found the general and me in the elevator. thought I had attacked the general.
But was wrong. It wasn’t me. It had to have been the green monsters. The ones sent by the Devil. I tried to tell but he hated it when we talked back. I crawled out of bed and tiptoed to the door a few feet away. I listened for footsteps. Nothing.
I had only managed to sleep a few hours after they returned me to my room, and no one had come to see me since then. It was hard to tell the time, but it should still be early in the morning.
Someone sniffled in the bed to my right, followed by quiet sobbing.
“Shhh, it’s going to be okay. I’m here. I’m here. You’re safe now,” C-320 quietly consoled C-332 as he woke from his nightmare. C-320 lay next to C-332 and embraced him while he slept. I crept over to their bed and sat next to them. I found their bodies in the darkness and rubbed C-332’s arm while C-320 whispered into his ear, chasing away the fear. C-332 fussed until he fell back into a fitful sleep.
“That’s the third time tonight,” C-320 whispered. She extracted herself from C-332, sat beside me, and leaned her head against my shoulder. “It’s getting worse.” We sat in silence for a moment. “I think you should compel his fears away.”
My lips parted, and I barely managed to hold back my gasp. None of us in the C-Wing slept soundly, but to compel one of our own was a step too far. I scooted away and turned to face C-320. “I can’t. The others would hate me. It’s our only rule.”
“They wouldn’t hate you.” She leaned in close. “We already talked it over, and we all agreed we would allow it this once, and only from you.” Her voice grew quiet. “We’re afraid he’ll be transferred.”
Would he really be transferred so soon? But C-332 was only three! I shook my head. “It won’t come to that.”
“But—”
“I think I have a way out of here.” Several beds in the room creaked. I knew we were talking too loud.
“You can’t,” C-320 hissed. “They’ll transfer you!” She swallowed. “Remember C-298 and C-301. It’s not going to work.”
“It’s different now. I’m stronger than they were.”
“Yes, but only by a little bit. Where would you even go if you escaped?”
“It doesn’t matter. Anywhere but here.” I paused. “And I’m taking all of us.”
Several gasps echoed throughout the room.
“It’s different now.” I reached inside myself and revved my power. The power flowed down from my mind into my body and out to a distant anchor—a hundred times more powerful than before. “I think I made a deal with the Devil.”
I had spoken with the woman who wasn’t Mom again last night. She called herself A.M.I. She told me about the Game that covered the world. That things were different now. And that I was special—different from all the rest.
I needed to act fast before returned—before
found out.
“Wake everybody and get ready to leave.”
“Wha... now? We don’t have bags or food or—”
“Just make sure everyone has their shoes on.” I dug into the spot in my mind that stretched out into the distance, and I was suddenly inside the mind of General Braxton, hearing and seeing as he did. He was in the medical room, trying to convince Dr. Hanley to open our door. Bandages were wrapped around his chest, his wounds stitched back together.
I didn’t use to be able to share senses with those I compelled. Though I wasn’t sure that was what I was doing anymore. Normally they would follow the one command I gave them before returning to normal, but now it was like I never lost control. But that wasn’t right either. I wasn’t constantly commanding him to do things, yet I somehow knew he was always trying to help me. It was like his every action was for me.
Dr. Hanley stood across from him, arms crossed. Dark circles hung under her eyes. She pinched her lips together and huffed out of her nose. “I already told you. We’re having issues communicating with the HQ, General. We can arrange—”
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“And I already told you that I don’t care about reaching HQ.” General Braxton motioned toward his decorated jacket beside him. “I
the authority on the matter, remember?”
Everything came in slightly fuzzy, and I struggled to picture much more than what they were saying. I pressed into his mind the need to have Dr. Hanley open the door.
“Look, doctor. I didn’t come down here for a leisurely stroll. I can’t get into the details as it’s classified, but American lives are on the line. A lot of them.”
Dr. Hanley sighed and shook her head. “They always are, General, they always are.” She glanced up at the ceiling. “I guess if it’s already been approved, we don’t need to wait for Dr. Livingston to return.”
Her words flooded me with relief.
I felt General Braxton smile. “Thank you, M—” He cleared his throat. “Thank you, Dr. Hanley.”
“I’ll meet you at the elevator in fifteen minutes with the weapon.”
“What if I came with you?”
Dr. Hanley squinted at him.
“Hey, I don’t feel like standing around waiting for you. It’s not like I don’t have the clearance.”
