Chapter Five: Look At Me

The first thing I heard was sirens blaring in the distance. I could feel myself floating once again with nothing but the stars above me for comfort. It all went black. The next thing I saw was flashing lights and obscured people moving chunks of concrete 

 of a body while I was being dragged away. It all went black. It was becoming clear to me that I was slipping in and out of consciousness. I felt like I had just been struck by lightning. There wasn’t any other explanation I could come up with. A rogue bolt 

cided to screw me in the middle of a bridge. I found myself staring up at the roof of what I thought was an ambulance. A couple of people in uniforms rushed around me, one getting frustrated at a monitor suddenly blowing on her. I caught a glimpse of a 

an in a black suit standing outside before they shut the doors. It all went black. What the hell was happening to me? My body was shaking. Light after light shown overhead. Voices all muffled together. I didn’t bother to try to look around at my 

rroundings. It all went black.

The next duration of consciousness left me with watching the man in the suit standing over me as he spoke to another man dressed in the same manner. They reminded me of the Men in Black. Maybe they were. At least then I would have had some 

m of explanation. The ringing in my ears drowned out their voices in low, muffled tones. The man on my right would glance at me from time to time during his discussion with the other man. A smile came to his face as he pulled a cellphone from his 

zer. He put the phone to his ear and smiled at me once again. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. So, I hoped his smile meant good news for me. Just as I was starting to move a finger, it all went black. Again. 

It stayed black for what seemed like a long time. Long enough for me to have a dream. I was standing on a gravel rooftop watching a boy dangle a woman in the air before dropping her. I felt the panic seize my muscles, but relief struck me when I 

w another individual save the falling woman. The individual was being hailed a hero. My dream showed this hero performing incredible acts of bravery. After a few shifts in the scenes, I noticed the people beginning to turn on the individual. They 

rrounded him. Blamed him. Sought to harm him with their weapons. I watched as the hero died before me, and in his death gave birth to something sinister. The world was thrown into flames. There was screaming. There was agony. There were many 

ading for mercy. I could feel all of it. It left me horrified to see all of the sickening images of death and decay in the abandoned streets and ruined buildings against a red sky. It was like a montage of blood and faces I haven’t seen before. A pair of gray 

es. The gravel somehow turned to sand, and I was standing alone on a beach. The sand was red. The water was dark. Then there was something beautiful taking place in the sky. Before I had time to figure it out, I felt a presence behind me. 

“Desley?” 

My eyes snapped opened to a darkened ceiling, but there was plenty of light to illuminate my surroundings. I could feel sensation in my body as I moved to sit up. My eyes were drawn to the hospital gown first. So, that answered that question. Before 

ssumed too much, I noticed very odd about my room, if I could call it that. The hospital room was surrounded in glass. It was a completely transparent box sitting in the darkness of a much larger room. Whoever placed me here was clearly trying to be 

endly about it. There were fake plants sitting on the bedside table. I had plenty of blankets at the foot of my hospital bed. A meal had been waiting for me on the other side of the bed on a tray along with a maroon shirt and a pair of navy sweatpants. I 

shed the tray away from the bed so I could test standing up. I swung my legs over and placed my feet on the tile. I slowly pushed myself to my feet, shaky at first until my muscles adjusted. As strange as it was to me, I felt rather invigorated. I reached for 

e sweatpants and pulled them on underneath the gown before slipping off the hideous patient uniform and putting the maroon shirt on. While getting my head through the shirt, my hands brushed across my scalp. Immediately, I knew something was 

ong. I patted my scalp again in distraught. 

“My hair! Where’s my hair!?” I felt around for it, hoping it was just lack of sensation in my hands.

“What did you expect after setting off an electric charge like that?” A voice came from behind me. 

I kept my hands on my head as I spun around in surprise, seeing the suited man from before standing on the other side of the glass. A million thoughts raced through my head, but the most prominent one was hoping he wasn’t standing there long 

ough to see me get dressed. He was an older man, now that I was able to see him more clearly. He looked to be reaching his late 40’s. Black suit and pepper hair, I almost wanted to ask him if I was involved in an extraterrestrial experience. 

“For the sake of everything that is holy, please tell me I wasn’t probed anywhere unholy,” were the only words I could manage to say to him. 

The man chuckled, “I can assure you that you were not violated in any such way, Desley.” He slipped his hands inside his pockets. “Actually, you’re in quite an extraordinary position.”

