Chapter 15: Where the Moths Eat

Eden was in the middle of a PR crisis. With the numerous witnesses at the boardwalk, the citizens of Jordan City were beginning to become aware of other forces existing in their bubble of normalcy. Eden had contingency plans set in place for issues like this, but even the small ones involving the public could be enough to expose their world to the rest of the population living in a lie. Videos of the dump truck being flung through the air surfaced around the internet. Still images of my face, Dorian, and the rest of us escaping in the van were plastered around social media sites trying to debunk the authenticity of what happened. Eden, under the disguise of normal web surfers, did all they could to lead viewers into believing the videos were false or somehow tied to the set of a new movie. This seemed to maintain any web blasting to seek the truth. They were great at lying. 

Try as they might, Eden couldn’t stop the witnesses from talking or local news stands from printing their own version of the story. They couldn’t keep people from speculating. The worst of it for me was how the citizens were torn in opinion over the mysterious girl with super powers protecting a young child. I was hailed a hero for the most part. Praised carried through the streets over saving Dorian and the other kids who were with him. Some even referred to me as being an angel. A blessing sent from God to wipe out evil and put an end to tragedy. These comments had me floating on air. Then there was the group who condemned my very existence saying what happened was unnatural and against God’s will. I was a demon. A threat. They spoke of my powers as being hell incarnate rather than a gift from God, only focusing on the wrecks and those injured as a result of the dump truck being thrown. Admittedly, I had to question it myself. I wasn’t keen on the criticism. 

Weeks had passed since the incident, and part of Eden’s plan to maintain secrecy was to limit the freedom the savants had to go out in public. Before, we were able to come and go as we pleased as long as we made a note of where we were going and with whom. Now, we weren’t allowed out without an escort. If we were approved to leave, our maximum time to be allowed in the public eye was two hours. Our curfew before was nine o’clock. With the new arrangement, our curfew was now five o’clock. Leaving the institute in the evening was forbidden even with an escort. My friends were not happy about any of this, and even though they wouldn’t say it aloud, I knew they scorned me for it. Hector wouldn’t let Dorian keep the dog either, but thankfully Abby opted to take it in before she left. 

That was another change. 

I overheard Abby and Hector arguing in the labs one evening. The next day, she resigned as Hector’s apprentice and primary assistant. Hector didn’t seem bothered by it, Dahlia quickly taking over the position left open for her. I was saddened to see this because I was fond of Abby. I didn’t talk to her much aside from the exchanges we had during the monthly tests, but I liked her energy. She was a good person, and she was sweet to Dorian. I could tell she cared for him. There was a goodness in Abby that differed from the rest of Eden’s employees. Even Hector. I felt Hector’s demeanor changing, which had me concerned. However, I wasn’t sure if the change in his character was new or if it had been there the whole time, and I was only starting to notice it. 

My powers were developing more, and I’ve started to notice a circular light above everyone’s head. It was like a halo. Most of the halos were light blue. I figured this was a sign that the person wasn’t threatening. A good person. A humane person. Donald’s and Hector’s were kind of an orange color, which I didn’t completely understand but didn’t totally concern me. I figured it was because they were scientists, and it was possible that scientists were more neutral. Markus’ halo was the same along with every other corporate dog that passed through the doors of the institute. Daisuke’s halo, however, was a blood red. I only knew this to have a bad meaning because of the malicious nature I could feel growing inside of him. I missed the old Daisuke. 

Dorian’s halo had been a glistening gold. 

Dahlia had been keeping me out of the kitchen for a couple hours out of the day. She wouldn’t specify why but only that it was for an important reason she didn’t want me to ruin. Demitry was helping her. Dame was off in her room going about her own business. Donald appeared to never leave his lab anymore. Dorian was undergoing examination. So, I was without much of anything to do to pass the time. Even though it was a long shot, I figured I’d ask Hector for special permission to leave the grounds for a while. Walking the perimeter of the institute wasn’t satisfying enough. I didn’t plan on going far. I wanted to walk a few blocks then come back. It seemed reasonable enough. 

Dame was holding up a variety of shirts, sweaters, and dresses to put together for her next outfit. She had all of her clothes sorted by color, every drawer pertaining to each color of clothing she owned. Although the world was monochromatic through her eyes, she learned which colors matched with what through her extensive reading in the subject of art. Since she was no longer working for Eden, Dame heavily considered painting again to fill her time. After all, she had to discover another purpose for her life now. The girl picked out another shirt from the drawer labeled “white.” It was a simple crop top, and she had the mind to pair it with a flannel. She knew where she could find one of those, and she smiled to herself. 

Unbeknownst to Dame, Takashi had been watching her from the doorway in silence, leaning one shoulder into the frame with his arms crossed. He was dressed in uniform, but the “escort” patch had been replaced with “security” now. The young man still took it upon himself to be Dame’s protector despite her objections. Takashi observed Dame’s current carefree behavior. It irked him. It irked him to know why. She was a different person from who he knew a year ago and the years before that. At first, he was taking in his internal enjoyment from looking at Dame’s legs, following them up to her waist. Checking her out. Eyeing the way she was put together. Then he saw her smile, and that’s where his fantasies were thrown off track. Dame had a beautiful smile. He had only seen it when she was around her siblings. Takashi loved it, but seeing her smile now was distressing for the fact there was another reason for it…and it wasn’t him. 

Takashi knocked on the door frame to make his presence known, and Dame jumped then spun around. She clutched the crop top to her chest as if she had just been caught stealing, but she relaxed as soon as she realized it was her former escort at the door. 

Dame sighed and turned back around to face the window. “Scared the hell out of me, Kashi.” 

Takashi left his spot in the doorway to take a couple steps inside her room, hands in his pockets now. “Yeah, sorry about that.” He glanced around her room to look for any changes in the decor. There wasn’t much to it. There was a single bed positioned against the wall in one corner of the room with a plaid quilt. A desk could be found at the foot of her bed, which was neat and organized with folders and journals of all the research she had done in the past. A large tribal blanket with an elephant on it stretch across the wall above. On the opposite wall, above her drawers of clothes, several picture frames containing the various degrees she had earned had been hung up. One was a doctrine in physics. 

“How long were you standing there for?” Dame asked as she continued to put outfits together, undecided on which one to choose.

“Not for too long.” Takashi fibbed. “Just wondering what you’ve been up to.”

Dame’s focus was obviously elsewhere since it was taking her a minute to respond. Takashi stood awkwardly in the silence, awaiting for his presence to be acknowledged again. 

“Oh, just figuring out what to wear.” Dame eventually replied. 

Takashi tilted his head. “Anything special going on?”

Dame paused for a moment before moving onto another outfit, which was leggings and a long sweater she thought about putting together with a set of knee high boots. She was intentionally ignoring his question. Takashi knew this, but it didn’t matter to him. That wasn’t why he found himself in Dame’s room that afternoon. 

After another minute of awkward silence, Takashi said, “I see you’ve been hanging around Desley more.”

Dame started folding her clothes and stacking them on top of each other. “As much as I hate saying it, Desley’s good company.” She walked over to a drawer and began returning her clothes to their rightful place. “She’s a dumbass, but I’m amused by it.”

“So, you like Desley?”

“I’m neutral with Desley.”

“But you hang around her a lot.” 

“I hang around everyone. Not like I can’t be social.”

Takashi raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but you’re extra social with Desley. Almost a year ago you couldn’t stand her.”

“So, what’s wrong with me being friends with Desley?” Dame turned to look at Takashi.

Takashi crossed his arms and glanced at Dame’s desk. Dame had a confrontational look about her, and he couldn’t stand seeing that. It made him feel like he was being gouged by whatever hostility he knew was building up in the now 17-year-old. “I just don’t think you should be getting too close to Desley.” 

Now Dame was crossing her arms. “And why is that?”

Takashi sighed and faced her. “You can’t tell me she isn’t dangerous, Dame. There’s just something about her that isn’t right, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Dame rolled her eyes.

“She already hurt a lot of people at the boardwalk, from what I heard. She’s lucky she didn’t kill anyone!” Takashi continued. 

Dame held a finger up. “Let me stop you right there. Desley didn’t almost kill anyone. She saved Dorian and a couple other kids from getting pancaked by a dump truck. We’ve all lost handle on our powers before. This wasn’t anything different.”

“You don’t know that, Dame.”

“I know that Desley is one of us.” Dame scorned him. “But you’re normal. You wouldn’t understand, so it’s easy for you to judge her so critically.”

