Manipulate

Theo yells at us as we manage to come together like magnets. He tells us to draw our guns out and follow him. Footsteps echo through the hallway as gunshots are fired. Some people run upstairs, others run downstairs, and others find other exits. Theo has us run upstairs where we entered TID once upon a time.

We’re on the street that’s dead. No one runs in the brisk morning except for us and people from the Government. They yell at us to stop and to drop to the ground. We don’t listen to them. More gunshots. They echo in my ear like a scream.

My heart hammers in my chest as voices fill my head. Theo grabs my arm and pulls me to the sidewalk, away from the group. We hide behind a lamppost for safety. Theo presses me against it and looks me dead in the eyes. Rae and Aj find us and grab us by the arms, dragging us toward an empty alley.

“Abhaya, we’re going to find your mom and Theo, we’re going to find Brooke. Follow me,” Rae whispers.

Aj hugs me and lets go in a flash. He smiles and nods at Rae. She draws her gun out and looks both ways to see if the coast is clear. Rae nods and we follow her. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Not here. Not now. Aj carries a gun like ours and smiles at me.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find her,” Aj says, winking an eye.

I draw my gun and keep it pointed toward the ground. Rae signals for us to follow her with a wave of her hand. We press ourselves against the wall until a gunshot rips through the dead morning.

“Stop! And drop to your knees!” a familiar voice shouts.

My heart becomes a drum that has no tempo in my chest. I haven’t heard that voice for months and now I’m hearing it like it’s the first time. Donatella. She’s here and my knees almost give out. I can’t do this in front of her. I have to be strong and show no fear.

The sound of heels on pavement makes us stop and drop to the ground. Our guns lay beside us as we lay them down. I try to control my breaths and my thoughts.

Don’t make yourself anymore obvious, I tell myself. They know.

I feel a tug on my hair and the sly, malicious grin that I saw for years is back. Then I’m kicked in the back.

“You must be Theo,” Donatella says, standing behind Theo and circling him like a hawk does with its prey. “Theo Arrow, younger brother of Luke Arrow. I must say, Luke is very loyal to me. Perhaps you could be too. And Brooke must be your younger sister. Very interesting girl, I must say. Her powers are quite rare. She is one of the two known people who have three powers.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Theo gritting his teeth. She’s breaking him and he’s trying not to break. Donatella must have seen me and approaches me again, tilting my chin up with her finger.

“Abhaya Lynne Hughes, long time so see, sweet girl,” she states with a smirk as my urge to bite her finger increases. “My, my, my, how much you have changed. You know, someone you know has powers, too. That someone is your brother, Aj.”

I look up at her and see a glint in her eye. She wants to break me. No, she’s lying. There is a possibility that Aj could have powers like me because of Mom, but he’s never shown them. Was he able to control it easier than I can? Was Aj’s more common than mine and less of a threat to himself? Why didn’t he tell me? Or did he not know that he had powers?

“Take them,” Donatella commands. “And lock them up with Chloe and Brooke after they’re tested.”