"Oh my goodness," Kody whispered. "What the fuck?""

"Stupid kid activated his ability, 'cause it's 'out of control' or some bullshit, and he killed them! He killed our fucking employee — oh, you know what, just… fucking…" Myra sighed and shook her head. "Kody, just get some help. Call Janson, Good god, it hasn't even been a full five hours and someone's already died!"

I still stared at the monstrous glob of a human on the floor, in spite of how horrible and disgusting it was. My gaze flickered to the crying boy, the sight of him making my chest ache. He had to deal with this? And he was… what? Just nine? Ten? 

What the actual hell?

A third guard looked at all the subjects and scientists who'd burst out of their rooms to see the commotion. "Return to usual business. The mess outside will be cleaned up soon."

Before I could process the situation, Kody grabbed me by the arm and shoved me back into my testing room. Slamming the door, he walked away, leaving me with the two scientists that stared at me with… shock? Confusion? Anger?

It was probably all three.

The man rubbed his temples. "Okay, we're just gonna set aside what happened just now, and you're just gonna sit down for the rest of your time here. Got that? I don't care why you ran off, but don't do it again. Now sit. All that's left is to draw your blood. You'll be out soon."

My gut twisted rapidly, knees weakening. His voice sounded just like Shiro's now: cold, harsh, and snappy. No matter how much I wanted to shake it, the similarities were undeniable…

I checked my watch. 12:10 already; maybe time flew faster than I expected. I thought it was still 11. 

The man drummed his fingers on the table. "Are you going to sit down, or what?"

I didn't want to sit in that chair again, but I had to. No other choice.

My hand would not stop shaking as I rolled up the sleeve of my sweater. This time, the woman raised the syringe, and I flinched violently before resettling.

Damn it, could I just get my nerves under control for one fucking second? 

"You're twenty-one." Her darkly-glazed eyes stared down at me, silently saying one word: pathetic.

"You should have done plenty of bloodwork in your life. This should be nothing." 

Chilly fear clashed with the sudden burst of raging anger in my chest. My trembling jaw jutted open slightly, but I shrank back in my chair as I slowly closed my mouth. 

"It's not your job to point that out." 

That was what I would have said if I wasn't quivering so hard I couldn't speak.

"Do you have something to say?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. 

I shook my head. 

She went back to doing her job. As she lowered the syringe closer to my arm, I clenched the fabric of my pants and squeezed my eyes shut. 

Only a pinch. Only a little pinch went through my arm. No stabbing or shouting or slipping on gasoline-covered stairs or seeing the hallway get lit on fire. No scorching heat or heavy breaths or impending near-death. Just a pinch. 

No danger, just a pinch. 

…It still didn't sit right with me. 

With a quick swab of cotton and a bandage plastered on top, the scientist finished up her test. 

"This will be used as a sample for our experimental group. We're studying DNA samples to test the theory that superpowers come from some sort of genetic mutation."

"If this experiment doesn't yield results, then we have other backup theories we'll test out on you guys," the man added. 

"And… once you do find out the cause for abilities?" I asked, my throat dry and aching. 

His gaze hardened. 

"We know what to do next. We simply can't tell you yet."

My gut dropped at that comment. 

What… what did he mean by that? Why couldn't he say anything?

"Get up," he ordered. "You're done. Now head outside, and don't cause any more trouble for the poor souls who have to deal with you next."

"We know what to do next. We simply can't tell you yet."

The words stuck in my head throughout the entire walk from the ES to where’d we'd do our "ability showcasing"— or whatever the schedule called it.

I tried to find every rational reason they wouldn't tell me anything. Maybe it was just rules. Maybe they were covering up the fact that, I don't know, they didn't really have a well thought-out plan for what they'd do after. Maybe I was overthinking all of this. I mean, I was already terrified of them just because they looked like Shiro and Kennedy, so I could have been overreacting… right? 

Still, no logical reasoning helped, so I turned to distraction. My eyes trailed over to the rest of our group. Melissa talked quietly with Elaine. Cassian was staring at the floor. Cillian stuck pretty close to us, while Adalynne and the others distanced themselves. 

And… the little boy who was once with us was no longer here. 

I bumped shoulders with Cassian by accident. 

"Sorry," we mumbled simultaneously.

Silence followed after, which was typical. This was Cassian I was talking to, after all.

But then, in a small voice, he said, "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" I rose a brow. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, you — you sort of… shouted a lot back there. And ran. And screamed. And… yeah, you looked really scared."

