I stood in silence, looking down to see the safe beside me. Looking up again, my eyes scan the compound area at the bottom of the hill. I began to see the magnitude of the events that just happened not even an hour ago and became increasingly aware that this had way more impact than I could have ever imagined.

After the first responders arrived from Heckelsville, not long after, a flood of vehicles from neighboring towns began to stream into the area. Dozens of cars, trucks, and vans emerged. I stood in disbelief as I heard what sounded like buzzing in the air. Sure enough, a helicopter flies into view overhead. My eyes widen, signaling that my rampage had attracted a lot of attention within a remarkably short period of time.

‘H..hey um ANNA, you dont think I'll be caught, right?’

^Unlikely. All cameras and sensors were disabled prior to your infiltration. Additionally, after your augmentation, you no longer have fingerprints or produce organic hair to leave DNA evidence.^

As I watched, my nervousness continued to heighten, making me feel paranoid about my surroundings. However, I was determined to make sure those kids were okay before I even dreamed of returning home.

Amidst the commotion, I could see children being led out of the compound. Some were able to walk on their own accompanied by the police and what looked like civil servants, while others, who were more emaciated or injured, had to be carried. The sight of it all made me confident that my surprise visit was justified.

‘I hope those bastards get what they deserve.’

I continue watching the raid until all the children are safely transported from the scene, leaving just the police officers and investigators. Looking up at the moon, I can see it’s getting late.

‘It's still only about 3 am, but I need to get back home soon.’

Getting ready to leave, then look down once more at the small but unusually heavy safe that I pulled from the house. I didn’t know what was inside, but my best guess told me that whatever it contained must be pretty valuable or important considering it was the only actual normal safe in the compound.

I quickly realized that transporting this heavy-ass safe was an annoying task. Despite my impressive strength, the boxy safe weighed at least several hundred pounds, which made it awkward to carry through the forest.

Having to run but mostly jog several miles back, I had time to devise a plan and decided to conceal the heavy safe among the dense bushes near my parents' house. It was a temporary hiding spot, but there was no way I could lug this on the roof and get through the small window without waking my parents.

As I walked through the dense forest, my thoughts went back to ANNA’s prediction of my shortened lifespan.

‘Only 3.5 years left? What the fuck am I supposed to do now? There’s gotta be a way to get more Universal Energy or produce it somehow. Damnit I need to keep my head down for a while and not use my power at all until then.’

After a while, I realized I had lost track of time thinking of my situation when I noticed my driveway up ahead.

Stealthily stashing the safe in the bushes, I climb up the side of my house onto my roof. However, this time,

*ClatTeR…bang!*

‘Shit!’

My pant leg caught on the top of an old garden trellis my Ma put up years ago…

“Oh my word. Did you hear that?” Ma exclaims from their bedroom below.

“I sure did. Probably them damn raccoons again going for the chickens. Let me get my gun”

Hearing my parents wake up, I began to frantically try and unravel my torn pant leg from the trellis and hurry into my room. The last thing I needed was having to explain my current situation to my father, who’d be pointing a shotgun at me while I dangled from the roof…covered in face paint.

I finally get enough of a grip on the roof which allows me to untangle my leg and scurry into my bedroom, quietly closing the window behind me.

As soon as my feet hit the floor, a wave of exhaustion washed over me. Mentally drained from the crazy events of the night, I quickly stagger and collapse onto my bed. As soon as I do, I hear my father outside cock his shotgun and yell at the nonexistent raccoons.

Ma’s voice trails from their bedroom, telling him to be careful and not to shoot his eye out from a ricochet. I quickly fall asleep to the sound of my parents bickering, desperately in need of rest from the draining night I had just gone through.

Next Day:

*Yaaawn*

‘Good morning ANNA.’

^Good morning Alex.^

Waking up in the morning, I walked to the bathroom and as I washed my hands, my reflection startled me. ‘Shit!?!?..oh haha, I forgot to wash off the face paint.’

I went back to my bedroom to get ready for the day and found myself wondering about what I was going to do. Derek was still in jail, at least he was the last I heard. Yet, there was still the pressing matter of opening the safe and looking inside. I held onto the hope that inside was strong evidence that would solidify the downfall of the pieces of shit Pattersons and free Derek from the legal hellhole he was in.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

As I made my way downstairs, I realized that my father had already left for work at the warehouse, leaving me to enjoy a quiet breakfast with Ma. She made the Southern standard: butter grits, bacon, toast, and eggs; with an endless supply of coffee of course.

‘Guess she’s off her latest health kick.’

During breakfast, we talked about ways to deal with the “pesky raccoons”, with Ma surprised I wasn’t woken up by the commotion. We then talked for a while about my plans this summer and Derek’s situation. She told me about the latest town gossip she’d heard about her bible study group and that she and her friend would be going to Bingo on Thursday.

