The cluster of cabins sprawled out beneath the soft sloping hill. Lumps of broken asphalt and potholes littered the cracked pavement. Kismet struggled to keep up with Nyx and Angel’s quick strides. Her headphones wrapped around her neck for reassurance, but with Angel so close by, she didn’t need them.

Daisy was right. It was better not to expect anything, but he exceeded the image she had in mind. The relief his presence provided was like placing a cool cloth on a festering burn. Even from a few feet away, the incessant hum of voices settled to a low cacophony of whispers.

Though Angel’s presence blunted her abilities while in the same vicinity, Nyx’s turmoil was still evident, but the colours appeared like a haze behind frosted glass. Even now, the other woman’s anxiety pressed in, sparking magenta through her aura. She could not feel or hear Angel at all, a small relief, but she’d take it.

But why does he have powers like Ivy?

Kismet wrung her hands as she walked. That question was not one she wanted to dwell on.

Nyx and Angel playfully jostled each other while they walked, a far cry from the tension at last night’s supper. They needed to always be touching somehow. He’d grab her hand for awhile, or she’d poke him in the side just to get a glance.

They neared Nyx’s childhood home. Her parents were putting on a barbeque and she suggested it would be a good opportunity for Kismet to meet everyone before the council meeting. Since it was the weekend, and Kismet wasn’t needed at the library, she could find no way out of it.

Anxiety gnawed at the pit of her stomach. If she had her way, she’d claim a cabin far from the village, perhaps one by the farms and only come out for necessities. She’d keep to herself and be done. It was a shame the whole process had to be so political.

I hope I don’t do anything weird to turn them all against me. This could backfire so easily.

They arrived at the grey cabin and Nyx led the way up the deck to the front door. Kismet twirled a ringlet around her finger as they pushed inside. The narrow porch could hardly contain the three of them, competing for space with the staircase and the pile of shoes and boots beside the closet.

The sound greeted her first. With the TV blaring and someone rummaging in the kitchen, it was loud in the house in a way that was familiar.

Kismet had lived in crowded houses before, however, the tone here was much lighter and jovial than the places she had known, where people had argued and elbowed just to carve some space. The energy was light, though there was a lot of it. Thankfully, the wave of emotion was blunted by Angel’s influence. Kismet walked behind him like a shield as they entered the kitchen.

A woman stood at the counter, stirring a large bowl of punch. She smiled wide and bright as they entered, lighting up her soft brown eyes. Long dark curls tumbled over her shoulders across her knitted white sweater. She pulled Nyx into a hug, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“I’m so happy you made it,” she beamed, and pulled Angel in for a quick hug. When she let him go, she stood back and squinted, reaching up to put a hand on his face. “You don’t have a scratch on you. Here I was, worried sick. From what Timmy was saying -”

Angel shifted uncomfortably. “I heal quick.”

“I told ya Mom, It wasn’t so bad,” said Nyx. “This is Kismet, by the way.”

“Oh, I’m sorry dear,” said the woman, turning to Kismet. “I’m Molly, it’s nice to finally meet you. Alistair has told us so much.”

She hunkered into her hoodie, preparing to shake Molly’s hand when the patio door slid open.

“All good things,” said Alistair, stepping in from the deck. His smile glittered in his emerald eyes. The sunlight at his back reflected off his silver piercings, and shimmered through his blond hair. “You guys coming out?”

They followed Alistair out onto the back deck. The greying wood sagged in some spots where she stepped. Lichen covered knotted boards. The deck looked out across an overgrown lawn and dilapidated shed.

Two men chatted at the grill. They exchanged opinions on how one of the burgers looked. One stooped to inspect it further, his blond hair flopping into his green eyes. A deep orange aura wafted around him.

A maroon aura emanated from the other man. He leaned against the side of the cabin, a beer clutched in his hand. Shaggy auburn hair curled around his ears.

Nyx introduced the blond man as her father Jay, and the other man as Daisy’s husband Aiden.

A girl with long green braids sat with Daisy at the patio table in the back. They picked at a charcuterie board in front of them, each with a glass of wine within grasp. The girl’s round sunglasses concealed her eyes as she talked and laughed. Her lips painted a brilliant red, complementing her golden tan.

Daisy flagged them over and they sat in the three remaining patio chairs. The lopsided umbrella cast them in shade, but did little to block the heat. The sun blared on her back, making her swelter. Kismet thought about taking her hoodie off, but couldn’t bear to be so exposed. If anything, she’d rather sink further inside.

