Page 68 of The Not So Super Hero

Isaiah chuckled because, after so many years, Zane never let someone believe he had given up hope.

Not once did he let the guards think they controlled him.

He always got back up, no matter what they did.

Even Isaiah, who others often saw as pure sunshine, had his moments where he gave up, when he awoke at night screaming how much he wanted to go home, for someone to kill him.

Each time it happened, Zane was right there.

After all they went through, Zane had the courage to say, “We’re going to get out of here, I promise. ”

And each time, Isaiah believed him because it was Zane who said it. He had six, no, seven failed escapes already, but got closer each time. Even when he was beaten afterwards, even when Benson or Law put him through hell, Zane would come back to their dorm with even more determination.

But all that was about to change.

“We’ve already tried that,” Isaiah argued after Zane explained another escape plan mere days after the cafeteria incident.

“Yeah, when we had actual threats here,” Zane countered in a low voice.

His attention shifted to the door. The guards walked by, then their steps faded.

“Benson, Leona, Law, none of them are here right now. That’s why we haven’t been let out of our rooms. It’s why they’ve been keeping our mutations in check.

The biggest threats are gone. This is our best shot. ”

“Trust me, I want to get out too, but we just had that shit with Benson. If we try a scheme like this and fail again, who knows what he’ll do to everyone?”

“Does it matter?” Zane hissed. “If we stay, if we try to run, they hurt us anyway. That’s what they do. This is our best shot. If just one of us gets out, please,” Zane clutched Isaiah’s hands. “You know I can’t do this without you.”

Isaiah hesitated, golden eyes dimming when he whispered, “Do you think we’ll die here?”

Zane stiffened, eyes widening. “What?”

“I don’t want to die here,” he mumbled, hands shaking.

Zane’s throat ran dry. His hands mirrored Isaiah’s, trembling, but he swallowed the lump in his throat and said, “You won’t die here. None of us will. Believe in me.”

It was that determination that Zane always had that made Isaiah think it was worth a shot. If Zane could always get right back up and try again, then he could, too.

“I believe in you,” Isaiah whispered, smiling.

Their plan to escape was set in motion. Since the guards weren’t allowing them out of their rooms, there was no chance to tell anyone.

It was a very spur-of-the-moment opportunity that the boys could only hope would work.

The effects of the shots weren’t nearly as bad in the morning before the guards came to give them their next dose.

That brief moment when they came into the room was their only chance.

When the officers came, Isaiah was alone in the room.

A guard shouted, and the alarms started blaring.

Confused, neither of them noticed the golden portal beneath the bed.

A gateway formed behind them in the hall.

Zane stepped out of the passage, darkness swirling in his fist. Shadows erupted from the floor to wrap the officers tightly.

Even their shouts were silenced. Isaiah burst out of the room.

Zane shoved the officers inside and they slammed the door shut.

They couldn’t risk time letting others out.

They ran as fast as they could, alarms shrieking and hall lights flashing red.

“Can you open a gateway to the lobby?” Zane asked when the two rounded a corner, only to see guards running their way.

“Too far right now!” Isaiah explained.

Zane launched a dark fist, sending three guards to the floor.

The boys ran in the opposite direction. Even without the shots, the shield around the lab weakened their mutations.

Said shield only intensified the moment the sirens started blaring.

It felt like weights had been dropped on their shoulders, making it not only harder to move but also almost painful to use their mutations.

Both boys knew it would happen the moment they got out of their room, just like Zane knew, to keep Isaiah safe at all costs.

They were going to go for him first. His mutation was great for escapes.

If it weren’t for that damn shield, Isaiah could get them out easily.

He could open gateways miles away, but thanks to the shield worsening, he was lucky to make a path a foot away.

It still helped with battle. He opened as many as he wanted nearby, sending a kick or punch from a distance by opening two connecting paths, which he was about to do.

A portal opened next to Isaiah, the other opened in front of an unexpecting guard.

Isaiah sent a fist through and punched the man square in the jaw before pulling back his fist and closing the portal.

Their plan was simple. They had tried it before; get Isaiah as close to the entrance to the lobby.

Even if he was beneath the lobby, he could create a path up there.

They had studied the building for years and knew exactly where it was.

