mercy ; peter ballard

1. bite the hand

[REDACTED], 1960

"mother?" bea cried out. she rubbed her tired eyes. the blurred cleared to an unfamiliar room. she looked down at herself. instead of her brand-new purple dress, she was wearing a hospital gown.

"is anyone there?" she yelled, pulling herself up to a sit.

a man with graying hair entered the room, followed by a teenage boy sporting a similar outfit to beatrice's. the man wore a suit and a sickening smile.

"hello, number two," he said, solemnly.

"that's not my name!" the young girl spat. "where's my mother and father?"

"they have passed," the man says. the boy stands in the corner, staring at the ground. "before they died, they wanted you to come live with us here. you are very special, two—"

"my name is not two! my name is beatrice and i want to go home," she demanded.

"well, that's unfortunate because we can't let you go home. now, one and you will begin training soon in the rainbow room. i suggest you fix your attitude before then unless you would like to go to isolation."

beatrice sneered. "yes, sir."

brenner left the room. the boy stayed behind. he looked to be about a couple of years older than bea.

"who are you?" she asked, gesturing him closer to her. "i'm beatrice."

"i'm...peter. they call me one."

"why are we here?"

"papa thinks you have powers like me. he's been hoping to find more like us."

"but i don't have any powers."

peter just shrugs. "we need to go to the rainbow room now. he gets mad when people are late."

march 21, 1986

"fuck!" beatrice yells, dropping the tray on the ground. "terry! i told you to calm down on the coffee heat! this shit can give you third-degree burns for fuck's sake!"

"sorry, bea!"

beatrice sheds the stained apron, getting a new one off the rack. she grabs a new coffee pot with warm coffee and heads into the dining area.

"sorry about the wait, sweetie. we had a problem in the kitchen," bea says, pouring the young woman coffee in her mug.

"that's okay, bea! i'm waiting for my co-worker anyway."

"is it the guy with the hair again?"

"you know it, bea," the girl laughs.

"alright, can i get you anything else?" bea asks her favorite regular.

"can i get my usual and another coffee for my friend please?"

"sure! chocolate chip pancakes, hold the syrup, and bacon?"

the girl nods, happily.