Some Kind of Hero

Chapter 2

Due to a last-minute schedule change, Anya ended up spending an additional night in jail before being transferred to New Horizon on Friday, March 14. Upon arriving, she turned over her cell phone and other personal belongings for safekeeping, then changed into the light gray sweatshirt and sweatpants she was given. She met with Carmen Reyes, a psychologist who served as the hospital CEO. Carmen was a bald Paraguayan woman in her mid-40s with brown eyes.

New Horizon was a modestly-sized two-story building surrounded by an alarmed fence and equipped with a couple dozen security cameras. Anya wasn't fully paying attention to the tour Carmen was giving her, but she made note of a few important pieces of information. Each room had signs that either read POWERS or NO POWERS to indicate whether or not patients were allowed to use their superpowers in that area. The only part of the first floor that didn't have rooms directly above it was the east end, which included the cafeteria, kitchen, and a common area where patients could watch TV or play any number of games.

The second floor consisted of personal rooms for patients, as well as bathrooms. Since the hospital was operating well below capacity, the numerous empty rooms were often used by employees wanting to take a quick nap during their break.

It was just after 12:30 when Carmen led Anya into the cafeteria. As they entered, a Scandinavian man of average height walked past them on his way out. He had short auburn hair, but Anya didn't get a good look at his eyes. Looking around, she saw half a dozen people wearing the same light gray outfit as her, and Carmen pointed them out and identified them for her.

Closest to Anya was a tall white woman in her late 20s with brown eyes and short black hair. Carmen identified her as Miranda, and when Anya walked by, she could hear Miranda mumbling to herself in what sounded like a British accent. Sitting with Miranda was Barry, a fairly tall black man in his early 30s with green eyes and long black hair in dreadlocks.

Two tables over were two white men - Carson, who was tall, in his early 20s, and had blue eyes and short light brown hair - and Decker - who was tall, in his late teens, and had blue eyes and short black hair. Even if Carmen hadn't told Anya that the two were brothers, their facial features alone made it pretty obvious they were related in some way.

Sitting alone was Violet, a young white woman with blue eyes and short red hair who looked like she could be anywhere between 15 and 25. In the process of getting food was Cassie, a Japanese woman standing less than five feet tall who was in her early 20s and had amber eyes and long dark brown hair.

"Oh, and the one who was leaving when we got here is Viktor." Carmen said as she turned to leave. "Welcome to New Horizon."

As Anya watched, Cassie loaded a pair of trays with three foil-wrapped burgers, large servings of mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes with gravy, a banana, an apple, two plastic-wrapped cookies, and two single-serving cartons of chocolate milk. As she walked past Carson and Decker's table, one of the milk cartons fell, but Carson stretched his arm across the table, caught it, and placed it back on the tray.

"Thanks." Cassie said.

Carson nodded. "No problem."

Cassie carried her trays over to Violet's table and sat down next to the young woman. She unwrapped one of her burgers, then began devouring it as though she hadn't eaten in days.

By the time Anya finished getting food and turned to face the tables, Cassie had finished her first burger, eaten her apple to its core, and was halfway through her second burger. Next to her, Violet opened a pudding cup, apparently unimpressed by the sheer amount of food Cassie was consuming and how quickly she was doing so. As Anya watched, Cassie finished her second burger, then put a fist to her lips and managed to burp audibly through closed lips.