Imaginary 5-8

Here is the second half! It's a story I'd like to continue writing it, but lost some steam for a week or two. Mostly because even though chapters seven and eight are necessary, weren't as fun to write. I just have to get it into my head that 2-3 more chapters and I can get to the real start of the story... Showing other Empowered people, and the struggle they have go through.

Hope you're enjoying, let me know!

Chapter 5 - Rupture

Sprinting through the small store I tried desperately to reach the front, and warn Cooper. The strange bugs were everywhere, crawling all over the shelves and ceiling, and moving much faster than I ever could.

I slid around the last corner just in time to see Cooper slam his broom ineffectively into the face of one of the sickly insects while another one jumped him from the side. The monster’s extended mandibles slipped around the man’s lower leg and snapped shut with frightening force. His leg severed, the old man went down screaming. 

I watched in horror as the scarabs swarmed forward, ripping out his throat and tearing into his body. With so many creatures swarming through the portal, there just wasn’t enough of Cooper to go around. Many of the beetles skittered towards the open door, heading into the street. 

More than a few headed towards me.

Hairy skidded to a stop between me and the advancing horde, blocking my view of Cooper. “Not this way,” he growled. 

“The emergency exit,” Tyberius  hissed. “Run to the back!”

I didn’t argue. I sprinted away, heading back towards the canned goods aisle. Thankfully it didn’t look like any of the insects had decided to wander in this direction, so I had a clear path to the door. I didn’t bother slowing down, instead I just lowered my shoulder and slammed into the metal bar in the middle at a dead run, smashing it open. 

At least that was the plan. 

The door did open, but only a few inches before coming to an abrupt stop. I bounced off it, hard, and tumbled to the ground, cradling my shoulder. Security alarm blaring above my head I stared through the gap at the heavy lock and chain wrapped around the exterior handle.

“What the fuck Cooper? I thought you trusted people,” I cried with tears of pain and frustration in my eyes.

“Come on Tam Tam, back on your feet! They’re coming!” Hairy hollered. 

Scrambling to my feet I stared down a pair of the huge beetles scuttling down the aisle towards me. With no apparent weapon around, I grabbed the nearest display and pulled it with all my strength. The heavy metal installation teetered for a moment, raining cans down upon the intruders, before finally giving in to gravity and slamming down upon the scarabs. 

It bought me a couple seconds, if that.

The unit crashed down, spilling dry goods everywhere, and I grabbed one of the heavy metal shelves that had bounced loose. With nowhere else to go, and the oversized insects closing in, I smashed it into the nearest window, trying desperately to find a way to escape.

The glass cracked, spider webbing outward, but didn’t break. I wound up, and smashed it again, with the same result. As I rested my impromptu weapon on the floor, breathing heavily, I stared at the window. I could just make out a faint grid like pattern in it. Security glass.

“I’m fucked…” I moaned, doing my best to not completely break down. “I’m never getting out of here.”

That’s when a wave of scarabs erupted around the end of the aisle, probably attracted by the security alarm.

Seeing no other choice, I gripped the shelf and raised it over my head.

“Don’t worry Tamera,” Tyberius  growled. “We’ll protect you.”

“While I appreciate the thought, I don’t think you can really help me here,” I blubbered. “Thanks for staying with me until the end though.”

As the first scarab charged forward, closing in at a frightening speed, I raised my weapon, closed my eyes and swung. I expected to feel a heavy impact, followed by mandibles closing around my extremities, but instead I flailed around and smashed the shelf into the side of the collapsed display.

My eyes shot open and I looked around, frantically trying to figure out what had happened.

Between the scarabs and I, not even two feet away, was Hairy. Swinging his massive fists like clubs down at the scarabs, and connecting. A couple of iridescent pests had grabbed his legs in their mandibles, but couldn’t seem to do any damage. 

Floating beside him was Angelica, stabbing down into the mass with her tendrils. The scarabs around her screeched, sizzled and smoked with every electrically charged strike.

I was so surprised by the scene, I nearly dropped my weapon.

“Don’t lose heart, young one. We just need to hold out a few minutes, until reinforcements arrive,” Tyberius  declared from the roof above me.

Nodding numbly, I raised my shelf and waited. It didn’t take long for one of the bugs to sneak through, despite my friend's best efforts. The sneaky bastard had climbed up on top of the displays between the aisles and charged past while they were occupied with the masses on the floor. 