Takashi, becoming irritated, started nodding his head. “Yeah, you’re really neutral with Desley. Y’know, if this happened a year ago, you wouldn’t be so quick to defend her. You’d be saying the same damn thing I’m telling you right now. You’d say she’s reckless. She’s dangerous. She’s too immature for her power. Not this whole ‘she’s one of us, and we’ve all been there before’ bullshit you’re on about now.” 

Dame scorned the floor while she waited for him to finish. Every word sank into her brain and dug into every nerve in her body. Finding herself defending me was almost more irritating than Takashi being right on his perception of her behavior in the past. The altered view she had of me made her uncomfortable, and Takashi having the audacity to point it out to her was throwing it in her face. She didn’t need to be reminded, and she definitely didn’t need a babysitter. 

Takashi continued his rant. “One of these days something is going to happen. Something will happen, and then you’ll finally see what I mean. Someone will get hurt. You. Dahlia. Dorian. Someone. I just don’t want to see it happen to you again.”

Dame breathed in deeply to compose herself. “What makes you say all of this?”

“Call it a hunch. Daisuke hasn’t been right since he got inside her head. So, you know there’s something there.”

Dame nodded her head. “That is true. Want to know what else is true though?”

“What’s that?”

“Out of everyone at E9, the scientists, the corporate dogs, the security, even my own escort…Desley was the only one who came to save me. Not that I needed saving, but it says a lot when some a*****e who has no reason to risk her life for someone she doesn’t like has more balls to get the job done than the guy whose whole career is devoted to protecting me.” Dame lowered her hands to her sides. “While you were up top pissing yourself, Desley volunteered to go down there. Alone.”

“I couldn’t get to you with all of the chaos, Dame.”

“You left me, Kashi. You left me while Desley saved me, and she didn’t stop after we were out of E9 either. She had no reason to help me while I was losing my s**t, but she stuck around. She annoyed me. Pestered me. Pissed me off. Wouldn’t leave me alone, and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why…but Desley gave me normalcy when I was convinced nothing would be normal again.” 

Takashi looked at her quizzically. “Is that why you’re around her so much? She makes you feel normal?” 

Dame fell silent, not realizing what she had just said. She didn’t think that response out, and it began to put things in a different perspective for her. Dame being Dame, she rolled her eyes and shook her head with a slight snarl of her snotty attitude. “What? No. That’s not where I was getting at. Just…Desley can’t be bad and be that good at the same time.”

“But you know who her father is.”

Dame glared at Takashi, biting her tongue from every curse that passed through her head. “Desley is not Daniel, and he certainly has nothing to do with it.”

Takashi had nothing more to add, seeing as how any further attempts at arguing with Dame would prove to be unfruitful. 

Dame huffed and began marching towards the door, pushing past Takashi on her way out. “Now, if you’ve nothing intelligent to say, I’m needed in the kitchen. I have to help Dahlia make a cake for the dipshit’s birthday.” 

I wandered around the lower levels of the institute in search of Hector. I was beginning to go stir crazy, and I had little hope that my mentor would allow me to venture out for a while. Still, I had to try. It was funny how often trying was a common theme these days. I passed by the hallway where Donald’s study was located, his door obviously closed from the dulled out noises of a drill running and other loud racket. An occasional cuss word, too. I continued on though being of no interest in what Donald was doing in his privacy. Any of the labs Hector could normally be found in were either empty or occupied by other researchers. I asked around some of what white coats I could find in the hallways. One lady, young in appearance and new to the facility, informed me that Hector might be back in his personal lab. 

I made my way down to the lab the woman spoke of. I was getting use to the idea of Abby no longer being there. Wherever Abby was, Hector was surely nearby. Even walking into Hector’s personal lab I expected to hear the two talking amongst each other in their private conversations, hurrying to hush or change the subject as soon as they heard footsteps approaching. Not this time. The illumination in Hector’s lab was dim. With rows of cabinets containing instruments and chemicals on one side and a couple bare tables on the other, the leading psychologist and researcher could be found fixated on a video that was playing on his computer at his desk on the far side of the lab. 

Approaching quietly behind the man, I peeked over his shoulder to see what he was watching. There was a slightly gross and twisted thought that crossed my mind that made me suspicious that Hector was watching his favorite porn, in which case I would have quite the story to tell at dinner to the other savants. My speculations were proven false the minute I set eyes on what was playing on the monitor. There was a girl sitting behind a table in a blank room, scorning the camera or possibly the cameraman. She appeared older than me. I estimated that she was either twenty-two or twenty-three. The girl donned incredibly short hair, which looked to be in the process of growing back from a poorly thought out buzz cut. The more notable detail about her hair was that half was an auburn color and the other half was pure white. She looked beat up. Rough. Full of piss and vinegar. 

“Can you tell us how you did it? What did you use to level a whole town?” A man off screen asked the girl. 

The girl remained silent.

“How about something more recent? The explosions at the Gate Lighting ceremony…how did you get your explosives past security?”

The girl remained silent.

“Your face is found at every explosion site. No matter what level of security, you still somehow manage to sneak your equipment inside, set it up, and detonate without any use of a trigger. Are there timers being set for your bombs? Do you have any other sites where you’ve placed more of these explosives, Darcy?”

Darcy softly shut her eyes and smiled to herself. “You people…with your guns, your security, your cameras, everything you’ve ever relied on made by weak human beings…couldn’t begin to understand what raw power is. You’re only as advanced as the latest technology so as long as it’s provided to you. You know the answer, but it makes you uncomfortable because I defy everything you’ve ever known…making you drop a notch on the f*****g food chain.”

I inched a ways closer to Hector to hear better before asking, “Who’s that?”

Hector didn’t even twitch. “Darcy August. The first proxy on record. Subject 0 herself in one of the only interviews authorities could get at that time.” 

“She looks sinister, to be honest.”

“According to your father, Darcy was only hard to understand. Good intentions at heart. Just needed a little guiding.”

“Is she part of something you’re working on now?”

Hector shook his head. “No, not really. I’m just trying to understand something about your father, and I think it starts with his admiration of Darcy.” Hector barely took his eyes off the screen. “What do you need?”

I twiddled my thumbs together, building up the nerve to ask him. “Umm, well, see…I came down here to ask if I could go for a walk around the block or something.”

Hector slowly turned around in his chair. “Desley, you know you can’t do that. We have rules to follow for our own sake.”

“I’m just feeling cooped up in here is all. What’s wrong with taking a small walk to get some air?”

“The possibility of you creating another scene like you did before.”

“Okay, but that was an accident. Also, I saved Dorian and a couple other kids in the process.”

“Something that could have been avoided altogether if you weren’t being irresponsible.”

I was taken back. “It was one mistake and I’ve apologized over and over for it. I saved them. Doesn’t that count for something?”

Hector shook his head. “You had no control over your powers, Desley. You’re lucky worse didn’t happen. Someone could have been killed. Hell, you almost exposed us to the entire world! We can’t keep operations like this going if the public is in on it. People would panic at your existence!”

“Operations?” I looked at him, quizzically. “You’re suppose to be helping us learn how to control this s**t so we can function like everyone else in the world. Not sticking us with your needles and running a damn diagnostics test to see how we’ve advanced or declined for whatever the hell else you people are doing here. We just want to be normal! I want to be normal, Hector!”

“But you will never be normal, Desley!” Hector shouted. “The most we can hope for you is that you blend in, but you will never be or live like everyone else!”

His words had angered me, making me clench my fists and my mouth outrun my common sense. “At least I’m not wasting my life living in a lab and obsessing over my father every single day!” I shouted, my anger taking action and slicing a crack across a lens in Hector’s glasses.

Hector twitched but was otherwise unfazed by the outburst, simply taking his glasses off and surveying the damage. “It’s best you leave my presence, Desley, and not pester me anymore with your nonsense. For your own safety and the safety of everyone else, you are denied taking your walk.” 

The man turned back around, and I stood there a little longer. I wanted to curse and spit, anything to keep the argument going, but I kept it in. I kept it to myself. I reluctantly allowed him to have the last word, slowly turning around and leaving his lab. My feelings swirled inside my chest, the entire upset giving me a headache. I was so steamed at how the conversation went that I didn’t realize the overhead lights in the hallway were blowing out as I walked under them. 

