The atmosphere in the room was hostile. The girl pricking Rowan with a sword didn't look happy at all. It was almost as if he was already marked as an enemy to her. He slowly raised his hands, waving them around so she'd realize he wasn't someone out to get her. But her reaction made Rowan very skeptical. Whether it was PTSD or whether she was being hunted.

"How about we put the sword down?" Rowan smiled with a very sharp tone in his voice. "You're hurting me."

"Answer the question," she asked. Her voice sounded as if she were out of breath because of the way her tone skipped through words.

"Ok, ok!" he said. "My name is Rowan. I was supposed to meet Mrs. Munster."

"Huh?" she asked.

"What do you mean, huh?" shouted Rowan. "You're in her room. You should know her."

"Don't yell at me!" she cried. "I know who she is. But why did she tell you to come now?"

Rowan slowly moved away from the sword that was still pricking his neck. The girl didn't move after hearing what Rowan uttered. She, instead, looked down and hung her sword low.

The door opened as Rowan turned around to see Mrs. Munster. She was wearing glasses and holding a nice cup of steaming hot coffee. She looked very beautiful, especially during the day. She could tell they both had questions. Rowan was the first to ask.

"This girl," he said. "Who's this wannabe murderer?"

"Hm?" Mrs. Munster squinted.

"She was holding a sword and was going to kill me," Rowan stated. He turned around to see the same girl, this time unarmed. She had been standing still, her head down, with her hands dangling. It was like something out of a horror movie. Her bangs covered her eyes from the angle Rowan was looking.

"Please, both of you take a seat," Mrs. Munster ordered.

Looking at each other, both of them had already had a rude awakening with each other. Rowan was upset that she was resorting to violence. He didn't want to be in the room with her anymore and was already arguing with Mrs. Munster about coming back another time. Mrs. Munster strongly declined that offer. The two of them sat down on the couch as Mrs. Munster sat across from them. Today she wore a white blouse and black dress pants. She took out three notebooks and had a nicely sharpened pencil on her little table to her right.

"I want you to introduce yourselves," she smiled.

"No," Rowan said. He got up from the couch and headed for the door.

"Nonsense," Mrs. Munster said. "Sit down, Rowan. This'll help the both of you."

Rowan sucked his teeth and sighed. He turned back around and sat on the couch, sitting the furthest he could from the girl. She didn't look at him at all, but he could tell that she was in no mood to be in the same room as him. Mrs. Munster, on the other hand, had something to get off her chest. It was one of the reason both of them were in this room together.

"Introduce yourselves," Mrs. Munster repeated, this time with a lower and more commanding tone. Her face had changed from a smile to a straight face, as if she were a mother telling her two kids to get along or they'd get into big trouble.

Rowan turned, held out a fake smile, and put his hand out. He took a deep breath and said, "My name is Rowan Starry. Nice to meet you."

"Bug off," she scoffed.

Rowan sat back, smirking and chuckling.

"Can I leave now?" Rowan asked. "This person is too idiotic to have a full conversation."

Mrs. Munster smirked. She wrote words down in her notebook and didn't stop until a few minutes later.

"Rowan, thank you for your introduction," she said. "This girl here is named Penelope Mei. Penelope is someone I've been seeing for two years now. She was a survivor from the Burlington Incident."

Rowan's eyes widened. He had a confused look on his face as he side-eyed Penelope. She had been sitting in an awkward position with her legs crossed, looking toward the wall. Her hands were supporting her head, with her elbow resting on the arm rest.

"The Burlington Incident?" Rowan repeated. "I thought no one lived through the Burlington Incident."

"That's where you're wrong, you idiot!" Penelope snapped. "Who do you think told those lies?"

"Cool it, you freak," Rowan snapped as well.

The two of them started arguing in each other's faces. This random rivalry happened during a hostile encounter. Penelope grabbed her sword, which had been lying on the floor. and swung it toward Rowan. Mrs. Munster quickly got between the two and instantly snapped Penelope's wrist. Her shrieking caused a full mental earthquake in Rowan's head, causing his body to tremble.