It tensed up, preparing to pounce, but before it could I smashed the creature in the face with my metal shelf. It felt like I’d struck a stone statue, the impact causing the shelf to vibrate wildly. Gripping the self tighter, until the sharp metal edges cut into my hands I reared back and smashed again.

It didn’t feel any better the second time, but thankfully it was enough force to dislodge the decaying insect and send it tumbling into the next aisle.

As I backed away, I felt something change. Like clearing skies after a massive storm this pressure, which I had barely registered as being there, dissipated. 

The remaining scarabs scrambled away, making a mad dash for the rupture, which was now oscillating wildly.  Most made it back through, but a couple were caught on this side when the portal slammed closed. These remaining specimens immediately went into a frenzy, running in circles or hammering themselves into the walls. It wasn’t hard to see why.

They were melting. Within the first five seconds, most of them had lost a limb or feeler. Within ten most of their shells had a noticeable concave droop in them, and with thirty most of them were un-unrecognizable piles of ooze.

Even after they’d all dissolved, I stood trembling in the corner for another minute, my shelf raised. “Are they gone? Like actually fucking gone?” I asked.

“It looks like it,” Angelica confirmed. “You did well Tam.”

I nodded, lowered my shelf, and sank to my knees. “What the hell was that back there?”

“A rupture, a tear in the veil between their world and yours. They happen around Empowered that leak too much power,” Tyberius  patiently explained.

“No, not that! That fight! I saw Hairy and Angelica actually fight those things, keep them away from me. That shouldn’t be possible, you’re just my imaginary friends!” 

“Maybe they were imaginary too then?” Hairy suggested, scratching his head. 

I shot the cow with my best unimpressed look. “Pretty sure that’s not the case,” I huffed before gesturing to all the damage around us. 

“Not unless my imagination somehow learned how to manipulate reality, became violent, and suddenly decided it wanted to kill me.”

Hairy’s eyebrows raised, raising the hair over his face almost to the point where I could see his eyes. “Can it do that?”

“No, it can’t do that,” I snapped. I knew Hairy was a little derpy sometimes, but right now I couldn’t tell if he was being his regular old self, or messing with me.

Taking a deep breath, I struggled to my feet, hands still clenched around the shelf. “Well, whatever that was, thank you. You all saved my life.”

“Anytime sweetie,” Angelica whispered.

Slowly and cautiously I made my way around the store. I knew most of those things were gone, but I didn’t want to take any chances. 

When I finally got up to the front, and saw the pool of drying blood and scattered bone fragments that used to be Cooper I finally lost my nerve. Sprinting for the door I burst outside, only to be confronted by a couple dozen police officers, guns all trained on me.

“Drop the weapon! Now!” someone barked. 

That’s when I finally released my deathgrip on the shelf. My hands screamed in pain as the cramped muscles finally loosened, and the cuts from gripping the sharp metal edges were finally exposed to the air.

I was only vaguely aware when the majority of the officers rushed past me, charging into the now wrecked market. With the adrenaline and terror now gone, my other emotions were finally given a chance to work their way to the forefront.

Walking slowly, cautiously, a single female police officer approached me from the front. She was crouched down, so we were at the same eye level and talking quietly. “Hey kid, you alright?”

The dam finally burst. “I wanna go home!”

Chapter 6 - Investigation

Of course they didn’t take me home, but instead dragged me to the nearest police station. The officer who had approached me, Detective Sullivan, carefully cleaned and treated my hands before escorting me to the station. She kept insisting I call her Sarah, instead of Detective Sullivan. It was probably some sort of technique for gaining the trust of younger people, but it made me feel awkward. 

Even though she never put me in cuffs, or even once implied that I was in trouble, I still felt like a criminal as Detective Sullivan escorted me back through the bullpen to one of the private meeting rooms. It was pretty bare, plain white walls, a small meeting table with half a dozen chairs, a ratty grey couch, and a fern in the corner. I made an immediate B-Line for the couch, sinking down against the armrest farthest from the door. The detective waited until I was comfortable before crouching down in front of me.

“I want to assure you, you’re not in trouble. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Empowered Investigations needs to interview everyone involved in a breach event, including yourself.  A couple agents will be by after investigating the scene. Do you have the contact information for either your mom, or dad?” she asked.

“It’s just me, and my mom,” I replied blankly before digging through my pocket and pulling out an old crumpled post it note. “This is her cell phone number, it’s for emergencies only.”