Dahlia set the oven timer on a batch of cupcakes as Dame carefully designed the cake with a bag of icing, a hole cut in the corner. She felt uncomfortable, like a dog in a sweater, writing sweet words and wishes on someone’s birthday cake. Being festive in general was out of her character, and she didn’t know how to act. Dame scowled the cake. 

Demitry nosed around the kitchen to check out everything, following the scent of pastries from his room above. Dahlia was putting the pots and pans away in a dish washer when Demitry came upon their concoctions. He eyed Dame and watched her add swirls to the patterns she was placing on the surface of the cake, a sly smile coming to his face. Demitry felt the awkward energy coming off of Dame. 

“So, whatcha doing there?” Demitry asked Dame, standing next to her and leaning on the countertop. 

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Dame retorted without taking her eyes off of the icing. 

Demitry smirked. “I guess the obvious answer would be you’re decorating a nice, little cake.”

“How perceptive.” Dame said. 

The Italian boy tilted his head back. “The not-so-obvious answer would be you’re doing something kinda sweet for Desley.”

“Don’t even start.”

Demitry shrugged innocently. “What? I’m not saying anything bad.” He waited for a second. “Only that it’s so cute of you.”

Dame, without warning, hurled a rolling pin, a cutting board, a tin baking sheet, egg shells, and a bag of flour all at once at the boy. Demitry scurried to clear all of the projectiles, but he was too close to escape his consequences, taking a large puff of powder to the face while being stoned by the other objects as he flung himself backward. He fell to the floor as Dame stood in triumph.

“Damn, overreact!” Demitry yelled, wiping the flour from his eyes. 

“I told you not to start, shithead. You’re lucky I didn’t put you in the oven like I put you in the tank.” Dame fired back. 

“I think that’s legally frowned upon.” Dahlia casually went by with a broom on the other side of the kitchen. 

Demitry groaned and muttered to himself as he saw his way out of the kitchen. Dame returned to decorating the cake, sneering at all of the imperfections she saw in the writing and how uneven the lettering was. She wanted to start over, but she saw this as a moment of defiance to her own feelings towards it. Perhaps, avoiding perfection would show she didn’t really care. Birthdays were all hype anyhow. Dame told herself it wasn’t all that important to her. 

Dahlia kept sweeping around the kitchen, making several passes behind Dame. It wasn’t hard to detect her silence or the odd glow coming off of her, something Dahlia wanted to remark on. She knew she’d be walking into a touchy subject, so Dahlia made a few more passes to figure out how to start the conversation. Eventually, the blind savant came to a stop next to Dame. 

“Y’know, Desley won’t really care if it’s not perfect.” Dahlia said. 

“I don’t even care if it’s not perfect.” Dame replied. 

Dahlia smiled. “You do a little bit. Your aura doesn’t hide that.” 

Dame tried to ignore her. 

“I get it’s uncomfortable because you’ve never really done something this thoughtful for someone, but I think this will help you guys out a lot.” Dahlia leaned back against the counter. “Y’know, bring you two closer together.”

“I’m not doing s**t.” Dame attempted to shoot down Dahlia’s claim. “I’m just decorating a cake for that dumbass.” 

Dahlia smirked. “Then why is it that your aura seems to light up whenever you and ‘that dumbass’ are in the same room?”

“Why is everyone so damn concerned of what I think of Desley suddenly?”

“I think everyone is just curious. Maybe even a little hopeful that you two will be friends.”

Dame sighed. “She saves my life and now everyone expects us to braid each other’s hair? Ever think that maybe it’s just a human thing to do to help someone in trouble?” She started getting aggressive with the icing bag. “Everyone reads into everything way too much around here. Freakin’ ridiculous. First Takashi. Demitry. Now, you.”

Dahlia shook her head and smiled more. “Dame…I know. You can drop the act.”

Dame dropped the bag of icing on the counter. “The hell you do.”

“You can fool everyone else here, but I can see a lot deeper than that. Ever since E9, the energy between you and Desley has changed drastically. Like, your auras are so accepting of each other. It’s quite a vulnerable side of you. I have never seen your aura mix with anyone else’s. Not even Donald’s. It’s like there’s this stream that connects you both together.” Dahlia said. 

Dame muttered to herself.

“You like Desley. She likes you, too. There’s nothing wrong with having a soft spot for someone. We all need someone who makes us a little weak. Just reminds us that we’re all human.” 

“It’s not just that, Dahlia.” Dame said quietly. 

Dahlia was puzzled, awaiting for Dame to finish her explanation. My abrupt appearance must have broken the connection though, stumbling into the kitchen and nearly throwing myself on the counter in agony of wanting to leave the building. Dame was quick to swipe up the cake to hide it from me, not that I didn’t already know who the cake was for. Dahlia didn’t even flinch. 

“That rotten b*****d won’t let me leave. I feel like I’m being imprisoned against my will!” I wailed dramatically. “And I have a headache.”

“Went that well, did it?” Dame asked as she carried the cake to the back of the kitchen.

“You have no idea. I feel like Hector kinda hates me or something.”

Dahlia shook her head. “No, he doesn’t hate you. I think he’s still moody over Abby leaving.” 

“He was a mega a*****e. You have no idea.”

“Why? What did he say?” Dahlia asked. 

I watched Dame come back around, wiping her hands clean on a kitchen rag. I thought about telling Dahlia everything that Hector had said, but I suddenly felt that it wasn’t the right place to be talking about it. 

“Nah, it’s nothing. You’re probably right. Hector is just moody.” I looked at Dame again and smiled. “So, you were decorating the cake?”

“Not you, too.” Dame groaned. 

“Can I see it?” I perked up.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“Desley.”

“….I’ll be your best friend.”

Dame, without warning, began chucking a mixing bowl, empty cups of icing, a bag of flour, a handful of blue berries, another rolling pin, Dahlia’s apron, and an egg beater at me. As a result for taking a bag of flour to the face, I attacked Dame directly by tackling her into the counter, breaking an egg over her head while she rubbed more flour in my face. Our fight went straight to the floor in a mess of broken egg shells and paste from the flour mixing together with the yolk, hurling insults back and forth at each other as we took turns trying to pin the other down. Dahlia stood and shook her head. She had just swept that area. 

“Children. They act like children.”

“So, you’ll be able to meet with me later?” Hector spoke into his phone, peering over his shoulder every now and then. “It’s very important, and you’re the only one I can trust to show this to.”

“I can meet with you, but I can’t be out for too long. We’re all being monitored on my end.” Markus said. “There’s been another incident. Not related to our assets, but it’s potentially damning.”

“I understand.” Hector said while inputting the passcode to lockdown his computer. “I wouldn’t ask if you weren’t the last person I could go to.”

“Is this why Abby left?” Markus asked. 

Hector placed his laptop in a bag before turning off the lights to his lab. “Yes. She said she didn’t feel safe anymore. It was fascinating, but her fear outweighed that fascination.”

“Overreacting a little, isn’t she?”

“I think you’ll be able to understand once you see it. It’s about Desley.”

It was late in the evening. As far as I knew, most of the others had gone to their rooms for the night. I wasn’t close to being tired yet. My brain felt wired. There was a lot I had on my mind that night and I was still bothered by the confrontation with Hector. We always had a good relationship since the beginning, but I felt there was a shift in that relationship now. It seemed strained. There had been something different in Hector that I was now noticing, but I couldn’t determine what it was yet. I zoned out to the images on the television, static engulfing the screen every few minutes. Dame was lying at the opposite end of the couch with her nose in a book and her feet propped on my lap. How comfortable she was around me now was another thing that bothered me. Off and on struggle between peace and war with her. Some days would be like this: Quietly sitting around and sharing a comfortable silence without much thought to being in the other’s space. Other days, her feet would be smacking my face instead of resting in my lap either as a result of a fight or to start one. Confusing yet pleasant that our relationship had developed to this. 

Hearing mumbling from the downstairs and the front entrance opening then closing, my attention broke away from the television. Dame couldn’t be pulled from her book. Footsteps pattered up the stairs, and soon enough I saw Dahlia appear behind the couch. She was still dressed in her more professional attire and donning a white lab coat. I was still getting use to seeing her appearance match those who worked in the labs during the day. She was nineteen but looked much older than that now. It was almost hard to see Dahlia as being a teenager like the rest of us. 

“It’s curfew, guys. Hector wants everyone in their rooms.” Dahlia reminded us. 

I groaned and flung my head back. 

“Did he put you in charge of babysitting us?” Dame asked sarcastically without removing her eyes from her book.