Sitting next to Daisy instantly put Kismet at ease.

Daisy smiled at her. “I’m glad you could come. Help yourselves to the snacks please, before I eat them all by myself.”

“You must be Kismet,” called the other girl with a grin. She reached across the table to shake hands. “Cassandra, but you can call me Cass.”

“Cass is actually short for casserole,” Angel teased. “Everyone knows it. Don’t be embarrassed.”

Cassie glared at him, but Nyx and Alistair laughed. Even Daisy chuckled a little.

“Are you ever gonna let that go?” Cassie grumbled.

“Not a chance,” Angel said with a playful grin.

Kismet felt like there must be some joke she was missing and she looked at each of their faces, confused.

“This idiot,” Cassie said, pointing at Angel, “spread a rumor in fifth grade that my name was actually casserole and I just didn’t want to tell anyone.”

…This is what I get for saving your ass…

Kismet blinked, and grimaced, trying to squeeze the thoughts out. Daisy put a hand over hers and though the muttered voices persisted, a sense of ease overcame her.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Stick close to Angel so you won’t get too overwhelmed,” said Daisy.

“I’ll trade spots,” said Nyx.

Kismet flushed but didn’t argue and swapped seats with Nyx. Immediately, even the dull whispers vanished and she could breathe again.

“So you’re an empath right?” Cassie asked. “Why'd you come to the island after all this time?”

"I wanted to learn more about my powers," said Kismet. It was the simplest explanation. There was no need to dig into details.

"Why didn't you go to The Academy as a kid or something?" asked Cassie.

"Alright, enough with the interrogation," said Nyx.

"What? I'm just asking," said Cassie with a slight frown. "There's plenty of mutants who live on the mainland, so I wanted to know why the island? Especially after all this time. It's so cruddy here. There's nothing to do."

"It's not cruddy," said Alistair.

"Of course you'd say that," Cassie teased. "You're boring."

"It's difficult to explain," said Kismet. "It seems that abilities are ok if you're useful and quiet about them. There are plenty of mutants who work and live alongside humans that get along alright. Just be productive about it, don't make it overly noticeable, and definitely don't become a problem."

Molly came out with the punch and a few extra chairs. When the burgers finished at the grill, Jay and Aiden brought them over with the condiments and they all squeezed around the patio table. Kismet sandwiched between Nyx and Angel, unable to move her arms without bumping either of them.

Kismet never thought she’d be so thankful to be so close to another person, but being near Angel was the only thing making the small crowd bearable. As they ate, Kismet focused on her food, but observed the easy way they all engaged with each other. Their ribbons of colour extended, melding together in a pastel haze. She nearly had to squint to see it.

As the supper wound down, Kismet got up to help Molly and Nyx clear the table. They stacked the dishes on the counter next to the already full sink.

“You sure you don’t want to come back?” Molly teased Nyx, gesturing to the mess. “Don’t you miss all this?”

“Not in the slightest,” Nyx laughed, putting an armload of condiments back in the fridge.

Kismet started organizing the dishes to be done in order from plates and cups to cookware. The hum at the base of her skull gradually grew louder. She dug her fingers into the palm of her hand, scratching at the skin to try and ground herself. She looked out to the deck and saw Angel was gone, walking with Alistair and Cassie toward the shed.

Before she could say anything to Nyx, the buffer disappeared and all the emotions and thoughts that had been just out of mind’s reach came rushing toward her at once. The plate she held clattered to the floor and she went with it.

Kismet hit the hardwood as the room ignited into neon colour. Molly and Nyx morphed into shapeless blobs. The cherry-red blob version of Nyx and the creamy-white blob Molly approached her and there was nothing she could do to warn them.

She struggled to regain some semblance of control, but the thoughts of the village flooded into her brain all at once. There was no longer any sense of physicality. The world ripped away from under her into a kaleidoscope of colour.

Flashes of disjointed images streamed across her mind’s eye and she fell into them, experiencing one after the other until one seemed to stick.

It took a moment to gain her bearings and figure out she was in Molly’s mind. The tension within the older woman’s chest became her own. Guilt and rage swirled together. She sat beside Jay on the couch in the living-room. A stout, burley man slouched in the armchair at the other end. A scraggly black beard covered the bottom half of his face. He glared at them with hard brown eyes.

“Clearly, some type of ability has manifested,” Jay said.

“I don’t know about that,” grumbled the other man, his eyes darting off to the side.

