mercy ; peter ballard

4. t w i n s i z e m a t t r e s s

[REDACTED], 1968

bea held her neck. the small device was implanted recently and the feeling of it bugged her. the device limited her abilities. after she got it, she tried to use her powers but was limited.

she could barely use her telekinesis and found herself unable to morph matter. she tried with her stuffed bunny like she did that night in '62, but it wouldn't budge. it wouldn't even turn into a small beetle.

she wanted to rip it out, but she couldn't break skin no matter how hard she tried. she tried using her telekinesis, but it was hopeless. she even tried scratching it out but it wouldn't cut deep enough. they specifically weren't given sharp objects so it's not like she could just slice it out.

"one and two, please report to the rainbow room," a voice boomed over the loudspeaker. "i repeat, one and two, report to the rainbow room."

beatrice walks out of her room, seeing peter doing the same. together, they walked anxiously to the rainbow room. they opened the doors and walked in, seeing brenner in the middle of the room, waiting.

"ah, children," brenner says with a smile. "i have great news for the both of you."

bea looks at peter, confused. peter replies with furrowed eyebrows and a shrug.

"you are no longer being tested and trained," brenner stated, clasping his hands together.

bea's eyes widened and she smiled, hoping it was truly that time. "what? really?"

brenner's smile grows. "you two will become orderly for the new rush of children we will be getting. you are to supervise and guide them when needed. this means you both will get new rooms on another level and uniforms."

"oh," bea says, under her breath, smile dropping. peter looks at her through the corner of his eye and frowns.

"now, pack up your rooms and the guards will take you to your new room. doctor welch will meet you up on your level. she will go through what you guys will do and all that fun stuff."

"yes, sir."

"yes, papa," peter replied with a blank stare.

"good, now, go along."

beatrice pulled the door open, forcefully.

"just when i thought we were finally getting out of this hell hole," she spats, under her breath. "this isn't fair!"

peter followed after her. "beatrice, wait!"

"what?" she spat, causing peter to flinch. she saw hurt in his eyes. "i'm sorry. that was harsh. i'm just taking it on you. i'm just...so...frustrated."

bea shoves her door open, peter following behind.

peter grabs her wrist, gently, pulling her into a hug. he rests his chin on the top of her head. her arms wrap around his back.

"i'm sorry," he said, softly. "i know how badly you want to leave."

"it's fine, i should've had lower expectations," bea said, pulling away from the hug.