Dahlia nodded. “As a matter of fact, yes.”

“That was rhetorical.” 

“I feel like I’d sound like a child if I asked for five more minutes.” I said.

“Wouldn’t be different from any other time you had something to say.” Dame snickered. 

I closed the book on her with my mind and forced the bookmark from its spot between the pages. 

Dame placed the book in her lap and narrowed her eyes. “Real mature.” 

Dahlia rolled her eyes. “Okay, don’t start with your antics now, guys. You know the rules.”

Dame didn’t argue with Dahlia, but she did give me a shove with her feet against my arm. I could have easily used my abilities to knock her feet out from under her as she walked away, but I was going to let it slide this time. I started to get up to follow Dame to our side of the dorms soon after. 

“Don’t go to sleep. We have something planned. Dame will come get you in two hours.” Dahlia’s voice entered my head.

I stopped and turned around to see a smile on Dahlia’s face, her arms crossed. I simply nodded to her and continued to my room. 

Hector entered inside an old jazz club downtown. He and his colleagues use to visit often during the prime of their youth. It was a sanctuary for them to blow off steam after a long day in the labs. The lighting was dim. The tables were crowded, and the bar was filled with patrons. The sensual sounds of a saxophone filled the air that wasn’t taken up by chatter. Hector hadn’t been to this jazz club in years, and the smell of cigar smoke paired with the clinking of shot glasses whipped him back in the past for a moment. His eyes wandered to the bar, and he had a brief memory of a time where he, Markus, and Daniel use to try to out drink each other. 

Hector passed through the club, laptop bag slung over his shoulder, and made his way to the booths near the back. Each booth had a curtain draped across the entrance for privacy. There was one in particular he knew he would find Markus hidden behind, and that was the booth where Hector first met his wife. Pulling back the curtain, Markus looked up from his distant gaze at the table, cigarette between his fingers. Hector didn’t waste time sitting across from him, bringing his laptop bag to the surface of the table between the two men. 

“Thank you for meeting with me.” Hector started off. “I know it’s not easy getting away from the dogs on short notice.”

“Well, lucky for us, they’re easily distracted. It wouldn’t surprise me if one didn’t follow me here though. Eden can’t afford any loose ends right now.” Markus said. 

Hector folded his hands together beneath his chin. “Is it really that bad?”

Markus nodded. “We had a security breach. Have. Defectives within Eden’s ranks. We’re not sure who or how many, but they’re taking credit for the E9 incident.”

“That’s incredible…” Hector tried to stow his surprise. “Who would honestly attempt to sabotage something that dangerous?”

“It doesn’t shock me at all, to be honest. It was only a matter of time before those who knew the truth would seek to put an end to all we’ve done here.” Markus shrugged. “In truth, we might deserve it.”

“We do research. We’re scientists bettering humanity.” Hector said. “There isn’t anything wrong with that.”

Markus shook his head and sighed. “You and I both know how much bullshit there is behind that sentence. Just…like you know as well as I do how Eden gets their funding for everything. Even Daniel knew that was a monstrosity of a system. None of us are good men, Hector. Not even you when it comes down to it.”

“We all have secrets to keep for better or for worse.” Hector retorted. 

Markus tapped the ashes of his cigarette into an ash tray. “Well, if we don’t get this resolved soon, everyone is going to know those secrets then. Your latest savant didn’t help matters any either.”

“I know, and I believe I have an explanation for it. I brought all of my data here in case you don’t believe me.” 

“You mean other than being reckless with her own power?” Markus scoffed. 

“It goes much deeper than that.” Hector said. “Markus, we might have a bigger issue on our hands here.” 

“As if the taunting from this new group isn’t enough.”

“Taunting?”

“That we cease all activity or face exposure for Eden’s crimes. I believe Morello said they call themselves Dogma.” 

I did as I was told by Dahlia, lying on my bed and mauling the possibilities in my head over what they had planned. Having the lights off soothed my head, but even that didn’t help me figure out what the girls were up to. Not having much else to do while I waited, I thought about my father. It was weird to think that at one point he walked the very halls of the lab like I did every day. I wondered if he knew from the start that he would have a child like me. Was it something he would have been proud of? Would he have turned me away like my mother? I wanted to ask him so many questions, but all I had were the memories shared with me by those who knew him. I was like my father. That was one of the first things Hector said to me, so I couldn’t help but wonder if everything I did and thought was a mirror of what everyone already knew. I still knew nothing. Only thing I gathered  of my father was that Daniel was a brilliant man who was killed by his own experiment. 

Who was Subject 23 before all of that happened was my next ponder. I figured he had to have been a savant like the rest of us at one point. What was his gifts? What were his dreams? Did his family know? Was he outcasted like I was for being different? Did he have a name? What was 23’s name before he was damned to be a number forever? Then again, if someone went batshit and murdered my friends and family, I guess I wouldn’t have the respect for him to refer to him by his real name either. Still, it wasn’t his fault. 

Dame had been the child to save the survivors by ending 23’s life. I couldn’t imagine the kind of trauma that would have on someone at that age to kill someone you had grown close to. Dame. The girl I almost hated. Now, the girl I have an oddly deep respect for. It’s weird how understanding can go such a ways for perception. I could tell by her weird behavior around me that something had shifted in her perception of me as well. I mean, she was decorating my birthday cake. I wouldn’t think that girl would decorate a damn thing in her life unless it was to her own benefit. There’s that perception again. I knew she wasn’t some selfish, self-absorbed brat. Dame only acted like it. I knew that deep down…Dame had more compassion than all of us combined. That was made very clear, but not with how she saved me or shot down her life’s work for the safety of humankind. It was made clear with how she played with Dorian and how she loved her siblings. 

There was a sudden knock at my door, which broke me from my thoughts. I rolled off my bed and shuffled my way to the bedroom door in the dark in my baseball shirt and jeans. I grabbed the knob and opened the door, Dame with a hand on her hip standing on the other side. Dame was dressed in a white crop top and torn jean shorts. We both stared at each other, and I couldn’t think of a single word to say. This had been a rather unfamiliar occasion. 

“Umm…” I struggled for something to say. “Bonjour.”

Smooth.

“Dumbass.” Dame rolled her eyes. 

Nailed it. 

Dame pushed pass me and entered my room. “Dahlia’s getting the boys, so we have a minute or two.”

“Getting the boys? For what?” I still had my hand on the door knob. 

Dame turned and looked at me. “We’re going out. Screw the curfew.”

“Going out? Where? How? Hector’s got cameras all over the place!” 

Dame slapped a finger against my lips, shushing me in the event someone was listening. “Has anyone ever told you that you ask way too many questions? Everything is being taken care of.” 

I wasn’t completely satisfied with that answer, but I had to accept it. If Dame wanted you to know something, you would know.

Dame made her way to my closet, using the dim light from the hallway to search through the clothes that hung inside when she slid the door open. 

“What are you doing? That’s an invasion of privacy, ma’am.” I said. 

“Blow me, Desley.” 

“Well…if you insist.” Those words slipped out. 

Dame immediately stopped rummaging through my wardrobe, slowly facing me with a hint of cringe. “What?”

“What?”

Silence fell between us. Painful. Intense. Awkward. Silence. 

Dame went back to my clothes. “Such a weird a*s.” 

I tried to compose myself through the embarrassment, attempting to push through the awkwardness by asking, “What are you doing?”

“I don’t own any flannels for this outfit, so I’m borrowing one of yours.” Dame answered. 

“Good thing I’m okay with it. Good thing you asked my permission.” I muttered. 

“I know you well enough by now.” Dame said. She appeared to be struggling. “I can’t tell. Which one is the red and black?”

I didn’t say anything. I left my spot near the door and joined Dame at my closet. I combed through the batch of flannels I had hanging up until I found the one she had been looking for. After pulling the flannel off the hanger, I handed it to Dame. The girl slipped her arms through the sleeves, barely pulling the flannel over her shoulders. I watched her adjust the sleeves, unbuttoning the wrists before lifting her hair from inside the collar. It seemed to have reached her approval. 

“Take a picture, Desley.” Dame said without looking at me. 

I shook my head, realizing I must have been staring. “No, no! It’s not anything creepy, I swear.”

Dame faced me as soon as she was done. “What is it then?”

I had to carefully pick my words, but I wasn’t certain myself. “It’s just…it’s weird to see someone else wearing that flannel. It feels like an omen, y’know?”