Dr. Hanley held the general’s gaze for a moment. “Fine.” She took a deep breath, abruptly turned, and strode out of the room and down the hall.
I backed out of my connection with the general to let him deal with the next part. He seemed to still do what I wanted, even without me actively influencing him. It was massively more powerful than what I could do before. Everything was going as planned. Sleepy apologies and muted scuffling filled the room as my seventeen younger brothers and sisters prepared for our escape.
“Okay. They’re coming. We have about five minutes.”
“Who’s coming?” one of the kids asked.
I smiled but didn’t reply. They would be afraid if I told them it was Dr. Hanley. But that was fine. They were all so young. They didn’t understand how she truly felt.
Things were different now. She could stop pretending.
Steps echoed down the hallway, and the room went silent.
“Is everyone ready?” I asked.
“Y-yes.” C-320’s voice shook. She stepped forward to stand beside me, little C-335 in her arms, C-332 at her side holding her hand.
I stepped up in front of the door with a grin.
We were finally going to get out of here. And be a real family.
The lights snapped on, bathing the room in an abrasive white light, exposing dozens of small beds, several cribs, and an opening that led to a bathroom. I rapidly blinked, trying to force my eyes to adjust. The door clicked and slowly swung open.
Dr. Hanley stared at us from beside the general, her eyes going wide before squinting. “What are you kids doing? Get back in bed, all of you. C-318, follow me. You still have your assignment.”
My heart pounded in my chest, and something tumbled around in my gut like I was going to be sick.
This was it.
It was finally time.
I could do this.
I cleared my throat. “We’re leaving. All of us.” I stepped forward. “And I want you to come.” Everyone behind me gasped, but I ignored them.
They didn’t know the truth.
“Of all the times to—” Dr. Hanley rubbed her brow. “I told that bonehead that was more realistic than he thought.” She sighed. “You are incredibly fortunate Dr. Livingston isn’t here, young lady. I don’t even know what he would—” She sighed again and turned toward the general. “I apologize for this. Sometimes the children can be rebellious. I’m sure you can understand.”
The general stared back at her, his brow furrowed. “Did you not hear what she said?”
“What she—What?”
I spoke up again. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore. We can all leave—together.”
“No, that’s not—” She swore under her breath and pointed at all the kids behind me. “Get back to bed. Now.” Her voice had an edge I hadn’t heard before. “And you, C-318, quit this nonsense and let’s go.” She reached out to grab my hand.
I jerked back. “But we don’t—”
“Knock this off! We’re leaving.”
“But, Mom, we can—”
Her hand slapped me across the face, directly over the top of my bruise.
“I told you to never call me that.”
The pain radiated through my face and boiled up from my gut. Several kids started crying. My hands shook, and my voice caught in my throat. I couldn’t breathe.
One of the kids screamed. I looked up to see the general tackling Dr. Hanley, pinning her arms to her sides and forcing her to her knees. She struggled and screamed. Fresh blood seeped into the general’s white shirt.
Suggestions flared to life inside my mind. I knew what I could do. How I could get her to join us. To be our mother. I held out my hand and stepped toward Dr. Hanley.
Her eyes went wide as she connected the dots. She arched away from me. “No. You don’t have to do this. Stop! You’ll be in so much trouble.”
I touched my fingers to the side of her temple, and the same glowing web as before appeared. Something within me directed me on what to do to get what I wanted. An unknown amount of time later, a second connection snapped into place. I stumbled backward as a wave of disgust and loathing overwhelmed my thoughts. I gagged and fell to my knees.
The wail of crying children pierced the dread. I wiped at my face, smearing tears. I swallowed the bile that coated my throat. I stared at Mom... no... Dr. Hanley. She stood still with a blank look on her face.
General Braxton lifted me to my feet. “Come. We should leave.”
Dr. Hanley grabbed C-335 from C-320, who stared at me wide-eyed.
I looked away from the doctor and back at the group of crying children—my real family. I swallowed the storm inside of me and cleared my throat. “Come on, guys. Let’s get out—”
The room shook, and dust fell from the ceiling. I covered my ears as the sound of metal tearing screeched down the halls. All at once, the lights went out and red emergency lights flickered on. Several of the children fell to the floor, and their panicked cries intensified. I scooped up C-334. General Braxton grabbed C-332 and C-331, one in each arm.
I motioned toward the door. “It’s time to go.”
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