“Well, I think this qualifies,” Detective Sullivan replied quietly before gently taking the note from my hand and smoothing it out.  “I need to step out and give her a call, do you want anything when I come back? Hot chocolate? Tea?”

“Chocolate would be nice,” I mumbled, as I pulled my knees into my chest. 

The detective nodded, then leaned over and grabbed a blanket that was folded beside the couch and draped it over my shoulders. “I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

As the detective left, Angelica floated over and wrapped me in a tight hug. “I know you were scared back there, but you did well. You survived, which is all that matters.”

I fought back the tears as I threw my arms around the imaginary jellyfish. It didn’t matter if someone walked in on me, I needed the comfort. “I can’t believe that happened. Once was bad enough, but twice? What are the chances?”

“One in a billion,” Tyberius rumbled from the corner above the door. “You can count the number of ruptures that have occurred outside of the enclaves, in the last five years, on a single hand.”

“Tyberius… I know that’s supposed to be comforting, but all it does is emphasize that I have lottery winning levels of bad luck,” I grumbled, before letting go of Angelica and pulling the blanket over my head.

“It’s a good thing we were there to protect you,” Hairy declared proudly.

I slowly turned and stared at the bull, as he hovered by the door like some sort of giant red bodyguard. “How the hell did you do that anyways? You’ve never been able to interact with anything before! I didn’t think it was possible! I thought you always said shit like that as some sort of massive ongoing joke.”

“I donno,” The ox shrugged. “I swung at the bugs, and crushed them. Simple as that.”

Glancing over at Tiberius and Angelica, the pair just mirrored Hairy. 

“Sorry sweetie, this is the first time for us too. I just felt like I could damage them, so I did,” Angelica whispered.

“Wonderful. I’m glad there weren’t any bodies left over, because I’d have one hell of a hard time explaining the damage to the police,” I whispered into the blanket.

The others didn’t have anything to say about that, so I sunk into my head for a minute, replaying the entire situation until Detective Sullivan re-entered the room. The lanky police woman carefully placed a cup of hot chocolate on the table next to me, before crouching down again.

“Your mom is on the way, but it sounds like she’s going to take a while. Apparently she needs to take the bus to get here…” the detective said quietly.

“We don’t have a car,” I confirmed, locking eyes with the detective. “She’s on the blacklist, so she can’t find a good enough job to afford one.”

The detective tensed up, her voice got quiet, and I saw a little bit of compassion leave her eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

I dropped my head down, and hid my face behind my knees. Her reaction was actually pretty tame compared to most people, but she was probably just a little more practiced at managing her reaction than most. “How long until my mom arrives?”

“About twenty minutes,” the detective replied quietly. “The BEI agents are expected to arrive around the same time. You just need to stick around until then, answer a few questions, then you should be free to leave.”

“That’s fine, it’s not like I’m going anywhere,” I mumbled into my knees.

The detective nodded, pushed herself to her feet, and took a seat at the table. I guess she wasn’t planning on leaving me alone again. My friends all stared at her angrily, but didn’t say anything. After so many years together they knew talking to me with someone else in the room would only increase the chances of me replying, and looking crazy, so standard operating procedure was pretending they weren’t there.

The whole lot of us just sat there, in an uncomfortable silence, for nearly twenty minutes until my mother burst in. She looked around the room, frantically, before launching herself across the room to sweep me up in a massive hug. “Tammy I was so worried when I heard what happened? Are you okay? Are you injured at all?” 

“I cut up my hands pretty badly defending myself, but I’m fine otherwise,” I whispered, presenting my hands to my mother. “It wouldn’t have been necessary if that asshole Cooper hadn’t blocked the fire exit.”

“He did what?” my mother hissed, which attracted the attention of the detective.

“Locked up the back door with fucking chains. I probably would have been able to escape if it had been clear,” my eyes were starting to sting, but I ignored the sensation and pulled my mother closer. “I survived though, which is more than I can say for Cooper.”

My mother nodded wordlessly, and pulled me into another hug. 

“Did you say the shop owner blocked the fire exit?” detective Sullivan asked once we separated again.

“I also said it didn’t matter anymore, since the beetles fucking ate Cooper,” I growled at her.

“It’s still something we need to investigate. It might explain why the intruders didn’t manage to spread very far.” 

“Yeah, lucky for the surrounding people, terrifying for me,” I grumbled. “I thought you said the BEI agents were coming to ask me questions. What happened? They get caught in traffic or something?”

