[Short Story] Power to draw

"G," my finger spelled the word across the padded wall, as I struggled to focus. The handkerchief that I had tied around my leg did little to stop the blood flow. My shirt was damp with red, and already a small puddle was forming beneath my leg. I cursed at the unconscious body beside me. That bastard hid a knife underneath his jacket.

"U," I began to spell the second word, but my vision was beginning to blur. If I were to escape, I needed a second plan.

I dipped my finger on the small puddle of red, and beneath the words "G" and "U", I spelled out the words "Needle" and "Thread". They both magically popped out in the air, and dropped on my bed. I smiled. No wonder the guards tried so hard to keep me from remembering. Despite the cloud of drugs, my mind still managed to piece the puzzles together.

I dipped my finger again in my own blood, and on the wall wrote the word "Whiskey." A bottle of Jack Daniels landed not far from the needles and thread. I was hoping for a Johnnie Walker, but a bleeding man cannot be a chooser.

I stumbled unto my small bed, the cushion barely covering the metal frame below, and reached out for the whiskey. Never have I felt so comfortable on the bed before and my eyes wanted to close there and then. I had to pinch my wound to force my self to stay awake.

Like how I managed to knock the guard unconscious, my body moved on its own with the thread and needle, as if I had done it numerous times before. I dabbed the alcohol on the wound to disinfect it, wanting to shout bloody murder as the pain hit me, before stitching myself back up. It took my less than five minutes to finish.

Once I was done, I took a swig of the Jack Daniels. The liquid burned all the way down my throat, but I savoured every drop of it. It has been far too long since I had anything to drink. Memories began to slowly trickle back to me. My life has been good once. I remembered cocktail parties and balls, along with the laughter and smiles of my family. All of which the bastards at this jail must have taken from me.

The blood flow stopped, I staggered back to the wall, and finished my word. "N".

An ACR rifle dropped unto the floor, along with a pouch of ammo. The exact thing that I needed. My powers can be quite forward planning sometimes. I was surprised that I recognized the gun's model, despite having no memory of using guns before. They pumped me so full of drugs that I could not even recall my own name. But my torture was about to end.

Grabbing the gun and ammo, I began to push the steel door open, with the barrel of the gun aimed outwards. It was past lights out time, and the place was quiet. No one had notice yet that the guard outside my cell was missing. That was good. I slowly crept out of my cell, before making way past the shadows along the corridor. I have never see past the door of my cell before, and it turned out that my cell was the only room on the corridor. I had thought that the prison might have been bigger.

I crept past the corridor, moving swiftly. I had hoped to avoid any confrontation if possible, and if I was lucky, I would be able to reach the office safely. My body still ached, but as long as I could get hold of a pen and paper, I would be unstoppable.

As I turned the corner however, I walked into a muzzle of a gun that was pointed directly to my head. Behind the gun was a woman, in her mid-fifties, with streaks of grey between flaming curls of red. "One more step and you're dead."

Her face was one that I instantly recognized. "Mum?"

The woman's face looked at me stoically, betraying neither a hint of smile nor surprise. Despite knowing that she was my mum, my emotions bubbled underneath at the sight of her face. Hatred, contempt and the pain of betrayal.

My fingers squeezed my rifles trigger, and three bullets exited the chamber. They were supposed to be too fast for my eyes to see, but they glided slowly towards the direction of my mother, like paper airplanes. Mother had her hand in the air, with a slight smirk on her face. "Oh, I see that you have not recover your memories fully yet, or else you would have known better than to shoot me. With a gun, nonetheless."

She stepped out of the bullets path, and dropped her hand. They pierced through the wall behind her with a bang. "My dear boy, it's not only you who has superpowers here."

I immediately aimed my gun at her, despite knowing how futile it would be, but two strong arms from my back gripped me. My rifle fell to the floor as I turn to see the face of the guard, who was supposed to be dead.

"Thought you killed me?" he sneered, reading my expression. "Like mum said, you're not the only one with powers here, brother."

"What?" I cried out, as I tried to free myself. For far too long I had believed that I was held by the government or a secret organization, kept against my will because they wanted to harness whatever power that I had. Family was last on the list. "What do you guys want?"

Mother walked towards me, and placed her well-manicured finger on my cheeks. She ran it slowly down my face and my neck, stopping just above my chest. "Oh what do we want indeed, my dear boy Richard." My brother growled behind me.

"This is punishment, my boy, for betraying your family because of a mere mortal girl," she whispered. It was then when the memories hit me. Emily. My wife. Her face slowly crystallized in my mind. Those piercing blue eyes of hers and that smile that could melt anyone's heart. We were planning to start a new life together, away from everything.

"Where is she!" I shouted, as the anger came surging back. "Where is she!" I repeated, thrashing wildly. I snapped at mother, trying to kick her, shouting like a madman, but she merely stood there, her slight smirk now a satisfied smile.

"Good, good you're feeling the anger. The pain of betrayal. Just like what you put us through. Which makes it so much better when we wipe your memory again," she said and waved her hand.

"No! Please no! I will do anything!" I screamed, kicking and turning myself. But my brother held me firmly as he dragged me along the corridor, towards the lab where they pumped me with drugs.

"I win," I saw mother mouthed, before she disappeared behind the corner. It would be a long time before I see her again.


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