“I don’t even know what my position is, sir. What am I doing here? What’s with the cube?”

The man turned away from me and walked into the darkness. “All of your questions will be answered shortly, Desley.”

I wanted them answer now. I called for him to come back because some part of me didn’t want to be there by myself. The cube alone was already unsettling. Even if I didn’t know the guy, it was still nice to have someone to talk to in the weird 

uation I was in. I think that’s what I wanted the most. I wanted someone to talk to. To listen to me. To explain all of the strange things happening to me. Naked feet on the cold floor, I approached the glass to get a better look of what was beyond. The 

mination from my prison didn’t cover much of the floor, but I had doubts I was in a hospital. From what I could see of the floor outside of the cube, it was dark. It was a brownish color like the floors of a warehouse or a local grocery store. I could barely 

e some obscured objects near me that looked like equipment. Possibly. I spent a few minutes thinking of what they could be, but nothing was coming to mind. I concluded that it may have been a generator of some sorts to give myself temporary peace of 

nd. 

I left the glass to wander and pace around the little amount of space I was given. I looked around for a clock, but I couldn’t find one. It was a coin toss whether it was day or night. I thought that my mother must have been worried sick about me by 

w. Then my memory came back to it. Thomas. I had no idea if Thomas was okay or not. I didn’t want to think about anything else that happened on the bridge. I thought my life was going decently normal up until a few weeks ago. I had a good home life. 

ings were okay at school. I had a great best friend. I never thought in a million years that I would end up in a cube. In this predicament with a suspicious fellow in a suit. I eventually did what every teenager would do. I got on the floor and gave up on life 

til further notice. 

My discontinuation on life lasted for about an hour when a group of men came out of the darkness and stood in front of the cube. 

“Desley? Desley Morgan?” A man’s voice caught my attention. 

I sat up to see the group of men before me. There were five total, including the suited man. The rest of them were dressed casually underneath lab coats, which made me feel like I was truly part of some alien experiment. I examined each one 

refully. They all looked around the same age. Thirties. Maybe forties. One of them may have been pushing fifty. A blonde man was at the head of them, obviously the one calling the shots. The one behind all of them, still shrouded in the shadows with the 

ception of the cube light gleaming off his glasses, stood out to me the most. Something in me made me strangely aware of his presence. 

The blonde man looked down at me. “Can you hear me okay?”

I nodded my head and stood up. 

“Good, good. How are you feeling right now? Are you comfortable? Experiencing any pain?”

“No, not at the moment. Thanks.”

“I imagine this must be very confusing for you. I apologize for the lack of proper introduction, but as you may or may not know by now�"“

“That this is an extraordinary position I’m in?” I cut him off, already knowing what the blonde man was going to say. 

The blonde man smiled and glanced back at the man in the glasses before turning his attention back to me. “Yes, that is correct. Very good, Desley.” 

“And before you continue whatever it is you’re about to say, which is probably going to sound like some poorly written info commercial about how rubbers cause cancer, I want some questions answered. Like, who in the hell are you people?” 

The man with the glasses chuckled behind everyone while the rest either looked at each other or got stuck in their train of thought. 

The blonde gentleman clasped his hands together. “That is an excellent question, Desley.” He extended his arms out as he referred to his colleagues. “These gentlemen and I are part of a research group interested in studying people, such as 

urself, who are capable of mind-blowing abilities. We were notified of some of the events surrounding you and have been watching you for the last few weeks to see if there was a need to intervene or not. At first, we thought there was nothing too 

riguing going on with you that wouldn’t last more than a couple months�"but how you’ve certainly proved us wrong.” The blonde man smiled at the end of his words.

“What do you mean?” 

Two of the men disappeared off to the side for a moment before coming back with a monitor positioned on a trolly of some sorts. They turned on the monitor as the blonde man kept speaking, but by then I was more focused on what they were about 

show me and tuned the man out. I could feel it in my bones. 

“Desley.” The blonde man worked at my attention. “I need you to understand that what you’re about to see might be shocking to you�"and unbelievable. Just know there was nothing you could have done.”