“Hmm, why’s that?” Dame’s curiosity piqued. 

I shrugged, reaching out to adjust one side of the collar. “I was wearing this flannel the day I got hit by that car. I haven’t worn it since then because I couldn’t ever see it as something as normal as another shirt. So, it’s just weird to see someone else wearing it.”

“Well, if it’s that personal for you…”

“No, I’m not saying that. You look good in it. You should keep it, Dame.” I smiled at her. 

“You want me to keep your ominous, near-death flannel?” Dame raised her eyebrow, an expression on her face that made me feel like she was weirded out. 

I looked away from her in case she was judging me.

“Well, I guess I should look both ways on a one-way street when I’m wearing this.” Dame joked. 

I snickered even though it was suppose to be a mild jab at me. I could have sworn Dame was about to smile, but she shuttered and shoved past me. She must have come to her senses again. 

“I mean, I’m not some dipshit who runs into oncoming traffic.” Dame said, making her way to the door.

“Sure, Dame. Whatever you say.” I followed her. 

We stepped out into the hallway where I quietly closed the door behind us. Shortly after, Dahlia met with us, Donald and Demitry bringing up the rear. It had been official that we were sneaking out, and everyone appeared to be in on it except for me. What had been incredible was the actual sneaking out part, Dame making delinquent use of her power after we all piled into her room. She mentioned with it being a great distance, she won’t be able to hold the portal open for long if only for a few seconds, so we would need to rush through as soon as possible. I was nervous, but Dame assured everyone that she had dealt with greater distances before. She would apologize for any minor inaccuracies. 

And by minor inaccuracies, I mean the portal wasn’t by any means close to the ground. So, the moment Dame tore through the fabrics of space to create her own pathway for us, we barreled through and one-by-one fell a whopping ten feet onto a dusty, dirty ground in some unknown location. Dahlia hit the ground first. I crashed on top of Dahlia’s back, spread eagle. Donald landed rear-first on the back of my legs. Lastly, Demitry murdered all of us in cannonball fashion. The portal above us closed, another opening closer to the ground to where Dame only had to take a single step down as we groaned from the aches. Dame stood, hands on her hips, judging all of us as we got to our feet. 

“Y’know, you didn’t have to go all at once like that. I can open these things more than once.” Dame said, wiping a tiny trickle of blood from her nose. “It’s just the distance that sucks.” 

Demitry dusted himself off. “Oh, now she tells us.”

“It probably would have been nice to know, yeah?” Donald added.

While the group pointed out the obvious flaw in Dame’s scheme, although successful, I started taking in the space around me. It was dark outside, but the air was cool with the smell of popcorn overhead. I could hear mechanical rumbling, screams, laughter, popping noises, and music in the distance. I followed the sounds and turned by head in the direction they were coming from, and there I saw a variety of flashing lights, a turning ferris wheel, and hordes of people gathered in one place. It hit me where we were at. 

It was a carnival. The city’s annual carnival that would take place right before the cold months poured in. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dahlia said, coming to my side. “The lights. The people. The colors.”

“You guys wanted to sneak out for this?” I asked.

Dahlia shook her head. “We snuck out for your birthday, love. It was Dame’s idea.”

“Dame’s idea?”

“Well, mostly. She knew how cooped up you were feeling. So, we talked about getting you out of the building and the boys suggested this place. Right on the edge of the city. Away from all the bullshit.” 

I sighed and shook my head slowly. “You guys do too much for me. You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Because we wanted to, Des.” Donald said, throwing an arm over my shoulders. “Just accept it. You’re family with us now.” 

Demitry stumbled out in front of me. “Yeah, you can say we like you a little bit…even though some of us won’t admit to it.”

“I swear to God, Demitry.” Dame hissed behind us. 

Hector didn’t want to show Markus anything until after he had a few drinks. He needed him calm, and Hector didn’t want him to make a scene. The older man still wasn’t certain if this was an all around good idea, but he had to share it with someone. Of all people, Markus might know what to do about it. Markus swished the liquor in his glass around, hand rested against his cheek. While most men would reminisce their youth, Markus looked at his glass and despised it. He leaned back in the booth and stared straight ahead at Hector. 

“Do you remember when we first joined Eden?” Markus asked. 

“Yeah, we were barely out of college.” Hector replied. “And you wore the same tie for a whole year. That ugly, green tie.”

“And you had those thick glasses and a pocket protector for every shirt you owned.” Markus smiled. “Then Daniel…the youngest out of all of us.”

“Great with the ladies.” Hector chuckled. “He always had some girl on his arm before he met Penny.” 

“Had half of Eden kissing his a*s. Ran circles around us. Always had an idea or a project to work on. Constant busy body.” Markus said before taking a sip of the scotch in his glass.

“He had the whole world in his back pocket. The entire future of the human race, too.” Hector said in a manner to touch lightly on his own train of thought.

Markus stared down at his glass, the look of remembering the better days fading from his face. “I absolutely hate that son of a b***h.” 

Hector didn’t say anything in response, allowing Markus to stew in his bitter feelings towards a dead man he was once fond of. He glanced at his laptop, more unsure now of revealing his findings to Markus. Hector looked about the rest of the crowd in the jazz club, hearing their laughter and conversation. He almost longed to be one of them, unsuspecting of the nefarious world that existed beneath their feet. Without a clue. Without a shred of worry. Each one was busy with the normalcy of their own lives. 

“What are your feelings towards Desley, Mark?” Hector asked. 

Markus gave him a puzzled look, leaning back in his booth with a slouched posture. “Why do you ask?

“It might be important to how you handle what I’m about to show you.” Hector said. “Depending on your answer, I might look elsewhere for a solution.”

“And leave me in suspense of your star savant?” Markus cocked an eyebrow.

“If we can actually call her that…” Hector murmured. 

Markus squinted at Hector with both curiosity and concerned through the alcohol in his system.

Hector continued. “I do not want to burden you with this.”

Markus remained silent.

The waitress passed by their booth and offered to bring more drinks to them, but Markus waved her away. He was burning a hole in Hector with his staring. 

Markus folded his hands together. “I feel that Desley is a mirror image of her father. Good heart, but I can see much of Daniel in her. It’s…frightening, but I know her father would be very proud. Bright. Rash. Powerful. I might even be a little proud. What does that answer get me?”

Hector waited. He analyzed and thoughtfully chewed on Markus’ reply, tapping his fingers on the laptop bag that contained all of his secrets. Markus patiently waited despite a burning desire to know what had been bothering Hector enough to arrange their secret meeting beyond the ears of their superiors. Hector, taking a deep breath, unzipped the bag and brought his laptop to light. He flipped the laptop’s screen up before pressing a finger to the power button. After a minute of finger work and rapid tapping on the keyboard, Hector turned his laptop around to show Markus a discovery he knew would change the game completely. 

I had never laughed so much in my life up to this point. We were like normal kids on a night out, strolling through the busy sections of the carnival without a care in the world. Our secret lives didn’t exist. None of it mattered. Dame mostly walked with Dahlia, their arms linked together as they engaged in casual girl talk ahead of the rest of us. I stayed between Donald and Demitry, listening to them discuss their thoughts ranging from debatable superheroes and films they want to see to Donald’s big ideas for the future and Demitry’s growing fascination and fondness of the girls before us. I didn’t have much to say in between. I was simply content with enjoying their company. It was that and finally being able to breathe. 

We had to have tickets to get on the various rides scattered around the carnival grounds. Dame took care of that, creating a portal behind the ticket booth and snagging a fistful without anyone noticing. She may have had the best “super power” out of all of us…in a villainous way. With that issue being resolved, it didn’t take us long to start piling onto every ride we could. There were rides that launched us into the air, rides that threw us around in circles to where our legs felt like they would be pulled off, funhouses we’d dash through with the funky mirrors and rooms so bizarre and twisted that we’d lose ourselves for a moment, and bumper cars. Bumper cars were amazing. I used my power to create an extra barrier between me and the other cars, making me the ultimate bumper of cars. 

The night continued on with no sign of either one of us ready to leave. Being normal without constant supervision was too much fun. I didn’t realize how much I had taken it for granted before. The others appeared to have had the same thought cross their minds, too. Demitry got into a competition with Dame, the night’s excitement getting himself in over his head with betting a kiss with her if he could score the highest in a game of his choosing. Dame, being the epitome of confidence that she is, boldly accepted. Her wager was his last ticket. Demitry decided on a game of marksmanship, eyeing a booth that contained air rifles and several rows of targets varying in sizes and distance. A man’s game, Demitry probably thought. 