"What the fuck!" she screamed in pain. Tears rolled down her eyes as her wrist was completely disfigured. The sword dropped onto the floor as Rowan was paralyzed.

The door burst open, and another lady, whom Rowan had never seen before, came inside and grabbed the girl's wrist. She murmured words as a glowing blue aura released from her hands and covered Penelope's arm. Her cries stopped, and her wrist slowly fixed itself. She was hyperventilating and panicking still. Mrs. Munster watched the whole process to the very end. She thanked the random lady who appeared at the door, and the therapy session continued.

"Now," Mrs. Munster smiled. "She was a part of the Burlington Incident. Yes, people survived it, but things happened to them. Not many know, but the Burlington Incident was S.E.S.D. experiments."

Penelope slowly calmed down. She wanted to speak but was still recovering from the actions caused by Mrs. Munster. Rowan was still very confused and was very scared. Mrs. Munster could tell that he wasn't in the same room as her. His mind was in a different place, and all he could hear was her mumbling about the Burlington Incident.

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"Rowan," she snapped and slapped. "You with me?"

The smack across the face got him to realize his whereabouts. The room was dimming, but it was mainly because the day was ending. Penelope had gone silent. She was examining her arm as Mrs. Munster looked at both of them.

"While Penelope is getting back to normal," Mrs. Munster said. "I'll continue."

[The Hunted]

"The Burlington Incident was something interesting," she continued. "The deaths of over 50,000 people were thought to be the same attacks that happened in Back Bay, Santa Clara, and Savannah. But this was very different. The Sabers Legion, a division in the S.E.S.D., were the masterminds behind the Burlington Incident. They're tasked with research and have interesting abilities. Starting with patient zero, the Sabers Legion infected one small child. That child went home and infected his family, and the family infected others. The mother was a dentist, and the father was a barista. His sister was very popular in school, and his other brother was a part of a group of rebellious boys but helped around the community whenever he could. As they continued their everyday lives, they infected more and more people. Then those people infected others. Soon, around the sixth day of experimenting, patient zero began rapidly sweating and swearing. He became hostile, and out of nowhere, he gained an ability."

"What was the ability?" Rowan interrupted.

"I was getting to that," Mrs. Munster sighed.

"Now," she continued. "The young boy had gained an ability that created toxic gas within his range. Something like radiation, but the information on that is hard to tell. First, he swamped his house with it, killing his mother and father. His sister wasn't home, but she also started getting the same effects. Patient zero’s brother somehow got away and is M.I.A. in this case. But the sister was next. She hadn't developed an ability but had become deranged. She was at her friend's house with a bunch of people. Her body went towards the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She then locked everyone in the house before randomly charging at a girl and stabbing her numerous times in the back. Everyone witnessed this and immediately ran. Some wrestled the girl, but she wasn't the only person in that house starting to change. After a few minutes, those who were infected before became bloodthirsty. The whole house became something out of a horror movie. By now, most of the city itself was in a state of anarchy. Patient zero was running around the city, causing people to vomit and suffocate from the toxic fumes. The sister was out, stabbing those who were and weren't infected. Many people got abilities from being infected and used them for horror."

"So how did Penelope survive?" asked Rowan.

"Penelope survived because she ran away. She showed signs of infection but didn't become unstable. It's a reason why her eyes are permanently bloodshot," Mrs. Munster stated.

Rowan looked into Penelope's eyes. She was sitting still and looking at the wall before turning and facing Rowan.

"What?" she asked.

"She's back," Rowan said. "And I see what you mean."

"Burlington, after a few days, was quiet," Mrs. Munster said. "Bodies littered the streets. The Burlington S.E.S.D. was also completely wiped to shreds. Sabers Legion, which is based out of Buffalo, New York, came to finish off the job. The city has been left under quarantine for about a year now."

"That's all," Penelope said. "My family, friends, everyone. Everyone is gone in a flash. I just want to die."