Sullivan looked over at me tiredly. “It’s usually better to give the victims of assaults time to collect their thoughts, and have time with their loved ones, but if you feel you’re ready I can go check for them.”

“I just want to go home. I don’t think there’s any point in putting this off any longer than necessary,” I replied quietly. My mother studied my face for a moment before gently taking one of my hands and sitting next to me on the couch. 

“There’s no point in arguing with her. Once Tamara gets something into her head there’s no arguing with her,” she said softly. “You might as well go see if you can find the agents.”

Detective Sullivan nodded, and quickly headed out of the room, leaving my mother, friends and I alone in the room. “Are you sure you’re okay? I’ve never seen you so shaken up before. I’m sure the agents would be willing to wait if you needed more time.”

“No, I just want to get this over with,” I replied. I didn’t feel like smiling, but I managed to give her a small reassuring one before the door swung open again.

I didn’t recognize the two people that stepped through the door, but they were both wearing black government issue jackets with the letters BEI in yellow above the right breast. The woman, who entered first, was tiny. She couldn’t be more than 5 feet tall, but carried herself with a sense of authority. Her sandy hair was tied back into a tight ponytail, and she had a huge pair of aviators on her head.

The man that followed her in was her complete opposite. He was huge, a muscular goliath who was carrying a massive dufflebag around with one hand. Glancing around nervously, rubbing his brown buzz cut head with one hand, he quickly slipped behind the woman after she sat at the table.

Sitting up straight, the woman laced her fingers together and looked directly at me. “Good Evening Ladies, my name is Agent Alice Seymour of the BEI. I have a few questions about the incident that happened at Coopers Grocery earlier today, if you don’t mind.”

Chapter 7 - Agents

I carefully made my way to the table across from the agents, and sat in one of the uncomfortable metal chairs. Although the woman was a tad bit intimidating, she wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I imagined. 

I must have been staring, because she raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You’re not exactly what I expected,” I replied sullenly.

“What? Did you expect Empowered people?” the man asked.

“No I…”

“Despite popular belief the BEI doesn’t employ Empowered people,” he explained without giving me a chance to speak.“We’re regular people that have been trained to deal with Ruptures, and Empowered threats. If there’s a threat which is deemed too dangerous, then the BEI will authorize a response team from one of the enclaves.”

“I knew that,” I snapped. “I heard you just came back from Coopers, I expected you to be in full tactical gear or something.”

He paused for a moment and looked at me. “Oh”

“We might have come right from the investigation, but we had enough sense to drop off our gear before coming in to interview a civilian,” Agent Seymour explained as she calmly clasped her hands together on the table. “Officer Sullivan mentioned you were ready to talk to us. Do you really feel up to it, or do you want a few more minutes?”

“I can handle it,” I muttered.

“Good. This shouldn’t take long, we just have a few routine questions, then a quick exposure test and you’ll be on your way,” the woman declared as she reached into her companion’s bag and pulled out a laptop.  She opened it up, and spent a few seconds fiddling with the keyboard, while the man pulled out a couple other things and set them on the floor behind the table. I recognized some of the parts, they looked like the testing devices at my school, but far more modern.

“First question, what were you doing at Coopers when the Rupture occurred?”

I cocked my head to the side and stared at Agent Seymour for a moment. “You want to know what I was doing at the grocery store? Do you think I’d go there to buy a car? I was grocery shopping! Obviously.” 

“Tammy!” my mother snapped from the couch behind me, but Agent Seymour just held up a hand.

“I understand these questions might seem a tad simple, but they are pertinent to the investigation. We need to get as many details about the incident as possible, so we can get a clear picture of the situation,” she said, before dropping her hand again and entering something on the laptop. “And did you notice anything… unusual before the Rupture occurred?” 

I caught a glimpse of Tiberius skittering around behind the agents, investigating the equipment that had been lined up. He wasn’t normally that interested in human technology, so I couldn’t help but turn and stare for a few seconds. It was only after Agent Seymour gently cleared her throat that I remembered where I was.

“Sorry… yeah, there was a guy there. He was super thin, sweating, and wearing a parka a couple sizes too large. I thought he might be a junky so I backed off, but that’s when the rupture happened.”

“And can you describe what happened then?” Agent Seymour prompted quietly.

“I don’t know how to describe it, it was like reality ripped open and there was suddenly a portal to another world just sitting in the middle of the aisle. A bunch of massive iridescent, rotting beetles erupted out of the portal and jumped on the man, yanked him back to their world, and that’s when I ran towards the front of the store.”