I glanced at the man, myself becoming unsure if I wanted to continue my quest for answers. The monitor lit up with a scene from a bridge, and there was no backing out now. The images captured were obviously taken from a security camera. At first, 

thing was happening. A car or two had passed by, but nothing else other than that. Five minutes into the video, I saw two people walking side-by-side on the bridge’s sidewalk. I knew it was Thomas and I. I was about to relive my nightmare when I saw 

other car come to a stop, Keith and his boys surrounding us on the bridge. I watched how Thomas tried to defend me. Then the beatings started. I covered my mouth as I watched the boys take their revenge on Thomas, hardly able to stomach watching 

em bludgeon him all over again. I could see how helpless I was in those distressful moments. Then there was Kyler. I saw Kyler approach me from behind and strike me with his bat. I could feel the pain in my head return as I watched. The images 

owed me struggling to get back up, pleading with the boys to stop. Keith was pointing his knife, and I saw Kyler reaching for me, grabbing me by my arm. The blonde man was right in telling me that I wouldn’t believe the things I would see. In truth, I didn’t 

nt to believe it despite what the security camera captured. 

It was horrifying.

As soon as Kyler grabbed my arm, it appeared as if he imploded. Blood had covered one side of my body, and I watched as what remained of his hand lost its grip on my arm. I heard one of the men near the monitor comment on how he was 

scinated by this defense mechanism, and I really didn’t understand the meaning behind his words. I kept watching. In the footage, my arm was stretched out. In a flash, one of the other boys beating on Thomas had been flung through the air and 

ashed into Keith’s car. Another boy ran off in fright followed by Keith beginning to approach me with his knife. I stood there and waited for the lightning to strike, but instead, as Keith came closer, a light began to form under my feet. The space around me 

peared to bend and shift like heat coming off asphalt. The light beneath my feet grew and eventually engulfed me entirely. Then the light seemingly exploded and blurred the security camera where the footage ended. 

I was speechless. 

The blonde man had them roll the monitor away so as to grab my attention again. He started by saying there was nothing left of the bridge where all of this had taken place. After that, I tuned his voice out. I was only focused on one thing and one 

ng only. 

“Where’s Thomas? What happened to Tom?” I looked at the blonde man in his eyes. 

He fell silent for a moment before saying, “He’s alive. We found him in the rubble.”

I would have felt intensely relieved if it weren’t for the grim expression on his face. Something told me he wasn’t giving me all of the information. “And?” 

“In my opinion, Desley, I don’t think it would have made a difference. He’s alive, yes, but,” he stopped and looked back at the man in the glasses, who gave him a nod, “But he’s paralyzed from the neck down with massive brain damage. He survived, 

t he won’t have a life after this.” 

My stomach sank and twisted on its way down to my knees. 

“As for the other boys, we found one survivor. He lost an arm and hit his head pretty hard, so odds are he won’t remember any of this. We found the body of another boy. The one remaining at the end of the video is still missing. Even though we 

ow what happened to the boy who grabbed our arm, we’ve had the police declare him missing as well. The footage was never released to investigators.” 

“I want to see him. I want to see Thomas. I want to see my mom.” I felt the tears beginning to swell in my eyes. 

An oriental man came forward from the group. “We know this must be very hard for you, but we can’t let you see anyone at this time without first knowing what you’re capable of. This is for your safety and the safety of those around you.” 

“So, the cube thing is more or less meant for your protection.” 

“Precisely, Desley.” The oriental brought a clipboard in front of him. “We just want to run a few tests.”

“What kinds of tests?” I wasn’t up for anything complicated.

“Nothing hard, I can assure you.” The blonde man chimed in. “We just need to determine your grasp on your abilities and see what your full potential is with them. If you can pass our test, then you’ll be free to leave the cube and see your mother and 

omas.” 

I didn’t say anything more for I didn’t see a need to. So, I only nodded in compliance. I had my goals set on getting out of this place. Part of me was still holding out for hope that this was some kind of prank. A very elaborate prank. Those boys 

ren’t dead. Thomas wasn’t hurt. I was still living a normal life at home with my mother. Perhaps, by now, Thomas and I would have been shacked up the living room watching one of our favorite television shows or trying to beat each other in a video 

me. My mother would be in the kitchen fixing us dinner, occasionally coming out and telling us to keep it down. Maybe there would be a knock at the door, and my father would return home after having been gone for so many years. I wouldn’t ask 

estions. I would just be happy to have a completed family again. I held tight to these thoughts although they were clearly not my reality. I escaped to them as often as I could between the testing and the frustration that followed. 

