Callie stepped through the doorway being greeted by both Tanner and Lucy.

    “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I know we only saw you two weeks ago, but if Samuel specifically requests another meeting something must be wrong,” Lucy said as she led Callie to the living room, “He’ll be home soon.”

    “Honestly when you called telling me Samuel wanted an extra appointment, I almost hung up thinking I was being pranked.” All three laughed, but the atmosphere hung low. No one knew what was going on, but all were equally worried. The tension only lifted when Samuel stepped into the living room and requested to start immediately. His parents were dismissed.

    “Let’s skip the pleasantries, Callie. I want your help.”

    “Well, that’s what I’m here for. School only started a week ago, does it have something to do with that?”

    Callie half expected some snarky response or even just an eye roll but instead, “I accidentally attacked a classmate.”

    “What?!” Callie’s mouth dropped open. She was supposed to remain professional, but after 4 months of silence from Samuel he just dropped a bomb on her, “I mean, please explain what you mean.”

    Samuel started to describe the events leading up to the moment, and the actual moment, making sure to leave out the identity of Austin. He looked up at Callie ready to be yelled at, but she didn’t say anything. She just sat taking it all in. “Why did this happen Callie? I didn’t want to hurt him. It’s like I had no control. Please help. Please help me,” his voice broke as tears started to stream down his face. 

    “Samuel. It seems like you in fact didn’t have control. This was almost definitely your PTSD. Now, of course, you still did hurt someone, and that’s a problem, but he should never have touched you. You never know what someone's gone through in the past, and how you could upset them. And you’re acknowledging what you did wrong, and you want to help prevent it from happening again. I’m very proud of you. So first let’s find out what memories may have triggered this reaction. I’m not asking to hurt you. I want you to think about it so that you can prove to yourself that your reaction was a result of the past, it does not define you, and you are not violent.”

    Samuel nodded and closed his eyes. His mind flashed back to the farm. To the master. He started to talk. He talked about how he basically watched his father slowly die in front of him. How he had been there when his mother died.  How she had died holding his hand. How her body was ripped away from him as he screamed. How he was thrown into a new pen. How his dad was yanked into the pen and forced to kneel. How his knees were kicked in to get him down. How he would be pushed and pulled. How he would be kicked from behind. How he would be lashed at random. How he was picked up and thrown. How he watched his friends and father receive similar treatment. 

    His mind spiraled and it started to become too much. He clutched his ears. He could swear he heard Callie talking to him, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. His body became heavy, and he felt himself fall to the ground. He heard a scream. He heard two more voices, his parents. He felt four hands on him, they were calling out to him, but he couldn’t hear them. All he could hear was the sound of a whip. Lashing. Lashing. Lashing. 

His parents' voices echoed through his mind. All four of them. 4. 16. Tanner. Lucy. All were begging him to open his eyes. To come back to them. His mind started to settle at the sound of their voices. He felt less alone. He went to open his eyes. All four opened.

Samuel saw his clothes ripped lying on the ground underneath him. He saw his claws opened in front of him. And finally, he saw Callie on the ground gasping for air. Samuel shook violently in fear. She knew their secret. His secret. 

    Tanner and Lucy jumped into action. Tanner locked all the exterior doors, so no one could enter or leave. Lucy closed the blinds and then ran to get more clothes for her son.

    “Callie- I- See the thing- I just-” Samuel reached his arm out toward Callie which caused her to crawl backward at a speed the X didn’t think humans could move. Lucy ran into the room tossing him a set of clothes. “Here let me- Um- I’m going to change- I’m going to change back now.” He let his body shrink back to his human form, quickly putting on his pants. The memories of distress had now faded, as the fear of the moment took over.

    “Callie we can explain everything. You just have to promise not to leave until we do. Then you may do as you please.” Lucy tried to help the woman up, but she dodged her.

    “He- He- No- But he was human- Then he- An X,” Callie stuttered, “You- Are you also?”

    Lucy sighed and sat on the ground near the woman, as Tanner sat next to Samuel to help comfort him. “Yes, Samuel is an X, we are human though. Promise.”

    “How did he- How did he do that? Why is he here? He’s been tricking us. Shouldn’t you call the farm?”

    “NO! No farm. Please. I’ve worked so hard to get here. I need to save them. I can’t go back now. They’ll kill me. Then they’ll all die” Samuel jumped up, causing Callie to flinch backward.

    “Callie, look at him. You know Samuel. Samuel can speak English. He’s smart. He’s skilled. He has a true personality. He can feel and understand emotions. X’s aren’t what they told us. They’re not dangerous.” Tanner pleaded while coaxing his son to sit back down, but the boy just paced.

    “He attacked someone,” Callie spit. Tanner and Lucy’s heads whipped to Samuel.

    “I- It was an accident. His finger was fine. You said that it was caused by PTSD. Why is it different now? For goodness sake you humans are more violent than Xs. I’ve never seen an X hurt a human, well I guess until my panic attack. But I can’t count the amount of torment we receive from your kind.” 

    “Samuel calm down.”

    “No. No, I’m not gonna calm down. She saw me. The real me. And all of a sudde,n I’ve become nothing but dangerous. An object waiting to be returned to its owner. I know she’s surprised. But you’re right I have emotions, and right now I’m hurt. She’s been telling me for months that I can open up to her about anything. That she’s here for all minors. Well, I’m a minor, so why aren’t you here for me!” Samuel collapsed to his knees. “I just wanted your help. I was so scared. I feared myself. My brain. My past.”

    Tanner walked over to his son and just sat next to him, holding him to his chest. 

    “How old are you?”

    “He’s 14 really. I’m telling you the farms have been lying to us. Xs are just larger, and slightly scarier-looking humans. They also happen to be stronger and faster, but they’re curious beings. Samuel learned English in a year. A year! Plus, Xs have their own language.” Lucy started to shake. She hated seeing Samuel upset, it crushed her every time.

    “I just don’t understand,” Callie started to inch towards the crying X, “But I will listen. And if what you told me before, about your memories, is true, then I will help you, I suppose. But I can’t say I’m comfortable with this.”

    Samuel looked up and for the first time since he met her, he gave her a truly genuine smile and she, through her frightened eyes, returned the gesture. The three started to explain the last 6 years, adding one more to their Save The Xs team.