The Hunt: The Oakmont Saga, Book 2

“Welcome to Werdlmyre,” I heard from the side of the lane, the source of the voice hidden in the bushes. Of course, since I heard it, I found it with my mind immediately, along with two others.

Looking directly at them, the three kids stepped out. Two were probably about my age, and the third was in his upper teens. The two younger kids were both girls. One had blonde hair and the other was a black girl. The blonde girl had dyed the ends of her hair purple. The black girl had a similar color, but it looked vastly different in her black hair. It looked really pretty, the more I looked at it.

As Gabriel and I paused, we became held in telekinetic hands. I wasn’t sure how else to describe the force that held us. Not wanting to start out violently, I pried the hands off of me, then Gabriel. As I worked on Gabriel, I was held again. I knew pretty quickly that this was an unending game.

To stop this cycle, I sent a telepathic probe into the minds of the three kids, Release us, or I’ll hurt you. That ended the restraint, and the looks on their faces was priceless. It was pure shock.

“How did you do that?” the older boy asked.

“I’m a telepath,” I replied. The two girls looked confused, but the boy’s eyes widened.

“It’s true,” he stated, very softly.

“What’s true?” one of the girls asked. I didn’t see which one.

“We’d heard there was a school with telepaths, but we thought it was just one of those false rumors,” he said.

“But how is it they have telekinesis too?” the black girl asked.

The boy suddenly got curious and looked back at me, “She shouldn’t, according to what I heard.” He then looked over at Gabriel, “Maybe she’s a telepath and he’s the telekinetic.”

“I’m both,” I said. That brought a very curious look from them.

“Why’re you here?” he asked, getting down to business.

“We want a place to live that won’t abuse us and experiment on us. But we need to be kept away from regular people,” I said.

“They do experiments on you, there?” the blonde girl asked. I only nodded, memories I didn’t like surfacing and coming close to making me emotional.

“You’ve got a weird haircut,” the black girl suddenly exclaimed. That pushed me over the edge, and tears welled up in my eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s nice, I guess,” she said, looking a little cockeyed at my hair.

“It’s not that,” Gabriel said for me. “They put some kind of device in her head to control her. They cut open her skull to do it,” he told them. All of them gasped at him.

“How many of you are there?” the boy asked, trying to remain businesslike.

“93,” I said. Again, they all looked shocked. Even the boy couldn’t maintain his composure.

“We need to talk to the Headmaster. He’ll need to take this one,” the boy declared. He motioned us forward and the two girls walked behind us. It looked like we were prisoners, but I knew better, and so did they.

We walked through a stand of trees along a gravel drive. Although it was November, it was warm. Then it hit me, I was thirteen. My birthday had already passed, and I missed it, just as I had two years before, and under similar circumstances.

“I’m thirteen,” I said, and Gabriel looked over at me.

“When was your birthday?”

“November 2nd.”

He stopped and hugged me, “Happy birthday.”

Hugging him back, I said, “Thank you.” We parted and continued, the three kids giving us a small smile, but not saying anything.

As we came through the trees, a large clearing opened up showing what I envisioned a boarding school to look like. It actually looked a lot like the one I went to in California, so long ago. There were a collection of red brick buildings, none taller than three stories, and only a couple that tall. Lots of trees and flowers lined the paths that meandered between the different buildings. There were kids and adults walking in a very relaxed manner, some sitting on benches, some sitting in the grass. The entire scene was idyllic, and somewhat surreal.

“You look...strange,” Gabriel noted, as we were walking.

“It’s so perfect looking,” I commented.

“I hope it’s as perfect as it looks,” he whispered to me. I was too enraptured with everything to make any acknowledgement.

We walked into a large courtyard area, that had a huge oak tree in the center, surrounded with all kinds of flowers and a monstrous planter encircling the whole thing. There were benches surrounding the area, and a brick area around that, with more benches on the other side of the brick area.

To the right of the central tree was a large monument. There was a bronze statue of a boy that very much looked like he had Downs syndrome. The person, or people, that designed it made it to look like he had some kind of sunburst around his head. Or, maybe it was supposed to be a halo. There was also a plaque with it.

Our guides led us directly to it, very deliberately allowing me time to read the plaque. It said:

Randall Curtis Landry

“Curt”

A normal boy who was so special

He made special look normal.

The world is not as bright without his light.

“He’s an inspiration to all of us,” the black girl told me.

“What did he do?” I asked, very curious, considering he looked to be a Downs kid.

“He was a real hero. He died saving people. He never asked for anything, other than to be normal,” she offered, then stopped as she saw tears pouring down my face.

“I don’t belong here,” I said, barely above a whisper. The weight of my deeds was crashing down on me, looking at the adoration in their eyes and knowing how they looked up to a boy like this. I killed people. I destroyed. This boy saved people, and was the truest form of a hero.