My breath caught in my throat for a moment, but I did my best to continue. “The beetles managed to make it to the front before I could. They killed Cooper, and cut me off, so I retreated towards the emergency exit. I honestly thought I’d make it out of there, but turns out that asshole Cooper chained it closed, leaving me trapped inside. I grabbed a shelf, tried to smash a window, but it was security glass so… I did the only thing I could, make a final stand in the back of the store. I smashed the bugs with my shelf for a minute or so, then the bugs suddenly pulled back. About half of them made it through the Rupture, the other half were cut off when it closed and kind of… decayed where they were. That’s when I made a run for the exit, and met the police.”

Both agents stopped what they were doing for a moment and stared at me strangely. “What?”

“You’re sure that it was only open for a minute? You didn’t lose track of time and it wasn’t open for longer?” The male agent who I still didn’t know the name of asked.

“Let me repeat myself. The store was full of giant man eating beetles, and I had a fucking metal shelf to defend myself with. I’m lucky that I even lasted a minute,” I hissed. I didn’t want to cry here in front of these federal agents, but that fight in the store was still so clear in my head, so frightening, that I nearly broke down right there.

Luckily my mother must have understood the situation, because she stepped forward, and threw her arms around me. That small act really helped me calm down. “As you can see my daughter found this entire situation very upsetting. Would it be possible to postpone the rest of the question until later?” 

I quickly wiped my eyes, before patting my mother on the arm. “I can handle it. I’d rather get this over with now, than have to go through it again later anyways,” I whispered softly before locking eyes with Agent Seymour again.

“Do you have any other questions?” I asked quietly.

“Just one last one, did you manage to kill or damage any entities while you were in the store?” the woman asked, looking down at her computer to avoid my gaze.

“They were giant bugs built like fucking tanks. I dropped entire shelving units on them and it only slowed them down. When I swung my shelf they did more damage to me than I did to them!” I said as I raised my cut up palms so the agents could see them. “There was no way I could’ve killed one. I was just lucky to survive.”

“Alright,” Agent Seymour replied quietly, “I believe you. That’s the last question I have for you today, but there’s one last thing we need you to do before you leave.”

Her partner, who had apparently been waiting for this moment, quickly moved all the equipment he had unpacked from the floor to the table. “I’m sure you’re familiar with P-wave detectors, your file said you’ve been tested multiple times in the last few years.”

“Pretty much every six months for the last ten years,” I grumbled. “But the school’s detector didn’t look anything like this.”

Agent Seymour paused for a moment, so I clarified. “Most kids my age feel uncomfortable around me, which is one of the signs of being Empowered, so they keep checking me, but never find anything.”

“Right, well, I’m sorry to hear that,” she mumbled unconvincingly. “Since you were at the site of a Rupture we need to check your I-Wave readings, to see if you absorbed any Prosch particles that may have been released by the Rupture. This is one of the newest models of I-Wave detector in the Bureau. It not only checks you for I-Waves, but the halo can scan your brain, so we can also get a rough idea of how dense the Prosch particles are.” 

“I thought it was impossible to get an exact count of Prosch particles in someone’s brain without putting them through an MRI multiple times, which is why the detectors look for I-Waves instead,” I asked as I gently examined what I could only assume was a halo.

“That’s still true, we can’t get precise measurements, but this new tech can at least give us an approximate particle density, which helps us determine how powerful someone is.”

“I still don’t get why you’d need that, you can immediately tell if someone’s an Empowered by the fact they give off I-Waves or not, the particle count seems… unnecessary to me.”

“Well, to be honest, that feature was actually a request from the enclaves themselves. They like to have a way to rank their members, and since I-Wave readings fluctuate, they prefer to use rough measurement of the Prosch density to help rank their members,” the male agent explained.

“Well, whatever, not like it makes a difference to me. What do you want to do? Shove my hand in the pressure cuff, like usual?” I asked.

“And place the halo around the back of your head. The angled bits should fit right in front of your ears,” Agent Seymour explained as she connected the various instruments together. It took a minute, so I just sat there for a minute, already strapped into the device, twiddling my thumbs. 

When they finally plugged the device in it immediately began emitting an ominous low frequency hum. 

“Alright, just sit still for a moment, this will only take a second…” Agent Seymour declared. I felt a tingle go through my arm, and a second later she frowned. 

