Page 25 of Emergence
The statement was meant for me. If I got out of control, I would be handled. The question probably wasn’t if I would lose control, but when, and I wondered what would happen if I couldn’t get it back once I’d lost it. From what Dr. Fagan had just said, I would be dispatched.
“This area is our training facility,” he said, opening two large doors that led into a courtyard surrounded by ice. Even the ceiling was ice. I shivered, and Dr. Fagan laughed. “It feels cold now, but wait until we begin training. Then, you’ll be thankful for the cool room.”
Much of the building was made from ice. There was a skating rink on the other side of the courtyard and other smaller rooms on this side.
As we walked into the main structure, we reached more comfortable parts of the building. There was a massive fireplace in what appeared to be a sitting area with tables and chairs scattered around. The place was empty, and the fireplace was not lit. But I could tell by the well-worn furniture the room was used frequently.
Finally, we came to the other side of the large sitting area and after walking down a long hallway, entered into what I assumed was Dr. Fagan’s private quarters. He showed me up the staircase to a room he said would be mine while I was here.
I was overwhelmed. How could something like this exist? I came back down after stowing my bag in the closet. Dr. Fagan was on the phone, and he turned around and winked at me. “Yes, that’ll be perfect. I’ll let him know,” he said and hung up.
“That was your first instructor. I figured we should get the worst tests out of the way. If we can find your frustration level, we can begin working with you to control it.”
“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?” I asked. Dr. Fagan just smiled.
He gave me a set of exercise clothes. I could tell by how they felt they were expensive. Probably the most expensive things I’d ever worn. I had no idea how they knew my size, but I didn’t spend much time thinking about it.
When I entered the courtyard, three huge men stood staring at me. There was also a little boy who looked to be about five. The strange men and the little kid in one room triggered something inside me. I would have left quickly to keep my triggers from getting the better of me, but before I could react, Dr. Fagan said, “This is your first challenge. Are you ready?”
“Ready for…”
All four men, Dr. Fagan included, lifted their hands, and a deluge of water poured from them. I didn’t know what they expected me to do. Should I fight back? Should I try to get away? Finally, I decided I needed to escape. I remembered the door was behind me, so I staggered back, determined to hold my breath. I bumped into the door and felt something under my feet: the little boy.
Fuck, how did he get there? Was he breathing? I tried to feel for him, but his body was limp. No, fuck, no, I wouldn’t let this happen. Not again. Not on my watch.
My mind took over automatically. Nothing was more important than protecting the child. The water kept coming, and I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t know how. I quickly searched the door for the knob, and finding it, I thrust it open. The boy and I were washed into the hallway. Finally, we were outside the onslaught of water.
I grabbed the child, quickly wiped the water out of my eyes, and looked to see if he was okay. The child wasn’t a child at all. It was a practice dummy. I looked up straight into the eyes of Dr. Fagan.
“Interesting,” he said and returned to the room. When I didn’t immediately follow, he popped his head back out and asked, “Are you coming?” Like he hadn’tjusttried to drown me.
The rest of that day and every day since, they pushed me to my limits. They tried tricking me, triggering me, and forcing me to use my powers which I handled poorly at best. I’d only ever used them once.
The only times I was happy while living there were the evening phone calls I had with Lysander and sometimes with Kyle and Kaylee. Lysander was concerned about the tactics Dr. Fagan was using, but Kyle and Kaylee said they sounded pretty standard and assured me they’d been put through similar training programs when they had gone to superhero summer camps. “They’re just trying to get a rise out of you to see how far you go before you break.”
Finally, after a week had passed, Dr. Fagan smiled one evening after we’d finished a particularly grueling session where several men came after me with baseball bats. “You have tremendous control, Kaden. But I don’t believe you understand your own powers yet. So, I will be recommending that you return here once a month for us to reevaluate you. However, as long as you maintain self-control, I have no problem recommending you remain at the school.”
That night, the men who’d antagonized me all week showed up with their spouses and children. They all clapped me on the back and laughed at everything they’d put me through.
“I thought he was going to try to incinerate us that day we all tackled him and held him down,” one guy said as he clapped Dr. Fagan on the back.
They were right. That had been the worst exercise of all. I wondered if they knew all the things men had done to me over the years. I’d barely maintained my self-control that day. I was screaming and crying when they let go, but I hadn’t killed them. I hadn’t even thought about killing them.
Getting away from them, yes, as fast as I could, but killing them, no. I knew there was a difference between these men and those who’d really wanted to hurt me. The energy in these men was easygoing, even playful. The men who’d… well, they were not these guys.
The other time I freaked out was the first test. The one where I thought the boy was in danger. I’d considered using my powers to control the situation, but Dr. Fagan had said he was testing me. The boy had to be a Water person, so despite being freaked out, my mind must’ve registered, even when I thought he was real, he probably wasn’t in any danger.
We enjoyed a huge meal, the fire in the enormous fireplace had been built high, and the room was warm and friendly. These people were friends, and somehow, I’d begun to fit in. Once again, it was a strange sensation, as it had been when Lysander, Kyle, and Kaylee had befriended me. I considered the possibility that the world was a good place, and I’d been thrust in with the bad. Just having the ability to consider that was strange. Strange and exhilarating.
Once everyone left, I sat alone with Dr. Fagan, who was clearly three sheets to the wind. That was probably best, since I needed to confess something that might make him keep me here longer. Keep me here and away from Lysander, who I was missing more and more now that Dr. Fagan had said I was safe to be around.
“Um, I almost used my powers against you,” I admitted.
Dr. Fagan turned toward me, and for the first time since I’d arrived, he didn’t smile.
“Go on,” he said.
“That first day I was here, when I thought the kid was drowning, I almost used my powers against you and the other guys that day.”