The men brought in a table and set it up directly in front of me. The blonde man, who finally introduced himself as Markus, placed a paperclip in the center of it. He told me we get around to the purpose of the paperclip later. Instead, he wanted to 

rt off with some easy. A game. Markus told me that he was thinking of a random color, and he wanted me to guess what color it was. I could see where he was going with this. Staring into his eyes for what seemed like a lifetime, I waited for the answer to 

agically come to me. Red. Blue. Yellow. Maybe orange. He seemed like a Fanta man. So, I guessed orange. 

It was cranberry mocha. 

It was incredibly specific. 

Markus then informed me that he would give me an easier task before placing one hand behind his back. I was told to guess how many fingers he was holding up. The other men near him had their clipboards at the ready, scribbling away with their 

ncils anytime I so much as blinked. I tried to focus again and wait for the answer to come to me. If I had any so called abilities, truly, I had no idea how any of them worked. I was beginning to feel a little stupid for participating. I thought to myself that if this 

ally had turned out to be a huge joke, they were going to need the glass wall between us. Eventually, I spoke up and guessed four. Markus gave a disappointed sigh before telling me he had three fingers up. 

Over the course of the next couple hours, all of the tests consisted of guessing games. As annoyed as I was getting with continuously getting the answers wrong, I also figured it was a good sign. If I had no abilities, I wasn’t a danger to anyone. If I 

sn’t a danger to anyone, then I could leave. I could leave and finally see my mother. Thinking about my mother made me wonder, again, if she knew where I was. I’m sure news had gotten around by now. I didn’t want to think about what I watched on the 

onitor. 

My attention was turned to the table with the paperclip. One final test. Markus didn’t sound optimistic about this one either. 

“This test is simple. All I want you to do, Desley, is try to move the paperclip in any way that you would like.” Markus said. 

“What happens if I can’t move the paperclip? Will I be able to go home?” I looked at him, my chest filling with hope. 

Markus scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “I have to be honest, I’m not sure. No results doesn’t give us an answer, and we may have to hold you over for a while until we get something. We just have to be certain you’re not a danger to 

yone. You can take as long as you like with this test.” He started to walk away from me. “The test won’t end until you move the paperclip.” 

My hopes crashed and burned. All I wanted to do was leave. There was no focusing on moving a paperclip when I knew I couldn’t do it. I was getting aggravated the longer I stood there and watched the men watching me. I was like the new attraction 

the city zoo. These people were only waiting for me to do a trick or roar at them. Anything to get their money’s worth. I could feel it in my chest that I was going to roar at them. I cursed at them for keeping me detained like an animal, and I refused to 

ntinue on with the ridiculous tests they were putting me through. Move the paperclip? This wasn’t a science fiction movie, and I was not going to have a part in it any further. So, I did what any teenager my age would do. I threw a small fit, which consisted 

cussing out the men in lab coats and flipping my middle finger at them. I stated my resignation from the lunacy they had me performing. The suited man approached the glass in an attempt to reason with me, but that only ended with me, again, smacking 

y middle finger against the glass where his face was. I wasn’t having it anymore. 

I had my tantrum, and it was something that was long overdo in my defense. I stood by my bed with my arms crossed, trying not to scratch my head any time I felt an itch so as to not remind myself that I was missing hair. That much didn’t make 

prove my mood at all. I could only guess how much time went by. Eventually, some of the men began to take their attention among themselves. It was a shame they didn’t leave my sight altogether. I began to pace around the small space I had. The food 

at had been waiting for me since I woke up had since then turned cold, which was fine because I was anything but hungry. I was afraid to touch it, if I were to be completely honest. Thoughts of Thomas ran wild through my mind, and I hoped he was doing 

ay. Whether what they were saying was true or not, I knew for certain what had initially happened to him. I was skeptical on everything else. I think others would have referred to it as denial. 

I was sitting at the foot of the hospital bed when I heard a door open and shut echo in the darkness. I looked up, expecting someone else to come forward to try to convince me to move the paperclip. The other men didn’t say anything as a figure 

came less and less enveloped the closer it came to the light. I could see the outline, the mannerisms in the movement, and my heart was filled with joy for the first time since waking up. 

“Mom!” I shouted as I ran up to her. I would have tackled her if it weren’t for the glass being in my way. 

“Desley.” She smiled as she came closer to the glass.

