A knock on the heavy steel door once again heralded the arrival of Emily’s handler with his lackeys. She still had no sense of time, it was as if these people were trying to dull her sense of time, or were deathly allergic to clocks. This was her only contact with the world outside, her cell. They seemed to come everyday to extract the precious life fluid pumping through her veins.

It was usually just the muscular man, flanked by a seemingly innocuous pair of orderlies, though once or twice, she’d glimpsed the narrow frame of Andrew standing aloof outside her doorway. She figured he was probably checking up on the state of his ‘precious test subject’. Not that she thought he actually cared; she was just an animal to him.

After she tried to gouge his eyes out following his ‘generous’ offer to save the world, he started to keep his distance. The world could rot as far as she was concerned; she didn’t care. It had never done her any good.

She thought for sure she had signed her own death sentence when she did it, with the threats she’d been given when she arrived. It seemed it was all a bluff, though. She was more valuable than the lead scientist's eyes. Not that she’d succeeded in carving them out, anyway. Her fingernails had only carved long grooves across his face, forcing him to wear sunglasses to hide the wounds.

Since then she’d been in continuous confinement in her cell, with every visit overseen by her handler. It seemed they figured that if anyone could keep her in line it would be him, and they were partially right. He had a certain way of carrying himself that gave the impression he was both willing and capable of using violence to get the job done. Emily, for her part, wasn’t stupid, so she toed the line whenever he was around.

This time, she was surprised to see the figure of a thin woman step through the doorway, alone. Emily looked at her over the pages of a book she was reading, the only form of entertainment she was given in the cell. It was a light thing, a fairytale about a bunch of hikers and a killer scientist who became the first people with powers. The whole thing was ridiculous, and she’d already read it a dozen times, but she had nothing better to do.

“So, what brings her ladyship to my humble abode? Emily sneered, setting the book gently down on her bed. “Are you in need of groveling or prostrating? Because I’m afraid I’ve already exhausted my ability to do that on your servants. I just don’t have the energy to do any more at the moment. Perhaps try again in an hour. My batteries might be recharged by then.”

The woman chuckled lightly at that comment, accompanying it with a smile that almost reached her eyes.

“Oh, I have no need for you to kiss my feet. I have no desire to dirty myself by making contact with your kind of street filth. I will, however, need you to come with me immediately. There’s something you need to witness.” She explained, turning impatiently toward the door.

“And what if I don’t wanna go with you.” Emily shot back, before the woman could step out.

That was apparently the wrong answer, as she suddenly felt a force pulling her onto her feet. It dragged her forcefully toward the door, which she grabbed firmly with both hands. It didn’t matter. Whatever telekinetic abilities the woman had were far stronger than Emily’s grip. She felt herself pulled forcefully into the air until her hands were pulled free, and she slammed painfully against the floor. She cried out in agony as she landed against the hard tile, but it didn’t matter. She continued to be dragged along the floor, sliding forcefully through the hallways until they reached their destination.

Their destination happened to be a room, marked much like the lab that she was taken to on the first day. This one was marked four-six-seven. Upon entering the room, Emily looked around suspiciously. It seemed to be some kind of viewing room, with about six or seven rows of comfortable-looking seats planted in front of a screen. No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t a screen but a two-way mirror.

On the other side, she could see a lab much like room four-one-one, but the instruments weren’t right and it was much brighter. There was also no tank dominating the center of the room. Instead, the space centered on a single empty surgical table, covered in a variety of straps and restraints.

Emily stared at the strange object, suspicious of what it might be for or why she’d need to see it. She found herself moving closer to the glass as she surveyed the room but found herself forcibly pulled back into one of the chairs behind her.

“Relax Emily.” The narrow woman chimed easily. “I’ve discussed things with Andrew, and we’ve decided you’d benefit from knowing what’s coming. It’ll help ease the transition.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

That didn’t help Emily relax. She had no idea what was going on, but before she could ask, the door to the lab opened and several figures stepped inside. She recognized the tall, narrow frame of Andrew, donned in his shades, instantly. Beside him was a boy about her age, who made Andrew seem as though he was a sumo wrestler in comparison.

Glitch, flanked by orderlies, was led to the table where he was tied firmly down. He didn’t struggle, taking everything with a serene expression plastered on his face. He didn’t even flinch as Andrew approached him, a long needle in hand.

Emily, on the other hand, felt her hand clinch when she saw it. What were they going to do to him? She couldn’t help but think that whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

“Relax Emily, it’s just anesthetic.” The thin woman said, placing a hand on Emily’s arm. “And the straps are so he doesn’t struggle. He willingly chose to do this, but that doesn’t mean he won’t react when the time comes. We can’t afford for something to go wrong, so we decided it was best not to risk things.”

