if it were on fire. She’d always prayed it would be over with quickly. She’d always wanted it to stop.

Aurora thought of all these things, and then, with the dark thoughts running fresh through her mind, she gasped in horror. “No!” she shouted. “No more cutting!”

Then she heard a yelp, and soon after, the hair pulling and nail digging stopped. Opening her eyes, she found Valeria in front of her with a large grin.

“You did it,” Valeria said. “Congrats.”

Aurora looked down to find her arms covered in frost and fire once again. Just like the first time, the sight fascinated her. The intricate patterns were spectacular. She let out a small laugh and held up both her hands, showing them off proudly.

“I did it!” she said. “I actually did it.” Relief flooded through her. Now she just needed to work out how to turn it on without having to recall such intense physical pain. Not to mention how to turn it off again. She frowned while she looked over her hands. Her heartbeat had already returned to normal, so the calming down probably wouldn’t help.

“What’s wrong?” Milada asked.

“Ehm.” Aurora waved with her hands. “I don’t know how to make it stop.”

The room became silent, and all three of them turned to Aaron. He got up from his seat and walked over. “Maybe try connecting your hands. Your powers should cancel each other out.”

Aurora did as he asked, and when her fingers intertwined, both of her hands returned to normal. It happened slowly at first, with the fire and ice sizzling and crackling. Then, rapidly, the color of her skin returned to normal, and her hands were both once again a normal bodily temperature.

“Great. Now we have something to work with,” Valeria said.

Aurora didn’t say anything else; she just sat still, with a smile on her lips.

This is so cool.

A/N: Please vote.