“NO!” I screamed as the two men dragged me down the empty hall. “HELP!” My voice echoed back at me off of the bleak, utilitarian tiles decorating this section of the compound. I scrambled, bare feet slipping on the polished concrete, searching for any traction to help my futile resistance.

“Shut up,” one of the orderlies said, slapping me across the face with the back of his hand. His colleague smirked and gave my arm a firm tug. Caitlyn had warned me that, unlike their counterparts in other sections of the compound, the orderlies in this ward enjoyed hurting their charges. That definitely seemed to be the case. They also weren’t allowed to wear name badges, so the residents had given them nicknames. The reputations of my escorts, ‘Thing 1’ and ‘Ghost’, had preceded them. Ghost dug his fingers even tighter into my arm and kept pulling me along my forced journey.

Large metal double doors loomed ahead. A sign reading ‘WARD C - AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY’ hanging over a badge reader was the only adornment in this otherwise desolate passageway. Thing 1 pulled a card from his pocket and waved it in front of the reader. With a whoosh, the doors swung open, exposing a guard station and several closed doors beyond. A portly man at the guard desk looked up and greeted my captors.

“Annie goes in room 12,” he said to the orderlies as Thing 1 signed the entry log. The guard shifted his gaze to me. “Welcome to Ward C.” Thing 1 jerked my arm and pulled me further down the hallway to my new home while Ghost stayed behind at the desk to shoot the shit with the guard.

The door to room 12 was the only one standing open. I could see stark concrete walls and a bare metal cot waiting inside. A caged fluorescent bulb protruded from the ceiling. There were no windows or vents- the reinforced door was the only opening in the walls of this cell. Suddenly, Thing 1 planted his hand in my back and shoved me into the room. The unexpected force caught me off guard and I tripped over my feet, falling face first onto the floor. I heard the door slam shut as I struggled back off the floor.

I climbed onto the cot and closed my eyes, refusing to cry. My last room had a camera in it, so I could only assume this one did too. They didn’t deserve the satisfaction of seeing my anguish. I could feel exhaustion creeping in from the edges of my mind and gave in to it’s soft embrace.

I had just drifted off to sleep when the heavy metal door slammed open. A nurse was standing in the doorway with Ghost. Before I could react, they were on top of me, attaching worn leather straps to my wrists, ankles, waist, and chest. They looped the straps into openings on the bottom of the bed frame and cinched them tight. I struggled against the restraints to no avail.

“Just relax, hon,” the nurse said as she pulled a handful of syringes from her pocket. I could see right through the false smile on her face. She jabbed the needle high into my thigh as I writhed on the bed, screaming for release.

“Get off of me!” I shouted. They both continued to ignore me, interested only in their nefarious work. The nurse plunged a second needle into the same place, followed by a third.

“There, you see? That wasn’t so bad was it?” the nurse said, putting the empty syringes back in her pocket. “You won’t remember it anyways. That last shot will make your mind go blank soon.” She turned her attention to the orderly. “Leave her alone until tomorrow morning. If she gets them, the powers will start manifesting soon.” Ghost nodded silently and they both left the room.

Fire burned through my veins. It radiated out from the injection site, consuming my entire body. I began to convulse, but the nurse must have expected that since the restraints were still in place. It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside. Unable to contain the agony any longer, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The scream went unanswered, but the pain eventually began to subside. I could still feel a tingling sensation moving over my skin, but it no longer hurt. My thrashing had loosened the straps slightly and I found I could move just enough to see my hands. Bright flames shrouded them, but the flesh beneath didn’t char. Was this the power the nurse had mentioned? I clenched my fists and focused all my will on my hands. A feeling of power intensified as the flames grew. I relaxed my grip and watched the fire recede to a faint glow.

Grabbing the sides of the cot, I clenched again to make the power grow. I felt the metal warm in my hands until the frame warped and collapsed. The acrid smell of burning leather drifted towards me as the restraints were reduced to ash. I sat up, free from impediments, and examined my hands again. There was not a single mark on them.

I stretched, working out the soreness in my muscles. The nurse had said that my thoughts would fade away an instant after the injection, but now I didn’t think I would ever be able to close my eyes again. I felt as sharp as ever and had too much to do. This power would help me wreak vengeance on those who had hurt me, and I would start with Ghost and Thing 1. It was time for a reckoning, a cataclysm, a fiery apocalypse. It was time to get to work.