“You need to see the headmaster,” Gabriel urged me. I wasn’t able to resist, as he lifted me from my knees. I hadn’t realized I’d dropped to the ground.

Gabriel led me away, as the three kids continued guiding us. They seemed much more careful with me, after that.

As we walked away from the statue, I looked around at the kids wandering through the area. They were all shapes and sizes.

Then it hit me. At Oakmont, everyone was absolutely fit. There was no such thing as a fat kid there. Here, there was a complete mix, like back at Beach Lake Elementary, when I went to public school.

On the far side, we entered one of the two three story buildings. This one, unlike any of the rest of the buildings, had a clocktower on the front, rising above the campus.

There was a reception desk as we walked in, but our escort led us past it, and up the stairs. We climbed up to the third floor, and entered an office area, complete with its own reception area. It was a lot like the area Mrs. Thornton occupied at Oakmont. Behind this reception desk was a very large black woman, who seemed to have a smile permanently cut into her face.

“Reggie, Sadie, Gabby, how can I help you?” she asked, very pleasantly, and without any of the expected southern drawl.

“We need to see the Headmaster, Mrs. Basinger,” Reggie said. He was the one of our three escorts I had a name for, now. Of course, I had names for the two girls, but not which one was which.

Pressing a button on her phone, she spoke into her headset, “Mr. Jeffery, Reggie has two children to see you, along with Sadie and Gabby.” Mrs. Basinger kept looking back to me, concern in her gaze.

After a moment, she returned her attention to Reggie and said, “You can go on in.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Basinger,” Reggie replied, and led us into an office on the opposite wall.

Inside was a huge space, half of it taken up with a large conference table, surrounded by a lot of chairs. Not all of the chairs looked like they belonged. It was a bit of a mix of different chair types and styles.

“Good afternoon,” the man said, as we walked in. He stood up and came from behind his desk, as he spoke. “Please, sit down, all of you.”

Our escort sat down, and so did we. Gabriel didn’t let go of my hand, or maybe it was me that didn’t let go of his. It didn’t matter, it was helping me a lot, and I definitely needed help.

“What do we have here?” the Headmaster asked.

“Sir, these two walked in the front gate and she used the power to close it. We attempted to wrap them up, and she fought us. She then used her mind to speak to us. She’s a telepath,” Reggie informed him. His left eyebrow rose up, as he looked at me.

“And you’re sure it wasn’t the young man using the power?” the Headmaster asked Reggie.

“We thought that too, but she told us it was her,” Reggie replied.

“Very interesting. Of course, that doesn’t mean what she said is true,” he said, returning his gaze to me.

“I’m Headmaster Thadeus Troudeau, and yes, I know it’s an odd name. Just call me Headmaster. It’s a lot simpler,” he said, with a humorous smile. “You’ve met them, but I’ll give a proper introduction, although I’m sure they did that,” he said, giving them a knowing look. “The young man is Reggie, and this is Sadie,” he said, indicating the blonde girl, “and this is Gabby,” he finished, indicating the black girl.

“This is Melanie and I’m Gabriel, or Gabe,” Gabriel told him.

“What are your expectations?” he asked, once the introductions were over. Although he initially looked at Gabriel as he asked, his gaze moved to me.

The wording of the question was unexpected, and I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer it. I had to come up with something, though. To do that, I had to get myself under control.

“I was hoping we could come here and have a safe place to live, and maybe learn,” I told him. It wasn’t the smoothest answer, but I’d been surprised, and I was still upset.

“Your arrival is very coincidentally timed. Are you in any way connected with a man named Randall Brager? He called this morning asking for a tour of the school.”

“Her name’s Melanie Brager,” Gabriel replied, after I didn’t answer fast enough.

“Really?” he said, and I could see he was surprised.

“So, a girl that I must assume is the daughter of an NSA, or CIA, agent has come to Werdlmyer for a place to stay, and get trained, at the same time her father wants to tour the facility, but it seems independently of him.”

“There’re 92 kids in buses outside the gate that came with us,” Gabriel told him. He looked at him, the shock on his face impressive. That statement completely ended his curiosity about my situation.

“Are all of them able to do what you can?” he asked, looking at me again.

“No, headmaster. Most of them are only telepaths, but there are a few that can,” I managed to reply.

“First, don’t address me as headmaster, like it’s some kind of honorific. It’s just easier than you trying to use my real name. If you want to be properly respectful, just use sir, as you would with any other adult,” he said, surprising me.

“Now, tell me what you’re capable of,” he said. His words, although phrased like a command, didn’t have that tone. It was more of a request, but a firm one, but I was still confused from his prior statement.

