Control

vii | lauren

I COULDN'T BREATHE. My body was shaking.

He was here. Why was he here? Aidan can't be here, he just can't. The Institute couldn't have brought him here or kidnap him. Mom said right at the beginning that he'd only be here if he comes on his own will.

She said that when I first got here. She said the Institute wouldn't hurt him. Not after what happened to Cole. I couldn't lose Aidan, too.

I pushed the doors open to the training room, where nearly a dozen people were waiting for me. For a moment, I forgot why they were there. Then I realised I was originally going to go to Auston's office for instructions on tonight.

The teens in the room were probably growing tired of waiting for me. A bunch of boys started lifting weights, the girls throwing punches at each other.

"Finally," Ross states, looking up. "What are we doing, commander?"

I slam the door behind me, the BANG! echoing through the empty air. I ignored him, walking towards the other end of the room, near the window. I placed my forehead against the cool glass, looking outside.

A helicopter was parked on the roof the the neighbouring building. Tyson's uncle was sitting in the pilot's seat, his feet kicked up on the dashboard.

He must've brought him here, I thought. It seemed like it. But why? And why was he waiting?

Maybe Aidan isn't staying. Maybe he's going to leave.

"Um, Lauren?" Alison's voice was followed by a series of uneven footsteps. She probably was questioning whether or not to approach me. The team knows better than to grab or touch me. Well, they're really just scared of me, like I'd attack them at any minute. "Did you get the instructions?"

These kids. All they care about is the Institute. The plan. But, I wouldn't blame them. They never got to see what's going on outside. They still didn't know who their parents were and where they all come from. The Institute was all they have and all they care about. No feelings. No emotions. Maybe they forgot what sadness was like.

I wanted to cry. I felt the tears in my eyes, ready to fall down my cheeks, in front of everyone, when I let them. But I didn't. Everyone made it clear that I couldn't show emotion. I wasn't like that when they're controlling me, and for reasons I didn't know, the other Evolutians didn't know that their leader was forced to say the words that they hear coming from my mouth.

The others were just cold-hearted and were naturally ignorant about emotions. Or, they too didn't show emotion in front of people.

They aren't even aware when I control them. Nothing seems different to them; or they never bring that up when - and if - we talk after. The Institute's job is to control me. My job is to make sure they do what is told of them, using force if necessary. The Institute can't control me 24/7, so it's up to me to keep up the act throughout the day.

I wasn't doing that right now.

"Commander Olsen." Kelly's cold voice rang through my ears. She was the one that I feared the most, especially after that attack on me earlier that year, when I was biking in the forest with Spencer. She seemed so innocent when I first met her.

The door creaked open. Everyone turned around, including me. Who else was coming in here? We had everyone.

"Aidan?" Brandon said. He started heading towards him. I held him back.

Alyssa turned to Aidan. "You know them?"

"I spent three years in this place. I had to make friends or else I'd be a loner."