Teen Ink

Arma

Arma (Chapter 5)
The room beyond the door made the lab seem tiny. Arcus didn’t know what he had expected, but it hadn’t been something on this scale. The dome-shaped structure seemed to stretch on forever. There were short metal walls arranged in lanes going to the back wall. There were targets at the end of each lane, basically a human torso with a bullseye painted onto it plus a head on top. The targets got closer the further to the right you walked. “How much time did it take to build this?” Arcus breathed. “Two hundred thirty six days, thirteen hours, six minutes and about fifteen seconds,” said a familiar voice from behind them. Arcus spun around. Mark Callidus was standing behind them. “Sleep well?” he asked, amused. Arcus looked back in wonder at the spectacle. “Why would you need something like this in a lab?” he asked. Callidus cleared his throat. “Well, apparently I’m the best scientist in my field of study, according to my record.” He coughed. “Best twenty bucks I ever spent. Anyway, let’s just say the government had me testing… experimental weaponry and leave it at that,” he said with a gleam in his eye. He snapped his fingers. “That reminds me. I have a project I’m working on, so I must be off. Annie over there has some answers for you.” Callidus walked back to the lab. The sound of the door echoed in the large space, which was ironic in light of what was to come next. Arcus, Leo and Shadix walked over to Annie. She was in front of one of the lanes, and seemed to be concentrating on her fist. Her back was to Arcus. He started to go up to her, but Leo put his hand on Arcus’ shoulder and shook his head. “Just watch,” he whispered quietly. Leo and Shadix shielded their ears with their hands. Arcus decided to follow their example. That’s when it happened. Annie lifted her fist into the air, still concentrating, and brought it down with all the force she could muster on the steel floor. Even though he was covering his ears, it was the loudest thing Arcus had ever heard in his life. A solid ripple of pure sound ricocheted across the walls and smashed into the target. Arcus thought it would be obliterated, but it seemed to be fine. The thing was, it didn’t sound like a high pitched whine, or a deep reverberating note. It sounded like the world’s loudest metal guitar chord. Arcus tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace since his ears hurt so badly. Figures, He thought. Annie turned around. “Hey guys!” she said, ever cheerful. There was a flurry of elbowing in the group. Arcus realized what he had noticed about Annie’s voice before. “Are you not deaf anymore? You talk quieter,” he said. Annie shrugged. “Guess not. It’s probably a side effect,” she said. “So, your power is sound then,” Arcus ventured. “Yep,” she confirmed. “I didn’t notice it yesterday, with power-hungry psychopaths trying to recruit us and everything, but when I woke up today I could hear stuff that I never could before. Plus, my music doesn’t seem to be loud enough anymore,” she complained. “Anytime I turn it up, it stays the same.” Arcus looked thoughtful. “You know, your power probably regulates it to the loudest it can get within the zone that’s safe for the human ear,” Arcus suggested dryly. Annie shrugged. Arcus clapped his hands. “Well! That’s number one on our to-do list down. We know what all our powers are.” Arcus’ eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Number three is ongoing, of course. Now we just have to find some Mobius shards…”