I Know How You Feel

We got to the street near the memorial and Sam paid the driver. I jumped out and heard the worst five words of my life.

“The targets have been spotted.”

I froze and Sam looked at me.

“Run!”

We ran towards the memorial and got lost in the crowd.

“How did they find us?”

“GPS, they got your number and tracked us here,” I stated as I read the agent’s thoughts. Sam gave me a short look of panic and dropped her purse. We ran through the crowd and up the steps of the memorial. The agents were faster. One of them grabbed Sam and grabbed me.

“No!” I yelled.

“Stay calm and don’t make a scene,” the agent said.

I tried to twist out of his grip but he was too strong. I tried to scream but my voice caught in my throat. I felt my body fill with adrenaline and my hands shook.

“Get. Off. Of. Me.” I hissed while an invisible force knocked my attacker over.

I turned to Sam and found that she already was free. The agent that grabbed her was on fighting hard but same dodged his attacks until I forced him away with my mind. I looked at her and she looked at me. We walked up the steps to the memorial. My face was full of surprise.

“You, uh, did pretty good there. I didn’t know you could fight.”

“I took self-defense when you had singing lessons,” she explained.

My mouth went into the shape of an O and we zigzagged through the crowds and into the memorial.

Then I heard our names in the thoughts of someone and froze again.

“What?”

“They’ve got us surrounded. In other words, we’re screwed,” I explained. I heard them all around us and my head told me to hide. But there was nowhere to go.

“Precisely,” Mr. Anderson said behind us.

I turned my head to look at the man. There was a frown on his face.

“Now here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to walk down the steps with me to the car and then,” he paused.

“Should I tell them they’ll be cuffed and blindfolded or not? No, just tell them you’re taking them to HQ.”

“Then we’ll be taking you to Headquarters. No questions until we get there,” he finished.

He nudged both of us forward and we began to walk. Sam looked at me with fear that I’d never seen from her before. It wasn’t just in her eyes; it was all over her face. I closed my eyes and let the guy guide me. I just blocked everything out.

I heard a car door open and felt cold metal on my wrists and a cloth covering my eyes.

A whimper came from Sam as they most likely did the same for her.

I felt the movement of a vehicle.

Someone grabbed my arm.

“Olivia.” A whisper.

It repeated my name over and over with increasing anxiety. It bugged me that I couldn’t make it go away.

I wanted to think of nothing.

“Olivia!”

“What?” I hissed finally giving into the calling of my curse.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know. They’re taking us to the headquarters.”

“Headquarters?”

“It’s the main building. I guess that’s where they interrogate—ask questions.”

“Why are they taking us in?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What? But can’t you like… hear it?”

“I can but it doesn’t make much sense… they’ll explain soon enough.”

“Okay.”

And then everything dimmed to a low hum. I felt myself go completely numb. By the time they took the blindfolds off, my world was so much duller.

“Follow me,” said one of the agents.

He pulled us through a garage and to an elevator. I did my best to ignore Sam’s anxiety and stepped in. The man pressed a series of buttons and we started moving.

I jumped as the elevator stopped. Sam looked over at me looking like she did back before she became suddenly silent all those years ago. It was a cross between wanting to grab my hand and never let go and wanting to run away and hide her face forever. I could feel the thought of our lives being changed forever on the top of her head. I had an urge to laugh. She really thought things were going to go back to normal after she found out I was… different.

“You have to remember you signed up for this,” I reminded her.

Her thoughts moved to protest but faster than I was used to her mind moving, she realized she actually did. I had given her the right of way to never talk to me again, but she nudged her way back in. Although she and I both hardly knew the consequences would amount to this.

“On we go,” the man said getting our attention.

He let us go in front of him and I looked around to see what weirdly looked like our hotel but in bright white. It looked like something from the Matrix films or a mental hospital. A thousand thoughts assaulted my mental wall and I winced. He led us to our room and opened the door. I walked inside first and looked at the surprisingly cozy accommodations. The walls were painted a pale blue and there were two beds that looked more comfortable than any hotel bed. I turned to see Sam standing in the doorway looking unsure of this. The man stood behind her impatiently. I motioned for her to come in and she walked slowly in the luxury jail cell.

“You’ll stay in here until I come get you. I warn you, don’t try to escape. This place is ten times more secure than anything you’ve come by,” he suggested. He looked us over and then closed the door and locked it.

“ ‘Anything we’ve come by’? What the heck does that mean?” she asked very angry.

“He thinks we’re terrorists,” I stated trying to make myself believe it.