Lost Soul Down

TEN

I keep my promises.

I made that promise to Kylan, and I plan on following through with it. No matter what. I will see him again— I need to see him again. I can't live without him

I have to be strong. For Kylan. For myself. For my parents.

You are the strongest person I've ever met.

I won't let these agents— and whoever wrote that letter— decide my future. I will decide. I will have a choice, for once.

The warehouse is small and isolated, and a large garage door is already propped open, allowing me to easily slip inside.

There is a police car, and about a dozen agents standing inside. They are all holding guns— which resurfaces unwanted memories.

I mean, I did slaughter a few agents, so it would make sense for them to take precautions.

It does feel oddly empowering though, that I'm such a huge threat to them. I see myself as a fragile 18-year-old girl, but they see me as some sort of weapon of mass destruction.

I put my hands up in surrender, and everything after that seems to move in slow motion.

Multiple agents move and my hands are cuffed behind my back and I'm blindfolded and put into the back of a police car.

Not an agent laid a harmful finger on me— which kind of surprised me. I killed some of them, yet they don't hurt me at all.

Maybe that's what's to come. Wherever— or whoever— they're bringing me to might do a lot more damage than any agent could.

I can't think like this. I have to be positive, it's the only way I'll ever get through what's to come.

"Hello?" I call from the back seat.

"No talking," the driver says, voice neutral.

I swallow. "My parents— I need to know if they're okay. Where are they?" I ask hastily.

"If you don't stop talking I'll make you."

I stay silent after that. But the questions still eat at me. What if Kylan was right? What if they never even had my parents. Or worse— what if they kill them anyways? What if they are already dead— at this very moment?

I have no idea where I'm going or what's going to happen to me. The least they could do is tell me if my parents are alive or not.

I try to remember what the agents told us the first time they showed up. It's the only idea I have of what they're going to do to me.

Experiments.

Tests.

Is that what I sighed up for? For the rest of my life? That can't possibly be all that they want me for. That wouldn't benefit anyone.

Unless they want to take away my power— my speed— somehow. That's not possible, right? There's no way that's possible.

I know I denied it— I denied being different. I used to wish I never had my speed so that I could live a normal life. But to get that taken away? No. I don't want that. Not anymore.

And was Kylan also right when he said they'll capture him too? What will they do to him? I have so many questions and I hate not knowing.

I feel the car come to a stop, and soon after, I'm dragged out of the car by two strong hands on each of my arms. It wouldn't hurt to loosen their grips slightly.

I feel crystal tile beneath my feet as we walk, and our footsteps echo. Wherever we are must be huge and expensive.

We're walking down a relatively straight path, and soon hit carpet.

Where the hell am I?

"On her knees." A man's voice booms through the echo-y room. He has a slight Italian accent.

Soon after his command, the agents let go of my arms and push me down to my knees. I don't fight, there's no point.

"Remove the blindfold."

Once the blindfold is dropped, I blink rapidly to adjust to the light, and immediately look around.

I'm in a giant mansion.

I expected labs and doctors and white walls— but everything in here is either black, red, or gold. And huge.

In front of me is a chair— no— a throne. Sitting there is a middle-aged man with thick black hair and tanned skin. He has a small beard, and he's wearing a fancy red suit. I wonder if the gold chain on his neck is real.

The agents at my sides don't move an inch.

I open my mouth to speak, but the man puts a hand up to stop me. I close my lips, swallowing nervously.

"My name is Flavio Lombardi," the man says. "You must be wondering why my agents have brought you here."

He's the guy who's been shifting the earth's axis just to catch me? Yes, I'm itching to know why this guy would want that— want me. Is it seriously only to experiment?

"Your questions will be answered... eventually," Lombardi tells me. "But not until we get the others."

I furrow my eyebrows and open my mouth to speak, but he stops me again.

"You will not speak unless you are asked to."

I ignore that. "My parents. Where are my parents?" I ask in desperation.

Lombardi makes a hand signal to the guards, who pull me off my knees.

"Wait— wait!" I shout as they start to pull me away. "Where are they? Please!"

But it's too late. I can't see Lombardi or his traitorous face anymore. Good, because I might have punched him.

Why? Why won't anyone answer me? It's killing me that I don't know if my parents are safe or not. I don't even know if they're alive.

I don't know anything.

I feel the prick of a needle in my neck, and my vision goes blurry. I stumble, failing to stay on my feet.

I black out.