"Well, you — you sort of… shouted a lot back there. And ran. And screamed. And… yeah, you looked really scared."

Oh, he was talking about when I booked it out of the scientist's room. "I'm fine. How'd you know about that, actually? I thought everyone was focused on the… melted scientist."

"I stepped out to take a bathroom break." He fidgeted with his fingers. "Then I heard you all of a sudden, and… you know…."

"Ah, right, right." I swallowed.  "Well, I'm fine now; sorry if that concerned you. Thanks for worrying, though."

This was embarrassing. I ruined someone's potty trip with my mental breakdown…

Cassian nodded, and then we turned down the hall, where the guards stopped.

I looked up. This was another entryway that opened up to an even bigger room, with larger doors spread out across the wall.

"Welcome to the AE site," Kody said. "Stands for 'Ability Examination.' It's pretty much like the ES. Ya head to the door with your number on it, and the person inside tells ya the rest. Once you're done, wait out here 'till everyone's wrapped up. Plain and simple. Let's hope nobody fucking dies this time, 'kay? Now scram."

Wow. What a lovely introduction.

We dispersed quicker and quieter this time, not wanting to stick around the guards for much longer. Room 01 was across the hall this time. Let's hope there weren't any people who eerily resembled anyone from my past this time around.

Carefully, I entered.

The air here was frigid, and this was coming from someone who loved all things ice and snow. Hell, I'd go to Gayle City — the half-abandoned slums on the north side of Codex, always covered in thick sheets of white — and sit on the freezing ground that sit in here. Shuddering violently, I slammed the door shut and surveyed the place. 

This room was a tad bit larger compared to the one I'd previously been in. Cool blue lights hung from the rail on the wall in front of me, with deactivated red strobe lights dotting the sides. My feet tapped lightly on the muted gray floor as I gazed at the glass wall on my right. A large desk sat behind it, covered in computer monitors and screens and all sorts of technology.

"Recruit 01, Talia Mako. Ability: hydrokinesis," boomed a voice across the room.

I jumped. "Who-who is that?"

My gaze flickered to the glass wall, and then the desk behind it, covered in tech. A woman's face peeked out from behind a computer screen. The name tag on her purple uniform read "Katherine" in bold letters. 

"Just reading off the info form I got about you." Katherine cleared her throat. "We need you to run through certain tests to observe your ability. Our priority is to monitor it and see how it works. For now, at least. Start by taking off your ability restrictor over there." The woman's finger pointed to the small circular platform — the same one that had given me the monitor band — near the door, but this time, it portruded from the wall instead of a separate platform.

I walked over and hovered my wrist over it, and then came the familiar red flash over my wrist. Within a split second, my band was gone. 

A grin stretched across my face, but it faded when Katherine said, "It'll come back on once this is done. Don't think you're gonna be running loose after this."

Oh well. What else was I expecting?

Katherine went from her seat to the glass wall and pushed open a rectangular portion of it — well, pushed open a door, in simpler terms — before walking over to me. She dug through her pocket and pulled out a red-and-black device that looked like a cross between an earbud and a hearing aid.

"Stick this in your ear." Katherine handed the object to me. 

"What… what's it for?" I asked, taking it in my hand and lifting it up. 

"It'll help monitor your your brain activity and thoughts."

"My thoughts?" 

Ice ran down my spine, frosting my bones. 

This woman did not need to know the inside of my mind — partly because of the obvious invasion of privacy, but also because she would seriously regret hearing what went on in my brain.

"It's for safety," Katherine explained. "See, you're free to use your power here, and that comes with risks. This device that translates your brainwaves into your current thoughts, retells the info to me, and if you're seriously considering hurting someone or breaking out of here, then I'll be prepared. Plus, we want to see if superpowers have any correlation with the mind, so it's also part of the training."

Okay, what? No. No, no, no. None of this sat right with me.

From what I knew, Exelonians had natural mind-reading abilities from birth, yet they were beat up, imprisoned, and tortured for it, because nobody wants their thoughts heard by someone else, even if that "someone else" kept their power under control. But now it was like Codex had noooo problem with the whole mind-reading, brain-searching thing when it came to superhumans. Hypocrites. 

Biting my tongue, I nodded anyway. Like the scared, compliant little rat I was. 

It wasn't like I had a choice, I reminded myself. It wasn't like I had a choice.

... The shame remained all the same, though.