Donald, Dahlia, and I stood behind the two as they equipped themselves with an air rifle, Dame allowing the Italian boy to go first. Demitry pressed the end of the rifle against his shoulder, lining up his targets and weighing the options of attempting to shoot the smaller ones for higher points. Donald and Dahlia whispered back and forth to each other on who would win despite Dahlia’s inability to entirely see what was going on. Neither one of them were placing faith in Demitry. 

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Demitry had taken down three of the bigger targets, one that had been sitting at a farther distance, and failed to shoot the smaller target near the back. He was close though with one pellet clipping the corner. I was certainly impressed with Demitry’s hidden talent, but I honestly shouldn’t have been surprised either given who his father is. Donald applauded Demitry’s solid and mildly intimidating attempt with an “adda boy” on top. Demitry, his head growing too big for his shoulders, felt the need to inform Dame that it would be best to kiss him now to save face than lose to him. Dame simply shook her head, lips forming into a smirk that told me she had it in the bag long before they picked up the rifles. 

Dame faced the targets, pressing the rifle into her shoulder just as Demitry had. The focus in her eyes, the steadiness of her hands, and the calmness of her breath…

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

I smiled. Dahlia snickered. Donald covered his mouth with a hand. Demitry’s head deflated. Dame nonchalantly set the rifle down on the table, the smallest targets furthest away all knocked down. I was convinced that there wasn’t anything Dame couldn’t do. Demitry was all stutters and embarrassment, surrendering his ticket in shame to losing to a girl. Dame was happy to take it off his hands, giving him a couple pats on the cheek before we pushed on to what awaited us next. There were other games of course. I didn’t participate in any of them, but it was amusing to watch the others compete. A surprise to me was watching Donald win a stuffed squid for Dahlia, which she kept safely tucked in the bag she brought with her.

We were down to the last of our tickets except for Dame, who had three, and Demitry, who had zero. Everyone debated what ride to get on to conclude our time at the carnival. Dame had other ideas though, constantly eyeing the ferris wheel at the point of the festivities. With our group standing in the center of everything, clusters of people circulating around us with kernels popping in the air, Dame spoke up about wanting to give the ferris wheel a go. This caused everyone to pipe down and give her a blank stare. Even I didn’t want to waste a ticket on that, but Dame insisted on not wanting to be bored the whole time she was up there. 

Dame held up two tickets. “I got this covered.”

“Ain’t no way I’m getting on that thing. Some of the worst porn happens on ferris wheels.” Demitry stated.

I thought his words over…then I did a double-take. “What!?”

Demitry fumbled and restated. “I mean, I’ve had the worst corn on ferris wheels.”

That was a terrible recovery.

Dame shook her head. “Yeah, no. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that.” She shrugged. “Besides, I’ve decided on who I’m taking.”

Donald snickered. “I’m betting they’re not going to have any say at all in this.”

Dahlia only smiled.

I sighed because I had a feeling I was about to draw the short stick. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s some other dumbass. Hopefully one that looks both ways before crossing.” 

“You’re never going to let that one go, are ya?” I narrowed my eyes at her. 

Dame waved her tickets at me to follow her, so I reluctantly left without objection. However, I did look back at the remaining savants for hopes of a rescue. I wasn’t a fan of ferris wheels. They weren’t scary or anything. I just always had bad feelings about them, and my head was still aching. It surprised me that Dame wanted anything to do with ferris wheels at all. I figured since they were often associated with cheesy romance in movies or cliche suspense scenes, Dame would have no interest. In fact, she’d probably be disgusted. That was just her. 

No. Dame and I stood in line quietly, which wasn’t much of a line to begin with. It mostly consisted of older couples still lovestruck and smitten with each other. With Dame and I being the polar opposite, I felt like we were intruding. We were defective anomalies on board someone’s love quest, two teenagers who hardly began to respect each other. It was uncomfortable. We were both uncomfortable. Soon enough though, Dame handed the operator the tickets. We were seated in one of the carts. Then the ferris wheel began to slowly roll. 

I loved the wind in my hair and the view I was granted when we passed over the very top of the ferris wheel. The people below looked like tiny globs bobbing about, but I couldn’t see where the rest of our friends had snuck off to. Dame remained silent for the most part, which would have bothered me if I didn’t see her appear so relaxed at the same time. Whenever we passed over the top, Dame would turn her eyes to the sky above and gaze at all of the stars that shone brightly overhead. I would have asked, but I wasn’t going to ruin any of it for her. Wherever Dame was in those moments, I knew her shoulders weren’t as heavy. 

The ferris wheel began slowing down to let riders off, going one cart at a time. We would be close to the last ones off. Dame had her legs crossed, facing away from me with her head in hand and elbow on the bar that loosely kept us from accidentally falling out. I watched the city lights in the distance where the skyscrapers had been. That is up until I heard confrontation from below. I leaned over the side to see a security guard pointing his finger at Donald, who had been holding a gear in his hand. Seeing the mechanism he had been standing by, it was safe to say where he obtained it from. 

“You need to put that back before this ride malfunctions!” The security guard demanded.

Donald waved his arms around. “You don’t understand, officer. I really, really, really need this.” 

The hell he does. 

When the ferris wheel went to rotate again, the mechanism below locked up. It jerked the ride to a stop with Dame and I stuck at the top. I stood up at that point to get a better view of the commotion unfolding underneath. The security guard shouted for the operator to shut down the ride, his attention off Donald allowing him to make a grand escape. I shook my head at the scene, Dame unbothered and hardly batting an eye. 

“Can you believe this?” I asked her, taking a seat.

Dame shrugged. “It would seem the boys believe we don’t get enough quality time. ‘Quality’ being the operative term here.” 

“Okay, but this is extreme. Like, this-makes-me-nervous kind of extreme.” I said.

“Oh? This, of all things, makes you nervous?” Dame was being snide. “Who’d have thought that Super Desley’s one weakness is ferris wheels. I’ll be sure to send that one up the ladder.”

I looked at her in my own mild annoyance before shaking my head. “I could never guess why.”

A short silence fell on us, myself mirroring Dame in turning away from her. I wasn’t in the mood to argue or banter with her. It was stupid that I was even on the ferris wheel with her anyhow. She had her pick of the whole litter, and she chose the person she spent most of her time being aggravated with…besides Demitry. We had gotten along better in recent times, sure, but it didn’t make us close. We were barely friends. If not friends then at most we were colleagues with shared experiences. I was going to grumble and pout on this carnival ride until I figured it out. 

“Is it the height that has you bugged?” I heard Dame ask.

I stayed turned away from her. “I’m just not a fan of ferris wheels. They feel like one of those things you can’t get away from no matter where you are. You always have to have a giant wheel at a carnival.”

Dame chewed on her lip. “I like that about them. Ferris wheels remind me of happier times, and I like that I can find that anywhere I go…even if it’s just a piece of it.” 

“Sounds like you have something on your mind.” I said, leaning back in the seat and giving the cart a tiny sway. “Penny for your thoughts if you don’t break the piggy bank?”

Dame made a “tsk” sound. “That just sounds like you’re bad at giving advice.” 

“Then you should have had Dahlia up here.”

“You’re right. She probably would have been better company.” Dame started to say. I leaned forward to rest my arms on the bar, turning my head more to get a better look at Dame. “What’s your angle, Dame? You’re always so hot and cold towards me.”

“Starting to get whiplash, are we?” 

“I’m being serious.”

Dame faced away from me again. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Some part of you at least wants to. You don’t talk about anything, and this s**t is getting confusing.” I reasoned.

“Like I’m not confused either?” Dame retorted, half snapping at me.

“You could at least talk about it. Any of it. It’d be nice to understand you better.”

Dame huffed. “You don’t need to understand any part of me, Desley. Why do you even want to know? I don’t even understand myself! Hell, you’re the prime example of it!”

Here we go. 

Dame started to rant and ramble in agitation. “Forming bonds with people is stupid. A waste of time. Anything I had with anyone had been strictly professional or just to pass to the time. I’ve never been interested in rejoining society or being some normal little girl who goes to school, talks about boys, and goes to sleepovers.”

I waited for Dame to get to her point, urging her with an “And?”

“And then I come back to the building, and you’re there. You’re just there. Completely what I expected but not at the same time. You annoy me. You piss me off. Most of the time I wish you weren’t there at all, but you are.”

