The blaring noise that echoed through my room had been a typical sound for the last twelve years. I rolled onto my back and peered up at the ceiling. The binding was digging into me. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, and the stupid thing was acting up. I threw off the covers and tried to dig my fingers under the metal band on my right leg. The left one was tight but didn’t hurt as bad.

“Eiko,” said a voice from the intercom.

I didn’t respond. They had plenty of cameras in the room to monitor me. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.

“I’ll be up in an hour to get you for your yearly evaluation. Please be ready by then,” said Astrid.

I didn’t acknowledge what she said.

“Please confirm you received the message.”

I lifted my middle finger into the air and scanned it across the room to make sure every camera had a good view. The bands tightened on my arms and legs. It made my stomach turn.

“Anger is the enemy, Eiko. Please control your temper.”

My hand dropped to my side as I breathed heavily. I slowly lifted myself out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. I needed to wash my hair, but the water stung whenever it touched the skin around the bands. It was probably raw underneath. I turned on the tub and adjusted the temperature. I stuck my head under the water. The long black strands covered my face and the drain. I relaxed against the side and watched the tub fill. Grabbing the soap bottle, I poured some into my hands and worked it through my hair to the ends. It needed to be cut again, but I’d do it later. I did another round before rinsing out the suds and grabbing a towel. I scrunched the ends until they weren’t dripping before sitting on the toilet and starting the task of untangling the mass covering my face.

“Breakfast, Eiko.”

The door closed, and the locks snapped back into place. I continued combing through my hair.

“Breakfast is in ten minutes,” said a muffled voice.

I sat up straight and listened.

“They’re pretty strict about being on time.”

Tiptoeing to the door, I peeked out of the bathroom and scanned my room.

“Thanks, I’ll be right down,” said a female voice.

I spotted my food tray in its usual spot on the table next to the door. I slipped to the wall that was shared with another room. I knelt and pressed my ear against it.

“Are you sure about this room?” asked the woman.

“It’s fine. It’s bigger than the others they’d shown me.”

“As long as you’re sure and know what’s next door.”

I frowned at the comment.

“I’ll be fine. I am a healer.”

“True. I think you’ll like it here. This facility is known for its healer magic.”

I swallowed hard. Someone was moving in next to me. It had been years since that room had someone in it.

“Be careful,” said a woman with a sharp tone. “You could change at any time. There are plenty of other rooms. They may be smaller, but it might be worth it.”

My chest tightened, triggering the bands to squeeze. Gritting my teeth, I rose to my feet and marched to the bathroom. I didn’t hurt or attack people. I never had. I broke a few things, but I never tried to hurt someone on purpose. Taking a wash rag, I wiped down my body before trying to wring out more of the water from my hair. That woman’s words wouldn’t leave my head. Why were they scared of me? They knew nothing about me. I hadn’t given them any reason to be afraid. It was all because of Astrid. She made them scared of me. I wasn’t a wild animal.

A blue light flickered from my hand, and I dropped to the ground when it felt like my limbs were going to be crushed. My skin seared with pain. The bands were close to cutting into me. I needed to calm down.

“Eiko.”

My head snapped to the doorway. I hadn’t heard the door opening due to the pain. “It hasn’t been an hour,” I stated.

Astrid leaned against the frame. “You’re struggling today.”

“Go away.”

“You know I can’t do that. The general is coming to see your progress.”

“General Mayer can fuck off.”

She arched a brow. “This is why you lost technology privileges.”

“I don’t fuck care.” I met her gaze. “You and the rest of those bastards can blow this world to hell, and I’d be fine with it.”

“Because you’d be one of the lucky few to survive,” she said in an airy voice.

Lowering my head, I took a deep breath. “Go away. You said I had an hour.”

“They’re going to cut you. The one on your forearm is bleeding.”

“Then take them off!” I slammed my fist into the side of the tub.

“Eiko,” she snapped. “You break that, and you’ll be kept in confinement until we can fix it.”

My arms started to pull to my sides.

“Stop it!” I demanded. “Stop it! Let me go.”

Astrid moved closer to look me over. “You’ve made yourself bleed again. When are you going to learn to calm down?”

“Release it, now!” I fought to make my arms move.

She touched my forehead, where my first tattoo was located. “Do you need to take a nap?”

I wanted to bite her finger off, but I shook my head instead.

“I think you need to.”

“I said no!”

“You need to rest. We’ll do the other students first, and you can be last.”

“Fuck you, fuck you!” I fell onto my side and kicked a hole through the cabinet.

My head snapped back as the tattoo on my forehead was activated.

Astraid moved my head onto her lap. “Go to sleep, Eiko. We’ll have a healer fix you up, and then you’ll be ready to see the general.”

“Stop, stop,” I gasped.

“Don’t fight. There’s no point.” She arched a brow. “I always win in the end.”

***

When I opened my eyes, I was startled by the head of bright blond hair instead of Astrid's frizzy curls.

The girl jerked away, wide-eyed.

“It’s fine.” Astrid pointed to the center of my chest, where she had imprinted a black string of symbols. “That one is activated and will keep him from moving. But hurry, it has around a twenty-minute time limit before he breaks it.”

The bands were off and sitting on a cart. I felt a soothing energy enter my arm, and the red and broken skin began to heal.

“He has a lot of tattoos,” whispered the girl.

When she turned around, I spotted one on the back of her neck. It wasn’t put there for decoration. I had the same one on my neck that told Astrid my location. This girl wasn’t the manipulator type who ran around using sealing magic to force people to do what they wanted—like Astrid. She must be a new healer.

“He’s strong,” said Astrid. “I’m guessing you can sense it.”

She nodded. “There’s a lot of energy inside him. More than I ever felt before.”

My hand flinched when she touched the back. “This one seals in his magic, right?”

Astrid nodded. “Partially. I couldn’t seal all of it. That one keeps it at a controllable level. We’re working on a new seal that will let us adjust the level.”

She smiled at me. “Hi Eiko, I’m Hellana. I live next door to you. I’m going to be studying here and helping you out when needed. I’m a healer who specializes in healer magic.”

I stared at her. Was she the one who moved in next door? She wasn’t like that other healer Astrid brought into my room.

“Can he not speak yet?” she asked.

“Eiko normally only talks to me. He’s usually swearing at me to get out, so count yourself lucky.” She took out a cigar and lit it.

I glared at the woman.

“That’s not healthy,” said Hellana.

Astrid blew out. “I have plenty of healers around to draw out the impurities.”

“I mean for him.” She motioned to me. "Secondhand smoke is just as dangerous, and Eiko is already in a lot of discomfort.”

“Hmm…” Astrid left the room. “I’ll send the guards to get him for his review. You can leave when you’re finished. Shut the door, and it will lock automatically.”

Hellanna checked my body one more time. Taking a deep breath, she stood. “I believe I’ve done all I can. Good luck today. Meeting with government officials always makes me nervous. They like to judge everything about you, it seems. Astrid put your clothes on the couch.” She pointed to the pile on her way to the door. “I guess I’ll see you later.” She gave a slight wave and stepped into the hall.

The door closed, and the locks snapped into place. The movement started to return to my limbs. Slowly sitting up, I scooted against the headboard and rubbed my arms and legs. It was nice to have the bands off.