Faith (Book Two)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rolling over the next morning, I am temporarily disoriented and try to remember how I got on this couch and whose couch this even is. Standing up, my feet hit the carpet and I walk over to a phone that is still charging on the living room table. Clicking it on, Aviva and Cathleen's faces stare back at me, a wedding photo that is stunning illuminates the screen. Easily guessing her passcode, I call Orion and he says he will meet me in the lobby in five minutes.

Grabbing my few things, I am almost out of the door when I hear another door opening. A bed head-stricken Aviva walks out with a confused look on her face, she is wearing Cathleen's shirt from yesterday. I wave at her and she just continues to try to process the interaction as I leave.

Orion meets me per my request as I enter the lobby and we head back to the hospital. It is still fairly early, and we have a meeting with most of the hospital's staff in less than an hour. I get ready once Cabe is out of the bathroom and he looks different for some reason. I keep glancing at him while getting ready and at one point he catches my gaze.

"What?" He asks confused.

"Sorry..."

"I got my haircut," he says and then a small smile slips onto his face.

"I knew you looked different!" I say laughing and he chuckles.

"One of the nurses offered to help trim people's hair as long as they remained calm, a few of the kids took her up on it," he says.

"I need a cut," I say.

My hair has been a knotted mess for two months now because I didn't have the resources to take care of it. I love my long hair, but it is just too much right now, it is always getting in the way anymore. Once I have a moment to breathe, I will try to find someone to cut it but I would settle for a pair of sharp scissors.

"Are you ready?" Cabe asks me and I nod.

We walk down the long halls together and peer in on some of the children, most of them are still asleep. I lead the way and Orion and Cabe follow closely behind me as we walk into the meeting space. Looking around I see at least a hundred people in scrubs and white coats. I know this isn't even half the staff, but the grapevine would pass anything important around.

"Do you want us to speak?" Orion asks me so quiet only the three of us could hear.

"If you want to chime in, go for it," I respond and both boys nod and step off to the side.

I wait patiently for the rest of the medical staff to file into the room and slowly they quiet down. I feel all of their eyes burning into me, with the same questioning gaze. We are anomalies to them, and they want to understand us better, but that's nearly impossible with where things stand right now.

"Hello everyone, my name is Faith, I don't have a last name, like most of the children you have been helping to treat. One thing that we all have in common would be the fact that we are metahumans," I say.

"For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a metahuman, we were all born normal, just like any of you. But through extensive testing and experimentation, we were changed into something that supersedes humanity. I know many of you have witnessed what we can do, and I know how scary it can be to watch a child explode into a ball of fire, but it is our normal," I continue, and the people in the room shift uncomfortably.

"We are still children when it comes down to it... I am only sixteen although many of you have been treating me as if I was thirty-six. Most of the older ones are more mature beyond their years, which leads to how suspicious and skeptical they are of everything. For the younger ones, they are terrified, they have lived in this shithole of abuse and pain for so long that being here is uncomfortably new and scary. Most of us have endured torture and procedures that should have destroyed us, yet we few survived. Unfortunately, there are over a thousand people that took part in this specific Metac camp," I say, and I remember that I have to go back with Nickolas today, so they can search for the bodies.