Emily nodded, though she didn’t believe her. Something still didn’t seem right. Why all the staging, what was the point? Why did they want her on board so badly? The thought needled at her, refusing to let go. Things just weren’t adding up.

She watched as the needle plunged into Glitch’s arm. He stiffened as it entered, then went limp. For a moment, Emily thought he was dead, killed right in front of them, but she chided herself for immediately jumping to such a nonsensical idea. There would be no point in rounding them up just to senselessly kill them in such a way.

After a few more moments, Andrew approached Glitch again. This time he had another, much shorter, needle in hand. He inserted this one in much the same way he inserted the other, though this time without a reaction. Glitch remained fast asleep.

“It’s that easy.” The thin woman explained, her hand still placed gently on Emily’s arm. “When he wakes up, he’ll be more powerful than he’s ever been, and, unlike us, he won’t degenerate. That’s the future Emily. A safe future, for humanity.”

Emily stared at her appalled.

“A safe future?” She asked, her voice surprisingly calm in spite of the stunned expression on her face. “Have you seen what powers have done to us? Humanity was tearing itself apart, and all powers have done is make that easier. There is no safe future on earth for humanity.”

“But you don’t understand…”

“No! You don’t understand. How long have you been working on this? We’ve been here a week, max. How is it that you’re ready to shoot us up with an experimental concoction after just a week? We’re the bottom of the barrel aren’t we, because you’ve killed all the others. People like me are so rare because of monsters like you. I don’t want any part of this stupid experiment. I’d rather die!”

Suddenly, Emily slammed against the thick glass of the mirror. Her limbs splayed out like she was hanging on a crucifix. Further and further they stretched, and she felt her joints pop painfully in their sockets.

“You have no idea how badly I’d love to make that happen.” The woman growled. Her eyes were filled with menace, with hate. “I’d like nothing better than to tear a brat like you limb from limb and leave you as a warning to anyone else who crosses me. But there are powerful people who would very much prefer it if this operation succeeds, ones who have poured in far too much money for us to do otherwise. The sheer number of plans and traps we’ve made, like that wretched creature the Mother, to ensure that people like you make your way here. You will accept what we give you, willingly or not. We’ve tried to be kind, to be open. But you won’t obey.” She paused, panting as though out of breath from her rage-fueled diatribe. When she continued her voice was lower, less hysterical, though somehow much more menacing. “You will from now on, or else. Understood?”

Emily wanted to spit at the woman, to wretch vitriol and rip her apart. Instead, she felt the force against her body grab hold of her head, forcing it to nod. As it did, she heard a loud cracking noise. At first Emily was afraid it was her bones giving way to the force that bound her, but then she heard it again. And again. As it kept coming, she realized it was coming from the glass behind her.

She suddenly realized that the glass was cold, colder than was natural, and rapidly getting colder. Then, the lights began to flicker. It was slow at first, almost unnoticeable, until it increased, gaining steam like a train engine. Before long it was at a seizure inducing pace flickering almost too fast to register, before, suddenly, they went out.

Emily dropped to the ground as both her and her assailant stared about in the dark. They both found their eyes drawn to a single point beyond the spiderwebbed cracks that traced their way across the surface of the mirror. Like a candle in the window, a dim light glowed in the center of the room. It was faint, pulsating lightly in an irregular rhythm. With each blink it seemed to grow in intensity until the room was nothing but a massive throbbing beacon of golden energy.

Emily stared, her hand raised to shield herself from the intensity of the sight. She was mesmerized, caught up in a moment of reverie. A moment that was shattered in a heartbeat when she heard the strong voice of the stern woman standing above her.

“Get up.” She said firmly. “Get up and get out. Now!”

She pointed to the door, and it flung open revealing the darkened hallway beyond.

Emily wanted to bite back, to resist, but something in her gut told her to obey the woman. Hastily, she rose to her feet, clumsily making her way toward the exit. She’d almost made it when the air was split with a massive shattering sound. She turned her head to see what was happening. She thought she’d see a tidal wave of glass cascading into the room. Instead, all she saw was the narrow woman, standing with her hands outstretched and drenched in sweat.

That picture only lasted a moment, as the light pulsed again in its rhythm, and the glass suddenly exploded outward. The woman disappeared in the torrent of shards, and Emily felt a wall of force smash into her like a jackhammer. Right in front of the door, in front of freedom, she felt her legs disappear out from under her, and her head swiftly became acquainted with the feel of hard concrete smashing against it as she blacked out.