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The debriefing room was a cold, cramped thing with just enough space for a metal table and enough chairs for a dozen to be sitting around a metal table. A few lightbulbs burned bright overhead, obnoxious and headache-inducing. Most of the seats were taken, so the sound of chatter overlaid the wheezing heater and the occasional rustle of paper.
There was only one person sitting beside Alex. Ryan Goodwin. He had very little presence and Alex was grateful for it. If it was anyone else, he would've felt obligated to talk. Being friendly was an easy way to get information, after all, but luckily Goodwin wasn't fond of using more than two words an hour.
The door opened and shut. More talking from outside filtered in for a brief moment. The smell of stale cigarettes was suddenly overpowered by that of coffee when a man stumbled near Alex and spilled half his burning mug straight onto his thigh. Alex shot upright with a hiss, scrambling to wipe it off.
"Sorry," the cheery Elite, Clark, said uselessly, sitting down in one of the empty seats.
Alex had been just as tired a moment ago, but he was fully awake now. He'd had a rough night - tossing and turning and eventually waking to a cabin without either Eli or Aria.
The door opened once more. Knox entered with Eli behind him. She shut the door behind her, looking every bit as haggard as Alex felt. The sound in the room died down.
Knox nodded at Eli, signaling her to start.
Clark interrupted before she could even begin. "The Siren was there," he broke in. "The Siren's alive."
Alex felt like he'd been drenched in hot coffee all over.
"The Siren's alive?" Knox echoed. "You're certain?"
Clark nodded with a shit-eating grin while everyone else in the room was deadly silent.
It was lucky that Alex was the only empath in the room. Otherwise, the immediate panic that came over him at the mention of a siren surely would've given him away. He took a page from Aria's book and stared ahead with a blank look.
"Is this true?"
Eli shrugged. "I can't say for sure. If it was her, she would not use her abilities to try to escape."
"Escape?" Knox repeated.
The blood drained from Clark's face.
"From the torture."
"Explain."
"Clark had her strung up to a tree. The woman was beaten and shocked."
Alex's heart felt too quick in his chest. He'd seen firsthand what the man was capable of with his ability. There'd been bodies that looked like they'd been fried and people who couldn't form a single sentence after. Did Eli have to leave her with a healer or something? Was that why neither of them came back to the cabin? Knox would have already been filled in if they'd brought her to HQ. Things wouldn't have been so normal. There would have been talk. Aria was probably hidden away with a healer or a doctor.
