October 2028

Padma screens her card on the elevator and heads to the lab. Smiling while passing by several coworkers. The ones who work under Thomas Roberts. She smiles and greets them, all by name. The ones who work under Laurence Pierce. She smiles, asks one by one how they are doing. Genuinely asking and waiting for the answer to come.

Marianne passes her by, followed by her team. Padma smiles and asks Marianne if Aymee and Aminu are done for the day.

She continues walking and enters the lab finally. When the doors open, she sees Aminu and Aymee talking.

Why do you keep touching him? Padma pretends to smile when she sees the girl.

Aminu flinches every time Aymee’s hand touches his shoulders. He tries not to make a big deal out of it. Aymee has been nothing but kind toward him.

“Paddy! What are you doing here?” Aymee asks Padma to come nearer. “Me and Aminu are a great team! Right?” she faces him.

The boy nods and fakes another smile.

“How’s it going?” Padma tries to meet his eyes.

“Super, now that we have our own personal healers, right, Aminu? We’re doing so much better now. No need for any other… performance enhancer… if you know what I mean, Paddy.” Aymee smiles.

“Good to know. Aymee, I just saw Marianne and the rest of the team heading somewhere… shouldn’t you be there too?” Padma smiles.

“Yes, the Ice Queen asked me to. Work is overwhelming... I truly need a vacation. Maybe I’ll head to Nigeria, and you’ll be my tour guide, Aminu!” She smiles and walks past Padma, padding her on the shoulder.

“Hey, stranger!” Padma goes a little nearer to Aminu.

He looks up, faces her and smiles.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Padma looks away.

“Always here. Every day here. Every hour here. Haven’t even been to the Institute. No more classes. How will the kids understand their potential without the class?”

Aminu’s class consisted in him amplifying the ability of the 7-year-old class, showing them how much they could accomplish if they behaved according to every rule of the Institute.

“Finding Emily and Abigail is the number one priority now. I’m sure that once they are safe, you’ll get back to the classes. Everyone will understand why you were away.”

“I know… just…” he stops and begins snapping his fingers.

“What is it, Aminu?” She looks at him.

“At least in the other lab, my knowledge was appreciated, you know? Here it’s only my ability. We’re more than our abilities.”

“Give it time, now it’s your ability, but your brain, all your hard work, will pay off. You’ll see it.”

***

“Aymee, welcome,” Marianne notices her coming from behind.

Aymee joins the rest of the group. They look at Alex and Diego, each in their own room, with their bracelets on the wrists. One by one, Marianne’s team focus on Alex’s and Diego’s brains. Once again going through their memories. Looking for something new.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Half an hour later, they all leave and go to Marianne’s center.

“So?” Marianne asks when they enter her office and shut the door.

“There isn’t anything that we didn’t know already, Dr. Olsen.” One of them answers.

“Not true,” Aymee rolls her eyes, facing her colleague, “we knew already, Dr. Olsen about the deviants’ forum.”

“Yes, Aymee,” the first one continues, “but we can’t access it.”

“Maybe you can’t, Janice, but on my reading today, I found us an entry point. We could have access to it. This is important! It could be useful to the Council-”

“It isn’t,” Marianne’s monotone settles in.

“Dr. Olsen, with all due respect. Please inform the Council about the forum. It could have crucial-”

“Ayme,” Marianne smiles. The entire room holds their breath, including Aymee, “we were asked to provide details on A their hideout and B Emily Roberts and Abigail Parker.”

“Dr. Olsen, the forum could lead us to them!”

“I won’t repeat myself. Are we clear? One thing was to have details posted on the forum about our objectives. Another is some supposition that if we get in, we’ll get A and we’ll get B. One is tangible. One is important. One, Aymee,” she faces her now, “is something that the Council would appreciate. Another is pure imagination. Another is fruitless. Another, Aymee, could lead their efforts to nowhere.” She faces the rest of the team, “So, where is their hideout and where are Emily Roberts and Abigail Parker?”

“Dr. Olsen…” another one says.

“We know that Diego Álvarez is part of their movement. We know that the silver-haired boy, Alexander Williams, is one of the heirs of the Five. And you are telling me that after going over and over their brains for the past days, you haven’t found anything?” Marianne says without a single elevation throughout her speech.

“The memories are gone. The specimen Alexander Williams probably erased them,” Aymee says.

“I have a meeting later today with the Council. I need results to show. And what you are telling me, is that you talented, young mental controllers were outmaneuvered by one? Is that it?”

“Dr. Olsen,” Aymee starts, “this is a matter of time.”

“Time is the thing that everyone keeps asking more of, when it’s such a limited resource, isn’t it? Starting tomorrow, we’ll put them in the machine. Let’s see how long until their brains break and we find our information.”

***

It’s dinner time and everyone is quiet in the living room. The tv is on to keep some noise and fill in the silence.

“Dinner’s great, Ánh,” Rachel smiles.

“Absolutely!” Abigail smiles widely.

Awkwardness has reached a new level. Without that mental controller, when they come, they’ll know that we came willingly. Maybe the euphoria of having us back will protect us. Maybe when the world sees us return, my parents, whoever these people are, won’t read our minds. They’ll let us be if we stay shut. Emily cuts another piece of meat and puts it in her mouth.

“Don’t.” Ánh puts down her knife, making a heavy sound when it hit the table.

Everyone looks at her, waiting for her to continue.

The door to the backyard wasn’t properly closed and opens when a breeze passes by making them all, but Megan, squint and look at it immediately. Rachel gets up and turns her right hand blue and holds it up against the door. A shiver goes through their spines.

When are you coming? Rachel puts down her hand.

Megan gets up and closes the door, making sure that every other window is also shut.

“Do you think they are dead?” Ánh asks.

Abigail takes a deep breath, Emily looks away.

“Ánh…” Rachel starts. I hope not.

“No. They are worthless dead.” Megan sits again.

“That’s a relief, Megan. Do you think they are in pain?” Ánh focuses on her.

A thousand thoughts go through Ánh’s mind. Diego is likely in the same room as the people who caused his loved ones' death. His parents, sister, partner, and community. How he’d be suffering more emotionally than physically. How he’d give up if given the opportunity. Not on them, but on life itself.

Alex’s face comes to her mind, too. His smile, not the devious one, the sincere that rarely made an appearance. Alex relies on no one other than himself. If he’s in a situation that he’s helpless, how hopeless he would feel.

“Ánh, we’ll find them. We will.” Rachel forces herself to smile. I would never forgive myself if I don’t find you. If you were taken because of my actions. If I couldn’t protect either of you.

“Ok, Rachel, even without running any odds. Let’s say we do find them. How will we find them? And more than that, when we do find them, are we sure they’ll still be the same people they were before they left? Before whatever it is that was done to them?”

“Ánh…” Rachel shakes her head and makes her realize that Megan is right there.

I was already broken before anything was done to me. Megan keeps chewing her food.