Although I knew he was well aware of what we could do, I had instinctual reservations about showing anything. I couldn’t help it.

“Mel, I think you need to tell him,” Gabriel urged me, knowing at least something of my inner turmoil.

“I can’t,” I replied, barely able to even hear myself.

“That’s your choice, and I won’t force you to. However, if we don’t know what your capabilities are, we can’t properly teach you, and thus we can’t let you stay,” he said. He’d obviously heard me, even though I’d barely whispered.

“Can I show you...my way?” I then asked, speaking a little louder. He looked curious and worried, but finally nodded his head.

I sent a probe into his mind and showed him everything I’d done, using my powers. I left out the worst of my experiences, and didn’t give him the emotions I struggled with, but he got everything he needed. As gently as I was able, I removed my probe.

“That’s...intense,” he said, once it was over.

He took a moment to recover, and he looked at me, not saying anything. He seemed to be thinking over something, but I wasn’t going to invade his mind to find out what.

“We’ll be pushed a bit beyond our capacity, and we have no one trained to handle telepaths, but we can take you in, all of you,” he said.

“Some of the training you need, we’re able to provide. Your talents have been used offensively entirely too much, though. You’re not a weapon, and shouldn’t try to be,” he said.

“But that’s why we were created,” I said, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them.

“Yes, the people that began the program did intend that, but not for children. It was never intended for children. We took volunteers and gave them abilities, and training. When it became obvious that the children of these volunteers were inheriting the abilities, we created this school, along with the research facility. We strive to teach all of you how to manage what you have, in a responsible way in the hopes that you can be normal members of society,” he said.

His speech, such as it was, impacted me very strongly. Tears poured out of my eyes again, and I couldn’t control them, nor the sobbing that began with them. For the second time in less than half an hour, I was crying.

“What’s the matter?” he asked. I couldn’t see his face, but his tone was full of compassion.

“The people that are after her have abused her and done experiments on her. They train them to be weapons and she thinks she’s a monster,” Gabriel told him. “The place on her head, where the hair isn’t right, is where they cut open her skull and implanted a device to track her and mess her up if she ever ran away,” he continued.

“Mess her up, how?” Reggie asked.

“Aliyah told me it would fry her brain, if anyone messed with it or she left Oakmont,” he replied.

“Yet, here she is,” the Headmaster remarked.

“Richard and I figured out how to get it out,” I told him, working hard to get myself under control.

“May I ask, how?” he asked. Again, I kind of froze.

“By your reaction, I must assume it was tied to your power,” he correctly surmised, to which I nodded. “And further considering your reaction, I must assume you have had a bad experience with regard to that power, probably with letting them know what you can do. Am I correct?” he asked, and again I nodded.

“Melanie, I promise you, we won’t do anything like that here, but you don’t have to trust us. Progress at your own pace, in your own time,” he said.

I looked up at him and nodded, the smallest hint of a smile forming on my face. It appeared that we’d actually found a home, a place that would take us and keep us safe. Could I let myself stay, though, considering what I was?

“Would you take me to meet the rest of your friends?” he asked, standing up. All of us stood up and walked to the front gate of the school grounds. As we went, a larger and larger group formed, following us. Most came simply curious what was going on. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at the statue, and softly crying again, but I kept going.

Although I wasn’t certain, I suspected that the entire population was there as he opened the front gate. This time, I ran to my parents, grabbing them as tightly as I could. Gabriel remained with the telekinetics. However, the Headmaster walked out behind me.

“Mr. Brager, I assume,” he said as he approached.

“Yes,” my Dad replied.

“Your daughter’s something else. However, in the short time I’ve spent with her, I’ve come to be absolutely convinced that she needs counselling,” the Headmaster said, making me groan inside.

“We had her in counselling, before the Oakmont people tried to take her again,” he told the Headmaster. “Unfortunately, she still seemed to get worse, not better,” my Dad said.

“Let’s discuss that later, if you don’t mind. You came here for a tour of the grounds and facility. Did you have anything in particular you wanted to see?” the Headmaster asked.

My Dad looked down at me, then back at the Headmaster, “I think that she has approved, and that’s good enough for me.”

“We do have a problem, however. She mentioned a total of 93 new children for us to take in. We’ll find a way, but we don’t have the space for them, and I also know about talks of consolidating the Oakmont program with us. Depending on which facility is the primary, we may have trouble, and that doesn’t even touch the problems I’m becoming aware of with regard to how that program’s run,” he said.

My Dad gave him an approving, contemplative look. The Headmaster had just scored a lot of points with my father, whether he knew it or not.

“By the way, and forgive me, my name is Headmaster Thadeus Troudeau, but I request that you call me Jeffery,” he then said, extending his hand.

“Randy Brager,” Dad said, shaking the Headmaster’s hand.