Mimic

Chapter 5

Rose

Beau and the two lassies donner in to find me sitting on the black lab table. I think about faking surprise, but it wouldnae make any sense to my cover. Instead I go with the approach of acting cross.

"Well, it's about time ye got here," I say impatiently.

"What do you mean it's about time? We don't even know you," the black lassie snaps.

"Liz," the shorter lassie with brown hair—Emily, I think they said—warned.

"Oh, um, Rose. I didn't know you wanted to see us," Beau stutters on, completely confused.

"Well of course I wanted to see ye. I just dinnae have a chance a few minutes ago. I was in the middle of... um... getting something from my dorm room," I improvise.

"Well we're here now," Emily starts, "Why did you want to see us?"

"Well it wasnae really that I wanted to find you as much as it was ye wanted to find me, now was it?" I give the lassie a knowing look as I hop off of the tabletop and walk circles around her. "Something to do with your eyes, yeah? How ye have more than one ability?"

"How did you..." she trails off.

"She's a Sensor. She can see what your abilities are," Beau explains.

"Someone's been doing his reading. Havenae ye, Mr. Personal Assistant?" I question sarcastically, rounding on him now.

His eyes widen in shock. "How did you know—"

"It's not like you're the only one who works for Doctor Young directly, Beau. Ye do see the people in coats when ye walk in every day, yeah? I'm one of them."

His eyes go wide again, and his jaw sets disapprovingly. I'm walking a line here. "Not that I ever liked the man. He's absolutely insane, and he doesnae let the rest of us in on anything he's doing half of the time." Some of the tension is released from his shoulders as I finish remedying my blunder.

"Can you tell us anything about my abilities?" Emily interjects, desperation apparent in her entire presence.

"Maybe." I shrug my shoulders and turn to face her again.

I look past the reality of my true vision through the translucent vale that separates it and my Sensor Vision. I see colors in the shape of the three in the room with me instead of their actual profiles. Instead of Beau I see a tall, muscular, handsome—stop; focus—emerald silhouette. Liz is a dark purple shadow. Emily is another story though. She's like nothing I've ever seen before. Her outline isnae just one color: It's all of the colors I've ever seen before. A kaleidoscope. Most of them are flashing too. I cannae look at her for long without my eyes starting to ache in protest. I snap out of my Sensor Vision for some relief.

"Well, you're definitely different," I reply, rubbing my eyes to get them used to the normal lighting. "It looks like ye did something that the rest of us dinnae. You're painful to look at, just so ye ken."

"What do you mean?" Liz questions me, pushing for more information.

"Well, she has a lot of colors flashing when I look at her abilities. She must have a lot of potential."

"We need more than that. Explain," Beau demands.

"I just said. She has a lot of colors flashing in and out. There were only a few that stayed still from what I could tell."

"What colors?"

"I dinnae remember."

"Look again."