This was starting to feel like an attack. 

Dame had been looking at me now. “And I’m relieved. Everything has been so confusing, and I don’t mind it. I don’t want to figure it all out anymore. I don’t feel like I have to.”

Hearing Dame be this open to me put together the pieces I couldn’t line up before. I chose to say nothing because it felt as if she had been relying on me not to. We only stared at each other. It made sense. There was so much that had been left absent in Dame’s life. She’s had no one…up to this point. In truth, I thought it even scared her a bit because she didn’t have to be in complete control. It was trust. 

And it all began with telling me her real name. 

“My God…he’s done it.” Markus was nearly speechless, visibly shaken at what he was seeing on the screen of Hector’s laptop.

Hector remained silent. 

“How is this possible, Hector?” Markus asked.

“I’ve been trying to figure that out myself.”

Markus shook his head. “This can’t be right. You ran your numbers wrong or something because that is not possible.”

“I can assure you everything was put in correctly. The data doesn’t lie.”

Markus sat back in his seat, eyes becoming vacant as if the man had retreated to the depths of his thoughts. “I wish you hadn’t shown me this, Hector.”

“I didn’t have a choice. I don’t know what to do here.”

“You have to tell Eden. You can’t just sit on this and ignore it.”

“No, Eden won’t be of any use in containing this. I know exactly what they’ll do if they find out.”

Markus ran his fingers through his hair. “This was only suppose to be an idea. The human brain can’t handle that much. It would destroy itself.”

“It would appear that Daniel had other theories to that. Clearly.” Hector said. 

Markus slumped his arms on the table. “What about 23?”

“My only guess is timing. Timing has a lot to do with it. 23 was a fully grown male whose brain had reach maximum growth. The experiment being done then would only create strain from there on out. However, with Desley, the experiment was introduced in the fetus during a period where the brain is just starting to grow. As the brain grows, it absorbs the strain.” Hector gave his explanation.

“And therefore adapts to it.” Markus put the pieces together. 

Hector nodded. “That’s my only guess. 

“But why? Why create something like this? Who in their right mind would bring this kind of power to reality?”

“I think you’ve forgotten that Daniel was never once in his right mind.”

Markus looked sternly at Hector. “We have to do something about this. Now might be the only time we can properly deal with this before it goes any further.”

Hector gazed down at the table. He was starting to feel the weight of the situation on his shoulders now that he was hearing it out loud. 

Markus pushed further. “I know she’s Daniel’s child, and I know how you feel about Penny…but it can’t be any other way.”

“No, you’re right. We’ll call a meeting.”

My head throbbed. We were nearing our last ride for the night, everyone just as excited and laughing as they had been all evening. Demitry had his arm around Donald as they sang loudly to Dahlia, strolling backwards in front of her and trying not to run into anyone. Dame had stayed by my side, walking closer to me than she had before. My savant family had been living in the moment as kids again, and I felt we had loved each other more during those few hours. I had no doubt from that point on that I had belonged to them and with them. I only wished my head would allow me to appreciate it more. 

The group was getting in line for their last ride, which was a line of carts that flung around in a circle at high velocity. I could feel the wind coming off of it, and whereas it looked like a fun way to end the night, I couldn’t muster the strength to want to join them. Demitry was the first in line followed by Dahlia, who was being escorted by Donald. Dame went ahead of me onto the metal ramp leading under the rides brightly lit staging, metal music blaring from the speakers to get everyone pumped up. I stopped at the head of the ramp.

“Hey, guys, if you don’t mind…I think I’m going to sit this one out.” I spoke loud enough for them all to hear me.

Everyone turned around at the same time. 

Dahlia spoke first. “Is everything okay, Des?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, my head is just killing me and I think I’m going to try to walk it off for a while.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Dame asked. 

I shook my head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. You guys enjoy the ride and I’ll catch you afterwards.” 

“Alright! We’re going to sneak into a club after this, so you can meet us there when you’re feeling up to it. It’s the Night Drop.” Donald said.

“Yeah, they got a killer DJ playing tonight.” Demitry added.

I nodded again. “Okay, I think I know where that’s at. You guys go ahead without me and I’ll meet you later.”

They waved to me, and I placed my hands in my pockets before heading off in the opposite direction. I just wanted to get away from all of the noise for a bit. It felt like someone was hammering a nail into my skull, and it was only getting worse. I had hopes that finding a quiet place would relieve the pain. So, I found myself wandering farther and farther away from the fairgrounds and into the city, which had a surprisingly calming affect on me. I kept my head down so that no one on the streets would recognize me, but I wasn’t worried at the same time. The streets had a soft, golden glow from the lights shining through the windows of the tall buildings and the headlights of the passing vehicles. I walked aimlessly and without care to the direction I was going in. If I had gotten lost, it also wouldn’t have been the end of the world. I hadn’t had the time before to simply explore the city of Jordan.

I blended into the waves of people scattered about, feeling like a normal civilian. It didn’t ease the pain in my head any, but I liked the freedom I felt in being able to go where I pleased for once. I thought about the times I took for granted before the car accident happened and all the things that concerned me then. School. Homework. Bullies. Doctor’s appointments. Dentist visits. It all seemed so insignificant now. Everything up until waking up in the glass box. 

When I looked up to take in my surroundings, a person in the crowd had caught my attention. I had only seen the back of his head, but the way he stood was familiar. He had on jeans and a windbreaker, baseball cap fitted perfectly on his head. The boy had a phone up to his ear. He had been talking loudly, but not loud enough for me to hear the context of the conversation. His voice, however, was everything I needed to hear. 

“Thomas?” I questioned to myself. 

The boy put his phone away and started disappearing into a larger group of people. I tailed after him, pushing my way through the horde so as to not lose sight of him. It seemed impossible for it to be Thomas, but I had to know. He even walked like my best friend. I started calling out to him in hopes he would turn around regardless if Thomas had been his name or not, but the boy didn’t take a first glance. I pushed through two people, apologizing as I went by. I called his name out again. The boy stopped for a second but then continued on. I was just feet away from him, and at that point I was anxious. I was scrambling to catch up to him. 

“Thomas!” I shouted for the last time, reaching my hand out and grabbing the boy’s shoulder. 

He spun around instantly, and our eyes met for the first time in nearly two years. It was him. It was my best friend. Seeing his face only made me speechless, but inside I was overwhelmed with a tidal wave of emotion. I could feel my eyes tear up at seeing that there wasn’t a single scar on his face, and the fact that he was walking almost made me sink to my knees. We stared at each other. Thomas’ face was blank, and I eagerly waited for him to say something. Anything. 

He only stared at me. 

“Thomas, it’s so good to see you again.” I said, hoping like hell my best friend didn’t experience some form of complete memory loss. 

Thomas smiled finally, placing his hands on my arms. I thought for a moment that maybe he was going to hug me. There was so much I wanted to talk to him about and so many questions.

But then Thomas asked, “Why did you forget me?”

A chill went up my back as guilt gripped my stomach. Something was starting to feel off, seeing Thomas’ face go vacant and his eyes growing distant with some vague intensity that made me uncomfortable. I was at a loss again, stuttering to find the words that wouldn’t come out. Thomas shoved me back into someone, their hands immediately resting on my shoulders. 

“Yeah, what kind of person almost kills their best friend then forgets about them?” Keith’s voice crept into my ears.

I whipped around to see Keith standing before me. The guilt was turning to fear. 

“This isn’t possible.” I said to myself. “You’re dead.”

“No thanks to you.” Keith got in my face. “Some piece of s**t who thinks she’s a hero now. Kills three boys and nearly kills her best friend, and then forgets all about them. You’re some hero.”

“That was an accident!” I yelled.

“But she’s got it made now.” Kyler was suddenly at my side. “New life, new friends. Everyone kissing her a*s. They don’t even get what kind of monster she is. My mother didn’t have a body to bury after what you did.”

“I might as well be dead.” Thomas said. “Wanna know what I learned after watching so many of my family praying for a miracle that I’d walk again? Talk again?” He grabbed the back of my hair and yanked me closer to him so that he could breathe into my ear. “Miracles. Don’t. Happen.” 