“Mom, I’ve missed you so much!” I could hardly contain myself, my brain running faster than my mouth was able to match. “I can’t believe it’s you! I didn’t think I was ever going to see you. I’m trapped in here. They won’t let me go. I mean, can I go 

w? Is that why you’re here? Is it time to go home? 

My mother’s gaze remained soft as she looked down at me, but she didn’t say anything. She carried a half smile that made me happy at first, but now I was starting to feel worried. 

“Mom?” My voice cracked. “Are we going home now?”

She placed her hand against the glass. “My Desley,” she began, “I’m sorry about all of this. I truly am.” 

“What do you mean?”

“You can’t come home with me, babe.” She pulled her hand away. “I was hoping so much that this wouldn’t pass on to you.” 

My chest felt like it was caving in. “What are you saying, mom? I just want to go home now. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

My mother shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Desley. Just know that none of this is your fault.” I could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I never wanted any of this for you, and I was hoping so much that you were going to be different. 

at you weren’t going to be effected by your father.” 

“Dad? You’re not making any sense to me, mom. What does dad have to do with this? There’s nothing wrong with me! I just want to go home with you!” I started to raise my voice at her, slowly sinking to my knees because I suddenly felt weak. 

“I am so sorry, Desley, but you can’t come home.” My mother got on her knees to be level with me. “These people are here to help you now. They’ll take care of you, and you’ll be much safer with them.”

“I don’t understand, mom.” Tears were starting to escape my eyes. I didn’t have the courage to look at her.

My mother fell silent as I sat on my knees and let the tears drop one-by-one onto my hands. I hated the glass wall that kept us apart, and I was willing to give anything just to be in my mother’s arms. Nothing prepared me for any of this, and I didn’t 

ow how to respond. 

“Desley, I’m sorry.” She apologized once more. “I just wanted to see you one last time�"because I can’t be your mother anymore.”

Her words struck me like a bullet through my heart. I felt like my world had just been ripped away from me, leaving me to drift into a black abyss. For a second, I couldn’t move. I had forgotten how to breathe. Even as she began to stand up, my body 

used to listen to me. I could hear her walking away from the cube, and I forced myself to stand up, placing my hands against the glass for support. 

“Mom!” I called to her, but she ignored me. “Mom, come back!” I tried to yell, but she paid no attention to me. The paperclip shifted. “Mom, wait! Don’t leave me here! Please!” I started to sob, the anguish overtaking my voice. “I love you! Please, 

me back!” I pounded on the glass, unaware that the paperclip on the table jumped. I pleaded over and over for her to turn around, slamming my hands into the glass as the paperclip began to jump. I saw her stop and exchange words with the man in the 

sses, and it infuriated me. The guilt. The fear. The anguish in my heart. Now, I was feeling consumed with something aggressive, dark, spawning from the depths of the pain I felt. Rejection. 

“LOOK AT ME!” I screamed as I slammed my fist into the glass wall, and everything around me inside the cube exploded. The glass shattered as debris was shot in every possible direction. The table splintered and launched at the men, each of them 

nning for cover. Markus pulled my mother out of the way, but not quick enough to avoid her being struck by a leg of the table in her shoulder. A wave of force rolled through the room and knocked everyone off of their feet. I could feel it escaping my body 

e a bomb being set off. My heart was racing, and I thought I had died once again�"but I didn’t. On the contrary, I felt more alive in that split second than I ever had in my life. The power that exploded from my body felt invigorating, making the hairs on my 

m stand up in a layer of goosebumps. It was because of this that I also became very afraid of it. 

The air began to settle, dust particles and foam from the now demolished bed drifting around me. The room had darkened from the cube light being knocked out, but one man in the darkness shined a light on me. An emergency light illuminated in the 

ck, giving away the silhouettes of everyone else in the room with me. I could barely see my mother lying on the ground next to Markus, gripping her shoulder tight. I held my hand up to block the light in my face as no one uttered a single word. 

“I’m sorry.” I softly said to all of them before fatigue attacked my body and I fell to the floor. 

Lights out. Again. 

Sometime later, Markus along with the man with the glasses met in a security room after the incident. Unlike the others, who were shaken up, the two men were excited and in awe at what they had just witnessed. Even the security guard, who 

tched everything take place on a monitor from the safety of his office, was stunned. Markus ran his hands through his hair as the other lit a cigarette and sat down in a chair opposite him. 

