Invaders from the Center -- Chapter 2

"Don't you dare," I spat. "I'm a good fighter. I had a black belt in karate, tai-kwon-do and kung fu."
"Kathy, do you really think I would care?" Benjamin asked, but he took his hands off my neck anyway. Slowly, I let my ring finger get loose from my other fingers to stretch. When it was ready to do the plan I was thinking, I started cutting the thin rope.
"Yes," I retorted.
"Well, I don't."
"You will one day."
"Says who?"
"Says me," I said seriously. I had to keep him distracted, or else my plan wouldn't work.
Behind the chair, I felt the rope break loose. I jumped up and ran out the door before Benjamin could react.
About three minutes after I had ran out of the room, the hallways started flashing red first, then white again, then back to red. A fire alarm-sounding bell rang out. Benjamin must've alerted the security center. I turned a corner and almost collided with two Invaders in rubber suits.
"Ah, Maurice, there you are," one said. It took me a few seconds to figure this out, but when I did my mind hatched a plan.
"Guards! There's a loose human around. She hasn't been cleansed and looks exactly like me. I'll handle the prisoner," I commanded, noticing the miserable human they had binded in their arms so he couldn't move. Just to try and convince them, I giggled in a high-pitched voice.
"Right, Maurice, we'll be right on it." The Invaders shuffled away, leaving the human looking terrified.
"Listen, I'm the loose human. If you don't give me away, I'll free you and we can go back to the remaining humans together," I whispered. "We need to - yeah, you'll experience the worst pain of your miserable life, you petty human!" I said suddenly, shaking the unknown man. My reason was an Invader had walked past me, so I had to act like one, too.
"Oh, thanks," the man said. "By the way, I'm Leo."
"Kathy."
Within minutes his manacles were depleted, and Leo grabbed my wrist, leading me through the twisting hallways. Soon we reached a door - but I could easily see that it was bolted shut.
"We'll have to find another way," I muttered. Leo agreed with me, and I turned around and started retracing my steps.
I stopped suddenly and pressed my body against the wall. The real Maurice was walking furiously. My fright suddenly turned to amusement.
The two Invaders whom I had seen originally with Leo ran behind Maurice and tackled her. I took advantage of the distraction to run down the hallway they had come from.
I almost laughed as Maurice's screaming and cursing faded away, but the moment was too serious for humor.
I rounded a corner and put a finger to my lips. "Leo, be quiet," I said, turning around. To my great surprise, Leo wasn't behind me. I couldn't see him at all at the other hallways.
I hoped to God he would escape . . . alive.
I blinked and rounded the corner. Just as I was going to pick a random one, Benjamin jumped out of nowhere and shouted, "Ha!"
I screamed and tried to turn around by stopping on my sneakers' heels. The result was that I fell down. Grinning victoriously, Benjamin picked me up by the neck. Images started flashing. Knowing his weakness, I screamed. On cue, Benjamin dropped me, and I landed lightly on his foot. Cursing me, Benjamin hobbled in pain. I frowned at him and ran off. Two Invaders stepped out of one hallway, blocking my path. I didn't know what to do - Benjamin was on the other side of the hallway.
Taking a deep breath, I waited for the pain to come. Instead, I felt like jelly. Everything was dark, and I could feel the floor underneath me.
"What, a morph? A human? Impossible!" a voice declared. And then everything became bright once more, and the two Invaders were behind me. I tried to run, but fell. An Invader picked me up by the hair, and I screamed. I was dropped with a start.
"Here, let me give her this," Benjamin's voice said, and I felt a prick on my arm - like I was getting a shot.
Within two minutes everything was hazy. He had drugged me, the cheater.
I struggled to fight the sleep that was sure to come, but my body was tired of doing my will for one day. I grudgingly fell asleep, my last thoughts cursing Benjamin and worrying about Leo.

"Is she awake?"
"I can't tell."
"Mia?"
"Yes. She's listening to our conversation right now."
My eyelids fluttered. When they fully opened, three people were above me.
"Hey, congratz, Kathy. That was the longest escape time ever," a boy complimented. His face I recognized, just a little bit.
"Jason, is that you?" I asked.
"Yeah." another said, a girl.
"Where am I?"
"You're in a prison cell. But it only holds those humans who know of the resistance." the girl said. "I'm Mia, this is Oscar, and you know Jason."
The fact that my baby brother had been captured infuriated me. "Jason, how'd you get captured? Is Dad okay?"
Jason laughed. "Kathy, relax. Dad's fine. So is Mom. I got captured because it was my turn to find some food." his hands balled into fists. "I was fine until one guy caught me - and he was still human, that's what makes it unbelievable - and he turned me in to the Invaders. His name was -"
"Jeremy," I finished, getting angry myself.
Mia and Oscar nodded. The bolted doors opened, and Benjamin came in. "Ah, our little rebel. Welcome back."
I glared at him without saying anything.
"Jason, it's your testing time," Benjamin said after the strained silence.
Jason actually skipped toward Benjamin. Skipped. "Okay," he said, smiling at Benjamin.
Benjamin looked at me, then at Jason, and back at me. "Why can't your sister be as cooperative as you are, Jason?"
They walked off together, and I felt ready to explode with anger.
"They treat us better than the other humans - but only because we know information of the Resistance. Jason's too young to understand that," Oscar explained, sighing. "I made him promise not to tell them anything, but he could always slip . . ."
"Jason never goes back on a promise," I said severely. It was true. I had once made him promise never to call me a "retard" ever again - when I was seven - and I never saw him even mouth the word.
"That may be so, but Benjamin has his ways," Mia said.
"He gets through women more easily, though," Oscar pointed out. Both Mia and I looked at Oscar as though he were a dead rodent.
"It's true," Oscar defended himself. I shook my head.
Suddenly the doors bolted open and Maurice sauntered through them. "Kathy Hall, you are wanted by the Supreme Justice right now," she said stiffly, her face stony and cold. I didn't answer.
"Good luck," Mia whispered to me as Maurice grabbed my wrist and pulled me out the door.
I was sure that I would need it, judging by the look on Maurice's face.