Running Bear

Classes went on for two days before Connor joined them. He could teleport, which added another layer of complexity to when they fought as a group. Dan could tell he was getting stronger- even under the unfavorable conditions- and he would have been proud of himself had said unfavorable conditions not come into play.

Dan walked out on the third day of training to see Shane and Tyler hugging a third person. Dan walked up and Connor jokingly mouthed 'help me' at him.

"Oh no," Dan joked right back, "You're going to be hugged, and you're going to enjoy it."

"There is no consent in this situation," Connor said, laughing. The mood immediately turned sour when Brant walked into the courtyard. Thankfully, Connor could keep up with them- just barely. The sooner the others joined, the better it would be.

.o0o.

Lunch was horrible, just like every day. Connor nearly broke down about halfway through, just like Tyler had a few days ago.

"I'm never getting out of here," Connor groaned, laying his head on his arms.

"Yes, we are," Tyler was the one to comfort his friend, "We don't know how or when, but we are. Trust me."

The stars almost seemed brighter that night.

Connor and Ben got along fantastically, and the more Dan saw the man, the more he realized that he didn't want to be here.

So why was he?

.o0o.

They didn't get anybody else for a week. Then Mark joined them.

"What's your power?" They asked the man.

"No fucking clue," Mark said back, "Seriously. I think they've just gotten tired of me sitting around and being unproductive."

"Awesome," Dan said sarcastically.

"Y'know, at least I can get back into shape," Mark shrugged, stepping out onto the dusty field, "They barely fed me."

"Yeah, I think the first time they fed me, I was shaking badly," Dan commented, "I thought I was going to pass out."

Then something- excuse the cliché- magical happened. The dry grass became green around Mark's feet and plush grass started to grow.

"Woah," Tyler's eyes widened, "Looks like you found it."

"Huh," Mark raised his hand, a vine rising where he did, "Looks like I did."

Then Dan made the comment of Mark literally being Poison Ivy from DC, to which Mark said, "Yeah? Well, you're a meme. I bet you're glad you didn't just get the power to make Doge faces at people."

To which Dan pulled his Doge face. He and Mark broke down into a fit of laughter, their argument being both ridiculous and petty. Mark was a good running buddy too, even after a long time being pent up he was in decent shape, as he would run in circles when he was bored.

You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

.o0o.

Mark getting his power led to an amazing lunch that looked edible. The conversation grew pretty heavy pretty quickly.

"Let's be real. We're never leaving." Connor poked his lunch with his fork.

"We will," Tyler insisted.

"Tell that to Phil." Dan said, "Tell that to Troye. Tell that to everybody whose powers haven't become strong enough to be put into intense training yet."

"I would if I could," Tyler said back. Silence settled on the group, each losing their appetite.

Except Mark. The man was hungry.

.o0o.

It was another week until Phil joined them. By that time, Hannah, Jon, Ingrid, Ian, Anthony, and Louise had also joined them. Ian and Anthony had had a heartfelt reunion, too, as had Hannah and Ingrid.

Ian had gotten the memo after one day of field training when he tried to mind-control a guard, resulting in Anthony being hit with a metal rod across the chest. Anthony certainly had a lot of choice words with Ian the next day when he walked out onto the field. They hugged it out, because when you've been kidnapped and forced to do slave labor, one can't really hold grudges.

Hannah and Ingrid had, of course, kissed the instant they saw each other. Louise had given everybody a hug- including Jon, who found it oddly comforting. He missed a lot of people.

.o0o.

"Dan!" Phil yelled, running over. Dan noticed the way that the suit clung to Phil's ribs, which were very visible.

"Phil," Dan said, hugging his friend. They didn't get two seconds of peace, though, before Brant started the day's exercises. After the second round of ten push-ups, Phil was panting and sweating so hard Dan feared for his safety.

"Faster, Lester!" Brant barked at Phil. Dan winced as his friend did, Phil trying to do the exercise correctly.

Phil succeeded for the next four minutes, then fell down.

"You a pussy?!" Brant taunted.

"N-no," Phil was shaking from exertion and fear, "I just haven't exercised in weeks-"

"Not an excuse!" Brant yelled, beckoning a guard. The guard raised his gun, ready to lower it onto Phil's head. Phil swayed a bit, gulping at the realization at what was about to happen.

"Don't hurt him!" The voice that cried out didn't belong to Dan- it belonged to Connor. Dan had been to shell-shocked to move, to even dare breathe. Connor raced up to the guard and tried to wrestle the weapon away from him.

Another guard fired a green ball at Connor, which his arm. Connor clutched at his bicep, crying out in pain. He sunk to his knees, tears making their way down his face. The guard who had been about to attack Phil gripped the sides of Connor's head, twisting it to a cruel angle.

There was a snap.

Connor fell forward.

He looked like a broken toy.

"See what happens when you disobey orders?" Brant said, "RUN!"

Terrified, Dan picked up Phil by the arm and took off, half-dragging, half-carrying his friend. Tyler had tears pouring down his face, and remembered the conversation they'd had earlier.

Let's be real here, we're never going to leave.

We will.

Tyler didn't even know where Troye was. The monitors were off today.

Everyone was going through the motions of running, each shocked to the core.

Connor Franta was dead.