I threw myself away from them, nearly knocking over a couple people who happened to be in the way. I had to run. I had to get away. Running as fast as I could through the clusters of civilians, every other person was either Thomas, Kyler, or Keith screaming horrible things at me or reminding me what I did to them. It was maddening. No matter how far I ran or the number of streets I would turn down, I couldn’t get away from them. There seemed to be no escaping the truth that I had forgotten. At one point I tripped and fell into a puddle on the sidewalk, several others stopping to observe and look on at a person they thought was on drugs but clearly in distress. I saw a hand extended towards me, one I thought was meant to help me to my feet, but when I looked up I only saw Thomas’ disfigured face and sickly yellow eyes bulging from his sockets.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Thomas said. “Does it, Desley?”

“Leave me alone!” I shouted, a short burst of force spraying from my body and knocking back the man who had tried to help me up. The spectacle grabbed everyone’s attention in the area. I didn’t look to see how far the man was thrown or if he was unharmed. Onlookers backed up when I got to my feet, and I took off running again. I ran until my legs were on fire and my lungs ached, rounding a corner to another street. The hallucinations of Thomas, Keith, and Kyger had ceased. That’s what I rationalized to myself. They had to be hallucinations. I dipped into an alley to get out of sight and to catch my breath. There was pacing and shuffling my feet through a muddy puddle as I tried to calm myself. It felt like there was loud static in my head, and I couldn’t turn the volume down. It tingled through my body, swelling into my chest and giving me the sensation that the static had somehow started seeping out of my fingertips. This was something I had yet to experience, and I was anxious to make it go away. I felt like I was in the middle of an anxiety attack, but I knew it was more foreign than that. So were the footsteps I heard behind me, but not the recognizable sound of a click that followed. 

“Desley.” I heard a woman’s voice.

I started to turn around to see who had been behind me, but all I saw was the sudden burst of blood that occurred at the same time as a loud POP! A bullet had stopped inches from my head, but all I could focus on was the wave of blood that caked the graffiti on the building wall behind me and pieces of the body that were left on the ground. Nearby was a revolver and a brown coat. There was a patch of warmth on my face. I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to think about it. My vision tunneled on a hand that was left intact, part of the bone visible from the wrist. I felt cold, heart beating itself against my ribcage. This had to be another hallucination. I repeated it over and over until everything went black. 

The blackout lasted for a second.

When my vision came back, I was standing across the street from the nightclub my friends had said they were going to. I didn’t know how I got there or what I did along the way, but I clearly needed help. I wasn’t sure if I still had the blood on my face. If there was blood on my face. The neon sign glared in a brilliant blue and pink that burned my retinas. It made my head feel like it was cracking open. Wasting no time, feeling desperate to find the others, I rushed across the street. There was a line of people waiting to get in, a bouncer blocking the door and scanning club goers before letting them in. Instead of getting in line, because I didn’t have time to wait to be denied entry, I headed straight for the door. I stepped over the velvet rope, which by then the bouncer had already been holding a hand out to stop me. My thoughts were on one track, and I didn’t hear anything the man said to me when he reached his hand out to grab me. His hand never touched me, however. It froze in the space between us, and he couldn’t free it regardless of how hard he pushed or pulled. It made those waiting in line gasp and look at each other in confusion. I didn’t care though. Something much worse could have happened. 

I pushed through the doors to the club and entered into a chaos of lights and thundering bass that scattered what stable senses I had left. There were so many that had their bodies covered in glowing paint, glow rings around their necks and wrists. The dance floor was packed. I could feel the presence of the other savants, but I couldn’t pinpoint where they were. I couldn’t even gather myself together enough to signal Dahlia telepathically. However, I could see the bar on the other side of the dance floor, and I figured that maybe someone from my group was there. I started making my way out onto the floor, stepping off the carpet steps onto tile that had been sticky in some spots from spilled drinks. 

Then my vision felt like it was experiencing lag, the movement of everyone around me shuttering. I pushed on. The more towards the center I got, the more confined the space was in between the drunken life forms that danced in their haze of color. The bass from the song playing was slower. Sensual and hypnotic. Like we were all drugged by the club’s shifting atmosphere. It was becoming harder to push through everyone. I couldn’t imagine where the others had been in this mess, but I was desperate to find them. Something was wrong with me. I shoved myself through another tight fit in the crowd, stumbling and tripping over another person’s shoe. I fell on my knees in an open space at the center of the dance floor, which I found odd to not be swarmed by the other people. 

But one. 

When I looked up and saw the man before me, I couldn’t bring myself to my feet. I was speechless, afraid, and so very confused. 

My father gazed upon me with an air of pride, his hands in his lab coat, his tie perfectly in place, and his glasses fitted to the bridge of his nose. The people around us faded into a shadow to where I could hardly see their outlines, but my eyes remained on my father’s face. I almost couldn’t breathe. 

“It seems so fitting for a god to kneel before its creator.” He said. 

I couldn’t say anything else but, “What is happening to me, dad?”

My father had taken a couple steps forward, slowly glancing around at the different faces. “I’ve always felt contempt. Look around at all these people, Desley. Mindless. Destructive. Violent. Vile. They’ll destroy what’s created. Give them the universe, and they’ll kill it without question.”

I watched him slowly walk around me. It wasn’t making any sense to me. None of it was. 

“This cycle is like a virus this world had embraced for being normal, and there’s finally an anomaly to break it.” He continued. 

I took a deep breath, struggling to absorb all of this. “I don’t understand.”

“There isn’t anything destroyed that you can’t create, Desley.” My father answered me, but his voice sounded morphed. 

It began to get dark around me. A voice I couldn’t hear yet understand replaced my father’s image. 

“It all begins in the shadows of the darkest hour.”

A circular glow surrounded my feet as I began to stand up.

“Touch and influence, you have the world at your command.”

I looked around and started seeing…stars. Like I had been transported somewhere in the farthest reaches of space.

“Life and death. The destroyer and creator. The cursed tree where the moths eat.”

I watched as the stars and the planets began rotating around me as if they were being sucked into a drain that led to my hands and the top of my head. 

“The beginning of space and time is in your body. From the bones to the molecules that make your existence valid.”

I witnessed a dark, starry figure approach me from the darkness.

“And you will find that gods have desires they are not asked of.”

The figure stood before me and caressed my face in its hands, by which point I had given myself over to what I was experiencing. I embraced what I felt and closed my eyes. It was both comforting and anointing. 

“What are your desires?”

A flash of images of my mother and father, Thomas walking down the street, the savants I had come to adore. 

“Do you desire happiness?”

There was a warmth inside my chest that made the rest of my body relax. Like, gravity had been stripped from me and I was being carried away.

“What will you choose to become? What brings you happiness…and what will you do when you lose it?”

The noise of the club softly filled my ears again, the smells returning to my nose, and the lights dancing across my closed eyelids. All that remained was the sensation of a pair of hands holding my face. I slowly opened my eyes to find Dame before me. We stared at each other without a word being said, and I became lost between what was real and what was in my head. It could have all been in my head. For all I knew, this whole thing could have been a dream. 

“Desley?” Dame sounded concerned, a little cautious.

I backed away from her, shaking my head. “You’re not real.”

Dame’s face grew more concerned. 

“None of this is real.” I said before turning and walking away.

“Desley, wait!” I heard Dame’s voice shout over the music, feeling her grab my wrist to stop me.

When I went to turn around to reason with what I didn’t know was real or fake, I saw that Dame had blood seeping from the corners of her mouth and that her chest was tattered and soaked in blood. The sight made me yank my hand away, immediately convincing myself it wasn’t real. I bumped into a person behind me. I didn’t look at them. I was scared to. I pushed past them to disappear into the crowd again. I squeezed my way through all of the people as I felt my chest tighten. I was hearing someone calling my name, but I dared not to look. There was another break in the swarm of people on the dance floor, one which I stumbled into and was instantly taken back at a hallucination of Dorian reaching his hand to me with a bullet hole in his head. The gasp got caught in my throat, and I barreled into the crowd again to get away. 

Everywhere I looked became a gruesome image as the people took on an image of being bathed in blood, the music replaced with screams of terror and agony. I panicked when I felt their hands grabbing at me, shaking me, and one woman screaming at me to look at what I’ve done. It was insane, and I started fighting back. I shoved and I pushed, knocked down and thrown to the side. I fought to an emergency exit, slamming myself against the door to open it. I scurried into another alleyway, tripping over myself along the way. I couldn’t breathe anymore. My chest felt as if it had collapsed. I knocked myself into the side of a dumpster, which caused me to stumble again before falling on my side. I rolled onto my back as I saw a bright pillar of light striking the sky. Then my eyes fell heavy. 

I could feel the death.