After breakfast, I wander outside to the front porch, where I’ve always gone to think. This has always been my favorite part of our home. The crisp early morning air offers a calm, quiet place to gather my thoughts and prepare for the day that lay ahead. I steeled myself for the challenges awaiting me.

‘I really hope there is something in that safe I can use.’

I step back inside and tell Ma I’ll be at the creek for a while. She says, “Okay darlin’, but don’t be late for supper”.

Walking back out onto the porch, I look at the house one more time to make sure my mom can’t see me. I then book it towards to bushes, retrieve the weighty safe, and awkwardly ran to the creek by the rocks under the shade tree.

Putting the heavy safe down on top of the rock, with great force I grab the handle and pry open the door, bracing myself for whatever I find inside.

*Creeeak..PING!*

What I saw left me utterly stunned. A mess of glimmering gold bars in varying sizes and bundles of cash with rubber bands immediately caught my eye.

“HAhahah! Hell yeah man, I’m rich!”

I continue to riffle through the safe, which was jostled from me carrying it around and discovered a large binder of documents I hadn’t noticed at first.

As I turned the pages looking through the binder, a mixture of emotions engulfed me. While the presence of gold and money was a pleasant surprise, the real shock lay in the insidious discovery uncovered by the binder. It contained a collection of disturbing photographs, names, and some of the identities of buyers and sellers involved in the heinous trafficking of children. The sheer volume of hard evidence at my fingertips was both staggering and nauseating.

Though most of the criminals remained anonymous. the evidence before me left no doubt about their involvement.

‘I guess the Pattersons wanted to have power over some of these people, to blackmail them.’

Disgust welled up within me as the gravity of the situation sank in. These documents had the power to expose a vast network of child exploitation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

As I turn through the pages, I started to sweat as I began to recognize some of the big-shot names on this list.

‘Oh my God. Is this the mayor? And..that famous preacher guy on the radio?’

I Oogled some of the names and discovered there was also a university professor, a few famous movie stars, I think the head of a bank, and even some people from overseas with their names I couldn't even try to pronounce.

I sat in silence while I tried to process it all. Thoroughly disgusted that these people were just walking around, free to live their normal lives, the feeling of rage began to surface again.

^Alex, please calm down. Your emotional state is becoming erratic.^

‘Sorry ANNA.’

^I am not done analyzing the data from the last time. Please be mindful that the last time this happened, I was forcefully shut down from the overload of errors.^

Taking a deep breath and trying to think rationally, I continue to sift through the damning evidence.

It was vital to handle this evidence carefully, making sure it was kept safe somewhere. The atrocities that these people committed only fueled my determination to dismantle and expose everything.

I mentally went through the different options available.

First, the thought of involving local law enforcement crossed my mind, but I knew at least some of the police were involved on some level. I then briefly thought about sending it to the NBI, but ANNA quickly noted that in her research, the NBI had been known to cover up information for the benefit of the country due to possible excessive damage to the economy.

‘That's insane. Do you really think they would do such a thing?’

^Affermative Alex. I have noted several instances where once the NBI took custody of a situation, news coverage would quickly vanish and no proceeding court hearing would take place.^

‘Well damn, what should I do then?’

^ May I suggest a sudden complete release of all the evidence onto the internet, Alex? This bypasses traditional channels and exposes the truth anonymously. This a common tactic used by large company whistleblowers to avoid similar scenarios^

‘Release all of it at once onto the net? Won't they just make up some bullshit and say it's all a lie? I mean I can’t just come out and tell them what I did to get that info.’

^I can simply send short clips of the confessions of Mr. Patterson claiming he could sell you children, along with some still images of your discovery in the basement. I will convert your memories into a video format.^

‘OK, so what do I need to do?’

^I can simply hack into the satellites and disseminate the information to the news stations. I will need you to connect to your computer to do so. You also have the ability to scan documents with your eyes.^

ANNA’s idea held promise and seemed like the most effective way to ensure widespread coverage in town and prevent any attempts at suppressing the truth.

I quickly scanned the documents using my eyes like a copy machine and stashed the vault behind some rocks.

Once I returned home, I sat down in my computer chair and swiftly connected to the cable behind my computer. ANNA took charge, skillfully hacking into satellites and news stations, ready to broadcast the shocking evidence.

^It’s been done, Alex. I have broadcasted the evidence across the world.^

‘WAIT, THE WORLD?! I thought you were exposing it to the TOWN!’

^There seems to have been a breakdown in communication, Alex. I deemed your intention was to broadcast your evidence to the entire world so that no one could potentially cover it up. This has been accomplished.”

‘Why would I want the whole world to be involved?!’

I shifted down in my chair, trying to think of the bigger picture. I couldn’t even imagine the repercussions of a story this big. I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Now billions of people are watching this.