Adam saw. He saw a familiar woman - blonde and tall - donned in the same gear as the other attackers. She stood over the crippled figure of his father as he lay sprawled on the ground, bruised and unable to move. Adam saw how their eyes met in unspoken conversation, a flash of emotion sparking in their minds as they did. The woman felt proud and satisfied, as if a heavy burden had just been lifted from her shoulders. Meanwhile, his father stared in horror and surprise, sprinkled in with realization.

The woman shot his father in the head. It was a swift act, barely a second wasted as the trigger was pulled and the bullet sped through his father's skull after a loud bang.

Adam did not feel the death of his father, he experienced it. Every memory they shared, every emotion they held, and every moment they cherished flashed inside his mind as the psychic connection father and son unknowingly formed over the years was severed in an instant. It was as if he had slammed face first into a brick wall, with his head recoiling from the impact.

The last thing Adam heard was his mother's scream. A terrible, horrific sound of grief and terror. He blacked out once more from the psychic backlash, with the last embers of his will crumbling away at the death of his father.

Adam awoke a few hours later to heaves and grunts. He found himself on the back of his mother as she trudged between trees and plants, carving a beaten down path through the forest. His mother had carried him through the outskirts of the city, evading their pursuers to the best of her ability. But not without sustaining injuries along the way. She had a few bullet wounds, but most were non-fatal. She was tired. Adam knew that the only thing keeping her going was the adrenaline in her veins.

"Mom?" Adam said weakly.

"Honey? You're awake. Thank goodness. Don't worry, we're almost there. You'll be safe soon."

There? Was she referring to the military extraction point Holland informed them about? Adam didn't know, and he wasn't about to ask. He had other, more pressing concerns to worry about.

"Mom, you're tired." Adam said as he felt the fatigue within his mother's mind. It was a cruel sensation, as if the body itself was merely running on sweat and tears. But there was some truth to that.

"It's okay, dear. We're almost there. Almost." Adam remained silent thereafter, not wanting to bother his mother as she somehow gained even more strength to carry on. Determination filled her mind and powered her body. It was enough to beat down the tragedy of loss for now. Even Adam himself was still reeling from the sudden execution of his father.

Adam did not notice it, but more tears streamed down his eyes. And when his mother felt her shoulder moist, she too shed her tears. Mother and son mourned together in silence, tired and alone.

Adam had lost track of time, but they eventually reached what her mother was talking about. It was not the military extraction point. Instead, they had come upon a clearing in the forest that gave way to a narrow stream. A small wooden boat with oars rested on the shore. The stream led to somewhere deeper down the wilderness, like a green maw with a tongue of blue. Adam laid eyes on it, and it felt strange. Weird and unknown.

Something didn't feel right, but Adam couldn't exactly place a finger on it.

As soon as Chloe set him down, Adam felt the absence of strength within his legs and crumpled to the ground. His mother was soon upon him, checking his condition. He saw the eyes of a concerned mother analyzing her child, full of care and love. But there was not much time to spare.

"Come, we're almost there." Chloe said between deep breathes as she mustered what remained of her strength to lift Adam up around her shoulders.

Slowly, they made their way towards the small boat. Chloe placed her son down on the dinghy, moved the oars aside, and started removing her gear. As soon as her gun was no longer dangling around her neck, Adam felt another chill. Before he could react, a shot rang out from the forest.

The bullet struck Chloe on the right shoulder, splattering blood all over the Dinghy and Adam as she fell on her horrified son. Adam couldn't believe it. They were really killing his parents one at a time in front of him. He felt the surge of pain and agony soaring through his mother's mind as she reeled, crying in pain. Adam rushed to cover the wound, applying pressure to curb the bleeding.

Then the shooter revealed herself. She stepped out of the shadow of the trees with a handgun, walking forward as if she had all the time in the world. With confidence imbued in her stride, she approached Adam as he held his dying mother in his arms.

The woman - the very same familiar woman who killed his father - looked at him and his mother with mockery on her face as her lips curved to form a wide, prideful smile. Adam felt her happiness, the satisfaction she felt at watching his family's death and despair.

