Hazel

We were now driving on an endless dirt road through the cold country of Canada. There was no sign of life around here, which was good in this case. But it reminded me of that day that the bomb exploded, and how the school was deserted. This place was deserted, but this time, it was necessary. We're going into hiding in an underground society called the Mutant Colony. 537 (plus 2) mutants are living there.

I discovered we were just a few miles outside of Toronto, heading towards a forest. Apparently, that was where the entrance of the Mutant Colony was. I expected to see some people in the small towns and cities, but no one was there. Every place we went were ghost towns. Maybe that's why Dr. Baker chose to stay in Canada.

"Why is this place like this?" I asked, staring at the barren landscape. The once beautiful country of Canada I saw in books and on TV was more like a war zone now.

"Well, the laws in Canada are more strict than in the United States because of the mutants. Every U.S. citizen tries to escape and come here, since this place is safer. Due to the intense security, people choose to stay in hiding," Dr. Baker explained. It made sense.

"Word on the street is that there's several other mutant colonies in hiding near us," Sergeant Hammond replied, smirking. Dr. Baker rolled her eyes, denying that his statement was true. Wow, they were almost like me and Leo.

The van entered a small trail in the forest. The ugly green color of the van wasn't all bad, because it was the perfect camo green to disguise us in the forest. We ended up parking behind a huge, bushy tree, which concealed the van perfectly. Finally, we could get out of that van and stretch our stiff legs. We started walking for about a few miles.

"We're almost there, guys. Remember that this will be your new home for a while. Hopefully not too long." Sergeant Hammond took a device out of his coat pocket and started dialing buttons. He then spoke into the device, "We're here. The coast is clear to open the door."

After a few seconds, the ground shook and a large, steel door started sliding open within the earth. The leaves and shrubs that camouflaged the door blew away, letting us get inside. I gulped, preparing myself for a new change. I'm going to be living underground, in hiding, and staying with 537 other mutated people. I read Leo's mind, which was the first time I ever read someone's mind, and discovered that he was scared too. The feeling of using telepathy left my head feeling fuzzy afterwards.

Anyways, the door completely opens, and two people emerge from the underground shelter. One man was obviously a mutant, since he had ginger fur all over his face like a cat. The other person was a woman, who looked completely normal. I read her mind and discovered she could bend her body like rubber. They were strange, but they didn't bother me. Their friendly smiles suggested they were kind people.

"Hazel, Leo, welcome to the Mutant Colony. This is just Rita and Douglas. They used to be military soldiers, but since the outbreak, mutants can't be in the military. So they came here to be our security specialists," Dr. Baker explained. She lead the way and guided us down a long stairwell, lit by torches. The door above us automatically shut, trapping us in hiding for who knows how long.

We continued down the longest stairwell I've ever walked on, until we came to another steel door. There was a control panel on the wall, which looked extremely high-tech. Rita and Douglas both stepped up to the panel, and a laser scanned both of their pupils. It looked painful.

Sergeant Hammond motioned for us to step up to where the panel was, and the laser scanned Leo's pupil. The light revealed that there was a hidden orange mark on his pupil. That must be a sign that you're a mutant. Of course, Leo had to be a drama queen and act like he was blinded. I thought he was stupid until I scanned my eye. It really does blind you for about 10 seconds.

The door opened automatically for us, and it revealed a tunnel. Leo and I groaned in annoyance, and wondered just how many passageways there were. Dr. Baker explained to us that they had to keep the underground colony secure and as concealed underground as possible. I nodded in understanding, and continued dragging my feet lazily down the long tunnel. As I did, I read Leo's mind again. He was thinking about me.

Leo

I'll admit that I'm a pretty lazy person sometimes. For a person who's ran cross country and track for nearly 5 years and is considered one of the most athletic guys at East District High School, (well, in my opinion) I hate walking for long periods of time. It's pretty ironic for me. Hazel always makes fun of me for it. Speaking of Hazel, I wonder how she's holding up.

Hazel's pace had slowed down, and she looked close to passing out. I felt sorry for her, and almost had the urge to scoop her up onto my back and give her a piggy-back ride. We've been through a lot today, and the two of us really needed some sleep. It was probably close to 10:00 at night right now. We were pooped.

"I see you two are pretty worn out," Dr. Baker said, looking at us like we were zombies. She was right, we were exhausted.

"Are we almost there?" Hazel asked groggily. I smiled at her drunken-looking face. Hazel always made the funniest faces when she was sleepy.

I know what you you're thinking. Yes, I care about Hazel. Yes, I sometimes get really protective of her and I'm always willing to be there for her. But no, I don't have those type of feelings towards her. She's just like a close sister to me, who I'll admit that I love. Not in a romantic way! I just care about Hazel like she's my little sister. I'm just clearing this up right now.

Eventually, the tunnel stopped and we came to our last door, according to Dr. Baker. There was a wheel on the door, which took little effort from Sergeant Hammond to twist open. What lied upon us was an underground community filled with extraordinary people. We were in the Mutant Colony.