If Isaiah could get them to the lobby, and Zane held everyone off long enough for Isaiah to get out of range, then there was no chance of anyone catching him.

Most of the time, Benson or Leona thwarted their plans.

However, they were away on a business trip.

Freedom was in their grasp. It was so close Zane could taste it.

They would escape. Zane knew it when they finally reached the point beneath the lobby.

Even if he was tired and his head felt like it was on the verge of exploding, Isaiah opened a path that led them to the place they had only ever seen once.

The lobby looked the same as the first time Zane saw it.

The doors sat on the other end of the room.

Isaiah made a run for it like he was supposed to.

Zane froze when a hand grasped his shoulder.

The touch sucked the energy so swiftly out of him that he fell to the floor with a pained cry.

Isaiah’s scream followed when a dark hand ripped at his ankles, dragging him across the floor to land right next to Zane.

A familiar pinch followed by scorching pain rippled through them.

“Did you two have fun?” Antoine asked, kneeling beside them with an empty needle. Though he smiled, his blue eyes were colder than ice. “I must admit, it was fun to watch but, honestly, I expected more.”

“Fight us head on before you trash talk,” Isaiah spat. Antoine punched him. His nose snapped. Blood poured from his nostrils and a whimper set upon his lips.

Zane glared. Why was Antoine there? They hadn’t heard anything about his arrival, which was typically a big deal. The head of Rebirth deserved a grand entrance.

Antoine returned his gaze to Zane, his lips forming an annoyed frown. “Law has informed me of your attempts before, but it seems the punishments aren’t working. I guess I will have to get it through your thick head what happens when you don’t obey.”

“Fuck you,” Zane groaned. He barely pushed himself onto his knees.

“Since you are so focused on being the hero of this story, I’ll give you a chance to be one,” Antoine spoke in a chipper tone that made Zane’s stomach churn. Seeing that dark look in his eyes was haunting.

“Choose,” Antoine whispered, gesturing to Isaiah on the floor. “Your pal here, or every single kid downstairs.”

Fear circled his gut, a swarming and buzzing sound that shook him to the core. He gazed at Isaiah’s bloodstained face, horror twisted into his scrunched features.

“What?” Zane whispered.

“You heard me. Sometimes heroes have to make tough decisions, save one person or save a hundred.”

Isaiah shivered. He curled in on himself, using his hair to shield his eyes. But Zane didn’t need to see them to know he was scared.

“You wouldn’t kill everyone, all your precious experiments.”

“I wouldn’t?” Antoine asked, pressing a palm to Zane’s cheek.

His touch was ice. “The trash downstairs is replaceable. If you don’t believe me,” Antoine pulled a phone from his pocket while keeping his gaze locked on Zane.

When a man answered the call, he gave an order that made Zane beg.

“The twins, what are their names, Nate and Natalia? Kill them.”

“No, no! Please don’t, please! Dad, please!”

“Better yet, bring them up here first. Don’t you think that’s a great idea, Zane?” Antoine held the phone out as if he expected him to answer. “I’ll bring every single one up here and you can watch.”

Tears stained Zane’s cheeks. He gripped the fabric of Antoine’s pants, whispering desperately, “I can’t choose. Please, Dad. Please, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I promise!”

“I don’t believe you,” Antoine ruffled Zane’s hair, an action that was nowhere near affectionate. “You’ve been bad and now you need to be punished.”

Zane’s cries escalated.

“Come on. Be the hero. Save the day.”

“He chooses me!” Isaiah’s voice was like an icy blade piercing Zane’s skin.

He and Antoine looked to Isaiah, finding the boy standing on trembling legs. His eyes were bloodshot, tears rolling down his cheeks when he repeated in a voice that broke with each word, “He will kill me.”

Zane couldn’t breathe.

“Ah, a real hero willing to lay down his life to save others. Bravo!” Antoine clapped.

Kicking Zane’s hand away, he approached Isaiah.

He stood behind the boy, pressing his hands to his shoulders like a proud father.

“Did you hear him? You better hurry. We wouldn’t want little Natalia and Nate to die because of your indecisions. ”

Zane couldn’t move. The world caved around him, growing darker until all he could see were Isaiah’s golden eyes staring back at me.

But he promised. He promised Isaiah wouldn’t die there.