"Penelope's dying wish is to kill the Sabers Legion," Mrs. Munster said. "It's what drives her."

Mrs. Munster turned and grabbed her notebook. She had put it down before she broke Penelope's wrist. She wrote up a storm, smiling and chuckling. Both Rowan and Penelope sat still, watching her write. They were still a little scared of her, but that was all. It was dark outside by the time she finished. Penelope had fallen asleep, and Rowan was still thinking about all the things that had happened. Something popped up in his mind that he wanted to ask.

"Why was I called here today?" he asked.

"Ah!" Mrs. Munster jumped. "I totally forgot. I was going off-topic, and for that, I'm sorry. You see, Penelope knows a few friendly faces that you may know."

"She does?" asked Rowan. "Who?"

"Well, I remember you saying you remember names from your past," Mrs. Munster said. "Such as Titus, Linus, and Meghan."

"Yes, I said those words," Rowan said.

"She knows them," Mrs. Munster said.

"What am I supposed to do with this information?" Rowan asked.

"I want you to go meet them," Mrs. Munster said. "Get to know them. Get to know why they're all together."

Rowan didn't understand why Mrs. Munster told him this. He didn't like speaking to people, and visiting people he thought wouldn't even recognize him would be too much for him. But the sheer pain on Penelope's face when she angered Mrs. Munster made Rowan scared that if he didn't listen to her, he too would get his wrist snapped, or worse.

"When would I even do that?" Rowan asked.

"This weekend, of course," she replied. "Just get through the few days of school and come back here at 2:30 PM, Saturday."

Rowan took out his phone and noted it down. He looked at Penelope and got up from the couch. Though Mrs. Munster didn't tell him the therapy session was over, he insisted on leaving. He didn't want to take up both of their time, even if he was invited. This wasn't really a full-on therapy session for him, and most of the things he'd talk about would be behind closed doors from anyone besides Mrs. Munster herself. Rowan walked out of the room and out of the therapy building. Strong winds pushed him forward as he started walking towards his home. The sky was clear as the night lurked over the city. The moon was fully shining, and the stars had come out.

No one was on the roads again. The quiet walk home was needed. A lot of things happened today for him.

It was late, and he didn't expect anyone to be up when he got home. He was also very exhausted and wanted to fall fast asleep. But he had homework to finish, of course. Some of his neighbors were also on their way home. He saw some very interesting people before entering the entrance of his apartment building. One kid who was walking behind him was a tanned boy named Peter. His mother was a bus driver, and his father worked at a factory in a town far from the city. Peter Holmgren, which was his full name, was a quiet boy who also didn't speak to many people. He was busy with school work and his part-time job, something Rowan's still eager to obtain.

"Yo," Peter said.

Rowan turned his head but still continued to walk toward the elevator.

"You've been tagged?" he asked.

"Tagged?" Rowan asked.

A sticky note on the back of Rowan's hoodie had a circle with a line through it. Rowan had no idea what that meant, but Peter was certain that Rowan was tagged.

"What does that mean?" Rowan asked.

"Did the safety division freaks stop you?" Peter asked. "Do you live alone or something?"

"No? and why do you want to know that?" Rowan asked. They were both in the elevator now, continuing the conversation.

"I'm no freak," Peter said. "I saw you get stared down by that blond freak, yah know."

Rowan chuckled and shook his head. He stood upright and made sure Peter could hear him.

"You don't need to worry," Rowan said. They both walked out of the elevator, even though this wasn't Peter's floor. Rowan was so into the conversation that he didn't realize what was happening.

The keys dangled as Rowan struggled to unlock the door. The light in the living room brightened as the quick realization that someone was awake made Rowan skeptical. Peter stood behind him as the door opened more and more as a better view of the whole living could be seen.

"I knew it," whispered Peter.

Sitting on the couches were four people in black suits, as well as Rowan's mother, grandmother, and sister.

"Oh, hello," said a man sitting next to Rowan's mother on the couch, facing the front door. "Glad you could join us."