Molly nibbled her lip and fidgeted. “It doesn’t track. On one hand we have Timmy telling everyone how horrible the fight was, then on the other, Angel is walking around without a blemish. You said so yourself.”

“Perhaps the fight truly wasn’t as bad as Timmy is making it out to be?”

“He’d at least have some kind of injury,” said Jay. “He’s resilient, sure, but I’ve never seen him heal this fast. He doesn’t even have a mark from the fight with Timmy. Didn’t he get stabbed?”

“I’m sorry Julian, but it’s sounding a lot like Ivy -”

“No.” Julian crossed his arms. “How could that be?”

“You have to tell him the truth,” Jay insisted. “If he does have Ivy’s powers, you gotta talk to him before something bad happens. You should have told him years ago, honestly.”

“He doesn’t need to know,” Julian snapped. “What good would it do anyway? We don’t know anything about Operation Pomegranate, why that lab created him or what they did to him down there, so what is there to say?”

Molly took a breath to ease the mounting anger in her chest. She reached for Jay and he took her hand, squeezing her fingers until her wedding ring dug into her skin.

“You’re being selfish,” said Molly. “He’s so lost Julian. The truth, no matter how little we know of it, could save him. When there was no clear signs, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but now something has manifested. Whether it’s something like Ivy’s powers or not, the boy deserves to know where he came from. Frankly, I’m so sick of watching him fumble around and I can’t -” she choked on a rising sob and Jay rubbed her arm.

“When Ivy gave him to you as an egg, we agreed to keep it secret for your sake, but we can’t do it anymore,” said Jay. “If you don’t tell him before the end of the month, we will.”

Julian got to his feet, electricity sparking around him. The hairs on the back of Molly’s neck stood up, but she and Jay did not relent.

He is not the man we came here with. That man died with Ember. The old Julian would never have allowed this.

“He’s my son, and I’ll decide -”

Jay got up and glared down at his old friend. “Then do the right thing for once in your life. You couldn’t save Ember, but there’s still a chance we can do something to help Angel. We can’t undo the years of lying, but -”

“Why don’t you both just mind your own damn business?” Julian snapped.

“In case you’ve forgotten, our daughter might be tangled up in this mess if we’re not careful, and It’s not just us Jules,” said Molly. “Daisy and Aiden agree. We’ll get Watcher Liz involved if we have to, but that’s our last course of action. She’s already asking questions. We’ve brushed it off the best we could, but we can’t keep it up. Liz is duty bound to report any changes with him to Ivy.”

Julian glared at them. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“This could get dangerous,” said Jay. “Now Nyx is involved, you don’t get a say anymore. This has gone on long enough.”

The scene wrenched away as she was ripped from Molly's mind, falling back into her own. Kismet’s eyes opened to see salmon pink walls decorated with stick-on stars. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath and orient herself into reality. She laid on top of the bottom bunk-bed. Sweat soaked through the back of her shirt.

Angel sat on the edge of the bed, his hand on hers. His crisp blue eyes had been darkened with concern, brightened to see her eyelids fluttering. “You’re awake!”

“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to sit up. The room spun and she collected herself.

Guilt churned in her stomach and she tugged her hand away from him. Pressure formed at the base of her throat and she struggled to contain her tears. Molly’s turmoil still lingered, tangled up with her own.

Ivy brought him here from some kind of lab… How much, if anything, do I tell him? How much does he know? Maybe Julian will do what they asked and tell him before I have to.

She felt dizzy and sick.

“I thought you’d still be ok if I just went into the shed for a smoke," Angel explained quickly, as though he expected her to start yelling.

“It’s fine.” She pushed her damp hair out of her eyes. “You shouldn’t have to stick near me all the time. The sooner I can get control of my powers the better. I think it just hit me so hard because it kinda came all at once. It was sort of a perfect storm.”

How can I look him in the eye? But if I tell him, what then? I’m just some random girl. He doesn’t even know I’m a telepath. Fuck. The council will kick me off the island for sure once they find out… but if I keep this secret from Angel and Nyx, they’ll be mad too. What should I do?

“Hey, it’s alright,” said Angel as softly as he could muster. Even without reading his energy directly, it was obvious comforting others was not his forte. “We’ll figure it out. Being an empath must be pretty overwhelming sometimes.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” said Kismet.

She followed Angel back downstairs, the events of her vision still swirling in her mind. As they walked back to Nyx’s cabin together, she kept her eyes to the pavement, chewing on her thoughts.

What on Earth is Operation Pomegranate?