“That can’t be right,” the woman mumbled. “Mac, check the connections.”

“What? Is there an issue with Tammy’s readings?” my mother asked worriedly.

“Well, no, it’s just that they don’t make any sense. It’s probably just a faulty connection, or sensor. Mac?” 

The big man shrugged helplessly. “Everything is connected properly, I triple checked, and there’s no way this device is broken, it just came out of calibration this morning.”

“Then explain this!” Agent Seymour hissed, as she pointed at some readout I couldn’t see.

“I can’t!” Agent Mac replied exhaustedly.

“What? What’s going on? Why won’t you say anything?” my mother asked again. She was getting quite agitated now, so I turned to grab one of her hands.

Agent Seymour bit her lip. “I’m sorry, but according to this machine your daughter has no I-Wave rating, but the same density as a B-Rank Empowered person. According to the Empowered person act, and BEI directives, we must detain her until we determine whether she is a threat to the general populace.”

My mother’s hand went limp, but I was the one that said what we were both thinking. “What the fuck?”

Chapter 8 - Ultimatum

I barely had time to think before I was whisked out of the police station, placed in the back of the Agent’s sedan, and swiftly taken to the nearest Bureau of Empowered Investigations building and subjected to a battery of tests.

For three days I was subjected to a non-stop series of medical scans, and check ups. The only breaks I got were during meals, which alternated between terrible cafeteria food and local takeout, and when they took me to one of the offices to sleep.

Of course I would have preferred to go home, or at least a hotel, but I understood why they didn’t. They couldn’t risk letting an Empowered person run around in public, even if there were agents monitoring me twenty four seven. It could have been worse, they could have placed me in the prisoner lockup instead.

Finally, on the morning of the fourth day, I was escorted up to the top floor instead of the labs. 

“Where are we?” I asked my escort suspiciously. “This doesn’t look like the lab area.” 

“Tests are done for now,” the gruff agent replied. “Chief wants to see you. This way.”

I tentatively stepped off the elevator and followed the man, who somehow looked more unkempt than I did, despite not getting to have a proper shower for three days. 

Even though this appeared to be another office level, it was a lot nicer than the one I’d been staying on. The walls had fake wood paneling, instead of fading wallpaper, the floor was carpeted instead of linoleum, and there didn’t appear to be any cubicles, just offices and meeting rooms. 

I tried my best to ignore the people staring at me as I went past, just put my head down and followed as close to the agent as possible, but I could still feel their eyes on me.

Hairy apparently liked them staring even less than I did, because he ran back and forth between the different people, trying to punch the gawkers, or force them to turn away. Of course he didn’t accomplish anything, but it did make me feel a little better.

“Just ignore them, we’ll find out what’s going on once we get to this ‘Chief’s office,” Angelica cooed softly. “I’ll even float next to you and block their gazes. Just concentrate on the job at hand.” 

I nodded slightly, and kept my eyes down. 

When we reached the far side of the floor the agent knocked on a frosted glass door. “Yes?,” a deep raspy voice called from inside.

“It’s Muller, I brought the girl.”

“Send her in,” came the response.

Muller, as I’d just learned, opened the door and beckoned me inside. “I’ll wait here until you’re done,” he mumbled.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I stepped into the room, it turned out to be a pretty regular office. It was a little larger than the others I’d passed on the way up here, and the furniture looked a little nicer, but it wasn’t anything extravagant.

The man behind the desk was massive, he looked like a former body-builder, but with spectacles and a receding hairline. The plaque on his desk said ‘Chief Hackett’, and looking at him I didn’t know if I should feel anxious, or relieved. 

Sitting across from him, in one of the plush guest chairs was my mom. I hadn’t seen her in a couple days, and she looked ragged. Like she hadn’t slept, and just stayed up crying the entire time.

“Ms Monroe, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Edward Hackett, head of this branch of the BEI. Sit down, we have a lot to discuss,” the chief said calmly.

I slowly slunk forward, and slipped into the empty chair next to my mom, and immediately reached out to grab her hand. She smiled, ever so slightly, before turning back towards the chief. 

As soon as I was seated Hairy sprinted across the room, and stuck his face just six inches away from the chief, inspecting him. While I did my best to ignore the bull I did catch the faint sound of metallic clicking from above me. Although it didn’t improve the situation, just knowing that everyone was in the room with me was reassuring.