Adam felt his emotions boil, but he tried his best to keep himself calm and collected. It took every bit of his willpower to stay focused. And it wouldn't take much to finally break him down.

"20 years, and you really thought you and Felix could get away," The woman spoke. Her voice was soft, but it carried an undertone of sharpness, "But we never forget, neither do we forgive. Isn't that right, Dr. Chloe?"

Adam's mother shifted in his arms, struggling and groaning against the pain, but she heard the woman nonetheless. In spite of her injuries, she replied.

"Go to hell, bitch."

Adam glared at the woman, clenching his fists as the fatigue in his body faded, giving way to the adrenaline that once again filled his veins. He shared the rising anger he felt from his mother who directed it at the woman now standing just a few feet away from them.

"Good to see you too. And you may be wondering how I knew you'd be here. Well, it was simple. I followed you one day, and I found this place. Easy, right?" The woman said.

"And what a surprise to see our little boy all grown up and strong!" The woman continued, snark and flamboyant was her tone and gesture.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"He's not your boy, and never will be." Chloe said weakly, but surely.

"The state disagrees, and I've come to take care of what's rightfully theirs." The woman said it so casually that it made Adam feel a different kind of unease. It was as if he was looking at a monster wearing the skin of a human.

The woman raised her pistol and aimed at Adam. The frightened, confused, and traumatized young man did not flinch, however. Instead, he met the threat with a grim resolve that surprised even himself.

"Why?" Adam spoke up, his tone of voice was shaky but firm, carrying with it conviction. "Why did you kill my father? Why are you doing any of this!?" The question rolled out of his tongue like silk, accompanying his voice as it rose with anger.

The woman lost her smile as her eyes grew colder than they were before. Her facade of uncaring psychopathy was replaced by an image of cold seriousness, reflecting years of brainwashing and conditioning.

Adam was talking to a fanatic. An ardent puppet and killer. What the woman said next only reinforced this realization.

"Boy, you were our country's magnum opus. The pinnacle of scientific progress. The ultimate nuclear deterrent and weapon against our enemies," The woman paused, taking in the surprised and horrified look on Adam's face with buried satisfaction, "But instead, you were whisked away by the most important people working on the project. They turned traitor and ran, bringing you along to our enemies, and raising you wrong."

Adam looked at his mother and saw her face twisted in pain. She was losing too much blood even though he'd done everything he could. He was no doctor, but he tried.

"My parents didn't raise me wrong," Adam shot back with a voice that trembled with anger and denial,"They raised me the way good people are supposed to!"

"Boy, shut your fucking mouth," The woman hissed, "They're not even your real parents. And before you ask, no, they're gone. They were only ever useful for making you. After that, poof, useless."

Adam felt his heart break once more, shattering into a million more pieces. All throughout their conversation, the woman had been telling the truth. Every single claim. Every single accusation. All of it was the complete and utter truth. If he hadn't known any better, then maybe he could've enjoyed the bliss of denial. But he couldn't. His parents had taught him well. Too well.

In spite of this sudden revelation, Adam waved away the feeling of betrayal in his mind. His parents loved him. He knew it. He felt it. He saw it. For 20 years without fail, they had given him nothing but a life worth living. That life had now been stripped away, shot and killed by ghosts from a past long gone that refused to be forgotten.

"You're a monster." Adam said with a scowl of pure hate, "You'll never have me. Not then. Not now. Not ever!"

The woman twisted her lips into a wide, thin grin and shook her head.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to retrieve you. No, no, no, no. I'm here to kill you both."

With that, she pulled the trigger of her pistol and shot at Adam. Unfortunately for her, the bullet stopped mid-air, mere inches from Adam's face. But Adam himself hadn't moved an inch. Instead, his eyes went ablaze with light. A cold and blue glow.

For the first time since he was a child, Adam lost control. The anger, sadness, horror, and despair he had gathered throughout the tragic day coalesced into something more. A fiery, all-consuming rage that wanted nothing but vengeance. His heart burned hot, setting his mind ablaze with fury.

The trees rustled and swayed. The waters rippled and churned. Rocks and sticks and pieces of dirt and sand began to float, rising into the air as if carried by an unseen hand. The air itself grew thick as the psychic power within Adam expanded outward, encompassing the surrounding area under the mercy of its telekinetic force. It felt like a build-up of electricity, unseen yet felt like sparks of energy.

