*
When I got back to Mr Brown’s office, I knew something was wrong. His chair was overturned and papers were everywhere.
As I walked out his office door, I saw them—three men in jeans and black shirts with hoods that covered their faces, standing in the clearing. They had a girl with them; her head was hanging limp.
It couldn’t be, I thought.
But it was. My best friend Clare had been kidnapped.
“What did you do to her?”
“Don’t worry. We only knocked her out. She should wake up in an hour or so,” one of the hooded men said.
“What do you want?” I yelled.
“To make a deal. Miss Clare can go back to her house and her memory will be wiped of this outing, and you, Lexi, will come back with us and we will take your powers away,” they all said in unison.
What’s the catch?
“There is no catch, Lexi,” a familiar voice came from behind.
I spun around to face Mr Brown.
“I thought we were friends …”
“Make the deal, Lexi, or you will never see your friend again.”
“I trusted you!”
“That was a mistake.” He had no emotion on his face.
How many kids’ powers have you taken over your time here? I didn’t say the words out loud. I was testing him.
“How did you figure out I was a telepath?” he said.
You took someone’s powers, didn’t you?
“Yes, I wanted powers and now I have them,” said Mr Brown.
“You’re a monster!” I yelled.
“If you don’t make the right decision, you will be a monster, too. You will be the person who is responsible for never letting your friend return to a normal life.”
I stared at him. I had to save Clare.
“Deal,” I said. “But I want to see that she is safely taken home.”
“Okay,” Mr Brown said. “If you will, Lexi, teleport us to her house.”
Clare’s whole life is in my hands. I can’t play any tricks or something bad will happen.
“Wise choice,” Mr Brown said.
“Please stop reading my thoughts.”
“Just teleport us to her house.”
*
“Looks like her parents aren’t home yet. We got lucky. I will start wiping her mind,” Mr Brown said.
“So, you are just going to do this?”
“Yes, now go talk to the others and let me do this.”
The three men had pulled back their hoods when I walked back.
“Mr Smith and Rick? You’re part of this?” I was shocked.
“Yes, Agent Black got us into it.”
Agent Black?
“That is my code name, which I told you not to use,” Mr Brown said, turning to the men.
“Sorry,” they said together.
“Let’s go,” Mr Brown said.
“Where?” I asked.
“Base. It’s time to give up your powers.”
“Can you tell me how you remove a person’s powers?”
Just keep talking, stalling, and think of a plan.
“Lexi, can you teleport us back to the camp?” Mr Brown asked.
“You’re going to do it there?”
“The camp is one of the main network hubs,” Mr Brown said.
“Where do you want me to take you?” I said.
I didn’t have a choice; I had to play along.
“My office,” Mr Brown said.
“Join hands.” I tried to say it with no fear in my voice, but I was terrified.
“This is nothing to be scared of Lexi. You won’t even notice your powers are gone until you try to use them.”
I looked up at him and he was grinning.
“You’re evil!” I yelled at him, before I teleported them to Mr Brown’s office.
The simple office with a brown desk and papers neatly placed had all looked welcoming when I first arrived, but now it looked out of place. People often say that when you learn the truth you look at things differently. I think they were right.
Mr Brown walked over to the cupboard with the big chains and lock.
“That isn’t really a documents cupboard.” I had always known that there was something wrong with that cupboard. It didn’t look right, somehow.
“No, this is a gate,” Mr Brown said.
“Gate to hell,” I mumbled.
“Hardly,” Mr Brown said back.
Mr Brown pulled out an old-looking key and slid it into the padlock and removed the chains. When he opened the doors, I saw there was an elevator shaft inside. Mr Brown waved a hand inside and I started to walk forward.
Just play along …
When we were all inside, Mr Smith closed the door of the elevator. We stood there in silence while the elevator dropped at a high speed down the shaft.
We stopped and Mr Smith opened the door.
It was like walking into a hospital. There was a wooden reception, tiled floors, and a door with numbers. There were only ten numbers, only ten kids in here at a time.
I had always had a strong dislike for hospitals, but this one was hell.
*
Two nurses came out and escorted me away soon after I stepped out of the elevator. The three men had disappeared. Mr Brown was standing behind me.
Suddenly, one of the nurses pinned me down, while the other injected a blue liquid into me. I knew they had drugged me. I had played along for too long.
They had me!
My vision was blurry, but I could still see the number on the door. I was rushed into Room 5.
They laid me on the bed. I tried to fight and run away but I couldn’t even get to the door.
“It will be okay, Lexi. Just go to sleep,” Mr Brown said softly in my ear.
You will pay, Mr Brown or whatever your real name is! I screamed in my mind before everything fell into darkness.
*
“Lexi, wake up!” The voice was loud.
“Who–” I stopped and opened my eyes. Mr Brown was wearing his usual tie, blazer and matching pants. He was standing over a bench, looking at some paperwork.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, turning to me.
“You have taken my powers already, haven’t you?” I asked.
The buzzing energy in the back of my mind was all but gone. Just a small amount of energy was still there. It gave me hope that my powers could be saved. But for now, my powers were gone.
“Yes, Lexi, we have taken your powers and now I need to tell you what happens next,” Mr Brown said. “You will go back to the orphanage and act like you actually were at a summer camp for a week. You will never speak to anyone about your powers or we will take Clare again, do you understand?”
“Who got my powers?” I ignored his question.
“No one. They were just taken. We couldn’t store them; they were too powerful for anyone to hold. We have never seen this before. Most powers can be given to other powered people.”
Guess I am just better than everyone else.
“But Lexi, do you understand what you have to do from now on?”
“Yes,” I said.
“We have left a little power in you just to teleport once. You will go home. After that, your powers will be gone completely.” Mr Brown and his team had planned that little bit of energy to still be there.
“What time is it?” I asked.
I could see the puzzlement on Mr Brown’s face. “Just after six, why?” he answered, looking at his watch.
“If it was any earlier, I wouldn’t be able to go back to the orphanage. It would be too suspicious.”
“Would you like to teleport from down here or up in the dome?”
“Down here is fine.”
“Well then, goodbye Lexi. Thanks for cooperating,” Mr Brown said, as he stood up from the bed.
“You blackmailed me. I didn’t have a choice!” I yelled at him.
“It’s all the same thing. Now please leave before I make you.”
“Thanks for ruining my life!”
I pushed the last bit of energy out of my mind and ran through the portal.
The bright colours surrounded me in the void. I started to picture my destination, but I wasn’t going back to the orphanage just yet. Jake was like me; maybe he could help me put my life back together.
Something is wrong, I thought, as the colours around me grew brighter. The energy that was meant to be gone was still there. Maybe Mr Brown’s experiments were not quite as he believed them to be.
“Lexi, what are you doing here?” Jake’s voice came from behind me.
I spun around to see Jake in a singlet and shorts. He had a golden retriever with him.
“I need your help.”
“With what?”
“Mr Brown.”