We stepped onto the freshly paved sidewalk that led to the Town Square. This place looked like a simple small town, and not a place for a bunch of public outcasts. There was a small City Hall building, a library, a miniature hospital, a market with assorted fruits and vegetables, and who knows what else. This place was pretty impressive for what it seemed. Maybe it'll be a somewhat normal living environment.

It even had an artificial sun in the artificial blue sky. How in the world did they manage that? I thought, but then remembered I had a telepath standing right next to me.

I know, this place is amazing! I heard Hazel practically scream in my head. It made me jump, causing people to stare at me like I had mental problems. Hazel's laugh bounced around in my mind. It was pretty creepy. Just ANOTHER thing I'd have to get used to.

"Well, here we are. Welcome to the Mutant Colony," Dr. Baker said to us, gesturing with her arms at everything around us. I noticed that she was drawing a crowd near us, watching their new fellow mutants. It was kind of terrifying.

Sergeant Hammond began to get irritated at the growing crowd of people. "Alright, everyone! Everyone working the night shift tonight needs to get back to work! We live in too big of a colony to be standing around! Now go!"

With that command, everyone scurried away, leaving us alone again. Suddenly, the lights dimmed in the sky, and artificial stars and a moon formed. I was impressed that they fixed this place up like this. If you didn't know where you were, then you'd think this place was a normal town. I knew this place meant a lot to every mutant here. It's the only normal town that exists right now.

Dr. Baker led us to a large, brick neighborhood-like thing that had bedrooms for every mutant here. There were over a dozen buildings, each providing living spaces for all 541 inhabitants living in the Mutant Colony. Amazingly, Sergeant Hammond and one other person are the only normal humans here.

"Alright, we'll let you two settle in your new rooms for the night. I know how tired you two must be," Dr. Baker told us. She explained that each building there was labeled A-Z, and we'd be staying in rooms Z19 and Z20. Luckily, our rooms were right next to each other. Anyways, they left Hazel and I alone so we could go into our rooms. We stood outside of our doors for a moment. I almost didn't want to say goodnight to her. Wait no, forget what I said.

"So, I guess I'll go to bed now. Today's been a long day, huh?" Hazel said, with her back facing me. She started turning the doorknob to go into her room.

"Wait," I replied, causing her to turn back around to face me. I didn't know why I said that. Maybe I just didn't want to leave her alone. I couldn't think of what else to say, so I stared down at my feet and muttered, "Um, if you need me, Hazel, just come get me. O-Okay?" A light blush burned on my cheeks. Dang, what's wrong with me?

Hazel smiled. "Thanks, Leo. Goodnight." She quickly opened the door and walked in her room, shutting the door. My heart sunk, secretly wishing she could come stay with me longer.

I ignored the thought and walked into my own room. I was immediately overcome by the strong scent of cigarettes. Great, I had to sleep in this stinky room? Just my luck. I found the light switch and turned it on. A boy who looked about my age was sitting on one of the beds. I almost peed myself.

"Jeez, man! You scared me to death!" I gasped, holding my chest. The boy was sitting on the bed, in only his boxers, and was smoking a cigarette. I coughed as I inhaled the smoke.

"Sorry, dude. Didn't mean to scare you. Um, may I ask what you're doing in my room?" he asked me. His voice was extremely deep, his eyes were blood-shot, and his messy brown hair was all over the place. He looked like a drunk who had been in been in bed all day.

"Uh, this is my room. Are you my roommate or something?" I secretly prayed he wasn't. I didn't really want a dude who smokes and possibly does drugs living with me.

"I guess you are. They never tell me things. I'm Linus, by the way. Wait, are you Leo Esteban? The new mutant they found?" He stood up, looking pretty sober since he didn't appear dizzy. I was surprised, yet creeped out, that he knew me.

"Yeah, I am. How do you know me, Linus?" I asked, leaning on a desk behind me. Linus pulled out a new cigarette and started smoking it, throwing the other one in an ash tray. I hoped he might quit his addiction if I asked him to.

Linus chuckled. "You and that chick Hazel are the talk of the whole colony. Now, is Hazel single? She's pretty cute, if you ask me." His comment about Hazel caused me to want to rip him apart. I did NOT want Hazel to date this loser. I decided to ignore what he said about her, considering I was too tired to hurt anybody.

"Wow, I'm famous. How cool," I replied sarcastically, while observing the couch to see if I could sleep there. Besides the giant juice stain (I hoped it was juice) on the cushion, it was a pretty decent couch. I would sleep in the bed over by Linus's bed, but I didn't want to suffocate in cigarette fumes overnight. He might even be a murderer too, for all I know. It's best if I keep my distance from this guy.

Linus never replied to me. I glanced over and saw he was passed out on his bed. Smirking, I lied down on the couch, trying my best to ignore the stains and the cigarette smell. Hopefully, things will get better. I'd rather be here than locked up in that hospital. Drifting off to sleep, I thought about how Hazel might be doing in her new room. She has to be doing way better than me right now.