Chief Hackett sighed, removed his tiny glasses and looked at me with tired eyes. “I apologize for your accommodations over the last few days, but we had to check, and recheck your results over the last few days. Because of your… unique condition… The entire Bureau has been scrambling, trying to figure out what to do with you.”

“What exactly is my condition,” I asked quietly. “The doctors have been remarkably tight lipped while they’ve been poking, and prodding me the last few days.”

“In simplest terms? You have more than enough Prosch particles in your brain to be an Empowered person, but for some reason you don’t show any of the major signs. Your mother tells me you’ve had trouble making friends since you were, what? Five?”

“Six,” I corrected him quietly.

“It’s a widely known fact that children are far more sensitive to Empowered people, but we assumed that was due to the I-Waves they emitted. However, based upon the high concentration of Prosch particles in your head we assume you’ve been accumulating particles for years, and since you don’t seem to emit any I-Waves, we can only assume that hypothesis is false. It’s something about the particles themselves that make children uncomfortable,” the chief grumbled. “In addition to that your mother has informed us that you’ve never shown any sign of manifesting powers, like most Empowered people. Unless there’s something you’d like to tell us.”

I tried my best to ignore the giant red bull who was standing to the side, rummaging through the bookcases like a maniac and smiled softly. “Nothing comes to mind.”

“I figured,” the chief grumbled before wiping his tired eyes. When he was done he put his glasses back on and stared at me square in the eyes. “I’m not going to lie, you’ve put us in an awkward position. Technically, as it stands, we can’t hold you here. The law states anyone that has a high enough concentration of Prosch particles in their systems to emit I-Waves needs to undergo mandatory Empowered training, and then be moved to an enclave. The risk of a rupture happening in an unsecure, public area, is just too high. As you know.”

“Since you don’t emit the waves, we can’t hold you. However, there is a small, but vocal minority in the bureau who are advocating for keeping you under lock and key, and constantly monitored, for an extended period to ensure you don’t suddenly emit I-waves later. Another group wants to throw you directly into the education program, despite your lack of powers.”

My mother trembled at the mention of locking me up. “But they can’t force her, right?”

“Not yet, but if you two just walk away today, they may attempt something drastic, like forcing new laws through and declaring you a Renegade, it’s happened before,” Chief Hackett replied quietly.

I knew my mother was on the brink of tears, so I held her hand a little tighter. “So what do you suggest?” I whispered.

“You can volunteer to enter the Empowered training program, under protected status. That means you’ll be evacuated, instead of being forced to engage any Ruptures that form within the school. If you agree to regular I-Wave readings while you’re there, at the end of the year you can walk away free and clear. The bureau will use those readings to prove you’re not a threat if anyone attempts to go after you in the future.”

“Assuming the bureau doesn’t change their mind later,” I hissed. 

“Don’t do this Tammy, something smells rotten about the whole deal,” Angelica murmured. 

“But if she doesn’t, they may just come for her later, and the situation will be much worse. At least now she knows what she’s getting into,” Tyberius rattled.

“Whatever you choose, I’ll protect you!” Hairy declared before going back to his rummaging.

“Tammy, honey? Please don’t tell me you’re considering this,” my mother whispered. 

“We both know the consequences of just walking away,” I replied quietly. 

My mother shuddered, and a tear came to her eye, but she still nodded.

“I’ll agree, under three conditions,” I announced. “First, my mother is removed from the blacklist. You must have read her file, and know that she doesn’t deserve to be on it.”

Chief Hackett nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Second, my mother gets regular visiting rights, or better yet can stay with me while I’m at school.”

“That’s difficult, but we can give her protected status, and access to the dorms, if she signs a waiver. The last thing?”

“Find her a decent job nearby, one she doesn’t have to work over eighty hours a week on, just so we can get by. I doubt her asshole slavedriver boss will ever give her a recommendation, so she’ll need help finding something decent.”

“Tammy, you don’t have to do this,” my mother whispered quietly, gripping my hand tighter.

“Maybe… but deep down you know this is probably my best option. If the government comes after me later, things will go much worse, for the both of us.”

She swallowed, and nodded, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have protected you better.”

“You have nothing to feel sorry about. This is something you had no control over,” I whispered as I stood up and wrapped my arms around her. “We’ll get through this, I promise.”

To his credit, the chief waited silently until we were done. When I finally sat back in my chair he raised an eyebrow. “So, what is it going to be?”

I let out a long, slow breath. “As long as you agree to my conditions, sign me up.”