“Well, needless to say, you were right.” Markus said. 

“Surge response to emotional triggers. Just like before.” Glasses leaned forward to rest his arms on his legs. “Still�"I didn’t expect such advanced results. It’s truly magnificent.”

“And dangerous.” 

“Come again?”

“Hector,” Markus looked stern, “she’s like nothing we’ve encountered. I know this is part of Daniel’s work, and we’ve seen this before, but we don’t know what she can be truly capable of. I mean, she’s still a kid. It’s obvious that her abilities are 

redibly underdeveloped. If her abilities truly are triggered by emotional stress, we could be dealing with an extremely dangerous human being.”

“So, what do you expect me to do? Put her down because she’s a risk? You’re right in saying that we don’t know what she’s capable of�"but it could be good or bad. Desley might be the key to everything.” Hector argued.

“You said that about Daniel, too.”

“Well, Daniel got cocky. Not my fault his little experiment got out of control.”

“And you think you can control this one?”

“it’s better to teach children when they’re young.” Hector had taken a drag of his cigarette. “Besides, this is what our job is. Teaching. No child is incapable of being taught how to control themselves, and I’m not going to deny this one just because she 

akes you nervous.” 

“You make me nervous.” Markus turned his attention to the monitors, watching medics escort the others out while another group of men cleaned up the area.

Hector clapped his hands together and smiled. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!” 

I woke up with blurry vision and feeling groggy. I could feel that I was back in a bed once again, my legs covered up with a blanket. I slowly sat up and looked ahead to see that I was also back in a glass cube. Was it a dream? If it was, it was an 

tremely lucid one. If it was, then I had hope that none of what happened had actually happened. Even still, waking up to being in the glass cube once again didn’t alter my situation whether it was a dream or not. I saw two men standing off to the side 

yond the glass talking to what appeared to be a nurse. Possibly a doctor. I squinted to see if I could recognize them.

“Quite impressive talent you have there, Desley Morgan.” A voice startled me. 

I jerked my head to the left and saw the man with the glasses sitting next to the bed. I wasn’t able to open my mouth to speak at first.

“The rest were starting to have their doubts about you, but you sure did prove them wrong.” He smiled at me.

“Who are you?” I stammered, my voice weak. 

The man pushed his glasses in place. “I’m Hector Adolf Kingsley. I’m the head psychologist for children of your�"talents.”

“Oh, is that what you call it?” I narrowed my eyes at him, not being overly thrilled at his presence. 

“I get that you’re upset. Anyone would be. Just know that what’s being done is for your well being and your mother’s.” Hector crossed his legs and laced his fingers together.

I sneered at his remark and turned my head away. “I don’t want any part of this.” 

“You don’t want help?”

“I don’t want to be some freak show experiment for you and those asshats in the lab coats to poke at!” I snapped at him, seeing a crack suddenly stretch across the sense of his glasses. 

Hector didn’t flinch. He simply removed his glasses and examined the lenses. “You have more in common with your father than I expected.” 

He gained my interest for a second. “My father?”

“Daniel, yes. Smart man. Brilliant mind�"and a dickhead. I worked closely with your father, and I knew both of your parents very well. In fact, your mother contacted me when you started showing signs that you were�"special.” 

“So, my mom put you up to this.”

“She’s just concerned for her safety and yours. You are in possession of something both unfathomable and dangerous. None of the others want to be anywhere near you.”

“But you want to?” 

Hector scooted his chair closer to the bed and leaned forward. “I am utterly fascinated by your kind. Having said that, I want to help you control this. Learn it. Use it for a good cause. Maybe help you have something of a normal life again, and I can’t 

 that if I’m afraid to be in the same room as you.” 

I stared at him, not completely buying what he was trying to sell me. “So, what are you saying?”

“I want you to come with me to my facility. You’ll be very welcomed there, and we can work with you a lot better. Get this power of yours under control.”

The thought of possibly being under a microscope at a near constant was anything but appealing to me. I didn’t answer him at first but only turned my head away again. 

“There are others like you there. Teenagers your age who go through the same thing.”

I took a breath and sighed. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded better than being trapped inside a cube for eternity. “Will I see my mother again?”

Hector paused before saying, “Maybe�"in time when you have more control.”

“Okay�"I’ll do it.”