"Adam... don't..." Chloe called out to her son who was now floating in the air above her and surrounded by swirling wind. Adam hovered over the stream with fierce, glowing eyes, and a heavy and angry heart.

The woman had summoned the rage of a psychic, and she was foolishly unafraid.

"You think you scare me, kid?" She said as she picked something out of her pocket. It was a small device, square and black, and barely the size of her hand. It had a button in the middle where her thumb rested. She pointed it at Adam, confident and assured.

Chloe, upon seeing this, stared wide-eyed in terror. She knew what it was, but she hadn't thought the technology to be possible. It was supposed to be purely theoretical!

"Thought I wouldn't need to use this. Oh well."

Before Chloe could warn her son, the woman pressed the button and...

It broke. The device crumpled in the woman's hand and crumbled into dust before being blown away by the fierce winds. Chloe couldn't believe it. She was relieved. The same could not be said about her old acquaintance.

The woman stared in shock, not expecting the sudden failure of her ultimate trump card. She was assured by the scientists that the device would work, that it would render the psychic abilities of Adam inert, making him useless. They were sure. She was sure. Then it dawned on her.

Adam had grown far beyond their projections, and she was now at his mercy.

Before she could react, Adam had her by the neck and floating in the air. She choked and dangled, kicking and struggling as she tried to fight off Adam's telekinetic hold. But she fought an already lost battle.

The woman felt the grip around her neck tighten with each passing second, causing her to panic and claw at her skin in a desperate attempt to set herself free. Blood dripped down her neck as her nails bit down on her skin, doing nothing but more pain and suffering to herself.

But Adam, lost in his rage, wasn't about to end it through suffocation. In spite of the protests of his mother, Adam stretched out his hand and slowly closed it into a fist. As he did so, the rest of the woman's body began to curl into a ball. She screamed, or at least she tried to. She choked and choked. Bones cracked and organs failed. But just before she could be squished into a ball, Chloe screamed aloud.

"Adam! Stop!"

Adam listened, but he was already too far into his own anger to reverse course. Instead, he unfolded his hand, felt the woman's neck once more, and snapped it to the side with a crack.

The winds slowed to a still, the waters calmed, and the ground shook no more. The woman dropped to the ground alongside the rest of the floating dirt and debris, hitting the dirt with a thud. She remained there, sprawled and unmoving, with a neck twisted beyond what was natural. She was gone, but the damage she had done remained.

Adam floated down from the air, landing on the dinghy where his dying mother watched with concern.

Chloe was quick to muster what remained of her strength, grabbing her son by the shoulder and spinning him around so she could see his face.

Adam had lost the scowl that twisted his face alongside the glow that lit his eyes. But he lost something else, his innocence. He had murdered someone with his power, and this final act broke him completely. He stared long into the distance with barren eyes.

"Adam..." Chloe whispered as he pulled him close, "You... you had no other choice... it wasn't... it wasn't your fault..."

Adam heard, but unsure if he listened. Despite this, Chloe shook him as hard as he could, bringing back a dim sparkle to his eyes.

Brought back to the reality he now dreaded, Adam burst into tears, losing himself to uncontrolled sobbing.

"Adam... son... listen to me, listen!" Chloe was practically begging. Adam, finally listening, leaned in close in spite of his grief and paid attention.

"Remember... remember to always be good... No matter what happens... do the right thing... be good... be kind... but if you must..." Chloe struggled, feeling parts of her body become numb and cold.

"Mom..." Adam tried to speak, but Chloe placed a finger on his mouth.

"The world is cruel... and unjust. So if you must, if you must take a life... do so because you have no other choice. But... but if there is..."

Adam braced for his mother's final words, making sure his broken heart was open and ready to receive it.

"Do what's right," Chloe asked, "Promise me this. Promise you'll continue to be good."

"I..." Adam struggled as he choked in his tears.

"Promise me!" Chloe pleaded as her life flashed before her eyes.

"I promise. I swear. I'll..." Adam paused as he felt his mother's grip loosen on him.

"I'll be good."