Isaiah believed in him. He believed in their plan.

Zane couldn’t do it. Every fiber of his being screamed, but Isaiah had made up his mind.

He launched himself at Zane, sending a foot into the boys’ gut.

The hit stunned him, allowing Isaiah to do it again before Zane finally retreated.

He cast Isaiah a confused stare, but the boy ran at him, shaking fists raised for a fight and tears in his eyes.

Zane dodged, refusing to do anything to Isaiah while Antoine spoke in the background, “Tick tock, Zane.”

Isaiah couldn’t stop crying. He swayed like a drunk, but kept moving.

Zane didn’t know what to do. He wracked his brain but found no answer.

Everything happened too quickly. His gaze glanced at the clock on the wall, watching the hand move, knowing that Natalia and Nate were getting closer and closer.

A plan. He had to come up with something.

There had to be another way. He couldn’t do it. What could he do?

“Tick tock. Tick tock,” Antoine taunted.

Panic set in because Zane knew the moment the elevator doors opened, Nate and Natalia would be dead.

After them, more would follow all because of him.

It was his fault. Everything was his fault.

All their deaths would be on his hands. Antoine would slaughter every kid at Raiffel. They were replaceable.

Zane made his decision. He jumped at Isaiah, pushing the boy to the ground.

With one swift movement, he slammed Isaiah’s head into the floor.

Blood seeped from the open gash in his head.

His watery eyes peered up at Zane’s trembling expression.

Isaiah released a low groan, followed by a few words that shook Zane to the core; “I believe in you.”

With a choked cry, Zane closed his eyes and raised his shaking fist. He hesitated, tears rolling down his cheeks before he whimpered, I’m sorry.

Zane punched Isaiah with everything he had.

Antoine didn’t give them weapons. He wanted to make sure Zane learned his lesson.

He wanted Zane to feel it, Isaiah’s fear when he scratched helplessly at Zane’s arms that never once let up.

He wanted him to hear Isaiah’s whimpers and soft pleads while the life slowly left his body.

Hearing Zane repeat “I’m sorry” over and over after each hit, Antoine knew the boy was more than broken.

Zane kept punching even after Isaiah stopped moving.

When he finally opened his eyes, Isaiah’s lifeless stare met him.

Those golden eyes, once so bright, had become dull. Zane would never forget them, or his trembling hands stained red. He knew no matter how much he tried to scrub it off, it would never go away. The only words echoing in Zane’s mind were what Isaiah said the night before, I don’t want to die here.

His guilt was consuming. Zane became a husk of what he once was.

He didn’t eat. He didn’t speak. He barely slept.

That hope, that determination once a burning fire within him, was nothing but ash.

When the time came that there was finally a chance to escape two weeks after Isaiah’s passing, Zane didn’t take it. He didn’t move.

Raiffel was under attack. The children within that could fight battled for their lives alongside the officers who made it inside.

Chaos erupted. The very walls shook. Zane didn’t so much as move.

He laid in bed, curled beneath the blankets even when screams overtook the lab.

People died outside his door and he did nothing.

“What are you doing?” Natalia screamed when she and Nate found him. She ripped the blankets off him. “Zane, come on. We have to go!”

Zane didn’t respond. Nate stood beside his sister with a disappointed scowl.

“How can you just lie there?” Nate asked, shaking Zane, then he kicked the side of the bed. “Damn it, help us! Our friends are dying!”

Gunshots and screams filtered through the building like a record stuck on repeat.

“Isaiah,” It physically hurt Zane to hear his name, and it hurt Nate to say it. “Isaiah believed in you to get us out. He trusted you. He knew if anyone could help us it was you and now the time is here. Please, don’t let his death be in vain!”

Nothing. Zane couldn’t do it. His very soul cried out that he didn’t deserve to leave. If Raiffel was destroyed, he hoped he would go along with it. Let Raiffel burn with him inside. He deserved that fate, and he didn’t expect others to understand.

“You fucking coward!” Nate hollered, storming out of the room. “Stay here and rot!”

Natalia flinched, looking to Zane for a reaction that he never gave. She pressed her hand to his shoulder. There were no words, or maybe she had too many. In the end, she left too. The Zane they knew was long gone. He left the moment Isaiah did.