Control

xiv | lauren

THE INSTITUTE KNOWS THAT AIDAN IS TRYING TO MAKE ME RESIST. Of course they didn't like it. And they found a new form of punishment. The device on my wrist - which wasn't a watch - can drain my powers. 

Apparently, that can possibly kill me.

My mother has given me a device that can make me the most powerful person in the world, yet can also be the cause of my death.

The fact that my mother can get into my thoughts and read them as her own makes her also know when I'm considering going back to fight on their side. She can attack me even when I don't actually say it out loud or express it in a certain way.

I still don't understand how to do that to her, and Spencer. Is it a one sided thing? Man, I'd love to get into their heads once in a while.

But back to what Aidan was trying to make me do - resist the Institute and their control - that's hard on many levels. It's not easy when your brain is slowly thinking that everything the Institute is doing is alright. 

Is that a side effect of the mind control? I really can't blame Aidan; I don't really make any sense these days. But he's smart, he should be able to get what I'm trying to say.

"Lauren, get up." My mother attempts to pull me out of my bed. My body is still sore from the attack on myself. I groaned. "You'll have enough time to sleep later. We're moving."

"Moving?" I mumbled into my pillow. "Moving where?"

"The castle, duh." I'm pretty sure my mom rolled her her eyes. "Our new home, where we can watch over everything and everyone will know we're right there, watching."

"Wouldn't it be better if we stay hidden?" I argue.

"Lauren, sweetie." A hand runs through my hair and down my spine, sending shivers. "You can't rule the world from the sidelines."

She dragged me out of bed until half my body was hanging off the side. Mom wasn't very strong, and she didn't seem like the best parent at the moment. Blood rushing to my head, I got to my feet. Mom smiled, tossing me a dress.

"Uh, no." I tossed it back. "Jeans, please."

She just walked out the door.

I glanced into the mirror, my hair looking like a bird's nest. Bobby pin were randomly placed into my hair, probably since I didn't care much to take them out when I lied down. "If you ignore me and my dress choices, I'm going to leave my hair like this."

She rushed back in, tossing me comfortable clothes.

I'm getting good at this whole "threatening" thing.

- - -

Our driver did not care that we were driving though a battle field. Literally. All the building were so torn down that you couldn't tell that people used to live here. To the east, the citizen who demanded for their children fought. To the right, the Evolutians fighting and the mind controlled people who were on our side. Most were teens. People I went to school with earlier this year.

The limo stopped right in the middle. Mom made me make everyone stop shooting. The bullets that made me get headache stopped. Since that's all the goes on around here, the entire city went silent.

I don't want to walk all the way to the castle. I want to say that aloud, but I can't.

It was as if a red carpet were laid out for us as we exiting the vehicle, for people moved out of the way, leaving a straight path from where we were to the castle - wait, I was making them do that, never mind. But it really looked eerie, watching all of them.